Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Although the events are, of course, not perfectly parallel, Luke in his gospel intends us to connect Jesus’ birth from the womb and His re-birth from the tomb. Luke 1:27 introduces us to Joseph and in verse 30 we learn that his betrothed wife was named Mary. An angel appeared…
The apostle Matthew is also known as Levi son of Alphaeus. While not much is said about this man, the few things that are told us are significant. Matthew in Greek is Matthaios and comes from the Hebrew name Mattithiah, or Mattith-Yah, "Gift of Yah(weh)." Matthew’s other name is Levi,…
Theologians often speak of "special" and "general" revelation, or of "natural" and "supernatural" revelation, or of "word" and "deed" revelation. While there are many worthwhile insights in these discussions, particularly in the discussions in Cornelius Van Til’s Introduction to Systematic Theology , I have not found any that satisfied my…
Ezekiel’s 430 Years In Ezekiel 4, the prophet is told to begin his ministry by setting up a model of Jerusalem and lying on his side and prophesying against it. He is to do this for 430 days, a day for a year. 390 days are against "Israel," and 40…
The Feast of Ingathering in the seventh month of the Sinaitic calendar is also called the Feast of Sukkoth, of Booths, also called Feast of Tabernacles. I have usually called it by that last phrase, and it is the most common today; but there is a problem: A tabernacle is…
The End of Jehoiakim’s Reign We have seen that Jehoiakim rejected Jeremiah’s prophetic warnings at the beginning of his reign. Let us now make a year-by-year survey of his reign down to its end. In the spring of 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish. In the summer, he…
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Whitehead said, “Everything of importance has been said before by someone who did not discover it.” I know Whitehead said this because J. Samuel Preus quotes him in an article about Spinoza. That’s not quite right, though: Preus doesn’t quote Whitehead, but quotes a quotation from Whitehead in a book…
J. Samuel Preus recounts this incident to illustrate the freedom Jews enjoyed in the 17th-century Netherlands: “A Jew is mugged and stabbed by a German, who then runs off. The victim gets up and chases him. Christians help him catch the perpetrator, who is summarily tried and executed. The Jew…
Pneumatology was at the heart of what George Marsden describes as the “Great Reversal” in American fundamentalism. A stress on the significance of Pentecost as the beginning of a new dispensation hardened the contrast between old and new covenants, and the contrast of Spirit and law also worked to undermine…
Revelation 1:4: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne. What do we have when we have the Spirit? We have everything. This is no exaggeration. He is the sevenfold Spirit…
John 7:37-39: Now on the last day of the feast, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, from his innermost being shall flow rivers…
Pentecost is culturally invisible. There are no Whitsunday sales at the department stores, no gift-exchanges around lighted trees, no jolly elf, no crèches, no heart-warming Hollywood holiday films with Jimmy Stewart, no Bing Crosby crooning about rushing mighty winds. There are no eggs or bunnies either, no jelly beans or…
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