Though a theology of righteous suffering is plainly drawn from the historical figures of the Tanakh (cf. Heb. 11:35–37; 2 Peter 2:5–7)—particularly Job (cf. Job 2:13; 9:16–24; 30:17–23)—it is developed extensively in the Psalms (cf. esp. Pss. 9; 22; 31; 69; 118). The righteous are “stricken” (cf. Ps. 73:5, 14; 109:22), “attacked” (cf. Ps. 56:2; 62:3; 69:4; 109:3), “hated” (cf. Ps. 9:13; 18:17; 25:19; 34:21; 35:19; 38:19; 41:7; 44:7; 69:4; 86:17; 118:7; 129:5), “afflicted” (cf. Ps. 9:12; 10:12; 22:24; 31:7; 34:19; 44:24; 69:29; 82:3; 94:5; 116:10; 129:2; 140:12), and “oppressed” (cf. Ps. 9:9; 10:18; 42:9; 43:2; 55:3; 56:1; 72:14; 73:8; 103:6; 119:122; 146:7). Because of the depraved nature of this age, this is the normal experience of the righteous. - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.198-199

Since the Jewish apocalyptic vision of eternal life remained unchanged by the sacrificial interpretation of the death of the Messiah, the apostolic witness remained tenable within first-century Judaism. The simplicity and continuity of the apostolic method and message are demonstrated, for example, by Paul in Thessalonica: “As usual, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and rise from the dead: ‘This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah.’ Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas” (Acts 17:2–4, csb; cf. 5:42; 9:22; 18:5). The fact that the apostolic witness was readily received by so many Orthodox Jews (cf. Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7; 11:19; 13:43; 14:1; 17:4; 18:8; 19:10; 21:20; 24:24; 28:24) argues strongly for an unaltered Jewish-apocalyptic context for the cruciform-messianic message.  - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified

The resurrection of the dead typifies the renewal of all things because mankind was originally appointed by God to be the apex of creation. Thus the resurrection of Jesus as “the firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18; cf. Rev. 1:5) was a particularly defining sign for the early church. If God raised Jesus from the dead by his Spirit, then will he most certainly raise all from the dead by his Spirit and restore creation as promised. Moreover, as believers in his resurrection, God promises that we will “be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:29). By this Paul means, “We await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Phil. 3:20–21). As younger sons (cf. Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5), we will be raised from the dead by the same Spirit that raised Christ, the firstborn, from the dead. - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.97

As God has ordained the death of every human being in this age before the day of judgment, so also did he ordain the death of his Son for the forgiveness of sins before the Jewish apocalyptic consummation of salvation. In contrast to the various Gentile theologies championed throughout the history of the church, this twofold cruciform-apocalyptic emphasis seems to be the real thrust of the apostolic witness (cf. Rom. 5:9; 8:17; 2 Cor. 4:17; Phil. 3:9–11; 2 Thess. 1:5–10; 1 Peter 1:4–7; 4:13; Rev. 6:10–11)  - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.91

If we ask, What is God ultimately doing in this age? then we must answer: He is showing love and offering mercy to his enemies in light of his coming severity and eternal recompense. Redemptive history is cruciform-apocalyptic, and consequently the mission of the church is to “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.77

My teaching on the book of Zephaniah. Notes. Audio 1. Audio 2. 

God dwells within creation as a human being dwells within a tent. But why does this matter? Proximity evokes pathos. What would my children think if I lived in a different house or different city than them? How would they feel? What would they think of my heart and of my leadership? Would they trust me? Probably not. More than likely they would grow up with a deep sense of separation and abandonment. So the modern church, under lingering Hellenistic influence, suffers from a “cosmic loneliness,” so to speak, which pervades much of its theology and practice. The Scriptures, however, reveal to us a God whose habitation is within creation, because he loves what he has made, and it is very good in his sight. - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.27

Unlike Luther’s singular struggle with Catholic tradition, modern evangelicals struggle with many challenges to their source of truth. Whether those challenges are represented by various forms of higher biblical criticism, naturalistic empiricism, pluralistic relativism, or neo-charismatic prophecy, the evangelical spirit seeks truth from the Scriptures alone. Based upon the resurrection of Jesus, we have assurance that this approach will prove true in the end. - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.10

When Paul warns Gentile Christians, "Do not boast against the branches," he is specifically speaking about the Jewish branches broken off because of unbelief (Romans 11:17–20). That is such an important point. Their unbelief is the very reason he commands us to remain humble. He goes further and warns that if we become arrogant toward unbelieving Israel, we risk also being cut off. To those of us who are, by His grace, believers, that point should be terrifying. - Joel Richardson

Such an a posteriori argument was the primary approach used by the early church in its proclamation. Only one presentation of truth has produced a resurrected human being, and thus the Jewish Scriptures are true and “more fully confirmed” (2 Peter 1:19).  - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.10

In stark contrast, much of the modern church’s proclamation scoffs at the historicity of Genesis, flagrantly rejects God’s covenantal dealings with the Jews, sets aside a substitutionary-sacrificial understanding of the cross, scorns the gifts of the Spirit, and ignores the return of Jesus. Though various movements and traditions seek to emphasize one or two of these elements (often to the detriment of other elements), few of them seem to seek a proclamation that holds them in tandem. Yet it is the holistic proclamation of redemptive history, from beginning to end, that comprises the gospel and characterizes the faithful witness. - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.7

“We must know and love a people before we can disciple them… At home or abroad every discipler needs to ask: ‘For whom am I responsible?’ If a missionary fails to do this, the geographic and ethnic limits of his ministry remain blurred. He will jump from opportunity to opportunity. 

I asked one of these wandering "gold prospectors" in Central America what his area of responsibility was. ‘Oh,’he said, ‘I am winning the country for Christ.’ He goes from city to city preaching in prisons and army camps; he bombs villages with tracts from his Cessna. It’s fun and folks back home eagerly finance it. But he will never plant a reproductive church until he learns to hold the people of a community in his heart.” George Patterson, “The Spontaneous Multiplication of Churches"

“Events in the past are linked to those in the present, so that God’s mighty deeds like the exodus or the return from exile foreshadow the experiences of God’s present community, the church. This does not see a direct prophetic link but rather a correspondence in history, in which the current experience relives the past. God is immutable or consistent and acts today just as he did in the past, so typology seeks to identify the theological correspondence between those salvific actions in past and present” - Grant R. Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, p.328

“Jesus did not intend to found a new religious organization, nor even a new religious community. He intended to bring into existence the restored nation of Israel, promised in the Old Testament prophecies. It was to this end that he accepted baptism at the hands of John, to this end that he appointed the Twelve to be his intimate associates, instructing them that their number was a symbol of their relation to the twelve tribes of Israel” G. B. Caird, Jesus and the Jewish Nation, p.16

In the New Testament, what divided Jews who believed in Jesus from Jews who did not was the atonemental suffering of the Messiah, not differing views of Jewish election, the kingdom, the temple, Jerusalem, etc. The spiritual realization, transformation, and supersession of these things are simply baseless. - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.213

NT scholars will sometimes point to these verses [1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16] by way of arguing that, for Paul, Jerusalem’s temple has been superseded by this new, spiritual “temple” of the Christian community. I argue the opposite: Paul praises the new community by likening it to something that he values supremely. If he valued the temple less, he would not use it as his touchstone. This is not an either/or situation: for Paul, God’s spirit dwells both in Jerusalem’s temple and in the “new temple” of the believer and of the community (Rom 9.4; cf. Matt 23.21). - Paula Fredricksen, “Judaizing the Nations,” 248; information in brackets added.

Paul continues by rebutting a claim circulating in the Thessalonian community that both the Parousia and the day of the Lord had already come (2:1–2). Against this idea, Paul argues that Jewish eschatology will play out in traditional order: this age will culminate in the final rebellion against God’s covenantal dealing with Israel by means of the Antichrist (vv. 3–7), who will be revealed and destroyed by Israel’s true Messiah (v. 8).72 Paul then calls the Thessalonians to hold to their eschatological hope: “To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us” (vv. 14–15). - John P. Harrigan, Extending Mercy to the Gentiles, p.219

My message on the hard teachings of Jesus in Luke 9:57-62 and the worth of Jesus. Notes. Audio 1. Audio 2. 

Paul explicitly tells us exactly what he's talking about in Romans 9-11.

We don't have to interpret.
We don't have to exegete.
We just have to look at the text and read it.

Romans 11:25 "For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in."

That's what he's talking about. He's not talking about the eternal destiny of everyone at the end of time. He's talking about a partial and temporary hardening that has come upon some Israelites in the midst of history so that more Gentiles can be grafted into the covenant community.

And so he has to answer the obvious objection: "If Israel is God's chosen people, then how can Gentiles be brought into the covenant community before some Israelites?" This is the same conflict that we see coming up in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts. The confusion that Gentiles would become part of the true covenant community before some Israelites.

But Paul explicitly states that those Israelites who are temporarily hardened are not marked for eternal damnation. They can be grafted into their own tree if they do not continue in unbelief. That is exactly what he says. - Timothy Renfro

“Paul assures the readers that at the last day they will be free from any charge, ἀνεγκλήτους. The Greek carries a range of meanings: blameless, irreproachable, and unimpeachable. . . . This applies to the time which leads up to the day of the Lord as well as to being presented free from any charge on the day itself. Hence the word here belongs to the semantic domain of accusation and declarative verdict. . . . Justification is an anticipation in advance of the verdict pronounced on the day of the Lord, in the faith-understanding that God keeps them firm and free from any charge up to and on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” -Thiselton, 1 Corinthians, p101–102  

“It is our good luck that, in Romans, we have a letter from him addressed to a community that he had not himself established: to introduce himself, he had to expand upon his gospel and his mission more fully than he had in the other correspondence that survives. As his messianic framing of Romans reveals, Paul linked his heavenly commission in the final days, his work in bringing gentiles to the worship of the true god (sic), immediately and intimately to his proclamation of Jesus as the scion of David’s house. To understand the apostle, then, we need to understand his Christology” - Paula Fredricksen, Paul, p136–137

My message on Psalm 2. Audio 1. Audio 2. 

My message on Psalm 1 in Spanish. Audio 1. Audio 2. 

If you want to know how to determine whose disciple you are, ask yourself, “Who am I obeying?”

That’s who is discipling you. - Lee Cummings

The loss of focus and theology concerning martyrdom after the Constantinian Shift is in direct relation to assimilation of Platonism into the Christian worldview. As such the essential amnestic witness of the Church was lost, and likewise the essential meaning of martyrdom itself was lost. 

Within a Platonic worldview, the mission of God, and therefore of the church, is either dominionistic (if sovereignty is emphasized) or escapist (if salvation is emphasized). Therefore martyrdom is either seen as: 

1. a failure (cf. dominionism), since God/church has failed in establishing sovereignty over injustice, or 
2. a waste (cf. escapism), since God/church has lost another worker unto saving souls. 

Within a Biblical worldview, the mission of God, and therefore of the church, is amnestic which supplies inherent meaning to the event of martyrdom (if the intentions are actually motivated by the same loving intentions as God). - John P. Harrigan

In light of the Day of the Lord, the apostles lived out their hope in the return of Jesus by continually meeting together in the temple courts. This is because they held to the Scriptures and believed nothing beyond what was written in the Law and Prophets, faithfully holding to the Israelocentric hope of the age to come. - John P. Harrigan

Paul similarly reasons in 1 Cor. 6:1–3 and Eph. 5:4–10, since discipleship is inherently bound to destiny—“Walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory” (1 Thess. 2:12; cf. Eph. 4:1; Col. 1:10). Peter likewise exhorts: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming” (2 Peter 3:11–12, niv; cf. 1 Peter 1:13–16).  - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.427

Thus the trajectory of such discipleship is assumed to be into the Jewish apocalyptic narrative rather than out of it. -John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.409

The Gospel is karma's worst nightmare: we get the exact opposite of what we deserve. - Chad Bird

The discipleship of the Gentiles thus fundamentally involves warning of the coming judgment (since they are without divine revelation and generally ignorant of the future, cf. Matt. 6:32; Luke 12:30). - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.409

 As such, Romans 14 could be recapitulated: Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not quarrelling over opinions which hold little eternal significance, since the age to come is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 

Far from redefining the common Jewish eschatology, Paul is simply describing its future reality, hence reinforcing the sobriety and eternal perspective inherent in Jewish apocalypticism. This futurist approach squares with both the passage as a whole and with common expectations of the kingdom. Interposing realized eschatology into Romans 14 is both illogical and counterproductive to Paul’s argument that eschatology (cf. “salvation,” “the day,” “judgment seat,” “kingdom”) is the primary driver of Christian discipleship. - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.281-282

Rather than critiquing the sacrificial system, the author presents an argument regarding its design and its scope. The Levitical offerings are a part of an earthly system that addresses earthly matters, though put in place by God; the offering of Jesus is a part of a heavenly system that addresses ‘heavenly’matters. Thus, while the author of Hebrews may present the offering of Jesus as ‘better’in the sense that the scope and effects are more expansive, this is not a critique in itself. After enacting the first covenant maintained by the people, God both enacts and maintains the second covenant on their behalf but in the heavens—his own dwelling place. -  Madison N. Pierce, Relapsing, Reverting, or Rejecting? The Purpose of Hebrews and Early Jewish Religion. AI Podcast Audio Format

So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 14:12–14)  

Romans 14 is simply an exposition and application of this idea of discipleship: to “walk properly as in the daytime.” The age to come will not involve drunkenness, immorality, or strife. Thus we should not engage in those things, because we are not destined for those things. Moreover, we were not designed for those things in the beginning. Sinful behaviors are counter to both our design and our destiny. They are fruitless and hold no eternal value.  - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.281

At the heart of all Christian discipleship lies this forsaking of all for the sake of following and witnessing to Jesus unto death. - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.257

Several messianic themes are sounded in the Balaam oracles, but most prominent for the present is what appears to be the interpretation of Gen 3:15 in Num 24:17. There is enmity between Israel and Moab, and fearing Israel’s numbers (22:3) Balak king of Moab summons Balaam to curse Israel. As Balaam’s oracles are recounted, the text indicates that a male Israelite will arise whose coming is associated with the arrival of a star and the rising of a scepter, pointing to his royal status. The Targum on this text seems to interpret the star as “the King” (malkā’) and the scepter as “the Messiah” (měšîhā’). This individual will “crush the forehead of Moab” (Num 24:17). The words used in Numbers are not the words used in Genesis, but the image of the crushed head of an enemy is clearly invoked. - James Hamilton, The Skull Crushing Seed of the Woman: Inner-Biblical Interpretation of Genesis 3:15, AI generated podcast format of article

Thus we have a pattern for understanding growth and perseverance in faith and discipleship. This pattern is exemplified by the apostle Paul, who before conversion was “a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees” (Acts 23:6)—“the strictest party of our religion” (Acts 26:5)—and “as to righteousness under the law, blameless”(Phil. 3:6). The cross, however, exposed the ambitions of his heart, and thus here counts the truth of his condition: “We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days inmalice and envy, hated by others and hating one another” (Titus 3:3). So Paul can declare at the end of his life, “I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life” (1 Tim. 1:16). - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.237

The OT is a messianic document, written from a messianic perspective, to sustain a messianic hope. - James Hamilton,  The Skull Crushing Seed of the Woman: Inner-Biblical Interpretation of Genesis 3:15, AI generated podcast format of article

Before receiving a revelation of the cross, all human beings assume they possess a general righteousness and a lack of need for atonement. Ask someone on the street, “Will you go to heaven when you die?” (or some question concerning eternal life and acceptability in the sight of God), and you will usually get a confident “Yes.” The assumption is a basic correspondence between the righteousness of God and the righteousness of humanity. It is conversion that brings the revelation of sin, depravity, and the need for divine mercy. God is understood as holy, while we are wicked—the cross being the solution. However, this is not a one-time revelation. It is a progressive disclosure of the holiness of God and the depraved state into which we have all been born. Knowledge of the gap between the depravity of mankind and the holiness of God ought to only grow larger, while the glory of the cross and mercy of God ought to only grow greater. - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.237

In this way, New Testament discipleship is also understood to be cruciform, for our whole life is meant to be conformed to the cross. Those who embark upon the journey of faith in Christ crucified endure its complexities. - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.236

“We’ve got to get away from this terrible, haunting preoccupation with ourselves, where we love our love of God rather than God Himself.” - Art Katz

Moreover, inaugurationalism inevitably supplants the cross as the ultimate standard of this age. Instead of God confirming by the Spirit the extension of the mercy of the cross in light of the apocalyptic judgment to come, we are simply left with an ever-increasing extension of divine sovereignty by means of the Spirit. Instead of the cross being the normative pattern for discipleship within the church, it becomes little more than a perfunctory mechanism for ushering in the new age of Spirit actualization.  - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.118

Eschatology determines missiology. One’s understanding of the end logically determines the means to that end. Biblical eschatology is based on perfect cosmogeny, which sets the foundation and context for salvation at the end of the age. - John P. Harrigan

A short lesson on praying the apostolic prayers. Audio 1. Audio 2. The Apostolic Prayers. 

“If the praise of man elates me and his blame depresses me; if I cannot rest under misunderstanding without defending myself; if I love to be loved more than to love, to be served more than to serve, then I know nothing of Calvary love.” - Amy Carmichael 

Theology 101:

Them: “The Early Church Fathers taught X.”

Me: “The who?”

Them: “The Early Church Fathers.”

Me: “All the church fathers?”

Them: “Well, not all.”

Me: “How many?”

Them: “Well, some.”

Me: “Which ones?”

Them: “Well, Saint So-and So.”

Me: “So one. And when did he live?”

Them: “Like, around 400..”

Me: “So not particularly early.”

Them: “But a church father.”

Me: “Okay. One late church father taught X. Fine. Did you know some earlier church fathers taught Y, and some others taught Z?”

-Dr. Michael Svigel

Theology 101: Resurrection does not occur at the moment of your death. If you have an eschatology in which your death is resurrection, get rid of it immediately. That’s literally Gnostic eschatology. Death is not resurrection! Resurrection is the complete opposite of death! - Dr. Micheal Svigel

A commonsense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with the physics, as well as chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. -Sir Fred Hoyle

We're all Jacobs dressed in the clothing of our older brother, Jesus, to obtain the inheritance of the Father. - Chad Bird

“You will be an incomplete Christian if you do not look forward to the second coming of Jesus Christ.” -McCheyne

"All exegesis is, is reading the text to find out what's there." -D.A. Carson

Theology 101: I don’t long for the end of this age but for the beginning of the next. I don’t hope for escape from this world but for this world’s release from its bondage to corruption. I’m not eagerly anticipating dying and going to heaven but bodily resurrection. - Dr. Michael Svigel

"We have what may be called a standing miracle continually before our eyes; I mean the state of the Jews, who, though dispersed far and wide among many nations, are every where preserved a distinct and separate people. The history of the world affords no other instance of the like kind. The great monarchies, by which they were successively conquered and scattered, have successively perished. Only the names of them remain. But the people whom they despised, and endeavored to exterminate, subsist to this day; and, though sifted like corn over the earth, and apparently forsaken of God, are still preserved by his wonderful providence, unaffected by the changes and customs around them; still tenacious of the law of Moses, though the observance of it is rendered impracticable. Many days, many ages they have lived as the prophets foretold they should, without a temple, without sacrifice or priest. (Hos. 3:4-5) As yet, many Heathen nations are permitted to walk in their own ways. But at length "the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, and all Israel shall be saved." (Rom. 11:25-26) The revolutions and commotions in kingdoms and nations, which astonish and perplex politicians, are all bringing forward this great event."

(Works of John Newton, Volume IV, Sermon XXXII.)

-Via BA Purtle

The age of scientific materialism is over. There's a new interest in the supernatural. Without guardrails and good theology, this will lead to some really dark places. - Jeremy Boreing 

Can blasphemy be committed against a mere man?

"Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him...and they said many other things against him, blaspheming him." - Luke 22:63–65

-Matt Damico 

Pauline cessationism:

The charismata described in 1 Cor. 12-14 (and other relative passages) will cease “when the perfect comes,” when we see “face to face,” when we “know fully” — that is, in the future resurrection. - BA Purtle

The Spirit's work, in all of its forms, is to keep disciples on the path of life in anticipation of the judgment and coming Kingdom. We need the Spirit’s work—all of it. Despite how they may have been presented to you previously, miracles are intended to serve the same purpose. The conviction of sin, the encouragement, the revelation of the Spirit; these all serve the exact same purpose as signs and wonders. The Spirit is simply trying to turn our attention to what matters—the fact that God will judge the world, the dead will be raised, and some will be raised to life and others to destruction. - Bill Scofield, The Spirit and the Enduring Need for Divine Empowerment.

Signs are intended to stir our faith, but they are temporary. You don’t need a sign indicating that you are on the right path to the Grand Canyon, once you are standing in the Grand Canyon. A sign, by nature, is not the anticipated object of our hope. It is a powerful reminder that we should continue in the path. In this age signs serve as a reminder of the world to come. - Bill Scofield, The Spirit and the Enduring Need for Divine Empowerment.

Jewish faith, just like early Christian faith, is constantly forward looking. The resurrection and the Kingdom of God have always had center stage in discussions of Jewish eschatology. The hope of eternal life is the primary motivator for devotion to God, for denying the flesh, and for living lives of integrity before Him. The more material the hope, the greater the ability to walk in these virtues. Within this context, miraculous phenomena not only take on new meaning, but are also transformed into a vital part of discipleship rather than a tangential one. “Signs” are not miraculous events arbitrarily ‘pointing to God’. Signs are proof that God is able to do the exact things he said he would in the Torah and the Prophets. - Bill Scofield, The Spirit and the Enduring Need for Divine Empowerment.

The slick environment of many Pentecostal/Charismatic churches has a not-so-subtle way of endearing congregants to the stage and to those who occupy it. God certainly seemed to be doing and saying something. Yet, to my young self, it felt like God was doing miracles as an endorsement of the minister or of the church. As a young man, mostly a spectator to ministry, I found that some of these dynamics obscured what God was saying through the miraculous phenomena, and, ultimately, they left me indifferent to what God was saying. They were cool to experience but ultimately felt trivial. - Bill Scofield, The Spirit and the Enduring Need for Divine Empowerment.

My teaching from Luke 9 on the introduction to his late Perean and Judean ministry, the "travel narrative", and Samaritan resitance. Notes. Audio 1. Audio 2. 

Joshua 2: "Rahab the prostitute"

Matthew 1: "Rahab, the grandmother of the Messiah."

God has the redemptive capability to change labels and rewrite stories for his purposes and our better. - Wes Huff

The kingdom of heaven is not the church, and it’s not the heavenly afterlife. It’s not about going to heaven when you die.

Instead, the kingdom of heaven is the coming Messianic Era predicted by Moses and all the prophets. It’s a term from Jewish eschatology that describes the future utopian reign of the Messiah on earth. It’s not a heavenly realm or an unseen spiritual kingdom; it’s a literal king (the Messiah) who sits on a literal throne (the throne of David) in a literal city (Jerusalem), administering a literal kingdom (the kingdom of Israel). His kingdom is called “the kingdom of heaven” and “the kingdom of God.” The prophets say that the kingdom will not be confined only to the land of Israel. The reign of the Messiah will expand to encompass the entire world and usher everyone into a global utopia of peace and spiritual revelation.  - DT Lancaster, Why Do You Not Do What I Say?

Without the Jewish framework to supply context, the teachings of Jesus often sound like strange, cryptic riddles. That creates a lot of ambiguity, which gets exploited to subvert the meaning of His teachings. When placed back into their natural habitat, however, the words of Jesus become clear, simple, and easy to understand. They aren’t riddles. It’s simple Jewish teaching about the coming kingdom, the urgency of repentance, the Day of the LORD, and the final redemption. - DT Lancaster, Why Do You Not Do What I Say?

The second reason that we don’t do what He says is that we don’t understand what He says. What Jesus said was said as a Jewish teacher to Jewish students living in the first-century Jewish world of Judea and Galilee. He taught in the language of the Jewish rabbis and teachers of His day and age. He used the same Scriptures, the same figures of speech, the same type of parables, and the same hermeneutical maneuvers as other Jewish teachers. When His words are read within the context of that type of Jewish literature, the teachings of Jesus are simple. They make solid sense. Outside of a Jewish context, not so much. - DT Lancaster, Why Do You Not Do What I Say?

However, the main reason we don’t do what He says is that we think we do know what He means, but we don’t. At almost every turn, we have been taught to explain His words to mean Christian things and not Jewish things. For example, we know that Jesus preaches the gospel, but we don’t know what that means. We assume that the gospel is the message about the cross, justification, and the afterlife. It’s not. The gospel is about the kingdom. We assume Jesus teaches an end to Judaism and the Old Testament Law. He doesn’t. He is a Jew practicing Judaism, talking about Jewish stuff. We redefine the kingdom of heaven as the church or, simply, as “going to heaven when you die.” The kingdom is neither of those things. - DT Lancaster, Why Do You Not Do What I Say?

Over forty times the Bible describes the Holy Spirit as creating, speaking, testifying, teaching, or forbidding, etc.

To deny His Personhood and deity is to deny the Bible and the Triune God who inspired it. - BA Purtle

‘Effective ministry corresponds so much with the character of a minister that theologian John Sanderson advised people to play softball with pastoral candidates interviewing for a position. "Then on a close play at second base," Sanderson said (with his tongue mostly in cheek), "call him out when he is really safe. Then see what happens!"’ -Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching

"None participate in the benefits of Christ save those who raise their minds to the resurrection." - John Calvin

One of the aims of the “must manage his household well” requirement for an overseer is that his wife and children wouldn’t say at his funeral, “He loved theology, preaching, counseling, evangelism, missions… in a real way we think he loved Christ. But he didn’t love us much.” - BA Purtle

Though an emphasis on typology may initially seem strange, it was by God’s set foreknowledge that the first coming of the Messiah would be somewhat “mysterious” (cf. Luke 8:10 and par.; Rom. 16:25; Eph. 1:9; 1 Tim. 3:16), so as to confuse the wise and make the haughty stumble (cf. Rom. 9:30–33; 1 Cor. 1:18–25). Those who recognize their own depravity, casting themselves upon the mercy of God, readily receive the veiled prophetic unfolding of divine kindness before the plainly revealed apocalyptic culmination of divine severity. Thus, “slow of heart to believe” (Luke 24:25) is an issue of pride and repentance rather than unenlightenment and gnostic revelation. - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.388

Paul also makes frequent references to Genesis 3. For example, he exhorts the Roman church to resist wicked deceivers, whose “smooth talk and flattery” (Rom. 16:18) is akin to that of Satan in the garden. Then he admonishes them “to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil” (v. 19), an obvious reference to the forbidden tree, for “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (v. 20). By “soon” he has in mind the coming of Christ and the day of the Lord (cf. Rom. 2:5; 3:6; 4:17; 5:9; 6:5; 8:18–23; 10:9; 11:25–27; 13:12; 14:10–12), and the “God of peace” (16:20) is understood in light of the messianic passages wherein peace is proclaimed and established upon the earth under the Messiah’s rule (cf. Isa. 9:7; 66:12; Hag. 2:9; Zech. 9:10). - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.126

If the Scriptures reveal the players and playing field of existence, how does it describe the game of existence? What are the rules? What are the goals? What are the strategies involved? Though some may reject the Scriptures as primitive and mythological, I believe they give us clear answers. Unlike most other sacred texts, which are generally uniform and homogenous in nature, the Bible is a complicated assortment of writings of various genres written over a millennia and a half by various authors in various contexts. From a human perspective it may seem like a hodgepodge of dissimilar and discordant books with little overarching meaning (except, as assumed by critical scholars, the record of the historical evolution of human beliefs). Assuming, however, that the Scriptures are of divine origin, I believe we must approach them as a progressive revelation from God concerning his relations with humanity (cf. Rom. 16:25–26; 1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 3:3–5). 

Furthermore, this progression of revelation (in both the Tanakh and the New Testament) generally seems to be increasingly apocalyptic—meaning God is progressively revealing himself in relation to the ultimate end of history, and this end is both climactic and cataclysmic. For this reason the intertestamental Jewish apocalyptic tradition is based on both the Prophets and the Writings, as they exposited the Torah. Moreover, the New Testament is an extension of this tradition, culminating in the book of Revelation. In this way all of the apocalyptic themes develop organically from the Torah through the Prophets and the Writings. From beginning to end, the Bible is thus a progressively apocalyptic revelation, depicting the narrative of God (in his holiness) and humanity (in its depravity) playing out to their ultimate end. - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.45-46

“Revelation was, indeed, at the outset generally accepted. In the second century it was among the earliest books to be included in the growing New Testament. Hardly anyone doubted its right to be counted there. Yet in the third century the Greek theologians of Alexandria - Origen and those whom he influenced—were repelled by it.” - Dr. Michael Svigel

"Keep clear of introspection, of brooding, of spiritualism, of everything eccentric. Keep to work and sanity and open air – to the cheerful and the matter of fact side of things. We hold our mental health by a thread: and nothing is worth risking for it. Above all beware of excessive day dreaming, of seeing yourself in the centre of a drama, of self pity, and, as far as possible, of fears.” - C.S. Lewis

Theology 201: I'm a little surprised how many people read the occurrences of "then" (τότε) in Matthew 24 to mean "next in chronological order following the preceding event," as if the Olivet Discourse is providing a step-by-step series of events. The Greek τότε usually means "at that time" in the sense of "during the same period being discussed," not necessarily "after the event just mentioned." And while I'm at it, a lot of English translations of Revelation render καί (and) as "then" just to avoid the tedious repetition of "and...and...and..." This also has led people to take things in chronological order that may not necessarily be intended as such. I can't emphasize enough the need for training and experience in the original languages. But then, it would send to the trash heaps a hundred years of popular-level end-times books by hacks who made chronological charts based strictly on τότε and καί translated into English as "then." Yes, the New Testament does contain clear texts with clear chronology using clear chronological terms. And yes, sometimes in context τότε and καί can indicate series of events following each other. But the naive assumption by many that they always do has led to dubious and downright deceptive conclusions. - Dr. Michael Svigel

Theology 101: The process of sanctification involves continually sacrificing who we are to become who we ought to be. - Dr. Michael Svigel

The third century saw the first attempt to discredit millenarianism, when Origen, perhaps the most influential of all the theologians of the ancient Church, began to present the Kingdom as an event which would take place not in space or time but only in the souls of believers. For a collective, millenarian eschatology Origen substituted an eschatology of the individual soul. What stirred his profoundly Hellenic imagination was the prospect of spiritual progress begun in this world and continued in the next; and to this theme theologians were henceforth to give increasing attention. . . .  When in the fourth century Christianity attained a position of supremacy in the Mediterranean world and became the official religion of the Empire, ecclesiastical disapproval of millenarianism became emphatic. The Catholic Church was now a powerful and prosperous institution, functioning according to a well-established routine; and the men responsible for governing it had no wish to see Christians clinging to out-dated and inappropriate dreams of a new earthly Paradise. Early in the fifth century St Augustine propounded the doctrine which the new conditions demanded. According to The City of God the Book of Revelation was to be understood as a spiritual allegory; as for the Millennium, that had begun with the birth of Christianity and was fully realized in the Church. This at once became orthodox doctrine. - Norman Cohn, The Pursuit of the Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages

The fact that the apostolic witness was readily received by so many orthodox Jews (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7; 11:19; 13:43; 14:1; 17:4; 18:8; 19:10; 21:20; 24:24f; 28:24) argues strongly for an unaltered Jewish apocalyptic background to the cruciform message. - John P. Harrigan, The Gospel of Christ Crucified, footnotes, p.341

Some say understanding Jewish apocalypticism and the historical context of the NT is a form of gnosticism-- some special knowledge that only the intellectually elite can attain.

It's exactly the opposite.

Knowing what Jews actually believed about things like the day of judgment, the resurrection of the dead, the kingdom of God, and Gehenna delivers us from the theological plague of "spiritualizing" everything (which is the real and original gnosticism).

It actually allows us to read the NT in a plain, common sense manner. - John P. Harrigan

Theology 101: Eternal life is not disembodied life in heaven…or even reembodied life in heaven. Eternal life is reembodied life on a renewed earth.- Dr. Michael Svigel

Here we find the unraveling of a multitude of Gentile games revolving around realized eschatology. If the age to come has been realized, then the cross is no longer the standard of this age, and the sufferings of Christ are to be avoided. The logic is straightforward. Yet the apostolic witness cries out against such folly: 

“Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! . . . We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute” (1 Cor. 4:8–10). 

Paul thus refutes an early form of realized eschatology. - John P. Harrigan, The Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.384

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs (Rom 15:8)

Paul summarizes the first advent of Messiah as service to the Jews in order to confirm the hope of Israel. The everlasting covenant is the source of hermeneutical truth. The further you veer from it, the further you drift into delusion. - John P. Harringan

The Gospel in its Historical Context // Dr. John Harrigan

 

Audio 1. 

Theology 101: Never preach eternal life as just dying and going to heaven. Preach resurrection. Preach resurrection. Preach resurrection. Without the redemption of our bodies through resurrection, death would forever be the victor and corruption its eternal sting. - Dr. Michael Svigel

"Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life." (1 John 2:24-25)

Live your life in a way that fosters hope in the resurrection. This is how we abide in him.

"And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming." (v 28)

-John P. Harrigan

“There is no exception to this rule; from the Master down to the last disciple, it is a procession of cross-bearers. The day will come when there will be a transformation scene, and you will see all these cross-bearers transformed into crown-wearers. But, rest assured that the old motto, ‘No cross, no crown,’ is certainly true, and those who refuse to carry the cross after Christ on earth shall never be permitted to wear the crown with Christ in the land that is beyond the stars.” - Spurgeon

You can’t love the ways of the world and love God at the same time. You can’t love your own life and love God at the same time. Choose a master to give your sole love and service. If you aren’t willing to do that, then you’ve already chosen a master, and you will find only death. - Josiah Geoffrey

“Martyrdom is not a special calling for a select few, but the commitment of every Christian and the responsibility of every church. Even though not every individual Christian will be killed, there is no way to distinguish those who will be killed from those who will not. Even though not every Christian will be remembered as a martyr, every church that locates its identity in the cross is obligated to cultivate the virtues necessary to enable all of its members to die for the cause of Christ. Every Christian is a member of a martyr-church” - Craig Hovey, To Share in the Body: A Theology of Martyrdom for Today’s Church 

My teaching on our church's statement of faith. Audio 1. Audio 2. 

Prophetically foreseen by Erich Reber and described by writers such as Robert Banks and Met Castillo, it was in 1996 when probably the first intentional house-church planting movement outside rather closed nations like China, Vietnam or Cuba, was initiated by Dr.Victor Choudhrie in North India. In later years, other initiatives followed, initiated by IBRA Radio, a Swedish Pentecostal Radio ministry, which started a new house church planting ministry in the Arab World, or apostolic persons like Bruce Carlton, inside, but clearly on the fringes of existing mission agencies like the Southern Baptists’ IMB (International Mission Board). First greatly ridiculed by traditional churches in almost all nations, the house church movement has grown to many hundreds of thousands of churches in an amazingly short period of time, and is, at this point, not only the main harvesting tool God seems to use in Muslim nations like Bangladesh, Pakistan, or Indonesia, but making its presence felt in many Western nations as well. Apostolic church planters like Neil Cole or Tony Dale, Bernard Sanders and Guy Muse, Victor John and David Watson, Peter Wenzor Jonathan Pattiasina are leading the way, and many in traditional churches who were watching are not laughing anymore. By now (2009) we know of at least 500,000 newly planted house churches (outside China), and, if George Barna is right in his predictions, published in his book Revolution, it will take but a few more years for house churches to become not only an extremely vital harvesting instrument of God, but quite simply the new mainline church, replacing CAWKI [church-as-we-know-it] with something introduced to the mindset of most Christians only a few years ago. - Wolfgang Simson, The Starfish Manifesto: A Prophetic Roadmap for an Apostolic Journey

Post-400 AD Christianity is a two-fold history of reformation of theology and praxis. Multitudes of books have been written on the reformation and restoration of apostolic doctrine, but few have even considered the restoration of apostolic ecclesiology. The reason for this: it contradicts the wealth and power of the church, so much so that the church persecuted anyone who even tried to live it out by themselves. - John P. Harrigan, Biblical Praxis of Missions

It was not until the conversion of Constantine that the church wholeheartedly adopted corporate holdings endorsed by the State. As the church systematically transitioned to an institutional corporate base, the war against gnosticism subsided, and the Romanized church assumed the identity of the Kingdom Now before an immaterial heaven, i.e. “Christendom”. The theology was thus adopted to validate the ministerial ambition for wealth and power. - John P. Harrigan, Biblical Praxis of Missions

When the church was very young, it had no buildings. Let us begin with that striking fact. That the church had no buildings is the most noticeable of the points of difference  between the church of the early days and the church of today. In the minds of most people today, ‘church’ means first a building, probably something else second; but seldom does ‘the church’ stand for anything other than a building. Yet here is the fact with which we start: the early church possessed no buildings and carried on its work for a great many years without erecting any. This fact has something significant to teach us concerning the character of the church… There was practically nothing in the way of church building until the third century, and nothing with any pretension to architecture until after the conversion of Constantine early in the fourth century. During all this time the church carried on her mission without buildings of her own, without property, and without the burdens and responsibilities that the holding of property implies.  - Ernest Loosley, When The Church Was Young

“We have no temples or altars.” This statement, referring to Christians, comes from the pen of the apologist (defender) Minicus Felix, c 200, and all evidence supports its accuracy. Throughout at least the first two centuries there were no church buildings as such, and this was so remarkable that to the pagan population, it was considered grounds for accusing the Christians of 'atheism.' In a world notable for the number of its holy shrines and the rivers of blood that flowed daily from the sacrificial victims, Christians were conspicuous in that they possessed neither the first nor engaged in the second.” - J.G. Davies, Secular Use of Church Buildings 

And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. (Acts 10:42)

Proclamation of traditional Jewish eschatology lies at the heart of the Great Commission - John P. Harrigan

In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, [7] so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. [8] He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 1:6-8)

Cruciform, charismatic, Jewish, and apocalyptic--the defining characteristics of the apostolic witness. - John P. Harrigan

And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

(John 2:16-17)

Jesus's zeal was for the temple, not against it. All Jews at the time knew the temple to be the epicenter of the resurrection and the age to come (cf Isa 2:2; Eze 37:26). And Jesus's own resurrection was a sign (vv. 18-19) which confirmed his zeal and authority over his Father's house. - John P. Harrigan

“A man really believes not what he recites in his creed, but only the things he is ready to die for.” — Richard Wurmbrand 

It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deut 7:7-8)

The election of the Jewish people has always been based upon divine covenantal faithfulness to the Patriarchs. Thus Paul,

As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (Rom 11:28-29)

-John P. Harrigan

While the Christian church has historically (and rightly) clung to the cross of Christ, we’ve criticized the Jews for focusing on the crown. But biblical literacy demands we cling to both—because the prophets spoke of both. Consider that Zechariah had prophesied Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem on a donkey the week before this Emmaus table experience [Zech 9:9]. Just a few chapters later, he prophesies that Jesus will very literally deliver Jerusalem from a literal war and then literally reign from her holy hill—His holy hill [Zech 12-14]. And just as He fulfilled one promise, He will fulfill the other. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus brought important, critical clarity to a confused, fledging body of believers on Resurrection Sunday. In doing so, He not only demonstrated biblical literacy, He encouraged the cultivation of it. - Stephanie Quick, The Perks of Biblical Literacy

You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke 22:28-30)

Jewish Messiah. Jewish hope. The future of the world is Jewish.

"Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." (Rom 15:10)

-John P. Harrigan