Clowne Christadelphian Ecclesia
WELCOME
You are warmly invited to a presentation at our hall on
Creswell Rd, Clowne S43 4LS
on
29th November at 5pm, God willing,
The Promise of Paradise
We look forward to welcoming you.
The Promise of Paradise
November 2026
When the Lord Jesus Christ was dying on the cross, he was not the only person being executed outside Jerusalem on that day. On either side of him was a criminal, one hurling abuse at Jesus: “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” , and the other accepting that he deserved to die for his crimes. He asked, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” The answer from Jesus, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise”, has been the subject of many debates about what happens after we die. (Luke 23:39-43 is where you can read about this.) The first thing to consider is what happened to Jesus “today” when he died, because we are told in great detail. A man called Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Jesus, because he wanted to give him a decent burial. He wrapped the body in linen and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of the rock. There Jesus remained until he rose from the dead three days later. So what did he mean when he said the dying criminal would be with him in Paradise? One explanation is that the souls of both Jesus and the criminal went to heaven, while their bodies remained on the earth. However, this has no basis in the Bible. In fact, the word “soul” simply refers to a living person, and that term is still used today. ‘S.O.S’ – Save Our Souls. It is a plea for help in an emergency, not a request to be taken up to heaven. Likewise, If we call someone a “poor soul”, we are expressing sympathy towards a person who is having a bad time, someone who is alive. They have not died and gone up to heaven. The one person who has ascended to heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, was alive when he went there. The fact that Jesus used the word “today” might seem to be a problem. That sentence, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise”, can also read, “Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise”. Punctuation can make a huge difference to the meaning of a sentence and those who translated the New Testament from Greek into English had to make decisions about it, perhaps unsuccessfully in this case. The criminal was not asking to go anywhere on that day. He was asking to be remembered at some time in the future “when you come into your kingdom”. Death would not be a barrier, as Jesus is “the resurrection and the life”. (John 11:25). Jesus was making a promise on that day that the man would be with him in Paradise. It’s not a place that is mentioned very much in the Bible; only three times in the New Testament. The apostle Paul mentions it when he explains how he had experienced a vision of God’s kingdom, being “caught up into Paradise”. Paul had not died; he was very much alive when he was writing about this experience, which had happened to him fourteen years earlier. The book of Acts refers to Jesus speaking to Paul on several occasions, although he had ascended to heaven before Paul became his disciple. The third mention of “Paradise” is in the book of Revelation, looking ahead to the reward in store for those who have tried to follow Jesus. There are seven short letters from Jesus to seven churches. At the end of each letter, there is a promise for the future. The letter to Ephesus finishes, “To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God”. The tree of life was mentioned in Genesis, at the beginning of the Old Testament. It was one of two particular trees that stood in the garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve first lived. When they sinned by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they were banished from the garden so that they would not eat of the tree of life. God put cherubim there to guard the way to it (Genesis 3:24). When Jesus gave his life, he was opening the way back to the tree of life. The paradise of God will be on earth, and when Jesus returns, it will be at the centre of his kingdom. The crucified criminal died and his body became dust. But that doesn’t matter – Jesus never made empty promises. Many people who trusted in God have died over the centuries, but they still have a future. The “paradise” where Jesus and the criminal will meet again will be a place of great joy. Those who have tried to live faithfully, whether or not they died before Jesus returns, will be there.
Do you believe in a devil?
October 2026
Today most people no longer think the devil is a creature with hooves, horns and a forked tail. But many people believe that the devil exists, wielding immense power for evil. Some think he is a fallen angel, constantly trying to destroy the work of God amongst men and women. There are real difficulties in accepting this idea. If the devil was a real angel to begin with, how did he come to revolt against God? Also, why does God allow a supernatural being to destroy his work, and where is the devil now?
500 Years of the Bible in English
August 2026
2026 marks the 500th anniversary of the first translation of the New Testament into English by William Tyndale. Why is this important? Imagine living in England at a time when ordinary people could not read the Bible. The original languages of the Bible are Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament). The only version of the Bible in England in the 1500’s was the Vulgate, a translation into Latin. Common people had to trust what the priests said about it, because it was impossible for them to understand what was being read to them. William Tyndale was determined to change this. He famously told a clergyman that he would ensure that a ploughboy could understand the Scriptures better than the educated priests of his day. His mission did not meet with the approval of the authorities. Translating or reading the Bible in English without church permission was a capital offence in 16th-century England. Tyndale fled to Europe, where he printed his translations. They were smuggled into England in bales of cloth and barrels of flour. Eventually he was betrayed and imprisoned near Brussels and in 1536 he was put to death by burning at the stake. As he was dying, he prayed, "Lord, open the King of England's eyes." Shortly afterwards, English Bibles were legalised. Nearly 80% of the King James version of the Bible from 1611 and much of the English Standard Version (ESV) are based on Tyndale's work. Tyndale was willing to risk his life so that people could read the Bible in English. Why was it so important to him? The Bible is no ordinary book. Tyndale realised that it is God speaking to us. If we only listen to other peoples’ opinions about it, we will never find out its message, and Tyndale wanted people in England and beyond to be able to read it for themselves. What an amazing opportunity we have today, with so many versions of the Bible in our own language! Make this the year that you read it again, or maybe for the first time. It could change your life!
What is the Gospel?
June 2026
It’s a well-known word, used to describe something that can be trusted, for example, “Take it as gospel…” Perhaps the word makes you think of a style of music, or the first four books of the New Testament in the Bible, which are called the four gospels. What does the word gospel mean? It’s from the Greek euangelion, which means “good news”. The first time we come across it in the Bible is in the book of Matthew 4:23, describing what Jesus did: “he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom…” In fact, the phrase “the gospel of the kingdom” is mentioned twice more in Matthew. It’s also described elsewhere in the Bible as “the gospel of God” and “the gospel of Jesus Christ”. Although it’s a word that only appears in the New Testament, it is mentioned in relation to an Old Testament character. Galatians 3:8 describes how the gospel was preached to Abraham, who lived many years before the birth of Jesus. So what was this “good news”? We don’t hear much good news these days, and it was the same in Israel when Jesus was there. They were under Roman occupation, and although they were allowed to continue worshipping their God, they were in a very vulnerable position. Many of them were looking for a Messiah, a King who would come and restore their kingdom, because the Old Testament prophets had foretold this. When Jesus began teaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, it attracted a lot of attention. The Jewish religious leaders saw him as a threat, because they were in a comfortable position. But ordinary people flocked to Jesus because he could heal disease and his teaching made sense. He didn’t ask them for money and he really cared about them. However, some struggled to commit themselves and eventually stopped following him. He asked his closest disciples, “Do you want to go away as well?” (John 6:67). Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”. So Peter understood the good news. Jesus was teaching about eternal life in God’s kingdom. The Old Testament prophets had foretold that Jesus would come as King, but the disciples didn’t want to accept that he would have to die first. He would not be King in Jerusalem during their lifetime. But, like Abraham, they had heard the gospel and believed it, so they could look forward to a time when Jesus will come back to the earth as King and raise the dead. The same gospel is still there for us to learn about, over 2,000 years later. Now that is good news!
Is Jesus the Son of God or God the Son?
May 2026
The person of Jesus is important, but sadly it is not understood by many. The only authoritative and reliable source of information is the Bible. The majority of people who have any interest in Christianity don’t consider the Bible record but subscribe to common beliefs concerning the person of Jesus. There are three main common beliefs: 1. Jesus was a very good, but otherwise ordinary man. 2. Jesus was a pre-existent angelic being 3. Jesus is part of a triune godhead – equal to and co-eternal with God Consider the implications of these beliefs, and what the bible says:
Can we Trust the Bible?
April 2026
Trust is a word we all use frequently, but what do we mean by trust? Perhaps the best definition of trust is this: The belief that another person will do what is expected, built through repeated consistency. It brings with it a willingness for one party (the trustor) to become vulnerable to another party (the trustee), on the presumption that the trustee will act in ways that benefit the trustor. The relationships that we build in our lives are all built around trust. The Bible tells us how we can have a relationship with God; a relationship built on trust. The definition of trust stated above talks about “The belief that another person will do what is expected and is built through repeated consistency.” In the Bible we have a record of the consistency of God’s word. Recorded in the Bible we have prophecy, the word of God spoken by faithful people revealing God’s plan. In his second letter, Peter says “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21 ESV). The Bible stands or falls by prophecy, and gives us a test for determining whether a prophecy is the genuine word of God, or an invention of the person making the prophecy: “… How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously …” (Deuteronomy 18:21-22 ESV).
The Christadelphians in Clowne hold a Bible-based talk at 5.00pm each Sunday.
Come and explore the Bible message with us and see how this message remains unchanged and is both important and relevant today.
Christadelphian Hall,
Creswell Road, Clowne S43 4LS.
See the 'What's on' page for details.
Contact us to request a free Bible Reading Course
OR read online by clicking on the links below: