Whatever the various views of the Jews regarding the coming of the Messiah, one thing was for certain: the Messiah would be from the house of David. (Even many religious Jews today who await the Messiah believe that He must come from the house of David.) That’s why Matthew began his gospel as he did; … Continue reading –>
“This is the genealogy of Jesus Christ … the son of David” (Matt. 1:1, NIV). Right from the start, Matthew calls his work a “book” (from the Greek word, biblos, which can mean a “sacred writing”), a “book of the genealogy,” of the ancestry of Jesus. In fact, the Greek word translated “genealogy” or “generation” is … Continue reading –>
During his birth in Winchester, Massachusetts, Rick Hoyt was strangled by the umbilical cord, leaving him brain damaged and unable to control his limbs. Months later, doctors told the Hoyt family that Rick would live in a vegetative state the rest of his life and should be put in an institution. “But the Hoyts weren’t … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Matthew 1; Mark 12:35-37; Isa. 9:6-7, Rom. 5:8; John 2:25; Jer. 29:13; Matt. 2:1-14. Memory Text:“He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21, NKJV). Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Matthew began his book with a genealogy; but not with just any genealogy but with that of Jesus Christ. … Continue reading –>
Think about the millennium, and about our understanding of it. Though we are not told a lot, we are told enough to know a few things. First, the millennium occurs before the final destruction of the lost. Second, before that final destruction, the saved spend this time getting a lot of questions answered. So much … Continue reading –>
Read Revelation 21:3-5. What do the tears there mean? We are all experienced with what it means to cry. We are also familiar with the action of wiping tears from another’s eyes: a mother tenderly comforting her child; a close friend comforting a companion; or one parent comforting the other in the midst of heartache … Continue reading –>
Sin and rebellion have been unwelcome intruders. They were never meant to be here. They inflicted incredible damage, but now that the cause of that damage no longer exists, it is time to restore everything to perfection. Not until that happens will the great controversy be completed. Read Revelation 21:1-2, Rev. 21:9-10; Rev. 22:1-3. What … Continue reading –>
In Bible times, there were two places for judgment: the city gate and before the king’s throne. The elders at the gate decided all the small cases, but the king decided all the large issues. His was the final word in ensuring justice. Similarly, the Bible pictures God enthroned as King of the universe, guaranteeing … Continue reading –>
The opening verses of Genesis describe the earth as being “without form, and void” (Gen. 1:2). This same phrase is repeated by Jeremiah to describe the earth after its destruction by the seven last plagues and the Second Coming, with every city on earth “broken down at the presence of the LORD”(Jer. 4:26, NKJV). In … Continue reading –>
Read Revelation 20:1-3. What is being described here, and what hope does it offer us? Binding or being bound is used in a number of ways in the Bible. On the simplest level it applies to a prisoner. Jesus loosed many who had been bound by Satan. Furthermore, the act of binding is used to … Continue reading –>
