Interpreting the book of Revelation requires we first understand the genre of “apocalypse” (from Gk. apocalypsis: “to reveal” – as in a secret, or in pulling back the curtain on a stage). Though it feels quite foreign to us, it was a well-known form of literature in the ancient world, particularly within 2nd Temple Judaism. The...
Tag: judgment
Understanding the Bible 05: The Ten Commandments
“Thou shalt not…” is not a phrase we typically associate with love. For most of us, the language of commandments or “the Law of God” conjures images of dispassionate judge at best, and a wrathful tyrant at worst. But in the biblical story, Torah (the Hebrew word for Law) was understood at a gift...