Bully's Blog

and the Usefulness of the Blood of Abel “…you have come… to the blood of sprinkling that speaks [more useful, more serviceable, more advantageous] things than [that of] Abel.”  Hebrews 12:22-24 In Biblical Horizons newsletter 203, James Jordan argues that since Cain’s “exodus” to build a city occurred around 130 years after the Fall, he was […]

I saw in my dream, that the Interpreter took Christian by the hand again, and led him into a very dark room, where there sat a man in an iron cage. Now the man seemed very sad. He sat with his eyes looking down to the ground, and his hands folded together, and he sighed […]

“…when the blood goes up, the Spirit comes down.” The battle between the Son and the serpent rages throughout the Old Testament. Every time the Lord renews the Covenant, Satan is ready with a counterfeit. God uses the phonies to test and purify His people, wipes the failures off the slate, then starts again. Aaron […]

or Lord of the Flies Isaiah 66 pictures hypocritical worship as the Altar of the Abyss (See that series here). This is just a quick overview. Most of it does seem to fit, but I’m sure there’s plenty more work to do here…

Or Old Covenant baptism “The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the […]

“And I cut off the three shepherds in one month…” Zechariah 11:8 Who are these mysterious three shepherds? Theories abound, most prominently that the Lord refers to the offices of prophet, priest and king in first century Judah. Perhaps, as with Zechariah 14, the pattern of Israel’s feasts (as outlined in Leviticus 23) structures Zechariah […]

Paedobaptism’s Utter Failure to be Objective My online acquaintance Alastair Roberts has written a piece on the “passivity” of the baptizand. I agree wholeheartedly with much of what he says. But like all paedobaptists, he sees only what supports his errant paradigm, and fails to comprehend the other half of the story.

Busts of Vespasian and Titus in the British Museum or The Coming of the Father and the Son The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. (John 19:15-16) Is there any significance in the fact that apostate Jerusalem was destroyed by two generals, […]

Paul’s Numbers We have arrived at what appears to be the center of the epistle, which would be Testing (in matrix terms), the “opening” of the Law (Ethics 2 in Covenant terms) and “purification” (in sacrificial terms). And, being at the centre of the book, this part is the Apostle’s main argument, or thesis. Just […]

“Smooth narrative” is one of the arguments against the inclusion of the final verses of the Gospel of Mark. The Bible isn’t known for its smooth narrative, anyway, but the ending does seem to pick up the speed suddenly. Is there anything in the text that might point in the other direction? How about literary […]

The Future of Israel Re-examined by James B. Jordan July, 1991. Biblical Horizons, No. 27 July, 1991 According to almost all Biblical expositors, Romans 11 predicts a future conversion to Christianity by the Jews as a nation. Premillennial expositors see this event as occurring during the tribulations they believe will come just before our Lord’s […]

or Festivals from the Abyss Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined […]

Adam couldn’t face God. Cain’s face fell. Moses’ face shone with reflected light when he returned from the mountain of God. Bezalel and Aholiab constructed the Table of Facebread, which corresponded in the cherubim to the Face Of The Man. David and his men ate the facebread. Saul feared Goliath, but David’s face was red, […]

Building the Iron Saint Every plunge brings a tougher skin and a softer heart. Jesus calls us deeper, so Satan manufactures false depths. There are the deep things of God and the deep things of Satan (Revelation 2:24). Doug Wilson points out that the deep things of God are depths of holiness, not depths of […]

Luke 4:30 “But he passing through the midst of them went his way…” Why did Abraham not cut up the birds? The structure of the passage has a “Passover“. Abraham acts as a human firmament by chasing away the “Covenant curse” birds of prey, then falls into a deep, dark sleep. Matching this chiastically at step […]