Paul Ellis's Blog, page 41

They Will Not Taste Death

Jesus said some of his disciples would live forever and wander the earth as ageless immortals. No, wait. Did he really? It sounds like the plot of an Indiana Jones movie but the truth is no less exciting. Here is what Jesus actually said: Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see… – the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. (Matthew 16:28) – the kingdom of God after it has come with power. (Mark 9:1) – until they see the kingdom of G...

Jesus Stands with the Accused

In Biblical times there was a law that said a man could send his wife away with a certificate of divorce if she no longer found favor in his eyes. “She grew old and wrinkled, so I traded her in for a younger model.” This was not a good law, and Jesus didn’t like it. When asked about it he basically said, “Moses gave you this law because you have rocks for hearts.” It was a bad law for bad husbands. Worse, some of these heartless husbands were only obeying the first part of the law. They were...

When is the Second Coming?

Every so often some omen or portent sets Facebook alight with the prospect of Christ’s imminent return. “Blood moons! Aligning planets! Israel sneezed! Jesus is coming – see the signs!” I have been hearing claims like these for decades and, I have to tell you, they sound increasingly ridiculous. I appreciate that making predictions – even bad ones – is a great way to sell books or generate traffic. But bad prophecies and end times hysteria give the church a bad name and fill people with fear....

An Apology to the People of New Zealand

As a New Zealander, I was deeply saddened to hear about the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit north Canterbury in the early hours of Monday morning. As a Cantabrian, I groaned with the thought of “Not again.” In times of disaster it is natural to ask why. Why do bad things keep happening? And why […]

The 5 Comings of Jesus

Imagine you lived 2,000 years ago and were waiting for the coming of Jesus. You expected him to come soon but you weren’t sure where he would appear. So you studied the scriptures and listened to different teachers, but that only increased your confusion. One group, quoting the prophet Micah, said the Messiah would come […]

Coming to the Temple

Here’s an obscure prophecy about Jesus that probably affects you more than you know: “Behold, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, he is […]

Relief in Your Troubles

The first check I ever got from coaching basketball, I didn’t cash. I kept it as a souvenir. But the second, third, and every other check went straight into my bank account. That’s a nice story, but imagine if I told you that first check was for a million dollars. If you came to my […]

The Sinless Life (1 John 3:6)

When the Holy Spirit came into your life the change in you was like night and day. It’s like you were given a heart transplant. Your old heart, which was captive to desires of the flesh and enslaved to sin, was replaced with a new heart with new desires and appetites. Your new heart beats […]

Did God Kill the Jews in AD70?

For 2,000 years prominent Christian theologians such as John Chrysostom, John Calvin, Matthew Henry, John Gill, Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, and others have taught that the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70 was God’s doing. One unfortunate fruit of this bad teaching has been a long history of Jewish massacres initiated by people who believed they […]

How Do I Know I’m Saved?

“Are you saved? Are you sure?” These questions are sometimes used toscare people into signing up for works-based insurance, which is bad. But the questions themselves are legitimate. Inscripture we are exhorted to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith (2 Cor 13:5). As I have explained elsewhere, this does not mean […]