The prophet Nahum tells us that he comes from the town of Elkosh. Researchers believe that Elkosh was located in southwest Judah, but a precise location has not been determined. Nahum’s name originates from the Hebrew term that means comfort. Other than these details, not much
else is known about...

Now that we’ve reached the Old Testament book of Habakkuk, we are eight books into what are called the twelve minor prophets. And, Habakkuk certainly is minor in length, consisting of only 56 verses. Nevertheless, Habakkuk packs a punch. He is not afraid to ask God the hard questions. In chapter ...

The prophet Zephaniah was alive during the reign of King Josiah of Jerusalem. His name comes from a Hebrew word that means “Yahweh has hidden.” Some people have taken this to mean that because Zephaniah would have been born during the reign of the evil king Manasseh,
God hid him from Manasseh’s g...

Sometimes we all need a good wakeup call. This is what Haggai did for his people. His prophecy dates to about sixteen years after the people had returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile. The Medes and Persians, who had defeated Babylon, had allowed the Jews to return to rebuild the Temple,...

The fourteen chapters of Zechariah contain some of the most Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. This is fitting because the name Zechariah means, “The Lord remembers.” He does indeed, and His remembering would come in the form of sending His Son to enact God’s
new covenant! In his propheci...

The work of God is very different than the work of man. When God closes something, it remains closed. When God opens something, it remains open. I believe the time in which we live has been opened to Israel the nation. It was defined in 1920, in San Remo, Italy, by a group of leaders from the Lea...

Where is the safest place in the world? Where could you go where there is no stealing, violence, ridicule, hateful thinking—no crime at all? There is only one scenario that would see a place like this: The return of Jesus Christ. Zechariah 14 is the last part of a prophetic vision that relates to...

At the close of the Old Testament, we have the book of the prophet Malachi. The name Malachi means “My messenger” and is very fitting for a prophet whose job was to act as a messenger of God. Because of that, some have suggested that his name is a title, a name taken on because of his role. Some ...

The gospel of Matthew is interesting for a few reasons. Though it comes first in the order of books placed in the New Testament, it does not seem to have been written first, that honour goes to the gospel of Mark. It is an interesting thought then, that Matthew would have been aware of the gospel...

Our lifestyle is extremely important. How we live, what we do, what we say—all these things reveal what we truly believe. Our behavior directly reflects our true beliefs. People try to deceive others by putting up a front, but when we watch their lives closely, the truth becomes evident. Jesus sp...

The Sabbath was a major point of contention between Jesus and the religious leaders of His day. The Sabbath day is the day of rest at the end of the week that was instituted by God in Genesis 2. Genesis 2:1-3 says that God rested on the seventh day and called it blessed. This is interesting becau...

The picture that Jesus paints of the scribes and Pharisees is very vivid: The blind leading the blind. This would have been extremely offensive to these men who had given their lives to studying and teaching the Scriptures and rabbinic traditions. They knew the words, but they did not know God or...

Things are very different in heaven than they are on earth. God’s works and ways are much better than our own. As humans, we lean toward pride and arrogance. We can feel entitled to things rather quickly. We see that reflected in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard that Jesus tells in our...

Many are called but few are chosen. Jesus Christ taught us from a parable what heaven was like; He compares it to a royal wedding. The invitation went out to anyone and everyone, but to stay at the wedding feast you had to be wearing appropriate clothing. To not do so was an insult to the king. I...

Jesus seems to have spent a considerable amount of time teaching about the Kingdom ofheaven. His teaching on how to enter the Kingdom is very different from that of other religions.Many religions suggest that we must be good people, or that we must divorce ourselves from worldly attachments, or t...

We hear a little bit about the author of the gospel of Mark, in the book of Acts. We learn that his name was John Mark (ACTS 1 2 : 1 2 , 2 5 ). We also learn that Paul and Barnabus disagreed over what to do with him, so much so that they split up and went their separate ways to spread the gospel,...

A theme of Mark 5 is uncleanness. We have a man possessed by unclean spirits, who made him do unseemly things: He lived in tombs surrounded by human death; we’re told that he regularly cut himself and yelled out and that he was unusually strong, able to break out of shackles and chains. His distr...

Religious traditions are interesting to consider. On the one hand they can preserve truth and pass it on generation to generation. On the other hand, they can replace the truth they are trying to preserve! When they do this, they become futile. It is all too easy for us to see people devoted to o...

The event of the transfiguration of Christ is still very captivating. I can’t imagine how amazing it would have been to have been there in person! The event itself brings up many questions. Peter, James, and John focused on asking about Elijah and his presence. Was this what the Scribes
were talk...

The Bible predicts the end of our time here on earth. The way that things are will not go on forever. There will be an end, a judgment, a new creation, and then eternity. Many people reject this concept. They feel that time has always been running in a consistent way and will continue to do so fo...

Today we begin our reading of the third gospel: Luke. Though Luke is one of the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, it still reads quite differently in its style from the other two. Luke adds in more historical annotations than the other gospels, and he includes his reason for writing th...

Jesus Christ was by the Sea of Galilee where many people were pressing around Him to hear Him speak. Noticing two empty boats by the shore, Jesus climbed into one of them and asked the owner, Simon Peter, to push it out a little from the land so that He could teach from the boat. When Jesus was f...