First, what IS the rapture? It's generally taught be the event where Jesus comes to take His Bride - the church, which is all believers - to Heaven with Him. Some believe this will happen before the Great Tribulation, some believe it will be in the middle, and some at the end. All of these views consider the rapture to be a separate event from Jesus' second coming.
First, what is a cult? The word simply suggests a specific set of beliefs that spring from another set of beliefs. In that sense, Christianity is historically and technically a cult of Judaism. The word is neutral, even though most of us use it in a negative sense.
A reader asks: What exactly does spiritual warfare look like? What about deliverance ministries? I’m not clear on what I believe about it.
In the words of Rich Mullins, Jacob got two women and a whole house full of kids. Jacob, renamed Israel, had twelve sons by four different women: two wives and two concubines. Those twelve sons had their own families... twelve different tribes of Israel.
For the record, the question was more like 'should Christians just accept the Bible as a whole, or should we be skeptical of different parts of it?'. I'm going with accepting it as a single, trustworthy set of documents.
While a lot of people believe that Melchizedek was an appearance of the pre-existent Son, that can't be established in Scripture. They may be right, but they may not be aware of the other possibilities. Here are some reasons why Melchizedek might not have been Jesus:
In John 6, Jesus tells the crowd to eat His flesh and drink His blood. That's weird, and objectively disgusting... but is that how we should view communion, or the Eucharist?
Apologetics is, simply, making the case for something. Christian apologists make the case that Christianity is true and good and compelling. I appreciate the work of many apologists over the past 40+ years, and present some of them for you in this list.
In Matthew 7:1 Jesus said, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Most people assume He was teaching that Christians should never judge anyone. Is that true?
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages
This is, as far as I can tell, a comprehensive list of every proper name in the Bible. That is: every person, every place, the names of each book and mountain, and so on.
If you are not a Christian can you still go to heaven? And if you are Baptized will you go to heaven? Find out what Jesus said about this very important topic.
There's a lot of talk about dominion these days, and some comes from a bunch of false teachers. I think it's an important subject, considering the depth of false teaching out there.
Most of us are familiar with the gospel accounts of Jesus cleansing the temple. You know, where He flipped tables and ran out the moneychangers. That happened right before His crucifixion, right? Well... yes, but maybe He did it twice.
There are many arguments for the existence of God. Some suggest that the mere existence of the universe requires a supreme being. Some claim that the order and complexity of the universe is evidence of a creator. Others begin with what it means to be human, and infer the existence of God. Still others rely on simple logic.
I've been asked how much the widow's offering is worth today. There are at least two problems with the question. First, it entirely misses Jesus' point. The widow's offering was a sacrifice, while the offerings of others were apparently not.
How many parables did Jesus teach? What are they about? Where can I find them? Jesus taught many times using parables, which are simple, earthly stories that explain a more complex, spiritual truth.
The Bible isn't one book. It's a collection of 66 books by different authors, in different genres... that is, different categories or kinds of writings. Some are history. Some are biography. Here's a list.
One of the most common questions that Christians ask is how we can know what God wants. We want to hear from Him directly, especially when faced with a difficult decision. So how does God speak to each of us?
What is a pastor? What are they for? The New Testament describes different roles for church leaders, including pastor. Learn why.
"A friend of mine was telling me that there are missing books in the New International Version Bible, but she can't remember which ones they are. Please let me know if this is true."
There are two very important reasons for my not being a Calvinist. The first should be obvious: when someone asks a Christian what they believe, Jesus should be the first name on their lips. Not Calvin, Luther, Wesley, Zwingli, or anybody else.
Christian singer and songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman has the most awards in Christian music history... but his life has been a journey of ups and downs. He shares a bit of his story with the folks at I Am Second.
How does the Bible define marriage? What is marriage in God's eyes? Is it okay for people to have sex before they're married? These questions are not only important, but they're increasingly relevant as people, young and old, revisit their ideas about relationships.
