Sárospataki Füzetek 18. (2014)
2014 / 4. szám - TANULMÁNYOK
Az Újszövetség megismerésének határai Legyen ez zárógondolatunk is! Hiszen azzal foglalkoztunk, hogy mennyiféleképpen, és hány helyen szembesülünk a megértés és általában a lehetőségeink korlátáival. A megrettent tanítványok kérdésére Jézus ezt a biztató választ adja, ami persze nemcsak az írás megértésére, hanem általában az emberi élet kérdéseire, de különösen is az üdvösségre vonatkozik: „ xavxa yap öuvaxa napa 0eco”- Istennél minden lehetséges!” Abstract The Boundaries of Understanding the New Testament Together, curiosity and the desire to acquire knowledge stand behind all fields of study, including Theology. The study of Church History is in a solid position since the exploration of the subject is an on going process. What happens today in the Church will eventually become the subject of Church History. Biblical Study, however, is a more difficult subject to explore academically because the subject of its investigation - the Bible - is a finished unit. Like that, we are quickly faced with the boundaries of knowledge: the concept that forms the topic of this essay. The future and the shape of things to come have always fascinated people. The disciples often questioned Jesus about the promises of the end times but Jesus never fully answered these queries. Instead, he exhorted them through parables to be constantly ready. Even so, the disciples are still not satisfied after his resurrection so Jesus says ’It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes and you will be my witnesses.’ It is not the task of the Church or the followers of Jesus to study and know when Jesus will and when this world will come to an end. Those who want to calculate the incalculable date of the return of Jesus are crossing the line which Jesus himself put down and as such, are violating the sovereignty of God. The other difficulty we run into while looking at the question of time is that the chronology of the New Testament is not clear. We don’t find any indications of years in the New Testament since the dating system was different. The Greeks counted years starting from the first Olympic Games while the Romans used the time of the first settlements to count the passing of time. Sárospataki Füzetek 18. évfolyam 201414 17
