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Writing

Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Revelation

The Seven Thunders, An Interpretive Suggestion

And He cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when He had cried out, the seven thunders spoke their voices (Revelation 10:3). In Revelation 10 John sees Jesus come down to him from heaven with a little book in His hand. Jesus cries out with…

by James B. JordanOctober 7, 1994
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Biblical Chronology

Genesis 5 & 11: Chronological-Theological Reflections

The numbers found in Genesis 5 & 11 display characteristics that indicate a complex and meticulous symbolic schematization operating at several levels. Because these numbers are so potent symbolically, unbelieving scholars have universally (as far as I know) treated them as artificial. Believers take them literally, but believers must also…

by James B. JordanOctober 7, 1994
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Revelation

The Kings From the East

And the sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings from the east [sunrising]. (Revelation 16:12) The kings from the east in Revelation 16:12 are generally assumed to be enemies of…

by James B. JordanSeptember 10, 1994
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Biblical Studies

Covenants and Dates

During my brief sojourn as a pastor during the 1980s, I had several occasions to be involved in settling disputes between men in the congregation I served. A typical dispute went like this: Two men formed a company to do business. After a few years, the business went sour, and…

by James B. JordanSeptember 10, 1994
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Revelation

The Grape Harvest of Revelation 14:17-20

The two harvests of Revelation 14:14-20, of grain and of grapes, are most often understood as symbolic of God’s judgment against the wicked, or against Babylon, as amplified in chapters 16 & 17. Some commentators, however, notice that the gospels speak of the grain harvest as a reaping of the…

by James B. JordanAugust 10, 1994
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Deuteronomy

The Chronology of the Pentateuch (Part 6)

(Conclusion of Chapter 16 in the previous Biblical Chronology Article) Month 3, 2513 According to Leviticus 23:15-16, Pentecost was to be observed 50 days after the sabbath after Passover, or 49 days after the Feast of First Fruits. I initially based my reflections on the Jewish tradition that the Law…

by James B. JordanAugust 10, 1994

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Philosophy

Suarez and Descartes

Searching for precedents for Descartes’ notion that God is causa sui Jean-Luc Marion finds that “Suarez anticipates Descartes’ daring formula, de ipso Deo . . . , because, like him, he begins by submitting God to what will become the principle of reason, and, in order to succeed in this,…

September 3, 2007

Walk through the tabernacle

You are salt: Jesus is at the altar, considering the salt that is added to the offerings. The earth is the altar, the nations the sacrifice (Romans 16), and the disciples of Jesus the flavoring on the offering. You are a light on a lamp: Jesus is in the Holy…

September 3, 2007
History

Time and Social Theory

In her critical study of sociology’s understanding of time, Barbara Adam contrasts the multiform experience of time in life with the much thinner understanding of time in theory: “In everyday life . . . time can mean a variety of things. We can have a ‘good time at a party,’…

September 3, 2007

Sermon outline

INTRODUCTION Jesus came to fulfill the law and prophets, not to abolish them. Beginning in 5:21, He shows in some detail what that means. THE TEXT “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the…

September 3, 2007

Eucharistic meditation

2 Corinthians 2:15-16: For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? The…

September 2, 2007

Baptismal meditation

Ezekiel 16: 3-6: Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you…

September 2, 2007

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