Essays on Interpretation
Learning to read the Bible on its own terms — with clarity, care, and confidence.
The Evil Seizer: Reading a Familiar Passage on Its Own Terms (Accessible Essay)
For centuries the “restrainer” of 2 Thessalonians 2 has been read as a force for good — the Spirit, the state, the church — holding back the man of lawlessness. But what if Paul meant the opposite, and the temple under assault is the church itself?
The Evil Κατέχων of 2 Thessalonians 2: The Restrainer as Adversary and the Temple as the Church (Scholarly Essay)
The scholarly companion to “The Evil Seizer.” A full exegetical treatment — Greek text, grammar, and footnotes — building on Paul S. Dixon’s case that the restrainer of 2 Thessalonians 2 is an enemy, and arguing that the temple of verse 4 is the church.
The Rebellion Jesus Described First: Reading Paul’s “Rebellion” of 2 Thessalonians 2 as the Crisis Jesus Foretold in the Olivet Discourse
Paul’s letter concerns a persecuted church, and his “rebellion” turns out to be the very crisis Jesus named first in the Olivet Discourse.
The Word You Were Never Taught to Hear: Temple, Dwelling, and the Weight of ναός
The New Testament writers built some of their largest claims on a word that arrives to us light: temple. Recover its weight — the dwelling of God moved from a building of stone into a people — and the most contested passages about the end begin to read differently.
Essay Forthcoming
Essay Forthcoming
Essays exploring Christian hope, the language of Scripture, and the unfolding promise of Christ’s appearing—organized as both guided paths and standalone reflections.