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Is The Rapture Biblical?

...respected early church father, John Chrysostom wrote about this meaning in his commentary on 1 Thess. 4:17. If he is about to descend, on what account shall we be caught up? For the sake of honour. For when a king drives into a city, those who are in honour go out to meet him; but the condemned await the judge within. And upon the coming of an affectionate father, his children indeed, and those who are worthy to be his children, are taken out in a chariot, that they may see and kiss him; but the housekeepers who have offended him remain within. We are carried upon the chariot of our Father. For he received him up in the clouds, and “we shall be caught up in...

Lent Day 32: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XXI

...o how the early church anointed new believers: “And you were first anointed on the forehead...” – this was to symbolise the removing the shame of the first man, so that we “with unveiled faces” can be “transformed into the same image” of the Lord (2 Cor 3:18). “Then on your ears…” – this was to symbolise the opening of the ears to God's voice as Isaiah said in Isa. 50:4 and Jesus also declared Matt 11:15, “He that has ears to hear let him hear”. “Then on the nostrils…” – this was to symbolise what Paul wrote in 2 Cor 2:15, “we are the aroma of Christ”. “Afterwards on your breast…” – this was to be the “breastp...

Great is the Mystery of Faith!

...A little while ago, I came across a quote on Facebook by a guy called Melito of Sardis.  St. Melito of Sardis Melito was bishop of the church in Sardis (modern-day Sart), a city of Asia Minor near Smyrna (modern-day Izmir, Turkey), and lived between 160-170/177 AD until he was martyred, possibly under the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Due to the close proximity of locations, he may also have known Ignatius who was also from Asia Minor, and potentially was also an acquaintance of Polycarp and his disciple, Irenaeus. There’s also the thought that he may have been the successor to the leader of the church in Sardis, which is mentioned by the Apostle John in Re...

40 Days with the Fathers: Companion Texts OUT NOW!

...40 Days with the Fathers: Companion Texts is now available to buy as Paperback or Kindle! I am happy to say that the new book is now available in paperback and Kindle format on Amazon! Other eBook formats will be available soon as it rolls out. This book is the companion to my other book (40 Days with the Fathers: A Daily Reading Plan), and includes twenty-three early church texts in full—including all additional footnotes from the original editors and translators so that you can get as close as possible to reading these ancient texts without needing to know ancient Greek or Latin. It's structured in such a way to read a chapter a day over a 40 day period...

Was Jesus worshipped in the New Testament?

...Often a claim from critics of the faith, and especially Muslims arguing against Christianity, is that Jesus wasn't thought of as God early on and more to the point, wasn't ever worshipped in the accounts of the New Testament. This is a very cursory look at a few places within the Gospels where Jesus was clearly worshipped, either by his followers or others he encountered, and didn't rebuke or correct people for doing something wrong. Worshiping Jesus: 1. Matthew 14:33 - The Proclamation of Divinity And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” In the aftermath of a storm on the Lake of Galilee which Jesus calmed with a...

7 things the Lord hates (spoiler: questioning doctrine isn't one of them)

...By now, most people (in Christian circles, at least) will have heard about the Jars of Clay controversy. For those that are thinking "how on earth could there be controversy over some jars?" let me clarify: they are a contemporary Christian music band. The controversy is because the frontman, Dan Haseltine, tweeted some thoughts on the topic of gay marriage. Shocking, I know.   This is what started it all: The treatment of people as less than human based on the color of skin is crazy... Or gender, or sexual orientation for that matter. — Dan Haseltine (@scribblepotemus) April 21, 2014   Not meaning to stir things up BUT... I...