Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Arts and Humanities Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

The Great Rebellion And The Mystery Of Lawlessness In 2 Thessalonians 2,1-12, Ranko Stefanovic Jul 2023

The Great Rebellion And The Mystery Of Lawlessness In 2 Thessalonians 2,1-12, Ranko Stefanovic

Faculty Publications

This article provides an expository study of 2 Thessalonians 2,1-12 in which Paul delineates the Christian history from his day until the Second Coming. The apostle contends that the Christian history will be characterized by a great spiritual rebellion against God organized by Satan. The apostle points to the central roles of two entities in that great rebellion, which he defines in terms of “the man of lawlessness” as the agent of Satan and “the restrainer” who for some time holds back the full revelation of that lawless figure on the world scene. Bible commentaries offer various proposal on the …


On God’S Side Of History: Time And Apocalyptic History In Paul’S Speech To The Areopagus, Keldie Paroschi Jan 2023

On God’S Side Of History: Time And Apocalyptic History In Paul’S Speech To The Areopagus, Keldie Paroschi

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

This paper considers Paul’s speech to the Areopagus from the framework of Jewish apocalyptic historiography in order to determine the degree of overlap between Paul’s conceptual background on history and time and Stoic philosophy. The main facets of Jewish apocalyptic historiography include unique conceptions of God, time, and human existence with unique existential implications, all of which are found in Acts 17:22–31. The added element of the Christ event (vv. 30–31) heightens the urgency of Paul’s message of repentance. Despite some proximity between Paul and Stoicism, the Jewish apocalyptic worldview of Acts 17 differs significantly from the pantheistic and deterministic …


Isaac Newton As A Prophetic Interpreter, Kenneth Jørgensen Jan 2022

Isaac Newton As A Prophetic Interpreter, Kenneth Jørgensen

Dissertations

Throughout his life, Sir Isaac Newton was deeply dedicated to the science of decoding biblical apocalyptic writings. To understand and appreciate Newton's prophetic scheme, it will be advantagous to have a certain grasp of what sources and ideas might have influenced him. No comprehensive study before this one has helped us see Newton from that perspective. A survey of the development of canonical apocalyptic hermeneutic and interpretation, beginning before the time of Christ and ending with Newton, shows that four distinct systems of hermeneutics had developed by that time. Historicism was the earliest and the preferred system among Protestants until …


The Christian Debate On Same-Sex Marriage And Taylor’S Immanent And Transcendent Goods: Lessons From Adventist Approaches, David J. Hamstra Jan 2019

The Christian Debate On Same-Sex Marriage And Taylor’S Immanent And Transcendent Goods: Lessons From Adventist Approaches, David J. Hamstra

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

Arguments made for and against affirming same-sex marriage in Christian communities rely on typical moral background preconceptions about immanent and transcendent goods identified by Charles Taylor in A Secular Age. Arguments made only in terms of marriage’s immanent goods have the potential to diminish the plausibility of a uniquely Adventist way of imagining the transcendent good: apocalyptic consciousness focused on the imminent-immanent restoration of Eden by Jesus Christ following the second coming. Comparing marriage to divergent sets of Sabbath-keeping practices—those that provide benefits exclusive to this world and those that aim at goods beyond this world—foregrounds the availability of …