BE BLESSED!

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A number of prophecies were fulfilled during "Satan's Hour of Darkness" - in this lesson, Isaiah 49:7, 53:3, and First Samuel 8:5, which all predicted Israel's rejection of her King/Messiah, were fulfilled.  Also, the Lord's own prediction in Mark 10:34 and Matthew 27:30 that He would be spat upon by the Gentiles was fulfilled.  Isaiah 50:6b, which Jesus mentioned in Mark 15:19, was fulfilled.  It said that the Messiah would not hide His face from shame and spitting!  

In this third part of our look at "Satan's Hour of Darkness," we look at a four-point outline (some in this lesson and the rest in the lesson to follow - 173b):  (1) The Demand of the Crowd, (2) The Denouncement of a Coward, (3) The Death Sentence of the Christ, and (4) The Depravity of a Cohort.

But during Christ's trials and crucifixion, God no longer hindered the powers of darkness.  The hour had arrived when the serpent would bruise the Saviour's heel (Genesis 3:15).  Satan fully availed himself of his opportunity to persecute, mock, and kill his age-old Enemy (his very Creator), which he did through his human dupes.

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John 19:1-5 SCOURGED.  MOCKED.  EXHIBITED.  HATED.  The horrible atrocities heaped upon the One Who came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost went beyond the bounds of reasonable human understanding.  Where was the divinely inspired, Scripturally-based justice of Israel in the Jews' dealings with Jesus?  Where was the much praised Roman justice when it came to His civil trials?  Why was a bound Prisoner scourged and mocked and condemned to die when "the judge" repeatedly declared His innocence?  Why was the Lord Jesus treated in a way that unparalleled the treatment of any other person in history?  What is the secret of His gross mistreatment and injustice?

The answer is that divine restraint was removed so human depravity was permitted to demonstrate itself in all its deceitful fulness as representatives of both Jews and Gentiles crucified the Son of God Who came to save them.  We are also told by Christ Himself that His unparalleled mistreatment was due to the fact that it was "Satan's Hour of Darkness" (see Luke 22:53).  The "hour" had arrived when the serpent would bruise the Saviour's "heel" (Genesis 3:15).

Learn about this "hour" in both this and the following two lessons.  

In this second half of our study on "The Lamb Before His Shearers" (see Lesson 171a), we do not so much look at the silence of Christ as we did when He stood before His accusers and before Herod Antipas, but we look at the selection of the crowd.  Pilate presented the crowd assembled around the Praetorium with a "Passover Bargain".  They could choose to free one prisoner, and the choice was between Jesus and Barabbas, a robber, murderer, and insurrectionist against Rome.

We also discuss "Mrs. Pilate's Precautionary Dream" - one her husband should have paid great attention to!  Thirdly, we then look at "The Multitude's Providential Choice".  Sadly, they chose to free Barabbas instead of Jesus - but, of course, Jesus was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world!

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Matthew 27:12-14; Mark 15:3-5; Luke 23:5-16

This is the first of a two-part study entitled, "The Lamb Before His Shearers," speaking of the Lord Jesus, the True Lamb of God sent to redeem mankind from our sin, as He appeared before the official representatives of Rome in a three-phased "civil" trial.  After having failed to find a legitimate indictment against Jesus, the Jewish Sanhedrin Council accused Him of blasphemy when He truthfully claimed to be "the Christ, the Son of God".  The condemned Him to die.  However, since the Jews did not have the legal authority to exact the death penalty themselves, they had to turn to Rome (although this didn't stop them a little later when it came to stoning Stephen to death).  They really wanted Jesus crucified because the Old Testament declared any one who hung from a tree to be "cursed"!  They figured this would surely disqualify Him as the Messiah in the eyes of the people.  Little did they know how He literally became the curse of sin for you, me, and for them!

This is the continuation of our study of the Lord's first "civil" trial, which was before Pontius Pilate (see Lesson 170a and our discussion of Pilate's conversation with the prosecutors of Jesus, the Jews).  

In this lesson, we learn why Pilate suspected the Jews' accusations against Jesus to be false (Luke 23:2).  We discuss why Jesus answered Pilate's first question with a question of His own (John 18:33,34).  We see WHO was really the one on trial, and it wasn't Jesus!  We find out what the religious rulers said to Pilate that actually fulfilled the prophecy of Genesis 49:10, proving that Shiloh (Messiah) had come!

We also learn of the "proof" Jesus gave Pilate that His Kingdom was "not of this world" and, thus, no immediate threat to political Rome.  Then, too, we discuss Pilate's famous question (asked sarcastically and rhetorically, not expecting an answer), "What is truth?"  Little did he know - or care to know - that Truth incarnate was standing before Him (John 14:6)!  

The Lord's prediction of Matthew 27:2 that the Jewish leaders of Israel would turn Him over to the Gentiles (Mark 10:33) came to pass.  The Sanhedrin Council and its two corrupt, co-reigning high priests (Annas and Caiaphas) decided it was expedient for them that "one man should die for the people" (John 11:50), so they condemned Him to death and sent Him to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, to execute Him.

There is a great deal of important dialogue to discuss in all that transpired as the Lord's three "civil" trials (they were anything but civil) began.  We only cover part of His first appearance before Pilate in this lesson (Part I), so be sure to also listen to Part II (Lesson 170b)!

To the fantastic news of Christ's identity, the members of the highest court of Israel revealed their "true coIors" in the way they treated their "Prisoner".  It was the highest insult a Jew could give, and they did it to the Son of the Living God!  They began by spitting in His face!  Little did they realize they had just fulfilled a Messianic prophecy - see Isaiah 50:6!  Wow!  No matter what they did, they simply kept reaffirming Who He is! 

In the second half of this lesson (Matthew 26:71-75; Mark 14:69-72; Luke 22:58-62; John 18:25-27), we discuss the fulfillment of a prophecy the Lord Jesus spoke earlier that night, which was that before the cock crew three times, Peter would deny Him three times (Matthew 26:34; Mark 14:3).  Of course, Peter adamantly refuted the prediction, and yet . . .

The Lord Jesus gave a prediction regarding His Second Coming that absolutely shocked everyone listening at His second trial!  He affirmed His Deity, calling Himself the Son of God.  He likewise affirmed His Messiahship, calling Himself the Son of man by associating Himself with two well-known Messianic passages of Scripture (Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13.  His statement was also a prediction of His resurrection, ascension, and return!

In this lesson, we look at the second phase of the Lord's religious trial, which was held before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin Council of Israel in an informal setting shortly before dawn.  Like the "trial" before Annas, the second one before the co-reigning high priest, was totally illegal.  Yet, even though the trial was illegal and the witnesses brought in to testify were false, yet the Council members still could not gain a charge against Jesus!  They came to a deadlock of frustration, which we talk about in the first part of our outline, "The Trial Deadlock".

The rest of this study is presented in Lesson 168b.

The threefold name for this lesson, "Tied, Tried, and Denied," is based on the threefold outline of the events that took place the night of Christ's arrest recorded in the gospel passages listed above.  We look sequentially at these topics:  (1) Jesus being prophetically tied by His enemies, (2) Jesus being tragically denied by Peter (which He had prophesied earlier that night), and (3) Jesus being illegally tried by Annas (the high priest of Israel).

The Holy Spirit's intention in these passages of alternating the reader's focus from the unfair trials of the innocent Lord Jesus to the shameful, sinful denials of Peter is to emphasize the great need for Christ's redemption by ALL men!  

Learn a lot about how absolutely ILLEGAL the trial of Jesus held by Annas, Israel's high priest, was!  It may shock you, but the illegalities continue throughout the night!  Corruption today is not anything new, is it?

The single outstanding feature of Jesus Christ in this third and final garden scene (Gethsemane), where He was betrayed by Judas with a kiss, disappointed by Peter with a sword, arrested by soldiers, and deserted by His disciples, is His GRACE.  In stark contrast, the one thing that stands out about everyone else in the garden is their GUILT.

This is a loaded lesson with lots of details to learn about matters you may have missed before!

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The title for this second lesson on Christ's Gethsemane experience is "The Majesty of the Gethsemane King" because even though that garden on the Mount of Olives was where He was betrayed and arrested, it is also where His divine majesty is displayed in all that took place!  In Gethsemane, we find Jesus as the Victor over and the Designer of the circumstances!  He was not tricked or surprised what happened to Him.  He is the sovereign Son of God Who displayed both His power and authority not only to those who belong to Him (the disciples), but to those who came to arrest Him.

Believe it or not, the Scripture of this lesson reveals the excellencies of the Lord Jesus in a way that few other passages of Scripture do!  

A VERY IMPORTANT STUDY!!

The three aspects of this study on "The Mystery of the Gethsemane Cup" deal with the Gethsemane Mystery, the Gethsemane Agony, and the Gethsemane Victory!   You will learn about "the Apostles' sleep," "the angelic strengthening," and "the agonizing sweat".  The Lord Jesus really won the victory over sin and death for us in Gethsemane.  At the cross of Calvary, He yielded His body, but in the garden of Gethsemane, He yielded His will.

The longest recorded prayer from the Lord Jesus in Scripture is found only in the gospel of John; it is called His "High Priestly Prayer" in that much of it is a prayer of intercession on behalf of those He loves.  It was actually a pre-cross "sneak" preview of Christ's post-cross intercessory work as High Priest of His Church.

In this lesson, we discuss the Lord's requests made to His Heavenly Father on behalf of the Apostles.  He prayed for their unity, for their joy, for their protection, and for their sanctification.

This is the section (verses 20 to 24) of Christ's High Priestly Prayer in which He prayed for all future believers (if you are a believer in Him, this is what Jesus prayed for you)!  What did He pray?  He asked for our witness for Him to be successful on earth and in Heaven; for the world and for His glory.  

In some of the Lord's last words spoken in the presence of His men, the Apostles heard Him pray for yet-unborn people who would believe on Him because of their witness!  He was telling them, through the prayer, that the Gospel would prevail even in the face of the world's hatred and their weaknesses.  In the midst of all their confusion and despair, that must have been a blessed comfort to hear. Facing soon betrayal, arrest, and death, Jesus was not discouraged nor did He sound in any way defeated!  In future vision, He could behold the faces of the millions of people who would swell the ranks of His current little flock!  It was part of the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2)!  I hope that flock includes YOU!

This lesson continues our study of Christ's "High Priestly Prayer" of John 17, which very neatly falls into three outline parts.  First, the Lord prayed for Himself (see Lessons 160a and 160b).  Second,  He prayed for the Apostles.  Third, He lifted up His voice in prayer to His Heavenly Father to pray for all future believers.

We talk about the reasons the Son of God prayed for His men (the Apostles), and there were four of them given.  The specific requests He asked for them are found in Lesson 162a.

In what Warren Wiersbe calls "the Holy of Holies" of the Gospel record (Christ's High Priestly prayer of John chapter 17), the Son of God asked two "petitions" for Himself  We discuss those two important requests in this lesson (continuation of Lesson 160a).  

The seventeenth chapter of the gospel of John is what many great men of God have considered to be "the Holy of Holies" of the Word of God.  In this sacred chapter, the veil before the Most Holy Place is pulled aside and we are allowed to listen to inter-Trinitarian communication.  The Lord Jesus spoke audibly, in the presence of His disciples, to His Heavenly Father after He concluded His "Farewell Discourse" (John 14 to 16).  His special prayer is the longest recorded prayer of the Son of God.

In the first part of His prayer, the Lord Jesus prayed for Himself.  We discuss three aspects of this part of His prayer (see also Lesson 160b): (1) the purpose for His prayer, (2) the posture of His prayer, and (3) the petitions of His prayer.

The eleven disciples to whom Christ spoke the words of this passage from His "Farewell Discourse" were experiencing anything but joy!  They were distressed and sorrowful because He told them He was leaving and despite all the fantastic promises He gave them, they were despondent.  They wanted HIM, not His promises.  However, the many promises He gave them from John 14 to this point DID make a difference in their lives!  All their sorrows DID turn to joy - and it was a joy no one or anything could ever take from them.  

The words Christ spoke that night to His despondent men CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE, too!  YOU, too, can have a joy unspeakable that no one or anything can ever take from you!

In this lesson, we discover what the Lord told His followers about coming joy.  He spoke about transformed joy, which is born out of pain; He spoke of transcendent joy, which is found in prayer, and He discussed triumphant joy, which is the peace of being "in Him"!  

We need Him to discern the Truth; to enlighten us as no other teacher can do!

This is a continuation of the Lord's teaching about the reproving ministry of the Holy Spirit, Who He promised to send to indwell believers of the Church Age.  The Spirit would not only comfort believers, who would great need comforting as the face a hostile world, but He would convict/convince the lost through the Gospel message proclaimed by the Church.  His reproving ministry involves convicting people that there is indeed a problem with the human condition, and it is called sin.   But, He not only convicts people of their unholiness, He also shows them how the righteousness of Christ is freely available for them!  When a person put his or her faith in Jesus Christ, His righteousness is imputed to them!  "God made Him Who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (II Corinthians 5:21)!  It is A WONDERFUL EXCHANGE - we trade our sin for His righteousness!  

A third reproving aspect of the Spirit's ministry is to convince men of judgment.  He works to convince me of the great sin of rejecting the One Way to obtain forgiveness and receive righteousness, which is by faith in Christ.  True preaching, teaching, and witnessing will never condone sin, it will always exalt the righteousness of Christ, and it will forewarn of the inevitability of eternal judgment.

The Lord's greatest gift-promise to His men given during the course of His "Farewell Discourse" (the night of His arrest) was to send them the Holy Spirit.  In Lesson 157, we discuss the Spirit's role to the Church as Comforter.  However, the Spirit's ministry after Christ's ascension was not merely to comfort believers as they passed through the world; He was also sent in mercy by the Lord to convict the world so many people come come to saving faith in Christ.  The Spirit not only has a defensive ministry for believers, but He has an offensive (meaning aggressive) ministry to the world!  He was sent to convict the lost; to awaken a person's conscience to three basic truths: (1) the actuality of sin, (2) the availability of righteousness, and (3) the inevitability of judgment.

There is much confusion today in this world about the third Member of the Triune Godhead, so the lessons on the Holy Spirit, given to His disciples on the night of His arrest as part of His "Farewell Discourse," are critical for our proper understanding the ministry and the function (role) of the Spirit.

In the previous lesson (#156), the Lord's subject dealt with the hateful opposition of the world toward the Church (Christians).  His next subject  was "The Ministries of the Holy Spirit" both to and through the Church in the world.

Christ spoke of three particular functions (roles) of the Spirit: as Comforter (this lesson), as Reprover, and as Teacher.   This lesson is about His role, to the Church, as Comforter - a very important role for believers today as we face increasing persecution worldwide!

Continuing with the Lord's "Farewell Discourse," addressed to His disciples, first in the Upper Room and then on their way to Gethsemane, we find that after speaking about "The Love of the Lord" (Lesson #155), He then talked about the world's hostility toward Him and His people. 

The transition from this lesson to the previous one is a natural one.  Jesus had just finished telling His men that He would no longer call them "servants," but "friends".  He then furnished them with three proofs of His love for them.  Now (in this section of His sermon), He forewarned them of the enemies' hatred; since they were His friends, they could expect to encounter the same hatred He encountered (and was about to encounter, beginning that very night)!

The Lord does not want His followers to be naïve about our opposition.  He does not want our spirits quenched by the evil we encounter as we proclaim Him to the world.  So, He told us ahead of time (through His words to the disciples), of the hatred we can expect from the world because of our identity with Him.

Many exciting prophetic picture-types of the Gospel throughout the Old Testament are presented - some of which may even surprise the seasoned Bible student.

Discussed in this study are not only New Testament descriptions of "the last days" (which we are clearly in), but some very important "end times" Old Testament prophecies. These include the prophetic vision of Ezekiel's "Valley of Dry Bones" ... which is already partially fulfilled ... and his divinely inspired description of the yet-future "War of Gog and Magog" (the geopolitical alignment of the nations involved in this battle exist today for the first time in 2600 years)!

We also summarize what many consider the greatest prophecy in support of the Identity of Jesus, the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world: Daniel's God-given "Seventy Weeks' Prophecy"! Not only did it predict the very day of His official presentation of Himself as Messiah to Israel, but this prophecy fully supports a Pre-Tribulation Rapture of Christ's Bride, the Church. Furthermore, it clearly teaches (as does "The Valley of Dry Bones Prophecy") that God has not replaced Israel with the Church! He will fully keep all His covenant promises with her! Romans 11:26!

God has placed blinking neon signs everywhere to warn the world He is coming soon! DO NOT be like Israel at the time of Christ's First Coming, when she MISSED THE DAY OF HER VISITATION!  Receive Him today as your sin-Substitute Savior, for He is LORD, and the Bible clearly proves that truth from Genesis to Revelation.

The Lord moved away from His analogy of the Vine and its branches (15:1-8) and focused on love and friendship as He spoke to His men on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He would be betrayed and arrested (and knew it).  In this study entitled "The Love of the Lord," we discuss (1) The Depth of Christ's Love (15:9), (2) The Demands of Christ's Love (15:10), (3) The Delights of Christ's Love (15:11, 12), (4) The Demonstration of Christ's Love (15:13-16), and (5) The Duplication of Christ's Love (15:17).

Learn about having joy within and peace without!  Learn of His Self-sacrifice, His special friendship, and His sovereign selection.

As the Lord and His men were on their way from the Upper Room to the Garden of Gethsemane on the final night before Jesus' death on the Passover, He used the analogy of a vine and its branches to compare His relationship with believers.  In the first part of this two-part study on this beautiful metaphor, we considered "The Vine and its Background" and "The Vine and its Branches," where we learned that Christ is the Vine, God the Father is the Vinedresser (Husbandman), and true believers are the fruitful branches.  In this study, we look at "The Vine and its Bountifulness" (15:4-8).  VERY IMPORTANT discussion on abiding in the Vine and abounding for the Vine!

Did you know that every true believer bears fruit?  What about the thief on the cross?  He died shortly after he was saved by trusting in Jesus as Lord!  He had no time to bear fruit - or did he?  Find out!

After the Lord finished comforting His disciples with His words of John chapter 14, it was time to leave the Upper Room to make His way to Gethsemane, where He knew Judas would lead His enemies to arrest Him.  His instruction to His men as they made their way to that garden began with an analogy regarding a vine and its branches, which is the subject of this two-part study on John 15:1-8.  In this first lesson, we will discuss "The Vine and its Background" (verse 1) and "The Vine and its Branches" (verses 2 and 3).

The Lord Jesus declared Himself to be the Vine of His analogy with His seventh "I AM" statement.  He said, "I am the True Vine" (15:1).  His Father is the Vinedresser, and believers in Christ are the "branches" who both abide in and abound for the True Vine. 

THERE IS A LOT OF DEEP INFORMATION in this analogy!  Does verse 2a mean that Christians can lose their salvation?  Are the fruitless branches "professing only Christians" (in name only)?  Do the discarded branches represent the Christian's works?  What about the role of the husbandman (the vinedresser) and the very important pruning process of the Christian?  All these questions are discussed - and many others.

In the first part of this lesson, "The Promised Peace," the Lord Jesus answered yet another question from one of His men during His "Farewell Discourse" to them.  Peter had asked Him where He was going and why he could not immediately follow Him there (John 13:36, 37).  Thomas wanted to know the way to get wherever Jesus was going (14:5), and Philip made the request to get a glimpse of the Father (14:8).  Now, Thaddaeus wanted to know how Jesus could manifest Himself to them and not to the world (14:22).  We discuss Christ's answer as to how He manifests Himself only to those who love Him.

In the second part of this lesson, the Lord continued giving His men comforting promises to ease the pain of His announcement about His upcoming death and departure from them (after His resurrection).  Six of those promises were covered in Lessons #149-151.  The remaining two are discussed in this lesson: "The Promise of Assured Perpetuation" (the promise of the believer's undying life) and "The Promise of Astonishing Position" (the union believers have with the Holy Trinity, and Christ's special manifestation of Himself to them).

The Lord's promises related to the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell believers after His departure. The promises are about another Paraclete (One Who comes alongside), His abiding presence, an assured perpetuation, and an astonishing position.  Listen to learn of these four wonderful promises for believers in Christ!!!

Jesus told Philip that to know Him is to know the Father; to see Him is to "see" the Father; that He is "in the Father" and the Father is in Him; that when He speaks, it is the Father speaking; and that when He does works, it is the Father in Him doing the works!  He also talked about those who believe in Him doing even "greater works" than His works when He ascended back to His Father.  There is a lot of rich "meat" in this passage of Scripture - including the Lord's promise of answered prayer for believers who ask "in His name" (7:14). What exactly does that mean??  

Sub-titled, "The Heavenly Highway Proclaimed".  This message is about the well-known words of immense comfort from the Lord Jesus on a night when He should have been receiving words of comfort from His men, for He told them He was going to be betrayed and killed.  Instead, He was selflessly concerned for them and how they were going to need to remember the things He was telling them to strengthen their faith for all that lay ahead for them in the days, weeks, and years to follow.  These words have helped millions of Christians go through all manner of troublesome times.  They are words of truth about our sure future with the One Who is even now preparing dwelling places for all who belong to Him, where we will enjoy fellowship with Him forever.

The great, comforting words of Christ in John 14:1-6 have brought immense comfort to Christians in times of trouble and bereavement throughout the Church Age.  We study them in detail in this two-part study (see also Lesson 149b), for they are worth knowing to the depth of our souls.  If you are anxious about living in these troublesome times, take these verses and hide them in your heart!  They will help you remember the fact that Christ Jesus is in complete control of every aspect of your life.  He cares for you from head to toe.  He will never leave you nor forsake you even though you can't see Him!  

After Judas was dismissed from the Upper Room, Jesus immediately spoke of the glory He and His Father would receive because of the cross.  For the first time, He called His disciples "little children," and told them He was going to leave them and where He was going they could not come.  Following a question from Peter, who was perplexed about something Christ said, Jesus gave some shocking "Predictions Regarding the Disciples' Deeds".  Those predictions include His separation from them, Satan's sifting, the sheep scattering, and Simon's (Peter's) shame (he would deny Christ three times before the cock crow in the morning).  In the second part of this lesson, we discuss "Predictions Regarding the Disciples' Needs".

The Lord Jesus gave Judas every opportunity to repent and turn from the wicked path he was taking, but He could no longer postpone the inevitable.  There were critical truths to share with His disciples that could not be said while a "tare" was among them, and as long as Satan himself hovered about in the room.  This lesson, "And it was Night" is about the deliberate steps Christ took to expel Judas from His presence.  Jesus was about to transition the Passover Supper into "The Lord's Supper," which was to become an ordinance for His future Church to be observed only by believers.  Thus, Judas (unless he repented) needed to be released so the events that led the cross would begin to transpire.

In this lesson, "The Giving of the Sop," we  discuss Judas and the Devil; Judas and the Disciples, and Judas and the Darkness.

We also discuss Christ's "new" commandment of John 13:34.

In this lesson, "Traitor at the Table," we continue to look at the circumstances surrounding the events that occurred early during the Lord's final Passover Supper.  Jesus had just given His men a demonstration on humility when He girded Himself in a towel and washed their feet.  Following His return to the table, He then gave them a discourse on humility in which He spoke of "The Requirement of Humility" and "The Reward of Happiness".  

During the course of our narrative, we branch off to talk about the 3 requirements for something to be a valid, Biblical ordinance of the Church (such as baptism and communion).

In the second half of this lesson, "A Shocking Report," Jesus told His men that His betrayer was one of them!  Each of the 3 subdivisions of this section center on Judas Iscariot: "Revelation about the Betrayer," "Response Regarding the Betrayer," and Christ's very serious "Remonstration to the Betrayer".  An unholy man was used by Holy God to accomplish His holy purposes for an unholy world!

This lesson, "Teaching in a Towel," is about an embarrassing lesson the disciples again had to learn "the hard way".  Jesus girded Himself in a servant's towel to do what none of them had done when they entered the Upper Room to celebrate the Passover Supper together.  He washed the disciples' feet, giving them a lesson by example on humility - one they would never forget, we can be sure!

The outline for this lesson consists of 3 divisions: "Selfish Contention," "Selfless Condescension," and "Simon's Contradiction".

In an atmosphere of selfish strife among His chosen few,

The King of kings took off His robe to teach them something true.

With a towel His humble clothing (as swaddling strips had been),

The Lord of Glory, Son of God, washed the feet of sinful men.

Such willful condescension, the world can't understand,

Nor can it grasp the Love that let coarse nails pierce His hand!

                                       K. Caldwell

In addition to discussing the final recorded event of Passion Week Tuesday ("the busy day"), which we have entitled "Rulers Purchase the Passover" (from Judas, the betrayer), we also discuss the events of the next day, which we have entitled, "Disciples Prepare for the Passover Supper".  It was going to be the Lord's last full, pre-resurrection day with His men, and He had much more to say to prepare them not only for the next few very critical days, but for their future ministry to the world, as well.

We discuss why the dramatic change in the Apostles from adamant disbelief and despair to absolute conviction to the point of martyrdom is a very strong proof of His resurrection!  How many post-resurrection appearances did Christ make (that are at least recorded in Scripture)? To whom did He make them?  

Also included is our discussion on the divinely inspired account of one of the most emotionally charged scenes in Scripture - where Mary Magdalene finally . . . on her third trip to the tomb . . . comes to believe in the resurrection of Christ.  A beautiful poem (by Katherine Caldwell) about Mary's experience is shared at the end of this lesson and it may bring you to tears.

This passionate one-hour study is on the many and often confusing events and circumstances concerning the Sunday when Jesus Christ rose bodily from His tomb three days and three nights after His death - just as He had predicted and promised on at least seven Biblically recorded occasions! 

You will hear nuggets of truth you very likely never thought of before - comparisons with things concerning Christ's birth and His death; with Josephs and Marys and the Magi and the rich gifts lavished on Jesus at the time of His death. What would be the value in today's economy of the aloes and myrrh lavished on Jesus for His burial? Who was Joseph of Arimathea? How did he unknowingly fulfill prophecy? What was the "Valley of Corpses"?

In this lesson, we discuss many proofs of Christ's resurrection that were providentially provided by God and, ironically, by the Lord's greatest enemies! What does the Scripture actually tell us about those mysterious grave clothes and rolled-up head napkin  in the tomb?!

How many Roman soldiers would have stood guard at the tomb? How was the tomb sealed? What was the punishment for falling asleep on duty for a Roman soldier? What would be the value in today's economy of the aloes and myrrh lavished on Jesus for His burial? 

What is illogical about the "Theft Theory" or the "Wrong Tomb Theory" or the "Swoon Theory" or the "Telepathy Theory"? These are all ideas invented by Bible skeptics in their futile efforts to discredit the Lord's literal, bodily resurrection, but none of them work at all - find out why!  Much more . . . so "tune in"!!

It was nearing the end of the busiest record day of Christ's ministry, Tuesday of the Passion Week.  After finishing His "Olivet Discourse" (Matthew 24, 25), the Lord specifically told His disciples that, "after two days" it would be the Passover and He would be betrayed and crucified.  This is what is discussed in the first part of this lesson, "The Prediction of Death by Jesus".  We then move to talk about "The Plan for Death by the Rulers".  Ironically, their plan to kill Jesus very specifically stressed the importance of NOT taking His life on the Passover!  However, Christ was the One in control, not them.  He was born to be the once-for-all Passover Lamb, and He would give His life on Passover, exactly at the time the lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple (3:00 p.m.)!

Finally, after returning to Bethany to spend Tuesday night with His dear friends, Martha, Mary, and the recently raised-from-the-dead Lazarus, we discuss "The Preparation for Death by Mary"!  As we do so, we will look at Mary's Worship Expressed and Mary's Worship Examined (first, by Judas; second, by Jesus).

THIS IS A BLESSED STUDY!

The Passover celebration has a distinct "order" to it; the Hebrew word for "order' is "seder".  In this lesson, we proceed through "The Passover Seder" and explain the historical reasons for the various items on the Seder Plate (i.e. matzo, bitter herbs, a roasted shank bone of a lamb, charoseth paste, an egg), what each of four cups of wine symbolize, why there are pillows on the chairs around the table, and an empty chair and place setting, etc.

But the Passover is so much more than a memorial celebration of Israel's physical deliverance from bondage in Egypt.  It is an absolutely INCREDIBLE typological prophecy of Christ and the spiritual deliverance from mankind's bondage to sin.  If you have never experienced a Seder from the Messianic perspective, you are in for "an eye-opener"!  The unity plate with its three wafers of unleavened bread - the middle one of which is BROKEN and WRAPPED IN A WHITE LINEN NAPKIN, HIDDEN from view, and then FOUND amidst great rejoicing and reward for the finder - amazingly pictures Christ's death, burial, and resurrection! 

In fact, the Jews call that broken, wrapped, hidden, and then rejoicefully-found piece of unleavened matzo, the "Afikomen" (a mysterious Greek word in an otherwise Hebrew Seder).  Non-Messianic Jews use this term, but do not realize its significance!  Find out what the word "Afikomen" means in this study!  Share this message with Jewish friends and pray they realize their Messiah has already come!!

"The Parable of the Sheep and Goats" is about the divine judgment on Gentiles living at the time of Christ's Second Coming!  It is a determination as to who among them will enter the Millennial Kingdom (sheep) and who will not (goats); it has to do with how they treated Israel!  Do you have any idea how many use this parable to refer to how people today treat the "down and trodden"?  Yes, we are to have compassion for and demonstrate love to "the least of these" among us, but that is not the contextual teaching of this parable.

In conclusion, we discuss the manner in which the Lord transitioned the Jewish Passover into the Christian ordinance of "The Lord's Supper".  He explained what the unleavened bread pictured for all those years since Egypt when He took a piece of the matzo, broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me," and when He picked up the cup and said, "This cup is the New Testament in My blood: this do ye, as oft ye drink it, in remembrance of Me" (I Corin. 11:24, 25).

This is the first in a two-part study on how the Lord Jesus, on the last night of His pre-resurrection time spent with His Apostles, transitioned the Passover "Seder" memorial celebration into what Christians refer to as "The Lord's Supper".  In this first message, we discuss the original Egyptian Passover, which led to Israel's deliverance from her bondage, and the Permanent Passover Memorial (which God command Israel to annually celebrate so each succeeding generation would not forget what He had done for His people in delivering them from bondage in Egypt.  We talk about the spiritual significance of the Passover lamb, the bitter herbs, and the unleavened bread.  We also look at the Passion Week Passover (how it was celebrated by Christ and His men), seeing how events like His washing of the disciples' feet, John's question of John 13:25, and the handing of the sop to Judas all fit so perfectly into the sequence of the Passover service.

Charles Spurgeon said, "The Jewish Passover was made to melt into the Lord's Supper, as the stars of the morning dissolve into the light of the sun".  If Christians, who regularly participate in the ordinance of "The Lord's Supper" (aka "Communion") want to understand all that it signifies, they must see and understand it in the light of the Jewish Passover! Why? Because it was in the Jewish Passover "framework" that Christ instituted His Supper.

Included in this discussion is an informative look at the Jewish wedding customs of Christ's day.  It is imperative to understand the three phases of the Jewish marriage to rightly interpret this parable (it also gives further proof for a pre-Tribulation Rapture).  

Lots of great truths to learn, so click the "play" button!

Also discussed are the Lord's "Flood Admonishment" (as in the days of Noah so shall also the coming of the Son of man be), His "Thief Admonishment" (Matthew 24:43, 44), and His "Evil Servant Admonishment" (24:45-51).  These are important "warnings" that must be rightly interpreted.  Something to continually remember is the Church is not in "The Olivet Discourse".

This lesson is about one of the 21 times the Lord predicted His Return.  In addition to predicting the blasphemous abomination of desolation (lesson 136), He gave a sign that will immediately precede His Return - a great decrease in light from the celestial luminary bodies.  At almost the same instant as that decrease in light, "the sign of the Son of man" will appear in the sky!    Find out from this study what that final sign  might be!

In Matthew 24:15, Christ gave the specific sign that would divide the two halves of the Tribulation Period.  It is the sign that should warn Jews living in Israel, as well as Tribulation saints, that massive persecution (by the Antichrist) is about to begin.

Find out about an historical "abomination of desolation" (Antiochus Epiphanes), which served as a prophetic preview of the even greater "abomination of desolation" the Antichrist will perform as he breaks his "covenant" with Israel (her covenant with death).  

In this lesson, the Lord presented 5 features that will characterize this time period.  The first 3 are negative; the last 2 are positive.  The negative characteristics are: (1) great persecution of the saints, (2) false prophets, and (3) the proliferation of sin. 

The two positive features that will take place in the final half of the Tribulation are: (4) the promise of "salvation" for the one who endures to the end (NOT in reference to spiritual, bt to physical salvation, and (5) the proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom (find out why Matthew 24:14 does not mean the Gospel must be spread to the entire world before Jesus can return for His Church).   What is "the Gospel of the Kingdom" that will be "preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations" in the final years before Christ's Return?  Answer is found in this study.

The four "sign-events" of "The Olivet Discourse" are described by the Apostle John in Revelation 6:1-8 as the first four seal judgments, pictured by four different colored horses with ominous riders upon them, famously referred to as "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse".  Although the Church does not look for these four frightening figures, yet it seems we can hear their thundering hoofbeats off in the distance.  Be sure you are right with the Lord TODAY!

The Olivet Discourse is Christ's panoramic account of the end-times' events to occur on earth before He returns to establish His earthly Kingdom.  In Matthew 24:4-8, He prophesied of the types of events (signs) that will take place during the first half of the Tribulation (also called "the beginning of sorrows").  In Matthew 24:9-14, He went on to predict the events that will occur in the second half of the Tribulation (called "the Great Tribulation").  In Matthew 24:15-31, He had  further words of prophecy about specific signs of the end-times.  There is more, but we will discuss it when get to lessons 8 to 10.

Describing the first half of the Tribulation, the Lord gave four specific types of "sorrows" those living at that time will experience.  The first is that there will be a great increase in spiritual deception!  Included in this lesson is a review of some of the 23 major false messiahs who have attempted to deceive Israel and the world into believing in them since the time of the true Messiah, Jesus Christ!  It is very interesting!!

The disciples had no idea of the coming destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70 by the Romans, much less  that it would be a "mini-picture" of an even worse, end-times' desolation of the rebuilt Temple by the Antichrist to occur shortly before the return of Christ at His Second Coming.  

In this lesson, we present the four interpretation views of this sermon (and the Book of Revelation), with seven valid reasons why this discourse (and Revelation) must refer to yet-future "end-times' events" and cannot solely apply to either the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem or to events that have already taken place during the Church Age.  This view is referred to as pre-millennialism.  If you have no earthly idea what the differences are between amillennialism, post-millennialism, and pre-millennialism, this study makes it very simple to understand.  Remember:  it is very important to know why you believe what you believe and not just trust others to tell you what to believe!  Examine the Scripture itself, for it is its own Interpreter!

The Lord's response to those two important questions launched Him into presenting what is called "The Olivet Discourse," the greatest prophetic sermon by the greatest Prophet who ever lived - and the One Who truly knows the events that will preceed His Second Coming.

It is often said, rightly so, that "The Olivet Discourse" is like a "jet tour" through the Book of Revelation from chapters 6 to 19.  It is very important to listen to this introductory lesson before continuing with Lessons 2 to 10.  It is critical to understand the two questions asked by the disciples from their JEWISH perspective.  

Do angels really have wings? Why are the fallen angels unredeemable? Why did God allow Lucifer to rebel against Him to begin with? How many archangels are there? Why are angels called a "host," and not a "race". Have angels ever appeared in female form?  What is the only place in Scripture where seraphim are mentioned? How are the cherubim described in Scripture (it certainly is not as chubby little toddlers with wings, holding a bow and arrow or a little harp)? Do we have such a thing as a "guardian angel"?  Why are angels also called "watchers" - who and what are they watching? Do people become angels when they die? 

THESE and many other interesting biblical truths about God's holy angels are discussed in this lesson that also talks about what the angels learn from us ... and what we can learn from them!!

On a very busy and very trying day for the Lord Jesus - Tuesday of the Passion Week, we have the record of an encounter that must have been like a refreshing oasis in the midst of a spiritually dry desert for Him.  A true worshipper entered the scene (He was in the Temple Court known as "The Court of the Women" in which was located the Temple treasury "alms boxes).  This person was a widow and her genuine love, humility, and devotion to the things of God served as a striking contrast to the hypocrisy and pride and false devotion of Israel's false shepherds, who had become a tremendous source of anguish to the Lord's heart.

This widow has become one of the best known female characters in the New Testament.  Actually, she represents all the unnamed and unnoticed saints of God who give sacrificially of both their time and finances for His name's sake.  She represents those who, because they truly love the Lord, obey Him by serving and giving unselfishly.

Matthew chapter 23 contains the last words the Lord Jesus ever spoke in the confines of the Temple walls.  They were the harshest words He ever spoke and, not surprisingly, they were directed at the false leaders of Israel who held themselves out to be God's servants when in reality they were deceivers, hypocrites, liars, murderers, and the children of Satan himself.

The words Christ spoke in His eleventh recorded sermon are often referred to corporately as "The Denunciation Discourse" or "The Woe Discourse" - because He pronounced seven "woe judgments" on Israel's religious leadership.  By way of those pronounced "woes," He was giving seven reasons for the judgment soon to fall on Israel.  Her judgment came because the false Pharisaic system of Judaism led the nation to reject her long-awaited Messiah and Saviour!

The Lord Jesus called the nation's leaders hypocrites for: (1) Shutting-up the Kingdom of Heaven, (2)  Stealing from Widows, (3) Sending Men to Hell, (4) Swearing for Gain, (5) Straining at Gnats, (6) Scrubbing the Eternals, and (7) Slaying the Righteous.

As our chronological study of Christ's earthly life continues with the events and sermons of Tuesday of the Passion Week, we come with this lesson and the one to follow (Lesson 129) to His eleventh recorded sermon, "The Denunciation Discourse".  Before actually getting to that discourse, the Lord Jesus addressed the multitude assembled around Him, as well as His faithful disciples (scribes and Pharisees were within hearing distance).  He spoke serious words of warning about the false religious leaders of His day.

There is nothing more directly opposed to the true Gospel than the false teachings of prideful, self-deceived men and women who disguise themselves under the cloak of religion!  It is very interesting to learn that the Lord's first public sermon and His last public sermon consist almost entirely of warnings regarding false spiritual teachers!

The third of a trilogy of "loaded" questions asked of Jesus on Tuesday of the Passion Week came from a lawyer (a "scribe" - Mark 12:28).  It was not a political or doctrinal question, but a theological one; it had to do with the greatest commandment in the Old Testament Law.

After supplying the lawyer with the perfect answer, the Lord Jesus asked the man a question of His own (as He often did).  His question dealt with the most important personal issue facing every person, past, present, and future!  It was essentially, "Who is Christ?  Whose Son is He?  Is He merely the son of a man, or is He the very Son of God?"  

The Lord Himself supplied the answer to His own question, and it was a very LOADED answer!  As He always did, He used the Word of God as both His final authority and His proof text.  Learn how Christ used Psalm 110:1 to prove that the Messiah (Himself) is also Adonai (Lord God)!  THIS IS AN IMPORTANT APOLOGETIC TOOL FOR PROVING CHRIST'S DEITY!

Following the completely failed attempt by some Pharisees to ensnare Jesus with two politically loaded questions - due to the profound wisdom of His responses, another group of men quickly took over where the Pharisees left off.  This second group consisted of Sadducees, and they also had a "loaded" question which they were sure would put Jesus in a "no win" situation however He answered it.  How wrong they were!  Their question was doctrinally loaded and was intentionally created to make the doctrine of resurrection (which they did NOT believe) look ridiculous.

The Lord's answer to their sarcastic and jesting question about a woman who had seven husbands - and whose wife would she be in the resurrection is absolutely INCREDIBLE!!  Everyone who heard it was astonished at His teaching.  In fact, after He spoke, we read these words about His enemies in Luke 20:40, " . . . they durst not ask Him any question at all".   

It was Tuesday of the Lord's Passion Week.  Following His series of three judgment parables (see Lessons 124 and 125), the religious rulers of Israel confronted Jesus with what we are calling three "loaded" questions.  They were "loaded" in that they were purposely and maliciously designed to trap Him into condemning Himself by His responses.  Little did those rulers realize how their "loaded" questions were actually fulfilled the divine purpose of examining the Passover Lamb!

As we look at these questions - in this lesson it is a politically loaded question asked by some Pharisees - and the Lord's amazing answers to them, we will see even His worst enemies could find NO FAULT in Him!!  He was the SPOTLESS Lamb of God, Whose death and shed blood would totally satisfy the Father as the righteous payment for the sins of the world!

In this lesson, we discuss "The Lord's Answer" to a question that a delegation of religious rulers posed to Him in Matthew 21:23 regarding His authority to present Himself to Israel as her Messiah and to cleanse the Temple of the religious "robbers" who had made it their "den" of iniquity.  

Christ's answer challenged His enemies' four-fold rejection: (1) their rejection of John the Baptist and his authority, (2) their rejection of God the Father (which He taught via His "Parable of the Two Sons"), (3) their rejection of God the Son (which He taught by way of His "Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers") and (4) their rejection of God the Holy Spirit.  It is this fourth subject to which we come in this lesson.  Again, the Lord spoke by way of a parable: "The Parable of the Wedding Banquet for the King's Son".

While Jesus knew the religious rulers were insincere in their request to know the truth about His authority, He never failed to give an honest answer.  Furthermore, there were others in the crowd (as well as future readers of the written record of this time) who needed to hear His answer.  So, rather than evading the matter of His authority (to claim Messiahship and rightfully cleanse the Temple), He proceeded to tell three parables that effectively supplied the information requested - but in such a way that they (the rulers) could not stone Him!  The first two of those parables are discussed in this lesson.  They are: "The Parable of the Two Sons" and "The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers".

In this first of two-part lesson entitled "Judgment for Rejection," we discuss the events that occurred on Tuesday of the Lord's last pre-resurrection week on earth.  The day began with "The Disciples' Amazement" over the fact that the fruitless fig tree Jesus cursed the previous day (Monday morning) was already dead and completely withered.  In response to their surprise, He told them about having faith to be "mountain movers" (speaking spiritually).  

When they arrived at the Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus and His men were immediately met by a delegation of chief priests, elders, and scribes who demanded to know by what authority He had not only proclaimed Himself Messiah by His act of riding into the city on the colt of an ass on Sunday (fulfillment of Messianic prophecy), but had then - on Monday - single-handedly (for a second time) cleansed the Temple.  In doing so, He had also accused them as being "thieves" (Matthew 21:13).  This an more is discussed in the second outline division of this lesson, which is entitled, "The Ruler's Antagonism".

With this lesson we conclude our two-part study on John 12:20-50, an important passage of God's Word that contains "The Lord's Last Public Appeal" to the people of Israel of His day.  After this, we find Jesus concentrating almost entirely on teaching His twelve Apostles.  In this first part of this study (Lesson 122), we learned of some "seeking Greeks" who had desired to see Jesus.  To their request, the Lord gave a reply that contained two prophetic forecasts of His upcoming death by crucifixion, as well as a beautiful prayer of submission to His Father's will.

Following His last public appeal to the Jewish people in John 12:22-36, John wrote some verses to summarize the Lord's 3 1/2 years of ministry to Israel.  He wrote, first, of "The Reasons for Jewish Disbelief" and then he gave a "Recapitulation of Jesus' Discourses" - and these subjects are what this lesson is about.

In this lesson and Lesson 123, we learn of Christ's last public words of testimony regarding Himself and His offer of eternal life.  The three outline divisions for this lesson are entitled, "Visit of Greeks," "Voice of God," and "Vacating of Grace.

Interestingly, the desire of the Greeks to see Jesus was prophetic of all that would occur during the 2,000+ years of the Church Age!  Unlike the Jews, who wanted to see "a sign," the Greeks (who picture all Gentiles) wanted to see Jesus!  

Early on Monday of the Lord's Passion Week, He engaged in two very uncharacteristic acts:  He cursed a fruitless tree and cleansed a filthy Temple!  Both events symbolically revealed the hypocrisy and spiritual lifelessness of Israel!

Then there was the Pharisaical crowd; those religious rulers who were so stirred by jealousy and self-righteous indignation that they rebuked Jesus for allowing young children to hail Him as "the Son of David," a clear reference to the Messiah.  We cannot but wonder if there was anyone present that day who was stirred to the core of his soul because he realized it was the very day prophesied in Daniel's Seventy Weeks' Prophecy for "Messiah the Prince" to make His official presentation to Israel!!   

This study is found in our "Caldwell Commentary" series - Life of Christ Vol. 5 (available from www.scripturetruth.com).

Most people are familiar with the basics of Palm Sunday (i.e., Jesus on a young colt, multitudes waving palm branches, crying out, "Hosanna" to the King), but few understand the significance of the prophetic fulfillments that occurred that day.  Did you know the Jews could have known to the very day when Messiah the Prince would officially present Himself to Israel (in Jerusalem) if they had done their homework with the amazing "Seventy Weeks' Prophecy" in Daniel 9:24-27 (listen to our podcast messages on "Daniel's Great 70 Weeks' Prophecy")?

Find out why Jesus wept over Jerusalem as He looked at the city from the Mount of Olives before entering on the colt of an ass (fulfillment of another prophecy).  It will utterly amaze you and make you weep with Him for His people and for everyone else who fails to understand the importance of Old Testament prophecy that verifies WHO JESUS IS! 

Instead of looking for a Messiah/Deliverer Who was a political answer to their physical bondage to Rome, the people of Israel would have been looking for a spiritual answer to their bondage to sin.  The Lord knew the people were expecting Him to march into Jerusalem (He was on His way to celebrate His final Passover there) and use His miraculous powers to defeat the Romans and take over the city and nation.  As He was getting ready to depart Jericho and embark on the 6-hour walk to the Holy City He again attempted to prepare His disciples for what was ahead, and He did so by another parable, "The Parable of the Pounds".  It taught them the nature of the position He was about to take up and the position they, His servants, must soon fill.  He would be departing; they would be left behind to carry on His business in His absence.  He would return one day to set up the promised Messianic Kingdom, but until then there was much to be done through His people.  He wanted them to think of their present responsibilities instead of wasting time basking in thoughts of personal glory in the future.

The outline for this lesson is: "The Departure of the King," "The Dut of the Servants," "The Disdain of the Citizens," and "The Day of the Return".  We talk a lot about the difference between saving faith and saying-only faith.

On His way to offer His life a ransom for many, the ever-Selfless Lord Jesus (the Good Shepherd), continually took the time to demonstrate His concern and compassion to those in need of His mercy and grace.  In the previous lesson (117), He extended His helping hand to a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, who He met and healed outside the city of Jericho.  In this lesson, He extended His gracious mercy to a tax collector ("a wee little man") named Zacchaeus inside the city of Jericho. 

The story of Zacchaeus is a truly beautiful story of the spiritual conversion of a lost soul.  Like the stories of Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman at the well, the account of Zacchaeus is one that should be examined carefully and frequently by Christians, for it serves as an encouraging reminder that even those who appear to be the most difficult cases to win to a saving knowledge of Christ (pharisaic-types, promiscuous-types, and publican-types) can be actually the "most ripe for the picking"!  ". . . All things are possible with God"!

The Lord Jesus and His men were on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.  They were with a large group of Passover pilgrim when they reached Jericho, some 12 miles northeast of the Holy City.  Christ was only a matter of days away from His betrayal, arrest, suffering, shame, and crucifixion, yet He was always focused on those who needed Him.  He was never in such a hurry He could not stop to heal the afflicted, which is what He did with two needy men He met along the road to His own ultimate rejection.  They were named Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus.

In this lesson, we look at the Lord's healing of the blind Bartimaeus.  As we do so, we cover four outline divisions: "The Controversy" (according to Bible critics - which turns out not to be a controversy at all), "The Cry," "The Call," and "The Cure".

This is the first of a two-part study entitled, "Crosses and Cups Before Crowns".  The disciples were growing very apprehensive because the shadow of the up-coming cross was beginning to fall on their Master, and a nameless dread was taking hold of their hearts.  That apprehension was verified when the Lord again announced, in specific detail, His soon approaching time of suffering, shame, crucifixion, and resurrection.  This is what we discuss in the first part of our three-pronged outline, "The Suffering Announcement".

Their nerves already frayed, it did not take much for the disciples to give way to their carnal natures.  James and John revealed their selfish ambition by getting their mother (Salome, the Lord's aunt) to request the "best seats" in the Kingdom.  This caused the other disciples to turn on them in indignation, which is what is discussed in the second outline division, "The Selfish Ambition".  It was not one of the better moments for the disciple/Apostles, but it is one we can learn from!

For all Caldwell Commentary study books go to

scripturetruth.com  or  mazon.com

In this lesson of our on-going chronological study of Christ's life, we look at the Lord's 34th sequentially recorded parable, "The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard". First, we discuss the parable itself and then we look at the interpretation. There is a lot said in this study about rewards, motive for Christian service, salvation, sovereign grace, and an explanation of the Lord's words, "But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first" (Matthew 19:30; 20:16)!

IMPORTANT LESSON!!

In the previous lesson (113), we learned about "A Rich Poor Man" in the account of the rich young lawyer who departed from Christ very poor (tragically so, for he swapped eternal life for "mammon").  Following that episode, the Lord turned to His disciples and elaborated on the danger of trusting in riches.  He also elaborated on the spiritual rewards for those will to forsake the things of this world for His name's sake.  The first focus of this lesson is on "The Peril of Trusting Riches" (Matthew 19:23-26) and the second focus is on "The Promise of True Riches" (19:27-30).

Discussed in this lesson is a lot of information about the time of "the Regeneration" (19:28) mentioned by Christ in response to a question posed by Peter.  "Regeneration" literally means "rebirth" or "new birth," and it speaks of the "rebirth" of the earth that will take place at the time of Christ's Second Coming (during the Millennial Kingdom on earth).

This is the account of Christ's conversation with a rich young ruler who wanted to learn what he must do to inherit eternal life.  Unfortunately, the young man was not willing to do what the Lord requested of him to gain all the blessings and riches that accompany salvation.  The reason is that he served another "master" named "mammon" - money.  He wanted eternal life, but not at the expense of being separated from his "god" of wealth.  Trusting the false "god" of earthly riches inevitably makes one eternally poor.  

Does being saved mean a person has to sell everything he has?  Absolutely not.  Jesus was testing the young man's heart!  Listen and learn more.  Important lesson!

In this second half of the Lord's teaching on the characteristics of those who enter God's Kingdom, particularly with regard to prayer, we will discuss His famous "Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican".  Prayer is much more than just the words of our mouths; it is the desire of our hearts!

Also discussed is the Lord's use of small, precious children, who He called to Himself, took in His arms and blessed, saying, ". . . of such is the Kingdom of God" and "Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein" (Luke 18:16, 17).  It was a powerful lesson for everyone (and still is)!

The verses for this study primarily come from Luke chapter 18, where we find three examples of people whose characteristics represent those who enter God's Kingdom.  The first two examples were given by Jesus by way of parables.  The two parables were used to teach His men (and us) about the kind of praying true believers exhibit.  In the first parable, "The Parable of the Persistent Widow," He taught about the need for persistency in the life of the child of God.  In the second (see Lesson 112b), "The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican," He taught about the type of righteous, humble, penitent prayer that allows one to initially enter God's Kingdom (exemplified by the publican - certainly not by the self-righteous Pharisee)!

Learn about something called "The Gratitude Quotient".  The Lord withdrew to Ephraim, 15 miles north of Jerusalem to avoid the Sanhedrin Council, now determined to kill Him (it wasn't yet His time).  On His way, He was met by ten lepers, and He cleansed all ten.  However, only one former leper RETURNED to thank Him!  This is the subject of the first part of this lesson entitled "Two Returns" (the return of a leper).    

In the second half of this lesson, we discuss what the Lord said to some questioning Pharisees as well as what He had to say to His disciples about His RETURN at the time of His Second Coming.  He gave three very specific prophecies.

In the first part of this two-part look at the raising of Lazarus from the dead (Lesson 109), we found nothing but death and despair, from the human perspective.  Lazarus was dead, the disciples could only think of Jesus' death at the hands of the Pharisees, and Thomas (Didymas) spoke about all of them dying!  When this lesson opens, Martha and Mary are only thinking of death, for their dear brother had died.  All this focus on death, the desolation it brings, and man's hopelessness in the face of it, divinely served as the dark and gloomy contrasting background against which the Lord Jesus could all the more brilliantly display His glory and power as "The Resurrection and the Life"!

What an amazing site when a four-day dead Lazarus, still bound in grave strips like a mummy, came walking forth out of his tomb in response to the words of his Saviour, "Lazarus, come forth"!  The greatest news ever given to human ears were spoken to Martha in John 11:25, 26 by the Lord Jesus, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die"!

The greatest news men can ever hear is that death need not be feared!  The One Who made that possible is Jesus Christ!

This is the first in a two-part study on a spectacular miracle - the raising of a four-day dead man named Lazarus (brother of Martha and Mary of Bethany).  This miracle took place within weeks of the cross.  It was a climactic testimony of Christ's Deity given - the mightiest work He performed apart from His Resurrection (infinitely greater, for He arose in a new glorified body; Lazarus rose in his old human body).

If Jesus could not defeat death, we would remain forever hopeless.  But He did defeat it, both totally and permanently!  Because of that, we who believe are NOT the most miserable of men (see I Corin. 15:19); we are the most blessed and should be the most thankful, the most joyful, and the most HOPEFUL of all people!  It is most appropriate the greatest miracle Christ performed was against man's greatest enemy, death!

In this lesson, we discuss the "Saviour's Delay" and "Skeptical Didymus".  GREAT TWO-PART STUDY YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS.

For information regarding the contents of Luke 17:1-6, refer to Lessons 81, 82, and 79 on this podcast.

As Jesus taught on the Christian's responsibility to be a good steward of that which God has entrusted to him, He used another parable to emphasize the need for faithfulness to duty no matter what the demands might be.  The parable is about "The Unworthy Slave" (17:7-10).

We are all unworthy servants, and when we serve God and invest our time, treasures, and talents to Him for His glory, we must realize and remember we have only done "our reasonable service"!  We are to realize that the very best we can do is but the very least we should do!

Continuing with His teaching on the responsibility of Christians to be good stewards of that which is entrusted to them by God, the Lord Jesus gave the very famous, "Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus" (likely NOT really a parable - we explain why).

In this study, we get into a discussion about Hades (and the two sections).  We talk about the false teaching of "soul sleep," and how the Old Testament (Moses and the prophets) revealed to sinners how to repent and be saved.

This is the first of a three-part study on the Lord's instruction regarding wise Christian stewardship.  Stewardship is defined as the management or administration of another person's property, finances, and/or other affairs.  Christians are to function as administrators of God's wealth on earth.  We are to realize we don't really own anything, but that everything we are privileged to enjoy in this life belongs to the Lord and we are to use it profitably for the furtherance of His Kingdom.

In this lesson and the next two, the Lord - through three parables - presented His listeners with illustrations to present the rights, the wrongs, and the responsibilities of stewardship (that is our 3-point outline for this study).  He began by teaching about RIGHT stewardship, using "The Parable of the Shrewd Steward" (16:1-13).

Luke chapter 15 opens with Jesus affecting two groups of people in two different ways - He attracted sinners, but repelled the religious rulers (who were also, of course, sinners).  The rulers "murmured" about Him because He received sinners and did not even object to eating with them.  Their accusation of Him only revealed their own attitude toward "sinners," not the Lord's attitude.  They revealed their hearts of pride and self-righteousness, which caused them to have very little concern or compassion for others. 

In response to the murmuring Pharisees, the Lord masterfully spoke three parables so as to reveal "God's Attitude Toward Sinners" - which was in direct contrast to the Jews' attitude.  The parables discussed in this lesson are: "The Parable of the Wanted Lost Sheep," "The Parable of the Woman's Lost Silver," and "The Parable of the Wasteful Last Son" (aka "The Prodigal Son").

There are only 11 verses in this lesson, but they are critical for those who take the Christian life seriously.  The "cost" to be considered ("counted") is the cost of discipleship.  The Lord made a distinct difference between salvation and discipleship.  Salvation is open and free to all who accept His invitation by faith.  Discipleship, on the other hand, is not free.  It is only for those believers who are willing to "pay a price" as they follow, learn from, and serve the Saviour.  This is the primary point of Christ's "mini-sermon" of Luke 14:25-35.  His desire is for all Christians to be His disciples, but He knows not all His sheep are willing to sacrifice and suffer for His sake.  

In this lesson, we look at "The Call to Discipleship," "The Cross of Discipleship," "the Cost of Discipleship," and "The Characteristics of Discipleship".  Two parables were also given by the Lord in this sermon: "The Parable of the Tower Builder" (14:28-30) and "The Parable of the King Going to War" (14:31-33).

This is the last recorded Sabbath in the earthly ministry of Christ prior to His final arrival in Jerusalem (for the Passover).  Included in this lesson, "Instruction at a Pharisee's Table" are the Lord's healing of a man who had dropsy, "The Parable of the Seats at a Wedding Feast," and "The Parable of the Great Banquet".

The Lord's instructions were given to four people or groups of people.  With each person or group, He address a different subject matter.  Thus, our four-point outline looks like this:

1. Jesus Instructs the Religious Leaders about Sabbath Hypocrisy
2. Jesus Instructs the Guests about Sincere Humility
3. Jesus Instructs the Host about Selfish Hospitality
4. Jesus Instructs an Unidentified Man about Salvation Hindrances

During the Lord ministry among the Pereans, He was asked the question, "Lord, are there few that be saved?" (Luke 13:23).  Part of His answer to the man contained these words, ". . . for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able" (13:24).  The reason many will be unable to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and the reason people should give the utmost attention to this matter of God's eternal Kingdom is because  the opportunity does not continue forever!  There is an opportunity-limit to enter through "the strait gate" that leads to life, for there comes a time when "the Master of the house" shuts the door (13:25) - just as there came a day when God shut the door (after a long period of grace) to Noah's ark.  THIS IS A SERIOUS LESSON.

Included are three prophecies by Christ and they deal with:  (1) Gentiles in the Kingdom of Heaven, (2) His death in Jerusalem and His third-day resurrection, and (3) the desolation of Jerusalem (A.D. 70), but also her eventual belief in Christ at His Second Coming.

In this lesson, we give a great background, history lesson about "The Feast of Dedication," more commonly known as Hanukkah!   It is a miraculous true story about the rededication of the Temple to God after it had been horribly desecrated by the Syrians under the wicked leadership of Antiochus Epiphanes, who served very definitely as a prophetic type of the coming Antichrist.

Learn about Jewish history during the inter-Testimental period between Malachi and Matthew.  Learn about the Maccabees and their great heroism!  Most excitingly, learn about the MIRACLE of the cruz of oil that lasted 8 days, when it was only enough for one day!  Also learn about the Lord's answer to the direct question, "If Thou be the Christ, tell us plainly" (10:24) and His crystal clear answer, which caused them to pick up stones to kill Him.  That answer was, "I and My Father are ONE" (10:30)!  Wow.  It couldn't be any clearer than that!

The Lord again used a parable ("The Barren Fig Tree") and a miracle (healing a woman bent over for 18 years) to symbolically illustrate the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel.

The two main outline divisions for this lesson are: I. The Need to Repent of Fruitlessness (13:1-9) and 2. The Need to Repent of Faithlessness (13:10-21).

We get into a very important discussion of the Lord's words, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish," which is much needed in our day when repentance of sin is not always included when witnessing to people about salvation.  TWO things are absolutely necessary for salvation: repentance and faith in Christ.  Without repentance toward God of our sin and faith in His Son, no one can be saved.

It is also important to understand the significance regarding Israel revealed in the Lord's "Parable of the Barren Fig Tree" by cutting it down, but leaving the roots.  There will again, you see, be a budding fig tree, as Christ spoke about in His "Olivet Discourse" (Matthew 24:31)!  The fig tree pictures Israel.  Yes, she was cut down because of her fruitlessness and faithlessness, but she will spring forth life again, from her roots, in the latter days prior to Christ's Return!

This is the continuation of Part I of this three-part study entitled, "Five Warnings".  The warnings came from the Lord Jesus Christ and are to be taken by His followers, then and today, very seriously.  What are they?  (1) Beware of Hypocrisy, (2) Beware of Covetousness, (3) Beware of Worry, (4) Be Watchful, and (5) Be Discerning.  In this lesson, "The Parable of the Rich Fool" is discussed - a very convicting, powerful parable.   Make sure that, unlike the rich fool of the parable, you are NOT a "fool" in the eyes of God, for it is the worst possible place you want to be when it is your appointed time to die!

This is the first of a three-part study on Christ's five basic and very serious warnings!  They are:

1.  Beware of Hypocrisy
2.  Beware of Covetousness
3.  Beware of Worry
4.  Be Watchful
5.  Be Discerning

Included in this study on Luke chapter 12 are "The Parable of the Rich Fool" and "The Parable of the Faithful Servants".  There is also another occasion of Christ predicting His upcoming crucifixion and death (12:50).

There is a lot found in this lesson besides the Lord's "Six Woes," such as: 

• The Lord's Prayer
• The Parable of the Importunate Friend
• Precepts on being Persistent
• Parable of the Divided Kingdom
• Parable of Subduing the Strong Man
• Parable of the Empty House
• Pronouncements of Blessing and of Judgment
• Three Woes Against the Pharisees
• Three Woes Against the Scribes (Lawyers)
• The Healing of a dumb (mute) demoniac
• Blasphemous accusation that Christ was in league with Satan

This is a personal all-time favorite Bible lesson!  So much to learn about priorities and "Choosing the Good Part," as did Mary!  Duty and devotion are both needful in the service of Christ, but of the two, spending time with Christ, learning of Him and learning from Him (at His feet) is the most important!  Martha is like so many of us - a busy beaver wanting to serve to her very best ability, but finding fault with her sister who wanted to learn from Jesus while she could.  

A very convicting lesson in many ways!  Don't miss hearing it!

One of the GREATEST parables of Scripture, told by none other than the One Who is represented by "The Good Samaritan"!  In answer to a lawyer's two questions, "Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life" and "Who is my neighbor," (given purposely to test the Lord), Christ Jesus answered in His usual way, which was with questions of His own - and, then, with a powerful parable.  Not only did the Lord reveal that inheriting eternal life is not a matter of DOING anything, but a matter of the HEART (loving God with all thy heart, soul, strength, and mind and loving thy neighbor as thyself), but He then rips the pious mask off all self-righteous people who harbor prejudice against others based on nationality, race, gender, religion, or anything else.  YOUR neighbor is ANYONE who has a need that YOU can fulfill - and you fulfill it because you love God and because you love your neighborn!

This is a powerful lesson for mankind in all ages, including ours today!  

In Luke chapter 10 (begun with this lesson), we learn that whether Christians are in the harvest field (i.e. the seventy disciples sent forth as Christ's messengers and laborers), or on the highways of life (i.e. "the Good Samaritan" of 10:25-37), or in the home (i.e. Martha and Mary in 10:38-42), our highest and greatest privilege is to be doing the will of God.

Prior to sending forth seventy disciples (not the 12 Apostles), in pairs, to the villages and cities of Judea and Perea, the Lord Jesus commissioned them with what is called His "Ordination Sermon" (Luke 10:1-16).  Their task would not be easy; the harvest was great, but the laborers are few, He said, as He also warned them they would be "as lambs among wolves" (10:2, 3).  They were to rely on God to supply their provisions.  They needed to realize the urgency of their work and not get side-tracked.  They were to go forth as ambassadors of peace, bringing the message of how to have peace with God through belief in the Prince of Peach, Jesus Christ. 

The Lord gave these men the miraculous power to heal the sick and deliver the demonically possessed.  Christ's words to "The Seventy" reveal that there are degrees of punishment in Hell.  Listen to hear!  He also told them that He had watched as Satan fell out of Heaven!  Listen to learn!  He warns strongly about the danger of pride, and told them that the thing for which they should most rejoice was not their earthly successes, but that their names were written in Heaven!

In this lesson, we learn of the only time in Scripture where Jesus is said to have "rejoiced"!   WHAT caused that rejoicing in His spirit?  Hopefully, you want to know so you can be part of that which brings Him the greatest joy!  Need to listen, however, to find out what it is!

Of all the animals in the world to choose from, why did the Lord choose sheep to symbolize those who belong to Him (believers)?  Listen and find out!   Also, did you know that in the Old Testament there were five individual shepherds who, by some aspect of their lives, point to (foreshadowed) Jesus Christ, "The Good Shepherd"?  Fascinating - find out who there were and what they pictured about Him.  Also, there was a sixth shepherd, called "the idol shepherd" (see Zechariah 11:16, 17), which is a prophecy regarding the Antichrist!  How appropriate that he is the SIXTH (think of 666)!  Christ Jesus is the SEVENTH Shepherd - again very appropriate since SEVEN is the Biblical number for perfection and completion, and He is the Perfectly GOOD Shepherd!  A lot is given to think about in this great sermon by Him!

John chapter 10 is one of the most beloved chapters of the Bible for believers in Christ. This is the first part of the Lord's "Good Shepherd Sermon," which presents Jesus Christ in His tender role as the good, gentle, and caring Shepherd of His flock.  There is a deep sense of security to the believer who reads this chapter and realizes he has a Shepherd Who knows him so intimately and loves him so unreservedly, that He was even willing to sacrifice His life for him.

This sermon grew out of the Lord's confrontation with the Jewish religious rulers following the excommunication of the formerly blind beggar (blind from birth), who Jesus healed.  Having just spoken about being the Light of the world and telling the Jews they were spiritually blind, He now changed His use of metaphors from that of light and darkness and sight and blindness (John 9) to that of shepherd and sheep. Something very interesting you want to learn from this lesson is who is represented by the sheepfold, the House of Israel or the Church.  Also, who is represented by the thieves and robbers?  Who is represented by the porter?  You may be very surprised at the answers!

We have a five-point outline for this lesson. The first three outline divisions are discussed in this lesson and the last two are in the lesson to follow (Lesson #95b).  They are: (1) The Scriptural Shepherd (learn about the two kinds of sheepfolds in Israel at the time of Christ, as well as the three "doors" that are found in verses 1 to 6.  Also, does the sheepfold symbolize).

The first thing the man did when Christ revealed Himself and the man believed on Him was to fall down and worship Him!  And Jesus did NOT stop him!  He accepted the worship because He is God!

The man born blind, healed by Christ in this chapter, represents the spiritual condition of the unsaved person (we give six ways this is true).  The Lord's merciful dealings with the poor, blind beggar present a 7-step picture of the work of God in salvation (we present them in this lesson).

To this point in the narrative of Christ's healing of the blind beggar of John chapter 9, the man has received his sight - which was a unprecedented miracle!  Nobody had EVER healed a man who was BORN blind!  In this second part of this study on "The Light Gives Sight," we look at the process that then led to the far greater miracle, which was the opening of the man's spiritual eyes; the "eyes of his heart".  

The religious rulers were (of course) not pleased that the man could see for the first time in his life!  They were "upset" that he was healed on the Sabbath!  Thus, they begin a ridiculously cruel interrogation of the situation (hoping to discredit Jesus for breaking Sabbath Law).  First, they interrogate the former blind beggar, then his neighbors, then his cowardly parents, and then the beggar again!  The more they show forth their cold hearts and legalistic foolishness, the stronger the man's faith in Jesus becomes!  He goes from being astonished at their unbelief, to making a logical assessment of the situation (9:31), to having assurance in Christ being "of God" (9:32, 33)!

The remainder of this account is found in the next lesson (#94b).

The Lord often performed a miracle to serve as a living illustration for a message containing spiritual truth.  In John chapter 9, His living illustration and confirmation of His "Light of the World Sermon" was a man born blind who He (Christ, the Light of the world) healed!  The greatest miracle in this chapter, however, is not the opening of the man's eyes, but the opening of his heart to the light of truth concerning the Person of Jesus Christ!

This is the first of a three-part study on this very moving, dramatic account of the healing of a man born blind!  If you are like me, you will really come to admire that man, who serves as a great role model for us regarding standing up for common sense and for TRUTH regarding Christ's Identity!

This is the last part of the Lord's "Light of the World Sermon".  There are many interesting verses in the last section of what we call the Lord's "True Emancipation Proclamation".  Jesus asked the religious rulers if they could point out any sin in His life; their silence speaks volumes, although they resorted to name-calling.  They said He was a "Samaritan" (which they considered one of the worst insults) and that He had "a devil".  He ignored their first insult, but proceeded to tell them how His words and actions proved He was not demonically controlled.   Ever-patient, Jesus then invited them to trust His words so they would be set free from ever experiencing eternal separation from God. 

It was at this point the Jews again mentioned Abraham, asking Jesus, "Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead?"  Christ had already made a statement that was really a claim of His Lordship over the Tomb (8:51); now He made a claim as to His Lordship over Time!  We get into a wonderful detailed study of His next words to the Jews, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it, and was glad" (8:56)!   We enjoy a quick review of "The Gospel on Moriah" (Abraham's almost sacrifice of Isaac) as we discover how it was that Abraham actually DID SEE (with eyes of faith) Christ's day!  

At the end of the Lord's "Emancipation Proclamation," the Jews were boiling with anger and they picked up heavy stones  to stone Him to death!  But, it was not His hour and, somehow, He miraculously hid Himself from them.

"The True Emancipation Proclamation" is the title for a two-part study, which continues and completes the Lord's "Light of the World Sermon" given in the Temple Treasury, the day after the Feast of Tabernacles.  He spoke about true freedom and how anyone can find "Emancipation from Enslaving Sin" (8:31-41a), "Emancipation from Evil Satan" (8:41b-47), "Emancipation from Eternal Separation" (8:48-59).  The first two of these sub-divisions are discussed in this lesson.

Learn what the Lord meant by His words, "If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (8:31b, 32)!  IF YOU TRULY WANT FREEDOM, IT COMES FROM KNOWING THE LORD JESUS AND THE TRUTH ABOUT HIM IN SCRIPTURE.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, John designed his account of Christ's life so that 3 wilderness pictures of Jesus are presented in sequential order in chapters 6, 7, and 8.  In chapter 6, manna was given as a picture of the Lord, the True Bread of Life Who came down from Heaven.  In chapter 7, the water from the rock in Horeb was given as a picture of the Living Water (the Spirit), Who only Christ, the Rock can offer.  In chapter 8, the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night which led Israel in the wilderness is used to present a picture of the True Light of the world, the Lord Jesus - the Shekinah Glory veiled in Human flesh.

Jesus made a claim to Messiahship and Deity when He said He is the Light of the world.  The Jews were set on disproving His claim publicly.  The Law said a person's word of testimony with regard to himself was not acceptable in a judicial court unless other witnesses substantiated it.  This latest challenge and the Lord's response to it for the subject for this second half of a two-part study on "The Light of the World".

We discuss "The Lord's Witness" (8:13-16), "The Law's Witness" (8:17-20), "The Lord's Way" (8:21-24), and "The Lord's Word" (8:25-30).

Another prediction of His upcoming crucifixion is found in John 8:28, which literally reads, "When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I AM" (the pronoun "He" is not in the original manuscript)!!  Another powerful lesson regarding the Person of Jesus Christ, the Lord!

Although this lesson only covers 1 and 1/2 verses, it is packed full of Bible "meat"!

After the adulteress woman episode, in which the religious rulers failed miserably to trap Jesus, they tried another approach.  When they heard Him make yet another claim to Deity when He said, "I am the Light of the world,"  they tried to prove Him false, and the result was "The Light of the World Sermon" (8:12-58) - to be covered through Lesson #92 (and illustrated as being TRUE in Lessons #93 and #94 regarding Christ's healing of a man born blind).

There is simply too much to "spell out" in this brief synopsis; you just need to hear it all for yourself, probably more than once!

In John chapter 8, we find the nation of Israel represented symbolically as God's adulterous wife.  This lesson is the well-know account of the adulteress brought before Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees to present Him with a seemingly impossible dilemma.  They figured He could not resolve this situation without either publicly disregarding the Mosaic Law (by saying, "Let her go") or by disappointing the people for not demonstrating compassion and mercy (by saying, "Stone her to death").

Incarnate Truth (Christ) cannot set aside the divinely inspired Law; Incarnate Grace (Christ) cannot ignore the hopelessness of the sinner.  How could grace flow from Jesus without doing damage to either justice or holiness?  Omnipotent Wisdom provided the solution!  He had the right to offer the woman grace because He was going to be condemned in her place!

Jesus stood in the Temple, raising His voice to people who thought He could not possibly be the Messiah because they "knew" His origin (birthplace and parentage), but they were wrong.  He gave repeated claims to His Deity (7:28, 29), which enraged the religious rulers, especially when many people did believe Jesus was Who He claimed to be.  The Jews felt it was time to send for the Temple guard to arrest Him.  In this lesson, the Lord spoke a prophecy to the religious rulers, "Ye shall seek Me and shall not find Me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come" (7:34).  They sarcastically said among themselves that he must be going among the Gentiles, for they would not "lower" themselves to associated with Gentiles.  

John recorded the events of the last day of the Feast of Taberncaldes.  We talk a lot about the rituals and ceremonies involved in celebrating this feast and how Jesus used them to point to Himself as the Fulfillment - for example - of the Rock smitten by Moses in the wilderness out from which flowed life-giving water!  He said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.  He that believeth on Me as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (7:37, 38).

There were three kinds of responses to His words - some heeded it; some hindered it; and others hated it.  Interestingly, the Temple officers sent by the Sanhedrin Council to arrest Jesus did not arrest Him; instead they returned to the Council with this testimony, "Never man spake like this man" (7:46)!  Then, too, one of their own Council members spoke up in defense of Jesus!  His name was Nicodemus!   This is a great lesson!  Lots of "meat".

In this lesson, we discuss the various debates about Jesus taking place in Jerusalem both before His arrival there and following His appearance in the Temple in the midst of the festival week (the Feast of Tabernacles, which lasted 7 days).  There are five main divisions to this lesson: (1) Arguments about Christ's Character, (2) Astonishment at Christ's Doctrine, (3) Accusations of Christ's Person, (4) Anger Over Christ's Word, and (5) Ambivalence Over Christ's Origin.

Find out why it is impossible to conclude that Jesus was just a "good man"!  Also, learn how you can KNOW if what Jesus taught is true!  He gave the answer in John 7:17 and 7:18.  Learn how He pointed out yet another hypocrisy in the Jewish religious leaders concerning their supposed "love" for Moses and the Law!  Learn what particular "work" and what particular claim Christ did and made that made the Jews (rulers) so indignant that they wanted to kill Him.  The Jews could take no more of Christ's claims to Deity, so they sought to lay hands on Him to arrest Him, but they could not.  Why?  The answer is found in John 7:30, ". . . because His hour was not yet come"!  He had six more months of ministry remaining, and nobody could touch Him until it was the divinely appointed time for Him to give His life - willingly!  That time was the Passover.

The Lord now came to the end of His Galilean ministry.  In Luke 9:51, He is headed toward Jerusalem of Judea, and we read these words, "And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem".  It was near to the Feast of Tabernacles with only six months before the Feast of Passover - the one in which Christ would be the Passover Lamb!

Knowing His time was growing short and also knowing what awaited Him when He arrived in Jerusalem, nonetheless, He set His face like flint to complete the work He set out to do.  He had put His hand to the plow, and He would NOT turn back!  He was "On the Road to Rejection," and it would begin sadly.  It began with the rejection of His own half-brothers, which is what we look at first, "Spurned by His Siblings," and as He passed through Samaria, He was also "Spurned by the Samaritans".

The Lord said His yoke is easy and His burden light, but it does not mean He makes easy and light demands of those who would be His followers (disciples).  He also said those who follow Him in committed discipleship must be willing to deny self and take up their cross.  In this lesson, the Lord encountered three "would-be" disciples - men who claimed they wanted to follow Him.  However, by way of these three living illustrations (and their "excuses"), we see just how real the demand of Christian discipleship are and how few people are truly willing to commit completely to Christ's service!  

In His conversation with the three "would be" disciples, we learn of the three most common barriers to total Christian commitment:  (1) The Barrier of Present Resources, (2) The Barrier of Future Riches, and (3) The Barrier of Past Relationships.

The last section of the Lord's "Sermon on Being Children of God" came as a result of a question posed by Peter.  After hearing Jesus teach about the necessary steps believers must take in regard to the discipline of an offending brother, Peter became curious about the number of times a sinning brother should be forgiven.  Thinking he was being very generous, he then suggested his own number - 7 times.  In answer to Peter, the Lord spoke about the importance of forgiveness in the Christian's life.  This is the subject of this lesson, forgiveness is the Key to Family Unity!

Included in this lesson is the Lord's "Parable of the Wicked Servant" (Matthew 18:23-34).

This is a difficult lesson (often ignored by many churches and Christians), for it on "Discipline With the Family" (speaking of the family of God).  It is the Lord's instructions for how to properly engage in church discipline.  He presented the necessary and sequential steps involved in godly, Biblical discipline of believers who have stumbled into sin by offending or despising a "brother or sister" in Christ.  These principles for preserving family unity are still applicable today!  

This next two-part study entitled "Preserving Family Unity" is a continuation of the Lord's "Sermon on Being the Children of God" (Lesson #81), which was precipitated by the disciples' argument over which of them would be "the greatest" in the Kingdom.  He taught them about humility in the section we entitled "Servants, Not Celebrities," and He taught them about true servant-greatness in the section, "Stepping Stones, Not Stumbling Blocks".  

In this lesson (and #82b), He rebuked His men for their argument with each other about greatness, for in seeking self-promotion, they were actually pushing the others down.  It was a form of "despising" others in the family of God.   Learn from Him what some of the ways in which Christ despise each other (18:10a), and why Christians should NOT despise one another (18:10b-14).   

In this study, we discuss "The Parable of the Lost Sheep"!

Although the Lord Jesus shortly before had predicted His up-coming suffering and death (Matthew 17:22, 23), His disciples were so focused on their own selfish ambitions that they heatedly disputed over who among them was to be the greatest in the Kingdom!  This is what prompted the Lord to preach a sermon on being children of God.  This sermon, more than any other of His discourses, teaches Christians how to get along with one another!

With a small child in the midst of them (18:2), Christ taught about God's perspective on true greatness, which begins with childlike humility.  He also taught about the importance of having a servant-like attitude and spirit. 

Among other subjects discussed in this lesson are "The Problem of Sectarianism" (important!), "The Peril of Stumbling Blocks"(we can either influence people for the better and help them live more righteously, or we can influence them for the worse by causing them to stumble into sin), and "The Power of Salt" (Mark 9:49, 50).

This lesson covers two major events, one in the form of a miracle ("Simon's Fishy Coin") and the other in the form of an instructional sermon, which we call "Sermon on Being Children of God".  The sermon is the Lord's personal instructions about being humble, harmonious, and forgiven children of God!  We begin it in this lesson by talking about the importance of being "Servants, Not Celebrities"!  In the lesson to follow (#81), the Lord teaches us to be "Stepping Stones, Not Stumbling Blocks"!

There is a lot of Bible teaching in this lesson about the Christian's behavior as a "citizen" of this world!  Although our ultimate citizenship is in Heaven and although the governments of this world are all, to one degree or another, corrupt, yet we are under obligation to human government (i.e. to pay our taxes, obey the laws) except when obedience would directly interfere with obedience to God.  By divine law, we are to be subject to human laws and government!  

With this lesson, we move into "The Private Ministry of Christ" (the final year of His ministry), when He was focused on preparing His disciples for the work they would carry on once He returned to His Father in Heaven.  One of the first principles He taught His men, after He came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, was a principle regarding faith.  Coming down back into "the valley of life," the Lord encountered what we call "A Hellish Situation" (a boy demoniac and the utter failure of the nine Apostles to deliver him).  The Lord taught a valuable lesson on faith - not only must spiritual life initially be received by faith; it must also continually be lived out by faith!  He alone had "A Heavenly Solution".  He delivered the boy and not only cultivated the faith of the boy's father, but corrected the failure of His men!

For the first time, Jesus had revealed the fact of His Second Coming, something the Jews never understood about the Messiah.  He then revealed the reliability of the prophecy (of His Return) by giving a glimpse of His Second Coming "Kingly splendor" to three of His Apostles: Peter, James, and John on what has come to be called "The Mount of Transfiguration".  That revelation of His divine nature was a miniature preview of His Second Coming.

Learn about the conversation with two special Old Testament saints Christ had on the Mount!  Why is the word "exodus" mentioned as the center of that conversation and why is that term significant for believers?   Learn of Peter's suggestion and why it had to be corrected by God from Heaven!  Why did Christ only allow three men to witness this unveiling of His glory - and then forbid them from telling the others about it (until after His resurrection).  

The Lord was intently concentrated on teaching His twelve disciples the deeper truths concerning the divine plan for man's redemption.  They not only needed to hear about His need to die, His resurrection, their own need to suffer for His sake and bear their own crosses, but they needed to know the truth about His glorious Second Coming.  These subjects are discussed in the five divisions of this lesson, which are (1) The Sovereign Plan, (2) The Satanic Presumption (oh dear, Peter), (3) The Saviour's Protest, (4) The Sacrificial Paradox (profit in the Christian life only comes through loss, which is primarily the loss of pride and selfishness), and (5) The Sure Promise (of His Second Coming).

Learn what Jesus meant when He said, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross".

In the first part of this lesson, the Lord Jesus asked His men the question every person must eventually answer, ". . .Whom say ye that I am?".  This all-important questions and the response He received from the disciples are the subject matter contained under our heading, "The Choice".  This question session ended with Peter's great confession (given on behalf of the other men, as well), "Thou art teh Christ, the Son of the Living God".  The Lord accepted it because it is true!  He then took them to a new stage of enlightenment; for the first time, He spoke to them about The Church"! 

We get into a very important discussion about the Lord's words to Peter, "Thou art Peter, and UPON THIS ROCK I will build My church".  Was He stating that Peter is the rock upon which He would build His Church - or does "this rock" refer to something else?  This is important, for this is the very verse Roman Catholicism bases its authority for the office of the pope!  CRITICAL DOCTRINAL STUDY about this and other matters (i.e. Christ's words to His men about "binding and loosing" in Matthew 16:19).

In the next two chronological steps of Christ's earthly ministry, we have a picture of His battle with both complete and cloudy spiritual vision.  As He returned to Galilee from the area of Decapolis, He again encountered a battle with the willfully blind Jewish religious leader, who tried to tempt Him so as to discredit Him publicly.  They were (1) completely sightless (spiritually speaking).  Next, the Lord dealt with His disciples, who received their spiritual sight by their faith in Christ, but still had what we call (2) cloudy sight.  There were yet many things about Him, His plan of redemption, His Church, and His Second Coming they did not understand.  When He warned them about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, they thought he spoke about actual bread.  

Finally, in the Lord's healing of a blind man in Bethsaida, we have a picture of (3) cleared sight.  The blind man actually pictured the disciples, who spiritual sight would gradually clear (especially after the Lord's resurrection).  This is the only miracle Christ ever performed in which "the healing" took place gradually!  Learn how that unique miracle illustrates an important spiritual truth for all of us!

In this lesson, we learn the Lord's traveling schedule demonstrated that though He came to reveal and present Himself first to Israel, He also came as the Saviour of the world.  His ministry among Gentile people (i.e. Tyre, Sidon, the ten cities of Decapolis) was a "sneak preview" of the extension of His Kingdom to the entire world. 

Jesus performed many miracles while in the area of Decapolis (the Gadarene demoniac had spread word in Decapolis about the great thing he did for him), but two specific miracles are recorded and discussed in this lesson.  They are the healing of a deaf man (Mark 7:35) and the feeling of the 4,000+ (8:7-9).

This is the account of the Lord's deliverance of a demon from a Syrophoenician woman's daughter.  The woman had a desperate request, which she took to the right Source, the Lord Jesus!  He, however, seemed to be against her!  He did not speak a word to her pleading request for His mercy.  His disciples were rude to her.  She did not give up.  She overcame all kinds of obstacles (her nationality, her gender, Satan - who had done his part to attack her precious daughter, and the Lord's seeming apathy), but then Jesus said to her these strange words, "It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs"!  YOU HAVE TO HEAR THIS LESSON SO YOU RIGHTLY UNDERSTAND HIS WORDS AND WHAT JESUS WAS DOING WITH THIS WOMAN!

Amazingly, the Syrophoenician woman humbly accepted her place in God's providential plan of things (Jew first, then the Gentile).  She was fully accepting of the divine order.  She willingly accepted God's plan and submitted to it.  She put away pride and became an illustration of the millions of Gentiles who have been blessed and saved by the Messiah of Israel.  She became the only woman the Lord Jesus is recorded to have commended for her GREAT FAITH!!  Her daughter was not only delivered, the woman was saved!  

The Lord Jesus had fed 5,000+ people with only five barley loaves and two fish.  It was such an amazing miracle, the people tried to crown Him their King, but their motive was wrong and their understanding of His Kingship and His Kingdom was wrong.  In His "Bread of Life Sermon," which He preached to the people the next day, He revealed Himself as the True Bread of Life (spiritual bread that gives eternal life).  The response of the people was resentment when they heard Him speak of eating His flesh and drinking His blood to receive everlasting life.  He was using metaphoric language to speak of the need to receive Him personally into the core of one's being to experience the New Birth.  The Jews murmured when they heard His claims to Deity in the first part of His sermon, but they aggressively began to argue among themselves when they heard His words about eating and drinking His flesh and blood.

Jesus was finished with His message.  He said to the people, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.  I am that Bread of life" (6:47, 48).  As always, there was division among the people when He finished.  Most of the people rejected His words and, subsequently, rejected Him.  Only a small minority received His words and determined to remain with Him.

In this lesson, He taught them how He is the True Manna from Heaven and that He is far superior to Moses.  Manna was only for Israel and it was temporary.  He is the Bread of God Who gave His life for the world, and it is permanent.  Moses was merely the human instrument God used to feed the people, as the disciples had been Christ's instruments to distribute the food to the people the previous day.  Christ performed the miraculous miracle in His own power.  Manna was the shadow; He is the Substance.

The feeding of the 5,000 men (plus women and children, so more likely at least 15,000 people) is the only specific miracle recorded in all four gospel accounts other than Christ's resurrection!   It was a spectacular miracle that produced a peak in the peoples' interest in Jesus, even causing them to want to crown Him king, but for the wrong reasons.  This is why after we discuss Part I of this lesson, "Jesus Feeds the Multitude," we then look at Part II, "Jesus Flees the Multitude".  Many spiritual lessons were taught the disciples of Christ through this miracle; they also apply to us today!  A "must" listen message!

This is the key passage in Scripture on Christian discipleship, which is the great task of the Church!  IMPORTANT LESSON

As we cover the information of the Lord in verses 16 to 23, we will discuss His words of warning about the opposition of the "wolves" His disciples can expect to encounter (then, now, and in the future).  He forewarned that the opposition to their message about Him would come from the religionists, the rulers, and their own relatives.  So very true!

The persecution the godly believer can expect to encounter will give him or her opportunities to witness.  Jesus assured His men (and all future disciples) they need not be concerned what to say in those situations, for the Spirit would speak through them (10:19, 20).  We also hear the Lord talk about the disciples' obligation to withstand.  We discuss what He meant by His words, ". . . but he that endureth to the end shall be saved" (10:22b) - often misunderstood.

There is a lot of practical information for us today as we go forth in the name of Christ, proclaiming Him to those of our communities and beyond!

To this point in His ministry, Jesus was doing everything (teaching, healing, preaching) on His own.  His men were merely observers and learners, but not participators in His works.  They needed to learn how to also become directly involved as "laborers" in the ministry of sowing seed and harvesting souls for the Kingdom of God.  The Lord's time with them was getting short.  They needed to have some "hands-on" training!

The Lord also encountered the spiritual blindness that abundantly existed in Israel, particularly among the citizens of His hometown of Nazareth (Mark 6:1-6a).  Sadly, Jesus encountered far more cases of spiritual blindness than ALL the other types of physical deficiencies and diseases put together!

There are two miracles discussed in this lesson: the miracle of sight to two blind men (Matthew 9:29) and the miracle of healing a dumb demonian (Matthew 9:33).

The woman heard about Jesus and His incredible healing powers.  Thus, when she found out He was in her hometown of Capernaum, she carefully joined the thronging crowd around Him as He made His way to Jairus' house.  She believed that if she could just reach out and slightly touch His clothing (not Him), that she would be made whole!  When she managed to touch the hem of the Lord's clothes, the Lord felt power issue forth from Him.  He knew someone had reached out to Him in faith, and when the woman came forward to share "all the truth" about her situation and what she had done in secretly touching His garment, the Lord, on the only occasion in the gospel accounts, called her "Daughter".  Then He said to her, "Thy faith hath made thee whole" (5:34).   It is a beautiful story about our Great Physician!

If you don't already know this story, you will be richly blessed; if you do already know it, you will also be richly blessed.  Why?  Because we can never hear enough how our Great Physician Saviour, Who is incarnate God, can "heal" every humanly incurable situation, including the worst of all, death!  Halleluiah!

First, He had "a divine appointment" with two men who were mentally deranged because of demonic possession.  That will be the subject of this first of a three-part study on "The Great Physician". 

The Lord's second encounter was with a physically disabled woman who had gone to every doctor she could find, and none could cure her of the issue of blood that plagued her for 12 years.  The third situation was the most "incurable" of all, from the human perspective,  It was death, in this case it was the death of a 12-year old girl, the daughter of a man named Jairus.  Both of these situations will be discussed in the second part of this study (see Lesson #61a and b).

The three humanly incurable situations of Mark 5 picture man's incurable situation regarding sin.  Apart from the healing/saving power of the Great Physician (Jesus Christ), men are the hopeless, helpless victims of Satan (first case of this chapter), of disease (second case), and of death (third case).  

There is no reason to fear the furies and floods of life if you have invited Jesus Christ "on board" to be the Captain of your ship!  He will see you safely to your final destination, no matter what is happening in your personal life or in the world today.

This lesson comes in our "Caldwell Commentary" series "Life of Christ Vol. 3" (available through www.scripturetruth.com   and Amazon.com

In the seventh parable, "The Parable of the Dragnet" (13:47-50), the Lord spoke of the judgment that would come at the consummation of the mystery form of the Kingdom, when He would return to establish the Messianic form of the Kingdom offered at His First Coming - but postponed because of Israel's rejection of Him, the King.  The judgment will be a time of separation (wheat from tares; good fish from bad fish).

Matthew 13 ends with "The Parable of the Householder," by which Christ charged His disciples with personal responsibility to generously distribute both the old and new truths they were so very privileged to have!

We discuss the reason the Lord often taught by way of parables before we then get into an indepth look at three important parables which shed a lot of light on the current age of Christendom.  They are (1) "The Parable of the Wheat and Tares," (2) "The Parable of the Mustard Seed," and (3) "The Parable of the Leaven Hidden in Meal".  We spend valuable time explaining the varied interpretations of these parables, always settling on the one that best fits the context, the original meaning of the Greek, and the rest of Scripture.

However, though the literal Kingdom was postponed, the Lord taught about a "mystery" form of the Kingdom that would be established in the interval between His rejection and His return.  This "interregnum" would be an internal, spiritual Kingdom on earth - not visible because it would exist in the hearts of believers.  This truth was unknown to the Old Testament prophets and writers, which is why it is called a "mystery".  Through the parables presented in Matthew 13, the Lord revealed the "mysteries" or "secrets of the Kingdom" to those with ears to hear and understand.  

The first parable of "The Mystery Kingdom" is the very famous "Parable of the Sower".  The Sower is Christ (and His followers); the Seed is His Word; the four types of soil represent the four types of heart conditions (human responses) upon which the sown Word falls: (1) roadway soil, (2) rocky soil, (3) reprobate soil, and (4) ready soil.

In this lesson (Matthew 12:22-50), Israel's religious rulers gave their "official" decision that Jesus performed His works with satanic power.  At this same time, we also find that His own brothers thought He was not quite right in His mind.   

Included in this study: Christ's healing of a blind and mute demoniac; "The Parable of the Divided Kingdom," "The Parable of Subduing the Strong Man," "The Parable of the Empty House," and another prophecy given by Christ about His up-coming death and resurrection.

From Luke 7:36-50, the Lord taught a second important Biblical principle: greater pardon brings greater love.  This is the account of the sinful woman who came uninvited to Simon the Pharisee's house to anoint Jesus' feet with her tears of joy and wiped them dry with her hair.  Simon and his other self-righteous guests were horrified that Jesus would allow the woman to even touch Him.  He used the occasion to make the contrast between a humble "babe" in Christ and a narcissistic "wise and prudent" man (see Matthew 11:25).  He then taught "The Parable of the Two Debtors".

A terrific study about the magnificent love in the heart of the world's only Saviour!

If you really want to know how to survive all the storms of life, the Lord's words we discuss in this lesson give you the answer.  Be wise!  Heed His advice.  Build your life on HIM.

There are only "Two Gates," one is narrow (John 14:6); the other is very wide.  The only problem with the wide gate is that it leads to destruction, not to eternal life with the Triune God in Heaven.

THIS IS A MOST SERIOUS LESSON FOR PEOPLE EVERYWHERE TO HEAR!  The Gospel is presented and the way to be saved is laid out clearly!  SHARE with your non-Christian family and friends!

Find out what the difference is between "The Brass Rule of Humanity" and "The Golden Rule of Heaven"!  Find out the great difference between what Israel's religious rulers, the ancient philosophers, and the Greek stoics taught about proper treatment of others compared with what Christ Jesus taught!  Did you know that "The Golden Rule" is actually a consolidation of all Old Testament teaching (the Law and the Prophets) about human relationships?  If ONLY mankind could OBEY this ONE rule!!

God will not do for us, apart from prayer, that which He has promised to do for us only through prayer!  Though He is Sovereign, that does not mean we receive all the blessings He has for us and desires to give us if we fail to ask for them - "ye have not, because ye ask not" (James 4:2b)!  Did you realize that a lot of the frustrations of our Christian lives are the result of not having turned our frustration-energy into prayer-energy!

In this lesson, we discuss both the positive and negative sides of what we call "Teeter-Totter Theology".  We also discuss that verse so often taken out of context, "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (7:1).  There is a righteous form of judging!  There is also an unrighteous form of judging - and we need to know the difference!  There is also a right way and time to criticize and a wrong way and time to criticize!  Again, we need to know the difference.  We also need to know how to do honest self-judgment to make sure we are not pointing out someone's "eye-mote," while there is a major "beam" in our own! 

Another important lesson from the Greatest Teacher ever, Jesus!

In His words of wisdom, the Lord tells His followers that to worry about earthly matters demonstrates three things:  1. distrust of our Father's Providence, 2. distrust of our Father's Promises, and 3. doubt in our Father's Protection.

What do we do when circumstances arise that appear to be potential situations for worry (anxiety)?   We discuss 6 reasons why Christians should NOT worry in the midst of storms (or any time).  Listen and sleep well tonight.

In this lesson, we discuss how the Christian is to have a single focus and a solitary Master, "For no man can serve two masters . . . ye cannot serve God and mammon [money/material things".  This is a serious message for our day of vast materialism!

We also discuss the closing doxology of the prayer ("For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.  Amen"), as well as the postscript on the subject of forgiveness found in verses 14 and 15.  That postscript has upset a lot of Christians over the centuries, for they think Jesus was saying a person's salvational forgiveness is conditional upon his own forgiveness of others.  That is not what He was teaching, and we explain the meaning of those verses in this lesson. 

First, Jesus spoke about the errors of ineffective prayer (vanity prayers, valueless prayers, and verbose prayers), before He then taught about the essentials for effect prayer (having right relationships, with God and others; having right responsibilities, and making right requests - which is discussed in Part II of this study).

In this study, we discuss the sins of silent cowardice, selfish complacency, and showy conduct.  We learn where the term "blowing your own trumpet" (or "sounding your own horn") originated.  We discuss "silent hands" and "secret closets" and the four ways people approach religious responsibilities (only two of which earn God's praise, not the praise of others or the praise of self).

We divide this study into three sections.  First, we look at the Mosaic principles about love (Leviticus 19:18), then we discuss the Pharisaic perversion on the subject of love.  Finally, finally we look at Christ's perspective, which is to possess a supernatural love that enables us to love and pray for our enemies,  and be equal in our treatment of everyone.  

We will first look at the Old Testament teaching on the subject of retaliation (the Mosaic principles found in Exodus 21:22-25; Leviticus 24:19, 20; Deuteronomy 19:20, 21), and then see how the Pharisees had perverted that teaching.  Finally, we will look at the Lord Jesus' perspective on the subject!  He teaches the following: do NOT retaliate even though your dignity is smitten, your security is sued, your freedoms are sacrificed, and your possessions are surrendered.  Wow.  Turning the other cheek, surrendering your cloak also, going the second mile, and giving to him that asks!  Being a Christian is not easy!

We consider three sections on the matter of "Taking Oaths and Speaking Truth".  First, we look at what the Old Testament says on oath-taking (Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21).  Then we consider what the Pharisees taught on the matter and, finally, compare the Pharisaic teaching with what the Lord Jesus had to say about it.

The most important thing Stephen was accomplishing (yet unknown) in his powerful sermon was presenting the High Council of Israel with evidence for faith in Jesus!  He did this by using several key figures from Israel's history: Joseph and Moses.  In this lesson, which is Stephen's jet-tour account of the life of Joseph, the Council members heard for the first time the Biblical account of Joseph used as a graphic illustration of their own evil, envious betrayal and murder of Jesus!

This study stems from the Lord's teaching in "The Sermon on the Mount," but we also look at Paul's inspired words in First Corinthians 7:10-16 for further information about the subject of divorce.  What are the only two Biblical grounds for divorce?  Listen and find out. 

What about remarriage after a divorce?  Again, listen and find out.

This lesson (and Lesson #38 on "New Testament Teaching on Divorce") is found in our "Caldwell Commentary" series "Life of Christ Vol 2" and "The Sermon on the Mount" (available through amaon.com and www.scripturetruth.com

Stephen's POWERFUL message of Acts chapter 7 was basically a last major appeal to the leadership of Israel (the Sanhedrin Council) to accept Jesus as the long-promised Messiah.  Stephen was brought for trial before the Council, falsely accused of four things: speaking blasphemous words (1) against Moses, (2) against God, (3) against the Temple, and (4) against the Law.  While he stood before his opponents and their lying accusations, his face was glowing with the righteousness of truth and the glory of God!  Amazing.  By visibly putting His "glory stamp" on Stephen's face, the Lord Jesus was showing forth His approval of the message he had been proclaiming in the synagogues and which he was about to proclaim in Acts 7.

Stephen's message was his response to the evil high priest's question, "Are these things so?" - referring to the four accusations against him.  In verses 2 to 50, he managed to keep his hostile listeners' attention by talking about their favorite subject: themselves and their heritage!  Yet, as he reviewed the major periods of Jewish history, he indirectly was responding to the false and accusations against him and building his case against them!   His sermon is brilliant on so many levels!  It was completely irrefutable, and cost him his life.  

In this lesson, Stephen began his "history lesson" regarding Israel's period of the patriarchs by speaking about Abraham.  You have to listen to how absolutely clever Stephen was in using "father" Abraham to convict the Jews of their own sinful prejudices!

This is the first of ten messages on one of the most influential men for the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ who ever lived, Stephen.  There is a reason why more information is recorded in the eternal Word of God on the martyrdom of Stephen than any other man's death except the Lord Jesus - that reason is twofold.  First, Stephen's words and witness had an IRRESISTIBLE impact on the heart, soul, and mind of Saul of Tarsus (who became Paul, human author of about half of the New Testament).  Second, it was Stephen's martyrdom that resulted in the great First Century persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, which forced Christians into the next two regions of Christ's Great Commission, Judea and Samaria.

Stephen is my ultimate hero when it comes to understanding the importance of using the Old Testament to preach Jesus Christ!  He is my hero when it comes to boldness in proclaiming Christ to a very hostile audience!  He is my hero when it comes to giving his all for his Lord and Saviour and doing it with grace and forgiveness of those who killed him.  Stephen well deserved the STANDING OVATION he received from the Lord Jesus!  I cannot wait to meet him one day.

Learn what the Lord had to say about the sin of murder!  It goes a whole lot further than the actual killing of another person.  In fact, every one of us is guilty of "murder" the way the Lord defines it!  

The Lord also laid down some very specific steps for reconciliation with a Christian brother or sister in this section of His Sermon.  

The Lord's words in this critical passage confirm for us He did not come to destroy the Law and the prophets (the Old Testament), but to fulfill them!  He confirmed His belief in the preeminence (the superiority) of Scripture; in the permanence of Scripture; in the pertinence of Scripture, and He understood the purpose of Scripture (obviously, for He is the Author and Finisher of Scripture)!

Lord, shake on me Thy savory salt, 'til I am ready to burst!

Fill me so full with righteousness that others for Thee will thirst.

Shine on me Thy radiant light so I almost seem to glow;

Help me, Lord, guide others to Thee, so Thy Truth they also might know.

O Lord, make me salty!  O Lord, make me shine!

Use me, dear Saviour, for Thy glory divine.

O Lord, make me salty!  O Lord, make me bright!

May I create thirst, and guide men to Thy Light! 

                                                                                        Katherine Caldwell

Why did the Lord spend three times the space on the last Beatitude?  Why did He mention the word "blessed" twice in this last Beatitude?  What are the three primary types of persecution of Christians?  What does it mean if a Christian is experiencing not one of those three types of persecution in his life?  How is the believer in Christ to respond to both persecution and the persecutor?  And how in the world can a Christian rejoice because he is persecuted (which includes not only physical harm, but verbal abuse, and false witness - including slander)?  One more question: is it wrong to be motivated by heavenly rewards to live righteously?  

Would you like to hear answers to the above questions?  Okay.  Push the play button on this message!  Enjoy. 

On both a national and a personal level, mankind has a natural inclination toward fighting, quarreling, and warring.  Peace has been the most elusive of all goals in the world.  According to James (Christ's half-brother) conflicts come from our inner lusts (selfish desires) waging war in the heart (James 4:1, 2).  This is not only true for non-believers; it is true for Christians.  James was writing to the "brethren".  Just think about how divided "the Church" has become since the early days of the Apostolic Church in Jerusalem.  This is why it is important for us to understand the Lord's seventh Beatific virtue: peacemaking!  

What is a peacemaker?  What did the Lord mean by that K?  What does a peacemaker do, exactly?  How did Jesus set the example of being a Peacemaker?  Does it mean always agreeing with everyone, even when they are dangerously wrong or wickedly evil?  Why is a true "peacemaker" a soul-winner?  What is "the ministry of reconciliation" Paul talked about in Second Corinthians?  What are the five basic necessities that comprise a godly peacemaker?  Why is it sometimes necessary for the true peacemaker to stir-up trouble in order to make peace?  (What?)  Did you realize that the Christian peacemaker actually engages in real warfare, for he wrestles not against flesh and blood, but against the evil forces of the kingdom of darkness?  All this is discussed in this lesson.  

We also begin to discuss the final Beatitude, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake . . . Blessed are ye when men shall revile you . . . and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake.  Rejoice, and exceedingly glad . . . " (Matthew 5:10-12a).  How can a believer happily rejoice to the point of exceeding gladness when he is persecuted, reviled, and slandered falsely?  That sounds like one of the greatest paradoxes of all, does it not - Happy are the Hated and the Harassed?  Yes, but think of this truth, the reward for those who are willing to be a living sacrifice for Christ, is that they will gain everything - ". . . for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (5:10b)!  Compared to what is gained, even a martyr's price is small.  We begin our discussion of the final Beatitude in this lesson and continue it in Lesson #32 (so be sure to "follow up").   

There is really no better "self-examination" a person can give himself (herself) with regard to his (her) Christian profession than to ask the Matthew 5:6 test question, "Do I genuinely hunger for the things of God?  Do I deeply thirst to know Christ?  Am I hungering and thirsting to be like Him in my life?"  

What exactly is the Biblical meaning of mercy?  What does "they shall obtain mercy" mean?  Have you ever heard of "God's Mercy Cycle"?  You will in this lesson.

The Purity of Heart Beatitude is the apex of all the others; the reason is the first 5 lead up to it and the last 2 flow out of it.  The world asserts that "happy" people are the physically beautiful, rich, powerful, famous, successful, highly educated, and elite.  Jesus says the truly happy people are those who are spiritually beautiful, rich,  wise, and successful (fruitful) because their hearts have been purified by Him. 

Come join us in our continued walk down "The Highway to Happiness"!  Who doesn't want to know the key to inner JOY despite all the chaos, confusion, and corruption around us?  [Yah, I know, there are some people who seem to enjoy being miserable.  Do you know why?  They've never been down the Beatific Highway.]

This lesson in written form (with Homework Questions) is found in our "Caldwell Commentary" entitled "Life of Christ Vol. 2" or "The Sermon on the Mount" -available through Amazon.com

But when Jesus "opened His mouth, and taught them," the people heard nothing about warfare with Rome.  Instead, they heard teaching so full of wisdom, spoken with an authority never before known - yet with a tone of genuine love and compassion that the crowd was mesmerized.  Their dry, thirsty souls and starvingly hunger spirits felt the raindrops of Heaven softening the hard, crusty ground of their hearts.

The people that day  were hearing the words of the greatest sermon ever preached from the lips of the greatest Preacher Who ever walked the earth!  They were the privileged, initial recipients of the Lord's famous, "Sermon on the Mount," which He began with what is called "The Beatitudes".   In Lessons #29 to #32 of our Life of Christ study, we refer to the 8 Beatitudes as "The Highway to Happiness". 

This lesson is an overview of the entire sermon.  In it, we discuss the setting for the sermon, the purpose of the sermon, the reasons for studying it today, and the basic principles in the sermon for believers.

The three reasons given were: (1) God's Law Allowed for Acts of Necessity, (2) God's Law Allowed for Acts of Worship, and (3) God's Law Allowed for Acts of Mercy.

Also included in this lesson are five witnesses the Lord Jesus presented to prove that His own witness of His Identity is true (5:31-39).  THEN, we get into a discussion of some of the ludicrous traditions the Pharisees had devised over the years regarding the Sabbath.  They had added 1,512 man-made restrictions to God's original commandment about the Sabbath!  In the Jewish Talmud, there are 24 chapters containing Sabbath regulations!  Talk about a heavy yoke!

Because the man was "caught" walking and carrying his bed pallet on the Sabbath, the Jews accused him of breaking the Law (John 5:10).  They showed no joy for the man who could finally walk after 38 years!  Instead, they were hypocritically "concerned" about their Sabbath traditions.  Jesus, Who is "the Lord of the Sabbath," was then persecuted by the Jews for healing on the Sabbath.  His response to their foolish accusation of "breaking" the Sabbath, was to make Himself equal with God (which He is) by saying to them, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17)!  It sent them into orbit, and they wanted all the more to kill Him (5:18)!  In case you wonder, there was absolutely nothing wrong with doing "an act of mercy" or "an act of healing" on the Sabbath!  The One Who created the Sabbath was trying to teach that truth to His people, who loved their traditions more than they loved God, as proven by the way they treated His Son.  

In the first part of this lesson, we discuss a question the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus.  They wanted to know why they spent much time fasting, while He and His disciples were feasting (Luke 5:33).  The Baptist, at this time, was in prison.  The Lord's answer: "Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the Bridegroom is with them" (Matthew 9:15) is explained, as His predication of the day the Bridegroom would be taken away.

In the latter half of this lesson, we discuss two more parables given by the Lord: the Parables of the New Cloth Patch and the New Wine Pouch.  He teaches, by them, that His way of salvation has nothing to do with traditions, ceremonies, and man-made rules.  He did not come to improve the old system, but to renounce it, for the "old" pharisaic way of attempting to attain righteousness was not connected in any way to His way (which is completely by grace through faith and not of works).  

After His first Galilean tour, Jesus returned to His headquarter city of Capernaum.  He was likely back in Peter's house, which soon filled with people wanting to see and hear Him.  There was a paralytic who was beloved so well by four of his friends that they carried him to see Jesus, hoping he would be healed.  When they got to the house, it was so crowded, the determined friends made a whole in the roof to lower their friend down to Jesus.  The innovation and persistence and love of the friends paid off, for Jesus did heal their friend, but first and foremost, He forgave the man of his sins!  Some scribes and Pharisees, who heard and witnessed the whole episode - and saw the paralytic get up and walk, asked the right question (although with the wrong motive).  They asked, "Who can forgive sins but God only?" (Mark 2:7)!  THAT was the point!  Jesus is God!

The fourth recorded miracle of Christ's earthly life was His deliverance of the Capernaum demoniac (Mark 1:21-28).  This is not only the first recorded miracle found in Mark's gospel account, it is the Lord's first occasion to exercise His authority over Satan's realm.  He expelled a demon from a man in the Capernaum synagogue.

The fifth recorded miracle of Christ's earthly life was the first of five recorded miracles He performed for women.  It was done for Peter's mother-in-law, who was running a fever so high it was life threatening.  By the way, for Peter to have a mother-in-law means that Peter also had a wife!!

We discuss some very interesting "Basic Principles of Fishing" in this study - applying the principles for being an effective fish-fisherman to being an effective person-fisherman.  Also included is the Lord's first miracle of a great catch of fish.  He told the men to return to the sea and cast out their nets even though they had fished all night and caught nothing.  When they obeyed, their nets were so full of fish, they began to break!  The Lord was teaching them many good principles they would use later when they went forth in obedience to the Great Commission!  In fact, Peter's first sermon "brought in" 3,000 "fish" (Acts 2:41)!

This study includes the Lord's healing of the Capernaum nobleman's son from a distance.  The man was a Gentile - one of three Gentile-related miracles in which those healed were healed from a distance!  There is a reason for that, so "tune-in" and find out what it is.

Also included in this lesson is the first of two incidents when Christ was rejected in His hometown of Nazareth.  The citizens, in great rage, wanted to cast Him headlong off the city's cliff after He made it abundantly clear He claimed to be the Messiah.

As the Samaritans came out to the well, dressed in their long white robes, Jesus told His disciples to lift up their eyes and look on the fields, for they were white to harvest!  He saw the ready hearts of the coming people as a ripe "harvest" - and they were!  Many of those people believed on Him when they heard His Words!  In fact, they were the first people in history to call Jesus "the Christ, the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42b)!

See how our wonderful Lord was never self-centered.  Though He was (in His Humanity) weary, hungry, and thirsty, His primary concern was always to seek and to save a poor, sin-sick soul!

The words of Christ in John chapter 3 are the most important He spoke because they tell us how to enter the ultimate, supreme Kingdom of the spiritual and eternal - the Kingdom of God.

This lesson contains some of the finest, richest "gold" in all the great "gold mines" of God's Holy Word.  Besides the "must be born again" message, the Lord predicted His death by crucifixion and used the brazen serpent lifted up in the wilderness (back in the days of Moses) to do so.  Thus, we have proof that "The Good Serpent" (which saved ALL who looked upon it in faith from physical death) was a prophetic type of the Saviour of all who, in faith, look upon Him for eternal salvation (because He was lifted up to die in our place)!  See "Christ in Exodus" Lesson #   for a great study of "The Good Serpents" of Scripture!

Did you know the Christ's first cleansing of His Father's House (the Temple) occurred at the time of Passover (as did His second Temple cleansing, which took place on Passion Week Monday)?  The Jews meticulously swept their own homes clean of all leaven, but they allowed God's House to be full of all manner of evil corruption ("leaven of unrighteousness") in what was called "Annas' Bizarre".  Annas was Israel's very corrupt high priest!  A problem with our culture today, which was likewise the problem in Christ's day, is the lack of righteous outrage over evil.  The Lord Jesus possessed zealous righteous indignation against sin!  He harmed no one, but He got His point across loud and clear!  What a great example!

A jam-packed lesson full of goodies for those who love to learn!

Not only was marriage the first institution created (designed) and ordained by God, but a marriage (in Cana of Galilee) was the first event God (Christ) sanctioned with His presence in His public ministry.  He also performed His first miracle to assure the success of that marriage.  Both of these truths tells us of the high position He places on the marriage relationship.

Learn why the Lord Jesus referred to His mother as "woman" in this account; not "mother".  Was He disrespectful?  What was the message He was conveying to her?  Was Jesus assisting the people at the wedding in becoming intoxicated by creating wine from water?  How does the first miracle of Jesus very interestingly compare and contrast to the first miracle of Moses, turning water to blood?  How do the two "first" miracles point to the difference in "Law" and "Grace"?  How does the Lord's miracle serve as a prophetic illustration of JOY coming on "the third day"?  What is the symbolic significance of the six clay waterpots which were filled to the brim?  How is the Gospel portrayed in this first CREATIVE miracle of turning water into wine?   AN EXTREMELY EYE-OPENING LESSON EVEN FOR THOSE WHO ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS STORY!

Not only do we have fun discussing each of these six men in this lesson, but we also lean a lot about how to witness of Christ to people using different methods, including how to witness to a skeptic!  We take an interesting look into how the Lord first testified to the reality of Old Testament prophetic types (pictures) of Himself as He declared to Nathanael that He is the fulfillment of Jacob's ladder!  He is the ONE WAY into Heaven!  He IS "The Ladder Lord" (see Genesis Lesson 14 on this podcast). 

We discuss an important distinction between the doctrine of peccability and the doctrine of impeccability in this lesson.  These doctrines address the question, "Could the Son of God be tempted as men are tempted and could He have sinned as men sin?  The doctrine of peccability declares He could have sinned, while the doctrine of impeccability says no, He could NOT have sinned.  Did you know a very extensive and heated controversy about this issue took place in Church history during the Middle Ages?  Yet, most people today have never heard of this debate, nor can they support which one of the two doctrines they believe!  LEARN about this issue and a lot more very rich information in this study!

Why did the Baptist protest baptizing Jesus?  Why, in fact, did Jesus need to baptized at all?  Wasn't John's baptism a baptism of repentance and confession of sin?  Jesus was sinless!  Does this indicate a "consciousness of sin" on Jesus' part, as liberal theologians proclaim?

What are the various types of baptisms mentioned in Scripture?  You may be surprised how many there are!  We discuss the one time in Scripture the Holy Spirit was represented as a dove, and what it signified.  We also discuss the first of three times in the New Testament God the Father spoke from Heaven His approval of His Beloved Son.  All three Members of the Trinity were involved in this important event!

Thousands of people (like those First Century religious rulers) have lived and died under similar, blind delusion, thinking because they are connected with some particular religion, church denomination, nationality, or godly heritage they are guaranteed a place in Heaven.  This is why it absolutely critical for a person to understand that salvation is solely based on one's personal (individual) relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ - and not to anything or anyone else.  "Ye must be born again" (John 3:3)!!

We also discuss the three main religious sects: Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes.   This is not just about the past, for there is a world full of religious people just like them today!  A third collective group we look at in this study is the judicial "branch" of Jewish government (under Rome, of course), the powerful Sanhedrin Council. 

Just think of this fact:  if the Romans allowed the Sanhedrin to have jurisdiction over the death penalty, Jesus would not have been crucified.  He would have been stoned to death.  If that was the case, He would not have fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies and types about the manner of suffering and death the Messiah would face (being pierced; lifted up like the brazen serpent on the pole in the wilderness, etc.).  If Jesus did not fulfill even one Messianic prophecy dealing with His First Coming, He would have disqualified to be the Saviour of the world.  But, don't worry.  He fulfilled every one of them, literally - to the very jot and tittle.

Why was the Baptist the greatest Old Testament person born of a woman (eliminates Adam) to ever live, according the Christ?  What was about him that earned that accolade?

In this lesson, we learn about Biblical repentance; we learn about the difference between a baptism of righteousness and a baptism of repentance; we learn about the personality and humility of John, his clothing, his diet, his dedication to his commission, and his Nazarite vow - much to learn about the voice crying in the desert to prepare the way for the Sovereign Saviour. 

In this lesson, we will discuss - from the few verses of God' Word about each stage of Christ's early life (1) Jesus the Child, (2) Jesus the Adolescent, (3) Jesus the Young Man, and (4) Jesus the Carpenter.

Although Jesus was God and could have easily by-passed all normal growth processes, He willingly subjected Himself to live in a human body so as to empathize with the whole human experience.  He did not simply appear in the world as an infant with an adult mind.  He did not come physically as a grown man  He was the very Word of God, but He had to learn to speak like we all do.  His wisdom and knowledge came to Him by degrees (though greatly accelerated because of His sinless nature).  

Who were Jesus' brothers?  Did He have sisters?  How does the fact that He had half-siblings disprove the perpetual virginity theory about Mary?  When do we first know that Jesus knew His mission?  What kind of father was Joseph and when did he disappear from the scene?  How appropriate is it that the Creator-Carpenter of the Universe chose to be a Carpenter is His pre-ministerial life?  

We note that Jesus did not fall victim to fleshly impatience by striving to obtain honor and glory on His own or for His own glory.  He waited on His heavenly Father's timing as He spent 30 preparation years laboring diligently at His trade (building things) and in the Word (of which He is both Author and Finisher)!  Great, very informative lesson about a lot of things Christians don't normally think about with regard to our Saviour.

Learn how these divinely orchestrated movements of Jesus fulfilled three Old Testament propecies: Hosea 11:1 (out of Egypt God would call His Son), Jeremiah 31:15 (Rachel would weep over a massacre of infants, which occurred with Herod's "Slaughter of the Innocents"), and Isaiah 11:1 (the coming Messiah would be called a Nazarene).  

It always perplexed the Old Testament scholars how one Messiah could fulfill all three Messianic prophecies concerning His "origin"!  How could He be born in Bethlehem Ephrata (Micah 5:2), be called by God "out of Egypt" (Hosea 11:1), and be called a Nazarene, meaning from Nazareth (Isaiah 11:1)?  Well, in Jesus Christ all three prophecies were fulfilled!  What other possible "would-be" Messianic candidate would ever be able to fulfill them?  Yet, the Jews still await a messiah other than Jesus.  

Did you know that 700 years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah (60:3, 6, 9) predicted the arrival of Gentiles on camels coming to the light of the Lord, bearing gifts of gold and frankincense?  Learn in this study why there is no mention of myrrh in that prophecy!  Find out how Balaam, the "prophet for profit," is part of the narrative regarding the Wise Men.  Find out how the extraordinary Daniel was also involved in the story of the Magi from the East!  

Listen to this message, and you will have much additional information to share with your family this Christmas about the early life of Christ (of course, you don't have to wait for Christmas, but you may have to rearrange your Nativity sets - the Wise Men weren't there at His birth).  

In this important lesson, we also discuss the birth of "the Lamb of God"!  Perhaps you think there is not much new you could hear about "the Christmas Story," but have you ever considered how divinely orchestrated all the various circumstances had to be for Christ's birth to be in Bethlehem (not Nazareth)?  To bring about just that one fulfillment, God set "the whole world" in motion!  For one thing, He "inspired" Herod the Great to choose the Roman method of taxation rather than the Jewish method.  That one decision, if different, would have disqualified to be the True Messiah! 

YOU CANNOT STUDY THE DETAILS OF CHRIST'S BIRTH AND DENY WHO HE IS!

In this lesson, we look at the the divine announcements regarding the marvelous event of the great Creator entering the very world He created to dwell among us as a Man!  The first two divine announcements were made to a Jewish priest named Zacharias (see Lesson 3) and a virgin Jewish girl named Mary (in the direct bloodline of King David).  The mysterious "Seed" of Genesis 3:15 was finally to be understood, as were Isaiah 7:14 ("a virgin shall conceive") and Jeremiah 31:22 ("a woman shall compass a Man")!

The third announcement was to Joseph (in the direct royal-line of David), betrothed to Mary.  Learn about this wonderful man God chose to be the human step-father of His Eternal Son (talk about a privilege and heavy-duty responsibility)! 

Christ's life is more worth knowing than your own!   

If there is one Person Who has ever lived Whose life is well worth knowing - intellectually AND internally (mind and heart), it is the pre-life (Eternity Past), the earthly life (Incarnation), and the post-life (Resurrection/Ascension/Eternal Reign) of the Lord Jesus.

See "the Way," and "the Truth," and "the Life" in the three Tabernacle "entrances"!  See Christ in the gold-covered Acacia wood of the Tabernacle Proper!  See the Trinity in the three main parts of the Tabernacle Proper and find out where Their three crowns are located within that Holy Place!  Discover the interesting connection with the "pathway" of the Tabernacle (from the Eastern Gate entrance to the Holy of Holies) and the "path" of salvation.  

Find out the significance of the names of Moses' two God-chosen, God-gifted construction foremen and how they together pictured Christ Jesus.  Learn why, for the first and only time in the long wilderness journey of Israel, we don't hear her murmuring and complaining!  In fact (other than the shocking golden calf incident), she was unusually obedient, generous, and united!  It was a good time for Israel as she worked together in building "God's House"!

There are 50 chapters in Scripture regarding the Tabernacle, its priesthood, its furnishings, its sacrifices, and its significance in regard to Christ and His atonement work on the cross of Calvary.  There are only 2 chapters on the Creation account.  So, do you think the Tabernacle is important to God?  

You will be enriched by this study - EVEN IF you have studied the Tabernacle many times before!  

Did you know Exodus chapters 21 to 23 are full of "case laws" about all manner of subjects, such as the treatment of servants and their rights, about murder and non-lethal violence, about harming pregnant women, about sorcery, sexual perversions, idolatry, false religious practices; restitution, property rights, usury, speaking ill of judges and rulers, giving false testimony, mob rule, partiality, mistreatment of foreigners, widows, and orphans - to name a few.  

Don't judge this study by its title; it is packed with good stuff.

So, in this lesson from our study on finding types of Christ in the Book of Exodus, we take an in-depth look at all the many ways in which Moses served as the greatest person-type of Jesus in the Bible (even more so than Joseph, who is likewise a strong prophetic-type of the Lord).  You will be utterly surprised, so get your pen to take notes, because you will want to remember what you hear.

What is the difference between the Code of Hammurabi and "The Ten Commandments"?  Do you know how the famous "Ten Commandments" were first presented to Israel?  Do you know what Israel's initial response to God's presentation of them to her was?  Find the answers to these and many other questions on this subject in this study - you may very well learn new truths about an old subject!

scripturetruth.com  or  mazon.com

FASCINATING STUDY!!  Learn how each of Israel's four God-given "Spring Feasts" (Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and the Feast of Weeks, aka "Pentecost") presented a prophetic type of a very significant event concerning the First Coming of Christ.  Learn why this lesson is entitled, "Israel's Pentecost"!  Find out the amazing parallels between the great event at Mount Sinai when God "came down" to give Israel the Law (which rabbis declare to be the "birth" of the nation of Israel) and the Day of Pentecost, when God the Holy Spirit "came down" to fill believers in Jesus, and the Church was born.  Did you know both events were accompanied by wind, fire, smoke, and "voices" ("languages")?  Did you know it was 50 days after Israel's Exodus from her bondage in Egypt that she received "The Mosaic Covenant" from God, and it was 50 days after Christ's "Exit from death" (His resurrection) that believers (the new-born Church) received "The New Covenant" from God?

This is a lesson to hear several times - and then share with your family and friends!  God's Word is perfect!

Learn some fascinating similarities and differences between the two occasions when Moses got water out of Rocks.  Learn why he was severely punished for his disobedience in striking the second Rock instead of speaking to it!  Why was that Rock business so very serious to God?! Find out what was discovered by a Bible-believing American couple in the early 1990s in Saudi Arabia (northwest of Jabal Magla)!  

Included in this lesson is the account of Israel's first victory in warfare (Moses' arms upheld by Aaron and Hur), but the victory did not belong to her; the victory was the Lord's!  

". . . Taste and see that the Lord is good"!  

In this lesson (and lesson 10b of this series), learn all about "Manna" (also called "the corn of heaven" and "angel's food").  What does the word "manna" mean?  What did manna taste like and look like?  How long did it last?  What was Israel's "Sixth Day Test"?  Why was a pot of it preserved in the Ark of the Covenant - what did it symbolize?  How much fell in order to feed some 2,000,000 people?  What happened to it when the sun rose?  When did it cease to fall in relation to Israel's wilderness journey?  Why did God arrange matters so that the people had to daily and individually stoop down to gather their "omer" of manna.  How much is an "omer"?

What did the Lord do when Israel grumbled about the quail He graciously sent them in the wilderness?  When you find out, you will realize we have a sense of humor because we are made in His image, and He definitely has a sense of humor (even, sometimes, in His chastening)!

Israel heard how they were to henceforth commemorate the original Passover experience with an annual Feast of Passover, as well as a Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 13).  They were never to forget what the Lord did for them in delivering them from their bondage in Egypt!  It was ALL a prophetic picture of the One Who would literally BE the Passover Lamb and Who would literally BE unleavened (without sin) so He could save ALL firstborns who willingly applied His blood to "the doorposts" of their hearts (and, thus, become "second borns" - born again).  

Powerful lesson on PASSAGE and PRAISE!

Who exactly was "the destroyer," who swept over Egypt, taking the firstborns without "the blood" of the Passover lamb on their doorposts?  You might be surprised!

Very interestingly, there were at least seven specifics presented in the burning bush episode that portray the redemption work of Christ on the cross, and you will be amazed to hear about them.

Also in this study is the really strange account of when the preincarnate Lord held  in a death grip that was only released when Moses' wife Zipporah came to the rescue with a flint knife and circumcised her son (and Moses' son)!  This is one of the most avoided passages of Scripture!  Find out more about why this episode is referred to as "The Bloody Bridegroom"!  It is mysterious and bizarre, but you will certainly learn how seriously the Lord takes His covenants! 

Here is truth to ponder:  what the burning bush did not accomplish in Moses, the bloody bridegroom experience did!

scripturetruth.com  or  mazon.com

You have heard the account of young Moses - Pharaoh's infanticide decree for all Hebrew infants to be thrown into the crocodile-infested Nile River, the providential arrival of Pharaoh's own daughter to draw young Moses from that river to raise him as her own, etc., but this presentation will bring the story to life more than any Bible picture book!  

This study of the Living Word Ministry is one of Katherine's favorite!  There is much more in the Book of Exodus than "the surface" story.  There are deep, rich, exciting pictures of Christ throughout the book.   We think you will be amazed what you learn!

This lesson includes the amazing death-bed prophecies Jacob proclaimed to his 12 sons, the most critical of which is the prophecy to Judah, for it concerned the coming Messiah, called "Shiloh" ("He to Whom the scepter belongs").  

Find out five ways in which Judah served as a type of Christ, and 9 more ways (a total of 82) Joseph was an extraordinary prophetic-type of the Lord Jesus.

One thing we learn from Joseph (among so many) is that a key word for a believer in the midst of suffering is not escape, but endurance!  Timing is in the hands of Almighty God!  It was the Lord Who predetermined and orchestrated both the day Joseph's brothers cast him in a pit and the day the butler finally remembered him, and he went straight from the prison to the palace!  

Remember, joy cometh in the morning!

Unknown to Joseph, God's providential hand was working everything together for good for Joseph.  He was developing and maturing him for the very important task ahead when he would serve as the highest official in the land of Egypt under Pharaoh.  In that royal position, Joseph would be used of God to save his family and Egypt (picture of the world) from perishing by providing them with "the Bread of Life"!  Thirteen more (out of 82) ways Joseph pictured Jesus are presented!

For one of the greatest Bible examples on FORGIVENESS (other than Christ), you must look closely at the life of the amazing Joseph.

A very interesting truth to discover in this lesson is how the burdens, strivings, jealousies, desires, joys, and praises of Jacob's wives and concubines . . . expressed in the names they gave their sons . . .  "spell out" (in their Hebrew meanings) a prophetic message concerning God's plan of salvation through His Redeemer, Christ!  ONLY the all-knowing, all-powerful, infinitely wise Eternal God could reveal such a profound message 2,000 years before the Gospel was accomplished by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus!  Absolutely amazing.

One thing to note is that the Lord called the babies in Rebekah's womb "people" and knew about their character traits! 

In Genesis 14, a tenth, very mysterious king suddenly appeared on the scene!  His name, Melchizedek means "King of Righteousness".  He was a Priest of the Most High God, and King of Salem or "King of Peace"!!  He is definitely a prophetic type of the Lord Jesus (and some even think he was the preincarnate Christ - an interesting debate discussed in this lesson).  Our Great High Priest Christ, Who is also the King of Righteousness and the King of Peace, will likewise appear out of seemingly no where at His Second Coming to save Abraham's descendants (through Isaac) from extinction!  There is SO MUCH TYPOLOGY in this lesson!

For a solid understanding of the Abrahamic Covenant, this is a "must listen" message. 

Where did the nations and languages of this world originate?  Although profoundly ridiculed by Bible critics for centuries, the truth of "The Table of Nations" in Genesis chapter 10 (the 70 nation groups which resulted from the divine dispersion of families from Babel) has been abundantly supported by findings in anthropology, archeology, and linguistic studies on the origins of languages.  You can trust Scripture 100%.  Good TRUE history lesson all young people should be taught!  They would have a much better understanding of life if they knew the early chapters of Genesis.  Amen.

Did you know the Ark came to rest on Mount Ararat on the very day Christ, centuries later, would resurrect from "the waters of death"?  Did you know the Gospel message is hidden in the Hebrew meaning of the first 10 men of Christ's lineage (Adam to Noah)?

Don't miss the boat!  Hear this message and tell others to listen to Christ-centered ARKiology!

Isn't it interesting that Cain, who was too "dignified" to offer a blood sacrifice, quickly and angrily shed the blood of his own brother? Cain's life should be a strong lesson about the danger in trusting human "reason" rather than divine revelation; of continuing in human willfulness opposed to divine will; of human pride versus Christlike humility; of sinking to hatred rather than rising to love; of presenting fleshly excuses instead of seeking divine grace.  Wrong choices end in human loneliness instead of enjoying divine fellowship.  To be without God is the worst thing in this life, but it is worse in the life to come.

The two despondent Emmaus Road disciples were upset because the One in Whom they had placed their faith and hope was gone.  He had been horrifically crucified.  Their despair was their own fault for not having correctly understood "The Gospel Seed" message of Genesis 3:15.  They should have known the Messiah/Saviour would indeed first suffer Satan's crushing, but not permanently fatal, blow before coming into His glory! 

This is a critical message for Christians and for non-Christians!  Everything in Scripture stems from and circles back to the divine declaration of Genesis 3:15.

This is a deep study, presented in clear, understandable terms.  It is foundational for a proper understanding of why God allowed evil into His perfect creation.  Knowing beginnings is vital to understand the present and to prepare rightly for the future.

YOU NEED TO SHARE THIS MESSAGE, ESPECIALLY WITH THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW THE SAVIOUR!

This is a superb one-hour "lesson" emphasizing the truth that Scripture is a divinely-inspired cohesive whole, with Christ and His redemptive work on the cross its central theme.  The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed; the New Testament is the Old revealed.  Amen.  Learn about TYPOLOGY in this and the lessons to follow in this spiritual heartburn study, "CHRIST in GENESIS".

Did you realize there were SEVEN CALVARY-related MIRACLES?  Can you name them?

Also discussed in this lesson are three more reactions; human reactions:  (1) a Roman centurion expresses belief in Jesus as "the Son of God" (the penitent thief, a Jew, and the centurion, a Gentile, were cross-work "fruit" and witnesses of Christ's saving power); (2) the watching multitude were full of fear over all they witnessed.  In fact, they beat their breasts, which was a sign of fear and conviction of sin (good sign).  (3) The third human response came from the group of faithful women disciples of Christ who had remained at the crucifixion site (although "afar off") throughout His Passion.  They were confused and, needless to say, in deep grief.  ALL WOULD CHANGE FOR THEM (and for US) in just a few more days!  Halleluiah!

This study in written form is found in our "Caldwell Commentary" series - "Life of Christ Vol. 8" (available through www.scripturetruth.com).

Discover a number of evidences that NOBODY TOOK CHRIST'S LIFE; HE LAID IT DOWN HIS OWN WAY and ON HIS OWN TIME SCHEDULE (which was exactly the time of day when the Passover lambs were be slain - 3:00 p.m.).  Much "meat" for the spiritually hungry in this two-part study!

This lesson is given in written form in "The Caldwell Commentary" book entitled "The Life of Christ Vol. 8 (available through www.scripturetruth.com).

Learn all about the Victor's declaration, "It is Finished!"  He did not say, "I am finished," for the fact is it was just the beginning of many new things for Him and for those who put their faith in Him!  "Tetelestai" (the Greek word for "It is finished") was not the tragic cry of a victim at all.  It was the triumphant shout of a Victor!!!  It was the declarative statement of the Eternal Son of God to the entire universe that the redemptive work He came to do on earth for man was accomplished!  This means there is not a thing you or I can DO to "help" Jesus "get us saved".  The only thing needful is for a person to rest, by faith, in the completed, accomplished, totally performed and "done deal" work of Christ.  IT IS FINISHED!  Alleluia; Amen!

The entire Gospel of Christ is essentially wrapped up in that one powerful Greek word, "Tetelestai," my favorite word in the Bible, other than the name above every name, Jesus!

This lesson (with Homework Questions) is found in written form in "The Caldwell Commentary" series "Life of Christ Vol. 8 (available through www.scripturetruth.com). 

There is a lengthy discussion in this lesson about the Lord's fifth saying from the cross, "I thirst".  Find out why those words give evidence of His Humanity, but how the reason He spoke them gives evidence of His Deity!  

Who was the last person to demonstrate a degree of compassion to the Lord Jesus?  Find out!  What are some of the obvious similarities between the Passover events concerning Christ's crucifixion and the original Passover of Moses' day?  Again, find out (hint: darkness, hyssop, sacrificial Lamb).

This lesson in written form (with Homework Questions) is found in our "Caldwell Commentary" - "Life of Christ Vol. 8 (available through www.scripturetruth.com).  See also Amazon.com for other Caldwell Commentaries

What were God's reasons for the darkness that shrouded the suffering of His Son from human eyes for three hours?  

If Jesus is Deity (and He is), then why would He ask why God had forsaken Him (His fourth saying from the cross)?  Did He not know?  Yes, He knew!  In fact, His knowledge of that mandatory separation, when He literally became the curse of sin for us, was the whole reason for His agony in Gethsemane!  Also, the preincarnate Christ answered His own question in the prophetic preview of His cross-work recorded in Psalm 22.  Actually, by asking the question, He fulfilled yet one more Messianic prophecy! 

One further point of interest:  Jesus asked the question so the world would know He paid the FULL wages of death for our sin, which includes not only physical death, but also spiritual death (separation from God)! 

Deep, theological lesson made easy to understand and to deepen faith and appreciation for "What Jesus Did for YOU" . . . and for me.  Critical lesson for every believer; convicting lesson to use evangelistically with every non-believer.

This lesson in written form (with Homework Questions) is in our "Caldwell Commentary" series, "The Life of Christ Vol. 8 (available through www.scripturetruth.com).

Ivor Powell (great Bible commentator) said if he were a woman, one of his favorite passages of Scripture would be John 19:25, 26.  Why?  Because, at the most critical time in Christ's life (as He hung on the cross to pay for the sins of the world), all but one Apostle had forsaken Him.  Only young John was present at the cross  However, there were four faithful women who had both the courage and love to stand with Jesus in the midst of widespread, open hostility and mockery.  Find out who they were, as well as interesting information about each of them.

Was Mary, the mother of Jesus, still at the cross when He died?  A lot of religious paintings would lead us to think so!  Listen and hear what the Bible actually tells us!  

This study is found in written form (with Homework Questions) in our "Caldwell Commentary" series, "Life of Christ Vol. 8 (available through www.scripturetruth.com)

Find Katherine Caldwell Commentaries on Amazon.com

Did you know the thief's salvation was fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy?  It was!  Be surprised to learn where that prophecy was given.

Please understand this truth: Many people erroneously think the crucifixion manifested the Lord's weakness.  The total opposite is true!  Christ crucified is the power of God (II Corinthians 13:4)!

This lesson in written form (with Homework Questions) is found in "The Caldwell Commentaries" - Life of Christ Vol. 8 (available through www.scripturetruth.com).

As in the first part of this two-part look at Christ's horrific crucifixion, we will see how Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled.  Learn, too, who wrote the first Gospel tract and what it said.  Also, did you know the Holy Spirit did NOT inspire any of the four gospel writers to record details about the Lord's actual crucifixion!  Why do you think that is?  

In this lesson, we engage in the unpleasant task of describing the suffering of the cruelest, most disgraceful death instrument depraved mankind ever invented.  We discuss a four-point outline in this two-part study of "The Crucifixion":  the Pain of Crucifixion, the Prayer of Christ ("Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do"), the Parting of Clothing (a fulfillment of Psalm 22:18), and the Placard of the Cross.  

Similar to the lack of any details recorded in the four gospels about the Lord's scourging by the Romans, we also find that none of the four divinely inspired authors wrote anything more about His crucifixion than simply to say, "they crucified Him" along with "two robbers".  From the human perspective, we can assume Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John saw little reason to describe the horrors of crucifixion to their contemporary readers, for everyone in that day knew more about crucifixion than they wanted to know.

In this lesson, we discuss the Lord's final week of His public ministry on earth.  It is commonly referred to as His "Passion Week," and it began on Palm Sunday.  We briefly talk about the events of each day of that most significant week, but the primary emphasis of this study is on the day of His crucifixion.  There are three main views on this debate.  They are the (1) Wednesday view, (2) the Thursday view, and (3) the Friday view (of which there are two).  We discuss each view and its pros and cons. 

The conclusion reached is that the Bible best supports a Thursday crucifixion.  Although the most important fact is that Jesus did, indeed, die for the sins of the world, it is still good for believers in Him and His Word to know why they believe what they believe.  Should we simply believe something because it has always been "the traditional" way of things, or should we search the Scriptures to find what best supports our view?  

In this prologue to Daniel's final vision, we discuss the Tribulation of the last days, the resurrection and glorification of the saints.  We also discuss the various bodily resurrections of Scripture and when they took place or will yet take place.  Also discussed is the command to seal-up the Book of Daniel until the end times, and God's promise to preserve it.  The pre-incarnate Christ again appeared to Daniel and gave him some additional time frames regarding the last days (30 plus 45 days between Christ's Second Coming and the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom).  Find out what those extra days are "all about"!

The reason Scripture presents so much about Antiochus Epiphanes is because he served as a prophetic type of the future Antichrist.  Because so much of the Book of Daniel either foreshadows or reveals the Antichrist of the last days, it has often been called "The Revelation of the Antichrist".

Verses 36 to 39 contain prophecies about the final "fighting king," who is the most vicious king of any in history.  In this lesson, we discuss his character, his conquests, and his conclusion (meaning his "end" - how he will die).  Will the Antichrist be Jewish?  Gentile?  Islamic?  Roman?  Homosexual?  Listen and hear what Scripture says.

Daniel chapter 11 is one of the most extensive prophetic sections of the Bible.  In just the first 35 verses of the chapter, there are over 135 prophecies given!  Every single one of them we now know came to pass precisely as predicted!  Fulfilled prophecy is one of the greatest proofs of the divine inspiration of Scripture, which is why Daniel chapter 11 is at the heart of the attacks against the entire book.  

scripturetruth.com  or  mazon.com

This important lesson, from Daniel 10:1 to 11:1 presents the prelude to Daniel's final vision, which sweeps over the time in history from Daniel's day to the Second Coming of Christ at the end of the Great Tribulation.  

Daniel received a special visit from the pre-incarnate Christ, which tells us that the prophetic vision Daniel would receive is of great importance.  The appearance of the Lord caused Daniel to be so stunned, he had no strength in him and collapsed in a faint.  The hand that reached down to lift him up belonged to an angel (possibly Gabriel), who then proceeded to tell Daniel about the 21 days of spiritual warfare he had in the heavenlies with "the prince of the kingdom of Persia" until "Michael, one of the chief princes" came to help him (10:10-13).

This is a very interesting lesson on the warfare that takes place in the atmospheric heavens, where Satan is "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2), between the fallen angels and the holy angels.  Learn about the hierarchy that exists among the angelic host (i.e. principalities, powers, thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities) and why Ephesians 6:12 is definitely true, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places".

Not only does this great prophecy predict Messiah's arrival, but also His death, and Jerusalem's coming destruction following His death (which did, indeed, occur in A.D. 70).  Furthermore, we discuss the one remaining "week" of seven years for God's overall redemptive program for Israel.  That last "week" is the seven-year Tribulation Period (Revelation 6 to 19)!  Daniel's prophecy, given in the Fifth Century B.C., also predicted the horrific covenant agreement Israel will make with the Antichrist, the abomination of desolation he will commit in the Tribulation Temple, and, also, the destruction of the Antichrist (yeah!). 

This is the most important Old Testament prophecy for you to know - not only to strengthen your confidence concerning Christ's identity as we look back in history, but to strengthen your confidence concerning His plan for the future, which He will fulfill as assuredly and as literally as He assuredly and literally fulfilled all the prophecies relative to His First Coming.  Amen.

In this lesson, we set the stage for this amazing prophecy.  Hang in there and listen attentively (and then procede to listen to Lesson #34).  This prophecy is so very crucial to a proper comprehension of eschatology (a study of end times).  A person should always "have a handle" on this prophecy before studying the Book of Revelation! A proper understanding of this all-important prophecy refutes the prevalent teaching of Replacement Theology (that God has replaced Israel with the Church; also called "Supersessionism")!  A proper understanding of this fantastic prophecy gives STRONG evidence for a Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church!  Furthermore, as stated above, this marvelous prophecy, given to one of the godliest prophets who ever lived (Daniel), provides irrefutable evidence as to the identity of the True Messiah, and He is the One Who presented Himself to Israel on Palm Sunday, which was the very day predicted in this INCREDIBLE PROPHECY (see also our 3 lessons on "The King's Triumphant Entry" on this podcast).

This study is from our "Caldwell Commentary" series.  "Daniel; An Extra-ordinary Servant of God in Extra-Ordinary Times, Extra-ordinary Prophecies" (available at www.scripturetruth.com).

God's messenger angel, Gabriel, told Daniel he was "greatly beloved".  It is well worth the time to study the man Daniel - his person, passion, purposed-heart, and prayer life - for who among us would not love to hear the Lord call us His "greatly beloved"?

Daniel knew he and his people had no one to blame but themselves for their shameful state as captives in Babylon.  He repeatedly acknowledged Israel at fault for turning from God and ignoring His many warnings of impending judgment if she didn't repent and turn from her wicked ways.  Her sins were worse because she knew better!  

Learn why Daniel's prayer received immediate results, though God's messenger was delayed by a spiritual battle in the heavenlies!  The amazing answer to Daniel's prayer was the most extensive prophetic prophecy in the Old Testament - one you must study: "The Great Seventy Weeks' Prophecy" (see this podcast for Daniel lessons 33 and 34 on that amazing prophecy).

IMPORTANT LESSON on the last fierce king of the last Gentile Kingdom, the Antichrist.

Who is the "Little Horn"?  Find out.

This lesson is on Daniel 8:11-14.  

We look at Daniel's piercing reaction to the prophetic visions of his dream (7:15), his probing requests for further understanding of the dream (7:16-27), and his pensive response to the interpretive answers (from a heavenly sent messenger) he received (7:28).

Learn about the fourth beast and the ten kings who arise from his head - and the eleventh king (also called "the little horn").

In Lesson 25, we discussed Daniel's introduction to his own dream (7:1-3) and then we looked at the dreadful invasion of the various beast of the dream, which represented the successive Gentile kingdoms from ancient Babylon to the final kingdom of the Antichrist.  In this lesson, we discuss what Daniel's dream prophesied about the future time of Divine intervention on the entire anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-Israel, anti-Christian world system (represented by all the beasts).

There will be justice at last!

Daniel chapter 7, however, views these same world powers from God's perspective, and, to Him, they are like a procession of increasingly bloodthirsty beasts of prey, dreadful to behold in their immoral appetites, willful blindness to the truth, carnal, callous brutality toward their fellow man, and cruel animosity toward the Jewish people.  

In a very real sense, Israel's destiny (as with America today) was decided in the prayer rooms of Daniel and the other faithful Jews in Babylon.  Human responsibility mysteriously works together with God's Sovereign will.  The great spiritual battle for Daniel took place and was won on his knees before an open window - not in the lions' den!  Daniel was willing to yield his body in the den, but, before an open window, he yielded his will (much like Christ in Gethsemane).

Remember:  God sometimes chooses to keep us safe in the lions' den, but not safe from the lions' den!  We, today, could substitute the words "Corona Virus" for "lions' den".  It brings the Lord more glory when He saves us in our troubles than when He saves us from our troubles!

The setting for the "lions' den" episode is in the new Medo-Persian Empire.  The "lion king" was Darius the Mede (vassal king over the city of Babylon).  Daniel was the pre-eminent president serving under the king, who liked and trusted Daniel - but allowed his ego to trap him by signing a decree that put Daniel in serious danger if he continued to pray to the Most High God, which he did (faithfully, three times a day, as he always did).  Daniel is an extra-ordinary man - we all can learn so much for his prayer life and his commitment to God!  His life definitely revealed the reality of his faith.  It is in this lesson that he really encountered his true enemies, and they weren't the ravenous lions; they were the ravenous liars (the tools of Satan)!

Assurance of salvation is for the here and now; it is not something only attained when we leave this world and then find out we made it! Faith is not something we are always hoping to grasp "enough of" in order to “make it” in the end.  We can have confident faith right now. Hebrews 11:1 – “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.  As God’s children, we are to know we have been saved. The word know means absolute assurance. The words “know, knoweth, or known” appear 38 times in this short epistle.

Can a believer really know the joy (abundant life) of the Lord without being perfectly certain he has eternal life – and cannot ever lose it?  Not really, for it is to live in doubt and even fear. As the Puritan Thomas Brooks wrote, “Assurance is the believer’s ark where he sits, Noah-like, quiet and still in the midst of all distractions and destructions, commotions and confusions . . .”  Isaiah 32:17 tells us that where God imputes righteousness in a believer, the effect of that righteousness is peace (“quietness”) “and assurance forever”.

There is no reason for a genuine believer to be on his way to Heaven in a kind of mist – hoping he or something or someone else doesn’t cause “the ark” to sink into the judgment waters of God’s wrath! The ark is Christ! If you entered it, He closed the door – and what He closes is secure and no one can open! He is the Good Shepherd Who promised “He that cometh to Me, I shall in no wise cast out”.

IMPORTANT STUDY! We examine many reasons for why believers doubt their salvation - including the fact that many have been wrongly taught that they can lose it!  Many many passages of Scripture teach the exact opposite and we look at a lot of them! 

Presented from the epistle of First John are such self-examination "tests" as the 1. Belief in the Full Deity and Full Humanity of Christ Test, 2. The Life Test, 3. Fellowship Test, 4. The Sensitive to Sin Test, 5. The Obedience Test, 6. Reject Evil World Test, 7. The Maranatha Mindset Test, 8. Ministry of the Holy Spirit Test, 9. Love the Brethren Test, 10. Answered Prayer Test, and 11. Suffer Rejection Test. 

This self-examination series of tests may well be the most important introspection of yourself you ever make! Be absolutely sure you have eternal life through faith in the one way Divinely provided for man to be forgiven and thoroughly cleansed of sin, and that "Way" is Jesus Christ, the God/Man, our Kinsman-Redeemer Saviour Who laid down His life and shed His sin-atoning blood for our sake.

We take a jet-tour look at John's life before, during, and after his physical time spent with "the Word of life" - Jesus. We also speculate on the reason John outlived the other Apostles - as well as how each of those other men was so horrifically martyred for their rock-solid faith in the Gospel Truth of Christ's sin-atoning death, His burial, and third-day bodily resurrection!

We spend time explaining the various lies that false teachers had begun infiltrating into the Early Church, and why John was so intense in his warnings against such "antichrists". Included, also, is our discussion about having full-joy fellowship with God, His Son, and one another in spite of difficult circumstances. 

To explain up-front, this is not an exegetical (verse-by-verse) look at the Apostle John's first epistle; rather, it is an overview of the main purposes of the book (full-joy fellowship, holiness, discernment, salvation assurance). This study was done in a setting that was inter-active - meaning with questions and answers from the attendee/participants. Since their readings of Bible passages, answers to my questions, and other comments could not be heard on our audio recording, we had to make some "cuts" and "pastes," which accounts for the rougher places in this audio.  Sorry,  

Since Babylon's fall the night of Belshazzar's foolish feast, the world's nations and people groups have likewise foolishly neglected to keep out the great thief, Satan.  They have fallen prey to his many "alluring tricks" that numb their minds from the truth of the perilous condition without God.  Every ruler, nation, and individual without Him in, like Belshazzar, "one hour" from sudden destruction.

Learn the mysteries of "The Handwriting on the Wall," for they are fascinating and rich in meaning.  Remember this: God not only numbers our days, He weighs our lives!  

This lesson is about King Nebuchadnezzar's great humiliation, as he lived like an ox in the field for seven years, after he claimed for himself glory that belongs only to God.  It is also on the king's great humiliation, when he lived like an ox in the field for 7 years after having claimed for himself the glory that belongs only to God.

Telling the most powerful man on earth he is about to be "cut down" is not the most desirable aspect of the "job description" of a prophet, who doubled as a prime minister, but that was exactly what God required of Daniel.  As soon as Daniel heard Nebuchadnezzar's second God-given dream, his God-given gift of dream interpretation "kicked in," for he knew what it meant.  It predicted great shame and disgrace for the king, and Daniel had come to love the king - as chapter 4 shows us. 

Learn about the meaning of the great tree of Nebuchadnezzar's dream and the significance of it being cut down and trimmed, but leaving the stump with the roots in the ground.  Find out the judgment, purpose, and  hope of the dream and listen to Daniel give personal counsel to the king; that counsel was essentially this: "King, you have one of two choices.  You can either humble yourself before the Most High God and accept His grace, or you can experience great humbling for 7 years".  

What did the mighty king decide to do?  Listen and find out.

Did you know those three Hebrews are picture-types of the 144,000 sealed, believing Jews of the "fiery furnace" Tribulation days?  Where was Daniel in this story?  Why wasn't he among the three who would not bow to an idol (the Antichrist will also set up an idol of himself and force the world to bow to it)?  For sure, if Daniel had been there, he would not have bowed or budged - and then, like his friends, he would not have burned.  Daniel was not present because he pictured believing Jews of the Church, and the Church will not be thrown into the fiery furnace of the Tribulation Period on earth (see our podcast on the Rapture, under the tag "Revelation and End Times").

Nebuchadnezzar went into a wild rage!  How could anyone dare to refuse his command - and do so in the face of being instantly turned into a crispy critter in a fiery furnace!  How could they possibly be so confident in their God that they could say to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.  If it be so, our God Whom we serve is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king" (Daniel 3:16b, 17)?  There would be "No Budging" with these guys! 

Thus, this first lesson on the true account of the three Hebrews in "The Fiery Furnace Test" is entitled, "No Bowing!".  The lesson to follow (Lesson 15) is called, "No Budging!" and the third in this series (Lesson 16) is called, "No Burning!"  They are informative and very convicting lessons, and you will absolutely admire these great examples of Christlikeness in times of crisis.

The Stone is the Lord Jesus at His Second Coming.  The great mountain is His Kingdom on earth, known as the Millennial Kingdom.

Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan, was overwhelmed with all he heard from Daniel, and he fell on his face before him!  He even acknowledged that the God of the Hebrews was greater than "the gods" of Babylon, who were unable to help their "wise men" at all when it came to revealing and interpreting the dream.  Daniel was given the position of chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon!  It was the equivalent of being made Prime Minister!  Thus, at a young age, and a recent stranger to and captive of the great golden Babylonian Empire, Daniel was exalted to the highest position of honor that could be conferred on a subject of the king.  He was going to have a tremendous influence on the king.

We discuss some very interesting things in this lesson, such as the connection between the ancient Roman Empire and a Revived form of it in the days of the Antichrist (the most dreadful beast this world will have ever seen).  We discuss the push today for A New World Order (by such global think-tanks as the Club of Rome, the Trilateral Commission, the Committee of 300, the Bilderberg Group, the European Union), which is why there is such a demand for globalism and a growing disdain for nationalism (nations with border).

The image represents what is called "The Times of the Gentiles"; the timeline of this amazing dream-prophecy is from the Babylonian Captivity to the Return of Christ at the end of the Tribulation!  This prophecy perfectly aligns with the Book of Revelation, which is yet another proof of the Divine Authorship of the entire Scripture.

If you want God's perspective on history, you really need to have a good understanding of this very important prophetic dream!  History comes alive when it is seen from God's eyes!

Learn how the giant colossus of Nebuchadnezzar's God-sent dream disavows (refutes) the evolutionist's worldview of science and history!

What do we learn from Daniel?  Well, we learn about having honorable courage in a time of crisis.  We learn to face a crisis with not only courage, but prayer!  Before going boldly, but reverentially, before the raging king, Daniel and his fellow believers communicated their dilemma to Almighty God.  

Daniel kept close to the Lord even in a foreign land, separated from family, and saturated in a pagan culture.  He kept close to the Lord in the face of grave danger, and the result was God gave him wisdom, discernment, peace, godly abilities, and courage in the midst of a crisis.  He will do so for us, too, when we live by faith.  Remember, God's best works are revealed in impossible situations because then He alone gets the glory!  

In Daniel chapters 2 through 7, the future and destiny of the nations are foretold.  In chapter 2, God revealed - through a dream He sent to King Nebuchadnezzar - that the Gentile nations will rise and fall, seeking always to dominate one another economically and militarily.  This will continue through the time of the Antichrist, who will dominate the entire world for a few years, until his global reign is abruptly ended by the Return of Christ to establish God's Kingdom on earth.

Learn of the dreamy insomnia of Babylon's king, the impossible demand he made of his "wise men" as a result of a disturbing dream, the defense those "wise men" tried to make to the irrational king as to how impossible his request was (tell him his dream and interpret it), and the incensed decree he then issued - that they would all be "cut in pieces" if they did not come through for him!

It may be hard to believe, but this entire lesson is on half of one verse in Scripture (Daniel 1:8a)!  Tune-in and learn how there could be so much to say about Daniel's "Purposed Heart".  Hopefully, you will also purpose in your heart to do that which is right in God's eyes, regardless of the popular trends or the potential danger doing so may bring!  The world needs a lot more "Daniels"!!

In this lesson, we discuss the clever indoctrination program of King Nebuchadnezzar concerning the teen-aged young men of Judah's royal family taken in the First Exile to Babylon.  His plan was to mold the youth of conquered nations into full-fledged Babylonian citizens, who would be loyal and dedicated servants to him and his kingdom.  Those who exhibited extra leadership and character skills were given special training in what we have called "The Babylonian Brainwashing Academy".  Among those selected for this 3-year school to melt-down and remold the captive, royal youth into palace administrators for the king were Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael.  The plan was to get the roughly 60 Hebrew lads to join the Babylonian lifestyle, because it is a huge step toward then succumbing to the Babylonian philosophy and religion.  

As we proceed in our study of the Book of Daniel, we will see how Daniel and his three friends "scored" in the Brainwashing Academy and in God's much more important Character/Compromise Test!

We also take a look at Nebuchadnezzar, the Conquering King used by God to carry out His chastisement on Judah.  Then, we will also look at the Cultural Contrasts between Jerusalem and Babylon.  Concluding, we look at the Captives' Qualities (the characteristics of the young men, like Daniel, who were taken in the First Exile - and why they were chosen by the Babylonian king).

In this lesson, we discuss the free-will test of the angelic host in the FALL OF LUCIFER; we discuss WHY THE FALLEN ANGELS ARE NOT REDEEMALBE, HOW GOD PROTECTED THE HUMAN RACE FRom LIKEWISE BEING NON-REDEEMABLE, God's KINGDOM PROGRAM, and His REDEMPTIVE PROGRAM, and a quick, fascinating look at ISRAEL'S HISTORY from Abraham to the days of Daniel and King Nebuchadnezzar!

For over 100 years, the Book of Daniel has become the main target of the Bible critics.  They think it is Scripture's "Achilles' heel".  They think that, if they can discredit Daniel, then the entire "colossus" of the Bible will come crashing to the ground, turn to dust, and be blown away by the winds of "progressive" liberalism (like King Nebuchadnezzar's dream-image of chapter two).

In this lesson, we ANSWER THE SKEPTICS (as we continue to do throughout the entire 12 chapters of Daniel)!!

The Book of Daniel is a perpetual warning to leaders, nations, and the empires of the world, in every age, that every leader and governing body will one day be held accountable before the one and only Living God for the privileged responsibility they were given.  

In this first lesson, we take a look at the history of Israel at  the time of Daniel.  We take a look at the extraordinary man Daniel, of whom not a single negative word in Scripture is recorded!  From a teen to an elderly man, the one criticism of Daniel came from jealous, ungodly men who accused him of his fanatical devotion to his God!  That was actually a tremendous commendation!

In His seventh and final cross-saying, which was again a prayer (and one that showed He was again united spiritually with His Father), was filled with both Human submission and faith and Divine authority!  No one took His life from Him - He dismissed His own spirit into His Father's care as a King would dismiss a servant!  Again, His death (like everything in His life) proved He was Who He claimed to be - the very Son of the Living God!  The fantastic series of miracles that accompanied the moment of His death - and the resurrection of dead saints from their graves on Resurrection Sunday (after Christ's bodily resurrection) - all again served the purpose of testifying to the truth that "Surely, He IS the Son of God" (did the Roman centurion get saved? It certainly seems so)!

By the way, you don't want to miss hearing about the significance of the Temple veil renting in two right as Christ royally bowed His head and gave up His own spirit.

Was the 3-hour crucifixion-darkness merely a sun eclipse? No; that would be impossible (find out why).  Was it just over "Skull Hill" or over Jerusalem or perhaps the entire nation of Israel - or did it extend even further?  Are there extra-biblical, historical records to confirm that eerie darkness? Yes - and from some surprising sources!  What was God saying by way of that darkness? Listen and find out! 

To fully pay the wages of sin for mankind, the Lord Jesus had to die both physically and spiritually.  We know from the gospel records and many New Testament passages that He did indeed die physically, but how do we know He also died spiritually - that His soul was separated from His Heavenly Father?  We know from His middle (4th of 7) cross-saying!  He did not cry out (in a loud voice), "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" because He did not know the answer!  (He already answered it, through King David, in Psalm 22:3.)  He cried it out loud so we can rest assured that He died spiritually and the wages of our sin is therefore paid in full.

Discover, also, the reason Jesus cried out (again in an unusually loud voice for someone just minutes from death), "I thirst" (His fifth cross-saying).  There is a lot more in that statement than just the evidence of His Human suffering!  His mind was so incredibly alert - as demonstrated by the reason He spoke of His thirst - that there can be no doubt He is omniscient God!  MUCH TO DISCOVER IN THIS GREAT FOUR-PART STUDY! 

There is something significantly special about a dying person’s final words, but this is particularly important when it comes to the final pre-resurrection words of Jesus Christ.  They give us insight (a peek inside) His mind and spirit and as we look at them, it will become quite evident He was absolutely in control over the entire ordeal – from Gethsemane to Golgotha to a Garden Tomb (not the Romans, not the Jews, not the spectators, and certainly not Satan)!  Jesus proved to be both our Saviour and our Sovereign, from beginning to end – from when He was being horrifically nailed to the cross to the moment He majestically bowed His head and regally, as a King, dismissed His spirit into His Father’s hands.

As with everything regarding Christ, His 7 cross-sayings serve as further proof of His Person as the God/Man.  He was dying as a Man (shedding real blood, in horrific agony, thirsting), but His composure, control, character, compassion, and selfless concern – revealed both by His words and the miracles that accompanied His cross-atonement work – testify to the truth spoken by an impartial witness of everything – Truly this is the Son of God.

The salvation of the penitent thief was actually fulfillment of a prophecy found in Isaiah 53!  He also symbolically represents all of us!  Learn new and exciting truths in this lesson.  Also, find out more about the women who were with Christ at the foot of His cross - and why the Lord addressed His mother as "woman," not "mother".  

In this first lesson, we discuss some interesting comparative facts about three men saved during the Lord's crucifixion, and how they represent all people.  We also take a look at His first cross-saying, which was a prayer, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do".  Three of His seven last "words"from the cross were prayers, which was so very much "in character" for the One Who spent His entire life in communion with His heavenly Father.   THERE IS A LOT COMPACTED IN THIS STUDY and YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS IT (plus the three follow-up lessons)!  (For example, did you know all donkeys have a cross on their backs (why is that appropriate concerning Christ)?  And did you know that, just like Israel's high priest sprinkled blood on the Mercy Seat seven times on the Day of Atonement, so Christ, our Great High Priest, shed His blood 7 times?  The Bible is limitless in its riches.  Truly.

From the well-known account of the circumstances surrounding the conception and birth of the Lord Jesus, we discuss interesting truths not usually included in the re-telling of "The Christmas Account".   It is important for everyone to know about "The Jeconian Curse" (Jeremiah 22:30) and how the Lord Jesus ALONE qualifies to be Israel's rightful King.   It is also important to know the announcement that broke 400 years of inter-Testimental silence and how the two people directly involved in that announcement have Hebrew names which together remind the world that the Lord remembers His covenant promises!

We discuss how important it was that Herod chose the Roman method of taxation rather than the Jewish method, for otherwise Jesus would not have fulfilled the Messianic prophecy of Micah 5:2.  The virgin birth; the significance of the glad tidings being given to Bethlehem shepherds; the two elderly witnesses of Christ, Simeon and Anna; the interesting details about the Magi from the East and their knowledge regarding the curious "star" that appeared in the sky, disappeared, and then reappeared again and how it is connected to Balaam; the fascinating dual-fulfillment prophecy of Isaiah 60:3, 6 - these are all subjects discussed in this lesson.  You will have something NEW to teach this year at Christmas!

These six lessons serve as a type of "Jet-Tour" through this long study - so hang onto your hats as we cover a lot of territory!

When will God finally wipe away all the tears of believers?

How does Revelation 21:1 disprove “The Gap Theory?”

What about the gates of pearl in the wall of the New Jerusalem? What is their significance? 

How large in the Eternal City?

What is the shape of the Eternal City of God? A pyramid or a cube? 

What will the New Earth be like? What might be the reason the New Earth will no longer have seas (oceans)? Will there still be water in Heaven?

How does Revelation 22:1 reveal the presence of the Trinity Members in the New Jerusalem?

Will we eat and drink in Heaven and, if so, what?

How is the one-Divine Authorship of Scripture shown from Genesis to Revelation?

And much more . . . listen and make sure you will spend eternity in this "beyond imagination" final phase of God's dwelling place with the redeemed saints of all the ages!