After the dragon is bound in the abyss, John next sees thrones (Revelation 20:4). His description of the thrones and those who sit on them is arranged chiastically: A. Thrones – they sat on them B. Judgment was given to them C. Souls of the beheaded C’. Those who did not worship the beast or receive his mark B’. Came to life A’. And reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This structure reinforces the four-dimensional character of the blessings... Read more
The sequence of events in Revelation 20 has some puzzles. Jesus has defeated the beast and the false prophet and thrown them into the lake of fire (19:1-21). The devil is well in hand, chained in the abyss that is shut and locked. He can’t deceive the nations anymore, which seems a good thing. But then when the millennium is completed, Satan is released for a little (mikron chronon, a microchron), gathers the nations for a final war, is destroyed... Read more
Every society has some over-arching religious structure, Will Herberg argues, echoing many social scientists (Protestant, Catholic, Jew, 87-90). What unites Americans is clearly not our particular religious creeds. Rather, it is what Herberg calls the “American Way of Life.” He offers this splendid description: “It would be the crudest kind of misunderstanding to dismiss the American Way of Life as no more than a political formula or a propagandist slogan, or to regard it as simply an expression of the... Read more
Michel Faber’s 2014 novel, The Book of Strange New Things, may be the first of a new subgenre: The intergalactic epistolary novel. Syfy meets Pamela. Pastor Peter Leigh has been chosen by the mysterious USIC corporation for a unique mission – to serve as spiritual leader to the residents on a planet known as Oasis. His beloved wife Beatrice is not chosen, and so Peter travels trillions of miles alone. He is not the first missionary to the “Oasans,” and he... Read more
Revelation 21:7-8 is set up as a chiasm: A. It is done. B. I am Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. C. I give water to the thirsty. D. Those who overcome will inherit these things and be sons. C’. Cowardly, etc. B’. Have share in the lake of fire. A’. This is the second death. The associations are not obvious on the surface, but on further reflection they are striking. The “completion” announced at the beginning of verse 7... Read more
Revelation 20 – the millennium prophecy – is divided into four sections with the repeated phrase “and I saw” (vv. 1, 4, 11, 12). The first section, verses 1-3, forms a neat chiasm of its own: A. Angel from heaven with key and chain, v. 1 B. Satan bound for 1000 years, v. 2 C. Thrown into abyss, shut and sealed, v. 3a. C’. So that he will not deceive the nations, v. 3b. B’. Until the thousand years are... Read more
John Rankin submitted an amicus brief in Obergefell v. Hodges, and posted a version online. It’s a rare instance of an effort to give an overtly biblical argument against same-sex marriage, one that is simultaneously grounded in the founding documents of the American system. The argument, in a nutshell, is: Our Declaration of Independence says that rights come from God, and the only plausible “God” in that statement is the God revealed in the Bible. No other text than the Bible serves... Read more
In case you missed Hannes Stein’s 1999 First Things piece on the return of ancient gods: Don’t. It’s more relevant today than when it was published. A few highlights: After describing human sacrifice among the Aztecs, Stein points out: “The Aztecs were not exceptionally cruel; and only a fool would call them uncivilized or barbarian. For human sacrifice was precisely what defined the advanced civilizations—not only in America but also in the Middle East. Thus the Canaanites threw children into fiery furnaces to... Read more
Jesus speaks His final words to John in Revelation 22:16: I Jesus sent my angel to witness to you these things in the churches. I am the root and offspring of David, the star, the dazzling one of morning. It’s a beautifully composed verse. Jesus begins with an emphatic ego, and in the verse uses the Greek form of the divine name, ego eimi. I, Jesus . . . I am. It’s Jesus’ self-identification with the God of Israel. And... Read more
The figure on the white horse in Revelation 19:11-16 is identified as the “Word of God” (v. 13) and as King of kings and Lord of lords (v. 16). This is the eternal Word made flesh, now made warrior and king. This Word is no passive Word, but a militant, conquering word, the Word made flesh to dwell among us, the Word made warrior to fight, the Word made king to rule. The vision in Revelation 19 has dramatic Christological... Read more
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