A Missed Lesson from the Book of Daniel

Dominionists and other advocates for Christians in government will often appeal to the example of Daniel and his three friends as a case for contemporary New Covenant believers working for a pagan government – to do good it is argued.

2 Timothy 3.16 and its Reference to the Old Testament

By some estimates a problem exists in the utilization by certain persons of Paul's statement in 2 Timothy 3.16. When it comes to making an argument for Sola Scriptura, they would argue Paul's words can only refer to the Old Testament and as such the passage does not support the larger doctrine which rests on assumptions rather than a specific teaching.

Elisha and the Children

I recently heard a sermon on the closing verses of 2 Kings Chapter 2 wherein Elisha is cursed by mocking children. He in turn curses them in the name of Jehovah. This results in two she-bears emerging from the woods and forty-two deaths result.

The Mammon-Apostates of Psalm 10

Psalm 9 calls for the Lord to rise up in judgment on the wicked nations, while the related Psalm 10 takes up a tone of lamentation and a continued call for judicial action – but in a more narrow context. The condemned self-idolatry of the nations plays out in a more immediate sense in the way the wicked (the rich and powerful) crush the poor and the weak.

Misreading Jonah

It is not uncommon for Theonomists and other advocates of Dominion Theology to make an appeal to the Book of Jonah as an example of a pagan society transformed. Nineveh's repentance represents (to them) a kind of prototype of what would take place over one thousand years later under the New Covenant.

Psalm 73 and New Testament Apostasy

This psalm is well known by many for the words of comfort it provides regarding the plight of the believer in the world and the abiding sense of injustice that can gnaw away at us if we let it. The wicked flourish and the righteous always seem to suffer and lose.

Reflecting on Psalm 19: The Law of Nature, Phenomenological Language, and Duality (II)

Returning to the question of double-truth, it might be argued that such dualities, paradoxes, or dynamics (which are so problematic to many) are the result of a severance which occurred with the Edenic Fall. On the one hand these inconsistencies and living contradictions (if that's what they are in fact) present a dilemma, but one that is solved with the eschaton, when all such tensions and dynamics are removed and with the reconciliation that occurs – the ultimate unity or holistic reality we seek, will become manifest in Christ. As such any kind of duality is not something inherent in the world but a sundering, a tragic result of sin.

Reflecting on Psalm 19: The Law of Nature, Phenomenological Language, and Duality (I)

Psalm 19 presents some interesting challenges to those who make the case for natural law or those who insist on a literalistic interpretation of the Biblical text. By literalistic we here refer to an interpretation of phenomena in a Baconian sense – one that must accord with scientific laws and empirical observations.

Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim, and the Antediluvian Prophets

While recently reviewing a Bible study dealing with some antediluvian topics, I also happened to be reading through the Epic of Gilgamesh, something I had only perused in times past.

Tribe, Kingdom, and Self in Matthew 12.46-50

When this passage is treated it is common to emphasize the fact that the Christian's relationship to Christ transcends earthly familial relations. Additionally, the topic of adoption can be touched upon, the idea that a Christian becomes part of the family of God and how this relationship and status is of far greater import than our earthly relations.

New Covenant Hermeneutics: Psalm 16

Peter's sermon in Acts 2 provides yet another example of Old Testament writings that must be read in light of New Testament revelation. Psalm 16 is written by David. It is a prayer and a reflection on the goodness of God, to rejoice in the knowledge of Him, and the hope believers have even in the face of death. Read on its own, it is profound and moving.

New Covenant Hermeneutics: Psalm 2

Psalm 2 is a favourite among Postmillennialists. It speaks of the kings of the Earth setting themselves up in opposition to God and His Anointed – a clear anticipation of the coming Christ.

Their nations are given to Christ as His inheritance and He will break them with a rod of iron. The nations are consequently warned and instructed to kiss the Son, in other words to submit to and reverence Him.

The Sword and the Coin: Antithetical Ethics and Missed Ironies in Luke 3

In Luke 3 we are introduced to the adult ministry of John the Baptist as he preaches in the region around Jordan.

Spiritualised Hermeneutics and Old Testament Interpretation in Matthew 2

In obedience to an angelic vision, Joseph takes his family to Egypt to escape the bestial and murderous Herod. Upon the tyrant's death which is believed to have occurred about 4BC, the family (again at the instigation of an angelic command) returns to Israel and re-settles in Galilee.

Matthew in v.15 reports the return of Joseph, Mary and the toddler Jesus as the fulfillment of Hosea 11.1:

When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

What kind of hermeneutic or interpretative method is being employed by Matthew? The verse comes in the midst of a passage of condemnation and denunciation of Israel's conduct, the type of passage we frequently encounter in the prophets. Immediately after the statement in chapter 11.1, the passage goes on to condemn Israel – Ephraim the northern kingdom and promises that they will be defeated by Assyria.

The Testimony of Antithesis Regarding the Sword (Matthew 26.52 and Luke 22.36-38)

Christ's warning is clear. All who take up the sword will perish by it and the context of this statement is in rebuke to Peter who had just cut off the ear of Malchus, servant to the high priest.

Antithesis and Exaltation in Matthew 23.12

Some would read the abasement-exaltation theme in Matthew 23.12 as in reference to this life. In other words the man who abases himself will be (after patient interlude) reap the fruits of success in being exalted in station, wealth or perhaps power in This Age. Similar arguments are made in reference to money. We're told the love of money is the root of all evil and in consequence I've heard preachers suggest that if one puts God and family first and then seeks money... that's valid and to be commended.

Antithesis and Caesar's Coin (Matthew 22.15-22)

I have often mentioned the 'coin' episode in Matthew 22 as an occasion in which Evangelicals and other Sacralists attempt to make an argument for citizenship and civic duty. They believe the terminology 'render unto Caesar' is some kind of imperative to be engaged in the affairs of Caesar, economics, politics and the like.

Antithesis and the Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19.21)

The debates over the Rich Young Ruler passage often focus on a perceived soteriological dilemma, the fact that Christ seems to suggest that salvation could be attained by deed, in this case the keeping of commandments completed or perfected in the liquidation of assets followed by large-scale charitable giving.

Antithesis in Matthew 19: Eunuchs for the Kingdom

Continuing an examination of verses pertaining to worldliness, antithesis and the Dominionist confusion regarding these topics, we come to Matthew 19 and the reference to eunuchs for the Kingdom.

Wisdom, Bitterness and Blessed Hope

As the years go by I've seen apostasy, experienced betrayals, watched people drift away, seen people exposed as something other than what they were thought to be.

It's both sad and startling. People you once thought were so solid turn out to be houses built on sand, seeds sprouting on rocky ground. I've watched others drowned by foolish and hurtful lusts, choked by weeds and many who live by lying to themselves about everything they do and the whole of their motivations.