God took on a body, from the dust, in Adam. A trillion particles of inanimate, dead stuff pulled together and organised into the most complex system in the cosmos, an organic machine capable of feats we are yet to discover.
Adam, as Covenant head, also took on a “body.” A Divine Handful of flesh and bone, dead or dying by any human measure, organised into a being more palatial and lavish than any male eye is worthy to behold.
Another quote from Regis Debray’s God: An Itinerary, and then some comments.
He’s a staunch atheist so I really shouldn’t be enjoying this book. What a mind. He’s like James Jordan’s evil twin. He has some wonderful observations despite his lack of the unifying paradigm of faith to understand their true meanings. He alternately makes me want to scream and sing.
Debray mistakenly interprets the adjustments made by God in the economy of His people throughout history as the inventions of men, yet without the constraints of errant tradition, he often hits the nail on the head. All he says should be taken with a grain of salt, but he is consistently thought-provoking.
41. The cities of the nations never fell in A.D. 70 (Rev. 16: 19).
This is a symbolic passage, but when we understand its nature, its message is astonishing. The reference to Jerusalem being divided into three parts alludes to Deuteronomy 19:3 concerning cities of refuge. There is also a “trinitarian” judgment in Ezekiel 5. Both are the outflow of the structure of the Tabernacle, which in turn images the pattern of heaven. This verse in Revelation 16 is, ironically, at the Tabernacle/Ascension step in this matrix pattern:
How are we to understand the need for Jacob to wrestle not only with Laban, but also with the angel of the Lord?
Abraham was given a miraculous son and his greatest test was to face the loss of that promised son. Jacob’s test was a similar loss of what had been gained through unity with God by Covenant. Both Abraham and Jacob had learned that they were not lords themselves but stewards under the Lord. Their authority was delegated to them. They were “Word incarnate.” Theirs was the authority of a head servant. They were Covenant vassals, and what was truly precious was their faithful relationship to God under this Covenant. Continue reading
Genesis Redux episode 1 by Darren Doane. Check out Pastor Deutsch’s books!
Untitled from Darren Doane on Vimeo.
11. “We shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3: 2). Never happened in A.D. 70.
12. “We shall know, even as we are known” (1 Cor. 13: 12). Still not fulfilled — unless you redefine knowledge.
I believe the first resurrection occurred during the Jewish war. Revelation specifically teaches two resurrections bookending the kingdom age. The end of the Temple was the coming of the kingdom. We cannot spiritualise this idea and say the first resurrection is conversion. That’s not what the text says. It says that those who took part in the first resurrection lived and reigned with Christ for the millennium. They are a human government in heaven. See Big Government.
I am not conceding anything to hyperpreterists. Yes, I believe they are right (to some degree) concerning a resurrection in AD70. What they don’t take into account is the pattern of the bigger picture laid down in the Old Testament, starting in Genesis, a pattern that structures the world, the Tabernacle, and even the human body, that leaves their denial of a future resurrection and judgment without justification. A physical “Land” resurrection actually guarantees a physical “World” resurrection. See Trinitarian Judgments.
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Till Australia Day (January 26), just pay postage and get the review edition of Totus Christus for free - before they are all gone.
(The final edition will most likely be three separate books.)
Postage to U.S. is currently US$30.
Australia is AU$12.
PayPal to mbull [at] bullartistry [dot] com [dot] au
Revelation can’t be fully appreciated without attention to its literary structure. I’m no expert, but have a gander at this…
Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. (Genesis 2:10-14)
After the Herod and Shylock post, I had one complaint that the Worship as Commerce tag didn’t really do what it said on the tin, so I hope to capture it (briefly?) here. Now, where to start? As James Jordan explains, the idea begins in Eden.
“Eden is the land of food, and the outlying lands are lands of other raw materials. The Bible conceives of commerce between these lands, so that those of Adam’s descendants who lived in Eden would have to engage in trade with those who had moved downstream to Havilah. In this way, precious stones would be brought from Havilah back to Eden to adorn the sanctuary. When Israel came out of Egypt, she sojourned in the land of Havilah while the Tabernacle and the High Priest’s garments were made (Genesis 25:18). Here in this land of rocks were made many items of gold and onyx. Indeed, the only reference in the Bible to the onyx stone, outside of Genesis 2, is in connection with the High Priest’s garments. The shoulder stones of the “ephod” were made of onyx, and had the names of the twelve tribes put upon them (Exodus 25:7; 28:9-12).” [1]
When the worship of God is both central and elevated, the priests of God carry the Spirit to the nations. In return, the nations bring to Eden the gold and precious stones of the surrounding lands. Because of Solomon’s request for wisdom instead of wealth, the Lord honoured his selflessness, his godly rule, with wealth from the surrounding nations. The kings of the world brought their glory into the Temple. As Israel’s kings continually disobeyed the Lord, the wealth was stolen away. The Lord was like a thief in the night. The gold shields stolen by Egyptian invaders were replaced with bronze ones. Nebuchadnezzar made Judah a vassal kingdom and taxed it the way Solomon and Rehoboam had taxed the tribes. Finally he took everything.
But this “wealth for wisdom” is not only typological. God is not against wealth per se. He wants a church that is glorious both inwardly and outwardly. It is when the church becomes a shell, as Judah did, a false witness with false whiteness, that God cuts it back to Adams in animal skins. [2] The letters to the Asian churches in Revelation 2-3 recapitulate Old Testament history, [3] which makes Herod’s Judah parallel with Laodicea. Well, not so much a parallel as the same sin but fully grown.
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Other than the reviews link at right, and some comments here, I did start a blog for those reading Totus Christus to leave feedback (there is also a link at right under Links tab). If your comments are helpful I will repost them here. So far, people either shake their head in disgust or tell me one chapter was worth the cost of the book (thanks Kelby and Theron!)
If you haven’t ordered one but are thinking about it, don’t delay too long. Once this review edition is gone it might be a while before a final is available.
In the mean time, the simpler Bible Matrix should be available in the U.S. and on Amazon some time during the next 6 months, whether I self-publish (with someone like Thomas Nelson’s Westbow Press) or I manage to convince a real one. Here’s the working cover and blurb…
Read the Foreword here
