Beastly Attributes
Summarizing attributes of the assembly of dragons and beasts in Revelation 12 & 13.
YouVersion Verse of the Year
I received an email from YouVersion (I use their app occasionally) with their 2023 “verse of the year.” This is the verse that has been shared, bookmarked, and highlighted most often through their community. It is Isaiah 41:10 (note that my links go to BibleGateway): [D]o not fear, for I am with you; do not be…
Agendas, Conversation, and Bible Reading
It’s not really a new thing, but in a number of conversations recently, both in person and online, I’ve been noticing agendas. Someone will make a comment or say something in a conversation that really doesn’t seem to make sense in context, but then if you consider a different context, you’ll suddenly see that the…
Signs That You Won’t Know!
It is critical to note that the signs Jesus’ gives his disciples are general and vague and always contemporary. War and suffering, famine and earthquakes, persecutions and false Messiahs have not only been prevalent throughout history; they are the also to be witnessed and experienced in the present, and they will be encountered in the…
After Teaching on the Sermon on the Mount
My Sunday School class just finished a several-week study on the Sermon on the Mount. We did not use any study guides as a class, though I consulted three books I publish, One World: The Lord’s Prayer from a Process Perspective, The Jesus Manifesto: A Participatory Study Guide to the Sermon on the Mount, and…
Link: Revelation, We Have a Problem
Scot McKnight discusses the problem with the popular understanding of Revelation. I recall guest teaching a Sunday School class on Revelation from the study guide I wrote (currently not available as I revise it). The major question from the class was when I was going to talk about the seven-year tribulation and whether I was…
The Wrath of the Lamb
Sometimes the process of preparing to teach Sunday School takes interesting turns, at least for me. I’m currently teaching from the Sermon on the Mount, and I was thinking about the transition from the beatitudes to the discussion of fulfilling the law. Sometimes we get so used to the way Scripture passages read that we…
Why Digitize Manuscripts
An extremely brief rundown from the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts. I really appreciate the work of this group, though I rarely need to consult a manuscript directly, and then usually only to ooh and aah over some feature mentioned by an expert. But all the tools I use benefit from making…
Using Greek from the Pulpit
David Alan Black, Greek professor and author of a number of books on languages, suggests you don’t use Greek from the pulpit. Speak emancipating truth in a way that all can understand, and we will thank you for it. Dave Black Online I agree, and add the fact that in most cases when I’ve heard…
Review: Grace & Truth Study Bible
This review is of a Bible I received as a #BibleGatewayPartner. When I set out to review a Bible, I find it difficult to determine precisely what I should discuss. There is the translation it is based on, the nature and extent of the notes, the theological positions that drive those notes, and elements of…