THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF MAY IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN A CONSUMING PASSION: Essays on Hell and Immortality BY CHRIS DATE Posted to: www.RethinkingHell.com website on May 6, 2015. In April 2014, shortly before the inaugural Rethinking Hell conference at the Lanier Theological Library, we published our first book, Rethinking Hell: Readings in Evangelical Conditionalism. A year later, we are excited to announce the upcoming publication of our second book, A Consuming Passion: Essays on Hell and Immortality in Honor of Edward W. Fudge. Wipf & Stock, who published … [Read more...]
WHEN IS THE RESURRECTION?
THE FIRST DAY OF APRIL IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN A gracEmail subscriber recently attended two funerals at which the pastor said the deceased had experienced their resurrections. This subscriber believes that the resurrection will take place at Christ's return. "Is there a biblical basis," he asks, "for believing that Christians who die now experience their resurrection before that?" * * *Unless I am badly confused, Paul states unequivocally that all the redeemed, now living and dead, will be caught up together one day to join the Lord. That … [Read more...]
Jesus fulfilled law and prophets (Part 2 of 2)
THE EIGHTH DAY OF MARCH IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN A gracEmail subscriber asks why God would throw out the Old Testament and replace it with another; why he would begin with an attempt to redeem sinners through a system of law-keeping, then switch to a system grounded in grace ; and please explain the statement that "the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). * * * The Bible is above all a story--a story of the divine rescue, by which the Creator delivers, redeems and reconciles to himself a broken, … [Read more...]
Jesus fulfilled, not destroyed, law and prophets (1 of 2)
THE FIRST DAY OF MARCH IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN A gracEmail subscriber asks how to assist a friend who struggles to understand how Old Testament law was replaced with New Testament grace. He doesn't see how the Old Testament could just be thrown out. * * * If we want to know Jesus' intentions toward, relationship with, and effect upon the Jewish "Law" and "Prophets" (which, with the "Writings," comprise the Hebrew Scriptures), we will do well to ask Jesus himself. Jesus' answer is clear: "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not … [Read more...]
Jesus’ personal prize and inheritance
DAY TWENTY-TWO OF FEBRUARY, YEAR OF GRACE TWENTY FIFTEEN A gracEmail subscriber writes: "The author of Hebrews says that Jesus "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross" (Heb. 12:2). What is that joy? Paul prayed for his converts to know "the riches of [God's] glorious inheritance in the saints" (Eph. 1:18). Is this saying what it sounds like? Are the saved themselves somehow a part of Christ's own reward? * * * God has named Jesus "heir of all things" and that includes every human being he rescues from destruction (Heb. 1:2). They all will be presented to him as a gift and … [Read more...]
afterlife discussion has nine lives
A recent gracEmail titled "Boy Who Told Fibs About Heaven" told of 16-year-old Alex Malarkey's announcement that his book, The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven (co-written with dad, Kevin), was untrue. Alex never went to heaven, he now says, but rather as a six-year-old made up the whole story to get attention. The gracEmail noted three major elements in Alex's story that contradict biblical teaching--always a clear warning for discerning readers. The gracEmail generated double the usual number of responses, including one from Mark Albrecht of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mark is a delightful … [Read more...]
God, the gospel, and the nations’ obedience
When God chose Israel as his special people and covenant partner, it was his intention through them ultimately to bless the world. "By your descendants," God promised Abraham, "shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 22:18). God blessed Israel so that, through Israel, all nations would be blessed. The chosen people prayed: "May God . . . bless us, that thy . . . [saving power] may be known . . . among all nations" (Psalm 67:1-2). Israelites who rightly understood their role as God's chosen people gladly invited other human beings everywhere to worship Israel's God, saying: "Praise … [Read more...]
Boy who told fibs about heaven
Titled The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, this 2010 bestseller from Tyndale by Alex Malarkey and his father Kevin Malarkey has sold more than a million copies. And why not, we ask, for a book that purports to tell the story of six-year-old Alex, who sustained head injuries in a vehicular collision that left him comatose for two months and paralyzed permanently. While in the coma, said Alex, speaking through his father, he died but eventually came back. Alex' adventures while dead include a trip to heaven escorted by angels, topped off by a visit with Jesus himself. This month (January … [Read more...]
vital Christian message long muted
Based on the little attention it receives in teaching and preaching today, one might suppose that the future return of our Lord is a fringe doctrine invented by extremists, a second thought hastily tacked on to resolve some alleged difficulty in the original Christian message. Instead, it is a foundational teaching of the faith, rooted in the promise solemnly given by angels immediately after Jesus' ascension. This "blessed hope" is part of the earliest Christian narrative as reported by Luke: "Repent therefore . . . that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from … [Read more...]
Walking through a strange land home
Do you ever feel a longing for home, but a home not of this world? If so, there is a very good reason, and First Peter just might be what you need to see you through this day. Written originally to Christians in five Roman provinces, it is clearly a legacy for the church at large, consisting of individuals Peter describes as God's chosen ones but strangers in this world. That double (and paradoxical) identity will follow us through the whole epistle. This world is not our home, as anyone who takes seriously God's calling and assignment quickly learns. What is this mission to which we are … [Read more...]