2014-02-10T00:00:00+06:00

Last updated on: February 10, 2014 at 12:00 am   By

“A tradition of seven heavens and seven earths was popular in the Near East during the later part of the first millennium B.C.E. and the first millennium C.E.,” writes Wayne Horowitz (Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography, 217). He elaborates: “Surviving Hebrew and Arabic texts from this time present cosmographies in which seven heavens and earths are explained in detail. For example, the Hebrew Book of Enoch speaks of seven superimposed heavens belonging to the seven archangels. In Enoch, these heavens rise above... Read more

2014-02-10T00:00:00+06:00

Last updated on: February 10, 2014 at 12:00 am   By

For two and a half millennia, Mesopotamian cosmology saw the world as a multi-story universe. Wayne Horowitz (Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography) summarizes:  “Sumerians and Akkadians understood the universe as consisting of superimposed levels separated by open space. From above to below, the levels were: a region of heaven above the sky where the gods of heaven dwelled, the starry sky, the earth’s surface, the subterranean waters of the Apsu, and finally the underworld of the dead” (xii). This cosmology was understood,... Read more

2014-02-10T00:00:00+06:00

Last updated on: February 10, 2014 at 12:00 am   By

Lists typically don’t make for electrifying reading. Ancient lists in unknown languages less so. But in House Most High, A.R. George’s compilation of ancient Mesopotamian temple lists, the lists offer multiple insights into the structures of ancient religion. Topographical lists show the geographic distribution of temples; “theological” lists, lists of temples organized by the names of deities, give some insight into the most popular gods and goddesses, and into the associations that they had with one another.  George give particular attention... Read more

2014-02-10T00:00:00+06:00

Last updated on: February 10, 2014 at 12:00 am   By

Andrew Sullivan defends same-sex marriage as a “federalist” who is willing to wait for States to make the change. Not everyone is so patient, or Constitutional. CNN reports today that “Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department will issue a memo Monday that recognizes same-sex marriages ‘to the greatest extent possible under the law.’” This includes extending those benefits to States that do not recognize same-sex marriage: “a same-sex couple legally married in Massachusetts can now have their federal bankruptcy... Read more

2014-02-09T00:00:00+06:00

Last updated on: February 9, 2014 at 12:00 am   By

John hears a voice and turns to see it (Revelation 1:10, 12). C.E. Douglas (The Last Word in Prophecy, 149-51) observes that this picks up on a rich vein of biblical phonology. Ezekiel heard a voice above the firmament, and what he saw was a human figure glowing like hot metal and a voice sending him to preach (Ezekiel 1-2). Israel never saw a figure on Sinai; not even Moses did. But both Israel and Moses “saw” a voice (Deuteronomy... Read more

2014-02-09T00:00:00+06:00

Last updated on: February 9, 2014 at 12:00 am   By

Jesus holds seven stars (Revelation 1:16). Farrer says there can be no doubt what these stars are: They are the seven planets of the ancient solar system, which lent their names to the days of the week (Revelation of St. John Divine, 68). He elaborate: “Christ embraces [the days] in the span of his hand, because Sunday is his. Christ rose on the octave-day of Holy Week; he spans the week from Sunday to Sunday. And since the pattern of... Read more

2014-02-09T00:00:00+06:00

Last updated on: February 9, 2014 at 12:00 am   By

Jesus holds seven stars (Revelation 1:16). Farrer says there can be no doubt what these stars are: They are the seven planets of the ancient solar system, which lent their names to the days of the week (Revelation of St. John Divine, 68). He elaborate: “Christ embraces [the days] in the span of his hand, because Sunday is his. Christ rose on the octave-day of Holy Week; he spans the week from Sunday to Sunday. And since the pattern of... Read more

2014-02-09T00:00:00+06:00

Last updated on: February 9, 2014 at 12:00 am   By

Jesus has eyes of fire (Revelation 1:14). Eyes are organs of judgment, and to get near Jesus you have to pass through the fire. In the next phrase, Jesus is said to have feet like bronze, glowing as if “fired in a furnace” (v. 15). He has walked through the fire. As Farrer puts it (The Revelation of St. John Divine), “he has undergone the judgement of which he is master” (67). We can’t get to Jesus without walking through... Read more

2014-02-09T00:00:00+06:00

Last updated on: February 9, 2014 at 12:00 am   By

Jesus has eyes of fire (Revelation 1:14). Eyes are organs of judgment, and to get near Jesus you have to pass through the fire. In the next phrase, Jesus is said to have feet like bronze, glowing as if “fired in a furnace” (v. 15). He has walked through the fire. As Farrer puts it (The Revelation of St. John Divine), “he has undergone the judgement of which he is master” (67). We can’t get to Jesus without walking through... Read more

2014-02-09T00:00:00+06:00

Last updated on: February 9, 2014 at 12:00 am   By

John hears a voice behind him and turns to see the voice. First he sees lampstands (Revelation 1:10, 12). Austin Farrer (The Revelation of St. John Divine, 65) points out that the turning and the lampstands come from Zechariah 4:1-2. He explains, “Zechariah’s vision was familiar to Israelites as a prophetic lesson for the Feast of Lamps, Dedication, the Jewish Christmas; and familiar to Christians as occurring in a series of visions which give a messianic significance to the High... Read more

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