Previously we saw that God exercises sovereign rule over the universe, angels, and history. Now we will examine God’s sovereign rule over the nations. Assertions of Sovereignty.The Bible records assertions of God’s sovereignty over the nations. God…
Joshua called Yahweh “Lord of all the earth.” The word Lord in Hebrew is Adonai. And it speaks of the absolute lordship of the God of the universe.
Biblical names are usually significant. Unlike the common practice today, ancient names were usually chosen for a specific reason. People were not as concerned with how a name sounded or what others thought…
Some say Yeshua. Others say Jesus. Either way, it is the name of Almighty God. And it has a special significance.
Micah 7:1-20: Micah’s grief over the deterioration of Judean society is poignantly expressed in this final chapter. The prophet lamented Judah’s sinful condition, knowing that the nation could not go unpunished. In the midst of sorrow…
Webster’s New International Dictionary defines the adjective sovereign as follows: “Supreme or highest in power; superior in position to all others,” and “Independent of, and unlimited by, any other; possessing, or entitled to, original…
In the previous article we saw that the Bible asserts unequivocally that Jehovah-the God revealed in its pages, the one who brought Israel and the church…
Scripture teaches that Jehovah, the God of the Bible, is exalted above all gods and is the only real, true, and living God. God Is Exalted Israelites and Gentiles asserted that Israel’s God is exalted above all
What is the holiness of God? For many years I thought the sum total of God’s holiness was His sinlessness. But I was mistaken. God’s sinlessness is an important aspect of God’s holiness…
Some individuals claim that God is an impersonal power or force and is not personal. Paul Tillich, who taught at Union Theological Seminary (New York), Harvard, and the University of Chicago and who was regarded…
In the previous article, we observed implications for the triunity of God in the Old Testament, noting how that portion of the Scriptures presents both the unity and plurality of God. Now we shall examine…
Have you ever wondered why Jewish people have been scattered throughout the nations of the world more consistently than any other people? Why anti-Semitism persists in rearing its ugly head repeatedly throughout history? Why Nazism…
Our previous articles have demonstrated that God has used various means to reveal the reality of His existence and other knowledge concerning Himself to mankind. One aspect of that other knowledge is the fact…
Our two previous articles examined the biblical claim that nature (the universe) reveals the existence of a divine being (God) who possesses eternal power. Thus nature is one means that God uses to reveal knowledge…
Previously we examined the biblical claim that God has demonstrated the reality of His existence and uncovered other knowledge about Himself by giving revelation to human beings during the course of history.
Hosea 11:1-12: Richard Halverson, former chaplain of the United States Senate, once wrote, “There is nothing you can do to make God love you more, nor is there anything you can do to make God love you…
How can mankind know if God is a reality or a figment of human imagination? If God is a reality, how can His nature; thoughts; ways; actions; and relationship to the universe, planet Earth, mankind…
Our series now comes to the doctrine of God, the formal name of which is theology proper. This division of “The Foundations of Faith” will examine the major scriptural truths concerning God and will consider…
We have already seen two evidences that the theocratic Kingdom has been postponed until Christ’s Second Coming. This article will examine more evidences of that postponement. The Chronology of Matthew 24—25 In Matthew 24—25…
Hosea 8:1-14: Few things are more destructive than a tornado. Its funnel-shaped wind can swirl up to 500 miles per hour, devastating everything in its path. The mere sight of the cloud is usually terrifying…
The apostle Paul was not one to mince words. Learn what he told the Galatians concerning the gospel of salvation.
Law vs. grace—the age-old struggle. This excellent article clarifies the differences between the two systems and explains which one God blesses and why.
Would you reenroll in kindergarten after you had graduated from college? In essence, that’s what some people were telling the Galatian believers to do.
You know that your Christian brother has fallen deeply into sin. What should you do? Read this article and find out.
I was a relatively new believer when I heard an older, wiser woman tell a story I will never forget. She looked somewhat disheartened and bedraggled—the symptomatic side effects of having many mouths to feed…
Hosea 7:1-16: It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Yet in this chapter of Hosea, the prophet uses a number of similes and metaphors to paint a vivid picture of Israel’s pursuit…
In the previous article, we saw that Christ offered the future theocratic Kingdom to Israel and told the nation what it must do for the Kingdom to be established. He offered the Kingdom through…
Hosea 6:1-11: A doctor once stated, “Three hundred of my patients, when notified they were dying, repented of their sins and professed faith in God. Once they were restored to health, only ten of the three hundred…
The gospel of the Kingdom contained nothing about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, the gospel defined in 1 Corinthians 15 focused on His death, burial, and resurrection and said nothing about…
Hosea 5:1-15: Batsell B. Baxter tells of a huge painting hanging in the Supreme Court Building of Switzerland. In the foreground are the litigants who have come to the court seeking justice.
In the previous article, we noted that the Kingdom of God has at least two aspects, or expressions: the universal and the theocratic. The universal Kingdom is the rule of God administered directly or indirectly…
God is in the business of turning sinners into saints. This exposition of Romans 1 through 5 explains how—and how much He holds us accountable for.
Where does the power come from to live the Christian life? Chapters 6 through 8 of Romans have the answers.
God chose Israel thousands of years ago. Has He stuck with her? This article examines Romans 9, 10, and 11 in light of the sovereignty of God.
There is no Temple in Jerusalem, but God still expects you to present a sacrifice; and you may be surprised to learn just what that sacrifice is.
Hosea 4:1-19: Sowing and reaping is an immutable law of nature. This law holds true in both the spiritual and moral realms of life. During the reign of King Jeroboam II, seeds of spiritual adultery and moral…
When Jesus Christ was on earth during His First Coming, He said “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk. 1:15); and He taught His disciples to pray “Thy kingdom come” (Mt. 6:10).
In the previous article, we noted that Jesus Christ (Mt. 19:28) and the apostles Peter (Acts 3:19-21) and Paul (Rom. 8:19-22) foretold that nature will be restored to its original pre-fall condition when Christ…
When God called Abram to leave Ur of the Chaldees, He was demanding that he strip himself of his identity. Abram was to leave all that made him who he was—his family, his possessions, and the land that he had known as…
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,” wrote Charles Dickens…
Prospective pilots for major airlines are trained on flight simulators, which are designed to present them with a variety of problems they might encounter while flying. The candidates are first tested with simple challenges and are eventually…
It is all too common today to hear Christians disparage doctrine or theology as entirely theoretical, productive only of pride and division, and therefore almost entirely irrelevant to the real issues of life. The cry is for greater emphasis on…
Talk is cheap. In the minds of some people, the mention of the term politician seems to bear this out. Not only do some elected officials make promises they cannot keep, but some Christians do not practice what they preach. As a modern proverb states…
The average person speaks nearly 30,000 words each day—enough to fill a good-sized book. Do we realize that each of us is writing an unwritten book every day of our lives? As we read a book, we often form certain opinions about…
Revelation 21:9—22:5: To most people, the thought of home brings a feeling of warmth and comfort, a sense of security. It is a place where one can shut out the cares of this world and find a refuge for the soul during the pilgrimage…
“God created man in his own image” and gave him dominion “over all the earth,” including its plant and animal life (Gen. 1:26–29). The fact that God gave mankind this dominion reveals the original form of government that He ordained…
Revelation 21:1–8: The subject of eternity piques people’s interest as no other theme in Scripture. People intuitively know that there is a more fulfilling existence beyond this life because the transitory events on earth do not satisfy. But…
If it is true that Jesus Christ was sinless, what is meant by the Apostle Paul’s statement that God sent “his own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3)? The word translated “flesh” refers to “a human being in contrast to God and…
Revelation 20:11–15: On July 8, 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Edwards held the manuscript so close to his face that the congregation was unable to see his expression as…
The first issue results from the combination of two truths. First, the Bible teaches that each human being who has been procreated through natural means since the fall of mankind is in a state of sin with a sin nature from the moment of…
Revelation 20:1–10: Mr. U Thant, former Secretary General of the United Nations, addressed 67 scholars and statesmen on the requirements for world peace. He asked these questions: “What element is lacking so that with all our skill and all our knowledge…
To establish the meaning of sinlessness, we must first understand the concept of sin. Sin could be defined as any failure to conform perfectly to the holy character and will of God. God requires people to be holy because He is…
Like a flickering candle caught in a gale, so is mankind’s attempt to fathom the depths of God’s ways. The finite mind of man is unable to grasp the ways of an infinitely more intelligent God. Yea, without His help, it is an impossible task destined for…
In 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, the Apostle Paul confidently asserts that “the gospel” he taught was that “Christ [the Messiah] died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to…
The Servant of the Lord is a major theme in the Book of Isaiah. An understanding of this term is germane in grasping the meaning of God’s redemptive program for Israel. The book identifies men such as Isaiah himself, Eliakim, and David…
In Philippians 2:7, the Apostle Paul stated that Jesus Christ “made himself of no reputation.” The verb translated “made of no reputation” is ekenosen. Theologians have used the major part of that verb to form the term kenosis. As a result…
Revelation 19:1–10: On March 23, 1743, The Messiah was performed for the first time in London, England. In attendance was the King of England. He was deeply moved as the “Hallelujah Chorus” was being sung, and at the words…
Revelation 18: In the 1980s, Saddam Hussein started to rebuild portions of the ancient city of Babylon. Christians began to ask if Hussein’s project had anything to do with Bible prophecy. This in turn rekindled the often-asked question…
The English word hypostasis is derived from a Greek word meaning “essence, actual being, reality” (William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, p. 854). Thus, it refers to the real essence of a person or thing. As applied to Christ…
My teenage daughter loves to look at clothes catalogues. The designers of the catalogues know this, because everything and everyone in those catalogues look fantastic. The implication is that if you wear this outfit, you too will look this great…
Sixty seconds is all it takes. When sponsors of a television program want to entice viewers to tune in next week, a one-minute preview of the most exciting scenes is all it takes. If you like what you see in that brief encounter, you will surely love the complete version…
The Apostle Peter predicted that, just as false prophets arose among the people of Israel to oppose the declarations of true Old Testament prophets, so false teachers would come among the church saints to oppose the truths of Christianity. The word for…
In Chapter 15, John was given a detailed introduction to the bowl judgments. He saw seven angels proceeding from God’s heavenly Temple with seven bowls in hand, ready to pour out God’s wrath upon the earth.
Two Old Testament passages that did this will be noted. Isaiah 9:6 assigned the names “The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father” to the Messiah. Ancient Judaism recognized that this referred to the Messiah.
The subject of Christ’s eternality deals with the fact that He has always existed as a person from eternity past, with no beginning and no end. The Scriptures give at least three lines of evidence…
All of the articles thus far in this series have examined the first major area of doctrine—Bibliology (the study of the Bible). This article begins an examination of another significant area—Christology (the study of Christ).
“For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was he stricken” (Isa. 53:8).
The previous article in this series began to present the Bible’s witness concerning its divine nature. This article provides two additional examples of that witness.
Human and divine factors were involved in the writing of the inspired Scriptures. Our previous article presented the Bible’s witness concerning some aspects of its human nature. This article will begin to present the Bible’s…
In the previous article, which presented the biblical view of inspiration, we saw that both human and divine factors were involved in the writing of the inspired Scriptures. This means that the Bible…
Thus far in our study of bibliology (the doctrine of the Bible) we have examined the subject of divine revelation, which involves God’s uncovering of knowledge to mankind.
There are a number of interludes throughout the judgment portions of Revelation. One is presented between the sixth and seventh seals in Revelation 7, and a second is presented between the sixth and seventh trumpets…
The Scriptures indicate that God has used two major kinds of divine revelation to uncover truth to mankind: general and special revelation. General revelation, which is God’s uncovering of knowledge through means…
The life of Joseph presents some very important lessons for all who care to read the chapters in Genesis devoted to him. But there is one overriding factor in the story that should overwhelm…
Trials and testings come into the life of every person. If you are not going through any at the moment, wait a while. Sooner or later, they’ll come.
As the aged, bedridden Jacob pronounced prophetic blessings on his sons by Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah, he must have looked forward with great anticipation to what God had in store for his two youngest sons…
In previous articles, we observed the means God uses to reveal His truth to all mankind in general. This article examines the significance of general revelation.
Revelation chapter 7 opens with the phrase, “And after these things” (v. 1), indicating that John was about to receive a new vision. This vision is an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals and
In the previous two articles, we studied the biblical teaching concerning God’s uncovering of knowledge to all mankind through nature. This article examines His use of history and the human conscience as two other means of general revelation.
In our previous article we examined Psalm 19:1–6, one of the biblical passages that addressed God’s uncovering of knowledge to all of mankind through the means of nature. In this article we will study two…
What constitutes a “call” for a person of God? Is it a mystical experience that seemingly only a few receive? Is it that still small voice of God that speaks to us in our confusion?
A few short months ago, a bill was introduced in the Congress of the United States to recognize city of Jerusalem as Israel’s national capital and move the U.S. Embassy to the city by 1999.
Ezekiel 38–39 foretells a massive future invasion “of Israel by the armed forces of six nations. Five of those nations are identified in 38:5–6 with the names they bore in Ezekiel’s time.
In the previous article in this series, we saw that there are two kinds or categories of divine revelation: general and special. General revelation is God’s uncovering of knowledge through means available to all mankind.
Swimming pools become graveyards for many young children each summer. To prevent these needless tragedies, some municipalities require fences around pool perimeters. Some pool owners take the additional safety measure of installing another barrier on…
John the Baptist had boldly confronted sin in the palace of Herod. Herod had taken his brother’s wife Herodias for himself, and John was beheaded for his decrying confrontation of this sin.
The city of Laodicea was located in a fertile valley overlooking the Lycus River about 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia and 11 miles from Colosse. Laodicea was established by Antiochus II (264–261 B.C.). Named in honor of his wife Laodice, it was destined to become the capital of ancient Phrygia.
In the study of biblical doctrine, it is essential to begin with the doctrine of the Bible (bibliology), which consists of commentary on the Bible derived from the Bible itself. Since all other biblical doctrines
This is the introductory article in a series presenting the doctrines contained in the Bible. The word doctrine comes from the Latin term doctrina, which means “instruction, education, learning.”
Perverted theology is not a new fad. The wonder is that we seem to be surprised each time some emerging religious “star” professes to be anointed with a new revelation regarding heretofore obscure…
“My God, where are you? My God, my God. Where are you? Evil crushes me. Grinds me into dust. O, my God. I can’t bear it. I can’t bear it. Why have you left me?
In 2 Thessalonians 2:1–2, Paul and his companions asked the Thessalonian saints to avoid doing two things. First, they were not to be “soon shaken in mind.”
We are living in a day characterized by apostasy. It is hard to say exactly when it began, but it came to the United States as a result of European “free-thinking liberalism.”
It has been said that many churches begin with a man, reach out with a mission, become a movement, and eventually end up a monument. Often this is true, but not for every church.
The Temple still stood gloriously on that high mount where the Dome of the Rock now rests. The Pharisees still controlled the synagogues, influencing the people with their strict interpretations of the law.
Hebrews 11 describes the faith of the three men the Jewish people hold to be the cornerstone of Judaism: Abraham, Moses, and David. Abraham is also called the “friend” of God (Isa. 41:8).
Moses had a rich heritage of faith. Before his birth, Pharaoh of Egypt commanded that all male babies born to Hebrew women be killed (Ex. 1:15–22). When Moses was born, his parents had to make…
Every year new members are elected to the various sports’ Halls of Fame. Many good players, however, never receive this public honor. Buried in the past rosters of hundreds of teams are thousands of excellent…
Futurists are inundating the country with articles, books and videos on what to expect by the year 2000 and beyond. This has rekindled an interest in the study of biblical prophecy.
Dr. William Culbertson, former President of Moody Bible Institute, often concluded his prayers with the words, “Lord, I pray that we will finish well.” He realized that many people begin their Christian walk well but…