60 articles from 47 issues, 1995 to 2025 · Page 3 of 5
What does the Risen Christ say to a church that has kept the faith but lost its first love? James Edwards reads the letter to Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-6 and asks whether the PCUSA has become a denomination of causes rather than confession.
What does John see behind the veil of history in the last chapters of Revelation? Mark Atkinson reads chapters 20 to 22: the binding of Satan, the judgment and the new heaven and earth, and the city that God takes and transforms instead of leaving us a garden.
Why does John call Jesus monogenes, the one of a kind? Terry McGonigal follows John’s case through the prologue, the seven signs, the dialogues and the “I am” sayings, and shows how it arrives at Thomas’s confession, “My Lord and my God.”
Why does the Prince of Peace speak of a sword to the church in Pergamum? Darrell Johnson preaches Revelation 2:12-17 as a word about the battle for the mind, and calls Christians to repent of careless tolerance toward the idols and the sexual habits of the surrounding culture.
What does Revelation say about the city that dazzles and then falls? Mark Atkinson reads chapters 17 through 19 as the judgment of the great whore, the destruction of Babylon and the wedding banquet of the Lamb, with Christ going to battle armed only with his Word.
What should a church hold on to while the bowls of God’s wrath are readied? Mark Atkinson reads Revelation 14 through 16 as three visions of the church at worship, in preaching and in harvest, followed by the pouring out of judgment.
What do the woman, the dragon and the two beasts of Revelation 12 and 13 stand for? Mark Atkinson reads the visions as the story of Christ’s birth and victory, the pressure of state power and false religion on believers, and the call to endure.
What are the trumpets of Revelation 8 and 9 meant to tell us? Mark Atkinson reads them as a call to repentance that answers the prayers of the saints, warns of a widening judgment and shows God still in command of the world’s calamities.
Who is able to stand when the seals are broken? Mark Atkinson walks through Revelation 6 and 7, from the four horsemen and the martyrs under the altar to the sealed servants of God, and shows that the Lamb is in control of every calamity.
What does John see when the door in heaven opens? Mark Atkinson’s questions lead the reader through the throne room of Revelation 4 and the Lamb who takes the scroll in chapter 5, and end in worship.
Does the New Testament say yes or no to women in the church’s ministry? Kenneth Bailey reads the Gospels and Paul against their Middle Eastern setting, finds women as disciples, teachers, prophets and deacons, and argues that the texts urging silence can be read in harmony with them.
What was Paul asking of the women who prayed and prophesied in Corinth? Kenneth Bailey takes the passage on head coverings apart line by line, argues that Paul affirms women’s leadership in worship, and shows how the key words change meaning when they are translated differently.
In print, to anyone who asks.
"Sustained by readers."
Theology Matters is sent in print to anyone who requests it, sustained primarily by readers like you. Tax-deductible.
Give a Gift