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54 results for “Return of Christ”
Clear searchBorn, begotten and firstborn in the eternal identity and saving work of the Son
Was Christ Begotten at the Resurrection? Born, begotten and firstborn in the eternal identity and saving work of the Son “This day have I begotten thee” appears to be applied to Christ’s resurre…
Read article →E. W. Bullinger · Sermons · 1892
…rophets, 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, watchfulness, and faithful livi…
View recommendation →The glory philosophy could not contain
…d 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 exceeds the limits of our created experience. The God who made the universe i…
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 →Not escape from the body, but its redemption
The Hope 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 phys…
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 revelation of the…
Read article →Origen, Arius and the line between Creator and creation
…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 Saints, Jehovah’s Witnesses—and, if you have children, they may encounter them too, perhaps even through teachers or cl…
Read article →Why the distinction matters when we speak about Jesus
…w what was in man. He was tempted, yet without sin. He said that He did not know the hour of His return, yet His disciples confessed that He knew all things. He suffered, bled and died, although God is immortal. Christians rightly believe all these things because Scripture plainl…
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 searchin…
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.…
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 faith—but fails when it becomes…
Read article →Two failures, two responses, and the difference between remorse and repentance
Judas and Peter: A Tale of Two Sorrows Two failures, two responses, and the difference between remorse and repentance Few experiences are more painful than awakening to the seriousness of our own sin. The excuses f…
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 believer's heavenly hope, but the recurring appeal is…
View recommendation →Jesus and the fountain of living water
If Any Man Thirst Jesus and the fountain of living water There is a thirst deeper than the body's need. It is the ache of the soul when the things we hoped would satisfy us have not done so. Success can distract it. Pleasure can br…
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, Pau…
Read article →What the Father's love for the Son reveals about God
…ation? Did relationship begin when God made something other than Himself? The question is often turned into a quick philosophical argument for the Trinity: love requires another person; God is love; therefore God must be more than one Person. That argument has intuitive force, bu…
Read article →Labour, purpose, and faithfulness in a fallen world
Work Is Not a Curse Labour, purpose, and faithfulness in a fallen world Modern culture often swings between two errors. Some people live for their work. Their job becomes their identity, their status becomes their worth, and achievement quietly takes the place of God. Others s…
Read article →Circumcision of the heart and the identity of Paul's inward Jew
Does Romans 2:28-29 Make Christians "Spiritual Jews"? Circumcision of the heart and the identity of Paul's inward Jew Paul's description of the inward Jew is often treated as a decisive redefinition of Israel: "For…
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 →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,…
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 b…
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 one passage made to carry more than it says. It is…
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 →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 pr…
Read article →Four popular claims tested in context
…etold 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 follow the messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they will find describ…
Read article →The Gospel, Human Perception, and the Illuminating Work of the Holy Spirit
WHAT DID THEY REJECT? The Gospel, Human Perception, and the Illuminating Work of the Holy Spirit We sometimes describe an evangelistic conversation in a single sentence: “I explained the gospel, and he rejected it.” That may be an accurate description. Scripture certa…
Read article →An unrequited love for the historic Church
…nd 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 apostolic. There is a particular accusation made against evangelical Christianity that I feel more deeply than might be exp…
Read article →Election within Abraham's family, the believing remnant, and the future of the nation
What Does "They Are Not All Israel, Which Are of Israel" Mean? Election within Abraham's family, the believing remnant, and the future of the nation Romans 9:6 is often used as a definition of spiritual Israel: "For they are not all Isr…
Read article →Regathering, national rebirth, and the spiritual renewal still to come
The Restoration of the Nation of Israel Regathering, national rebirth, and the spiritual renewal still to come Israel's history contains both judgement and preservation. The Jewish people were conquered, ex…
Read article →Israel's Messiah, Israel's Scriptures, and a gospel for the world
…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, Canterbury, Geneva, and countless cities far from Jerusalem. Its Scriptures have been used to justi…
Read article →One Messiah, one gospel, and God's continuing purpose for Israel
The Unshaken Truth of God's Promises One Messiah, one gospel, and God's continuing purpose for Israel This series began with a question: has the Church permanently replaced Israel in the purpose of God? The an…
Read article →Earth-dwellers, heaven-dwellers, and the literary structure of the Apocalypse
…ring Revelation's Judgements? Earth-dwellers, heaven-dwellers, and the literary structure of the Apocalypse The argument that the word church disappears after Revelation 3 is often stated as though silence alone proves a rapture between chapters 3 and 4. It does not. A word count…
Read article →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 became increasingly Gentile, separated socia…
Read article →A response to Michael Horton on the land promise, Amos 9, and the people of God
…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 Reformed case against dispensational land theology. Horton argu…
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 →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 sha…
Read article →Why the final seven is unfinished, future, and centred upon Israel and Jerusalem
…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 Daniel concerning Israel and Jerusalem. Jesus takes Daniel's abomination o…
Read article →The gathering of the elect, one taken and one left, and Paul's revealed mystery
Does Matthew 24 Place the Rapture after the Tribulation? The gathering of the elect, one taken and one left, and Paul's revealed mystery Matthew 24 contains the most direct Gospel objection to a pretribulation rapture. Jesus describes Great Tribulation, cosmic…
Read article →Governmental restraint, the final ten kings, and the preparation of the temple
…o 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 ruler. The Thessalonians knew what Paul meant. We have his letter, but not the earlier conver…
Read article →Unity in Christ and distinction in God's purpose
Are Israel and the Church Really the Same? Unity in Christ and distinction in God's purpose The New Testament teaches a unity so profound that it would have startled the ancient world. In Christ, Jewish and Gentile believers are reconciled to…
Read article →Why Israel's failure cannot make the word of God fail
God's 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…
Read article →Trusting God when voices seek to weaken our confidence
…hen Faith Does Not Answer Back Trusting God when voices seek to weaken our confidence One of the most instructive details in the account of Hezekiah and Rabshakeh is easily overlooked: the people did not answer. Rabshakeh had come as the spokesman of the king of Assyria. Standing…
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 →The wicked husbandmen, the fruit-bearing nation, and what Jesus said afterwards
…icked husbandmen, 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 f…
Read article →The olive tree, the natural branches, and the limits of the metaphor
…ntile 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 olive tree. They now share its nourishing root alongside branches…
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 →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 →A response to Hank Hanegraaff on resurrection, Daniel’s final week, and the Tribulation
…on resurrection, Daniel’s final week, and the Tribulation In an article published by the Christian Research Institute, Hank Hanegraaff argues that the pretribulation rapture has no biblical basis. He presents it as a system in which God has two unrelated peoples and destinies, C…
Read article →Why a loaded label does not settle the question
…oes not settle the question “The secret rapture is unbiblical.” The phrase is repeated so 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 o…
Read article →Responding to five common criticisms without defending what Scripture does not require
…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, turns the Church into God's failed contingency plan, ignores the fulfilment of prophecy in AD 70,…
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 Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD d…
Read article →El, the Exodus, and the God Who Came from Sinai
…the God Who Came from Sinai Yesterday 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 a…
Read article →The near was real. The far is still coming.
…rizon The near was real. The far is still coming. The historical horizon and the question of fulfilment “Was this fulfilled, or is it still future?” That is often a necessary question when reading biblical prophecy. Sometimes, however, it becomes an inadequate question because it…
Read article →Spiritual ecstasy, altered states, and discerning what is from God
…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 loss of their ordinary sense o…
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