One book that recently caught my eye has the striking title, A Jewish Paul: The Messiah’s Herald to the Gentiles (Baker Academic, 2023). When I picked it up and starting browsing through it, I knew that I needed try to conduct an interview with its author, Matthew Thiessen. I now have the privilege of presenting that interview. Dr. Matthew Thiessen earned his Ph.D. at Duke University and is currently associate professor of religious studies at McMaster University. He has authored... Read more
We find the Apocalypse of Weeks in 1 Enoch 91 and 93. As an apocalypse it is a heavenly revelation previously hidden from human knowledge. This revelation depicts a total of ten different weeks. The weeks stand for various eras of human history, and the final weeks point to the very end of that history. As we begin a new year of uncertainties, what can we learn from this neglected prophecy? This prophetic discourse appears in the fifth and final... Read more
As 2023 comes to a close, it is time for me to review and reflect on what turned out to be the 12 best posts of the year from my General Christian column, “In Christ.” I rank these based strictly on the amount of views each of them received. If it were strictly my choice, my favorite on this list would be #11: Top 12 Monsters in the Bible. However, the choices below are not mine but yours. Here are... Read more
The four Gospels report a number of miracles that Jesus performed when with his disciples. Certain scholars point to these miracles as evidence against the Gospels having reliable historical information. Did Jesus really heal blind and lame people and cast out demons from possessed individuals? According to Dr. Craig Keener, we should not exclude such reports that come from “eyewitness material,” from contemporaries who experienced Jesus as an exorcist and healer of various ailments (Craig S. Keener, Christobiography: Memory, History,... Read more
The story in Genesis 6–9 narrates how Noah and his family were saved in an ark from the Great Flood. God sent the Deluge on earth as result of human wickedness, but Noah escaped on account of his righteousness. Noah also reappears in later Jewish traditions as well as the New Testament due to his righteous character. Here are some examples: Noah in Scripture and Jewish Literature In Ezekiel 14:12–20 the prophet announces judgment on Jerusalem so severe that even... Read more
Biblical scripture does not tell us about the death of the Apostle Paul. How did he die? In 2 Timothy 4:6–8, Paul is said to have been in prison and claims to have finished his course, fighting the good fight of faith. The last we hear about him he is in prison in Rome in Acts 28 under some sort of house arrest. Acts leaves Paul’s final days in question. Certain scholars suggest the silence about his end is an... Read more
I would like to introduce my new book, Scripture, Texts, and Tracings in Galatians and 1 Thessalonians edited by A. Andrew Das and B. J. Oropeza (Fortress Academic, 2023).* This book marks volume four of the Scripture, Texts, and Tracings series from Fortress (Lexington Books). The series originated from a seminar at the annual Society of Biblical Literature conference called “Scripture and Paul.” It focuses on the Apostle Paul’s use of Old Testament (OT) Scripture, along with other ancient texts.... Read more
Appropriate for horror film and Halloween enthusiasts alike are the monsters and scary people that we find in the Bible. Here are my top 12 picks: 12. The first zombie? In 2 Kings 13:20–21, the prophet Elisha died and was buried in a tomb. Some time later, when some men were burying another man, they saw a band of enemy Moabites coming. So they quickly threw the corpse into Elisha’s tomb, and when the corpse of the man touched the... Read more
In Acts 13:48, after Paul and Barnabas preach in Antioch Pisidia, the passage speaks of gentiles who “were appointed to eternal life believed.” In this verse the gentiles’ divine appointment precedes even their belief. In other words, they did not believe first and then they were appointed. Is this predestination? Several interpretations of 13:48 are possible: They Were Predisposed to Salvation Our first option interprets the appointment to eternal life as referring to gentiles who were already predisposed to salvation.... Read more
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Did Christ Already Return? Interpreting Matthew 10:23’s “Until the Son of Man Comes”
Does Jesus Christ speak about his Second Coming in Matthew 10:23? Here, when sending out his disciples to proclaim that the kingdom of God is near, he says, “But when they persecution you in this city, flee to the other. For truly I say to you, you will not finish the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.” This seems to suggest that the disciples will not even be able to preach to all the towns of Israel... Read more