People fashion idols and images out of metal, wood, stone, and plastic. They also fashion idols mentally, that is, they create false ideas about God. These ideas about God are man’s feeble attempt to describe God. The Bible tells us, “Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out. . .” (Job 37:23). At the present… Read More
Following the Flood, the survivors departed from the Ark and began life anew (Gen. 9:18). Earlier God had told them: “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Gen. 9:1). Noah lived 350 years after the Flood, and was 950 years old when he… Read More
The first parable to be covered in this article is “the parable of the mustard seed.” It is found in Matthew 13:31-32 and reads as follows: Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:… Read More
Names have a meaning in the Bible. They are not given without purpose. Adam was given that name because Adam meant “ruddy” or “red” from the color of the ground from which he was created. Eve was called “Isha” in the Hebrew because she was taken from the man-Ish. Abram’s name, which meant “exalted father,”… Read More
Nehemiah came on the scene about 13 years after Ezra, but they were contemporaries. At Babylon he was the king’s cupbearer and was in daily contact with the king. As a result of this contact, he was a man of influence, conversant with what was going on within governmental circles. He was informed on many… Read More
Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27). It was made as a benefit and a blessing for man’s good. The Sabbath was created at the same time man was created. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his… Read More
God called Abraham out of Mesopotamia. His nephew Lot accompanied him. God led Abraham into the rich grazing lands of Canaan, where there was ample food and water for their vast herds (Gen. 13:5). In time the land could not support these vast herds (vv. 6-8), and it became necessary for Abraham and Lot to… Read More
Luke, chapter 15, begins with “the parable of the lost sheep.” This parable illustrates how God views those who stumble through life without any knowledge of His true way. The parable was precipitated by an encounter Jesus had with the Pharisees. The account goes as follows: “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and… Read More
Let us now examine the mighty acts and miracles of God in the lives of various individuals. The history of the patriarchs has been covered in the series entitled, Great Men of the Old Testament. There is no need to repeat the details in this series. Rather, let us concentrate on specific events in the… Read More
Earlier articles in this series have demonstrated that the kingdom of heaven is the same as the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is the coming world-ruling government of God that will be set up when Christ returns. In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus gave another parable regarding the Kingdom of God. It depicts a marriage… Read More
The fifth commandment links the first four commandments with the remaining five. Commandments one through four teach us how to love and respect God. Commandments five through ten show us how to love and respect our fellow man. Proper respect toward our fellow man begins in the home. The fifth commandment teaches us how to… Read More
Luke 14:26-33 records another important parable of Jesus. It is sometimes referred to as “the parable of the tower and warring king.” More simply, it could be called “the parable of counting the cost.” The parable is introduced by the preceding verse, which states: “And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and… Read More
Of all of God’s creation, man is unique. He was made in the image of God. Since God is the One who gave life, only He has the prerogative to take life. When human beings commit murder, they appropriate to themselves God’s authority. At the Creation God said, “. . . Let us make man… Read More
The Mighty Acts of God were many and profound in destroying Egypt-the super power of the day. At no other time in history were so many catastrophic events brought upon a single nation. And the man most instrumental in this destruction was Moses. What was the reason Egypt was destroyed? The answer: The Egyptians refused… Read More
The institution of marriage was established at Creation. “And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave… Read More
After their deliverance from slavery in the land of Egypt, the Israelites began their long journey toward the Promised Land. God did not lead them by the direct route along the Mediterranean coastline. This was because they were not prepared to war against the peoples that resided there. Rather, God lead them southward, in a… Read More
“The parable of the two sons,” recorded in Matthew 21:28-32, was precipitated by a confrontation Jesus had with the chief priests and elders. They demanded to know who gave Him the authority to teach and to perform miracles (V. 23). Jesus countered them with a question which they refused to answer. He then told them… Read More
After the death of Moses, Joshua was given the task of leading Israel into the Promised Land. The military campaign that followed is generally referred to as “the Conquest.” Earlier, at Kadesh, God had sentenced those who were over age 20, of the first generation, to die in the Wilderness (Num. 14). Now, 38 years… Read More
“The parable of the talents” is another extremely important parable. It shows what is really required to enter the Kingdom of God. We find it in Matthew 25:14-30. For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto… Read More
Most Americans of Caucasian stock have little knowledge of their ancestry. At the most, they can go back no more than two or three generations. This lack of knowledge is partially responsible for the moral and spiritual decline of our civilization. In addition, the American people are largely unaware of the real reasons for the… Read More
Righteousness is defined in the Bible as obedience to the Law of God (Ps. 119:172). The eighth commandment deals with theft. The increase of property, goods, and wealth by illegal means is outside the boundaries of God’s Law. This kind of activity constitutes theft and is a sin. Politically speaking, the most widespread form of… Read More
It may seem rather unusual to begin a study of western heritage by introducing a question regarding the Apostles. The omission of the majority of the Apostles in the book of Acts, and where they are found later, provides an important key in the study of our heritage. Knowledgeable Bible students know that the patriarch… Read More
“The parable of the good Samaritan” was given in response to a comment a lawyer made to Jesus. The lawyer was trying to justify his life style. Jesus had told him that in order to be saved, “. . . Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy… Read More
Character is the ability to recognize right from wrong and to always choose the right in opposition to the wrong. Obedience to the ninth commandment is a requirement for building character. This is because a man is only as good as his word. One can have little confidence in a man whose word is no… Read More
The first king over Israel was Saul. At first God worked with him and inspired him to accomplish much, but later Saul turned away. After this he no longer received God’s blessings. In his later years, nothing seemed to go right for him. Before Saul was chosen to be king, judges had ruled Israel for… Read More