God Gives His Word
In order to grasp the meaning of the parables, one should approach with fresh minds the giving and receiving of God’s Word because this is what the parables do. Through parables Jesus reveals to us the mystery form of His kingdom (Matt. 13:11). Go back in your...
The Mystery Age
Staying with our context of the previous blogs, Jesus had offered the kingdom to Israel. He sealed the offer by healing a demon possessed man, revealing the King’s dominance over the devil’s domain. It was upon this very miracle that the Jewish nation’s kingdom...
Preparation for Parables
Christ’s words in His model prayer for the disciples, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” will be explained. It was this kingdom that Christ was offering to the Jews in His sermon from the Mount of Olives and in all the events that...
The Law in the Kingdom
King Jesus’ words to the Jews spoken from the Mount of Olives give the details of His coming kingdom. King Jesus was born into the world having a human body with Jewish DNA from His mother Mary, the daughter of a Jewish man named Heli (Lk. 3:23). King Jesus received...
Age of Law vs. Age of Grace
I just finished reading the autobiography, Bibi: My Story. It is a look at the life of Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel. I enjoyed the book because it gave me some understanding of the government, politics, and scientific achievements of the tiny...
The King Introduced
Let’s look at Matthew’s portrayal of the Christ as King. Matthew said that King Jesus was born of the virgin Mary who was in King David’s line. Kings came through the Jewish tribe of Judah, priests through the tribe of Levi. The Holy Spirit attached God’s tiny embryo...
Why FOUR Gospels?
I’d like to begin a series of blogs on the kingdom parables of Matthew 13. But I want to begin with the question, “why four gospels?” The four gospels are good markers highlighting characteristics from the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is as though all of His...
A Prophet’s Insight
The Bible is God’s inerrant, relevant word. By “relevant” I mean that God’s teaching is more modern and important today than any Twitter news story. For instance, go back with me to the small prophetic book of Habakkuk, which was written in the seventh century B.C....
A Glimpse at the Birth of Christ
God brought His Son into the world right under the noses of the world’s elite and in the most unlikely place, the tiny town of Bethlehem. Not much ever happened there among the scrub brush, the rocks, scorpions, and snakes. God predicted this event five-hundred years...
What I Remember and Why!
Recently my wife asked me what I remembered about my days at Dallas Theological Seminary, or “Dallas The Logical Seminary” as my son called it back in the day. Many memories began to immediately creep into my thinking. The pain of study. One syllabus was more than...
Wrongly Dividing the Word
There is a passage in Hebrews that has given believers problems for years. It is especially itchy for those who know that the Bible teaches that eternal life is, in fact, eternal. The passage reads, “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have...
God’s Plumbline
There are many characteristics that shed light upon God. If you ask someone “Which of God’s characteristics define Him the best?” most will probably respond by saying His love or maybe His holiness. But according to the Bible that would be the wrong answer. As this...