Scholarship • Serving • Ministry – Ian Paul
The lectionary reading for the Second Sunday before Advent in Year A is 1 Thess 5.1–11. It forms a pair with last week’s reading; then, Paul explored the hope of Jesus’ return in relation to those who had died, now he considers its significance for those who remain alive. Paul draws on the metaphors of …
Advent is once more upon us (pun intended!), and with it comes two sets of confusion: the idea that Advent is the anticipation of Christmas (when it is really about looking forward to Jesus’ return and The End); and the notion that the set passages in the lectionary are all about Jesus’ return. As we …
There is no denying that, for any modern reader, the Book of Revelation is a strange text; we will not learn from it by pretending that it does not present challenges. It does reveal things (as the name suggests), but that can simply make life more complicated and confusing. Many of us feel the same …
For those engaged in end-times speculation, whether provoked by the Covid-19 pandemic, global warming, or war in Ukraine, there has been another rash of speculation about the identity of the Antichrist—that end times personal figure who is now somewhere secretly in the world but who will very soon be revealed. (It is worth noting, for …
Last week, I recorded a video discussion with historian Martyn Whittock, which arose out of questions he had about Israel and the End Times in the New Testament. The video is quite long, so here I offer a summary of my comments on the main questions that we explored. What is the meaning of the …
Martyn Whittock is a historian who has written two fascinating books about end times expectation through history, The End Times, Again? 2000 Years of the Use & Misuse of Biblical Prophecy and its impact on the radicalisation of politics, Apocalyptic Politics: A Taproot of Political Radicalization and Populism. In this video, he asks me all the …
I recently recorded a ‘fireside chat’ on the Book of Revelation for a conference of the Christian Residential Network. Keith Hagon asked me a number of questions, including the ones below. For fuller exploration, see my Grove booklet and my IVP Tyndale commentary. (On some of these questions, see also the articles on this blog …
I was due to be at Lee Abbey in Devon this week, teaching on eschatology (thinking about ‘the last things’) and the end of the world. Sadly, Covid prevented me going, so I recorded five videos and did two Zoom question and answer sessions. The five videos are embedded below; the Zoom sessions were not …
Martyn Whittock is a historian and a Licensed Lay Minister in the Church of England. He has just published a fascinating history of the interpretation of ‘end times’ ideas, The End Times, Again? 2000 Years of the Use and Misuse of Biblical Prophecy, and I was able to ask him about his book. IP: You are …
Questions of what the Bible teaches about the end of the world have been given a renewed focus during the Covid pandemic. But in fact understanding what the New Testament says about this subject (known as ‘eschatology’ from the Greek words for ‘last things’ and ‘study’) affects the way we think about a whole range …
Over the last two years, there seems to have been a heightened interest in certain circles in discussion of the ‘end times’—and there is no doubt that this will continue. Many Christians don’t know how to respond to or engage with this, and without a better understanding of what the New Testament says, unhelpful and …
