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Get Your Name in Paul’s New Book!

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My new book, Letters from Jesus: Finding Good News in Christ’s Letters to the Churches, comes out in ebook format in two weeks. And if you act fast, your name could be in it! What’s the book about? It’s about letters. From Jesus. Did you know that Jesus sent seven letters from heaven? Many people haven’t read his letters and those who have are terrified of them. Did Jesus really say he would vomit us out? Why is he holding a sword? His eyes are aflame – is Jesus angry with me? Will he remove my name from his book? We are beyond blessed to have these letters, yet many dismiss them as too hard, too strange, or too scary. From time to time they hear a sermon or a teaching on one of the letters, and while the message may give them a measure of joy, it also leaves them confused and anxious. “Did Jesus really say that?” If you love Jesus but are afraid of his letters, something doesn’t add up. But what? Could it be that we have been reading his letters wrong? It is my conviction that the letters from Jesus are good news from start [...]

The “I wills” of the New Covenant

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  The following is an extract from my forthcoming book, Letters from Jesus: Finding Good News in Christ’s Letters to the Churches. The ebook comes out next month; the paperback comes out next Easter. Enjoy! — The Philadelphians are often esteemed as a model church because Jesus never rebuked them—as though escaping censure was the high point of Christian living. (What a sad way to read these love letters from Jesus. “I got a letter from the Lord and he didn’t scold or threaten to kill me. I’m so blessed.”) Each of the seven letters reveals something of the goodness of God, but nowhere does God’s grace and kindness shine brighter than in this letter to the powerless Philadelphians. In less than 250 words, the Lord gives one of the most stunning summaries of the hope held out in the gospel, and he does this by making promises. Because many people don’t know what makes the new covenant new, they miss these treasures. They read these letters with an old covenant mindset and come away quaking in their boots. This is why it’s essential to understand the difference between the old and new covenants. The old covenant was characterized by people [...]

The Lost Letters

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My new book, Letters from Jesus, comes out in a few weeks. Here’s a taste… — In the creviced hills east of the Sea of Galilee, a kibbutznik stumbled on the neck of a partially buried earthen jar. Inside the jar was a roll of parchment. Experts at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem examined the parchment and found letters written by someone claiming to be the Son of God. The letters were dated to the first century, and all the evidence indicated that they had been written by Jesus Christ. A media frenzy followed. Within days the letters were translated into every language known to man. They were circulated online and everybody read them. The letters, revealing a side of Christ that few had seen, triggered a theological cataclysm. Seminarians squabbled, boards bickered, and churches split. Yet many believed that God was sending humanity a much-needed message of love and hope. Feuds ended and wars ceased. So many people turned to Christ on account of these letters that media outlets labeled their discovery the most important event in Christendom since the resurrection. Everything above is a fiction. I wrote it as a thought experiment, a kind of what-if question. What [...]

Update: Paul’s New Book

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For the past year and a half I have been writing a book on the gospel of Jesus. I’m happy to announce – it is finished! Great! What’s the new book called? Letters from Jesus: Finding Good News in Christ’s Letters to the Churches. Who picked the name? You did. Probably. A few weeks ago I ran a poll on Facebook and the majority of voters chose this title over The Gospel in Seven Letters. Why? Because Letters from Jesus “sounds more personal and intimate,” and this is exactly the vibe I’m trying to convey. You’ve got mail. From Jesus! What’s the book about? It’s about the astonishing good news of grace found in Christ’s letters… Wait, what? Jesus wrote letters?! Yes. They’re at the back of your Bible in the Book of Revelation. Oh those letters. They’re strange. I don’t understand them. The letters from Jesus to the seven churches may be the most misunderstood chapters in the Bible. Many people dismiss them as too hard, too strange, or too scary. “Did Jesus really say that?” Which is a shame, because they are letters from Jesus and they are the only letters we have. Why did you write a [...]

The Gospel of Jesus in the Story of Job

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Imagine you wanted to turn the story of Job into a play, but not a historical play. You have no interest in telling the old story of a man who was robbed and suffered. You’re much more meta than that. No, you want a gospel play. You want to tell the good news story of Jesus using characters from the story of Job. How would you do that? And who would play which role? I love the gospel and I love the story of Job, so this is something I’ve thought about. In fact, every time I read the Bible I ask myself, what does this story reveal about Christ’s larger story? How does this help me understand Jesus and what he’s done? This is not a whimsical exercise; this is serious Bible study. But maybe you’ve never thought about like this. Maybe you just read the Bible stories in isolation. If so, you’re missing out. Whenever you read the scriptures there is always more going on than meets the eye. There is always a larger Truth to be unveiled, and something about Jesus to discover. Allow me to illustrate using the play-scenario just mentioned. If I was to preach the [...]

Filed Under: Job

Is Job a Type of Jesus?

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The Bible contains pictures of Jesus on every page. Indeed, one of the reasons why I enjoy reading the scriptures, is they reveal much about the character of Christ. But what about the story of Job? Where is Jesus in that? A couple of readers suggested that Job represents Christ in this story. I have to confess, I had never heard this before, but it turns out to be a common teaching. Like Christ, Job was a righteous guy who suffered but was ultimately exalted. Indeed, there are some parallels in the sufferings of Job and Jesus. But it’s a step too far to say Job was like Jesus. With the intent of getting our eyes off Job and back on the Lord, I want to consider the ways Job was unlike Jesus. We’ll do this by unpacking four of the popular comparisons that sound true but aren’t: Myth 1: Job, like Jesus, lost everything Jesus did not lose anything, but he gave his life willingly. Jesus said, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18). Job lost everything, but Jesus gave everything. Job was afflicted by the devil (Job 2:7), [...]

What is the Sign of the Son of Man in heaven?

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What do you make of these words of Jesus? Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30) What is this prophecy about? And what is the sign of the Son of Man in heaven? Mr. Futurist: “This is about Christ returning from heaven and coming back to earth.” Mr. Preterist: “This is about Christ coming in judgment on Jerusalem.” Actually, it’s about neither. It is about Jesus coming into his kingdom with power and glory. Jesus is quoting Daniel: In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13–14) Daniel’s prophecy was fulfilled when the Lord ascended to heaven. He [...]

The Parable of the Fig Tree (Luke 13:6–9)

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A man had a fig tree, which had been planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, “Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?” And he answered and said to him, “Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.” (Luke 13:6–9) John, the last of the old covenant prophets, urged the religious Jews to “Bear the fruit of repentance” (Matt. 3:8), but they didn’t listen. “The axe is already at the root of the tree,” warned John (Matthew 3:10). Still nothing. Then for three years Jesus searched Israel in vain for the fruit of faith. When Jesus entered Jerusalem at the start of his final week, the people waved branches without fruit. The next morning, Jesus cursed a fruitless fig tree (Mark 11:14). Oh, the symbolism! But what does the parable of the fig tree mean? Mr. Preterist: “The parable foreshadowed [...]

The Blood of Righteous Abel (Matthew 23:35)

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Does God punish nations for the sins of their forefathers? Did God punish Israel for killing his prophets? It seems like it when you read these words of Jesus: Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. (Matthew 23:34-36) Both here and in Luke 11:49-51, Jesus pronounces what is effectively a death sentence on the nation of Israel. “You’re going to pay for the blood of Abel and Zechariah.” This raises some interesting questions because the first-century Jews did not kill Abel or Zechariah. Abel was murdered by Cain, thousands of years earlier, while Zechariah was murdered eight centuries back. Yet Jesus says, “Zechariah whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.” That’s like telling an Englishman, “You [...]

Forty Fulfilled Prophecies

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Here’s a quiz question: When Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, was he received as (a) the long awaited Messiah, or (b) a prophet? It might surprise you, but the answer is (b):

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet…” (Matt. 21:10-11)

The Judeans recognized Jesus as the prophet of God and we think, “He was much more than that. Jesus is the Son of God.” Yet the Judeans weren’t wrong – Jesus was a prophet and a remarkable one at that.

These days just about anyone can call themselves a prophet and we don’t think much of it. But in Biblical times there was a high standard: To be a prophet of God meant prophesying with 100% accuracy (Deu. 18:20-22). If someone prophecies or foretells an event that doesn’t come to pass, they weren’t speaking for God, because God never lies.

In scripture, Jesus is called the prophet. He is the ultimate Prophet to whom the other prophets pointed. Yet in nearly 50 years of church-going I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sermon entitled “Jesus the Prophet.” Have you? Perhaps it’s because we think the label is demeaning. “Better to call him Lord than prophet.” But if we paid more attention to the prophecies of Jesus the Prophet, we would be less susceptible to the misleading claims of false prophets.

Jesus said it. It happened. That settles it.

Jesus predicted many remarkable things that we miss because we don’t know history. When I was doing the research for my AD70 book, I dug deep into the events of the first-century and was regularly struck with the thought, “This is exactly what Jesus said would happen!”

Obscure prophecies, like the one about the eagles gathering around the carcass (Matt. 24:28), seem strange to us. We have no idea what Jesus was talking about. But his meaning would have been perfectly obvious to a Judean living in the first century.

It’s the same when Jesus is talking about shortened days and fleeing to the mountains. These prophecies seem mysterious to us, but those who heard them and saw them fulfilled knew exactly what was going on. The prophecies of Jesus were as plain as day and those who heeded them were saved by them.

You probably know that Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, but what you may not know is that Jesus painted a very detailed picture of when, where, and how that destruction would unfold. He was not vague. In fact, Jesus made no less than 40 predictions in connection with that event – that’s 40 signposts even Blind Freddy could see. Yet we don’t see the signposts because they are obscured by the mists of time.

Take this signpost for example: Jesus said that when the temple fell, “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light” (Matt. 24:29). What was he talking about? Lacking a frame of reference we supply our own. “Jesus was talking about astronomy.” Nope. Jesus was describing a political event using the same language adopted by Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah (13:10) and Ezekiel (32:7). He was saying the lights were about to go out on Jerusalem and the old temple system. This interpretation would have been perfectly obvious to a Jew raised on the Jewish scriptures (the Old Testament).

Why does this matter?

I am looking forward to the future return of King Jesus and the rapture of the church, but I am regularly dismayed by the way many Christians are duped by bogus end times’ prophecies.

Last year several prominent ministries predicted that “something big” would happen in September 2017. Few actually said Jesus would return or that we would be raptured, but those are the sorts of things implied by “something big.” It was an exciting prophecy, repeated countless times on social media.

Yet September came and nothing happened. Jesus did not return. There was no rapture, no antichrist, no Armageddon.

The prognosticators were wrong. This should not surprise us. Those who force-fit contemporary events to scriptures meant for another generation are wrong 100% of the time. Yet the market for bad predictions thrives because people love this sensational stuff. Write a book on blood moons or make a rapture movie and you’ll find a ready audience. In the absence of good prophecies, bad ones thrive.

It is not my intent to badmouth anyone, but if we spent as much time studying the prophecies of Jesus as we did listening to end times’ doomsayers, we wouldn’t listen to end times’ doomsayers. If we were better acquainted with the truth of what Jesus said we would not be conned by eschatological hucksters.

Last year was a bad year for the self-proclaimed prophets, but I guarantee it’s only a matter of time before the next false prophecy comes along to seduce and unsettle you. How can you protect yourself from these distractions? You may say, “I’ve been fooled before, but I now I know better.” But each new prophecy sounds convincing. It seems to fit the scriptures and the times. “That last one was wrong, but this one seems spot on. Take my money!”

People hijack or misinterpret Christ’s prophecies because they don’t know history. Their ignorance of the past leads them to make wrong predictions about the future. Christ’s prophecies save lives, but bad prophecies hurt people and embarrass the church. To help you tell the difference, here is a table listing 40 fulfilled prophecies made by Jesus in connection with the destruction of Jerusalem. (Click the image below for a larger version.) The stories behind each fulfilled prophecy, along with citations to the original source material, can be found in my AD70 book. I encourage you to check them out. The stories are stunning and will leave you in awe of Jesus the Prophet.

These 40 fulfilled prophecies are a sign to make you wonder. Eusebius, the father of church history, said they were “truly divine and marvelously strange.” They are proof that the Son of God sees the end from the beginning. But more than that, they reveal the caring heart of Jesus.

Jesus could have said nothing about Jerusalem’s dark future. He could have come and died on the cross and left it at that. But as he wandered the streets of Jerusalem, a great ache cause him to speak up again and again. Even as he bore the cross to Calvary he stopped to prophesy about the tragedy he saw coming (see Luke 23:28-29).

“Pretty table, Paul. But I don’t believe these 40 signs had anything to do with the fall of Jerusalem.” You have the luxury of believing that, but first-century Judeans who dismissed the 40 signs paid a high price. Within 40 years, every one of the Lord’s 40 prophecies had been fulfilled. Those who heeded them lived; those who didn’t died brutal deaths.

The 40 fulfilled prophecies were for then, but they also encourage us now. These ancient prophecies leave us in awe of a good Savior who cares enough to speak into our lives. Here’s the lesson: Those who hear and believe Jesus will live. It was true then and it’s remains true today.

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The material on this website is free thanks to the generous support of awesome readers like you. Sign up to support E2R on Patreon before the end of this week and get a free copy of my latest book, AD70 and the End of the World: Finding Good News in Christ’s Parables and Prophecies of Judgment.

Did God Ruin Job? (Job 2:3)

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Pop quiz: Which Biblical character has attracted the most comments on this blog? Yes, it’s Job, which tells me that the story of Job-who-lost-everything is one of the most divisive in scripture. For the past eight years, I have maintained that God was not complicit in the ruin of Job. God did not rob him, kill his kids, or make him sick. Nor was God involved in the devil’s schemes. Yet some folk take umbrage with these claims. They seem to prefer a God who robs, steals, and kills. You know, just like Jesus did. Sheesh. If you have just joined us, I encourage you to check out the other articles in my Job series. You will find that, contrary to popular belief, God does not give and take away, and Satan is not God’s sheep-dog. And before you ask me about a certain scripture, please check out the 40 or more Job references in the Scripture Index. You may find your question has already been answered. A reader recently asked me to explain this scripture: Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and [...]

Branches are Not Sticks: Why God Will Never Cast You Away

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“Whoever comes to me I will never cast away” (John 6:37). Jesus promised he would never cast away those who come to him, yet some people fear he might. Because Jesus is fickle and he changes his mind a lot. Of course, that’s not true, yet some worry that it might be true, because of what he said here: If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. (John 15:6) How do these words make you feel? Read them again, then see which of the following responses best describes your reaction: 1. “I’m in trouble. I don’t know if I’m abiding, so I’m in danger of being cast into the fire.” This is the response of the uncertain or lukewarm mind. It’s the response of someone who has not fully understood the good news of grace. 2. “These words aren’t for me because I’m a good Christian. I’m not perfect, but I’m at least better than 50% of the people reading this.” This is the response of the self-righteous. Again, it’s the response of someone who has not [...]

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