Here’s a photo of the latest soccer star in the family.
1-2 Thessalonians
1 Thessalonians
This is one of the earliest letters that Paul wrote. He didn’t have much time to spend with these new believers before he was run out of town by persecutors (Acts 17). So he writes this letter to answer some questions that have come up. One of the main concerns is about whether Jesus is coming back or not. Paul explains this in chapters 4-5. This is one of the only places where it clearly explains what the “rapture” is.
2 Thessalonians
Shortly after the first letter, Paul writes them a second, shorter letter. Apparently the church is really being persecuted, just like Paul was when he was with them (ch. 1). Someone also is spreading a nasty rumor that Jesus had already come back and they missed it. So Paul explains how they can know this is absolutely false (ch. 2). As he usually does, he gives them some general encouragement to do things that please the Lord.
March 26
I learned yesterday that I passed all of the written exams. I am relieved and thankful. Next up: the oral exam with four faculty members. It is scheduled for Tuesday, April 5, 8:30-10:30 a.m. In other news…
People who go to church are more likely to be fat than those who don’t.
Jacob Barnett was in college at the age of 8. Reading the story makes me wonder just how much the human brain is capable of, if it’s not “broken” like yours and mine.
The latest Sovereign Grace CD, Risen, features songs about the Resurrection. All 13 mp3s are available for $5.
A Bible translator studying at the Home for Bible Translators at Yad HaShmonah was the one person killed in the recent Jerusalem bombing. The last two people killed by terrorists in Israel were female British believers.
March 23
You can download about 50 books by John Piper in pdf format for free. If pdf works well on a Kindle or iPad, that could be quite handy.
I consider the prohibition against sharing to be a very strong disincentive to buy books for Kindle or similar readers. Sharing books is part of the joy of owning them.
What is the difference between Great Britain and the United Kingdom? How does Britain and Wales and Northern Ireland fit in? I’ve always wondered, but five minutes with this guy answered my questions.
Watch Boeing build an airplane real fast.
If you ‘re thinking about having your son circumcised in the US, I’d recommend you don’t let the ob-gyn do it in the hospital. Instead, find a rabbi. Too many hospital ones are botched, and the cost to fix it is quite high.
Psalm 110 as the Key
I have much I would like to say about this most important psalm, but in these days as I continue to focus on keeping everything from falling out of my brain before my oral exams (assuming I passed the writtens), I will limit myself to just one quote from Derek Kidner that I think is very helpful. It follows a statement that David must be acknowledged as the author of Psalm 110.
For while other psalms share with this one the exalted language which points beyond the reigning king to the Messiah, here alone the king himself does homage to this personage—thereby settling two important questions: whether the perfect king was someone to come, or simply the present ruler idealized; and whether the one to come would be merely man at his best, or more than this (Psalms 73-150, p. 392).
Yes and yes.
It’s my opinion that a faulty interpretation of Psalm 110 has led to many errors in the interpretation of the Old Testament and New Testament.
Philippians and Colossians
Philippians
You ‘ll probably find this book easier to understand than some of the others. Paul is real down to earth with a congregation that has been some of his best friends throughout much of his ministry. Even though Paul writes this from prison (as he did Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon), he is particularly joyful because he knows that God is in charge. One special thing to pay attention to is the song (hymn) about Jesus in 2:5-11; this tells us some very important things about him.
Colossians
Like Galatians, this letter was written because of some false teaching. But the teaching here was different. People are telling them to keep some rules, but it’s not pure Judaism but a mixture of other religions. One of the things they are attacking is the nature of Jesus, and so Paul hits that hard (ch. 1). He also tells them how they must live, and you ‘ll notice here a lot of similarity with Ephesians. Many years ago I memorized this book with one of the guys we ‘ll see on our trip – Mr. Lander near Cleveland, Ohio. Pastor Jeff is memorizing this book right now—in Greek.
For details on what this “Bible Reading Guide” series is about, see the first post.
The Ladder
In looking for something else this morning, I came across this photo.
It was taken eight years ago when our son was five years old. It was taken shortly after our shock wore off upon discovering him on top of the building! The neighbor had used the ladder for some maintenance work and did not remove it when completed. Our little boy left our yard and was up the steps in a jiffy. (One year later he climbed the Snake Path at Masada without assistance.)
March 15
These before-and-after images of Japan show a striking contrast. And if you haven’t seen this video of the tsunami coming in, it will give you a better appreciation for the power of water.
CT has a survey of the most popular hymns, as determined by their appearance in the most number of hymnbooks. The list might be a good way to re-acquaint yourself with hymns if you’ve sang a chorus one too many times.
National Geographic tells us who is the most typical person in the world.
This is the moon like you’ve never seen it. The zoomable version is even better.
Messages from the recent pastors ‘ conference at Bethlehem Baptist are now available online. As is the audio from last week’s Shepherds ‘ Conference.
Does Isaiah 7 Prefigure Isaiah 9?
Some evangelical scholars believe that the child “Immanuel” predicted in Isaiah 7 is a foreshadowing of a “greater” child who is predicted in Isaiah 9 (“Unto us a child is born…). Is this possible? Maybe.
I must first applaud those who hold to this view because they are trying to find textual evidence for their conclusion that the Isaiah 7 prediction foreshadowed (though didn’t technically fulfill) the birth of Jesus. Having textual support should seem like a no-brainer for scholars, but there are too many who deny Matthew’s statement that Jesus fulfilled a prophecy but because of their Christian commitment argue without evidence that the Isaiah 7 child was a prefigurement of Jesus.
Here is one example from an evangelical scholar who believes this though he gives no evidence for this view from the text.
Matthew . . . applied Isaiah’s ancient prophecy of Immanuel’s birth to Jesus (Matt. 1:22–23). The first Immanuel was a reminder to the people of God’s presence and a guarantee of a greater child to come who would manifest God’s presence in an even greater way. The second Immanuel is ‘God with us ‘ in a heightened and infinitely superior sense. He ‘fulfills ‘ Isaiah’s Immanuel prophecy by bringing the typology intended by God to realization and by filling out or completing the pattern designed by God.
You can imagine what a Jewish scholar would say to this: what is your basis for concluding that the first Immanuel is a guarantee of a greater child? What evidence can you provide that there is “typology intended by God” in Isaiah 7? I agree with my Jewish friends: there is no such evidence. They have a conclusion that they cannot support. They only hold to this view because they are forced into it because they must believe that Matthew was somehow correct (“inspiration” becomes a “get-out-of-jail-free” card).
There is, however, a better way, and that is the point of this post. Some scholars claim that there is evidence in the text because the Isaiah 7 child prefigures (or foreshadows, or is a type of) the child predicted in Isaiah 9. This is much better, because now we have textual evidence. Isaiah predicts two children and one was born in the 8th century (Isaiah 7) as a token of a greater child born sometime in the future (Isaiah 9). There are clear similarities between the two children: both are born in times of distress, both are royal children, and both have names indicating God’s presence (Immanuel, Mighty God). I personally think that the similarities between these two children are best explained because they are the same child, but for the purpose of this discussion, let’s assume they are similar but different.
Now we have a first child who might be viewed as a guarantee of a greater child. Now we have a first child who can be seen as a type on the basis of the presence of the antitype. If I excluded all other evidence from Isaiah (which to me strongly argues against this view), I could be happy with this proposal.
At least until I open the New Testament. Matthew simply does not allow this possibility to stand. Matthew does not say “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” That is what he should have said if the Isaiah 7 child prefigured the Isaiah 9 child. But that’s not what he said. Instead, he botched it, because he claimed that the prophecy of the first child was fulfilled. Jesus was the first child predicted by Isaiah. Jesus fulfilled the prophecy, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.”
That means that if Isaiah 7 prefigures Isaiah 9, then Jesus is the type and we should be waiting for a greater antitype. You cannot argue that Jesus (Isaiah 7) is a type of himself (Isaiah 9).
My previous posts about this passage can be found here and here and here.
Exams Finished
Glad.
Learned a lot.
Hope I passed.
Need a break.
Thanks for praying.