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Jon Pauliens Blog 1m 4
With a lifelong engagement in Adventist faith and tradition, I could not resist sharing this insightful analysis of recent developments by my friend and colleague Michael Peabody.
Another essay from Michael Peabody, balanced the political perspective in his last essay. I find his work very relevant and balanced. I share for the benefit of readers who value m
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I do not usually expound on political matters knowing that anything I say on the subject will polarize my audience and distract from the biblical/theological focus of the blog site
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The following essay is by Michael Peabody. His analysis of Iranian eschatology is spot on in my analysis. Michael& 217;s site is outstanding on many of the issues of today. You ca
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The following blog is from Marcos Torres, who offers an apolitical analysis of the Iran war with a special focus on how followers of Jesus can and should look at these things. I th
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The following blog is shared by permission. I share it because I find his commentaries on religio political issues balanced and insightful. Shared with his permission from behind a
Jon Pauliens Blog 1y 24
The principle of & 220;spiritual and worldwide& 221; in relation to Israel can be seen throughout the book of Revelation. In Zechariah 12:10 the & 220;inhabitants of Jerusalem&#
While I respect all godly Christians who differ with me on Revelation, I think the spiritual, worldwide nature of Israel in Revelation is easy enough to demonstrate, beginning with
Jon Pauliens Blog 1y 19
But in what sense can the church be called Israel? Is it ethnic, geographical, or relational? In ethnic terms, Israel started out as a birth family with twelve sons physically desc
Jon Pauliens Blog 1y 21
This is the second in a series on Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation. Just as Christ fulfilled the history of Israel in His own experience, so in Revelation the experience of t
Jon Pauliens Blog 1y 20
From a New Testament perspective, all prophecy is Christ centered. In other words, if one& 217;s interpretation of prophecy does not deliver a clearer picture of Jesus, that proph
In Revelation 16 and 17 one encounters the kings of the east (16:12), the kings of the whole inhabited world (16:14), the kings of the earth (17:2), the seven kings (17:10), and no
Jon Pauliens Blog 1y 25
The fall of Babylon motif is signaled by Revelation 16:12 and 17:1, as noted earlier. The mention of the Euphrates River (Rev 16:12) and the & 220;many waters& 221; (Rev 17:1) ar
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Revelation& 217;s global (world wide) approach to the final events of earth& 217;s history is evident in the description of the major players. The secular/political entity of Rev
Jon Pauliens Blog 1y 26
In the latter part of the book of Revelation, the New Jerusalem as the bride of the Lamb is set off in contrast to Babylon the prostitute. This parallel is tipped off by the openin
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This distinction has important implications for interpreting the heads of the beast in this chapter. Like Daniel 2 and 7, Revelation 17 contains a clearly defined contrast between
What I Think I Know About Rev 17: 3) When you apply the previous principle to Revelation 17, it becomes evident that there are three main entities being described in the chapter. T
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This principle is stated explicitly in Revelation 17:9 10, ESV: & 220;. . . the seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman is seated, they are also seven kings. . . .& 2
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This connection (between Rev 17 and 16:12 21) is signaled in the very first verse of chapter 17, ESV: & 220;Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to m
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Revelation 17 is one of the most difficult parts of the Bible to interpret, particularly verses 7 11. When I was teaching at Andrews University, therefore, I decided to make Revela
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While preterist interpreters seek meaning for the land beast in the contemporary Roman context (see, for example, Aune, Revelation, 756 757), the movement of the text from Revelati
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Finally, from an Adventist perspective, there is the example of Ellen G. White. Many Adventists have assumed that Ellen White& 217;s words were more directly chosen by God, that s
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A look at the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament leads us to a seventh important principle of Bible prophecy, stated a couple of times by Jesus: & 220;I have told you now b
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What actually happened when Israel returned from Babylon? Compared to the texts we& 217;ve been reading, the fulfillment was disappointing. Remember principle 2: God is not predic
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I am emphasizing these principles because they provide the basis for making a sound analysis of unfulfilled prophecies. Many people treat unfulfilled prophecy as if it were written
Jon Pauliens Blog 1y 34
Micah. A contemporary of Hosea was the prophet Micah. He prophesied to the kingdom of Judah (just to the south) a short time after the prophecy recorded in Hosea 2. He too follows
If you were to read the Bible through from Isaiah to Malachi you would discover that the major theme running through the prophets is Judah& 217;s exile to Babylon and subsequent r
I would encourage you to put the observations about Creation, the Flood, and the Exodus to the test. Look up the texts I have listed along the way. Then read the books of Genesis a
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The creation account begins with a formless earth covered by water (Gen 1:2). The flood story begins with the chaos of sin (Gen 6:5 7) and then describes the earth& 217;s return t
There are amazing and purposeful parallels between the story of creation and the story of the Flood. When the Flood is described, the language of Creation is used. When the new cre
The parallels between creation and the flood are considerable, but they do not end there, Noah, the chief figure in the flood story, is described as a & 220;second Adam.& 221; At
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When you look at the big picture of the Old Testament you discover that everything centers on four major acts of God, Creation, the Flood, the Exodus, and the Return from Babylonia
Prophets are making a comeback in today& 217;s world. The National Enquirer tabloid is full of them. Perhaps you& 217;ve heard of Nostradamus, the sixteenth century French physic
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Let me share a few practical thoughts that I take from the careful and painful study in how women were treated in ancient wars and how God implemented incremental, redemptive movem
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I apologize for the long gap in time since the last blog. I have been occupied with many things. But I am determined to increase the pace and also catch up with your comments and q
Jon Pauliens Blog 1y 51
In the previous blog, we outlined the horrific way that women were treated in ancient wars. How does Deuteronomy 21:10 14 represent God& 217;s incremental redemptive ethic in its
Jon Pauliens Blog 1y 52
To understand Deuteronomy 21:10 14, it is important to set those instructions into the context of how women were treated in war in the Ancient Near East. As noted by William Webb,
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The work of William Webb and Gordon Oeste suggests a very important principle of interpretation, when it comes to the Bible. Since God meets people where they are, God& 217;s reve
I have really appreciated the researched done by William Webb and Gordon Oeste in the book entitled Bloody, Brutal and Barbaric? Wrestling with Troubling War Texts. It was publishe
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Deut 21:10 14: & 220;When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, 11 and you see among the captives a be
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The world as we experience it is a mess. There are mass migrations, leading to tragedy and cultural conflict. There are mass shootings in many places, particularly in the United St
Jon Pauliens Blog 2y 58
My attempted contribution to understanding of Michael& 217;s identity here is a small one. But given the long standing dispute among biblical scholars, even a small contribution c
Jon Pauliens Blog 2y 54
Since writing up the above blog sequence and presenting it at the annual meeting of the Adventist Society for Religious Studies in San Antonio (November 2023), I have observed furt
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The previous blog was a short summary of the debate among biblical scholars regarding the identity of Michael. In this blog, I would like to explore some fresh evidence regarding t
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While the counter arguments against equating Jesus and Michael are impressive in their own right, they overlook another line of evidence. Portraying Jesus as an angelic figure is c
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While the identification of Michael as Jesus Christ finds support in certain passages, many scholars and theologians maintain that Michael is solely an angelic being, distinct from
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Identifying Michael as Jesus Christ is widely supported by reference to 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Paul there associates the Second Coming of Jesus with the voice of the archangel. The
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The first reference to Michael in the New Testament is found in the book of Jude, where he is referred to as & 220;the archangel Michael& 221; (Jude 1:9), one of the leaders amon
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Outside the biblical canon, Michael& 217;s presence is widespread in Early Jewish texts (see the extensive listing of Jewish sources in David E. Aune, Revelation, 3 vols., Anchor
The name & 220;Michael& 221; in Hebrew means & 220;Who is like God?& 221; The earliest appearance of Michael in the Bible is in Daniel, where he is referred to as & 220;one of
