Biblical Studies – Lexham Press

The First Person to See God Face to Face

on March 19, 2019

One cannot encounter God and remain unchanged. Moses descended the mountain with a radiant face. Isaiah was overwhelmed by his own inadequacy. And when it comes to Jesus’ disciples—however unlearned they were—it was evident that they had been “with Jesus.” The same can be said of Jacob, who was forever altered by his experience of

Two Things You Need to Forget When Reading Biblical Prophecy

on March 12, 2019

Unless we understand how prophetic and apocalyptic discourse is structured, these parts of the Bible will remain closed books. We will not read the prophetic and apocalyptic parts of the Bible with relish, and we will not gravitate to them naturally, if we cannot negotiate their unique patterns of organization. What Not to Expect Before we

The Origins of the “Day of the Lord”

on March 5, 2019

Although there are a variety of ways that Bible speaks of divine justice, the “day of the Lord” idiom is most prevalent. In his “day,” the Lord comes to judge His enemies and vindicate His people. The prophets regularly used this phrase (e.g. Isa 13:6; Amos 5:18), but from where did they get it? Or

Textual Criticism and the Authority of Scripture

on January 31, 2019

Textual criticism is an often misunderstood practice. If the Bible is supposed to be the inspired Word of God, how could discrepancies in the text exist? This excerpt from Textual Criticism of the Bible tackles this concern head-on. A properly aligned doctrine of Scripture recognizes the authority of the Bible while also acknowledging the human imperfections introduced

Forget the Halos. Ditch the Harps. The New Book from Michael Heiser Has Arrived.

on September 19, 2018

What do you really know about the heavenly host? Everyone knows that angels have wings, usually carry harps, and that each of us has our own personal guardian angel, right? We all have some preconceptions about angels from movies, television shows, and other media, but you might be surprised to know that a lot of

Paul, Christ’s Ambassador in Chains

on June 5, 2018

When we read about the apostle Paul in the book of Acts, Luke intends for us to remember Paul the captive as much as or even more than Paul the traveling missionary. Luke devotes almost a quarter of Acts to Paul’s final arrest and imprisonment—and if you include the account of Paul’s troubles in Philippi,

The Love of God and the Mission of Jesus

on May 1, 2018

The newest volume in the Osborne New Testament Commentaries is John Verse by Verse. Respected biblical scholar Grant R. Osborne invites the reader to become caught up in the dramatic masterpiece of the Fourth Gospel. In the excerpt below, he explores one of the most well known verses in the entire Bible and shows us how it’s crucial to

Link Love for the NIV Faithlife Study Bible

on March 14, 2017

Last week, the NIV Faithlife Study Bible made its debut in print. This new study Bible has generated a ton of buzz and we’d like to share a couple of links where it’s being discussed. In an interview on Tim Challies’s blog, Dr. Michael Bird discusses the importance of staying curious in Bible study: It’s important

Modern Idol Worship and the Book of Judges

on February 27, 2017

This guest post was written by David Beldman, author of Deserting the King: The Book of Judges. When Christians look for instruction and inspiration, when we look for a deeper sense of our calling and mission, we typically turn to the more obvious Scripture passages: Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, the Great Commission, or the

A Brave New Literary World for Biblical Studies

on January 30, 2017

In a few short decades in the latter half of the twentieth century, the interpretation of the Bible underwent a notable shift such as has happened only occasionally over the last few thousand years. During this time the focus in biblical interpretation began to shift from what the text can teach us about the past