I affirm that, of course, the canon is closed. But beyond that, there are those who use Revelation to prove that the gift of prophecy must have gone extinct, because of the dark double curse found in Rev 22:18-19: For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If... Continue Reading →
Hebrew is a Magical Language! (Or is it?)
The teaching known as Lashon Hakodesh (“the sacred language”) is multifaceted. It was originally a designation for Biblical Hebrew as such. But it later grew to have more implications that Hebrew is somehow a magical language. There are sub-legends that follow along with this: 1. That Hebrew is the language spoken in heaven. 2. That... Continue Reading →
An Isolated Apostle – Can God still use him?
Someone in Costa Rica asked me to preach about “John in Patmos.” And I realized that, it’s an excellent subject for bored, shut-in, and isolated people during COVID! First, a little background. John wrote that he was on the island of Patmos “because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 1:9b).... Continue Reading →
Planet X? Planet 7X? Nibiru? Let’s not worry about it!
Note: we are not dealing with a hypothetical Planet X, a body that has been talked about for two centuries. It might be a large planet beyond Neptune, whose mass may affect Neptune’s orbit. Due to further data, since the 1990s such a Planet X has been widely thought to be disproved. I mention it... Continue Reading →
What? Me, a priest?!
Note: this is the abridged verion of a talk I gave at Seminario ESEPA, on the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. To download the entire article with footnotes, go HERE or download the pdf here: Shogren_The Priesthood of All Believers in the Reformation En español: Shogren_El sacerdocio de todos los creyentes We are celebrating the 500th anniversary of... Continue Reading →
The Priesthood of All Believers in the Reformation
To download the entire article with footnotes, click here: Shogren_The Priesthood of All Believers in the Reformation En español: Shogren_El sacerdocio de todos los creyentes Introduction 1. The Catholic Doctrine 2. The Reformation and Beyond: Luther, Calvin, the Anabaptists, the Wesleyans 3. Modern Abuses of the Doctrine: Anti-Intellectualism, the "Super-Anointed" Leader, Hyper-Individualism Conclusion Introduction Some years back three... Continue Reading →
Israel and Palestine and a Hope for Peace
Seminario ESEPA held a conference in 2014 on the topic of "Israel and Palestine." They asked me to be one of the participants; I offered the following thoughts, which I have updated a bit, with the warning that they come from a Bible student with only cursory knowledge of world affairs. Good evening, and thank... Continue Reading →
Bible Prophecy, ch 1 – “Bible Prophecies” that are NOT found in the Bible
This article was originally posted in 2016 and needs updating, but the principles remain the same. The reader may prefer to download it in pdf form: Shogren_Bible Prophecy #1 Bible Prophecies that are NOT in the Bible I plan on at least two more articles in this series, in which I will describe End-Time expectations... Continue Reading →
Lady Apostle Lands in Jail!
If I asked you “Who were the martyrs of the early church?” you would, quite properly, begin with Stephen in Acts 7; James in Acts 12; and then go on to Peter and Paul. “Brave, godly men were early martyrs” = a right answer But not a complete answer. Why not? Because we all, simply... Continue Reading →
What has Corinth to do with Patmos?
Devotional given at Wycliffe Associates for the assembled Translation Team, on Oct 7, 2015. I am doing two tasks for Wycliffe at the moment – with my online group we are writing translation notes for 1 Corinthians and we have reached chapter 10. Here this week our group is working on Revelation and we are... Continue Reading →