Apocalyptic, as a category of prophetic literature, is the most dramatic, foreign, and difficult to understand of all the biblical literary forms. It deals with end-of-the-world events using symbolism and figurative language.

Let this sink in: our obedience in this life matters now and counts forever. Life in heaven will echo with the consequences of the lives we lived on earth.

Spiritual movement is either forward or backwards. There is no middle “maintenance” mode. We might feel like we are maintaining a holding pattern but we are in fact slipping backwards.

Do not get so busy doing for Christ that you neglect being with Christ. Love is the greatest thing, but for it to thrive, it must be the main thing...in your walk...in your witness...in your worship.

Tolerance, in its essence, is a disposition to allow freedom of choice and behaviour. However, the ideal of tolerance is now a legalistic blanket of rightness.

It takes courage to step out from the safety of the hothouse of Christianity and walk through the open door of evangelism. It is risky. It isn’t easy. But guess what? It’s never been easy. In fact, at times it has been downright deadly.

Jesus’ birth occurred in obscurity. Luke juxtaposed that obscurity with the angelic pronouncement regarding Jesus’ exalted identity. This pronouncement conveys key historical and theological points which Luke wanted to make clear in his gospel.

We also have racism because we live in a sinful world that has taught us to compare the outward differences. We also have racism because we live in a sinful world that has taught us to compare the outward differences.

We’re prone to treat the Bible like a textbook and we’re cramming for a test. We know how to read, analyze, colour code, timeline, and graph the Scriptures, (all good!) but meditation is a neglected skill.

The exotic—even bizarre—symbols used to describe the Beast in Revelation 13 are not just frightening features conjured up to illustrate the monstrous character of the Antichrist. The vision of the Beast is drawn from specific images in the book of Daniel.