Bible Commentaries

Haggai 1:2 — Haggai announced that his message came from Yahweh of armies, Almighty Yahweh. This title appears 14 times in Haggai and 265 times in the Hebrew Bible. "Yahweh" occurs 34 times in the 38 verses of Haggai. The Lord told Zerubbabel and Joshua that the Israelites were saying that the time was not right to rebuild the temple. By referring to

Zechariah 1:8 — 10:26), and the colors of these horses apparently represent their mission. The colors doubtless implied something to Zechariah, possibly bloodshed, a mixed mission (of judgment and blessing), and victory (cf. Zechariah 6:2; Isaiah 63:1-6; Revelation 6:4). If their color was very significant, the angel probably would have commented on it. Some scholars believed the colors of the horses has no significance. [Note: E.g., Smith, p. 190.] But if so, why did Zechariah mention their different colors? "Compare

Matthew 24:40-41 — The parables of one taken and one left behind 24:40-41 (cf. Luke 17:34-35) Having explained the importance of the signs leading up to His return and the responses to those signs, Jesus next explained the respective consequences of the two responses. Many Christians who have read these verses have

Acts 13:1 — "A teacher’s ministry would involve a less-spontaneous declaration and preaching than that of the prophets, including instruction and the passing on to others of the received apostolic teaching (. . . 1 Corinthians 12:28-29; Ephesians 4:11). This was how the church taught its doctrine before the use of the books that later became a part of the NT." [Note: Bock, Acts, p. 439.] Barnabas (cf. Acts 4:36-37; Acts 9:27; Acts 11:22-30) seems to have been the leader among the prophets

Acts 2:5-6 — Jerusalem were probably people from the Diaspora (dispersion, residing outside the land of Palestine) who had returned to settle down in the Jewish homeland. Luke’s other uses of katoikountes ("living") are in Acts 1:20; Acts 7:2; Acts 7:4; Acts 7:48; Acts 9:22; Acts 11:29; Acts 13:27; Acts 17:24; Acts 17:26; and Acts 22:12, and these suggest permanence compared with epidemeo ("sojourning") in Acts 2:10. "It was . . . customary for many pious Jews who had spent

Romans 3:7-8 — pronounced on him in chapter 2. The essential objections are as follows. 1.    The Jews are a privileged people (Romans 3:1-2). 2.    God will remain faithful to the Jews despite their unfaithfulness to Him (Romans 3:3-4). 3.    God will be merciful since the Jews’ failings have magnified God’s righteousness. 4.    God will overlook the Jews’ sins since they contribute to the glory of God. Self-righteous people

Romans 5:1 — sanctification." [Note: Ibid., p. 163.] Some important Greek manuscripts read, "Let us have peace with God." If this is the correct reading, the meaning is, "Let us keep on having (and enjoying) peace with God." [Note: Robertson, 4:354; Witmer, p. 456. See also Verlyn D. Verbrugge, "The Grammatical Internal Evidence for ’EXOMEN in Romans 5:1," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 54:3 (September 2011):559-72.] The second of the blessings "that came

2 Corinthians 4:5 — Even though Paul occasionally needed to commend himself to every man’s conscience (2 Corinthians 4:2; 2 Corinthians 6:4), he never promoted himself. Instead he proclaimed Jesus Christ as a faithful slave announces his master rather than himself. This is what he had done in Corinth. He did not conduct himself as the spiritual overlord of these Christians

2 Corinthians 6:1 — grace in vain would be not allowing it to have its divinely intended result in their lives. Paul occasionally wrote of receiving God’s grace in vain, by which he meant failing to persevere (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:2; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Galatians 4:11; Philippians 2:16). In the context, conflict between some of the Corinthians and Paul resulting in the discrediting of the gospel ministry seems to be in view (2 Corinthians 6:3). More generally, disunity among believers frustrates God’s desire

Colossians 4:12-13 — concern for the Colossians is clear from his zealous prayers for their maturity and their full perception of God’s complete will for them. These concerns are the burden of this epistle. Epaphras’ fervent agonizing in prayer (cf. Luke 22:44) reflects his understanding that God would provide illumination and continued growth in proportion as people requested these of Him (James 4:2). This is spiritual work that only God can do. Epaphras’ concern for the Christians in the other towns

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 — C. Prayer for success 1:11-12 Paul and his companions "always" prayed that the Thessalonians would continue to experience purification through their trials rather than experience apostasy. [Note: See my comments on 2:3-4] They also prayed that God would note and approve their worth. "God counts men worthy as they consent to and endeavor to do that which He works in them." [Note: Hiebert, p. 296.] The apostle also asked that God would by His power bring to

Philemon 1:10-11 — needs much tender care lest his young spiritual life suffer or die." [Note: Richard C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians, to the Thessalonians, to Timothy, to Titus and to Philemon, p. 962. Cf. Galatians 4:19; 1 Thessalonians 2:7.] "This is the one-time self-righteous Pharisee, the heir of Jewish exclusiveness, and he is speaking of a Gentile, and a Gentile slave at that, from the very dregs of Roman society—yet he can refer to him as a son.

Hebrews 3:16-19 — verses constitute an exposition of the passage quoted. The questions indicate the diatribe style of rhetoric in which the speaker raises questions and provides answers. The Israelites who died in the wilderness were mostly redeemed believers (cf. Exodus 14:31). [Note: See Randall C. Gleason, "The Old Testament Background of Rest in Hebrews 3:7-4:11," Bibliotheca Sacra 157:627 (July-September 2000):288.] They died as believers; they did not lose their salvation. However they did fail to enter

Hebrews 9:1-5 — table of sacred bread." A hendiadys is a figure of speech in which a writer expresses a single complex idea by joining two substantives with "and" rather than by using an adjective and a substantive. Some readers have understood Hebrews 9:4 as saying that the altar of incense was in the holy of holies in the tabernacle. [Note: Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 3:6:8, also believed that it was in the holy place.] This seems to contradict the Old Testament, which located this altar

1 Peter 5:13 — "She" probably refers to the church in the town where Peter was when he wrote this letter (cf. 2 John 1:1; 2 John 1:4). The Greek word for "church" (ekklesia) is feminine, though the word ekklesia does not appear in 1 Peter. Some commentators have suggested that Peter referred to his wife. [Note: E.g., Robertson, 6:135.] But this seems unlikely to me since

1 John 5:13 — "these things" in 1 John 2:26 refer to what immediately precedes in 1 John 2:18-25. [Note: See Robert N. Wilkin, "’Assurance: That You May Know’ (1 John 5:11-13a)," Grace Evangelical Society News 5:12 (December 1990):2, 4.] John stated the purpose of the whole epistle in 1 John 1:3-4. [Note: Westcott, p. 188.] "This assertion [i.e., 1 John 5:13] is very frequently, and wrongly, taken as a statement of purpose for the entire epistle . . . . But this

Revelation 1:7 — the revelation to follow. It is in this sense the key verse in the book. "The theme of the book is the ultimate victory of Jesus Christ over all enemies and the establishment of His earthly kingdom." [Note: Harris, p. 175. See also Ladd, p. 14; and Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, 2:568.] Jesus Christ will return physically to earth as He ascended into heaven (Revelation 1:4; Revelation 1:8; Revelation 2:5; Revelation 2:16; Revelation 3:11; Revelation 4:8; Revelation 16:15;

Revelation 14:13 — The blessedness of those who die in Christ 14:13 This "voice" was probably the Lamb’s (Revelation 1:10-11; Revelation 1:19; cf. Revelation 10:4; Revelation 10:8; Revelation 11:12; Revelation 14:2; Revelation 18:4; Revelation 21:3). The voice told John to record that it would be

Revelation 14:8 — The fall of Babylon 14:8 The fact that separate and succeeding angels make these announcements stresses their importance and their sequential relationship. A second angel followed the first with the message that Babylon had fallen. This is another proleptic message, in this

Revelation 20:3 — Daniel 6:17; Matthew 27:66). This action assures his confinement, but it does not specify that he will suffer otherwise. Satan will not have access to the earth but abide in the abyss (bottomless pit, Revelation 9:1-2; Revelation 11:7; Revelation 13:4; Revelation 13:7; Revelation 17:8) throughout the Millennium. His confinement will preclude his deceiving the nations, which he had been doing (Revelation 13:14; Revelation 16:13-14). The nations in view will be the descendants of mortal believers who