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Whose Wrath has Come? (1 Thessalonians 2:16)

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(The Jews) killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone… they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last. (1 Thessalonians 2:15-16, NIV) This sounds like something you might read in the Old Testament yet it’s found in the New. It’s out of place. And it’s almost certainly a reference to the siege of Jerusalem. “Those troublesome Jews are sowing the wind and are about to reap the whirlwind,” says Paul. “The wrath of God has come on them at last!” Except it hasn’t. Paul never says this. Instead, he says, “The wrath has come.” Not the wrath of God, just the wrath. Certainly the addition of those two little words of God fits the vindictive theology that many of us have grown up with, but they’re not in the Bible. They were added by the translators who wrote the New International Version. Not for the first time the NIV editors have put their own dark spin on God’s word. Here’s how the phrase appears in Young’s Literal Translation: “the anger did come upon them – to the [...]

Human versus Divine Vengeance

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When Abel was murdered, his blood cried out to God for vengeance. Yet God did not kill Cain the murderer but protected him against those who would seek his life. Clearly, God’s idea of vengeance was different from Abel’s. The scriptures contrast human and divine vengeance. One seeks payback and retribution, the other pursues peace and restoration. One is vindictive, the other is vindicating. One punishes wrong, the other makes right. One is about revenge, the other is about righteousness. Human vengeance is codified in the old law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Divine vengeance, in contrast, is revealed in the grace that forgives, restores, and makes new. The former is based on your badness; the latter is based on God’s goodness. In Isaiah 29, the prophet paints a bleak picture of human vengeance, but in Isaiah 61, he describes divine vengeance. See if you can spot the difference: Human vengeance involves… Divine vengeance involves… Distress, being brought low, lamenting and mourning, destruction and death (Isaiah 29:2-4) Good news to the afflicted, healing to the brokenhearted, liberty to the captives, freedom to the prisoners (Isaiah 61:1-2) The first prophecy points to the Romans [...]

Days of Vengeance

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When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near… because these are days of vengeance. (Luke 21:20-23) When prophesying about the fall of Jerusalem, Jesus referred to the days of vengeance. But whose vengeance was it? Why was it brought about? And what does it mean for us? Many theologians say it was divine vengeance. Eusebius, the church historian, wrote that the Jews met “with destruction at the hands of divine justice.” John Chrysostom, the Archbishop of Constantinople, said the Jews experienced “wrath from God intolerable.” It’s a shocking tune yet there are many who sing it. Following these two ancient writers, many theologians have added their voices to the chorus of condemnation. In fact, this notion of divine punishment is now so widely accepted, it even appears in some Bible translations: This is the time when God will punish Jerusalem (Luke 21:22, NIrV) According to some theologians and Bible translators, days of vengeance means “days of God’s punishment of the Jews.” But God did not punish Jerusalem, the Romans did. God good, Romans bad. Sure, Jerusalem had heaped up its sins, but those sins were punished on the cross in AD30 and not in [...]

What did the High Priest See?

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On the night he was betrayed, there was a dramatic confrontation between Jesus and the Sanhedrin. Picture the scene: Caiaphas, the high priest is fishing for evidence they can use against the Lord. Many false witnesses come forward but their lies are transparent and useless. Finally someone says, “I heard this man say he could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days.” Caiaphas rubs his hands in anticipation. “This is a serious claim, Jesus. How do you respond?” Jesus says nothing. Caiaphas is fed up. He knows they can’t make their charges stick. In desperation he wags his finger at Jesus and says, “I command you to tell us if you are the Son of God.” Jesus finally breaks his silence: “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:64, NIV) And what happens next can only be described as a self-inflicted wardrobe malfunction. Caiaphas rips his robes, yells “Blasphemy! Blasphemy!” and Jesus is as good as dead. “You will see,” said Jesus. But what exactly [...]

When did the Old Covenant End?

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The Bible is made up of two documents: the Old Testament and the New Testament. These documents roughly equate to two covenants: the old covenant and the new covenant. I say roughly because the old covenant did not begin in Genesis 1 and the new covenant did not begin in Matthew 1. A covenant is a binding agreement between two parties characterized by promises and obligations. In a biblical context, a covenant describes how God relates to people. The old covenant, which was based on law, was how God related to the nation of Israel. The new covenant, which is based on grace, is how God relates to everybody, including the Jews. The old covenant came into effect at Mt. Sinai through Moses, Israel’s representative, while the new covenant came into effect at Mt. Calvary through Christ, humanity’s representative. On the night before his death the Son of God announced a “new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). He was literally declaring his last will and testament, a new covenant that would come into effect when he died (Hebrews 9:16-17). The new covenant was new In every way, the new covenant is superior to the old. – The old covenant [...]

They Will Not Taste Death

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Jesus said some of his disciples would live forever and wander the earth as ageless immortals. No, wait. Did he really? It sounds like the plot of an Indiana Jones movie but the truth is no less exciting. Here is what Jesus actually said: Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see… – the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. (Matthew 16:28) – the kingdom of God after it has come with power. (Mark 9:1) – until they see the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:27) Each version is different but the same. Since the kingdom is nothing without the king, these verses are all about Jesus. But what’s this business about Jesus coming into his kingdom? When did that happen, and why did only some of the disciples see it? The short answer is Jesus is talking about is his exaltation. Jesus came to earth as a servant, but he returned to heaven as a king. In other words, Jesus is speaking of his resurrection and ascension… when (God) raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far [...]

When is the Second Coming?

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Every so often some omen or portent sets Facebook alight with the prospect of Christ’s imminent return. “Blood moons! Aligning planets! Israel sneezed! Jesus is coming – see the signs!” I have been hearing claims like these for decades and, I have to tell you, they sound increasingly ridiculous. I appreciate that making predictions – even bad ones – is a great way to sell books or generate traffic. But bad prophecies and end times hysteria give the church a bad name and fill people with fear. How much better if we stick to what the Bible says, and the Bible says four things about the timing of the Lord’s return. 1. No one knows the hour or day The disciples wanted to know when Jesus would come and he replied, “I don’t know” (see Matthew 24:36). Evidently the disciples had a hard time accepting this, because after he rose from the dead they asked him again. “Lord, is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by his own authority.” (Acts 1:6-7) In other words, “I still [...]

The 5 Comings of Jesus

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Imagine you lived 2,000 years ago and were waiting for the coming of Jesus. You expected him to come soon but you weren’t sure where he would appear. So you studied the scriptures and listened to different teachers, but that only increased your confusion. One group, quoting the prophet Micah, said the Messiah would come […]

Coming to the Temple

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Here’s an obscure prophecy about Jesus that probably affects you more than you know: “Behold, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, he is […]

Relief in Your Troubles

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The first check I ever got from coaching basketball, I didn’t cash. I kept it as a souvenir. But the second, third, and every other check went straight into my bank account. That’s a nice story, but imagine if I told you that first check was for a million dollars. If you came to my […]

Did God Kill the Jews in AD70?

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For 2,000 years prominent Christian theologians such as John Chrysostom, John Calvin, Matthew Henry, John Gill, Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, and others have taught that the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70 was God’s doing. One unfortunate fruit of this bad teaching has been a long history of Jewish massacres initiated by people who believed they […]

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