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Lent Day 26: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 51-60

...brink of death when Anthony, during prayer, it was revealed to him that this was happening, so he sent two men to that location with water to save the monk. One other time when Anthony was sitting and praying, he looked up and saw a man in a vision, being taken upwards towards many who were joyful at his arrival. Wondering what this was, he prayed and enquired of the Lord, who responded by telling him it was the soul of “Amun, the monk at Nitria” being taken up into the presence of the Father, for he had died. The companions of Anthony, seeing the amazed expression on his face, asked what he was seeing, and he explained that Amun had died. This monk lived...

The Coming of Jesus: Our Future Hope - What Now?

...ction and death of the Messiah (Mark 12:1-9) and for all the blood of the prophets the nation of Israel killed over the centuries (Luke 11:49-51).   Examining the Olivet Discourse in some detail alongside contemporary historical accounts by Josephus revealed that the Great Tribulation foretold by Jesus certainly was great and terrible. Miraculous events happened, the temple glowed with unnatural light at night as voices were heard saying “let us depart” from there; great portents were seen in the skies as angelic armies ran through the clouds over Jerusalem, the streets ran with blood and fiery destruction rained down across the city! But those who were i...

Fact-Checking the Viral Post Connecting Human Anatomy and the Bible

...se age at death is a tradition, not a biblical statement. See my other recent article examining the age of Jesus here. Theologically, the phrase “the same number of years He held this Earth” is problematic. Jesus did not hold the world together only for 33 years. The eternal Word was with God in the beginning (John 1:1–3), and “in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). Hebrews says He “sustains all things by His powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3). He has always upheld creation, before His incarnation, during His earthly ministry, and after His resurrection. To imply otherwise is to risk undermining the pre-existence of Christ. 2...

Lent Day 38: Leo the Great: Sermon XXI (On the Nativity Feast I)

...umph over death and sin which is what Easter is all about. So in short, these sermons cover the major points in the life of Jesus, which is quite fitting to close this series with. Celebrating Christmas is to celebrate “the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of promised eternity”. "There is for all one common measure of joy, because as our Lord the destroyer of sin and death finds none free from charge, so is He come to free us all." Through his birth, Jesus has “taken on him the nature of man, thereby to reconcile it to its Author” by defeating the devil and death (Gal 4:4). And so it was, “the Wor...

When did Christians become so whiny?

...re put to death and restored to life. They are poor yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things and yet abound in all; they are dishonored and yet in their very dishonor are glorified. They are evil spoken of and yet are justified; they are reviled and bless; they are insulted and repay the insult with honor; they do good yet are punished as evildoers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners and are persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred. To sum it all up in one word -- what the soul is to the body, that are Christians in the world. Qu...

The Coming of Jesus: The Olivet Discourse – Part 1

...ut you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another ... And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. (cf. Mark 13:9-13; Luke 21:12-17) The stoning of Stephen is the first martyr we come across, and it doesn't stop there. Before Paul (then, Saul) met with the risen Jesus, he was going from town to town arresting and killing the followers of Jesus. Acts 7:54-60 When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen ... Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witne...