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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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Holiness and Perichoresis

John 17 may provide some basis for developing the holiness of God along perichoretic lines. Jesus prays in vese 17-19 that the disciples would be sanctified. Jesus sanctifies Himself, so that the disciples too might be sanctified. The means by which the disciples are sanctified is through the “truth,” which…

December 18, 2004

Salvation as Communion

Mark Heim has a fine piece on salvation as communion in the October 2004 issue of Theology Today . He begins by distinguishing various sorts of relations that human beings have with one another. It is possible for two persons to have an impersonal relationship (a man falls off a…

December 18, 2004
History

Wit and Judgment

Roger D Lund has an intriguing article on wit in seventeenth century English literature in the January 2004 issue of the Journal of the History of Ideas . Lund quotes Hobbes, whose statement sets up the opposition that continued through the following century: “Those that observe . . . similitudes,…

December 18, 2004
History

Hitler and the Christians

Neuhaus provides an illuminating summary of Stephen Ozment’s history of Germany in the November issue of FT . This in particular: “‘The original motives for the war were completely self-centered, not Judeocentric or anti-Semitic. Germans wanted to avenge and repair, by total victory, the draconian reparations they had been compelled…

December 17, 2004
Literature

Milosz

The November 2004 issue of First Things had a couple of pieces on Czeslaw Milocz, both emphasizing the religious, Christian ground of his poetry. I was particularly struck by this quotation from an article by Jeremy Driscoll: “To put it very simply and bluntly, I must as if I believe…

December 17, 2004

Letham on Trinity

Robert Letham?s book, The Holy Trinity (P&R, 2004) is a superior introduction to Trinitarian theology, certainly the most complete, reliable, and best treatise on the subject to come from a Reformed theologian for I don?t know how long. It covers the biblical bases for the doctrine, provides a long and…

December 17, 2004

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