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67 results for “Coming to Christ”
Clear searchThe glory philosophy could not contain
The Word Did Not Fall into Flesh The glory philosophy could not contain In the previous article, Christ in the Temple of the Philosophers, I argued that the Incarnation does not become absurd merely because it exce…
Read article →Eustathius of Antioch, the human soul of Christ and the pictures created by our words
Did the Incarnation Limit God? Eustathius of Antioch, the human soul of Christ and the pictures created by our words Why this is useful to know: The language we use about Jesus creates a picture in the mind. If that picture presents God merely occupying a human…
Read article →The incarnation, the limits of created perspective and the love philosophy could not imagine
Christ in the Temple of the Philosophers The Incarnation, the Limits of Created Perspective, and the Love Philosophy Could Not Imagine “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bod…
Read article →Origen, Arius and the line between Creator and creation
Does Eternal Mean Divine? Origen, Arius and the line between Creator and creation Why this is useful to know: On your walk through life, you will encounter challenges to the deity of Christ from television shows and documentaries, Muslims, Latter-day Sain…
Read article →Why the distinction matters when we speak about Jesus
…confessed that He knew all things. He suffered, bled and died, although God is immortal. Christians rightly believe all these things because Scripture plainly teaches them. The difficulty begins when we try to explain how they can all be true of the same Christ. It is common to…
Read article →Why the Son assumed a complete human nature, not merely a body
…n Soul? Why the Son assumed a complete human nature, not merely a body Why this is useful to know: Christians rightly confess that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. Yet if “flesh” is imagined as a human body animated directly by the divine Word, Jesus can become less than fully…
Read article →Isaiah, John, and the Divine Identity of Jesus Christ
“I Am the First, and I Am the Last” Isaiah, John, and the Divine Identity of Jesus Christ If YHWH alone is Creator, Saviour and Lord of all, what are the New Testament writers saying when they place Jesus within that identity? Isaiah does not leave Israel searching for a g…
Read article →The peace Christ gives in a troubled world
Not as the World Giveth The peace Christ gives in a troubled world There are kinds of peace which last only while nothing disturbs them. We feel peaceful because the bills are paid, the medical result was reassuring, the fam…
Read article →Dave Hunt · Devotional theology and biblical exhortation · 2000
I recommend An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith because it refuses to separate Christian belief from Christian living. Hunt ranges across the gospel, faith, love for God, discipleship, doctrine, the Church, and the beli…
View recommendation →A history of interpretation, polemic, and forgotten tension
How Supersessionism Took Root in the Early Church A history of interpretation, polemic, and forgotten tension Supersessionism did not appear in one moment through one theologian. It developed as the Church beca…
Read article →History, heresy, and the temptation of private Christianity
Have Evangelicals Become Neo-Gnostics? History, Heresy, and the Temptation of Private Christianity The accusation identifies real evangelical deformations—secret-key religion, escape rhetoric, elite conversion status, and churchless…
Read article →How Christians can think politically without surrendering conscience to a package deal
Your Party Is Not Your Church How Christians can think politically without surrendering conscience to a package deal Political parties do not merely ask for our votes. Increasingly, they offer an entire identity. Each side s…
Read article →Jesus and the fountain of living water
…ive life. On the last and greatest day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus did not whisper to such people. He stood and cried: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living wat…
Read article →An unrequited love for the historic Church
Standing at the Door An Unrequited Love for the Historic Church I do not stand outside the historic Church because I despise her. I stand outside because I love much of what I find within her, yet cannot call every later development apostoli…
Read article →Two failures, two responses, and the difference between remorse and repentance
…difference between remorse and repentance Few experiences are more painful than awakening to the seriousness of our own sin. The excuses fall away, the damage becomes clear, and conscience begins to speak. We may feel guilt, grief, shame, fear, or even disgust with ourselves. Yet…
Read article →How the Law reaches its goal and appointed end in Christ
Christ, the End of the Law? What Paul Meant in Romans 10:4 How the Law reaches its goal and appointed end in Christ Few sentences have carried more weight in Christian discussions of the Law…
Read article →What 'yea and Amen' in Christ means for Israel and the covenants
Do All God's Promises Transfer to the Church? What "yea and Amen" in Christ means for Israel and the covenants Paul makes one of the most comprehensive statements about the promises of God: "For all the promises of God in…
Read article →Signs, expectancy, and the event the Church is told to await
If Antichrist Must Come First, Is Christ's Coming Imminent? Signs, expectancy, and the event the Church is told to await Imminency does not mean that Christ was required to return within the apostl…
Read article →The positive argument of the whole series, brought together
Why the Cumulative Case Points to a Pretribulation Rapture The positive argument of the whole series, brought together The case for a pretribulation rapture should not rest upon one disputed word, one prophetic chart, or…
Read article →Fulfilment in Christ, the inclusion of the Gentiles, and Israel's future mercy
Does the New Testament Reaffirm Israel's Promises? Fulfilment in Christ, the inclusion of the Gentiles, and Israel's future mercy The Old Testament repeatedly promises Israel preservation, regathering, cleansing, the kingdom of David's Son, and a restored…
Read article →Creation, judgement, and the coming reign of Christ
The Earth's Great Sabbath Creation, judgement, and the coming reign of Christ The Christian hope for creation rests neither in human effort nor in escape from the material world. The creation groans for the return of its rightful King, the revel…
Read article →Constantine, Arius, the Trinity, the biblical canon—and the myths that refuse to die
…at Nicaea? Constantine, Arius, the Trinity, the biblical canon—and the myths that refuse to die The Council of Nicaea has become a screen upon which almost every conspiracy about early Christianity is projected. Constantine invented the Trinity. Jesus was voted into deity. Pagan…
Read article →What mercy, holiness and the cross reveal about God
…revealed by what it does when the beloved is undeserving and the cost is real. Islam and Christianity both speak of divine mercy, forgiveness and love. A fair comparison cannot begin by pretending that the Qur'an presents Allah as merciless or that Muslims worship a deity who ne…
Read article →Not escape from the body, but its redemption
…of the Resurrection Not escape from the body, but its redemption Many people imagine the Christian hope as an endless disembodied existence: the soul released from the body, leaving the physical world behind and becoming something more like a ghost than a human being. Christians…
Read article →Which Gospel does the Qur'an affirm?
…el. It was a true revelation from God. It contained guidance and light. The Qur'an claims to confirm it. The People of the Gospel are told to judge by what God revealed within it. Yet when Christians open the Gospel they possessed for centuries before Muhammad, they find the Son…
Read article →Why apantēsis does not settle the timing of the rapture
Does "Meet the Lord in the Air" Mean an Immediate Return to Earth? Why apantēsis does not settle the timing of the rapture One of the most sophisticated objections to pretribulationism centres on a single Greek noun. Paul says that living believer…
Read article →The Gospel, Human Perception, and the Illuminating Work of the Holy Spirit
…d it.” That may be an accurate description. Scripture certainly speaks of people refusing Christ, resisting the Holy Ghost, and turning away from truth they have received. But the sentence contains a question we can too easily pass over. What did that person understand—and theref…
Read article →Near-death experiences, neuroscience, and the authority of Christ
Beyond the Tunnel of Light Near-death experiences, neuroscience, and the authority of Christ Many years ago I read Tal Brooke's The Other Side of Death: Does Death Seal Your Destiny? The book stayed with me. Published in 1979, when the modern fascination with near-death exper…
Read article →A response to Michael Horton on the land promise, Amos 9, and the people of God
No Holy Land? Covenant Discipline, Gentile Blessing, and Israel's Future A response to Michael Horton on the land promise, Amos 9, and the people of God Michael Horton's essay, “No Holy Land: Does Israel Still Have a Biblical Claim on the Middle East?”, presents a concise R…
Read article →Hippolytus · Exposition, prophecy, and polemic · early third century
Hippolytus is especially valuable for readers interested in prophecy. On Christ and Antichrist draws repeatedly from the biblical text and preserves a compelling early discussion of Daniel, the Antichrist, Christ's return, and the future kingdom. His Refutation o…
View recommendation →The divine identity of Jesus across the Gospels
…Prophet The divine identity of Jesus across the Gospels Islam honours Jesus in ways which Christians should acknowledge accurately. The Qur'an calls Him the Messiah, describes Him as a word from God, affirms His virgin birth and attributes extraordinary signs to Him by God's perm…
Read article →E. W. Bullinger · Sermons · 1892
…es across the Law, Prophets, Psalms, Gospels, Epistles, and Revelation, drawing attention to the sheer weight of Scripture devoted to Christ's return. The sermons combine expectation, careful textual observation, and practical urgency: prophecy is meant to shape hope, watchfulnes…
View recommendation →Christianity, Islam and the verdict of the evidence
The Sum of These Things Christianity, Islam and the verdict of the evidence “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Ma…
Read article →Michael Brown, 2 Thessalonians 1, and the public vindication of the saints
When Do Persecuted Christians Receive Rest? Michael Brown, 2 Thessalonians 1, and the public vindication of the saints In his presentation Why I Reject a Pre-tribulation Rapture, Michael Brown identifies 2 The…
Read article →The olive tree, the natural branches, and the limits of the metaphor
Are Gentile Believers Grafted into Israel? The olive tree, the natural branches, and the limits of the metaphor Romans 11 pictures Gentile believers as branches taken from a wild olive tree and grafted into a cultivated ol…
Read article →What Christ’s promise establishes—and what claims about infallible teaching still need to prove
Does Matthew 16:18 Establish Church Infallibility? Few promises offer Christians greater assurance than these words of Jesus: “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” — Matthew 16:18 The Church belongs to Christ. He builds…
Read article →Divine judgement, the character of God, and the promise of escape
Is the Church Appointed to the Tribulation's Wrath? Divine judgement, the character of God, and the promise of escape The claim that the Church is not appointed to wrath is sometimes answered too quickly. Christian…
Read article →Four popular claims tested in context
Was Muhammad Foretold in the Bible? Four popular claims tested in context The Qur'an says that the coming of Muhammad was written in the Torah and the Gospel possessed by Jews and Christians: "Those who foll…
Read article →What the historical evidence proves—and what it does not
Did Darby Invent the Pretribulation Rapture? What the historical evidence proves—and what it does not The historical objection is often stated in absolute terms: no Christian taught the rapture before John Nelson Darby devised it in the nineteenth…
Read article →Does John 6 teach the literal eating of Christ's body?
He Who Has Believed Has Eaten Does John 6 Teach the Literal Eating of Christ’s Body? “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life.” —John 6:47–48 An evangelical watches a confident Roman Catholic prese…
Read article →The LORD, Zion, and the meaning of Beulah in Isaiah 62:4–5
Is Israel Married to the Land? The LORD, Zion, and the Meaning of Beulah in Isaiah 62:4–5 “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called H…
Read article →Israel's Messiah, Israel's Scriptures, and a gospel for the world
The New Testament Is a Very Jewish Story Israel's Messiah, Israel's Scriptures, and a gospel for the world To many Jewish people, Christianity appears thoroughly foreign. Its historic centres became Rome, Constantinople, Cante…
Read article →What God's faithfulness to Israel means for everyone who trusts His promises
No Shadow of Turning What God's faithfulness to Israel means for everyone who trusts His promises This series has examined covenants, prophecies, apostles, thrones, tribes, branches, seeds, kingdoms, and the difficult words upon which…
Read article →The near was real. The far is still coming.
The King, Zion and the Coming Kingdom: Reading Isaiah 32–35 Across the Prophetic Horizon The near was real. The far is still coming. The historical horizon and the question of fulfilment “Was this fulfilled, or is…
Read article →Spiritual ecstasy, altered states, and discerning what is from God
…ecstasy, altered states, and discerning what is from God Human beings have always sought to pass beyond the boundaries of ordinary consciousness. Across cultures and religions, people have reported visions, overwhelming sensations of unity, encounters with spiritual beings, the…
Read article →The question reaches beyond prophecy to the faithfulness of God
Israel and the Church: Why This Series Matters The question reaches beyond prophecy to the faithfulness of God Has the Church replaced Israel in the purpose of God? Some Christians answer yes, although they may prefer words such as fulfilled, transformed, or expanded. They…
Read article →The Messiah cut off before the Temple fell
…e kind of anointed person, and responsible Jewish interpreters have proposed alternatives to Jesus. Those qualifications matter. They prevent an apologetic argument from claiming evidence it does not possess. But they do not remove the problem. Daniel 9 existed within Judaism bef…
Read article →Christ the promised Seed, Gentile inheritance, and Paul's final blessing
Are Abraham's Seed and the Israel of God the Church? Christ the promised Seed, Gentile inheritance, and Paul's final blessing Galatians contains two of the strongest arguments for identifying the Church as Israel. First, Paul says that the pro…
Read article →Sources behind Qur’anic narratives
…cultural vacuum. It appeared in a world alive with biblical names, Jewish interpretation, Christian preaching, sectarian disagreement, devotional legend and stories carried across languages by travellers, merchants, clergy and ordinary believers. That observation does not disprov…
Read article →Responding to five common criticisms without defending what Scripture does not require
Defending Dispensationalism Responding to five common criticisms without defending what Scripture does not require Dispensationalism is often criticised by slogans before it is defined. It allegedly began with John Nelson Darby,…
Read article →The event is explicit; the real dispute is its timing
Every Christian Should Believe in the Rapture The event is explicit; the real dispute is its timing The rapture is often treated as though it were an eccentric event invented by dispensationalists…
Read article →Why a loaded label does not settle the question
…often that it can sound like an argument. It is not. Pretribulationists do not claim that Christ descends silently, that believers disappear without an event, or that nothing extraordinary occurs. Paul describes the Lord descending “with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,…
Read article →The man of sin, the last trumpet, the first resurrection, and the last day
…ast trumpet, the first resurrection, and the last day A cumulative case should be exposed to the passages which appear least friendly to it. Four objections deserve particular attention: Second Thessalonians 2 appears to place Antichrist before our gathering. First Corinthians 15…
Read article →Testing Islam's evidence for divine revelation
Is the Qur'an a Miracle? Testing Islam's evidence for divine revelation Christians are frequently placed on the defensive. Has the Bible been corrupted? Did Jesus really claim to be God? Was He actually crucified? Has the doctrine of the Trinity compromised mono…
Read article →A response to Hank Hanegraaff on resurrection, Daniel’s final week, and the Tribulation
Is the Pretribulation Rapture Without Biblical Basis? A response to Hank Hanegraaff on resurrection, Daniel’s final week, and the Tribulation In an article published by the Christian Research Institute, Hank Hanegraaff argues that the pretribulation raptu…
Read article →Governmental restraint, the final ten kings, and the preparation of the temple
…s the Lawless One? Rome, Israel, and a Working Theory While researching The Kingdom Still to Come, my premillennial sequel to my rapture book, I have been revisiting Paul’s account of the restrainer in 2 Thessalonians 2. Something holds back the revelation of the final lawless ru…
Read article →A sign of Israel's renewal, not Israel's disappearance
…, not Israel's disappearance Jesus did not choose twelve apostles because twelve happened to be a convenient number. He could have appointed seven, seventy, or any other number. Instead, He deliberately formed a group whose number recalled the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve…
Read article →Why the final seven is unfinished, future, and centred upon Israel and Jerusalem
…l and Jerusalem The seven-year Tribulation is sometimes dismissed as an interval invented to make a prophetic chart work. That criticism begins at the wrong end of the Bible. The case does not start by counting backwards from Revelation. It starts with a measured programme in Dan…
Read article →Why Israel's failure cannot make the word of God fail
…Unfailing Faithfulness Why Israel's failure cannot make the word of God fail Israel's history presents a severe test of theology. God chose the nation, gave it His law, sent it prophets, and brought the Messiah through its line. Israel repeatedly rebelled and, when Messiah came,…
Read article →Earth-dwellers, heaven-dwellers, and the literary structure of the Apocalypse
…nt. The churches dominate the opening chapters. The earthly judgement visions then return to Danielic periods, Israel's tribes, Jerusalem, the temple, the nations, a beastly ruler, and saints persecuted under him. At the same time, redeemed companies worship in heaven, and the bo…
Read article →The wicked husbandmen, the fruit-bearing nation, and what Jesus said afterwards
…, the fruit-bearing nation, and what Jesus said afterwards Few statements of Jesus appear to support supersessionism more directly than Matthew 21:43: "Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof."…
Read article →Conditional blessing, irrevocable promise, and fulfilment in Christ
…? What Do the Covenants Say? Conditional blessing, irrevocable promise, and fulfilment in Christ Israel broke God's law, rejected the prophets, and nationally refused its Messiah. Jerusalem was judged, the temple was destroyed, and the Jewish people were scattered among the natio…
Read article →El, the Exodus, and the God Who Came from Sinai
…I found myself discussing claims about the origins of Israel’s God with my son. He seemed to regard the essential theory as accepted among scholars. He had also discussed it with his priest, who apparently regarded it as something everyone already knew. The claim itself was far f…
Read article →What Jesus promised the apostles about Israel's future
…on which many faithful disciples have quietly wondered: what will those who sacrifice for Christ receive? Jesus answered with a promise larger than personal reward. He spoke of His own glorious throne, twelve apostolic thrones, and the twelve tribes of Israel: "Verily I say unto…
Read article →A forensic reading of Christ's Olivet Discourse
Who Are the Elect of Matthew 24? A forensic reading of Christ's Olivet Discourse "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light... And he shall send his angels with a great sound…
Read article →The gathering of the elect, one taken and one left, and Paul's revealed mystery
…ne left, and Paul's revealed mystery Matthew 24 contains the most direct Gospel objection to a pretribulation rapture. Jesus describes Great Tribulation, cosmic disturbance, His coming in the clouds, and a gathering of the elect. The sequence appears plain: "Immediately after the…
Read article →Election within Abraham's family, the believing remnant, and the future of the nation
…traightforward. Physical descent from Jacob no longer identifies the Israel which matters to God. True Israel consists of the children of promise: everyone who believes in Christ, whether Jewish or Gentile. The Church is therefore the Israel within Israel, while unbelieving ethni…
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