Bully's Blog

or Raising Up the Temple

An analysis of the literary structure of Day 5 of Creation and passages that are apparently parallel.
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“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up…” John 3:14

Peter Leithart recently noticed a chiasm in John 3:

A. Lifted up
…B. Serpent
……C. Wilderness
…B’. Son of Man
A’. lifted up.

Bible Matrix readers should notice immediately the wilderness at the centre. This means there is a lot more to this single phrase of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. In fact, there is all of heaven and earth.

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or Goblet of Fire

“And the times of this ignorance God winked at;
but now commandeth all men every where to repent…” Acts 17:30

Reading the Bible without an understanding of Creational and Covenant structures is like watching test cricket without knowing the rules. It’s not unusual for even the best commentators to be distracted by something as inconsequential as a lost seagull. But every moment is part of a bigger picture. Isaiah can seem tedious at times, but it’s a long game. Let’s look at Isaiah 4:2-6, which relates the purging of exiled Israel to the jealous inspection in Numbers 5. In this case, she comes up trumps.

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or Ulterior Motifs

Jesus’ reference to sun, moon and stars in Matthew 24 has nothing to do with the physical world, and everything to do with the microcosmic world of the Temple. Because of this, the Covenant Creationists think Genesis 1 is only about the Covenant with Adam, not about physical creation. They’re wrong, just as the literalists are wrong about Matthew 24 predicting the end of the world.

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or The Rapture is History

“And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God.” Job 19:26

Full preterism leads logically to gnosticism. If death is already defeated, salvation has come to the world, and all is now perfect, then of necessity all three — death, salvation and perfection — have to be redefined. They are only Covenantal, “spiritual.” You can probably understand why doctrines like these don’t originate from the persecuted church. Some hope.

However, that said, I agree with 97.3963798475% of full preterism. Their take on the parousia texts is logical and contextual. Jesus actually did come back soon, as He promised, to rescue the persecuted firstfruits church. The textual ping-pong of the well-meaning partial preterists (who can’t agree between themselves on which parousia texts refer to the end of history) is a confusion of which our God could not possibly be the author. So what’s the answer?

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or Discerning the True Sword

“Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!”
Philippians 3:2 (NKJV)

Jeff Meyers copped flak for his take on the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. He says the tax collector was justified for his Covenant faithfulness, and the Pharisee was not. Was it not the Pharisee who was faithful? And, either way, is this not justification by works? Has Jeff got night and day around the wrong way?

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Peter Leithart writes:

“Why so much attention to the pillars of Solomon’s temple in 2 Kings 25? It is likely that these were the last major items left. Ahaz had already dismantled the bronze sea and the water chariots. King after king plundered the temple for bribe money. When Nebuchadnezzar came, not much was left. Perhaps even the ark was among the ‘gold’ items removed earlier.” [1]

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“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you
and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.” Matthew 21:43

We unpacked the “face of the deep” of Day 1 and the “flat universe” created on Day 2. Time to analyse Day 3! Continue reading

or A Bigger Christendom

“In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river,
was tree of life, which bore twelve fruits,
each tree yielding its fruit every month.
The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
Revelation 22:2

NOTE: THIS POST HAS BEEN REMIXED AND INCLUDED IN GOD’S KITCHEN.

While the governments of the first global economy in history explore areas of policy for which there is no historical precedent, Christians need to understand that even now, there is nothing new under the sun. It may be true, as some believe, that every war (including World War I) can be traced back to disputes over resources. But all the economic advice we need, whether personal, national or global, is contained in the Bible. The Tree of Life is still at the centre of the Garden, but it is the Church, and God is working on a forest. Continue reading

(I was listening again today to the Biblical Horizons Preterism lectures from 1999 and thought I could see the offices of the godly in the Bible Matrix. Here are some quick thoughts, so feel free to comment and criticise as always.)

The Bible Matrix structures life at many levels. It structures the act that brings conception. It is the journey from ovum to live birth (what was the “placenta” in AD70?). It is the process of the working day and the working life — and family life, too. It structures a Bible-based, Covenant-renewal worship service. It is also the process God uses to make us what James Jordan calls “Great Prophets.” In this, every saint is a Tabernacle under construction, and every saint is a New Creation in progress. Continue reading