In the Qumran text Rule of the Community it states, “They shall be judged by the first judgements in which the men of the Community began to be instructed, until the coming of the prophet and the Messiahs of Aaron and Israel” (1QS 9.10–11).1 We have here “the locus classicus for Qumran messianism.”2 Although this passage appears to be absent in the fragments of 4Q MS E (4Q259), it is nevertheless indicative of Qumran beliefs...
Jesus is coming soon. This is the Bible’s continual answer to the question of when our Lord will return to judge the wicked and vindicate the righteous. The Book of Revelation is part of an apocalyptic tradition that followed the exile of the Jewish people. Apocalyptic literature is often political in its form and theological in its content. The Book of Revelation is a perfect example of this kind of polemical, political, theological treatise for...
“Lex orandi, lex credendi.” Or so goes the ancient Christian maxim, loosely translated, “As we worship, so we believe.” If the songs we sing shape the way we think, we should be very thoughtful about the way our churches are led in worship. Songs are short, memorable, and have the capacity to pack in a lot of ideas. Arius, the brilliant 5th century heretic, popularized his ideas with catchy songs and hymns. Marketing teams have...
Do you ever wonder what relationships are going to be like in heaven? Will we recognize our family, friends, and significant others? How will we relate to one another, since we’ll all be part of the same family, as brothers and sisters? My coworkers and I recently speculated about heaven, and we mused about how they would relate to their husbands. Would all romantic attraction be gone, since marriage doesn’t exist between people in heaven?...
Nearly two years ago I wrote a post entitled, “Amillennialism: Rethinking and Critiquing my Eschatology After Five Years.” In that post I analyzed an earlier blog post I wrote back in 2007 called, “How I Became An Amillennialist.” Two years ago I concluded that I was still an Amillennialist, but I realized that many of the arguments I previously found so convincing were not nearly as persuasive. Now I’m ready to say it: I’m a...
I should admit from the outset that my own convictions concerning end-times events is pretty unformed. That being said, I have become unconvinced that what has become known as “the Rapture” is actually found in the Bible, at least in the way that I was taught growing up. In other words, I don’t believe that the New Testament teaches us that Jesus will remove Christians from the earth prior to his final appearing (the Parousia). I’ll...
In August of 2011 I wrote a post entitled, “Sex and Eschatology.” In that post I essentially tried to articulate that sex is a biblical type. It functions typologically as a pointer to the eschatological joy of believers. If you are interested in how I articulated this check out the post here. The reason for revisiting this post is because of a blog posted yesterday (May 6) by Dr. Len Hjalmarson (nextreformation.com). Dr. Hjalmarson, who...
Last week I discussed the implications that Jesus’ resurrection has for the animal kingdom. I concluded that the animals that lived on this earth will be in the new earth and will experience a resurrection just like all of mankind. If you are curious as to how I came to these conclusions you can read that post here. As an extension of last week’s post I’d like to continue a discussion regarding the implications of...
If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all bring their eschatology charts, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? Eschatology is a bizarre thing. I have to confess that I even find some of the discussions to be somewhat kooky, if not totally boorish. And I’m still not sure what sounds more ridiculous to unbelievers, the story of the Gospel or Christian philosophizing on the...
The end of Lent is nearly a week away and Easter is quickly approaching. AND did you know that last week – March 23, 2012 – the world celebrated National Puppy Day? Now I know what you’re thinking, what does Easter have to do with puppies? The simple answer: all dogs go to Heaven. As we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus we acknowledge the victory accomplished against Sin and Death. This event is central to our...
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