“If we want to understand what God was telling John about the future, we need to first understand what John understood.” —Professor Jon Paulien, Loma Linda University, USA In Jesus—The Portrait and Inscription of God, the author pours his years of research into addressing the issue that Jon Paulien highlights. Paki builds an intriguing case for a dual-focused method of interpreting Revelation. He uses this method to show (i) that Revelation was written primarily to John and his initial audience, (ii) that the same prophecies also speak to us with clarity and force. (iii) Then he wonders if God intentionally used the same material to speak to an audience, then and now. When this method is applied to Revelation 1–3, the text does come alive. Deep theological truths and nuggets extracted are way too many to recount in a single book. In fact, this fresh approach minimizes most of our interpretive issues and enhances our understanding and appreciation of the apocalyptic Christ. Some of our leading scholars agree: “It is well-written, well laid out, and has good solid biblical insights. … Good solid evidence for Revelation’s high Christology.” —Dr. Kayle de Waal, Avondale College, Australia “I found it thoughtful, helpful, and interesting to read. The style of presentation … is also very attractive.” —Professor Jon Paulien, Loma Linda University, USA “You have clearly shown the relationship between Revelation 1-3 with the rest of Revelation.” —Dr. Ross Cole, Avondale College, Australia The method used, its interpretations, and the theological insights are corroborated by other Johannine books, the New Testament, the Old Testament, and the Spirit of Prophecy. This volume will enhance the libraries of academics and laypeople alike.

For many who identify themselves as Christians, Jesus has never become experientially personal or real. Countless others who have faithfully followed Christ confess to a spiritual dryness and lack of joy. These individuals are weary and unmoved by the plethora of information about Jesus. What they long for is an experience with Jesus. Picturing the Face of Jesus is an invitation to experience Christ more deeply. Through a rich palette of experiential media—art contemplation, gospel story-telling, and imaginative prayer—the reader is invited to picture the face of Jesus, his expressive, one-of-a-kind, human face. As a result, Jesus will become a real person with whom they candidly relate, instead of a hero they merely admire. Through this encounter, their own hearts will be transformed as they begin to reflect the face of Christ to others.

Is there any sound historical evidence that the prophet of Islam actually existed, or is the entire story of Muhammad fable or fiction? It is a question that few have thought—or dared—to ask. Virtually everyone, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, takes for granted that the prophet of Islam lived as a prophet, as well as a political and military leader, in seventh-century Arabia. But this widely accepted story begins to crumble on close examination. In his blockbuster New York Times bestseller The Truth about Muhammad, historian and Islam expert Robert Spencer revealed the often shocking contents of Islamic teachings about Muhammad. Now, in this newly revised and expanded version of Did Muhammad Exist?, he lays bare those teachings’ surprisingly shaky historical foundations. This updated and enlarged version of this acclaimed book examines even more striking and compelling evidence that the story of Muhammad, who for so long was assumed to have lived in the “full light of history,” could be more myth and legend than historical fact. Spencer meticulously examines historical records and archaeological findings, pioneering new scholarship to reconstruct what we can know about Muhammad, the Qur’an, and the early days of Islam. The evidence he presents challenges the most fundamental assumptions about Islam’s origins.

New York Times bestselling author and Bible expert Bart Ehrman reveals how Jesus’s divinity became dogma in the first few centuries of the early church. The claim at the heart of the Christian faith is that Jesus of Nazareth was, and is, God. But this is not what the original disciples believed during Jesus’s lifetime—and it is not what Jesus claimed about himself. How Jesus Became God tells the story of an idea that shaped Christianity, and of the evolution of a belief that looked very different in the fourth century than it did in the first. A master explainer of Christian history, texts, and traditions, Ehrman reveals how an apocalyptic prophet from the backwaters of rural Galilee crucified for crimes against the state came to be thought of as equal with the one God Almighty, Creator of all things. But how did he move from being a Jewish prophet to being God? In a book that took eight years to research and write, Ehrman sketches Jesus’s transformation from a human prophet to the Son of God exalted to divine status at his resurrection. Only when some of Jesus’s followers had visions of him after his death—alive again—did anyone come to think that he, the prophet from Galilee, had become God. And what they meant by that was not at all what people mean today. Written for secular historians of religion and believers alike, How Jesus Became God will engage anyone interested in the historical developments that led to the affirmation at the heart of Christianity: Jesus was, and is, God.

Studying the New Testament through Inscriptions is an intuitive introduction to inscriptions from the Greco-Roman world. Inscriptions can help contextualize certain events associated with the New Testament in a way that many widely circulated literary texts do not. This book both introduces inscriptions and demonstrates sound methodological use of them in the study of the New Testament. Through five case studies, it highlights the largely unrecognized ability of inscriptions to shed light on early Christian history, practice, and the leadership structure of early Christian churches, as well as to solve certain New Testament exegetical impasses. Key points and features: No other book like this on the market--this is the first of its kind!A practical and much-needed tool for graduate students, seminarians, and pastorsShowcases five detailed case studies, designed to show students exactly how to use inscriptionsIncludes 20+ black and white photosThree appendices provide additional information for those who want to learn more

A. Katherine Grieb insightfully traces the argument of Paul's letter to the Romans and shows how it is grounded in the story of God's faithfulness to Israel. She draws together a number of crucial insights: the narrative character of Paul's thought, the apocalyptic message of his gospel, the depth of his engagement with Israel's Scripture, and the practical and political impact of his theology. She demonstrates the letter's relevance today and invites contemporary readers to locate their own stories within Paul's account of God's righteousness. Informed by recent Pauline scholarship, this book will be useful to scholars, students, and pastors.

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