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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Newton and the Origin of Civilization by Jed Buchwald and Mordechai Feingold is a search for the historical Newton, an effort to show the single man who could create modern physics while spending his spare time with apocalyptic and biblical chronology. Along the way, the authors provide a treasure chest…
In an appendix to Why Priests? Garry Wills translates the letter to the Hebrews, and explains some of his translation choices. They are spot on. Pistis he translates as “fidelity,” and he explains: “The point of the famous praise of pistis in Hebrews 11.1-40 is established by what immediately precedes…
Euhemerism - the belief that ancient gods were original human beings - was popular during the early modern period, and most euhemerists were biblical euhemerists, keen to show how pagan myths grew out of biblical characters and episodes. Samuel Bochart was a master, relying on etymological connections to harmonize Scripture…
Adopting a Hebraic literary technique, Revelation 1:9-20 repeats key words. “Voice” ( phone ) is used four times. John hears a voice (v. 10), turns to see it (v. 12), and the central feature of the glorified being he sees is a “voice” like the “voice” of many waters (v.…
Why Sochi for the Olympics. Christian Caryl explains that it’s Putin’s declaration of victory over Chechen rebels, the subjugation of the northern Caucasus: “Russia launched its Olympic bid in 2006, a moment when Putin was basking in his hard-won status as the leader who had finally vanquished the long-running rebellion…
In an essay in Temple in Antiquity , John Lundquist outlines some features of the common temple ideology of the Ancient Near East. Among these, he argues, is the tree of life, “an integral part of the ‘primordial landscape’” that temples reproduced. From this, it was a natural conclusion to…
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