Jan 5, 2015
At last we come to the end of the biblical journey: all creation made new! And the completion of the project of salvation is symbolized by the return of the “tree of life,” indeed a near forest of them now lining the center of the city. (Remember it was access to the tree of life […]
Dec 30, 2014
What is heaven like? For centuries that question conjured within the Christian imagination images of a glorious “elsewhere” – a place very unlike earth where the souls of the saints dwell in a sort of dreamlike bliss. Such a vision was part and parcel of the larger belief that the very goal of “this life”...
Dec 8, 2014
Throughout the biblical story the final establishment of the kingdom of God has been described in terms of both blessing and wrath. In the Hebrew scriptures, “the (great and terrible) day of the Lord” is one in which the true allegiances of both Israel and the nations are judged. Those who have proven faithful to...
Dec 4, 2014
Revelation has now granted us a look at the very nature of evil itself, as well as the means by which it exercises power in creation – namely violence and deception. The question that remains is: Why does humanity so willingly (and repeatedly) ally itself with such powers of destruction? Why do the false promises...
Nov 14, 2014
Kirk’s 2nd Rule of Biblical Study: Attend to the context! That is to say, we must always keep in mind the historical, literary, social…elements that underly any passage of scripture (or any ancient literature). And Revelation 14 is one of the chief examples of why. Without understanding the context, Rev. 14 is...