The End of the World

John now enters a strange, liminal space where death has coughed up its captives who now stand before an immense and gleaning white throne, while numerous volumes are opened... #Revelation20 #BookfoLife #GreatWhiteThrone #LastJudgment #FinalJudgment

Then I saw a throne, immense, white, and the one sitting upon it, from before the face of him flew the earth and the sky, and a place not discovered for them. Then I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing in the presence of the throne, and books were opened—then another book was opened, that is the life: and so the dead were judged, out of the things that had been written in the books…

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HER STORY: Leaders in the Cause of Christ, Did Jesus Call Women to Discipleship?

Did Jesus call women into discipleship in the same way Jesus called men? Or did women simply start following Jesus of their own accord, with no formal call? #WomenDisciples #Egalitarian

Did Jesus call women into discipleship in the same way Jesus called men? Or did women simply start following Jesus of their own accord, with no formal call? Can we say, for instance, that Mary of Bethany was actually a disciple, or was she simply acting like a disciple when she sat at Jesus’s feet? In the same way, was Mary of Magdala only acting like an apostle to the apostles, as she is…

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"The Bible and Sexuality," by Karen R. Keen

In my opinion, this little primer could be developed into a sturdy textbook for Christians on all sides of this hot topic today. #TheBibleandSexuality #KarenRKeen #NashvilleStatement #BiblicalSexuality

The Bible and Sexuality, by Karen R. Keen, Durham, NC: Contemplatio Publishing, 202.116 pages. What Does the Bible Say About Sex? A slim volume, easily read in an afternoon, or evening, Keen writes with a spare yet approachable style exploring what the Bible has to say about sex, including same-sex encounters. Originally intended as a primer for her college students, Keen explains that her…

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Revelation 20: An Imperial Triumphal Procession

Satan had been conquered, Satan’s allies vanquished, even the beast and its false prophet had been summarily done away with. Christ was the clear victor, God’s beloved people finally safe. Why not just throw away the key? #Revelation20 #TriumphalMarch

Revelation 19, 20: An Imperial Triumphal Parade Two years ago, as I was enjoying an intensive week of classes and student gatherings at Portland Seminary, a young professor named Shane Wood gave a guest lecture on what he called “An Alter-Imperial Interpretation of Revelation 20:7-10,” from his book “The Alter-Imperial Paradigm.” Below is the summary of his fascinating perspective. Why Must…

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HER STORY: Leaders in the Cause of Christ, Women Disciples an Introduction

The debate continues as to whether Scripture endorses, or at least permits, or rather forbids women from certain roles within the Body of Christ. #WomenPastors #Egalitarian #WomenElders

The debate continues as to whether Scripture endorses, or at least permits, or rather forbids women from certain roles within the Body of Christ. May women be deacons? May women be elders? May women be pastors? May women be bishops? May women teach or lead in church? At stake, of course, is how to live rightly before God, how to do what God has in mind, and to live within the space and the…

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“Strange Religion” by Nijay K. Gupta

I really enjoy reading Nijay Gupta’s work, and Strange Religion is just as interesting and appealing as everything else I have read from this author. I highly recommend it. #StrangeReligion #WeirdReligion #NijayKGupta

Strange Religion, by Nijay K. Gupta, Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2024. 228 Pages What Makes Christianity Weird? What is it about Christianity that’s distinctive? Different than other philosophies of life, faith disciplines, and religions? Nijay Gupta begins his book with a question that answers my own: “Why did the early Christians call themselves ‘believers’?” I had never really wondered…

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Revelation 20: Satan's Last Stand

What do Ezekiel and Paul have to add to John's oracle about Satan and the Lake of Fire? #Revelation20 #LakeofFire #Ezekiel38 2Thessalonians2 #GogandMagog

Then, when the thousand years shall come to an end, the Adversary [Satan] will be released out of his prison, and he will go forth to lead astray the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them before the battle, of whom the number of them is as the sand of the sea. Then they went up over the breadth of the earth and encircled the encampment of the holy and…

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HER STORY: Christ's Ministry, Jairus's Daughter

The story of Jairus’s daughter and the woman who suffered from a bleeding disorder are told together in all three of the synoptic gospels #DaughterofJairus #BleedingWoman

Season 6, Christ’s Ministry: Jairus’s Daughter The story of Jairus’s daughter and the woman who suffered from a bleeding disorder are told together in all three of the synoptic gospels—the gospels that more or less track with each other, Matthew, Mark, and Luke.I am going to be teaching out of Mark’s gospel, who has the most detailed account of these two stories. I believe this to be a true…

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The Tru316 Foundation

There are 66 books in the Bible, with 929 chapters, and 31, 102 verses. Over thirty thousand verses! But, The Tru316 Foundation focuses on just one verse: Genesis 3:16. #Tru316 #Genesis316 #BruceCEFleming

The Tru316Foundation is one of several organizations I am affiliated with and recently received a prestigious award from, as appreciation for the work I have been doing in concert with Dr. Joy Fleming and Rev. Bruce Fleming. There are 66 books in the Bible, with 929 chapters, and 31, 102 verses. Over thirty thousand verses! But, The Tru316 Foundation focuses on just one verse: Genesis 3:16. Yes,…

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Revelation 20: First Resurrection, What Is It?

The whole earth will eventually be under the blessing of Christian rule, all the nations of the world will enjoy the benefits of living by Christ’s commands, ethos, values, and morality. #TheMillennium #FirstResurrection #Postmillennial

Then, I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them—both the souls of the ones having been beheaded because of the witness of Jesus and through the word of God, and the same who did not throw themselves prostrate in homage to the beast nor the image of it, and did not receive the etched mark upon their forehead or upon their hand—and they became alive and reigned with…

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HER STORY: Christ's Ministry, Mary of Magdala

We’ll first follow Mary through the years she was a student and supporter of Jesus, then we will spend most of our time in the Garden with Mary at Christ’s empty tomb #MaryofMagdala #Magdelene #Resurrection #EmptyTomb #GardenTomb

Throughout his ministry, Jesus gathered around him men and women who became a community of 120 people joined in their love for and faith in Jesus. And one of those women was Mary of Magdala. She is mentioned fourteen times, in all four Gospels, and her name is almost always placed first, seemingly implying she was first in service, first in support. However, Mary’s most significant story appears…

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"The Creation of Patriarchy" by Gerda Lerner

Is it possible to trace the origins of the patriarchal systems that have been practiced worldwide for thousands of years? #CreationofPatriarchy #GerdaLerner

The Creation of Patriarchy, By Gerda Lerner, Oxford University Press, 1986. 318 pages. Is it possible to trace the origins of the patriarchal systems that have been practiced worldwide for thousands of years? Gerda Lerner (1920–2013), a professor of Women’s History, defined patriarchy as “the manifestation and institutionalization of male dominance over women and children in the family and the…

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Revelation 20: A Thousand Years, Literal or Metaphorical?

A hotly contested verb, and attest to how hard it was to figure out how to translate it. It means “to live,” or "to “be alive.” But in this context, it possibly has a different nuance. #TheMillennium #FirstResurrection

Then, I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them—both the souls of the ones having been beheaded because of the witness of Jesus and through the word of God, and the same who did not throw themselves prostrate in homage to the beast nor the image of it, and did not receive the etched mark upon their forehead or upon their hand—and they became alive and reigned with…

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HER STORY: Christ's Ministry, The Cross - Symbol of Victory

Is the cross a symbol about death or life? defeat or triumph? humiliation or glory? Or all those things? #Crossof Christ #Crucifixion #DiedforOurSins #ChristusVictor

Is the cross a symbol about death or life? defeat or triumph? humiliation or glory? Or all those things? As I searched for answers, I became drawn to how Christians depicted crosses a thousand years ago and more, and that search became this fifteen minute video on the ancient symbols of Christianity. From the eight-hundred-year old Batllo Majsty, now residing in in the Museu Nacional d’Art de…

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"Cultural Christians in the Early Church" by Nadya Williams

I would recommend Cultural Christians in the Early Church, by Nadya Williams, to exactly the audience the author specifies: those who yearn for the "good ole days" of the church. #CulturalChristiansInTheEarlyChurch #NadyaWilliams

I would recommend Cultural Christians in the Early Church, by Nadya Williams, to exactly the audience the author specifies: those who yearn for the “good ole days” of the church. Part 1 The first part is the least developed, from an academic point of view, and shows the author’s weakness (Biblical studies), but her topics are sensible. She pulls out three issues the apostle Paul was dealing…

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Revelation 20: The Abyss, The Seal, and the Devil

Now that we have reached the Millennium, possibly one of the most famous passages in the whole of the New Testament after the Gospels, the categories change to Pre-, A-, and Postmillennial interpretations. #Revelation20 #TheMillennium

After reading through the first three chapters of Revelation, interpretation of this apocalyptic and prophetic document written two thousand years ago has fallen neatly into four categories: Historicist commentators see the fulfilment of Revelation carried out in church history. Preterist scholars see John’s Apocalypse as a word to those who lived through the destruction of Jerusalem—possibly…

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HER STORY: Christ's Ministry, The Wife of Pilate

Though the Bible does not give us much information about Pilate’s wife, she does appear in a number of ancient accounts that arose in the first few centuries of Christianity. #Claudia #WifeofPilate #Procula #PontiusPilate

Of the several influential women in the Bible who are not given names—Job’s wife, comes to mind—the wife of Pilate is perhaps the most shadowy. All that is known of her from the scriptures is her relationship to the Procurator Marcus Pontius Pilate, and the message she sent to him while he was sitting on the Seat of Judgment in the Praetorium the morning Jesus of Nazareth was tried for…

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