Bible Commentaries

Ezekiel 36:8-15 — promise of God makes it as sure as if it had already happened. Pearson has summarized the promises of Israel's re-entry into Palestine as inclusive of: "(1) The wonderful fruitfulness and productivity of the land; (2) the re-population of Palestine; (3) the elimination of scarcity; (4) freedom from reproach; and (5) the security and prosperity of the nation in a degree even surpassing their former estate' and the time of their `beginnings.'"Anton T. Pearson in Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody

Malachi 3:1 — here: "Jehovah's response to their question, "Where is the God of justice?" (Malachi 2:17), is that He himself will come, and suddenly. But before he comes, he will send his messenger to prepare the way before him. This promise of a messenger rests on Isaiah 40:3-5: The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the uneven shall be made level, and the rough

Malachi 4:2 — it to say, that as the sun is the light and source of life to all the earth, so the Christ is the light and giver of life to the true worshipper."Clinton R. Gill, Commentary on the Minor Prophets, Malachi (Joplin, Missouri: College Press, 1971), p. 403. "The Sun of Righteousness was understood by the fathers, from Justin downwards, and nearly all the earlier commentators to be Christ, who is supposed to be described as the rising sun.C. F. Keil, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. 10 (Grand Rapids,

Mark 1:25-26 — forbade the testimony of evil spirits: (1) it was not the proper time that Christ should be made known as the Son of God, and (2) if it had been permitted, it would have been alleged as proof by the Pharisees that Christ was in league with Satan (Mark 3:22). Hold thy peace and come out … Christ ordered the evil spirit not to speak, and no further word was uttered by him, the loud cry being merely a wail and not an intelligible utterance. Tearing him … Luke recorded this, "And when

Mark 11:3 — "back" of the disciples with the colt. Translators and commentators have a great difficulty with this rather unusual mode of expression; but the meaning is absolutely clear in Matthew: "And straightway he will send them" (Matthew 21:3), meaning the owner would straightway send the requested colt (and its mother) to Jesus. The notion that Jesus was here promising to send the animal back promptly is ridiculous, as if the Lord would need to promise any such thing in order to procure

Mark 3:23-27 — one can enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. Jesus met the charges of his foes with three arguments, two of which are in these verses, and the third in Mark 3:28-30. 1.    Argument of the divided kingdom. It is of immense importance that Jesus here revealed a world view of Satan and the kingdom of evil. The demoniacs whom Jesus had healed were actually controlled by forces administered

Mark 9:43-44 — "hell" or "hell-fire") refers to the Valley of Hinnon near Jerusalem, a place where the city's garbage was burned, and a valley tarnished by many unsavory memories for the Jews. Here a king made his son pass through the fire to Molech (2 Kings 23:10; see also 2 Chronicles 28:3). It was a place of defilement and horror. Perhaps it is in this place's character as a garbage dump that the most appropriate likeness to HELL is found; because hell is God's cosmic disposal device for that which is finally

Luke 12:10 — committed by them in denying the gospel about to be launched through the apostles under the power of the Holy Spirit. This warning here was brief, but additional light on it is available from Jesus' other pronouncements of it on another occasion (Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:29). The three dispensations of God's grace are in view here. Blaspheming God in the patriarchal period, or Christ as the culmination of the Mosaic period, or the Holy Spirit in the age of the gospel were in the ascending order of seriousness.

John 1:45 — and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. All that Philip here said of Jesus is true: (1) that Moses and the prophets wrote of him, (2) that he was of Nazareth, and (3) that he was the son of Joseph, although the latter was true legally, not actually. Thus, any effort to force a "conflict" between John and the synoptics is nothing but a device of unbelief. Being the legal son of Joseph, "the husband

John 6:39-40 — countermands all the sorrows and frustrations of life. The use of neuter pronouns such as "all" and "it" do not compromise the plain meaning of this passage, human souls being viewed not as masculine or feminine, but abstractly (Galatians 3:28). The last day … is repeated four times in this chapter (John 6:39-40; John 6:44; John 6:54). As Dummelow said, "These words show that Christ came to abolish not natural, but spiritual death. Believers will die, but their death will be

Acts 2:14-16 — (Matthew 16:19); and, accordingly, Peter flung wide the gates of the kingdom, preaching the first sermon of the gospel age. PETER'S SERMON ON PENTECOST The classical judgment of any public address must take account of: (1) the occasion, (2) the speaker, (3) the subject matter, and (4) the results; and by any or all of these criteria, Peter's address recorded here must be hailed as the most wonderful ever given. It was the birthday of the New Institution, the official emergence of the kingdom of God among

Romans 1:16 — had been a place on earth where the gentle teachings of the Son of God were despised, the great harlot on the Tiber was that city. Jesus had warned his disciples that God himself would be ashamed of any who were ashamed of Jesus and his word (Mark 8.:38); and in this epistolary war-cry, Paul hurled the challenge of his faith in Christ like a steel gauntlet into the face of proud and arrogant Rome. How could he do it? The answer is in the next clause. It is the power of God unto salvation …

2 Corinthians 12:2 — to the third person when narrating these events, the critics who deny the authorship of the book of Jonah on the ground that it was written in the third person are refuted. The words "caught up" are the same that Luke used of Philip (Acts 8:39) and that Paul used of the resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Fourteen years ago … "This was in 41-42 A.D., some years after his escape from Damascus." Norman Hillyer, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm.

Galatians 4:4-5 — time." All of the grand events of God's plan for the redemption of mankind were scheduled in advance, and from the beginning, even the final judgment itself being a planned and scheduled event. "God has appointed a day, etc." (Acts 17:31). God sent forth his Son … This is a dogmatic statement of the Incarnation, being a clear reference to the pre-existence of Christ with God before the world was (John 1:1). This clause teaches: (1) the deity of the Son of God, (2) "the

Ephesians 2:8-9 — word as used in the New Testament include the principles: (1) of human beings (all of them) being unworthy of the salvation God provides; (2) of the impossibility of any man's meriting or earning salvation, even if he had a million lives to live; and (3) that salvation bestowed upon people originated in the heart of God and that it flows out from God to people, being from God and of God alone. It is clear then that God's grace is to all people, for all people alike, and that it is available for every

Colossians 3:25 — that doeth wrong shall receive again for the wrong that he hath done: and there is no respect of persons. Some understand this as a warning to slaves not to do wrong; but since the admonition stands as another reason, along with the one in Colossians 3:24, directed to the proper motivation of the slave, it is understood here as a reference to God's judgment of slavemasters if they do wrong. "No respect of persons" favors this view; because it is not likely that the hope of a slave to avoid

Hebrews 12:16 — while a slave in the house of Potiphar, refused to commit adultery with his master's wife, not on the grounds that it would have been a sin against a woman like her, but as he said, "How can I sin AGAINST God and do this wickedness?" (Genesis 39:9). The sin of fornication, or adultery (and for all practical purposes, the sins are one), is destructive and antagonistic. It is AGAINST the following: (1) primarily against God, as noted above; (2) against one's body (1 Corinthians 6:18) (this being

Hebrews 3:2 — blood; Christ changed the water into wine. The inauguration of the Law of Moses and that of Christ had this in common: that three thousand souls were involved in each case, three thousand being lost at Sinai, three thousand being saved at Pentecost (Exo. 32:38; Acts 2:38 ff). Both were transfigured, Moses on Sinai (Exodus 34:29-30), Jesus on Mount Hermon (Matthew 17:2). Both delivered God's law to people. Both offered themselves to die for Israel (Exodus 32:32; John 10:17). Both made a marriage with the

1 Peter 1:1-2 — with Paul also. "St. Peter knew no higher title to bestow on himself than that which he held in common with the other eleven." A. J. Mason, Ellicott's Bible Commentary, Vol. VIII (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 387. Jesus Christ … Peter used this compound title of the Master eleven times in the 105 verses of this letter; it is likely that he and the other apostles heard it for the first time in Jesus' great prayer the night of his betrayal (John 17:3). To

Revelation 21 overview — following the final judgment of all men, and when the long drama of human struggles and temptations shall have been concluded. Christ promised that his faithful servants should "enter into the joy" of their Lord at his coming (Matthew 25:23); Paul encouraged the Philippians with precious words of their "citizenship … in heaven" (Philippians 3:20); Peter wrote that, "We look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13); James