King of kings and Lord of lords

This is the 16th in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com. 

John’s vision of the returning Christ in Revelation 19:11-16 reveals marvelous truths about the Lord’s conquest of sin and his restoration of righteousness. John captures many details that show how Christ’s glorious return sets in motion his final battle with sin, thus paving the way for a restored Eden. We examine a few of these features in this column and the next one.

1. Jesus rides a white horse from heaven.

This is in stark contrast to Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, in which the Son of Man rides a borrowed donkey. A horse is used for war; a donkey, for peace. A horse is a symbol of conquest; a donkey, a vehicle of humility. 

Jesus comes humbly the first time as the Suffering Servant, but he rides with the clouds of heaven victoriously as the conquering king in his return to earth. This illustrates that Jesus has won complete victory over Satan, sin, and death. The pristine Garden of Eden is about to be restored as the last Adam regains what the first Adam lost – dominion over the earth, and immortality.

Continue reading →

Satan: The Evil One

The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

In this post and others to follow, we’re going to consider several New Testament passages that depict Satan as the evil one.

Matthew 5:37 

“But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.”

In this part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses the issue of oath-taking, which plays a significant role in first-century Judaism. Jesus begins with an Old Testament reference: “Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord” (Matt. 5:33; cf. Lev. 19:12; Num. 30:2; Deut. 23:21-23).

Then, Jesus follows with: “But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black” (Matt. 5:34-36). 

Jesus does not forbid the taking of an oath in a court of law or a similar setting. In fact, he offers a response when the high priest puts him under oath (Matt. 26:63-64). But taking oaths has become so commonplace in Jesus’ day as to become meaningless. People have come to think that a lie between two individuals doesn’t concern God unless they invoke the divine name. In this case, they risk perjury for false statements, not to mention undermining God’s dignity.

Continue reading →

Coming on the clouds of heaven

This is the 15th in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com. 

Today, Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand in heaven, where he serves as our mediator and intercessor. This exalted position illustrates his power as creator, sustainer, and redeemer. 

But one day, at the Father’s command, Jesus rises from his place in the throne room of heaven and returns to earth. The one who possesses all authority in heaven and on earth comes to finish the work of redemption as he raises the dead, judges all people, casts the evil one into hell, purges the cosmos of sin and its stain, and creates new heavens and a new earth. 

Just as Yahweh rides a cherubim-propelled chariot-throne across the skies in Ezekiel’s day, Jesus rides the clouds of heaven as he returns to earth to set things right. Truly, the Son of Man returns in power.

Let’s briefly survey two relevant New Testament passages.

Continue reading →

What Is Evil?

The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

We may be hard-pressed to come up with a universally accepted definition of evil, but most of us know evil when we see it – or at least we think we do. For example, most (but not all) would say the gas chambers of Auschwitz were evil, as were the U.S. institution of chattel slavery, the serial murders of Ted Bundy, the packaged explosives of “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, and the domestic terror of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.  

God has placed in every human heart a conscience, which not only helps us discern right from wrong but universally testifies of a divine moral law giver (Rom. 2:14-16). And so, we know intuitively what evil is, and therefore we know who ultimately judges us for it. Or we should. The problem is, sin has knocked every human being’s moral compass off magnetic north.

Evil is not so much the opposite of good as it is the absence of good, or the perversion of good. Just as darkness may only be described in contrast to light, evil is only understood in relation to good. And that’s the rub, because all human beings, though made in the image of God, are evil. We all sin, and our sin separates us from an eternally and unequivocally good creator (Rom. 3:10, 23; 6:23). 

Continue reading →

“The Same Way” of Christ’s Return

This is the 14th in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com. 

In the last column, we explored several defining attributes of “this same Jesus” (Acts 1:11). Now, let’s consider what the angels may have meant when they told the apostles Jesus is returning “the same way” they witnessed his departure. 

First, Jesus himself is coming. 

When Jesus returns, he’s not sending a prophet, apostle, angel, cherub, hologram, selfie, MailChimp marketing blast, or any other substitute. He’s coming himself. Further, Jesus isn’t appearing as a theophany – a flame in a desert thorn bush, a pillar of cloud and fire, a rider on a blazing chariot-throne, or a voice in a whirlwind. He’s coming as the same resurrected Son of Man who ascended physically into heaven in the presence of his apostles (Acts 1:9). 

The return of Jesus always is portrayed in personal terms. Jesus tells his disciples, “I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3). 

Continue reading →