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Writing

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

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Revelation

The Seven Thunders, An Interpretive Suggestion

And He cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when He had cried out, the seven thunders spoke their voices (Revelation 10:3). In Revelation 10 John sees Jesus come down to him from heaven with a little book in His hand. Jesus cries out with…

by James B. JordanOctober 7, 1994
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Biblical Chronology

Genesis 5 & 11: Chronological-Theological Reflections

The numbers found in Genesis 5 & 11 display characteristics that indicate a complex and meticulous symbolic schematization operating at several levels. Because these numbers are so potent symbolically, unbelieving scholars have universally (as far as I know) treated them as artificial. Believers take them literally, but believers must also…

by James B. JordanOctober 7, 1994
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Revelation

The Kings From the East

And the sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings from the east [sunrising]. (Revelation 16:12) The kings from the east in Revelation 16:12 are generally assumed to be enemies of…

by James B. JordanSeptember 10, 1994
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Biblical Studies

Covenants and Dates

During my brief sojourn as a pastor during the 1980s, I had several occasions to be involved in settling disputes between men in the congregation I served. A typical dispute went like this: Two men formed a company to do business. After a few years, the business went sour, and…

by James B. JordanSeptember 10, 1994
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Revelation

The Grape Harvest of Revelation 14:17-20

The two harvests of Revelation 14:14-20, of grain and of grapes, are most often understood as symbolic of God’s judgment against the wicked, or against Babylon, as amplified in chapters 16 & 17. Some commentators, however, notice that the gospels speak of the grain harvest as a reaping of the…

by James B. JordanAugust 10, 1994
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Deuteronomy

The Chronology of the Pentateuch (Part 6)

(Conclusion of Chapter 16 in the previous Biblical Chronology Article) Month 3, 2513 According to Leviticus 23:15-16, Pentecost was to be observed 50 days after the sabbath after Passover, or 49 days after the Feast of First Fruits. I initially based my reflections on the Jewish tradition that the Law…

by James B. JordanAugust 10, 1994

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FV In Nuce

Mundus reconciliatus Ecclesia (Augustine, Sermon 96). “The world reconciled is the church.”

January 15, 2008

Continuing Incarnation?

In his 1987 book on Thomas’s ecclesiology, George Sabra argues that Thomas does not teach that the church is a continuing incarnation. He definitely rejects any notion that the church is deified. If the notion of “continuing incarnation” simply means that the church continues the work of the incarnation, it…

January 14, 2008

Congar on Thomas

Thomas wrote no treatise on the church, but Yves Congar, among others, insisted that the whole second part of the Summa is about ecclesiology. Thomas is telling a story of exodus and return, and the second part of his treatise is about the return effected by Christ and worked out…

January 14, 2008
Literature

Ugly comedy

In the Poetics , Aristotle gives a brief description of the character and history of comedy: ” Comedy is, as we have said, an imitation of characters of a lower type - not, however, in the full sense of the word bad, the ludicrous being merely a subdivision of the…

January 14, 2008

Sermon Outline, Second Sunday after Epiphany

INTRODUCTION In the final chapter of his prophecy, Micah speaks in the first person, as the representative Israelite. In the midst of social chaos, he waits on Yahweh to show His righteousness. Someday, the Lord who treads on Judah’s high places (1:3) will tread her iniquities and cast them into…

January 14, 2008

Triple Guide

In Micah 6:4, Yahweh reminds Judah, “I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.” The “send before” reminds us of Yahweh’s promise to send His angel before Israel as they traveled through the wilderness and into the land. Moses, Aaron, and Miriam are human analogues to the Angel of Yahweh.…

January 13, 2008

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