New Testament Texts

This presentation identifies the law of God, the Ten Commandments, in 1 Corinthians 15:56 and its implications on the eschatological church. The term “law” appears in isolation in the resurrection text, causing some to consider it an interpolation; however, its presence here not only heightens the continuity of God’s law in the eschatological church, but also its significance in the work of redemption and ultimate victory over sin and death, a development that will usher in eschatological rest in God’s entire universe.

Eschatology inevitably casts a moral vision—generating a corresponding ethic and giving promise of offering a unity of life and the possibility of total fulfillment. Revelation’s eschatology and ethics interweave, informing Scripture’s ultimate moral/spiritual vision and urgent appeal. Moral realities unfold against the vivid tapestry of an eschatological horizon comprised of a historical flow (past, present, future) and in the context of an overarching worldview with its vision of God and His redemptive re-creation. These moral realities include character (being and doing), freedom and choice, truthfulness, worship, covenant faithfulness, ethical practice, reconciliation, ethical norms, moral dilemmas, and moral agency. The context for ethical reflection is nuanced through key integrating themes that call for priority in our thinking and ethical method. Revelation puts us in a moral context—telling us what condition human life is in, where we are, and where we are going. It informs us what questions need to be answered. It provides the philosophical map, the larger moral vision against which its various moral themes can be considered.

The most notorious number in the Bible is the enigmatic number of the Sea Beast, 666 (Rev 13:18). After discussing the visual representation of this number in the earliest Greek manuscripts in light of recent numerical and papyrological research, I will explore the meaning of the verb ψηφίζω in 13:18 and other biblical and extra-biblical texts. I conclude that 666 is not a number to be understood as a series of three sixes, that the interpretation of the cryptogram must be understood from the standpoint of psephical calculations of the numerical equivalents the letters of ancient alphabets, and that the symbolic meaning of the number, or of its factor of six, is not primary to the text.

SDA identity is, to a substantial degree, grounded in the apocalyptic prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. A crucial part of that identity is dependent on the time periods in those prophecies. Yet aspects of those time prophecies have not in the past been developed in relation to solid academic exegesis. This presentation is an attempt to provide a more exegetical basis for Adventist understanding some of the five 1260 day/year passages in Revelation 11-13.

The question of conversion and its relationship to the gift of the Holy Spirit and the practice of water baptism is an important one. In some Christian denominations they are virtually inseparable, while in others they are related but clearly separate. In a few places, the New Testament also seem...

All four gospels introduce Jesus’ ministry with the work of John the Baptist (cf. Mark 1:4; Luke 3:2–3; John 1:6–7). He is mentioned as baptizing in a wide area that included “the wilderness of Judea” (Matt 3:1), “all the region around the Jordan” (Luke 3:3), and “Bethabara beyond the Jordan” (Jo...

Introduction In the first part of this article, we pointed out that the larger context of Revelation 14:6–12 is centered in conflict over worship. In Revelation 14:7 we read: “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea...

Matthew 2 continues the presentation of Jesus begun in chapter one, but the focus shifts from Jesus as “the Son of Abraham” (Matt 1:1) to His being “King of the Jews” (Matt 2:2). As we saw in “Lessons from Matthew 1,” David is introduced as “the king” (Matt 1:6) and Jesus is introduced as “the So...

In Revelation 7:2–5, 8 and Revelation 9:4 the divine sealing of humans is mentioned. The first passage belongs to the section on the seven seals; the second belongs to the trumpets. Are these two passages talking about the same event or do they refer to different processes of sealing? This questi...

Introduction Why is it that in the Bible creation and worship themes often appear together? (See Exod 20:1–17; Job 38:7; Ps 33:6–9; 95; 104; 115; 139:1–9; Isa 40:12–31; Amos 5:8; Acts 17:22–30; Rom 1:18–25; Rev 4:11.) And why are the two themes often set in conflict? It is not only the commandmen...