Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
It is commonly held in Reformed thought that the Noahic Covenant is given to all men equally. The Noahic Covenant concerns "man," not simply "church," and establishes civil government as an institution among "mankind" — that is the theory. Sometimes the Noahic Covenant is regarded as a "covenant of common…
The Fall of Jerusalem we have dated (provisionally) at 3426 Anno Mundi. In current B.C. dates this is 586 B.C. From this point forward in Biblical chronology we are required to make use of prophetic numbers rather than historical ones. Jeremiah prophesied that the captivity would last 70 years, but…
Evangelicals have in recent years become more interested in looking into their Bibles for wisdom to deal with modern problems. This is undoubtedly a welcome development, after many years of neglect. But there are dangers and costs as well. One of these is the tendency to fall into a modern…
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). The famous definition of faith with which the eleventh chapter of Hebrews opens has received a number of different interpretations. The crux of the problem is the interpretation of the words translated in…
15. The leech has two daughters, "Give," "Give." There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, "Enough": 16. Sheol, And the barren womb, Earth, that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, "Enough." We are assuming, at least for the purposes…
As we have seen in previous installments in this series, the Old Testament is quite concerned with chronology, and carefully records chronological data for our use. For this reason, we can assume when we come to the chronology of the kings of Judah and Israel that the writers of the…
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Matthew 23: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! This is a surprising way for Jesus to…
Jacob Taubes ( The Political Theology of Paul (Cultural Memory in the Present) ) notes that Paul’s teaching on law is directed not only to Pharisaical and Jewish opponents, but part of a dialog with his whole Mediterranean environment: “the concept of law . . . is a compromise formula…
Why should the blood of all righteous men and prophets be charged to first-century Jerusalem (Matthew 23:35-36)? Jerusalem didn’t even exist when Cain killed Abel, and “this generation” didn’t kill Zechariah. Isn’t it unfair for them to suffer judgment for the sins of their fathers? Doesn’t Ezekiel tell us that…
Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees for building memorials for prophets and adorning the tombs of the righteous (Matthew 23:29). This is mere external honor, since they don’t actually follow the teachings of the prophets. It’s as insufficient as cleansing the outside of the cup. True; but Jesus says something…
Matthew 23:29-36 works out as a fairly neat chiasm: A. Woe to scribes, build tombs of prophets and adorn monuments of righteous, v 29 B. Blood of the prophets, v. 30 C. You are sons of murderous fathers; fill their guilt, vv 31-32 D. Serpents, brood of vipers, v 33…
Craig Carter, one of the leading interpreters of Yoder’s work, says I got Yoder wrong in my post yesterday. He writes on his blog. He says that I “don’t understand what Yoder meant by the Constantinian Shift. Your mistake is actually a common one. This is not for Yoder an…
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