New Testament Letters
Blog posts based on passages or verses from letters in the New Testament.
Monday, 03 August 2009 01:00 | and posted in New Testament Letters
Revelation is a tragic example of how Christians can completely misinterpret the Bible. Popularised as a “road-map” of the end-times, traditional interpretations of Revelation have missed the politically subversive and damning critique of empire contained within its pages. One of the most obvious examples of this misinterpretation is that of the Beast’s mark* and number (666) found in Rev 13:16-18.
Monday, 27 July 2009 12:25 | and posted in New Testament Letters
Revelation is a tricksy little book to read. It’s full of singing, strange beasts, weird language, angels, trumpets and scrolls. It’s also over 1,900 years old, most of us have little knowledge of the first-century Asian context or of the Roman Empire and the genre Revelation is written in has never had its own section in Waterstones. All in all things don’t look easy for us!
However, there are two things that will help get us started: (1) understanding Revelation’s genre and (2) the book’s purpose.
Wednesday, 03 September 2008 00:00 | and posted in New Testament Letters
People make all kinds of claims about spiritual experiences. Depending on your background some of them may seem weird to you - people falling over, hearing from God in dreams, seeing angels, speaking in strange languages, laughing uncontrollably or perhaps it's those who take a vow of silence or simply sit ‘listening' to God for hours on end. What are we to think?
Wednesday, 27 August 2008 00:00 | and posted in New Testament Letters
‘The Boy David' was a documentary series on BBC telling the story of a boy called, yes you're way ahead of me: ‘David'. It ran on and off over 10-15 years, tracing David's life from his birth in rural Peru through his time in Glasgow and eventually in California. David's story was on TV because not only was he born desperately poor but he also had no nose. He had a gaping hole in his face where most of us have our snout, having been bitten by an infected fly as a baby.
Wednesday, 20 August 2008 00:00 | and posted in New Testament Letters
Getting to know Jesus changes everything. Jesus isn't just an interest for our CV like stamp-collecting or bird-watching or re-cycling. John uses the powerful image of being transported from darkness into light (read about this in 1 John 1:5-7) to talk about knowing Jesus. Close your eyes and walk - pretty soon you get disorientated; you don't know where you are, you bump into things. That's John's picture of life without God. You don't exactly know where you are or where you're going.
Wednesday, 13 August 2008 00:00 | and posted in New Testament Letters
Pele, the world famous Brazilian footballer, was a national hero at age 17 when he helped Brazil to victory in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. He scored in both the semi-final and the final and returned to Brazil to the adulation of thousands of fans who lined the streets to welcome the team home. He was definitely the star attraction.
Friday, 12 October 2007 00:00 | and posted in New Testament Letters
The first time I read 2 Peter 3:16 I laughed. In fact, I nearly wet myself!
'Paul's letters contain some things which are hard to understand,' Peter writes in a somewhat understated manner. Only hard to understand?! Only some things?!
Personally, I think reading Paul could easily be likened to wading through treacle!