04 Pentecostal Interpretations of Isaiah 6.

How do Pentecostal and Charismatic (PC) readers interpret the Old Testament? According to a lay member of an Assemblies of God church in Sydney,¹ PCs "…just read it and believe it". This response reflects the belief among the PC community that their reading processes are ‘simple’ and faithful to the Scriptures. Yet further examination reveals that if their reading processes are simple, they are not simplistic. The PC community do approach the biblical text with unqualified belief, but read the text through the glasses of christological emphases, literalism, and the dynamic of Spirit-experience. The focus of this paper shall be to illustrate and critically examine this first feature, christological emphases, through a case-study of Isaiah 6.

The text of Isaiah 6 was chosen as the case-study for this paper because its popularity and familiarity among the PC community. Although any passage of the 66 books from the Old Testament canon could have been selected,² this intimacy with the text means that there are multiple examples of PC readings from the text across a wide range of time periods, source types (sermons, magazine articles and songs) and groups (professional ministers and laity).³ Therefore the various sources utilised in this paper represent a cross-section of readers from the PC community engaging with the text of Isaiah. Although predominantly a pragmatic choice, the text of Isaiah 6 can also be considered representative of the self-identification of the PC community in Australia. In Isaiah 6, the prophet encounters God; he is overwhelmed, burns his lips (tongue), and is transformed by the revelation of Yahweh. He then begins his missionary ministry as a rejected prophet, misunderstood. In this sense, the experience of the prophet acts as a trope for the history and identity of the PC community as a marginal group in the broader context of Christianity in Australia. Therefore the study of PC readings can offer alternative reading approaches to Old Testament texts to benefit the wider reading community.

The commissioning of the prophet and the message consequently entrusted, is the central subject of Isaiah 6. The prophet purports to experience an immediate and direct experience of God’s holiness⁴ through a vision of the throne room of the ‘Lord of Hosts’. In this throne room, the heavenly King presides and rules, even though the earthly king (Uzziah) has died.⁵ Overwhelmed by God’s holiness, the prophet recognises his own unholiness. He recognises not only his personal uncleanness, but the inadequacy of the Judean community he represents. After being personally purged, the prophet receives a message of judgement for the community. The authority attributed to the prophet is the result of his encounter with the ‘Lord of Hosts’ envisioned in the heavenly throne room. The dual nature of God’s holiness presented in the text is highlighted by Brueggemannn as being both majestic and terrifying. He writes, "There is no coziness here, for God’s presence is a source of deep jeopardy".⁶ Motyer notes the invention of the "super-superlative" (based on the root qdš) to express God’s holiness⁷. Isaiah’s encounter with the ‘Lord of Hosts’ is an experience of terror, ‘heavy’ with emotion, a concept ignored by most PC readers. This vision causes the prophet to be ‘ruined’ and his tongue to be silent.⁸ Even the application of the live coal to the lips of the prophet, thereby purging him of guilt, is a dangerous and painful experience⁹. It is from these burning lips that a message of fire and judgement will be given to the Judean community. However, just as Isaiah has experienced his own death and re-birth through divine purification and forgiveness (ironically so that he can perform the same to "his people"), he models the hope and future for this obstinate people¹⁰.

The various readings of Isaiah 6 by the PC community, including pastors, lay people and songwriters, emphasise the experiential nature of both their own spirituality and what they see reflected in the text. Isaiah 6 is often used by PC readers to either make explicit through analogy the nature of an immediate encounter with God or to anticipate a future spiritual experience. The experience of the PC reader resonates with the vision and encounter of Isaiah with the ‘Holy one of Israel’ as they reconstruct their own encounter through the verbalised experience of the prophet. Yet, while the prophet identifies the object of the vision as the ‘Holy one of Israel’, most PC readers tend to identify the concealed figure in the text as the person of Jesus Christ. They associate their experience of Christ with the experience of the ‘Holy One of Israel’ by Isaiah and so equate the two identities. This is exemplified by an article in the 1985 Australian Evangel by charismatic minister Ron Hoffmann which begins:

Hoffmann begins with an experience he describes as being overwhelming in nature, which he identifies as the presence of God. In an attempt to turn this encounter into narrative he adopts the text of Isaiah 6. His experience resonates with the description in the text as he, like Isaiah, encounters the immediacy of God’s presence and holy nature. Hoffmann continues to identify with the text of Isaiah 6 as he follows the narrative from describing the greatness of God to realising his own unworthiness or ‘uncleanness’.

Once Hoffmann identifies with the text and engages with it, his experience is then directed and transformed by that text. The text directs the thoughts of Hoffmann as he moves from the initial overwhelming encounter of God to the realisation of his own unworthiness. However, no sooner has Hoffmann been directed by the text to reflect on his own unworthiness but he deviates from the directive of Isaiah as he continues his tale:

Hoffmann’s narrative demonstrates a shift from the strict pattern of Isaiah 6 to introduce a christological emphasis. The experience of "unworthiness" associated with the prophet Isaiah is redefined as the writer begins to reflect on the cross of Jesus Christ. Hoffmann reads the forgiveness in the Old Testament text through the message of the New Testament. The process of forgiveness does not come to Hoffmann via the burning coal, but through the "perfect sacrifice of Jesus". The cleansing and forgiveness he receives has already been realised through Christ (he "was" forgiven); a reminder of the past acceptance he has received. Reading the passage through a christological lens, Hoffmann then returns to the Isaiah text,

Initially, for Hoffmann, the passage of Isaiah 6 came to him because it resonated with his experience of the "presence of God". His thoughts were directed to the passage to make intelligible (and tell-able) his immediate encounter with God. However, having been directed to the concept of unworthiness and available forgiveness, Hoffmann became the director (rather than the text) and deviated from the passage to transform Isaiah’s presentation of forgiveness into a christological understanding. But now, in this section of his account, Hoffmann is once again directed and challenged by the Isaian passage. The process of challenge is described by Hoffmann as being a "rhema" word. This concept is common in Pentecostal preaching and writing, and particularly so in the charismatic section of the movement. The "rhema" word refers to a text (Scripture passage, concept, word, song lyric, etc) that ‘jumps out’ at the person through the presumed action of the Holy Spirit to enliven the text with revelatory impact and personal immediacy. Hoffmann’s description highlights this immediacy of effect as he is newly challenged by a familiar text that is suddenly quickened in his heart and mind. His response to this challenge involves a deep self-questioning; it cannot be lightly dismissed. The directive of the text also challenges the reader to respond positively to the call of ministry as exemplified by the prophet. Hoffmann follows the direction of the prophet and accepts the challenge (in this written re-telling of his encounter) with a willingness and obedience that mirrors the passage he is challenged by. His experience is directed and informed by the text, as well as informed by his christological reading.

The importance of the revelatory impact of Scripture for the PC community is highlighted by an earlier British Pentecostal writer, Donald Gee, in the 1939 Australian Evangel and Glad Tidings Messenger. In response to the topic of ‘The prime need of the hour for Pentecostal young people’, he suggests the answer comes from "that inexhaustible mine of inspiration" of Isaiah 6. He identifies this primary need as "greater depth" as he writes,

Gee goes on to emphasise the personal nature of Isaiah’s vision which he describes as "vividly personal rather than ‘second-hand’". The importance of the passage for Gee’s reading is its power as a model for Pentecostal believers. The historical context of the passage is only important as it provides the emotional context of the prophet; a time of crisis. The experience of Isaiah is understood by Gee to be a "vision"; a literal rather than symbolic event. Likewise Gee understands the location of the call narrative to be chronological (he approximates two years after the initiation of his prophetic activity); it is the re-affirmation of an already engaged prophet. For Gee, this may further validate his reading of Isaiah’s testimony as an ongoing experience, as the prophet has already been the recipient of revelation. Therefore, rather than this vision being unique to the prophet, Gee encourages all Pentecostal believers to seek and desire a similar encounter that will produce (according to his article) "greater depth". The experience of the prophet is normative for all believers to emulate. Even for Pentecostal teachers such as Gee, spirituality is deepened by experience, rather than by education or reflection. Imperative for PC readers is a "fresh visit to the throne of the Lord of Hosts"; it is both necessary and continual. Like Hoffmann, Gee reads this Old Testament text through christological glasses: the experience is only available through the "blood of Jesus Christ". What is presented for Isaiah as a unique experience becomes the prototype for expected and ongoing encounters by Pentecostal believers in Jesus Christ. Gee expects similar Isaianic experiences as only a "first instalment". Through Christ, he anticipates an Isaian experience to be normative and ongoing.

The vision necessary for Pentecostal believers is identified by Gee as an experience of the Spirit: "a taste of the Spirit’s power", which he assumes was one of many such similar experiences. Considering there is no mention of the Spirit in the Isaiah passage, this association of the vision of the prophet with the work of the Spirit by Gee is indicative of the Pentecostal worldview that tends to highlight any activity of God as the work of the Spirit. It pairs the present vision with past narratives of vision to demonstrate "this is that". This concept from their worldview is read into the Isaiah text by Gee, rather than being drawn from it. The experience of the PC reader has informed their reading and theologising of the text.

The theme particularly highlighted from Isaiah 6 by this early prominent Pentecostal is the need for "greater depth". This deepening of the spiritual life is not an intellectual deepening, but a revelatory encounter – or in the later charismatic vocabulary adopted by Hoffmann, a "rhema word". This concern for personal revelation is particularly reflected in PC worship songs that encourage the personalisation of biblical texts and identification with their message. Music plays a central role in the liturgy and theology of the PC community. As Brett Knowles notes, even the furnishings of most PC churches reflect the importance of music.¹⁶ While the ‘sacred space’ of many evangelical churches is dominated by the pulpit, in most PC churches the drum kit and copious amplifiers overshadow their furnishings.¹⁷ A recent study by Mandy Miller on religious experience in New Zealand Pentecostalism notes that "The music performed at a Pentecostal church is designed to emotionally charge and elicit certain feelings. Its stated function is to prepare congregants for worship and to be open before God, with the expectation of leading to religious experience".¹⁸ The central role of music in the PC community would suggest the importance of considering the theology and reading methods modelled in the community’s songs.

In a popular song by Chris Falson, the Isaiah passage is made personal and immediate:

This song describes a vision of God enthroned. The song echoes the vision of Isaiah in chapter 6 through the vision of God in the Temple surrounded by the enraptured cry of worshippers: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory".²⁰ In the transference from text to song, there are some interesting changes in tense from the vision of Isaiah. The historical setting of Isaiah’s vision is removed; in Isaiah 6 the prophet saw the Lord in the year that King Uzziah died whereas in the song the songwriter now sees (present continuant) the Lord, emphasizing a direct and on-going experience of God. To continue the immediacy of the song, the train of the Lord’s robe fills (present continuant) the Temple, whereas Isaiah testified to the train having filled the Temple. Interestingly, the next section of the song shifts the imperfect verbs of the experience towards the perfect as the filling of the earth (with God’s glory) is completed. These changes in tense from the Isaiah passage suggest the importance of an on-going experience of God to the Pentecostal worldview, as well as the use of literalism as a reading practice. It also presents a sense of the eternal now – the throne room is eternal and unchanging.

The association of the "train of the robe" with God’s glory suggests the spiritualization of the vision and its definite removal from any physical or temporal setting. This gives the song a mystical influence as it describes a spiritual experience through the image of the physical temple. The exact meaning of the "glory" is undefined; is it the presence of God? Creation? Or is it a community of believers who embody this glory? However, while recognizing the glory and holiness of God, the singer does not respond in the pattern of Isaiah. Unlike Hoffmann, this reading does not focus on the repentance or acknowledgment of "uncleanness" of the prophet; rather, it affirms the holiness of God. The christological here is implicit as the PC songwriter approaches the throne-room through the Christ. The five-fold repetition of the term "holy" perhaps reflects within contemporary music structure the superlative effect of Isaiah’s three-fold cry of "holy". Musically, the repetition of "holy" builds to a climax in the affirmation of "Holy is the Lord of Lords". However, by deleting any response by the singer through an Isaiah-like self realisation, the singer does not engage with the object of the worship, they only observe. Neither are they responsible for those around them, as Isaiah was, but remain individuals separated from the community of believers and wider society. The transcendence of God is highlighted and maintained as God is untouched by the human witness, and the human untouched by the vision.

This focus on the transcendence of God is also reflected in a song, ‘Lift Up Your Eyes’ that has emerged from one of the major Australian Pentecostal youth ministries, ‘Planet Shakers’:

‘Lift Up Your Eyes’²¹

For the PC songwriter, the context is certainly a spiritual or mystical setting as the writers describe their vision of heaven. It becomes clear as the song progresses that this is the very Temple of Heaven that they envision. Rather than being repelled by self-loathing, as the Isaiah 6 text suggests, the writers are enticed, focusing on the beauty rather than the glory or terror of God. This beauteous glory, emanating from the throne of God, remains captured in the heavenly realms as angels rejoice and the clouds will be filled with the wonder of Your Name , and does not seem to extend to the hole earth as it does in Isaiah 6. While the shift from the seraphim of Isaiah vision to angels may reflect the mystery of the identity of seraphs, the prominence of heavenly beings in worship in PC songs emphasises the importance of music and demonstrative worship in their community. These heavenly hosts all before the Lord in worship, a feature not uncommon in PC liturgy and worship, within which demonstrative acts are encouraged to reflect the adoration of the worshipping community. The emphasis is on creating a continuity between the temporal bow of the PC worship and the eternal bow of angelic worship.

However, like the song by Falson noted above, it is the ahistorical nature of the interpretation that is most prevalent. The vision is removed from the temporal setting of Isaiah’s encounter with the Lord to an abstract or ahistorical setting. The tense changes from Isaiah’s "saw" to the current "see" as the vision is appropriated into the experience of the contemporary worshipper. This invites the worshipper to join the heavenly hosts in their adoration of the holiness of God; in both song and posture. While Isaiah 6 presents a missionary call and sending from the vision (the prophet is to leave the vision and "go" to his society), the singer invites the people to leave their society and join them in the vision. The participation of worship does not seem to require cleansing, only recognition of the holiness of God. While Isaiah’s vision results in a missionary call, the song presents no altar, coal or commission. The only response required of the participant is demonstrative worship. This may be reflective of PC theology that emphasises the priesthood of all believers; it is no longer special, anointed people who receive visions or prophet encounters, but rather the spirit is available to all.

This attempt to assimilate the message of Isaiah with ‘the call’ is similarly expressed in another song that has emerged from Pentecostal youth culture entitled ‘Send Me’. The focus from the Isaian passage is on the vision of Isaiah and invisible glory of God as the singer responds as a volunteer to an unspoken question:

‘Send Me’²²

The song ‘Send Me’ begins with Isaiah’s voluntary response to the missionary call of the Divine council: "Here I am. Send me!"²³. The willingness of Isaiah to bring the prophetic word of Yahweh as an individual to the nation or corporate body is mirrored in this first line of the song. In fact, the song echoes the volunteering of Isaiah even without a vision of God to elicit this response. In contrast to the Isaiah passage, the singer appears to request the commission and eagerly volunteers a christological message. Like Isaiah’s call, this song has a missiological focus directly related to the revelatory experience of the worshipper.

Oswalt notes that almost all sermons on Isaiah 6 conclude with verse 8²⁴, as do the PC songs, demonstrating the selective processes informing the reading process. These problematic verses anticipate that Isaiah’s message will have the ironic effect of dulling vision and hearts²⁵. In contrast, the writers of ‘Send Me’ anticipate the opening of blind eyes, preaching of good news and liberation of people, reflective of the later text of Isaiah 61 and its christological application in the New Testament. They do not ask "How long, O Lord?" but anticipate continual repentance until the "land" is healed²⁶ and revival has swept the "land". It is not clear if the "land" refers to the physical terrain or the secular community (city, nation, and nations of the world), or both. The numerous echoes of Old Testament scripture reflected in the song, particularly Isaiah 6, Isaiah 61 and 1 Chronicles 7:14, emphasise the thematising reading method of the PC community as the verses and theology of different bible verses and contexts are strung together. The writers have linked Old Testament passages addressing corporate repentance and consequent restoration.

While the experience of Old Testament prophets in fulfilling their calls were fraught with dangers, risks and unacceptance (for example, the life and ministry of Jeremiah), the writers demonstrate an expectation of a favourable response to their message. For PC singers viewing the text through christological lenses, the latter half of Isaiah 6 is no longer problematic. They expect an overwhelming positive response to their message that results in revival, humility and healing as God hears (rather than the Judean community, as in the case of Isaiah) and responds. That message is not one of judgement as in the experience of Isaiah, but the christological message of the gospel that "Jesus is Lord". Neither is there any reluctance or dilemma on the part of the respondent to the call or message. Instead, the PC singer anticipates and pleads for the commission: "pleading from my heart / That by Your Spirit, You would set me apart". The PC singer identifies this activity of God with the work of the Spirit that promotes the message of Jesus Christ. This is an important feature of a PC reading as it emphasises the christological nature of their approach. Christ, and the newer covenant he inaugurated, is considered the interpretive starting point of any reading from the older covenant text. Readings of the Old Testament by the PC community are viewed through the New Testament. This is particularly demonstrated in the PC readings of Isaiah 53, 9 and 6.

While not considered a typical ‘messianic’ text, these PC readings of Isaiah 6 also tend to identify the divine figure described in the text with Jesus Christ, this time as a divine manifestation or theophany. When Pastor Ken Legg questioned his bible class: "Who did he [Isaiah] see"? The class unanimously responded: "Jesus". However, it is not just the identification of Jesus Christ with the divine figure that makes the PC readings of Isaiah 6 christocentric. The PC readers also tend to appropriate the cleansing of the prophet and his subsequent message as a trope for their New Testament experience of salvation. For example, the cleansing experienced by the prophet Isaiah in his encounter with Yahweh is appropriated by Charismatic pastor, Ron Hoffman through the new covenant as he contemplated Isaiah 6:

The process of cleansing and propitiation for the PC reader is achieved through faith in Jesus Christ, rather than the faith and ritual demonstrated in the older covenant. The PC readers then ‘read’ this newer understanding of salvation into the older text. Having received this salvation, PC readers (like Isaiah) have a mandate to share their experience. However, the message the PC reader ‘reads’ into the text is the Christian gospel.²⁷ The PC readers associated the message of Isaiah with their own burden and obligation to share the gospel of Jesus Christ as the song ‘Send Me’ by Sam Evans and Henry Seeley (Ref M) demonstrates:

PC readers view the message of Isaiah 6 through christological glasses. Christ is more than an occasional actor within Old Testament texts, but is the means of salvation and the very message which the Old Testament anticipates. This combination of the person, experience and message of Christ through which PC readers view the Isaiah texts, suggests that their reading is Christ-centric.

This practice of reading Christ as the centre of the Old Testament is not unique to PC readers, but has been evident in many Christian communities (including the New Testament writing community against which PC communities define themselves through the Acts 2 narrative). Following the lead of New Testament writers, PC readers look for ways in which the Old Testament testifies to Christ as the ‘fulfilment’ of Old Testament texts. As Holmgren notes, one of the features of the New Testament writers is their explicit intent to portray Jesus as the ‘fulfilment’ of the Old Testament.²⁸ Holmgren notes the importance of demonstrating Jesus as the ‘messiah’ of the Old Testament, a reading that is ‘permitted’ by such passages such as 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 that highlight the person and ministry of Jesus as the ‘fulfilment’ of the Old Testament or ‘Scripture’,

The New Testament interpretation of the Old Testament understands it against the background of faith in Jesus. When a Christian believer confronts the plain sense of an Old Testament text, the ambiguities disappear - the text seems to lean or lead toward Jesus.

According to Peterson, "…the New Testament shows how the earliest Christians explored the Christological significance of a great range of Old Testament texts".²⁹ Peterson suggests, therefore, that readers should be encouraged by the example of the New Testament writers to similarly interpret the Old Testament in the light of its fulfilment, in a way that leads people to Jesus as Saviour and Lord. For a Christian restorationist community, the Old Testament cannot simply be considered in isolation, in a purely historical sense. Readers need to be challenged by Jesus and his apostles to discover its Christian significance.³⁰ Hagner describes the New Testament exegetical process as "…a deeper, more significant meaning or a fuller sense contained within and alongside the primary or contemporary meaning"³¹ hence the more common terminology of the sensus plenior of scripture.³² In this deeper meaning, the New Testament writers saw Christ as the ‘fulfilment’ of Old Testament ‘promise’, even when that fulfilment did not always have a direct relationship to the context of the original passage. As Longenecker notes, the New Testament writers did not always adhere to the original context of the Old Testament text being employed, especially when appealing to its christological significance. He writes, "There are also times when the New Testament quotes the Old Testament in ways that appear quite out of context yet claims fulfilment by Christ or in Christian experience for those passages".³³ He comments that the use of Isaiah 9:1-2 in Matthew 4:14-16 uses certain events of the nation’s history to prefigure Jesus’ life and ministry, specifically his preaching ministry in Capernaum. So, rather than direct prediction, Longenecker identifies many New Testament fulfilment passages as being more to do with what he describes as a "corporate solidarity" and a "typological correspondence in history".³⁴ For example, when Matthew 4:14-16 quotes Isaiah 9:1-2 (a great light appearing to the people of Zebulun and Naphtali), the writer uses certain events from the nation’s history to prefigure Jesus’ preaching in Capernaum.³⁵ The example overflows any simple prediction-verification formula to emphasise the solidarity or resonance between the two events. This is not to say that all allusions to the Old Testament in the New are for christological purposes, or that all citations of Old Testament texts in the New abandon all awareness of context, but that a correspondence is often drawn by the writers between the events of Israel’s history and the events of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.³⁶ The "intertextual reflection" of New Testament writers such as Paul, are identified by Hays.³⁷

Yet as Lindars suggests, the New Testament writers did not take an Old Testament book or passage, and sit down and ask, "What does this mean?"³⁸ Instead their concern, like the PC community, was more pragmatic. They were interested with the kerygma; the need to teach and to defend and to understand their new faith for themselves. He writes,

This pragmatic concern for kerygma is similarly emphasised in the readings of the contemporary PC community. This highlights the purpose of PC readings – the reader desires to be transformed. The purpose for which one reads determines what and how one reads. What troubles many scholars is the exegetical processes by which the New Testament writers (and perhaps PC readers) arrived at their christocentric conclusions.³⁹ The identification of a christocentric approach with a prediction-verification formula also questions the role and purpose of Old Testament prophecy. Is it primarily to forth-tell or fore-tell? As Fee notes, "It often happens, therefore, that many Christians refer to the Prophets only for predictions about the coming of Jesus and/or certain features of the New Covenant age – as though prediction of events far distant from their own day was the main concern of the Prophets"⁴⁰.

The fact that too few PC readers are concerned to understand the original context of Old Testament prophecies is not something isolated to the PC community. Commenting on early Christian use of the Old Testament, Snodgrass notes their lack of historical sensitivity or treatment of extended texts. He writes, "Instead, the Old Testament was viewed as prophecy about Christ, as providing types of Christ, or as holding hidden ideas and symbols that may be spiritually understood through allegory"⁴¹. Yet, the PC community emphasises the spiritual gift of prophecy, consistent with the Old Testament, as the ability to forth-tell a message of encouragement to their community. The concern to understand the original context of an Old Testament text by PC readers would also reinforce this function of prophecy as a message relevant to the contemporary generation. As PC readers appreciate the importance of the prophetic message to the prophet’s own contemporaries, the PC community can find confidence in the purposes and function of prophecy in their own context.

This christocentric approach not only impedes the understanding of the function of prophecy but it supports the potential toward extreme interpretations by readers who feel obliged to extract christological significance from every Old Testament text. As Snodgrass asserts, "We must resist superimposing Christian theology on Old Testament texts and should feel no compulsion to give every Old Testament text, or even most of them, a christological conclusion".⁴² Scholars such as Johnston⁴³ and Brueggemann suggest that readers should actually resist a christocentric reading approach to the Old Testament. They suggest this would avoid not only the subjectivism of sensus plenior⁴⁴ but also avoid violation of the text⁴⁵. Instead, they highlight the value of the Old Testament for its unique contribution. With regard to christological readings of Isaiah, Brueggemann writes,

Yet, if Christ is not the central anticipation of the Old Testament, how did the New Testament writers understand him as the fulfilment? Should the past distortion of the text by previous communities inhibit the PC community from embracing a christo-logical approach as part of their reading approach?

The language of promise-fulfilment is important to the New Testament writings. However, as Zimmerli notes, it would be a sharp criticism of the New Testament use of the language of promise-fulfilment if such language were something foreign or not current in the Old Testament itself.⁴⁷ Instead we find that the language of promise and fulfilment corresponds to authentic Old Testament forms. Zimmerli cites the example of the Exodus narratives, which involve progressive fulfilment of the promise to the earlier patriarchs.⁴⁸ He also notes the didactic story of Jonah as an example of a recalcitrant prophet (who would have enjoyed being proved correct in the word which he proclaimed, a word understood as a kind of fortune-teller’s prediction) who turns scoldingly against Yahweh because the promised event moved in a direction different to that expected.⁴⁹ He writes, "Only Yahweh himself can legitimately interpret his promise through his fulfilment, and the interpretation can be full of surprises even for the prophet himself". In conclusion, Zimmerli asserts, "When we survey the entire Old Testament, we find ourselves involved in a great history of movement from promise toward fulfilment".⁵⁰ The language of fulfilment in the New Testament thus stands over and against this situation in the Old; as Paul formulates it, all the promises are "yes and amen" in Christ.⁵¹ The promises of the Old Testament, according to Zimmerli, are not fulfilled in the literal sense of the coming to pass of a prediction that can be documented after the manner of a fortune-teller, but are fulfilled in the promise of the divine person (Jesus) as the fulfilment personified.⁵² This fulfilment of the Old Testament promises by Jesus Christ is a central act of reflection by the New Testament writers. Holmgren asserts,

He writes, "…from their meeting with Jesus, Christians looked back to the Old Testament, their scripture, in order to gain understating of what took place"⁵⁴.

The movement whereby Christ is identified as the "fulfilment" of the Old Testament is noted by Holmgren as a "looking back" or reflection by the New Testament community. The early Christians were engaged in relating the two most important realities of their lives – the scriptures and Jesus Christ.⁵⁵ The New Testament writers first experienced Christ then searched the scriptures to understand this new reality. As Snodgrass writes,

As the New Testament writers moved from their experience of Christ to scripture, select Old Testament texts such as Isaiah 53 took on new meaning and were transformed as they read through the glasses of their Christ-experience. Christ is therefore understood to be the fulfilment of these Old Testament passages, not because these texts had him specifically in mind, but because what happened earlier was somehow analogous to what happened to him.⁵⁷ Passages from the older scripture corroborated their faith in Jesus.⁵⁸ There is correspondence between the acts of God in the writings of Israel with the life and ministry of Christ. Climatic events in the history of Israel became paradigms by which new events were explained.⁵⁹ Writing of Isaiah 9, Brueggemann comments:

In the attempt to articulate their Christ-experience, the New Testament writers looked to scripture.⁶¹ Jesus was the faith hypothesis which provided one answer to Isaiah’s questioning about Israel’s relationship with its God.

The older testament provided the words and imagery that enabled the early church to understand and articulate to others the significance and identity of Jesus.⁶² According to Holmgren, "Christians "knew" by experience who Jesus was, but they needed the words and imagery of the scripture common to both Jews and Christians to articulate this "knowing"".⁶³ Basic to almost all speech about Jesus, is the language and imagery of the Old Testament. As Roger Nicole writes

Yet, this kind of analogous reasoning is not limited to Jesus in the New Testament; in some cases early Christians saw themselves or their situation addressed in ancient scripture. Snodgrass asserts, "Often words that find their climax in Jesus find further correspondence in his followers. If Jesus is the fulfilment of Isaiah 49:6 as the light to the Gentiles⁶⁵, the words can still be applied to Paul⁶⁶".⁶⁷ This is consistent with those experiential and dynamic readings by the PC community explored above – they too identify themselves in the text. The contemporary PC community has adopted the methods of the New Testament writers in the sense that they too utilise scripture to articulate their experiential encounter with God and His ongoing mission.

Pentecostals see themselves as the restored early church. In ways similar to those of their forebears, PC readers also look back to scripture (Old & New Testaments) for an understanding and articulation of their experience. The adoption of Old Testament imagery not only helped early Christians articulate their experience of Christ, but it established continuity between their witness and the Old Testament scripture.⁶⁸ In this same way, PC readings tend to lead or lean towards their pneumatic experience and to find in Old Testament scripture the words and imagery to enable them to articulate to others the significance of their encounter. The PC community knows the blessing of God’s presence but requires the words and images of scripture to bring this knowing to expression. The Old Testament provides the imagery for the Christian proclamation of the PC community. The PC community identifies itself in continuity with the people of God of the Old Testament as they look back to the older text to articulate their Christian life and pneumatic experience through the symbols, events and figures found in its pages.⁶⁹

Recognising the role of re-interpretation of the Isaiah text by New Testament writers and contemporary communities, Melugin questions whether the tendency of biblical scholars to focus on original meaning is too narrow a conceptualization for the task of biblical interpretation. He writes, "Has modern biblical scholarship too readily jettisoned intellectual reflection about the work of the Spirit in the interpretation and use of scripture in the present-day church?"⁷⁰ If the New Testament writers considered the words of the Old Testament to be alive with meaning and meanings,⁷¹ is it appropriate for PC readers to adopt a similar approach? Can a member of the PC community legitimately stand up on a Sunday morning and preach the Old Testament through the glasses of New Testament faith? The resounding response of PC tradition is: "yes and amen". However, the challenge for the PC community is to develop a christological approach as part of their reading practice that is responsible to the older testament and consistent with the analogous method of the New Testament writers. This requires an appreciation of both the original context and the analogous experience that situation represents to the Christian community. As Holmgren writes,

It is crucial that to be consistent with the tradition of the PC community - the reader, their experience of God and world-view are allowed to ‘speak’ with the Old Testament text. It is likewise crucial for the theological consistency of the PC community that the Old Testament texts be allowed to ‘speak’ to the reader their own message, one both relevant to their historical context and part of the redemptive story of the people of God. This does not deny the belief of the PC community in the ability of God to predict the future, but recognises the role of the prophetic message as a communication from God relevant to its community, even if it may concern future events. It also emphasises the responsibility of the reader to come to the biblical text seeking a fresh knowledge of God’s will under the guidance of the Spirit.⁷³ Pentecostals need to make their own voice heard in the conversation by bringing their Pentecostal emphases as reflected in their reading approaches. By articulating the emphasis on the dynamic of the Holy Spirit in the reading process that points to the broader world-view of this christological PC community, they can offer a freshness of approach to the wider interpretive community. This approach of seeking to understand the text for its significance to the individual reader rather than just content, is necessary for the development of a PC reading model of the Old Testament that is both authentic and responsible.

(Endnotes)