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It is said that when Bernard Lonergan was still a student of theology and learned that “God is five notions, four relations, three persons, two processions, and one nature,” he made his own addition: “and zero comprehension!” In pre-eighteenth century Europe, the task of interpreting Scripture was considered a theological enterprise, and the certainties of faith were developed in the ecclesial community through the process of this exegetical and theological reflection. The Gospel of John served as the basis of the great Christological and Trinitarian controversies since it poses what is perhaps the most developed Christology in the New Testament. “In a real sense the history of Christological controversy is the history of the Church’s attempt to come to terms with John’s Christology – first to accept it and then to understand it and to re-express it. [Excerpt], peer-reviewed

D.Litt. et Phil. Revelation has received much attention throughout the nearly two millennia since its acceptance into the Christian canon, and interest in it is escalating as the twenty-first century approaches. Recent scholarly work has served as a corrective to the excesses of popular thought about the Apocalypse, but much more needs to be done. The theocentricity of Revelation makes imperative to seek the mysterious One Who Sits on the Throne in the center of heaven. Narratology and in particular characterization forms the foundation of this historical-critical, inductive study. Its purpose is to discover the characterization of God through the interdividual relationships between God and the non-divine characters. Interdividuality emphasizes that characters are developed in essential relationships with others. God's character as depicted in Revelation is developed through interaction with all creation. Non-divine characters receive their identity from the One Who Sits on the Throne. Their response to their Creator shapes the hearer/readers' perception of God who is both revealed and shrouded with mystery through the apocalyptic visions recorded by a Christian prophet named John. The non-divine characters of Revelation are divided into four categories: People, Satanic Forces, Heavenly Beings, and "Women". The characters of each category are examined and their characterization established from both direct and indirect characterization perspectives. The characterization of God resulting from their interrelationship is then noted. The People of Revelation can be divided into two categories: those who follow Satan and those who follow God. The decision of who is Lord is the focal point of the Apocalypse. Although the narrative does not downplay the difficulty of following God the rhetoric is far from neutral. The story constantly confronts the hearer/readers with the necessity to shun the deceptive allure of the Dragon's false world and embrace the more difficult path to the New Jerusalem. God's faithfulness, love, mercy, power and holiness are revealed through relationships with and provisions for both sinner and saint. God is Creator of all and sovereign King, understanding Father and faithful Husband, merciful Judge and worthy Lord.

Hierdie boek is 'n hersiening van die 1988-uitgawe. Soos in The Lord Reigns is die bespreking van die digterlike boeke hersien en is 'n aansienlike hoeveelheid ander soort stof bygevoeg, veral in die bespreking van die profete. Aan die einde van elke hoofstuk is notas bygevoeg met verwysings vir verdere studie. As gevolg van die aanvanklike beperkte doel en opset van die boek is die stof in sommige hoofstukke uitgebreider as in ander, en sommige hoofstukke vereis dus meerverwysings virverdere studie. Ek vertrou dat hierdie aanvullings die boek se bydrae tot die studie van openbaringsgeskiedenis sal bevorder.

The need for this research paper arose from a historical contingency. The Malta Bible Society decided to publish a new edition of its Bible in Maltese, 11- Bibbja, first published in 1984, and set up a Revision Commission to prepare the text for the new edition. Towards the end of its revision work in 1995, the Commission was reviewing Isaiah and accepted the proposal to change the 1984 text of Is 53,11 b in order to integrate the improvements to the text made by members of the 'Mitchell Dahood School'., N/A

The courses, 'La Pasqua del Signore Gesti' and 'L' Analisi Retorica' of Professor Roland Meynet SJ. held at the Gregorian University in Rome, introduced me for the first time to the word, or better to the 'world' of rhetorical analysis. Here we are not speaking of a method or an approach in studying the biblical text but of an 'operation' to analyze the text. Since it is an operation then it can accept any method or approach. It consists in individuating the composition or the' architecture' of the text at different levels, studying the formal relations ad their significance, beginning obviously from the lower level. We have the member consisting of two or three terms, the segment consisting of one, two or three members, the branch consisting of one, two or three segments, the part consisting of one, two or three branches, and the passage consisting of one or more parts, the sequence which can have one or more passages, the section which consists of sequences, and the book made up of all the sections. Analyzing for example the composition of a given passage and then the relations between other passages in the sub-sequence, to arrive then to an overall view of the whole sequence. Such an approach tries to above all give light to its biblical context, finally arriving to an authentic interpretation of the text. Hence rhetoric analysis is the rediscovering of the principles of communication which the authors of the bible had used. It views the evangelists and all the other biblical authors as true authors, composing the text with an organized and unified structure for the efficiency of 'communication' of their inspired message among Christian, Jewish and pagan communities. Obviously like every operation or task or job it is not always easy, it needs time and patience!, N/A

The paper seeks to delve into an existential question at the confluence of Scripture studies, metaphysics and systematic theology. According to Samuel Terrien, Job, “the hero of the folk tale is a semi-nomadic sheikh, pious, virtuous, and prosperous, suddenly stricken with the loss of his children, his health and his wealth,” James Crenshaw affirms that together with Qoheleth, the book of Job marks "the apex of dissent in the Old Testament,'" The text of the Book of Job raises many questions, both to the inexperienced reader, as well as to the well-versed scholar., peer-reviewed

The declaration of one God, the Father and Creator of heaven and earth, formed the background and indisputable premise of the faith to the early Church, a faith inherited from Judaism, a faith which marked the dividing line between the Church and paganism. According to Hermas the first commandment is to believe that God is one and that He created and established all things and brought them out of nothingness (Mand. 1.1). For Clement God is the Father and Creator of the entire cosmos (19,2) and for the writer of the so-called letter of Barnabas and for the Didache (1,2) God is our maker, the Lord Almighty, who governs the whole universe and master of all things., N/A

This is a Paper read at the Interfaith Symposium held at Mount St Joseph, Malta, from the 11th to the 21 July 1984., Church unity is a gift of God to the Church. We can never begin to discuss the subject of Ectunenism in any relevant way unless we bear this truth in mind and consider it throughout as a most basic principle. And since unity is a gift of God, a grace, the recipient must prepare himself for it and dispose himself in a truly realistic way, lest it should remain unheeded and therefore ineffective. It is therefore the entire Church that must be ready for the grace of union, of fuller union, of that union which is willed by Christ and for which Christ has died on the Cross., N/A