Tagged: Bible Study

THE JUSTICE OF GOD

“When these things begin to happen, stand up straight and raise your heads, for your ransom is near at hand.”—Luke 21:28 Today’s Scriptures seem gloomy and stark at first reading. But reading them with an eye toward justice helps. “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons. She is a cage for every unclean spirit, a cage for every filthy and disgusting bird” (Rv 18:2). “A powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone and hurled it into the sea and said: ‘Babylon the great city shall be cast down like this,...

PASS WORDS

“I will give you words and a wisdom which none of your adversaries can take exception to or contradict.” –Luke 21:15 Under the most overwhelming circumstances — in the face of death, on trial, betrayed by our families — we will be given a supernatural wisdom. We won’t know what we’re going to say before we say it (Lk 21:14). We’ll be surprised at the words of wisdom and of courage which will come out of our mouths. We’ll even be able to sing God’s praises in the face of destruction (Rv 15:3). We won’t be the only ones surprised...

SPLIT END

“These things you are contemplating – the day will come when not one stone will be left on another, but it will all be torn down.” –Luke 21:6 Jesus predicted the fall of Jerusalem and the end of the world. Matthew, Mark, and Luke put these two predictions together. This is sometimes confusing because we don’t always know whether Jesus was referring to Jerusalem’s fall or the world’s end. However, there are at least two benefits from joining the two predictions. First, since Jesus’ prediction of Jerusalem’s fall was fulfilled in 70 AD just as He said, we have every...

MONEY TALKS

“She from her want has given what she could not afford – every penny she had to live on.” –Luke 21:4 Jesus commended the widow who put two copper coins into the temple treasury because in so doing she gave her whole life. This is the exact translation of Luke 21:4. The widow’s two coins were not just all her money but a true symbol of her whole life. The widow’s offering was a statement concerning her total love for God. People in the world use their money to make the statement that money is important and so are they....

KING OF THE POOR

“Christ must reign until God has put all enemies under His feet.” —1 Corinthians 15:25 Kings traditionally are concerned about pomp and circumstance, military might, taxes, palaces, and monuments. King Jesus is altogether different. When King Jesus “comes in His glory, escorted by all the angels of heaven, He will sit upon His royal throne, and all the nations will be assembled before Him” (Mt 25:31-32). He will judge on behalf of refugees, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned (Mt 25:36). He has no Pentagon, no military budget, and no national debt. He commands: “Owe no debt to anyone...