Bully's Blog

Well, besides disputing about how the Ten Words are to be divided up, Exodus 20 has its own literary structure, which is quite independent of the divisions.

Continue reading

My new friend Moshe Kline has put together these brilliant presentations on the literary structure of the Torah. He deals with the Creation week in a way I was familiar with: aligning Days 1, 2 and 3 with Days 4, 5 and 6, like the columns and rows in an Excel worksheet or on a train timetable.

But wait and see what he does with the 10 Plagues and the 10 Words.

Continue reading

Covenant Structure in 1 John 2:27

Continue reading

“All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

.

The new atheists believe Christianity is a wet paper bag, and they are intent on punching their way out of it. They don’t understand that Christianity is the source of blessing, and that through their unbelief they are its bastard (or mutant) children. They are unlike the old atheists. Their moral outrages are not at all consistent with their nihilistic beliefs.

The truly evil are the ones who do understand the integrating, empowering, culture-building force of Christianity, and shamelessly steal it for their own ends. Satan knows the Scriptures. His policy isn’t scorched earth. His desire is a thorny crop of his own, and for that he must imitate Covenant hierarchy – a totus Diabolus. An authority structure has the potential for far more carnage than anarchy does, especially one with a dictatorial “Covenant succession” built-in.

It is a strange fact that many tinpot dictators, many terrorists, many proponents of promising but destructive modern philosophies, were products of a Western education. Or is it so strange? Counterfeiters invest a lot of time in studying the real tender before they manufacture their own currency, otherwise their plans will fail. The finished product is identical but for two things: the source of authority (Head); and the end result on the community (Body). Gary North writes:

“Satan needs a chain of command in order to exercise power. Thus, in order to create the greatest havoc for the church, Satan and his followers need to imitate the church. Like the child who needs to sit on his father’s lap in order to slap him, so does the rebel need a crude imitation of God’s dominion theology in order to exercise power. A child who rejects the idea of his father’s lap cannot seriously hope to slap him. The anti-Christian has officially adopted an “anti-lap” theory of existence. He admits no cause-and-effect relationship between lap and slap. To the extent that he acts consistently with this view, he becomes impotent to attack God’s people.

Continue reading

The Glory Are We

How to Deal with Your Enemies

Learning to Love

Revival Defined

Crush Depth

or Three Ways to Live

“You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us — and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you! For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!” 1 Corinthians 4:8-10

John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and its sequel speak some sharp truths and great comforts to the heart of a Christian, in bold images and colourful scenarios that are impossible to forget. But there’s something the famous author got terribly wrong. He omitted Hierarchy.

Continue reading

“For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh…” Romans 9:3

Andrew Katay commenting on an article by Don Carson:

Continue reading

Just watched the movie Gattaca again (with daughter Olivia). It begins with a couple of quotes, one of them being:

“Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked?” Ecclesiastes 7:13

This is one of those movies that delivers more upon repeated viewings.

Continue reading

Did you know Genesis 2 solves the riddle of Law and Grace?

Continue reading

The Table on God’s Mountain

“Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat
falls into the ground
and dies,
it remains alone;
but if it dies,
it produces much grain.”
John 12:24

Israel was given a “firstfruits” taste of the Promised Land in Numbers 13. As with all Covenants, it was bittersweet. There were grapes, but there were giants. It was the same challenge as the one given to Adam. They were called to be judges who made their decisions based not on sight, but on faith in God’s Words.
Continue reading