An end before the End

– Part 3 of a series: Is this the end?   Salvation distress and glory for the Jew first To the Jews were given, ‘the adoption as sons … the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the […]

God’s promise to Abraham and its fulfilment

The Lord God revealed that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15), but His redemption plan only comes into view with the call of Abraham in Genesis 12. Two religions emerge in Genesis 4. The first accepts the consequence of sin, namely death, and depends on the atonement – the […]

Satan bound for a thousand years

The events described in Revelation 20 and their placement in the sequence of end-time events are difficult and controversial.  A messenger comes from heaven and binds Satan for a thousand years. (Most English translations use ‘angel’ where the Hebrew and Greek texts read ‘messenger’.) Who is the messenger? Malachi prophesied:  suddenly the Lord you are seeking will […]

Ishmael and Isaac – born of the flesh, born of the Spirit

If the strife between Arab and Jew began with Ishmael and Isaac, then reconciliation begins there too. Scripture speaks of the brothers’ separation but also mentions their reunion at Abraham’s grave. “And Abraham expired and died in a good old age, old and satisfied. And he was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac […]

The Torah of Messiah

“Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from […]

Binding and loosing

Dies auch in Deutsch erhaeltlich “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). What is meant by this authority to bind and to loose? A failure to understand what […]

The Keys of the Kingdom – Matthew 16 and the church of Rome

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter […]

Present Day Tongues – Is it the same as the gift of tongues manifested in the Apostolic Age?

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build […]

Faith over Works

The identity of the Messiah is usually considered to be the pivotal issue that divides Judaism and Christianity. However, authors Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin suggest that whether or not Jesus was the Messiah is not the most important question: “The major difference between Judaism and Christianity lies in the importance each religion attaches to […]

All Israel will be saved – Understanding Romans 9-11

Introduction  In chapters nine to eleven of his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul deals with the questions: “Did God reject His people? Had God’s promises to Israel failed?” “Yes,” might be a natural, but unenlightened conclusion in view of Paul’s teaching of the first eight chapters – namely that the Gospel is the […]