THE EMMAUS INKWELL

This is part one of the Center of Nations series, which examines the history of the modern State of Israel in the midst of an increasingly hostile world. In the midst of the world’s first international antisemitic incident, rabbinic voices are heard calling for a Jewish return to the Land. Read and listen to, EARLY VOICES FOR RETURN by Gabriel Caligiuri now.

“While the Christian church has historically (and rightly) clung to the cross of Christ, we’ve criticized the Jews for focusing on the crown. But biblical literacy demands we cling to both—because the prophets spoke of both.” Read and listen to, THE PERKS OF BIBLICAL LITERACY by Bill Scofield now.

“Peter, answering for the others, affirms their conviction that Jesus was ‘the Christ’—that is, the Messiah, or the coming King of the Jews. This affirmation became the bedrock upon which the Jesus movement was formed. This story, like the ‘good confession’, served to highlight the central conviction that bound Jesus’s earliest followers together: Jesus of Nazareth was the coming King of Israel.”...

“I’m not antisemitic; I’m anti-Zionist.” We hear that disclaimer from the progressive political left, the radical alt-right, Muslim apologists, Hollywood stars, mainstream politicians, and even Christian theologians and pastors. “I’m not against Jews, it’s the political ideology of Zionism that I oppose.” Read and listen to, THE THREE FROGS: ANTISEMITISM, ANTI-ZIONISM, & ANTI-JUDAISM by Daniel T L...

"In that coming day, the LORD will cleanse the land and remove its iniquity 'in a single day.' From that moment forward, there will no longer be merely a remnant within Israel, but the whole nation — 'from the least to the greatest' — will know the LORD. Israel will finally be preserved in holiness as a priestly nation and become an example to all peoples during the reign of Messiah over the earth...

"We are living in-between the Cross and the Crown, in a window of mercy opened for the fullness of the Gentiles to enter into the Kingdom of the Son of His love. This is the moment in eternity with the declaration of the Son of Man, 'Maranatha,' sweeps across the nations of the earth that, truly, all might be blessed through the promises made to Abraham. And these days, as any, are numbered. This...

"Back in the 1980s, broadcasters would occasionally break into a television program with the startling words, 'We interrupt this broadcast to bring you the following important announcement.' The broadcast interruptions not only startled the viewer, but they also shattered the comfortable entertainment illusion the viewer was trying to enjoy. That’s sort of what it was like when God stepped down on...

"No one rejects Leviticus outright, but it’s hard for modern readers to engage. It just sits there, forgotten… Leviticus is not a description of a world that passed away. It's a vision of a world that is still yet to come. Leviticus is eschatology." Read and listen to, LEVITICUS IS ESCHATOLOGY by Brianna Tittel now & check out her new book, 'The Forgotten Gospel: Reimagining Leviticus and the Stor...

The message of the Bible has an explicitly eschatological thrust centered on the future redemption of Israel. There is simply no way around it. This message was not only handed down to the Jewish people; it hinges on their own redemption. That is, "if their rejection brings reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?" Read and listen to, THE BIBLICAL NARRAT...

There is a kind of waiting that wears you down. And there is a kind of waiting that reveals what is in you. Peter is not only addressing a theological question about the timing of Jesus’ return. He is addressing the condition of the heart. What happens in us while we wait? Read and listen to, THE FUTURE PULLING US FORWARD by Sebastiaan van Wessem now & dive deeper into this question with his new b...

Do we really have two covenants in opposition and contrast, or rather one eternal covenant with different facets that progressively unfolds and renews itself in order to fulfill God’s purposes and demonstrate His faithfulness? Read and listen to, ISRAEL, THE CHURCH, AND THE ETERNAL COVENANT • PART I by Paulo Maranatha now.

From the beginning, God has been telling a story of redemption. It is a story that is unfolding on the world stage and it is vital that we understand this story. Read and listen to, THE REMNANT NOW, ALL ISRAEL THEN: PAUL’S EXPLANATION OF THE PROPHETS by Joel Richardson now.

“No one in this day and age is tasked with creating the fixture that will host the manifest Presence of the Holy. Still, as with so much of Scripture, we can glean from and lean on principles set forth in the stories. This neglected element of the Exodus serves us with something of our own blueprint: To honor the dignity God gives to the creative, beautiful excellence of artisans made by Him to ma...

“Abraham staked his entire life—and that of his covenantal son—on the dream given to him through promises: the city whose builder and maker is God.” Read and listen to, PROMISE & PURSUIT • ABRAHAM'S HOLY DREAM by Stephanie Quick now.

“Why would the friends of Israel suffer demonic oppression? Because the Devil never forgets who sides with the Jews.” Read and listen to, WHAT IS (REALLY) HAPPENING IN IRAN? by Nikolai Boyadjiev now.

“Humility permeates the teachings of Jesus as a conviction of the certainty of God’s coming Day. The table will most certainly be reorganized one day.” Read and listen to HUMILITY & ESCHATOLOGY by Bill Scofield now.

“Such stories matter because they remind us who we are: people of faith, people of the Book, and a people who know that friendship with the world is enmity with God. We lose our way when we fail to distinguish ourselves from the world—that is, from the broader culture. That is how you lose your identity, your faith, and ultimately how we lose our children to secularism and godlessness.” Read and l...

“The more we long for the return of the Lord, the more we will find ourselves drawn into His purposes among the nations—especially in the Middle East, the central stage of the redemptive drama.” Read and listen to, PAUL'S ANGUISH AND THE HEART OF GOD: PART 4 by Paulo Maranatha now.

Passover & the Return of Messiah: The holy plot twist, and what it means for the next time He'll part creation to make a passageway. This article was originally published April 19, 2019 in time for Passover in Israel that year. It is reprinted here at THE EMMAUS TABLE as a cited source for both DEATH+ KINGDOM I: THE DEATH OF DEATH and COVENANT AND CONTROVERSY: THE GREAT REIGN Read and listen to, T...

“Asking someone to teach the Bible without mentioning Israel is a bit like asking a professor to teach the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe without mentioning Narnia.” Read and listen to, C.S. LEWIS & THE CONTROVERSY OF ZION by Grayson Borders now.

“It is no wonder marketing drives capitalism. So much money and effort is put into creating advertisement that captures the eye. The more our eyes are exposed to something, the greater the chance we will start thinking that 'object' is important and that we really need it in our lives. We will eventually start actively seeking that 'object.'” Read and listen to, DISTRACTION, NUMBNESS AND THE CARES...

"If you have raced with runners and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?" Read and listen to ANTICIPATING HORSES & THICKETS by Bill Scofield now.

“Throughout history, the descendants of Ishmael have indeed become a vast multitude—but they have not yet become a great nation in the purposes of God. That promise still awaits fulfillment before the end of this age.” Read and listen to, PAUL'S ANGUISH AND THE HEART OF GOD: PART 3 by Paulo Maranatha now.

If we want to have clarity today and endurance through our remaining tomorrows, we would do well to become literate in the prophets ourselves, remembering a critical principle: The Scriptures are no ordinary texts vulnerable to the scrutiny of our own wavering criticisms; we must submit to the Scriptures. The Scriptures are under no burden to submit to us.   Read and listen to, CAPTIVES, HOSTAGES,...

"There is hardly a better apology for the state of weakness on the pages of the Bible. In a world and culture that extolled power and success (always a pagan obsession), the apostle Paul embraced everything that made his life miserable." Read and listen to, THE GOSPEL OF WEAKNESS by Nikolai Boyadjiev now.