There is no consensus in ancient literature about the nature of demons or evil spirits. The early Jesus traditions pre-suppose or assume an understanding of demons; the Gospel authors assume their readers[1] will readily understand the mention of …
There are three broad positions on the meaning of the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost. Pentecostal scholars like Robert Menzies define the gift solely in terms of an added gift enabling and supporting the missionary work of the church.1 Non-Pentecostal scholars of a broader …
Isaiah 24-27 is usually regarded by scholars as “apocalyptic”, and as later than the time of Isaiah of Jerusalem. However, we view their content as entirely applicable to the Assyrian crisis.[1] The “Zion triumphant” perspective of these chapters …
The problem with this text is: Why should Jesus be baptised? Commentators observe that John baptised with a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins but Jesus was sinless. Christadelphian solutions answer the problem by saying …
Professor James D.G. Dunn is a New Testament theologian who employs the exegetical methods of “historical context of meaning” and “conceptuality in transition,” to illuminate the first-century meaning of key New Testament texts that bear directly on the development of …
It has been argued by H. A. Whittaker that the terms “Assyria” and “Babylon” are confused in prophetic oracles.[1] The purpose of this article is to review the evidence presented by Whittaker for such confusion. We have noted …
Personification is a well recognised figure of speech. Wisdom is personified in Proverbs 8, and there are many examples of personification phrases. In this article, we will lay out a theoretical framework for handling the topic of personification. With this …
The question arises as to what a NT author or the first audience knew of scripture; what did an author require of his real audience and what did he imply in his use of scripture? This topic is vexed by …
It is often asserted that the divine purpose with Israel as a nation and with the Jewish people as a distinct ethnicity is a thing of the past – the nation has been replaced by the church.
In dealing with …
The impact that John the Baptist made on the national psyche cannot be underestimated; he is mentioned by the historian Josephus[1] and had a lasting effect on the early church as well as influencing the preaching of Jesus …