UN Special Rapporteur Mai Sato has highlighted Iran’s limited responses to international inquiries concerning its treatment of Christians. According to her account, Iran answered only one of eight communications from UN human rights experts about Christians since 2011.
That response characterized Christian converts as a national-security threat. The report also discusses the seizure of a Tehran church as part of wider concerns about religious freedom. Christian Daily International
Iran’s Christians are not the Iranian government, and that distinction matters, particularly when military and political tensions dominate the headlines.
Iran has an ancient Christian history, and Iranian believers include members of historic churches as well as converts from Islam.
So What?
The biblical command to remember persecuted believers (Hebrews 13:3) applies regardless of nationality or denomination.
As international attention focuses on Iran’s nuclear program and military activities, religious minorities face challenges that can disappear from public discussion.
The Rapture Debate, Part Three: How Many Times Does Jesus Return?
The pre-tribulation Rapture requires two future arrivals of Christ. First, Jesus comes secretly for the Church and takes believers to heaven. Seven years later, He returns publicly with those believers to defeat evil and establish His kingdom.
Supporters usually call these two stages of one return. Critics might reasonably respond: if the events are separated by seven years and completely different things happen at each one, that sounds suspiciously like two returns.
So, what sequence does the New Testament actually describe?
In Matthew 24, Jesus places the gathering of His people after the tribulation:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days…they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” — Matthew 24:29–30, KJV
He then sends His angels “with a great sound of a trumpet” to gather His elect.
Paul uses remarkably similar language in 1 Thessalonians 4: the Lord descends from heaven, a trumpet sounds, the dead rise, and living believers are caught up to meet Him in the air. In 1 Corinthians 15, resurrection and transformation occur “at the last trump.”
These passages share the same basic elements: Christ appears, the trumpet sounds, the dead are raised, and God’s people are gathered. Nothing in them clearly says Jesus performs a secret removal years before His visible return.
Revelation adds that when the seventh trumpet sounds, heavenly voices announce:
“The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.” — Revelation 11:15, KJV
The passage also speaks of judgment, reward for God’s servants, and the time of the dead. Is Revelation’s seventh trumpet identical to Paul’s “last trump”? Possibly, although similar language does not prove they are the same event. Revelation is a symbolic vision, not a train schedule in which every scene follows the previous one chronologically.
Still, it is difficult to place the Church’s final gathering before Revelation’s judgments when Jesus continues warning His followers to remain watchful deep into the vision. In Revelation 16:15—during the bowl judgments—He says, “Behold, I come as a thief.”
If Christ had already come secretly and removed the Church several chapters earlier, who is this warning for?
Revelation 20 makes the timing question even sharper. Those killed for refusing the Beast are raised and reign with Christ, and John calls this “the first resurrection.” Christians disagree over whether that resurrection is literal, symbolic, or part of a larger resurrection event. But calling it “first” presents an obvious challenge to a system requiring another resurrection of believers years earlier.
So What?
No single verse settles every detail. Yet the most straightforward picture across the New Testament is one great, visible return of Christ involving resurrection, transformation, gathering, judgment, and victory.
The Christian hope is not that Jesus slips in unnoticed, quietly removes His people, and returns properly later. It is that the King arrives—and when He does, nobody misses it. A singular event.
In Part Four, we’ll look at where the modern pre-tribulation system came from and compare the major Rapture positions.
A peer-reviewed study by Hebrew University researcher Hila Dayfani, published in Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, reexamines readings from the ancient En-Gedi scroll, a charred manuscript containing portions of Leviticus.
The scroll was discovered in 1970 and digitally reconstructed decades later using advanced imaging technology.
Dayfani proposes alternative readings in portions of Leviticus 2 based on paleographic and material evidence. The findings suggest that the history of the biblical text may be more nuanced than earlier descriptions of the manuscript’s relationship to the later standard Hebrew text.
The proposed readings remain scholarly interpretations, not settled consensus.
So What?
Has the Bible’s text changed over time? That’s a legitimate question, and Christians shouldn’t be afraid of it.
The Bible wasn’t delivered as a modern printed book. Its writings were copied, preserved and transmitted through centuries of scribal work. Textual criticism helps researchers distinguish original wording, copying variations and later editorial developments.
The existence of manuscript differences doesn’t discredit Scripture. Nor does an ancient manuscript prove that every biblical text remained letter-for-letter identical.
This research contributes directly to understanding how the Hebrew Scriptures were preserved and transmitted, particularly the textual history of Leviticus.
God’s desire is to dwell together with his children forever in His perfect creation.
Our job in that relationship is to love and glorify our Heavenly Father and to take care of and add value to the creation He has given us.
The original creation and state of mankind was in perfect harmony and fellowship with the Creator and all was well with the universe.
The Rebellion
Then disobedience, rebellion, and sin cut mankind (Adam and Eve) off from their relationship with God.
Adam and Eve hid from God in shame. God’s perfect garden of delight was ruined, brought forth thorns and weeds, and was no longer the joyous place for Adam and Eve to tend and enjoy.
So Along Came Jesus
Then, after the fall and ruin, the whole purpose and plan of God is to restore that original relationship with His people and redeem the creation from the wreck of death and decay brought about by the rebellion.
The way He has done and is doing that is through His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, who through love and obedience has made it possible for us to once again live God’s original purpose.
So What About Us?
What is our part in all of this today? Where do you fit in?
Well, our purpose is to help God in bringing about the redemption of His people and the final restoration of His creation. YOUR individual purpose is to help God in bringing about the redemption of His people and the final restoration of His creation.
So, we can either believe we are just tiny specks of dust with no purpose or meaning floating around aimlessly in a cold and dark universe, or we can believe that we are actually workers together with the Creator of the universe to accomplish His everlasting purpose.
I choose the latter. The challenge is to understand and believe it to the point of action. How do we do that? We’ll dig deeper next week.
Yeah, I consider the character and reputation of the person on the ballot before I consider their political party affiliation.
I’ve occasionally voted for honest Dems and a Libertarian or two over the years, mostly at the local level. But that’s become increasingly rare, because the Democrat Party, even at the state and local levels, has been hijacked by the far left and the American neo-socialist movement.
And the Libertarian Party seems to have gone off the rails into a kind of kooky anarchism, with no real direction or purpose other than to help Dems by siphoning off pissed-off conservative voters from the GOP.
So-called “Independents” aren’t really independent at all, as far as I can tell. They’re mostly Dems in red districts who are too afraid to identify as Democrats.
The GOP is far from perfect, and there are a couple of its candidates, even locally, for whom I’ve either left the oval blank or held my nose and voted over the years.
I still vote for the person, but the party and ideology someone chooses to align with and advance say a lot about that person’s character and judgment.
Here are four perspectives from four influential Christian thinkers on the Book of Acts.
Martin Luther — The Heart of the Gospel
“This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel.”
Source: Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans (1522). Christian History Institute
John Calvin — The Riches of Scripture
“When any one gains a knowledge of this Epistle, he has an entrance opened to him to all the most hidden treasures of Scripture.”
Source: Commentary on Romans, The Argument (1539), translated by John Owen. Christian Classics Ethereal Library
William Tyndale — A Treasure Worth Searching
“No man verily can read it too oft or study it too well.”
Source: Prologue to Romans (1534). alleluya.com
F. F. Bruce — Let Paul Speak for Himself
“A man of Paul’s calibre must be allowed to be himself and to speak his own language.”
Source: Romans, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Author’s Preface. Romans (TNTC)
Together, these four voices point to why Romans has shaped Christian thought for centuries: it confronts human sin, explains grace and faith, and challenges readers to understand Paul’s message rather than simply inherit someone else’s interpretation of it.
Ancient Israel’s Purple-Dye Factory Reveals a Surprisingly Sophisticated Economy
When people picture ancient Israel, they usually imagine shepherds, sheep, prophets, temples and the occasional king behaving badly. Apparently, they should also picture factory managers.
Archaeologists studying a 2,700-year-old industrial site near Haifa have discovered that workers were producing valuable purple dye, pressing olives, keeping livestock and manufacturing textiles—all while making efficient use of the same facilities.
Turns out, the people living in the biblical world understood business management pretty well. And once again, archaeology is showing us that the world described in Scripture was considerably more sophisticated than many modern people imagine.
Biblical archaeology · September 24 study / October 5 research announcement “Peer-reviewed research published in PLOS ONE reveals that an eighth-century BC industrial center at Tel Shiqmona, near modern Haifa, was far more versatile than previously understood. Researchers identified microscopic evidence of olive pressing, livestock sheltering, textile production and valuable purple dye manufacturing in workspaces used at different times. The study focuses on approximately 790–740 BC, overlapping the reign of Israel’s King Jeroboam II. This is newly published archaeological research, not a discovery made today.”
So What?
Ancient Israel had organized industries, valuable commodities, specialized workers and economic planning.
Purple dye was especially significant in the ancient world because of its cost and association with wealth and prestige. The Bible repeatedly mentions purple and blue textiles in royal and religious settings, including Exodus 26 and Proverbs 31:22.
The archaeological evidence illuminates the material culture behind those particular passages.
This research provides tangible evidence of economic sophistication in the northern Kingdom of Israel and demonstrates how microscopic archaeological analysis can reveal details that ordinary excavation misses.
The Left Behind version of the Rapture is familiar: Christians suddenly vanish, the world panics, and everyone remaining is dropped into seven years of judgments ruled by the Antichrist.
The novels didn’t invent pre-tribulation theology, but they gave it better marketing. The question is whether Revelation actually teaches it.
One passage often cited is Jesus’ promise to the church at Philadelphia:
“I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world.” — Revelation 3:10, KJV
Pre-tribulation interpreters understand “keep thee from” to mean that believers will be physically removed before the worldwide trial begins. That is possible—but it is not the only meaning.
The same Greek wording appears in John 17:15, where Jesus prays:
“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”
There, being “kept from” danger clearly does not mean leaving Earth. It means being protected while remaining in the world. Revelation 3:10 may therefore promise spiritual preservation through testing rather than evacuation before it.
Another popular argument comes from Revelation 4:1, where a voice tells John, “Come up hither.” Some prophecy teachers treat John’s ascent into heaven as a symbol of the entire Church being raptured.
But the text says nothing about the Church going anywhere. John is being brought into the heavenly throne room so he can receive the next part of the vision. Turning “Come up hither” into the pre-tribulation Rapture requires us to insert an event that John never mentions.
A third argument notes that the word “church” disappears after Revelation 3 and does not return until Revelation 22. Therefore, some conclude, the Church must have been removed before the seals are opened.
That is an argument from silence. Revelation continues to describe God’s people as “saints,” faithful witnesses, servants of God, those who keep His commandments, and those who maintain their testimony of Jesus. The Beast even makes war against them.
Pre-tribulation theology usually answers that these are people converted after the Church has been raptured—often called “Tribulation saints.” Again, that is possible within the system, but Revelation never plainly creates two separate groups: the vanished Church and a second class of believers left to endure everything the Church escaped.
In Revelation, God’s people are sealed, strengthened, warned, and finally vindicated. Some are protected; others are imprisoned or killed. What they are repeatedly commanded to do is endure.
So What?
The Left Behind story gives us disappearing believers and an empty Church before the crisis begins. Revelation gives us faithful believers standing against the Beast while the crisis is happening.
That doesn’t settle every question about timing. But it should make us cautious about turning a disputed interpretation into the only “biblical” version of events.
In Part Three, we’ll compare Revelation’s trumpets, resurrection, and return of Christ with Paul’s “last trump” and Jesus’ gathering of the elect.
Jordan arrests three suspects after deadly church massacre
Jordanian security forces today arrested three relatives suspected of carrying out Friday’s attack on St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Hamoud, where gunmen opened fire during a funeral.
Nine people were killed and at least 34 wounded.
The suspects were located in an abandoned house and arrested after a shootout with police. Authorities describe them as extremists but say investigators have found no evidence so far connecting them to a larger militant organization. No group has claimed responsibility. Reuters
This is real Christian persecution—not someone making fun of Christianity online.
People attending a funeral were murdered inside a Christian community.
So What?
But accuracy matters here too, because while authorities have described the attackers as extremists we do not yet know enough to assign the attack to ISIS, al-Qaeda, Islam generally or another organization.
Christians should demand justice without turning incomplete evidence into religious propaganda or a call to vengeance. Facts first.
And a reminder that we wrestle not against flesh and blood.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” — 1 Peter 5:8 (KJV)
Interestingly, Jordan has historically been one of the more stable places for Christians in the region, making an attack of this scale particularly alarming.
We have a function to perform and a part to play, each one of us individually and all of us together as God’s people, in God’s grand plan.
God’s Desire
God’s desire is to dwell together with his children forever in His perfect creation.
Our job in that relationship is to love and glorify our Heavenly Father and to take care of and add value to the creation He has given us.
The original creation and state of mankind was in perfect harmony and fellowship with the Creator and all was well with the universe.
The Rebellion
Then disobedience, rebellion, and sin cut mankind (Adam and Eve) off from their relationship with God.
Adam and Eve hid from God in shame. God’s perfect garden of delight was ruined, brought forth thorns and weeds, and was no longer the joyous place for Adam and Eve to tend and enjoy.
So Along Came Jesus
Then, after the fall and ruin, the whole purpose and plan of God is to restore that original relationship with His people and redeem the creation from the wreck of death and decay brought about by the rebellion.
The way He has done and is doing that is through His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, who through love and obedience has made it possible for us to once again live God’s original purpose.
We’ll continue to look into what all of that means and what it looks like in real life next week.
