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  • The Objects of Judgment in Revelation: The World & The Worldly Church

    Everyone (with any interest in the matter) knows that judgment is a major theme in the book of Revelation. Whereas numerous Scriptural texts portray judgment upon individuals (e.g. Herod in Acts 12:23), cities (e.g. Sodom and Gomorrah), and nations/kingdoms (e.g. Egypt), Revelation addresses The Big One. The Final One. The Ultimate One. Judgment Day itself.…

  • The Presence of God WITH the Presence of Angels

    I’ve never been interested in angels or angelology. Rather, I never was interested until I read the following quote in Isaac Ambrose’s Looking Unto Jesus: But what is this presence of Christ in church-assemblies?…If by Christ’s presence, we mean the presence of his angels, I shall then say, we have said enough; as a king…

  • One Angelic Ambassador per City

    Assuming that a specially appointed angel watches over each local church that heaven recognizes as legitimate, let us then continue the line of thought experiments from the last post with questions such as the following: I know many people will think I’m being silly or frivolous. Many will think that such questions are like the…

  • One Heavenly Embassy per City

    The epistles often give the impression that there was no more than one congregation of Jesus-followers per city at that time, e.g., “To the church of God that is in Corinth….” Or, if more than one congregation met in different parts of a large city, there was such unity among them that an apostle could…

  • Local Churches as Kingdom of Heaven Embassies

    Viewing genuine, Spirit-indwelt, local churches as embassies for the Kingdom of Heaven scattered throughout the world is an analogy that works well on many levels. Here’s a couple helpful posts that work out some of the connections: Churches: The Embassies and Geography of Heaven and Planting an Embassy of the Empire. And while there is nothing…

  • The Time is Short; Make it Shorter

    Many a scholar and lay-reader alike has noted the palpable eschatological imminency of the New Testament. If Crystal Lewis had lived at the time, the most popular lyrics might have been, “People get ready. Jesus is coming. Soon we’ll be going home.” The early disciples were not mistaken to feel that way. The Bible itself…

  • Early Church Distinctives

    Some things that stick out to me as highlights from the post-Pentecostal advance of the gospel in the New Testament: