Matthew chats with Dr. Carmen Imes about her new book, Becoming God's Family: Why the Church Still Matters. In this discussion, Carmen shares how the church can embody its mission effectively and faithfully in the world. As an Old Testament scholar, she offers an important perspective on this subject. Drawing from insights taken from the Hebrew Bible, Carmen outlines a vision of the church that is rooted in the story of God’s people Israel, and she shares with listeners how that vision can be fleshed out in light of the pressing questions of the 21st century.

Dr. Imes’s faculty page: https://www.biola.edu/directory/people/carmen-imes 

Order her book: https://a.co/d/4ftnL9Y 

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Matthew's blog: matthewhalsted.substack.com

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There's something interesting going on in Luke 16-19. It's a large swath off Scripture, full of seemingly distinct and self-contained events and parables. And yet, they are not completely distinct. A careful reading, actually, shows how every segment fits together in a beautiful whole. And within this narrative are important truths about how God treasures the very people who earthly society considers insignificant. In fact, God's kingdom is comprised of society's rejects, all of whom illustrate what it means to have true faith and what it means to be a devoted follower of Christ.

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Matthew's blog: matthewhalsted.substack.com

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On this final episode in the Revelation series, Matt shows listeners how the Apocalypse comes to a close and, at the same time, summon its readers back to its pages. Matt also highlights how John's personal experience with the angel in vv. 8-9 captures the entire message of Revelation as a whole. Other questions are addressed, such as: what is meant by "soon" in the phrase "the things that must soon take place" (NIV) in v. 6? What's the significance of the reappearance of the Tree of Life in v. 14?

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Matthew's blog: matthewhalsted.substack.com
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The opening verses of Revelation 22 are jam-packed with allusions back to important Old Testament imagery -- from Genesis's garden of Eden to Ezekiel's vision of the temple to Zechariah's vision of the eschaton. There are also important elements embedded within Rev. 22 that describe, in remarkable ways, the restoration of all things and the sovereignty of Jesus the messiah.

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In the last part of chapter 21, John sees a vision of a city -- the New Jerusalem -- coming out of heaven. The city is called the Lamb's wife, and it is presented as a symbolic portrait of the church. The city's architecture is described carefully, the details of which point back to key texts from the Old Testament. How do these scriptural allusions and echoes advance hope for the first-century churches and, for that matter, 21st century believers? Listen to find out!

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This interview is a replay of EP#2 . To date, it is the most-listened-to episode of the podcast.

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In an age dominated by secularism and philosophical naturalism, the idea that people have supernatural experiences is often considered to be a relic of a bygone era. And yet, credible people still report such experiences. That's the subject of this episode, which features an interview with Dale C. Allison about his recent book, Encountering Mystery: Religious Experience in a Secular Age. In his book, Allison documents and discusses a range of religious experiences that people have reported -- including his own (which he shares in this interview). For students of the Bible, this topic is an important one to consider. The Bible is, after all, full of religious experiences. Allison's work on this subject will no doubt help modern people come to terms with a forgotten fact: There's more to reality than just physical reality. About Dale C. Allison:Dale C. Allison, Jr. is the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary. He earned his MA and PhD from Duke University. His academic research and publications include the historical Jesus, the Gospel of Matthew, Second Temple Judaism, and the history of the interpretation and application of biblical texts.

Faculty Page: https://ptsem.edu/academics/faculty/dale-c-allison-jr/ Check out Dale's Book: Encountering Mystery

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Matthew welcomes Dru Johnson on the show to talk about his newest book, Understanding Biblical Law: Skills for Thinking With and Through Torah (link below). If you've ever felt lost as you've read through the first five books of the Old Testament -- especially Leviticus! -- then you'll enjoy this conversation. Dru offers listeners helpful guidelines for how to think through (and delight in) God's Law.

Dru's Book: Understanding Biblical Law

Dru's Website: www.drujohnson.com

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Matthew's blog: matthewhalsted.substack.com

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In Revelation 21, John sees the new heaven and earth, a glimpse of that future era when everything will one day be renewed. He also sees the holy city -- the New Jerusalem -- descending from heaven as an adorned bride coming to her bridegroom. Why is the marriage metaphor employed as part of the larger eschatological vision? How does this relate to the preceding narrative about Roman domination? And how does knowing the Old Testament's eschatological texts -- particularly from Isaiah -- help us to understand John's vision?

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In Revelation 20:7-10, Satan is released from his prison and goes out to deceive the nations to rally them for war against the people of God.  This is similar to other passages in Revelation, and so the question becomes: What's the relationship? Is this an instance of recapitulation, or does Revelation present yet another scene that speaks of different events? The text also speaks of "Gog and Magog." Who (or what) are these entities? How does the rest of the passage (vv. 11-15) factor into the equation? Listen to find out!

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Matthew's blog: matthewhalsted.substack.com

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Revelation 20:4-6 is the subject of much debate and poses several interpretive challenges -- from translation questions to theological issues, it's all here. Who, for example, does John see on the thrones? What is meant by "the first resurrection"? How many resurrections are associated with the millennial reign of Christ? 

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