Restitutio

This is part 2 of the Kingdom Seminar, based on the book Kingdom Journey. What is heaven? Although it is not the place where the dead go when they die, it is, still, a real place. Today we'll survey different ways in which the Bible talks about heaven, including the sky, God's throne, the storehouse, and the heaven of heavens. Next we'll consider what other religions teach about the afterlife. Finally, we'll conclude by seeing how the Biblical authors courageously took a radically unpopular view about life after death. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fryp8pkMJHA Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— Get your copy of Kingdom Journey here. Check out the full Kingdom Seminar series Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean's bio here

Last December, my first ever published book came out, called Kingdom Journey. Recently I recorded a seminar on the kingdom at a church in South Carolina based on the book that I will be playing out over the next 5 weeks. In this seminar I highlight some of the key points in my book and also add in some new content. Today we're going to start by asking the question, "Why should I care about the kingdom of God?" In what follows I make the case that we should care because Jesus said to prioritize the kingdom and because he preached it as gospel. Whether you've long believed in God's kingdom coming to earth at Christ's return or you're new to it, I hope this message will encourage and inspire you to share the message with others. https://youtu.be/_33DdEnbyKE  Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts —— Links —— Get your copy of Kingdom Journey here. Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean's bio here

Last month the Unitarian Christian Alliance put on the first conference in Europe. A mixture of British and American speakers presented on various aspects of unitarian Christianity. In today's episode I speak with Daisy Jones, one of the main coordinators of the event as well as Mark Cain who assisted in planning and in recording the presentations. They share some highlights from this year's conference as well as what they are planning for next year. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/bG62n-JyEv8 —— Links —— Find out more about the Unitarian Christian Alliance as well as about future events Listen to the interview with Josh and Daisy Jones: Walking with God Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean's bio here

Pentecost, as described in Acts 2, was a strange event. We read about unusual miraculous signs such as the sound of a great wind and tongues of fire. Still, the most interesting moment is when the apostles of our Lord began speaking in foreign languages that they didn't know. Such divine utterance is called speaking in tongues and everyone, it seems, has an opinion about it. But, have you ever asked yourself why? God is launching the church to go into Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Christ pours out the spirit to enable them to be his witnesses. OK. But, why have them speak in foreign languages? Now, this can't just be a nifty trick to grab people's attention, though it certainly did that. Join me as we consider the Old Testament background to Pentecost, which I believe goes all the way back to Babel when God originally confused the languages. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/eRgD-t0tskw —— Links —— Check out these other episodes about speaking in tongues Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean's bio here

Last week Joshua Michael Smith began sharing his testimony from childhood to his college years when he changed his mind about Jesus's identity. In part two he talks about cage stage unitarianism--where one seeks to confront everyone about this important truth regardless of their interested or antagonism. Smith shares how he matured while continuing to work within Assemblies of God and Baptist churches in Tennessee. Then we broach the topic of youth ministry. Smith explains why it is so important and what he hopes to accomplish as the new youth ministry coordinator at Living Hope. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmk5_q7Lh9w —— Links —— Visit Guthrie Grove in Pelzer, SC (Aug 11-14) Sign up to come to Kingdom Fest at Living Hope near Albany, NY (Sep 13-15) Register to attend the UCA conference near Little Rock, AK (Oct 17-19) Check out these other interviews about people leaving the Trinity to embrace a biblical unitarianian understanding of God. Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean's bio here

Joshua Michael Smith grew up in northern Florida in a Baptist church. In this interview he shares his journey of faith, including how came to Christ as well as how he ended up in ministry training at Word of Life before earning a bachelors at Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga. While there, he began questioning his received doctrinal package based on the Bible. As a result, he came to discover the human Messiah of scripture and courageously embraced this new understanding despite the consequences. This is part one of his story. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/bMDi7DMGPsE?si=ABYRX2wrLdNbiOFv —— Links —— Check out these other interviews about people leaving the Trinity to embrace a biblical unitarianian understanding of God. Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean's bio here

Many believe there is 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testament. My guest today is Professor George Athas, director of research and senior lecturer in Hebrew, Old Testament, and Early Church History at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia. He's the author of Bridging the Testaments, which covers four major periods, including Persian, Hellenistic, Hasmonean, and Roman. By studying the four centuries before Christ you can gain key insights to help you understand both the Old and New Testaments. You will discover that God was still speaking all the while. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aWT83oT2ts —— Links —— More about George Athas here Check out his book: Bridging the Testaments Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean's bio here

Christians have approached the first chapter of Genesis differently over the centuries. There are those who hold to young earth creationism, day-age theory, gap theory, and progressive creationism, just to name a few. Oftentimes defenders of a particular view will provide biblical, scientific, and historical evidence for their position. Our focus today is on the use of church history to find witnesses for this or that view.  Rather than cherry picking a quote here and quote there, it's better to read ancient Christians in their own context to be sure we are interpreting them correctly. My guest today is Dr. Andrew Brown, a lecturer in OT and Hebrew at Melbourne School of Theology. He did his thesis on the creation week in Genesis 1 and 2 and has written a book called Recruiting the Ancients for the Creation Debate. In today's episode he shares his concerns and recommendations for handling our historical sources wisely. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX2P-ksSIHw —— Links —— More about Andrew Brown here Check out his book: Recruiting the Ancients for the Creation Debate Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean's bio here

Scholars and pastors regularly point to specialized "technical" language in Paul's epistles to make the case that Paul was intentionally subverting Roman power by applying to Jesus terms that the ancients commonly applied to the Caesars. My guest today has done the hard work of analyzing the inscriptions, coins, and material remains of several key ancient cities to see how they talked about the Roman emperors in the New Testament period. In our conversation he shares his own journey to become an independent scholar as well as how his research offers a corrective to what many are saying about imperial divine honors. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErL9D90JL7k —— Links —— More about Clint Burnett here Check out his book Paul & Imperial Divine Honors Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean's bio here

Something is going on in New Zealand...and I'm excited to tell you about it. In today's interview I speak with Zach Mayo who along with his wife, Kayla, were serving as youth pastors at an evangelical church when they came to change their minds on the doctrine of the Trinity. Now they're organizing a conference to unite one-God believers in New Zealand and invite folks from Australia and beyond to come. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/U27POf3dKnI —— Links —— To register for the upcoming conference, use this link Get in touch with Zach Mayo at zkmayo@outlook.com See other testimonies of people who left the Trinity and came to believe in the biblical unitarian Jesus Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean's bio here

Kermit Zarley was a professional golfer who had an interest in studying the Bible about the end times when he came across a disturbing verse. Reading Jesus's words in the Olivet Discourse, he noticed that only the Father knew the day and hour of the end. Neither the angels nor the son of God were privy to it. As a good trinitarian evangelical, Zarley was familiar with the dual natures idea, but just couldn't square that with the scripture. If Jesus was God in his being, he knew everything. Why did he say he didn't know the time of the end? Surely, Jesus couldn't be lying! This conundrum set Zarley down a path of research and investigation for many years until he slowly uncovered a different way of understanding Christ. Although he knew going public with his new belief would result in ostracism and rejection, he went ahead with it anyhow. This is his story. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/3bZ7t2Z-ql8 —— Links —— Take a listen to my previous interview with "Servetus the Evangelical" from 2009 Get in touch with Kermit at kermitzarley.com Read his blog at Patheos Check out his books on Amazon See other testimonies of people who left the Trinity and came to believe in the biblical unitarian Jesus Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean's bio here

From her childhood in a Jewish family to a 7-year stint with the Jehovah's Witnesses to attending evangelical churches, Susanne Lakin never felt comfortable with the doctrine of the Trinity. She signed up to attend Phoenix Seminary, a conservative evangelical school, thinking they would help her finally get to the bottom of it. She was willing to agree to the idea, thinking, surely, studying with scholars like Wayne Grudem, the prince of evangelical systematic theology, would answer her questions and settle the issue for her once and for all. Amazingly, the opposite happened. This is her story. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/W35IRYHjfP8 —— Links —— Get in touch with Susanne at livewritethrive.com Check out her theological book about annihilationism: Hell No Get Leeland Ryken's book, God's Word in English See other testimonies of people who left the Trinity and came to believe in the biblical unitarian Jesus Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read Sean's bio here

This is part 18 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. What tools can help you understand the bible better? Today we'll cover some recommended resources for you to deepen your study of the scriptures, including bible dictionaries, commentaries, bible software, AI, and more. Of course, it's impossible to cover everything in a reasonable time frame, so I'll just recommend two or three of each resource type, focusing primarily on tools that I personally have and use regularly. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJOFFIkNdUg&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2TrdUEDtAipF3jy4qYspM_&index=18 —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— 18 Helpful Tools to Understand the Bible Why do we need extra-biblical tools to help us understand the Bible? Different geography Different history Different cultures (ancient Near Eastern, first-century Jewish, Greco-Roman) Different economics Different literacy rates Different scientific and philosophical knowledge Bible Dictionaries International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000) Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2015) The IVP Bible Dictionary Series Dictionary of OT: Pentateuch (2002) Dictionary of OT: Historical Books (2005) Dictionary of OT: Wisdom, Poetry, & Writings (2008) Dictionary of OT: Prophets (2012) Dictionary of NT Background (2000) Dictionary of Jesus & Gospels (2013) Dictionary of Paul & Letters (2023) Dictionary of the Later NT (1997) Commentaries Fee & Stuart: “Jesus says, ‘…It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ You will sometimes hear it said that there was a gate in Jerusalem known as the “Needle’s Eye,” which camels could go through only by kneeling, and with great difficulty. The point of this “interpretation” is that a camel could in fact go through the “Needle’s Eye.” The trouble with this “exegesis,” however, is t

This is part 17 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. After reviewing the resources you can use to learn Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, we delve into the sources that translators use for their work. Next, we'll look at translation philosophies, including formal and dynamic equivalence. Lastly we'll cover the controversial issues of gender accuracy and translation bias. Over all, this episode should give you a nice introduction to a deep answer for what translations you should use and why. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsxuNfkTt-U&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2TrdUEDtAipF3jy4qYspM_&index=18 —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— 17 How to Choose a Bible Translation Translation basics Fee & Stuart: “Your Bible, whatever translation you use, which is your beginning point, is in fact the end result of much scholarly work. Translators are regularly called upon to make choices regarding meanings, and their choices are going to affect how you”[1] “Every translation is a commentary” -Lee Brice The Bible is in three languages. Hebrew: Old Testament except the Aramaic part Nearly 99% of the OT (22,945 of 23,213 verses) Aramaic: half of Daniel and two passages in Ezra Daniel 2.4b-7.28; Ezra 4.8-6.18; 7.12-26 About 1% of the OT (268 of 23,213 verses) Greek: New Testament (all 7,968 verses) How to begin learning Hebrew or Greek Immersion program in Israel or Greece Whole Word Institute offers a 9-month program. In-person college class (usually 2 semesters) Local colleges, RTS offers an 8-week summer program. In-person classes at a Jewish synagogue or Greek church or community center Online program with live instructor Biblical Language Center, Liberty University, etc. Digital program with pre-recordings Aleph with Beth (YouTube), Bill Mounce’s DVD course, etc. How to improve your existing knowledge of

This is part 16 of the Read the Bible For Yourself. Revelation is a complicated book of the Bible. It contains some of the most incredible and awe-inspiring descriptions of God's throne room and the final paradise on earth. It also describes sinister mayhem, wanton destruction, and toe-curling persecution. How can we make sense of it? In today's episode we'll go over the basics of authorship, audience, occasion, and purpose. Then we'll explore how Revelation uses visionary symbols to convey truth. Lastly, we'll go over five interpretive lenses through which you can understand the timing of the events in Revelation. We may not settle every issue, but my hope is that this overview will at least prepare you to read Revelation for yourself. Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts https://youtu.be/98OFG5OSjNE?si=jcN6wZnbeqavNFRi —— Links —— See other episodes in Read the Bible For Yourself Other classes are available here, including How We Got the Bible, which explores the manuscript transmission and translation of the Bible Get the transcript of this episode Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Restitutio Facebook Group and follow Sean Finnegan on Twitter @RestitutioSF Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play them out on the air Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library. Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here —— Notes —— How to Read Revelation Authorship John is the author. (Rev 1:1-2) It is hard to say if this was the same John who wrote the Gospel of John and the Epistles. Later Christians generally believed Revelation was by the same John. The style, vocabulary, and themes are completely different. John was exiled to the island of Patmos because of his faith. (Rev 1:9) “The Roman government, beginning with the emperor Nero, no longer considered Christianity as a sect of Judaism, which was a legal religion in the empire. Instead, Rome began to view it as an undesirable foreign cult that was a menace to society. John’s testimony about Jesus Christ was viewed as a political crime and hence punishable under Roman law. His suffering was the price paid for obeying a different King and testifying to a different Lord.”[1] Audience Rev 1:10 says John wrote to seven churches in the province of Asia Minor (western Turkey). These churches were in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Occasion Ephesus: enduring well, not growing weary, having discerned false apostles well, not loving Smy