Blog Search Results

What are the Seraphim, and was the devil one of them?

Have you ever wondered about what the devil is — or was, pre-Fall? You’ve probably been told that he used to be an angel with God, so then why is he often described as a snake, serpent or dragon? Though there isn’t a great deal given away in Scripture as to the nature of angels, or the heavenly realms in general, we get some glimpses from the visions of the prophets. But what we can also look at is the words which the Bible uses; some of which aren’t translated and so lose their original meaning in English. The Seraphim The word “seraphim” is a transliteration of a Hebrew word, rather than a translation, so in English we often will miss the me...

When did Christians become so whiny?

...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. Quite a statement, especially that last line: "what the soul is to the body, that are Christians in the world" — is it possible to still make such a claim? Apology of Tertullian, AD 197...

Lent Day 31: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XX

...rs of the evil one”. Next, being led to the baptismal pool as Christ was carried from the cross to the tomb, they make their declaration of faith and are baptised three times in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three times in the water as Christ was three days in the grave. Though we don't really die, nor get buried, nor get resurrected in that moment physically, “our imitation was in a figure, and our salvation in reality”. Like many other early church writers, Cyril views baptism as a way in which our sins are washed away, probably due to passages like Acts 2:38 (“...so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the...

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

...from the evil one.   What now? So where does this leave us now, today? With more hope, I would say. If indeed the tribulation, and signs, wars and bloodshed are behind us and was about the coming judgement on the nation of Israel, then we ought to have no fear of the future or things in the news and headlines on the papers. Definitely not any worry from those preachers who pop up every few years predicting the End. Our hope should be in Christ and his finished work. Even if there is still a “coming” in the future, and we’re taken up to heaven in new bodies, when (or if) it happens, it’ll happen and will be unlike anything else. But in the meant...

The Reality of Sin

...purge the evil from your midst. God takes sin amongst his own people very seriously, as you can see from the verses above. And he will deal with us as he sees fit so that he can form and shape us into the image of his Son, Christ Jesus. That is the aim and purpose of our salvation (cf. Phil 2:5; Rom 12:2). As Irenaeus (and Athanasius) said: Jesus became what we are so that we might become what He is! In other words, we are to be renewed and transformed into the image of Christ so that, as Peter wrote, we “may become participants of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). Remember, judgement begins with the house of God! (1 Peter 4:17). We aren't spared from Go...

Was the omniscience of God a developed idea?

...ch on the evil and the good" which does sound similar to the thought behind the Chronicles verse, and so is probably confirms that it is more of a poetic way of expressing what we would now just call "omniscience." At the moment I can't think of any other places off the top of my head in Scripture where this idea appears to be present. But other Old Testament verses do also come to mind that show the opposite. For example in Psalm 139:1-4: O Lord, you have searched me and known me.You know when I sit down and when I rise up;    you discern my thoughts from far away.You search out my path and my lying down,    and are acquainted with all my w...