Cosmic Conflict

If God is all powerful and entirely good and loving, why is there so much evil in the world? Based on a close canonical reading of Scripture, this book offers a new approach to the challenge of reconciling the Christian confession of a loving God with the realities of suffering and evil. John Peckham offers a constructive proposal for a theodicy of love that upholds both the sovereignty of God and human freedom, showing that Scripture points toward a framework for thinking about God's love in relation to the world.

“But just as then the child born as a result of the flesh persecuted the one born as a result of the Spirit, so also now” (Gal 4:29 CSB). Why do God’s people suffer? In Galatians, Paul makes an argument from persecution for the authenticity of his gospel. Persecution demonstrates that Paul and the Galatians belong to God and have believed in the divinely revealed gospel. While Paul does not offer an explicit theodicy in Galatians, his argument from persecution requires an implicit one. Paul’s theodicy can primarily be understood through his interpretation of earlier Scripture, especially the story of Isaac and Ishmael in Genesis. In Persecution and Cosmic Conflict, Joshua Caleb Hutchens examines the theme of persecution in Galatians and Paul’s theological context in earlier Scriptures and early Judaism. Hutchens argues that Paul sees persecution as a manifestation of the cosmic conflict between God in Christ and the present evil age. Paul argues for this by appealing to earlier Scripture in Genesis. Hutchens offers a biblical-theological reading of Genesis that makes sense of Paul’s usage of the book in Galatians.

Several view of martyrdom co-existed in the early Church. The 'orthodox' position, generally accepted by scholars, was that a Christian should choose martyrdom rather than deny the Faith, but should not, on any account, court death. Although it has been recognised that some in the early Church did seek a glorified death, by giving themselves over to arrest, most scholars have dismissed such acts as differing from 'the accepted attitude to martyrdom' in the early Church. Therefore, instances of volitional, or radical martyrdom, have been largely overlooked or sidelined in scholarly investigations into the theology and origins of Christian martyrdom. Paul Middleton argues that, far from being a deviant strand of early Christianity, 'radical martyrdom' was a significant, and widely held idealised form of devotion in the late first to early third centuries. Christian martyrdom is placed within the heritage of Jewish War tradition, with each martyr making an important contribution to the cosmic conflict between Satan and God. Radical Martyrdom re-examines the presentation, theology, and origins of Christian martyrdom up to the beginning of the Decian persecutions in the light of new perspectives on the subject.

"Three Cosmic Messages reviews the three angels' messages of Revelation 14. These messages are Christ's last message of love to mankind, calling him to worship God and refuse the mark of the beast"--

A Feature-length Documentary Hosted by Doug Batchelor The World's Most Mysterious and Controversial Book Is Now Unveiled! No other book in the Bible has been more misunderstood or misrepresented than Revelation. For ages, its mysterious symbols and ominous predictions have perplexed millions and sparked wild speculation. But now, that all changes with Revelation: The Bride, The Beast & Babylon! Going to the very heart of the Bible's most challenging book, this 90-minute documentary decodes the visions of Revelation 12 and 17 for everyone to understand. Journeying from the birth of Christ through the Christian era, this amazing video pulls aside the veil of hidden history to reveal the rise of Babylon, the persecution of the bride of Christ, and the real-world identity of the beast. Educational and inspiring, Revelation delivers the keys to understanding the epic conflict between Christ and Satan and what it means for your life today. Featuring ... Compelling interviews with respected theologians and historians Stunning footage from historic locations throughout Europe Vivid reenactments of biblical visions and events. Subtitled in: English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Russian, Hindi, Indonesian, and Korean Product Details: Author: Amazing Facts Format: DVD Publisher: Amazing Facts Runtime: 94 Minutes Publication Date: October 2013 ISBN: 9-781-58019-581-2

Cosmic Conflict is a series of four plays that examine the complex union between the physical and the spiritual world. It gives a face to the metaphysical conflicts that people face every day. This is spiritual warfare in the most literal sense of the word, and Cosmic Conflict offers the Holy Bible as the answer. We often speak of evil spirits or Satan, but it is hard to get a clear picture of what those apparitions look like, many images that have been fed to us through out our lives. For example, the devil is red with horns and a tail, and demons are monstrous creatures with ill intent. But what if Satan is the man sitting next to you reading a book? What if a demon looks like your wife, husband, or even your child? Cosmic Conflict tackles these dilemmas full force, using scripture, prayers, and evangelical pastors. It uses the unyielding power of Jesus Christ to go to the source of negative and destructive world behavior - the spirits working behind the scene to do us harm. No human being on this earth will ever survive or overcome the manipulation of Satan on his or her own power neither is any human free from this conflict. It is all around us effecting our lives in different ways. Cosmic conflict is responsible for that child of yours who is involved in one problem to another, that your shattered marriage, your inability to succeed in anything, your inability to set any goal for yourself and achieve it. Cosmic Conflict is behind the high rate of corruptions in public service, trade union unrest, accidents in our roads, plane crash, train derailment etc. While in the world stage cosmic conflict is responsible for civil unrest, wars in many nations and rumors of wars, natural disasters like earthquakes, flood, hurricanes, typhoon just to mention but few. I will not also fail to mention others like plane, hijack, terrorist attacks, and many others.

Several view of martyrdom co-existed in the early Church. The 'orthodox' position, generally accepted by scholars, was that a Christian should choose martyrdom rather than deny the Faith, but should not, on any account, court death. Although it has been recognised that some in the early Church did seek a glorified death, by giving themselves over to arrest, most scholars have dismissed such acts as differing from 'the accepted attitude to martyrdom' in the early Church. Therefore, instances of volitional, or radical martyrdom, have been largely overlooked or sidelined in scholarly investigations into the theology and origins of Christian martyrdom. Paul Middleton argues that, far from being a deviant strand of early Christianity, 'radical martyrdom' was a significant, and widely held idealised form of devotion in the late first to early third centuries. Christian martyrdom is placed within the heritage of Jewish War tradition, with each martyr making an important contribution to the cosmic conflict between Satan and God. Radical Martyrdom re-examines the presentation, theology, and origins of Christian martyrdom up to the beginning of the Decian persecutions in the light of new perspectives on the subject.

This volumes celebrates 'Mark as Story' and offers critique, engagement, and exploration of the new hermeneutical vistas that emerged in the wake of this pioneering study.