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 →

Budgeting for the end: Christ’s eschatological economics

Christians typically organize Jesus' sayings on money and property in accordance with one of two models. One of these models attributes to Jesus socialistic aspirations. In this framing Jesus rails against the rich as the defender of the poor and as the prophet who calls into being a more equitable society and a more just … Continue reading Budgeting for the end: Christ’s eschatological economics →

Fire-taming child: The power of miracles in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is an anonymous1 biographical work concerning the childhood of Jesus. It is usually dated to some time in the 2nd century. Much like the Elijah-Elisha cycle or the Johannine Sign Source, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas is a collection of discrete miracle folktales interwoven with controversy stories in which the … Continue reading Fire-taming child: The power of miracles in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas →

The inimitable Christ: Christian ethics before and after the apocalypse

A conflict of visions Two competing moral visions dominate the modern Christian mind: the patriarchal vision and the egalitarian vision. Patriarchalism The patriarchal vision seeks to maintain certain socio-political inequalities so as to preserve the national identity—understood to be both primordial and immutable. In this task fathers, husbands, and men generally are divinely-appointed to rule … Continue reading The inimitable Christ: Christian ethics before and after the apocalypse →

God’s king is a king: The politics of divine kingship

Modern Christians typically resist the idea that Christ is an "earthly" king like other "earthly" kings—a king like David, Ahab, or Jehu. Instead, the Christ of popular Christian conception is a "heavenly" or "spiritual" king, a king who reigns over the hearts of his (voluntary) subjects and over creation as a kind of cosmic sustainer. … Continue reading God’s king is a king: The politics of divine kingship →

When demoniacs win: The triumph of Christ’s apocalyptic spirit

The apocalyptic imagination that emerged in Judea during the Greek and Roman periods represents a unique socio-religious response to feelings of discontent and resentment engendered by pagan political hegemony. Unable to integrate the Jewish cult into the pagan imperial system,1 an atmosphere of mutual antagonism descended upon colonized Israel. Just as a viral infection prompts … Continue reading When demoniacs win: The triumph of Christ’s apocalyptic spirit →

My king upon Zion: Jesus’ triumphal entry into the Temple

The Synoptic Gospels relate that Jesus engaged in a violent prophetic sign-act in the Jerusalem Temple on the week of his death. Knocking over tables, upsetting animals, and scourging the money-changers, Jesus signaled the imminent demolition of Israel's sanctuary by Roman armies (cf. John 2:19, Mark 13:1-2, 11:12-14). Indeed, at his trial and execution Jesus' … Continue reading My king upon Zion: Jesus’ triumphal entry into the Temple →

Jerusalem witch trials: John’s magician of immortality

John's Gospel provides readers with an eschatological vision that is both peculiar and revolutionary. If the Synoptic Gospels evoke an eschatology of imminence, the Gospel of John evokes an eschatology of immanence. If in the Synoptic traditions God's kingdom arrives in power "before some standing here [should] taste death," in the Johannine tradition God's kingdom, … Continue reading Jerusalem witch trials: John’s magician of immortality →

Resurrecting the persecuted body: The metamorphosis of Christian shame into Christian honor

A functional approach to early Christian apocalyptic rhetoric attempts to peer beyond the smoke and spectacle, to discover the true aims of the man behind the curtain. A functional approach asks What does it mean, practically speaking, for the Son of Man to appear like lightning in the sky? What does it mean, in concrete … Continue reading Resurrecting the persecuted body: The metamorphosis of Christian shame into Christian honor →

God’s gospel among the Greeks: Paganism and the exhaustion of divine forbearance

The gospel as conceived of by traditional Christian theology is a divine savior myth of personal postmortem salvation. It is the news that through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of God's Son human beings can escape the fatal consequences of sin and live eternally in a heavenly world. Constructed in this way, so … Continue reading God’s gospel among the Greeks: Paganism and the exhaustion of divine forbearance →