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The Latter Days in the Old Testament

Eschatology precedes soteriology. Find out why in this essay.

Two Ages: Evaluating a Biblical concept

If the cosmos has changed over time, as redemptive history has moved from through “five worlds” from creation (Genesis 1–2) to the new creation (Revelation 21–22), then there have also been covenantal changes, too. In the beginning, God made a covenant with Adam (Gen. 2:15–17; cf. Hos. 6:7), which is often called the “covenant of works.” Then, after the flood, God re-established a covenant with Noah and all creation. As Genesis 9:8–17 reports, God hung his bow in the sky as

Getting Into Macro-Eschatology: Seeing The Five Worlds God Has Made

Last Sunday I introduced something I called “macro-eschatology.” Macro-eschatology is an approach to redemptive history that sees the end of things (eschatology) as fulfilling, restoring, and superseding the beginning of things (protology). At the center of this approach to reading the Bible is the person and the work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who stands at the center of God’s plan to unite all things in creation. As Ephesians 1:9–10 tell us, Christ is the one who will

The ABCs of Eschatology (Pt 2): 14 More Key words

Last time, I introduced fourteen key words for understanding some basic concepts in the study of last things (eschatology). Today, I will complete my basic glossary with fourteen more terms, in hopes that these definitions will help improve present and future discussions about eschatology. You can also listen to the Sunday School that explains many of these terms. And if you would like a handout of the glossary, scroll to the bottom. (15) The Intermediate and Final States. W

The ABC’s of Eschatology (Pt. 1): Key Words to understanding end times

Eschatology is a word that means the study (-ology) of last things (eschatos). And in that study there are lots of words that are familiar (*resurrection), unfamiliar (*preterist), and debated (*rapture). Likewise, terms like millennium and tribulation are ones that have multiple definitions, and figures like the *antichrist, whose common description may or may not match John’s use of the word. Knowing that sound doctrine and fruitful discussions require clear definitions,

Twelve Books to Read Before the End of the World

When I teach Systematic Theology to seminarians, I make students read two books on eschatology and I recommend about twenty. Since I recently began a Sunday School series on the subject of eschatology, I wanted to share that list with you. You can also listen to the classes here. The Two Most Important Books on Eschatology Benjamin Gladd and Matthew Harmon, Making All Things New: Inaugurated Eschatology for the Life of the Church (2016). This is my go-to book for eschatolog

The Resurrection and the Life: How Jesus Raises the Dead (A Sermon on John 11:17–44)

The Resurrection and the Life: How Jesus Raises the Dead (A Sermon on John 11:17–44) John’s Gospel is written so that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31). And in John’s Gospel there are many ways eye-witnesses testify to Christ and many other ways John shows followers of … Continue reading The Resurrection and the Life: How Jesus Raises the Dead (A Sermon on John 11:17–44)

Christ Over All: A New Website and a Personal Update

If you have followed by blog for any length of time you know that my posting is somewhat irregular. As a pastor first, not a journalist, my priority is preaching and teaching at my local church. After that, a couple times a year, I go and teach theology at Indianapolis Theological Seminary. And then after … Continue reading Christ Over All: A New Website and a Personal Update

Don’t Take the Bait: Three Reasons Pastors Must Avoid The Booby Trap of Pulpit Plagiarism

Earlier this year, Founders Press released my book Brothers, We Are Not Plagiarists. When it released Dave Jenkins at Servant of Grace asked me to write a related piece for his online theological magazine, Theology for Life. Here’s that piece, which likens plagiarism in the pulpit to a booby trap—an unseen explosive device that does … Continue reading Don’t Take the Bait: Three Reasons Pastors Must Avoid The Booby Trap of Pulpit Plagiarism

Why the Lord’s Supper Requires Baptism: A Typological Approach

Who can take the Lord’s Supper is a question of no little dispute among those who call themselves Baptist (yes, this is a Baptist blogpost). In my estimation, the best answer to the question of baptism and Lord’s Supper goes something like this: Those who have undergone believer’s baptism (the initiation rite of the new … Continue reading Why the Lord’s Supper Requires Baptism: A Typological Approach

Why Baptists Do Not Count Infant Baptisms: A Friendly Response to Joe Rigney

When it comes to pastors and theologians who stand strong on the Word, strong against the world, and strong in their wise dealings with complex issues, few compare to Joe Rigney. When it comes to contemporary theologians, therefore, I consider his writing some of the best. When I visited Minneapolis a number of years ago, … Continue reading Why Baptists Do Not Count Infant Baptisms: A Friendly Response to Joe Rigney

A Theological Appraisal of Marxism

“Marxism retains all the major structural and emotional factors of biblical religion in a secularized form. Marx, like Moses, is the prophet who leads the new Chosen People, the proletariat, out of the slavery of capitalism into the Promised Land of communism across the Red Sea of bloody worldwide revolution and through the wilderness of … Continue reading A Theological Appraisal of Marxism

Joshua the Priest

Earlier this year, Crossway published my book The Royal Priesthood and the Glory of God in their Short Studies in Biblical Theology series. In that book I show priesthood begins in the Garden of Eden, develops across the Old Testament, culminates in Jesus Christ, and proliferates in the life of the church. The church is a … Continue reading Joshua the Priest

How Sheep Get Saved: Jesus as the Door, the Good Shepherd, and the Sovereign Sacrifice (A Sermon on John 10:1–21)

How Sheep Get Saved: Jesus as the Door, the Good Shepherd, and the Sovereign Sacrifice (A Sermon on John 10:1–21) In Luke 15 we come across a parable told by Jesus, directed at the Pharisees, where a shepherd leaves his ninety-nine sheep to go save the one lost sheep. In that parable Jesus says something … Continue reading How Sheep Get Saved: Jesus as the Door, the Good Shepherd, and the Sovereign Sacrifice (A Sermon on John 10:1–21)

“The Court of the Sheep”: A Temple Reading of John 10

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. — John 10:1 — In John 16:25, Jesus says to his disciples, “I have said these things to you in figures of speech [paroimia]. The … Continue reading “The Court of the Sheep”: A Temple Reading of John 10

The Great Reversal: God’s Cosmic Plan to Displace Darkness With Light (A Sermon on John 9:1-41)

The Great Reversal: God’s Cosmic Plan To Displace Darkness With Light (A Sermon on John 9:1-41) In the Bible, we find a series of ironic reversals that move the story of salvation from the Garden of Eden to the Garden of Gethsemane to the Garden City of Zion. For instance, when Haman was hung on … Continue reading The Great Reversal: God’s Cosmic Plan to Displace Darkness With Light (A Sermon on John 9:1-41)

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