The Bedrock of Christianity with Dr. Justin Bass

Dr. Justin Bass is a scholar of biblical studies and apologetics. In particular, his work addresses the weaknesses of Jesus mythicism and skepticism about the resurrection of Jesus. He is currently teaching at Dallas Christian College and teaching courses online at Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary in Jordan and Asian Christian Academy in India. For more about Dr. Bass go to Justin W. Bass (justinwbass.com)

In this episode we chat with Dr. Bass about his book The Bedrock of Christianity, in which he demonstrates that the supernatural claims of Christianity are not late traditions added to the New Testament but are demonstrably early—a fact that is not denied by nearly all historians and liberal theologians. Consequently, the fact that early followers of Jesus believed in the death, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances undermines not only Jesus mythicism, but forces skeptical scholars to explain where early Christians got such ideas and why those beliefs spawned a faith that spread over the entire world.

The Bedrock of Christianity: The Unalterable Facts of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

Discount Code: BEDROCK  gives 30% off on Logos or paperback and lasts until the end of the month (June 2021).

Revelation 10 is a hiatus from the trumpet judgments. The chapter describes a “mighty angel” who holds a scroll that the awestruck John will take from his hand and eat. This odd language has Old Testament precedent in Ezekiel. However, it is the angel that has drawn the most attention from scholars. This angel is simultaneously described with phrases that have occurred earlier in the book—in descriptions of God and Jesus. Is this confusion on John’s part, or a theological contradiction? This episode addresses those questions.

Revelation 9 reveals John’s vision of the fifth and six trumpet judgments. Several interpretive issues are immediately apparent? What is the nature of the angel with the key to the bottomless pit (Rev 9:1)? Is this angel the same or different than that in Rev 9:11 or Abbadon/Apollyon? Who or what is being released from the bottomless pit (Rev 9:3-11)? These questions take the reader into the wider question of whether Revelation’s apocalyptic descriptions should be read in terms of modern analogies. In this episode we discern how the release of evil supernatural beings from the bottomless pit has clear connections to how Second Temple Jewish texts and 2 Peter describe the imprisoned Watchers, the sons of God of Genesis 6:1-4 infamy, and how the odd descriptions of those beings in insect and animal form have clear, abundant antecedents in the Old Testament.

Revelation 8 begins the vision of the first six trumpets. In Part 1 of our look at this chapter, we looked at features of the first six verses, such as the Lamb’s opening of the seventh and final seal on the scroll from Revelation, the accompanying silence in heaven 5, and the seven angels in the scene. In Part 2 we discuss verses 7-13, a description of the first four trumpet judgments. The Old Testament context of these four trumpet judgments reveals clear connections to the exodus plagues and the Deuteronomy 32 worldview.

Revelation 8 begins the vision of the first six trumpets. The sequence is kicked off by the Lamb’s opening of the seventh and final seal on the scroll from Revelation 5. The chapter raises some immediate questions: How are we to understand the silence in heaven? Who are the seven angels? Do the ensuing trumpet judgments have an Old Testament context? This episode of the podcast answers these questions and prepare us for the judgment sequence through the remainder of Revelation 8 and Revelation 9.

Dr. Heiser answers your questions.

This episode continues our discussion of Revelation 7 and the 144,000. The discussion includes Revelation 14, a second passage referencing the 144,000. This latter passage adds an interesting descriptive detail, one that leads some scholars to wonder if the 144,000 have some relationship to the Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch), a work that elaborates on the fall of the sons of God of Gen 6:1-4. This question leads our episode, but we also discuss the early church tradition about the omission of the tribe of Dan from the tribes from which the 144,000 derive. Is the omission an indication that the Antichrist comes from Dan? Lastly, we consider the reference in Rev 7:13-14 to the “great tribulation”; what is the Old Testament context for this phrase?

Revelation 7 is the first of two passages in the book that refer to the 144,000. The passage bristles with questions. Who are these individuals, 12,000 from 12 tribes of Israel? Should we understand the 144,000 literally or metaphorically, or both? Why is the tribe of Dan omitted from the list? Why are the tribes of Joseph and Manasseh mentioned, when Manasseh (with Ephraim) constituted the tribe of Joseph? Why the tribal arrangement at all? Might the 144,000 still represent the Church and the twelve apostles? Are the 144,000 specially protected as the apocalypse plays out? In this episode we begin our journey into these and other questions with a specific eye to the role of the Old Testament in John’s thinking and theology.

Reading Moses, Seeing Jesus, with Seth Postell

According to Acts 15 the Jerusalem church concluded that Gentile believers do not have to keep the Law to be in right relationship with the God of Israel. Nevertheless, many Gentile believers today wonder whether their love for Yeshua (Jesus) and faithfulness as his followers ought to be expressed by observing the Law. What of Jewish believers in Jesus? Does Acts 15 assume that Jewish believers in Yeshua must be Torah observant? Did not Jesus and Paul teach believers to “do and observe” the Law? What about New Testament passages that suggest believers are not under the Law, and that the Law became obsolete with the making of the new covenant (Heb. 8: 6– 13)? Dr. Seth Postell joins us today to answer these and other questions. The conversation focuses on his important (and highly recommended) book, Reading Moses, Seeing Jesus: How the Torah Fulfills its Goal in Yeshua (co-authored with Eitan Bar and Erez Soref). His thesis is straightforward: The purpose of the Torah, Genesis through Deuteronomy, is that it is an historical narrative whose purpose is to lead Israel through the broken Law and beyond, namely, to Yeshua, the Messiah. Dr. Postell is a key leader at One for Israel, a multi-faceted non-profit ministry with the express goal of reaching Israelis and Arabs with the good news of Yeshua. He is also Academic Dean at Israel College of the Bible, the only Hebrew-speaking evangelical Bible college in the world.

Discount Code: SEEINGJESUS  gives 30% off on Logos or paperback and lasts until the end of the month (April 2021).

Reading Moses, Seeing Jesus: How the Torah Fulfills its Goal in Yeshua

Revelation 6 introduces the reader to the unsealing of the scroll of Revelation 5. The first such act unleashes the four horsemen of the apocalypse. A variety of Old Testament passages and images are involved in the ensuing description of the terrible events that follow. In this episode, we look again at John’s use of the Old Testament to describe God’s eschatological judgment on the world.