The Brand New You

During his communion reflection Gary Robbins made mention of a book he is reading that examines how 15-30 year olds in the United States view the church. If you are interesting in learning more about this subject the book is entitled, UnChristian. To read my review of the book see the "Byron's Brief Book Reviews" section on this blog.

Some see End Times as a subject for those who are curious about the future. Interesting information, perhaps, but not really that relevant. The New Testament writers saw it as just the opposite. They viewed End Times as a subject that should define how we live right now! Any information the Holy Spirit communicated through their writings about the future is intended to make a difference in our day to day activities.

On a slightly different note (though not entirely); someone asked me today about cremation. Since our current natural bodies will somehow be transformed in the End to be like Jesus' body--is cremation an acceptable option for the believer. If you give the lifeless body enough time after death it will look very much like cremated remains! Since God made Adam out of dust originally and the natural order of things is for our bodies to return to dust; we simply have to trust that God can recreate however much of our natural bodies as he needs to in order to "build" our new bodies. Cremation may be a very sensible option for those concerned about responsible use of the earth and/or simply being good stewards of their money.

Someone else asked me about the scars visible on Jesus' resurrected body. What are the implications for those who have terrible physical injuries in this life. Will they be hopelessly scared for eternity? The best guess I have on this (which really means I DON'T KNOW) would be that perhaps Jesus' scars in his resurrected body are more like badges of honor. It makes me wonder if others might have similar "badges" because they, like the Apostle Paul, have joined Christ in his suffering. I have every reason to believe that our resurrection bodies will not be defective or deformed (as is sometimes the case in This Age).

The Eighth Day of Creation

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is not only the beginning of The End; it is, more importantly, the beginning of a whole New World! What God created to be "very good" was destroyed by sin. Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross took sin's power away. Now that sin has been defeated, what is the point of the resurrection? Simply this: the resurrection is the new beginning of creation. It's not enough to be saved from sin, as wonderful as that blessing is. What we need is to be recreated.

Jesus was the first to be clothed with immortality when he became the firstborn from the dead. The New Age has begun. The Kingdom of God has been established. Jesus is the firstfruits of what will be a glorious harvest in the Last Day. In the words of theologian N.T. Wright, "The resurrection is not an isolated supernatural oddity proving how powerful, if apparently arbitrary, God can be when he wants to. Nor is it at all a way of showing that there is indeed a heaven awaiting us after death. It is the decisive event demonstrating that God's kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven" (Surprised by Hope).

Now we can all sing our new final verse for the Creation Song: "Day eight, day eight; Jesus rose now all can be great!" Maranatha!

I'm A Soul Man

I have found sacred cow tipping to be a dangerous, yet necessary function for preaching on the End Times. I have made many assumptions regarding what is taught in Scripture in regard to the end of all things, only to be astounded that, upon serious investigation, I could find no scriptural basis for my beliefs. There are many concepts that have been handed from one generation to the next, with each generation assuming that the earlier one was passing on a belief that resulted from a deep study of Scripture. The reality is that some ideas go unchallenged in one generation simply because they "make so much sense". However, as the world changes, and worldviews change, people begin to think more critically about things that a former generation simply took for granted.

A sacred cow is a belief that some feel should never be challenged. That is where the danger comes into play. It is my contention that no belief should go unchallenged! Truth never has anything to fear from honest investigation. I have approached this study of the End Times with a deep desire to conduct such an honest investigation of the Scriptures. I am certain, however, that even with such an aim, there are things that I will not see clearly. My prayer is that the generation that comes after us will have the freedom to closely examine all of our conclusions and embrace only what they discover the Bible to actually teach.

Even though we have not yet covered the Biblical teaching concerning Hell in our sermon series, I thought some of you might want to take a quiz developed by my friend Edward Fudge. You may be surprised how many sacred cows we have yet to bar-b-que! Click here to take the 20 question quiz on what the Bible really says about the end of the wicked.

If you want to read more about where the idea of the immortal soul came from I would recommend this article I found searching the internet.