This week’s study focused in on introducing to biblical prophecy:
- What is prophecy?
- Who are the prophets?
- What did they prophesy about?
- Do we need to adjust our views of the Old Testament to better understand prophecy?
It was a great study to put together and really helped focus me in again on what to expect over the next ten weeks. A few ideas struck me as I prepared the lesson, and would like to share them with you. Read more... (693 words, estimated 2:46 mins reading time)
I’m pleased and honored to be able to teach a ten-week class on the Book of Isaiah on Wednesday nights at Peters Creek Baptist Church, from 6:30-7:30. We’re going to spend a few weeks introducing the idea of biblical prophecy and how to read it, followed by a big picture overview of what the book of Isaiah is about. I’m going to be posting audio of the lessons, along with class notes, slides, and visual aids, for those of you interested. Click on the “Book of Isaiah” link above, or here to be taken to the page. If you have any questions or comments please post them on that page. The class begins tomorrow, 2/24.
In recent weeks I’ve been spending a good deal of my free time reading the book of Isaiah and some of its commentaries. It has been quite an illuminating experience, and looking at the book as a whole has made it somewhat less daunting than I’d always imagined it. Today I noticed a connection that I thought was quite interesting that I’d like to share with you.
In the Gospel of Luke there is a scene where Jesus opens up the scroll of Isaiah and tells those in the synagogue that the Scripture he read was being fulfilled in their midst. What he read was from Isaiah 61.1-3, Read more... (851 words, estimated 3:24 mins reading time)
I was reading through Kings recently and found this text, which I thought was quite interesting for our understanding of how Scripture outside the Torah may have been authoritative for the ancient Israelites. The text is from 2 Kings 17.9-13, and it appears in the context of the exile of Israel in the ninth year of Hoshea because of their idolatry: Read more... (257 words, estimated 1:02 mins reading time)
Tonight will be the final class of the class I am teaching at Peters Creek Baptist on the Book of Genesis. We’ve spent ten weeks going over the book, and I have been encouraged by both the questions asked and the reception of the message from the book. As a way to preserve the class, I have been posting audio recordings of the sessions, as well as the class notes and several handouts I prepared to better appreciate the text. These are available to all you if you are interested. Just hover you mouse over the “Salt and Light” tab above and click on “Genesis” to be taken to the page. You’ll also notice a “Psalms” link as well. That will take you to the material from a class I taught this summer, also at PCBC. Read more... (226 words, estimated 54 secs reading time)
For some time I’ve pondered over 1 Peter 1.10-12. It seems to be one of those key passages which helps us understand the relationship between the Prophets (OT) and the apostolic preaching of Jesus Christ (which would eventually become the NT). The passage has been debated in recent years. Some use it (as I will below) to show that the human prophets in the OT knew exactly what their prophecies meant. In other words, the two authors (God and the prophet) meant the same thing in the text. Others use the passage (IMO, erroneously) to support the idea that God’s intention was somewhat hidden from the prophets, and that they wrote down their prophecies not knowing exactly what to make of them. It wouldn’t be until the first-century that any sense could really be made with them. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is what gives sense to these ancient words. In support of the former interpretation, I hope to show that this passage shows us that the prophets, though ignorant of parts of the prophecy, were not ignorant of the essential substance of their message. Read more... (952 words, estimated 3:48 mins reading time)
As I turn for a few months away from Psalter studies, to studying Genesis, I hope to write one post a week that summarizes and further investigates some of the insights made during my Genesis class that I am teaching for 10 weeks at my home church, Peters Creek Baptist Church, in South Park, PA. Read more... (1129 words, estimated 4:31 mins reading time)
For those of you who know me well, you are well aware of the change in my understanding of the Bible which took place after being introduced to the work of John Sailhamer. His scholarship and insight into the meaning, significance, and the technique of observing (seeing) the text has transformed (a better word may be revolutionized) my understanding of Jesus, the Gospel, and the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. Since that transformation in the summer of 2006, I’ve spent a great deal of time trying to grasp the big picture of the Old Testament: what is this huge chunk of my Bible all about that I’ve for so many years misunderstood and neglected? Through much labor and energy in reading through the text and commentaries, as well as growing to love the Hebrew language, I’ve come to discover a Christianity – nay, a Messiah - far richer and meaningful than I could have ever imagined. Having graduated with two degrees from seminary, I’ve come to a place of transition where I’m finding a lot of free time. I’m also finding myself teaching Sunday School within a Bible-believing, God-fearing, Christ-centered church. In that place, the New Testament is the dominant part of the Bible being taught, which is quite understandable. I’m finding myself returning to the New Testament texts with quite a different standpoint, with a strong passion to re-read those texts which I love so much, the book of Hebrews, Ephesians, Romans, Matthew. As I prepared for a Sunday school lesson on Hebrews 5 this week, I got caught up in it all. I decided to post here the first half of the class which I’m planning to teach tomorrow morning. I hope it causes you to think, but more importantly I hope it causes you to understand the book of Hebrews from a different point-of-view. Read more... (1957 words, estimated 7:50 mins reading time)
I just finished reading through the book of Acts, which I had not read the whole way through in a little while. One part of that book which struck me, something I had never noticed before, was in 26:4-8. Throughout the book of Acts, the apostle Paul gives his testimony a few times. Here, he is giving it to King Agrippa. In it he said something I found quite interesting about the Sinai covenant, and the cultic worship in ancient Israel. Here’s what the passage says: Read more... (2792 words, estimated 11:10 mins reading time)
In the summer of 2006 I was introduced to the hermeneutics and theology of the Bible called by some of its proponents as Biblical Covenantalism (not the Jewish view from antiquity). I was intrigued by its tenets and how it effectively handled some of the problems I had with covenant theology and the various forms of dispensationalism. The problems I refer to include the unity of the Scripture (old vs. new covenant), the nature of faith in the Old Testament (OT), the millennial kingdom in the last days, and how one understands Christ from the OT. Of particular importance was the idea that the NT does not give meaning to the OT, but that the OT gives meaning to the NT. Read more... (3355 words, estimated 13:25 mins reading time)
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