Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,
says Yahweh of hosts.
Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
That the King of Glory may come in !
Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,
says Yahweh of hosts.
Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
That the King of Glory may come in !
The "sign of the fish" was an early Christian symbol during the persecutions under the Roman Empire. It was often used to distinguish friend from foe. A Christian might draw an arc in the dirt to represent a simple fish. If a stranger responded accordingly, both knew the other was a Christian.
Why was the fish chosen as the symbol? The Greek word for fish is ιχθυς. Christians created an acrostic based on this word.
ι: first letter in Ιησους
Greek for "Jesus"
χ: first letter in Χριστος
Greek for "Christ"
θ: first letter in θεου
Greek for "God's"
υ: first letter in υιος
Greek for "son"
σ: first letter in σωτηρ
Greek for "savior"
Thus: "Jesus Christ, God's Son, our Savior."
Practical Insights
"It becomes the wisdom of God so to order it that things of great value and importance should not be obtained without great labor and diligence." Jonathan Edwards
We have long lamented the lack of depth in the preaching within Evangelical churches today. Many Christians possess only a shallow knowledge of both the Bible and theology. Check yourself with two questions that should be very simple to any Christian who attends a Bible-believing church.
Bible knowledge: The Psalmist wrote, "Sing the glory of his name" (Ps. 66:2). What is his name? What is the name of the God of the Bible, the God you worship?
Theological knowledge: What is the meaning of the word propitiation, which is used, for example, in 1 John 2:2?
The answer to the first question is Yahweh (often misspelled "Jehovah," based on an error made by the church during the Middle Ages). Why doesn't every Christian know the name of God? Part of the reason, no doubt, is that even though it is used about 6000 times in the Old Testament, our English translations foolishly render the Hebrew name Yahweh as "LORD" (all capital letters). However, every minister should be using God's name as he preaches and should also be explaining to his congregation how to recognize when the divine writers of Scripture are using it.
The answer to the second question is appeasement of wrath. That the death of Christ appeased the wrath of God on us is central to the theology of salvation. Why doesn't every Christian know the definition of propitiation?
We hope that the material posted at this site will both increase your knowledge of the Bible and theology and also encourage you to buy and read books by great Christian preachers and theologians. On this Web site we've posted a number of condensations of classical works as well as full-length books by various scholars and theologians. There are also a number of sermons by the "Prince of Preachers," Charles Spurgeon. In addition, you'll find several original, in-depth Bible-study papers written by us. The Site Index shows you everything on this Web site at a glance.
We hope you enjoy this Web site and that it stimulates your interest in the Bible and the theology it teaches. Comments and questions are always welcome.
Carol's "Daily Devotions from the Classics" contains 365 short, insightful excerpts from great Christian scholars and preachers of long ago as well as the recent past. You will be blessed by the writings of these godly men, among them Matthew Henry, Thomas Watson, Charles Spurgeon, and J. C. Ryle. Click here for your "daily devotions from the classics"!
We have another Web site, Messiah Studies, that is devoted to a detailed study of Messianic prophecy. However, it is a new Web site, and so far there are only a few papers posted. It is our goal, however, to develop a series of papers dealing with the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament in historical order. The site is designed for Jewish inquirers, but Christians can gain much from these studies as well. There is also some Jewish music you can listen to, including HaTikvah, Hava Nagila, Jerusalem of Gold, and the Yigdal. Please take a look and send us your suggestions. (January 27, 2012)
"He that cannot pray, let him go to sea, and there he will learn."
John Trapp on Ps. 107:23-29, cited by Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David.
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