Podcasts about allegorical

In this profound exploration of Matthew 25:1-13, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb unpack the parable of the ten virgins, revealing it as far more than a simple warning about preparedness. Moving beyond dispensational "rapture ready" interpretations, they demonstrate how this parable addresses the spiritual condition required for entrance into God's consummated kingdom. The discussion centers on the critical distinction between outward religious profession and genuine possession of the Holy Spirit's grace. With pastoral sensitivity and theological depth, the hosts examine the meaning of the oil, the significance of the midnight cry, and the urgency of both evangelism and personal examination. This episode challenges listeners to consider whether they possess not just the lamp of profession, but the oil of saving grace that alone sustains faith through the waiting period before Christ's return. Key Takeaways The oil represents saving grace, not perfect obedience - The critical distinction in the parable is not between those who stayed awake versus those who slept (all ten virgins fell asleep), but between those who possessed oil and those who didn't. The oil symbolizes the indwelling, regenerating, sanctifying presence of the Holy Spirit—the grace that comes through effectual calling and genuine conversion. This parable warns against mere outward profession - All ten virgins carried lamps and waited for the bridegroom, representing outward religious activity and profession. The difference lay in the interior spiritual reality—whether that profession was accompanied by the transforming grace of the Holy Spirit or remained empty formalism. The "midnight cry" represents both personal death and Christ's return - Historically, Reformed expositors understood the midnight cry as either the actual cry of Christ's angels at His return or the voice of God in individual death. Each person's death functions as their personal midnight that irrevocably fixes their eternal state. Readiness is not about sinless perfection but possession of grace - The parable is not teaching a fearful "rapture ready" theology where Christians must be perfectly sinless when Christ returns. Rather, it teaches that readiness consists in possessing saving grace through faith in Christ, which sustains believers even when they "sleep" (fall into sin or spiritual drowsiness). There is urgency in the gospel call - The parable emphasizes that the opportunity for salvation has a deadline—"you know neither the day nor the hour." This creates urgency both for unbelievers to trust Christ and for believers to share the gospel, since no one knows when their personal "midnight" will arrive. Calvin's insight: you "buy" oil by receiving it freely through faith - Though the parable speaks of "buying" oil, Calvin notes this doesn't imply paying a price. Just as Isaiah invites people to buy wine and milk without money, we obtain the oil of grace not through merit or payment, but by receiving through faith what Christ freely offers. Key Concepts The Oil as Symbol of the Holy Spirit's Grace The oil in this parable has been consistently interpreted throughout church history as representing the grace of the Holy Spirit—specifically the indwelling, regenerating, and sanctifying presence that comes through genuine conversion. This interpretation aligns with Old Testament symbolism where anointing oil signified the Spirit's presence (as in "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit"). The crucial distinction Jesus makes is not about external religious activity (both groups had lamps and waited), but about internal spiritual reality. Just as a lamp cannot burn without oil, religious profession without the Spirit's grace has no sustaining power. This oil cannot be shared or borrowed; it must be personally possessed. The parable thus exposes the deadly danger of assuming that outward Christian activities—church attendance, biblical knowledge, moral behavior—constitute genuine Christianity when the transforming work of the Spirit is absent. All the Virgins Slept: Grace Overcomes Human Weakness One of the most important details often overlooked is that both the wise and foolish virgins fell asleep while waiting for the bridegroom. This demolishes any interpretation suggesting the parable is about maintaining perfect spiritual vigilance or sinless living. The wise virgins' readiness was not based on their superior wakefulness or moral stamina—they fell asleep just like the foolish ones. Their preparedness came from having secured the oil beforehand. This has profound theological implications: our salvation and readiness for Christ's return does not depend on our ability to maintain perfect spiritual alertness or sinless perfection. Even when believers "sleep"—when they fall into sin, experience spiritual dullness, or fail in vigilance—they remain prepared because they possess the oil of the Spirit's grace. The parable thus provides comfort alongside its warning: those who have truly received Christ need not live in constant fear that a moment of weakness will disqualify them when He returns. The Midnight Cry and Personal Eschatology The midnight cry in verse 6 functions on multiple levels theologically. Universally, it points to Christ's unexpected second coming at the end of history. But Reformed interpreters have also recognized its application to individual eschatology—each person's death serves as their personal "midnight cry" that ends all opportunity for preparation. This dual meaning creates urgency both for evangelism and self-examination. The parable warns that whether Christ returns globally or death comes individually, that moment will arrive unexpectedly ("at midnight," the hour of deepest sleep) and irrevocably fix one's eternal state. Once the door is shut, no amount of pleading ("Lord, Lord, open to us") can change one's condition. This underscores a biblical truth often denied in contemporary theology: there is no post-mortem opportunity for salvation, no remedial path after death. The time for obtaining oil is now, in this life, before the cry sounds. Memorable Quotes Every man's death to him is the coming of Christ. That's when our state is irrevocably fixed. And so there's an urgency here—an urgency of evangelism and self-examination because the midnight cry may come at any moment. The difference between the wise and the foolish virgins is not that one of them stays awake and one of them falls asleep. The difference between the wise and the foolish is that the ones that are wise are prepared for when the bridegroom comes, even though they fell asleep. The only way to be prepared for the end is to turn to Jesus. It's not about whether or not you've turned to Jesus and have become perfectly sinless. None of us are like that. It's about trusting Jesus. Full Episode Transcript Welcome to episode 494 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse.  [00:01:10] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony. And this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey brother.  [00:01:15] Jesse Schwamb: Hey brother. Looks like you and I need to get a midnight oil check. That's if you know, you know, that's what's coming up on this episode, and we're headed to Matthew 25 to do that oil check. We're still firmly in all of these beautiful parables that Jesus tells us, and this one goes by various names. You might know it as the parable of the 10 virgins, or if you're Petra. That classic Christian rock group who produced a song called Midnight Oil, which is absolutely a banger that that should be like the the theme song of this episode. If you haven't heard that song, go check out Midnight Oil by Petra and then come back and listen to us. Like, I wish we had the rights to that. We could just drop it in right here. But we're not that cool and we're not gonna edit that. So I'm gonna leave it up to you to craft your own version of this podcast with that great backing track. Have you heard that song?  [00:02:09] Tony Arsenal: I actually haven't. I, I came, uh, came into Christianity sort of at the tail end of Petra's Big Influence. So I know, I knew who Petra is. I've listened to a few of their songs, but they weren't mainstream by any sort, sort of, uh, stretch of the imagination when I was listening to Christian music. So  [00:02:28] Jesse Schwamb: this one's so good. It's so good. And it's right on point for our conversation today. So we're gonna get into all that stuff. The oil check, the midnight nature of it, the 10 virgins. What does it all mean? Of course, Tony and me, we have for you what I believe to be the definitive exegetical and hermeneutical reflection on the parable. So that's what you've come to expect from us and we're happy to deliver, but before we deliver on that, we got all the things we have to deliver to you, and that is affirming with or denying against something that's that point of course in the podcast or our conversation where we choose something they firm with that we think is. Undervalued, something we might recommend or conversely to deny against something that maybe is a little bit too overvalued or just not that great. So Tony, as is our customer, I say to you, sir, what are you doing? Are you affirming with something or are you denying against something?  [00:03:16] Denial Memory Blank [00:03:16] Tony Arsenal: I'm denying something. This is like denial. Ception is what's going on here. So, uh, first of all, thank you, Jesse for, uh, pitch hitting a solo episode at like, literally the last minute, last week. Um, I think we normally record at seven 30 on the Lord's Day, and I think I texted Jesse like 6 45 and was like, I just don't have it in the tank today. Can you do something? And he just hopped behind the mic. So that's a bonus affirmation there. But, uh, Jesse and I were, we're having a little bit of a pregame, uh, today, very much, you know, like five minutes of how you doing and are you ready to go? And, uh, I realized I, I had a really great affirmation last week, all ready to rock. I remember being super excited about it. I remember, uh, when I decided, or when we decided you were gonna do a solo episode thinking, I gotta make sure I remember this for next week. Right? And it has totally left my brain. It's gone. And, uh, it's, it's the worst feeling in the world when that happens. And I remember reading at some point, like, there's a biochemical reason why this happens and why it feels so weird. Like, it, it feels like you should be able to just dive into your mind and like search around enough and find it. And that's just not actually how your, how like your memory works. It's not, um. I think we think of memory as though it's like a big filing cabinet and you can just, like, you can just flip through the CAD catalog like long enough and find it. That's not how it works. Um, it's kind of like more organic network kind of stuff. But yeah, the, the, it's gone. It's just gone and I hate that feeling and it's gone. And that's what I'm denying is that feeling and losing your mind and feeling like you don't remember anything.  [00:04:56] Jesse Schwamb: I'm totally with you because incidentally, as we talked, we discovered we both had that experience because I had something too. And it's not just that, well, you know, we try to set aside or do a little prep on the affirmations and denials because you know, we come across something great in life, or again, the opposite. And you think, I gotta remember this because I wanna talk about this with Tony. And the worst part of that is like twofold. One, it never is great to forget something that you had or you knew you knew at one time, but it's all the less satisfying when it was something that you're super excited about and you're like, this is gonna be great. And it's that thing that you've completely forgotten that's like double the worst. So I'm, I'm totally with you in this denial. [00:05:35] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, it's, it's a really frustrating, terrible feeling. And there's not much you can do about it. And the, the secondary denial to that is it always comes back to you in the worst possible part of whatever conversation you're having. It's like you hem and hover it and you think about it and you, and I'm doing it right now. You, you sit here and you, you continue to try to talk thingy. It's gonna come, it's gonna come. Yes. It's gonna get here.  [00:05:59] Jesse Schwamb: Yep.  [00:06:00] Tony Arsenal: And then just when you finally have resigned yourself and, and the conversation moves on, that's when it comes back around. So I don't know if that's gonna happen or not, Jesse. If it does, I will try my best to ignore it, but I probably won't be able to. So No, I think you probably should get moving. So whatever it was the amazing affirmation, I don't remember. It can come back to us.  [00:06:16] Jesse Schwamb: It can come back. Yeah. I'm hoping that it does. And when it does, you guys just tell us you got, just let it, let it rip. Like even if we're like right in the middle of some deep, heavy, robust, thick theology, I just wanna be like. I, I can't even imagine what your affirmation was. It must have been like something pretty, pretty good.  [00:06:33] Tony Arsenal: I don't know. I don't know. I, I'm sure it was something interesting. I don't even, I'm  [00:06:37] Jesse Schwamb: trying to draw it out of you now.  [00:06:38] Tony Arsenal: Course. I can't even like, think of the ballpark of what part of like, what, what the category even was. It's just totally, it's totally gone. Like it never happened. Yep. It's, it's totally, totally gone. So I keep on saying, and you would think with all of my talk of like note taking apps and how important it's to keep a journal and all the stuff we've talked about that I would finally get around to like just jotting down in Apple Notes what my affirmations are and I just never do it. So. Yeah,  [00:07:05] Jesse Schwamb: I have every intention, but then I think, well, this is the record of them and I'll have it available to me when it comes time. The talk that's, and sometimes it just goes away. Has it happened yet? I'm still trying to draw it out of you by talking.  [00:07:15] Tony Arsenal: No, I'm just gonna give up. It's just gone. It's gone. That's just gone.  [00:07:19] Jesse Schwamb: That's, that's fair enough. Maybe. What do you  [00:07:21] Tony Arsenal: got for us, Jesse?  [00:07:22] Prayer and Anointing [00:07:22] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, I was gonna say, maybe I can just help push it along, as it were by my own. So I'm also affirming with something, lemme just read a couple verses from James chapter five. Is anyone Among You Sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and there to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will save the one who's sick and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, they'll be forgiven him. I had really just the profound opportunity and privilege today to participate in this because. My wife at the end of this week, uh, which will be a week past when this is, this airs, is about to go undergo that serious surgery, which she spoke about in an episode, I don't know, maybe several weeks ago. And, uh, my pastor asked if it would, if he'd like us and the elders, um, to come and to pray over my wife. And they did so after our service today. And it was just a really incredible thing. Even I'm still processing it. I don't really know. Like the words to say with what I can bring forward is just like words of gratitude and gratefulness for this kind of living out of the scriptures. What I can say is that the way in which he brought this forward and the elders prayed was just so incredibly loving and genteel and spirit-filled. And I think which is a manifestation of, of God's love for us in this moment as we prepare for this great thing to give us peace, peace, and to increase our faith and to do so by just following what the scriptures say here. So my affirmation is maybe twofold. One, it's for this particular experience, it's certainly for pastors, for elders who make it their objective to care for their flock and to do so under the rubric and the instruction of the scriptures. So I'm grateful, and if you have those kind of pastors and elders in your life, I hope that you'll be grateful to them for them as well, and that you might express that gratefulness. So this was a really incredible and, and lovely thing, and, uh, fills us with a kind of hope and encouragement. And if anything else was a reminder of the feel, there's something different going to experience like this armed fully with the promises of God and asking that he would be glorified, that our testimonies would be strong, and that of course, that he would bring healing through it. So I'm ever so grateful and affirming what this passage and this passage put into practice.  [00:09:51] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And if you are listening to this, when, uh, when it comes out or shortly after, probably not even shortly after, probably for a couple weeks after or months after, um, uh, Jesse's wife Jen did talk about the surgery and the condition she's been suffering under. So, uh, she's part of the Reformed Brotherhood family. She is, uh, just as important to the show, uh, as Jesse and I are in terms of the support that our wives give us and, and the space that we need to do this. So please do pray for Jen. Um, she'll be recovering when you hear this, if it's anywhere near the time that this comes out. Uh, it's a fairly large surgery with a, a, a moderately long recovery time. So please, uh, please do pray for her, uh, and, and make sure that you're lifting her up. Um, we are trusting the Lord for good things, uh, for her. Yes. And uh, we're confident that he, his will will be done 'cause it always is. But yeah, definitely pray for her. [00:10:42] Jesse Schwamb: Yes. Thank you for saying that, Tony. I appreciate that as her husband and. We are encouraged that we've said this before, but this is where our theology matters, isn't it? It's in the times where we come before the Lord in faith and in full trust, because one, there's nowhere else to go. He has the words of life for us. He is our life, but also because. In his son, this beautiful gift of salvation whereby his son is the suffering servant. So he's well acquainted with all of this kind of thing. And so stands with us in every conceivable way to be both so incredibly transcendent and above the nonsense and the noise of our world with full power and sovereignty over all things. And at the same time, to be fully eminent. To be literally with us in all the ways. In all the things. And again, well acquainted with our condition, including the grief and the suffering, the anxiety, the all of this, which we experience as part and parcel of what it means to be human, who is like our God in this way. And so we do sense his great and uncommon care for us, and it would be dishonest of me even in the midst of these difficult and challenging things to say that he doesn't care for us. He has good and he loves us, and he's making a way, even though that way be hired. So we're sensing even from, I think, following that time of prayer, that whether we receive the bread of affliction. Uh, or the, the water of of agony that we hear God's voice behind us saying, this is the way, walk in it, and he's with us. So I hope that's encouragement maybe to others who are also going through their own things and who isn't going through something, right?  [00:12:18] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:12:18] Jesse Schwamb: So we all have this great promise in the gospel that God is for us, and I love that James here gives us some practical instruction to that end. [00:12:29] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, for sure.  [00:12:31] Support the Show [00:12:31] Tony Arsenal: Well, before we move into our topic for the evening, uh, the internet tells me that I'm supposed to do this at this point in the show rather than at the very end like we usually do. Well, let's do it. Um, we are a listener supported episode, not like PBS, uh, not like other things. Uh, maybe kind of a little bit like PBS Yeah, a little bit. Anyway, uh, we have a, a pretty dedicated group of Patreon supporters who, uh, donate a little bit and sometimes some people, a lot, a bit of their discretionary income, uh, to help make the show go. And we've said before, like, we are not interested in providing special content or special gear or swag every once in a while. I think we did it once and we've, we've got plans to do it again sometime in the future. We'll send out a thank you gift to those who are subscribing through Patreon. Um, but we are committed to producing the show and making everything that we put online and everything that we make available, available to everybody. And really the only reason that we can do that, especially in today's economy, is uh, because there are people who support the show. And so we always want to make sure that we're saying we're thank you to those people. Yes. Um, they are a part of this show. I don't know if we are not gonna do like executive producer credits, but they're as close to that as you can get. Since we don't do that, um, we really wouldn't be able to do the show, at least not the way that it is without that supporting group of people. So if that's something that you hear and you no, I kind of think that maybe I wanna be a part of that. We would love for you to go to patreon.com/reform tears. There's no special swag, there's no early releases or anything like that. Um, but we would love if you would partner with us. Um, this is a lowercase m ministry, and if you've listened to the show for a long time, you know what I mean by that. Uh, we, we do consider this to be a calling, something that God has given us and we, we understand there's a responsibility with it, but we also know that we can't do it alone. So if you're interested after you've fulfilled all your personal finance obligations, your obligation to your local church and your immediate area, if there's a little bit left over that you're looking to spend somewhere on something that is valuable, uh, please do consider going to patreon.com/form Brotherhood. [00:14:39] Jesse Schwamb: And if you've been listening for a while and you've thought, you know what, I wonder who else is out there that's like me, that's listening to these guys on the internet. Guess what? You can actually meet some of those people. They have a little spot where they hang out. It's called Telegram. It's just a chat app, and we have our own little section of that app. If you just go to your favorite browser, whatever it is, you can choose and go to wherever you like, just go to t me slash Reform Brotherhood. And that link will take you into kind of a preview land where you can see the space where everybody's talking, and you can peruse some of the different channels, everything from uh, channels just for prayer, for a crusting, prayer to general conversation, talk about the episodes, talk about baptism, all kinds of things. It is, as we always say, one of the kindest, most charitable, most loving corners of the internet. Guaranteed. You can test us on that. So in fact, you should by going to t.me back slash reform Brotherhood, Tony, back to you. [00:15:36] Eschatology Shift [00:15:36] Tony Arsenal: Well, let's just slam it right into gear. We, we, we haven't figured out how to do transitions into or out of, uh, Patreon announcements, uh, or telegram announcements,  [00:15:46] Jesse Schwamb: right?  [00:15:46] Tony Arsenal: So this, I, maybe this is the awkward charm of the show, or maybe it's just the awkwardness of the show. It's just charm, Jesse,  [00:15:53] Jesse Schwamb: all charm. [00:15:53] Tony Arsenal: We need to talk about some things tonight. We need to talk about some oil. Yes. We need to talk about some lamps. Yes. We need talk about some bridegrooms.  [00:16:00] Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  [00:16:00] Tony Arsenal: It's the parable of the 10 virgins or the 10 lamps, or the parable of the oil flasks. Yes. There's lots of different things that it's called. Uh, it's what it isn't, it's not the parable of, uh, the 24 hour Jiffy Lube, which is what it made, what you made it sound like when you talked about the midnight oil check. Um,  [00:16:18] Jesse Schwamb: I  [00:16:18] Tony Arsenal: didn't even think about that. But yeah. This is, this is a good one. And I think we've, we've sort of. I've sort of observed that the parables do tend to clump around systematic theology themes, and they clump within the narrative of the gospel within Matthew itself around themes. So the last three parables that we talked about were all sort of like parables of judgment against the Pharisees and a, a lot of things like unconditional election and reparation were all baked into that pie. You know, we talked about with the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coins and the lost, um, the lost, uh, brother. We talked about how that has a lot to do with like election. It has to do with salvation and what the gospel looks like in terms of justification in the father's initiative. And we're moving into a section of Matthew, um, where Jesus is starting to teach on the last days. And so the parables in this section start to move toward ha to have more of an eschatological bent. Yes. We talked a little bit about some of the eschatology and the parables when we, we went through the, um, through the, the. Um, my brain just left me. It happened again, Jesse. The, the denial thing, uh, when we talked about the parable of the tears and the wind field and the, the, the different kinds of soils back on track, there was an eschatological element to that. But we are in like straight up eschatology Yeah. In these, these sections now. That's right. So we're coming to the end of Matthew, uh, our plan right now and who knows what the Lord has for us. But the plan right now is once we finish Matthew, to go back and visit some of the parables that are present in the other gospels. And there's not too many of 'em, but that are present in the other gospels that aren't necessarily, uh, present in Matthew. So, like you said, there's not a ton of 'em. Uh, we do want to hit all of 'em. And if there's, if there's time, and I say if there's time as though we have some sort of time constraints, um, if there's time we probably will talk a little bit about some of the I am statements and some of the things in John. 'cause John doesn't do parables quite the same way in quite the same fashion, but he does have sort of some of this. Allegorical figurative language baked into some of his, um, some of his writings or some of the accounts of Jesus that he, he, um, captures that are probably worth talking about in the seam light. So right now we're, we're coming up quick on the end of the parables of Matthew. Um, there's not very many left and then we'll, we'll keep moving on. Uh, that said. We are, it's almost unbelievable to say this. We're going to be coming up to the end of the parable series sometime in the next, I dunno, six to 10 months. Uh, if you've got ideas for what you think the next series should be, start thinking about those now. Bring 'em to the telegram chat. Let's start percolating those ideas up, right? And, uh, like a good coffee maker. And we'll, uh, we'll brew some goodness. How many more parables? How many more, uh, metaphors can I throw in there? Puns, can I throw in there? But yeah, Jesse, let's get started. This is a good one.  [00:19:08] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, that was a really, I think, fine introduction. I always enjoyed this parable because it has some really fun, dramatic elements, but I think I, I really haven't really appreciated all the eschatological underpinnings that you were just mentioning. And when you think about it as we're, I think we're gonna soon find here. That this is one of the most searching and solemn parables, actually, that Jesus uttered, and you start to get a sense for that as we've just kind of been hitting them, one after the other. As you said, this one belongs to the great olive discourse. It's delivered by Jesus to his disciples on the Mount of Olives just days before his crucifixion. It's in direct response to their questions about the destruction of Jerusalem and the sign of his condiment coming and the end of the age. So you're right. I think this carries like unmistakable eschatological weight because it's not merely this fable about preparedness in general, which sometimes is where we go. Yeah. But it's really more of like a precise theological warning about the spiritual condition required for entrance into the consummated kingdom of God at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.  [00:20:11] Tony Arsenal: Yeah,  [00:20:11] Jesse Schwamb: I think that's the full setup.  [00:20:12] Read Matthew 25 [00:20:12] Jesse Schwamb: We, we've gotta go to the scriptures, right?  [00:20:15] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:20:16] Jesse Schwamb: Alright. It's time. You want me to read it? [00:20:17] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, yeah, go ahead.  [00:20:18] Jesse Schwamb: Okay. Here we go. Matthew 25, beginning in verse one, then the kingdom of heaven may be compared to 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bride groom. Now, five of them were foolish and five were prudent for when the foolish took their lamps. They took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout. Behold the bridegroom come out to meet him. Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the prudent, give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out. But the prudent answered saying, no, there will not be enough for us and for you too. Go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves. And while they're going away to make the purchase, that bridegroom came and those who already went in with him to the wedding feast and the door was shut. And later the other versions came also saying, Lord, Lord, open for us. But he answered and said, truly, I say to you, I do not know you. Therefore, stay awake for you do not know the day nor the hour.  [00:21:27] Tony Arsenal: Yeah.  [00:21:29] Assurance Not Fear [00:21:29] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, this one's heavy. And I just wanna say, kind of coming into this, right, I think a lot of our audience, and I would, I would include myself in this, um, we, we came to sort of like an awareness of faith. And I, I don't say that in a sort of tongue in cheek fashion. What I mean, um. I'll, I'll just speak from my perspective, but I think it's probably one that resonates. I came to faith when I was a, you know, a relatively young teenager, 15 years old, and, um, when you first become a Christian, you're not aware of all the different theological debates or even all of the major implications of the Christian faith. And I think a lot of us and myself, uh, as, as sort of the example when we be started to become aware of the different conversations happening in different dynamics and some of the more, uh, maybe third or fourth tier doctrines that you learn when you're, um, sort of being catechized as a new Christian, uh, catechized in sort of an informal sense, eschatology is probably one of those ones that comes along fairly, fairly late in the game. And I recall, um, when I first became aware of the left behind books, right? And so I, I came to faith in a large Lutheran megachurch, uh, that wasn't really as Lutheran as you would think, cup being a large Lutheran megachurch. It was very dispensational. And I think there is a sense of dread and fear associated with rapture ready theology. And I don't, I don't think all dispensationalist that, um, believe in a, a literal rapture of the church either prior to or following or in the middle of the tribulation. I don't think all dispensationalist fall into this category. But there are definitely dispensationalist out there that would emphasize being rapture ready. And you know, you think of like the song, I wish We'd All Been Ready, you know, and, and this, this sort of existential fear that the Rapture's gonna come and I'm not gonna be ready and I'm gonna be left behind. Right. There's an, the entire book series is about people who thought that they were Christians who thought that they were justified and saved and then weren't. And, and I don't think the book gives all that much explanation other than sort of like a general sense of like, these are sort of nominal fake Christians that maybe some of them think they're saved and some of them don't. I know there were definitely characters in the book who really thought that they were followers of Jesus and then they didn't realize they weren't until they were not raptured with everyone else. The only reason I sort of launch into that progam is I think that the tendency in most circles because of the pervasive. Sort of all expansive influence of dispensationalism in the United States, and particularly sort of this like rapture ready, left behind theology that is a, a major thread within, um, American dispensationalism. There's a tendency to look at this almost exclusively in light of that sort of rapture ready fear that right the end is gonna come and I'm not gonna be ready and. I don't, I'm not a dispensationalist, I don't hold to a rapture in that sense. I don't think you do either. Jesse and I, I think there's an element of this that has that same flavor that we have to acknowledge, but I don't think we should read this in light of like, you think you're gonna be fine, but actually you're not. So you better get it together. I don't think that that's the point of the parable. Um, and I wanna say that upfront because it is easy to read a parable like this and to, to become extremely fearful to the point that it actually shakes whatever assurance you may have had. And I've said it before and, and I, I will say it again, it is not, I am not in the business of robbing the assurance away from Christians. The assurance of faith and the assurance of salvation is the rightful possession and inheritance of all those who are Christ. And so I have no, no desire to shake or rob you of your assurance. That's just not my jam. Um, so I wanted to get that out there. Like I don't think that this parable is here. To scare the daylights out of us and make us question whether or not we actually belong to the bridegroom. I actually think it's here for a different reason.  [00:25:39] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, I agree.  [00:25:40] Watch and Be Ready [00:25:40] Jesse Schwamb: I, I think this may have more in common with like the tears in the wheat parable that we've spoken about before versus trying to promulgate a particular understanding of eschatology. There's no doubt that this is calibrated to the period preceding the perusia. At the same time, the parable is a reminder that describes like the visible professing church on earth as it moves toward that consummation. So this is why I think it is important for us to talk about, well, what do we mean by these 10 virgins? What do we mean about the lamps themselves? What is this saying generally about God's church? And again, him addressing the question of what does it mean for that church to be consummated in his kingdom?  [00:26:18] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And you know, I, I'm, I'm trying to find the specific passage, but um. We also should not miss the verbal affinity here. Uh, at the end of the parable, when it says truly, I say to you, I do not know you. We should really read this in light of, um, the, um, the statements. You know, I was hungry and you didn't feed me. I was, you know, and you say, Lord, we did these things. He said, away from me. I never knew you. We really should read this parable. I think in light of that passage and that phrasing, I think that's, that's actually the punchline of this  [00:26:54] Jesse Schwamb: Yes. [00:26:55] Tony Arsenal: Punchline. That's, that's the point. Parable is that last phrase, and then the, the extra parable, the outside of the parable, um, payoff or sort of like explanation that Christ gives is watch. Therefore, for you neither know the day nor the hour. The point is not, um, you may think you're a Christian. You may think you're, you're on top of things, but you actually, you might be totally wrong. And so you better get your stuff together. The point is what, what happens? Or the point is the same thing as I think it's the author of Hebrew is like, today is the day of salvation, right? Like, do not wait to turn to Christ. Do not wait. That's right to trust in Jesus. Do not wait to enter the kingdom of heaven until the last minute. Do not wait because you don't actually know when the end is coming. And I, I read this when I, when it's watch, therefore for, you know, neither the day nor the hour. I read this less in light of, um. Like universal eschatology, uh, every single person that, that Jesus was speaking to in this original audience that he actually delivered this parable to, did not see that, like, did not see the last days. Right. Whatever the last days looks like. And I mean, like, yes, the last days is from the resurrection to the end of the age. So some of them saw those last days. But what I mean is none of these people saw the return of Christ, like the second return of Christ and that the last judgment. So he would, it would be sort of meaningless to be delivering this parable to those people. With only whatever the last things are with only the rapture in mind with only Right, exactly. The great judgment. None of that would make any sense. So I read this more in light of you never know when your day and hour is coming. Not, not necessarily like the day, like the day of the Lord, although that's true. Yes. There will be a generation on earth who the last day, the final judgment is also their last day in terms of their ordinary human life. But I think this is more of a general call to all of us, and especially to those, um, out there who are in the orbits of the church who are exposed to the gospel, um, and have not yet trusted Christ. [00:29:09] Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  [00:29:09] Tony Arsenal: Um, there is a call to turn to Jesus and to, uh, to, to come into the kingdom of heaven, to be prepared by coming into the kingdom of heaven here. That's, that's the main point of the peril that we have to land on.  [00:29:21] Bridegroom And Virgins [00:29:21] Jesse Schwamb: I agree with you, and I think all of the imagery here points in that direction. So even starting with this image of these 10 virgins, which of course you've been listening to us talk for long enough, or you've read through the Old Testament, you're gonna quickly, and I think cogently see that this is the Old Testament imagery of Israel as the bride or the covenant community. It's also of course, like the Greco Roman custom in which the bridesmaids attended the bride and accompanied the wedding procession when the bride groom arrived to claim his bride. So to your point, what I think is really interesting about this is that we're basically saying that this parable is not speaking of like strangers or enemies, but those who have made a profession of faith. And so even this like idea of the bridegroom who, who's without a question? Christ here, that's a self-identification that's rooted in like John chapter three, where even John the Baptist calls himself merely the friend of the bridegroom and a revelation where you are going already, where the marriage supper of the lamb consummate, consummate redemptive history. [00:30:19] Lamps And Oil Meaning [00:30:19] Jesse Schwamb: So once we get through the idea of we have those whom Jesus is speaking about, and even those who he's speaking to as those who have made some kind of profession, religious or otherwise, to me, where this hinges is in this idea of the lamps or these torches or or burning lamps, which I take to be like this outward profession. And so the question is you have all of them coming with these lamps. Lambs represent this external common to true or false professors alike. But I think to what you are driving at, it's whether within that profession there is a true and actual reliance on Christ himself for righteousness.  [00:30:57] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And you know, oil, I think the oil is really key here too, right? Oil in the, uh, in the scriptures, particularly in the Old Testament. Um, but also in some places in the New Testament, oil is associated with the Holy Spirit.  [00:31:11] Jesse Schwamb: Yes,  [00:31:11] Tony Arsenal: exactly right. So if, if we wanna sort of take the symbolism here, take, take the, the situation sort of as a mixture of, of different kinds of symbols. We have these folks that have all of the outward things necessary to be able to light the lamps. They have the lamps, the wicks are there. Um, they're, they're sort of ready to go. They're, they're ready and waiting for a time. Uh, but what they don't have is they don't have oil, they don't have the Holy Spirit. So yes, we, we need in some senses about false professors, but I do think it's broader than that.  [00:31:43] Salvation Has A Deadline [00:31:43] Tony Arsenal: I think this is, um, again, is a generalized parable about. The, the fact that the hour of salvation, the day of salvation, the opportunity to turn to God, the opportunity to come into God's kingdom is not an indefinite opportunity. It's not going to be out there as a possibility forever. There is a day and an hour and a minute for every single person where that opportunity is no longer available. And of course we're the reformed brotherhood, not the Armenian Brotherhood, right? We're the reformed brotherhood. So yes, God has ordained who will come and who will not. He's ordained the hour and the minute of those who will, and he's ordained that some will never come. But that all operates on God's God's level in God's knowledge. And that's not something we have access to know down here, right? Deuteronomy 29, 29, the sacred things belong to the Lord, but the things that are revealed belong to us and our children forever. And one of the things that's revealed is that God calls us to salvation. He calls us to repent and trust in Jesus. And here in this passage, he is cutting us to do that, to not delay doing that.  [00:32:53] Personal Evangelism Story [00:32:53] Tony Arsenal: I think there are a lot of people, um. I can actually think of a couple really specific examples in when I was in high school. Um, I was, I, I don't do as much personal evangelism as I I did when I was, uh, when I was in high school and younger. I, I don't know for sure what the reason is. Some of it's probably my own cowardice, but I think probably just that's normal, that as you grow and you kind of settle into different kinds of relationships, you have a different context. But I remember a, a friend of mine named Dave, I'm not gonna say his last name, I remember his last name, but I'm not gonna say it, but a friend of mine named David, um, who. All of us were coming to faith, like all, all of our friend group were coming to Faith. There was one of my friends, James was sort of like the first guy who, he was raised in a Christian home and he sort of came to faith in a very real faith, real way. And he sort of brought all of us along with him and sort of one by one we, we sort of like, it was like Domino's falling. And we all came to a genuine, true saving faith kind of all right in a row. And then there was Dave and Dave just didn't like he, he with us. He did all the things we were doing. And I remember having a conversation with him where I was like, what are you waiting for? Like, what's, what's the hold up here? And I didn't have any, again, I didn't have any framework for like what apologetics were, I wasn't trying to make an argument or any sort of like, um, any sort of like persuasion. It was just a real raw like we are all loving this. We're all, we're all so joyful and happy. The lives are changing and we. This is real, Dave, what, what are you waiting for? He never had a real answer. He, he didn't ever make an argument against the faith. He was very clear that he believed that God was real. He believed that God existed, that the sort of the facts of the gospel were true. Like he, he, um, to sort of put like theological language on it, um, he had, he had a ticia and a census, right? Right. He, he acknowledged he knew the true facts of the gospel and he acknowledged the reality that, that those facts were true. He just never actually took the step to trust in Jesus. And I don't know what happened to Dave. Uh, there's another friend of mine named Theo that very similar kind of situation. I don't know what happened to Dave and Theo. I have no idea whether they eventually came to faith or not, but, but it was like, you guys never know when the day in the hours. That's the kind of person that I think this is pointing to.  [00:35:15] Against Rapture Ready Fear [00:35:15] Tony Arsenal: Not necessarily the person within the church, um, who has made some sort of credible profession of faith, but thinks, but like, because like they haven't stopped swearing yet, or because they still have lustful thoughts once in a while. Like I think that's the rapture ready theology is like. You better not hope that like that's the day that a pretty girl walks by and you have a lutful thought. 'cause if Jesus comes back right after that, you're really in trouble. Like those are, those are actually, um, again, this is, this is a caricature of dispensationalism, but it's a caricature that I experienced. It's, it was people who were being characters of themselves. Right? This idea that, look, you better, you better not sin ever. You better not be asleep. And being asleep means sinning. You better not ever sin. Because if you happen to sin right before the rapture, then Jesus is gonna leave you behind. Right? You're not gonna fly up in the clouds if you're not perfectly rapture ready. And like, again, not all dispensationalist are like that. I actually think most dispensationalist these days would probably not fit into that category. Right? But when I was coming to faith in the late nineties and early two thousands, that was the real theology being presented. I don't think that's what this is. This is about a life orientation of preparedness. This is about an entire life. Yes. That is prepared for Christ's second coming or for the hour of our death. And that the only way to be prepared for that is to be happy in Christ, is to be blessed, blessed assurance, like to have your blessed assurance because Jesus is mine. Oh, what a, you know, oh, what a happy delight like that is. The only way to be ready for death, to be prepared for the end is to turn to Jesus. It's not about whether or not you've turned to Jesus and have become perfectly sinless. None of us are like that, right? It's not about, I just got done writing this series of articles on John Piper's affectional theology, affectional Justification, like it's not about perfectly treasuring Christ. There are gonna be times where your emotions do not sync up with what you actually believe. It's not about being perfectly obedient or wanting to be perfectly obedient. It's about trusting Jesus. And there's only one day an hour that that opportunity closes, and you never know when that is, when that day an hour is gonna be. [00:37:26] Wise Versus Foolish [00:37:26] Jesse Schwamb: We know that to be true in this particular parable because of what's written for us in verse two, how Jesus himself bifurcates and labels these two groups. He says five of them were foolish and five were wise. So Christ himself introduces the critical distinction, not of course, with reference to whatever the external practice is, because both of these groups are carrying lamps, both weight, both know the bridegroom is coming, but with an interior character judgment one is literally foolish, which is the same contrast that Christ employs actually in the parable of the two builders at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, where the wise man hears and does, while the foolish man hears, but does not translate hearing into obedient transformation. So I'm with you on this. The terms carry, I think, significant Old Testament fruit because in the all the wisdom literature, wisdom is synonymous with the fear of the Lord, that true knowledge of God, right? And that practical orientation, I think as you were saying, of one's entire life toward God. The fool is not like an intellectual simpleton, but it's a world spiritual category. It's one who lives as though God does not exist or God does not matter, or refuses in the light of incontrovertible evidence to come before God and to submit to him In this way. They are foolish or they are wise. And so again, I like what you're saying. It's not as if like they've just exhibited some kind of quick departure or they've fallen into temptation or sinfulness, but instead, rather, there's something way larger at stake here with respect to a spiritual category. And I think that's really what Jesus is after, as he's bringing these two groups apart from each other, explaining that essentially that they access the same things. They heard the same stuff, they had the same on the outward, at least the same priorities, but the true internal character, the interior character of who they were, was not compatible. These are not the the same kind of person.  [00:39:20] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah.  [00:39:21] All Virgins Fall Asleep [00:39:21] Tony Arsenal: And this is actually something, um, that I hadn't picked up on before. Right. I think we can get into these ruts when we're reading and understanding, uh, the scripture, especially really familiar passages like this. Um, probably like at some point in the past, someone has taught it to me in this way. I heard a sermon or I heard it at a youth group in a particular way, and I just never really went back. The, the wise virgins also fall asleep.  [00:39:46] Jesse Schwamb: Exactly.  [00:39:46] Tony Arsenal: Like, like that, that's amazing to me, like Right. I've always heard this passage as though like, falling asleep is the equivalent of spiritual death.  [00:39:54] Jesse Schwamb: Yes. [00:39:55] Tony Arsenal: But the reality is, in this passage, the difference between the wise and the foolish virgins is not that they, one of them stays awake and one of them falls asleep. One, the, the, the difference between the wise and the foolish is that the ones that are wise are prepared for when the bride root clump comes, even though they fell asleep and, and actually, uh, they're, they're shown to be even more wise because they all fell asleep. Yes. Right. If they hadn't fallen asleep, then the foolish ones probably would've had time to go get more. But the, the wise virgins in this, uh. And not only were they wise in terms of like they had the stuff they needed, they were ready to go, but so wise that in fact their wisdom overcame sort of this happenstance that they were in a state of, of preparedness being asleep when the comes is a state of Unpreparedness, but they have able to compensate for the ready in every other area. And I think this also kind of like mitigates away away from the idea of like the, um. The, the emphasis of the parable here, the readiness of the par of the virgins is not based on the wakefulness of the virgins, right? Yes. The virgins are ready because they have the supplies they need. Right. They're not Exactly, they're not exactly, they're not un 'cause they fell asleep. They're ready because they've, they've prepared by purchasing the supplies they need, by having the supplies they need when the breadroom comes. That's true. Whether they fall asleep or not. So I think like this whole parable needs to sort of like be reoriented in reference to the way a lot of us have, A lot of us have been taught and understood this parable. I was always taught that the, the foolish virgins were foolish because they fell asleep. Yeah, that's probably partially true in that it's foolish to fall asleep when you're waiting for something, but that can't be the only thing that makes them foolish. 'cause it doesn't make the other virgins foolish. [00:41:51] Jesse Schwamb: Yes, exactly.  [00:41:52] Oil As Saving Grace [00:41:52] Jesse Schwamb: And that's why it's so interesting that Jesus basically doubles down or elaborates in verses three and four by saying for when the foolish took their lamps. They took no oil with them. Yeah, but the wises took flasks of oil with their lambs. I think it's actually, as you're, I think leading us into like the theological height of this whole thing, the foolish virgins took their lambs, but no oil. The wise took lambs and extra oil in vessels. And of course the lambs cannot burn without oil in the same way. I think what we're led to believe here is profession without grace has no sustaining power. So I know like throughout church history, this idea of the oil has been interpreted in various ways, in various forms. I think there's a lot of unification though on the point that the oil is more or less like a representation of the grace of the Holy Spirit. That like specific indwelling regenerating, sanctifying presence of the spirit imparted in effectual calling and genuine conversion. And that's why I think this has a lot in common with both like the tears and the wheat parable. But also what you've been saying about the time that is appointed onto a man to die, either for Christ to return or just for you and I to die. And so this understanding, I think is consistent with the Old Testament symbolic use of, like you said before, anointing oil is a sign of the spirit's presence. Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit. And so I'm seeing here like this oil is, I mean, is it going too far to say almost like a saving grace? It's, it's not common grace, it's not the gifts of the spirit, which the reprobate may possess, but I think we're, we're seeing here like that special sanctifying preserving grace, which is inseparable from true election and calling. [00:43:29] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I mean, I think that's spot on. While you were talking, I was actually just looking up, uh, what Calvin has to say on this. I, I think it's funny because I constantly am saying things that I feel like I'm discovering for myself in real time. But if I actually just took the, a little bit of time to read some of our great sources a little more carefully, I would run into them. This is what he says. He says on, uh, verse five, he says, some interpret this slumbering in a bad sense as if believers along with others abandon themselves sloth. And they were, they were asleep amidst the vanities of the world. This is all together inconsistent with the intention of Christ as structure of the parable. [00:44:05] Slow Down And Read [00:44:05] Tony Arsenal: Like I think it's clear now here as we're working through this and this, and this is the main benefit, um, of taking time to just walk through the parables, any, any text of scripture, but the parables is what we're looking at. Taking time to just actually slow down and read them. I didn't intend to get to like a whole discussion about Bible reading plans, but the typical, I'm gonna read the Bible through, uh, the entire Bible in a year that typically has you reading three to five chapters a day is the average. That's probably too much if you want to be reading for understanding. And there is, there's definitely value. I've, I've commented in the past, there's huge value in reading large tracks of scripture all at the same time. Like if you wanna sit down over 10 chapters of Scripture day and you've got the time and the energy and the discipline to do it, then more power to you. But I think it's not realistic to think you're gonna sit down and read 10 chapters of scripture and have good comprehension and retention of the 10 chapters that you read. This is a really good example of that. If you sit down and you read three chapters, you're gonna be reading this, you're gonna be reading, uh, another parable. The parable of the talents you are gonna be reading. You know, the all of it discourse all at the same time, all in one sitting. Um, it's not until just now when I slowed down to really look at these passages, verse by verse individually and take an hour to discuss 13 verses with my brother-in-law in front of a microphone, right? Then I realized all of the virgins fall asleep. Like that's the kind of stuff that you really only, um, you only overcome. The assumed teaching that you heard when you were in high school, 15, you know, 15, 20 years ago at a summer camp. You really only overcome that when you slow down enough to read things and actually comprehend them. So that's not much of a commentary on the passage, but it is something that I'm learning as we do these parable studies. Just slow down, slow down and read them, read them multiple times, read it over and over again. Um, it is totally fine. The, this is the last, uh, Bible reading soapbox thing I'll say tonight. Um, I think like, because. Of the influence of like expository preaching and like wanting to read things in, in context, and all of those things are good. I think there is this tendency to think that if you sit down and just read a very short portion of scripture, that you're kind of automatically taking that out of context. I don't think that's the case. Like it's totally fine to sit down in the morning and go, you know what? I've got, I've got 10 minutes, I've got five minutes. I've got two minutes before the kids are up. I've got two minutes before the bus stop, you know, before the bus gets here. I'm standing at the bus stop. I've got 30 seconds before the coffee's done. It's totally fine to open your Bible app. And read two or three verses of scripture, that's a totally fine thing to do. It's totally fine because you've got 10 minutes before the kids got up. Oh, and by the way, you've gotta unload the dishwasher before they do. Totally fine to sit down and go, I've got time to read 13 verses of scripture today. So that's what I'm gonna get done. Um, and, and then just think about those things like meditate on those scriptures all day. I just think there's a lot of values to that and that's maybe that's my takeaway from this episode. I know like that's not a takeaway directly related to this passage. That's good. But I think we can oftentimes. Have and understand that isn't right because we've been taught it and we don't ever have the time or space in our life to like realize that what we were taught is maybe exactly right. This is like something so obvious on the surface of the text. It didn't even take any real thought. It just took slowing down and actually reading the words  [00:47:45] Jesse Schwamb: right. It's also a good reminder, like we said from the beginning, that our goal here shouldn't be to torture every detail, to like press it for some kind of allegorical significance.  [00:47:55] Tony Arsenal: Yes.  [00:47:55] Jesse Schwamb: But to take it on the face and to understand in context what's being said. And by context I just mean the context of the story. Of the accounts of the drama that's unfolding. And it is pretty remarkable that all 10 virgins sleep, that maybe even as you start with the details might not be your impression that that was gonna be, was gonna be the difference here, but both the wises and the foolish alike fall asleep. So to me, the parable is not condemning sleep per se, but I think it's the absence of oil which the sleep merely reveals, right? That's the critical detail here. And so Jesus delivers that to us and that's why it's, I think, important to think about these, these variables about what the oil represents and the context in which they're tested with their preparedness. But it's not because like they had it almost times you get the impression, it's like what we're saying here is the wise had more stamina, that they were the ones that were just willing to tough it out, and they knew the bridegroom was coming. And so as a result of that, they decided that they were going to ensure that they stayed awake, even if they had the drink, a couple of extra cups of coffee, just to make sure that was the case. But really their sleepiness, which they both have to endure, is the very context in which proves that they do are not prepared by having sufficient oil, not that they're unprepared by having sufficient energy or stamina.  [00:49:18] Prepared Despite Fatigue [00:49:18] Jesse Schwamb: Well, with all.  [00:49:21] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, that's a good takeaway too, is, is we all, um, we all will succumb to temptation in this life,  [00:49:32] Jesse Schwamb: right? [00:49:33] Tony Arsenal: Right. Every single one of us. And even if we think of sleeping in this negative sense, which I think we probably need to move away from it, even if we do, I think the point that you're making is really good, for instance, between the foolish and the wises is not their ability to stay awake. So I do think that, I do think there's a slightly negative connotation to drowsy and slept here. Like I think that, I think it's intended to show some level of fatigue. Fatigue, maybe not like a moral right, maybe not a moral, uh, negativity, but there's a fatigue. There's something that overcomes both wise and foolish virgins in this parable. Fatigue and drowsiness overcomes them and they sleep. And it's because the bridegroom was delayed, right? We wanna talk about eschatology, right? This is probably also more a commentary on the church as a whole. The church becomes drowsy and sleeps right, and then there's the foolish and the wise. The foolish are the ones who are not prepared even though they are drowsy and sleep. And then there's the wise who are foolish, or the wises who are prepared and are drowsy and sleep. But E, either way, if we think of drowsy and sleep, even in moral negative terms, right? All of us will succumb to temptation. All of us will succumb to sin in this life. I would even go so far as to say all of us sin in every moment of our life in that we never love God. Truly. Yes. With our full hearts and souls. You got that right soul the way that we're, we're commanded to. Right. Right. So all of us become drowsy and sleep. The difference is not in those who pull themselves up by their bootstraps and tape their eyelids open so that they don't fall asleep. Right. I don't, I don't know if you ever like had trouble staying awake in school, but I used to, like I used to sit at my desk with my pencil under my chin. Oh my Lord. So if I started to fall asleep, it would like jab me and I would wake up so I could stay awake in school. Oh. It's not about like gimmicks to stay awake.  [00:51:20] Jesse Schwamb: Right, right.  [00:51:21] Tony Arsenal: It's about the fact that those of us who have trusted Christ. Have received the oil. Yes. So even when we sleep, yes. Even when we are drowsy, even when we are overcome by the fatigue that prevents us from, uh, from resisting sin. Right. Even when that happens, we still have the oil. We still have the grace of the Holy Spirit. We still have the empowering presence and the, the, the justifying reality of Christ's death For us, in my mind as I read this parable, that really is what it is, right? Get the oil, go get the stinking oil now, because you never know when the day or hour is coming. Mm-hmm. Whether that's the day or the hour that you fall asleep and you're not prepared, or whether that's the day or the hour that the bridegroom was, even if you're awake. That's the other element of this. Even if the virgins had stayed awake, they didn't have the oil.  [00:52:11] Jesse Schwamb: Yes.  [00:52:12] Tony Arsenal: So it it's not as though, it's not as though had they stayed awake, they would've had time to go get the oil and come back. They, they wake up right away. Like there's nothing in the parable that's like, oh, it took 'em a little while to get up. So that's why they didn't have time to get the oil. They, they didn't have time to get the oil. 'cause there wasn't time to get the oil  [00:52:31] Jesse Schwamb: right.  [00:52:32] Tony Arsenal: So the only way you're going to be properly prepared when the bridegroom comes is if you already have the oil and you're already ready to go. Regardless of whether you fall asleep or not.  [00:52:42] Gospel Call Get Oil [00:52:42] Tony Arsenal: So I, I think, I think we have to kind of close this with like a gospel, a gospel call here. Like we don't do this very often on the show, and I think the vast majority of our show are professed, regenerate Christians. I don't, I don't know anyone who listens to the show that is outwardly not a Christian, but I think this is a time for us to say, listen, if you are hearing the sound of my voice, be diligent to make your calling an election. Sure. And that both takes the form of what Peter talks about, where he talks about growing in graces and walking in, walking in the qualities of holine

Today on Ascend: The Great Books Podcast, Dcn. Harrison Garlick takes a popular article from The Ascent, a top 100 substack in faith and spirituality, and does a deep dive on CS Lewis, Dante, and the problem of evil (theodicy). Check out THE ASCENT - a top 100 Substack on Christianity spirituality.Check out "The Hidden Meaning of Narnia's Endless Winter" Substack article.Check out the NEW Instagram page for Ascend.In this fascinating episode Deacon Garlick explores one of C.S. Lewis's most striking images: the never-ending winter in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.Why is it “always winter but never Christmas”?Far more than a chilly backdrop, Lewis uses the endless cold as a powerful allegory for evil itself. Deacon connects Lewis' imagery to Dante's frozen pit at the bottom of Hell in the Inferno, revealing how both Christian master-teachers portray evil not as an opposite of the good, but as a cold, lifeless privation—an absence of heat, motion, and life.You'll gain fresh insight into:- Why evil is best understood as a “hole in the ground” or darkness without light- How the White Witch's power to turn creatures to stone mirrors the soul-freezing effect of sin- The beautiful contrast of Aslan's warm, life-giving breath (echoing John's Pentecost and the forgiveness of sins)- The deeper Christian truth that goodness and being are convertible—evil pulls us toward unreality and non-existenceDeacon also shares why reading Narnia to children is such a gift: it trains young minds to love allegory, unlocks the four senses of Scripture, and cultivates a richer, more sacramental view of reality.Warm, thoughtful, and packed with spiritual wisdom, this episode will leave you with renewed appreciation for Lewis, Dante, and the profound way great stories reveal eternal truths.If you love C.S. Lewis, Dante, or want to understand the nature of evil more deeply, you won't want to miss this one! Episode Chapters:00:00 Introduction & What's New on Ascend01:34 Welcome to Ascend: The Great Books Podcast03:45 The Ascent Substack & Sister Publication06:20 The Hidden Meaning of Narnia's Endless Winter08:10 Background Story of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe11:30 Aslan as Christ Allegory & Benefits of Reading Narnia to Children15:45 The Four Senses of Scripture (Literal, Allegorical, Moral, Anagogical)20:10 Why Allegory Matters for Scripture and Reality23:50 What Is Evil? – Introducing the Problem of Evil (Theodicy)27:40 Evil as Privation of the Good (Augustine & Aquinas)32:15 Freedom, Free Will, and the Origin of Evil36:40 C.S. Lewis: Endless Winter as Allegory for Evil40:20 The White Witch's Power & Aslan's Life-Giving Breath44:10 Dante's Inferno: The Frozen Pit of Hell48:30 God as Love That Moves the Sun and Stars52:00 Key Lessons: Evil, Being, and Goodness55:20 Recap & Closing Thoughts57:40 What's Coming Next on AscendKeywords: C.S. Lewis, Narnia, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, endless winter Narnia, hidden meaning of Narnia, Narnia allegory, problem of evil, theodicy, Dante Inferno, frozen hell Dante, evil as privation, nature of evil, Aslan Christ allegory, White Witch, Christian allegory, four senses of Scripture, reading Narnia to children, great books podcast, Christian spirituality, privation of the good, evil and free will, Dante and Lewis, spiritual meaning of winter.

In this podventure, we discuss the episode “A Day in the Life,” in which Whit recounts a tale of when a tale he wrote about Odyssey was turned into a film. Along the way, we learn how anything can happen in the world of make-believe. Also, Hollywood stereotypes, sabotage, and the Odyssey that lives within us all.Note: This episode was recorded before Focus on the Family announced they were making an Adventures in Odyssey film! You can check out details about this theatrical animated film on Youtube.

The parade goes on, now that the pilgrim, Dante, is in a good spot to see it.After the twenty-four lords in white come four animals with green fronds as crowns. They are like the Cherubim in both the prophecies of Ezekiel and in the Apocalypse of St. John (or the book of Revelation).Except not really. Or sort of. Well, the poet doesn't have time to explain. Go read the text yourself. And especially the one that doesn't quite agree with what I saw.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we find Dante's irony alive and well, even during the grand parade of divine revelation.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:20] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, Lines 88 - 105. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me, please find the entry for this episode on my website, markscarbrough.com.[02:56] The naturalistic, lush landscape à la Guido Cavalcanti's pastoral poem.[04:49] The constellations, Argus, and the peacock.[06:35] The four "animals" from Ezekiel and the Apocalypse of St. John (or the New Testament book of Revelation).[09:19] Allegorical interpretations of the four animals.[11:19] "Unmoored" allegories in COMEDY: here and with the three beasts in INFERNO, Canto I.[14:02] Dante, the Biblical text, and questions of its inerrancy.[16:25] The direct address tot he reader, perhaps a wild bit of Dantean irony even here in the divine parade.[21:34] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXIX, lines 88 - 105.

The post Literal vs Allegorical: The Right Way to Read the Bible appeared first on Straight Truth Podcast.

Modern skepticism often leads readers to dismiss miraculous Old Testament accounts like Jonah and the Flood as mere allegories or myths. However, this episode argues that the literal grammatical-historical method is not merely the best way, but the only right way to interpret Scripture. By examining how Jesus and the Apostles treated these narratives as real historical events, Dr. Richard Caldwell and Dr. Josh Philpot demonstrate that true biblical authority rests on accepting God's Word as written. They further clarify that while biblical typology exists, it must be grounded in textual indicators provided by the biblical authors, rather than the subjective imagination of the reader.

Modern skepticism often leads readers to dismiss miraculous Old Testament accounts like Jonah and the Flood as mere allegories or myths. However, this episode argues that the literal grammatical-historical method is not merely the best way, but the only right way to interpret Scripture. By examining how Jesus and the Apostles treated these narratives as real historical events, Dr. Richard Caldwell and Dr. Josh Philpot demonstrate that true biblical authority rests on accepting God's Word as written. They further clarify that while biblical typology exists, it must be grounded in textual indicators provided by the biblical authors, rather than the subjective imagination of the reader.

Carnevale in Italy doesn't always mean elaborate period costumes and papier-mâché masks, sometimes it means massive floats poking fun at political figures as well as confetti, stuffed animals, and candy being thrown into the crowd. As we mentioned in Wednesday's episode, one thing is for sure at a Carnevale celebration, it's a party.Today we're talking about Carnevale celebrations in eight different towns across the country. Here is a list in case you'd like to look them up for yourself. Under each is a link to the official website of the celebration as well as a hotel suggestion (the hotel suggestion is an affiliate link, and if you book through our link, we receive a small commission).Cento in Emilia RomagnaOfficial Site: carnevalecento.comHotel suggestions: Monteborre (Cento) and Hotel De Prati (Ferrara) Foiano della Chiana in Tuscany Official Site: carnevaledifoiano.itHotel suggestions: Boutique Hotel L'Imperatrice (Foiano) and Vogue Hotel Arezzo (Arezzo)Viareggio in TuscanyOfficial Site: viareggio.ilcarnevale.comHotel suggestionss: Villa Tina Hotel (Viareggio) and Hotel Ilaria or Hotel Palazzo Alexander (in Lucca) Ronciglione in Lazio Official Site: ⁠carnevaledironciglione.orgHotel suggestions: La Canonica dei Fiori - Anna Fendi Country House (Ronciglione)Putignano in Puglia Official Site: ⁠⁠⁠carnevalediputignano.itHotel suggestions: Petrantiche - Albergo Diffuso and Dimora Clementina (Putignano)Acireale in Sicily Official Site: ⁠⁠⁠carnevaleacireale.euHotel suggestions: Baroque (Acireale) and Habitat Boutique Hotel (Catania)Fano in Marche Official Site: ⁠⁠⁠carnevaledifano.comHotel suggestions: Siri Hotel and Hotel De La Ville depandance di Hotel Augustus (Fano)Milan in LombardiaOfficial Site: ⁠⁠⁠comune.milano.itHotel suggestions: Hotel Milano Castello and Palazzo Segreti (Milan) If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review and follow Only a Bag wherever you listen to podcasts! If you'd like to get in touch, you can send us a message on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠onlyabag.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at onlyabagpodcast@gmail.com, on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. For more info, check out our articles on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠onlyabag.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and read our Substack ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letters from the Balcony⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Want to help the podcast? You can check out all of our affiliate links ⁠here⁠! If you book through any of them, we receive a small commission, and it helps to keep us going! You can also donate to Only a Bag on ⁠⁠⁠ko-fi.com⁠⁠⁠ to keep the podcast going! As always, thank you all so much for listening.x Darcy and Nathaniel Only A Bag

A new MP3 sermon from Founders Baptist Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Literal vs Allegorical: The Right Way to Read the Bible Subtitle: 01 Straight Truth Podcast Speaker: Richard Caldwell Jr. Broadcaster: Founders Baptist Church Event: Podcast Date: 12/12/2025 Bible: Jonah 1-4; Genesis 6-9 Length: 9 min.

If you're interested, this is the conversation I heard that led me to the lecture, which you can read here. More to come… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cewgreen.substack.com/subscribe

If the Hebrew language pre-existed the physical world, then it is not subject to the rules of linguistic evolution, and if is constitutive of the physical world and its history, then the non physical interpretations are NOT at the expense of the literal meanings. https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Bongani Bingwa chats with Daniel Buckland, Director of Afropocalypse, about the show’s return to Johannesburg, running at The Market Theatre from 19 November to 7 December 2025. 702 Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa is broadcast on 702, a Johannesburg based talk radio station. Bongani makes sense of the news, interviews the key newsmakers of the day, and holds those in power to account on your behalf. The team bring you all you need to know to start your day Thank you for listening to a podcast from 702 Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays from 06:00 and 09:00 (SA Time) to Breakfast with Bongani Bingwa broadcast on 702: https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/36edSLV or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/zEcM35T Subscribe to the 702 Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetc Follow us on social media: 702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Notes and Links to Myriam Gurba's Work       Myriam Gurba is a writer and activist. Her first book, the short story collection Dahlia Season, won the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction. O, the Oprah Magazine ranked her true-crime memoir Mean as one of the “Best LGBTQ Books of All Time.” Her recent essay collection Creep: Accusations and Confessions was a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle award for Criticism, and won the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Nonfiction. She has written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Harper's Bazaar, Vox, and Paris Review. Her next book, Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings, published by Timber Press, is out today, October 21. Buy Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings   Myriam's Website   Los Angeles Daily News Review of Poppy State: A Labyrinth of Plants and a Story of Beginnings At about 1:50, Myriam discusses her mindset as the book is to be published, and she shares early feedback and reviews At about 4:05, Myriam talks about being inspired a bit by Borges' short story collection, Labyrinths, and more so from mythologies for Mesoamerica and the Minotaur At about 5:20, Myriam defines an important term At about 6:30, Myriam talks about writing from the perspective of a child and connections to The Secret Garden At about 8:30, “halycon” talk! At about 9:20, Myriam talks about the book's epigraph/opening saying, which comes from Myriam's grandfather Ricardo Serrano Ríos, as well as an early message/challenge to the reader At about 12:30, Myriam responds to Pete's questions about the differences between carefree childhoods and an encroaching world of homes and development, and nature being pushed aside At about 14:55, Myriam provides background on the book's main locale, Santa Maria, and its changes in her lifetime At about 15:45, The two talk about “claiming” of land and “renaming” and its connection to colonization  At about 18:20, Myriam discusses "indigeneity imposed from outside” in relation to a profound quote Pete notes from the book At about 20:20, Myriam talks about Western terms and ideas that make it difficult to describe and document Chumash and other indigenous contemporary life and geographical boundaries  At about 22:15, Myriam shares the story from the book about Deborah Miranda and a young child's shocked realization  At about 24:15, Pete notes some great puns, and Myriam expands on multiple meanings of “hoja” and connections between literacy and botany and the At about 26:05, Myriam talks about her use of The Santa Maria Times and its archive in building a history of the “settler town through the perspective of settlers”  At about 28:00, Myriam highlights Santa Maria-born Ida Mae Bochmann as an example of a certain time of progressive and colonizing woman  At about 30:20, Myriam reflect on the “communal garden” that was pre-European California At about 32:00, Pete and Myriam discuss the importance of paper and indigenous practices and priorities  At about 35:10, Myriam responds to Pete's questions about how she balances the macro- and the micro-, the allegorical and literal At about 36:45, BARS At about 39:30, “allegorical memoir” and “botanical criticism” are two possible genres that Myriam imagines for her "kaleidoscopic" book; she also talks about her love of writing and solving puzzles At about 42:00, Corn talk! Myriam shares some frightening stories about encounters with Midwestern cornfields  At about 45:50, The two discuss a resonant homecoming scene  At about 47:10, Myriam reflects on how local travel and local appreciation inform her argument about “[our] homes hav[ing] multitudes” At about 48:45, The two discuss the humungous industry that is agriculture, and Myriam talks about focusing in on Santa Barbara County's strawberry industry At about 51:30, Myriam talks about the history of Japanese-American farmers dispossessed by the internment camps of World War II At about 53:45, Myriam makes salient points about catharsis, emphasizing its conditionality-she cites “conditional catharsis”-and chats about susto and “cleansing” At about 58:50, Myriam talks about “the ethos of the local” and recommends Octavia's Bookshelf and The Theodore Payne Society , and she also shares book tour events      You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you're checking out this episode.       Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Hannah Pittard, a recent guest, is up at Chicago Review.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete's one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    This month's Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of flawed characters, protagonists who are too real in their actions, and horror and noir as being where so much good and realistic writing takes place.    Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.     This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he's convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 306 with Shea Serrano, an American author, journalist, humorist, and former teacher. He is best known for his work with the sports and pop culture websites, The Ringer and Grantland, as well as his books, including The Rap Year Book, Basketball and Movies, all of which charted on The New York Times best-sellers list.      The episode drops on  Pub Day, October 28, the date the episode airs.    Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.

In my Metaphysical, Allegorical, and Parabolic teaching of the book of John, you will hear John's statements and Jesus' words in a way you have never heard before. Thank you for listening to my Podcast. I appreciate andvalue you.The following are my other Resources:Web page: www.DrRoyERichmond.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/royerichmondOrder my Metaphysical Understanding books, and others @https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/royrichmondI appreciate your Support. Please follow the donation link below.Donations:https://paypal.me/RoyERichmond?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US

In 1973, Star Trek: The Animated Series debuted as a Saturday morning cartoon, but early reviewers quickly realized it was something far more ambitious. A contemporary article from the Pantagraph (Bloomington-Normal, IL) praised the show's complex themes and emotional storytelling, declaring it a breakthrough in children's animation that adults could take just as seriously. This week, The Trek Files welcomes back Adam Kotsko, author of Late Star Trek, to explore the deeper legacy of TAS from its psychological depth and allegorical storytelling to its role as the franchise's first major reinvention. With Gene Roddenberry at the helm and the original cast returning, The Animated Series wasn't just a placeholder between live-action runs; it was a bold step into new narrative territory. Was it canon? Does it matter? Adam and Larry unpack how TAS laid the groundwork for later series, balanced nostalgia with innovation, and helped define Star Trek's long-standing ability to evolve with its audience.

In 1973, Star Trek: The Animated Series debuted as a Saturday morning cartoon, but early reviewers quickly realized it was something far more ambitious. A contemporary article from the Pantagraph (Bloomington-Normal, IL) praised the show's complex themes and emotional storytelling, declaring it a breakthrough in children's animation that adults could take just as seriously. This week, The Trek Files welcomes back Adam Kotsko, author of Late Star Trek, to explore the deeper legacy of TAS from its psychological depth and allegorical storytelling to its role as the franchise's first major reinvention. With Gene Roddenberry at the helm and the original cast returning, The Animated Series wasn't just a placeholder between live-action runs; it was a bold step into new narrative territory. Was it canon? Does it matter? Adam and Larry unpack how TAS laid the groundwork for later series, balanced nostalgia with innovation, and helped define Star Trek's long-standing ability to evolve with its audience.

In 1973, Star Trek: The Animated Series debuted as a Saturday morning cartoon, but early reviewers quickly realized it was something far more ambitious. A contemporary article from the Pantagraph (Bloomington-Normal, IL) praised the show's complex themes and emotional storytelling, declaring it a breakthrough in children's animation that adults could take just as seriously. This week, The Trek Files welcomes back Adam Kotsko, author of Late Star Trek, to explore the deeper legacy of TAS from its psychological depth and allegorical storytelling to its role as the franchise's first major reinvention. With Gene Roddenberry at the helm and the original cast returning, The Animated Series wasn't just a placeholder between live-action runs; it was a bold step into new narrative territory. Was it canon? Does it matter? Adam and Larry unpack how TAS laid the groundwork for later series, balanced nostalgia with innovation, and helped define Star Trek's long-standing ability to evolve with its audience.

On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read the 48-verse Book of Jonah, which tells of a renegade prophet, Jonah, who defies the directive of God and refuses to castigate the people of Nineveh and instead escapes from God to Tarshish – with mixed results. A simple reading of the story reveals a tale of repentance, both of […]

On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read the 48-verse Book of Jonah, which tells of a renegade prophet, Jonah, who defies the directive of God and refuses to castigate the people of Nineveh and instead escapes from God to Tarshish – with mixed results. A simple reading of the story reveals a tale of repentance, both of […]

On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read the 48-verse Book of Jonah, which tells of a renegade prophet, Jonah, who defies the directive of God and refuses to castigate the people of Nineveh and instead escapes from God to Tarshish – with mixed results. A simple reading of the story reveals a tale of repentance, both of the protagonist, Jonah, and of the people of Nineveh. But our Sages let us in on a secret that the Book of Jonah contains a  hidden, kabbalistic story embedded beneath the story – which also teaches us powerful, topical messages for the Day of Atonement.– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –DONATE to TORCH: Please consider supporting the podcasts by making a donation to help fund our Jewish outreach and educational efforts at https://www.torchweb.org/support.php. Thank you!– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –Email me with questions, comments, and feedback: rabbiwolbe@gmail.com– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –SUBSCRIBE to my Newsletterrabbiwolbe.com/newsletter– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –SUBSCRIBE to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe's PodcastsThe Parsha PodcastThe Jewish History PodcastThe Mitzvah Podcast This Jewish LifeThe Ethics PodcastTORAH 101 ★ Support this podcast ★

Fr. Mattingly unpacks the Song of Songs' poem on love between a bridegroom and his bride and between Christ and His Church.

Reading bible guided by Holy Spirit; Fleeing the light heading into darkness; Allegorical trees; Breakdown of family; Man's thinking; Comprehending God?; Context; Sons of Israel; Birthright; Divine revelation; Right reason - "logos"; Gods many; Man's dominion; Bondage of Egypt; Social safety net; Dream interpretation; Kadesh, Shur and Gerar; "News"; "Men of Sodom"; Gates; Active volcanoes?; Fear not!; Debate on Hebrew "words"; Loving the light; Born again?; Gerar = gimel-resh-resh; Journey between righteousness and its absence; Melchizedek = righteous king of peace; Returning to righteousness; Walking in faith; Two ways to learn; Intellect vs spirit; "Person" = member; Respecter of persons; Inclusion?; "Patri"; Disease; Abraham's altars; Gen 21:1; Sarah's visitation; LORD vs Lord; "Isaac" = laughter; Sarah "said" vav+tav+aleph-mem-resh; Ex 3:14; Sacrificing for others; "laugh"; circumcision; Subject citizens; Tribute; Giving over your power; Demoniac; Being weaned; The Harlot; Bull story; tzdek-chet-kuf (laugh?) or mock?; Passing life to next generation; "Christian"; Things people want to hear…; "Cast out" the bondwoman; Grievous - yara 3415 yod-resh-ayin? Or raa resh-ayin-ayin?; Gen 26:8; mem-tzedek-chet-kuf; sporting?; Sarah and Hagar's roles; Your role?; Democracy; Modern signs of Sodom; Learn Abraham/Moses/Christ's instructions; Seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness; Grievous?; Why separate the boys?; Abraham's way; Setting the captive free; Doing the will of the Father; True sons; "Beersheba"?; Finding truth; Symbolism of Hagar and the lad; Humility; Lesson for Hagar; Milk and meat; Covenanting with Abimelech?; Abraham's well; "Beer" + "sheba"; seven?; Gen 46:1; Well of righteousness and truth; One purse of socialism; Agreeing to be righteous; Stones of the altar; Free societies; Walk in faith!

In this milestone 20th episode of the Proclaim Peace Podcast, hosts Jennifer Thomas and Patrick Mason are joined by peace scholar Elray Henriksen as they dive into the latter portion of the Book of Mormon, often referred to as the "war chapters" of Alma. The episode explores the extensive battle narratives between the Nephites and Lamanites, highlighting memorable characters such as Captain Moroni and Pahoran. The hosts discuss varying perspectives on these chapters, with some listeners eagerly anticipating Captain Moroni's story while others tend to skip ahead to Helaman. Join them as they unpack the lessons and themes of peace within these intense narratives.[00:02:53] Costs of war in scripture.[00:05:21] Allegorical interpretation of battles.[00:08:04] Defining peace through Galtung's triangle.[00:14:44] Millennium of peace commitment.[00:20:13] Militarism and cultural implications.[00:23:10] Inner Captain Moroni.[00:25:04] Worldview in defensive wars.[00:30:01] Temptation and human nature.[00:35:02] Internal struggle and temptation.[00:38:22] Captain Moroni as a model.[00:44:25] Grace in relationships and judgment.[00:47:43] Finding peace through spiritual practice.[00:50:20] Expansive conversations about faith.For full show notes and transcript, visit https://www.mormonwomenforethicalgovernment.org/proclaim-peace

A discussion about the allegorical method of biblical interpretation.

A discussion about allegorical bible study

A discussion about allegorical bible study

A discussion about the allegorical method of biblical interpretation.

Revelation, Session Two Christ the Savior, Anderson SC Fr. Anthony Perkins Sources: The translation of the Apocalypse is from the Orthodox Study Bible. Lawrence R. Farley, The Apocalypse of St. John: A Revelation of Love and Power, The Orthodox Bible Study Companion (Chesterton, IN: Ancient Faith Publishing, 2011), Bishop Averky, The Epistles and the Apocalypse (Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, Volume III. (Holy Trinity Seminary Press, 2018). Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, ed. David G. Hunter, trans. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou, vol. 123, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011). Venerable Bede, The Explanation of the Apocalypse, trans. Edward Marshall (Oxford: James Parker and Co., 1878). William C. Weinrich, ed., Revelation, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005). Correction from Last Week Revelation was removed from active use because it was being used to support the Marcionists, not the Gnostics [or Montanism as I said in the class!]. The Orthodox Study Bible; “[I]n the second and third centuries Revelation was widely twisted and sensationally misinterpreted, and the erroneous teachings brought troublesome confusion to Christians – a trend that continues to this day.” Review of Last Week The Church wants us to be aware of the Last Judgement but from WITHIN the sacraments and the “good defense” God gives us through them.  Authorship and Dating of the Work The author was St. John the Theologian St. John's disciple Papias of Hierapolis, St. Justin the Martyr (lived in Ephesus), St. Irenaeus (disciple of Polycarp of Smyrna who was a disciple of St. John), St. Hippolytus (disciple of St. Irenaeus), St. Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian and Origen were early leaders of the Church who knew and witnessed to this. The work itself (see 1:2; also exile on Patmos). The date of the work is AD 95/96 St. Irenaeus; Against Heresies (5.30.3) Purpose of the Work To show things that must shortly come to pass (1:1). Pastoral protection and encouragement to the early Church against state persecution and (internal) heresy. Apokalypsis means uncovering of something that has been hidden. Style and Interpretation of the Work Apocalyptic Literature.  A “visceral” (Fr. Lawrence) and heavily symbolic genre.  It is meant to be prophetic in every sense of the word. “It is a human work.  But it is also an apostolic work, and as an apostle, John tells the truth, striving to convey to us the substance and power of what the Lord revealed to him for our sake.” (Fr. Lawrence) What are we to make of the diverse interpretations offered by saints? Not to be taken literally in the modern sense; “Thus, for example, a literalistic understanding of the images of this book has given occasion, and even now continues to give occasion, for the false teaching of “Chiliasm” – the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth.” (Bishop Averky) Bishop Averky says four main categories of interpretation (and calls for a combination): Visions and symbols of the “last times” (end of the world, the anti-christ, second coming) Description of the historical pagan Roman persecutions against the Church in the first century. Look for realization of the prophecies in recent history. Allegorical and moral meaning. The Orthodox Study Bible: “Faithfulness in tribulation” is the main theme, with subthemes of Divine Judgment of human wickedness and The symbolic presentation of most major New Testament teachings concerning eschatology, the study of the last things. 1:1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John. Andrew of Caesarea. “An apocalypse is the manifestation of hidden mysteries when the intellect is illuminated either through divine dreams or according to waking visions from divine enlightenment. To be given to Christ, it says, making this statement about him especially with respect to his human , since in the Gospel he above all others dwelt on the sublime and things that befit God. And here, the magnitude of the divinity of Christ is shown through the attending angel, and through the name of the teaching servants, for “all things are his servants.” The must come to pass soon means that some of the predictions concerning them are to come to pass immediately thereafter and the things regarding the end are not to be delayed, because “one thousand years” to God is “like yesterday's day, which is reckoned as having elapsed.” St. Bede. The revelation of Jesus Christ.  The progress with which the Church that had been founded by the Apostles was to be extended, or the end with which it was to be perfected, had need to be revealed, in order to strengthen the preachers of the faith against the opposition of the world. And John, in his own manner, refers the glory of the Son to the Father, and testifies that Jesus Christ has received from God. shortly. That is, which are to happen to the Church in the present time. signified. He wrapped up this revelation in mystical words, that it might not be manifested to all, and become lightly esteemed. angel. For an angel appeared to John in the form of Christ, as will be seen more clearly in that which follows. John. That through John He might lay open to all His servants the things which he, by the privilege of a peculiar chastity, obtained above all others to behold. Oecumenius: When it is said to him, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him,” it is as though he said, “This revelation is given from the Father to the Son, and then from the Son to us,” his servants. By calling the saints the “servants” of Christ, he safeguards what is proper to his deity. For, to whom would men belong, unless to him who is the Maker and Creator of humankind? And who is the Creator of human-kind and of all creation? No one other than the only begotten Word and Son of God! For, the present author says in the Gospel, “All things were made through him.” And why does he wish to add “what must soon take place,” although those events which will take place have not yet occurred, even though a considerable span of time has passed, more than five hundred years, since these words were spoken? Because to the eyes of the eternal and endless God all ages are regarded as nothing, for, as the prophet says, “A thousand years in your sight, O Lord, are as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.”3 For this reason, therefore, he added “soon,” not to indicate a measure of time which must pass before the fulfillment of what must happen, but to indicate the power and eternality of God. For to him who is, any passage of time, even should it be great and considerable, is something small when compared with that which is unending   1:2. Who bore witness to the Word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.   OSB: Testimony of Jesus refers to a witness concerning Jesus; not the testimony of Christ Himself. Andrew of Caesarea.  “Christ,” he says, “declared these things to me through an angel, as a master to a household servant, as I had borne witness to my confession to him,” of which, on the basis of the visions to bear witness and, in view of the return of those who hear, to preach both the things which are and which escape human understanding and the things which will occur in the future, for, prophetically, he had seen them both. And clear from what he says: those things which are and those which must come to pass. These are descriptions both of the present time and of the future. St. Bede; testimony. That thou mayest not doubt of the person of John, he is the same who gave testimony to the eternal Word of God incarnate, according as he saw, saying, “Whose glory we saw, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father.”   1:3.  Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. Andrew of Caesarea.  He blesses those who read and hear through the actions, for the present time is near, through which it is possible to acquire the blessing, and to all the work is laid open. As the Lord says, “Work [13] while it is day.” And elsewhere, the time is near, the time of the distribution of prizes, on account of the brevity of the present life in comparison to the future. St. Bede. Blessed. Teachers and hearers are therefore blessed, because they who keep the Word of God find that a short time of labour is followed by everlasting joys. Averky; “The book of the Apocalypse has, consequently, not only a prophetic but also a moral significance.  The meaning of these words is as follows: blessed is he who, reading this book, will prepare himself by his life and deeds of piety for eternity, for the translation to eternity is near for each of us. Fr. Lawrence.  Seven beatitudes (blessings) are pronounced upon (Fr. Lawrence): 1:3 “the one who reads and the ones who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things which are written in it” 14:13 the martyrs “who die in the Lord from now on” 16:15 “the one who keeps alert,” faithfully awaiting the Lord's Coming 19:9 “those who are called to the wedding supper of the Lamb” 20:6 the martyrs who have “a part in the first resurrection” 22:7 all who “keep the words of the prophecy of this book” 22:14 all those in the martyric Church, “those who wash their robes, so that they may have their right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.”  

Welcome to another book essay from Robin! Thank you Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. ----- This essay contains spoilers for SHADES AND SILVER by Dax Murray.  Many attempts at gender allegories in fantasy (or sci-fi) fall apart because they try to replicate binary gender in an attempt at gender essentialism in different trappings. SHADES AND SILVER deftly avoids this by starting without gender and then never focusing on it.  Full Essay Text at link.

This week on Sinica, a discussion of Netflix's adaptation of Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem (or more accurately, Remembrance of Earth's Past). Joining me to chat about the big-budget show is Cindy Yu, host of The Spectator's “Chinese Whispers” podcast, one of the very best China-focused podcasts; and Christopher T. Fan, who teaches English, Asian American Studies, and East Asian Studies at U.C. Irvine and is a co-founder of Hyphen magazine. Cindy and Chris both wrote reviews of the show and a bunch of other folks answered the call and contributed their thoughts as well. 6:46 – 3 Body Problem as Chinese IP and audience reception 14:44 – The pros and cons of a more faithful adaptation, comparisons with Tencent's adaptation, [and the Netflix production (process) (? Or keep it separate, 20:17)]23:44 – How the show portrays its Chinese characters and China and audience responses38:14 – Allegorical interpretations and real-world (political?) connections 48:11 – What to look forward to in (possible?) future seasons 51:14 – Chenchen Zhang's humanity/autocracy binary and the 工业党 gōngyè dǎng 57:02 A win for Chinese soft power? Recommendations:Cindy: The Overstory by Richard Powers Chris: Same Bed Different Dreams by Ed ParkKaiser: Kaiser: Run and Hide by Pankaj Mishra; other novels by Pankaj Mishra, including Age of Anger: A History of the Present and From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt Against the West and the Remaking of Asia; and other novels by Richard Powers, including Galatea 2.2, Operation Wandering Soul, and The Gold Bug Variations See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this message Paul uses Sarah and Hagar as an example of the law and the promise.

Notes and Links to Jennifer Croft's Work        For Episode 228, Pete welcomes Jennifer Croft, and the two discuss, among other topics, her early relationship with words and geography and later, multilingualism, formative colleagues and teachers who guided and inspired her love of languages and literary translation, her serendipitous path to focusing on Polish and Spanish translations, connections between cultural nuances and translation, and literal and allegorical signposts in her book, including climate change and celebrity “brands,” the fluidity of translation, the relationships between translators and original writing, the intriguing phenomenon that is amadou, and time and perspective and their connections to translation.     Jennifer Croft won a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship for her novel The Extinction of Irena Rey, the 2020 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for her illustrated memoir Homesick, and the 2018 International Booker Prize for her translation of Olga Tokarczuk's Flights. A two-time National Book Award–honoree, Croft is Presidential Professor of English & Creative Writing at the University of Tulsa.  Buy The Extinction of Irena Rey     Jennifer's Wikipedia Page   Review of The Extinction of Irena Rey in The New York Times   Jennifer Discusses her Book with Scott Simon on NPR's Weekend Edition At about 2:40, Jennifer discusses the feedback she's gotten, and the overall experience that has governed the weeks since the book's March 6 publication   At about 3:40, Shout out to the coolest envelope ever, and to Emily Fishman at Bloomsbury Publishing At about 4:20, Jennifer talks about the influences that led to her curiosity about reading and geography and knowledge  At about 5:55, Jennifer lays out the books that she was reading in her childhood, and talks about books and writing as ways of “traveling” At about 8:15, Jennifer talks about inspirations from her reading, including working with Yevgeny Yevtushenko At about 10:15, Jennifer expounds upon her journey in learning new languages, and how learning Spanish and Polish were connected At about 13:15, Jennifer and Pete talk about the greatness of Jorge Luis Borges, and Pete shouts out the unforgettable “The Gospel According to Mark” At about 14:15, Jennifer charts what makes her MFA in Literary Translation different than translation on its own At about 15:30, Jennifer recounts her experiences in Poland when she was there during the time of Pope John Paul II's death At about 17:35, Jennifer talks about the art of translation and how she has evolved in her craft over the years At about 20:45, Pete uses a Marquez translation as an example of a seemingly-absurd rendering, while Jennifer provides a balanced view of translation challenges  At about 22:30, Pete cites some of the gushing blurbs for the book and asks Jennifer about seeds for the book; she cites a genesis in a nonfiction idea  At about 28:15, Pete reads a plot summary from the book jacket/promotional materials  At about 29:10, Pete and Jennifer discuss the book's two narrators-Emilia the writer, and Alexis, her English translator-and their conflicts and devolutions  At about 33:40, Pete remarks on the strategic and highly-successful structure of the book At about 34:20, Jennifer responds to Pete's questions about her use of images throughout the book At about 37:30, Jennifer discusses the “dishonest[y] of subjectivity” in discussing translation and the author/translator's role in the writing At about 38:20, Pete reads a few key lines from the book, including the powerful opening lines and gives some exposition of the book At about 40:50, Jennifer responds to Pete's questions about the importance of amadou in the book, and she expands on its many uses and history At about 45:35, Jennifer expounds on ideas of the “mother tongue” as posited in the book, and uses examples from her own life to further reflect At about 48:00, Incredibly-cute twin content! At about 48:35, Chloe, a character from the book, and shifting alliances are discussed  At about 50:50, Amalia, the “climate-change artist,” a main character in Irena's Grey Eminence, is discussed, and the two point out similarities to fado singer Amália Rodrigues   At about 53:15, Pete asks Jennifer about the process of writing stories within stories At about 54:10, The two discuss some of the plot-the book's unfurling At about 55:55, The two discuss a cool “Easter Egg” and meta-reference in the book At about 57:20, Jennifer discusses the connections between fungi, the natural world, and translators At about 59:30, Art and destruction, as featured in the book, is discussed  At about 1:02:00, Jennifer responds to Pete wandering about what is lost/gained through translation, in connection to the book's translator Alexis At about 1:03:40, Jennifer speaks to time and perspective as their forms of “translations” At about 1:05:10, Jennifer speaks about exciting new projects, including a translation of Federico Falco's work     You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch this and other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.     I am very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review-I'm looking forward to the partnership! Check out my recent interview with Gina Chung on the website.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show. Thanks to new Patreon member, Jessica Cuello, herself a talented poet and former podcast guest.     This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.     The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 229 with Will Sommer, who covers right-wing media, political radicalization and right-wing conspiracy theories in the United States. His 2023 book is Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Reshaped América. He is also featured as an expert on QAnon in HBO's Q: Into the Storm  The episode will go live on March 28 or 29.  Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Most of the Bible was written to be understood literally, describing historical events that actually happened. There are some parts of the Bible, though, that were written in figurative language; they are poetic or didactic in nature, describing an indescribable God using the limited words we have, and using allegory to teach us about ultimate reality in Him...

After the intaglio about the annunciation, Dante moves beyond Virgil (or is prodded to move beyond his guide) to discover a second sequence, this time from the story of King David and his journey with the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem.The scene is so realistic that it causes a sensory confusion in our pilgrim. Problem is, his amazement at the realism in the art is based on the poet's fabrication of details in the scene. The imagined enhances the real? A complex game indeed!Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we look with the pilgrim at the second carving on the terrace of the prideful in PURGATORIO.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:13] My English translation of the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto X, lines 46 - 69. If you'd like to read along or drop a comment to continue the conversation, please go to my website, markscarbrough.com.[04:00] Comparing the first image in the marble with this second one: spare vs. elaborate.[04:54] Dante, on the side of Virgil's heart, eventually passes his guide. Is this symbolic? Allegorical? Or ironic?[09:51] The relief in the marble is a story lifted from II Samuel 6: 1 - 23.[12:19] The last six lines of the passage seem to show a dichotomy between low comedy and high tragedy.[14:26] Complex ironies in the passage: Dante makes up details that are the basis of its hyper-realism.[17:23] More complex ironies in the passage: Dante the poet may appear in disguise twice in the pilgrim's story.[21:01] The call for greater realism leads to, yes, Renaissance art but also to modern abstraction.[23:48] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto X, lines 46 - 69.

As per William Shakespeare, ‘all the world's a stage'. But what if the human soul was a stage too? What if the stage of the world and the stage of the soul coincided? And what if the soul was also the main character of the play?  These questions are at the core of Eugenio Refini's book Staging the Soul: Allegorical Drama as Spiritual Practice in Baroque Italy (Legenda, 2022), which explores pedagogical uses of allegorical drama in Italy in the decades around 1600, with a focus on the place of theatre in the education of female orphans in the hospitals of Venice. The consumption of morality plays is looked at as a form of spiritual practice modeled on long-lasting theatrical metaphors. In this context, tropes such as the theatrum mundi not only regained their literal meaning by being actually staged, but also turned into rhetorical devices able to promote the inner staging of the ‘world' on the ‘spiritual' stage of the soul. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

As per William Shakespeare, ‘all the world's a stage'. But what if the human soul was a stage too? What if the stage of the world and the stage of the soul coincided? And what if the soul was also the main character of the play?  These questions are at the core of Eugenio Refini's book Staging the Soul: Allegorical Drama as Spiritual Practice in Baroque Italy (Legenda, 2022), which explores pedagogical uses of allegorical drama in Italy in the decades around 1600, with a focus on the place of theatre in the education of female orphans in the hospitals of Venice. The consumption of morality plays is looked at as a form of spiritual practice modeled on long-lasting theatrical metaphors. In this context, tropes such as the theatrum mundi not only regained their literal meaning by being actually staged, but also turned into rhetorical devices able to promote the inner staging of the ‘world' on the ‘spiritual' stage of the soul. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

As per William Shakespeare, ‘all the world's a stage'. But what if the human soul was a stage too? What if the stage of the world and the stage of the soul coincided? And what if the soul was also the main character of the play?  These questions are at the core of Eugenio Refini's book Staging the Soul: Allegorical Drama as Spiritual Practice in Baroque Italy (Legenda, 2022), which explores pedagogical uses of allegorical drama in Italy in the decades around 1600, with a focus on the place of theatre in the education of female orphans in the hospitals of Venice. The consumption of morality plays is looked at as a form of spiritual practice modeled on long-lasting theatrical metaphors. In this context, tropes such as the theatrum mundi not only regained their literal meaning by being actually staged, but also turned into rhetorical devices able to promote the inner staging of the ‘world' on the ‘spiritual' stage of the soul. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

As per William Shakespeare, ‘all the world's a stage'. But what if the human soul was a stage too? What if the stage of the world and the stage of the soul coincided? And what if the soul was also the main character of the play?  These questions are at the core of Eugenio Refini's book Staging the Soul: Allegorical Drama as Spiritual Practice in Baroque Italy (Legenda, 2022), which explores pedagogical uses of allegorical drama in Italy in the decades around 1600, with a focus on the place of theatre in the education of female orphans in the hospitals of Venice. The consumption of morality plays is looked at as a form of spiritual practice modeled on long-lasting theatrical metaphors. In this context, tropes such as the theatrum mundi not only regained their literal meaning by being actually staged, but also turned into rhetorical devices able to promote the inner staging of the ‘world' on the ‘spiritual' stage of the soul. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

As per William Shakespeare, ‘all the world's a stage'. But what if the human soul was a stage too? What if the stage of the world and the stage of the soul coincided? And what if the soul was also the main character of the play?  These questions are at the core of Eugenio Refini's book Staging the Soul: Allegorical Drama as Spiritual Practice in Baroque Italy (Legenda, 2022), which explores pedagogical uses of allegorical drama in Italy in the decades around 1600, with a focus on the place of theatre in the education of female orphans in the hospitals of Venice. The consumption of morality plays is looked at as a form of spiritual practice modeled on long-lasting theatrical metaphors. In this context, tropes such as the theatrum mundi not only regained their literal meaning by being actually staged, but also turned into rhetorical devices able to promote the inner staging of the ‘world' on the ‘spiritual' stage of the soul. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

As per William Shakespeare, ‘all the world's a stage'. But what if the human soul was a stage too? What if the stage of the world and the stage of the soul coincided? And what if the soul was also the main character of the play?  These questions are at the core of Eugenio Refini's book Staging the Soul: Allegorical Drama as Spiritual Practice in Baroque Italy (Legenda, 2022), which explores pedagogical uses of allegorical drama in Italy in the decades around 1600, with a focus on the place of theatre in the education of female orphans in the hospitals of Venice. The consumption of morality plays is looked at as a form of spiritual practice modeled on long-lasting theatrical metaphors. In this context, tropes such as the theatrum mundi not only regained their literal meaning by being actually staged, but also turned into rhetorical devices able to promote the inner staging of the ‘world' on the ‘spiritual' stage of the soul. Kate Driscoll is Assistant Professor of Italian and Romance Studies at Duke University. She is a specialist of early modern Italian and European literary and cultural history, with interests in women's and gender studies, performance history, and the cultures of diplomacy and reception. Email: kate.driscoll@duke.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Love Like No Other A Study in Song of Solomon Ways to Interpret: 1. Allegorical 2. Literal 3. Typological Purpose: 1. To illustrate the pure sexual love between a husband and wife 2. To illustrate God's love for the church Cast of Characters: 1. Shulamite Woman 2. Solomon 3. Friends Song of Solomon 1:1-4 Good character is what attracted her the most

In this podcast we lay the foundation of methods of interpretation. I pray you enjoy this and learn a great deal!

The book of Ruth easily lends itself to an allegorical interpretation, which corresponds in many ways to the endowment. Ruth, typifying any individual or Israel as a whole, undertakes and completes a journey to the Lord, typified by Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer. Ruth goes from emptiness/famine and the bitterness of family death to fulness and renewed […] The post Conference Talks: Ruth: An Allegorical Reading first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

Jonathan Brentner Jonathan Brentner and Mary Danielsen discuss the importance of understanding the 4 main views of Bible Prophecy - Preterist, Historicist, Allegorical and Futurist. While the rapture debate rages on, particularly on social media, there are other terms we should understand to help us see where the church has been going for the last many years. Why does the glorious hope get dragged through the doctrinal mud these days, along with the resurrection of the dead in Christ and we which are alive and remain? We also look at facism as seen through the eyes of Habakkuk. A thoughtful podcast for the wearly traveler. Speaker and blogger Jonathan has authored "Triumph of the Redeemed" and "Cancel This: What Today's Church Can Learn from the Bad Guys of the Bible" which can be found on Amazon.com. Now posting some of our podcasts ON VIDEO on Rumble - HERE. Subscribe to our Youtube Channel - HERE.

Easily one of the most spiritual, thought provoking interviews we have ever had here on the cult. You may have to listen to this show several times and still leave with more questions than answers but Kurt does a great job at breaking it down for us in easy to understand terms. Allegorical, double and triple entendres and the fascinating the world and all of its facets on a higher level to understand and truly know thyself is what this episode is all about. Keep that third eye open!To find Kurt's work check out---> www.rightofway.lifeSign up for our Patreon go to-> Patreon.com/cultofconspiracypodcastSign up for our Rokfin go to -->Rokfin.com/cultofconspiracy--->For all of your Cult of Conspiracy needs! Including discounts to Adam&Eve & MERCH! Go to -> https://linktr.ee/cultofconspiracyThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5700337/advertisement

This book, also called the Song of Solomon, is one of the most neglected - and controversial - books of the Bible. It is a book about lovemaking from an author who had 700 wives and 300 concubines. So explicit are these aspects that because of its erotic content, the rabbis forbade the book to be read by anyone under the age of 30. Almost every verse has been the subject of debate by its interpreters. Probably no other book of the Bible has such a variegated tapestry of interpretation. Yet, all Scripture speaks of the glory and beauty of our Messiah. John the Baptist recognized Christ as the Bridegroom, as Christ Himself also claimed. And Paul pressed the idiom even further, as does John in the Book of Revelation. Of the more than 1,000 songs of Solomon only this was designed by God to be included in the Biblical canon. Copyright © 07-01-2011

This book, also called the Song of Solomon, is one of the most neglected - and controversial - books of the Bible. It is a book about lovemaking from an author who had 700 wives and 300 concubines. So explicit are these aspects that because of its erotic content, the rabbis forbade the book to be read by anyone under the age of 30. Almost every verse has been the subject of debate by its interpreters. Probably no other book of the Bible has such a variegated tapestry of interpretation. Yet, all Scripture speaks of the glory and beauty of our Messiah. John the Baptist recognized Christ as the Bridegroom, as Christ Himself also claimed. And Paul pressed the idiom even further, as does John in the Book of Revelation. Of the more than 1,000 songs of Solomon only this was designed by God to be included in the Biblical canon. Copyright © 07-01-2011

This book, also called the Song of Solomon, is one of the most neglected - and controversial - books of the Bible. It is a book about lovemaking from an author who had 700 wives and 300 concubines. So explicit are these aspects that because of its erotic content, the rabbis forbade the book to be read by anyone under the age of 30. Almost every verse has been the subject of debate by its interpreters. Probably no other book of the Bible has such a variegated tapestry of interpretation. Yet, all Scripture speaks of the glory and beauty of our Messiah. John the Baptist recognized Christ as the Bridegroom, as Christ Himself also claimed. And Paul pressed the idiom even further, as does John in the Book of Revelation. Of the more than 1,000 songs of Solomon only this was designed by God to be included in the Biblical canon. Copyright © 07-01-2011

This week, we dive into the words of Dr. George Oliver in an examination of his works. In it, we'll explore the allegorical and mythological origins of the Royal Art! We also have an announcement 10 years in the making from SPML, and we wrap with a contemplative look at the "daily grind." Thanks for listening and have a great week! Links: About George Oliver https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Oliver_(freemason) Part 1  https://www.universalfreemasonry.org/en/article/the-great-work-of-speculative-freemasonry-part-i Craftsman+ FB Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/craftsmanplus/ WCY NFT https://wcypodcast.com/nft Get a Tarot Reading by RJ http://www.wcypodcast.com/tarot Masonic Curators https://www.youtube.com/c/MasonicCurators WCY Podcast YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/WhenceCameYou Ancient Modern Initiation: Special Edition http://www.wcypodcast.com/the-Shop The Master's Word- A Short Treatise on the Word, the Light, and the Self - Autographed https://wcypodcast.com/the-shop Get the new book! How to Charter a Lodge https://wcypodcast.com/the-shop Truth Quantum https://truthquantum.com Our Patreon www.patreon.com/wcypodcast Support the show on Paypal https://wcypodcast.com/support-the-show Get some swag! https://wcypodcast.com/the-shop Get the book! http://a.co/5rtYr2r