Echoing Hope with Kurt Willems

*Download the Guide (This a free book buying guide for last minute Christmas shoppers!)*

This is the final episode in this series. In one hour (a long episode!) you will get an immersion into the book of Revelation, including how to deal with the question of violence!

The end of the world. The end of the ages. The rapture. The Great 7 Year Tribulation. The Anti-Christ. The second coming. All of these themes come out of various versions of Christian theology. Some of them were embraced by Paul. Many of them would seem absurd to him. 

In The End Times in Paul and Others, Kurt Willems examines Paul's "end times" theology, seeking to understand his own expectations of the Second Coming through a historical lens. Then, Kurt compares various other New Testament authors' perspectives on the end as well. Do they line up? Does Paul envision a future tribulation and a rapture? What about Jesus? Revelation? And others?

If you are tired of end times madness but want to know what the historical Paul believed and taught, this series is for you. But it doesn't stop there, in an uncharacteristic move for The Paulcast, we will devote full episodes to other relevant texts from outside of the Pauline epistles!

Episode Sponsors

This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Master of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/paulcast. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

*Download the Guide (This a free book buying guide for last minute Christmas shoppers!)*

The end of the world. The end of the ages. The rapture. The Great 7 Year Tribulation. The Anti-Christ. The second coming. All of these themes come out of various versions of Christian theology. Some of them were embraced by Paul. Many of them would seem absurd to him. 

In The End Times in Paul and Others, Kurt Willems examines Paul's "end times" theology, seeking to understand his own expectations of the Second Coming through a historical lens. Then, Kurt compares various other New Testament authors' perspectives on the end as well. Do they line up? Does Paul envision a future tribulation and a rapture? What about Jesus? Revelation? And others?

If you are tired of end times madness but want to know what the historical Paul believed and taught, this series is for you. But it doesn't stop there, in an uncharacteristic move for The Paulcast, we will devote full episodes to other relevant texts from outside of the Pauline epistles!

Episode Sponsors

This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Master of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/paulcast. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

Here, I hook you up with a direct download of The Paulcast's last minute book buying guide. Great books for gifts. Easy way to support the podcast.

If you want to buy a great gift for the armchair theologian in your life, especially if they are interested in Paul (who isn't?! hahah), then this guide will be your friend.I want to save you trouble. You don’t have to guess. If your significant other, friend, or family member loves to read up on theology, these books on Paul will most-likely be a “win!"

I've created this free resource for you, all I ask is that you share this link on social media to help spread the word to all the last minute shoppers out there!

In this free pdf guide, you will find three types of books:

Introduction Level Books on Paul

These are books that an average reader of Paul can pick up and enjoy. At the same time, because I picked them, you can be sure that they are loaded with insights and aren’t weak on content.

Accessible but More Academic 

Here’s the deal, the only thing separating the first two sections is that this category assumes some prior knowledge about the conversation about Paul. Still highly readable.

Scholarly Books

This is for the “heavy-hitter” armchair theologians in your life. These likely include more Greek words and are longer. If they are on my list, however, I guarantee that they aren’t dry and boring.

Download the Guide

The end of the world. The end of the ages. The rapture. The Great 7 Year Tribulation. The Anti-Christ. The second coming. All of these themes come out of various versions of Christian theology. Some of them were embraced by Paul. Many of them would seem absurd to him. 

In The End Times in Paul and Others, Kurt Willems examines Paul's "end times" theology, seeking to understand his own expectations of the Second Coming through a historical lens. Then, Kurt compares various other New Testament authors' perspectives on the end as well. Do they line up? Does Paul envision a future tribulation and a rapture? What about Jesus? Revelation? And others?

If you are tired of end times madness but want to know what the historical Paul believed and taught, this series is for you. But it doesn't stop there, in an uncharacteristic move for The Paulcast, we will devote full episodes to other relevant texts from outside of the Pauline epistles!

Episode Sponsors

This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Master of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/paulcast. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

This special edition episode of The Paulcast is a sermon that Kurt gave at Pangea (Seattle, WA) the Sunday after the 2016 Elections. He looks at the way social media and life filter us from authenticity and God's glory. His texts come out of Exodus and 2 Corinthians as he explores Paul and unveiled Christianity. It is not a "historical" or "theological" episode, per se, but more of a pastoral approach with those scholastic things running in the background. 

Episode Sponsors

This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Master of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/paulcast. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

In this brief video, Kurt gives an update about the Paulcast and takes some time to engage Philippians 2 in light of the election season.

The end of the world. The end of the ages. The rapture. The Great 7 Year Tribulation. The Anti-Christ. The second coming. All of these themes come out of various versions of Christian theology. Some of them were embraced by Paul. Many of them would seem absurd to him. 

In The End Times in Paul and Others, Kurt Willems examines Paul's "end times" theology, seeking to understand his own expectations of the Second Coming through a historical lens. Then, Kurt compares various other New Testament authors' perspectives on the end as well. Do they line up? Does Paul envision a future tribulation and a rapture? What about Jesus? Revelation? And others?

If you are tired of end times madness but want to know what the historical Paul believed and taught, this series is for you. But it doesn't stop there, in an uncharacteristic move for The Paulcast, we will devote full episodes to other relevant texts from outside of the Pauline epistles!

Episode Sponsors

1) This episode is sponsored by Logos Mobile Education, providing theological education and practical ministry training for pastors and leaders. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Logos Mobile Education Lecture Hall. This online learning community is designed to provide free lectures and access to free Logos Mobile Education courses and will help your ministry. Join the Lecture Hall today for resources and information about seminary-level courses! Logos has gathered worldclass scholars to teach in this unique digital format. Learn more at www.logos.com/lecturehall.

2) This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the newMaster of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/mlc. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

The end of the world. The end of the ages. The rapture. The Great 7 Year Tribulation. The Anti-Christ. The second coming. All of these themes come out of various versions of Christian theology. Some of them were embraced by Paul. Many of them would seem absurd to him. 

In The End Times in Paul and Others, Kurt Willems examines Paul's "end times" theology, seeking to understand his own expectations of the Second Coming through a historical lens. Then, Kurt compares various other New Testament authors' perspectives on the end as well. Do they line up? Does Paul envision a future tribulation and a rapture? What about Jesus? Revelation? And others?

If you are tired of end times madness but want to know what the historical Paul believed and taught, this series is for you. But it doesn't stop there, in an uncharacteristic move for The Paulcast, we will devote full episodes to other relevant texts from outside of the Pauline epistles!

Episode Sponsors

1) This episode is sponsored by Logos Mobile Education, providing theological education and practical ministry training for pastors and leaders. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Logos Mobile Education Lecture Hall. This online learning community is designed to provide free lectures and access to free Logos Mobile Education courses and will help your ministry. Join the Lecture Hall today for free access to Dr. Robert Sloan’sNT344 Paul's Theology and the Letter to the Philippians. In this course, Dr. Robert Sloan explores the theological concepts and terminology in Philippians moves you beyond a book-level understanding to understanding Paul’s theology as whole. Learn more atwww.logos.com/lecture hall.

2) This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the newMaster of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/mlc. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

The end of the world. The end of the ages. The rapture. The Great 7 Year Tribulation. The Anti-Christ. The second coming. All of these themes come out of various versions of Christian theology. Some of them were embraced by Paul. Many of them would seem absurd to him. 

In The End Times in Paul and Others, Kurt Willems examines Paul's "end times" theology, seeking to understand his own expectations of the Second Coming through a historical lens. Then, Kurt compares various other New Testament authors' perspectives on the end as well. Do they line up? Does Paul envision a future tribulation and a rapture? What about Jesus? Revelation? And others?

If you are tired of end times madness but want to know what the historical Paul believed and taught, this series is for you. But it doesn't stop there, in an uncharacteristic move for The Paulcast, we will devote full episodes to other relevant texts from outside of the Pauline epistles!

Episode Sponsors

1) This episode is sponsored by Logos Mobile Education, providing theological education and practical ministry training for pastors and leaders. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Logos Mobile Education Lecture Hall. This online learning community is designed to provide free lectures and access to free Logos Mobile Education courses and will help your ministry. Join the Lecture Hall today for free access to Dr. Robert Sloan’s NT344 Paul's Theology and the Letter to the Philippians. In this course, Dr. Robert Sloan explores the theological concepts and terminology in Philippians moves you beyond a book-level understanding to understanding Paul’s theology as whole. Learn more atwww.logos.com/lecture hall.

2) This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the newMaster of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/mlc. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

The end of the world. The end of the ages. The rapture. The Great 7 Year Tribulation. The Anti-Christ. The second coming. All of these themes come out of various versions of Christian theology. Some of them were embraced by Paul. Many of them would seem absurd to him. 

In The End Times in Paul and Others, Kurt Willems examines Paul's "end times" theology, seeking to understand his own expectations of the Second Coming through a historical lens. Then, Kurt compares various other New Testament authors' perspectives on the end as well. Do they line up? Does Paul envision a future tribulation and a rapture? What about Jesus? Revelation? And others?

If you are tired of end times madness but want to know what the historical Paul believed and taught, this series is for you. But it doesn't stop there, in an uncharacteristic move for The Paulcast, we will devote full episodes to other relevant texts from outside of the Pauline epistles!

Episode Sponsors

1) This episode is sponsored by Logos Mobile Education, providing theological education and practical ministry training for pastors and leaders. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Logos Mobile Education Lecture Hall. This online learning community is designed to provide free lectures and access to free Logos Mobile Education courses and will help your ministry. Join the Lecture Hall today for free access to Dr. Robert Sloan’s NT344 Paul's Theology and the Letter to the Philippians. In this course, Dr. Robert Sloan explores the theological concepts and terminology in Philippians moves you beyond a book-level understanding to understanding Paul’s theology as whole. Learn more at www.logos.com/lecture hall.

2) This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Master of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/mlc. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

The end of the world. The end of the ages. The rapture. The Great 7 Year Tribulation. The Anti-Christ. The second coming. All of these themes come out of various versions of Christian theology. Some of them were embraced by Paul. Many of them would seem absurd to him. 

In The End Times in Paul and Others, Kurt Willems examines Paul's "end times" theology, seeking to understand his own expectations of the Second Coming through a historical lens. Then, Kurt compares various other New Testament authors' perspectives on the end as well. Do they line up? Does Paul envision a future tribulation and a rapture? What about Jesus? Revelation? And others?

If you are tired of end times madness but want to know what the historical Paul believed and taught, this series is for you. But it doesn't stop there, in an uncharacteristic move for The Paulcast, we will devote full episodes to other relevant texts from outside of the Pauline epistles!

Episode Sponsors

1) This episode is sponsored by Logos Mobile Education, providing theological education and practical ministry training for pastors and leaders. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Logos Mobile Education Lecture Hall. This online learning community is designed to provide free lectures and access to free Logos Mobile Education courses and will help your ministry. Join the Lecture Hall today for free access to Dr. Robert Sloan’s NT344 Paul's Theology and the Letter to the Philippians. In this course, Dr. Robert Sloan explores the theological concepts and terminology in Philippians moves you beyond a book-level understanding to understanding Paul’s theology as whole. Learn more at www.logos.com/lecture hall.

2) This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Master of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/mlc. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

In this episode, Greg Boyd chats with Kurt Willems about spiritual warfare in Paul and others. This is a pastoral and theological conversation, more so than an issue focused only on the historical Paul. But, from time to time, these conversations are fun as well!

Episode Sponsors

1) This episode is sponsored by Logos Mobile Education, providing theological education and practical ministry training for pastors and leaders. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Logos Mobile Education Lecture Hall. This online learning community is designed to provide free lectures and access to free Logos Mobile Education courses and will help your ministry. Join the Lecture Hall today for free access to Dr. Robert Sloan’s NT344 Paul's Theology and the Letter to the Philippians. In this course, Dr. Robert Sloan explores the theological concepts and terminology in Philippians moves you beyond a book-level understanding to understanding Paul’s theology as whole. Learn more at www.logos.com/lecture hall.

2) This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Master of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/mlc. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

The end of the world. The end of the ages. The rapture. The Great 7 Year Tribulation. The Anti-Christ. The second coming. All of these themes come out of various versions of Christian theology. Some of them were embraced by Paul. Many of them would seem absurd to him. 

In The End Times in Paul and Others, Kurt Willems examines Paul's "end times" theology, seeking to understand his own expectations of the Second Coming through a historical lens. Then, Kurt compares various other New Testament authors' perspectives on the end as well. Do they line up? Does Paul envision a future tribulation and a rapture? What about Jesus? Revelation? And others?

If you are tired of end times madness but want to know what the historical Paul believed and taught, this series is for you. But it doesn't stop there, in an uncharacteristic move for The Paulcast, we will devote full episodes to other relevant texts from outside of the Pauline epistles!

This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Master of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/mlc. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

In this episode, Kurt Willems interviews Professor Mark D. Baker of Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. Mark studied with Richard Hays at Duke and did a contextual project spurred on by his experience as a missionary in Honduras. His work focuses on Galatians, which he breaks down in this episode. Check out his website to see more of his work.

This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Master of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/mlc. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

The end of the world. The end of the ages. The rapture. The Great 7 Year Tribulation. The Anti-Christ. The second coming. All of these themes come out of various versions of Christian theology. Some of them were embraced by Paul. Many of them would seem absurd to him. 

In The End Times in Paul and Others, Kurt Willems examines Paul's "end times" theology, seeking to understand his own expectations of the Second Coming through a historical lens. Then, Kurt compares various other New Testament authors' perspectives on the end as well. Do they line up? Does Paul envision a future tribulation and a rapture? What about Jesus? Revelation? And others?

If you are tired of end times madness but want to know what the historical Paul believed and taught, this series is for you. But it doesn't stop there, in an uncharacteristic move for The Paulcast, we will devote full episodes to other relevant texts from outside of the Pauline epistles!

This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Master of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/mlc. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

The end of the world. The end of the ages. The rapture. The Great 7 Year Tribulation. The Anti-Christ. The second coming. All of these themes come out of various versions of Christian theology. Some of them were embraced by Paul. Many of them would seem absurd to him. 

In The End Times in Paul and Others, Kurt Willems examines Paul's "end times" theology, seeking to understand his own expectations of the Second Coming through a historical lens. Then, Kurt compares various other New Testament authors' perspectives on the end as well. Do they line up? Does Paul envision a future tribulation and a rapture? What about Jesus? Revelation? And others?

If you are tired of end times madness but want to know what the historical Paul believed and taught, this series is for you. But it doesn't stop there, in an uncharacteristic move for The Paulcast, we will devote full episodes to other relevant texts from outside of the Pauline epistles!

This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Master of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/mlc. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

Paul didn't just sit around and pontificate lofty theological ideas from a chamber flowing with the finest wines and grains of abundance. Not even close. Paul, although an intellectual, was a practitioner. For him, theology is always practical. 

In Paul's short letter to Philemon, he challenges power structures of the day by contending for peace between a slave owner (Philemon) and a runaway slave (Onesimus). According to our friends at The Global Immersion Project, peacemaking in the way Jesus involves several practices: SEE, IMMERSE, and CONTEND—with the dream of eventual restoration. In this letter, Paul has clearly taken time to SEE the humanity of both of these men, he has IMMERSED in their stories, and now must contend for the life of Onesimus. This letter is peacemaking 101, folks! So good!

In light of the current challenges we see in social media land, family relationships, and church dynamics in the aftermath of the Orlando mass shooting of 49+ LGBTQ persons, peacemaking couldn't be more relevant today. Listen along as we learn from Paul how to enter spaces of conflict.

This episode is sponsored by Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. They are excited to announce the launch of the new Master of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture. This online program, designed for practicing pastors and ministry entrepreneurs, will help you understand and integrate sub-cultures, theology, and leadership into practice. Guest faculty like Bruxy Cavey, Greg Boyd and Brian Zahnd model practical integration of Anabaptist theology and 21st century kingdom work. Learn more at fpu.edu/mlc. 

*Show sponsors do not endorse every word or idea discussed on The Paulcast.

In this episode, Kurt talks with Mark Nanos, one of the key voices in the Paul within Judaism school of scholarship (sometimes called the "Radical New Perspective"). We chat about Paul, Amish people, Judaism, and Jesus.

In Getting to Know the Real Paul, we explore various issues about Paul's own identity. From questioning whether or not the letters attributed to him are authentic, to wondering out loud about his posture toward the Roman Empire, this series attempts to give an overview of the important questions and ideas that emerge when we look at Paul and his first century world.