Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Whatever else the 2016 Presidential cycle has accomplished, it has brought the chasm between nationalism and globalism into sharp relief. Many see this divide as the issue of the campaign (Robert Merry) or of the century (Pat Buchanan). It seems to be a choice we have to make. Christians must…
Salvation is a gift. The righteousness of justification (Romans 5:17) and eternal life (Romans 6:23) are gifts freely offered. According to Risto Saarinen ( God and the Gift ), “God is directly called the giver 104 times [in Scripture], of which 42 are in John’s Gospel and John’s Letters. In…
In the last 40 odd years of studying the Bible, I have read more essays and commentaries on Deuteronomy 6:4 than I can recall. I have also more than twice changed my view on what should be the correct translation of Israel’s central confession. What is so complicated? After the…
Satan is currently bound from gathering the nations in kingly rebellion so that Jesus might gather them in priestly unity. Everything which Scripture records for us, no matter how mundane or mysterious, exists as part of a process of growth to maturity. This transformation is achieved through relationships established by…
God’s people are a missionary people, and this is not true only of the New Testament church. God called Abraham to bless the Gentiles through him, and one of Israel’s recurring sins was her failure to carry out this mission. Israel was supposed evoke praise from the Gentiles, but instead…
Are you ready for the New Year? Are you ready to follow Jesus wherever He takes you this year? Are you read to follow Him into the garden? Are you ready to stay at His side to be arrested, interrogated, tortured, crucified, buried? Are you ready to follow Jesus wherever…
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Denominations, argues Craig Van Gelder, rest on an “organizational” conception of the church that thinks of the church in “primarily functional terms” according to which “the church is responsible to do something on behalf of God in the world” (24). Citing Martin Marty, he claims that this is “a turning…
Revelation 15:1 forms an inclusio with Revelation 12:1, 3: Both speak of a “great sign in heaven.” There is progression from chapter 12 to 15: At the beginning of the sequence, the dragon and woman are in heaven. In the course of chapter 12, both leave. When 15:1 returns to…
The 144,000 martyrs of Revelation 14 are prepared for self-sacrifice. They are the firstfruits harvested in death. They offer their blood on the altar of the world, and ascend like smoke beyond the firmament. Their enemies, those who worship the beast, are also sacrifices. Worshiping the beast ultimately leads to…
In a 2005 piece in Word & World , Russell Richey argues that denominationalism in the US has passed through several stages of development. Though denominationalism always exists in situations of religious pluralism and is always (like the political party, the free press and free enterprise) a “creature of modernity,”…
We live in unnatural times because of our unnatural time. We can eat foods produced on the other side of the globe. We can eat fruit out of season, partly because the fruit is in season somewhere and partly because of modern technologies of preservation. We seem to have detached…
Revelation 14 ends with a harvest scene. First grain is harvested by the son of man, then grapes are gathered by an angel with a sickle (vv. 17-19a). Three parts of the grape plant are mentioned: The clusters ( botruos ) of the vine ( ampelos ) and the individual…
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