November 1, 2025

Scripture Study: Watching Jesus Pray, part 1

Luke 22:39-46

Over the years many individuals, couples and even families have come to me for counseling. I really enjoy taking the Bible and applying it to the problems of life. During our initial conversation I usually like to ask them what they have done so far about their problem, and as you can imagine I get all kinds of answers. Sometimes they’ll say, “We don’t know what to do!” Now that’s an honest answer. Another common answer I get is “We’ve prayed about it.”

For some people that can mean that they’ve thrown up a few quick prayers, but they still haven’t seen any significant change. Others may have prayed quite a bit, but they too may have seen little or no change. But whether it’s a few hasty prayers or a thousand lengthy prayers, I’ve noticed that many people seem almost apologetic about prayer in general. Sometimes the only thing to do about some challenge in your life is to pray because it’s the only thing you can do about it at the moment. Every other option may be out of your hands. But I’d really like to convince you that when you’ve prayed you’ve done something great. God sometimes requires us to do more than pray, but at other times prayer may be all that God requires.

John Bunyan, the well-known author of Pilgrim’s Progress, put it this way, “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.” He, of course, meant that prayer should be the first thing we do before considering other options, and he’s absolutely right.

We can learn so much by watching what Jesus does during tough times, and so let’s begin our multi-part study with a short passage from Luke 22:39-46 where we get to watch Jesus pray. Jesus is facing the most difficult day of his life. He will be betrayed, beaten and crucified. He has just spent his last night together with the twelve in the upper room, and so v. 39 begins:

“And coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.’ Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. And His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. Then He said to them, ‘Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.’”

Next time we’ll zoom in and take notes. But for now, what concern, need or fear are you facing? Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Daniel McCabe

Trivia (Find the answer below)

How many kings of Judah were good or mostly good, according to the Bible?

On Location: The Neighborhood of Mea Shearim–

Modern Technology, part 2

The ultra-Orthodox rabbis of this Jerusalem neighborhood ban or at least strongly discourage the use of televisions, radios, computers and the internet by its residents out of sincere concern for the harm that can come from them, particularly the potential distraction from both family and religious priorities as well as concern over exposure to immodest, immoral and inappropriate content. When sometimes utilized for work or for rabbinical studies, “kosher” computers are heavily filtered, used offline or equipped with a private internal network created by the community. Smartphones are strongly discouraged though they too are heavily filtered when used by business owners, tech workers and emergency responders. Residents may own non-smart devices and flip phones that have no internet access, apps, a camera or texting capability. Anecdotally, it is said that some residents use smartphones discreetly or in secret, due to strong social pressure and the stigma associated with owning internet-enabled devices.

Daniel McCabe

Bibliology: The Preservation of Scripture, part 4

Let’s talk about the preservation of Scripture. Much of what follows won’t have supporting passages of Scripture, for they are mostly logical and historical statements, but we’ll see what you think.

The ipsissima vox of all Scripture—a Latin phrase, “the very voice,” that which is meant, the voice and meaning of all Scripture—has been providentially preserved by God throughout history and will continue for all time (Psalm 119:89, 160; 1 Peter 1:24-25. On the other hand, the ipsissima verba—“the very words” of the autographs, the original manuscripts—can only be carefully reasoned today.

When you hold the Bible in your hands today, it is the Word of God. It is the voice and meaning of that which was written by the Scripture writer, but we don’t have the original manuscripts. The faithful translation that you have in your hands was translated into the English language from the thousands of manuscripts that have survived over the centuries, but none of which are the original autographs. Even so we can carefully reason the most likely wording of Paul or Peter.

This might lead skeptics to say, “It’s all just a giant telephone game. You really don’t have the Bible. It’s been changed over time.” To which I would counter, “If you’ve ever done a study of how ancient texts are transmitted, then you can’t escape the conclusion that the Bible, far and away (not even close to its second place competitor), is the most historically attested work of all time.”

Anyone who’s done any measure of study in the field of textual transmission is only fooling himself if he looks at the Bible and thinks that it’s been warped in what was originally written. The more you study and the more you understand the thousands of manuscripts available to us, you can’t help but see that the Bible which we have in our hands is the ipsissima vox of those Scripture writers. It is what they wrote.

It’s also amazing to me that the same skeptics who say, “The Bible has been warped throughout time,” will then grab any other historical work off the bookshelf, hand it to you and say, “These are the speeches of Julius Caesar. This is Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.” No, not even close. We might have a few manuscripts that survived for up to one thousand years following the original writings of Caesar, and most simply assume that they are accurate; however, the Bible is a lot closer to its autographs with substantially more attestations. If you study the field of textual transmission, you’ll find that the Bible is rock solid. We have in our hands today what the Scripture writers wrote.

True, the autographs, the original manuscripts of Scripture, were not physically preserved by God. Theoretically, if you were to dig around in the Judean desert and found an ancient manuscript which dated to the time of the biblical writers, you wouldn’t know for sure if it was the original or not. The autographs were not miraculously preserved, but their message was preserved by human agents who copied and translated them.

Throughout history God preserved His word through the faithful work of humans over millennia, and there is no one authoritative version of the Bible. This is important. Every quality translation, whether a dynamic translation (word for word from the Greek and Hebrew) or a functionally-equivalent translation (readable and smooth for modern readers)—as long as it’s been faithfully translated from the manuscripts available to us—is authoritative for the faith and practice of the person of God. I won’t list the names of the Bible translations here, but there is a popular view among many that only one specific version is acceptable. That is simply not true, and the more you learn about textual transmission, you can’t help but come to this conclusion. There are many quality translations today. An individual can be saved by responding to Scripture, and this saving faith is sufficient regardless of the version or language of the Scripture being used. Again, some people hold that you can’t be saved unless you respond to the gospel out of one specific Bible version, but that is simply not right.

Following the completion of the Bible, it took final form and organization with chapter and verse divisions as well as vowel pointings in the Hebrew, but these later developments are not inspired. They may not be part of the original inspired work, but they don’t obfuscate the ipsissima vox of Scripture either. They don’t confound it or confuse it. They’re actually useful in the proclamation of Scripture. It can be very convenient, for example, to know the chapter and verse for John 3:16 in order to find it in the text. It helps us organize Scripture. There are some versions of Scripture without these chapter and verse markers if that’s what you prefer. In fact, I think that’s a beautiful way to read Scripture. I quite enjoy reading the Bible in this way, but I’m certainly not against the chapter and verse divisions either. Yes, sometimes the chapter and verse divisions unfortunately break up the narrative, but they’re also helpful tools as long as we understand that Paul didn’t write, “Chapter 1, verse 1.” He just wrote his letter to the Romans as we would write a letter, and Daniel likewise wrote down the visions that were given to him without chapter and verse. They came much later.

God has ensured that His Word would be preserved throughout all time, and one can look back in history to see how that has happened.

Adam Keim

Life in the Land: Seven or Nine?

Have you ever seen a Jewish menorah, sometimes called a lampstand or a candlestick? How many branches are on one? Well, sometimes you’ll count seven and sometimes you’ll count nine. So, what’s the difference?

God commanded the Israelites to place a 7-branched menorah in the temple. This is the one you’ll see on modern Jewish coins or on the platform in modern synagogues whereas the 9-branched menorah is called a hanukkiah, used only during the celebration of Hanukkah. If you look closely at the picture below on the right, you’ll notice that all nine branches are in a straight line, but the middle branch is slightly higher than the other eight (sometimes it’s lower). This ninth branch serves as the helper candle. The other eight branches are lit during the eight-day Hanukkah celebration.

Therefore, a 7-branched menorah is used for all occasions other than Hanukkah, and a 9-branched hanukkiah (sometimes referred to as “8-branched”) can only be used at Hanukkah. In any event, both make me think of Jesus, who called himself the “light of the world” in John 9:5 just after leaving the temple with its 7-branched menorah in John 8:59 and shortly before John’s mention of the celebration of Hanukkah (also called the Feast of Dedication) in John 10:22.

Daniel McCabe

Answer to the Trivia

C. 8: Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Hezekiah, Josiah

Week Forty-Four, 2025

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

It is one of my favorite verses and should be a focus for all Christians in these tumultuous and difficult times in our land. We have been ripped apart by hatred, killings, and unheard-of conflict. There is an awakening terror movement in our land, with violence against those exercising free speech.

If ever there was a time to focus on this verse, it is now. Notice that God calls on His people—those who are called by His name. The ball is in our court, as He calls us to humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways. These four things must be undertaken by His people before He acts. The passage offers a conditional promise of God’s forgiveness and healing in response to these specific actions by His people: (1) humility, (2) prayer, (3) seeking Him, and (4) repentance from sin.

Our land needs healing. God is the one who will have to do it, but our part is to do what He says and not get caught up in worldly solutions. Romans 12 tells Christians what we need to do in times like this.

We need to be different. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and do things His way—not the world’s way. We cannot get caught up in the world’s evil ways. We have to do good to everyone, as long as God gives us the life and breath to do so.

Then, and only then, will God follow with three things: (1) He will hear from heaven, (2) He will forgive our sins, and (3) He will heal our land. If ever our land needs healing and forgiveness, it is now—but each of us must do our part.

This verse was God’s promise to the nation of Israel, and it is still His promise to us today. It functions as a reminder of the covenant relationship with God, linking obedience and repentance to national well-being and restoration. The verse is also interpreted by some as a timeless principle for God’s people, requiring humility, repentance, and a turning back to God for spiritual, moral, and national restoration today.

Israel’s sin brought judgment on their land, and it is and will bring judgment on ours today. Are you ready to turn from our worldly ways and focus on His ways? Only then will He hear our voice, forgive our sins, and heal our land.

Sometimes True Stories

According to the Canadian news outlet The Globe and Mail, the government of Quebec is planning to ban prayer in public places “as part of a move to strengthen secularism in the province.” The idea was first made public by Premier François Legault, who said he did not want to see people praying in public parks or on streets. Last Thursday, the province’s secularism minister (yes, that oxymoronic office is real) confirmed he would advance the legislation this fall.

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All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

Have you ever gone on a cruise? 600 pounds of butter per day, 1,500 pounds of flour per day, 250,000 eggs per week, 170,000 pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables—all this food is needed for one cruise ship carrying only 3,500 passengers! Seems like a lot. Before each cruise begins, the ship is loaded with all the provisions the kitchen staff needs to keep everyone on board happy and well fed!

In 2 Timothy 3:17, Paul tells us that God’s Word is given to us so that we will be “thoroughly equipped for every good work.” As we study Scripture, we are equipped for whatever comes our way. The truth and the promises found in God’s Word make their way into our heart and then into our life, giving us strength to persevere in trials and courage to stand for Christ.

Just as a cruise ship loads tons of food before each departure, so we must continually fill our mind with God’s Word. As we do, we will be equipped to serve God each moment of the day. Feed your mind daily with God’s Word. Remember, we are what we consume.

Are you prepared for the day? Are you prepared today for your marriage, for your kids, fo

Quotes You Can Use

It is important to be knowledgeable about things when we voice our opinions. Without the facts, our opinions can be misleading and hurtful. —Tony Ferguson

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. —Mark Twain

The only way to be found worthy to escape the Great Tribulation is by receiving Jesus Christ and the forgiveness He offers. —Dan Shock

Believing what the Lord says is absolutely true is the essential foundation of a faithful life. Absolutely nothing the Lord has ever said, has been proven false, we must keep that in mind when the devil tempts us. Understanding that the Lord “is truth”, “is knowledge.” —Tony Ferguson

I am reminded of my need for Jesus and my desire to become more and more like Him. I am reminded of all the good that also happened in my day, in my life, in my little part of the world… reminded of all the good that I am surrounded by… and reminded to dwell upon such things. —Marty Stubblefield

The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. —Johnny Cash

If you are facing struggles in life, talk to the Lord. You don’t need an appointment, and His help line is always open.

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. —Dale Carnegie

Remember that if you are a child of God, you will never be happy in sin.

Life is meaningful when you recognize that each moment is unique and will never happen again; cherish every experience as a once-in-a-lifetime gift.

Your job as a parent is to teach your kids how to deal with disappointment, not to keep them from it.

God canceled your plans to save your life. He sent you the other direction to avoid danger. He fights battles you know nothing about. His plan is better than yours.

Trust that God will put the right people in your life at the right time and for the right reasons.

An umbrella cannot stop the rain, but it allows us to stand in the rain. Faith in God may not remove our trials, but it gives us the strength to overcome them.

You cannot create your own definition of Christianity and call yourself a Christian when that definition is very different than what the Bible says. Christianity is not relative, but THE BIBLE IS ABSOLUTE!

Our biggest problem is our small view of God. —Mark Batterson

Your feedback is welcome and if you want to contribute your ideas and thoughts, address all items and comments to

[email protected].

© Thoughts on Life Copyright 2025

October 25, 2025

Scripture Study: The Behemoth

Let’s take a deep dive into the identification of the animal described in Job 40:15-24. Perhaps a list of facts from the text will help you recognize it, but first, note that v. 15 clearly states that God created the behemoth, “which I made along with you.”

Therefore, we can at least say that the behemoth is a real animal, living or dead, and not an imaginary or mythical creature.

1. It eats grass like the ox, v. 15—probably meaning that it’s a herbivore, though perhaps an omnivore, clearly not a carnivore.

2. It has strong “hips” (NKJV), v. 16—often translated as “loins,” perhaps implying that it has a powerful kick. This description and the following one are in poetic parallel, thus expressing two ways to describe the same general idea.

3. It has powerful “stomach muscles” (NKJV), v. 16—most other translations read “belly.”

4. It has a cedar-like tail, v. 17—perhaps suggesting both length and strength. This description and the following one are also in poetic parallel, both expressing power.

5. The sinews or tendons of its thighs are “tightly knit,” v. 17—an expression which may suggest that it can generate great force.

6. It has bones “like beams of bronze” and “ribs like bars of iron,” v. 18—more descriptions of its power and perhaps size.

7. Only God can kill it with the sword, v. 19—this suggests to me that its massive size or quickness would make it impossible for man to kill one on his own.

8. It lives in various habitats, including hilly areas with other animals as well as near brooks or wet areas where it lies under shady lotus trees and willows, vs. 20-22—v. 20 in the NKJV reads “mountains,” but the Hebrew word can also be translated as hills.

9. It doesn’t fear fast-moving water, v. 23—evidently rushing water can’t carry him away.

10. It can’t be hooked and led away captive, v. 24—the first part of the verse is tricky to interpret, but the second part suggests that it can’t be handled by men.

The most common identifications for the behemoth are the hippo, elephant and crocodile. Crocodiles can be eliminated from consideration quickly since they are carnivores. Elephants and hippos are both powerful, but hippos spend most of their time submerged in the water to protect their sensitive skin. They don’t live in hilly areas with other wild beasts nor do elephants, and neither hippos nor elephants have particularly long, thick or powerful tails. Hippos prefer slow-moving water and aren’t well-suited for fast-moving water, which can carry them and their calves away. Elephants fare better in fast-moving water because they can swim, but even so they avoid rushing water. Albeit dangerous, men in groups as small as five could kill a hippo or an elephant, but it would take a very large group of men, perhaps into the hundreds, to kill a sauropod dinosaur.

Could the behemoth refer to an extinct sauropod? After all, they were herbivores, could thrive in both gentle hills and flatlands, and grew to an enormous size with long, thick, powerful tails. The fossil evidence confirms as much, and there’s actually nothing about the description of the behemoth in Job 40 that readily excludes the dinosaur from consideration! Just saying!

Trivia Quesion (Answer below)

Major general is the second highest rank in the Israel Defense Forces under only the head of the IDF, but in its history how many major generals have been women?

Life in the Land: The Dead Sea Marathon

I used to run a lot, but now my knees tell me I’m done with that chapter of my life. Are you a runner? Where do you like to run? How would you like to run a race at the lowest point on earth? You can! For about $75 you can run a marathon at the southern end of the Dead Sea in Israel. The race course crosses two gravel embankments that span a small section of the salt lake, and you can choose to run the half marathon, full marathon, ultra marathon or smaller distances like the 5K and 10K.

The next race is scheduled for February 6, 2026 in Ein Bokek, starting at 6 a.m. You should expect the start time temperature to be around 57 degrees, and you’ll be glad that they don’t schedule the race during the summer when sunrise temperatures reach nearly 80 degrees and the day’s high can reach 108 degrees. In 2025 eight thousand runners from forty countries crowded the start line, so you are likely to meet some interesting people at the race like the family members of former hostages held in Gaza or Moshe Lederfien who runs with a pineapple on his head. Runners enjoy stunning views of the area, historically home to the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

On your mark!

On Location: The Neighborhood of Mea Shearim: Its Uniqueness, part 1

Mea Shearim is an historic neighborhood in Jerusalem, located only a short walk north of the Old City’s New Gate. Founded in 1874 it is one of the very first neighborhoods built outside the city walls. Its name means “One Hundred Gates,” and the Hebrew comes directly from Genesis 26:12 which describes a time in the life of Isaac when the Lord blessed him with an abundant harvest. The verse reads, “Then Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold [mea shearim]; and the LORD blessed him.” The most common translation for the Hebrew word shearim is “gates,” but in this verse it’s acceptably rendered as “fold,” meaning a “measure” or a “portion.” Mea Shearim’s founders adopted this expression to represent their desire for future prosperity and spiritual abundance as they followed the Lord through “gates” of obedience.

The neighborhood is populated by various groups of ultra-Orthodox Jews whose lifestyle is modeled on pre-modern Jewish traditions with an intentional effort to preserve the religious customs and culture of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Eastern Europe, similar to our understanding of the Amish here in the United States. The residents of Mea Shearim studiously follow biblical and rabbinical law. Most of the men study the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) full-time, and the community values modesty, family values and separation from secular society, which includes strict controls over media, technology and the education of their children. The men typically don black hats, white shirts and black coats called kapotes with full beards and sidelocks called peyot, and the women wear long skirts and long-sleeved blouses with high necklines. The married women cover their hair with scarves or wigs.

Scripture Study: Bibliology: The Illumination and Clarity of Scripture, part 3

The Holy Spirit illumines the reader of Scripture to understand its truth. Only the Holy Spirit can bring real understanding to a person’s mind about the meaning of a Scripture passage. This illumination is necessary due to the blindness of each person as a result of sin, the darkening work of Satan (2 Cor. 4:4), and even for some a judicial compounding that further darkens the mind (Rom. 11:7-8). Some redeemed people require further illumination. Different people reach varying levels of maturity in their walk with Christ, even different intellectual capacities, and that’s fine. Some of the most faithful believers I’ve met can struggle to understand certain theological doctrines, for example. Theology may even confound them a bit, yet they are still such faithful people, deeply in love with the Lord. Different people possess varying intellectual capabilities, and some people require further illumination from the Holy Spirit to understand Scripture on different levels. Thankfully, God works with all of us as individuals.

But even though I think this is the case, Scripture is perspicuous in its meaning; that is, it’s clear. It’s understandable. No one person knows it all. No one comprehends every nuance of it. Still it is perspicuous. God did not give us the Bible to intentionally confound us. He revealed Himself in Scripture so that we could know Him. We may not be able to understand everything in it, but every Bible verse is nevertheless understandable. There are many things that we as sinful people will never comprehend even though we can apprehend them. Take the Trinity, for example. When I read the Bible, I can apprehend the concept of God being three in one and one in three. He’s one person with three subsistencies, if you will. But even that fails to really explain God, for He is unexplainable. I can’t fully comprehend the Trinity. Although I’ll be in heaven for fourteen quadrillion years, I still won’t be able to comprehend it. God is just infinitely beyond us. The Trinity may be incomprehensible, yet I believe it.

So, even though Scripture is perspicuous or clear in its meaning, it isn’t necessarily so in its significance to every reader. That is, you can have two people with one Bible verse. Both of them can know what it means, but one person may appreciate its significance and depth of meaning more than the other. That’s where wisdom comes in and maybe too the Holy Spirit further softens that person’s understanding of what that verse can mean to them.

Adam Keim

Archaeology, The First Church

Just south of the Old City of Jerusalem you can visit a busy tourist site on Mt. Zion that marks the traditional location of the Upper Room where the apostles shared the Last Supper with Jesus. Do I think that the site is genuine? I actually do. The evidence is quite compelling though I can only give you a taste of it in this post.

Today most of what you’ll see at the site is from the time of the Crusaders who built a church there in the twelfth century. In 1948 a Jewish archaeologist researched the site and found evidence of a fourth-century Byzantine church directly below the Crusader church and below that a first-century synagogue with graffiti that read in part, “Jesus is light.” The very first Christians were Jewish Christians as you may recall, including even “a great many of the priests” (Acts 6:7).

In any event long before Roman Emperor Constantine built churches in Jerusalem and Bethlehem to mark the sites of Jesus’ birth, death and ascension, very early Christian historians had noted that a first-century church stood atop Mount Zion and that it commemorated the spot where the apostles shared the Last Supper with Jesus (Mark 14:15), where they returned following Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:12-13), and where they “continued with one accord in prayer and supplication with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with His brothers” (v. 14) as they awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Today we often name our churches First Baptist, First Presbyterian or First United Methodist Church, but that first-century church on Mount Zion was THE First Church. It’s remarkable to stand in the surviving Crusader structure built over the First Church’s ancient remains and imagine the events, prayers, meals and conversations that took place there, including “one of you will betray me” (John 13:21), “I am the way, the truth and the life” (14:6), and “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (16:33).

Answer to the Trivia

B. 3

Week Forty-Three, 2025

“The person who does what God wants lives forever.” 1 John 2:17

It is a movement gaining social attraction, arising mostly out of Silicon Valley. Transhumanism focuses on using technology to improve physical and cognitive abilities, such as extending lifespan, enhancing intelligence, and improving sensory perception. A key concept is the potential for rapid technological advancement, particularly in AI, to reach a point where it surpasses human intelligence and fundamentally alters society. In plainer language, Transhumanism believes that with proper application, people can live forever.

Really, I don’t disagree—but I see it from a different perspective. There is a cycle of human life, and then Hebrews 9:27 tells us: “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.”

Transhumanism is an escape valve for those who believe that human death is a final event, after which there is nothing. It is a product of the growing secularization of society that has consumed Europe, where Christianity is not one of the top three worldviews—where Marxism, Islam, and environmentalism push ahead. Though this trend is not as deep in America, it is the camel’s nose under the tent of secularism.

It is time for the church to speak up. We will not impact the world by going to church, but by faithfully being the church when we go out into the world. We hear a lot about the separation of church and state, but we need to be more concerned about the separation of the church and the kingdom. I see a nation slowly fading from its “Christian” values and becoming more focused on itself and its own “greatness”—relying more on its own strength and abilities, relying more on its own creations (whether government or corporations, programs or faux stability), and relying less and less on God.

I do not fear death, although I am in no hurry to experience it, because I know that it is not an end. It is, instead, the beginning of a life of forever in the kingdom of God.

If you want immortality, be the church.

Sometimes True Stories

Some people today will argue that science is at odds with God, but history is proving the opposite. As mankind discovers more and more about the Universe, and the existence of mankind, it is becoming more and more obvious that our Universe is so finely tuned that it is impossible for it to be a random event. Once we accept that our Universe is designed, we must ask the obvious question: By whom? This really highlights that true wisdom is not something humans can attain on their own, but is a gift from God. His ways are not our ways, and our understanding is so limited. One definition of a hero is someone who is timeless, powerful, personal, and caring. Someone who has the power to create the Universe is my hero; how about you? —Tony Ferguson

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The three stages of life:

• Wanting stuff.
• Accumulating stuff.
• Getting rid of stuff.

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In Silicon Valley, parents are paying up to $50,000 for new genetic-testing services that include promises to screen embryos for IQ. Professional matchmakers are setting up tech execs with brilliant partners, partly to get brilliant offspring. Tech futurists are urging the intellectually gifted to multiply.

Quotes You Can Use

When Satan appears in your life, preach the Gospel to him. —Albert Mohler

The new dating app for seniors: You match with people who are on the same meds as you. It’s called “Relationscript.”

It is easier to commit our future to God than to commit the present.

The more you recognize your ignorance, the closer you are to learning.

If we don’t see ourselves as God does, it will be hard for us to see who He is.

There are no ordinary people.

Our broken stories provide the perfect time for Jesus to enter our lives.

When your life on earth is over, you can still plan to live forever.

Most people have no understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Obedience is the doorway to divine disclosure.

The most important thing you have ever done is probably not on your calendar.

Jesus calls us to trust Him even when life is tough. Never underestimate the power of a praying church. Christ’s church is unstoppable and secure. Though opposition may rise, those who stand against Jesus will ultimately fall. —Edgar Aponte

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

Twenty-eight years ago, this morning, Cindy, Ben, and I climbed into our 1999 Expedition and drove to Concord, NH, where we picked up my sister and her husband. With them on board we began making our way southwest to Northfield, MA, the birthplace and burial site of D. L. Moody. The property is also the site where he founded the first of four educational institutions he founded during his lifetime. We had made this trip many times, but this trip was different. 

On the drive I shared how the Lord had been working in my life all month, calling me to step out in faith and start Northeastern Baptist College. I told about my struggle but that it was clearly the call of God. We shared how Cindy had joined me in praying for the Lord’s will and together, we were surrendered to following the Lord’s leading. We then shared that the reason we were going to Northfield was to pray. The focus of our prayer was that the Lord would guide every step and that He would enable us to plant a college that would always be faithful to the Bible and to the Gospel message, impacting the northeast, the nation, and the world until Jesus comes. 

We arrived in Northfield, parked, and began walking to “Roundtop.” This was Moody’s favorite spot to pray when he was in Northfield and the place where he was buried. With every step the weight of the decision grew heavier on my shoulders. I knew we had no money to start a college. I also knew that at some point I would have to step away from serving as pastor of our church and then we would have no money to take care of our own personal family needs. As we arrived at Moody’s grave, I couldn’t pray. The weight was too great. I looked at Cindy and told her that Ben and I were going for a walk. I asked her to stay with my sister and her husband. 

Ben and I found a park bench and sat down. I began to pour out my heart to the Lord, telling Him that I wanted to obey His call, but didn’t know how I could be a good Dad and step out to do this with no money. Gently, His Spirit placed a thought in my mind. “Mark, do you really think you love Ben more than I do?” With that question, the weight was lifted. God loves Ben and He would make sure Ben had everything he needed along the way. Our job was just to trust and obey. We walked back up “Roundtop”, prayed together, headed back to New Hampshire, and on the drive home began putting together a plan to open NEBC in August of 2013.

Today, we celebrate Alumni Homecoming Day. In this, our thirteenth academic year, we have the largest student body in our history. NEBC is impacting the Northeast, the nation, and the world by training students to serve the Lord by exhibiting the mind of a scholar, the heart of a shepherd, and the perseverance of a soldier. In the last 2 years and 10 months we have seen more than 1,300 individuals come to faith in Jesus through the ministries our students, staff, and faculty engage in each week. Churches are being planted, existing churches are being revitalized, business leaders are being a witness in the workplace, Christian counselors and Christian educators are impacting lives for Christ. God is at work! He is faithful. 

Today, we rejoice in all the Lord has done, but we also look forward to ensuring that NEBC continues to make a difference Until Jesus Comes. As you know, we are currently in Phase Two of the Until Jesus Comes Capital Campaign. Phase Two is crucial to ensuring that we continue to make a difference for years to come. Specifically, our 2025 Year-End Campaign is focused on three crucial areas. We are asking the Lord to lead His people to give to reach three goals in the final quarter of 2025. 

Ø  Presidential Partners’ Scholarship Fund – $2,000,000

Ø  Dr. Gray Allison Student Housing Fund – $1,136,425

Ø  Downtown Campus Fund – $2,000,000

Today, on the 16^th Anniversary of our surrender to the Lord’s call to start NEBC, I am asking you to give a special gift to help ensure NEBC continues to make a difference Until Jesus Comes. The Lord invites us to join His work through our prayers and through our giving. He does not call everyone to give the same dollar amount. He simply calls us to prayerfully consider what we can give and then to give generously and cheerfully. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8) Some can give…

_________________________

Copyright 2025, Northeaster Baptist College. All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Northeastern Baptist College PO Box 4600 Bennington, VT 05201 USA

Dr. Mark Ballard, President

The Father continues to do amazing things in and through the NEBC Family! Several of our students, staff, and faculty members are serving in a new church plant in Bennington. The Lord is blessing this new congregation with much spiritual fruit. Just a few weeks ago the Lord led a new family to attend for the first time. The family of six did an internet search and found NEBC, which also led to them finding out about the new church plant. Over the last month, the Dad, two sons, a daughter, and the oldest son’s girlfriend have all turned to faith in Jesus and will be baptized on October 19th . The Mom trusted Jesus as a child. Yet, the spiritual growth in her life over the last month has skyrocketed and the entire family is sharing Jesus with others and bringing new folks to the church.

These kinds of stories are happening all over the Northeast. Every week we are hearing of people who have either never been to church, or have not been for a very long time, going to Gospel preaching churches, hearing the Gospel, coming to faith in Jesus, growing in their walk with Him, and sharing the Gospel with others. Cindy and I will soon reach our 28th anniversary of serving in the Northeast. We, and many others, have prayed to see what we are witnessing today for many years. All of us serving here stand on the shoulders of many faithful servants who have prayed and worked to see these days. This is an exciting time to get involved in the Father’s work in and through NEBC and all across the Northeast.

While we have seen the Lord do so much, there remains much work to accomplish. This summer my office completed an extensive research project regarding the state of Vermont. While we rejoice in knowing that we have grown from 14 churches in our Baptist network in 2013, to almost 60, we cannot ignore the fact that there remains 150 townships in Vermont with no Gospel witness. That means 60% of the towns in Vermont still have no Gospel preaching church.

This is why the Until Jesus Comes Campaign is crucial to the future of NEBC and the future of Vermont. You will remember that in 2023 we kicked off this 10-year, Three Phase, capital campaign to ensure that NEBC continues to make a difference in the Northeast, the nation, and the world Until Jesus Comes. The campaign was well received and started off strong. Phase One went very well and this time last year we moved into Phase Two of the campaign. The focus of Phase Two is three-fold.

Ø The Presidential Partners’ Scholarship Fund goal is $4,500,000. Giving to this fund provides much needed scholarship assistance. This fund supports the costs of operations and salaries, making a high quality education in the Northeast possible for students to afford. We anticipated receiving at least $1,000,000 toward this goal during last year’s end of year campaign. However, do to circumstances beyond anyone’s control this significant gift did not materialize. Therefore, we need to see at least $2,000,000 given to this fund during the 2025 year-end giving campaign to get back on track with our growth.

Ø The Goal to complete the Dr. Gray Allison Student Housing Village was set at $2,500,000. The permitting for this construction project requires that we complete the student housing in 2026. While we continue to progress toward completion, we still have $1,136,425 to go to finish the task.

Ø The goal to establish a Permanent Downtown Campus was set at $7,000,000. The Lord is bringing consistent growth in the student body at NEBC. We rejoice in the growth and we need additional space to maintain it. This includes more educational space, more office space, more student life space, more chapel space, and we need additional space for our graduate library. Recently, the Lord provided for a first step toward this goal with the purchase of one of the properties we have been asking Him to provide. A couple who have been long time partners with NEBC sensed the Lord leading them to make a significant gift to purchase the property. This property will house the graduate library, a new chapel, and add four additional 2-bedroom apartments. We praise the Lord for His provision through these generous partners. We still need $6,000,000 to reach this Phase Two goal.

As we enter the fourth quarter of 2025, we are asking the Lord to get us back on track with Phase Two and move us forward in the Until Jesus Comes Campaign between now and December 31, 2025. You can make a difference in at least three ways.

1. Please join us in prayer. We are asking the Lord to move on the hearts of His children to give towards the 2025 End of Year Giving Goals. Will you join us in this prayer?

a. Presidential Partners’ Scholarship Fund Year-End Goal 2025 – $2,000,000

b. Dr. Gray Allison Student Housing Fund Year -End Goal 2025- $1,136,425

c. Downtown Campus Fund Year-End Goal 2025- $2,000,000

2. Please give generously, as the Lord leads. No gift is too large or too small to make a difference. The Lord does not call us each to give the same amount. We only ask that you prayerfully seek the Lord to see if and how He wants you to give to meet these needs.

3. Please invite others to partner with us in the Lord’s work. Feel free to share this letter with your church, small group, Sunday school class, friends, and family; inviting them to get involved, as the Lord leads.

As you pray, the Lord moves. As you give, the Lord takes your gift and multiplies it in Gospel fruit. As you share with others, you are inviting them to join God in His work. Together, we can make a difference! One day we hope to see every township in Vermont, and throughout the Northeast, with a Gospel witness. Together, we can ensure that NEBC continues to move us toward that goal Until Jesus Comes!

Thank you for your faithful prayers, encouragement, and support!

In Him,

Mark H. Ballard

President, NEBC

October 18, 2025

There are several books over the years that I’ve read multiple times, including The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton, and The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee. But there’s one book that I’ve read through more times than these three combined—the Bible! Some people even read through it yearly, which is great! In fact, Pastor Shelvie Summerlin, who passed away this last February at the age of 96, admits to having read his Bible at least 1,025 times.

Jewish congregations throughout the world read through the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy) every year as well, which they divide into 54 separate Sabbath readings. Wait! Aren’t there only 52 weeks in a year? Yes, of course, but the Jews follow a lunisolar religious calendar (ranging from 354-384 days) that may have anywhere from 50-54 Sabbaths. In years with less than 54 Sabbaths, certain readings are doubled up, but only 53 of the 54 readings are scheduled for weekly Sabbath services. The last reading is always scheduled for the holiday of Simchat Torah, which may or not fall on a Sabbath.

Simchat Torah, which means “Joy of the Torah,” is a one-day holiday that annually celebrates the completion of the reading of the Torah, and it started last week (October 14)! After sunset the Torah scroll will be removed from its ark (the decorative cabinet where it’s kept) and the people will march around with it, singing and dancing long into the night. Tomorrow morning the last Torah reading (Deut. 33:1-34:12) and part of the first Torah reading (Genesis 1:1-2:3) will be read along with Numbers 29:35-30:1 (which describes the festival offerings) and Joshua 1:1-18 (which describes the succession of leadership from Moses to Joshua). This service will be followed by another round of dancing with the Torah scroll as well as other festivities, including a meal.

What a day! Yet, the 2023 celebration of Simchat Torah, which fell on October 7, was tragically interrupted by the news of the infiltration by Hamas from Gaza into Israel. Hamas fired rockets, destroyed entire communities, took over 250 hostages and killed nearly 1200 people, mostly civilians. A day meant for joy witnessed unbearable sadness.

But Simchat Torah for 2025 started tonight at sundown. A new day! A wonderful day, particularly given the news of the release of all the remaining hostages today, and perhaps you and I can learn a lesson from the people of Israel who celebrate annually the reading of their Bibles. Psalm 1:1 notes that to a godly man the Torah is “his delight.” The writer of Psalm 119 adds that God’s Word is “the rejoicing of my heart” (v. 111). There may be challenges or even new dangers heading your way soon—more reason to open up your Bibles to find joy and so that any troubles you face won’t derail you from your commitment to the Lord. You might even want to sing or dance a little, even if someone is watching, for, after all, there is no greater blessing than to know that God loves us, sees us in our troubles and speaks to us from the Bible.

Dinosaur Bites

Some random, bite-sized topics on dinosaurs.

1. Could the large number of dragon stories from diverse ancient cultures refer to dinosaurs? Evolutionists would, of course, say no because clearly it does not fit their paradigm that excludes the co-existence of man and dinosaurs. But how do they explain this evidence?

Carl Sagan considered the historical (written) and archaeological (artifact) evidence for the existence of dragons such a threat to the evolutionary model that he made an attempt to explain away their existence by saying that perhaps the ancestral primates of humans may have had such terrifying encounters with them that their memories were stamped on their genes and passed down to humans who lived much later. How’s that for an explanation?

2. There is strong historical evidence that the biblical Job lived around the time of Abraham or earlier. If Noah’s flood occurred around 2348 B.C. (Ken Hamm) and Abraham is born around 2166 B.C. (Eugene Merrill), then dinosaurs could have easily survived into the lifetime of Job who many believe is describing them in Job 40-41 (many Bible teachers date Job even earlier than Abraham).

3. There is no indisputable evidence to date that confirms for me the existence of human and dinosaur footprints in the same fossil bed. Having lived in the area for many years, I’m familiar with the artifacts on display at Carl Baugh’s Creation Evidence Museum in Glen Rose, Texas who makes that claim, and although I’m quite sympathetic with his worldview that accepts the co-existence of man and dinosaurs based on the biblical record, the artifact evidence is not compelling for me.

Trivia (Answer at bottom of page)

All of the following animals have streets named for them in Jerusalem except for WHAT?

Let’s move on now to the inspiration of the Bible itself. Scripture is inspired both verbally and plenarily, meaning in its statements and in its totality. The Bible in full was inspired by the Holy Spirit in its autographa, which refers to the original manuscripts, and the Bible was recorded by uninspired human agents. I get this from 2 Peter 1:21.

However, there is an important distinction to be made. When we’re talking about the inspiration of Scripture, what exactly is inspired? Is the person inspired? No, actually only the Scripture is inspired. Paul, the writer of Romans, for example, is not the inspired agent. He is the person who wrote down the words on the paper, but only the words are the inspired information. It’s important to make this distinction because Paul wasn’t inspired to the point where anything he ever wrote was Scripture, such as his shopping list for the agora, the marketplace. That’s not Scripture. Paul himself wasn’t the inspired agent, but he did write inspired Scripture, again meaning the documents, the autographa, the original manuscripts. God prepared at least some of the writers of Scripture before their births. We have statements in Jeremiah 1 and Galatians 1 which confirm that God revealed the information to them. But God only inspired their canonical writings. Paul’s shopping list for the marketplace wasn’t inspired, but Romans, Galatians, Colossians, Philemon, and everything else he and the others wrote that have been included in the canon of Scripture are inspired.

Every Scripture then has dual authorship—both the Holy Spirit and the person through whom the Holy Spirit was writing. God used the personality of His agents, and we can see differences in their writing styles. Mark, for example, differs substantially from Luke. He uses different Greek constructions from Luke, so the Holy Spirit used personalities and intellects in the writing of Scripture. Thus, we can say in one sense that both Mark and the Holy Spirit wrote the Gospel of Mark.

The writers were at times conscious of the Holy Spirit’s control over their writings, which is quite interesting. We see this particularly in the Old Testament prophets, such as Ezekiel who seemed conscious in Ezekiel 3 that what he was writing down was a specific revelation from God for the people.

Keep in mind that Paul didn’t wake up in the morning, thinking, “I’ll sit down and write some Bible today.” Instead, I think Paul simply wrote a letter to the church in Rome containing things that he really wanted them to know and learn. Yes, Peter mentions that Paul wrote Scripture, but I don’t know that Paul was conscious that his letters would one day be considered Scripture. He’s just writing to them now, but the Holy Spirit inspired these letters from his hand with the intention of them becoming part of the canon though at other times admittedly a prophet would know that what he wrote or spoke was the inspired words of God.

In general, the apostles and prophets were cognizant of the divine origin of Scripture. If something was considered Scripture, other writers of Scripture knew that it was the Bible and that its authority came from God Himself, literally from the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, the truths of Scripture cannot be altered or terminated. Every aspect of Scripture will persevere and be realized. Every prophecy will come about. Everything that the Scripture discusses will be realized. Jesus said that He did not come to eliminate the Law. He wouldn’t do away with one jot or tittle.

All Scripture is ultimately authoritative in all matters of faith and practice. The whole Bible is useful to us. I’m an Old Testament guy, so it saddens me to hear of Christians who are afraid of the Old Testament. It’s probably because they don’t know much about it. They’re not very familiar with it. There are even some people who don’t believe that the Old Testament applies to us today though it absolutely does. All Scripture informs us who God is, what He loves, what He hates, and what He desires for certain people in certain time periods in history. Even though the dictates of the Law of Moses don’t apply to me today and even though I’m not under the authority of the Law of Moses, I can still read the books of the Law and come to know who God is. I’ve come to appreciate what He’s done in history, and I can learn from both the good and bad examples of those who lived during the time of Genesis, Numbers and Deuteronomy. So all biblical content is good and useful for all matters of faith and practice, and the Bible is the ideal tool to guide and to protect the people of God and to combat falsity. There are many passages of Scripture that speak to that.

Adam Keim

Scripture Study The Mustard Seed

Matthew 13:32 states that the mustard seed is the “least of all the seeds.” Some have asked, “Isn’t it true that there are smaller seeds than the mustard seed? So, how can we take this statement to be true?”

Let me take a shot at it. Yes, it’s true that the poppy and rue seeds are smaller, but there’s no error in Jesus’ statement. The expression, “small as a mustard seed,” was a common Jewish expression for anything that was really tiny (cf. Luke 17:6). Jesus is using a popular expression of his day; he’s not speaking absolutely. Note too that the word translated “least” or “smallest” in some translations is actually a comparative, meaning “smaller.” The mustard seed is “smaller than all other seeds” (NASB). In other words, it is in a class of the smaller seeds known to men.

Answer to the Trivia

E. Tiger

Week Forty-Two, 2025

He therefore answered, “Whether he is a sinner, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).

Recently, while in Honduras, I made a purchase and received change in the form of a local currency bill. Foreign script always fascinates me, but this one had something I had never seen: on the upper right-hand corner, the printed information appeared in braille for those who couldn’t see. Sight is a beautiful gift.

I thought of a spiritual parallel. Babies are born with fully developed eyes, but their brains are still very much in development. During those early months, babies are essentially “learning” how to see. The visual part of their brain is figuring out how to process all the visual data their eyes are sending. In the first few months of life, a baby’s vision improves rapidly. By around three to five months old, they have developed the ability to track moving objects, and their brain is now correctly processing images to ensure everything appears right-side up. Some, however, are visually impaired and remain so for life.

Spiritually, we are born blind and remain that way until we receive the Holy Spirit through accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Like the braille on the money, the Bible gives us the path and guides our spiritual growth. Salvation is a one-time occurrence, but consecration is a life-long process as we grow in grace.

In the Bible, consecration means being set apart for God’s service and purpose. This involves a separation from the worldly and a commitment to holiness. It is not just an external act but a transformation of the heart and mind, leading to a life dedicated to God’s will.

Just as the connection between a baby’s sight and brain grows as the child physically matures, spiritual transformation involves a process of dedicating oneself to God. This consecration results in a renewed life and a closer relationship with Him. This transformation is not a one-time event but a continual journey of growth and change, often described in stages, culminating in a life lived in service to God.

What kind of transformation are you and Jesus making in your relationship?

Sometimes True Stories

My name’s Frank. I’m 64, a retired electrician.

Forty-two years I spent running wires through houses, fixing breakers, making sure people had light in their kitchens and heat in their winters. Never once did anyone ask me where I went to college. Mostly, they just wanted to know if I could get the power back on before their ice cream melted.

Last May, I was at my granddaughter Emily’s school career day. You know the drill—doctors, lawyers, a software guy in a slick suit talking about “scaling startups.” I was the only one there with a tool belt and work boots.

When it was my turn, I told the kids, “I don’t have a degree. I’ve never sat in a lecture hall. But I’ve wired schools, hospitals, and your principal’s house. And when the hospital generator failed during a snowstorm in ’98, I was the one in the basement with a flashlight, keeping the lights on for newborn babies upstairs.”

The kids leaned forward. They had questions—real ones. “How do you fix stuff in the dark?” “Do you make a lot of money?” “Do you ever get zapped?” (Yes, once, and it’ll curl your hair.)

When the bell rang, one boy hung back. Small kid, freckles, hoodie too big for him. He mumbled, “My uncle’s a plumber. People laugh at him ’cause he didn’t finish high school. But… he’s the only one in the family who can fix anything.”

I looked that boy in the eye and said, “Kid, your uncle’s a hero. When your toilet overflows at midnight, Harvard ain’t sending anyone. A plumber is.”

Here’s the thing nobody told me when I was young—the world doesn’t run without tradespeople. You can have all the engineers you want, but if nobody builds the house, wires the power, or lays the pipes, those blueprints just sit in a drawer.

We’ve made it sound like trades are what you do if you can’t go to college, instead of a path you choose because you like working with your hands, solving problems, and seeing your work stand solid for decades.

Four years after high school, some kids walk away with diplomas. Others walk away with zero debt, a union card, and a skill they can take anywhere in the world. And guess what? When your furnace dies in January, it’s not the diploma that saves you.

A few weeks ago, that same freckled kid’s mom stopped me at the grocery store. She said, “You probably don’t remember, but you told my son trades are important. He’s shadowing his uncle this summer. First time I’ve seen him excited about anything in years.”

That’s the part we forget—for some kids, knowing their path is respected changes everything. It’s not about “just” fixing wires or pipes. It’s about pride. Purpose. The kind that sticks with you long after the job’s done.

So next time you meet a teenager, don’t just ask, “Where are you going to college?” Ask, “What’s your plan?” And if they say, “I’m learning to weld,” or “I’m starting an apprenticeship,” smile big and say, “That’s fantastic. We’re going to need you.”

Because we will. More than ever. And when the lights go out, you’ll be glad they showed up.

Quotes You Can Use

Listening carefully to a person’s speech will be a good start in understanding their heart and character. Tony Ferguson

Acceptance of God’s will is the only path to true peace. Without that acceptance, there is only turmoil and struggle within. Dan Shock

America has always been a nation that believes in the power of prayer, and we will never apologize for our faith. Donald Trump

To please God even a little is infinitely greater than to have the praise of mankind. Charles Spurgeon.

Some people get an education without going to college. The rest get it after they get out. Mark Twain

Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution. Albert Einstein

God said, “Be still, and know,” not “freak out and question everything.”

Life is full of questions. Idiots are full of answers. Socrates

Yes, I am a Christian. Yes, I make hypocritical decisions. Yes, I fall. I stumble. I struggle. I am a mess, and God can turn a mess into a masterpiece.

Sacrifice—the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something with a higher claim. Are we willing to be a living sacrifice for Christ… no matter the cost? Marty Stubblefield

We must protect Gospel unity and Gospel advancement despite disagreements and conflicts.

Ministry does not stop when you share the Gospel. Follow up with others. Don’t let conflict or disagreements hinder Gospel advancement. Be willing to forsake your freedoms in order to win others to Jesus. Don’t do ministry alone. Who are you investing in? Edgar Aponte

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what is in us. Ralph Waldo Emerson.

He told us to not only be as harmless as doves, but also as wise as serpents. Christ wants a child’s heart, but a grown-up’s head. C.S. Lewis

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

© Thoughts on Life Copyright 2025

You may hear people joke about going to hell, and perhaps that’s how they kid themselves into believing that its existence is not real. They may even consider hell to be the domain of Satan, a place where he drags those who’ve traded their eternities for brief success in this world.

Some even turn hell into a vast amusement park, a place they will spend eternity reveling with other sinners, as thought it’s a pleasant counterpart to that boring place called “Heaven,” where the “goody-goodies” drift around on clouds all day, bored out of their minds while they admire one another’s wings and strum on their harps.

Well, that’s a poor concept of heaven, but hell is no where near that good. Hell was created by God, first of all for the devil and those rebellious angels whom God cast down from heaven, and who have been plaguing this world since Adam’s fall, thereby adding to the misery for which we ourselves are guilty.

And hell is not an amusement park. At itd center is the lake of fire, into which Satan and his minions will be cast—chained and helpless—at the end of this age, to burn with an everlasting fire. Picture an incandescent light bulb with its white hot tungsten filament, burning forever. That filament would represent every human being who rejected Jesus Christ as Lord—who repudiated the only remedy that God has provided for our salvation, cleansing, healing, forgiveness, and holiness.

Becoming holy—being like Jesus—without sin—is not such a bad thing by any measure. Social scientists (a contradiction in terms), have concluded that Christians are happier than non-Christians; they have more successful marriages, more real friends, and they frequently testify of how God—after they’ve prayed—has delivered them from one trial or another.

But where, you ask, dow we get a systematic understanding of God and Satan, of heaven and hell? From the Bible, of course!

Christians and Jews alike look to the Law and the Prophets—what some call the Old Testament—and Muslims too consider some books to be inspired. We Christians, of course, consider the New Testament to be God-breathed, as well.

And you may be one of those who has been taught to scorn its contents. But who was your source of this great wisdom? Why, the the very same servants of Satan that are dragging you into their life styles, which must, of necessity, preclude any absolutes, a world of relativism where you are welcome to produce your own religion, and live by convenient, ever changing rules that exclude almost nothing but the absolute God. And what’s truly terrifying is that many of these actually hold leadership roles in our churches.

Check them out! Are not their very lives a testament to the fact that they are truly losers, that they have no true conception of good or bad, of right and wrong, but that their every concern is focused on building a cocoon around themselves to protect and advance the great “I” and “ME” of their lives? They make a great show in words and deeds to confuse and inveigle you, while they pursue their own secret lusts and ambitions.

One Bible penman described these lost souls, and as he does, he also gives us an entirely different picture of the horrors of hell. His name is Jude, and he is one of Jesus’ step-brothers. Jude provides a glimpse into the lives of church “leaders” that the world is willing to emulate and admire.

Jude’s mother and father were Mary and Joseph. He, along with his brothers and sisters were conceived after the birth of Jesus Christ, and, apart from having a devout and somewhat remarkable older brother, they lived normal lives with their normal parents.

After all, it’s unlikely that Joseph and Mary broadcast the news that she had become pregnant before they were formally married. Jesus, of course, had been conceived when the Holy Spirit of God came upon a chaste young virgin whom the angels hailed as “blessed among women,” and she conceived, and brought forth her son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and lay him in a manger, because there was no room in the inn, so she was sort of like a surrogate mother.

But thirty years passed between Jesus’ notable birth and his incredible ministry, and apart from a few remarkable things that Jesus said and did, the life of Joseph the carpenter and his family was quite normal, with children coming along in due time. There were four younger brothers, James, Joseph (also referred to as Joses), Simon, and Judas (also referred to as Jude), plus at least two unnamed sisters. But Jesus was an exceptional child, for the Bible declares, he grew “in grace and mercy, and in favor with God and man.”

When Jesus’ birth occurred, Mary was little more than a child, almost undoubtedly exhausted from a ninety mile journey to the town of her husband’s birth, only just in time to deliver her first born in a stable, and she relied on the words of the angels and her husband’s faithfulness, even to the point of forsaking family and friends to flee to Egypt. Yet the Bible tells us , “…Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19), particularly the shepherds’ visit and their announcement of the angelic message. But it’s reasonable to assume that the events of Jesus’ birth three decades earlier would fade in importance to the widow Mary, for she had been busy raising seven or more children in a time when women were often worn out by age thirty.

This Jude, then, was one of Jesus half-brothers, a young man who initially found it impossible to credit his oldest brother with actually being the awaited Messiah—the Christ of God. But Jesus understood, for he declared, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house” (Mark 6:4).

Yet, as time passed, and Jude and his brother James witnessed Jesus speaking as no man had ever spoken, and as he healed multitudes, walked on water, fed 5,000 with a few loaves and fishes, turned water into wine, and even raised the dead, he was forced to consider that Jesus was indeed Savior of the world. And then, when he saw him crucified, dead, and buried, only to rise again on the third day, and Jude actually saw him alive, his arguments and doubts faded, just as ours should.

How did this younger brother, this Jude, later describe those who enter into our churches and lead us astray? How did he describe those who pretend or even imagine they believe, but come into the church only to promote their own worldly ambitions and satisfy their own temporal lusts? Read Jude’s words. Do they not have the savor and power of those of his oldest brother?

These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

Jude 12-13

Do you see Jude’s seemingly contradictory view of hell. One thing is clear: You won’t be whooping it up with your old pals in hell. You might be screaming endlessly in wrath against them for encouraging you to pursue the pleasures of sin for a season, but there will be no joy whatever in it, just the absence of God’s glorious presence, of his love and light, mercy and grace, and above all the absence of peace.

It will be eternal aloneness, the absence not merely of joy or happiness, but of truth and equity, of surcease, and even the futile hope that somehow the intense pain will burn away your life’s dross, and you’ll ultimately, somehow, sometime, be equipped to escape. But it will be too later. There is no purgatory, and hell is not rehabilitative. Hell is everlasting punishment. It won’t make you better, and all the prayers of all the saints and angels wouldn’t move you one inch toward heaven. NOW is the time to get it right. Now is the time to receive your “Get out of jail free” card.

There’s only Jesus! And the love of Jesus is all you need. Peter declared it on the day of Pentecost:

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:12

And if you didn’t confess Jesus before death, there will no longer be a remedy for you. You will wind up like these whom Jude describes–clouds without rain, trees without fruit, torn up at the roots, foaming at your own shame, wandering forever in outer darkness.

Someone cries, “Why do you try to frighten me with this nonsense?”

Let me ask you, “If it’s not striking close to home, why does it bother you?” I’m just a voice crying in the wilderness. Get straightened out with God before it’s too late!

Ask Jesus to forgive your sins. You too, Christian, for every sin you’ve committed since the day you asked him to be your Savior. Make Christ your Lord! Leave nothing to chance. These of whom Jude speaks will be among the “wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.”

A word to the wise is sufficient.

Stop wondering! Cease your wandering. Settle on Jesus while there is yet time.

October 11, 2025

Scripture & History: Dinosaurs on the Ark?

To be clear the Bible doesn’t specifically say that dinosaurs entered the ark two by two. But it certainly seems to follow that they co-existed with man and that they lived contemporaneously with the flood event. For example, pictographs depict dinosaurs (obviously drawn by men who witnessed them), and great dinosaur beds filled with fossils are best explained by a worldwide catastrophe consistent with the biblical flood which trapped their bodies below thick layers of rapidly-hardening sediment, preventing them from decomposing naturally.

It is perhaps logically possible that God did not bring every species of animal into the ark. One could conjecture that post-flood conditions might not be conducive for certain species, thus God planned for some animals, such as the dinosaurs, to go extinct at that time. However, the Bible clearly states, “And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life” (Gen. 7:15). Therefore, I contend that even dinosaurs entered the ark though perhaps God brought juvenile dinosaurs which would not require a large space or perhaps he placed them into hibernation during their time on the ark. For me it’s much easier to picture dinosaurs on a man-made ark than to explain how inorganic beings with personality and intricate design could have simply formed from nothing at some point in the past as evolutionary scientists do.

But it still doesn’t explain what happened to the dinosaurs after the flood since none today roam the hills and dales of my hometown. The common evolutionary theories posit that the demise of the dinosaurs was caused by volcanic eruptions, gradual climate changes (over millions of years) or perhaps by an asteroid, six-miles in diameter, that hit the earth near the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, sending shock waves, heat waves and debris into the atmosphere, blocking sunlight and causing widespread disruption to plant life which seriously impacted the dinosaurs’ food chain and led to their starvation.

Many Bible teachers propose that the flood seriously impacted climactic conditions on the earth, resulting in a significant drop in pre-flood oxygen pressure, for example, that made it difficult for post-flood dinosaurs to absorb the necessary oxygen. They would then have become lethargic, perhaps failing to reproduce in sufficient numbers to sustain a growing population or perhaps failing to reach reproductive maturity. Obviously we can’t know for sure. What do you think?

Trivia Quiz (Answer at bottom of page)

During what season of the year does Israel generally receive no rainfall at all?

Life in the Land: Majadra

If you’re looking for a new recipe, perhaps something with a Mediterranean twist, then try this hot dish from the Middle East that’s popular with Jews and Arabs alike, especially those who hail from countries like Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt. The dish usually consists of three main components: lentils, caramelized onions and seasoned rice. I bought a majadra rice mix manufactured in the beautiful Jezreel Valley of Israel that’s seasoned primarily with cumin, turmeric and cinnamon. Majadra is traditionally served with yogurt, salad, fried eggplant or hard-boiled eggs, but my family paired it with a hearty plate of ribs.

History: Daniel Deronda

Chances are pretty high that you don’t know that name. After all, Daniel Deronda isn’t even real. He’s only a book title, yet the book that bears his name is arguably the most significant non-Jewish literary work in modern Jewish history (wow, did I just say that?), and it’s fiction! Written in 1876 by the female English novelist, George Eliot, it predated the ground-breaking work by Thomas Hertzl, The Jewish State, by twenty years. Hertzl, the Father of Modern Zionism, is buried atop Mount Hertzl in Jerusalem inside Israel’s national cemetery where he is proudly recognized for his early leadership in calling for a Jewish state whereas the name Daniel Deronda is probably unrecognizable to the vast majority of Israel’s seven million Jews and George Eliot is probably known only to Israelis by three quiet streets that bear her name in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, each no longer than about one city block.

The word Zionism, which refers to the political call for a Jewish homeland, wasn’t even coined until at least ten years following Eliot’s death, yet the character of Daniel Deronda verbalized hope for a national return to Israel. According to author Norman Lebrecht, David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, cited Eliot’s work as the “prime cause” of a Jewish state and Thomas Hertzl himself read the novel on the eve of the first Zionist Congress. Near the close of Eliot’s book, Deronda notably exclaims, “I am going to the East to become better acquainted with the condition of my race…. The idea that I am possessed with is that of restoring a political existence to my people, making them a nation again…. At the least I may awaken a movement in other minds, such as has been awakened in my own.” Daniel Deronda did that and so much more!

Bibliology: The Process of Revelation, part 1

Of all the theological doctrines that one can study, the best place to start, I think, is with bibliology because without the revelation that we received through the Scriptures, we can’t know any theology. So let’s nail down how we understand the Bible itself, how it came to us, and what it means.

I would divide bibliology into five different subtopics: the process of revelation, the inspiration of Scripture, the illumination and clarity of the Word of God, the preservation of the Bible, and its canonicity.

Let me start with the revelation of the Bible. The Bible is entirely composed of special revelation from God to human agents. The entirety of the Bible is God’s revelation—the 66 canonical books from Genesis through Malachi in the Old Testament and from Matthew through Revelation in the New Testament—and it’s true! Admittedly, not all divine revelation was recorded in the Scriptures. That is, God gave some revelation to prophets, for example, that didn’t make its way into the Bible. We see this, for example, in Revelation 10:4 where God says, “No, don’t write this down, but I’m going to tell you something.”

God has provided general revelation that’s accessible to all humanity outside of the written record. We know that the heavens declare the handiwork of God, but all special revelation has ceased due to its complete sufficiency for every aspect of life today. This is apparent from 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17. God has given us the complete canon of what He wanted us to receive in Scripture.

So that’s the basics of revelation and how we’ve received information from God. But I should also summarize the philosophical field of epistemology, meaning how we come to know something. It answers, “How do we discover what is true in this world?”

There are three major schools of thought throughout time of how humanity receives truth. Let me break it down this way. There is a pre-modern method of discovery of truth, philosophically speaking, which means that mankind receives information from above, from a higher power, the gods, God. Truth is received from a metaphysical reality, from an outside, objective standard and source. This view formed the history of humanity up until the Enlightenment Age.

The Enlightenment brought on a modern method of discovering truth, essentially the scientific method. Humanity is here on earth trying to figure things out. We operate in the natural world around us. We see with our own two eyes. We use our senses to discover things. We apply the scientific method to know what is true by testing it and seeing it. That’s the modern way.

Today we live in a post-modern society in the Western world, which views truth as subjective. What’s true for me is true for me. What’s true for you is true for you. You have your truth. I have my truth. There is no objective standard of truth in a post-modern society. Truth is whatever you want it to be. Truth comes from inside my own mind into the outside world.

These are the three different ways of discovering what is true. Can you take a guess at what I am? I am a pre-modern man and I say it without shame. I think that’s the only sure way to arrive at truth, to have an objective standard that is the arbiter and definer of truth revealed to us. The modern way may sound good, but at the end of the day it fails because even though we all have the same evidence before our own two eyes, we’re all faulty, sin-cursed people who might misunderstand something and we’ll all come to different opinions on the nature and meaning of what is before our eyes. Therefore, man can’t be the final arbiter of what is true or not, and with regards to post-modernism, I just throw that out the window because something is either true or it’s not true, and the only sure way to know if something is or is not true is if we’re told by that higher power, the higher authority who of course is God Himself.

I sure don’t want to get into any trouble for saying this, but perhaps you’ve attended a Bible study where the teacher asks, “What does this verse mean to you?” Well, let me suggest a better question to ask, “What does this verse mean?” for when the Bible makes a statement, it means something specific. Or perhaps the question can be worded this way, “How should you apply this verse to your life?” or “What does this look like in your daily life?” I think that is what most teachers mean when they ask, “What does this verse mean to you?” so I don’t want to be too hard on them if they ask this in a Bible study, but the Bible says what it means and means what it says, and it’s our aim to arrive at a correct understanding of what the verse means. How we then apply it to our lives can look a bit differently in various life situations.

In any event this completes my summary of the revelation of the Bible. We know what is true because God has told it to us. Without revelation, we wouldn’t really know for sure if something is or is not.

Adam Keim

Greatest New Testament Archaeological Discoveries

#7, The Caiaphas Ossuary

Simply put, an ossuary is a box that contains bones. Between 37 B.C. and 70 A.D., Jews placed the bodies of their dead in tombs and then returned one year later to retrieve the bones and put them in ossuaries.

As they moved ground to build a waterpark south of Jerusalem In 1990 a construction crew uncovered a first-century tomb. Inside the tomb archaeologists discovered an incredibly ornate, stone ossuary with the inscription, “Joseph, son of Caiaphas.”TAs they moved ground to build a waterpark south of Jerusalem In 1990 a construction crew uncovered a first-century tomb. Inside the tomb archaeologists discovered an incredibly ornate, stone ossuary with the inscription, “Joseph, son of Caiaphas.”

Ronny Reich, a renowned Israeli archaeologist, explains, “The name Joseph son of Caiaphas does not necessarily mean that Caiaphas was Joseph’s father. Caiaphas may designate simply a family nickname….. A person named Joseph with the nickname Caiaphas was the high priest in Jerusalem between 18 and 36 [A.D.]. The New Testament provides only his nickname…. Josephus [a first-century, Jewish historian], however, gives his proper name as … “Joseph Caiaphas” or elsewhere, “Joseph who was called Caiaphas of the high priesthood.” In short, we are explicitly told by Josephus that Caiaphas was indeed a nickname (Biblical Archaeology Review, Sept/Oct 1992).

In all probability then we have recovered the bones of the high priest who presided over the trial of Jesus. That’s extraordinary! You may remember that Caiaphas asked Jesus, “Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” (Matthew 26:63). Jesus’ response, “It is as you said” (v. 64). But the proof of Jesus’ identity goes beyond his claim that day before Caiaphas! Just follow the bones. We have those of Caiaphas. The bones of Jesus have never and will never be found! He rose from the dead to defeat sin and death. It is as Jesus said!

Answer to the Trivia

C. Summer