Salvation and the Spirit
It's not at all unusual to hear Christians talk about the time when they were "saved" in the past tense. Perhaps this salvation event occurred when they were a child…
Vindication of the Righteous
In Matthew 13, Jesus tells this very brief but revealing parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When…
Abraham and the Apostles
Acts is one of the easiest books in the Bible to read. It has a fast-paced narrative filled with memorable scenes. One such scene is recorded in chapter 3. Peter…
Context Is Crucial
Every Bible reader acknowledges (at least in theory) that context is crucial for understanding the scriptures. If you want to make sure you've properly understood a verse, you need to…
Elucidating Ephesians
In the evangelical world, perhaps no passage of scripture is cited more often than Ephesians 2:8-9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this…
The Seed of the Church
Our study of Revelation 11:1-13 is now complete. How can we apply what we've learned? How is this strange passage relevant to Christians living in the 21st century? There's a…
Revelation and Rome
The beast of Revelation 11 most directly corresponds to the Roman Empire. John will later elaborate on the nature of the beast. In fact, he will describe two beasts: one…
Who Is the Beast?
The two witnesses of Revelation 11 represent the church, who've been given the crucial task of prophesying to the nations. God's people must warn humanity that if they persist in…
Breathing Fire
In his beloved novel The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien created some of the most memorable scenes in all of literature. My personal favorite is the mesmerizing conversation between the diminutive hobbit…
The Two Witnesses
The world has seen lots of memorable duos over the years. People of a certain age grew up watching Ernie & Bert on Sesame Street. Younger audiences were delighted by…