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Jesus, Yahweh, And The Power Over The Storm

Critics of Christianity will often make the claim that Jesus never said he was God or divine in the Gospels. The problem comes when they set unrealistic demands and expectations, like wanting a chapter and verse where Jesus says, “I am God, worship me”. But this isn’t how the Bible works and definitely not how Jesus went about his ministry. Throughout the Gospels, there are clear connections that reveal the true nature of Jesus in ways that would have been obvious to the Jewish people and leaders of his day who were very familiar with the Torah and other Scriptures we now call the Old Testament. One of the most striking examples is His demonstration of po...

The Coming of Jesus: Daniel's 70 Weeks

Daniel's 70 Weeks   To fully understand Jesus's first, and indeed what is commonly called his "Second Coming," we need to understand the book of Daniel. This prophetic books give many details and glimpses into the future about coming kingdoms, rulers and above all, the Messiah. I'm going to be focussing on just one part of the book, chapter nine, often referred to as "Daniel's 70 Weeks". But just what is "Daniel's 70 Weeks" you might be asking as you read this. For those unfamiliar with Old Testament prophecy, it is a prophetic vision that Daniel was given from God, and interpreted by the angel Gabriel. You can read the prophecy in fu...

Lent: Day 9 - Ignatius to the Philadelphians

...trast the Old Testament with the New by saying that, “the priests indeed are good, but the High Priest is better” because “He is the door of the Father, by which enter in Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the prophets, and the apostles, and the Church”. Christ is now the way, and only way, to God the Father and as such they Old ways of Judaism are no longer in effect. He emphasises this even more by pointing out that, “the Gospel possesses something transcendent [above the former dispensation]” and that is: “the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ” along with his death and resurrection. The “prophets announced Him, but the Gospel is the perf...

Lent Day 36: Ambrose of Milan: Concerning the Mysteries: 5-9

...es in the Old Testament where a sacrifice was consumed with heavenly fire, and the baptism of fire we receive in the New Testament. In Judges 6:21 when Jerubbaal had an angel burn up the sacrifice, and another time in 1 Kings 18:38 when Elijah was battling with the prophets of Baal, fire from the Lord came down to burn it up. “To those [of Old] a visible fire was sent that they might believe; for us who believe, the Lord works invisibly” – our fire from heaven is in the form of the Spirit of God who falls upon us, who are “living sacrifices” to the Lord Jesus (Rom 12:1). Anointed as priests After baptism, straight from coming out of the water, the...

Creedal Christians: The Apostle's Creed

...The Apostle's creed — what is it and why is it called that? Outside of the New Testament, this is one of the Oldest creeds we have, dating back to the sixth – eighth century in its current form that is commonly known today, but having its origins much earlier — as far back as the second century in a shorter form known simply as the “Old Roman Creed”. The Apostles creed is also sometimes referred to as the “Rule of Faith” as it is a summary of the Gospel and is the basis for pretty much all modern theology. The points of the creed cover all the major pillars of the Christian faith which aims to safeguard what is true orthodoxy (right belief), whic...

An Examination of Conditional Immortality (Part Two)

...Welcome to Part Two of my study and examination of Conditional Immortality (aka Annihilationism). If you missed part one, you can read that one here. As with part one, this will be a long post as there is still much ground to cover before we can really grasp the bigger picture about what Scripture teaches. So with that said, I’ll pick right up where we left off. In part one, I covered a lot of New Testament texts, a few Old Testament passages, plus a look at what some of the earliest church leaders also wrote on the topic to the early church. In this one, we will be looking at a few more Old Testament examples and how they relate to the imagery used in Revela...