In the context of Hebrew names either speaking of attributes of God or the bearer of the name, I think this modern Hebrew poem is well worth a reflective read: Each of us has a name given by God and given by our parents Each of us has a name given by our stature and … More Each of us has a name by Zelda
Someone made me aware the other day of a Hebrew interpretation of the number of the beast, 666, that figures in the Book of Revelation. Now, I should make it clear that I am not in favour of extrapolating anything from the numerical values of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Below I return to … More The Number of the Beast in Hebrew?
Jonathan (יונתן) – This lovely Hebrew name means ‘the LORD gives’ or ‘the LORD has given’. The root *ntn in Hebrew denotes giving and the verb in the perfect aspect natan, is either in the past tense or something eternal. Here of course is also the meaning of the name Nathan – ‘he gives/he has … More Hebrew Names: Jonathan/ Nathanael/ Nathan
Joshua/Jesus (יהושע) – Yes, these names are one and the same! And we think the Spanish odd for naming their little ones Jesus… Or is it because of names such as Jesús-María and Mariá-José? Anyway… Jesus/Joshua means “the LORD is salvation”. Salvation is through Jesus! In this name, yehoshua, we actually see another version of the abbreviated form for yhwh. … More Hebrew Names: Joshua/Jesus
Grammar is boring for most people and it could be even for a Semitist, depending on how one approaches it. What if I say that Hebrew grammar can teach us something about God?! Check out Judges 1.1-2: After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first … More As Good As Done
Immanuel (עמנואל) – This is a Christmas special in our series on Hebrew names! In Isaiah 7:14 we read: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” This final part of the name is ‘el’ which means ‘God’. The … More Hebrew Names: Immanuel
Great poetry, great theology…
Joel (יואל) – This neat name is a short statement on the identity of God with constituents that we have previously seen: ‘jo’ (yhwh=the LORD) and ‘el’ (elohim=God). We have also looked at the verbless nominal clause in Hebrew with subject and predicate which renders this name “the LORD is God”. Whereas ‘el/elohim’ is the … More Hebrew Names: Joel
Yohanan (יוחנן) – Well this isn’t a very common biblical name, is it? Ah, well this is both true and untrue. This is in fact the Hebrew name behind the Greek “Joannes”, which in English is “John”. As with many biblical names, it is used in many different languages, but unlike other names (like David … More Hebrew Names: Yohanan & Hannah
I just finished reading Mike Reeves’ book The Unquenchable Flame, an introduction to the Reformation. This book (192 pages) is a must-read for anyone wanting to begin engaging with the events and theological issues of the Reformation, or indeed for anyone wanting a good, enjoyable read. Reeves is not only a passionate and engaging scholar … More The Unquenchable Flame
A picture says more than… (Ecclesiastes 12:12)
Michael (מיכאל)- “mi” means “who” in Hebrew, the “cha” element is really a “ka” which translates as “like/as” and “el” of course is a short hand for “Elohim” which means “God”. What we have then is “who like God”. In English translation the copula verb “is” must be supplied, whereas in Semitic languages in the present tense predication … More Hebrew Names: Michael
Hebrew names are fascinating in the way they express attributes of God. Although not all Hebrew names contain reference to God, many do. There are two things worth noting concerning this category of names. The Hebrew for ‘God’ and ‘the LORD’, are the components used in proper names. The Hebrew for ‘God’ is ‘Elohim’, however … More Hebrew Names
John Stott writes in Authentic Christianity: “The Christian understanding of the Bible is essentially a trinitarian understanding. The Bible comes from God, centres on Christ and is inspired by the Holy Spirit. So the best definition of the Bible is also trinitarian: ‘the Bible is the witness of the Father to the Son through the … More The Trinitarian Bible
Will Mackerras delivers his fantastic Christmas Poem in a serene Aussie setting. Check out his site The Banjo Bible and this site where you’ll find some more samples of his CD that is soon to launch!
Here is Glen Scrivener’s brilliant ‘Anti-Santy Ranty‘ from his blog:
This post by Trevin Wax was published by the Gospel Coalition. The three questions are these (click above for his comment to them): 1. How does this topic/passage fit into the big story of Scripture? 2. What is distinctively Christian about the way I am addressing the topic/passage? 3. How does this truth equip God’s … More 3 Questions to Ask of Your Sermon
Wayne Grudem is talking to UCCF’s Mike Reeves about the Doctrine of Scripture and points out some things that speak very strongly to me. Grudem points to “a tendency among Christians today to think that obedience to God’s commands in Scripture is not very important”. He adds that “certainly we are saved by grace alone, … More The Importance of Obedience
“…the Bible which from cover to cover is designed that Jesus come into the world to put holiness on a foundation of grace. That’s the point of the Bible” from UCCF’s Table Talk 4: Justification
We may easily be intimidated into not claiming things with conviction in or to our relativistic society Here are some deep truth reflections that are liberating: saying “I don’t know” is not ultimate humility. See especially Piper in 5:25-6:03:
I was recently told that there is not much of a future in my line of work in my country (Sweden). This was not the first time I hear this. Semitists in general are unasked for and Hebraists seem particularly unwanted. I am told that unless one ‘diversifies’ professionally with theology, then there is not … More Creating a ‘raison d’être’…
Here is my Easter sermon of 24th April this year 2011. It is my 2nd sermon ever preached. This time I thought I’d do it without notes and ‘just’ follow the text. So this time there is no script, just the audio. The first time it was the opposite. The text is awesome!, of course. … More Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12
For Christians today the answer is simple: 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) 9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, … More How are we saved?
The first word of the Bible is בראשית. This word is made up of two morphemes, ב meaning ‘in’ and ראשית meaning ‘beginning’. Taking a closer look at the word for ‘beginning’ we see that it has the same root (basic consonants) as the word for head, ראש. This is a natural use in many … More Head= Beginning= Jesus
I’ve been wanting for some time to write something about the Bible’s connection between the heart and the mouth. Here are some relevant passages: We have seen this one in a previous post on psalm 141: 3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! 4 Do … More Heart and Mouth
This verse from Titus 1:1 (NIV) is a powerful call for discipleship: 1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— The connection that is being made between ‘knowledge of the truth’ and ‘godliness’ is stunning. Meditate … More Knowledge of the truth leads to righteousness
Our church has developed a website for our ‘Cross Culture’ services and groups, which is much like an international congregation within a church. We’ve also uploaded some recent sermons and the idea is that our series through Luke will appear there during the autumn term. Please check it out and give feedback and tips on … More Cross Culture – International Congregation in Uppsala, Sweden
This is a pressing subject for Christian mission today: What God do we believe in? The Apostle Peter writes (NIV 1 Pet. 1:18-21): 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, … More Through Jesus we believe in God
Mark Prentice preached this wonderful sermon on Daniel 6. Highlighting the Christian dilemma of living in the world but not by it, Prentice suggests that the Biblical answer is deep disciplined devotion – three times a day. This was Daniel’s practice, and although it seems to have been the cause of the persecution against him, … More Deep Disciplined Devotion
Summer jobs and travel has got the better of blogging for a while… Thought I’d might warm up for the autumn term: Here is another post on obedience, see also this. Proverbs 28:9: If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. Or as the TNIV interprets it: … More Christian Life: Obedience to the Word
This is the Glorious Gospel (good news) which this blog is all about: 16“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. The verse above is written in the book of the Jesus’ disciple John, chapter 3 and verse 16 … More The Glorious Gospel
Prov. 1:23 (TNIV): 23 Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings. It is only as we repent from our sin – our evil thoughts, words and deeds that we can receive the word of God in to our lives. Once we … More “Repent at my rebuke!”
The way the verb ‘to hear‘ functions in most modern languages is merely denoting the brain registering sound via the ears. This is not how we are to understand to hear when we read it in the Bible. Whereas translators in many instances take this into account for the obvious situations, it is helpful to … More Hearing is Obeying…in Hebrew
Although God reveals something (that is makes something known) at a certain point in history, it does not mean that things where different before they were revealed – they were only not revealed. This might seem obvious, but considering how the relationship between the OT and the NT is severed in liberal biblical scholarship, this … More Eternal Truths
Reading J. I. Packer’s God has Spoken I came across this from an argument for the necessity of verbal revelation: True as it is that the incarnate Christ was not only God for man but also Man for God and that in Him we not only hear God speaking but also watch God blessing and … More God has Spoken
We have earlier looked at how revelation is trinitarian, and how this is apparent in the Old Testament. Paul Blackham held this sermon one Trinity Sunday. What follows here is similar to it. Isaiah 48: 12“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am … More The Roles of the Trinity in OT
Evangelical theologian Don Carson says something in a talk that I listened to recently that was really helpful. So often we hear how people’s view of the God of the Bible is that he is revealed as a God of wrath in the OT and as a God of love in the NT. In a … More Mercy and Wrath Amplified
We have earlier looked at what Jesus says about this in another Gospel. Here is Matt 15:17-20: 17Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19For out of the heart … More Psalm 141
What we call the ‘Old Testament’, consisting of the Law, the Prophets and the Writings is the foundational Scripture of Judaism. It is also the foundational Scripture of Christianity. As Jerusalem was sacked in 70 AD the Temple of the LORD was destroyed and the means and place vanished where Jews could have upheld the … More A Case for Christianity
The following has appeared elsewhere, so I apologize for any repetitions. This post continues to argue the importance of the Old Testament for Christians. Approaching the OT Is approaching the Old Testament in light of Jesus just another ‘reading’ of the Old Testament? Are we awarding meaning to the biblical text? In the 70’s Marxism was … More Reading OT in the Light of What?
I have earlier argued that the whole Bible is about Jesus and that since that is the case, the Gospel can be preached from the whole Bible. I think more can be said. Although revelation comes to a fulfilment in the New Testament, and that part of the Bible is an indispensable part in that it … More Old Testament in New Testament
This verse is a Christological gold mine. This is how the TNIV translates it: I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness, for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame. What is so Jesus-centred about that?, you may … More Psalm 138:2
This post is highly related to yesterday’s post. Jesus to the Pharisees in Mark 7.11-13: But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”‘ (that is, given to God) then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, … More Paralyzing Interpretation of Scripture
Although I’m not an experienced preacher, my recent debut makes me think about preaching. I believe that there is a principle with regards to preaching that cannot be emphasised enough. I think this is the kind of thing that is obvious for some and shockingly provocative for others. The whole Bible, Old and New Testament, … More Preacher’s Primary Principle
Ascension Day last Thursday – how glorious! It is glorious for many reasons, one reason is that Sweden – the worlds most secular country – actually seems slightly holy in that Ascension Day is a public holiday here… For what it is worth for Sweden… We were reading the text that Rev. Paul Blackham calls the ‘obvious ascension … More Ascension Day
Here is the outline of my first Sunday sermon ever, preached yesterday. What a privilege – God is good! The reading was Luke 7:36-50: _____________ Last week we heard about how the Pharisees and the experts of the Law stumbled on account of Jesus and did not accept him because their expectations of him did not … More Christian Love – The Response to Sins Forgiven
It may just be me (my wife thinks so!) but I am somewhat appealed by a little discovery I made in Greek grammar during a lesson recently. Many Christians (me included) defend the historicity of the Bible. The events told of really happened at a certain place and at a certain time. There is a … More Historicity In Greek
My sister graciously gave me an awesome Bible recently. Don’t get me wrong, all Bibles are awesome, but for someone aspiring to read the Bible in the original languages, this one-volume A Reader’s Hebrew and Greek Bible from Zondervan is something out of the ordinary. Not only is the OT in Hebrew (and Aramaic), and … More A Reader’s Hebrew and Greek Bible
The LORD calls Samuel during the night but Samuel thinks it’s Eli calling. This is repeated three times until Eli realises that the LORD is calling the boy. Then it says in 1 Sam. 3:7: Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to … More Trinitarian Revelation (Uncovering the Word of God)
The Glorious Gospel 