Permanent temple

The victors in Philadelphia ( not the 76ers) will become pillars in the house of God (Revelation 3:12). Structural pillars are replaced by people-pillars because the temple is replaced by a people-house. The structural and decorative pillars of Solomon’s temple were cut to pieces and shipped . . . . Continue Reading »

The Hour

Jesus warns two of the churches in Asia about the “hour” that is coming (Sardis, Revelation 3:3; Philadelphia, 3:10). In John’s gospel, Jesus talks about the “hour” with reference to the hour of the cross, which is also the hour of glory. Now, Jesus speaks of the . . . . Continue Reading »

Crying to Jesus

Martyred saints under the altar cry out for vengeance (Revelation 6:10). They call to the “holy and true” to avenge their blood. To whom are the crying? We might think that it’s the Father, but Revelation 3:7 makes it clear that Jesus is “the holy, the true.” They want . . . . Continue Reading »

Open and shut

Jesus has keys to open and shut (Revelation 3:7). That makes him a new Eliakim, successor to Shebna as the overseer of the house of David (Isaiah 22). It also makes Him a new Nebuchadnezzar, who locks up the cities of the Negev so that no one can open them as he carries Judah into exile (Jeremiah . . . . Continue Reading »

Zombies again

I knew posting about zombies would hit a nerve. Ben Graber responds to my post about zombies. The remainder of this post comes from Graber: I would venture a guess that the current interest in zombies reflects a mood that’s been well documented over the last decade. First, the state of . . . . Continue Reading »

Why Zombies?

I’ve asked myself that question a lot over the last few years, what with the spate of books and films featuring zombies. Terrence Rafferty asks the same question in a recent NYT piece. He points out that the insatiable, relentless zombies of today are relatively new: “The title creature . . . . Continue Reading »

Echo chamber

Ryan Lizza writes an expose of Michelle Bachmann in The New Yorker . As Joe Carter shows on firstthings.com, the story is full of distortions and misleading claims. Doesn’t stop other journalists. The Economist summarizes Lizza’s piece as is, and so the ball starts rolling. . . . . Continue Reading »

God’s diverse will

Bavinck has these wise words about God’s will: “We can make as many distinctions in the will of God (as it relates to his creatures) as there are creatures; the free will of God is as richly variegated as that whole world is. Most important is the fact that God is father to all his . . . . Continue Reading »

What Empire?

In a 2004 article in Victorian Studies , Bernard Porter challenges today’s “cultural imperialist” assumption that the British empire pervaded Victorian life. Not so, he argues, for several reasons. One was that there was no single Britain: “this idea that there was only one . . . . Continue Reading »