Category Archives: bible

What Are We Saving?

Surely you’ve read this before: Then he brought them outside and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:30-31 NET) It’s … Continue reading

Posted in bible | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Half-intentional Sins

Re: Heiser on Leviticus 5 — The main point Heiser makes for here is that God recognizes fine gradations in judging whether a ritual defilement was intentional or not. In analyzing the Hebrew language of this chapter, there is at … Continue reading

Posted in bible | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Distinctions in Leviticus 1-3

I previously referenced the idea that there were two kinds of sin in the Old Testament, particularly if you are looking in the Book of Leviticus. Unintentional or inadvertent sins were not precisely what those words imply in English. The … Continue reading

Posted in bible | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where Is the Focus?

Several years ago I rode my mountain bike around the shores of Lake Stanley Draper. It’s an artificial reservoir enclosed by a dam and fed by a pair of creeks (East and West Elm Creeks) and several smaller run-offs from … Continue reading

Posted in bible | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Two Types of OT Law

Heiser said that we need to understand the Hebrew mindset about the Law of Moses. There are two types of law: serious moral concerns and mere ritual mistakes. Most of Leviticus is consumed in dealing with the latter. Rituals don’t … Continue reading

Posted in bible | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Numerology versus Gematria

Then I saw another beast coming up from the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but was speaking like a dragon. He exercised all the ruling authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth … Continue reading

Posted in bible | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Numerology versus Gematria

Hermeneutics of Establishing Priorities

Ref: Heiser’s Bible Podcast on Acts 15 (transcript PDF). Bible translations into English vary some, but we recognize in the Old Testament the term “Chosen” referring to the Nation of Israel. There is no useful distinction between “Chosen” and “Elect”. … Continue reading

Posted in bible | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Law of Kings

We are pretty sure David studied the Torah on a regular basis. It’s hard to imagine he would not have kept the law, in particular the passage in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. When you come to the land the LORD your God … Continue reading

Posted in bible | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Law of Kings

Holy Spirit Required

Most of you remember the incident in Acts 3 where Peter and John were entering the Temple and ran across a lame fellow begging at the Beautiful Gate. They healed the man and he came dancing and shouting into the … Continue reading

Posted in bible | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Holy Spirit Required

Balaam’s Teaching

In John’s Revelation, among the seven churches to which the Spirit of God has him write is Pergamum in chapter 2. But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, … Continue reading

Posted in bible | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Balaam’s Teaching