The sea beast of Revelation 13 is clearly a composite of the beasts of Daniel. It has features of a lion, a bear, and a leopard, which match the first three beasts of Daniel’s vision. If we can import Daniel’s imagery into Revelation 13, we can say that the sea beast incorporates features of Babylon, Persia, and four-headed Greece. Daniel’s fourth beast is indescribably horrible, not like anything Daniel has ever seen. Perhaps we can describe it, though, by projecting... Read more
The sea beast of Revelation 13 entices everyone to worship him “whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb” (v. 8). Interpreters commonly take the book of life as an image of election: It is a list of the names of all those chosen for eternal salvation before the world began. Problem is, the Bible speaks of erasures in the book of life. Jesus promises not to erase... Read more
The Jerusalem Council described in Acts 15 presents “a winning picture of open-ended discussion, leading to consensus, through the ‘facilitation’ of a leader and a faith in God’s more primary direction through the Spirit.” It is “a true ‘coming together of many minds’ in a way that has become a classic instance of ecclesial unity at work” ( A Brutal Unity: The Spiritual Politics of the Christian Church , 172). But, Ephraim Radner adds, this consensus depends on a prior... Read more
In his The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation , David Chilton suggests that the dragon and two beasts of Revelation 12-13 constitute a demonic parody of of a modified Trinity. The Father is imaged by the dragon, the Son by the sea beast, and the land beast, which is the “image” of the beast, is the Spirit-filled church. The argument for this is persuasive. The sea beast is obviously presented as an image of the... Read more
Near the beginning of his The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science , EA Burtt contrasts medieval with modern science. The difference is mainly to do with their different assessments of the place of man in nature. For medieval thinkers nature was “subservient to man’s knowledge, purpose, and destiny” (24). This was evident in the way they answered questions large and small. Instead of considering man a passive recipient of sense data, for instance, “Man was believed to be active in... Read more
In his A defence of free-thinking in mathematics. In answer to a pamphlet of Philalethes Cantabrigiensis, intituled, Geometry no friend to infidelity , George Berkeley challenges what he considers the idolatry of Isaac Newton that he finds in some of his contemporaries. He admires Newton’s genius, but refuses to bow. Along the way, he becomes an early sociologist of science: “In my opinion the greatest men have their Prejudices. Men learn the elements of Science from others: And every learner... Read more
Ephraim Radner points out in A Brutal Unity: The Spiritual Politics of the Christian Church that early Christian discussions of unity “were often framed precisely in terms of the activities that marked a common life together” (171). Radner elaborates: “So Basil will speak of unity in terms of mutual correction and encouragement, of helping one another in one’s weaknesses, of sharing goods, or applying gifts to a common task, or upholding neighbors in the keeping of God’s commandments, and so... Read more
Owen ( The Death of Death in the Death of Christ ) spends a chapter rebutting the claims of Thomas More’s The Universality of God’s Free Grace . The response engages More at times, but frequently the two are simply moving past one another. More writes, “it is certainly a truth that Jesus Christ hath given himself a ransom for all men, and hath thereby the right of lordship over them; and if any will not believe and come into... Read more
Owen ( The Death of Death in the Death of Christ ) also responds to the use of 2 Peter 2:1 as a text in favor of universal atonement. Peter writes of false teachers who “deny the Lord who bought them.” This seems straightforward enough, but Owen sees only obscurities: “All things here, as to any proof of the business in hand, are exceedingly dark, uncertain, and doubtful. Uncertain , that by the Lord is meant the Lord Christ ,... Read more
Hebrews 10:29 warns about those who tread underfoot the Son of God and count the blood of the covenant “wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing.” This clearly presents a problem for Owen’s argument for definite atonement in The Death of Death in the Death of Christ . If Christ shed His blood only for the elect, how can someone who rejects Christ be said to be “sanctified” by that blood? Owen responds with several arguments. First, he claims that... Read more
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