John Mark Hicks

“Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah”–it was #148 in my hymnbook growing up. I loved singing it because it called even “dragons” to praise the Lord (according to KJV). The hymn is based on Psalm 148. Psalm 148 invites all heaven and earth to praise God from their heights to their depths. Yahweh is praised as creator of […]

Whether the text continues to describe Antiochus, or perhaps the Roman empire, or a future Antichrist, the fundamental point is clear: the people of God will face persecution and evil will increase, but God will act to redeem the people of God and the times of evil will end. The cosmic battle between good and […]

The only Hebrew word for repentance used in Jonah—to turn (sub)—appears only in this section of Jonah. Twice it describes the Ninevites (Jonah 3:8, 10) who turn away from evil, but twice God is the subject of the verb (Jonah 3:9). God also turns. Nineveh repented, and—in response–so did God. Nineveh’s Repentance From the time […]

The drama of the second (Revelation 4:1-16:20) has not yet ended. We are yet in the middle of it. Heaven has opened the seven seals (Revelation 6:1-8:5) and sounded the seven trumpets (Revelation 8:6-11:19) but we have not yet seen the final, climatic bowls of wrath (Revelation 15-16).  sandwiched between the trumpets and the bowls is the dramatic […]

What is salvation? In my first post in this series I proposed the below chart as a way of answering that important question. In this post I will comment on the seventh sector (7).   Past Justification Present Sanctification Future Glorification Personal Forgiveness of Sins and Relationship with God (1) Moral (Inner and Outer)  Transformation (2) Resurrection […]

What is salvation? Seems like a simple question. Maybe, but maybe not.  There are certainly uncomplicated aspects to answering the question, but a “comprehensive” picture is an integrated one that explores the question from various angles. The question may seem simple because it has often been answered simplistically. Or, perhaps better, it has often been […]

There are many texts in Paul where one could illuminate the theme of this series.  I have chosen Colossians 1, but others would include Ephesians 1 among others. Kingdom language is not as frequent in Paul as it is in the Gospels, but it is nevertheless part of the substance of his theological perspective.  For […]