Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
After the identification of the recipients of his letter at the beginning of Revelation, John gives a benediction that resembles the benedictions of the Pauline letters. He pronounces grace/favor and peace, grace and favor that lead to peace, grace that leads to fullness and harmony that is the biblical definition…
Throughout the latter half of 1-2 Samuel, Saul and David are locked in hand-to-hand combat. It seems an unequal contest. All the heavy artillery is on Saul's side. To understand the full scope of the conflict, we need to back up to the beginning of the book. Prior to Saul's…
Last week, I lectured at Ostrog Academy in Ostrog, Ukraine, and at a pastors' conference in Kyiv. The latter was co-sponsored by Trinity House and the Alliance of Reformed Churches in Ukraine. I offer my impressions of Ukraine this morning at Firstthings.com .
Why do I bristle when I see someone with white wires hanging from his ears, flipping through what must be a million songs downloaded onto his iPod? No doubt, it’s the threat of the new. I've only recently begun carrying a cell phone, and now I hear tell of compact…
Judah is in terrible shape (Isaiah 57). Yahweh told Israel to worship Him only at the temple, but the people worship on every hill and under every green and leafy tree. He commanded them to worship Him alone, but they are devoted to many gods. Worshipers set up their beds…
Like any great writer, the Lord foreshadows late happenings in early happenings. Like many greater writers, the Lord ends where he begins, returning to a glorified Edenic city-sanctuary at the end of his cosmic story. The Lord writes with history, real people and events, not merely with words. But His…
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According to Davies and Allison, Matthew organizes the incident at Nazareth as a chiasm: A. Jesus comes to his patris and teaches in the synagogue B. People are amazed C. Where did he get these powers? Don’t we know his family? B’. People are scandalized A’. Jesus speaks about His…
Matthew quotes Jesus in 13:52 saying that a scribe “discipled by the kingdom” brings out old and new treasures. Davies and Allison note that this has sometimes been taken as a play on the author’s name: “Matthew” puns with the Greek of “disciple” ( matheteutheis ). Davies and Allison dismiss…
Levine again: “Samuel P. Langley, who was eventually to become Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, was the first to cash in on the growing demand for time coordination. In 1867, Langley took over the directorship of a struggling observatory in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and quickly developed its timekeeping capabilities. He then…
Levine writes, “The Chinese developed an incense clock. This wooden device consisted of a series of connect small same-sized boxes. Each box held a different fragrance of incense. By knowing the time it took for a box to burn its supply, and the order in which the scents burned, observers…
Robert Levine ( Geography of Time ) notes that “recent research indicates that farm wives in the 1920’s, who were without electricity, spend significantly less time at housework than did suburban women, with all their modern machinery, in the latter half of the century. One reason for this is that…
Why don’t longshoremen or sailors or assembly-line workers sing as they work? Blame it on the clock. Lewis Mumford wrote in the 1950s, “To keep time was once a peculiar attribute of music: it gave industrial value to the workshop song or the tattoo or the chantey of the sailors…
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