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

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Hermeneutics

Beginning and New Beginning in Luke

Although the events are, of course, not perfectly parallel, Luke in his gospel intends us to connect Jesus’ birth from the womb and His re-birth from the tomb. Luke 1:27 introduces us to Joseph and in verse 30 we learn that his betrothed wife was named Mary. An angel appeared…

by James B. JordanDecember 28, 1996
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Matthew

A Note on Matthew

The apostle Matthew is also known as Levi son of Alphaeus. While not much is said about this man, the few things that are told us are significant. Matthew in Greek is Matthaios and comes from the Hebrew name Mattithiah, or Mattith-Yah, "Gift of Yah(weh)." Matthew’s other name is Levi,…

by James B. JordanDecember 28, 1996
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Biblical Horizons

Twelve Fundamental Avenues of Revelation (Part 1)

Theologians often speak of "special" and "general" revelation, or of "natural" and "supernatural" revelation, or of "word" and "deed" revelation. While there are many worthwhile insights in these discussions, particularly in the discussions in Cornelius Van Til’s Introduction to Systematic Theology , I have not found any that satisfied my…

by James B. JordanDecember 28, 1996
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Ezekiel

Countdown to Exile IV: Ezekiel and the Structure of History

Ezekiel’s 430 Years In Ezekiel 4, the prophet is told to begin his ministry by setting up a model of Jerusalem and lying on his side and prophesying against it. He is to do this for 430 days, a day for a year. 390 days are against "Israel," and 40…

by James B. JordanDecember 28, 1996
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Biblical Horizons

The Oddness of the Feast of Booths

The Feast of Ingathering in the seventh month of the Sinaitic calendar is also called the Feast of Sukkoth, of Booths, also called Feast of Tabernacles. I have usually called it by that last phrase, and it is the most common today; but there is a problem: A tabernacle is…

by James B. JordanDecember 28, 1996
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Ezekiel

Countdown to Exile III: Warnings Against False Hopes

The End of Jehoiakim’s Reign We have seen that Jehoiakim rejected Jeremiah’s prophetic warnings at the beginning of his reign. Let us now make a year-by-year survey of his reign down to its end. In the spring of 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish. In the summer, he…

by James B. JordanNovember 28, 1996

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Entropy Wars

Though not so well-known as the debates over Darwinism, battles over the theological and cosmological import of the second law of thermodynamics played a large role in scientific and religious debates between 1870 and 1910. The debate was carried on partly by long-forgotten figures, but according to Helge Kragh’s 2008…

August 29, 2014
Technology

Underground

Rosalind Williams Notes on the Underground is an examination of 19th-century narratives about underground worlds, which she sees as prophetic texts: “Subterranean surroundings, whether real or imaginary, furnish a model of an artificial environment from which nature has been effectively banished. Human beings who live underground must use mechanical devices…

August 29, 2014
Russia

Gangster Nation

Peter Pomerantsev’s forthcoming Nothing is True and Everything is Possible is a grim, gripping tour through contemporary Russia. It’s a country that transformed overnight from a place “ready to sell anything” to a place where the superrich were able to buy anything they wanted. Pomerantsev says that no place had…

August 28, 2014

Dragon By Sea

Enraged but exhausted in his fruitless attempts to destroy the woman, the dragon takes a stand on the seashore (Revelation 13:1/12:18). It’s a significant place for him to be,. Going back to Genesis 1:2, we have a creation image. At the beginning, the Spirit of Yahweh hovered over the waters…

August 28, 2014
Trinity

Spirit of the Future

Christoph Schwobel ( Recent Developments in Trinitarian Theology , 31-3) claims that because God is the “unoriginate originating cause” of all things created, He is “atemporally eternally present to every creature in every point in time of creation.” Yet, creation is the actualization of God’s “eternal will to be in…

August 28, 2014

Basic Goods

Patrick Lee and Robert George offer a sharp critique of various forms of naturalist defense of traditional marriage in their recent Conjugal Union . Defining human nature as a “pattern,” they argue that “it is not obvious that acting unnaturally is always morally wrong.” Even if “unnatural” is taken to…

August 27, 2014

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