Bible Commentaries

Genesis 1:5 — Peter 3:8). For a thousand years in thy sight are but as YESTERDAY when it is past, and as a watch in the night (Psalms 90:4). The apostle Paul referred to the entire present dispensation of the grace of God as "the DAY of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). There is also another N.T. passage in Hebrews 4:4-6 ff: "For he hath said somewhere of the seventh day on this wise, God rested on the seventh day … seeing therefore that it remaineth that some should enter thereinto … let us therefore

1 Kings 6:1 — Britannica, Vol. 20, p. 952. and thus the fourth year of his reign would have been in the year 970 B.C. Adding 480 years prior to that would therefore place the Exodus in the year 1450 B.C., a date which corresponds almost exactly with the date of 1446 B.C. (which this writer confidently assigned to the Exodus in his commentary on the Pentateuch, Vol. 2, p. xiv). The date of the Exodus arbitrarily assigned by many critics (1250-1225 B.C.) is some two centuries later than the true date; and it is impossible

Zechariah 14:9 — "And Jehovah shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall Jehovah be one, and his name one." The triumph of God through Christ in the eradication of the gross paganism that corrupted ancient peoples is stated here. "The influence of Deuteronomy 6:4 is seen here, although, `his name one,' does not appear there in so many words."John D. W. Watts, op. cit., p. 363. "The scope of this verse is universal. It asserts that Yahweh shall be king over, not merely the whole of Palestine, but all the earth."Hinckley

Malachi 2:6 — acted as in the presence of the just and holy God. 3.    The law of God was ever in his mouth. 4.    By example and teaching he influenced others. 5.    No iniquity proceeded from his lips. 6.    He lived in such a manner as to retain his union with God. 7.    He turned many away from iniquity. 8.    He conducted himself as a true messenger from God.Adam Clarke, Commentary on the

Matthew 15:4 — For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death. This and Matthew 15:6, below, prove that Christ considered God to be the author of the Old Testament, and of the Decalogue in particular. Also, in John 10:34-36, Christ referred to the Old Testament as "your law," "the Scriptures," and "the word

Mark 12:17 — unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's … is the basis of the Christian's concept of the state and his obligations to the secular government. The principle uttered here by the Lord was elaborated by the apostles in Romans 13:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-6; and 1 Peter 2:13-17. For an essay on "The Christian's Relation to the State," see my Commentary on Romans, Romans 13. And unto God the things that are God's … This is a higher theater of obligation; and the Christian may not violate

Mark 15:42 — (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1907). J. W. McGarvey gave a list of scholars who solved the problem by making Matthew 12:40 an interpolation.J. W. McGarvey, Jesus and Jonah (Cincinnati, Ohio: The Standard Publishing Company, 1896), p. 6. And this writer must confess that the "explanations" which allegedly justify the Friday date have never been satisfactory. THE ALLEGED EXPLANATION The "three days and three nights" are held by many scholars to be a Jewish

Mark 3:28-31 — to anyone who is overwhelmed by the fear that he has committed this sin, that the fact that he is so troubled is itself sure proof that he has not committed it.C. E. B. Cranfield, The Gospel according to St. Mark (Cambridge: The University Press, 1966), p. 142. The view should be rejected, however, that would make it impossible for one to commit this sin. The argument for such a view makes a distinction between men today and the scribes here in this text on the basis that they had literally seen

Luke 17:30 — on earth; (2) men will be busy in the same old ways, pursuing their same old interests; (3) materialism will have won the minds of men; (4) the utmost security shall be felt by men; (5) all appeals regarding the worship of God shall be scoffed at; (6) the Second Coming shall be an instantaneous thing, like lightning; (7) it shall be worldwide, occurring everywhere simultaneously, and therefore involving the totality of the earth and its enveloping atmosphere; (8) the Christians shall be caught up

John 7:38 — 7:37-38) refer to Christians receiving the Holy Spirit (John 7:39); and when this promise was fulfilled, they received the Spirit "after they believed" (Ephesians 1:13), and after they repented and were baptized (Acts 2:38 ff and Galatians 4:6). Therefore these two verses are a reference to the future giving of the Holy Spirit to Christians in consequence of and subsequently to their believing in Christ and obeying the gospel, obedience being the meaning of "come unto me" in John

Acts 17:31 — is not the day of death, for "after this" cometh judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Christ will preside over the Great Assize, rewarding all men according to the deeds done in the body. For more on the judgment, see my Commentary on Hebrews, Hebrews 6:2; also my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 12:41-42 and Matthew 25:30. The fact of the judgment's being scheduled for a day already "appointed" suggests that God has a timetable for the accomplishment of all things intended by his providing

Acts 2:21 — of the world itself, Peter's message applied not merely to Israel who first heard it but to all men, as stated in Acts 2:39. Call upon … The word thus translated denotes far more than merely pronouncing the Lord's name (Matthew 7:21-22; Luke 6:46). It is used of being declared to be a dedicated person, as to the Lord, Acts 15:17…to invoke, to call upon for oneself (that is, on one's behalf)…and to call upon by way of adoration, making use of the Name of the Lord, Acts 2:21.

1 Corinthians 10:32-33 — 1 Corinthians 10. Paul often used the admonition to be "imitators" of himself, always with the limitation of the qualifier, "as he followed the Lord," whether expressly stated or not. He gave the same command in 1 Corinthians 4:16; Philippians 3:17, and in 1 Thessalonians 1:6.

1 Corinthians 16:2 — Farrar, op. cit., p.549. is to be rejected. That is exactly what it does imply. Macknight translated this clause, "On the first day of every week"; James Macknight, Apostolical Epistles and Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 291. Grosheide declared the meaning to be "On every Sunday"; F. W. Grosheide, The New International Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953), p. 398. and Hodge said it means, "The collection

Galatians 5:12 — I would that they that unsettle you would even go beyond circumcision. "The priests of Cybele, whom the Galatians had formerly worshipped," J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 956. made themselves eunuchs. Also, "The cult of Attis, whose famous temples were at Rome and in Phrygia of Asia Minor, practiced sacral castration."<14> None of the Galatians, therefore, could misunderstand Paul's ironic, and perhaps humorous,

Galatians 6:16 — surprising that any could misunderstand this, as if Paul were, in any manner, invoking a blessing upon racial Jews. "Israel of God," in the true sense, with Paul, was never racial Israel, but the spiritual Israel. See Romans 2:28-29; Romans 4:13-16 and Romans 9:6-8. This meaning of "spiritual Israel," of course, included all of every race, including Jews, who accepted Christ. "Israel of God," according to Wesley, means "the church of God, which consists of all those, and

Ephesians 2:20 — prophets … There are five foundations of the Christian faith mentioned in the New Testament: (1) The foundational teaching is composed of the teachings of Christ delivered through the apostles and prophets of the new dispensation (Matthew 7:24-26). (2) The foundational fact is that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:13-20). (3) The foundation person is Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 3:11). (4) The foundational personnel was made up of the apostles and prophets of the

Hebrews 11:27 — faith in the invisible, which is but another way of saying faith in the supernatural. The appropriate nature of this discussion is seen in the fact that the Christian too is confronted with exactly the same challenge. Even Christ is invisible (1 Timothy 6:16; 1 Timothy 1:17; Colossians 1:15; Romans 1:20). The result of Moses' faith in the invisible God was that the king of Egypt no longer inspired him with fear, thus proving that the more people fear God the less they fear any man, however powerful.

Hebrews 3:18 — in unbelief, as Israel's were, or not. One of the great heresies of the Reformation appeared in the doctrine of salvation by "faith alone" and the attendant notion that the only sin, actually, is unbelief. See more on this under Hebrews 11:6.

1 John 5:16 — prayers of Christians for one another. For them that sin not unto death … There are a number of New Testament passages that deal with the "sin unto death," namely, the passage here, 1 Corinthians 11:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 5:6; Hebrews 6:4-6; Hebrews 10:26-27; 2 Peter 2:20-21, and Mark 3:29 with parallel in Matthew. For a complete discussion of this question see in my Commentary on Mark, pp. 65-67, and, in my Commentary on Matthew, pp. 173-175, and, in my Commentary on Hebrews,