In his discussion of the four creatures of Revelation 4, Davis notes the connections between the faces and the four principal tribes of Israel: Judah/Lion, Reuben/Man, Ephraim/Ox, and Dan/Eagle (serpent). He adds, “Scholars who link these insignias with the forces of nature are probably at . . . . Continue Reading »
What is destroyed in Revelation 17-20 is not only the Harlot, but the Harlot-with-Beast. False Israel and the apostate, bestial oikoumene collapse together. And this composite reality has a single replacement - the Bride that comes down from heaven, who becomes not just the replacement for the . . . . Continue Reading »
In his The Heavenly Court Judgment of Revelation 4-5 , Dean Davis notes the repetition of the word “name” in Revelation 1-3, and connects it with the temple-name theology of the Old Testament. He concludes that “The ‘name’ is now localized on the believer. It includes . . . . Continue Reading »
Each of Jesus’ seven letters to the churches in Revelation 1-3 ends with a promise to the “victors” ( ho nikon ). The blessings form a progression in various ways - they link up with different stages of the OT, and they also form a progression toward enthronement with Jesus. To . . . . Continue Reading »
In his discussion of baptismal debates in early New England, Holifield emphasizes that for most New England ministers baptism did not constitute the church but served rather to confirm and seal a covenant that was created by the voluntary agreement among the members of the body. Nor did they . . . . Continue Reading »
One of the curiosities in Holifield’s study is the appearance of a Protestant form of what Louis Bouyer and others have called “mysteriological piety” among Puritans. Here, for instance, is Holifield’s summary of Perkins’s interpretation of the rite of the Supper: . . . . Continue Reading »
In his classic The Covenant Sealed: The Development of Puritan Sacramental Theology in Old and New England, 1570-1720 , E. Brooks Holifield (who has the classiest name among all church historians) describes the oscillation of Reformed sacramental theology and practice. High views of the real . . . . Continue Reading »
Thomas Goodwin compared the benefits of sermons to the benefits of participation in the Supper, and the Supper came out slightly ahead: “Many things in a Sermon thou understandest not, and haply not many Sermons; or if thou doest, yet findest not thy portion in them; but here to be sure thou . . . . Continue Reading »
The Calvin v. Calvinists debate has rocked back and forth. Perhaps it could be better resolved by focusing less on doctrinal shifts and more on liturgical ones. In his The Worship of the English Puritans (Puritanism) , Horton Davies highlights the movement of English Puritans away from Calvin: . . . . Continue Reading »
First comes the flood, wiping away the world that then was. Then God calls Abram from the nations, inserting Himself into the world through His chosen. First comes the flood of Babylonians, wiping out the temple. Then Yahweh sends Israel out into the nations, inserting Himself into the world . . . . Continue Reading »
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