Two Orders of Manhood. The first man and the second man are abstract terms that describe two different orders of manhood. The terms come from 1 Cor. 15:46-49: “Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the […]
Related: Pharisees; Sadducees; Herodians Leaven. Leaven in scripture is always a symbol of evil, and often of evil doctrine as well; e.g. “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matt. 16:6). As in physical baking, leaven is characterized by its infesting and spreading character. Yeast works in this way to create evenly spaced bubbles in […]
Related: New Creation; Eternal State The Sabbath is a vastly important subject, tying together Old and New Testaments. The Sabbath was the pride of the Jew. It was ordained of God (Exodus 20:10) in his merciful consideration for man’s blessing (Mark 2:27). God knew man’s heart, that it was so driven by greed that man […]
Main article: Key Players and Terms in Prophecy Related: The King of the North; The Vintage Judgment Gog and Magog is a reference to Russia, who will come down at the end of the indignation (1335 days from the middle of Daniel’s 70th week) to attack the land of Israel. We know this is […]
The Ten Commandments (the Decalogue) were given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The ten commandments are central tenets of God’s law, and they were later expanded on to fill in the details. The ten commandments give God’s bare minimum standard for man. The do not give us the full revelation of God’s character and will […]
Related: Apostasy of the Christian Profession; Eternal Security What is Apostasy? Apostasy is abandoning a belief once professed, especially in the context of renouncing the profession of faith in Christ. Apostasy is different from backsliding. A backslider is one who has truly believed on the Son of God, but has fallen into systematic failure, […]
The Four Gospels. Following is a comparison of the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. This is a work in progress so please have patience. The long term goal is to have all the miracles and parables of our Lord hyperlinked to their places in the gospels. Differences. The theme of all the […]
Letters of Commendation. The use of “letters of commendation” was very common among believers in the early Church (Acts 18:27; 2 Corinthians 3:1). The purpose of the letter was to express the unity of the Body of Christ, and the resulting communion between local assemblies gathered to the Lord’s Name. By receiving one who comes […]
Salvation is a term used in the Bible very broadly. There are three main aspects of salvation, and we do well to understand and distinguish them. In fact, many errors have arisen from not understanding how the Spirit of God is using the term “salvation” in a given passage of scripture. As always, context is […]
Main article: Key Players and Terms in Prophecy Related: The Personal Beast; Antichrist The revival of the Old Roman Empire is a common theme in prophecy. It is described clearly twice in Daniel and twice in Revelation: Daniel 2 (the “feet of iron mixed with clay”) Daniel 7 (the “fourth beast” with “terrible iron […]
Main article: Battles of the Indignation Related: The Great Tribulation; The Prophetic Week The indignation is a 75 day period that will occur at the end of Daniel’s seventieth week. It is a technical term in the prophetic scriptures that refers to a series of judgments. A number of references will make clear that […]
Related: Cleansing Footwashing. The very first subject brought out in the upper room ministry (John 13 – 17) is footwashing, which represents the work of refreshment and removing daily defilement for the maintenance of communion. It comes first before the rest of the upper room ministry, because we cannot enjoy Christ with defiled feet, […]
Main article: Millennium and Eternal State Related: The Intermediate State; Heaven The Father’s House is the eternal dwelling place of God that will be shared with the redeemed (John 14:2). Is it where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will be for all eternity, in the circle of divine light and love. When Jesus […]
Main article: Preliminary Events in Prophecy Related: The Great Tribulation The covenant. The leader of the revived Roman Empire, called “the prince that shall come”, will be instrumental getting a treaty or “covenant” online between his people (Rome) and “the many”, which refers to the Jews. “And he shall confirm a covenant with the many for one week;” Daniel […]
Related: Prayer Paul’s prayers. Not including benedictory prayers at the ends of his epistles, Paul records twenty-eight of his prayers! It is nice to trace these prayers through his writings. We are very thankful for them because they give us: (1) an insight into the heart of the apostle, and (2) a pattern for the way we should pray. […]