2016 – Volume 27
Isaiah 65-66, New Heavens and a New Earth
“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13). What was the promise to which Peter refers? Immediately, our minds might leap to the closing of Revelation: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more [...]
Gather My Saints Together
“Gather My saints together unto Me” (Psalms 50:5). This Psalm is a Psalm of judgment. It opens with a proclamation. Verse 1: “The Mighty One, God, Jehovah, hath spoken, And called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.” The various names of God here are impressive. He is called “Yaweh El Elohim,” or Jehovah the mighty one of [...]
Feeding the Multitudes
“You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up? How is it that you do not understand that [...]
Tikkun Olam
“In that day shall Israel be ... a blessing in the midst of the land” (Isaiah 19:24). In 2013, a video was released entitled “Israel Inside.” The video describes various groups of Israelis who have a special passion of doing good for others. These groups include engineers, doctors, nurses, farmers, entrepreneurs, inventors, and many others. One of their central concepts is a philosophy called [...]
The Dragon of Revelation
“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads” (Revelation 12:3). A dragon is referred to by name in twelve Revelation scriptures. Though interpretations of the dragon exist, it seems that the symbol’s definition is often changed to fit the preferred interpretation: one time it is religious pagan [...]
The Bigger Picture of the Memorial Supper and Its Preparation
Let us consider as a suggestion an inspiring interpretation of the events surrounding the Memorial Supper. Too often we seem to become bogged down in annual debates of things like, “Did Jesus and his disciples eat the Passover?” It is not that these questions are illegitimate, but their omnipresence on an annual basis would seem to detract from more important considerations. This question was [...]
Prophetic Events Closing Zechariah
The closing three chapters of Zechariah narrate the sequence of prophetic events that take Israel and mankind from blindness into Kingdom blessings. In 12:1-9 we find the deliverance of Judah and Jerusalem and the judgment of the nations; 12:10-14 links this future deliverance to recognizing the Messiah by a faithful portion of the Jewish people; 13:1 speaks of opening the wonderful fountain of grace [...]
Kingdom Miracles
“Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me” (2 Kings 2:9). Some of the Old Testament types are clear and strong. The picture of the Prophet Elijah is among these. His persecutor, Jezebel, was the idolatrous queen of Ahab, king of Israel. The symbolism is described in Revelation, were Jezebel represents Papacy, persecuting the true church. (See [...]
A Note on the Abrahamic Promise
“In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). The Hebrew of this text, rendered literally, is “And will-be-blessed in thee all peoples of the land.” And of Genesis 22:18, “And will-bless-themselves in seed of thee all nations of the earth.” The latter is often carelessly translated. In both cases the verb has the letter “vav” (ו) prefixed, which is a [...]
Hezekiah’s Seal
“And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and ... seal unto it” (Nehemiah 9:38). Israeli archaeologists have discovered a mark from the seal of biblical King Hezekiah, who helped build Jerusalem into an ancient metropolis. The circular inscription, on a piece of clay less than a centimeter (0.4 inches) long, may very well have been made by the [...]