There is a fantastic book by J C Ryle called Christian Leaders which I’d put in my top five must reads. The meat of the book is a series of eleven biographical sketches of the key preachers of the eighteenth century revival in the UK – the days of George Whitefield and John Wesley. One of the lesser known figures who Ryle sketches is James Hervey. The whole chapter is…
Read MoreThe heavens opened
Christopher Rowland has argued (The Open Heaven, 1982; The Mystery of God, 2009) that the essential element of apocalyptic is ‘the disclosure of heavenly knowledge’. It is an unveiling where the heavens are opened and transcendent mystery is divinely disclosed. Apocalyptic literature is full of secrets, visions, ascents, angels, the glory of the heavenly tabernacle and throne room. Visiting the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Nairobi a couple of weeks ago it was…
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