New Testament Translation
The Spoken English New Testament: A New Translation from the Greek by J. Webb Mealy
This close and accurate translation from the original Greek renders the words of Jesus and the apostles into ordinary, easy-to-understand English. No high-flown or old-fashioned language that distances us from their voices. Jesus spoke simply, not in lofty, hyper-religious-sounding prose. This translation is readable for people with a sixth- to seventh-grade reading level, and does not dumb the text down. Copious footnotes for those who like to know what is going on under the hood of the English renderings. Also a thorough Bible Words glossary.
Sermons
In this sermon I celebrate the innermost character of God as God revealed it to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:6-7).
Atonement—Articles
“Kinds of Sacrifice in the Old Testament: How they Each Work, and How Some of them Point to Christ”
An accurate understanding of the procedures and the functions of OT sacrifices leads away from, rather than towards, a theory of Christ’s atonement in which he assuages God’s wrath by experiencing it.
“Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 2, Ch. 16, §§1-12: Commentary and Critique”
The famous reformer John Calvin wrote a book called Institutes of the Christian Religion, which was a detailed catechism based on the affirmations in the Apostles’ Creed. This essay is a commentary and critique of Institutes 2.16.1-12, which deals with what Jesus accomplished on the cross. It is a refutation of Calvin’s atonement theory, which proposes that Jesus suffered the wrath of God so that saved sinners would not have to.
John Calvin (and other advocates of the theory that Jesus Christ suffered God’s wrath on the cross) make much of Paul’s statement that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more, then, having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him” (Rom. 5:8-9 NASB20). I demonstrate that they fundamentally misunderstand how the phrase “how much more” functions in Paul’s rhetoric. Paul does not say that Jesus suffered God’s wrath.
This 2019 Rethinking Hell conference presentation shows how new creation millennialism’s understanding of the reason for the resurrection of the unrighteous solves two problems: (1) how Christ can truly die for all, yet not all are delivered safe to everlasting life, and (2) how can the resurrection of those destined for ultimate destruction can be an act of mercy.
“Understanding Paul’s Curse Language in Galatians 3:13”
This study demonstrates that it is a serious mistake to read Gal. 3:13 as saying that God cursed Jesus so that he would not have to curse us.
“Interpreting 2 Cor. 5.21 in the Light of the Hebrew Word chaṭṭāʾāt”
This study demonstrates that Paul speaks poetically in 2 Cor. 5:21—saying that “God made him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be a sin offering for us.” The Hebrew and Greek words for sin are both also used to mean a sin offering. So Paul is not saying God made Jesus sinful or treated him as sinful, much less made him “sin,” whatever that could mean.
“ ‘Ransom,’ ‘Redemption,’ and the Death of Christ”
This article demonstrates that the biblical language of “ransom” and “redemption” describes God freeing people from captivity, accusation, and the law’s penalties. It is not about Jesus appeasing God’s wrath. Drawing on the Passover, exile, and New Testament texts, it shows that Christ’s death redeems by bearing the consequences of human sin and disarming all creaturely claims against us. Jesus is killed by human hostility, and God transforms that violence into forgiveness, liberation, and a pattern of faithful suffering his followers may share.
Eschatology—YouTube Videos
“A Three-Part Commentary on the Isaiah Apocalypse, Isaiah 24–27. “
In this three-part YouTube video series I demonstrate that a careful reading of Isaiah 24–27 reveals that Isaiah is telling the same eschatological story as John is in Revelation 19–21.
“Ezekiel 38 and 39, Isaiah 24 and 26, and Revelation 19 and 20”
In this YouTube video I explain the prophecy of Ezek. 38:1-17, showing that thanks to (1) the context in which it sits, following the prophetic promise of a never-ending and peaceful kingdom of “my Servant David” (Ezek. 37:24-25), and (2) its four clear context-setting statements (38:8, 11, 12, 14), this prophecy cannot refer to “the battle of Armageddon,” which brings to an end a time of war, strife, and exile (cf. Ezek. 36:3-4, 34-3639:25-29). It is Ezek. 38:18–39:29 that corresponds to Armageddon. Ezek. 38:1-17, surprisingly, points back to the prophecy of Isaiah in Isa. 24:22, which predicts the eventual release of the rebel kings of the earth from the underworld in the context of the glorious reign of God. Thus Gog and his hosts, both in Ezek. 38:1-17 and in Rev. 20:7-9, are to be understood as the resurrected unrepentant.
“Zechariah 11: An Informal Commentary”
In this verse-by-verse commentary on YouTube, I argue that Zech. 11:4-17 is an antichrist prophecy.
“Five Models of the Millennium in Revelation”
In this YouTube video I present a clear introduction, with graphics, to the five major models of the millennium: historic/dispensational premillennialism, amillennialism, postmillennialism, atemporal millennialism, and new creation millennialism, showing briefly why new creation millennialism fits the text better.
“Historic Premillennialism and Amillennialism—The End of Two Paradigms”
In this YouTube video I show how neither of these views can survive careful exegetical examination, each of them suffering from several fatal flaws. In Introduction to New Creation Millennialism (see next item), I go on to demonstrate that new creation millennialism solves the insoluble problems of each of these views and presents a much more exegetically satisfactory model for the millennium.
“Introduction to New Creation Millennialism”
In this YouTube video I give a thorough exegetical introduction to new creation millennialism, the view that the millennium of Revelation 20 begins when Jesus comes in glory and that it has the new creation as its context.
In this first of a two-part YouTube teaching series, I show how it is unmistakable that Paul in 1 and 2 Thessalonians and Jesus in the Olivet Discourse are talking about the same thing: Christ’s posttribulational coming in glory for his faithful.
“Refutation of Pretribulationism, Part 2. Best Arguments for Pretribulationism Refuted”
In this YouTube video I examine all the positive arguments for pretribulationism put forward by Jordan P. Ballard, perhaps the single most competent advocate for that position. I show that every one of his arguments is invalid and/or ill-founded in Scripture. Parts 1 and 2 constitute a complete refutation of this position.
“J. Webb Mealy Commentary on 2 Corinthians 5:1-9”
In this YouTube video, I show (1) that the interpretation of the “building from God,” “a house not made with hands” (2 Cor. 5:1) cannot be our promised resurrection body, and (2) that this “home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:6, 8) is none other than the full and unmediated presence of God, with which believers yearn to be “clothed” (2 Cor. 5:4).
Eschatology—Articles
The article argues that Jesus’ phrase “this generation” (hē genea hautē) does refer to an ordinary chronological generation but to a transhistorical, spiritually-defined “generation” characterized by persistent unbelief and resistance to God. Drawing on consistent Old Testament usage (dōr/genea) and every Synoptic source, it shows that Jesus always uses “generation” negatively to denote this enduring faithless culture. Read this way, Mt. 24:34 does not imply a failed prophecy or require preterism, but predicts that this pattern of rejection will persist until Jesus’ final coming in glory.
“Are Matthew 24 and 1 and 2 Thessalonians Talking about the Same Thing?”
The article argues that Matthew 24 and 1–2 Thessalonians describe the same single, public event: the visible, post-tribulational second coming of Jesus, accompanied by the resurrection of the faithful dead, the gathering of believers, angelic activity, and final judgment. Paul explicitly grounds his teaching in Jesus’ own words and mirrors the Olivet Discourse point by point, ruling out any notion of a separate or secret coming.
In Christ All Will Be Made Alive’: Jesus Christ’s Death as the Payment that Ransoms Every Human Being from Death”
YouTube Video of Conference Presentation
This 2019 Rethinking Hell conference paper introduces new creation millennialism, an eschatological model in which Christ’s return inaugurates the new creation and the millennial age, during which the faithful are resurrected to incorruptible life while the unrepentant undergo a long but limited punishment prior to a later resurrection. It argues that Jesus’ death ransoms every human being from death, including the unrepentant, who receive the gift of resurrection as an undeserved gift of grace. Irrevocable annihilation, rather than eternal torment, results when the unrepentant, resurrected on probation, reject reconciliation and again choose enmity against God and the community of his resurrected faithful.
“Five Principles for Determining Literalness in the Book of Revelation, and their Application to Rev. 14:10-11 and 20:10” (Text Version) (YouTube Video of Conference Presentation)
This 2021 Rethinking Hell conference paper proposes five interpretive principles for judging literal versus symbolic language in Revelation and applies them to the “everlasting torment” imagery of Rev 14:10–11 and 20:10. It argues that these passages employ temporally hyperbolic imagery, drawn especially from Isaiah 34, to express the permanence and irreversibility of God’s judgment, rather than endless conscious torment.
“Critique of ‘Problems with Premillennialism’ by Sam Storms”
The article critiques Sam Storms’s famous amillennial refutation of premillennialism (https://www.samstorms.org/all-articles/post/problems-with-premillennialism) by arguing that his objections succeed only against a this-creation, mixed-population millennium, not against a new creation millennialism.
“Point-By-Point Response to ‘Last Days Detective’ YouTube Video Entitled ‘Millennial Population’ ”
This article argues that Scripture does not support the idea of unresurrected mortals populating the millennial kingdom, but consistently presents the age to come as inhabited only by the resurrected and transformed righteous. Texts commonly cited for mortal participation (Zech. 14; Mt. 25; Isa. 65; Rev. 2; 1 Cor. 15; Rev. 21) are shown—through attention to textual criticism, intertextual background, and apostolic teaching—to describe either the destruction of God’s enemies or prophetic approximations of resurrection realities, not a mixed mortal–immortal kingdom.
“Missing Links: An Analysis of the New-Creation Millennialism of Thomas Schreiner’s Revelation Commentary,” EQ 95 (2024), 307-335.
This article critiques the interpretative choices made by Revelation commentator Thomas Schreiner, who was persuaded by the new creation millennialism interpretative framework for Revelation 20, but tried to retain, with it, the view that the ultimate fate of the unrepentant would be everlasting torment. I show how this leads to disconnection between Revelation and John’s favorite Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, incoherence in the narrative that Schreiner sees coming out of the text, and the loss of a very valuable theological take-away from Revelation 2ー22.
“A Brief Commentary on Isaiah 24:1–27:5”
This piece shows how Isaiah 24–27 functions as a prophetic narrative, resulting in a coherent and meaningful story of the end of this age, the glories of the kingdom of God, and the eventual end of all unrepentant humans and angels.
“A Mini-Commentary on 2 Cor. 5:1-10”
This short piece shows that the “building from God, a house not made with hands” (2 Cor. 5:1) for which Christians yearn is not their future resurrection body, but the heavenly temple of God’s complete and intimate presence (cf. Jn 14:1-2).
“Revelation is One: Revelation 20 and the Quest to Make the Scriptures Agree”
In this scholarly article I discuss the temptation to make biblical passages conform to the pattern we think we see elsewhere, resulting in distortions. I rebut Revelation commentator Gregory Beale’s critique of my book After the Thousand Years: Resurrection and Judgment in Revelation 20 in his review article in Evangelical Quarterly, and I critique his interpretation of Revelation’s millennium.
“Affirming Recapitulation—and Premillennialism—in Rev. 20:1-10: A Belated Response to R. Fowler White”
In this scholarly article I take on White’s journal article “Reexamining the Evidence for Recapitulation in Rev. 20:1-10,” which is taken by amillennialists to be the definitive refutation of a premillennial approach to Revelation 20. I show that White’s refutation does not apply to new creation millennialism and that his own approach is both unnecessary and leads to narrative incoherence.
Eschatology—Books
This short book introduces the new creation millennialism exegetical approach to Revelation 19–21. The millennial period begins at Christ’s coming in glory and takes place in the new creation. Rev. 20:7-10 reveals the resurrection, misbehavior, and final incineration of the stubbornly unrepentant. The parallels between John’s visions in Revelation 19–21 and Isaiah 24–27 are shown to be crucial to a proper interpretation of the millennium.
After the Thousand Years: Resurrection and Judgment in Revelation 20 (JSNTSup, 70; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992; repr. Seattle: Amazon, 2019).
This is a full scholarly version of the exegetical case for new creation millennialism. It proves that the millennial period of Revelation 20 begins when Jesus comes in glory, takes place in the new creation, and ends when the “rest of the dead” (Rev. 20:5) are resurrected but attempt to attack the “Beloved City” (Rev. 20:9), the community of the resurrected faithful, and are annihilated by fire from God.
The End of the Unrepentant: A Study of the Biblical Themes of Fire and Being Consumed (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2013; repr. Amazon)
This book examines every single passage in Scripture that pictures fire or scavengers as agents of God’s judgment on the unrepentant. It shows in detail that these imageries are not intended to convey the idea of everlasting torment but rather total and unstoppable destruction.
The Bad Place: Or, Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Hell, But Were Afraid to Ask (Seattle: Amazon, 2022).
This book is a shorter presentation of the material in The End of the Unrepentant, with some new material on five principles for determining literalness in Revelation’s imagery.
Theology—Articles
“The Narcissistic God of Jonathan Edwards”
Jonathan Edwards is an extremely important proponent and developer of John Calvin’s theology. This is a commentary and analysis of Edwards’s two seminal theological works: “Concerning the End for Which God Created the World” (c. 1755), and “The Nature of True Virtue” (c. 1755). I prove that his view of the character of God and of the destiny of redeemed humanity is completely the opposite of what is revealed in the Scriptures.
Biblical Studies General
“You Shall Not Boil a Kid in its Mother’s Milk (Exod. 23:19b; Exod. 34:26b Deut. 14:21b): A Figure of Speech?”
This technical journal article argues that the command “Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” forbids using the tail end of your last year’s stored grain as part of your yearly grain offering to God—every year’s offering must come from the best, newest, grain that you have just harvested. A top Jewish scholar called this “way the best interpretation” of this most obscure of Old Testament commands.