The Gospel according to Matthew is perhaps the most important single document of the New Testament, for in it we have the fullest and most systematic account of the birth, life, teaching, death and resurrection of the founder of Christianity, Jesus the Messiah. Michael Green shows how this very Jewish Gospel portrays the power and purpose of Jesus' life and work, which was to bring light to all nations. Matthew records Jesus as Son of God, Messiah, Son of David, Son of Man and supremely as God returning to Jerusalem as judge and redeemer. The consequences of this steady focus are as relevant now as then. We need Matthew's emphasis on the unity of God's revelation, old and new, its reaching on the life of discipleship and the meaning of the kingdom of heaven, and its insights into the people of the messiah, the end of the world and the universality of the Good News.

This reading of Hosea explores the book from a feminist, psychoanalytical and poetic perspective. What is God doing with a prostitute? How does the theme of prostitution relate to the abjection of the woman as the other, and the fantasy of sexual ecstasy, precisely because she escapes patriarchal order? Where is the prophet situated in the dialectic of rage and desire that both seduces and condemns Israel? His voice is both masculine and feminine, and poetically embodies the sensuality of wayward Israel. The ambiguity of voice is also that of the prophet's role, which is both to nurture Israel, as on its Exodus from Egypt, and to be the trap that destroys it. The problematic of voice and prophetic function is evident in the vivid dissection of Israel's social institutions, whose disintegration is inversely related to the centrality of the discussion in the structure of the book, and in the violent swings from despair to impossible hope. The focus on immediate and uncontrollable entropy, manifest in extended tangled metaphors, that occupies the centre of the book, is framed in the outer chapters by intertextual references to Israel's primordial vision, and the romantic distantiation of the Song of Songs, in which the erotic and poetic contradictions of the book find their perhaps ironic resolution.

Prophet Joseph Patrick Oyone Meye brings a complete summary of each of the gripping moments of the life and Epistles of St. Paul into a single account and so gives us a living picture of the Apostle himself and the circumstances by which he was surrounded. The short biography of the Apostle is compiled from the Bible within two sources: First, his own letters, and secondly, the narrative in the Acts of the Apostles. The latter, after a slight sketch of his early history, supplies us with details of his middle life; and his Epistles afford much subsidiary information concerning his missionary labors during the same period. This book is an outstanding text on the Apostle Paul, his times and lands in which he labored to bring the Gospel of Christ, and also a way to personalize Jesus AFTER His resurrection through the life and words of St. Paul, Apostle Thirteen. This in the attempt to gift all of us alive today and future generations with insights that bring our understanding about Christ into better focus. About the author: ABOUT PROPHET JOSEPH: My name is Prophet Joseph Patrick Oyone Meye and am a servant of Abba Father God Almighty, made scribe of Jesus Christ, and a Minister of the Word. I am called by the grace of Almighty God, to be a Prophet unto HIM for the Nations to the Nations, not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father. I was born a native of Gabon, in west central Africa, and was the former #1 tennis & Davis Cup player in the country for several years. I was summoned to leave my country for Paris France to pursuit my tennis career, and there the Lord began to get my attention in many ways. However, it was in Gabon that I felt a calling on my life but in Paris France as the Lord was continually getting my attention; I knew for certain that God wanted to do something with me but did not understand it. God caused me to leave Paris France to come to the United States of America where the Lord Christ Jesus revealed my calling as a Prophet unto Him and thus Anointed me to the office of Prophet and ever since I have been forged by my commitment unto Him. I am married to Evangelist Nostalia Oyone Meye, and we live in Los Angeles California. We believe in the entire Bible (66 Books) as the Sacred Writings breathed out by God through human being divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit for the sake of our Salvation, revealing God s Will to Mankind by which through Christ, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to HIM and came to share in the Divine Nature through this revelation. Amen FUNCTION & DESCRIPTION: Workmanship for Christ Jesus but Independent in the Religious Institution, principally in the Body of Christ.Prophet, Seer, called and Anointed by Almighty God to the office of Prophet. Received from God through Christ by the Holy Spirit a unique perspective and understanding of the will of God over the lives of individuals, career, ministries, communities and nations. Sought by many for Divine directions and counsel.

In this book, Trevaskis argues that holiness in Leviticus always has an ethical dimension, and is not simply a cultic category. In so doing he departs from the usual view that in Leviticus 1-16 (P) holiness is largely a cultic concept. Biblical scholars have commonly read ritual texts as practical instruction or prescription, inferring the theological significance of the rituals from elsewhere. For example, theological interpretations of the 'burnt offering' have been derived from its use in narrative settings (e.g. Gen. 8.20; 22.13) rather than from its legal prescription in Leviticus 1. Trevaskis, however, argues that an implicit command to be holy exists within some ritual texts in Leviticus, which are more than mere ritual prescriptions. It is in the symbolic dimensions of the rituals that the theological significance lies. In support of this argument, he undertakes exegetical studies of the 'burnt offering' (Leviticus 1), of the 'purity regulations' (Leviticus 11_15) and of the physical appearance of priests and sacrificial animals (Leviticus 21-22). These studies take place within a methodological framework that avoids capricious symbolic interpretations. Trevaskis draws on cognitive linguistic insights to discern when a text may allude to other texts within the Pentateuch (especially Genesis 1-3), and attends to the legislator's use of various rhetorical devices (e.g. 'rhetorical progression'). Since the command to 'be holy' in Leviticus 17-26 (H) only makes explicit what P leaves implicit in Leviticus 1-16, this study has important implications for the compositional history of Leviticus. It becomes much less clear that H's ethical view of holiness developed from a prophetic critique of P (as Milgrom and Knohl, for example, argue).

In this incisive commentary, Nancy Bedford explores Paul's Letter to the Galatians as it addresses pressing issues in the earliest Christian churches. Paul argues that it is not necessary for Gentiles to become full-fledged Jews in order to follow Jesus. In Jesus Christ, differences among people will continue. Bedford sees that equality in Christ (Galatians 3:28) does not erase differences but instead breaks down hierarchical relationships among many different people and groups. She considers the implications of these convictions for Christian faith today, particularly for those outside of Western Christian traditions. Bedford's unique theological-interpretive approach to Galatians is suitable for preaching and teaching preparation and is a welcome addition to the Belief series.

This critically acclaimed series provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The authors are scholars of international standing.

We all long for a full, rich satisfying life. But how do we fill up the empty places in our soul? How can we quench our thirst for something deeper, more lasting, more meaningful? John urges us to take a fresh look at Jesus and he invites us to renew our faith in the One who promises to be the way to true life. 26 studies in 2 parts for individuals or groups. This revised title features questions for starting group discussions and for meeting God in personal reflection, as well as a "now or later" section in each study.