Bible Commentaries

Genesis 9:8-13 — destroyed," but that it would not be done a second time by means of a flood. The N.T. is explicit, as also the Minor Prophets, that another total destruction of the earth will yet occur, by means of fire, at or near the time of the Great Assize. (See 2 Peter 3; Zechariah 12:9). "I do set my bow in the cloud" There is a difference of opinion as to whether the rainbow appeared at this time for the very first time, or whether this indicated merely a new significance of it decreed by the Father. If the

Psalms 45 overview — THE PROPHETIC PROTHALAMION FOR CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE THE NEW JERUSALEM IS THE WIFE OF THE LAMB (Revelation 21:9) THE HOLY CHURCH IS THE NEW JERUSALEM (; Revelation 19:9) This psalm is called, "A Royal Wedding Song,"The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 479. "The Celebration of the Marriage of a King,"J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 347. "A Nuptial Song of

Isaiah 56 overview — subjects in a single passage is often found in Scripture, the great example being that spoken by Christ himself in his prophecy of the destruction of the literal Jerusalem, which is also, at the very same time, a prophecy of the end of the world (Matthew 24). Therefore, in this chapter, all references to "the sabbath" and to "burnt-offerings and sacrifices" are directed to Jews alone; whereas, the prophecy of that "new name," better than "of sons and daughters," and the acceptability of eunuchs and "foreigners,"

Jeremiah 22 overview — means, "I will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease" (Hosea 1:3). The details of that destruction are all evident in this chapter. (For those interested in a further study of this, see Vol. 1 of my commentaries on the minor prophets, pp. 231-235.) As Halley said, "In Jeconiah and Zedekiah, we have the end of the earthly kingdom of Judah."Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House) , p. 288. The chapter naturally falls into four paragraphs: (1) Jeremiah

Jeremiah 44:15-19 — of Baal. "The immoral rites of the worship of this deity entered Canaan from Babylon, long before God sent the children down into Canaan to extirpate it and replace it with the knowledge of the true God."International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, p. 271. The type of sexual orgies that went along with such worship is clearly visible in Numbers 25, in which event Israel demonstrated their preference for that kind of worship over that which God had commanded, a preference which they maintained down

Luke 16:31 — resurrection, there was no appearance to the Pharisees; and this leads us to reject the comment of Geldenhuys that "the last words of this parable were uttered by Jesus with a view to his own resurrection."Norval Geldenhuys, op. cit., p. 427. No. Lazarus was the one Jesus had in mind here. Regarding his own resurrection, Jesus did not appear "to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before God," even to the apostles, "who ate and drank with him after he rose from the

John 12:42-43 — faith alone can justify. Believed on him … is alleged to have been faith of a DIFFERENT KIND from that required for salvation. Hovey called it "a rational conviction … but not a saving trust in Christ."Alvah Hovey, op. cit., p. 262. Gaebelein wrote, "But they had no true faith in God."Arno Gaebelein, op. cit., p. 240. Barnes has, "They were convinced in their understanding that he was the Messiah."Albert Barnes, op. cit., p. 214. Johnson says, "These

John 17:3 — … Jesus' third person reference to himself in this compound title is the basis of all kinds of wild speculations to the effect that these are John's words, not those of our Lord; but without doubt these are the true words of Jesus (see under John 17:2). From what other source could the almost universal use of "Jesus Christ" have derived? Christ would declare himself "Christ" that very night (Mark 14:62), a title purposely avoided until then. What better way was there of instructing

John 6:54 — manifest that those who partake of his body and receive the Eucharist by the right of communion are living, etc.Cyprian, On the Lord's Prayer (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1951), The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. V. p. 452. This interpretation is offensive to some, as for example, Adam Clarke, who said: This can never be understood of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper: (1) Because this was not instituted until a year later; (2) it cannot be said that those who do not

Acts 28:29-30 — of Paul's efforts, keeping him imprisoned two years without charges, his imprisonment actually helped the gospel. Paul himself said, "The things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the progress of the gospel" (Philippians 1:12). Preaching the kingdom of God … MacGreggor said, "This comes near to being a synonym for the Christian church"; G. H. C. MacGreggor, op. cit., p. 348. but, in context, the expression is not "nearly" a synonym for Christianity,

Acts 3:20-21 — And that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus, whom the heavens must receive until the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been of old. Whereas in Acts 2:38 Peter had promised that remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit would follow their obeying the gospel, there is here assigned another consequence, namely, that (God) may send the Christ, etc. Christ had already come and completed the work

Romans 13:7 — will of God, that by well-doing ye should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God, Honor the king (1 Peter 2:13-17). Before leaving this section of Romans which details the relationship of the Christian to his government, one other consideration needs emphasis. Such is the attractiveness to the masses of mankind of the idea of overthrowing governments which

Romans 16:4-5 — large, it is here called a church, that is, a local congregation. This great couple had also similarly housed the church in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:19). Similar instances of household congregations revealed in the New Testament are those of Mary (Acts 12:12), of Nymphas (Colossians 4:15), of Philemon (Philemon 1:2), and also, perhaps, the groups mentioned in Romans 16:14-15, below. This was probably the usual manner in which the Christians of that era solved: the problems of a place to worship. Bishop

Galatians 3:6 — is just as illogical as it is ridiculous. The New Testament plainly reveals the time of God's justifying Abraham in such places as the following: Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? (James 2:21 KJV). Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? (James 2:21 English Revised Version (1885)). Despite the obvious attempt to soften this in the English Revised Version (1885) (to accommodate

Joshua 8 overview — would suffer. Every student of this chapter is at once confronted with what is alleged to be a contradiction between the number of 30,000 chosen for the ambush in Joshua 8:3, and the number 5,000 mentioned allegedly for the same ambush in Joshua 8:12. We have read several explanations of this: (1) Keil and other very dependable scholars affirm that a scribal error is responsible, and that the number 5,000 is correct.C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, Joshua (Grand Rapids:

Hebrews 11:39-40 — beautiful. He said, It is the final and supreme fulfillment, the consummation at the last day, the ultimate of all we are hoping for, of all that is not seen (Hebrews 11:1). It is the final approving testimony of Christ before the whole universe (Matthew 25:34-40), when Christ shall confess us, who have confessed him before men, before his Father (Matthew 10:32) and before the angels (Revelation 3:5). It includes the resurrection and glorification of our bodies ("a better resurrection," Hebrews

Hebrews 7:27 — author of Hebrews; but as Lenski says, These critics do not have much ground to stand on, for it can readily be observed that the writer says "once a year" (Hebrews 9:7), "year by year" (Hebrews 10:1); and that he knows Leviticus 16:2 ("not at all times"), and Leviticus 16:29, and also has "once a year" (Leviticus 16:34). R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 244. It should be noted that this is a comparison between Christ who "daily" intercedes with us, coupled

1 John 2:16 — the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. For all that is in the world … is not of the Father … This has the effect of explaining what John meant by his use of "world" in 1 John 2:15. It is that aspect of it which is "not in the Father." It is therefore incorrect to accept "world" in these verses as meaning God's glorious natural creation, described by the Father himself as "good" (Genesis 1:10;

1 John 3:8 — "impression he received from the law of Moses," due to his Jewish background! As Plummer said, "For every single time the devil is mentioned in the Old Testament, he is spoken of twenty times in any gospel or epistle!"A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 72. Someone wrote a question to F. F. Bruce, asking, "How can a child of God be of the devil?" Bruce replied: "He cannot; that is the point John is making."F. F. Bruce, Answers to Questions (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing

Revelation 19:11 — Faithful and True … This seems to be one of the few places in Revelation where all the opinions meld into one. This is a description of the Lord Jesus Christ. We also identify him with the rider of the white horse in the first seal (Revelation 6:2). It is objected that those seals are judgments; but what is the scene here if it is not a judgment, not merely a judgment, but the final and last judgment? The judgment in the seals (Revelation 6:2) was due to the preaching of the truth, an odor of