Modern Marcionites

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28  NASB Good – Marcion of Sinope was born in 85 C.E. in Turkey.  Before he died in 160 in Rome, he changed the entire Christian world forever after.  How did…

The Jacob Syndrome

And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.  Genesis 37:35b  NASB Mourning – What happened to Jacob when he thought his son Joseph was dead?  By carefully examining this narrative in Genesis we discover a lot about psychological trauma, family dynamics, and unconscious…

Enoch’s Mortality

And I put sleep into him and he fell asleep.  And I took from him A rib, and created him a wife, that death should come to him by his wife, and I took his last word and called her name mother, that is to say, Eva (Eve).  1 Enoch 30:16 Death should come to…

The Sleeper Awakens

He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.  I will satisfy him with a long life, and show him My salvation. Psalm 91:15-16  NASB My – Do you think we’ve plumbed this verse?  Is there nothing more to mine here?  Well, maybe we…

Death Anxiety

He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.  Colossians 1:18  NASB Firstborn from the dead – Clearly Yeshua was not the first human being to be raised from the dead.  Every theologian recognizes this.  Then…

The Final Opinion

Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of His faithful ones.  Psalm 116:15  Robert Alter Precious – John Hartley expresses our common assumption about the term yāqor in this verse. Life is valued very highly in the ot. David would not kill Saul even when he had the upper hand because he…

Free At Last

Abandoned among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You no longer remember, and they are cut off from Your hand.  Psalm 88:5  NASB Abandoned – What an interesting choice of words!  Sometimes translated “forsaken,” the Hebrew root is the verb ḥāpaš.  Here it is ḥopšî, an adjective.  What’s interesting is the basic…

He Leads Me

Like sheep they sink down to Sheol; Death will be their shepherd; and the upright will rule over them in the morning, and their form shall be for Sheol to consume, so that they have no lofty home.  Psalm 49:14  NASB Death will be their shepherd – Could there be any more chilling fate of the foolish?  Psalm 23…

Biology 101

But man in his splendor will not endure; he is like the animals that perish.  Psalm 49:12  NASB Animals – Do dogs go to heaven?  What about cats?  Do animals have a “soul”?  At one point in human history, such questions caused considerable debate.  However, it seems that the Bible makes a significant distinction between animals and humans—except…