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                                                                                                                                          Throughout the book of Revelation, God has encouraged struggling believers to remain steadfast because ultimate victory would be found in Jesus Christ.   Even though the present section is the most debated chapter in Revelation it contains the clearest details of Christ’s victory over Satan.                 We are promised victory in an amazing picture.   We see that victory is possible because Satan has been bound (Revelation 20 v.1-3).   The devil cannot freely function in this world – he is restricted because Christ has triumphed (Colossians 2:15; Matthew 12:29; Hebrews 2:14).   Satan may be able to destroy our fleshly bodies but never the soul that holds fast to Christ! (Matthew 10:28) Second, God reveals that only His followers are true winners (v.4-6).   John saw the triumph of believers who suffered the anguish of attacks from the beast, f

                                                                                                                    “’Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!’” (Revelation 18:2).   Babylon is symbolic of a great enemy of God.   In this symbolism God revealed that all who stood in opposition to Him would taste total defeat.   The world’s allurements may promise pleasure, but it will be short.                 Notice what happens with all who trust in “Babylon”.   Revelation 18. 9-19 discuss the kings, merchants, and sailors that are associated with Babylon.   The kings were intimately connected with her and found in her a source of pleasure.   They never thought it would end the way it did!   Notice that they were “standing at a distance” (v10).   They wanted no part of her demise.   The merchants mourned because all their goods were now gone.   Notice too, that som

                                                                                          Moses was a unique man who had been blessed by God with many wonderful talents.  He had the unique opportunity to be born a Hebrew, but raised as an Egyptian, enabling him to be the perfect choice for God to be the man to lead His people out of Egypt.  He was an exceptional shepherd and amazing leader and the Bible is full of stories that reveal His humble character.  However, one thing that we never typically associate with Moses is his talent as a song writer.   The Bible records two “Songs of Moses, while he was leading Israel; one after the crossing of the Red Sea, and then at the conclusion of his life (Deuteronomy 32).  In that song, Moses told Israel that they would play the harlot with the gods of foreign lands, as a result many troubles and evil would fall on them.  God instructed Moses to write this song down and teach it to your children so they will remember it.  As the song said, tr

                                                                                                                                                                                                 When we first read Revelation 12 and the story of the woman giving birth and a dragon seeking to devour the child, the imagery can be quite disturbing.   Yet, for us as Christians, this should not be disturbing at all, but rather give us reason to celebrate.   The woman that gives birth seems to be God’s people, the spiritual Israel (either before Jesus as well as those who have become followers of God through Jesus).   This also comes from God’s pronouncement of judgement upon Satan, Adam and Eve (Genesis 3.15).   The child would be the seed that would come from Eve (symbolically Israel) and would crush the head of the serpent who is the devil, or in this imagery, the dragon.   That would make the seed of the woman and the child of the woman in Revelation 12, Jesus.   This is evident in how “t

                                                                                                                                                               After the opening of the seventh seal with the expectant of God delivering the judgement soon to come, we find silence in heaven.   John notes that there was silence for about a thirty-minute period.   The symbolism inferred in the thirty-minutes of silence sheds light on the amount of time it would have taken the priest to enter the Temple and offer the evening sacrifice and offer the incense.    The events of lightnings, thunder and earthquakes are symbolic of what would have happened when God would come to meet with the people of Israel at Sinai (Exodus 19.22).   This tells us that when our prayers go up to heaven (incense was symbolic of prayers), Heaven would be silent for that period as God would listen to the prayers of His people.   Isn’t it awesome to know that the one who created the world stops what He is currently d

                                                                                                                                                                Seals were used by kings and officials to identify the integrity of a document.   The seal consisted of wax that had been heated and impressed with a logo or specific seal to ensure a document had not been tampered with until it was opened by its intended recipient at the appropriate time. As these seals begin to be opened in John’s vision, they are opened by Jesus (the Lamb) at the appropriate time to reveal God’s plan for the ages.   Although God is not bound by time as we are, He still is able to use time to accomplish His purpose.   In Galatians 4.4, Paul writes that “when the fullness of time had come” God sent Jesus into the world.   The phrase “fullness of time” had to do with all the prophecies that had been made about the coming of the Messiah in the Old Testament;   Meaning when God saw that the timing was right, He

                                                                                                                                                                                             The book of Jude says a lot towards false teachers.   In verse 11, it’s interesting that he makes a lot of references to Israel’s history so they must have had a strong knowledge of it.   He makes three claims about false teachers: (1) they were following in Cain’s example, (2) they had chosen profit above integrity, like Balaam, and (3) like Korah, they had rebelled against God.             Recall that Cain brought an offering to the Lord that was unacceptable (Genesis 4:3).   Cain’s brother, Abel, brought an offering, a blood sacrifice offered in faith (Hebrews 11:4).   Cain’s offering was rejected (Genesis 4:4-5).   In the spirit of Cain’s example, Jude compares these false teachers in that they despised Jesus’ blood sacrifice and devised their own system of corrupt worship.   It’s possible th

                  Could you imagine Lebron James not practicing his free throws because he knew he couldn’t make all of them?   What about Tom Brady never practicing passing the ball because he knew that some of his passes would be missed?    Those ideas sound facetious, but at times that is the mindset of many Christians and their stance on sin.   If my goal is to be sinless like Christ, and I know that because of my sinful nature that is a goal I can never achieve, then why should I seek to change?   I think Lebron James might answer like this, “I practice my free throws knowing I can’t make them all, but I still want to make the next one. I practice so that I miss less.”   Tom Brady might say “I practice my passes, so that I can get better and make the next one.   I will always make bad throws, but the more I practice, the less bad throws I make”.   John says “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate

                   When I was a teenager, I used to spend my summers with my uncle who was a carpenter.    He would hire me as somewhat of a gopher for him while he was building houses.   I learned many lessons while on those job sites that continue to help me today, like how to properly hold a hammer, how to measure twice and cut once and how to properly take a break at 9.30 and 2.30.   One of the earliest lessons he taught me, was simply how to buy lumber.   I just thought you went to the hardware store, paid for it and loaded it on your truck.   Little did I know how much work went into simply picking our lumber.   He taught me how to hold a piece of wood to uncover it’s crown, then to see if it was crooked or warped.    He would say “Matthew, these people are paying good money for us to build their house.   It is our responsibility to make sure we use their money wisely.   If I wouldn’t use it in my house, I wouldn’t try to place it theirs. You want to make sure you get the best

              Today we have access to an endless knowledge at the click of a mouse, yet that knowledge does us no good if we don’t know how to use it.   Auto maker Henry Ford asked electrical genius Charlie Steinmetz to build the generators for his factory. One day the generators ground to a halt, and the repairmen couldn’t find the problem; So, Ford called Steinmetz, who tinkered with the machines for a few hours and then threw the switch. The generators whirred to life-but Ford got a bill for $10,000 from Steinmetz. Flabbergasted, the rather tightfisted car maker inquired why the bill was so big; Steinmetz’s reply: For tinkering with the generators, $10. For knowing where to tinker, $9,990. Ford paid the bill.                Although Charlie Steinmetz tried, you really can’t place a value on wisdom.   The Word of God offers us all the knowledge that we will ever need, to not only survive this life, but prepare for the next; Yet many of us simply don’t have the wisdom to use it co

                  When I first began presenting lessons, I had a habit of using Webster’s dictionary to define the term or topic that I was wishing to cover.   For instance, if I was going to preach a lesson on the topic of “Lying”, my opening statement would sound something like this: “Webster’s Dictionary defines “Lying” as “marked by or containing untrue statements”.   My reasoning was simple; by defining the terms I was ensuring that everyone knew exactly what I was talking about.   The writer of Hebrews 11 does the same thing.   Hebrews 11 contains various examples of individuals who were able to accomplish great things in their lives and they were able to do so because of their faith.   So, in the very first verse of the Hebrews 11, he wants to make sure that we are all on the same page of what “faith” really is by defining it. “Faith means being sure of the things we hope for. And faith means knowing that something is real even if we do not see it” (Hebrews 11.1- “The Interna

                  As some point all of us have made reservations for something.   Whether it be dinner reservations, hotel reservations or reserving a plane ticket for our vacation.   The purpose of having made a reservation, is to ensure that you have a spot, a table or a seat at a specific time.   The thing with having reservations is that we can cancel them, move them or just simply ignore them. However, there is one reservation that we all have that we cannot ignore, move or cancel.   In fact, this reservation was not made by us, but for us.   It also isn’t necessarily made for a specific time, rather more of a certainty and inevitability.   The writer of Hebrews tells us that this “reservation” or “appointment” is death and whether we like it or not, death is something that that will happen to all of us.   If we dwell on that fact long enough, the thought of the inevitability of it happening can be somewhat depressing.   Especially when none of us know when our allotted appointm

                  Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest basketball player who ever lived.   Yet, even Michael Jordan was cut from his basketball team during his sophomore season of varsity basketball.   Following being cut, he worked even harder at his game and saw that failure as an opportunity to succeed.   Michael once said, “Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.”    I would imagine that Michael worked nearly every day on the fundamentals of the game to improve.   Even as an NBA legend, during his pregame rituals you could find him working on the fundamentals. In Hebrews 2:1 the writer says, “…we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it”.   Could it be that the writer is giving us a warning to make sure we pay close attention to those fundamentals of our faith?   I believe he is; but what are these fundamentals?   If you will notice Hebrews 1 is reminding us of the way that God has communicated with His pe

                                As we live in this world, there a lot of things that are out of our control.   We cannot control what the stock market will do, we can’t dictate the weather, we can’t even control how other people treat us.   When we notice all the things that are beyond our control, it is easy to remember what we can control…ourselves.    As Paul imparts his words of wisdom from the Holy Spirit to Titus he says “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” (Titus 2:7-8) We mustn’t forget that the conditions that Titus was living in were not the most Christian.   Daily he was having to deal with pagans, sexual immorality, mercenaries and liars.   No matter how much work Titus did in Crete, he could not control the conditions that he was living in.   However, he could make a difference in th

  The apostle takes his metaphor from athletics. He advises Timothy that if he is striving to win in his ministry, he will not be crowned unless he disciplines himself to follow the rules. In games (whether cards, croquet in the backyard, basketball, or whatever), we are often confronted with the opportunity to bend or to break the rules. The player must discipline himself or face the penalties and maybe even find himself disqualified. If a player breaks the rules in football, he receives a 5-yard, 10-yard, or 15-yard penalty. In some games, the rule-breaker just gets thrown right out! The athlete, then, must discipline himself. Paul uses this in regard to members of God's church. If we desire to be crowned, we have to strive within the rules. We have to discipline ourselves. In Timothy's case, the rules are scattered throughout Paul's epistle to him. In terms of the Sabbath and the annual feast days, they are the only days in the entire Bible that God des

  In the first chapter of I Timothy, Paul is concerned about sound doctrine. He describes for Timothy (and us) the damaging results when faith is replaced by speculation and when dissension is substituted for love. What could Timothy do in such a situation? He could not remain silent in the face of heresy and could not compromise with it.   He was to stay at his post and fight for the faith. If chapter one is concerned primarily with sound doctrine, chapter two is concerned with instructions of worship, both public and private. In your study of these verses, notice the emphasis on "all men," in 1 Timothy 2:1-7.   Pray "for all men," (1,2). God desires "all men" to be saved (3,4). Jesus gave Himself a ransom "for all," (5,6). Paul was called and appointed an apostle to preach the gospel to “all men” (7). Prayer for all men: "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all

  Paul was compelled to give thanks for the Thessalonians.   The principle reason for his gratitude is that they had been chosen of God.   It was a dual choosing.   God chose them through the invitation of the gospel, and they were among the chosen by accepting God's invitation.   Every Christian is called by the gospel into salvation when he obeys it.                          (2 Thessalonians. 2.14) The Thessalonians had obeyed the gospel and had come into this salvation, causing Paul to rejoice with thanksgiving. They received sanctification when they became Christians and had continued to grow in it.   Nothing delights a preacher more than realizing that those he has converted are becoming more and more devoted to God. Paul praised God that the Thessalonians were set apart to live by the truth.   God seeks a band of people who will honor His Word in the world. The new converts were on their way to heaven, destined to glory.   They would one day obtain and share in th

  Nature will have her due.   Tears will fall, and hearts will seem near breaking.   Nowhere does God rebuke the tears of natural affection.   It is written in Scripture that "Jesus wept."   God sets Himself to extract their bitterness.   Sorrow you may, and must, but not without hope. Those who die in Christ are with Him.   They are said to sleep, not because they are unconscious, but because their death was not filled with terror.   Believers have died once in Christ, and it was necessary to find a word that describes the moment of our leaving this world and our birth into the next.   The catacombs are covered with the brief significant sentence, "He slept in Christ."   Just as in sleep, the spirit is conscious, of which our dreams bear witness.   It is so in the last sleep.   Absent from the body, we shall be present with the Lord. Those who die in Christ will come with Him.   They are now waiting for God to give the final order for the whole heavenly proce

  (Phil 4:6) Our prayers should reflect our gratitude toward God for what He has done in our lives and what He gives to us. Our everyday words and thoughts should reflect a positive mindset of hope and joy in thankfulness toward God for His great plan of salvation and our parts in it. Thankfulness is a form of contentment.   We could view it as peace of mind or tranquility. A truly thankful person is usually not an individual who worries a lot. Being thankful puts our thoughts on God rather than on our problems. In Colossians 3:15 , Paul writes encouragingly, "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts to which also you were called in one body and be thankful." The more we allow God's peace to be in control, the more settled and more thankful we will become. On the flip side, the more thankful we are, the more God's peace will rule our hearts and minds. In our society, many problems like discouragement, depression, anger, and other mental and emotional troub

  These words are a conclusion of Christ's descent from heaven, from his ascension there, for if he had not first descended from heaven, it could not have been said of him that he ascended.   “ No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.” ( John 3:13, ESV)  Paul, along with the whole New Testament church, believed in the preexistence of Christ with God, before the world was, worshipping him as Lord, Saviour, King, Creator of the universe, Sustainer of the universe, or as Paul himself titled him, King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15). When it is declared of Jesus Christ that he ascended, the necessary deduction is imperative: that he also descended! How could a member of the Godhead otherwise ascend? How could the Holy One, with God in the beginning, "the same was God", how could He have ascended without first descending? This verse, far from being a translation, is one of the most eloquent passages in the New Testame

    The definition of “sealed” or to seal up, in this instance, means to close and make fast with a seal, or signet, items such as books, letters, etc., so they would not be read.   It is also used in the sense of setting a mark on anything, or a seal, to denote that it is genuine, authentic, confirmed, or approved, as when a deed, contract, or agreement is sealed.   “Sealed” can also be applied to persons, denoting that they are approved, as in Rev 7:3: “ Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."   Nothing was to be injured until the angel should designate the true servants of God. Those who are sealed have been bought with a great price.   It is wonderful that God thought it worth His while to expend so much on us!   We cannot suppose that He will not make all He can of us!   He will bring His estate under cultivation.   There will be no corner of it that will not yield Him produce.   Our Lord wills eac

  Twice in Galatians Chapter 4, Paul referred to the "elementary principles."   In the first instance, the term refers to the Law that bound the Jews.   The second involves Gentiles, and it has a dual meaning.   The phrase "turn back" associates "elementary principles" with pagan idolatry (which the Gentiles had once practiced) as well as the Law (which they were embracing due to the Judaizers' influence.   Neither of these had the power to save them. The Law served as a necessary tool leading up to the time when Christ would come.   A child needs tangible help to understand abstract ideas.   God used visible images and parables to communicate with Israel when they were in their infancy.   Children today go to "elementary school" to acquire the basic tools of learning.   They must know the alphabet and numbers before they can learn skills in reading and math.   Without these basics, the whole process of education would be impossible.   On

  We sometimes sing a hymn with the line, "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene."   Anyone who comes to know the God-man will truly be amazed.   Jesus shared the Father's glory before the world was, and it was through Him that the worlds were created.   He was made flesh by the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit and a devout young Jewish virgin.   This took place in an insignificant land and in humble circumstances.   Jesus grew up as a worker in His earthly father's carpentry shop.   He then went about teaching an ethic and a wisdom which religionists around the world concede to be superior to all other world religions.   He gave credibility to His teachings by consistently living what He taught.   This made a great impression on those who knew Him best.   His followers testified that He died and rose again.   That testimony continues to grip the hearts and minds of men.   Its power draws people from all over the world into its realm of faith and tr

  Sometimes we hear these words spoken or maybe we have said them ourselves.   Do we really appreciate the depth of the meaning?   Communion signifies being in common.   It is used about our fellowship with one another (1 Cor 10:16) and with God (1 John 1:3).   The bond of such friendship is always through the Holy Spirit. How wonderful it is to have the privilege of divine fellowship.   We need never be alone again, we can turn to Him for advice and direction at any moment, and we can draw on Him to supply every need.   It is impossible to exhaust or even tax His willingness to counsel and comfort us.   God is willing to enter any service or suffering with us.   Surely, if we would give ourselves time to realize this marvelous fact, there would be no room for the despondency which sometimes threaten to deprive us of heart and hope. Of course, we must be very conscious of the holy disposition of our divine Associate.   We cannot ruthlessly grieve Him by our harshness or impurity

  The sentence of death in this scripture does not mean any decree of heaven, or appointment of God that they should die, nor any sentence of death passed on them by the government, but an opinion or persuasion in their own minds.   They looked upon themselves as dead men.   The tribulation was so violent and overwhelming that Paul had no hope of escaping death. Paul means that there was such a violent upsurge of evil against preachers of the faith that death was staring them in the face. He was expecting death, but things had not come to that point. In the natural course of events he should have died, but God did not allow that to happen so that Paul would learn to trust in God and not himself.   Paul's troubles were of such a nature as to take away all expectation of help except from God alone.   God does not refuse His protection to people in extreme danger, especially when they belong to Him. He rescues them when they are in deep despair. Their affliction was so great that th

  During the First Century, miracles were common.   They were performed by Jesus and the Apostles.   There were also others given this power as well.   The power to do the supernatural could be passed from an Apostle to someone else by the laying on of hands.   However, that person could not pass on the gift. The main purpose of miracles was to support the word being taught, not to be used selfishly or for gain.   In Acts 8 we have the account of the conversion of Simon the Sorcerer. He was baptized and then offered Peter money in exchange for the gift of being able to pass on the Holy Spirit.    But Peter said unto him, "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.  Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God."  (Act 8:20-21 KJV). These spiritual gifts were to come to an end.   Paul didn't explain what "perfect" is in 13:10. As a result, the phrase

  When Christians come together on the first day of the week, they are instructed by the Bible to do certain things, commonly referred to as "Acts of Worship."   In 1 Cor 11 Paul centers on the Lord's Supper.   The Corinthian brethren were not observing this act of worship in the correct way.   They had confused the Lord's Supper with a common meal.   The rich would have plenty, but the poor might not have anything. The Lord's Supper is not about taking nourishment to sustain the body, but to nourish the soul.   When Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, He was in the upper room with His disciples.   After they had eaten the Passover Meal, He gave them bread and wine (Luke 22:19-20).   When Jesus broke the bread, He said, "Do this in remembrance of Me."   There are three aspects to the remembering. We are to look BACK to Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.    Believers are bound together as a people by their common confession that Jesus of Nazaret