A translated text is laced with interpretive assumptions. By focusing on the Septuagint, J. Ross Wagner highlights the creative theology hidden in translation. His model couples patient investigation of the act of translation with careful attention to the translated texts' rhetorical features. Wagner focuses upon Isaiah's opening vision, clarifying its language, elucidating its character, and contextualizing its message. Reading the Sealed Book demonstrates how such translations serve as distinctive contributions to theology and reveal the contours of Jewish identity in the Hellenistic diaspora.

Of all the texts in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, perhaps no book has a more colorful history of interpretation than Isaiah. A comprehensive history of this interpretation between the prophet Malachi and the first days of Christianity, Joseph Blenkinsopp's Opening the Sealed Book traces three different prophetic traditions in Isaiah -- the "man of God," the critic of social structures, and the apocalyptic seer. Blenkinsopp explores the place of Isaiah in Jewish sectarianism, at Qumran, and among early Christians, touching on a number of its themes, including exile, "the remnant of Israel," martyrdom, and "the servant of the Lord." Encompassing several disciplines -- hermeneutics, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Second Temple studies, Christian origins -- Opening the Sealed Book will appeal to Jewish and Christian scholars as well as readers fascinated by the intricate and influential prophetic visions of Isaiah.

Captured in just one book is a complete overview of God's plan and purpose for the church, Israel, and other nations in the end times. "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end" (Daniel 12:4). "Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, 'My Lord, what shall be the end of these things?' And he said, 'Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end'" (Daniel 12:8-9). God raised up another prophet, the apostle John, to open the book that the prophet Daniel had closed and sealed. "And he said to me [John], 'Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand'" (Rev. 22:10). The "time of the end" has come! It is time to open the book that Daniel was ordered to seal. God chose the church for a great mission: to spread the gospel and to bring understanding of His purpose and will to all people. The church needs a full understanding of all future events, in order to teach and proclaim them in a clear way. This book includes historical issues, detailed exposition of one of the last prophecies to be fulfilled before the judgment of God commences--Russia's attack on Israel.

A translation from the plates of Mormon

Emily "Fido" Faithfull, a spinster pioneer in the British women's movement, is distracted from her cause by the details of her friend's failing marriage and affair with a young army officer, in this drama of friends, lovers, and divorce, Victorian style.

He's got a living, breathing dilemma... In the midst of running an undercover CIA mission, Navy SEAL Lt. Garth Vale finds an abandoned baby, and his superiors sure don't want to know about it. The only person who can help him is the beautiful new doctor in town, but she's got another surprise for him... She's got a solution...at a price... Dr. Bronwyn Whitescarver has left the frantic pace of big city ER medicine for a small town medical practice. Her bags aren't even unpacked yet when gorgeous, intense Garth Vale shows up on her doorstep in the middle of the night with a sick baby... But his story somehow doesn't add up, and Bronwyn isn't quite sure who she's saving—the baby, or the man... Praise for SEALed with a Ring: "An enjoyable and sensual romance...Unflinchingly describes the repercussions endured by those brave men and women who put their lives on the lines to fight in the military."—Night Owl Romance, Reviewer Top Pick "A page-turner that you just will not be able to put down."—Fresh Fiction

Questions run the breadth of the Mormon experience, including doctrinal questions as well as questions about the LDS lifestyle.

The Sealed Portion-Another Testament of Jesus Christ is the second part of the Book of Mormon, which millions of people throughout the world accept as the word of God along with the Bible. Joseph Smith, Jr. (1830), the founder of the Mormon faith, claimed to have received gold plates from an angel of God named Moroni. When he received the plates, Smith relates that 2/3 of them were sealed. The angel Moroni commanded him not to break the seals, but to translate only the portion of the plates that was unsealed. It was prophesied that the sealed portion of the plates would one day be given to the people of the world. Using two stones called the Urim and Thummim, Joseph Smith translated the unsealed portion. Before returning the plates to the angel Moroni, Joseph showed them to several others. These men gave their personal testimony as witnesses to the existence of the plates and to the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Claiming to have received the same instructions to translate the sealed portion of the gold plates, an obscure man, once an active member of the LDS faith, who goes only by the name of Christopher, has published the remaining sealed portion. Though others have made similar claims before him, none has ever testified that he received the Urim and Thummim that was prepared by God to translate the plates, and none has made claim that he has received the exact same gold plates that were in Joseph Smith's possession-except for Christopher. This book is a result of that translation. The Sealed Portion-The Final Testament of Jesus Christ, written by Moroni, relates the vision seen by the Brother of Jared. Within the pages, the entire history of mankind is covered. It begins with the kingdom where the spirits of the children of men were first created, and continues through until the end of the millennium, when the earth will be restored to a state similar to the garden of Eden, and the planets will be prepared as the degrees of glory in the kingdom of God. The most accurate and precise account ever given of the life of Christ is contained within the pages, including his early years with his family, his youth, baptism, marriages, mission, and death. Moroni explains the atonement, the LDS temple endowment, and some of the hidden symbolism of the book of Revelation. He recounts the prophets Ubaid, Zarathustra, Antioch, Socrates, Sythipian, Mohammad, and Joseph Smith, Jr., among others. The histories of the Egyptians, Hittites, Babylonians, Romans, and Americans are also covered. Also given is the in-depth and beautiful description of Jesus' intercessory prayer among the Nephites and the Lamanites on the American continent. Along with the translation of the sealed portion, the first part of the gold plates that was translated by Joseph Smith, Jr. and subsequently lost by his scribe, Martin Harris, is also included in this extraordinary work. This part is known as the Book of Lehi (the lost 116-page manuscript). The full text of Joseph Smith's reported First Vision, in which he claims to have been visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ, is also included in the book. The reader is lead from blindness into the light as he or she discovers the truths written within these pages.

She's got it all...except the one thing she needs mostSmart, successful businesswoman JJ Caruthers has a year to land a husband or lose the empire she's worked so hard to build. With time running out, romance is not an option, and a military husband who is always on the road begins to look like the perfect solution... He's a wounded hero with an agenda of his own Even with the scars of battle, Navy SEAL medic Davy Graziano is gorgeous enough to land any woman he wants, and he's never wanted to be tied down. Now Davy has ulterior motives for accepting JJ's outrageous proposal of marriage, but he only has so long to figure out what JJ doesn't want him to know... Praise for SEALed with a Promise: "The author infuses humor, realistic characters, emotion-filled situations, and in some cases brutal honesty to create a storyline that's utterly captivating from beginning to end." —Romance Junkies "Daughtridge delivers the heat." —Alpha Heroes "Mary Margret Daughtridge's descriptions awaken the senses to a level that makes a reader gasp for breath and sigh with satisfaction." —Long and Short of It Praise for SEALed with a Kiss: "A heart-touching story that will keep you smiling and cheering for the characters clear through to the happy ending." —Romantic Times "A completely fascinating, enchanting, poignant novel that touches the heartstrings." —Romance Reviews Today "Mary Margret Daughtridge has done a stellar job writing a realistic romance without trying to sugarcoat the difficulties inherent in any military relationship." —Queue My Review