As the apostle Paul concludes his first letter to the church of Corinth in 1 Corinthians 15. His parting message in this chapter is divided into two major parts: the first part is on the resurrection of Christ and then of the believers resurrection at the second advent of Christ. The first resurrection is for our faith in God and the second is for our living hope in Christ (1 Peter 1:3). Couple of days back as we would have…

As the day offers each of us the opportunity to once again reminisce of the sobering truth of an innocent man being condemned to die as a sinner (Luke 23:22). With each of our past, present and future sins, proclaiming death to Christ. Much like the Jews who gathered there at his trial shouting: “Crucify Him, crucify Him” (Luke 23:21). Yet I fear that the rosy, fair weather Gospel presentation of today has made us mere spectators of the cross.…

What a whirlwind of events it had been for the 120 gathered together in the upper room (Acts 1:13). The pain of witnessing Jesus succumb to the cruel instrument of the Roman crucifixion to then being confounded by the case of missing Jesus and the empty tomb to finally the joy of the appearance of the glorified Christ in their midst as they hid in fear behind locked doors (John 20:19), and also in many other instances (Acts 1:3). Now…

The seventh and the last message recorded by apostle John is to the church of Laodicea begins as such: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God. This is infamously known as “the lukewarm church.” The southernmost of the seven churches of Revelation and the only other church, in addition to Ephesus, to be mentioned elsewhere in the Bible (Colossians). Now the introduction itself isn’t connected specifically to any warning to the church. But…

Church and the tribulation of the last days Won’t God swoop in to save His beloved bride from the tribulation of the last days? Like Prince Charming coming in to save the damsel in distress from the evil dragon? Christians, in the West, first started to believe and proclaim this novel doctrine of pre-tribulation rapture of the Church. This quite recent doctrine historically is traced back to the early 1800’s and was made popular in the 20th century mainly through…

What is one commonality in the message to the seven churches? I am coming.. (Revelation 2:5, 16, 25, 3:3, 11, 20). This declaration or iterations of this all point towards the same promise of Christ’s second advent – Jesus is coming back soon (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20). The culmination of the world, as we know it, can never be stated sufficiently enough in our churches. Which is why the word come or coming is used a total of 7 times…

America’s history like that of all other countries consists of a dark period of slavery, in what is known as the “antebellum period” of Southern America. Men and women, brothers and sisters, who were stripped of their worldly freedom and of all temporal hope, living as slaves of other men like them. Of a time of which can be asked – Why? Yet, for all its deep despair and unfairness, this period of brokenness in history gave the world a…

Who defines the principles that govern the church? The believer’s instinctive answer would be: “The Bible.” Though when viewed through the lens of reality, contemporary churches have been governed by an amalgamation of skewed traditions and corruptive culture. With Jesus Himself talking so little about churches, where does the blueprint (principles) of building the church come from? Well, as we read through the Pauline epistles, we understand that such teachings and establishing of the church principles arise largely in response…

Has the new covenant church replaced the nation of Israel? There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. – Galatians 3:28-29  No, rather this is a theology of ‘replacement’ or ‘supersessionism’ that has been floated around by Bible heretics of the past and now picking up…

What constitutes a church or ekklesia? The contemporary understanding of the word church has largely missed the mark of its usage throughout the Biblical texts. The church is not simply a building with a cross on it. The church is not merely a group of people indulging in good works in the name of the Lord. Christians are not the church only on Sunday’s when we gather together in a public setting (Acts 8:3). It is my belief that it…