Gathering

The Thessalonians feared that those who were alive and remained to the parousia—Christ’s presence with his churches in the messianic age—would have some advantage over their dead loved ones (1 Thess 4:15 HCSB). Paul calmed their fears by reinforcing the truth: The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we…

In this series of posts, I am proposing a better way to understand Paul’s comforting words to the Thessalonians: The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.…

Jesus spoke of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob entering the messianic-age kingdom on multiple occasions. One time was in the early part of his preaching career, during his “Great Galilean Ministry.” Matthew says a Roman centurion expressed faith in him by affirming his absolute authority: When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said…

In my last four posts, I have laid the groundwork for a revised understanding of Paul’s “rapture passage” (1 Thess 4:13–5:11), especially his statements about the dead rising and the living being “caught up.” He says,  The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain…

A faithful friend has compounded my difficulties. I had admitted that Paul’s “rapture passage” (1 Thess 4:13–5:11) poses significant challenges for my prophetic view, which I call inmillennialism. Over two years ago, I wrote a series of blog posts explaining that Paul used protensive language in this passage: he put…

Our last two posts on First Thessalonians provided key information about Paul’s “rapture” passage (i.e., 1 Thess 4:13–5:11). First, his aim was to assure the Thessalonians that their dead brothers and sisters would be at no disadvantage during the messianic-age parousia (presence) of the Lord Jesus with his people. Second, the…

Two patterns emerge in Jesus’s list of signs related to the Temple’s fall: they became more intense and more figurative (Mark 13:5–27). Regarding intensity, he began with signs that were not immediate precursors of that event. These would give way to signs that would affect the apostles directly. These would…

We Christians would do well to remember an important aspect of the gospel. In the New Testament, the kingdom of heaven was at the core of the “good news.” As we have seen, John the Baptist preached this message. He proclaimed, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at…

The visiting Christian brother did not suffer from dementia, but his 90 years had removed many inhibitions. We learned this in a somewhat humorous way. Our small congregation sometimes sang Samuel J. Stone’s hymn, The Church’s One Foundation. On the day of his visit, when we sang the verse Yet…

Paul uses the same basic arrangement in many of his letters. He first lays a doctrinal foundation, then gives practical exhortations based on that foundation. Hebrews conforms to this pattern. We have seen the doctrine: Christ surpasses angels (Heb. 1:4 – 2:18), Moses (Heb. 3:1 – 4:13), and Aaron (Heb.…