Stopping to Think

  Photo by Martin Angelov on Unsplash [the footnotes won't copy into blogger for me, most of the good ideas aren't mine, the Bibliography is attached] Introduction One of the key elements of teaching on the kingdom of God in Scripture is the use of symbol, metaphor, and parable. One need only read the 13th chapter of Matthew to find comparisons made between the kingdom and  a sower and the fruitfulness of his work ,  a sower who sows good seed and received a mixed harvest ,  the seeming insignificance of a mustard seed ,  the slow work of yeast ,  the value of hidden treasure and a pearl ,  and a net thrown into the sea which pulls back a varied catch . One recurring symbol in biblical teaching, coming up in the prophets, and then again in the teaching of Jesus, is the fig tree. The purpose of this paper is to examine some key uses of fig imagery in both the Old and New Testaments, and then to draw theological conclusions for how we might understand th...

  Text       28        “And it shall come to pass afterward,        that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;                    your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,        your old men shall dream dreams,        and your young men shall see visions.              29       Even on the male and female servants        in those days I will pour out my Spirit.  30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone ...

  Photo by Pawan Sharma on Unsplash Introductions to Amos, Nahum, and Zephaniah Amos Author and Date Authorship of the book has traditionally been ascribed to the prophet Amos. Nothing is known about Amos other than what he reveals in 1:1 and 7:14, that he is a herdsman and dresser of sycamore figs, hailing from Tekoa. He was neither a prophet nor a priest, but was entrusted with a series of messages from the Lord (7:14-15).  The fact that he prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah in Judah and Jeroboam II in Israel indicate that his prophecy occurred between 765-750 B.C. Audience and Message This book is directed toward the northern kingdom of Israel, and the beating heart at the center of the book is God himself. The name Yahweh occurs by itself and in combination with other terms over 80 times in the book. The focus of Yahweh and His speech in the book is to warn Israel that the coming day of the Lord is sure, but it is surely bad news for them, rather than the good news ...

Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Unsplash A Response to “The Setting of Obadiah” Introduction In his paper The Setting of Obadiah ( Hassler, Mark A. 2016. “The Setting of Obadiah: When Does the Oracle Concerning Edom Transpire?” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 59 (2): 241–54. ) Mark Hassler seeks to answer the question of his subtitle: When Does the Oracle Concerning Edom Transpire? The answer to this question matters because it shapes one’s whole interpretation of the prophecy. The Oracle’s Fulfillment Hassler lays out the three primary options for the timing of Edom’s humbling, as predicted in Obadiah’s vision. He gives props and cons for both a 9th century B.C. fulfillment and a fulfillment in the 6th century B.C. The main issue he raises with both of these timings is that there is no historical record of anything close to what Obadiah describes actually happening to Edom in these centuries (see pages 243-246).  What Hassler then goes on to argue is that this visio...

An Exegetical Paper on Malachi 2:10-16 Text 10 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to the LORD of hosts!  13 And this second thing you do. You cover the LORD’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God...

Here is the link to last Sunday's sermon from Remsen Bible Fellowship.   https://remsenbible.blogspot.com/2020/07/what-is-this-book-for.html Title: What's This Book For? Text: John 20:30-31

Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.” Background The book of Daniel in the Old Testament has some pretty incredible things in it. From the miraculous sparing of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, to the lion’s not eating Daniel when he was tossed in with them, to say that God displays his power in this book would be an understatement. In light of these “big” stories (along with other thing like Daniel’s vision of the 70 weeks) it cn be easy to skip over the opening pages of the book. But to do so would cause us to miss some important things. In chapter one we learn that Daniel, along with a number of other young Jewish men, are taken captive to learn the Chaldean language and customs for three years, and then to serve before the king. During their training they are given the same food and...