Marginal Christianity

01.    Mark1:1-20 (Part 1) Mark 1:1: Title (1:1) Israel in exile heard these words through the prophet Isaiah: “How beautiful upon the mountains      are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news,      who announces salvation,      who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” The “good news” Isaiah announced as promise Mark proclaims as fulfilled. Fulfilled in Jesus Messiah, Son of God. In fact, he apparently created the genre of “gospel” as an account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth as the fulfilment of God’s story with Israel and the world. The word “gospel” refers to an announcement of an event that changes things in the wider public world. That’s what it meant when the Romans used this word to announce a great military victory, the accession of a new emperor, or the birth of an heir to the sitting emperor. Mark believes that the world has been changed by who and what happened...

The perhaps surprising dominant note in the New Testament is joy. All three kinds of Joy we looked at yesterday are present in it. N. T. Wright offers helpful insight into this matter in his article “Joy: Some New Testament Perspectives and Questions” ( http://faith.yale.edu/sites/default/files/wright.pdf ). He briefly examines the Old Testament and concludes regarding the reasons and character of joy, “The reasons include a mighty act of God to bring about victory over evil and the rescue of God’s people from its grip. The character of joy includes the vigorous and vibrant celebration of the goodness of the created order, expressed through the activities which signal and symbolize human well-being – eating, drinking, the joy of marriage, music and dancing” (2). Israel’s return from exile in Babylon is a threshold moment. The Lord has brought the people back to the land, to be sure. But something was missing. The great promises of Isa.40-55 and Ez.36-45 had not been fulfi...

Revelation 1:1-8: Introduction One Sunday in the mid-90’s a.d. the Holy Spirit visited the prophet John on the island of Patmos where he was exiled because of Jesus and the witness John bore to him. God had a message to give to him, a message he delivered through Jesus about Jesus (“revelation of Jesus Messiah,” 1:1) through an angel. Intended for seven churches in Asia Minor (1:11), John (not the author of the gospel though they share some similarities) penned this mysterious and controversial message. Not so much to its recipients, perhaps, but throughout history its fortunes have varied wildly (see introduction). This message comes with a blessing (seven actually, see introduction) on those who read, hear, and heed it (1:3). Head, heart, and hands are all necessary for a faithful response to this message – not any one or two of them alone. The message concerns Jesus Messiah – his true identity and significance for both his people and the world. Something on the near hor...

the second beast (13:11-18) The Beast from the Earth (13:11-18) A second beast, one from the earth, joins the beast from the sea. It has two horns “like a lamb.” (3:11). Remembering that a lamb is the central figure in God's plan to bring his purposes to fruition, the Dragon counters with a lamb-like beast. As the slaughtered lamb bears witness to the One on the throne, this lamb-like beast bears “witness” to the sea beast. The one who, like some Roman emperors, claimed to be “Lord and God.” [1] That this beastly “witness” has two lamblike horns reminds us of the two witnesses for God in ch.11. If the first beast is political power, this new beast is power of religion which so often serves to buttress the power and policies of the state. That's why it speaks “like a dragon.” By supporting the first beast, this second beast , like the first, ultimately serves the defeated but not yet destroyed Dragon in its futile efforts to undo God's plans. Working with the fi...

The three judgment series of sevens Now that we’ve looked at the first series of judgment cycles in Revelation, the seven seals (6:1-8:1), we can step back and look at the three cycles, seals, trumpets, and bowls, as a whole and in their interrelationships. The chart below gives us a bird’s eye view of the cycles. Seals Trumpets Bowls Military Conquests Hail & fire, mixed with blood, burn 1/3 of earth Sores Slaughtering Burning mountain, sea turned to blood, 1/3 of creatures & ships destroyed Sea becomes blood, everything in it dies Famine Falling star strikes fresh water and makes it bitter Rivers & springs turn to blood Death & Hades: sword, famine, and pestilence and animals kill ¼ of earth’s population Darkness: all celestial lights are darkened by 1/3 Sun’s intense heat scorches people on earth Persecution: martyrs cry out for vengeance ...

trANSFIGURATION 1 (1:12-20) Revelation, writes Paul Spilsbury, “wants us to take its world to be even more real than the one we commonly refer to as ‘the real world.’ In fact, Revelation is out to undermine our confidence in the evidence of our own eyes.” [1] And the Roman Emperor was the biggest, baddest figure in the world of that time. His rule was very, very real. He held the lives of his people in his hands. If is it right to date Revelation during the latter part of Domitian’s reign, we know this Emperor wanted himself called and worshiped as “Lord and God.” Asia Minor was replete was temples and centers for Emperor worship. The Emperor and the Empire were inescapable realites. Richard Baukham [2] writes: In such a context the strongest possible counter-images to imperial propaganda were required. Thus the vivid and to us bizarre and lurid imagery that pervades the vision. They may not readily communicate to us 21 st century readers but...