A week before he was arrested by the Sanhedrin and then crucified under Pontius Pilate, Jesus of Nazareth rode into the Jerusalem on a donkey, being hailed by many as the promised Davidic Messiah. He then proceeded to do the exact opposite of what most Jews were expecting, not really confronting Rome at all, but…
Unfortunately, we in 21st century America are not too well-versed in the history of the entire New Testament era. Consequently, we do not fully realize the impact that the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD had on both the Jewish nation, as well as the early Christians. As I mentioned in my previous post,…
The Olivet Discourse in Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Luke 21 is an incredibly misunderstood passage among most Christians today. Take the time to read it right now, and I can guarantee you that, if you grew up within Evangelicalism, you will think that Jesus is talking about the “End Times,” complete with references to…
If you are like me, having grown up within Evangelicalism in the 70’s and 80’s, you probably are all too familiar with the End Times speculation by the likes of Hal Lindsey and his famous (infamous?) book, The Late, Great Planet Earth. Perhaps you watched that horrifically awful (and terrifying for the time) movie A…
A couple of weeks ago, someone brought to my attention a short AiG article by Bodie Hodge entitled, “Can an Evolutionist be a Creationist?” in which he discussed the meanings of terms like creationism, theistic evolution, and evolutionary creationism. In most ways, it was really nothing new: just the standard AiG shtick. Nevertheless, a couple…
It has been a pretty good year for resurrecting orthodoxy–at least as far as my little corner of the blogosphere is concerned. This morning I looked back to find out what the top posts of the past year were. Some of those in the top ten surprised me…some, not so much. In any case, here are…
In case you haven’t heard, there is a new Star Wars movies that has just come out—The Last Jedi. Okay, obviously you’ve heard about it. And you’re probably well aware of the very heated reactions fans have had to the movie: they either loved it or they hated it; they either applauded its bold story-telling…
In July of 1997, after finishing a master’s degree in the New Testament at Regent College, I went with my dad to visit my grandparents, Lennart and Margaret Anderson, in Willmar, Minnesota. Because they were in their mid-80s, they had to sell their house at 723 West Trott Avenue, where they had lived for over…
King David and the Kingdom of Israel It is in the book of I Samuel where we find the Hebrews demanding to have a king. YHWH did not want them to have a king like the other nations, because, He warned, kings abuse and oppress their people. YHWH Himself was the king of the Hebrews,…
The Old Testament is a collection of 39 books, written roughly over a span of 1,000 years, and it covers the entire history of ancient Israel. It contains narratives (stories), laws, poetry, prophecies, proverbs, as well as many other genres. And, truth be told, most people, aside from knowing a few random Old Testament stories…