Have I said this before? I’m sure I have. Context when reading the Bible is everything. Consider The Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32. Yahweh instructed Moses to recite the words of this song to all Israel (Deuteronomy 31:30). They were Words of warning to God’s children because He knew their hearts and how unfaithful…
Posts Categorized: Divine Council
Leviticus 20:26 – Holy To the Lord
One of the commands that God has consistently given to His people, whether Israelites or Christ-followers, is for us to remain apart from those who are unbelievers. This command is captured in Leviticus 20:26 where Yahweh instructs: “You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the…
Exodus 7:5,16 – The God of the Hebrews
The peoples of the earth served gods that were not the Lord God, Yahweh, the great I AM. Rather, their allegiance was to the sons of God (bene Elohim) who were over the nations. Following the Tower of Babel incident in Genesis 11, in which man was disobedient to God and did go out into…
Idols: Then & Now
In our westernized, Christian worldview, the idols of old made of stone and wood make little sense. We wonder how the peoples of the Ancient Near East (ANE) could be so foolish as to think that a statue of some sort was worthy of worship. How stupid could they have been back in those days? …
America’s Fate: A Mashup of Ideas – Part 4 of 4
The final essay of this 4-part series attempts to bring together the ideas presented in the first three parts. The elements in the mashup about America’s fate come from the books The Fourth Turning, The Unseen Realm, and This Present Darkness. They derive from secular, Biblical non-fiction, and Christian fiction concepts. Is it any wonder…
America’s Fate: A Mashup of Ideas – Part 3 of 4
In Parts 1 and 2 of this series of essays titled America’s Fate: A Mashup of Ideas, we started bringing together some very disparate sources and ideas to try to understand how our country has gotten to the place in history that it currently stands. We briefly discussed the secular book by Strauss and Howe…
America’s Fate: A Mashup of Ideas – Part 2 of 4
In Part 1 of these essays, we considered the book The Fourth Turning, a secular work that examines the cyclical periods of history, thus providing a framework for projecting the next era that America faces. From every indication, based on this worldview, we have entered that period known as the Fourth Turning, one characterized by…
America’s Fate: A Mashup of Ideas – Part 1 of 4
It’s an interesting exercise to connect dots. Those dots may come from completely different places. They may come from secular sources as well as from religious origins. In fact, some may come from a non-fictional wellspring while others, surprisingly, may be birthed in the realm of fiction. All this to say that the shape we…
God’s Grief
Have you ever encountered the question, “Why is the Bible filled with stories of rebellion and all-around bad behavior?” Sure you have. The standard answer is: “That’s what makes it real; one of the reasons why we know it’s true.” This is a good response, but does it go deep enough? I don’t think so….
Replacement Theology in the Deuteronomy 32 Worldview
When we approach the Bible with what is known as the Deuteronomy 32 worldview, we understand why Replacement Theology is so prevalent today. Replacement Theology takes the Biblically false view that Israel no longer has a place in God’s plans and purposes because 1) Israel blew it, and 2) the Church has taken her place….