A student, Amy Mertens, points out that the vine in Revelation 14 is bearing fruit, and thus is an unlikely symbol of the wicked or of apostate Israel. Jesus came looking for fruit on Israel’s fig tree and found none; why would we expect it to be found on the vine? It is certainly possible, . . . . Continue Reading »
As Beale points out, in Rev 12 John uses a technique of temporal telescoping. Jesus’ entire career is summarized as incarnation and exaltation. It is reasonable, then, to suggest, as Beale does, that the woman’s labor pains and the sweeping of stars from heaven are describing events of . . . . Continue Reading »
“Good” is God’s original evaluation of creation (Gen 1), and it will be the last (Rom 8:28). “Good” is the first and the last word. Goodness is the alpha and omega of creation. . . . . Continue Reading »
Revelation 20:1-3 claims that Satan is cast into the abyss, which is “shut” and “sealed” for 1000 years, and verses 7-10 add that at the end of the 1000 years, Satan will be released to gather the nations against the beloved city of God until they are devoured. What kind of . . . . Continue Reading »
Henri Bergson attempted to solve the paradox of Zeno’s arrow (which can never cover the infinite points between the bow and the target, and yet does) by calling attention to the implicit spatialization of time within the paradox. The space in which movement takes place is divisible, but the . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION Paul is talking about the liberation of creation from bondage to decay and corruption into freedom. This raises the question of the time frame for the fulfillment of this prophecy. It is normally taken as a reference to the end of the world. The ?redemption of the body?E(v. 23) is . . . . Continue Reading »
Julie Canlis has a helpful article on Calvin’s response to Osiander in the International Journal of Systematic Theology (6:2 [2004]). A few points are worth highlighting: 1) She sees the response to Osiander as part of the reason why Reformed theologians tend to be skittish about talk of . . . . Continue Reading »
In two older articles, Alister McGrath examines the sources for the Reformation doctrine of justification, covering ground also covered in his 2-volume Iustitia Dei. The first article, published in the Harvard Theological Review in 1982 (75:2, pp. 219-242) examines the evidence for claiming that . . . . Continue Reading »
Covenant of Light. This section concludes Part I of The Beauty of the Infinite , entitled ?Dionysus Against the Crucified.?E With this section, Hart concludes his critique of classical, modern and postmodern thought, and the outlines of the Christian ontology that interrupted the history of . . . . Continue Reading »
In a speech delivered on April 29 to the Fulcrum Conference at Islington, NT Wright notes that the Spirit comes to bring God’s future into the present, and that the Spirit also binds together heaven and earth. This reminds me of Jim Jordan’s claim that the Spirit is the divine . . . . Continue Reading »
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