When the devil first appears in Revelation, he’s throwing Christians around, throwing them into prison to be specific. After five references to “Satan” in the letters to the churches, he disappears until chapter 12 (the distribution of diabolos is the same). At first, he’s . . . . Continue Reading »
The central section of the message to Smyrna consists of two mini-paragraphs set out in parallels. The first is arranged in six segments, as follows: a. affliction b. and poverty c. but ( alla ) you are rich a’. blasphemy from self-designated Jews b’. and they are not c’. but ( . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus identifies Himself as “first and last” four times in revelation (1:11, 17; 2:8; 22:13). It is a global, four-cornered declaration. But the particular contours of that phrase are set by the earlier declaration that Jesus is “firstborn” from the dead (1:5). Jesus is . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION From the beginning of Isaiah, the immediate political threat to Judah has been the anti-Assyrian alliance of Israel and Aram (cf. Isaiah 7-8). In the burden concerning Damascus, Isaiah prophesies the collapse of that alliance and judgment on Ephraim who has “forgotten the God of . . . . Continue Reading »
Imagine my surprise, paging through the photos in my fresh new copy of John Thorn’s Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game , to find two familiar faces staring at me: Helena Blavatsky, theosophist, and Henry Steel Olcott, lapsed Presbyterian and “white . . . . Continue Reading »
How are the three commendations in the first part of Revelation 2:2 (works, toil, perseverance) related to the rest of the commendations that Jesus talks about? There are several ways to look at this, and they all might be intentional. John writes in double entendres in his gospel, and frequently . . . . Continue Reading »
Three cheers, and more, for John Bolt, who’s been working for several years to get Bavinck’s Dogmatics into English. He caps off his work with a one-volume abridgment ( Reformed Dogmatics: Abridged in One Volume ). Need a reason to choose Bavinck? Go no further than these criticisms of . . . . Continue Reading »
What must we do to be saved, asks Westminster Shorter Catechism 85 - saved from the wrath and curse of God due to sin. The answer is noteworthy: We must have “faith in Jesus Christ.” Of course. It happens to be a Protestant Catechism. But the answer does not stop there. It goes on to . . . . Continue Reading »
The oracles in Isaiah 13-19 are geographically organized. The fist is Babylon, sometimes conceived as a “northern” nation (cf. Jeremiah 1). Philistia (14:28-32) is to the West, between Israel and the sea, and Moab and Syria (chs. 15-17) are on the east. Then Isaiah turns attention to . . . . Continue Reading »
The oracle against Moab is organized in a fairly neat chiastic structure: A. Oracle against Moab - wailing and lamentation, 15:1-4 B. “My heart cries,” 15:5 C. Green things wither, 15:6 D. Riches of Moab taken away, 15:7-9 E. Refuge for outcasts in tent of David, 16:1-5 D’. Pride . . . . Continue Reading »
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