That the glory of the Lord might cover the dry land as the waters cover the sea
Flannery O’Connor’s novel Wise Blood left me scratching my head. I think that was part of her technique, honestly. The “meaning” of her stories isn’t right there on the surface as it is in a Dickens novel. Her works really have to be pondered, and you’re best off pondering from the perspective of the biblical …
Continue reading “Do You “Get” Flannery O’Connor? She Writes Like a Biblical Author”
Here’s the body of a post from Charles Halton with a link to what looks to be an interesting article (haven’t gotten to it yet but hope to eventually) and a nice summary of it that resonates with an approach I’ve taken myself: Jeffery Leonard: Identifying Inner-Biblical Allusions: Psalm 78 as a Test Case. It’s quite …
Andreas Köstenberger’s editorial in the most recent issue of JETS surveys the recent revival of biblical theology among evangelicals (“Editorial,” JETS 55 [2012]: 1–5). I am grateful that he took notice of my work in this area along with that of Greg Beale, Frank Thielman, and a host of others. A lot of good work …
Continue reading “Biblical Theology, Köstenberger’s JETS Editorial, and J. P. Gabler”
In a guest post on the Crossway blog I discuss the relationships between exegesis, biblical theology, and historical theology in the process of disciple-making. Are your assumptions about the people who hear you preach and teach an affront to the reality that they are made in the image of God? Here’s the intro: Solid exegesis, …
Continue reading “Are We Training Parrots or Making Disciples?”
Crossway had me fill out an Author Questionnaire on God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology, and one of the things they asked me do was summarize the book in 500 words. I thought back to this today as I wrote up a 500 word summary of another book for another Author Questionnaire …
This post is a quick response to a question in a comment on my post on Jane Austen and Jeremiah 20:7. The question was what commentaries have helped me most as I’ve worked through Jeremiah. My answer is along the lines of what I recently said about what seminaries are for, because what has helped …
Continue reading “What Helps Me Most As I Prepare to Preach”
The Lord provided for me on Saturday morning. I was preparing to preach Jeremiah 19–20, and I was really stuck on Jeremiah 20:7, which reads in the ESV, “O LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed . . .” Some scholars say that Jeremiah …
Crossway continues to bless us with great resources. I have long appreciated Gerald Bray. My favorite book of his (perhaps until I finish the book featured in this post) is his history of biblical hermeneutices: Biblical Interpretation: Past and Present. My deep respect for Bray made me really happy to be alerted by Andy Naselli …
What makes a translation accurate? Its ability to preserve the way that later biblical authors evoke earlier Scripture. The Bible was written by at least 40 authors from Moses in the 1400s BC to John around AD 90. Everyone who followed Moses learned from his work, and the later authors made heavy use of what …
The promises to David from 2 Samuel 7:4–17 are clearly in view in Psalm 2, especially in verses 5–12. In 1 Kings 2:1–4 and several other passages these promises are specifically applied to Solomon. These promises are also significant in the accounts of kings such as Hezekiah and Josiah. There is a sense, then, in …
Continue reading “What difference does it make if we capitalize son in Psalm 2?”
I love literature, and when I read Albert Camus’ The Stranger and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot they shook me to the core. I read literature looking for truth, and these books challenged the truths I believed. By God’s grace he caused a faith that could not be shaken to remain in me, and as …
This also appears as a guest post on the Crossway blog this morning: The Lord called Abraham to take his son, his only son Isaac, whom he loved, up to Mount Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering there. As Abraham left the men who were with him, he said, “I and the boy …
I happened to be in Dr. Gentry’s office yesterday afternoon, and I was delighted to see the page proofs of this forthcoming book. In the course of our conversation, Gentry said something like this: “I’ve been developing these lectures over the course of my 30 years of teaching, and students have urged me to put …
Continue reading “Kingdom through Covenant by Gentry and Wellum”
I’m glad to see Eckhard Schnabel’s 40 Questions about The End Times appear, not least because it puts me in good company! His book appeared in 2011, my book Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches appeared in 2012. I had turned my manuscript into Crossway before Schnabel’s work appeared, and I didn’t know he …
Continue reading “Congratulations to Eckhard Schnabel on his 40 Questions about the End Times”
To Zion the streaming nations come, To sing the praise of what he’s done, Ransomed souls from every tribe, Clothed in white, the bloodbought bride. Come join the throng Come sing the song Come see the Lord Come hear his Word Wine, milk, richest fare, Fine white linen you will wear, Living water, come and …
This past weekend it was my privilege to be in Fayetteville, AR, at University Baptist Church. I spoke on the theme of God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology. These talks seek to summarize the Bible’s big story, highlighting the promises that generate the typological patterns. The talks are now available on UBC’s …
I arrived in Fayetteville, Arkansas in August of 1992. I remember the moment in my dorm room when I decided to visit University Baptist Church. Then I joined UBC, and the Lord used the pastors and people powerfully in my life. It was Gene Calvert, the college pastor, who really challenged me to begin memorizing …
Continue reading “University Baptist Church March 2–4, 2012”
Sandra L. Richter, The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2008. 263pp. $24.00. Paper. Sandra Richter, associate professor of OT at Asbury, is married to Steve Tsoukalas, and according to the back cover of this volume she regularly speaks on the topic of The Epic of Eden: A …
I posted my congratulations to Eugene Merrill, under whom it was my privilege to study at DTS, when his book Everlasting Dominion: A Theology of the Old Testament appeared. Today I realize that I never posted my full review, so here it is. I reiterate my congratulations to and esteem for Dr. Merrill, and I …
A trailer for my book, Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches didn’t come together, but this video for RevelationApp basically does the job: