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BOOK REVIEW: Four Views on Hell 2nd edition

...ates that Christians of most persuasions are already ‘universalists’ about creation (God created all things), about sin (all have sinned), Christ’s humanity (all humans are represented by him) and Christ’s crucifixion (dying for all people); he reasons that God’s indefeasible will is to save or redeem all, entailing the famous ‘now/not yet’ tension: “Everyone is already redeemed…On the other hand, only those who have been united to Christ by the Holy Spirit now participate in that salvation…Actual existential participation of all people in salvation is not a present reality, it lies in the future.” (109, italics his) Moving on to the...

The Gospel of Jeffrey Dahmer

...  Many Christians are aware of Paul’s words in Romans 3:23: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. I often see this quoted online as inspirational images and posters, or as a way to explain human failings, since no one can live up to what God requires of us through our own efforts. But when you apply this to a repentant murderer, suddenly it’s no longer valid? That’s not how grace works. Look at the surrounding context; Paul makes it abundantly clear that there are no exceptions — for falling short or being saved by grace: …the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction...

Is it the end of the world as we know it?

...sands, of Christians have bought the book and have possibly accepted their doctrine of the blood moons. I've seen countless online discussions and Facebook posts concerning all of this, with many believers defending the doctrine vehemently, many of whom often have a very strong Zionist emphasis. Without the nation of Israel being something special, these predictions fail. That is also another issue with these predictions: they are based on the assumption that the natural, national Jewish people are still God's chosen people who are separate from Gentile (non-Jewish) believers. That there are two "chosen people," two covenants with two different ways in...

The Coming of Jesus: The Olivet Discourse – Part 2

...The early Christians took this seriously and, as is well documented in the historical record, they fled! This is what is known as the “flight to Pella” (Mark 13:14-16; Matt 24:16-18; Luke 21:21). Pella was about 75 miles north of Jerusalem, which, according to Google Maps, would take you 26 hours to walk! That may seem a long way to go, but this is exactly what the Jerusalem Church did as they heeded the warnings from Jesus, and also from an angelic encounter telling them where to flee to! The people of the Church in Jerusalem were commanded by an oracle given by revelation before the war to those in the city who were worthy of it to depart and dwell in...

Who is the New Jerusalem?

...zzed, the Christians said it was not an earthly one they were waiting for, but a heavenly one (though admittedly, they were still waiting for it to come at the end of time itself). And when they were asked concerning Christ and his kingdom, of what sort it was and where and when it was to appear, they answered that it was not a temporal nor an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly and angelic one, which would appear at the end of the world, when he should come in glory to judge the quick and the dead, and to give unto every one according to his works. – Eusebius, Church History, Book 3, ch. 20.6   This seems to be in keeping with what Paul wrote, when he sa...

The Eighth Day

...What is the “eighth day” you may ask; surely we know there are only seven days in a week! But in ancient times, Sunday – which was also known as the first day of the week, was also referred to as the eighth day by Christians. This day was considered a holy day from the earliest of times by Christians (despite some weak arguments that Constantine, or the Pope, “changed the Sabbath” some 400 years later), and this was because it was the day on which Christ rose from the dead! I will make a beginning of the eighth day, that is, a beginning of another world. For that reason, also, we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day on which Jesus rose aga...