Category Archives: Doctrinal Issues

“God Will Provide Himself a Lamb” (Old Testament Lesson 9)

The Aqedah (“binding”) of Isaac was an important part of both early Jewish and early Christian understanding of God’s plan for mankind’s salvation. Although the biblical version of the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac is told in a way in which the similarities to Christ’s atoning sacrifice are only subtle, many ancient traditions, including [...]
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More on Melchizedek and Abraham and More Old Testament Resources

Sorry about the odd title, but I just wanted to post some further musings I had on the hypothesis that Melchizedek, as a translated being, could have been (along with two others) the visitor to Abraham at Mamre. I would also like to alert you to some great resources that I have found to augment [...]
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The Three Men Who Appeared to Abraham: The Godhead, Angels, or Human Beings? (Old Testament Lesson 8)

In Genesis 18, we read that the Lord appeared to Abraham in Mamre, and also, in the same verse, that three “men” visited him.  This has to be one of the most debated passages of all time.  The big question is whether these three were divine beings (and if one of the three was the [...]
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The Bird as Angel of the Lord in Book of Abraham Facs. 1 (Old Testament Lesson 7)

For anyone hoping that this post was going to be about the Abrahamic Covenant, I hate to let you down.  Upon reading the first chapters of the Book of Abraham, my attention was drawn (as it often is) again to the “Facsimiles” that accompany that book, which are a frequent source of wonder and awe [...]
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“Noah…Prepared an Ark to the Saving of His House” (Old Testament Lesson 6)

Although this week’s (if I’m ever off-schedule here, please let me know — I am in Scotland…) lesson is focused on Noah and the Flood narrative, this post will concentrate more on “his house.” Not that the story of Noah isn’t important, or that I couldn’t find tons of things to say about it, but [...]
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Melchizedek: King, Priest, and God and the Forbidden Degrees

The title of this post is actually somewhat deceptive as it implies that the post is going to be about Melchizedek, who can be considered a king, a priest, and also a god, and about the “Forbidden Degrees” (sounds tantalizing, eh?), which the title seems to suggest have some connection to Melchizedek. Well, as far [...]
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Son of God and King: Adam, Enoch, Moses (Comments on Old Testament Lesson 5)

The following are some notes that I made this week in association with my study of this Sunday’s Gospel Doctrine (Old Testament) Lesson 5. The lesson covers Moses 5-7 and is titled: “If Thou Doest Well, Thou Shalt Be Accepted” This title has to do with the Book of Moses narrative regarding Cain and Abel [...]
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“Because of My Transgression My Eyes are Opened”

Study Helps for Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Lesson 4 Although I am still struggling to decide exactly what format my notes on the Sunday School lessons should take and what would be the most helpful type of information to provide, I wanted to make sure I got started with this series of posts and provided [...]
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