John 1:1

Title:  In the beginning was the Word

The Big Bang Theory engenders more questions than explanations to the subject that has puzzled the heathen since the time man chose himself over God or stopped believing in God altogether: the origin of the universe.

At first glance, the quest may seem legitimate, but actually starts with the wrong foot.  Origin necessitates a maker, for the simple reason that nothing can create itself; there has to be an outside entity that would cause something into existence.

At this point may we ask the Big Bang Theory advocate where the elements that surround the concept originate: space, time, matter, energy?

Actually a ten dollar Bible would have told the pseudo-scientist that the universe had no physical origin:  The universe started with God and was spoken into being by his Word.  The origin of the cosmos is spiritual; and true to form, scientific investigation could not come up with the building-block or the essence of matter, because matter was created out of nothing according to the Scriptures.

God through the Lord Jesus created all things, and unless scientists and philosophers confess the Creator, they will always come up with theories that are laughable and generate more questions than answers.

John 21:22

Title:  If I will that he tarry till I come

If the Lord Jesus was not Deity, his claim to authority over life and death was nothing short of high-minded arrogance and blasphemy.  If the Lord Jesus was not God in the flesh, his assertion to possessing the prerogative of the Father was irreverence and an outright lie.

The Lord Jesus was God.  Every person who has been born from above knows that the Lord Jesus is God by the Holy Spirit dwelling in him.

The Lord Jesus being God was the purpose, sustainer, and summation of his life and ministry.  If he was merely a man, he had no business determining the termination of physical life, let alone provide for eternal life.

1 Thessalonians 4:15

Title:  Unto the coming of the Lord

Adam Clarke (Adam Clarke Commentary, published 1810-1826) argues against the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Theory

Was the Pre-Tribulation Rapture Theory a prevalent and accepted teaching prior to 1830?

In consideration of the Commentary and Critical Notes by Adam Clarke which was completed in 1826, I beg to contend to the contrary.  Clarke, in his notes on (1 Thess. 4:15) saw the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus, that “We may suppose that the judgment will now be set, and the books opened, and the dead judged out of the things written in those books.”

How in the world did a Bible commentator of Clarke’s caliber and scholarship fail to mention a Pre-Tribulation Rapture event in conjunction with (1 Thess. 4:13-18)?  The answer is simple: he did not fail, because prior to 1830, when the false Pre-Tribulation Rapture Doctrine came out of Scotland, it was unknown among the churches and in Christian literature.

Clarke was justified in interpreting (1 Thess. 4:13-18) as the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus, and not a snatching away of the church seven years prior to the Second Coming.

John 3:16

Title:  Perish

Although we joyfully quote this verse in reference to assurance of eternal life, in my estimation it is the most frightful statement in all of Scriptures, in view of the fate of those who would not place their confidence or entrust their spiritual well-being to the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

That final destination is total destruction and full separation from God, signaled by death and with finality and from which there is no escape or second chances.

Yes, the good message is eternal life, but occupying the same stage is a dire warning to those who would not heed to the invitation from God who sent his Son to save sinners who would repent and believe; an awful state of interminable condemnation/ punishment to those who would neglect so great salvation.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

Title:  Fear God

I pray that we would not wait to the end of our lives to come to the conclusion that life is about God, not us. Not all suppositions are the result or summary of a process, but can be a formulation by which the whole course of action is guided. Let us look at life as a seamless piece of cloth from start to end, where its dawning is not independent of the closing stages of dusk.

Psalm 23:5

Title:  A table

We may venture to conclude that the table the Shepherd arrays here for the sheep who listen to his voice is not an ordinary one, but an opulent feast fit for a king and afforded with all the bounty and righteousness that would satisfy body and soul to the point of overflowing, in an atmosphere of tranquility and security in the midst of their enemies, and in fellowship with the Lord throughout the years.

Note:

For a picture of a king’s table, we may refer to (1 Kings 4:22,23), listing the daily provisions of Solomon:

185 bushels of fine flour

375 bushels of meal

10 heads of stall-fed cattle

20 heads of pasture-fed cattle

100 sheep and goats

as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and choice fowl

2 Thessalonians 2:3

Title:  Until the apostasy occurs

The Nelson Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible defines “apostasy” as:  the determined, willful rejection of Jesus and His teachings by a Christian believer; a falling away from the faith.”

While one school of thought reads this verse as Christians leaving established congregations because of unbelief, it is more likely describing the condition of the church near the End of the Age, where it will have an outward semblance to Christianity, however rejecting the Bible as authoritative, as the ONLY framework and guide in Christian living, social life, and government.

Take into consideration the silence of many pulpits against the sins of sodomy, same-sex union/abomination, and abortion, to mention a few of the moral subjects intriguing societies and governments today.  Before the onslaught of the promotion of abomination in all sectors of humanity, the church seeks to be politically correct and inoffensive in its message, teaching philosophies of men rather than heralding “thus says the Lord.”

To this effect, we must remember that the Word of God will always be a stumbling block to those who are perishing.  To cater to the determination of this evil generation that speaking against sodomy, same-sex union/abomination, abortion, and a host of other sins against the Holy God of the Bible is “hate speech,” is synonymous to apostasy, a rejection of Jesus and His teachings.

We are there now.