Tag Archives: Surprised by Hope

Surprised by Hope: Shining Like Stars

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Alan S. and Bob Harry made some very insightful comments in the preceding post of this series. Alan S. wrote, Are you saying that we can expect to be resurrected with a body similar to what Jesus had when he … Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hope: 2 Peter 3:10-13 — Spiritual Bodies

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Jay F Guin

As our transformation — our becoming new creations — anticipates God’s re-creating the heavens and the earth at the end of time, we need to take a look at what Paul says about our resurrection. Paul’s most detailed description is … Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hope: 2 Peter 3:10-13 — A New Creation

Posted on January 4, 2010 by Jay F Guin

We can’t read “new heavens and new earth” and not recall Genesis 1, where God created “the heavens and the earth.” Obviously, this phrase is intended to refer to a re-making of the first creation. Or is it a replacement … Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hope: 2 Peter 3:10-13 — On Reading Figurative Language

Posted on January 3, 2010 by Jay F Guin

As we work through the passages dealing with the end of time, we need to keep a few things in mind about how to read figurative language in the scriptures. Let’s start by clarifying how we speak of such things. … Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hope: 2 Peter 3:10-13 — The New Jerusalem

Posted on January 2, 2010 by Jay F Guin

Now, to really get the picture, we have to go way back into the Old Testament. (Isa 65:17-25)  “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to … Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hope: 2 Peter 3:10-13 — Introduction

Posted on January 2, 2010 by Jay F Guin

In the summer of 2008, I wrote a series of lessons called “Surprised by Hope,” based on a book by N. T. Wright, and I taught these lessons to a Sunday school class. Now I’m teaching the same material to … Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hell: Evaluating the Evidence (extended)

Posted on August 22, 2008 by Jay F Guin

It helps, I think, to take a step back and try to absorb the evidence in the context of the scriptures and Christianity. We have two views: * The traditional view, at least as old as Tertullian (writing from 197 … Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hell: Who Will Be Resurrected?

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Jay F Guin

In Surprised by Hope, N. T. Wright argues extensively that “resurrection” refers exclusively to a bodily resurrection. First Century Greeks, for example, believed in the immortality of the soul (our disembodied selves) but had no concept of a resurrection. I’ve … Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hell: A Heavenly Time

Posted on August 13, 2008 by Jay F Guin

Alan keeps asking these fascinating questions. If time is a feature of this creation, and souls of the dead live outside this creation, then by definition they do not experience time. So they are eternal. Perhaps they can observe creation … Continue reading →

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Surprised by Hell: Gehenna

Posted on August 7, 2008 by Jay F Guin

In the New Testament, every reference to “hell” in the English is a reference either to Hades, Tartarus, or Gehenna. Gehenna is used 12 times. It’s well known that Gehenna was the dump outside Jerusalem where trash was burned. And … Continue reading →

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