Horizon College and Seminary

The coming of the Spirit at Pentecost represents both fulfillment and anticipation of eschatological expectations in as much as Pentecost both fulfills previous expectations regarding the coming of the Spirit and represents a promise of the future consummation of the work of God. This already/not yet reality of the eschaton is evident throughout pneumatology and carries implications for ministry and Christian living and for the doctrine of Spirit baptism. Believers should minister in the power of the Spirit with the aim of the kingdom of God that is already present while longing with Spirit-inspired hope for the future eschatological work of the Spirit that has not yet taken place. Furthermore, Spirit baptism is eschatological in as much as Pentecost fulfills and anticipates numerous eschatological expectations regarding the coming of the Spirit, including not only power for witness, but also a new heart, obedience, new life, and eventually resurrection.

seven men were incorporated for essentially religious purposes under letters patent, which were Issued under the Seal of the Secretary of State of Canada.1 The name of the new corporation was The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.2This group of men was united by a common religious experience, glossolalia, which had come to them through two distinct channels.In the case of some, the news of this experience had been carried to them from the United States, while in the case of others, it was heard in Toronto.The first large-scale occurance of glossolalia on the North American continent took place at Topeka, Kansas in 1901.Experi ences under gone and teachings developed there gave shape to all twentieth century Pentecostal groups.3Prom Topeka news of this peculiar phenomenon spread to Los Angeles, where a centre of Pente costal worship was established at 312 Azuza Street.4It was to there that one of the founding fathers of the PAOC, R.E.McAlister, went, and it was there that he encountered glossolalia, receiving it as part of his own religious experience in 1906.5He returned to Canada, enraptured with his new experience.In 1907 W.H. Durham of Chicago made his way to 312 Azuza Street.He, too, received glossolalia and subsequently returned to Chicago, where he preached the message of this new dimension of spiritual life.6It was In Durham's mission that A.H. Argue, a real estate agent from Winnipeg, Manitoba, first heard and observed glosso lalia.7 He returned to Winnipeg, opened his home to prayer meetings, and saw glossolalia appear among the supplicants on May 2, 1907.8 The other channel through which glossolalia passed to the founding fathers of the PAOC was the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. Hebden in Toronto.Glossolalia appeared in the mission which they were conducting in their cottage on November 17, 1906.9The Hebdens and those worshipping there had had no previous contact with the people at Azuza.10What has occurred among them was spontaneous.The PAOC has grown steadily from these beginnings.In 1946 the fellowship was made up of 574 local assemblies and recognized 1,190 credential holders (ordained ministers, missionaries, etc.).It was estimated that its membership stood at 30,000.11By March 15, 1972, there were 749 local assemblies, 1 9 45 credential holders,12 13 and an estimated membership of 160,000.It is only in the last fifteen years that this group has begun to draw the serious atten-14 tion of historians, and it remains virtually virgin territory for the historian: the scope for research is vast.Of course the growth which is observable in the PAOC did not take place in a vacuum: it happened in the context of a wider society.The purpose of this paper is to examine the PAOC's relationship to its social matrix.15As the study proceeds, it will become evident that the relationship between the PAOC and society through the years has been dynamic rather than static: there have been significant changes.We shall proceed by discussing several attitudes which have been held by the PAOC.Specifically, we shall give attention to its attitudes regarding personal behaviour, social responsibility, and education.16

ABSTRACT Elijah is among the greatest figures of the Old Testament; Jesus, of course, is the greatest of the New. A good body of recent scholarship has emphasized the way in which the Gospels portray Jesus as an Elijanic figure. This article exposits the figural relationship between Elijah and Jesus in relation to narratives of resurrection and ascension in their ministries and at the climax of their earthly lives. To do so, it draws extensively on premodern or precritical interpretations that are little known in present biblical or theological scholarship. By retrieving this classical exegetical tradition, light is cast on the biblical narrative portrayal of Jesus’s superiority over against Elijah. The latter appears as a prophet ever dependent upon the word and work of YHWH; the former is illuminated as the Lord himself in human flesh.

Abstract North American Classical Pentecostals have frequently described Spirit baptism as an experience that usually occurs subsequent to the reception of the Spirit at the point of conversion. When placed within a wider context of understanding the various ways in which the Spirit is present, it becomes apparent that this Pentecostal understanding of subsequence is only one instance of a subsequential experience of Spirit-filling. Given that we live in a Spirit-filled world, subsequent experiences of Spirit-filling can be seen in all believers, in the life of Jesus Christ, and in the life of the church. All of these experiences of being filled by the Spirit (and Spirit baptism in particular) may be expressed with the metaphor of the intensity of the Spirit.

Abstract How might Lutheranism and Pentecostalism, with differing theological distinctives and methods, approach effectively the subject of spiritual gifts? On this point the reformer Martin Luther promises to serve as a crucial facilitator. Although Lutherans are indebted immeasurably to him, few figures have commanded such respect throughout Pentecostal history. First-generation writings commend Luther’s recovery of the biblical gospel and contend that his doctrine of justification paved the way for the emergence of Pentecostalism. Moreover, at times Luther used theological language and spoke of the Christian experience in a way compatible with Pentecostal thought. This article documents Luther’s theology of the charismata and concludes by drawing out what implications such theology might hold for a Lutheran-Pentecostal discussion of the gifts.

In 2014, a strong majority of clergy within the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) agreed that speaking in tongues is the initial physical evidence of Spirit baptism, but less than half agreed that tongues speech is a necessary component of Spirit baptism. This represents a significant departure from a generation ago. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data, this article describes the specific nature of the transformation of Pentecostalism’s central theological and ritual component among PAOC clergy and presents two arguments. First, sociologically we argue that the changing views of PAOC clergy regarding the relationship of tongues speech to Spirit baptism are the result of their participation in the broader generic evangelical subculture, which promotes the adoption of a common evangelical religious identity and experience. Second, historically we argue that, rather than representing a simple capitulation to modern influences, this change, if even unintentionally, shows some similarity to both early American and Canadian Pentecostal views regarding Spirit baptism.

Potential competing interests: No potential competing interests to declare.It is interesting to see the concept, formulation, and results of the distribution discrepancy index.I have only a couple of comments in order to improve the clarity of the paper.1. Does the index satisfy the criteria for distance metrics (non-negativity, self-distance, symmetry, and triangular inequality)?2. How is the proposed index comparable with various other dissimilarity indices such as the ones derived from the normalized histogram intersection coefficient, Bhattacharya coefficient, Pearson product moment coefficient, Jaccard coefficient, and cosine angle coefficient?

This dense and compellingly-written study is John Levison's latest contribution to questions of the origins, humanly-speaking, of the Holy Spirit.Previous scholarly monographs include The Spirit in First-Century Judaism (Brill, 2002) and Filled with the Spirit (Eerdmans, 2009).In this volume, Levison meticulously traces how Isaiah 63:7-14 and Haggai 2:4-5 reinterpret exodus texts to make the Holy Spirit-absent from Exodus itself-the divine agent of that event.This is a key development in the history of pneumatology, one that demands, so Levison argues, that Christians see its origins not in Christianity but already in early Judaism.The book is broken down into five deceptively short but dense chapters (totaling only 122 pages) followed by thirteen excurses dealing mainly with critical issues of exegesis and dating (123-154).Chapter 1 begins by situating Levison's approach within the history-ofreligions school.Whereas Leisegang argued a century ago that the concept of the Holy Spirit emerged from Greek religion and philosophy, Levison adopts the same methodology to prove the opposite conclusion: it is a product not of Greek but of Jewish religion, specifically, of sixth-century bc Israelite prophets.Chapter 2 goes further back, however, since the prophets are themselves recasting exodus traditions.Significantly, for Levison's purposes, these narratives name a succession of agents who act to deliver Israel.There are: the pillars of cloud and fire (e.g., Exod.13:21-22); the angel who goes with them (e.g., Exod.14:19-20), to hear whom is to hear yhwh (Exod.23:20-24); the pānîm, rendered "presence-face" by Levison, of yhwh (Exod.33:14-15); and the cloud (Exod.40:34-38).The characteristics and actions of these agents overlap in various texts (29)(30).Chapter 3 focuses on Isaiah 63:7-14.Here a twofold "Where?" laments the current absence of God's presence that was so evident in the exodus.In the prophet's refashioning of the exodus narrative, however, the angel and the presence-face are merged into a novel "angel of the presence" (33-34), then immediately identified by Isaiah with the "Holy Spirit" against whom Israel rebelled.Chapter 4 focuses on the striking promise of Haggai 2:4-5, "my spirit stands among you."Haggai encourages the people to the rebuilding of the Temple by this unique promise of divine presence that echoes the exodus.In scripture, the Spirit "rushes upon" or "rests upon" or "is poured out upon" individuals (68-73), but is never elsewhere said to "stand."Levison argues, convincingly to my mind, that this is a reminiscence of the cloud that "stood" between Israel and Egypt ).

Scholars often puzzle over why the discussion about Torah obedience in Luke 10:25–29 does not appear to fit coherently with the story of the Good Samaritan that follows it (10:30–37). Was this an oversight on Luke’s part, a lack of editorial finesse, or did he have other aims? In this paper, I will argue that the apparent shift in logic, marked by the transformation of the lawyer’s question from ‘Who is my neighbour?’ (10:29) to ‘Who acts as a neighbour?’ (10:36), invites the lawyer to realign his interpretation of Lev 19:18 with the theology of imitatio Dei already present in Leviticus 19: The one who properly fulfills Lev 19:18 does so by imitating Yahweh. Within the context of Luke’s Gospel, moreover, Luke 10:25–37 illustrates how Luke both affirms and expands the terms of Torah obedience such that proper fulfilment of the Mosaic Law requires a disclosure of and participation in the very nature of God.

In this work, Chilton brings his immense knowledge of the worlds of early Christianity to bear on its heart: the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The title suggests Chilton’s unique, fruitful approach: rather than the standard focus on what resurrection means, Resurrection Logic attempts to pry apart how each New Testament witness came to believe in the resurrection when confronted by the reality of Jesus alive after his death. Each yields a cosmology, and is coordinated alongside the others within the canon—a sign that each took the others to be speaking of the same reality. Part I begins by detailing the contexts for speaking of life after death prior to Christianity. After examining a series of popular options—Isis, Tammuz, Gilgamesh, and Persephone—Chilton, rightly, rejects them as parallels to both Jewish and Christian claims (chapter one). In Israel’s Scriptures of the First Temple period (chapter two), the stories of Samuel...

Abstract Early Pentecostal literature contains many narratives of miracles of individuals being raised from the dead. While attention has tended to their factual or evidential value, including to some extent in the narratives themselves, this article examines the interpretations given to such miraculous events in Pentecostal theology. Specifically, it finds four major trends in interpretation in the literature: first, the meaning of the resurrection miracle as evidential, as a ‘proof’; second, the miracle as a sign of God’s victorious power over death and/or his mercy for the deceased and his/her family; third, the resurrection as prefigured in earlier miracles, especially Jesus’ raising of Lazarus; and finally, the miraculous return to life as a return to the realm of death, in which it is clear this event is not the final victory.

products and services please visit

products and services please visit

Abstract In 1985/86, Carl Verge conducted a survey of clergy belief and practice within The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC). In 2014, Adam Stewart and Andrew Gabriel conducted a follow-up survey of PAOC clergy to determine if any changes to belief and practice had occurred within this group during the last three decades. In this article we, first, describe the methodologies used in both surveys, second, compare and discuss the relationship between graduate education in religion and clergy belief and practice in 1985/86 and 2014, and, third, describe the overall decrease that has occurred in clergy commitment to traditional Pentecostal belief and practice since 1985/86. Finally, we conclude by proposing a theoretical framework developed by the sociologist of religion Peter Berger that helps to explain the change in commitment to traditional modes of pentecostal belief and practice among PAOC clergy as part of much broader realignments occurring across numerous religious traditions in late modern society.

The remarks of these three respondents to Gabriel, Stewart, and Shanahan’s “Changing Conceptions of Speaking in Tongues and Spirit Baptism Among Canadian Pentecostal Clergy” were initially presented at the Canadian Symposium, an annual gathering  of the Canadian Pentecostal Research Network, held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. The session took place at Life Pacific College in San Dimas, California on March 10, 2016. The piece concludes with Gabriel and Stewart’s reply to the respondents, demonstrating that this conversation is an ongoing dialogue.

Gabriel focuses on the issues of using gendered language for God, the relationship of the Spirit and violence, and the adequacy of engaging the doctrine of the Trinity in response to more philosophical approaches to the attributes of God. He concludes by noting areas for future research. This paper is a response to a panel discussion by Don Schweitzer, HyeRan Kim-Cragg, and Jeromey Martini of Andrew K. Gabriel’s book The Lord is the Spirit: The Holy Spirit and the Divine Attributes .

This essay is the transcript of an invited response to Andrew K. Gabriel, The Lord Is the Spirit: The Holy Spirit and the Divine Attributes (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2011), presented at the Saskatoon Theological Union Graduate Studies Seminar, St. Andrew's College, Saskatoon, 2 February 2012.

This paper focuses attention upon the twenty-ninth chapter 1 of De Trinitate, a third-century theological treatise. Its author, Novatian, was a prominent member of the Roman College of Presbyters. However, his position did not engender feelings of loyalty sufficient to prevent his taking a surprising course of action when Cornelius became the Bishop of Rome in A.D. 251: he had himself consecrated to the same position. This step was a major factor in his being excommunicated in the same year. Subsequently, his personal status among the orthodox declined sharply, and very soon thereafter the records fall silent about him. However, in spite of this he continues to have a place among the theologians of the Church—a place which has been won for him almost single-handedly by De Trinitate. The book appeared in the A.D. 240s, being in fact the first major theological work to be written in Latin in Rome. Novatian produced it while still an eminent, well-respected member of the Roman church. As the title suggests, De Trinitate is about the Trinity, but Novatian by no means devotes equal space to all three members. His discussion of the Holy Spirit seems rather truncated when compared to the treatment afforded to the Father and Son, with virtually everything which is said about the Spirit appearing in chapter 29. Yet it is this chapter which will occupy our attention in this paper, because it appears to contain material which may provide hints about the religious experience of the Roman church in the mid-third century.