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Was there death before the Fall?

...f God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being" (Heb 1:3), and so the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus ought to be the way in which we view the Old Testament's views on death and afterlife - which would lead us to viewing ourselves as having a "soul" in the spiritual sense, and that the death in Adam was also a spiritual death that only Christ can reverse by sealing us and renewing us with Holy Spirit in this life (2 Cor 5:17; Eph 1:13; Eph 4:30), and then by looking forward to the hope of the resurrection to come (Rom 6:11; 1 Cor 15:20-22; 1 Pet 3:18). Jesus did more than restore us spiritually by defeating spiritual death, but also by def...

God before ages becomes an infant!

...thed with glory, and total humiliation the measure of His Goodness. For this He assumed my body, that I may become capable of His Word; taking my flesh, He gives me His spirit; and so He bestowing and I receiving, He prepares for me the treasure of Life. He takes my flesh, to sanctify me; He gives me His Spirit, that He may save me.Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, th...

The Eighth Day

...ad by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Also, just a interesting side-note here: baptismal fonts in the traditional Church buildings are often Octagonal in shape due to the symbolism of the eighth day and baptism representing new creation!   A new Kingdom with God Not only are we within the new creation, raised up and seated with Christ in the heavenlies, but we are co-workers in this new ministry! We work together with God to bring all of Creation back to Him, and we do this as ambassadors for Christ because we are also now within the Kingdom of God and have that authority through the Spirit who dwells in us! As Jesus tol...

An Examination of Conditional Immortality (Part Two)

...ation and glory and power to our God, for his judgments are true and just; he has judged the great whore who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” Once more they said, “Hallelujah! The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.” Once more, we see the “smoke goes up from her forever and ever” imagery, and the harlot is depicted as burning. But this does not represent the eternal torment of a literal, human woman. Instead, the torment of the harlot symbolizes the destruction of what she represents: the “great city” and the depraved culture and society within. If we go to Jeremiah, we will also...

Did the Early Church invent the Trinity?

...inity, in glory and eternity and sovereignty, neither divided nor estranged. Wherefore there is nothing either created or in servitude in the Trinity; nor anything superinduced, as if at some former period it was non-existent, and at some later period it was introduced. And thus neither was the Son ever wanting to the Father, nor the Spirit to the Son; but without variation and without change, the same Trinity abides ever — Declaration of Faith, A.D. 265. Post-Nicene Thought At this point we go beyond the date of the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325), but I’m including the quotes so you can see how the influence of the previous Church Fathers, and the resul...

Great Lent: The Season of Fasting

...down from glory to be a man and die for us while we were still sinners. Some Encouragement on Fasting Fasting can be hard! It’s not easy – there’s no denying that, and it’s probably why it’s fell out of fashion and practise in the modern church as it goes so much against our comfortable lifestyles, it’s almost painful! But that’s also precisely why we should fast! It is so totally counter-cultural that we cannot help but be refocused away from this world and all its distractions, and back onto God and to spiritual things. Read through the Gospels and we’ll see Jesus stating that “When you fast…” (Matthew 6:17) – not if; and even throug...