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Special Revelation – Inspiration and Illumination

Also, this is why we constantly thank God, because when you received the message about God that you heard from us, you welcomed it not as a human message, but as it truly is, the message of God, which also works effectively in you believers. - 1 Thessalonians 2:13 HCSB

The Thessalonicans understood that the letters they received from Paul were no mere human message. From the beginning, the letters were believed to be the message of God; sacred Scriptures that effectively worked in the hearts and minds of…  ( Click for more )

Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Haven't You placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions are spread out in the land. But stretch out Your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse You to Your face." - Job 1:9-11 HCSB

The apostle Peter warned us about the devil, saying that our adversary prowls around like a roaring lion seeking anyone he can devour.[1] The term Peter used was “diabolos” which means slanderer, traducer or malignant…  ( Click for more )

"If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your gates in the land the LORD your God is giving you, you must not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has. Be careful that there isn't this wicked thought in your heart, 'The seventh year, the year of canceling debts, is near,' and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty. Give to him, and don't have a stingy…  ( Click for more )

"If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your gates in the land the LORD your God is giving you, you must not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has. Be careful that there isn't this wicked thought in your heart, 'The seventh year, the year of canceling debts, is near,' and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty. Give to him, and don't have a stingy…  ( Click for more )

"If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your gates in the land the LORD your God is giving you, you must not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has. 9 Be careful that there isn't this wicked thought in your heart, 'The seventh year, the year of canceling debts, is near,' and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty. 10 Give to him, and don't have…  ( Click for more )

Internal consistency and inerrancy – Evidenced in Science

God is enthroned above the circle of the earth; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth and spreads them out like a tent to live in. - Isaiah 40:22 HCSB

The Bible abounds with references to nature and natural processes and thus, frequently touches on the various sciences. Those who say the Bible is not a book of science have not read it closely enough.

However, the writers of the Bible do not attempt to formulate these statements in the terminology of a modern…  ( Click for more )

Internal consistency; inerrancy - Evidenced in Archeology

The one who gives an answer before he listens--this is foolishness and disgrace for him. - Proverbs 18:13 HCSB

Two friends met on the street. One said to the other, “I saw a terrible accident yesterday.”

The other responded, “Really? What happened?”

The first man said, “A little old lady ran a red light and got clipped by a white pickup!”

Suddenly a voice spoke up behind them, “That’s not how it happened at all!”

They turned to see a man sitting…  ( Click for more )

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it. - Matthew 16:25 HCSB

A paradox is a statement or concept that leads to a counterintuitive conclusion. Tthe Scriptures are full of them. The very concept of a divine and eternal being contains paradoxes. How could such a being be both transcendent and immanent? How can He retain sovereignty while granting free will? How could He be holy and yet put up with us?

However, the Bible does not encourage irrationality. It does not demand a “blind leap of faith.”…  ( Click for more )

Immediate and mediate general revelation

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. Their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the inhabited world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun. - Psalm 19:1-4 HCSB

King David taught that every human is continuously surrounded with evidence of God’s…  ( Click for more )

Internal Consistency; Inerrancy - Evidenced in Prophecy

But the prophet who dares to speak in My name a message I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods--that prophet must die.' You may say to yourself, 'How can we recognize a message the LORD has not spoken?' When a prophet speaks in the LORD's name, and the message does not come true or is not fulfilled, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. - Deuteronomy 18:20-22 HCSB

Besides his claim to fame as the author of…  ( Click for more )

Internal consistency and inerrancy – assumed by the Scriptures Moses came and told the people all the commands of the LORD and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, "We will do everything that the LORD has commanded." And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. He rose early the next morning and set up an altar and 12 pillars for the 12 tribes of Israel at the base of the mountain. - Exodus 24:3-4 HCSB

Every human must make a decision concerning the nature of the Scriptures. Like our Master who clearly taught that He was…  ( Click for more )

LORD, if You considered sins, Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be revered. I wait for the LORD; I wait, and put my hope in His word. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning--more than watchmen for the morning. - Psalm 130:3-6 HCSB

A farmer wakes up his son and starts breakfast. As the eggs fry, he turns on the radio to hear the weather for the day and the price of corn. The day ahead will be full of work but he looks forward to the satisfaction that physical labor can bring.

A traveler’s alarm buzzes and he blearily…  ( Click for more )

Though an army deploy against me, my heart is not afraid; though war break out against me, still I am confident. I have asked one thing from the LORD; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the LORD and seeking Him in His temple. For He will conceal me in His shelter in the day of adversity; He will hide me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high on a rock. Then my head will be high above my enemies around me; I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy. I will sing and make music to the LORD.…  ( Click for more )

But we encourage you, brothers, to do so even more, to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you may walk properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone. - 1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12 HCSB

Living with godly simplicity does not equal inactivity. It is not an encouragement for mental or physical laziness. Simplicity, when it is handled properly, removes the noise and clutter that threaten to steal our sense of peace and intimacy with Christ.

We should never tire of doing even…  ( Click for more )

But we encourage you, brothers, to do so even more, to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you may walk properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone. - 1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12 HCSB

Francois de Fénelon[1] made a habit of encouraging his friends to live a quiet life. To one he wrote: "Your mind is too much taken up with your circumstances, and this hinders you from understanding the mind of God . . . I think it is such a hindrance to the kind of quiet meditation…  ( Click for more )

But our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself. - Philippians 3:20-21 HCSB

Jesus’ glorified body was able to change appearance. Even before His resurrections, at the Mount of Transfiguration, we get a glimpse of the possibilities.[1] His appearance was dazzlingly brilliant and terrifying.

Immediately after his resurrection, He was able to look like one of us…  ( Click for more )

"You are to make an altar for the burning of incense; make it of acacia wood…There is to be an incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations.” - Exodus 30:1,8 HCSB

Hashem ordered His people to make incense a regular part of their worship experience on numerous occasions[1] going so far as to actually give the specific ingredients to a formula that was to be strictly dedicated to tabernacle use.[2] He even gave the exact dimensions and materials that were to go in an altar of incense.[3] Not only was incense part and parcel with both the tabernacle…  ( Click for more )

The proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte from Antioch. They had them stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. - Acts 6:5-6 HCSB

It’s amazing to see how many false assumptions Christians have about the process of ordination, seeing as it’s one of the most basic, elementary teachings of the Bible.[1] Ordination is a symbolic recognition of an individual’s giftedness. It does not convey giftedness…  ( Click for more )

Indeed, the LORD's hand is not too short to save, and His ear is not too deaf to hear. But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you so that He does not listen. - Isaiah 59:1-2 HCSB

An old righteous man was convinced by friends to visit their church. The day of worship dawned, bright brisk and beautiful, as they all joyfully looked forward to fellowshipping with other believers and praising God’s holy name.

However, as the tzaddik approached the church, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. “I…  ( Click for more )

They will not build and others live in them; they will not plant and others eat. For My people's lives will be like the lifetime of a tree. My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor without success or bear children destined for disaster, for they will be a people blessed by the LORD along with their descendants. - Isaiah 65:22-23 HCSB

I was recently asked if the Ransomed would bear children during the Millennium. I believe that today’s passage adequately answers that question. For many Christians, this is a novel concept but we must remember…  ( Click for more )

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things. - 1 Corinthians 13:11 HCSB

Unfortunately, American “Christianity” is often characterized by childish immaturity and shallowness. As with all spiritual conundrums, the problem lies in our approach to “d’vekut,” which is our relationship with God.

We often hear people express their desire to be “carried in the arms of God” or to “sit in His lap.” While I understand the idea of…  ( Click for more )

Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently? They weren't at all ashamed. They can no longer feel humiliation. Therefore, they will fall among the fallen. When I punish them, they will collapse, says the LORD. This is what the LORD says: Stand by the roadways and look. Ask about the ancient paths: Which is the way to what is good? Then take it and find rest for yourselves. But they protested: We won't! I appointed watchmen over you and said: Listen for the sound of the ram's horn. But they protested: We won't listen! Therefore listen, you nations and you witnesses, learn what the…  ( Click for more )

Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me. Don't eat or drink for three days, night and day. I and my female servants will also fast in the same way. After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law. If I perish, I perish." - Esther 4:16 HCSB

Hadassah was a young Benjamite girl whose name in Hebrew meant “Myrtle”. When the people of Judah under King Jeconiah’s leadership lost a war, King Nebuchadnezzar dragged her family (along with thousands of others) to Persia.[1]

Along the way or shortly thereafter,…  ( Click for more )

Then He commanded the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. Everyone ate and was filled. Then they picked up 12 baskets full of leftover pieces! Now those who ate were about 5,000 men, besides women and children. Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. After dismissing the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When…  ( Click for more )