This week’s study focused on how to read biblical prophecy:
This week’s study focused in on introducing to biblical 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.
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,
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:
For the past few Christmases I have posted a little note about the season, influenced by what I’ve learned over the last year. This year, I have spent a lot of time in the Psalter, a book which begins with a lot of complaining, but in the end calls us to a posture of praise. In a time of the year when we celebrate the birth of our King, we must come to terms with the fact that his birth meant the death of other children born around the same time he was, from the same town, with a life much like his own. His birth meant that everything was going to change. His birth meant that there would be change, but not right away – not soon enough for a lot of folks. Was it soon enough for those parents who had their little children murdered by Herod? Was it soon enough for the leprous who would die a few years before a grown Jesus would be able to heal them? When would the peace come? When would the “good will to all men” actually come?
I know this post is a turn from some of the normal theological posts, but I wanted to let you guys know what I’ve been doing with PhD applications. I’ve been working hard at them, and I’m currently sitting in a hotel room in Toronto writing this post as I visit the University of Toronto and the Toronto School of Theology (TST). I’ve never been to Toronto before, and am really enjoying my time in the town. The weather isn’t what I’ve dreamed about, but the weather’s not everything.
Head over to http://meaningofpentateuch.blogspot.com
We started our online forum discussion today. Hope you can join the conversation.
I picked up several interesting looking books at ETS this year and have begun to sit down and get into them. Today I started reading To the Jew First: The Case for Jewish Evangelism in Scripture and History (Kregel, 2008; ISBN:0825436583), which was edited by Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser. Several very prominent scholars have contributed to this volume of articles that cover biblical, theological, and missional topics related to Jewish evangelism in the 21st century. I’m both curious and eager to read through it. One of the reasons is that Walter Kaiser, Jr., wrote one of the best forewords to a book that I’ve ever read. I wanted to share a little excerpt to whet your tongue for more. He said:
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.
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