A friend from India recently shared with me that he and his family were “Saint Thomas Christians”. At the time I had not known that Saint Thomas had evangelized the nation of India. I had assumed (wrongfully) that all Indians followed the Hindu religion or were perhaps Muslims. The Saint Thomas Christians refer to themselves in this way because their tradition holds that their ancestors, who all came from the high castes of Hindu society, were converted by the Saint Thomas (the Apostle), who landed in India around 52 AD. History tells us that Saint Thomas died a martyr’s death in India. Pilgrimages to his tomb have always been an important element in the religious life of the St Thomas Christian community. So in the first century A.D., from its’ origin in Jerusalem, the gospel had reached the people living in far away India! Saint Thomas was doing his part to spread the gospel of the kingdom throughout the world of his day.
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Month: July 2016
The Gap Theory
I’m sure most Christians are familiar with the debate about whether Jesus Christ will return for His church before, during or after the seven years of tribulation. These three interpretations are referred to as the “pre-trib”, “mid-trib” and the “post-trib” views. For years, yours truly got caught up in this debate. During this entire period I never once asked the question “does the Bible teach that Daniel chapter 27 refers to a future seven-year period of tribulation” in the first place?
Well, guess what I found? Or should I say what I didn’t find? What I haven’t found is any specific Bible text that predicts a future seven-year tribulation period. Whether we are speaking of a “pre,” “mid” or “post” return of Christ for His church, the entire “theory” is based on an interpretation of one primary scripture, Daniel 9:27.
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