The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, Revelation 1:1 NASB Revelation – apokálypsis. The Greek word translated “revelation.” Don’t miss the fact that it is connected to kalýptō, the root that means “to cover,…
You shall also speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If anyone curses his God, then he will bear the responsibility for his sin. Leviticus 24:15 NASB Anyone – The more you look, the more complicated it becomes. That’s how I feel after a few decades of investigating the issue of textual transmission. When I first became…
“Now it is not with you alone that I am making this covenant and this oath, but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God, and with those who are not with us here today. Deuteronomy 29:14-15 NASB Not with us – Does God speak to us today? Oh, I don’t mean, “Do you…
All the people, experiencing the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the smoking mountain, were afraid Exodus 20:18a The Message Experiencing – When was the last time you saw thunder? Ah, probably never. We perceive thunder as audible, not visual. So when we try to translate this particular verse from Hebrew, we run into…
And on that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. John 16:23 NASB On that day – I read Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost for His Highest daily for many years. My copy is thread worn…
The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. Ecclesiastes 12:11 NIV One shepherd – This phrase, “given by one shepherd,” is almost the same no matter what English translation you choose. It is also the typical treatment in Jewish context. On this basis, rabbinic tradition…
For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him. Ecclesiastes 9:1 NASB In the hand of God – Michael Fox clarifies Koheleth’s comment: “Literally, ‘in God’s hand.’ This means that…
The word of the Lord which came to Hosea the son of Beeri . . . Hosea 1:1a NASB Which came – Maybe we should give this little investigation a different title. You see, theology is not impossible. Theology is rational thinking about God. Men have been doing theology since the first shaman priest discovered incantation. No, what’s…
All such things are wearisome: No man can ever state them; the eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear enough of hearing. Ecclesiastes 1:8 JPS No man can ever state them – Human beings have a universal headache. And it’s not going away anytime soon. We are all suffering from rationality fatigue. Our…
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8 ESV Philosophy – Paul warns us about the enticement of philosophy, but we seem to have completely ignored his alarm. I don’t…
