If the scholars are right, don’t expect pearly gates, golden streets, and jasper walls-even though that’s what John, wirter of the book of Revelation, said he saw in his vision of heaven.
Continue reading WHO’S WHO AND WHERE’S WHERE IN THE BIBLE (WHAT HEAVEN IS LIKE?)
Manasseh, king of Judah (697 – 642 BC), built altars in Jerusalem for all the “host of heaven” (2 Kings 21:5). He attempted to merge the worship of other gods with the worship of Yahweh. Manasseh’s efforts were reversed when Josiah came to the throne (2 Kings 23:7).
Continue reading DEFINITION OF THE DAY (HOST OF HEAVEN PT 2 OF 2)
Army at God’s command, composed of either heavenly bodies (such as sun, moon, and stars) or angels.
“Host” is basically a military term connected with fighting or waging a war. The most frequent use of the word is to designate a group of men organized for war. In this sense, The Hebrew word often refers to a human army (Gen 21:22,32; Judg 4:2,7; 9:29; 1 Sam 12:9; 2 Sam 3:23; Isa 34:2; Jer 51:3). The term can refer to an act of war, as in Num 1:3,20; Deut 24:5; and Josh 22:12. An extended meaning of “hosts” is that it designates a length of time of hard service (Job 7:1; Isa 40:2; Dan 10:1). The term is used in the book of Numbers to refer to the service of the Levites in the sanctuary.
Continue reading DEFINITION OF THE DAY (HOST OF HEAVEN PT1 OF 2)
No one knows. Jesus’ reasons for delay are not explained here. We can only surmise that a higher purpose-higher than saving people from physical death-caused Jesus not to go with immediate haste to His friend’s side. That purpose was surely the one that Jesus had come to fulfill: saving people from spiritual death, that is, from eternal separation from His loving heavenly Father.
Though Lazarus was raised miraculously, he did die later. So did Mary and Martha, the disciples, and all of Jesus’ closet friends. Jesus did not come to spare His loved ones the experience of physical death but to show them the path to eternal life.
Continue reading WHY DID JESUS LET LAZARUS DIE?
The number cannot be taken literally. Even the literalism formerly taught by the Jehovah’s Witnesses cult (prior to its own growth spurt) has been revised. If not a literal head count, the number must be symbolic, and likely meant to point to the completion of God’s work of salvation among all the nations.
Continue reading IS HEAVEN’S POPULATION LIMITED TO 144,000
15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
Continue reading SCRIPTURES OF THE DAY (DANIEL 7:15-28)
Not happiness, but joy. It also promises trouble, as these verses testify. The hard reality of the Bible’s message is that life breeds trouble and Christians are not exempt. In fact, Christians should expect more trouble, as the adversary seeks to derail faith and upset biblical promises.
Continue reading DOESN’T THE BIBLE PROMISE HAPPINESS TO ALL WHO FOLLOW CHRIST?
In a terrifying vision, Isaiah finds himself standing in heaven’s throne room in the presence of God. The time is 740 BC, the year King Uzziah dies.
“It’s all over!” Isaiah says. “I am doomed, for I am a sinful man” (Isaiah 6:5). He knows God is holy and that sin can’t survive in God’s presence.
Continue reading A VISIT TO HEAVEN
John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The prologue of John’s Gospel (John 1:1-18), of which this verse is a part, focuses on Jesus as the eternal Son, who existed with God the Father before the creation of the World.
Continue reading NAME OF GOD (WORD)
This is the longest section of the book of Revelation. It describes the visions of John regarding a series of catastrophic events that God would use to judge the earth before the end of the age and the triumphant second coming of Christ.
Continue reading VISIONS OF SUFFERING (6:1-19: 10)