The history of modern biblical interpretation is checkered with attempts to rethink and resituate readers theologically and ethically. At least two tendencies emerge in these remedial proposals, both of which animate this project: (1) many accounts privilege either divine action (theology) or human, ecclesial response (ethics); (2) few proposals have availed themselves of the potential hermeneutical resources of a more extensive biblical theology. This study offers a theological and ethical account of Christian readers of Scripture--one that brings together these two apparently divergent poles--through the deployment of a biblical theological motif: royal priesthood. The designation of the people of God as a royal priesthood, conditioned and informed by the offices of king and priest, carries with it themes that frame the hermeneutical situation in such a way that accounts well for the integral relation of divine agency and ecclesial response, theology and ethics.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

"Rabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests brings into mutual fruition the fields of Talmudic Studies and Ancient Iranology, two historically distinct disciplines. Mokhtarian offers a revisionist history of the rabbis of late antique Persia who produced the Babylonian Talmud, perhaps the most important corpus in the Jewish sacred canon. While most research on the Talmud assumes that the rabbis were an insular group isolated from the cultural horizon outside of the rabbinic academies, this book contextualizes the rabbis and Talmud within a broader socio-cultural orbit by drawing from a wide range of sources from Sasanian Iran, including Middle Persian Zoroastrian literature, archaeological evidence, and the Jewish Aramaic magical bowls"--Provided by publisher.

Editing and examining source-critically for the first time the Late Babylonian ritual texts dealing with the New Year Festival, this book proposes an incisive re-interpretation of the most frequently discussed of all Mesopotamian rituals.

In 1997, Atlanta businessman Os Hillman began writing a daily e-mail devotional featuring 4-minute meditations on faith and work life. For men and women in the workplace, this was just what they needed: practical help in applying their faith to their work life; encouragement to live out their faith; empowerment to be more effective in their jobs; support to become powerful witnesses at work; and examples of others who experienced the presence of God at work. It has since become one of the fastest growing e-mail devotions on line. Now Hillman has written his second book of devotions. TGIF includes 365 all-new daily meditations, plus a bonus topical index to find devotions that relate to specific topics such as motives, handling disappointments, adversity, integrity, finances, decision making and much more. Whether for individual quiet times, Bible study groups or workplace groups, these daily devotions will help men and women fulfill God's call on their lives in the workplace.

The better we understand Jesus, the better we understand ourselves. But who was Jesus, this itinerant preacher whom many called the Messiah? In Priest, Prophet, King, you'll discover Jesus as the Anointed One - the ultimate priest, prophet, and king foreshadowed throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. Using biblical insights and engaging stories, Father Barron affirms that we see Jesus most clearly through the lens of the Old Testament. This deeply biblical program presents the Old Testament foreshadowing of each of Jesus' three offices as priest, prophet and king and then describes how Jesus is the fulfillment of each as seen in the New Testament. The Study Guide includes commentary, Questions for Understanding, and Questions for Application. Through this presentation of Priest, Prophet, King, you will better understand Jesus, become more familiar with Scripture, and realize your own priestly, prophetic, and kingly mission.

The letters edited in this volume represent the correspondence of various priests and high temple officials in the Assyrian realm during the third through fifth decades of the seventh century BC. They consist chiefly of reports to Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal about cultic concerns and matters connected with the construction and renovation of temple edifices in the major cities of the Assyrian empire, both in the heartland and in the provinces. These fascinating letters throw light on the buildings, refurbishment, and maintenance of temples, the fashioning and installation of statues of the king, the provisioning of the cult, the performance of sacrifices, the rite of sacred marriage, and the processions of divine images.

Traditionally associated with Protestantism, the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers is a genuinely Christian doctrine with important implications for the global church. In Representing Christ, Uche Anizor and Hank Voss explore the doctrine in its biblical, historical, theological and practical dimensions.