Anthony Delgado

To the ancients, kingship wasn’t merely a human institution; it was divine. We often note how the nations surrounding Israel believed their kings were appointed by the gods and even regarded as sons of the gods. The Tale of King Keret, an Ugaritic myth from the Canaanites, offers one of the clearest examples of that idea. It tells of a broken king whose dynasty has fallen, weeping until the high god El appears to him in a dream and promises to restore his line through divine favor. Keret’s authority, victories, and even his children are granted by the will of the gods, showing how the Canaanites equated royal power with divine appointment. This story illustrates the theology of kingship in the ancient Near East and illumines the cultural backdrop against which Israel’s own view of covenantal kingship emerged.

Carmen Joy Imes’s Becoming God’s Family: Why the Church Still Matters (IVP Academic, October 28, 2025) addresses contemporary disillusionment with the church by presenting a biblical theology of God’s presence among His people. Completing a trilogy that began with Bearing God’s Name (covenant and law) and Being God’s Image (creation and identity), this volume explores the church as God’s chosen family, intergenerational and global, called to embody His mission despite scandals, polarization, and deconstruction. With endorsements from leading scholars and pastors, a foreword by Esau McCaulley, and resources like discussion questions and BibleProject links, Imes provides scholarly depth and pastoral care. Drawing from the full sweep of Scripture—from Abraham’s household to the church as the Spirit’s temple—she argues that God’s presence has always been tied to a gathered community, not isolated individuals, and that remaining in the church is central to Christian life and God’s redemptive plan.

While Protestantism and Evangelicalism share historical and theological roots, they are not identical. Protestantism emerged from the sixteenth-century Reformation, characterized by the Five Solas—faith, grace, Scripture, Christ, and God’s glory alone—and emphasized the authority of Scripture, justification by faith, and continuity with historic orthodoxy. Evangelicalism later emerged as a movement within Protestantism, centered on Biblicism, Crucicentrism, Conversionism, and Activism. The two overlap in rejecting Roman Catholic dogma and affirming salvation by faith, yet diverge as Evangelicalism often prioritizes personal experience, revivalism, and innovation over historical theology and ecclesial order. Some Protestants reject the Evangelical label due to modern theological drift, while some Evangelicals dismiss the Protestant title as outdated, favoring renewal and cultural adaptability. Evangelicalism is at its healthiest when it is consciously Protestant—rooted in Reformation convictions—while Protestantism remains vital when it is truly Evangelical in its gospel mission.

This article examines the current viral prediction of a September 2025 rapture by South African preacher Joshua Mhlakela, placing it within a long history of failed forecasts like those of Harold Camping. It argues that while the Bible clearly teaches Christ’s return will be sudden, visible, and unknowable in timing, the modern doctrine of a secret rapture is a 19th-century invention of dispensationalism, spread through conferences, radio, and popular media rather than Scripture itself. Instead of anxious speculation or escapist hopes, Christians are called to readiness through faithfulness, holiness, and active discipleship—raising families in the Lord, practicing justice and mercy, persevering in suffering, and serving within the church. The true biblical hope is not escape from tribulation but the transformation of creation at Christ’s visible return, when the dead will be raised, evil judged, and God’s kingdom fully established in a new heaven and new earth.

The expanded edition of The Unseen Realm adds over 17,000 words, twenty-four expanded chapters, a new appendix, and more, making it about 175 pages longer than the original. Released by Lexham Press in a deluxe hardcover with striking artwork, it serves as a worthy tribute to Michael Heiser’s legacy. The book challenges Western Christianity’s flat, naturalistic view of Scripture by recovering the biblical authors’ supernatural worldview. Some readers may find its depth demanding, especially those new to biblical theology, but many will welcome its insights and clarity on passages often called “weird” or confusing. The expansion integrates material once only online, weaving it into the book to present Heiser’s broader reflections. For these reasons, I give the expanded edition a full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, recommending it both to long-time students of Heiser’s work and to thoughtful readers eager to engage the Bible on its supernatural terms.

The Biblical authors portray God as ruling from his throne in heaven, surrounded by a council of heavenly beings. This ‘divine council’ appears in multiple Old Testament passages, functioning as God’s heavenly court intended to mediate his governance to all the nations. But by the time of the New Testament, this council was removed from power due to rebellion against God and was replaced by the sole authority of Christ. To ask what happened to the divine council is to trace the story from creation to the consummation of God’s kingdom in the end.

God is omnipresent, an attribute that converges with his sovereignty over creation and salvation. In the following article, the analogy of a carpenter making a chair is used to explain how different theological traditions—Semi-Pelagianism, Arminianism, and Calvinism—understand the relationship between God’s role and human responsibility in salvation, arguing that while each tradition captures some essence of truth, how God’s omnipresence and timeless sovereignty hold all things—creation, history, and salvation—within himself and without contradiction. The aim of the article is not to settle any disagreements between classical soteriological perspectives, but to inspire deeper thinking on the matter. 

Clowns embody contradiction and inversion, acting as cultural symbols that expose the boundaries and hypocrisies of human systems through humor, discomfort, and absurdity. Though often feared, their purpose is not malevolence but revelatory: clowns function as sacred fools or prophetic tricksters who disrupt social order to reveal truth. Historically rooted in the role of the jester, the clown occupies the space between order and chaos, revealing hidden realities and confronting tyranny by returning overextended structures to a state of potential. The clown’s unsettling presence reminds us of the wilderness beyond the city—unformed but filled with potential—where God's dominion is meant to extend. Unlike the Nephilim, who represent fallen power structures rooted in underworld tyranny, clowns challenge tyrannical structures by embodying disorder in the hopes of divine renewal. They are not evil but disruptive, meant to provoke discomfort that leads to growth in wisdom, endurance, and insight. In a world of inverted values, the clown is the only archetype meant to turn things right-side up.