Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Mark Horne has done a good job elucidating how martyrdom paves the way for revival and success of Christ’s kingdom in the world, just as it also can bring more hardship and suffering. The diverging wheat and tares both growing up together, both benefitting from the watering of blood on…
For Part 1, click HERE . Anyone who has read James B. Jordan’s Through New Eyes: Developing a Biblical View of the World and appreciated it as a revelation of how God communicates in symbols and types—both in His Word and in the created order—understands what it is like to…
Abel was the first martyr in history. There is no evading this. Jesus pairs him with a murdered prophet (Matthew 23:35; 2 Chronicles 24:20-22). Abel’s blood was heard by God (Genesis 4:10), and God responded to the cry by driving out Cain, Abel’s killer, from the eastern borderland near Eden…
Adapted from The Shape of Isaiah: A Covenant-Literary Analysis The prophetic texts are the most difficult parts of the Bible to understand. And when it comes to baffling the reader, they are no respecter of persons, perplexing with their Delphic wiles even the studied scholars. It has been said that…
The subtitle for the 2004 film Dodgeball is “A True Underdog Story.” If the viewer lets the words pass by without a double-take, he or she will likely spend the rest of the movie, which applies the “unlikely teammates make the best teams” trope to the “sport” of dodgeball, asking,…
The book of Ezra gives an almost odd amount of attention to vessels. These holy vessels, whether cups, bowls, or flagons, are either dedicated as tribute or were used in temple service. The two Hebrew words translated as ‘vessel’ in most English translations are used a total of 14 times.…
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Naturalistic explanations of nature’s existence are impossible, David Hart contends ( The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss , 96), because “nature . . . is that which by definition already exists.” Nature’s explanation thus inevitably and “logically” must lie “beyond the system of causes that nature comprises; it is,…
The great change in the modern world picture was not the abandonment of the Aristotelian and Ptolmaic cosmology. That, argues David Hart ( The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss , 58-9) was only a ripple on the surface. The really big change came in the idea of causation: “The…
The nations will be saved. They will come to the light (Isaiah 60:3). How? We can work backward through Isaiah. They come into the light that shines from Israel. That light is the light of Yahweh Himself dwelling among and shining through His translucent people. Israel becomes that light after…
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of Yahweh has risen ( zarach ) upon you,” Isaiah announces (60:1). It’s a rich statement. Yahweh’s glory is said to “rise” in Deuteronomy 33:2, as the Lord moves from Sinai to Seir with his 10,000 holy ones shining with…
Psalm 37 is a wisdom Psalm that assures Israel that Yahweh will not let the wicked flourish forever. The faithful should persevere in seemingly fruitless faithfulness because the wicked who spring up like grass will also wither like grass. Part of this assurance is that the Lord will rescue His…
The NYTBR reviewer of Martin Gardner’s Undiluted Hocus-Pocus: The Autobiography of Martin Gardner recounts some of Gardner’s many pranks. “Once, a houseguest left behind a single glove at the home of Gardners friend Bob Murray. Murray went to several local department stores until he found a pair of gloves that…
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