Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
That the King of Glory may come in !
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
" 'Longsuffering' endures the injuries of others and 'kindness' pays them back only with good deeds." Rev. John MacArthur commenting on 1 Cor. 13:4
If you think you know the answer to this question, click here. (December 19, 2009)
This question is not as simple as it might seem. See why in "Primeval Chronology". (March 4, 2010)
The book of Revelation: what thoughts does it bring to your mind? A difficult book to understand? The only New Testament book that deals with prophecy, the end times, and the return of Christ? In case you have shied away from this book, did you know that God promises a special blessing to those who read it (Rev. 1:3)? We have just added the book of Revelation to our interactive Bible quizzes. Why not try one (or all three) of the quizzes on this amazing final book of the New Testament? Click here. (March 2, 2010)
In witnessing to Jewish people, does it matter whether you are amillennial or premillennial? The answer is--absolutely! Read why in this short article. (January 11, 2010)
We believe in the inspiration of the Old Testament: it is the word of God. But those words were written by human authors--Moses, David, Isaiah, etc. Did they understand their own message or did they write "better than they knew"? Is it valid to distinguish between the meaning intended by the OT author and the meaning intended by God? These questions come to a head in 1 Peter 1:10-12. Does Peter sanction such a distinction? I firmly believe the answer is no and have written a technical paper that addresses these important issues: How Much Did the Prophets Know: Early Jewish Exegesis and the Hermeneutical Crisis in Evangelicalism. (December 27, 2009)
We've posted another complete book by Dr. Culver, a detailed commentary on Isaiah 53, The Sufferings and the Glory of the Lord's Righteous Servant. David Baron wrote, "[Isaiah 53] is the heart and centre of all Old Testament prophecy." Be sure to read Dr. Culver's excellent book on this most important of Old Testament prophecies. (December 15, 2009)
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 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.
Please visit our forum and join in the discussions. There's a thread on the pretribulation rapture view and an interesting thread started by Carol called "Picture This," bringing to life scenes and events from the Bible
© Copyright 2010 Rediscovering the Bible. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us | Email Webmaster
