John Mark Hicks

When the seventh angel sounded the seventh trumpet, “voices” (note the plural) announced: The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever. This, I believe, is the fundamental agenda of the Apocalypse, that is, to announce the coming of the kingdom […]

Hebel That is an important word for the writer of Ecclesiastes. It is a word that comes to mind on May 21 every year since 2001.  That was the day Joshua died. It was also the day John Robert died in 2008. Indeed, it is a day on which many people have died. Hebel You may […]

The above title is the first line in the refrain of Andrew Peterson’s “Come Back Soon.” On Sunday my old and dear friend Dean Barham, in his morning sermon at Woodmont Hills, alerted me to Peterson’s music and particularly this line. It has stuck with me for a few days now. Yesterday I read Keith Brenton’s funeral […]

The previous post explored the meaning of the only fundamentally positive text in Amos–its ending, Amos 9:11-15. The text of Amos envisions a future time when Yahweh would rebuild the “tent of David” with the result that Israel would “possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called” by Yahweh’s “name.” This […]

I’m seeking some help regarding G. C. Brewer’s (1884-1956) undertstanding of the earth. Concerning Isaiah 65, 66, 2 Peter 3 and Revelation 21, Brewer wrote (Gospel Advocate [4 April 1946], 314): “The New Testament references describe a condition that will come after the destruction of the present heaven and earth. That this earth—this existing order of […]

Though Malachi characterizes Judah’s words against Yahweh as “harsh,” we might find ourselves rather sympathetic with them. It does appear that evil often wins and that abusers go unpunished. We might wonder whether, in fact, evildoers are “blessed.” Or that God is indifferent, or that faith is worth the journey. Malachi, however, is quick to […]

This is not a children’s story. The animals going into the ark two by two do make a classic VBS song and it certainly makes a great flannel graph. But this story is more like a horror movie than a Disney cartoon. The story is important for our author. It takes up more space than […]

The key question in reading Mark 13:24-37 is its relation to Mark 13:5-23. In the first section Jesus alerted his disciples to a coming conflagration in which they must beware of deceivers and persecutors who will attempt to enlist them in the service of the Jewish revolt of 66-70 C.E. Does Jesus continue this motif […]

My Wednesday evening class–about 25 of us on average–have walked through Zechariah together. We began in January and finished Zechariah 14 last week (May 16). They are a patient bunch! It has been an exciting ride. The good news present in Zechariah is tailored for a disappointed people. Their hopes, dreams and expectations had not […]

This is the climax, as well as the conclusion, of message of Zechariah.It is the “mountain top” of Zechariah. The first half of Zechariah promised God’s return to Jerusalem through the rebuilding of the temple (Zechariah 1-8; cf. 2:5). The eight visions promised renewal and prosperity for Judah and Jerusalem. But it also envisioned a […]