Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
1 Kings 17, which abruptly introduces Elijah into the history of the northern kingdom, is a carefully constructed literary unit. In its basic structure, it follows a clear exodus-return pattern. Like Jacob and his sons, Elijah was driven out of the land by a famine (vv. 1-4). In exile, Elijah…
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and they were scoffing at Him. And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is…
In the year 3119, Ahaziah of Judah and Jehoram of Israel were both slain by Jehu as he carried out his God-appointed task of eliminating the seed and house of Ahab (2 Kings 9:13-33). Since the kings of Israel are usually counted as beginning their reign in the same year…
One of the most important developments in Biblical studies in recent years has been a movement of scholars devoted to studying the literary techniques of the Biblical writers. Tremper Longman, III of Westminster Theological Seminary has treated this movement from a Reformed perspective in his Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation…
And because [Paul] was of the same trade, he stayed with [Aquila and Priscilla] and they were working; for by trade they were tentmakers (Acts 18:3). The fact that Paul was by trade a tentmaker has usually been taken as the springboard for a discussion of whether pastors should have…
I pointed out in Chronologies and Kings Part 9 that the years of Judah’s kings are given in chronological fashion. "When we read of a Judahite king’s reign as lasting 4 years, it means that 4 years of the chronology have been given to him, and there is no chronological…
Showing page 290 of 309
Showing page 2 of 43
Meyendorff ( Christ in Eastern Christian Thought ) does a good job of showing not only the compatibility of Chalcedon with Cyrillian Christology, but that Chalcedon is essentially Cyrillian. The logic is this: Chalcedon insisted on a single hypostasis in Christ. The humanity has no separate subsistence, no existence apart…
Norman Baynes opened his 1929 Raleigh lecture to the British Academy reflecting on the difficulty of making sense of Constantine. Constantine’s life and work don’t just raise historical problems (making sense of the evidence) but a problem of the philosophy of history: “To my mind, at least, all attempts to…
Gregory Beale notes frequent allusions to Isaiah 41-48 in the opening chapter of Revelation. “Alpha and Omega” rings on the “first and last” of Isaiah 41:4. John announces from the start that he’s prophesying about the fall of another Babylon, a third exodus.
A further, pithier refinement of a post from yesterday: Why did God become man? He became man to kill man. Why did God become man? He became man to raise us from the dead.
Revelation 1:4-8, the opening to John’s “apocalyptic” letter, is chiastically organized: A. From One who is, was, shall be B. From seven Spirits C. From Jesus Christ D. To Him who loved us and released by blood E. And made us kings and priests D’. To Him be glory and…
INTRODUCTION As Pastor Sumpter pointed out last week, Israel’s calendar was part of her pedagogy. But Paul says that we are now full-grown sons (Galatians 4:1-7) and appears to associate observing days and seasons with reversion to childhood (Galatians 4:10-11; Colossians 2:16-17, 20-21). Is recognizing a church calendar an act…
Showing page 1438 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
