Drafts by Doug Van Dorn
Who is Satan? It’s a question not asked a lot. In this paper, we will look at several reasons for... more Who is Satan? It’s a question not asked a lot. In this paper, we will look at several reasons for understanding that Satan is the same entity at Baal in the OT, who also happens to be Zeus, who became Jupiter and is therefore the Prince of Rome.
Papers by Doug Van Dorn
An exegetical paper on Amos 9:11-15 for M. Daniel Carroll R. (Rodas), OT 701 – Hebrew Exegesis of... more An exegetical paper on Amos 9:11-15 for M. Daniel Carroll R. (Rodas), OT 701 – Hebrew Exegesis of Amos, Denver Seminary (12-14-2001).
Westminster Theological Journal, 2024
Posted with Permission. In the April 2023 edition of Themelios, citing Exod 33–34 and 2 Cor 3–4, ... more Posted with Permission. In the April 2023 edition of Themelios, citing Exod 33–34 and 2 Cor 3–4, Greg Palys argues that all OT Christophanies are inappropriate. But a
more thorough exegesis of these verses disproves his thesis. The context
and intertextual connections of Exod 33–34 actually favor seeing God the
Son as the “angel of God’s presence” personally acting in the passage. In
2 Cor 3–4, Palys fails to understand the distinction between the covenantal
mediators. Moses was a “second-hand” mediator, who had some fading
glory. But the Son is the original mediator, who has always been the
radiating image of God, now fully revealed to all believers. Paul’s language
actually supports a Christophany interpretation of the OT. Christians
today should join the overwhelming consensus of Christian interpretive
history in identifying the real presence and activity of the Son in the OT.
This article seeks to root the New Testament’s practice of baptism in the baptismal types of the ... more This article seeks to root the New Testament’s practice of baptism in the baptismal types of the Old Testament, focusing especially on the priestly baptism of the Levitical covenant. Part I surveys the OT’s legal and sacramental relationship to Christ’s baptism, Christ’s high priestly ministry in light of his baptism, the priestly relationship to baptism and the various OT sanctuaries and covenants to which baptism relates, and the priest’s ordination as a covenantal rite. Part II develops the “Levitical covenant” from the Scripture, from Jewish and Christian history, and as part of systematic theology. This will help us see in unique ways the meaning and purpose of baptism, and it will simultaneously show us how this old covenant rite serves as the backdrop to the NT’s application of baptism to Christians. The paper concludes by examining the practical considerations of mode, recipients, and differences in baptism today. All of this is done from a Reformed, Credobaptist, covenantal point of view.
This article seeks to root the New Testament’s practice of baptism in the baptismal types of the ... more This article seeks to root the New Testament’s practice of baptism in the baptismal types of the Old Testament, focusing especially on the priestly baptism of the Levitical covenant. Part II develops the “Levitical covenant” from the Scripture, from Jewish and Christian history, and as part of systematic theology. This will help us see in unique ways the meaning and purpose of baptism, and it will simultaneously show us how this old covenant rite serves as the backdrop to the NT’s application of baptism to Christians. The paper concludes by examining the practical considerations of mode, recipients, and differences in baptism today. All of this is done from a Reformed, Credobaptist, covenantal point of view.
This paper examines the breakdown of the Ten Commandments according to a different Biblical term ... more This paper examines the breakdown of the Ten Commandments according to a different Biblical term for them: "words" (ד ב ר י ם , debarim, Ex 34:28). Unlike most divisions, which divide according to a theological precedent by following one historical tradition or another, we will develop a division using a literary analysis. When this is done, we discover that one division creates a stunning symmetry and unity among the Ten Words which does not occur using any of the other divisions. This in turn has profound theological and practical implications for how to understand this most basic of moral law. This is a Reformed, Christian perspective on the brilliant analysis of Jewish scholar, Moshe Kline, 1 that complements the Ten as usually understood in a classic Reformed and Rabbinical (LXX) theological ordering of the Ten as Commandments. (Unless otherwise noted, Scripture is the ESV.
This paper demonstrates that there are various ways of thinking about the division of Ten Command... more This paper demonstrates that there are various ways of thinking about the division of Ten Commandments, both biblically and theologically speaking. We know this is true simply from looking at history and the disagreements over what exactly constitutes the Ten Commandments. But we also see that the Ten are written differently even in the Bible itself. Understanding these differences helps us make sense of why Jews and the church have disagreed even among themselves on the proper division of the Ten Commandments and helps us look at them from different perspectives, thereby gleaning complementary information from them.
This paper is a reflection on the impassibility of God in light of the Christology of the Old Tes... more This paper is a reflection on the impassibility of God in light of the Christology of the Old Testament. It was circulated to the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America during the 2015 controversy, prior to the Association disbanding. It was offered to the churches on behalf of the Reformed Baptist Church of Northern Colorado at the request of several churches who wanted it made public. We have kept the basic context the same to show that it was an historical paper written for a specific occasion, an occasion we believe continues to be important, as this issue and its associated polemics that drove the controversy in the ARBCA is not going away. In fact, in 2024, many have doubled down. The focus of the article is how the Son of God in the OT can be the bridge that divides disagreements on impassibility. Far too little has been said about this particular topic by way of direct Trinitarian reflection, and almost nothing has been written from the perspective of OT studies and Christ. There is pearl of great price here, a priceless object that many are not talking about that can help us if we will think about this topic from a biblical-theological perspective of the Second Person of the Trinity in the OT.
In light of a particular sermon where the preacher gave a very one-sided and basically damning vi... more In light of a particular sermon where the preacher gave a very one-sided and basically damning view of certain theological beliefs he did not hold but which were perfectly orthodox in ties past, this paper looks at the history of interpretation in Reformed history on the issues of the moral-natural distinction regarding human responsibility to believe the gospel, the will of God in the death of Christ, the modern truncation of a rich and complex theology now subsumed under "TULIP," and the moral obligation preachers have to speak historical truth in love.
The purpose of this paper is to explore possible origins and antecedents, both Christian and non,... more The purpose of this paper is to explore possible origins and antecedents, both Christian and non, for the view that the Second Person of the Trinity can be a meaningful and helpful way of talking about difficulties in Christian philosophy and theology regarding doctrines like divine simplicity, impassibility, and so on.
March 27, 2024
In this paper I want to share with you an original discovery which has been published in peer-rev... more In this paper I want to share with you an original discovery which has been published in peer-reviewed journals, has at least one doctoral dissertation behind it, and is consistent with traditional Jewish understandings of the Torah. I will use the book of Genesis as an example of a woven text that can be found in all five books of the Pentateuch. Building off the work of Mary Douglas, Moshe Kline, my teacher, has discerned that the text of the Torah can be read a in a non-linear fashion in rows and columns. I used this idea of Douglas and Kline in my sermon series on Leviticus. This is an introduction to his thesis.
Peer Reviewed Papers and Book Reviews by Doug Van Dorn
Credo Magazine, 2019
This is a book review of Saving the Reformation: The Pastoral Theology of the Canons of Dort. By ... more This is a book review of Saving the Reformation: The Pastoral Theology of the Canons of Dort. By W. Robert Godfrey. Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2019, xiv +265 pp.
Journal of the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies, 2014
Book review of Meredith Kline's God, Heaven, and Har Mageddon.
Westminster Theological Journal, 2024
In the April 2023 edition of Themelios, citing Exod 33–34 and 2 Cor 3–4, Greg Palys argues that a... more In the April 2023 edition of Themelios, citing Exod 33–34 and 2 Cor 3–4, Greg Palys argues that all OT Christophanies are inappropriate. But a more thorough exegesis of these verses disproves his thesis. The context and intertextual connections of Exod 33–34 actually favor seeing God the Son as the “angel of God’s presence” personally acting in the passage. In 2 Cor 3–4, Palys fails to understand the distinction between the covenantal mediators. Moses was a “second-hand” mediator, who had some fading glory. But the Son is the original mediator, who has always been the radiating image of God, now fully revealed to all believers. Paul’s language actually supports a Christophany interpretation of the OT. Christians today should join the overwhelming consensus of Christian interpretive history in identifying the real presence and activity of the Son in the OT.
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Drafts by Doug Van Dorn
Papers by Doug Van Dorn
more thorough exegesis of these verses disproves his thesis. The context
and intertextual connections of Exod 33–34 actually favor seeing God the
Son as the “angel of God’s presence” personally acting in the passage. In
2 Cor 3–4, Palys fails to understand the distinction between the covenantal
mediators. Moses was a “second-hand” mediator, who had some fading
glory. But the Son is the original mediator, who has always been the
radiating image of God, now fully revealed to all believers. Paul’s language
actually supports a Christophany interpretation of the OT. Christians
today should join the overwhelming consensus of Christian interpretive
history in identifying the real presence and activity of the Son in the OT.
Peer Reviewed Papers and Book Reviews by Doug Van Dorn
more thorough exegesis of these verses disproves his thesis. The context
and intertextual connections of Exod 33–34 actually favor seeing God the
Son as the “angel of God’s presence” personally acting in the passage. In
2 Cor 3–4, Palys fails to understand the distinction between the covenantal
mediators. Moses was a “second-hand” mediator, who had some fading
glory. But the Son is the original mediator, who has always been the
radiating image of God, now fully revealed to all believers. Paul’s language
actually supports a Christophany interpretation of the OT. Christians
today should join the overwhelming consensus of Christian interpretive
history in identifying the real presence and activity of the Son in the OT.