When Did the Jewish Nation Begin?

Genesis 10:5 (KJV) speaks of the isles of the Gentiles. In Gen. 11:9 God scattered the people at Babel. Were all of these still Gentiles? In Gen. 12:2 God tells Abram (Abraham) He will make of him a great nation, but he does not use the word Hebrew or Jew. When did the Jewish nation begin? Wanda Miller     Moses, by divine inspiration, wrote the first five books of the Bible after the establishment of the Jewish nation. When the historical events occurred that appear in the Book of Genesis, there was not yet a distinction between Israelites or Jews and Gentiles (everybody else). However, by the time that Moses wrote the Book of Genesis, there was a distinction between the Israelites or Jews and the Gentiles. Moses spoke accommodatively to his fellow Israelites when he spoke of Gentiles in distinction to himself and his nation.     In addition, the designation of “Jews” was not contemporaneous with the establishment of the Israelite nation, but came along years later. (To complicate things a bit more, sometimes the nation of Israel referred to only ten tribes and not all the tribes, i.e. when for awhile both Saul’s son and David were kings over different tribes and later when the Israelite nation split along the same lines following the death of Solomon.)     Abraham is the father of the Jewish or Israelite nation, as God stated (Joshua 24:3) and first century Jews (and Jewish Christians) avowed (Luke 1:73; 16:24, 30; John 8:53, 56; Acts 7:2; Romans 4:12), but Abraham never …

African Place in Biblical History

Sir, I read the following statement at this web site: https://www.gospelgazette.com/gazette/2001/dec/page2.htm “Therefore, Ethiopia was at peace with the Roman Empire when in Acts Eight the treasurer of Ethiopia (either as a Gentile proselyte to Judaism or a Jew whose ancestors sought refuge or business interests in Ethiopia) traveled to Jerusalem for worship. Especially the great contributions of the Grecian and Roman empires to the so-called civilized world (e.g., law and order, highways, universal language, common monetary system, postal service, etc.) permitted introduction of the Gospel in not only Palestine, but in Europe, Asia and Africa. The background lying behind Acts 8:26-28 when brought to light makes the study of that passage more rewarding.” I may have read it wrong, but to me, this statement implies that the Grecian and Roman empires contributed innovations of all types to Africa. This statement is perplexing to me, since in my research, I’m uncovering evidence that people of African nations founded and established Greek and Roman cities, and that it is Greek and Roman language that is based on African languages. Are these statements true? Please refer me to sources. Thank you, Doretha Riley     Biblical history primarily pertains to a piece of real estate often referred to as the Fertile Crescent, which extended from the Persian Gulf west to the Mediterranean Sea and south to Egypt. The shape of this land is crescent or rainbow in general appearance, arched in the middle. The Fertile Crescent was well watered with the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers (as well as other smaller rivers). North of the Fertile Crescent are high mountains, …

Sanguine Husband and a Choleric Wife

I am a Sanguine, my wife is a choleric. So how does one lead a choleric wife? Ron Kyker, Livermore, Ca     A Christian wife with a proper regard for and understanding of New Testament teaching about male and female roles in the home and in the church will submit herself to her husband. “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:22-25). At the same time, husbands need to recognize and embrace their God-given roles as head of the home (1 Corinthians 11:3). Irrespective of our personality types, we have the capacity to obey God and function in the respective male/female roles he has assigned us.

1 Timothy 5:16 Compared with 2 Corinthians 9:13

Hi Brod Rushmore, Greetings! I’m Omar S. Agustin, member of the Chruch of Christ in Angeles City, Philippines, In 1 Timothy 5:16 please explain, can we use the church treasury for none christian which is widow whatever age? Is this text applicable only for the member of the Lord’s Church? Please explain 2 Cor. 9:13-14, the phrase “unto them and unto all” In Him, Omar S. Agustin     First Timothy 5:16 is addressed to Christians who have widowed parents; the verse is not addressed to the widowed parents. “If any believing man or woman has widows” (NKJV). The purpose of the verse is to prompt Christians to take financial responsibility for their own widowed parents so that the church does not have to undertake that responsibility: “let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened.” The implication is and further it is plainly stated that the church will take financial responsibility for widows who have no other financial resources to which they can appeal for their support: “that it may relieve those who are really widows.” While the verse acknowledges that the one addressed are Christians who have widowed parents, nothing in the verse says anything about whether the widowed parents are Christians.     First Timothy 5:16 is similar in intention to verses 9-14 of this passage in that alternatives are addressed for the sustenance of widows so that the financial resources of the church do not have to be expended on widows unnecessarily. The church will arise benevolently toward widows if …

Examine Yourselves Whether Ye be in the Faith #2: The Church

Previous article in this series:https://www.gospelgazette.com/gazette/2007/jun/page18.htm That the Holy Scriptures plainly teach that there is one, and only one church, cannot be successfully denied. Paul, in Ephesians 4:4 wrote: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling.” In this same epistle, he wrote: “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23). By reading the writings of any standard church historian, one can follow the fortunes of this one church. Soon after the close of the first century, the apostasy began, culminating some five hundred years later in an organization with one man claiming to be the head of the church. Many centuries later, men arose with the idea of reforming that apostate organization. These actions resulted in the Reformation Movement. Conceived and born in this movement was the concept of denominationalism.     In our nation today, there are more than four hundred denominational organizations or churches. Since the admonition of the inspired apostle is to“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith,”it seems reasonable that each one should, yea must, question himself about the church of which he is a member. In other words, can I prove by the Scriptures that the church of which I am a member is that one body spoken of by Paul? Is the church of which I am a member …

Not As I Will, But As You Will

Such are the words of Jesus as he prayed to the Father in the Garden, before he was arrested and crucified. While he did not look forward to the agony, he knew what the cross would bring. He was determined to make sure his motives and will were in harmony with the will of God. At no time in the ministry of Christ could it be said that he served God from selfish motives, that he used others to get what he personally wanted for himself. In purity of heart and love for others, he served them, even at the cross.     Not everyone who claims to follow Jesus has such a spirit as the Lord, even though we are commanded to have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). No doubt James and John thought they were serving their Lord when they suggested to him that fire be commanded from heaven to consume a Samaritan town that refused to receive Jesus (Luke 9:54). Jesus turned and rebuked them, and while some Greek manuscripts lack the last part of verse 55, it is true they did not know “what kind of spirit” they possessed. They did not have the spirit of Christ.     When Paul exhorted the Christians in Philippi to have the mind of Christ, it came after urging them to “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit” (2:3), to not “look out for your own personal interests” (2:4). The very nature of sin is to deceive us into thinking wrong is …

Are You Scared?

Contrary to today’s popular philosophy, fear has a legitimate place in our lives. “Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied” (Acts 9:31).     Defining the fear of the Lord. The Hebrew word for “fear” is yirah and is used in the Old Testament to denote terror. The Greek word is phobos (from which we get our English word “phobia”) and is used in the New Testament to denote alarm, fright or dread. These two words also convey the ideas of reverence and awe (Psalm 89:7), which, in turn, suggest a trembling (Philippians 2:12)—literally, a quaking with fear. When we have a proper fear of the Lord, we quake at the idea of offending him (Hebrews 10:26-27; 30:31; 12:28-29).     Defending the fear of the Lord. The presence of the fear of the Lord (1) prompts obedience: “…Noah…moved with godly fear…prepared an ark for saving of his household…” (Hebrews 11:7); (2) prevents sin: “For God has come to test you, and that His fear may before you, so that you may not sin” (Exodus 20:20; cf. 19:16; 20:18); and (3) produces growth: “So great fear came upon all the church…and believers were increasingly added to the Lord…” (Acts 5:11a, 14a). The absence of the fear of the Lord (1) abhors goodness: “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way…” (Proverbs 8:13); …

Does Man Contribute to his Own Salvation?

“For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). Our secular world is like the Sadducean sect of Jesus’ day in that there is the disbelief in the spirit (or soul) of man (Acts 23:7-8). We must guard against being influenced by such a worldview so we, too, get hung up on the periphery. Our discerning Lord rebuked the “spiritual elite” of his day for their focus on the exterior rather than the inner man. They were basically concerned how things looked to others around them. In his censure, Matthew records Jesus’ piercing words: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27-28). Are You Fit to Live In?     There are a number of considerations we undertake when we are searching for a new house. There are important questions to ask the realtor or current homeowner. There are things the prospective buyer or other professional wants to look for when going through the visual inspection. If we are careless in the examination, there could be significant underlying problems that could be costly to repair down the road. Do the drains flow properly? Is the electrical system up …

The Antidote for Anxiety

A sign found in a church foyer read, “Do not feel totally, personally or completely responsible for everything; that’s my job!” Signed God. How often in life do we become “stressed out” and over anxious because we do feel “totally, personally and completely responsible for everything?” Do we not often feel that we must solve all of our problems ourselves, and that unless we come up with the right solution all will be lost? Of course, it is true that we must take responsibility for our own actions, but for the child of God to forget that we have a “Mighty Fortress” on which to lean is sad indeed. Oh, the anxiety we will face when we feel as though we are in this life all alone and without the providential hand of our heavenly Father to help us! Anxiety overwhelms the person who tries to handle everything on his own. Webster’s defines anxiety as, “A painful uneasiness of mind” (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary 93). A Christian could define undue anxiety as, “A lack of trust in God.” Anxiety is to a Christian as a cement block tied around the leg of a runner. It slows Christians down as they try to run the marathon of faith! Undue anxiety in its bare form is taking on God’s responsibility (cf. Matthew 6:25-34). How can we as Christians rid our lives of undue anxiety so that we may run the race of faith less hindered?     In the first place, undue anxiety will lessen …

Dorcas: Sewing Good Works

Character Study Acts 9:36-42     Joppa is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea about 45 miles northwest of Jerusalem. It was a chief seaport for the land of Palestine. Solomon had the Cedar trees of Lebanon floated in the Mediterranean Sea along the coastline to Joppa when he built the Temple in Jerusalem. When Herod rebuilt the Temple, he also used the seaport of Joppa to receive the Cedar trees. Jonah tried to run and hide from God by fleeing to Joppa and boarding a ship to Tarshish. Joppa’s residents were both Jews and Gentiles at the time of Luke’s writing.     The biblical account of Dorcas occurred in the early stages of the church with the church comprised of both Jews (Hebrew) and proselyted Jews (Gentiles). This may be the reason Luke chose to refer to both the Hebrew name and the Greek name for the readers of the Book of Acts. The Hebrew name, Tabitha, and the Greek name, Dorcas, mean gazelle or roe. “The Greeks used Dorcas, i.e., ‘female gazelle,’ as a term of endearment for their women” (New Unger’s). It was not a common practice to define names in the Bible. By Luke recording the Hebrew name Tabitha, then giving the Greek interpretation, Dorcas, seems to place significance on the definition of her name. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown makes the following observation that “the Greek name for an antelope or gazelle, which, from the grace of its motions and the beauty of its eyes, was frequently …

Separating Christianity and Judaism

In the 21st chapter of the marvelous Book of Acts, we read of Paul’s final arrival in the City of Jerusalem. If he ever visited again after this time, there is no record of the event. He was welcomed by the brethren (21:17). The following day, he paid a visit to James (no doubt the Lord’s half brother). Upon coming to James, he spoke in some detail of the wonderful things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his energetic ministry. When James and the elders heard Paul’s report, Luke recorded that they glorified the Lord for Paul’s success. Luke recorded that they (James and the elders) made the following statement to Paul, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs”(Acts 21:20b‑21). A thing that startles the modern Christian regarding this statement is that so many Jewish Christians were still zealous for the Law.     These people had been obedient to Christ, recognized him as the Messiah, had been baptized into the death of Christ, but were still zealous for the Law. The New Testament is as clear as a lighthouse beam on a dark, clear night that the Law of Moses had been taken out of the way and nailed to the cross …

Open Door

From the human vantage point, the providence of God is a mysterious operation of the Divine Sovereign of the universe. Whereas miracles were clearly visible demonstrations of Divine power (Mark 16:20; Acts 4:16), the providence of God is invisible to the human eye and works behind the scenes (Rom. 8:28; Gen. 50:20). How, then, can we identify the providence of God in our lives? How can we be sure that we are not either fighting against God (Acts 5:39) or attempting to help God out in a way that does not correspond to the providence of God (Gen. 15:2-3; 16:1-4). Confusion and self-doubt buffet Christians today who truly desire to do the will of God and who are conscious of the providence of God, but who are not sure that they can correctly interact with the unfolding providence of God in their lives. One may even ponder if God’s providence is relative to his or her life, the providence of God perhaps being directed by our Divine Sovereign elsewhere. “After all, the universe doesn’t revolve around insignificant me,” one might muse.     Even being a miraculously endowed Christian in the first century was no guarantee that one could easily ascertain the providence of God in one’s life. For instance, the apostle Paul, indisputably one of the most prolific miracle workers in the era of miracles (Acts 19:11-12; 2 Cor. 12:12), was unsure about the unfolding of God’s providence in his evangelistic ministry (Acts 16:6-10). On his second extended missionary endeavor, …

Funny Name Bible Geography

From my first quarter of study at Memphis School of Preaching (1975), sitting at the feet of the beloved and belated brother Richard Curry, I began to learn about Bible geography through funny names that brother Curry associated with various places. I immediately bought a set of Eilers’ Sunday School Maps at the Gospel Advocate Bookstore in Memphis and began to teach my three-year-old daughter Bible geography through the use of funny names. (The current Eilers’ map set and some others can be found at https://www.stinsonpress1.com/catalog/maps.html if nowhere else.) I loved Bible geography from the moment brother Curry began to unfold it in such an easy way to remember.     Over the years, I have expanded the number of funny names and taught Bible geography thereby to preschoolers through adults, from congregational settings to preacher training classes for ten years at West Virginia School of Preaching. Occasionally, someone asks me to provide a list of these funny names associated with Bible geography, which in part sometimes I have done. Herein, though, I hope to provide a more complete list.     I firmly believe that we do an injustice to our Bible studies, to those before whom we stand in the classroom and those to whom we preach if we do not link in those audiences’ minds the biblical places with the biblical events and characters mentioned in our teaching. Since I teach Bible geography to children in the auditorium before the evening worship, I often make passing references to the funny names …

Are We Under Divine Law Today?

Admittedly, the New Testament teaches that people living today are no longer under or amenable to God’s law in the Old Testament, i.e. the Law of Moses. Admittedly, God’s grace and mercy are operative today respecting human redemption. However, do God’s grace and mercy displace or annul divine law in the New Testament era? In others words, are people living today amenable or under divine law or are we saved by grace and mercy without divine law?     The answer to this question of amenability to divine law today is twofold. In part, the answer lies in the examination of Old Testament prophecies respecting the establishment of Christianity, i.e. the New Testament kingdom or the church. In part, the answer lies in the examination of New Testament passages respecting the law, grace and mercy.     Old Testament passages have something definitive to say about the New Testament kingdom or the church respecting divine law. Old Testament prophecies predict that divine law in the Christian era would proceed from Jerusalem. Micah 4:1-2 and Isaiah 2:2-3 emphasize and predict that a new divine law would go forth from Jerusalem in the Christian era. These prophecies identify the time period when this new law of God would go forth from Jerusalem as the “last days.” The “last days” refers to the whole Christian era, which began on the first Pentecost following the death, burial, resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:16-21). Since Acts 2, a new law of God has …

Spiritual Myopia–“I Just Can’t See That!”

Myopia is defined as nearsightedness or shortsightedness, lack of foresight or discernment. Physical myopia can cause some long-term damage if it is not properly treated. Myopia from a spiritual standpoint will be detrimental to the saving of our souls if not biblically corrected.     For those of us who are involved in Bible studies that focus on conversion, we may have heard this statement: “I just can’t see that!” It is another way of saying, “I don’t believe that!” Why are we sometimes put off or taken back when people say that? Usually our first reaction is to take it personally. We forget that our lives are our story, but the story is not about us! “Not unto us O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy and because of Your truth” (Psalm 115:1). God works his purpose for us according to the counsel of his will—not ours.     God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have different functions in the Godhead, but their plan, goal and aim is and always has been our salvation. We as human beings are simply the recipients and the messengers of God’s revealed plan for our redemption. Jesus Christ is the hub of that redemptive plan. The Holy Spirit is the Helper Jesus promised who would guide us through the Word as redeemed sinners. They each have a divine response to, “I just can’t see that!”     When the truth from God’s Word has been …

Bars of a Castle

In ancient times many palaces, castles and fortresses were built on a high place such as a hill. The palace or fortress would usually have very thick outer walls. The entrance would have a thick gate with bars to secure it in place. All of these made it difficult for enemies to enter a palace or fortress. They had to climb steep inclines to get to the castle. Then they had thick walls to either get over or try to go through. The entrance gate was thick and had bars to keep them from pushing through.     In Proverbs 18:19, we read, “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.”     It is a wonderful thing to have good friends. It is even better to have friends who are Christians. But, there can be disagreements. What is important is not to allow emotions and tempers to get out of control. If this occurs, then statements and actions can occur that will destroy that friendship.     When a strong friendship is destroyed through such, it is easier to conquer a castle than it is to restore that friendship. It is not impossible, but it will take great effort. Those offended will put up strong barriers. The hurtful things stated or acted will be like the strong bars that seal the gate. It will be very difficult to get the offended to raise those bars to allow the ex-friend …

Eat What You Are Given

Have you ever had food on your plate but asked for something different? Have your parents ever told you to eat what is on your plate? I was always told to eat what my parents put on my plate.     Ezekiel was a prophet in Babylon. His mission was to preach judgment against Judah. He was to tell the Israelites of the southern kingdom (called Judah) that they were going to be fully conquered. He was to tell them that many would die. Many of those left alive would be taken as slaves to Babylon.     God says that the reason he is allowing this to happen is because of Judah’s wickedness. They were a rebellious people. They refused to obey God.     In Ezekiel 2:8, we read, “But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.” God was going to give many words to Ezekiel. Ezekiel was to spiritually eat these words and digest them. He was then to obey God and preach those words. If Ezekiel did not preach those words, he would be considered no better than the rebellious people of Judah.     God has given us his word. He gave us the Bible. He expects us to study it and then obey it. By studying and meditating on his Word, we are spiritually eating it. If we do not then obey him, teach, and preach the Word to others, we are just like the …

I Can See Much Clearer Now

 Recently, I had cataract surgery on both eyes. The doctor removed the cataract from my right eye first. There was a week interval before he removed the cataract on my left eye. During this time I began to observe that things like the wallpaper in the bathroom were not as dark as I thought previously. One day I received a flyer announcing a Gospel meeting. The vision in my right eye showed me that the paper was blue; however according to the vision in my left eye, the flyer was a dirty looking light green. Or you might say a coffee stained shade of green. It was then that I asked my wife what color was the paper, and she replied that it was indeed blue. It was then that I realized that over a period of time my vision had been discolored without my realizing that I was not seeing things as they really were.     Another example of how that I was not seeing things as they really were was when I looked at the address of some friends and saw the opposite of their true address. Ironically, I thought their address was on Summer Street when actually my friends lived on Winter Place. You see, I had already made up my mind that these Christian friends lived on Summer Street so when I looked up their address in the church directory I read Summer Street instead of Winter Place. I don’t usually do that, but this time …

Contemporary, Informal Praise Service?

If you were to have an audience with the Queen of England or some world leader, would you wear a ball cap, jeans and flip-flops? Some might say, “Yes,” but most would show more dignity than to do so. Not long ago, I was driving by a church building where there was a sign that read, “Contemporary, Informal, Praise Services.” Here were a people who were announcing their lack of respect and reverence to God. Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures does one find anyone being “informal” in his worship to his Sovereign, Creator and Ruler of the universe—The Almighty God! There was always a formal dignity and respect.     The hymn writers of old recognized this. Read the words of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” written by Martin Luther and be favorably impressed with the respect and reverence the lyrics express to God.     Friends, God is not our buddy! He is our Creator, Our Sustainer and our Savior! Habakkuk said, “The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him.” Those in the Revelation were singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” There was no “informal” praise there. How do you worship?

The Far Side of the Desert

In Exodus 3:1, we find in the ASV, “Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb.” Some translations have “to the far side of the desert.” The thought occurred to me that some of us have figuratively been through the desert in one way or another before we came to the holy ground where God gave us direction.     There have been some that have become Christians with the mistaken notion that God promises you that when you follow him, you will not have any problems. You will not have any problems that you and God cannot handle, but the idea that life is supposed to be all sweet and kind to a Christian is false, and can be very destructive to one’s faith if we allow the Devil to deceive us into thinking that is what God promised. When Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you” he did not promise to remove the burdens of life, but to help us bear them. When Paul said, “There hath no temptation taken you, but such as man can bear: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13), he did not say that God would remove the temptation or …

If You Had Known

In Luke 19:28-44, we read of the Triumphant Entry into the city of Jerusalem. We all remember how, in fulfillment of prophecy, he rode on the colt of a donkey upon which no one had ever ridden; the people threw their clothing in his path and spread it with palm leaves according to Matthew’s account of the incident. The people broke forth in a loud anthem saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.”The Pharisees, who by this time were determined that he should not live long on this earth, insisted that he should rebuke the crowd for praising him as they were, but the Lord refused to do that and told them that if the people did not praise him the stones would immediately cry out in praise of him. As Jesus continued to make his entry into the holy city in which God’s Temple was found, the Bible tells us he began to weep over her. While weeping, he addressed the ancient city of Jerusalem as if she were a person, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.”Then he began to prophesy of the downfall of Jerusalem telling this great city that her enemies would throw up an embankment around her and surround her on every side. Not only so, but her enemies were going to “level you, and your children within you, to the …

It Is Written?

 The phrase, “It is written” appears 80 times in the English Bible. “It is written” appears 17 times in the Old Testament (Joshua 8:31; 2 Samuel 1:18; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:21; 2 Chronicles 23:18; 25:4; 31:3; 35:12; Ezra 3:2, 4; 6:18; Nehemiah 8:15; 10:34, 36; Psalm 40:7; Isaiah 65:6; Daniel 9:13). “It is written” appears 63 times in the New Testament (Matthew 2:5; 4:4, 6-7, 10; 11:10; 21:13; 26:24, 31; Mark 1:2; 7:6; 9:12-13; 14:21, 27; Luke 2:23; 3:4; 4:4, 8, 10; 7:27; 19:46; 24:46; John 6:31, 45; 12:14; Acts 1:20; 7:42; 15:15; 23:5; Romans 1:17; 2:24; 3:4, 10; 4:17; 8:36; 9:13, 33; 10:15; 11:8, 26; 12:19; 14:11; 15:3, 9, 21; 1 Corinthians 1:19, 31; 2:9; 3:19; 9:9; 10:7; Galatians 3:10, 13; 4:22, 27; Hebrews 10:7; 1 Peter 1:16). Perhaps the most remembered occurrences of the phrase, “It is written,” are from the lips of Jesus Christ at his Special Temptation (Matthew 4; Luke 4). J.W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton made an outstanding observation regarding our Lord’s statement: “Jesus used the Scripture as final, argument-ending authority.” The significance of the words, “It is written,” is that God’s Word is the final authority in religion: (1) To which mankind needs to appeal for instruction, and (2) By which mankind will be judged at the Final Judgment.     God has chosen writing prophets to record his will for mankind. God employed 40 human penman over a period of 1,600 years to communicate the mind of God to mankind in …

Gospel Gazette Online Merges with World Evangelism Program

 J.C. and Betty Choate invited Louis and Bonnie Rushmore to become team members with them in the longstanding program of World Evangelism. Hence, the Choates and Rushmores have combined their ministries, and Gospel Gazette Online is now a part of World Evangelism, which also includes the long running quarterly Gospel magazine, Voice of Truth International, as well as the missionary news magazine, Global Harvest. In addition, the 200 book titles published by the Choates will be augmented by the 20+ titles published by the Rushmores.     World Evangelism also supports 13 weekly radio and 13 weekly TV programs abroad, and it works heavily with several overseas schools of preaching. Many hundreds of responses arrive DAILY per broadcast area and about 2,000 souls obey the Gospel annually per broadcast area.