Admittedly, I copied this paragraph from another site’s post who added nothing else except its attribution. The paragraph notes the complexities in ancient 2nd Temple Israel. Our own world is likewise complex. Let us not think earlier times and lives were somehow simply cut and dried and that the bible is elementary; it is not. Yet, accuracy can be achieved despite the complexity and is … Continue reading Accuracy in a Complex World

Labeling people with generalist classifications often leads to pigeonholing them wrongly. For instance, Jesus was thought to be closely aligned with the Pharisees early in His ministry. He held Pharisaical positions such as the resurrection from the dead and acceptance of the Prophets and Writings along with the Pentateuch. The other major 2nd Temple Jewish Sect, the Sadducees, believed only in earthly life and its … Continue reading Separating the Wheat From the Chaff

Peter J. Gentry has an article dealing with how and why the present shape of the Old Testament exists. The article is fairly comprehensive and technical but very readable for any layperson familiar with the bible. One does not need to analyze all his technical charts he presents, from himself or others, to fully grasp the points he is making. He writes in a very … Continue reading The Mechanisms of Establishing the Old Testament Text

Timothy N. Mitchell explains some of the issues of how the authorial text was preserved. This is a great read. I have been following his own blog for the last several years and am very sympathetic to his thesis in this article. Enjoy! https://equip.sbts.edu/publications/where-inspiration-is-found-putting-the-new-testament-autographs-in-context/ Continue reading The Accurate Transmission of the New Testament

These studies are at the college-level and are short. Often, they take ten minutes to read if one is generally familiar with the bible and its concepts. Some articles may take fifteen, or, twenty minutes with adjacent searches of terms. https://www.etzion.org.il/en/tanakh/studies-tanakh/literary-readings-tanakh/introduction-i-subtextual-reading-biblical Continue reading A Valuable Resource in Finding the Subtextual Reading of the Bible

While I may not agree with all of the following description in this Jewish site, it does help to explain the idea of the “covenant” which is rooted in ancient biblical thought and continues with the establishment of The New Covenant. A particular disagreement involves labeling the 66 books of the bible into old and new testaments, which I agree with, since they refer to … Continue reading A Refined View of the Concept of “Covenant”

A number of lectures related to the archaeology of Jerusalem have now been posted from the Cambridge Symposium held in March 2019. The official title of the gathering was “The Ancient City of David: Recent Archaeological Exploration of Jerusalem. An Academic Symposium co-organized by Megalim: The City of David Institute and Von Hugel Institute of… Cambridge Symposium Lectures Online — BiblePlaces.com Continue reading Cambridge Symposium Lectures Online — BiblePlaces.com

Jude 6 is a parallel reference to 2Pet. 2.4. Both of these passages refer to angelic judgment without any idea of human/angel sexual union. I reject any Jewish myths about angel/human cohabitation, and both Peter and Jude reject this notion as well. Also, only scripture is without error and not Jewish legendary texts, which some want to reference as authoritative, but are not. While not … Continue reading No Evidence of Angel Cohabitation in Jude 6

Brief Angel Definition Angels can be thought of as God’s assistants, Who makes his angels spirits, His ministers a fire (Ps. 104.4). Often a military aspect is observed as a vital role given angels, For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways (Ps. 91.11 NRSV). Also, Michael and his angels conduct war, Then war broke out in heaven. … Continue reading The Replacement Angels

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment… 2Pet. 2.4 NIV (A personal note) Several unusual bible issues feature in some of my writings. I did not choose them, they chose me, if you will. On this issue of the angelic Fall, I was challenged in my conception of … Continue reading Simon Peter Identifies Angelic Imprisonment as Gen. 1.2-4

One of the arguments Traditionalists employ for holding to their view that the unredeemed are tortured forever, is that the church has always believed such. This is not true. Justin Martyr writing about 160 C.E. clearly rejects notions of human immortality both in his introduction and 5th chapter of his Dialogues. Jesus plainly taught human extinguishment in at least two places. Mt. 10.28 explicitly affirms … Continue reading Jesus Taught Human Conditional Immortality

1 Cor. 15.56 tells us that the strength of sin is the Law. In Rom. 4.14-15, For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. The purpose of giving the Law some 400 years after the promise was to proliferate sin, The … Continue reading Rules Were Meant to be Broken

Immersion can seem to be an impractical imposition resulting in an undignified outcome for the recipient. However, by performing this modern humiliation, the baptized is saying that he is dying to self and living in Christ. This week I have been reading John Owen and have been struck how much he diverges from scripture. John Owen was a confident and powerful rhetorician in the Cromwell … Continue reading New Testament Baptism is Believer’s Immersion

And hope will not disappoint since the love of God is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given us. (Rom. 5.5) After having established that Abraham was justified by faith, while he was still uncircumcised and without the Mosaic Law, in Romans chapter 4, Paul transitions in chapter 5 to speak about the blessings of those who are justified by … Continue reading The Arrabon – Confidence in Our Hope

It was unusual that I was listening to Christian radio, but, since I needed to travel by car for some distance, I tuned in. Usually, I’m a book person, that is a reader of print, and don’t have any audio on. So this car trip was an opportunity to surf the regional Christian radio offerings. There was this call-in program with a pastor answering callers’ … Continue reading God is Not Bored – He is Triumphant

For this reason make all effort to supplement your faith with excellence, and to excellence, knowledge, and to knowledge, self control, and to self control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love. If you increasing practice these, they will not leave you idle or fruitless in the [personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks … Continue reading Simon’s Peter’s 7 Disciplines (2Pet. 1.5-15) Part 2

For this reason make all effort to supplement your faith with excellence, and to excellence, knowledge, and to knowledge, self control, and to self control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love. If you practice these increasingly, they will not leave you idle or fruitless in the [personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks … Continue reading Simon Peter’s 7 Disciplines Part 1

One of the most confusing things in Christian thought is the idea of a covenant and how it relates to us. It doesn’t have to be inscrutable, however, and can easily be understood by the youngest and simplest of Christians. Different Kinds of Covenants First of all, a very basic recognition is that different kinds of covenants accomplish different things. “Covenant” is not one thing. … Continue reading A Covenant Establishes a Relationship

The Roman Catholic theologian George Tyrell famously criticized the theological liberalism of Adolf Harnack with these words: “The Christ that Harnack sees… is only the reflection of a Liberal Protestant face, seen at the bottom of a deep well.” Tyrell’s depiction of Harnack’s project actually serves as a timeless warning against a common temptation that… Doubt Is a Sin, and Jesus Never Sinned — Denny Burk Continue reading Doubt Is a Sin, and Jesus Never Sinned — Denny Burk

Continue reading All Societies are Penultimate

Anyone who reads the book of Acts will be struck with how simple that standard of apostolic worship was, which is forever a rule to the Christian Church. The more simple the worship is, the more spiritual it will be shown to be, when persons have nothing else to cling to in it but the… The Simplicity of Worship — Reformed Books Online Continue reading The Simplicity of Worship — Reformed Books Online

Is it acceptable to refer to Jesus as the “Man upstairs”? I didn’t think it was until I took time and seriously thought about the concept. Initially, I thought this term too shoddy to use for Jesus; however, He is properly a man, now resurrected in a powerful spiritual body and sitting on His Father’s throne. Jesus is also, of course, the eternal God who … Continue reading Co-Indwelling The “Man Upstairs”

Personal testimony is not what I usually write about; it’s uncomfortable and a little embarrassing. Nevertheless, this time, I almost feel compelled, since, in another testimony to an individual who I was trying to help, I did not give God the due credit. It was the summer and I was enjoying a walk in a new area and needed directions to a place I wanted … Continue reading How God Answered My Prayer to Quit Tobacco

The focal point of generation is sameness, “after its kind.” The idea reveals sameness of essence. Some folks have gotten hung up on thinking that every moment by moment God is generating Jesus. This is not the focus at all, since this is an eternal relationship which can never change. It’s almost the same as saying that Jesus, moment by moment, is holding the universe … Continue reading Eternal Generation of the Son Defended

While the bible is scarce in the description of heaven, it reveals the character of heaven’s inhabitants which gives us the disposition of that place. It goes without saying that heaven, compared to earth, will be a place of fulfillment, blessedness, and peace. Further, without question, God and His angels are superabundantly capable. Both these points need no argumentation. God is all wise and knowing, … Continue reading The Nature of Heaven

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, … Continue reading The Firstborn Of All Creation Col. 1.15-18

(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) NIV The NIV bible has … Continue reading Rom. 2.14-15 Refers to Christians

Continue reading No Heroes

For too long the evangelical church has gone soft on sound exposition of Scripture and the faithful teaching of systematic theology and replaced it with the felt needs of people and joining various social causes. Stephen Wellum https://www.crossway.org/articles/an-open-letter-to-the-evangelical-church-on-christology/ Continue reading Failure Evidence of the Willow Creek Model