About Gods
Scripture tells us there are many gods; some named, some not. There are lower gods of various nations, there is the higher god (the Satan) that rules over the lower gods, and there is the supreme creator God. Yahweh is the creator of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God. The triune God also created other lesser gods, who fell into rebellion and rule over regions, nations, and peoples. The Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth, became a human, and was crowned King in order to take creation back from the lesser gods.
Genesis 1:1, 26, 27; 3:22; Exodus 20:3; Psalm 82:1, 86:8, 90:2, 95:3, 96:4, 97:9, 136:2; Deuteronomy 10:17; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14
Why the World is Wicked ...and how Jesus declared war with it. - It is widely believed that the primary reason for the evil in the world is the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden, as depicted in Genesis 3. While this is the dominant belief among most Christians today, this wasn't the case for the ancient Hebrews, the New Testament writers, Jesus, the disciples, or… …
What God Actually Looks Like How the cross changes the Old Testament. - What is God like? Most Christians will point you to the Bible in order to answer that question. They wouldn't be incorrect, but have you actually read the Bible? The Bible has all sorts of different depictions of God; some are spectacularly wonderful and some are abhorrently disgusting. Despite what your pastor may have told… …
What’s the Deal with the Devil? How the god of this world deceives. - A theme that underlies Jesus' entire ministry is the assumption that a cosmic force has seized creation and that God is now battling this force to rescue it. The assumption is evident in almost everything Jesus says and does. If Jesus was serious about this, so should we. The reason the Son of God appeared was… …
The god of America How all world leaders are servants of Satan. - In America's pledge of allegiance to its flag, you'll hear "One Nation Under God." On all of America's currency, you'll read "In God We Trust". The latter is the official motto of the United States. So who is this god that America speaks of? After all, "god" is not a name, it is a title.… …
About Humans
Humans are made in the image of God and are called to be like him in character. Humankind is the supreme object of God’s creative work in the world. People were created to be co-rulers with God over creation. Although people have tremendous potential for good, we are constantly tempted to participate in destructive sinful ways of evil and, therefore, disobedience toward God. Because of the unsurpassable price Jesus paid on the cross, unsurpassable worth has been ascribed to all people; past, present, and future.
Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1; John 3:16
So You Think You’re Pro-Life? You're probably more pro-choice than you think. - You would be hard-pressed to find anyone, Christian or not, who is for abortion. That is why the opposing view to what is typically called "pro-life" is called "pro-choice." Someone who is pro-choice believes that a woman has the right to choose whether or not an unborn baby gets to live or die. Opponents of the pro-choice view say… …
The True Enemy Flesh and blood are never our struggle. - In his longest recorded sermon, Jesus makes the incredibly difficult command to love our enemies. This command was and still is a complete game-changer for how followers of Jesus are to live and think. Christians are not only to love friends, family, and neighbors; they are to show love to those who want us dead.… …
How To Respond To Terrorists A Guide For Christians. - Christians have a unique calling in the world to display the character of Jesus in what they say and do. Most of the time, this is a challenging proposition. It is, perhaps, never more challenging than how we respond to terrorists with our thoughts, words, and actions. Americans have had many enemies throughout the decades:… …
Original Sin is Not a Thing At least not in the Bible. - "Original Sin" is a belief that sin and its guilt are something we all possess in God’s eyes as a direct result of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden, namely the sin of disobedience in consuming the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In this belief, not only… …
About the Word of God
The one and only Word of God is Jesus Christ. He is part of the triune God. He is the exact representation of God’s very essence. No one has seen God except for Jesus, who makes him known. The Christian’s life should be modeled after the teachings and example of Jesus. Christ bore our sin on the cross and defeated the powers of darkness that enslave humanity. Through his defeat of death, he demonstrated the first fruits of the coming resurrection.
John 1:1-5, 10-14; Revelation 19:13; Matthew 28:18; John 14:6, 9; Hebrews 1:1-3; Matthew 11:27; 1 John 3:16
What is the Word of God? Is it the Bible or something else? - What is the Word of God? Most Christians don't ask what the Word of God is—they already know what it is: the Bible. This highlights a major issue in the Christian world today that started primarily with the Reformation: confusing the Bible for God. You see, the Bible doesn't claim to be the Word of… …
The Nonviolence of Jesus How Jesus defied everyone's expectations of power. - When Jesus made his triumphal entry into the Roman-occupied city of Jerusalem, the Jews shouted "Hosanna" and raised palm branches. Hosanna is a Hebrew expression meaning "save us, please!" Some preachers claim that the Jews knew they needed "personal salvation from hell" but this is hardly the case. The Jews wanted a messiah that would… …
Jesus Is What God Has To Say The ultimate Word of God. - God is Jesus. God looks exactly like Jesus. In 30 AD, the God that people for thousands of years were trying to know but never really knew, finally made Himself known to the world (Hebrews 1:3, John 1:14). We may ask why he took so long to make himself fully known, but he didn't wait… …
The Revelation of Jesus Christ How the last book of the Bible reveals the Lamb. - The New Testament of the Bible reveals to us the full and complete nature of God. In Jesus, we find out what God looks like by witnessing the "radiance of his glory" and "the exact representation of his being" (Hebrews 1:3). It is revealed that God doesn't look like how most thought he did through… …
About the Bible
The Bible is a library of writings that are both divine and human. Together they tell a unified story that leads us to Jesus. The Bible consists of a varying amount of books (depending on the tradition) from the time before Christ’s incarnation, called the Old Testament, and a collection of biographies and letters written in the first century that form the New Testament. All scripture is “inspired by God.” The Bible is not a rulebook. It is the narrative of God’s redemptive work in creation. The Bible infallibly leads us to the source of life and truth: Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105,160, 12:6; Proverbs 30:5
Jesus vs the Bible How God is Lord even over the good book. - Jesus was hunted and arrested for contradicting the Bible. Jesus may have been executed by Rome for denying that Caesar was king, but Jesus was hunted and arrested for contradicting the Hebrew Scriptures. In the eyes of the Jews, their future coming messiah was supposed to be a warrior king in the line of David… …
Which Bible is Without Error? Why it isn't as simple as some make it out to be. - You've probably heard someone say, "the Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it!" For most Christians, the Bible is the final authority for defining truth. For many Christians, this means that the Bible is without error because they believe it was written by God. But whatever you believe, there may still be… …
When the Bible is Wrong About God Finish the book to know what the story is about. - There is a sacred belief in Fundamentalist Evangelicalism that every account of history and every depiction of God in the Bible is true and accurate. It is a 'safe' but untenable view filled with conflict. The Bible presents us with a God who is said to command the murder of thousands of women, children, and infants… …
Slavery is Biblical You follow the Bible, don't you? - Since the dawn of man, for thousands upon thousands of years, there has been slavery. Today slavery is illegal in every nation on earth. This doesn't mean there is no more slavery, but it does mean that humankind now generally recognizes that slavery is evil. It is likely very difficult for the average Christian in… …
Your Bible Has Been Censored Uncovering the Bible that Jesus read. - The Bible that you have in your home or in your pocket has been censored. The Bible that you own has had verses and entire books taken out of it. The Bible that you know has extra content added to it. The Bible that you have read for as long as you've read the Bible… …
About Salvation
Salvation is much less about the afterlife than it is about the present life. Salvation is a rescue from the world, not the planet, which is the systems of evil set up by dark spiritual forces. Salvation is the freedom from the bondage of sin found in the Kingdom of God. Salvation is citizenship in Christ’s nation that has no end.
Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8, 9; John 14:6, 1:12; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1
What Is Salvation? How did Jesus save us and from what? - Most Christians don't feel like they need an answer to the question, "what is salvation?" For them, the answer is simple: getting to go to heaven instead of hell when they die. Yet, despite this being the common and majority view in modern western Evangelicalism, it isn't true at all. Salvation never involves going to… …
You Aren’t Saved By Faith Salvation is by allegiance alone. - Words like 'faith' and 'believe' are said to be the catalyst of Christian salvation. Ephesians says, "it is by grace you have been saved, through faith," and John says, "whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." No one will deny that the Scriptures are clear that faith and belief provide salvation… …
We Are Saved By Works Allegiance to the King requires action. - Some Christians say that works have nothing to do with salvation. The doctrine of being saved by grace through faith instead of works is so prominent in our Western post-Reformation theology that it seems almost blasphemous or heretical to question it. We are saved by the grace of God; everyone can agree with this, but where… …
Exit the World The systems of Satan are the enemies of God. - There is a lot of confusion around what the world is. Is it an evil place that we must escape from? Is it a system to commandeer and use for God? The "world" is a theme we can find all over the pages of the Bible so let's explore it. What is the World? The… …
How To Be An Unsaved Christian When secret prayers don't cut it. - Are you "saved"? Understanding the concept and getting saved is really quite simple: You’re a sinner headed for hell, Jesus died to take your punishment, and if you “ask him into your heart” you’ll go to heaven instead of hell. Right? The only problem is, almost none of that is true. Salvation, as understood this way,… …
How The Cross Saves Us The true meaning of the ultimate torture device. - The ancient world of Greece and Rome was filled with stories of people who were sacrificed, or sacrificed themselves, to secure blessings or turn away divine wrath. As Jewish leaders were plotting Jesus’ death, the high priest Caiaphas argued that it was better that one man die for the people so the nation might be… …
About the Church
Jesus Christ established the church to be God’s new community, which has its roots in the people of God in the Old Testament and testifies to the presence of the Kingdom of God on earth. Jesus Christ is the Church’s authority. The Church consists of all those who trust Jesus as Savior, give him total allegiance as King, and follow him as Master. The Church is Israel, God’s children, God’s covenant partner, and citizens of Christ’s Kingdom. The Church is an apprentice to Jesus, an ambassador of heaven, and a foreigner to the pagan nations. The Church is the archetype of a new humanity that carries out God’s will.
Matthew 5:13-16; 18:15-35; 20:26-28; 28:20; John 1:12-13; Acts 2:41-47; Romans 1:16; 2 Corinthians 2:5-11; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:19, 22; Philippians 2:2-16; Colossians 1:18; 2 Timothy 2:2; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 John 3:16-19
Early Church Writers What they had to say about Empire and the Kingdom. - For the past 1,700 years, we have largely ignored a good portion of the teachings of Jesus. Starting in the fourth century, the contrast between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world became muddied when the two became fused. The Church lost its way. As we depart from this long period of history,… …
Church is a Political Protest Revolting against Satan's primary power. - The Church is inherently a protest against the powers that run the world today. It doesn't always look like that though. Sometimes it looks like the Church is more in bed with the powers of this world than it is revolting against them. The story of how it got that way is a sad one,… …
The World is Getting Better How God's nation takes over the entire Earth. - Only 6% of Americans think the world is getting better. News media-consuming Americans are bludgeoned with pessimism day after day. With wars raging, diseases spreading, and increased awareness of poverty and injustice it isn't hard to imagine why. While we are fed a constant stream of despair, what hope do we have? It has been… …
Should We Have Guns in Our Churches? An uncommon question in the heart of empire. - Every time there is a shooting anywhere in America, the political left calls for more gun laws and the political right calls for more gun ownership. While it is easy to fall into either the conservative or liberal mindsets of worldly politics, are these the only two options? Does Jesus call his followers to another… …
About Baptism
The baptism of believers is a public witness that they have received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and are becoming part of the community of faith. Baptism by immersion symbolizes the believer’s submission to Jesus Christ and identification with his death and resurrection. By passing through water, Baptism represents the escape from oppressive empire into the promised land of the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38-39; Romans 6:3-6; 1 Peter 3:21
Baptism is Anti-American A rite of resistance. - Baptism is the central ritual and rite of becoming a Christian. But ever since the fourth century, the meaning of baptism has been intentionally obfuscated. While once it was known as a public treasonous act, it is now a harmless ritual done behind church walls. Today in America, baptism doesn't ruffle any feathers. Baptism doesn't… …
Your New Birth Certificate What does it mean to be "born again"? - Christianity has some bizarre phrases: "hedge of protection," "washed in the blood," "sinner's prayer," "traveling mercies,"... but one of the strangest is the term "born again." You've probably heard it at least once before. You may have even heard it so many times that you don't think twice about what it means. Is "born again" synonymous with being… …
Eagles of Empires A bird on the shoulders is worth the entire empire. - The national symbol of the ancient empire of Rome was the eagle. The eagle, the strongest and most aggressive of the birds, dominated the skies. It could fly higher and swoop down faster than any other bird, picking off its prey with little or no resistance. It was a fitting symbol of Roman power. It isn't… …
About the Kingdom
The center of the Bible, what Jesus talked about more than anything else, and the focus of human existence, is the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is what the Gospel is all about. God’s Kingdom is Christ’s nation, here on earth, where Jesus rules and his will is done. The arrival of the Kingdom is the good news, the Gospel that the Church spreads to the nations who are enslaved. The people of God, living in the Kingdom, are called to be a redemptive influence in the world, confronting corporate sin and seeking to overcome evil with good. They are to be a voice for righteousness, peace, and justice.
Matthew 4:17, 6:33, 16:19, 25:34; John 18:36; Luke 17:20-21; Mark 1:15; Daniel 2:44; Acts 28:31; Revelation 11:15
What is the Kingdom? What Jesus talked about most. - What is the goal of Christianity? For many people, it is believed that the goal is going to heaven. If the goal of the gospel is simply to get people into heaven, as many believe, what is its relevance to daily life? The apostles did not preach the gospel the way many do today ("Pray… …
What is the Gospel? It likely isn't what you think it is. - The word "gospel" comes from the old English word "gödspel" translated from the Greek word "euangelion" (εὐαγγέλιον) which literally means "good news." But what exactly is the news that is good? If you ask different people, you are going to get different answers because there are a lot of different ideas about what the Gospel… …
5 Differences Between Kingdom and Empire How nations like America are different from Christ's nation. - God has his own nation. The world has their own nations. The nations of the world all operate similarly, though they have each obtained different levels of power with which they can express themselves. God's nation, referred to in Scripture as the Kingdom of God, operates very differently from all the nations of the world.… …
About Citizenship
The good news of the Gospel is that God’s nation has arrived on earth, and anyone can be a part of it. Becoming a citizen of Christ’s nation means giving up your citizenship in the pagan nation you were physically born into. Followers of Jesus are now foreigners, aliens, and strangers in worldly nations. Children of God are ambassadors of God’s Kingdom, stationed in hostile territories. Nationalism or patriotism for a pagan nation is the refutation of a Christian’s new citizenship, for total allegiance must be given to God’s Kingdom alone.
James 3:5-7; Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 1:17, 2:11
Your New Birth Certificate What does it mean to be "born again"? - Christianity has some bizarre phrases: "hedge of protection," "washed in the blood," "sinner's prayer," "traveling mercies,"... but one of the strangest is the term "born again." You've probably heard it at least once before. You may have even heard it so many times that you don't think twice about what it means. Is "born again" synonymous with being… …
Patriotism Killed Jesus Choosing the hope of the sword over the cross. - A few years ago the militant radical Islamic group, ISIS, started to gain the upper-hand against the American Military in the Middle East. Through strategic surprise attacks and allegiances with other various Muslim countries, the United States was caught off guard. Coordinated cyber attacks crippled our military defense systems, giving ISIS control of our missiles. Initially,… …
I Pledge Allegiance ...to what now? - Pledging your allegiance to a flag— or more specifically, to a nation— is diametrically opposed to the mission of Jesus and his Kingdom. Pledging allegiance to America isn't something a Christ follower should do. If your first thought to that suggestion is one of shock, disgust, or disregard, don't worry, you're in good company. But let's… …
What is an Empire? How nations oppose the King. - Empire is a significant theme in the Bible. From Pharaoh in Egypt and the Exile, to King Solomon of Israel and the monarchy, to the Babylonian empire, to the Roman empire, finally with a showdown in Revelation; the concept of empire comes up time and time again. The Bible never has anything good to say… … Early Church Writers What they had to say about Empire and the Kingdom. - For the past 1,700 years, we have largely ignored a good portion of the teachings of Jesus. Starting in the fourth century, the contrast between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world became muddied when the two became fused. The Church lost its way. As we depart from this long period of history,… …
About the Government
Governments of the world are ordered in place by Yahweh, as he finds them, but are not created by him. God regards the nations of the world as less than nothing. Scripture tells us that the nations of the world are ruled by the lesser gods, with Satan in control. Because of this, the Church rejects any and all participation in human governments. As a foreigner in these nations, the Church is called to pray for those people in government that have taken authority over other people, asking God that they would recognize the true and rightful authority of Jesus.
Isaiah 40:15; 1 Samuel 8:7-8; Luke 4:5-8; John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11; Ephesians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 5:19
Enough is Enough: Government 3 systems that God never wanted so Jesus abolished. - God has been putting up with our sin for a very, very long time. One massive overarching theme that we can see in Scripture is that God has been slowly moving his people further away from sin and closer towards his ideal. In the New Testament, we see a massive jump forward with the arrival… … The god of America How all world leaders are servants of Satan. - In America's pledge of allegiance to its flag, you'll hear "One Nation Under God." On all of America's currency, you'll read "In God We Trust". The latter is the official motto of the United States. So who is this god that America speaks of? After all, "god" is not a name, it is a title.… …
Christians Can’t Be In Government What Jesus can teach us about involvement with empire. - Every four years in America, you'll find at least one presidential candidate running on a platform that includes some sort of "Christian values." If the term "Christian" actually means what it means—being like Jesus Christ—then no president in the history of America was ever a Christian. A bold claim, yes, and it doesn't apply only… …
The President is a False Ruler According to Jesus at least. - "Leader of the Free World" is a phrase first coined during the Cold War to describe the President of the United States as the supreme leader over the world's 'democratic' states. Today, America is an imperial juggernaut on the world stage, having a larger military than the next seven militaries under it combined. America is… …
Voting is Violence Why you want to kill everyone who disagrees with you. - Should you vote in American elections? If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then you are not an American. The Bible says that once one of Christ's apprentices pledges allegiance to him and his Kingdom, then they cease to have citizenship in the pagan nation they were born in (Philippians 3:20). This is the… …
America Will Fall Like all empires, the U.S. will come to an end. - On both sides of the political spectrum, many Americans want the nation to be better than it is. Conservatives want to bring America back to a mythical utopia of the past, while liberals want to push America through to a mystical utopia of the future. Both camps are dissatisfied with where things are today. Christians… …
About the Military
Since every person has unsurpassable worth, ascribed to them by their creator, killing is the chief sin and a total affront to God. The militaries of the world represent the apex of humankind’s rebellion and wickedness. The military works at a cross-purpose to Christ’s will on earth. The military carries out war, the undoing of creation, and therefore is completely forbidden for apprentices of Jesus. The role of the military is to undermine God’s will for people: to love their enemies, feed them, clothe them, pray for them, bless them, and never repay evil for evil.
Matthew 5:9, 11, 21-22, 38-39, 43-46; 10:22-23, 28; 16:24-25; Mark 10:19; Luke 6:27-28, 32-3, 46; John 13:34-35; 18:36; Philippians 2:5-7; 1 Peter 2:18-23, 3:15-16, I Corinthians 4:6; 11:1; Ephesians 5:1-2; Philippians 3:17; I Thessalonians 1:6; 2 Thessalonians 3:7; Colossians 2:6
WW2 Happened Because of Christians When Christians forsake the way of Christ. - As a historical event, World War 2 is idolized, propagandized, and fetishized more than any other war. It is proposed to be the ultimate showdown of 'good vs evil' in modern history. There was no group more evil than the Nazis while there was no group more heroic than the allied forces. More movies, shows,… …
Support All Troops From every nation. - "Support the troops" is a cry heard in every empire with an army that needs to be maintained. America is no different, and Veterans Day is a time to thank soldiers for their service to their country. For anyone attempting to follow Jesus, however, Veterans Day presents some very serious challenges. How Christians deal with… …
War Is Satanic The unavoidable truth about the way of the sword. - War is hell. The effects of being in war have life-long repercussions. Soldiers who come home from the battlefield are changed forever. Many suffer from various psychological disorders after seeing combat. More U.S. Veterans killed themselves in 2014 alone than all who died in Iraq and Afghanistan to date. Those in the military are six times… …
For God and Country When the Church and the State don't mix. - For many, the phrase "for God and country" stirs up feelings of patriotism and pride. The phrase evokes an idea that a cause is both for the good of the country and also aligns with God's will. Many soldiers hold the phrase dear to their hearts as it is personal reassurance that they fight for a… …
The Grave Sin of Memorial Day How it's celebration diminishes the Gospel. - Memorial Day is an American holiday specially designated for honoring the people who died while serving in the military, particularly in war. The primary purpose of this holiday is to hold in thankful memory the freely given sacrifices of the soldiers for the good of the nation. These sacrifices are lifted up to be honored and,… …
Soldiers Never Died For Your Freedom Rejecting the lies of empire. - Jesus and his disciples had a lot to say about how Christians should treat other people. He even went as far as telling his followers that they must love their enemies if they want to be considered a child of God. This is a radically difficult and counter-cultural command that has far-reaching implications. If Jesus commanded… …
About the End Times
The Great Tribulation was prophesied by Jesus and was well documented as a historical event that took place between 66-70 AD. Because of the vast amount of evidence that the Tribulation took place, we can know with confidence that Jesus was correct and without error. Rival Nations rejects many of the Dispensational teachings regarding the End Times that were invented less than 200 years ago, including but not limited to the Rapture, the Antichrist, the Mark of the Beast, a conflict with Israel, and a third Temple.
Luke 10:19; Colossians 2:15; Matthew 6:10; Daniel 2:35, 7:13-14; Ephesians 5:25-27; Isaiah 9:67
End Times Trickery How doom & gloom became popular. - Jesus appeared on the scene, offering a new way of life, a way of peace. He called his way of life the Kingdom of God. He taught us that we are to pray and work for this Kingdom to come to earth. He taught us to pray and work for his will to be increasingly… …
The Rapture is Not a Thing What scripture says about disappearing. - The Bible is a big book—it's actually a library of 66, 73, or 81 books (depending on the Christian tradition)—so it's probably safe to say that the majority of Christians haven't read most of it, let alone all of it. Therefore, we hold many of our beliefs because we've been told to believe them. This… …
Back to the Future Tribulation: PART 1 Don't worry, it was in their future but in our past. - The Great Tribulation is a time of war, famine, earthquakes, persecution, and death. Jesus describes it in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 as a horrible period of time with much suffering, then he prophesies that the end will come. It sounds like something that most would want to avoid. Thankfully, Jesus goes on to… …
Are You the Antichrist? What happens when we lose sight of the way. - What does the Bible really teach about the antichrist? In the 90s popular Left Behind book series, the idea of a future antichrist figure was brought to the forefront of prophesy-minded Evangelicals. In the book's "Glossary of Terms," antichrist is defined as "An evil figure who will plague the world and eventually be defeated by Christ… …
Mark of the Beast Revealed Why finding it now is more important than ever. - For many Evangelical Christians who believe the end of the world is coming soon, there is perhaps nothing more fascinating than trying to decipher what could be "signs of the times." Topics such as the Tribulation, the Rapture, and the Anti-Christ capture the imagination of pop-culture Christianity, but perhaps none more so than the Mark… …
The 70th Week of Daniel The total failure of Dispensational theology. - There is a certain relatively niche interpretation of the ninth chapter of the book of Daniel that claims that there will be a 'tribulation' that will last exactly seven years at some point in the future. Even though this view is quite new, it has become very popular in American Evangelical circles. This view involves… …
The Unholy Land Why Israel is bigger and better than you think. - The "holy land" refers loosely to the land occupied by modern-day Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, western Jordan, and south-western Syria. Despite the fact that the land is described as "holy" only once in the Old Testament and never in the New Testament, many today consider that land to be the "holy land." Interestingly, for the first thousand… …
The Last Temple Never will there be another Temple of God. - There are a lot of strange "end times" beliefs in American pop-Christian culture. Some are rooted in long-held interpretations of Scripture and some are rooted in Christian Bookstore fiction novels. In Jewish eschatology, there is a belief that the Second Temple (destroyed in 70 AD) will be replaced by a future Third Temple. This view… …
Revelation Isn’t About the Apocalypse Reclaiming the subversive resistance letter. - Even without ever having read Revelation, you would probably guess that it is about the end of the world. Pop-culture, fiction novels, and movies have all contributed to the reputation that the book of Revelation currently holds in popular Evangelical teachings and the Western world at large. The belief system that puts Revelation's events at… …
About Eternity
Humans were created as mortal beings, but God offers the gift of eternal life to whoever chooses to live under his rule in his Kingdom. Eternity has already started, and God’s gift of life is available now. Jesus tells us that life outside of his Kingdom leads to destruction. Scripture promises that God will reconcile all things to himself. All humankind awaits the future bodily resurrection of the dead on a renewed and restored earth.
John 3:16; 1 John 2:25; 1 John 5:11-13; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15; Matthew 25:31-46
Renewed Creation God chooses to restore rather than destroy. - There is a widely held belief in popular mainstream Christianity that God will destroy the Earth one day. This belief pairs well with the idea of a Rapture and a future Tribulation, because Christians can escape the planet as it supposedly gets worse. This isn't what scripture teaches though. God doesn't abandon his creation, he… …
Resurrection of the Dead Everyone's coming back. - Step inside most churches in the west and they will preach that when you die if you have "accepted Jesus into your heart," you will go to heaven. Rarely is it preached that all would be resurrected, bodies reanimated, rising from the grave. Instead, it's often taught you just go to heaven when you die—end of… …
You’re Not Going To Heaven No one is in heaven, sorry. - Death comes to everyone. What happens to us after we die is a question that has been pondered for thousands of years. Many Christians just assume that people go to heaven or hell after they die. Do our views on heaven and hell come from pagan religions, or from the Bible? How much of what… …
Hell Isn’t Forever Why the tradition of eternal torment is a myth. - If the idea of eternal conscious torment in hell doesn't sit right with you, there is a reason; you were created to instinctively know that eternal torture is pure evil. We could imagine that Satan would keep a place like hell up and running for all eternity, but would God? Certainly not. Yet despite Scripture clearly… …
Don’t Wait For Jesus How the second coming of the King might be better than you think. - It seems like every new generation thinks that the second coming of Jesus will happen in their lifetime. Everything in the news media is a "sign of the end times." The Rapture has been predicted so many times in the past 50 years that many view Christianity as a joke. What shouldn't be a surprise… …