In contemporary Christianity, the cross is a symbol of the atonement and reminds Christians of God’s love in sacrificing His own Son for humanity. It represents Jesus’ victory over sin and death since it is believed that through His death and resurrection He conquered death itself. “Having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15). The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Triumph of the Cross under the same name In Exaltatione Sanctae Crucis on September 14th. What is the meaning of the cross? Simply put, the meaning of the cross is death. The cross was an instrument of execution that resulted in death by the most tortuous and painful of ways. In crucifixion a person was either tied or nailed to a wooden cross and left to hang until dead. Death would be slow and excruciatingly painful; in fact, the word excruciating literally means “out of crucifying.” However, because of Christ and His death on the cross, the meaning of the cross today is completely different. In Christianity, the cross is the intersection of God’s love and His justice. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The reference to Jesus as the Lamb of God points back to the instruction of the Jewish Passover in Exodus 12. The Israelites were commanded to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and smear the blood of that lamb on the doorpost of their homes. The blood would be the sign for the Angel of Death to “pass over” that house, leaving those covered by blood in safety. When Jesus came to John to be baptized, John recognized Him and cried, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), thereby identifying Him and God’s plan for Him to be sacrificed for sin.

The cross stirs intense feelings among Christians as well as non-Christians. Robin Jensen takes readers on an intellectual and spiritual journey through the two-thousand-year evolution of the cross as an idea and an artifact, illuminating the controversies—along with the forms of devotion—this central symbol of Christianity inspires. Jesus’s death on the cross posed a dilemma for Saint Paul and the early Church fathers. Crucifixion was a humiliating form of execution reserved for slaves and criminals. How could their messiah and savior have been subjected to such an ignominious death? Wrestling with this paradox, they reimagined the cross as a triumphant expression of Christ’s sacrificial love and miraculous resurrection. Over time, the symbol’s transformation raised myriad doctrinal questions, particularly about the crucifix—the cross with the figure of Christ—and whether it should emphasize Jesus’s suffering or his glorification. How should Jesus’s body be depicted: alive or dead, naked or dressed? Should it be shown at all? Jensen’s wide-ranging study focuses on the cross in painting and literature, the quest for the “true cross” in Jerusalem, and the symbol’s role in conflicts from the Crusades to wars of colonial conquest. The Cross also reveals how Jews and Muslims viewed the most sacred of all Christian emblems and explains its role in public life in the West today.

What Happened on the Cross offers a new and biblical understanding of how salvation was accomplished upon the cross, showing that the Penal Substitution view, common since the 1500s, does not have a biblical basis, and also showing that the Christus Victor understanding is inadequate. The book is founded upon the understanding that Jesus Christ is the Second Adam, and that is the foundation of how we are to understand how salvation was accomplished. Both the shedding of blood and death were essential in the accomplishment of salvation, and What Happened on the Cross shows why these were essential. Using over 740 Scripture verses to make its argument, the book gives a comprehensive picture from Genesis to Revelation of the many aspects involved in the accomplishment of salvation--above all showing clearly that the cross had nothing to do with "punishment for sins"--our sins were never punished upon the cross, rather, our sins were forgiven. Understanding how salvation was accomplished upon the cross, and that it was about forgiveness, not punishment, both exalts God and his greatness, demonstrates his perfect love and justice, as well as liberates our hearts towards him.

A gallery of people and topics are covered in this popular series. Spurgeon provides the busy pastor with starter material and the Christian reader with devotional meditations. (Prayer/Spirituality/Devotions)

Rod Parsley takes you deep into the mysterious territories of what the Bible calls “the foolishness of the cross” and the “scandal” of Jesus’s sacrifice to explore the significance of the cross in the unfailing light of Scripture.

In this issue we will continue four lines of ministry. The first line--The History of the Lord's Recovery--contains chapters 1 through 4 of a new book, The Advance of the Lord's Recovery Today, which are in volume 4 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1989. These chapters cover the priesthood of the gospel in the New Testament and the organic building up of the Body of Christ. The second line--Words for New Believers--contains chapters 21 through 24 of Crucial Truths in the Holy Scriptures, Volume 2, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1932–1949. These chapters cover topics related to obeying the sense of life, living in the fellowship of life, consecration, and dealing with sin. The third line--Maturing in Life--continues with chapters 7 through 10 of The Future of the Church, which are in volume 2 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1955. These chapters present a sketch of the prophecy of the seventy weeks in the book of Daniel, a discussion of the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls, a review of various teachings concerning the rapture, and an overview of the significance of the numbers seven and twelve in the book of Revelation. The fourth line--The High Peak of the Divine Revelation--continues with chapters 14 through 17 of God's New Testament Economy, which are in volume 3 of The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1984. These chapters cover the Spirit as the blessing of the gospel, the Spirit of the Body and the bountiful Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of the practical Christian life, and the eternal Spirit of grace and the Spirit of envy.

Lee provides spiritually satisfying answers to fundamentally important questions for all Christians who had never been given thorough and accurate explanations. (Practical Life)

In early spring of 1872, Donya Heidsheim stood on the banks of the Weser River looking out at the raging waters. Her father had been brutally murdered, her mother was dead from a broken heart, all she had left was unanswered questions. She would no longer pray to the God her parents taught her to love. In anger she screamed out for revenge. Someone heard her. It appeared. Something gave her peace and a chance for revenge. Something gave her a chance to see her child again. But it all came with a high price tag. The peaceful village of Brunstoke, Germany, surrounded by the beautiful Harz Mountains, was invaded by an ancient sect. A presence as old as the Garden uses the manipulation of lust and avarice to wrap its talons around Brunstoke's nobility. Sent from the throne of God, two unlikely companions join forces to work together to combat the curse placed on the Brunstoke family-Shomer, a warring angel for the righteous, and Leb, a mystery character fight the forces of the fallen ones who try to destroy God's seed born of faith through the Lord Jesus Christ.

To understand the significant terms used in New Testament teaching about Christ's death--for example, redemption, covenant, propitiation, justification--Morris sets these words against the background of the Greek Old Testament, the papyri, and the Rabbinic writings as a basis for an examination of them in their New Testament setting.