Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Theophanic revelation is historically progressive, or eschatological, in character. First of all, in Genesis 1:2, the Spirit appeared inside the creation, sent by the Father. After the creation of man, the Spirit worked and works with humanity to bring us to maturity, from Daughter to Bride to fruitful Mother. He…
On the eighth day of the rite of "filling the hand," Aaron began his service at the altar. His first offering was a "calf" (Heb. `egel ), which served as a purification offering for himself and (apparently) his household (Leviticus 9:2, 8). This is striking for a couple of reasons.…
One of the distinctive items of the high priest’s clothing was the "golden plate" inscribed with the words "Holy to Yahweh" (Exodus 28:36-38). The word translated as "plate" is tsits , which literally means "flower." The verbal and noun forms are both used in Numbers 17:8, which describes Aaron’s rod…
The square, rectangle, and cross shapes appear all over the sanctuaries God reveals in the Bible: Tabernacle, Solomon’s Temple, Ezekiel’s Temple, New Jerusalem. One thing that can be said right away about these designs, and the occasional perfect circle (the lavers), is that they do not occur in nature. They…
"For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea-monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40). Some reflections on Jonah’s Big Fish have led to the following essay. Let me…
Citing Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18-20, James Jordan has written that "the name of God in use among the nations was God Most High’" (Hebrew, `el `elyon ; in Through New Eyes , p. 176). In addition to Melchizedek, one could cite the example of Balaam, who invokes the Lord both…
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Pastor Rich Lusk points out that in the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples gather up more food than they started with. The spend resources, but their reserves increase rather than decrease. This is the economy of the kingdom: The Father rewards generous service, so that our expenditures of…
In my view, the new account of nature and the supernatural offered by de Lubac and others does not achieve what it aims to achieve. De Lubac’s laudable goal is to overcome the “extrinicism” of neo-scholasticism, but he himself speaks of nature and the supernatural as being in a relation…
Isaiah 61:3 presents a translation challenge. Yahweh promises to grant Israel a reputation as “oaks of righteousness” (NASB; Heb. ‘ayil tzedeq ), but the word translated as “oak” is almost always translated as “ram” (156x in the KJV as opposed to three passages where the word is translated as “tree”…
Jamie Merrill reports in the Independent about recent research on ant behavior: “research shows that ants don’t just flourish because they work hard and will slavishly sacrifice themselves for the collective. Their success is also due to their group ability to process information ‘far more efficiently than Google’ in the…
The woman of Revelation 12 starts out as queen of heaven but is quickly found not only on earth but all the way out in the wilderness. Even before the dragon is cast out, she leaves heaven . Her story follows the story of Israel. A lamb’s blood is shed…
The God revealed in the Bible is a jealous God, a God who clings to and protects what is His. His name is Jealous (Exodus 34:14), and His jealousy often breaks out in wrath (Deuteronomy 32:16). Jealousy appears to be one of God’s distasteful character traits, and modern theologians have…
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