James Jordan points out that John gives seven titles to God in Revelation 1:4. There is a Trinitarian structure: “He who . . . Jesus Christ . . . seven Spirits.” That Trinitarian structure, though, unfolds in seven names, three for the Father, one for the Spirit, three for Jesus: 1. He who is 2. He who was 3. He who is coming 4. the seven Spirits 5. Faithful Witness 6. Firstborn of the Dead 7. Ruler of the kings... Read more
We miss some of the radical force of Peter’s declaration in Acts 10:28 if we don’t keep OT distinctions of holiness and purity in mind. They are not the same category. Holiness is the opposite of common, pure the opposite of impure or unclean. One can be pure without being holy; “pure and common” is the baseline state of an Israelite, who might become impure through various bodily processes or through contact with dead bodies, unclean meat, or virulent forms... Read more
When Peter speaks to the men from Cornelius, he reminds them that for Jews it is unlawful to “join” or “come to” men from any other nation. Both verbs are significant. “Join” can have a political sense; to join a community is to become a polites , citizen, of that community. This is what the prodigal does when he is in the far country (Luke 10:11). In 1 Corinthians 6:16-17, however, the word is used in a sexual context: Any... Read more
In a 2003 article in Biblica , Thomas Slater gives reasons for re-thinking the common assignment of Revelation to the reign of Domitian. He begins with questions about Irenaeus’ accuracy. Irenaeus claims to have known Polycarp who knew John, but Slater argues that Polycarp would have been too young when John died to receive much training from him, and Irenaeus too would have been quite young at the time of Polycarp’s martyrdom. Slater does not believe that the evangelist John... Read more
Revelation 20:4: And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. In our sermon today, we’ve heard about how Moses set up a system of courts in Israel. This doesn’t surprise us. Israel, after all, was a nation, we might even think a “nation-state,” and of course they need laws, courts, judges, and the whole apparatus of government. It is more surprising for Paul to say that the church has courts. Paul expects that... Read more
Exodus 18:12: Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God. When Abram returned from defeating the kings who had taken Lot captive, Melchizedek met him with bread and wine. A Gentile God-fearer, King of Salem and priest of the Most High God, brings food for the Abram. Jethro is a new Melchizedek. He is also a Gentile priest, but... Read more
In any sizable congregation, there are going to be disputes. Two members go into business, it fails, and they fight about who’s responsible for what. One member borrows the lawnmower from his neighbor and breaks it; who pays? Someone makes a thoughtless comment and damages a friendship. The issue is not whether there are disputes, but how we handle them. Jesus requires us to be reconciled, and He teaches us to begin privately, one member seeking resolution with another. Disputes... Read more
Joseph Mangina ( Revelation (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible) ) makes this shrewd comment on the “visuality” of Revelation: “the Apocalypse is equally a book of auditions . . . . Revelation is a very loud book, situating us in the midst of an extraordinarily aural universe. This sets it in tension with the dominant traditions of Western thought, which have a long history of privileging the eye over the ear. From Plato onward, sight has been understood as... Read more
John’s gospel begins with a “book of signs,” the word semeion used sixteen times in the first 12 chapters and only once after (20:30). The last use of the noun in the book of signs occurs in 12:37, which speaks of the “signs” that Jesus performs to unbelieving Jews. What comes after the “book of signs”? It seems that 12:33 tells us: In talking about being “lifted up,” Jesus “signified” ( semaino ) the death that He would die. This... Read more
If my argument in an earlier post about the angel of Jesus in Revelation 1:1 works, then we have a fully Trinitarian structure to the revelation given to John. The Father gives apocalypse to the Son; the Son shows/displays this unveiling to the slaves; the Son signifies this through His Angel/Spirit. Here, the Father gives, the Son displays, the Spirit signifies (or, the Son signifies by the Spirit). All revelation has the same structure: It begins in the gift of... Read more
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