Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | June 12, 2019
“Left your first love.” That is more common way of translating this phrase. Others use a less enigmatic phrasing, “left the love you had at first.” “First love” can be a very specific type of love; while “the love you had at first” can be describing that the Ephesians had no love at all any […]
PHall | June 5, 2019
Reading Revelation 22 through Genesis 3, and by “through” I mean “through the lens of ” is…revealing. Genesis 3:• HEAR – God had spoken to Adam (Gen.2), and Eve had heard His words probably through Adam (Genesis 3).• ADD – Eve added to God’s word, “Do not touch” (Genesis 3:3). The serpent added all the trees […]
PHall | June 4, 2019
Our transcendent God is also immanent. His closeness is found in His interactions – interferences – with history. God calls Himself, “Who was, who is, and who is to come (Revelation 1:4,8)” These themselves are historical references of an eternal God. God never had a “was” in Himself because that is a description of time. […]
PHall | May 26, 2019
I don’t like Revelation. Not because of what I don’t understand; but because of what I do. “Jesus wins” is the ultimate lesson. But that leaves out so much. Jesus wins unconventionally as a lion that is a lamb slain, that signifies how unconventionally Jesus wins – through suffering. But why must there be suffering? 1) Because there […]
PHall | May 24, 2019
I don’t know more about Revelation than I do know. Is it about Jerusalem? Is it about Rome? Often when presented with “either or” I have found “both and” to be more probable. What I do know is Jesus is victorious through suffering, and not through worldly power. So consider this oversimplified “both and” outline: [ […]
PHall | May 20, 2019
The “apostle of love” spoke eloquently, practically, and frequently of God’s agape love. God’s mind over emotion was learned by His children. His love was beyond conventional wisdom and appearance. John wrote deeply on love, that is, until his last writing, the Revelation. There, surprisingly, that divine word, with Jesus speaking it, appears only twice. […]
PHall | December 6, 2018
Lane-splitting is legal in California. That means a motorcycle can ride in between the cars in traffic if the pace is stopped or slow. The purpose is to alleviate traffic. BUT this is not about motorcycles so keep reading. Lane-splitting is illegal in other states according to their statutes. However, in some places it is […]
PHall | July 6, 2018
In the beginning God creates Adam and Eve to be His representative image on earth. They chose to not represent by failing to listen. This is the beginning of the end. God begins all over again with Noah, a new physical creation. He does well initially, but then gets drunk from his own planting success […]
PHall | June 27, 2018
In a section of Atlanta we are reminded of America’s complicated past. Within a few blocks there are signs in memory of the Confederacy, Martin Luther King, and the Cherokees. The ideal of America has always been more glorious than its reality. This is the same for the church. Ephesians presents a glorious, unblemished, exalted […]
PHall | June 2, 2018
Consider this our warning: 1. Around 52 AD, on Paul’s second evangelistic tour, he, along with Priscilla and Aquila, visited Ephesus after leaving Corinth, and seeded the church there (Acts 18:19). 2. Around 54-56 AD, on the third preaching journey, Paul spent between two and three years teaching in the Ephesus (Acts 19:8-10). 3. Around […]