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

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Biblical Horizons

Fun Reading

The name of Harry Turtledove is well known to readers of fantasy and science fiction. Turtledove is an historian, and most of what he writes is in the "alternative history" genre. A fine collection of short stories, available in paperback, is his Agent of Byzantium . These stories are set…

by James B. JordanAugust 28, 1996
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Biblical Horizons

Concerning Unicorns

In answer to a question, the following about the unicorn, a supposed "New Age" symbol: The unicorn, or monoceros (one-horn), was known around the ancient world. Some scholars believe it may have been the one-horned goat that is still bred today. Others think it may have originated in tales of…

by James B. JordanAugust 28, 1996
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Esther

Esther: Historical & Chronological Comments (VI)

3. A Brief Survey of Esther (continued from the previous issue) Haman told the king that "a certain people" were rebellious against him, and that Haman wanted to rid the king of their noxious presence. The king agreed, and the two sat down to a feast. This is the third…

by James B. JordanAugust 28, 1996
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Biblical Horizons

Concerning Halloween

It has become routine in October for some Christian schools to send out letters warning parents about the evils of Halloween, and it has become equally routine for me to be asked questions about this matter. "Halloween" is simply a contraction for All Hallows’ Eve. The word "hallow" means "saint,"…

by James B. JordanAugust 28, 1996
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Esther

Esther: Historical & Chronological Comments (V)

2. The Setting of the Book of Esther (continued from previous issue) Astyages E. W. Faulstich presents his arguments in his book History, Harmony, The Exile & Return . 1 To understand it, we have to have some background. The Assyrians ruled the near east. Median king Cyaxeres decided to…

by James B. JordanJuly 28, 1996
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Revelation

Jephthah’s Daughter

In my commentary on Judges, I demonstrated that Jephthah in his Spirit-led vow intended to offer to Yahweh the first person who greeted him from the doors of his house after the battle. Since it was a custom for the young women to come out dancing to greet the returning…

by James B. JordanJune 28, 1996

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Apocalyptic Trinity

Thomas Altizer of “death of God” fame is back, advocating for what he calls the Apocalyptic Trinity . This is not your grandma's “primordial Trinity” that is “the subject of all established doctrines of the Trinity.” That primordial Trinity bring “a total closure to apocalypse, even if there is an…

January 19, 2016

Four Horsemen

Ranko Stefanovic ( Revelation of Jesus Christ , 229-30) notes that interpreting the first of the horsemen of the apocalypse - the white rider - is determinative for the understanding the whole sequence. The first rider, he claims, symbolizes the “conquest of the gospel of Christ and its spread throughout…

January 19, 2016

The Prince and his Princes

The restoration of Judah involves a restoration of the Davidic kingship, the coronation and elevation of a Davidic king. Yahweh promises to send a new Davidic king who will rule with justice (Isaiah 32:1; cf. 9:1-7; 11:1-10). This addresses the complaints that Isaiah has brought against Judah from the beginning…

January 19, 2016
Jane Austen

Austen the Innovator

In a superb essay in The Guardian , John Mullan (like Wayne Booth in his Rhetoric of Fiction ) explains how Jane Austen's Emma transformed the writing of fiction. She found a way to split the difference between the omniscient third-person narrator and the limited first-person narrator, creating what came…

January 18, 2016

Angel at the Altar

After the seventh seal is opened, there is silence in heaven for a half hour as an angel stands at an altar to offer incense with the prayers of the saints. There are two altars in the temple - the altar of ascensions in the courtyard and the golden altar…

January 18, 2016

David's Steward

The second half of Isaiah 22 focuses on two individuals, the current royal steward of the house of David and his eventual replacement, Shebna and Eliakim. What happens to them exemplifies what Yahweh is doing to Judah and Jerusalem. The current royal steward, Shebna, has spent his tenure planning a…

January 18, 2016

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