Dr Paul Allen

Hebrews 1:1–2; 9:26 . The author to the Hebrews begins his homily with the assertion that God’s revelation has taken a major turn in the recent past: while he had spoken to the Israelites and the Jewish people in the past through prophets “at many times and in various ways,” he has now been speaking to his people through his Son (Heb. 1:1 NIV).  The author dates God’s speaking through Jesus his Son as having happened “in these last days” (ep’ eschatou tōn hēmerōn, Heb. 1:2). The demonstrative pronoun (toutōn, “these”) indicates that the last days have begun: “in these days which are the last days.”  The entire period between Jesus’ first coming and the future consummation of God’s purposes constitutes “the last days.” When the author asserts that Jesus Christ, our High Priest, did not have to suffer many times but appeared once for all “to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26 NIV), he relates Jesus’ appearance both to the “foundation the wo...

English: Jesus Christ - detail from Deesis mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) If the apostles believed that the end times—the last days—began with Jesus’ first coming, it seems difficult to understand that two thousand years later we are still waiting for Jesus’ promised second coming. If “the end times” began in the first century A.D., why are we still waiting for the end? Can “the last days” really last for so long? The delay of Jesus’ second coming was already perceived as a problem by some whom Peter calls “scoffers”—people who gleefully provoked the faithful Christians with the words, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!” ( 2 Peter 3:4).  Peter answers that these people ignore three facts. First, they forget that God , who created the world and then sent the great flood, will one day bring about the day of judgment when the present heavens and eart...

Peter's Denial by Rembrandt, 1660. Jesus is shown in the upper right hand corner, his hands bound behind him, turning to look at Peter. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Hebrews 1:1–2; 9:26 The author to the Hebrews begins his homily with the assertion that God ’s revelation has taken a major turn in the recent past: while he had spoken to the Israelites and the Jewish people in the past through prophets “at many times and in various ways,” he has now been speaking to his people through his Son (Heb. 1:1 NIV ). The author dates God’s speaking through Jesus his Son as having happened “in these last days” (ep’ eschatou tōn hēmerōn, Heb. 1:2). The demonstrative pronoun (toutōn, “these”) indicates that the last days have begun: “in these days which are the last days.” The entire period between Jesus’ first coming and the future consummation of God’s purposes constitutes “the last days.” When the author asserts that Jesus Christ, our High Priest, did not have to suffer many times but ...