Imaginatively Missional
What is the new heaven and new earth? Join our final episode as we conclude with the exciting completion of God's mission. Throughout Revelation, we've seen God's remarkable patience, as well as His continual pursuit of relationships with people. He's given warnings and admonitions. So, it is no surprise that John reveals the place where …
What does the millennium mean? Is it a literal 1,000 years when Christ will reign on the earth and Satan will be bound by chains? Is it preparation for the final judgment and Armageddon? Join Dr. Cooper, Dr. Harris, and Dr. Feiser as they discuss Revelation 20 and John's vision of an angel coming down …
In Revelation 15 & 16, John sees a great sight that might be described as the beginning of the end. The true worshipers of God declare that the nations will come and worship Him. In spite of the evil experienced through the tumultuous times, God continues to desire more and more people to experience Him. …
In Revelation 14, John sees the 144,000 again along with an angel who has the eternal gospel. In this Ephesiology podcast, Dr. Cooper, Dr. Feiser, and Dr. Harris dive into the understanding of the gospel and discuss the other two angels as well as the two harvests of the earth. Key to understanding Revelation is …
We are in Revelation 12 looking at the woman and male child as well as the dragon and the beasts. Some fantastic images revealed to John to add to the continued encouragement of the seven churches. Important to the conversation is getting to what the images meant to the first centuries hearers of Revelation. Join …
From the seven seals to the seven trumpets, one thing seems clear. The disciples continue to have a mission on earth during tumultuous times. Join Dr. Cooper, Dr. Feiser, and Dr. Harris as they discuss the seals, the little scroll, and what John meant when he was told, "you must again must prophesy about many people and nations and languages and kings" (Rev 10:11).
From the seven seals to the seven trumpets, one thing seems clear. The disciples continue to have a mission on earth during tumultuous times. Join Dr. Cooper, Dr. Feiser, and Dr. Harris as they discuss the seals, the little scroll, and what John meant when he was told, "you must again must prophesy about many people and nations and languages and kings" (Rev 10:11).
The seven seals reveal more than simply the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Join us this week on the Ephesiology Podcast as Dr. Feiser, Dr. Harris, and Dr. Cooper discuss what seal 5 reveals about Jesus' disciples. While the septets (seven seals, trumpets, and bowls) describe the mounting political, economic, and social upheaval, there is hope for those who remain faithful to the word of God and the witness it bears.
The portrait that John paints in the book of Revelation often appears strange and unusual to the modern reader. The living creatures with multiple eyes and wings surrounding the throne can become a distraction from the real scope of Revelation 4 and 5. On today's podcast, Dr. Harris, Dr. Feiser, and Dr. Cooper dive into …
As I look back on my education beginning in grade school all the way through grad school, I must admit that history stood as one of the subjects that I enjoyed the most. I always found it interesting to look back on our past and relish in the descriptions of the golden times historians described; …
In today's podcast, Dr. Harris, Dr. Feiser, and Dr. Cooper dive into more questions about Revelation to help us figure out what it is about. Beginning with the description of John's Jesus, we'll discuss the cultural issues confronting the seven churches in Asia Minor and conclude with the reason why John writes Revelation. Join us for another episode in our ongoing series, "Rediscover Jesus through Revelation."
Revelation is one of the most difficult books in the Bible to interpret and it is also one of the most abused and ignored books of the Bible. In this first session on our series focused on rediscovering Jesus through Revelation, Dr. Feiser, Dr. Harris, and Dr. Cooper discuss four interpretative strategies used to understand Revelation: Historicist, Idealist, Preterist, and Futurist.
Revelation is one of the most difficult books in the Bible to interpret and it is also one of the most abused and ignored books of the Bible. In this first session on our series focused on rediscovering Jesus through Revelation, Dr. Feiser, Dr. Harris, and Dr. Cooper discuss four interpretative strategies used to understand Revelation: Historicist, Idealist, Preterist, and Futurist.
In 1522, Martin Luther made his final assessment on the book of Revelation by stating, “Finally, let everyone think of it as his own spirit leads him. My spirit cannot accommodate itself to this book. For me this is reason enough not to think highly of it: Christ is neither taught nor known in it. …
Much has been written in recent days about "white evangelicals" and there is just as much emotion conjured up when seeing the term. Those on the political right are often offended by the moniker as it attacks their truncated theological heritage. Those on the political left use it as a power word against a theologically …
Continue reading "Are White Evangelicals Really the Problem?"
The imagery and symbols are clear. Church and state have never truly been separated in the United States. From its inception, the marriage of religion and politics has been a powerful force to unite pundits around political ideologies. It doesn't matter if the ideologies are conservative or liberal, invoking faith during an inaugural address or …
Continue reading "Seven Sins of American Evangelical Civil Religion"
Sitting on the credenza behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office is the bust of Latino civil rights leader César Chávez. Other leaders of the movement decorating the most powerful place on the planet—Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Robert F. Kennedy—give a clear signal to the 46th US president’s agenda for America. Among his …
Continue reading "Hang On! It’s going to be another bumpy four years!!"
The Christian movement in Asia Minor is a wonderful example of a group of churches and APEST leaders who took doctrine and morality seriously. Writing to a few of these churches in Ephesus less than four decades after Paul's initial engagement of people in the city began (Acts 19), Jesus applauded them for the good …
I believe in God's sovereignty, not in a fatalistic way or a double predestination one. Rather, God superintends His creation in such a manner to ensure that His will is completed. The Book of Revelation gives us a picture of the completion of that will: And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you …
Continue reading "The Lesser of Two Evils and God’s Sovereignty"
Yesterday was national daughter's day. I'm not sure when that national day came into being, but we have a daughter who merits being recognized for at least one day out of a year if not every day. Michaela and I were having another one of our great theological conversations. They are getting increasingly rare, not …
If you have been following the news regarding Grace Community Church and its pastor John MacArthur’s battle in the courts of California, you might be thinking this is one of those complex issues confronting Christian churches across the country. Watch the latest video at foxnews.com The claim that California is prohibiting the freedom to worship …
With less than 60 days until the 2020 presidential election, who would Jesus vote for? Both evangelical Democrats and Republicans would no doubt claim He would vote for their candidate. Even more, both sides would argue that their political party best represents the values of the Kingdom of God. Admittedly, there are those who see …
Leadership sets the tone for the direction of a movement. In fact, one might argue that a movement will rise or fall largely on its leadership. To understand the effective movement leadership that we see in the New Testament is to understand the theocentric focus of the leaders. This leadership imbues a profound sense of …
Social justice has become a polarizing term that has set Christians against each other. Contributing to the confusion are social theories such as critical theory and critical race theory where social justice tends to focus on opposing systemic issues where an oppressor group has disadvantaged other groups. Such theories, when applied by Christians, tend to …
In early November 2019, I sat in a room of Christians comprised of various traditions: Coptic, Orthodox, Syriac, Catholic, and evangelical. The location did not escape my attention as the group of about 50 members of the Lausanne Orthodox Initiative, an issue group of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, a movement started in 1974 …
During the course of my research for When Evangelicals Sneeze: Curing the American Church from the Plague of Identity Loss, I came across many comments about evangelicals. Some of them were from evangelicals in other parts of the world talking about American evangelicals. Some were evangelical Democrats talking about evangelical Republicans and vice versa. Others …
The Bible might be a good place to start when attempting a definition of evangelical. After all, every Christian denomination in the world would claim that they are the correct manifestation of the church, at least as they would interpret the Bible. The problem remains, we would be hard pressed to say that there were …
The July 8, 2020 release of the Barna Group’s latest study on the State of the Church has confirmed what some have suspected would occur as a result of COVID-19. The study revealed that 32 percent of practicing Christians stopped attending church, whether in person or online, since the outbreak of the virus. While the …
Continue reading "What would you do if you knew that one-third of your friends would leave church?"
Are you struggling with American evangelicalism like I am? It’s gotten to the point that I almost don’t recognize a theological tradition that I’ve identified with for more than 30 years. In my recent book, I share my concerns for loosing our identity. You’ll read about how the majority of evangelicals live outside of the …
You hear many pastors and theologians attempting to interpret the Book of Revelation in light of what is happening in our world today: Plagues, racial riots, a political antichrist, and the list could go on. It's to be expected, after all, we generally think the end times is about us. Right? Our desire to know …
Continue reading "Plagues, racial riots, and a political antichrist – The Time is Near?"
How did the New Testament church sustain such fantastic growth? Join our podcasters as they look at the seven letters Jesus wrote to the churches of Asia Minor. The book of Revelation is often thought to be a book about the end times. We'll discuss why it might be more appropriate to think of it …
You must be logged in to post a comment.