When John first sees the heavenly worship as he ascends to heaven, the four living creatures take the lead with an unceasing Sanctus. The twenty-four elders fall down before the One on the throne, cast their crowns before the throne, and praise God for His glory, honor, and power. They are not . . . . Continue Reading »
144,000 are sealed, 12,000 from 12 tribes of Israel (Revelation 7:4-7). Those are consecrated for martyr sacrifice. Immediately John sees a great multitude from every tribe and tongue and nation and people (7:9), holding palm branches. It reminds one of Elim, with its 12 springs and 70 palm trees . . . . Continue Reading »
On the “Downloads” page (click above), I’ve just posted a paper from a 2010 ETS meeting entitled “Sacrifice and Worship after the Stoicheia .” It’s an exploration of some of the hermeneutical questions surrounding the use of Old Testament ceremonial texts as patterns for Christian . . . . Continue Reading »
JW Hewitt calls the prayer of Cyrus recorded at the end of Xenophon’s Cyropaedia “the loftiest and purest thanksgiving I have found anywhere in Greek literature.” Curious that it is put into the mouth of a Persian. The prayer reads (in Walter Miller’s translation): “O . . . . Continue Reading »
Aaron Cummings writes: “In response to your post on cherubic faces corresponding to temple furniture. One significant item missing is the golden altar. We know from Hebrews 9:3-4 that the golden altar was a part of the HOH even though it was placed in front of the veil. Thus the altar of . . . . Continue Reading »
Some more chants and outlines of the Old Testament. The books of Judges and 1-2 Samuel narrate the transition from the Mosaic to the Davidic covenants, from the age of priests to the age of kings, from the age of the ox to the age of the lion. As so often in the Bible: God tears down the world so . . . . Continue Reading »
For the ancients, the week was a tuned cosmos. According to ancient astronomy, the planets were in crystal spheres that formed a seven-stringed lyre in the sky. Moving from earth outward, the seven strings are: moon, Mercury, Venus, sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. If you ascended from earth all the way . . . . Continue Reading »
Developing some observations and ideas from James Jordan’s lectures and writings on Revelation. Cherubim have four faces: ox (sometimes calf), lion, eagle, man. And from Ezekiel we learn that these four faces correspond to the four points of the compass: The ox stands at the east and looks . . . . Continue Reading »
Leviticus 2:4: When you bring an offering of a grain offering baked in an oven, it shall be of unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers spread with oil. The Lord’s Supper fulfills the feasts and sacrifices of the Old Testament. Long ago, Israel offered tribute . . . . Continue Reading »
If you stop breathing for a few minutes, you’ll die. If you don’t eat or drink for a time, you’ll die. You are porous. Bits of the world go in and out of you all the time. If they stop, you can’t last long. This physical fact is a clue to what it means to be human. We are . . . . Continue Reading »
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