December 13, 2025

Last time, I presented the two prevailing views for the date of the exodus: 1446 B.C. if one takes as literal the time marker of 480 years in 1 Kings 6:1, and perhaps 1270-1250 if one takes it figuratively (though I would suggest that a figurative interpretation in this case merely means that the interpreters have settled on a more preferable date for the exodus and thus need to bend the clear meaning of this verse to coincide with their preferred date).

But what evidence would compel someone to so readily brush aside a literal interpretation of 1 Kings 6:1 in favor of a figurative one when there is nothing in the verse to warrant doing so? For the answer to this question one must examine Exodus 1:11, a verse that arguably forms the backbone of a thirteenth-century dating for the exodus. It reads, “Therefore they set taskmasters over [the children of Israel] to afflict them with their burdens, and they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.”

Here’s one of the arguments of those who propose a late date for the exodus in the thirteenth century. “The city of Rameses [an alternative spelling] was built sometime during the lengthy reign of Rameses II in 1304-1236 B.C.[High Chronology], therefore, the exodus could not have taken place in the fifteenth century because the city of Rameses had not yet been built.”

But dismissing the straightforward dating of the Bible for a conjectured association between the supply city of Raamses mentioned in Exodus 1:11 (built in the fifteenth century or even earlier if the Bible is taken literally) and the capital city of Rameses (built in the thirteenth century) hardly seems warranted. In the chronology of Exodus 1-2 the city of Raamses was built at least eighty years before Moses arose to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and thus in the chronology of those who propose a late date for the exodus (c. 1270-1250 B.C.), the city of Rameses could not have been built any later than 1330 B.C. (1250 + 80), which turns out to be years before the birth of Rameses II.

Also, given that the name Rameses existed in Egyptian history long before the time of Rameses II, there is no reason to force the round peg of 1 Kings 6:1 into the square hole of a thirteenth-century dating for the exodus. Yes, I personally hold to the authority of the Bible, but even if one does not, the Bible certainly deserves a fair hearing on this matter, for as we’ll see next time, there is even more biblical evidence for a fifteenth-century dating for the exodus.

Daniel McCabe

Upcoming Trips to Israel

Would you like to visit Nazareth, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Sea of Galilee? Wade through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, see the little town of Bethlehem or ride a camel in Jericho? Join us as we travel to the Holy Land this coming spring and summer!

With both Covid and the war in Gaza largely in the rear view window, tourists are returning to Israel again in large numbers. Here are the dates for our two upcoming trips.

Trip #1: March 16-27, 2026

Trip #2: May 18-29, 2026

The trips cost approximately $3200 + airfare, depending on group size, which includes estimates for lodging, travel insurance, day trip expenses (such as trains, trams, taxis, shuttles and site fees), administrative fees, meals and groceries. It does not include luggage fees, snacks, postage and souvenirs. In order to keep costs down for you, we adjust the price according to the number of people who participate, so the price can rise a little or even fall.

Are you ready to go? Contact us at [email protected] to receive a trip brochure.

Trivia

(Answer at the bottom of the page)

A. What is the name of the city that is at the heart of a region in Israel known as “Silicon Wadi” due to its high concentration of tech companies? Wadi is a common Hebrew word for “valley,” hence a play on words from “Silicon Valley.”

Smart Carts: Life in the Land

I saw my very first smart cart in an Israeli grocery store. I had no idea they even existed until that moment, but I’ve since learned that Israel is one of several key countries that is active and influential in this field of technology. So, what is a smart cart? They’re AI-powered grocery carts equipped with weight scales, sensors and cameras that scan, price and take payment from the customer without any need to stand in line. Some carts suggest recipes based on the items that the customer has placed in his or her cart. Other carts offer promotional deals or even navigate the customer to the aisle in the store where the item can be found. Perhaps I’m behind the times and you already knew all about them, but isn’t that fascinating?

Daniel McCabe

Archaeology: The Wounded Lion of Nineveh

There are two whole books in the Bible that focus on the city of Nineveh. Can you name them? Perhaps you quickly recalled the story of Jonah who reluctantly preached to the Ninevites after three days inside the “great fish,” but then there’s the prophet Nahum too whose three-chaptered prophecy pronounces judgment upon Nineveh from start to finish.

Tucked inside chapter two of Nahum is a colorful description of lions stalking and devouring their prey and then returning with the meat to their dens. It is an obvious metaphor for powerful Nineveh which now faces judgment from God despite having experienced unchecked military dominance over its neighboring nations for many years. In anticipation of Nineveh’s soon destruction, Nahum asks with biting sarcasm in 2:11-12, “Where is the dwelling of the lions [now]?”

Likening the city of Nineveh to a lion once struck many modern scholars as odd—not unlike comparing Quito to a penguin given that penguins clearly aren’t native to Ecuador—for lions weren’t native to Nineveh either. But then archaeologists in the mid-nineteenth century discovered rock reliefs of lions on the palace walls of Nineveh during the time of King Ashurbanipal of Assyria who reigned contemporaneously with the prophet Nahum. Known as the “Lion Hunt Reliefs,” they picture the king with his attendants on a staged lion hunt, for lions were brought to Nineveh for this express purpose, released from their cages into an arena and killed by the “courageous” king in a scripted fight to the death. Many of the scenes depicted in the reliefs show wounded and dying lions in deeply emotive poses as can be seen in the attached picture. How fun that the Bible yet again dovetails so beautifully with ancient history.

Daniel McCabe

Scripture Study: God’s Attributes

So far I’ve summarized God’s essence and His nature. Now let’s look at His attributes. He’s holy in His divine majesty and infinitely higher than His creation. He’s separate from His creation. He’s not the same. He’s not bound within it, for holy means to be distinct and separate. He also wants His people to be holy, i.e., different and separate from the peoples around them.

God is also good. Everything He does is good. He’s holy and separate from everything that is immoral and corrupt. He never sins. We see this in Deuteronomy 32:4. Sin is anything that runs contrary to God’s nature and His will. God can never be contrary to His nature. Whatever is of God is good and whatever is not of God is not good. So again, sin is anything that runs contrary to His nature and will. He just can’t be that.

It’s not possible for God to sin. When Jesus, the Son of God, was here on earth, He took on human flesh. He was tempted to sin. Theoretically He was able to sin, but He was tempted in every way, yet without sin. So because of His holiness, His perfect accordance with God’s will, and His perfect goodness, He was not going to sin though He was technically capable of it.

God is the only appropriate object of worship. He is omnipotent, according to Ephesians 3:20. He created all reality simply by the power of His command. We see this in Genesis 1 where He spoke things into existence. According to Genesis 1, God created the universe. He created every person. He is the giver of life. He has complete control over His creation and over human affairs. He is omnipotent. He’s all powerful. He can do anything. There’s nothing He cannot do.

Furthermore, God is omniscient, and He knows every possible counterfactual. This could get me into an area where there might be some disagreement within orthodox Christianity. I just think that God knows every possible counterfactual and every event before they occur. What is a counterfactual? A counterfactual is something that didn’t happen. It could have, but didn’t. For example, I went to work this morning. I could have stayed home. It wouldn’t have been right for me to stay home. I wasn’t sick. I had the responsibility to go to work. But staying home is a reality that never happened though it’s one of an infinite number of possibilities that could have happened.

If I’m driving to the store, I could have taken a left or taken a right down a certain road. Instead of having eggs for breakfast, I could have eaten cereal or toast. There are an infinite number of possibilities in our lives. Combine our lives with every molecule in the universe, yet still God knows every counterfactual. There are no alternate universes either, but perhaps you could put on your sci-fi hat to create an alternate universe. Still God intimately knows every detail of every possibility even if it doesn’t exist. That blows my mind, and although we might think that we can understand it, we never could. God knows every possible counterfactual and every event before they occur. That’s how omniscient He is—so far beyond our ability, far beyond the created order.

Finally, God is omnipresent. He’s everywhere. He is Spirit, after all, and He is constrained by neither time nor space.

Adam Keim

Life in the Land: Name That Fruit, part 3

To close out our series, I have three more unusual fruits from the land of Israel.

1. Sometimes called the “sweetie,” this green-yellow fruit has become so popular among the Japanese that they often buy up almost the entire Israeli crop. It’s a hybridized fruit from a grapefruit and a pomelo. It’s sweeter than a grapefruit, smaller and juicier than a pomelo, and contains high amounts of antioxidants. Studies even show that it helps lower one’s cholesterol. Do you know it?
2. This thorny fruit is usually green or purplish in color. It has a thick peel, black seeds and a sweet taste. Because it is prickly on the outside and soft on the inside, native-born Israelis are also called by the name of this fruit. Can you name it?
3. This dark purple fruit has a sweet-and-sour taste and it’s packed with crunchy seeds. Many people like to scoop it on their vanilla ice cream or make a fruit shake with it. What is it?

Daniel McCabe

Answer to the Trivia

C. Tel Aviv

Week Fifty, 2025

“We must do the work of Him who has sent me, as long as it is day. For night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).

Your work matters. The first person who said to be “filled with the Spirit” in the Bible was not a pastor, but a craftsman and artist of wood and stone (Exodus 31:2–5). Don’t minimize your daily work in the marketplace—it is nothing less than a holy calling. Your work—your position—is your platform.

In the New Testament…

Of the 132 public appearances that Jesus made, 122 were in the marketplace.

Of the 52 parables that Jesus told, 45 had a workplace context.

Of the 40 miracles in the Book of Acts, 39 were in the marketplace.

Work, in its different forms, is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible—more than all the words used to express worship, music, praise, and singing combined.

No matter where or what it is, your work is a holy calling. Treat it as such. Do not minimize your daily work; it is nothing less than a holy calling.

God has you right where He wants you—right now!

Remember: Jesus was a carpenter for most of His adult life.

You were created to be like Christ.

Ask yourself the question: “Are you being transformed by the truth?”

Do What You Say You’re Going To Do

You were shaped for serving God.

You were also shaped to serve others; be a servant leader.

Ask yourself: “Are you playing marbles with the diamonds God has given you?”

Live What You Say You Believe

Live what you say you believe. Live out loud—let Christ be seen in all you say and do.

“Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23–24).

—Marty Stubblefield

Sometimes True Stories

We have all been there. Walking through life feeling unseen. Unknown. Feeling all alone. Going through day after day burdened, and no one seems to care. Facing difficult times, dark valleys stretching out before us with no end in sight, and the anxious uncertainty greeting us in the morning of each new day. Many of those around us feel the same.

But then we remember that God inspired David to write this promise for him and us: “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me” (Psalm 23:4 NLT).

And God poked Isaiah to share: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 NKJV).

And Matthew recorded Jesus’ last words to His disciples before He ascended to be with the Father: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 ESV).

And if we don’t have those verses of God’s Word seared in our memories yet, or have a Bible close at hand, God sends you and me a sunrise or a sunset, maybe blows a breeze through our hair, or arranges a call from a friend.

All to remind you, and to remind me that—we will never walk alone.

God is there. God sees us. God cares. God loves us. Always and forever.

But Jesus also shares this with us: “You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14, 16 ESV).

We are the light of the world. You and me. It is not a suggestion, but a fact from Christ’s own mouth.

We are to be the light of God to others: caring for them, reaching out to them, lifting them, helping them, sacrificing for them, and loving them.

So, they too will never walk alone. —Scott Whitaker

Quotes You Can Use

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. —Leo Tolstoy

Good and evil increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. —C.S. Lewis

Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy. —C.S. Lewis

Of all the bad men, religious bad men are the worst. —C.S. Lewis

We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. He walks everywhere incognito. —C.S. Lewis

Live a life that encourages others in their faith and mission. —Edgar Aponte

Application Points:

Encourage others by being an example

Encourage others through your evangelism

Encourage others through your faithfulness

Encourage others with the Word of God

Encourage others through your generosity

Encourage others through prayer

Our lives are not to be lived to impress or please others, but to please God and Him alone.

Time, talents, and treasure will someday pass away because everything on earth is temporary.

Everything matters to God. We often think that God is only interested in the big things in our lives, but He is interested in the small things as well; so, do all things to the glory of God.

We live in a world where we are externally driven rather than internally called.

***

Your feedback is welcome and if you want to contribute your ideas and thoughts, please address all items and comments to [email protected].

© Thoughts on Life Copyright 2025

Chancellor’s Update, from Mark H. Ballard, PhD

December 13, 2025

Being the youngest of nine children, I quickly figured out that I could save myself some trouble and learn things I needed to know in life by watching my brothers and sisters. Often, I could follow their example and be wonderfully blessed. At times, I also learned what not to do by watching the example and seeing that the consequences of some actions were not what I desired. Learning by example is a powerful tool that we can use in any sphere of life.

The first five Baker’s Dozen Principles the Apostle Paul shared in 2 Corinthians 8 & 9 have followed the example of the Macedonians. We have learned valuable insights to help us move from stressful giving to joyful giving. These principles not only enable us to experience joy during the Christmas and Year-End Giving seasons, but they can impact our lives every day of the year.

As Paul shares the sixth principle he shifts our focus away from the example of the Macedonian churches. While these three congregations set a high bar and have taught us much about giving, we now turn to the greatest example of joyful giving in all of human history. Notice Paul’s words recorded in 2 Corinthians 8:9.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

In this verse we learn a crucial principle of how we can move from giving stress to giving joy. When we learn and live out these principles our approach to giving will be transformed. Here is the principle simply stated, You can experience the joy of giving by giving like Jesus.

Consider the example our Lord set for His followers. As you look at the verse, please notice two things. Look with me at the attitude of Jesus’ giving and then notice the action of Jesus’ giving. Paul reminds the Corinthians, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jesus’ Giving Attitude

Often when we experience stress in giving, it is because we feel obligated to give. Maybe the obligation is because the person has done something for us, and we feel we owe them. Maybe it is simply from a general attitude of duty. In contrast, notice Jesus’ attitude was the attitude of grace. The English word grace translates the Greek word, charis, which refers to unmerited favor or an unmerited gift. In other words, Jesus does not give to us out of a sense of duty or obligation. He does not give because we earned or deserve something from Him. Rather, He gives out of pure unmerited favor. D. James Kennedy used to like to describe God’s grace with the following acrostic: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. When we give out of an attitude of grace, rather than obligation, our stress seems to dissipate and is replaced by joy.

Jesus’ Giving Action

We can learn from Jesus’ attitude in giving, but we can also learn from His action of giving. Notice how the verse describes Jesus’ action, “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” The Bible gives us a small glimpse of all Jesus enjoyed prior to His incarnation. Jesus enjoyed the joys of heaven from before the foundation of the world. The Bible tells us, “all things were created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:16) He left the riches of heaven to take on human flesh, be born in a barn, have a feeding trough as His first bed, live a poor and humble life. He was tempted in every way we are yet without sin. He then gave His life in exchange for our lives, taking the penalty for our sin upon Himself, suffering the wrath of God upon sin. For our sakes, He became poor. Yet in exchange, all who turn from sin and trust their lives to Jesus are made rich in Him.

Truly, there is no greater example of joyful giving than the example of Jesus Himself. Talking about this verse, Daniel Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, once said, “When I am considering how much I should give to the Lord’s work, I close my eyes and pictuure Jesus hanging on the cross and dying for me. Then I ask Him, ‘Lord, in light of your grace and all you have given me, how much would you have me give?’”

When we follow Jesus’ example, our giving is transformed. We give with a new attitude – an attitude of grace. We give with a new action – giving from our resources so the needs of others can be met. When we follow Jesus’s example, our giving is transformed from stressful giving to joyful giving.

CHANCELLOR’S UPDATE

Dr. Mark Ballard, President

At NEBC students are busy preparing for the end of the semester. They are writing papers, preparing for presentations, and preparing for Final Exams. As a student, the word, exam could immediately raise my stress level. When I became a professor, I wanted my exams to be more than a stressful test, but I wanted them to be learning experiences. Soon that concept became part of my approach to all assignments in my class. The tests, quizzes, and other assignments indeed reveal how one is doing in a subject, but if the right approach is taken, the assignments actually become learning experiences as well. 

Today, I want to invite you to join me in taking a simple quiz that could be a significant learning experience. This quiz is a short, simple, True/False Quiz that can provide both an assessment of how you are doing and a learning opportunity that could impact you for life. Here is the quiz:

Throughout December these emails are focusing on how we can move from stressful giving to joyful giving. We learned that Paul shares thirteen key principles to help us with this transformation. So far, we have considered the first four Baker’s Dozen Principles. 

1. 1.        You can experience the joy of giving, even if you live in poverty. 
2. 2.        You can experience the joy of giving, by giving of your own free will. 
3. 3.        You can experience the joy of giving, by giving in fellowship with other believers.
4. 4.        You can experience the joy of giving, by giving yourself first to the Lord.

 Today, we pause to focus our attention on principle number five. Let’s take a closer look at 2 Corinthians 8:5. 

 “And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.” (2 Corinthians 8:5)

  Last week we learned that the greatest gift we can give is to first give ourselves to the Lord. As the Macedonians first gave themselves to the Lord in complete surrender, He directed the rest of their giving in accordance with His will. This principle helped them move from giving stress to giving joy. Once we have given ourselves to the Lord in complete surrender, we are ready for principle number five. You can experience the joy of giving by giving yourself to the receiver of the gift. 

 Notice how Paul worded his testimony about the Macedonian giving. Having given themselves to the Lord in complete surrender, “then (they gave themselves) to us by the will of God.” Before we ever consider the nature or amount of a gift, we should give ourselves to the ministry or individual. When we give ourselves first to the Lord, He leads us to give ourselves to His work and to other people. As we give ourselves, all of the sudden the gift becomes far more valuable than simply the monetary value of the gift. 

 Additionally, since we gave ourselves first to the Lord and then to His work or to another person, we know that we are doing so at His leading. We also know that since we have given ourselves to Him and at His leading to His work and to other people, we can trust that He will guide us as to where and when to give our time, our talents, and our earthly treasures. At this point, we no longer have to stress over giving. Rather, we simply obey the Lord, giving to those ministries and individuals He leads us to give and giving what He leads us to give. This can alleviate worry and stress over our giving. 

Since adopting this method of giving, my personal approach to giving has been radically transformed.  Before, I worried about all the people and ministries I wanted to give to and how little I had to give to each one. Now, I make sure I give myself daily to the Lord in surrender. Then, as He leads, I give myself to various ministries and individuals. Once I have taken this step, now I simply give the amount of time to the ministry and/or person that God leads me to give. I offer my talents to the ministry and/or person as the Father leads. I give the dollar amount to the ministry and/or individual that the Lord leads me to give. 

Oh, what if the Lord leads me to give a dollar amount that requires sacrifice, or maybe like the Macedonians, is “beyond my ability”? Even that circumstance no longer causes stress. Why? Because I know if the Lord has put an amount on my heart to give and I don’t have that amount, I can ask Him to provide the amount He has led me to give and then watch Him do it. (See my comments in the Principle #4 email.)

This approach has not only alleviated my stress, but it also enabled me to experience the joy of giving my time, my talents, and earthly treasures. I have truly begun to experience the truth that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.”

December 6, 2025

Dating the Exodus – the Two Major Contenders

Let’s start with a time marker from the Bible. 1 Kings 6:1 reads, “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel … that he began to build the house of the LORD.”

Virtually all biblical and secular historians agree that King Solomon ascended to the throne of Israel in 970 B.C., thus he began to build the temple in 966, and with a little simple math we arrive at the biblical date for the exodus—966 + 480 = 1446 B.C.

The very first time that I read 1 Kings 6:1, I naturally assumed that the author intended the number 480 to be taken literally, and perhaps you did too. It seems reasonable to assume as much, but there are many who argue that the number 480 should be taken figuratively or loosely. Their argument goes something like this, and I promise to represent it as fairly as possible.

“The author of 1 Kings wants to emphasize that a very long time has transpired since the exodus, particularly that 12 generations (likely representative of the twelve tribes of Israel) have passed between the time of the exodus under Moses and the beginning of temple construction under Solomon. Now given that the ideal length of one generation equals 40 years in biblical usage, the author of 1 Kings presents 480 years as an idealized passage of time, for obviously 12 X 40 = 480.

However, in reality a generation spans only 25 years on average or even less, therefore it is preferable to take the time marker in 1 Kings 6:1 as a reference to 12 generations of 25 years. This then gives us 12 X 25 or 300 years, and thus we arrive at a preferable date for the exodus in the thirteenth century, for 966 + 300 brings us to 1266 B.C. But since 25 itself is only a generalization, we are justified in choosing any date from approximately 1270-1250. Of course, we also can’t rule out the possibility that the author of 1 Kings is speaking in hyperbole or that he may even be mistaken.”

Why is it necessary for proponents of this argument to do what you and I might characterize as mathematical or logical gymnastics? Here’s why! Because 1446 B.C. does not fit with other factors that in their view outweigh the straightforward chronology of the Bible. Next time we’ll look at what secular historians consider to be one of their three strongest arguments for a thirteenth-century exodus and why they so readily dismiss 1 Kings 6:1 that at face value clearly points to a fifteenth-century exodus.

Daniel McCabe

Trivia

What famous ancient street once connected the Temple Mount to the Pool of Siloam and was used by those ascending to the temple in the time of Jesus?

On Location: Western Wall Elevator

If you’ve ever been to Jerusalem, then you probably visited the Western Wall, and from there, if your group decided to grab a bite to eat in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, you made your way to the southwest corner of the Western Wall plaza to ascend the massive, 142-step staircase that rises approximately eight stories up and into the quarter.

As you climbed, you likely encountered a beggar or two, a resourceful mom descending with her baby buggy and a small group of tourists who stopped at one of the turns in the staircase to take a photo, using the Temple Mount as a picturesque backdrop. Finally, with your heart pounding, you made it to the top after having stopped more than once on the way up to catch your breath. Trust me, after a long day of touring, that staircase can be a bear!

Well, help is on the way! Construction has begun on a new set of elevators off Misgav Ladach Street, not far from this staircase, to make the Western Wall more accessible to the elderly and disabled. But there’s more, for city planners are adding public restrooms at the base of the elevators as well as an underground tunnel at a 2% grade that exits to a security checkpoint on the plaza. But since this is Jerusalem, one of the richest archaeological sites in the world, you won’t be surprised to learn that the lobby will display various finds uncovered during the construction of the elevator.

I’ve attached a photo, marking the proposed elevator location with a blue arrow and the staircase with a red arrow. Looking at that staircase in the photo, I can immediately feel my pulse beginning to pound, and those of you who have ascended that staircase with me on one of our trips, well, you know exactly what I mean. Next year in Jerusalem!

Daniel McCabe

Scripture Study: Theology Proper – God’s Nature

Isn’t God’s essence the same thing as His nature? Well, not quite. Think about essence as who God is and nature as what God is like. God is immutable and does not change as to His essence, nature or attributes, which we’ll talk about shortly. He doesn’t change. He is the same forever. We see this in 1 Samuel 15:29, Malachi 3:6 and James 1:17.

He changes what He does from time to time, but He never changes who He is although He may change His relationship to the created order, i.e., how He interacts with it (see Romans 5 and Philippians 2) and how He sometimes changes the course of His own actions. We see this in a few places in Scripture where He will relent from something that He is doing. He might even express Himself as changing His mind, but what Scripture means there is that He decides a different course of action. It doesn’t mean to imply that His first course was wrong, but rather that He wants to change what He’s doing at a given time. He’s God, and He can do that. So He doesn’t change as to who He is or His being, but He might change what He does, and He has His own good reasons for everything because He has complete divine freedom. He’s the Creator. He can do whatever He wants. We see this in Psalm 115:3 and Ephesians 1:5, 9, 11.

He is the ultimate master of all the created order. He is in all ways true, and there’s no deceit in Him. He fulfills all of His promises. God is a personal being with emotion and passions. His emotion and passions are always right, and He responds to the prayers of His people. I am floored and awed that God is personal, that He created us and that He desires a relationship with us, but His interaction with us is rooted in the fact that He’s a personal being. I’m so grateful to Him for that. He’s not just a disinterested, uncaring force. He’s God, and to those who have a personal relationship with Him through salvation in Jesus Christ, He is our Father!

Adam Keim

From the Archives:

Scripture Study – The Tribulation Temple

I’ve always loved these reassuring words of Jesus, spoken to his disciples on the night before the cross, “Let not your heart be troubled…. I go to prepare a place for you … [and] I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3). In his letter to the Thessalonians the Apostle Paul later explained the Lord’s coming in this way, “We … shall be caught up together … in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thes. 4:17).

This promised return of Jesus is commonly called the Rapture of the church, and following the Rapture there will be an awful seven-year period of worldwide tribulation, highlighted by the rise of a wicked ruler named the Antichrist. Initially he will make a peace treaty with the nation of Israel that in part will provide cover for their construction of a temple in Jerusalem and the resumption of sacrificial worship (Daniel 9:27). However, 3½ years into the treaty, he will suddenly halt the sacrifices, brazenly enter the new temple, and desecrate it by sitting “as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thes. 2:4; cf. Matt. 24:15).

For the Antichrist to sit in that temple there must first be a temple, of course, and right now there isn’t one. The Romans destroyed the last temple in 70 A.D., and it hasn’t been rebuilt. Today on the spot where the temple once stood you will find a golden-domed, Islamic shrine called the Dome of the Rock. According to Islam, Mohammad ascended into heaven from there, and thus it’s revered as their third holiest site.

Even so, the Bible says that a temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem, and many religious Jews will not be satisfied until it stands where the Dome of the Rock now stands. How can this be without causing major political and religious upheaval? How could this possibly take place without the threat of violence from Islamic world rulers? Yet it is certain that the day will come—perhaps very soon—when a Jewish temple will once again dominate the skyline in Jerusalem.

Answer to the Trivia

D. The Pilgrim Road

Who We Are

Shalom Y’all Ministries is a 501(c)(3) organization, and all gifts to our ministry are tax-deductible. SYM was formed in 2021 to teach the Bible and lead tours to Israel. Our teaching and presentations feature the acronym S-H-A-L-O-M, which means “peace” in Hebrew.

Our Mission

To teach and encourage those who love the Bible, the land of the Bible and the people of the land and to lead educational tours to Israel that forever change the way you read your Bible and worship the Lord

Our Prayer

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).

Week Forty-Nine, 2025

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3).

“How many are you running?” is a code from one pastor to another which translates to: “How many are attending your church?” It acts as if volume in the pews is the most important thing.

Often, dialogue from the pulpit designed to increase numbers gets in the way of sound doctrine. Too many people go to church to hear what they want to hear. That is more prevalent today than ever—take, for example, the “Name It and Claim It” gospel.

Paul wrote a sound warning to Timothy, saying that a time will come when people will want something other than sound doctrine. Instead, they will want to hear only what pleases them. He speaks of “itching ears,” where people seek teachers who confirm their own desires rather than offering biblical truth.

This term comes from 2 Timothy 4:3–4, which states that people will “gather around them a great number of teachers who say what their itching ears want to hear” because they will not put up with sound teaching. This describes individuals who desire messages that affirm their own lifestyle and desires, rather than messages that challenge them to change. This passage warns against false teachers who, in their greed, exploit people with deceptive words.

We should compare the Word of God to a doctor delivering an accurate diagnosis: it is the necessary truth, even if it is not what the patient wants to hear. The true nature of God’s Word prioritizes truth over comfort to bring conviction and a path to change. True listening means having no agenda and being prepared to be told to do things that may be inconvenient.

I want a pastor who tells the truth and preaches the Gospel, even if it makes me squirm in my seat. I want to hear a Gospel message that may not always be what I want to hear, but what I need to hear.

A sign of spiritual maturity is a hunger for God’s Word and an increased awareness of actions that do not please Him.

How about you?

Sometimes True Stories

THE ARMOR PRAYER:

Dear God, today we put on the full armor to guard our lives against attack.

We put on the Belt of Truth to protect against lies and deception.

We put on the Breastplate of Righteousness to protect our hearts from the temptations we battle.

We put the Gospel of Peace on our feet, so we’re ready to take Your light wherever You send us this day.

We choose to walk in the peace and freedom of Your Spirit and not be overcome with fear and anxious thoughts.

We take up Your Shield of Faith that will extinguish all the darts and threats hurled our way by the enemy. We believe in Your power to protect us and choose to trust in You.

We put on the Helmet of Salvation, which covers our minds and thoughts, reminding us we are children of the day—forgiven, set free, and saved by the grace of Christ Jesus.

We take up the Sword of the Spirit, Your very Word, the one offensive weapon given to us for battle which has the power to demolish strongholds. It is alive, active, and sharper than any double-edged sword.

We ask for Your help in remembering to put on Your full armor every day, for You give us all that we need to stand firm in this world.

Forgive us, God, for the times we’ve been unprepared, too busy to care, or trying to fight and wrestle in our own strength.

Thank You that we never fight alone, for You are constantly at work on our behalf—shielding, protecting, strengthening, exposing deeds of darkness, bringing to light what needs to be known, and covering us from the cruel attacks we face even when we’re unaware.

In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen. —Rob Taylor

Quotes You Can Use

The name of Jesus Christ is hell’s terror, heaven’s delight, and the earth’s hope. —Charles Spurgeon

You don’t know who you are until you know God, and you don’t know how to live until you have settled the question of how to die. —Alistair Begg

Prayer isn’t about your circumstances. It’s about who God is.

Worship should be designed to please God. —R.C. Sproul

Be a free thinker and don’t accept everything you hear as truth. Be critical and evaluate what you believe in. —Aristotle

It doesn’t matter what you think about it. The Bible is true whether you accept it or not. —Billy Graham

The worst sort of clever men are those who know better than the Bible. —C.H. Spurgeon

Don’t trust everything you see. Even salt looks like sugar. In this wicked world, discernment is key.

Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the airplane while the pessimist invents the parachute. —George Bernard Shaw.

Don’t bother to give God instructions. Just report for duty. —Corrie ten Boom

I want to be so full of Christ that if a mosquito bites me, it flies away singing there is power in the blood.

When people come into your life like a non-stop rain, remember that God is always your umbrella.

Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error. —Cicero

The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion. —Paulo Coelho

***

Your feedback is welcome and if you want to contribute your ideas and thoughts, address all items and comments to [email protected].

© 2025, Thoughts on Life

– General William Tecumseh Sherman

December 4, 2025

Although I was born in 1940, sixteen months before the United States actively entered World War II, I didn’t taste my first candy bar, sip a coke, or lick an ice cream cone until after the end of the war. Why? Because sugar was the first food rationed and the last removed from the ration board’s list.

But as a small child, I had no idea what I was missing, and if I had, my concern would have been frivolous compared to the enormity of horrors faced by hundreds of millions around the world, horrors from which I was shielded.

The people of the USA suffered far more than my innocent little eyes were permitted to see. The United States suffered over 400,000 deaths directly attributed to the war, but few on our own soil. And in spite of Germany’s so-called Fifth Column, and in spite of a large German population in the United States, little damage was done on this continent by spies, and none by an invading army. Perhaps we did more direct damage to our own civilian population than did the Axis powers.

Since the Germans were not easily distinguised from most Americans, but the relatively loyal and benign Japanese Americans were – and in spite of the fact that many Germans were very active in pro-Nazi and anti-American activities prior to our entry into the war – it was the Japanese who suffered most.

With the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, made prior to their declaratioin of war, there was a massive reaction against Japanese citizens in the United States. To our shame, Earl Warren of California was successful in having the property of loyal second and third generation Japanese Americans seized, and the Japanese were incarcerated isent to prison camps. It was a great shame on our nation, and it thaat shame was compounded because its instigator, Earl Warren, was later appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

The scope and intensity of the war grew. It is estimated that just prior to the war, when a few nations were diverting resources in anticipation of involvement, that the United States invested just 2% of it’s gross national product in preparation, while the British, who had just survived World War I, its people war weary and hoping for peace, spent 7%.

By 1944, as the end of the war in Europe drew near, the Nazis were on a total war footing, devoting 75% of their GNP on their war machine, with England at 54%, and the USA, 42%. Many people in the USA were simply inconvenienced, with gasoline and many foods rationed. In many countries, however, people were starving. The figures for Germany, however, are misleading, as they pillaged every country they conquered, and then made slaves of millions of people, forcing them to work in war plants on starvation rations.

Our efforts to help the people of Britain were hindered by the German wolf packs,submarines preying on our cargo ships and oil tankers.. At one point, half the cargo ships we sent to England were sunk by German submarines, sending to the bottom of the Atlantic precious food and clothing that would never benefit anyone. But these numbers cannot begin to express the human misery, deprivation, suffering, dislocation, economic loss, and physical destruction of property, much less the deaths of millions.

It’s estimated that 16-million military personnel and 45-million civilians lost their lives, including 405,000 from the USA and 384,000 from Great Britain, not to speak of 5.3-million Germans and an incredible 26-million from Communist Russia.

War brings casualties, and civilians are often referred to as collateral damage or incidental damage, innocuous phrases that gloss over the deaths of non-combatants. I don’t call them “innocent civilians,” as the victims of crime and warfare are often characterized. For none of us is truly innocent. But there’s an important lesson here, for those who have been made righteous because they trusted in Christ, who are not simply prone to collateral damage, but are often targets of the world and the devil. Most people consider their deaths as defeats for Christianity, just as others consider the death of Christ to be a victory of Satan over God.

But they are wrong. Jesus came to this world with the express purpose of dying for our sins, and he proved it by raising himself from the dead.

“Sometimes what looks like defeat is victory,” as a Holman Study Bible commentator wrote, “as when believers die for their faith.”

But as the three Hebrews who faced Nebuchadnezzar said,

“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.”

Daniel 3:17

Jesus Christ observed that “there will be wars and rumors of wars,” but God doesn’t motivate mankind to go to war. So when the faithful are targeted by enemies of God, as were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they know that they will be delivered out of the hands of the enemy—whether through life or death—because “…to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8); and they “…will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).

We all inevitably face death, and we had better have that holy confidence that we will ultimately see God. Few of us will pass quietly into that dark night, just falling asleep and awakening an instant later in paradise. Most of us face the trials of injury, accident, and illness; and yes, the vicissitudes of war. And you might face your very own fiery furnace for a moment in time, but if you are born again, it will be just like a snap of the fingers, and you will be in heaven. But those who reject God will face a fiery trial forever.

Consider Job, who Satan tempted and tortured mercilessly. Yet Job proved faithful, and triumphed, as do those written about in The Revelation. And just as you will triumph as you hang on to Jesus. The beloved disciple John tells us what will happen to Satan who tried Job and continues to harasses us.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Revelation 12:10.

And what will be the outcome for those who turn to Christ during the coming great tribulation?

And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Revelation 12:1

Each of us has a major part in this epic adventure called life. Jesus provided for our salvation by dying for us, by taking the penalty for our sins, so that we would not have to suffer for all eternity. We prove our faith by testifying that he is Savior and Lord, and by our willingness to pass through the darkness of death into his marvelous light. We reveal that we are serious with God because we live through whatever comes by trusting him to ultimately deliver us.

If you feel challenged today—if an enemy has attacked, or you’ve been betrayed by a loved and trusted relative, friend, or associate; or you are suffering from a physical ailment, mental breakdown, severe privation, or even by murderous assault; whether you are thrown to lions, or pass away in your sleep, remember, we all live forever–some in God’s presence and the others under everlasting judgment.

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Hebrews 9:27

Are you one who will overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of your testimony, or will you awaken from death only fo find yourself facing the second death?

“War is hell,” but you may overcome by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, and by your faith in him.

Copyright 2025, Frank Becker

File: 3DEC25, War Is Hell

The Bedouin: The People and Religions of Israel

Life in the Land: The Bedouin, part 1

I saw my first Bedouin encampment flash by the right window of my tour bus in 1999 as we descended east along Highway 1 toward Jericho from Jerusalem. Is this how Abraham and the patriarchs once lived? How different from the life I’ve always known!

Bedouin means “desert dwellers” in Arabic, and it’s simply amazing how they can live in the harsh conditions of the Judean desert with barely two inches of rainfall a year, daytime temperatures routinely exceeding 100 degrees in the summer, and no electricity, running water and sewer, forced to travel from camp to camp throughout the year in order to find water and vegetation for themselves and for their goats, camels and sheep, yet they thrive.

They are known for their gracious hospitality, camel races, sword dances and poetry recitation. They’re perhaps best known, however, for selling camel rides to tourists at the Sea Level marker along Highway 1 and for having first discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls near Qumran. They have a fierce loyalty to their tribe, perhaps even stronger than their devotion to God, and although a small number of Bedouin are Christian, most identify as Muslim. They are Arabs, having migrated from the Arabian Peninsula between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries.

More recently the Israeli government has encouraged the Bedouin to relocate to urban areas, most in southern Israel, but some in Galilee, where they are provided with free education and medical services. In fact almost half the total Bedouin population has relocated, though high unemployment, high crime, gang activity and rising Islamic fundamentalism have reshaped their ancient ways. The Bedouin have one of the highest birth rates in the world, growing at a pace of 5% annually, but at present they make up only 3% of the population of Israel. They have been granted full Israeli citizenship, but only 4% have graduated from high school and 1% from college. A few, however, have chosen to serve in the Israel Defense Force where they are often assigned to elite tracking units.

Daniel McCabe

Jericho: The Archaeologists Disagree

Scripture and Archaeology: Jericho, part 2

There have been three major excavations in the biblical city of Jericho. Oh, what a tangled web they weave!

Excavation #1: A German team from 1907-1911, led by Ernst Sellin, a distinguished biblical scholar with practical experience in archaeology, and Carl Watzinger, a trained secular professor of Classical archaeology who specialized in art, architecture and history. The team initially dated the destruction of Jericho to approximately 1400 B.C., which comports well with the biblical date of 1406, but twenty years later Watzinger revised his dating based on a reevaluation of the city’s pottery and stratigraphy to reflect a much earlier date of approximately 1600 B.C.

Excavation #2: A secular, British, Classical archaeologist named John Garstang who excavated from 1930-1936. He too assigned the date for Jericho’s destruction to 1400 B.C. after a particularly in-depth examination of its pottery. Although not a trained ceramicist by specialization he had a more widely acknowledged expertise of its usage in dating Near Eastern cultures than did Watzinger. Even so, Garstang’s dating of Jericho’s destruction has been almost universally ghosted by modern archaeologists who champion the dating of Kathleen Kenyon, Jericho’s third lead excavator.

Excavation #3: The British School of Archaeology under the direction of Kathleen Kenyon who excavated the “City of Palms” from 1952-1958. She assigned a date for the destruction of Jericho to no later than 1550 B.C., contradicting both Garstang’s findings and the biblical record which date it to around 1400 B.C. Kenyon’s primary argument for a sixteenth-century conquest of Jericho was based on the absence of any Cypriot pottery at the site, which had been reliably present at many other Levantine sites from the same period.

Now I’m no expert on pottery, though I’m admittedly quite fond of the Wallace and Gromit mug which I use here on my office desk to hold my pens and pencils, but what do experts say about the absence of Cypriot pottery as a dependable time marker in Near Eastern archaeology, the same experts, by the way, who have almost universally applauded Kenyon’s methods and findings at Jericho? Well, the American Journal of Archaeology, a formidable secular publication, actually cautions against treating the presence (or absence) of Cypriot pottery as a definitive chronological marker because its distribution can be uneven and context-specific. Other reliable sources also acknowledge that Cypriot pottery was largely absent outside of coastal trading zones, and last I checked Jericho is not so near the coast.

So why build the strength of one’s argument on the absence of something? My seminary professors often addressed this point in my own formal training, warning that it is unwise at best and perhaps even dangerous to lean on an argument from silence, and yet that appears to be exactly what Kenyon has done to the universal cheers of fellow archaeologists. Sure, she arrived at her date for the destruction of Jericho by examining other factors, but she admittedly found the absence of Cypriot pottery to be the tipping point in her evaluation of the city’s conquest.

But let me add this one final note. Bryant Wood, a leading archaeologist with Associates for Biblical Research, has studied all the pottery unearthed by Garstang as well as that by Kathleen Kenyon, and he finds abundant evidence of local Canaanite pottery consistent with a dating of 1400 B.C., including what he calls imitation Cypriot pottery.

In any event could it be that modern archaeologists are actually more biased than biblicists like myself in that they refuse to give proper weight to the biblical evidence for the ancient dating of events like the exodus and the conquest of Jericho even while attacking Christians for being biased? Some trained archaeologists have rightly questioned the speculative pottery analysis at Jericho in favor of the proven reliability of the biblical text, and I find myself standing with them.

Daniel McCabe

Trivia

What are the names of the three major religions that consider Jerusalem a holy city?

Watching Jesus Pray, Part 5

Luke 22:39-46,

Ok, so far we’ve seen that prayer was a habit for Jesus and that prayer keeps you from sinning. But from watching Jesus pray, we also learn to pray wisely.

III. Learn to pray wisely (v. 42).

a. It’s o.k. to pray for tough times to pass. Jesus did! In v. 42, Jesus prays, “Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”

b. Notice too that Jesus didn’t pray just to get his way. I’ve prayed like that. In the past I’ve prayed that God would let me date a certain girl. Or be able to afford a certain car. Or be able to get over my sickness before Tuesday. Things like that.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with asking God for things we desire. He may certainly be pleased to answer your prayers, but we are wise to remember that he knows more about what you need than you know.

c. Have you ever prayed for the wrong thing? Let me tell you a great story about a man who learned an important lesson about how to pray wisely.

“A man was being pursued by a hungry lion. Feeling the beast’s hot breath on his neck and knowing that his time was short, the man prayed as he ran. He cried out in desperation, ‘O Lord, please make this lion a Christian.’ Within seconds the frightened man became aware that the lion had stopped the chase. When he looked behind him, he saw the lion kneeling, lips moving in obvious prayer. Greatly relived at thTrivia

What are the names of the three major religions that consider Jerusalem a holy city?

D. Judaism, Christianity, Sikhismis turn of events, and wanting to join the lion in prayer, the man now started walking toward the lion. But as the man drew closer to the lion he heard him praying, ‘And bless, O Lord, this food for which I’m exceedingly grateful!’”

Pray wisely!

There are so many other things I see in this passage that we simply don’t have the time to explore in depth.

For example, we see that God sends comfort and strength when we pray (v. 43).

We see that it is important to be persistent in prayer (v. 44).

Finally, we learn that it is important to support others with our prayers (vs. 44-45).

We’ve learned so much from simply watching Jesus pray!

I hope I’ve encouraged you to pray.

Daniel McCabe

Scripture Study: Theology Proper-God’s Essence (continued)

God alone is self-existent. He owes His existence to nothing and to no one. He just simply is, and one of my favorite Scripture combinations (Exodus 3 and John 8) makes a wonderful connection point between the Old Testament and the New. When Jesus tells the crowd in John 8, “Before Abraham was, I Am,” He’s quoting Exodus 3. When God reveals His name to Moses, He says, “I Am Who I Am.” That was the best name He could give Himself. He’s just the one who is. Nobody else is. Only God is. He is self-existent. He has no master and He owes His existence to nothing or to no one else.

God is indivisible and is always one. We see this in the great Shema, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord, your God. The Lord is one.” One God—there are not three, and we’ll get to the Trinity soon. There’s one God. He is infinite. He’s beyond man’s ability to grasp, yet I love this so much about God. We can never fully comprehend Him because we are limited. We are the created. He is the creator. We are finite. He is infinite. We are temporal. He is eternal. I think when we are with Him in the new heavens and new earth, in the infinite state, we can be with Him for ten quadrillion years and still never fully comprehend Him. He’s so far beyond us. We can, however, apprehend Him. We can learn about Him and that’s why we study Scripture, in order to know God better and to know Him as deeply as we possibly can. Our intellect can only grasp so much, but on some level we can still apprehend Him.

Now let me address the best and classic example of this—the Trinity. God is triune. That is what Scripture presents. He exists in one essence while subsisting in three persons. We can never fully comprehend this. God is so unique. The Trinity is so unique. There’s nothing else like God. It’s beyond our comprehension to fully wrap our minds around Him no matter how arrogantly we might think to ourselves, “I can get it if I just have enough time. I’m smart enough to figure it out.” No, we are not. We can’t!

You aren’t going to find the word Trinity in the Bible. But what we see in Scripture is a clear presentation that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. All three persons of that Trinity, or subsistencies, if you will, all three persons are fully God. In two future series on Christology and Pneumatology we’ll talk about the personhood of the Son and the Holy Spirit. But in the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19 we see this Trinitarian expression in reference to baptism. All three persons are fully God—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All three are equal in essence and nature, and ultimately all persons of the Trinity are worthy of the same adoration.

But all three are also distinct from one another. Scripture is clear on this. There’s a distinction between the Father and the Son, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit and the Father. Even so there exists only one true God. Though each member of the Trinity is equal, there is an economical order of priority in their function, the function of God. There is a role that the Father has taken on as well as the Son and the Holy Spirit distinctly, and we see this throughout Scripture. Since the Trinity is unique, well-intentioned metaphors to describe it will always break down at some point. You may have heard different attempts to describe the Trinity. How can it be explained? Some say that the Trinity is like the sun in outer space in that it has heat, light and fire—three aspects, but only one item. Some people liken the Trinity to an egg that has the yolk, the white and the shell. Again, one item, but three distinct parts. If we press each metaphor, however, they will always break down at some point because nothing is quite like the Trinity.

But there is one decent illustration of the Trinity, known as the Trinitarian shield. It is a triangle with one person of the Trinity placed at each point. It doesn’t matter at which point you place them, but there’s the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit at each corner of the triangle. Now at each side of the triangle you could write the words “is not,” so the Son “is not” the Father, the Son “is not” the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit “is not” the Father. Then from each point you can draw a line towards the middle of the triangle to a circle that says God, and on each line that goes from a point to the circle you can write the words “is,” for the Father “is” God, the Son “is” God, and the Holy Spirit “is” God.

The point is this. God is unique. He transcends our thoughts and our ways. We can never fully comprehend or get Him. That’s a big part of what makes Him God. If we could get all that is God and fully comprehend Him, He wouldn’t really be God. We would then be equal with God, and we are not. We cannot be. So even though the word Trinity is not in Scripture, it clearly presents the picture that God is triune.

Adam Keim

Answer to the Trivia

B. Islam, Christianity, Judaism

Who We Are

Shalom Y’all Ministries is a 501(c)(3) organization, and all gifts to our ministry are tax-deductible. SYM was formed in 2021 to teach the Bible and lead tours to Israel. Our teaching and presentations feature the acronym S-H-A-L-O-M, which means “peace” in Hebrew.

Our Mission

To teach and encourage those who love the Bible, the land of the Bible and the people of the land and to lead educational tours to Israel that forever change the way you read your Bible and worship the Lord

Our Prayer

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).

Shalom Y’all!

November 28, 2025

“Pray, Read, and Keep”

Revelation 1:3

What a wonderful experience it was to sit at the foot of the table at our older son’s home—for while my poor hearing enabled me to hear only snatches of the conversations—from Joy on my right, and one of our daughters-in-law on my left, and down the long table, where our two sons, along with wife and daughter all enthusiastically conversed during this, my 85^th Thanksgiving day.

And while foxnews.com and numerous blogs and TV news programs had been interviewing “experts” on social relations about how we should be careful to avoid topics like politics in order to preserve the holiday peace, or more correctly, truce, there was no disharmony here. They discussed numerous subjects, ranging from the impact of AI on their own work, to politics to religion, including the cults, faith, and the second coming of Christ. And their give and take was amiable and good natured, with not a note of discord, even when expressing highly volatile issues.

The difference is that those sitting around our table were motivated by Christ’s command to love, which is a matter of obedience and not some here-today, gone-tomorrow feel-good emotion, but the “Golden Rule,” in which Christ commanded all of us to treat others as we should want to be treated. Our sons were amiable and good natured, with not a note of discord, because perfect love casts out fear and melds hearts together, whereas the unsaved are so filled with selfishness and self-righteous bitterness, and so devoid of the will and willingness to love, that they can only despise those who don’t agree with their every view, and even hope for the deaths of those who don’t share those views.

Our children were given us by God to nurture and train up in the way that they should go, and though we could have been better parents, we tried hard. And since they have all put their trust in God, they stand tall. In fact, I sat there thinking, “How much more mature they are than I was at their ages,” and thanked God that I had now been given the wisdom to recognize and the humility to accept that truth.

At one point, my two sons and I began discussing whether we are in the “end times,” and one introduced the fact that Orthodox Jews and some Jewish groups are actively preparing to build a temple to replace the one destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. And though no physical construction is currently underway, groups such as the Temple Institute in Jerusalem are engaged in extensive preparations, including the creation of ritual vessels, priestly garments, and other sacred objects according to ancient biblical specifications. End times prophecies and the rebuilding of the temple are both favorite subjects of people concerned about a world that seems set on self destruction.

That led to a discussion of the last book in the Bible—The Revelation of Jesus Christ—a book in which both of our sons had obviously immersed themselves. And I, “the gadfly of Athens,” asked in an innocent voice, “Are you satisfied that the Church will experience a pre-tribulation rapture?” And the younger, like his brother, went out of his way to show tolerance to his beloved old dad, concerned, I suppose, that I might be on the edge of senility, and that they must be kind and understanding because I might kick off any day. So with just a slight flare in his eyes, he instantly and emphatically replied, “ABSOLUTELY!”

Then I asked a couple of follow-up questions to elicit further comment. But the most vital to me was, “What do you think is the most important lesson that God is trying to teach us from this book?” Our youngest—a brilliant Bible scholar, with the degrees to prove it, immediately began discussing significant passages from the book, but I interrupted him.

“No, no,” I said. “What is the fundamental teaching of the book?” I can’t recall my exact words, but I do remember agreeing with him that one verse, early in the book, is vital. So, I will base my own ideas about what God wants us to take from the book by alluding to a number of passages in The Revelation. But don’t get me wrong. I don’t disagree with my two sons ideas of what is important in the book. We need to try to understand all these things in order to avoid being misled, and to learn from God.

I. First, READ AND HEAR

“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep those things that are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

Revelation 1:3

That third verse in the book tells us that “they that hear the words of the prophecy” will be blessed. It does not say that they that hear it must understand it all, but it is implied that we will try.

II. KEEP THE THINGS

We should all strive to understand “…those things that are written therein…” because we must not only hear, but “…keep those things….” I suppose you could interpret that phrase to mean that we need only remember or memorize those things, but that doesn’t seem adequate because it says, “…keep the things.”

And that word, “keep,” is used numerous times in the Bible to exhort us to obey, to do, to “keep.” For example:

• Keep thy heart with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23).
• Keep the way of the Lord (Genesis 18:19).
• Keep thy tongue from evil (Psalm 34:14).

There are many other commands to “keep,” but these words of Jesus Christ encompasses them all:

“Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

Luke 11:28

And the words spoken to John are almost identical to the words of Jesus. “Blessed is he that readeth, and they thathear the words of the prophecy, and keep (obey) those things” (Revelation 1:3).

It seems to me that this is the reason for our receiving Christ’s Revelation. Sure, the unsaved may try to understand it, and terror that might be awakened in a convicted heart by the Holy Spirit with the intent that they might see their need for Christ. Of course theologians dig in and attempt to understand all the symbolism and glean the truth from every word. But it was communicated to John so that he would record it for you and me. Even the least educated among is commanded to read or hear, and take from it certain basic truths—facts that impact each life—things that you and I are to keep now and in the future, and even after “time is no more.”

Please keep in mind that when John penned these words, all the others who had been with him during his three years with Jesus had now passed on—Peter, Andrew, his brother James—all the Apostles, including Paul. So John was writing to those who were then alive, the second generation of believers, but also to all who would come after, including you and me.

So, as I mentioned to my sons, “To me the book of the Revelations is God’s extensive and elaborate final biblical message, its capstone, and because it centers on the return of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, and his judgment on the world and the devil, it is worthy of our best study and devotion.

I mentioned that I consider this book to be an elaboration of God’s message in the parable of the virgins. Jesus concluded his parable with these words:

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Matthew 25:13

III. TAKE CARE THAT YOUR TEACHERS ARE TRUSTWORTHY

Let’s consider a few of the things that the Lord made very clear, for if God made them clear, then we ought to pay special heed.

I say, “Pay attention to the Parable of the Virgins; be ready, or be left out in the cold!” That’s what I consider the principal message of the book, but as our sons were discussing, there is so much more; things that sometimes seem difficult to understand; symbols about which theologians have been debating for 2,000 years. What are we certain about concerning these events, and what do we know of their timing? We may understand the order in which they occur, and the enormity of their impact, but little of their actual timing. We need to study the book because it will help prepare us against many dangers. For example, we need to be very careful of whom we listen to, especially if we become proud of our knowledge, and of our ability to discern honest teaching, for “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). As Jesus warned,

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Matthew 7:15

Jesus warned,

“Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.”

Luke 21:8

The wolves that come among us may seem like sheep, and above criticism, but we’ve been repeatedly warned that false teachers, inspired by the prince of lies, are to be expected, and not tolerated.

John, on the other hand, could be trusted. He began, “I John, who also am your brother….” which is clearly an allusion to his faith relationship with all men and women who have received Jesus as Savior,

“I John, who also am your brother, was in the isle of Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:9

John was about 95 years old when the Revelation was revealed to him. He was “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:7), a proven soul winner, preacher, pastor, and teacher, whom neither the Jews, Gentiles, or Roman authorities could silence. They threatened, whipped, scorned, and murdered Christ’s disciples, but none of them, including John, would stop declaring that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and that through him, we may have forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

IV. PREPARE TO READ AND HEED WHAT YOU LEARN

And what was John doing when it all began? He wrote:

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet.”

Revelation 1:10

John had been praying so long and so intensely that he was, as it were, “… in the Spirit.”

Isn’t that what we are called to do, to be filled with the Spirit? After all, the Lord sent his Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth; to convince us of sin, and of righteousness, and of justice; and to bring comfort and provide the power (dunamis) to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8). But we find it difficult to pray, as we find witnessing to strangers to be a hard thing. We can argue that even the original disciples had a problem with prayer, but that is no excuse!

Jesus had been praying so intensely in anticipation of his coming passion that he sweated as it were great drops of blood. But when he returned to his disciples, whom he had instructed to “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation,” and he had even mentioned the challenge they faced, that “…the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41), all of them, including Peter, who had just declared that he would never betray Jesus, all of them were fast asleep.

That is another lesson in The Revelation. The first is that the Christ of God is about to act. The second is that—if we want to understand anything about his revelation, we need to be “in the Spirit,” as John was. We dare not be luke warm about these matters! If he finds us walking in the flesh, rather than in the Spirit, we will be as blind men.

There is nothing in these verses that I just quoted that should puzzle us. Unlike much of the book—rich in symbolism, and fraught with terrifying events—John’s words are straight forward and easy enough for most saints to quickly comprehend.

V. FINALLY, DIVE IN; GO DEEPER

God made his intentions clear. He has provided a warning, and promised blessing to those who heed his words:

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Revelation 1:3

Someone may say, “I want to understand, but I cannot!” And you will not be able to understand unless you do as he instructed: Stand tall and boldly share your testimony, and lower yourself in prayer until the Spirit overflows and leads you into all truth, as Jesus assured us he will.

As he was commanded, John took the little book from the hand of the mighty angel in Revelation chapter ten:

And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

Revelation 10:10

Will that happen to you if you devour God’s word? You may, like Ezekiel the prophet, taste of the word of God, and find it “sweet as honey,” but when you consider entering his ministry, you hesitate because of the risk that that honey will turn bitter in your stomach.

It doesn’t surprise me when someone declares, “Forget it! I’ll do well without that!” In fact, that is what tens of thousands of people have said when denying God’s call on their lives. It’s a pity that they didn’t remember Peter’s counsel:

For Peter adds:

But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience;”

I Peter 3:14

Consider James’ words:

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin,

James 4:17

When you are a “King’s kid,” you get special consideration from God. Ask me. I provide scores of examples of God’s miraculous intervention in my new book, Average Guy meets Extraordinary God, coming soon from Northeastern Baptist Press.

So, set yourself apart. Take time in prayer, perhaps, as John did, “…on the Lord’s day,” because, if you do this, you’ll be among those

“Blessed…that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep the things which are written herein: for the time is at hand.”

Revelation 1:3.

Since blessing is awaiting you, and “the time is at hand,” can you think of a better way to invest your life?

Copyright 2025, Frank Becker