BIBLE WATCH

The Lord Jesus declared in Matthew 11:11, "Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he".  Does this mean John the Baptist is greater than Moses and the Prophets or is there a deeper meaning here? Who is this "least" in the kingdom of heaven that is greater than John the Baptist?  Let's take a second look at the first part of the verse: Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist. The statement simply means no Prophet has risen above John the Baptist. He was to be ranked equal to any Prophet (or human being) in terms of work and energy. He is not less distinguished than the other Prophets. Please note that by His statement in this verse our Lord probably intended to tacitly meet the objection that Moses or Abraham was to be listened to rathe...

That Jesus died and was buried is one of the best-established facts about Jesus. The Bible says again and again that Jesus died. Some critics have argued that Jesus wasn’t completely dead when He was entombed. The Koran, claims that Jesus only seemed to be dead. Some skeptics have claimed that He merely appeared to be dead, possibly drugged, but revived while in the tomb and escaped to convince His disciples that He had risen from the dead. But when we examine the facts, what such theories suggest is physically impossible . The extent of Jesus’ tortures and wounds was such that no man could have survived the crucifixion and three days and nights isolated in a dark, cold tomb. To say that He was drugged ignores the record. He turned down the painkiller that was usually given to crucifixion victims (Mark 15:23). Later He was offered a sip of sour wine from a sponge, but there is no indication of a drugging effect on Jesus from this because of His obvious agony and final death cr...

You'll notice through a comparison of the four gospels that Mary Magdalene and the disciples went to the tomb a number of times. In some it was still dark, and in some it was already light. It wasn't until it was light on Sunday that they actually discovered that He had risen, in the first visits the tomb was empty. John 20:1-2 Now in the first of the week, Miryam Magdalitha (Mary Magdalene) came to the tomb in the very early morning while it was still dark. And she saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. And she ran and she came to Shimon Kaypha (Simon Peter) and to that other disciple whom Yeshua (Jesus) had loved, and she said to them, "They have taken away our Lord from the tomb, and I don't know where they have laid Him." The above text in John 20, tells us of the first visit by Mary Magdalene when it was dark, the tomb was empty, and she had not been told that Jesus was risen, and only saw the stone rolled away. I will leave it to the reader to co...

Nothing so wrong if a church or ministry tells its members, "look these are our needs and our targets we need everyone to key in and partner with us... if we all commit to giving 10% or any other percent) of what we earn, we will do very well and achieve a lot". Members who are able will even give more than 10% because they buy the vision of the ministry and they love God. It may be a church's tradition for members to tithe, I won't judge them. But once you begin to preach and insist on Malachi 3; how those who don't pay tithes are under a curse and you threaten them with devourers and calamity, you are perverting the gospel and you need to stop. When I opposed pastors who were placing curses on their members because of tithes, some called me agent of Satan. But they are the ones who knowingly and unknowingly are working against Christ and perverting the gospel. We cannot do anything against the truth. I make bold to say that any doctrine that says Tithing is...

Jesus’ twelve disciples were probably young, almost all under the age of eighteen and some as young as 15. All were most likely bachelors, but for one. There is no indicator in Scripture of a specific age for any disciple. So we look through the lens of historical context as well as clues derived from Scripture. In the time of Jesus, a Jewish man received a wife after the age of 18. Peter was the only one known to have been married. In Matthew 8:14-15, we learn that Peter had a wife when Jesus healed his mother-in-law. Again, Scripturally, no other disciples’ wives are mentioned. Education Of That Time Why are we to assume Jesus’ disciples were so young? The tradition of education of that time indicates it. Education for the Jewish child concluded at the age of 15. For those bright (or wealthy) enough, higher education consisted of studying under a local rabbi. If they didn’t find a rabbi that accepted them as a student (much like a college entrance applicati...

One of the most common questions asked by new Christians is, "How could Jesus have been in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights if He died on a Friday afternoon and rose before sunrise on a Sunday?" Most Christians duck the question, since at most they can only come up with one day and two nights (Friday nighttime, Saturday daytime, and Saturday nighttime in our measure of days). This search of the scriptures is important, not because it affects salvation, but because it answers the questions posed on whether Jesus kept His Word, and whether the Bible is true in this matter.  Leviticus 23:5-8 "On the fourteenth day of the first month--between the two evenings (at twilight)--is the Passover to Yahweh (YHVH). And on the fifteenth day of this month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Yahweh (YHVH); seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. But for seven days you shal...