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Bible Insights

The End Is Near…or Maybe Not

Jesus says nobody knows when the world will end. Later on Paul confirms no one knows when Jesus will return (therefore signaling the start of the end). It will happen unexpectedly, like a “thief in the night.”

So if the Bible says no one knows, why do some preachers make their audacious predictions anyway? Adding to their error, they often tap the Bible for clues as to when, even though the Bible says no one knows.

Yet they try anyway.

I’m not sure if this is out of arrogance of who they are or ignorance over what the Bible says.

Yes, we need to be ready, but we don’t know when the end will occur. So let’s forget about trying to figure out what we can’t know and instead focus on doing what we already do know, the things Jesus told us to do.

After all, be it far away or near, the end will happen when it happens.

[1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, Matthew 24:35-36, Mark 13:31-32]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

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Bible Insights

It’s Not My Fault

We live in a society of blame. People shun taking responsibility for their mistakes and shortcomings.

Instead they blame someone else: “It’s how I was raised,” “He talked me into it,” “It’s her fault not mine,” “If only I had a better education,” “I had no choice,” and so forth.

In doing so, they fail to take responsibility for their own actions. They attempt to pass their error onto someone or something else and thereby avoid God’s censure for their sin.

In God’s perspective, that’s not how things work. Each person is responsible for the things he or she does. Through Moses, God said that each person would die for his or her sin, not the parents but them.

Fortunately, Jesus offers a different solution: Saving people from their sin.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Deuteronomy 16-18, Matthew 1-4, and today’s post is on Deuteronomy 24:16 and Matthew 1:21]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

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Bible Insights

Jesus is God’s Child and So Are We

The Bible says that Jesus is God’s one and only son.

However, God also calls the church his children. How can we be God’s children if he has only one son?

Although the Bible is full of paradoxes—which are hard for modern people to accept but not so difficult for post-modern people and certainly not an issue for ancient people—I don’t think this is one of them.

Another truth may explain this seeming contradiction. One metaphor in understanding our relationship with God is that of a bride and groom, with Jesus being the groom and the church being the bride.

Therefore, by virtue of this union, Jesus, the only son of God, brings the church into his family through marriage, thereby making us, the church, become children of God.

This is just a thought, but it’s an interesting one.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 1 John 1-4, and today’s post is on 1 John 3:1.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

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Bible Insights

Is God Mad At Us?

The phrase “the Lord’s anger” occurs 29 times in the Bible. Is God an angry god, frequently mad at us for messing up? Does he enjoy punishing those who disappoint him? The answer is no.

This phrase only appears in the Old Testament of the Bible (before Jesus) but not at all in the New Testament, where Jesus places the focus on God’s love.

The Old Testament seems to show God is angry, while the New Testament reveals his love. Is the Bible talking about two different gods? Did God change from mad to loving?

Again, the answer is no. Anger and love come from the same God. We need to keep both traits in mind—and remember that Jesus made the difference.

[See the occurrences of “the Lord’s anger” in the Bible.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

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Bible Insights

What Does “An Eye For An Eye” Really Mean?

The phrase “an eye for an eye” occurs four times in the Bible.

The first three are in the Old Testament, in the Law of Moses. In these verses, it seems that Moses grants us permission to seek revenge.

However, putting it into a historical context, some scholars say it was actually a command for moderation, to have the response match the injury.

An excessive reaction to you stole my sheep is I’ll take all your animals and burn down your barn.

Or you broke my arm, so I’ll kill you and your family. No, an eye for an eye may mean that the punishment must be proportional to the offense.

Regardless of the interpretation, Jesus dismisses the concept entirely. Instead he offers a curious replacement. He says to go the extra mile, turn the other cheek, and give more than required. However, it’s hard to know exactly what he means by all this.

Is this a passive-aggressive response, a prohibition against retaliation, a command for generosity, a ploy to embarrass your enemies, or a lesson to let people take advantage of you?

There’s much to consider. But the one thing for sure is that Jesus dismisses the idea of an eye for an eye. It’s old school and he has a better way.

[Exodus 21:22-25, Leviticus 24:17-22, Deuteronomy 19:16-21, and Matthew 5:38-42.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

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Bible Insights

Is Our Reward For Now or Later?

Some people who follow Jesus have a future focus, greatly anticipating heaven. They endure the present while waiting for what is next.

Other people who follow Jesus have a present perspective, living boldly for today as his ambassadors to the world. The afterlife is almost an afterthought.

Which is it? Is our reward for following Jesus, now or later?

The answer is “Yes!”

Jesus said that his followers will receive a reward in the present and even more in the future; he promises us something for today and something for tomorrow.

The Bible says that what we give up for Jesus now, he will replace multiple times in our present life, with eternal life as a bonus later. When we follow Jesus, we get the best of both.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Luke 16-18, and today’s post is on Luke 18:29-30.]

Read more about the book of Luke in That You May Know: A 40-Day Devotional Exploring the Life of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

Celebrate Easter as a Spiritual Holiday

We’ve Lost Christmas as a Spiritual Celebration. Let’s Not Lose Easter Too

This spring some groups have banned Easter egg hunts—not the activity but the name. Concerned pundits decry this as political correctness gone awry or the timid majority kowtowing to the vocal minority.

Although “spring egg hunt” sounds lame, this new label doesn’t dismay me. What do eggs have to do with the resurrection? Let’s remove the myth of Easter so we can focus on the meaning.

With the significance of Christmas lost to commercialization and consumerism, the reason for the Easter season could suffer the same fate. May it never be.

I’m not sure which bothers me more, chomping off the ears of a chocolate bunny or biting off the head of a chocolate Jesus. Let’s forever sever all connections between the Easter bunny, Easter eggs, and Easter candy with our Easter savior.

This week, I’ve sent many an email signing off with “…and have a great Easter.” Saying “Happy Easter” seems cliché, being too easy to voice without thinking.

It’s not that I’m a non-conformist (well, perhaps I am a bit), but I do want to point people to the true meaning of Easter: a risen savior who overcame death to give us life.

Today, may we celebrate Easter with a God-honoring, Jesus-focused passion.

Have a great Easter!

Discover more about celebrating Jesus and his passion to save us in Peter’s new book, The Passion of Jesus. It is part of the Holiday Celebration Bible Study Series.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

Happy Good Friday

At one time, my dad received his paycheck every other week, on the last day of the workweek. With a smile, he called each of these paydays good Friday.

Dad enjoyed good Friday twenty-six times a year. Some years the real Good Friday fell on one of dad’s good Fridays; other times it did not—and then he had twenty-seven Fridays he called good.

Although amusing, I used to wonder if it might be a tad sacrilegious to call payday good Friday. Dad received his paycheck on his good Fridays. All Jesus received on his Good Friday was death.

What’s good about that?

Though Good Friday starts with Jesus, it ends with us. On Jesus’ Good Friday, he began the means for us to receive a gift: eternal life.

Without Good Friday, there would be no Easter.

Without death, there would be no resurrection.

Without sacrifice, there would be no salvation.

Happy Good Friday!

Discover more about celebrating Jesus and his passion to save us in Peter’s new book, The Passion of Jesus. It is part of the Holiday Celebration Bible Study Series.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

Can People Follow Jesus Within Other Religious Contexts?

In Thursday’s post, Who Is a Christian Pharisee?, I talked about connecting—or reconnecting Christianity—with its Jewish roots—called Messianic Judaism. Although this thought may alarm some, there are ample justifications.

Old Testament Judaism foreshadowed and gave birth to Christianity, Jesus was a Jew, and almost all of his early followers where Jewish.

It’s only through a deeper understanding of Jewish tradition that we can more fully grasp the history and meaning behind Christian faith.

However, what about religions without that historical connection? I’m not talking about melding two disparate religions together but instead of a Jesus faith existing within the context of a different world religion.

The January/February issue of Christianity Today addresses this extensively and from that I draw encouraging conclusions.

Hindus, for example, tend to accept those within their faith community who worship Jesus, even those who worship him only, providing they do so within the context of Hinduism. (See “The Hidden History of Insider Movements.”)

For Muslims, it’s a bit different, but another article addresses Muslin converts to Jesus who remain in their Muslim culture, albeit more covertly. (See “Worshiping Jesus in the Mosque.”)

Other related articles in this same issue are “Why Evangelicals Should Be Thankful for Muslim Insiders” and “How Much Muslim Context Is Too Much for the Gospel?

These concepts may be hard to accept and some may reject them outright. However, I embrace them with excitement, simply because more people are finding Jesus in more contexts.

Though these settings are far different from mine, they are no less viable.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.

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Bible Insights

Jesus Gives a New Name to Simon

One of Jesus’ disciples was Simon, who Jesus renamed Peter.

According to the Amplified Bible, Peter means “stone” or “a large piece of rock.”

Sometimes the Bible refers to him as Simon (47 times) and other times Simon Peter (33 times) but mostly just Peter (139 times).

Peter was the first leader of Jesus’ followers, so calling him “rock” fits. Perhaps Jesus gave Peter a new name to preview his future as a leader.

Even more interesting is a play on words Jesus uses in Matthew 16:16-18. The implication isn’t apparent in most versions of the Bible, but the Amplified Bible captures it nicely (even throwing in some Greek to make sure we don’t miss it).

Peter (Petros, “a large piece of rock,” essentially a rock) gives a proclamation (Petra, “a huge rock like Gibraltar,” essentially the rock) saying Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus affirms Peter’s words, declaring them to be the foundation on which he will build his church.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Matthew 14-16 and today’s post is on Matthew 16:16-18. See Nine Guys Named Simon in the Bible.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.