James 2 has become a proof text for a concept that is known in Russian as “Salvation Through Lordship,” which supposes that saving faith must be accompanied by works (or submission to the lordship of Christ) in order to be truly salvific. There are several problems with this view, but one problem in this context is that James 2 is saying precisely the opposite, that it is possible to be saved through faith alone, not through lordship, and still lack works. Obviously, James wants his audience to have both faith and works, so in James 2:21–24, he appeals to the life of Abraham to distinguish between faith and works and to show that faith and works have two different results.[Read More]
word study
Response to “Luke’s Gay Apocalypse” Part I: Intro and Word Studies
This is part one of a response to a post by Jeremy Myers. In that post, Myers summarizes the view of Ron Goetz, which proposes that Luke 17:34–35 is about saved non-celibate homosexuals. While I believe that there are saved non-celibate homosexuals, I disagree with the process of forcing a gay reading into this text (especially by using Document Q and Pagan mythology).[Read More]
Repentance: More Than A Change of Mind
The word, repentance, is perhaps the most controversial word in the New Testament to define. The three basic opinions are that repentance is a change of works that is necessary for eternal life, a change of mind that is necessary for eternal life, or a change of works that is not necessary for eternal life (this article defends the third definition). Each of these three have several nuances and subversions, and each of them is able to comply with the notion of the kingdom offer and postponement. Regardless of the compatibility of the views with the main contention of the kingdom postponement, a study of repentance is in order as the kingdom offer itself is Μετανοεῖτε, ἤγγικεν γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[Read More]
Daniel’s Seventy Weeks Prophecy
Among the evidence that the Bible is infallible is the startling accuracy of the prophecy revealed to Daniel, which he records in Daniel 9:24–27. This prophecy, known as Daniel’s Seventy Weeks, was revealed during the Babylonian exile “in the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus” (Dan. 9:1). At the beginning of the chapter, “Daniel deals with multiple interwoven texts and how exactly they all fit together. He wonders how the seventy-year prophecy relates to God’s larger plan concerning the complete reinstatement of Israel.”1 Daniel knew that the exile would last 70 years (Dan. 9:2) as Jeremiah had written (Jer. 25:1–14).
Jeremiah repeats the language of Deuteronomy and Kings in discussing the need for repentance, seeking God with all one’s heart, in addition to describing the complete restoration from exile (Jer. 29:10, 13; cf. Deut. 30:1–4; 1 Kings 8:48–50)… The intertextuality of Jeremiah with Kings and Deuteronomy clarifies what Daniel is wondering in Daniel 9. First Kings 8:30 and Deuteronomy 30:1–6 focus upon the ultimate end of exile. By contrast Jeremiah 29 predicts a return from Babylon after seventy years but does not directly associate the seventy years (Jer. 29:10) and how it will ultimately be restored per Deuteronomy and Kings (Jer. 29:12). The Lord does not, however, guarantee in Jeremiah that they will be ultimately restored when they return to the land after seventy years.2
Daniel confessed that he and Israel had sinned (Dan. 9:3–19) and God responded by sending Gabriel to deliver a message that fills in some gaps of what will happen after the return from exile and when it will happen:[Read More]
A Word Study on “Kingdom”
Kingdom Now theologians renegotiate Christ’s kingdom from the literal and global kingdom of the Old Testament promises to a new spiritualized kingdom which can exist spiritually in the hearts of believers or is able to spiritually outbreak without any physical territory. Theologians often support this move by subtly redefining “kingdom” to detach the Messianic Kingdom from its territorial promise. For example, George Eldon Ladd writes:[Read More]
The Kingdom, a word study, and a story about King Darius running away from Ukrainians
This post is extracted from some research I’m doing related to the kingdom.
φθάνω (Matt 12:28; Luke 11:20)
A host of clear biblical passages teach that the kingdom is literal and earthly. Two obscure passages that have become key to overthrowing the plain meaning of the text are Matt 12:28 and Luke 11:20, both of which record Jesus telling unbelievers that the kingdom ἔφθασεν ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς, which the KJV translates, “is come unto you” in Matthew and “is come upon you” in Luke. To the assertion that Jesus made it plain that the kingdom had already come, Millar Burrows responds:[Read More]