This is a straightforward verse about the prophets looking forward to Jesus. The mention of Jesus’ glory may confuse some readers who are already confused about John 17:5 (see the separate answer on John 17:5 “glory that I had with you before the world existed.”). But John 12:41 is a straightforward verse showing what the […]
What is the “right hand of fellowship”? (Galatians 2:9)
The original context for the phrase is found in Galatians: “James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.” (Galatians 2:9) This marks the first […]
Is the Commander of the Lord’s Army in Joshua 5:13-15 Jesus?
The Commander of the Lord‘s Army 13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “No; but I am the commander […]
Did Paul conduct any exorcisms like the character played by Max von Sydow in the film The Exorcist?
The film The Exorcist The Exorcist is a famous and influential 1973 American film based on a horror novel by William Peter Blatty, himself a convinced Catholic, which was directed by William Friedkin and starred Jason Miller and Max von Sydow as two Jesuit priests called in to exorcise a demon from a young American girl […]
Why did Felix tremble? (Acts 24:24)
Paul warned Felix of “a resurrection of both the just and the unjust” (Acts 24:15) and Luke goes on conclude “when Paul spoke of …. judgment to come, Felix trembled” (Acts 24:24). So Acts 24:15, 24 seem to be clear that Felix – who had a Jewish wife – was personally trembling about judgment. Other […]
Were Lydia and the Philippian gaoler already “God-fearers” worshipping Yahweh before Paul arrived in Philippi?
Who were these God-fearers? God-fearers were a large group of sympathizers among Gentiles with one-God worship of the God of Israel. Their existence is documented in numerous Jewish texts of the period, using a multitude of Greek terms (theosebeis, sebomenoi, phoboumenoi, metuentes). The most famous example of all is obviously Cornelius, an Italian soldier who had started to […]
“heap burning coals on his head”
This idiom originates in Proverbs and is cited once in the New Testament: If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. (Proverbs 25:21-22 ESV) To the contrary, “if […]
Does “ask in my name” (John 14:13-14, 15:6, 16:23-26) mean that all prayers must end in “in the name of Jesus”?
The context is this: Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:13-14) You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, […]
Why did God give the Law to the Israelites?
This is an interesting question with several mutually possible ways of answering. Although some elements of the Law appear to have already been in place with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the 10 Commandments and the detailed Law were given only from the time in the wilderness onwards. The following are explanations that the […]
What does “the rock that followed them was Christ” mean? (1 Corinthians 10:4)
This is one of Paul’s best known types or patterns of Christ from the Old Testament: For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 […]