Beatus Vir. Kηρυξ. "Grumpy Protestant." Pa-paw.
North Garden, Virginia
Joined May 2020
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Looking forward to this conference on Saturday, November 14. If you live in the London area, please consider joining us as we mark the 500th anniversary of Tyndale's NT:
All Are Not Welcome: The Downfall of the Episcopal Church and How to Ref... youtu.be/9YBB4tvONcs?is=Vn72… via @YouTube
Jeffrey T. Riddle retweeted
Just out - a open-access must-read block-buster from the irrepressible Zach McCulley on "John Owen and the Plotters: Conspiracies to Save Protestant England, 1679–81"
cambridge.org/core/journals/…
Jeffrey T. Riddle retweeted
My book on James Ussher is 50% off on the Wipf & Stock sale - use the CONFSHIP discount code
wipfandstock.com/products/th…
Vision devotional article (10.16.26): The Martyrdom of John the Baptist:
“For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy….” (Mark 6:20).
“And immediately the king sent an executioner… and he went and beheaded him in the prison” (Mark 6:27).
“And… his disciples… came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb” (Mark 6:29).
The Gospel of Mark begins with the ministry of John the Baptist as the forerunner of Christ. He prepares the way before the Lord, a voice crying in the wilderness (Mark 1:2-3).
In Mark 1:13, the Evangelist notes the context for Christ beginning his public preaching ministry, “Now after that John was put in prison….”
It is not until Mark 6 that the Evangelist relays what had happened to John (Mark 6:14-29). He died as a righteous martyr at the hands of wicked King Herod Antipas. Just as John was the forerunner of Christ’s public ministry, he is also his forerunner in death. The looming shadow of the cross falls across Mark 6.
Parallels might be drawn between John the Baptist and Lord Jesus Christ. This comparison is always from the lesser (John) to the greater (Christ).
Even wicked Herod knew John was great man, a godly man. He feared him as a man just and holy (6:20).
Beyond John, however, we see someone greater, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the standard of righteousness and holiness.
John was a great prophet and servant of God.
Christ is our Prophet, Priest, and King, and the Son of God made flesh.
John stood before wicked Herod to be sentenced to death by him.
Christ stood before Pontius Pilate and this same Herod and was sentenced to be crucified, even though there was no sin in him.
John was beheaded. It was a gruesome way to die, no doubt, but considered by the ancients, at the least, to bring a relatively sudden end.
Christ was crucified. He died a death of prolonged and intense suffering. This was the death of a slave and a criminal.
John gave his disciples a godly example. John’s death might even have been an inspiration to them. We read of men who continued to follow him until they became Christians like Apollos of Corinth (Acts 18:24-25) and the twelve young men of Ephesus (Acts 19:1-7).
Christ did something greater for his true disciples. He died for their sins. It is indeed outrageous for a righteous and holy man like John to be killed by a wicked man like Herod, but how much more so that Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, died on the cross at the hands of wicked men. His life and death was something more. He took upon him our sin. This included our failure to keep the law, our brokenness, our failures in marriage, our lust, our adultery, our pride, our rash vows, our murders, and all the other sins just as grave as those committed even by wicked Herod. Christ still has men who leave all behind to follow him. He still sends them out to make disciples, baptize, and teach in his name.
John’s lifeless body was placed in a tomb by his disciples, and his remains are still somewhere today.
Christ’s body was placed in the tomb by his disciples, but the third day the stone was found rolled away, because he had risen from the dead.
John was a great man, a martyr. Christ is our Great Mediator, the God-man, not a martyr. He not only died on the cross, but he was gloriously raised to life, appeared to his disciples, ascended, and he is coming again.
To him be all praise, glory, and power!
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
ALT Bernard Van Orley, The Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, c. 1514, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Got my hard copy of the latest BLQ (October-December, 2026) in mail from UK yesterday. It has part 2 of my article on the Septuagint & Modern Challenges to the Hebrew Text (pp. 124-138). It also has a brief review by John Hooper of the first volume of the RBS Journal (pp. 158, 161).
Modern textual critic: Can you believe that Ruckman wanted to correct the Hebrew and Greek text with the KJV, an English translation? Outrageous!
The same critic: Correct the Hebrew text of the OT with the Septuagint and other versions? Makes perfect sense!
Brett Mahlen from RBS 2026 on "Left Wing Ruckmanism":
Left Wing Ruckmanism? youtube.com/shorts/BUDoCHiy1… via @YouTube
"Turn us again, O God: shew the light of thy countenance, and we shall be whole."
-Psalm 80:3, 1662 BCP, Day 16. Morning Prayer.
Excerpt from Dr. Douglas Kuiper, Rector, Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary @ 2026 RBS Conference:
How God Protected Scripture From Corruption youtube.com/shorts/mYkR1HM7g… via @YouTube
Jeffrey T. Riddle retweeted
Through the generous support of our ministry partners, we were able to provide a newly ordained Reformed Baptist minister with a complete set of Booth’s works.
He asked me to convey his heartfelt thanks to all who make the work of PBHB possible.
Please prayerfully consider supporting this publishing ministry.
particularbaptistbooks.com/d…
This post makes some good points and asks some good questions:
Retrieval work has forced us modern Christians to wrestle with theology proper, political theology, nature/grace, etc.
One area that hasn’t become as “mainstream” in the retrieval world, and it’s always perplexed me as to why, has been regarding the doctrine of Scripture. I’m thinking of things like providential preservation, textual criticism, TR vs MT vs CT, etc.
There are certainly folks like @Lanier_Greg and @William_A_Ross and @Riddle1689 and others who are engaged in this work and represent different approaches. And there are circles where these issues are debated more.
But as I’ve seen all this retrieval work take off in recent years, the fact that retrieving and wrestling with our forefathers views on Scripture hasn’t gotten as much attention as it probably should get, it has always perplexed me.
-What did the divines mean in WCF 1.8 that the Scriptures have been “kept pure in all ages?”
-How do Turretin and Owen and Whitaker’s views line up with modern scholarship?
-Am I fine with using the ESV?
-Am I fine preaching the longer ending of Mark or John 8?
-Do I need to use the NKJV or KJV?
etc.
There’s a lot of thought and nuance that go into these matters, but I’d love to see the retrieval efforts focus on this area too and bring these discussions to the “mainstream” more.
Benjamin Keach (1640-1704) in his prefatory essay, "The Divine Authority of the Holy Scriptures," to his Tropologia, offers 17 arguments to demonstrate Scripture's authority. Argument 6 of 17 is the credit and sincerity of the penmen. In this argument, Keach does not present the modern "organic" view of inspiration but plainly uses the language of dictation to describe inspiration. He states:
"If the Scriptures were not what they pretend to be, viz., the Word of God, and dictated to the writers thereof by the Holy Spirit, it would be the greatest affront to the Divine Majesty, and the grossest cheat toward mankind, that ever was put upon the world (xvii)."
Regarding the circumstances of the penman he adds:
“All which plainly shows, that they were inspired from above, and wrote not their own words, or for their own honour, but as inspired, and for the honour of God."
"Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him."
-Psalm 68:1, 1662 BCP, Day 13. Morning Prayer.
There are a lot of difficult things about the ministry, but they are far outnumbered by the many blessings. Got a call today from a young man from our body whose family (he and his wife in ninth month expecting and toddler son) was at church yesterday. In the pastoral prayer we asked the Lord to grant a safe delivery for mother and child. The call relayed that in the early morning hours our prayer was answered and a new healthy daughter was delivered in the home. We were then able to pray together and give thanks to the Lord, commending his daughter to the Lord and asking that He would watch over her and be pleased to make Himself known to her in days to come. Lord willing, I will visit them in person later this week. Being a gospel minister is an awesome privilege.