How the Lord knows His own—and how their lives bear His name
…ement towards godliness? Can someone belong to Christ while remaining settled in the very iniquity from which He came to deliver us? These questions are often answered in opposite and equally dangerous ways. One answer makes our conduct the foundation of our acceptance with God,…
Read article →Spiritual ecstasy, altered states, and discerning what is from God
Test the Spirits Spiritual ecstasy, altered states, and discerning what is from God Human beings have always sought to pass beyond the boundaries of ordinary consciousness. Across cultures and religions, people have reported visions, overwhelming sensations of unit…
Read article →What 'yea and Amen' in Christ means for Israel and the covenants
…y promise of God is certain in Christ. Nothing God has pledged can reach fulfilment apart from Him, and nothing secured in Him can fail. This truth is sometimes made to carry a further conclusion. Christ is the heir of the promises; the Church is united to Christ; therefore all G…
Read article →The LORD, Zion, and the meaning of Beulah in Isaiah 62:4–5
…ine judgement. In the prophetic vision, Israel’s reconciliation to her God is inseparable from her restoration to the land He promised her. Zion and Her Land Isaiah 62 opens with an explicit concern for historical Zion and Jerusalem: “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and…
Read article →A response to Michael Horton on the land promise, Amos 9, and the people of God
…g: “When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God … ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.” —Joshua 23:16 Israel did transgress the covenant and consequently suffered the threatened discipline. The northern kingdom fell to Assyr…
Read article →The near was real. The far is still coming.
…The chapters speak of righteous kingship, renewed moral perception, the Spirit poured out from above, fruitful land, secure Zion, forgiven inhabitants, judgment upon the nations and the return of the redeemed. Their cumulative movement calls for an explanation large enough to acc…
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