Today is the second anniversary of my brother Andrew's death. It is also the 49th anniversary of my reading the whole Bible for the first time on 22/8/1971. I have read the Bible daily ever since and now I spend several hours a day on my Bible commentary, making its teaching accessible to ordinary people, …
Category: Scripture
A summary of the New Testament in the Christian Bible
I recently summarised examples of Jesus’ extraordinary conversation in the Gospel of John. I hope it will be helpful to have a brief summary of the New Testament. Background – language and layout The New Testament was written after the Lord Jesus Christ appeared on Earth. In contrast, the Old Testament was written before He …
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Learning basic Exegesis
There are some basics in exegesis that Christians can learn and develop to improve their personal Bible study and their discussion at collective Bible studies. Drawing out of (ex-egesis) the Scripture will feed the soul. Which is the most significant word in the following sentence? "The red car went down the hill." You may say …
The archbishop’s poor politics
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, told the TUC on Wednesday that “the Bible is political from one end to the other.” The problem is that Welby is a poor politician. He condemned zero-hour contracts, the gig economy and Amazon in particular for not paying sufficient taxes in the UK. Since then it has transpired …
Ambiguity and exegesis: confusing English words
My last blogpost highlighted the mistake that early Christians made between 'soon' and 'suddenly'. It continues to the present hour, even among academia, with serious practical consequences both to the early Christian church 2Th 3:11 and to current Christianity. There are other examples of ambiguity in English words leading to confusion in exegesis. Such an …
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Before or from the foundation of the world?
There are many misquotations of Scripture that need to be corrected. I will gather over time a list of them here and put them into biblical order for easy consultation, but beginning with the one in the title of this blogpost. I will also supply mnemonics or the rationale which will help people to remember …
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Christian scribes
I am a scribe but not a Pharisee – that is, I am a Christian scribe. In Jesus' day, the scribes and Pharisees were opposed to His teaching. Jesus accused them of hypocrisy: 'Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you close the kingdom of heaven against mankind: for you neither go in yourselves, …
Academic exegesis
Academic exegesis is that form of interpretation which copies academics or authority figures rather than doing proper exegesis. The Lord Jesus Christ cut through this in His teaching, so that people were astonished at His teaching. Academic exegesis is seen in the translation of various biblical passages. Current Bible versions are the product of teams …
The majority of mankind will be saved
The majority of mankind will be saved – will you be among them? It is not uncommon to hear the depressing and unbiblical doctrine that only a minority of the human family will arrive in heaven. It is also common to hear the ungodly say that they do not want to go to heaven, which …
Biblical mnemonics
Ps 117: the shortest chapter in the Bible. Ps 119: the longest chapter in the Bible. Ps 118: the middle chapter in the Bible. Ps 118:8 "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." 1188/2 = 594. There are 594 chapters before Ps 118 and 594 chapters after it …
