Bully's Blog

“As always, the beauty of the arrangement is breathtaking. It is historical narrative, poetry, legal Covenant and high symbolism all at once… It consists of three Cycles which recapitulate the triune ‘Garden, Land, World’ architecture of the Creation and the Tabernacle.”

Matthew 28: SUCCESSION

The fifth major cycle takes us to the end of the Covenant pattern, from the Covenant Sanctions to Covenant Succession. In the Old Testament, this concerned handing Covenant authority to the faithful of the next generation. It was the blessings of Jacob upon his sons (Garden), and Moses passing the baton of headship of Israel to Joshua (Land). This time, the inheritance was not the Garden Sanctuary of Moses [1] nor the Land of Canaan, but the entire World. Thus, it is no accident that in both cases, in that of Joshua and that of the disciples, He said, “I am with you.” A battle lay ahead.
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“Touching a bone made an Israelite unclean. Burning bones upon Jeroboam’s altars defiled them. This was not because bones were unholy but because they were already holy.”

Here’s a new chapter from God’s Kitchen (members only).

“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
Genesis 2:23

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All the New Testament writers use the Bible Matrix. A possible application of the identification of literary structures is the solving of disputes over textual variants. I applied the matrix to Mark 16, where verses 9-20 are considered by many to be a later addition. Guess what?

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“Cursed is the ground for your sake…
Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you.” (Genesis 3:17-18)

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Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (1 Corinthians 15:46-49)

We’ve been talking about “intuition,” which is something ascribed more to women than to men. If we relate it to hermeneutics, does this mean women make better Bible interpreters, or is there something deeper going on?

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Bow ties are cool. Fezzes are cool. But systematic typology is very cool. Try this on…

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or What’s the Problem with Matthew 27:51-53?

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“What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.” Galatians 3:19

Was the Law just a stop-gap measure to hold things together until Jesus was born? Was the Mosaic Covenant just a “parenthesis” between the “graceful” Covenant with Abram and the “graceful” New Covenant?

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Doug Wilson writes:

“When it comes to child-rearing, between the Old and New Testaments there is total and complete continuity on the subject of godly parenting. There is no discontinuity. It needs to be emphasized again that there is continuity in the promises of God with regard to parenting. Not surprisingly, this has ramifications for the subject of infant baptism” (To a Thousand Generations, p. 10).

I am currently reading this book. Lots of good stuff in there, even for a Baptist. BUT…

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and The Bible’s Genome Stability

The third stanza of Matthew 28.

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