R/OB remind us how Matthew jumps from the birth of Jesus to some indeterminate time later when the Magi show up. The idea of the shepherds and Parthian wise men showing up all together makes for good Christmas pageants, but is a critical failure in historical accuracy. Joseph and Mary stayed in Bethlehem at least…
Tag: space-time
Misreading Scripture: Time 01
Most of us are aware of the common western notions about time. There’s a wealth of English figures of speech to indicate that time is treated as a precious commodity. It’s impossible to literally buy it, but our culture is wrapped around the wringer on trying to make the most of it, as if it…
Keeping the Balance
Pageau covers the Nephilim, but I was disappointed by what he left out. Maybe he wasn’t familiar with Heiser’s work, but this would have been a very good opportunity to discuss how the Nephilim came to be on the cosmic level, and why. The takeaway is that they represent a very forceful destructive presence of…
Restoring Cosmic Balance
Pageau returns to Nebuchadnezzar to discuss his second dream and his time of madness. There are two main points here. First is that Nebs was in trouble for his arrogance. Remember: he was a Gentile. He was not accountable to the Law of Moses, but to that of Noah. Further, by his own religion, Nebs…
Moral Feedback Loop
Is it clear enough yet? Our fallen existence is a curse; it is meant to be punitive. The only hope for mitigation is the Covenant. Obedience of the Word of God is a privilege. If we were left to ourselves to live against the natural world, we would not live that long. God has unilaterally…
Family Affairs
We’ve talked quite a bit about the Two Witnesses: king and priest. Pageau points out that Cain and Abel were portrayed as a mirror of that distinction. Cain worked the ground and supported his brother, while Abel provided wool for Cain’s covering. The symbolism should be obvious. It was initially a peaceful coexistence, rather like…
Fire and Water
Surely by now the Flood in Genesis has obvious symbolism of the ravages of time and chaos. The dry land was covered and all life was drowned and washed away. God would start fresh with what Noah had in his boat. Noah found God’s grace. While Pageau notes that Noah thus represented the proper balance…
Covering and Seeing
Pageau doesn’t say it clearly enough: Clothing is required by the Covenant because our fallen sensibilities cannot handle nudity without sin. Flaunting it is simply evil. If you’ve seen so much nudity that you are jaded, that is actually worse. We are supposed to be sensitive to it. If we cannot sense the urgency of…
Tools of the Trade
Still working from The Language of Creation, we learn that Moses’ staff represents the pillar of space. It was a talisman of sorts God used to make people aware of His Presence and power. Thus, it could turn into a snake, which symbolizes time and chaos. But as a staff, it could quite literally separate…
Games and Divination
Pageau sometimes uses terminology that makes me uncomfortable. He talks about the stability of the pillar and trees and mountains as “reason”, but includes divine revelation in that. Meanwhile, he then raises up the image of divination as games of risk and chaos. On the one hand, he views Covenant Law as “rational” and doesn’t…