True Satan from true Satan: Mirror Christology in Revelation 13

John of the Apocalypse presents the Dragon-Beast cycle (e.g. Revelation 12-13) as the diabolical inversion of the God-Christ cycle (e.g. Revelation 4-5). God and the Dragon each orchestrate sweeping collateral action through various anointed intermediaries, in particular Christ and the Beast from the sea, respectively, in order to exert their incompatible wills upon the world. … Continue reading True Satan from true Satan: Mirror Christology in Revelation 13 →

The Son of Man returns: Messianic expectations in the Apocalypse of Ezra

The Jewish Apocalypse of Ezra (also known as 4 Ezra) was written by an anonymous prophet in the wake of Israel's disastrous war with Rome—a theo-political rebellion that culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem's second temple. Around the time of much of the New Testament's composition, this Jewish seer took up the mantle and persona … Continue reading The Son of Man returns: Messianic expectations in the Apocalypse of Ezra →

The man who would not be god: Jesus as deified king

I argued last time that when the Johannine Jewish establishment stigmatizes Jesus as a man who "makes himself God" (John 10:33, cf. 5:18, Mark 2:7, 14:67) they do so with certain self-aggrandizing pagan emperors in mind; the king of Tyre (Ezekiel 28), the king of Egypt (Ezekiel 29), the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14), and, … Continue reading The man who would not be god: Jesus as deified king →

God’s kingdom is a kingdom: considering the visions of Daniel

Christians typically ground their vision of the kingdom of God on Jesus' words in John 18:36: "my kingdom is not of this world." The decision to give primacy to this particular text comes as part of a thoroughgoing prioritization of the personal and abstract over and against the political and concrete. So, according to this … Continue reading God’s kingdom is a kingdom: considering the visions of Daniel →

Was Eve deceived by Satan?

In my last post I argued that the early Christian portrait of Satan as a serpent (cf. Revelation 12-13, Luke 10:18-19, Romans 16:20) was primarily built upon the ancient Near Eastern Leviathan myth as appropriated by the writers of the Hebrew Bible (cf. Isaiah 27:1). I conceded, however, based largely upon Wisdom 2:24 and Revelation … Continue reading Was Eve deceived by Satan? →

Functional eschatology at Thessalonika

Paul outlines what appears to be a novel eschatological scenario in his first letter to the churches at Thessalonika. He writes that at the coming of Christ believers will be raised from the dead, collected into the air, and brought into the presence of the Lord (4:16-17). At the sound of the last trumpet there … Continue reading Functional eschatology at Thessalonika →

The resurrection to heaven

Christ's physical resurrection In two previous posts I tried to discern the significance of Christ's resurrection for earliest Christianity. I came to the conclusion that the resurrection served, for the most part, as a sign pointing to the exaltation of Christ to God's right hand. I argued that this exaltation, in turn, established Christ's role … Continue reading The resurrection to heaven →

Who is the king of kings?

The Biblical authors occasionally attribute to God and Christ the designation "king of kings." Paul names God the Father "king of kings" in 2 Timothy 6:15 and YHWH is praised as "lord of lords" across the Hebrew scriptures (Deuteronomy 10:17, Psalms 136:3). Likewise, Christ rides out to conquer the kings of the nations as "king … Continue reading Who is the king of kings? →