Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Introduction Isaiah 21 can only be understood in the light of its placement in the architecture of the second “volume” of the prophecy (chapters 13–27). The contents are arranged in twin sevenfold “columns” that represent the great bronze pillars of Solomon’s Temple: Jachin and Boaz, priest and king. The priestly…
A Biblical Reflection on the Purpose of the Constellations The starry heavens hold a place of wonder in the hearts of men. Since man’s creation we have looked up into the heavens and have beheld its glory. This is particularly true of the night sky. The stars, in their shinning…
The case for there being five discourses within the Gospel according to Matthew is a hard one to challenge: surely the closing formula “when Jesus finished these sayings” as found in 8:1, 11:1, 13:53, 19:1, and 26:1 settles it once and for all. And by the five instances of the…
The Long Commission The Great Commission of Matthew 28 has long been a cornerstone of American Evangelicalism. It has formed and fashioned the American church’s missional impulse. Yet when viewed from the wide lens of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, the Great Commission is revealed as one of the pillars…
I am delighted to see that more and more churches in the Reformed tradition are now recognizing that all baptized children are members of the body of Christ and therefore ought to be communing with the rest of the body at the Lord’s Table. This has been decades in the…
Good leaders have always been rare. In today’s world, they seem extinct. Joe Rigney’s recent book Leadership and Emotional Sabotage digs into the spiritual reasons for the leadership epidemic and recommends cures. Rigney starts with a summary of a book by Edwin Friedman called A Failure of Nerve . Friedman’s…
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The New Testament makes clear that the church is one and should manifest that unity. But given our current state of institutional division, how does one proceed? Especially, how is a local pastor to proceed? Seven modest suggestions: 1) Start local, stay local. Large-scale ecumenical efforts have born fruit, some…
In his introduction to Apocalyptic and the Future of Theology , Joshua Davis traces the travail of modern theology to Kant: “Seated at the heart of modern theology, and especially of modern Protestant theology, is the existing and still unresolved problem of the relation between knowledge ( Wissen ) and…
The Protestant consensus that American churches long relied on no longer exists. The effect is similar to the effect of disestablishment in Europe. We never had an official national establishment, but we have enjoyed a strong unofficial generic Protestant establishment. There is no traditional religious replacement for the loss of…
John hears a loud voice from heaven, described in elaborate terms (Revelation 14:2). It is like the voice of many waters, of great thunder, like the voice of harpists harping their harps. This is a wonderful little overloaded description of the sound of the singers who are singing from heaven.…
Check out the Theopolis Institute YouTube channel for Robert Louis Wilken's 2015 Nevin Lectures on the “Catholic Roots of Religious Freedom.” Visit the Theopolis web site for a report on the event.
In his recent study, Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory , Jerry Walls argues that “hell is possible precisely because God is love.” Citing several passages from John's gospel, he points out that “for God to live with us, we must love and obey him. . . . The obedience God wants…
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