theLAB

The Logos Academic Blog

The Covid Vaccine has 666 Written All Over It…and Why that Doesn’t Matter According to Revelation

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by Matthew L. Halsted, PhD

In an article published last week on theLAB, COVID-19 and The Mark of the Beast, I claimed that the mark of the beast (666) is most likely not a physical or visible mark (Rev. 13:16). The biggest objection I received from readers had to do with this very point: how could the mark be non-physical and invisible if having the mark was what allowed people to “buy or sell” things (Rev. 13:17)? Wouldn’t the mark need to be visible in order to do that? Furthermore, isn’t there enough evidence that the vaccine is the “number” of the beast, including a bill currently before the House of Representatives (6666) and the very letters “C-O-R-O-N-A” themselves?1 These are good questions, and I think a response would be helpful. But first, we need to start from square one and do some background work.

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Grammatical Aspect and Lexical “Aktionsartpotential”: Some Basic Observations

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From the cover of Siebenthal’s Ancient Greek Grammar for the Study of the New Testament. Source: Peter Lang.

Part 3 of the series Observations from a Linguistic Spectator: An Annual Report. See also Part 1 and Part 2.

From events to verbs

As announced in my last blog post, I want to explore now in more detail the lexical semantics and the lexicography of Greek verbs. Verbs express events or “situations” as we call them on the most general level. We probably all have an intuitive understanding of what events/situations are: something that happens in the real world at a given point in time. We perceive these events and interpret them and give them a specific shape on a conceptual level.

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Lexical Semantics and Lexicography

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Part 2 of the series Observations from a Linguistic Spectator: An Annual Report.

For part 1, see here.

A Semiotic Framework

I’m going to cheat right away in this first post in this series that discusses an actual linguistic subject – quite a bit of what I discuss here isn’t that new to me. So it’s not really part of the honest annual report of new insights that I promised. Still, I feel like I have to include these considerations because in my experience this is perhaps the single issue where publications in biblical studies fail most often.

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Observations from a Linguistic Spectator: An Annual Report

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Part 1: Introduction

Why this blog post series?

Beginning this April, I will work as an assistant at the University of Basel at the chair of Prof. Moisés Mayordomo. Already on my second work day, I was going to give a presentation in the research seminar in Zurich – an event which now has of course been cancelled due to the Corona virus situation. Since I had already begun making some mental notes for this presentation, I thought it might be wise to instead make a series of blogposts about the subject that I was going to talk about. Here, I’ll make some introductory remarks and I hope I’ll be able to find the time over the coming weeks for the other instalments.

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The Grassroots Ablaze: An Interview with Mark Ward about His Book, Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible

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Image credit: © Tavis Bohlinger

Dr. Mark Ward has written a fantastic book recently addressing numerous issues around the use of the King James Version of the Bible in the church today. Mark’s work is thorough, gracious, and scholarly, and I welcomed the chance to sit down with him recently to talk about Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible. As you’ll see, his answers are robust. Check it out, and leave comments below.

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The Origin of the LXX

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The following essay is published in recognition of International LXX Day, celebrated yearly on February 8, and is also a part of our long-form essay series here on theLAB. LXX day was a week ago today, but you can celebrate it today with this essay on its origin, and check out the great list of LXX resources at the end.

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Keeping Up Your Biblical Languages…Again

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How’s that New Year’s resolution going? You know, the one you made last year, too? Didn’t you resolve to read Hebrew and Greek for 10 minutes each every morning? Or was it 20 minutes?

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Review: Mounce’s 4th edition of Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar

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Image credit: Tavis Bohlinger

By Daniel K. Eng | University of Cambridge

Earlier this year, William D. Mounce released the fourth edition of his widely-used Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar (Zondervan), in time to be used for instruction in summer courses. I taught first-year Greek at an evangelical seminary this summer 2019 using this new edition. Here is my review of this introductory grammar. 

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How to Write a Commentary on Revelation

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Earlier this month, Ian Paul gave a paper at the annual meeting of the British New Testament Society, in the Revelation seminar group, on his experience of writing a commentary. This is what he said.

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Use Greek and Hebrew with Keyboard Selector

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Image credit: zeevveez via Flickr

We read and study the Bible in the original languages. That is a non-negotiable. Hebrew and Greek are as fundamental to the work of the scholar and preacher as a hammer in a toolkit. We use the original languages in our day-to-day workflow, including our digital resources. A new tool in Logos helps you do just that.

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