At the beginning of the Great Sacrifice performed by the Chinese emperor for centuries, singers sang the song of creation, addressed to the “Sovereign Lord” known as “Shang Di”: “Of old in the beginning, there was the great chaos, without form and dark. The five . . . . Continue Reading »
One of the differences between those associated with “Federal Vision” theology and those opposed to it is a difference of theological imagination. The opponents operate with a theological imagination that distinguishes and clarifies; ontology is distinguished from relationality, nature . . . . Continue Reading »
The Church calendar climaxes with Pentecost, before moving into the “off-season” of Trinity. Proper time moves through redemptive history: The Father sends the Son to be incarnate at Advent and Christmas; the Son lives, dies, rises again, and ascends; and He gives the Spirit at . . . . Continue Reading »
According to Adolf Loos, a turn of the 20th-century Viennese architect and critic, modern style combines beauty and practicality. Both are necessary: “By beautiful, what we mean is that something has achieved fullness, completion. But no useless, impractical object can really be described as . . . . Continue Reading »
Some initial observations on Nobuyoshi Kiuchi’s recent commentary on Leviticus in the Apollos series from IVP. 1) Kiuchi intriguingly translates hata and hatta’t , traditionally rendered in terms of “sin” or “purification” in terms of “hiding”: . . . . Continue Reading »
A student points out that Hebrews 1-2:4 contains seven quotations from the Old Testament. Through these seven words, God speaks His Son as the new creation. . . . . Continue Reading »
Thomas defines sacraments in terms of their power to effect sanctification. Not all sacred signs are sacraments, but only those which are efficacious; they are signs of holy things that make men holy (ST 60, 2). Thomas also denies that sacraments were necessary in Eden, since there was no need to . . . . Continue Reading »
Much of this comes from a lecture by Jeff Meyers at a Biblical Horizons conference several summers ago. INTRODUCTION Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:3). As He had warned His disciples, He went away from them (John 14:28; 16:7). He promised that His . . . . Continue Reading »
Matthew 1:23: They shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, God with us. As we saw in the sermon this morning, the prophecy that Matthew cites is a prophecy assuring Judah of her victory over Israel and Aram. Immanuel is also a sign of the Lord’s judgment. When God comes near, He . . . . Continue Reading »
For many of you, this will be your last Sunday in Moscow for a while. You have spent the past year studying the Bible, or learning music, or reading great books, or honing your rhetorical skills, or writing a thesis. And as you did that, you may have spent the last year gradually, almost . . . . Continue Reading »