victory(2/0)
The suffering and the patience
Current favorite Greek words? θλῖψις and ὑπομονή The first is translated “tribulation” in the KJV, but that translation doesn’t do much good for me who, after all these years, still can’t get the claws of dispensationalism totally out of my head. Seeing the word “tribulation”, I still envision either some future period of intense suffering or an exceptionally intense personal struggle. What I am discovering; however, is that the etymology of the word is a metaphor taken from intense pressure, as in the pressing of grapes to produce wine.…
Freedom from spiritual enslavers
In both the Exodus story and Jesus' resurrection there was a defeat of the spirit powers; the gods of Egypt and the prince of this world. Jesus' victory changes no geopolitical boundaries and produces no visible earthly dominion, but it is on analogy with Israel’s flight from Egypt as the ultimate redemption from oppression. One implication of this news is that the invisible powers are the truest enslavers and root source of humanity’s failure to live as image bearers (not that we bear no responsibility, but as those who are coerced, not “free agents”).…