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BOOK REVIEW: Four Views on Hell 2nd edition

...cribed as death and destruction elsewhere in Scripture Matt 10:28; John 3:16; Rom 6:23). After all, when Hebrews 9:12 refers to our ‘eternal redemption’, it most probably doesn’t refer to a never-ending act of redeeming, but to the never-ending redemption that results from God’s saving work.”16 It is also worth recalling that Jesus here spells out two contrary, not comparable, destinies in antithetical or asymmetrical contrast – life versus its opposite – as proven many times in CI literature. Burk uses Mk 9 to foreground “the devouring worm (that never finishes devouring) and the burning fire (that never finishes burning)” (32), twice i...

Was there death before the Fall?

...It is often said and believed by many that our souls are immortal - that God gave us a spirit/soul that cannot die when he created us, and that death was not even a concept or reality before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Despite this idea being a fairly "recent" concept (in terms of history and theology), and it stemming from Greek philosophy, it's also not supported by the Biblical text - especially in Genesis. Lets look at the creation account in Gen 2:7— then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. The word "being" in that verse, or "sou...

How Old Was Jesus When He Died? A Fresh Look At The Historical Clues

...We often hear that Jesus was “about 33 years old” when he was crucified and only had a three-year ministry. But have you ever wondered how precise that number is, or why we assume that was his age, especially when Scripture doesn’t specify? Table of Contents The Gospel of Luke: “About Thirty” Early Church Testimony: Irenaeus and the Longer Ministry Historical Anchors: Birth, Pilate, and the Crucifixion Window The death of Herod Cross-referencing with Pilate, Caiaphas, and Jesus When Did Tiberius Begin to Reign? 1. From his co-regency with Augustus (AD 11–12) 2. From the death of Augustus (AD 14) How Does This Affect Jesus’ Ag...

Raised in the Heavenlies!

...perienced death (to self) and rebirth. Finally, baptism proclaimed the eschatological hope for restoration in the new creation.” With that in mind, let's take a look at how baptism and resurrection relate to one another: Colossians 2:12When you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.   Colossians 3:1So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.   Ephesians 2:5-6 …[God,] even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— an...

An Examination of Conditional Immortality (Part One)

...ernative: death, perishing and/or destruction. Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 2 Timothy 1:10…but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. John 10:28; 17:2I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. […] since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 1 John 5:12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. See also the...

How was Jesus a sacrifice?

...mehow the death of Jesus in this way saves us from our sins. To better understand this, and to grasp why in various places Jesus is called our “ransom”, we need to go back to the reason for the original Passover, not the ritual. Passover was what God did when he delivered his people from the slavery of the Egyptians. The blood of the lamb was the symbol that they belonged to God, and so escaped death. Originally the paschal lamb was about Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and slavery, now Jesus is the greater lamb who rescues us from slavery and bondage to sin by his blood. The blood on the doorposts covered the Israelites from the angel of death, and now...