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Kirk Cameron And The Biblical Case For Annihilationism

..., eternal suffering becomes unavoidable. The difficulty is that Scripture does not teach innate human immortality. In fact, it repeatedly teaches the opposite. Immortality is consistently presented as a gift, not a default state. Eternal life is something God grants, not something humans naturally possess (Rom. 6:23).  In Genesis, humanity is barred from the tree of life precisely so that they might not “live for ever” in a fallen state (Gen. 3:22–24). In the New Testament, immortality is something Christ “brings to light through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10), and something believers “put on” at the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:53–54). Conditional Im...

Did Herod’s Massacre Of The Innocents Historically Happen?

...d peasant suffering unless it triggered unrest and revolt. History’s Silence and Matthew’s Memory Matthew, however, remembers what history ignores. He does not present the slaughter as a political catastrophe or just another one of Herod’s many tragedies as a historical footnote, but as a theological one. He frames it through Israel’s Scriptures and prophecy: Jeremiah 31:15A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled. This quotation from Jeremiah originally spoke of exile — of mothers mourning children taken away or lost to imperial violence. Matthew recognises Bethleh...

Lent: Day 11 - Ignatius to Polycarp

.... Be long-suffering, therefore, with one another, in meekness, as God is towards you. I don’t know about you, but when reading this except I can almost feel the desire which Ignatius had towards his fellow churches and his passion to see everyone live out that goal to have “love for one another” which Jesus prayed for in Jn 13:35, so that “everyone will know that you are [Jesus’] disciples”. The closing chapters display more of this unity of the churches being lived out as there are instructions to send various letters and messengers between the churches far and wide where Ignatius won’t be able to make it to, so that the message and teaching m...

Lent: Day 15 - Justin Martyr: First Apology, Chaps. 36-47

...essage of suffering, pain or sacrifice from the perspective of God, then it is Christ speaking as the pre-existing Word. He gives various examples from the Psalms and Isaiah to show this, such as: Isaiah 50:6I gave my back to those who struck me,and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;I did not hide my facefrom insult and spitting. And, Psalms 22:17-18I can count all my bones.They stare and gloat over me;they divide my clothes among themselves,and for my clothing they cast lots. The Spirit When it is the the Spirit speaking, it appears to be prophecies which are more in the 3rd person about the Lord and what he will do. Using an example f...

Lent Day 21: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 1-10

...the long-suffering of another he watched with care, while he took note of the piety towards Christ and the mutual love which animated all. When his reputation had spread throughout the villages, the people “saw that he was a man of this sort, used to call him God-beloved. And some welcomed him as a son, others as a brother”. But as we draw closer to God, the more attention we can also draw from our adversary, the devil. Having seen that someone so young could be so pious, the enemy began “whispering to him the remembrance of his wealth, care for his sister, claims of kindred, love of money, love of glory” trying to cloud his mind with the things of...

Lent Day 23: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 21-30

...g lots of suffering, illness and sometimes death, to Job or his family and livestock, none of it was possible without permission from God. “The devil was not the strong man”, he points out, because it was God who let Job be tried to test his faith; “certainly he had no power to do anything” other than what was permitted. This, he says, is exactly what proves that the devil is weak because although Satan was willing, “he could not prevail against one just man” and if it were possible, “he would not have asked permission”, but as it is, he had to and this shows his want of power. Remember, “destruction would not have come even on his cattle had...