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Advent

Advent and Christmas Music Recommendations

Inspired by our recent podcast on Christmas and Advent music recommendations, we offer here a list of excellent recordings that are sure to enrich your Advent and Christmas season. Praetorius: Mass for Christmas Morning Paul McCreesh with the Gabrieli Consort and Players Amazon | Spotify | Apple Music 2. Christmas…

by John Ahern and Paul BuckleyDecember 23, 2020
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Advent

Between the Altar and the City: Isaiah 65:17-25

In the year 1483 in the city of Nuremberg, the leaders of the renowned Saint Lawrence Church were seeking to redesign their altar, and above the table where the priests presided over the eucharist, they wanted new art installed above the prestigious Krell altar. What they decided on took everyone…

by Casey BedellDecember 22, 2020
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Advent

Why We're the Real Seventh Day Adventists

The consequences of disobedience start with exile from the garden of God and the Tree of Yahweh, but they do not end there. They cascade down through the structure of the dynastic order. Everything which had previously been given in the Kingdom of Elohim is either taken back or curtailed…

by Jerry BowyerDecember 18, 2020
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Biblical Studies

Psalm 23: A Lesson in Reading Biblical Poetry

Parallelism: A Course Correction If you have ever studied Hebrew poetry, you have probably heard its basic poetic feature described as “parallelism.” Hebrew poetry is not metered, it does not rhyme, it does not employ many of the common poetical tropes, but its distinctive (and almost universal) feature is commonly…

by Ryan HandermannDecember 15, 2020
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Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 17 and the Separation of Powers

In The Crown and the Courts , David C. Flatto traces the development of the idea of judicial independence in Jewish commentaries on the Scriptures – particularly Deuteronomy 17 – from the Second Temple and early rabbinic periods. These periods roughly span 400 BC to 300 AD. Flatto does not…

by James R. RogersDecember 11, 2020
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Advent

Zechariah and John: A Story in Names

A curious feature of the Infancy Narratives in the Gospel of Luke is the naming of John the Baptist. When the angel appears to Zechariah, he is instructed to give his promised son the name John (Luke 1:13). On the day of John’s circumcision, Luke tells us that “they [presumably…

by Rhys LavertyDecember 8, 2020

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Baptismal meditation, October 23

Acts 9:15-19: But the Lord said to Ananias, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake. And Ananias departed and entered the…

October 23, 2005

Aunt Jezebel

For those inclined to have some sympathy with Dido, Wiseman offers a jarring bit of genealogical information: “according to Josephus . . . , [Ethbaal] was priest of the gods Astarte and Melquart. He ruled [Tyre] for thirty-two years. His granddaughter Dido founded Carthage. His daughter Jezebel married Ahab early…

October 23, 2005

David the ark

Donald Wiseman points out that the word for the “coverings” over David in 1 Kings 1 is the same as the word for the coverings of the tabernacle. Perhaps David is being implicitly compared to the ark of the covenant; the Lord is “enthroned” above David, a notion that would…

October 23, 2005

Mary and Martha

Mary and Martha form a double Israel, two women living in the same house. One spends her time housekeeping, ignoring Jesus because she has too much to do in her little home temple and grumbling (like the older brother in the Prodigal Son) that she is not appreciated. Mary gives…

October 22, 2005

What the Law Can’t Do

Would Adam have escaped the curse if he had repented when the Lord confronted him in the garden? To answer with a question: Did Josiah’s repentance save Israel? The threat of the covenant is, “dying you shall die,” and that happens whenever the covenant is broken. As Gowan points out…

October 20, 2005

What the Law Can’t Do

Would Adam have escaped the curse if he had repented when the Lord confronted him in the garden? To answer with a question: Did Josiah’s repentance save Israel? The threat of the covenant is, “dying you shall die,” and that happens whenever the covenant is broken. As Gowan points out…

October 20, 2005

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