Proverbs 3:11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: 12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. (KJV)
Acts 1 begins with the disciples watching Jesus’ Ascension, but before he left Earth he promised they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. While waiting for the Holy Spirit to come Matthias was chosen to replace Judas.
2 Kings 18. Hezekiah reigned in Judah, and was threatened by the Assyrians. Sennacherib boasted against the LORD, but Hezekiah still trusted the LORD and that He would deliver His people. The chapter ends with a standoff.
2 Kings 19. The prophet Isaiah assured deliverance from Sennacherib’s threat. Hezekiah’s prayed for deliverance and Isaiah delivered the word of the LORD concerning Sennacherib. That night the Angel of the Lord slayed 185,000 men, and Sennacherib was defeated and died not long after.
This chapter has a special meaning to me since I am an immigrant. Yet I realize I am a pilgrim and heaven is my real home.
She is called Rahab the prostitute. An alternate translation would be Rahab the innkeeper, for she was an independent woman that kept an inn.
Yes, thanks to Jesus death on the cross for our sins, his burial and resurrection we have the privilege to be allowed to enter His rest.
Luke 24:32-53. Jesus appeared to the Disciples back in Jerusalem and even ate a piece of broiled fish in their presence. He then explained the Scriptures written about him, and they understood for the first time, but had still to wait for the power from the Holy Spirit The Gospel of Luke ends with the Ascension, but that event is even better described in the Acts of the Apostles, also authored by Dr. Luke.
2 Kings 16. This is a short chapter and deals with Ahaz , king of Judah and his dealings with the king of Assyria.
2 Kings 17. Hoshea was the last King over Israel, the defeated people of Israel were carried captive to Assyria, and Assyria then resettled Samaria with their own people.
This chapter has a special meaning to me since I am an immigrant. Yet I realize I am a pilgrim and heaven is my real home.
We can prove from the laws of physics (the preservation of energy and matter but with a constantly increasing entropy) that we cannot possibly exist apart from creation. Yet creation from God’s command must be accepted by faith.Abel sacrificed the firstfruit of his flock, which pointed forward to Jesus being the lamb of God, giving his life for us.
In the upper hand corner is a piece of the book of Enoch, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Abraham’s journey was a two step journey. He went to Haran and dwelt there until his father died.
But Abraham also went to Egypt when famine struck the promised land.
This is what it means to be a pilgrim. The Jews had been scattered all over the earth ever since the fall of Israel. They were looking for a homeland to return to.
In the Balfour Declaration of 1917, the United Kingdom became the first world power to endorse the establishment in Palestine of a “national home for the Jewish people.” The British government confirmed this commitment by accepting the British Mandate for Palestine in 1922 (along with their colonial control of the Pirate Coast, Southern Coast of Persia, Iraq and from 1922 a separate area called Transjordan, all of the Middle-Eastern territory except the French territory). The European powers mandated the creation of a Jewish homeland at the San Remo conference of 19–26 April 1920. In 1948, the State of Israel was established.
And so began the prophetic clock to tick again for the Jewish People.
Luke 24:1-31. We call the first day of the week “The Lord’s day” to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the most important event in the Christian calendar! Later on the Resurrection day two dejected disciples met someone on the Road to Emmaus and finally realized they had met Jesus when he did break bread with them.
2 Kings 14. Amaziah firmly ruled in Judah and he followed the law of Moses: “every man shall be put to death for his own sin.” But after a victory over the Edomites he became proud and tried to conquer Israel. This failed completely, and instead Israel broke down part of the wall of Jerusalem and raided the Temple. Finally, Jeroboam II became king of Israel, died and his son Zechariah succeeded him.
2 Kings 15. The parade of Kings of Israel and Judah continues. Azariah reigned in Judah, Zachariah reigned in Israel, Shallum reigned in Israel, Menahem reigned in Israel, Pekahiah reigned in Israel, Pekah reigned in Israel, Jotham reigned in Judah, all recorded in chronological order.
Hebrews 10:19-39, a new and living way, the just shall live by faith.
Let us take a look at the theology of covenants, this ties in naturally with this letter.
According to dispensation theology there are ten major covenants in Scripture.
Covenant theology has simplified all the covenants into just three
Dispensation theology emphasizes God manifests himself differently in the different dispensations, and yet He is the same God yesterday, today and forever.
We are now at the dispensation of grace, commonly known as the Church Age.
We go back a few verses in Hebrews 10
Jesus closed the scroll after “to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD“, stopped mid sentence and did not read the end of the verse “and the day of vengeance of our God”
This gap defines the time of grace!
To determine which of these options is the right one, I turned to
To know which of these dates is true it would help to know when Jesus was born.
Enter
Dionysius set the birth of Jesus Christ to Dec 25, 1 BC, and the death at 33 Anno Domine, the only year according to the lunar calendar that made Good Friday occur on a Friday that was close enough to other historicall events. ( check https://lenbilen.com/2017/04/14/when-was-the-crucifixion-of-jesus/ ) He was only off by a few years. The dates are now set to:
But it is getting even more complicated. Without vowel marks the word for seven can have three meanings dependent on how it is pronounced.
That’s when it hit me.
I had fallen into the same trap as so many before me. Rather than trying to figure out the exact time, accept the fact that we live in the age of grace!
The word for today is “today”.
Now back to where we left off in Hebrews 10.
But the book of Hebrews also comes with warnings!
Here I am borrowing from a slide series from somebody else. I can no longer find the source, but thanks, whoever it was.
Knowledge of the truth is not what saves you.
A fortiori simply means that the argument in verse 29 is much stronger than the one in verse 28
And then there is
This then excludes option 1
Between option 2 and 3: God be the judge.
Verse 38 convinced me I had to be baptized in a believers baptism, even though I had been baptized as an infant. It really had nothing to do with salvation, that was settled at the time of belief. It was an act of faith and obedience to remain in close fellowship with God. And my living hope is that God will keep His promise, He will keep me eternally secure even if I lose my mind, which may happen late in this life, but will be fully restored in the life to come.
Luke 23:26-56, . On the second most important day in the Christian calendar Jesus was sentenced to be crucified, was forced to carry his own cross but was too exhausted from the floggings. On the cross Jesus said the famous “Seven Last Words”, (taken from the four gospels), then he died and was buried before sundown.
2 Kings 12. The Temple had fallen in disrepair, so Jehoash repaired the Temple. Hazael, king of Aram threatened Jerusalem but withdrew after Joash paid the ransom. After forty years reign Joash died and was succeeded by Amaziah.
2 Kings 13. The Scripture gives us one more history chapter. Jehoahaz reigned in Judah, Jehoash reigned in Israel, Elisha died and Israel recaptured some cities from Syria.
Hebrews 10:1-18, Christ’s sacrifice once for all, the new covenant.
This chapter of the letter to the Hebrews was instrumental in solidifying my faith after salvation.
“a body you prepared for me” is from the Septuagint, “but my ears you have pierced” is from the Hebrew Psalm. When a servant wilfully gave himself away to serve his master, the master pieced his ear to show voluntary bondage.
Jeremiah 31:33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
Luke 23:1-25. This is it, the second most important day in the Christian calendar. Jesus was on trial before Herod and Pilate. Pilate was trying to wiggle out of sentencing Jesus by setting one condemned prisoner free on Passover. The crowd chose Barabbas over Jesus, Pilate reluctantly gave in, so Jesus was sentenced to be crucified.
2 Kings 10. Jehu was at it big time is this killings chapter, Ahab’s seventy sons were killed, Ahaziah’s forty-two brothers killed, the rest of Ahab’s family killed, worshipers of Baal killed, and finally the normal death of Jehu himself.
2 Kings 11. This is a chapter full of palace intrigue: Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel seized power over Judah and reigned for six years. Finally, Joash was crowned King of Judah, and Athaliah was put to death.
Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment. 