Category: Biblical Studies

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Studies Biblical Theology HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods New Testament Studies NT's Use of the OT

Jesus, The Prophet of Prophets

July 4, 2022 Andrew Sargent

In our last two posts on the incident at Nain, we discussed the importance of geographical study as something deeper than map investigations, and the importance of typology for an…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Biblical Studies Contexualization Old Testament Studies

“Train up a child” and your good? Proverbs 22:6

December 9, 2021 Andrew Sargent

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Biblical Studies HAGALAH Politics

One Man’s Reception of the Reception History Conference of the Society of Pentecostal Studies’ 2019 Annual Meeting

November 11, 2021 Andrew Sargent

I have just returned from my first SPS annual meeting. As a newbie, I was less than impressed. Rats! There goes the tension spring in another understatement meter; I should…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Studies Biblical Theology HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods New Testament Studies NT's Use of the OT Old Testament Studies

What the Woman Caught in Adultery Shouldn’t Teach Us: Law, Grace & Bad Hermeneutics

October 8, 2019 Andrew Sargent

John 8:7 is especially popular with non-Christians who resent any suggestion within Christianity that they are sinners in need of salvation. It is usually paraphrased, “He who is without sin,…

Biblical Theology Old Testament Studies

Three Great Prophetic Truths that Transformed the World Part 4: True Worship Springs from the Heart Not From Ritual

October 6, 2019 Andrew Sargent

There was once a man with a great prayer life and a bothersome cat. Wishing to be left alone while he prayed, he leashed the cat to the post of…

Biblical Theology Old Testament Studies

Three Great Prophetic Truths that Transformed the World Part 3: Justice in Society is a Must

October 4, 2019 Andrew Sargent

If one reads the prophets, he or she will notice rather quickly that one of the great themes of the prophets is a call for justice in society. The wealthy…

Old Testament Studies Society

Three Great Prophetic Truths that Transformed the World Part 2: Idolatry is an Abomination

October 2, 2019 Andrew Sargent

One can hardly keep from noticing that the writing prophets (Isaiah through Malachi) seem a tad preoccupied with combating the societal inclination in Israel (and the nations) to Idolatry. We…

Old Testament Studies Society

Three Great Prophetic Truths that Transformed the World, Part 1: Did Judaism & Christianity Improve the World?

September 30, 2019 Andrew Sargent

An atheist close to me was raised as a conservative Christian. The gospel never penetrated his heart, but he was, on the whole, a well behaved kid who absorbed a…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Biblical Studies Inductive Study Methods New Testament Studies

Wherever Two or Three are Gathered in His Name, They are Almost Certain to Misinterpret Matthew 18:20

September 24, 2019 Andrew Sargent

Mat 18:20 ” For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” We may as well get this out of the way right up…

Biblical Studies Inductive Study Methods Meeting the Jesus of Mark New Testament Studies

Depends What the Meaning of “OF” Is

April 26, 2019 Andrew Sargent

Grammar stinks…. just kidding; I love grammar, but I’m hoping that by pretending not to that you will suck it up and actually read all the way to the bottom…

Bible Backgrounds Biblical Language Issues Biblical Studies Biblical Theology HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Meeting the Jesus of Mark New Testament Studies

Jesus as Gospel: Is there Emperor Typology in Mark 1:1?

April 25, 2019 Andrew Sargent

Some have suggested that the “OF” case in Mark 1:1 in the phrase “Gospel of Jesus” is objective… meaning that Jesus is the gospel and not merely the preacher of…

Meeting the Jesus of Mark NT's Use of the OT

Keep One Eye on the Old Testament: Mark 1:2-13 & Ancient Reference

April 24, 2019 Andrew Sargent

“I’m a New Testament Christian!” A common boast by those little interested in the Old Testament… I mean… Doesn’t that just sound defunct… OLD… Good old things get the label…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Language Issues Biblical Studies Biblical Theology HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Old Testament Studies Text Criticism Issues

Getting out the Pagan Within Part 1: A Biblical Theology of I Samuel 15:27-31

April 23, 2019 Andrew Sargent

Even a brief scan of 1 Samuel 15 should be enough to perplex the average reader. Here YHWH commands Samuel to command Saul to utterly destroy a people called the…

Bible Backgrounds Old Testament Studies

Did God Invent Covenant?

April 22, 2019 Andrew Sargent

So you are reading a prophetic vision story in the Bible, perhaps say, 1 Kings 22:19ff, and God appears sitting on a heavenly throne. Have you ever asked yourself the…

Bible Backgrounds Old Testament Studies

Finding Covenant in a Lost World: A Fairytale

April 19, 2019 Andrew Sargent

Once upon a time in a far away land, people made covenants. They were very happy with their covenants and everyone understood them. These covenants were so powerful in their…

Bible Backgrounds Biblical Language Issues Biblical Theology HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Intertestamental History & Literature Meeting the Jesus of Mark New Testament Studies NT's Use of the OT

A Baptism in Confusion: 3 Baptisms in Mark 1:2-13

April 18, 2019 Andrew Sargent

In our last episode, we introduced the bare bones essence of water baptism as an ancient covenant ratification act saturated with typical death imagery and corresponding OT interests in ordeal…

Bible Backgrounds Biblical Theology HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Meeting the Jesus of Mark New Testament Studies NT's Use of the OT Old Testament Studies

A Baptism in Baptism

April 16, 2019 Andrew Sargent

So you read the whole Old Testament. You read it several times. Having immersed yourself in the literature that your Bible, by its basic structure, seems to promise as the…

Bible Backgrounds Inductive Study Methods Meeting the Jesus of Mark New Testament Studies NT's Use of the OT Old Testament Studies Text Criticism Issues

Name that Quote: Exodus 23:20, Malachi 3:1, and Isaiah 40:3 in Mark 1:2

April 15, 2019 Andrew Sargent

I will never forget my first Master’s paper at Regent University. I called it, “How They Got This Out of That.” I worked hard in my undergraduate programs (Yes, programs…

Biblical Studies Society

Striving for the Impossible… and loving it

April 12, 2019 Andrew Sargent

I love the word asymptotic. I’m not a mathematician. No offense intended to all you left brained calculus types, but I actually hate doing math. It seems to me, however,…

Bible Backgrounds Biblical Studies Biblical Theology Inductive Study Methods

Historical History & the Little Scholar Who Could

April 12, 2019 Andrew Sargent

One of the benefits of a being raised in a blue collar environment and receiving academic training is that I tend to experience the full force of learning. This means…