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  The Meaning of the temple in Stephen's speech

  (Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, 1996-10) Razafiarivony, Davidson

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  Scholars have adopted three major interpretations for Acts 7:44-50. Some hold the rejection view, arguing that Stephen in his speech saw the building of the temple as an act of rebellion against God. The proponents of the transcendence view advance that Stephen's speech conveys the idea of God's transcendence of the temple, since He could not be confined in it. The replacement view asserts that Stephen was spiritualizing the temple; this view recognizes in Jesus the replacement of the temple, and the believers its living stones. In this study, the rejection view is refuted, the transcendence and replacement views are evaluated, and an alternative view is adopted as the conclusion of the study. This has been done by examining the social and religious backgrounds of the temple and the setting of the speech. These backgrounds, along with the analysis of its context and the exegesis of Acts 7:44-50, lead to the conclusions of the study. The study reveals that stephen did not reject the temple as God's dwelling place on earth. God transcends the temple, because His real dwelllng is in heaven: the tabernacle and Solomon's temple was just an earthly counterpart of the heavenly temple. But Stephen's declaration in Acts 7:48 likely involves more than God's transcendence of the temple. God left the temple. It was no longer His earthly, man-made dwelling p1ace. At the death of Jesus, the ministry in the temple ceased to have meaning. The temple was doomed to its final destruction. Jesus began His heavenry ministry in the heavenly temple, which in this sense replaced the earthly temple. The type met the antitype. The copy was gone. The reality took its pIace. Though God no longer dwelt in the earthly man-made temple, He promised to dwell in the earthry non-man-made temple. This appears to be the reasonable interpretation of Acts 7:49,50 regarding the temple that God's people would build for Him. The New Testament teaches that believers are God's temple. God requires them to be obedient, to be humble, and to practice "right" not "rites."

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  Speaking in tongues in the Korean Seventh-day Adventist Church : a case study

  (Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, 1996-01) Park, Nark Yong

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  A question was posed by an Adventist woman, "Is contemporary speaking in tongues in harmony with the teaching of the Bible? " To answer this question a study has been made and the results written in this paper. In the first two chapters of the case study the background and methodology of the study is covered. The woman in the case is a traditional Korean lady who is exposed to different cultural and religious backgrounds. Chapter 3 and 4 depict the sociocultural and psychological dynamics of speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues is perceived as a religious experience in Korea, but this phenomenon has its roots in Hanism and Shamanism. As Christianity spread throughout the Korean society, the common thread which bound Christianity to Hanism and Shamanism was the medium of speaking in tongues. It is similar to forms of ecstasy and phenomenal occurrences associated with Shamanism. The main part, chapters 5, 6, and 7, explore the biblical and theological interpretation of speaking in tongues. Chapter 5 examines the pentecostal position of speaking in tongues. Pentecostals believe that speaking in tongues is a sure manifestation of the baptism of the Holy spirit which every believer is expected to seek and receive. The biblical position concerning speaking in tongues is studied in chapter 6. This chapter deals mainly with the phenomena of speaking in tongues from the biblical view point "It was found that speaking in tongues is one of the gifts of the Holy spirit. Chapter 7 explores the position of Seventh-day Adventists speaking in tongues. They regard the gift of tongues as a gift of the Holy spirit, but they do not make tongues-speaking a supreme test or priority over God's other gifts. In pastoral action, some integral strategic plans are made to provide opportunities for tongues-speakers to exercise their ardor for evangelism.

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