ISSUES IN THE GREAT CONTROVERSY THEME

     Today I have finished my reading about the history of the most divisive book that was ever written in Seventh-day Adventist Church: Questions on Doctrine. While I was getting closer to its end I was very surprised by a final article in the book written by Herbert E. Douglas. I want to share this short article with you. I hope you will be amazed also as you read the following lines:

    The great controversy that the Bible describes is far different than Hollywood’s portrayal of a galactic clash of heavenly warriors with their shining swords. The great controversy is over the question of who can best govern the universe and who presents the best principles by which created intelligences can find hope, health, happiness, and heavenly assurance, while living on a planet still to be sanitized from all the evil for which Satan is responsible. To say it another way, the great controversy is not a spectator sport. It does not give anyone the luxury of sitting in the bleachers. You and I are actors on the stage of the universe. How we play our part will determine not only our eternal futures but also help significantly in vindicating the integrity of God’s order in the universe.

     Stephen Hawking, that remarkable Cambridge University mathematician and cosmologist, in his 1988 book A Brief History of Time, wrote that were scientists to discover the long-sought “theory of everything” to explain the varying mechanisms of the universe, “we would truly know the mind of God.”

     Seventh-day Adventists have been given just that – the “theory of everything; that truly introduces us to the “mind of God.” We didn’t discover it – it was given to us. We call it the Great Controversy Theme, the unified field of clarity as to what is going on in this wonderful universe. Here we summarize the overall scope of the Great Controversy Theme (GCT):

     ”The central theme of the Bible Read the rest of this entry »

THE IDENTITY OF MELCHIZEDEK FROM HEBREWS 7:1-10 IN THE LIGHT OF GENESIS 14:18-20 WITH A SHORT HISTORY OF INTERPRETATION

   1. Introduction and statement of the problem

   The figure of Melchizedek[1] appears only three times in the Judeo-Christian Scriptures: in Genesis 14:18-20, in Psalm 110:4, and in Hebrews 7:1-3. His figure presented in these three places in the Bible “gave rise to a considerable unorthodox speculation as a result of the enigmatic account of Genesis 14.”[2] There are many contributions made by many theologians on this subject, but there is a little consensus among them in regard to the significance and function of Melchizedek in these narratives, especially in the Epistle to Hebrews chapter 7.

   1.1. Purpose for the study

   There are different categories of interpretations regarding the identity and function of Melchizedek in Hebrew 7. Firstly, this study aims to trace a short history of interpretation of the figure and function of Melchizedek. And secondly we will try to understand the identity and function of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7 from a Genesis narrative perspective.

         1.2. Delimitations of the study

    This research is limited to an examination of two Biblical narratives: Hebrews 7:1-10 and Genesis 14:18-20 along with a short history of interpretation of these two passages. Read the rest of this entry »

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