Bible Commentaries

Genesis 19:9-11 — Actually, these were "the angels"; and Lot could no longer have failed to know this, especially when they smote the would-be intruders with blindness. "The blindness" This was not actually blindness, in the ordinary sense, as proved by a glance at 2 Kings 6:18, where the only other use of this word in the entire Bible is found. "There God smote the Syrian army with blindness, but did not leave them sightless. It was blindness of confusion … they could see but could not identify where they were."Henry

Genesis 32:1-2 — event. Apparently, only Jacob saw the heavenly host, just like the occasion when Elisha and his servant were surrounded and threatened by innumerable enemies. Only the prophet saw the angelic host, until Elisha prayed for God to "open his eyes" (2 Kings 6:17). "He called the name of that place Mahanaim" "This word is a dual form meaning, "two hosts" or "bands." The visible band was Jacob and his servants; the invisible band (momentarily visible to Jacob) was that of the angels."Merrill F. Unger, Unger's

Psalms 132 overview — person able to read will note that the psalm states these facts. Ballard agreed with this, writing that, "There seems to be no alternative to assigning it to a time when a scion of David was ruling in Jerusalem."The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. IV, p. 685. Leupold also dated the psalm "near the times of David," adding that, "We are not impressed with arguments that lead some interpreters to claim for the psalm a post-exilic date."H. C. Leupold, p. 910. The fact is that, in all probability, this psalm

Psalms 87 overview — Jerusalem," and that souls of every nation under heaven will be born into the New Jerusalem of God's Church. Born in Jerusalem? Indeed yes, by means of the New Birth. There are only two divisions in the psalm: (1) Psalms 87:1-3, and (2) Psalms 87:4-6, with a final exclamation in Psalms 87:7. The occasion for this psalm is unknown, but some have suggested that it might have been following the destruction of the Assyrian Army in the days of Hezekiah, following which, all the nations of the world of

Isaiah 23 overview — verse; yet it actually contains the burden of Tyre, the burden of Sidon, and the burden of the whole of Phoenicia. There are four divisions in the chapter: (1) a prophecy of doom (Isaiah 23:1-5), (2) God is the executioner of wicked nations (Isaiah 23:6-9), (3) the extent of Tyre's destruction (Isaiah 23:10-14), and (4) the prophecy of Tyre's renewal (Isaiah 23:15-18). This chapter concludes the second major division of the prophecy, concluding the denunciations hurled by the prophet against a dozen

Luke 19 overview — triumphal entry, the most dramatic proclamation of his Kingship that could be imagined (Luke 19:28-40). (5) His weeping over the Holy City proved his knowing in advance of his rejection and the consequences of that rejection to Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44). (6) The second cleansing of the temple was an open assertion of his right to rule in Israel (Luke 19:45-46). The chapter closes with Jesus teaching daily in the temple, the great masses hearing him gladly, but with no full understanding of his mission,

Romans 11 overview — began to lay the ground for the revelation of the mystery concerning Israel which was finally stated formally in Romans 11:25. The key facts which Paul had already established regarding Israel are: (1) they are not all Israel who are of Israel (Romans 9:6), making it clear that there are, and always have been, TWO Israels: (a) the external Israel, the state, the nation, the visible Jewry on earth, and (b) true Israel, called "his people," that is God's people, children of the promise, the seed

Colossians 1:13 — Alfred Barry, op. cit., p. 99. "Josephus uses it of the deportation of the Israelites by the Assyrian king." G. G. Findlay, Colossians in The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 19 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 6. By the use of the same word here, Paul declared the defeat of the evil kingdom, the vanquishing of its ruler Satan, the release of his captives and the transplanting of them into a wholly new and marvelously better environment. "Out of the kingdom

Colossians 1:27 — Christ in you, the hope of the glory. We heartily agree with Ashby that "There is no need to suppose that Paul borrows this term from the Greek-mystery religions, but rather from the Old Testament (Daniel 2:18)." Ernest G. Ashby, op. cit., p. 486. Also Christ used it himself (see Matthew 13:11). Christ in you … This is the essence of the "mystery" as Paul expounded it here; but a comparison with other Pauline writings on the subject reveals the mystery to be somewhat complex.

2 Thessalonians 3:17-18 — those to be written in the future. Thus concludes the shortest New Testament epistle addressed to a congregation. We are indebted to Hayes for the following observations: D. A. Hayes, Paul and His Epistles (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 185. 1.    The word "law" does not occur in either of the Thessalonian letters. 2.    The cross is not mentioned in the epistle, and the death of Christ is mentioned but once. 3.    In

2 Timothy 2:3-4 — with Paul, he used metaphor in a very selective manner, only one side of soldiering coming to view here, namely, that quality of being willing to suffer that which is bad. Paul used the soldier metaphor also in speaking of the armor of God (Ephesians 6:13 f). The affairs of this life … All Christians inevitably find themselves, in a sense, entangled with the affairs of the present life; and, therefore, most students are willing to accept such limitations on the meaning here as were supposed

2 Timothy 4:14-15 — this name in the New Testament. Herbert Lockyer, All the Men of the Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1958), p. 43. They are (1) the one here mentioned, (2) a prominent member of the high priestly family in Jerusalem (Acts 4:6), (3) the son of Simon who bore the cross of Jesus (Mark 15:21), (4) the man identified with the tumult at Ephesus (Acts 19:35), (5) a Christian who became an apostate (1 Timothy 1:20), possibly, though not certainly, the man in view here. The name

Titus 1:3 — "Strictly speaking, it was not life everlasting that was revealed, but the word of God with respect to it." Ibid., p. 342. However, Christ was manifested; and the life eternal is in him, Jesus himself being in fact "the life" (John 14:6), enabling the apostle John to refer to Jesus as "the Word of life.., which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled" (1 John 1:1). Therefore, in the sense of this passage, eternal life was indeed manifested.

Hebrews 10:26 — For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins. This is a return to the warning uttered in Hebrews 6 regarding the final and total apostasy of persons who were once true Christians, concerning whom it was affirmed that it "is impossible" to renew them. Here, the reason for that impossibility is stated in the fact that the rejection of Christ's

James 4:10 — relevance for Christians themselves. Jesus said, "Whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted" (Matthew 23:12), in the light of which Gibson saw here "a further parallel with our Lord's teachings." E. C. S. Gibson, op. cit., p. 56. In the sight of the Lord … There is no need to equate "Lord" here with Jehovah of the Old Testament, despite the Old Testament term for it (without the article) being the one thus used in the LXX; because, by the time James wrote,

1 John 2:3 — be trusted. "It is all too easy to fall into illusions about ourselves if we make too much of our religious feelings, even those of an elevated kind."Amos N. Wilder, The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. XII (New York: Abingdon Press, 1957), p. 226. Keeping the commandments of God is the prerequisite and the test either of loving God (John 14:15) or of knowing God. Macknight supposed that John here was teaching against "the Nicolaitans and Gnostics who affirmed that the only thing necessary

1 John 5:1 — obedient faith in him can receive the inestimable privilege of the new birth. Is begotten of God … has the meaning of "is born of God," that is, has received the new birth, being raised "to walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3-5). Whosoever loveth him that begat loveth also him that is begotten … In other words, whosoever loves God, being himself a child of God, loves not God alone but all of God's other children also. John's argument here is a type of compound syllogism

Revelation 1:3 — agreement that John expected persecution of the church by the Roman Empire."G. B. Caird, op. cit., p. 12. Frank L. Cox noted that, "This is the first of seven beatitudes in the book, the other six being found in Revelation 14:13; Revelation 16:15; Revelation 19:9; Revelation 20:6; Revelation 22:7, and Revelation 22:14."Frank L. Cox, Revelation in 26 Lessons (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1956), p. 2. Regarding this one, Beasley-Murray wrote: The blessing invoked is on the

Revelation 19:18 — the revulsion that such an awful scene as this brings to mind. The utter horror of such a holocaust staggers the imagination. One thing should be pointed out: this is exactly the same scene, from a different viewpoint, that was described in Revelation 6:16-17; the same characters are here: kings, captains, mighty men, the bond and the free, the great and the small. It is another presentation (in vision) of the final judgment, described by the apostle John over and over, each picture closing a different

Revelation 2:6 — to idols. "It was an exaggeration of the doctrine of Christian liberty which attempted an ethical compromise with heathenism." Merrill C. Tenney, Interpreting Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1957), p. 61. The reference to the Nicolaitans and to the doctrine of Balaam in the same passage (Revelation 2:14-15), a moment later, together with the phrase "in like manner" seems to indicate that the teachings were essentially the same. Despite the