Remnant (Bible)

The remnant is a recurring theme throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bible. The "Anchor Bible Dictionary" describes it as "What is left of a community after it undergoes a catastrophe.""Remnant". "Anchor Bible Dictionary" V:669] . The concept has stronger representation in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) than the New Testament.

Biblical references

Old Testament

It is widely accepted that the prophet Isaiah was the first biblical author to develop the concept of the remnant in detail. The concept is found in Isaiah's commissioning described in chapter 6 of the book of Isaiah:

: "And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste.: But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.":(Isaiah 6:13, NIV)

According to Isaiah, the remnant is a small group of Israelites who will survive the invasion of the Assyrian army under Tiglath-Pileser III (Isaiah 10:20-22). The remnant is promised salvation, in that they will one day be brought back to the promised land by Yahweh (Isaiah 11:11-16). Isaiah again uses the terminology during Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem (Isaiah 37).

The concept of the remnant is taken up by several other prophets, including Micah, Jeremiah and Zephaniah. The post-exilic biblical literature (Ezra-Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah) consistently refers to the Jews who have returned from the Babylonian captivity as the remnant.

New Testament

The apostle Paul develops the concept of the remnant of Israel in the epistle to the Romans, chapter 11.

:: "So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace." (Romans 11:5, NIV)

The remnant of Israel, according to Paul, are Jewish believers who will be saved by faith in Jesus Christ. The interpretation of Romans 11, however, has been controversial throughout Christian history.

Sectarian interpretations

Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has put a lot of emphasis on the remnant theme, based on a traditional interpretation of the King James Version of . Two of its official belief statements, the 28 Fundamentals, mention the remnant. Number 13, "Remnant and Its Mission" describes an eschatological remnant, and number 18, "The Gift of Prophecy" says the spiritual gift of prophecy "is an identifying mark of the remnant church".

Gerhard Hasel, a recognised authority on the remnant within Christian scholarship as a whole, was a conservative Seventh-day Adventist Fact|date=August 2008

Criticism

James Watts claims that some authors have given too much emphasis to the remnant theme, such as some scholars who "have considered it central to the NT message".James W. Watts, "The Remnant Theme: A Survey of New Testament Research, 1921-1987", "Perspectives in Religious Studies", 109–29] . According to Watts, there are fewer occurrences of the theme in the Bible than one might expect.

See also

References