In this richly comparative analysis of late Muscovite and early Imperial court culture, Ernest A. Zitser provides a corrective to the secular bias of the scholarly literature about the reforms of Peter the Great. Zitser demonstrates that the tsar's supposedly "secularizing" reforms rested on a fundamentally religious conception of his personal political mission. In particular, Zitser shows that the carnivalesque (and often obscene) activities of the so-called Most Comical All-Drunken Council served as a type of Baroque political sacrament—a monarchical rite of power that elevated the tsar's person above normal men, guaranteed his prerogative over church affairs, and bound the participants into a community of believers in his God-given authority ("charisma"). The author suggests that by implicating Peter's "royal priesthood" in taboo-breaking, libertine ceremonies, the organizers of such "sacred parodies" inducted select members of the Russian political elite into a new system of distinctions between nobility and baseness, sacrality and profanity, tradition and modernity. Tracing the ways in which the tsar and his courtiers appropriated aspects of Muscovite and European traditions to suit their needs and aspirations, The Transfigured Kingdom offers one of the first discussions of the gendered nature of political power at the court of Russia's self-proclaimed "Father of the Fatherland" and reveals the role of symbolism, myth, and ritual in shaping political order in early modern Europe.

Peter Anthony explores how visionary elements in Luke's Gospel had a particular influence on early interpretation of the Transfiguration, by examining the rich hermeneutical traditions that emerged - particularly in the Latin West - as the Transfiguration was first depicted visually in art. Anthony begins by comparing the visual and visionary culture of antiquity with that of the present, and their differing interpretations of the Transfiguration. He then examines the Transfiguration texts in the synoptic gospels and their interpretation in modern scholarship, and the reception of the Transfiguration in 2 Peter, the Apocalypse of Peter and the Acts of Peter, Tertullian and Origen. Proceeding to look at interpretations found in the Greek East and the Latin West, Anthony finally discusses the earliest visual depictions of the Transfiguration from the sixth century onward, drawn from a wealth of different art forms. Anthony concludes that early commentators' and artists' understanding of how we see and visualise, and therefore, how the Transfiguration was apprehended, is closer to that of the writers of the New Testament than many modern interpreters' is.

Jesus metamorphosed. Celebrities from the past. Petrified disciples. Luminous cloud. An event as important as Christmas or Easter! Are you a preacher wondering what you can possibly say new and interesting on Transfiguration this year—to say nothing of all the Transfigurations that lie ahead of you? Are you an everyday believer curious to learn more about this holiday celebrated ievery year, yet somehow overlooked and ignored? Are you hooked on weird theological terms, intrigued by the fact that “transfiguration” is Latin for the Greek “metamorphosis” (as in butterflies and Kafka), and love to explore every wild and woolly corner of the Bible? Are you tired of Peter always getting bashed for his offer to build booths? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then Seven Ways of Looking at the Transfiguration needs to be at the top of your reading list! The seven ways: 1. Metamorphosis : Jesus 2. Eschaton : Elijah 3. Exodus : Moses 4. Tabernacles : Israel 5. Eyewitnesses : Peter, James, and John 6. Cloud : God the Father 7. Parousia : My Son, My Beloved Questions about the Transfiguration answered in the book: + What can it possibly mean for the eternal Lord to be transfigured, metamorphosed—changed? + Why does Luke delete the word “transfigured” from his version of the, um, well, Transfiguration? + Why does only Jesus’ clothing change in Mark’s Gospel, but his face, too, in Matthew and Luke? + Why was it Moses and Elijah, out of all possible Old Testament figures, who met with Jesus on the mountaintop? (Not because they represent “the law and the prophets”!) + Which mountain was it, anyway? + Why were Peter, James, and John the only disciples invited to see the Transfiguration? + Why was it so offensive for Peter to offer to build three booths for the three famous men? (Not because he was a babbling idiot!) + Why does God speak to Jesus at his Baptism and his Transfiguration, but not at his Resurrection? + Why doesn’t the Gospel of John have a Transfiguration story? (Or does it?) + Why doesn’t St. Paul talk about the Transfiguration? (Or does he?) + Why does Second Peter, of all oddball little epistles, talk about the Transfiguration? + Will we be transfigured someday, too? + What essential thing does the Transfiguration tell us about Jesus that his Resurrection does not?

This issue of The Ministry contains a complete record of the twelve messages given during the 2006 winter training on the Crystallization-study of Mark, held December 25-30 in Anaheim, California. The crucial truth and the burden embodied in these twelve messages may be summarized in four statements: (1) When we live in the mingled spirit, we are learning Christ according to the reality in Jesus by the Spirit of reality so that His biography becomes our history to be the reality of the Body of Christ. (2) The kingdom of God is the Lord Jesus sown as a seed into the believers and developing into a realm over which God can rule in the divine life. (3) Christ's person with His all-inclusive death and His wonderful resurrection is our all-inclusive replacement for the producing of the one new man, so we must "hear Him" and see "Jesus only." (4) Let us go forth and preach Christ to all the creation, proclaiming the gospel, presenting the truth, and ministering life for the growth, development, and manifestation of the kingdom of God. These messages are being published immediately following the training in order that they may benefit the saints participating in the many video trainings that are held throughout the earth. The Announcements section includes a presentation of the present burden in the recovery concerning the Lord's move to Europe and the latest fellowship regarding the plan to build a ministry conference center in Anaheim, California. In the Announcements section we also include the 2007 calendar, giving the dates and locations of the seven Living Stream Ministry conferences and trainings--the seven annual feasts. One cannot measure the benefits derived from the Lord's rich speaking in His ministry and the mutual blending and building up of the saints and the churches in the Lord's recovery from every continent during these feasts.

This book is intended as an aid to believers in developing a daily time of morning revival with the Lord in His word. At the same time, it provides a limited review of the semiannual training held July 1-6, 2024, in Anaheim, California, on “Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (1).” Through intimate contact with the Lord in His word, the believers can be constituted with life and truth and thereby equipped to prophesy in the meetings of the church unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

This issue of The Ministry of the Word contains a complete record of the twelve messages given during the July 2024 semiannual training, held in Anaheim, California. The subject of the training was “Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (1),” indicating that this subject will likely be continued in one or more future trainings. The Key Statements on the following page embody and summarize the crucial truths and main burdens covered in these twelve messages.

This book is intended as an aid to believers in developing a daily time of morning revival with the Lord in His word. At the same time, it provides a limited review of the semiannual training held July 4-9, 2022, in Anaheim, California, on the “Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Kings.” Through intimate contact with the Lord in His word, the believers can be constituted with life and truth and thereby equipped to prophesy in the meetings of the church unto the building up of the Body of Christ.