The monarchy of David and Solomon represents the golden age in Israel’s history. But what if David and Solomon did not exist, as some have claimed? What if their kingdom was not as extensive as the Bible describes, as some also have claimed? Without David there would be no Jerusalem, the capital of the nation (2 … Continue reading –>
Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: 1 Samuel 17:1-58; Isa. 36:1-3, Isa. 37:14-38; Daniel 1:1-21, Daniel 5:1-30; Matt. 26:57-67; Heb. 11:1-40. Memory Text: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (Exod. 20:2 [also Deut. 5:6], NKJV). The Bible is constituted in history. Biblical history moves in a linear direction from an absolute beginning, when God … Continue reading –>
Missionary Asks, “Why?” By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission Leif Hongisto couldn’t understand why he was heading home to Finland after serving for nine years as president of Middle East University in Beirut, Lebanon. He loved the Seventh-day Adventist university, the Mediterranean climate, and freshly made hummus. Most important, he felt that he hadn’t realized his … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: Read Gerald A. Klingbeil, editor, The Genesis Creation Account and Its Reverberations in the Old Testament (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2015). “The Bible is the most comprehensive and the most instructive history which men possess. It came fresh from the fountain of eternal truth, and a divine hand has preserved its purity through … Continue reading –>
Creation in Scripture Read the following scriptural passages and write down how each of these writers referenced Genesis chapters 1-11: Matt. 19:4-5 Mark 10:6-9 Luke 11:50-51 John 1:1-3 Acts 14:15 Rom. 1:20 2 Cor. 4:6 Eph. 3:9 1 Tim. 2:12-15 James 3:9 1 Pet. 3:20 Jude 11, Jude 14 Rev. 2:7; Rev. 3:14; Rev. 22:2-3 Jesus and all of the … Continue reading –>
Read Genesis 5:1-32 and Genesis 11:1-32 . How does the Bible trace the history of humanity from Adam to Noah, and from Noah to Abraham? There is one element that makes these genealogies unique in the Bible: they contain the element of time, causing some scholars to correctly call them “chronogenealogies”. They contain an interlocking … Continue reading –>
Far from being dependent upon ancient pagan creation myths, Genesis seems to have been written in a way that refutes those myths and distances God as Creator from them. Read Genesis 1:14-19. How are the entities that appear on the fourth day described, and what are their functions? The terms “sun” and “moon” were surely avoided … Continue reading –>
Archaeologists have discovered texts from ancient Egypt and the Near East that contain primeval histories of the creation and the flood. This has caused some to wonder whether the Genesis account was borrowed from these cultures or was dependent in some way on them. But is such a thing really the case? Read Genesis 1:1-2:4, and … Continue reading –>
It is commonly believed that many in the ancient world thought the earth was flat. Most people, however, for a variety of good reasons, understood that the earth was round. Even to this day, though, some claim that the Bible itself taught that the earth was flat. Read Revelation 7:1 and Revelation 20:7-8. What is the context of … Continue reading –>
Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: Job 26:7-10; Genesis 1:1-2:25; Genesis 5:1-32; Genesis 11:1-32; 1 Chron. 1:18-27; Matt. 19:4-5; John 1:1-3. Memory Text: “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1, NKJV). Many great thinkers were inspired by Scripture to explore God’s created world; as a result, modern science was born. Johannes Kepler, … Continue reading –>
