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The Coming of Jesus: Coming on the clouds

Coming on the clouds of heaven Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. When people read Jesus saying that he will be "coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" in Matthew 24:30, it often taken to mean that he will be doing that literally as opposed to figuratively. Kinda like this, but on clouds.   Careful now, before you put on your heretic hunting hats and grab your pitchforks — let me explain why I say that Jesus wasn't telling his fol...

Raised in the Heavenlies!

...rist—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus   Romans 6:4Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. While these verses (and many others) make it clear that through baptism we die to our old selves and are raised anew in Christ, we must also understand that this prefigures our future resurrection when we finally “put on immortality”. Though we will eventually die physically in the body, we won't die at all because death is defeated and it...

Lent: Day 8 - Ignatius to the Romans

...f God’s grace. This right here sums up everything Ignatius is saying and desires. His resolve is steadfast, even with the opportunity to get out of this situation via help from the Roman church. I wonder how many of us, myself included, would have such strength of faith in the face of death? As Ignatius said, he wants to “not merely be called a Christian, but really found to be one” through his actions and outward faith, whatever the circumstances. He does give us a small insight into what drives him during this time, because not only is he facing execution, but has ten soldiers guarding him who are not exactly treating him well, by the sounds of thing...

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

...I but the grace of God which was with me’ (1 Corinthians 15:10)” because we can do nothing of our own. Not boasting nor being puffed up in this victory, he, “having learned from the Scriptures that the devices of the devil are many (Ephesians 6:11), zealously continued the discipline”, because he knew that the devil “would endeavour to ensnare him by other means” still. Continuing more with his discipline, he would not focus nor remember the past, but would press on with the current day and what lay before, meditating on Paul's words; Philippians 3:14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Battl...

Lent Day 22: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 11-20

...f God’s grace.  ...

Lent Day 33: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XXII

...d at this grace found in the Eucharist in Ecclesiastes 9:7-8. “Go, eat your bread with enjoyment … Let your garments always be white” – receive the joy that Christ gives and press on toward salvation now you have put off the old garment and are clothed with a garment which is always “spiritually white”. Cyril closes off his lecture by saying that now his new converts have “learned these things”, they should be fully assured that, “the seeming bread is not bread, though sensible to taste, but the Body of Christ; and that the seeming wine is not wine, though the taste will have it so, but the Blood of Christ”. The more I've looked into this...