2010 – Volume 21
Psalm 47, Celebrating Victory in the Face of Enemies
"O Clap your hands, all ye peoples, shout unto God with the voice of triumph" (Psalm 47:1).1 So beloved and important is Psalm 47 that to this day it plays a special part in the annual Jewish liturgy. In traditional synagogues, Psalm 47 is recited before the sounding of the Shofar (ram's horn) at the start of each New Year. Although the custom of [...]
James, John, and the Cup
" 'Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?' And they said unto him, 'We are able' " (Matthew 20:22). The setting of this event (Matthew 20:20-23) was when our Lord was returning to Jerusalem with his Apostles for the observance of Passover. He had reached Jericho [...]
Man with the Writer’s Inkhorn
"Go through the midst ... of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof " (Ezekiel 9:4). The passage in Ezekiel chapter nine has intrigued Bible Students for many years. It describes a man clothed in linen who is instructed by God to go through [...]
Development of the “Trinity Doctrine”
"Hold fast the form of sound words" (2 Timothy 1:13). The apostles who walked with Jesus during his ministry, and led the Church in the first decades of the Christian era, knew Jesus as Messiah, the anointed of God. He was "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). He had existed from the beginning of God's creation. Later he was "made [...]
Top of the Mountains
"In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it" (Micah 4:1). This blessed promise, well known among Bible Students, speaks of re-established Israel as the center of God's Kingdom on Earth. This text [...]
Shepherd of the Sheep
"The God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, [with] the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work" (Hebrews 13:20, 21). This text refers to Jesus as the "Shepherd of the Sheep." The thought that Jesus is our shepherd is expressed by Jesus himself in John 10:11, 14, "I [...]
Origins of the Two Horned Beast
"And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon" (Revelation 13:11). It has been well stated that if one wants to understand prophecy he must first study history. That seems especially true when studying the book of Revelation. There we see historical entities portrayed as beasts and dragons. [...]
Understanding John 1:1, “Towards God”
"In the Beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was towards [in the service of] God, and the Logos was a god" (John 1:1, literal translation). The opening verses of John's Gospel, John 1:1-2, are familiar. But they have been misunderstood.1 (1) The translation "with God," as appears in most Bibles, is inaccurate. (2) The correct translation is "unto God," or, "towards God." The [...]
Tabernacle Coverings of Sea-cows
"They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, its covering and the outer covering of hides of sea cows, the curtains for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting" (Numbers 4:25 New International Version, 1984). The word tachash (Strong's 8476) occurs in the descriptions of the tabernacle in Exodus 25, 26, 35, 36, 39; in the directions for moving [...]
The Eternal Debate
(This is the forepart of a lengthy treatise excerpting writers throughout the age respecting hope for the unsaved. The portion below takes us through only the second century of the Christian era.) Both Jews and Christians have debated for centuries about eternal life, the immortal soul, hell, and the scope of God's salvation. This debate reaches from the Jewish writers, the early Church, to [...]
Who Are the Jews?
The world's 13 million Jews are strongly linked by religion and culture. But do they share a common genetic heritage? Two new studies conclude that most members of the far-flung Jewish Diaspora can trace their roots to ancestors who lived in the Middle East more than 2000 years ago. The new research, based on recent advances in genome technology, apparently refutes controversial claims that [...]
The Pilate Stone
A Fragment of History The Pilate Stone is the name of a block of limestone with a carved inscription attributed to Pontius Pilate, a prefect of the Roman-controlled province of Iudaea from 26-36. Pilate is infamous as being the man who condemned Jesus Christ to a painful scourging and death by crucifixion ca. 33. The partial inscription reads (conjectural letters in brackets): [DIS AUGUSTI]S [...]
Double Elevens
"There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir unto Kadesh-Barnea" (Deuteronomy 1:2). In a previous issue of Beauties of the Truth appeared the article "Double Numbers" (May 2009). That article noted the repeated appearance of the number 18 in Luke chapter thirteen, which appears nowhere else in the New Testament - and an earlier conspicuous double reference to the number [...]
The Foul Waters Will Be Sweetened
"Every thing that liveth, whieh moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live ... for they shall be healed" (Ezekiel 47:9). The Dead Sea is one of the most prominent features of the land of Israel. It is the lowest elevation on the face of the earth, being some 1,312 feet below sea level. It is the deepest salt lake in the world, and [...]