Category: Commentaries

The Book of Revelation: My Picks for the Best Books on this Book

Posted in Bible, Biblical Theology, Book of Revelation, Commentaries, Dispensationalism, Education, hermeneuticsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , 14 Comments

 

“And though St. John saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators.” — G.K. Chesterton

In many of my posts, I focus on Genesis. So, why not turn my attention to another controversial and misunderstood book at the back end of the Scriptures, The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John of Patmos? If one is allowed to have a favorite book in the Bible, then this book has become mine thanks in large part to my beloved professor Gordon Fee. In the year of our Lord two-thousand, Fee taught a course at Regent College on The Book of Revelation. When we asked him if all the Y2K talk and the year itself influenced his decision to teach this course at this time, he smiled, laughed at himself, and said, “You know. I never even thought of that.” That answer is an indication of how free he was from the dispensationalist background of his youth. How could that be? Continue reading “The Book of Revelation: My Picks for the Best Books on this Book” →

Inspiration and Incarnation (Part IV and Final): A Review of Peter Enns’s Book 

Posted in ANE, Bible, Biblical Theology, Commentaries, Education, Evangelicalism, Fundamentalism, hermeneutics, Inspiration, Ken Ham, Revelation, Scripture, Theology, TraditionTagged , , , , , , , Leave a comment

In the fourth chapter of Peter Enns’s  Inspiration and Incarnation, Enns turns his attention to the question of how the New Testament authors use the Old Testament. It is a question of hermeneutics or interpretation. Thanks to Rikk Watts at Regent College it is also one of my favourite topics in Biblical Studies. So, as with much of this book, I come at with preformed opinions. As I indicated in the previous post, I thought if I were going to find something “disagreeable” in this book it might come in this chapter. Yet, again, I found nothing in this chapter that accounts for the negative and sometimes viscious reaction of some evangelicals against Enns and his view of Scripture. Continue reading “Inspiration and Incarnation (Part IV and Final): A Review of Peter Enns’s Book “ →

God Has Spoken 2: Reflections on J.I. Packer’s Book

Posted in Apologetics, Bible, Blog, Commentaries, Evangelicalism, Evangelism, hermeneutics, Inspiration, J.I. Packer, Practice, Revelation, Scripture, Theology, Tradition, WorshipTagged , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

“Some modern theologians say, ‘God doesn’t speak.’ Well, He says, He does.”

J.I. Packer from Lecture at Regent College

God Has Spoken: Revelation and the Bible 3rd Edition

Chapter Two: The Lost Word

Apparently, although I have not scientifically verified it, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Likewise there is more than one way to lose the Word of God.

Losing the Word

In the second chapter of God Has Spoken, Packer draws an analogy between the famine of the Word announced by the prophet Amos to the people of the Northern Kingdom in the eighth century BC and his contemporary situation. That is, while Creator God spoke to the people through the prophets to His people, there came a time when a refusal by the people (especially those with power) to listen to God resulted in God answering with silence. If you won’t listen, then I will stop speaking or I will make you deaf.

Christians have always affirmed the authority of the Bible. The earliest Christians affirmed the authority of the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings which Christ and the apostles read as witnessing to the character, covenant and promises of the God of Israel and to Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of those promises and climax of those covenants. At the same time, particular texts written by the apostles and their close associates were used in much the same way. These are commonly referred to as the Old and New Testaments, respectively. Continue reading “God Has Spoken 2: Reflections on J.I. Packer’s Book” →

Sons of God, Daughters of Adam, and the Nephilim (Genesis 6:1-5)

Posted in Aliens, ANE, Bible, Biblical Theology, Commentaries, Genesis, hermeneutics, PoliticsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

In my recycled posts about aliens in the Bible, I poke fun at some popular Christian authors who argue that UFOs are real, aliens are really demons in disguise, and therefore suggest that the Bible tells us we will be deceived by these demon-aliens. Often UFO and alien abduction enthusiasts read alien visitation into ancient texts, ancient artifacts, and structures. Who really built the pyramids? Why are gods from the heavens?

Continue reading “Sons of God, Daughters of Adam, and the Nephilim (Genesis 6:1-5)” →

Moses Strikes Out: Why was Moses not allowed into the Promised Land? (Exodus 17 & Numbers 20)

Posted in ANE, Bible, Biblical Theology, Commentaries, Gospel, hermeneutics, Sunday SchoolTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

If Numbers 20 is read in isolation, God’s judgment that Moses not be allowed to enter the promised land seems disproportionate to Moses’s action of striking the rock in anger. Moses seems justified in being angry with Israelites and God’s response seems to be excessive and therefore unjust. Continue reading “Moses Strikes Out: Why was Moses not allowed into the Promised Land? (Exodus 17 & Numbers 20)” →

Genesis 3: What is the man doing? or Adam discovers the scientific method.

Posted in Bible, Biblical Theology, Church Fathers, Commentaries, Education, Genesis, Gospel, Jewish/Christian DialogueTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Genesis 3:6)

After a series of close-ups involving the serpent and the woman, the camera pans back and reveals that her husband has been present all along. So, what was he doing? Why did he not intervene? Why did he not answer the serpent or better send it scurrying for speaking inappropriately to his wife, the queen of Eden? Continue reading “Genesis 3: What is the man doing? or Adam discovers the scientific method.” →

Review: Interpreting Biblical Literature by Michael R. Cosby (Stony Run Publishing, 2009)

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Interpreting Biblical Literature: An Introduction to Biblical Studies by Michael R. Cosby (Stony Run Publishing, 2009)

As I prepared to teach a section of Baylor’s Christian Scriptures course, I spent a day or two examining the available introductory textbooks. While it is not a survey course, Baylor’s Christian Scriptures course does cover both Testaments in a single semester. In a survey course, I would feel more compelled to say something about every book of the Bible. Such courses often leave little room for actually modeling and teaching exegetical (or interpretive) practices. Continue reading “Review: Interpreting Biblical Literature by Michael R. Cosby (Stony Run Publishing, 2009)” →

How To Read REVELATION For All Its Worth

Posted in Bible, Commentaries, Education, hermeneutics, TeachingTagged , , , , , , 3 Comments

As I write this post, in my Sunday School class, we will be finishing up our study of the The Book of Revelation. Without question, for the modern reader this book is one of the most difficult books for us to comprehend. So, below, I have compiled a list of good books that will help you read Revelation well beginning with its historical context. I list them in order of their relative difficulty. They are all linked to Amazon. So, you can read the descriptions and reviews there. Continue reading “How To Read REVELATION For All Its Worth” →