This September, I will be speaking in Europe during a Reformation tour along with James White. We will be in Wittenberg only days away from the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. You should consider joining us for this study tour – one that will shape your understanding of what actually happened 500 years ago.
Why Did Jesus Heal? — From his new book, None Other: Discovering the God of the Bible – John MacArthur writes: “The church was not established as a country club or a fraternity house for fit, cool, and stylish people. It is a fellowship of those who recognize their own fallenness and utter helplessness, who have laid hold of Christ for salvation, and whose main business on earth is showing other needy sinners the way of salvation.”
Theology, Scripture, & Apologetics — Some good books available at Ligonier for $5.
What Does It Mean to Pray “Thy Kingdom Come”? — In this excerpt from his teaching series The Lord’s Prayer, Albert Mohler explains what it means to pray “Thy Kingdom Come.”
Tim Keller’s 20-Year Plan to Avoid Building a Megachurch — Mark Dever explains Tim Keller’s announcement of resignation and his new role.
Disney puts ‘gay scene’ in Beauty and the Beast — This is being discussed as a “watershed moment” for Disney. This is something that we should pay close attention to moving forward. Director Bill Condon said, “It is an exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie.”
Three Reasons to Include a Concise Summary of the Gospel in Every Sermon — This is a good point to consider for all preachers.
Ask Me Anything (Catechisms, Images of God, that Book/Movie) — Some good points from follow-up questions to Tim Challies.
Theology Word of the Week: Theophany
Theophany. As the Gk. etymology implies, theophany refers to an ‘appearance of God’ to man. The OT records numerous theophanies, beginning with the early chapters of Genesis which record that God talked to Adam and walked in the garden (3:8). God manifested himself to man in three forms—human (see Anthropomorphism), angelic and non-human. The form of each theophany correlates to its function.
When God comes in judgment, he appears in a threatening guise. For instance, God presented himself as an irresistible warrior immediately preceding the conquest of Jericho (Jos. 5:13–15). Judgment theophany, though always threatening, brings both curse and fear to God’s enemies and blessing and comfort to God’s people (Na. 1:1–9).
The frequently encountered warrior theophany demonstrates that God often appeared in human-like form. Of course, God assumes various roles in the many OT theophanies. For example, in Gn. 18:1–15, a passage in which God confirmed his covenant promises to Abraham, he appeared as a messenger.
A second type of theophany occurred when God revealed himself to people in the form of an angel. Manoah and his wife received news of the birth of Samson from an angelic figure whom they later recognized as God himself (Jdg. 13). Many, if not most, evangelical scholars believe that the angel of the Lord is a pre-incarnation appearance of the second person of the Trinity. This is true as well of other theophanies in human form. Occasionally, these theophanies are more specifically referred to as ‘christophanies’. Neither the OT nor the NT directly identifies Jesus Christ with the angel of the Lord. Scholars, though, reason backward from the teaching of the NT (Jn. 1:18) that no-one has seen God the Father.
A third form of theophany occurs on those occasions when God appeared among men and women in non-human form. At the critical juncture of the establishment of the Abrahamic covenant, God passed between divided animal carcasses in the form of a ‘smoking fire pot with a blazing torch’ (Gn. 15:17).
The theophany par excellence is the advent of Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:1–17; 14:9; Col. 1:15). In the NT theophany becomes christophany, and is superseded by actual incarnation. Believers today look forward to the last days when ‘the Lord himself will come down from heaven’ (1 Thes. 5:16). [1]
- Sinclair B. Ferguson and J.I. Packer, New Dictionary of Theology (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 681.
