Christ is Superior to All Celestial Beings

Hebrews 1:10-2:8
¹⁰ And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: ¹¹ they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; ¹² and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. ¹³ But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit, on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? ¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (KJV)?

The Creator Has Laid the Foundation of the Earth

Hebrews 1:10
¹⁰ And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands (KJV):
The text now continues to describe the creator and His handiwork expressed in Psalm 102:25-27. The Jewish person to whom our text was written would know the Psalms. The Psalms though affirm the creation account in Genesis. Only God can create. Mankind is not able to do this. He can manage, rearrange and form. He cannot create matter out of nothing ex nihlo. This is the Latin meaning for “out of nothing.” In the beginning is a direct reference to the creation of the physical property of time. When we ponder the concept of time we find it impossible to arrive at a suitable definition. Time is not uniform: It is a physical property that varies with mass, acceleration and gravity, among other things. Particle physicists insist that we exist in more dimensions than we are aware of. These are all products of the time domain.  What is important to understand is that time had a beginning is in existence now, is changing its properties, and will have an end. These are concepts the human cannot fully understand. Consider our awareness spectrum while we are in these bodies. We are aware of events transpiring at the present. We can remember the past. We cannot predict the future because we cannot see it. Now God who lives outside of time (not where there is a lot of time) knows the future. In fact, one might say “God Remembers Tomorrow!” Such is the unique characteristic of time and the limitation of knowing it that God has placed upon us.
The unity of the three components of our existence, time, matter and space are all independent and coterminous with the whole. The universe is not part time, matter and space. It is rather all space, time and matter.
Clearly God has given us multiple characteristics of what we cannot see. Nachmonides a Jewish rabbi from Spain in the 13th century taught that there are ten dimensions. Four are knowable such as the three spatial (height, width & depth) as well as time. The other six are “curled” into the four we are able to detect while in our bodies. We will see them all when we are released from these bodies at death when the angels come for us (Luke 16:22) or if the Lord comes for us first (I Thessalonians 4:14-17).
The use of the Hebrew word to create, Bara in Genesis 1:1 means that at some point God spoke the creation into being. God alone is infinite and omnipotent. God is the Creator who came to earth in the person of Jesus of Nazareth who the Bible says created all things (John 1). God also created the heavens. The heavens here refer to space. So, the beginning of time was then followed by the space of the universe. Our entire universe only consists of three components. They are space, time and matter. The Hebrew word shamayin is that used of the space component of the basic space-time-mass universe. This is followed by the Hebrew word erets, which is translated as earth but primarily refers to matter. Matter of course is anything that has weight and takes up space. At the time that matter was created there were no bodies in the heavens. They were created on the fourth day of the creation account in Genesis one. On the fourth day of creation God made the stars in the heavens.

Genesis 1: 14-18
¹⁴And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years: ¹⁵and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. ¹⁶And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. ¹⁷And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good (ASV, 1901).



One of the reasons for making the stars in the heavens was for a sign. A sign signifies or represents something. One dictionary defines a sign as:
An object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the presence or occurrence of something else
Signs therefore, are meant to lead one to something else. The sign itself is not the end meaning. It is the method employed to direct our attention to something else. In the stars God is the direct object the signs point to. We should realize that His entire creation which theologians call “general revelation,” speak to Him and coming from Him. In fact, God charges all mankind to know Him through the ‘signs” He has provided.
Romans 1: 20
²⁰ For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse (KJV):
The heavenly bodies are the handiwork of God. God is trying to tell us things about Himself through the stars in the heavens. The heavens declare His creative output.
Psalm 19: 1-6
¹The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament showeth his handiwork.²Day unto day uttereth speech, And night unto night showeth knowledge. ³There is no speech nor language; Their voice is not heard. ⁴Their line is gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, ⁵Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And, rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course. ⁶ His going forth is from the end of the heavens, And, his circuit unto the ends of it; And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof (ASV, 1901). 
This psalm of David announces that the heavens declare the glory (splendor) of God’s handiwork. Verse one is a summary statement: the majestic Creation is evidence of the even more majestic Creator-God. The heavens continually (every day and every night) display the fact that there is a Creator. Even though Creation does not speak audibly as humans do its message goes out for all the earth to witness. The message from nature about the glory of God reaches all nations, and is equally intelligible to them all. It is a universal language.

The Creation is Temporary While God is Eternal

Hebrews 1:11-12
 ¹¹ they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; ¹² and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail (KJV).

The Son is exalted above all.

Here Paul again quotes Psalm 102:25–27. He states six concepts from the Psalm.

1. Jesus is superior in His basic existence.
2. He is the Creator of the universe.
3. The Son is sovereign over the changes in the universe.
4. The Son is the unchangeable Lord in the midst of a changing universe.
5. The Son is eternal.
6. Jesus the Creator is eternal, the universe will someday be discarded like an old piece of cloth. In the words of Revelation 6:14: You will roll them up. In 2 Peter 3:10, the universe is destined to be dissolved. So, while He is eternal, the universe is temporary and a large portion of the matter will be destroyed (dissolved) in the Great Tribulation.

Our universe is comprised of only three components. They are matter, space and time. Since the Fall each of these are gradually dissolving due to entropy (gradual decay) that entered the creation. Peter is teaching that God is not bound by the time domain like we are.
The day of the Lord will hit the unbeliever with the suddenness and unexpectedness of a thief in the night. During the Great Tribulation, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise. The Old Testament passages to this statement are from Isaiah 3:13 and 34:4. Each of these Isaiah passages mention the same occurrence. Jesus spoke of these same things in His Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:29). While the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, the earth will be burned up by the judgments of the Great Tribulation. Many of these are fiery judgments. For example, in the Trumpet Judgments of Revelation 8–9, the first, second, third, and sixth Trumpet Judgments are judgments of fire. In the Bowl Judgments of Revelation 16, the fourth Bowl Judgment is a judgment of fire. During the Great Tribulation, there will be a burning of the earth. In fact, somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of the earth’s surface will be destroyed during the Great Tribulation. In this case, Peter is not dealing with the total destruction of the globe by fire; he is referring to the surface of the earth. Contrary to the evolutionists claims, the earth is not eternal. This is the destruction of the matter spoken of by the Hebrews 11:11 passage.
Time has been decaying since the Fall after creation. Einstein came close in his quest to understand the basic fundamentals of energy in the universe. His general theory affirmed that there is no distinction between time and space. He saw time as bending, having a velocity and decaying. Time is not uniform: It is a physical property that varies with mass, acceleration, gravity, and light among other things. The speed of light similarly has been slowing down over the centuries since the Fall.



The velocity of light has been measured 164 times by 16 different methodologies over the last several hundred years. The net result of all these measurements is that light is slowing down over time. So, we can infer that if light has been slowing down for the last several centuries, then it must have been slowing down since the origin of time. For example, using the same regression as observed by the physicists we can surmise that light was 10-30% faster during the time Christ was on the earth (Cir. A.D. 33). We can then believe that light was 2 times faster during the time of Solomon (Cir. 900 B.C.)  If we go back further with the same regression to the time of Abraham (Cir. 2350 B.C.) light could have been 4 times faster than now. Using the same regression and understanding the decay caused by the “Fall” light could well have been 10 Million times as fast at the time of the creation and therefore light was able to be so fast as to travel almost instantaneous at creation so as to be at the origin (stars) and the earth almost at once.
Space also has properties which God controls. This Hebrew word rakeeah means to spread out or stretch. Some other places in Scripture where this same expression is used are

1. Job 9:8 He alone stretches out the heavens.
2. Psalm 104:2 The heavens are stretched out like a tent curtain.
3. Isaiah 40: 22 God stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
4. Jeremiah 10: 12 The Lord has stretched out the heavens.
5. Zechariah 12:1 God stretched out the heavens.

These usages of the Hebrew word for stretch (rakeeah) are not quaint poetic hyperbole or exaggerations. They mean to express the properties of the heavens that we cannot see or fully understand. Space is not an empty vacuum. We have difficulty defining space and understanding the concept of the property of space. Scripture gives us some insight as to some of its properties.

1. Space can be torn (Isaiah 64: 1);
2. It can be worn out like a garment (Psalm 102: 25),
3. It can be shaken (Hebrews 12:26; Haggai 2:6; Isaiah 13:13).
4. It can be burnt up (II Peter 3:12).
5. It can be split apart like a scroll (Revelation 6:14);
6. It can be rolled up like a mantle (Hebrews 1:12) or scroll (Isaiah 34: 4).

So just like a garment space can be rolled up, folded and put away. But, God exists outside of time. We have a tendency to call this eternity. In the first verse in the Bible we are told that God existed before the beginning or to say it another way before the beginning of time began. In fact, the apostle Paul writing to Timothy stated the same thing in:
II Timothy 1: 9a
⁹For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time (NLT)
We need to realize that the New Testament affirms one component of Genesis 1: 1 by stating that God acted before time began. God was in existence before any creation efforts were put forth. It has often been pointed out that coming to an understanding of the early chapters of Genesis and believing them makes the rest of the Bible easy to understand and believe. These early verses demonstrate the degree of control over all things that God has and exercises. Paul is affirming these things with verse 12 when he says, “but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.” All things are in a state of decay until the Lord returns and establishes His Kingdom on this earth. At that time, the earth will receive a renovation. The speed of light will increase seven-fold (Isaiah 30:26), which will be a major factor in the renovation of the earth. In fact, with the light speeding up time will also change. One observation the Scripture gives us to affirm that is the longevity of the human during the Messianic Kingdom.

Peace By William Sttrutt Cir 1896 depicting Isaiah 11:6-7

The Land will be well watered, produce abundant food and have a major (Seven-fold) increase in light. All physical infirmities will be healed. The speed of light has been significantly faster closer to the creation than it is now. This will be the reason for an increase in life longevity in the Millennium. Again, God says:
Isaiah 65: 20
²⁰ There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed (ASV, 1901).

The Angels are Servants

Hebrews 1:13-14
¹³ But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit, on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? ¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (KJV)?
This is a quote from Psalm 110:1 which the Jewish people of the first century considering the claims of Christ and those who being born again entered the Church knew well. Essentially, angels function as priestly messengers especially for them who shall be heirs of salvation.
Their activities can be summarized as that of:

1. The worship of God (Isaiah 6:3; Rev. 4:8)
2. As messengers of God (Daniel 9:22; Luke 1:11, 26; 2:9; Revelation 1:1)
3. As soldiers in spiritual combat (Daniel 10:13f; Revelation 12:7)
4. As ministers to God’s people (Hebrews 1:14)

In their service to God, they are seen as attendants around His throne, waiting to serve Him and do His bidding (Psalm 103:20; Isaiah 6:1f; Job 1:6; 2:1; Revelation. 5:11; 8:1f), as worshippers in praise of Him (Isaiah 6:3; Psalm 148:1-2; Hebrews 1:6; Revelation 5:12), as observers who rejoice over what He does (Job 38:6-7; Luke 2:12-13; 15:10), as soldiers in battle with Satan (Revelation 12:7), and as instruments of His judgments (Revelation 7:1; 8:2). In relation to the nation of Israel, Michael, the archangel, functions as their guardian (Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9). In relation to other nations, they watch over rulers and nations (Daniel 4:17) and seek to influence their human leaders (Daniel 10:21; 11:1). In the Tribulation, they will be the agents God uses to pour out His judgments (Revelation 8-9 and 16).
With the plan of God centering in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, they naturally perform many services for the Savior.
They predicted His birth (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:26-28), and then announced his birth (Luke 2:8-15). An angel warned Joseph to take Mary and the baby Jesus and flee into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15), and an angel directed the family to return to Israel after Herod died (Matthew 2:19-21).
In relation to His suffering, angels ministered to Him after His temptation (Matthew 4:11), in His stress in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43), and Jesus said He could have called a legion of angels who stood ready to come to His defense if He so desired (Matthew 26:53).



In relation to His resurrection, an angel rolled away the stone from the tomb (Matthew 28:1-2), angels announced His resurrection to the women on that Resurrection morning (Matthew 5-6; Luke 24:5-7), and angels were present at His ascension and gave instruction to the disciples (Acts 1:10-11).
In relation to His coming again, the voice of the archangel will be heard at the translation of the church (1 Thessalonians 4:16), they will accompany Him in His glorious return to earth (Matthew 25:31; 2 Thessalonians 1:7) and they will separate the wheat from the tares at Christ’s second coming (Matthew 13:39-40).
In Relation to the Church: Hebrews 1:14 describes their ministry as “ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation.” In this, however, Scripture points to a number of specific ministries: they bring answers to prayer (Acts 12:5-10), they help in bringing people to the Savior (Acts 8:26; 10:3), they may encourage in times of danger (Acts 27:23-24), and they care for God’s people at the time of death (Luke 16:22).
In all of these activities in which the celestial beings engage, Jesus the Creator is Superior……

Daniel E. Woodhead

The Rapture and the Resurrection

Dr. Daniel E. Woodhead has a new video series titled, "The Rapture and the Resurrection". In this video Dr. Woodhead, Dr. Gary Fisher along with Dr. Todd Baker discuss the Rapture and Resurrection of the Church.


The Rapture and The Resurrection

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six

2017 A.D - Anniversary of Two Major Historical Developments - by Gary M Fisher

We celebrate two major developments in world history this year. They both have major spiritual importance and both have huge prophetic significance!

One - Protestant Reformation in 1517. The Reformation is 500 years old now and is still on. The historic ramifications of the Reformation are huge!  The Reformation was responsible for the correction of many church corruptions. In addition, the birth of many different denominational expressions of Christianity were birthed. Missionaries have been sent all over the world and millions have been saved from these resulting denominations.

Two - Balfour Declaration of 1917 - The second, and perhaps more sobering and prophetically impacting, was the Balfour Declaration. This was the document in which the British Government recognized the need to establish a Jewish homeland.

    The Jewish people had been scattered all over the world beginning in 70A.D. by the Romans, who renamed the Jewish homeland  "Palestine". Subsequently, the empires of the old world absorbed the area into their boundaries. The latest of these, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), controlled "Palestine" for 400 years. Turkey had sided with Germany in WW1 and shared in Germany's defeat. This left the British Government to decide the fate of the Middle East and the territory now known as Israel. As a result of Balfour, Britain declared "Palestine", later named Israel in 1948, as a homeland for the Jewish people.

    Officially, there was no Israel for Jewish people to return to until the twentieth century Balfour Declaration. Those who were students of Bible prophecy were greatly enthused by this development! Why? Scripture calls for a restoring of Israel from all over the world in the last days (Jer. 23:8, Eze.36:24). The Messiah, Jesus, promised to return to a restored Israel (Zech, 14). We are the first generation in almost 2,000 years that has seen one develop. Now that one is developing, the return of Jesus is more in view than ever! Today would be good! Are you ready? If not, follow the words recorded in Romans 10:9, "...if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved". Do it today!
--
Gary M. Fisher is the founder and director of Lion of Judah Ministry. The Ministry was founded in 1994. Since then, Gary has spoken in many churches, served as radio host, teacher, conference speaker, and television guest.  Gary is also on the Board of Theology in Perspective, a parent corporation in Michigan which hosts Scofield Bible Institute and Theological Seminary. He holds an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Scofield Seminary, and serves as adjunct faculty member at the Seminary. He is the writer of the Ministry's newsletter, The Trumpeter, a newsletter that features commentary on current events and how they relate to the soon return of Jesus. Gary writes and manages the articles and information on the ministry website (www.lionofjudahministry.org - his website is temporarily down). He also serves as tour host and leader of the Ministry's sponsored tours of Israel.  Find him at his Facebook page - Gary M Fisher  as well as his ministry's Facebook page: Lion of Judah Ministry. Videos from his last Israel trip along with many articles and comments are available.
 

Seven Reasons Every Christian Should Study Jewish History

By Brad W Maston

7 Reasons Why Every Christian Should Study Jewish History…

With so many Biblically illiterate Christians in the world today it could be argued that a knowledge of Jewish History should take a back seat to Christians learning more about the Bible.   To this point, I happily concede.  It ought never to be the case that a believer should pursue any extra-biblical scholarly endeavor over their study and application of the Bible.  It is Bible study that brings growth and equipment for the Spiritual Life.  This is beyond question, biblically speaking.

With the above point written, it must also be admitted that there are other disciplines of knowledge and understanding which have monumental benefit to every believer.  I have known many believers who would have benefitted immensely from a good course in simple logic, or even in basic reading!  Rather than list each of these disciplines which may bless a believer I would submit to the reader 7 reasons why Christians ought to be literate in Jewish History:

1 – Jewish History is primarily found in the Bible

The bulk of the account of the Hebrew people is found in the Bible.  Starting with Abraham who lived around 2000 BC and continuing through the Gospel accounts to the end of the epistles there is no way to understand the Bible without a working understanding of Jewish History and Culture.  For a believer to have even a functional understanding of the Bible they must know more about Jewish History than most American’s know about American History.  Having had such a solid start it is very natural for a Christian to want to learn more about the history of this people group on into the present day.

2 – The Jews are God’s beloved earthly people

God tells the Jews repeatedly how He feels about her.  In fact, this language is so tender and warm that the Church frequently tries to hijack these terms and apply them to ourselves.  However, the statements made to ethnic Israel are striking.  Deuteronomy 4:37-38 gives us much of this language:

Deuteronomy 4:37-38

³⁷"And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power, ³⁸driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day (NKJV).

God tells them that He has an attitude toward the ethnic Israel: Love.  He acted upon that attitude and chose them and their descendants forever.  That choice resulted in God delivering them by a special exercise of His divine power, and provided for them by giving them the Land of Israel as a permanent possession.

Zechariah records God’s attitude towards Israel:

Zechariah 2:8

“For thus says the LORD of hosts: "He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye (NKJV).

If you have ever felt the scrape of any foreign object upon your eyeball, you know the power of this metaphor.  The way that a person will flinch, seize up, draw back, and throw their hands over their face to protect their eyes is a picture for God’s loving association with Israel.  The God who loved and saved the believer in Christ by grace through faith feels this way about the Jewish people.  does it not make great sense that the believer would have a similar interest and love for those whom God takes such special care?

3 – The Survival and the success of the Jewish people is a sign of the trustworthy nature of the Bible and the God revealed therein.

God made earthly promises to the people of Israel.  The Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12, 15, 17), The Land Covenant (Deuteronomy 30), the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7) and the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31) are all filled with permanent and eternal language of God’s faithful and forever promises to the Hebrew people in their promised ancestral homeland.  This means that if the Jewish people were wiped out then it would be clear that the Bible would be false and the God revealed in the Bible a sham. 

This, however, is not the case.  The uncanny survival of the Jewish people isn’t only the remarkable tale of a courageous and innovative ethnic group: it is the story of the  faithfulness  of Almighty God who has staked His very word and character upon His ability to preserve and protect a particular ethnic group. While Edomites, Amalakites, and the whole host of other ancient peoples are long since forgotten the Jews persist on – because God, Himself, wills it to be so.  The story of the Jewish people is a story that God is still telling now – and it is wonderful in our sight.

4 – Jewish History and Culture still speak of, and give powerful illustration of, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

While the destruction of the temple has changed all of the great Jewish Holy Days to one degree or another there is no question that the modern celebrations still attest to the accuracy of the Bible – and point to the Messiah.  Steven Ger and Zola Levitt, among many others, have done amazing work in looking at the messianic foreshadowing and meaning to each of the Jewish feasts.  I will not attempt to summarize those volumes of study here.  This article will content itself to say that the entire Jewish calendar still speaks of Jesus Christ – each observance cries out with more information about the Savior.  While many of the modern observations have changed over the last two thousand there is no question about the original purpose of those feasts (to point to Messiah) has been substantially preserved and is still of amazing value to the one seeking to know Jesus fully.

5 – Knowing more about the Jewish History will give confidence, compassion and grace when sharing the Gospel with Jewish people who have not yet trusted Christ.

By God’s grace, the Jews are plentiful today.  Throughout the world they live and move and continue to bless the societies in which they have part.  Yet for many Christians it can be very difficult to understand why the Jewish people don’t come to Christ more easily.  On the other end of the spectrum we find that Christians will often avoid sharing the Gospel with Jewish people at all, assuming that they are somehow not candidates for salvation by faith through grace in Jesus Christ.  The mix of confusion and trepidation come, in many cases, from a lack of understanding.

Until a person knows what a great amount of persecution the Jewish people have received at the hands of so-called Christians we cannot see clearly why the gospel message is so disturbing. Throughout History various “churches” caused unspeakable damage to the collective psyche of the Jewish people.  Not only that, but the unsubtle Anti-Semitism of the common Christian error that the Church has replaced Israel and assumed her blessings is not missed by the Jewish People at large.  If we don’t understand the Bible and Jewish History correctly we become another set of people who stole the greatest legacy of the Jewish people, appropriated it to ourselves and then declared that they are no longer allowed unless they become “like us”.  Even a cursory understanding of the Jewish people gives the Christian a sensitivity and understanding to share the good news of the Messiah with sensitivity and love – and show that Jesus came to be the Jewish Messiah – not to end Judaism but to be its consummating leader and representative.

6 – Jesus IS Jewish.

Without question, Jesus Christ’s life and earthly ministry is the centerpiece of the Biblical record – and Jesus was ethnically Jewish, He was raised in a Jewish household and lived His entire earthly life in the predominately Jewish world of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria.

  Every moment of Jesus earthly life was dominated by things that we would now say are Jewish in every way.  His diet was dictated by Kosher laws.  His schedule was rooted in the rhythm of the observation of Sabbath and the Jewish calendar.  Those who were considered wise would have been the teachers of the Law, and Jesus himself would have learned to read Hebrew at their feet as a young child. 

The New Testament provides clear proof that Jesus observed all of the Jewish feasts and Holidays and, while He challenged MANY Jewish Rabbinic traditions of His day He never broke the Law of Moses.  When Jesus argued with people, he did so in the Jewish style, using the Hebrew Scriptures.  When He returns it will be as the Jewish Messiah reigning over the Jewish Nation from the throne of Israel. 

7 – The Jewish People still have a large part to play in the Conclusion of God’s Redemption of Planet Earth

Finally, the story of the Jewish people is not even nearly over.  The History of the Jewish people is amazing, and striking, miraculous and hopeful – but it many ways it is just getting started.  The next major period of prophecy that lay ahead for the planet earth is known popularly as the Great Tribulation.  God will remove the Church from the earth and return His focus to the fulfillment of all of His covenant promises to Israel.  This is what beguiles the non-literal interpreter so greatly about Revelation.   The central story is that of the Jewish people once again, and the non-literal interpreter must try and imagine a way to remove or replace every single time a reference is made to what is clearly ethnic Israel and the Jewish people.  While the schemes of these various well-meaning theologians are very clever at times the biggest weakness is this:  They are unnecessary.  The plain sense of God’s faithfulness to the Jewish people makes sense.  There is no need to allegorize or re-interpret their simple meaning – it is absurdly clear.  No matter how clever the scheme, or how convincing the argument, it always crumbles in the face of the reality that there was never any need for the devised explanation.  The Study of Jewish History is the study of what the Lord is doing to prepare for the next major step in human History.  To be sure, no one knows the day or the hour, but by watching Israel we can appreciate the majestic and powerful plan of God – whether Jesus returns tomorrow, or yet a thousand years hence.

This is a wonderful time to live on planet earth for many reasons.  The greatest reason is the amazing amount of information that is now available.  For many people learning more about the story of God’s people is only a click away.  So many wonderful resources are available to this end.  While every resource used must be read with discernment there are more good resources available than ever before.  Oh believer, take advantage of this opportunity – of this wealth of information with which God has made clear His character, His plan and His will.  To learn about the Chosen People is to learn about the Faithful and Almighty God who Chose them. 

Author Bio

Bradley W. Maston is a Pastor at Fort Collins Bible Church in Fort Collins, Colorado (www.fortcollinsbiblechurch.com).  He holds a BA in Music from Colorado State University, an MA in Biblical Studies from Channel Islands Bible College and Seminary and is currently studying and teaching at Scofield Biblical Institute and Theological Seminary in pursuit of a Ph. D. in Jewish Studies.  He is the author of several books and commentaries which are available in print and electronic format at Amazon.com the most recent of which is  A Brief History of the Jewish People.

Resurrection Day, 2017 - Bobby Hayes

Bobby Hayes taught at Scofield Bible Study on Good Friday and the Resurrection (2 parts).  CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

The Mal Couch Legacy Collection ~ Complete!

It is with great joy that I share with all of you that the last book in The Mal Couch Legacy Collection, Theology:  The God of the Bible, is now complete and available for purchase on Amazon along with the other five books.

It has been an honor and a privilege to be the editor of this wonderful project.  As many of you know, Dr. Couch was an amazing servant of God who touched the lives of countless numbers of people through his founding of Tyndale Theological Seminary, through his teaching, through his books and through so many other areas of his life. 

His legacy and his passion for God and the truth of God’s Word, live on through his students and his writings. 

All six of the books in The Mal Couch Legacy Collection are outstanding works that can be used for personal study, group study or the discipleship of believers wherever they may be in their spiritual walk with our Lord.

I would recommend that the books be read in the following sequence: (1) The Doctrine of Sin; (2) The Doctrine of Salvation; (3) TheDoctrine of the Church; (4) God Has Spoken; (5) The Doctrine of the HolySpirit; (6) Theology: The God of the Bible.  This sequence will give you an excellent flow of the problem of man’s sinful condition, God’s plan of redemption through Jesus Christ, what, exactly, is the Church, a powerful look at God’s recorded Word, an explanation of who the Holy Spirit truly is, His ministry and His role in the salvation of people, and finally, a look who God really is, as He has revealed Himself through the Bible.

May the Lord bless you as you continue to grow in grace and knowledge through these outstanding books left to us by Dr. Mal Couch.

By His Grace,

Gary T. Dromi, Ph.D.

“… grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18).