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The Coming of jesus: The Olivet Discourse – Part 1

Hello again, it's been a while since I've wrote anything, and longer since getting back to this series on the Second Coming of jesus. This isn't for lack of motivation, but rather because this is such a huge topic that I've been reading and thinking about this next part for a very long time to make sure I know what I'm saying, and am well read enough to do the topic justice. Having said that, there will always be far more to say on this than I can give time for here, but I hope to give enough of an overview to expound this prophecy faithfully without being too technical as to cause confusion! You can also catch up on the previous parts...

The Deity of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew - Part 2

Matthew's theme - The divine presence of jesus This is a guest post by “KingsServant”, see Part 1 here. Having covered Matthew’s introduction to his gospel in his nativity account, we will now consider the way Matthew “bookends” the gospel by beginning his work with the promise of God dwelling with his people (fulfilled in the incarnation) and ending it in the same way with jesus’ comforting promise never to leave his followers. This theme of Matthew begins with his quotation of Isaiah 7:14, which we have already analysed in the previous article with regard to how it reveals Matthew’s teaching that jesus is God. As noted before, in Matthew...

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...

The Resurrection as a historical event

Table of Contents jesus was raised bodily – and historically The resurrection is what makes Christianity unique! Evidence from Paul The mystery of the resurrection The nature of the resurrection The resurrection is more than physical What with Easter still ringing in our ears, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the topic of resurrection, but from a historical standpoint and why we can trust it as a real, world-changing event. So, what really is the resurrection? How will we be resurrected, and what does it mean for us that jesus rose again? Let’s explore what this means for us as Christians, and see what the Scriptures say. jesus wa...

The Coming Kingdom of the Son of Man

The importance of context of what's being said, and to whom, in Scripture. I came across this image the other day (in the header above; see larger here) that links together three parts of Matthew’s Gospel to highlight the connection which many often miss, or read as separate events. I like the image because it shows that when jesus spoke these things, he would have been saying them directly to the disciples and others who were listening to his teaching, and not in some cryptic, ambiguous dictation to a prophetic scribe, devoid of all context and meaning to those around him at the time. Update Feb 2017: I am adding some additional information to this to dis...

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...