Patmos
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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Sabbath in Scripture
- The divine origin and pattern of the Sabbath, Gen 2:2-3.
- The place of the Sabbath in the moral law, Ex 20:8-11.
- The weekly cycle of work and rest, Ex 20:9.
- The Sabbath as a commemoration of redemption, Deut 5:15.
- The keeping of the Sabbath by gentiles in the gospel age, Isa 56:6.
- The promise of revival to those who observe the Sabbath with delight and from the heart, Isa 58:13-14.
- The Sabbath as a sign of God’s covenant with his people, Eze 20:12,16.
The abominations of the heathen
Some crucial passages are: Deut 7:1-5; cf Ex 23:23ff; Deut 20:16-18.
Although our Lord did not explicitly endorse this particular act of judgement, as he did the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and of Noah’s contemporaries, he set his general seal on the book of Deuteronomy, which, from the number of times he quoted from it, must be regarded as his favourite book.
Specific endorsement is found in Acts 7:45; 13:17ff; Heb 11:31; 12:29. ‘Unquestionably the New Testament view is to take the Old Testament at its face value.…
Antioch
Antioch was the third largest city of the Roman Empire. It was non-Jewish, made up of many different races. It soon became the centre of Gentile Christianity.
1. Stephen is martyred and the believers are scattered everywhere. (Ac 8:1-4 )
2. Some travel as far as Antioch. They tell the message to Jews only. (Ac 11:19 )
3. Other believers come from Cyprus and north Africa. They preach to Gentiles in Antioch with dramatic results. (Ac 11:20-21 )
4.…
Ephesus
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Sanhedrin
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Some recent book reviews
Craig L. Blomberg, Can we still believe the Bible?. Reviewed (or, rather, noted, by Kevin James Bywater).
Blomberg is a thorough scholar and a clear writer. He has authored books on a range of topics, including the historical reliability of the Gospels. In this present volume, he deals with a range of possible objections to the trustworthiness of the Bible, including issues to do with the integrity of the text of the New Testament, the choice of books to include in the canon, the historical nature of biblical narratives, and the question of miracles.…
On eating horses
It’s become clear that the food we have been putting in our mouths is not everything the label said it was. Many products sold as containing beef – burgers, cottages pies, lasagne, and so on, have, in fact, contained varying amounts of horse meat.
Although probably not particularly damaging to our health, it’s a major scandal, probably involving international fraud.
One interesting side-light on this whole issue has been raised by food critic Giles Coren. Writing in The Times, he berated the public for not knowing what is in their food. …
‘The Ten Worst Verses of the Bible’
I think it was back in 2009 that the Ship of Fools website reported on its poll to find the ‘worst’ (that is to say, the most unpopular) verses of the Bible.
For a supposedly satirical website, the SoF had a surprisingly po faced aim. They wanted, apparently, to rescue the Bible both from its enemies, who think that it’s a complete pile of rubbish, and some of its friends, who suppose that it’s a ‘textbook of infallible information and unbreakable laws’. …
Top 200 Church Blogs
Back in September, Kent Shaffer published a list of ‘Top 200 Church Blogs’.
Although based on statistical popularity, questions have been asked about how the short list was drawn up (Shaffer just says that ‘several hundred’ were reviewed for ‘preliminary screening’ but doesn’t explain how these were identified. It is clear that the list contains many of the best-known blogs, but there is no way of telling how many equally popular blogs have been omitted.
It has been observed that the list features
- a relatively high proportion of Reformed writers
- a low number of women
- a diminishing representation from the ’emerging churches’
‘Walking With Giants’ isn’t anywhere on the list, but then I’ve done very little to publicise this blog. …