Stop 7. Partial now, full later

Some promises are fulfilled in part, with more expected. The dash-and-dot arcs mark them.

On the day of Pentecost Peter says, "But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16). The Spirit poured out on all kinds of people happened that morning. But Joel's quotation goes on to blood, fire, smoke, and a darkened sun "before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes" (Acts 2:20). Many readers take the outpouring as fulfilled at Pentecost and the day of the Lord as still to come. The three end-times views draw that line in different places.

In the synagogue at Nazareth Jesus reads Isaiah 61 and says, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read" (Luke 4:21). He stops reading in the middle of a sentence. The next words in Isaiah are "the day when our God will seek vengeance" (Isaiah 61:2).

The other arcs of this kind are Elijah (Malachi 4:5–6; Matthew 17:11–13), the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31–34; Hebrews 8:8–12) and David's fallen tent (Amos 9:11–12; Acts 15:15–17). In each one, readers agree something was fulfilled and disagree on whether more remains. Amos 9 sits on the edge of the contested list: Dispensational writers read the rebuilt tent as still future for Israel, and Pulling the Threads: Dispensationalism takes it up in "8. One Citizenship, Not Two".

This kind of reading is a guard. It keeps the reader from saying everything is finished, and from saying nothing has happened yet.

Picture: the dash-and-dot arcs. Layer: band 2.