Bible Study

Beginning on Sunday, December 8, 2024, our Pastor began using the LSB version of the Bible in all of his teaching and preaching. This is the newly updated version of the NASB, which he has been using for a number of years. Here is some information on the LSB for those who would like to learn more. It also explains why Pastor Alan is now using this version of the English Bible.

The Legacy Standard Bible has been produced with the conviction that the words of Scripture as originally penned in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek are the eternal Word of God. The Holy Scriptures speak with authority to each generation, giving wisdom that leads to salvation, that people may serve Christ to the glory of God. Because it is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16), every word of it is inspired, every word is true, and every word must be conveyed to every nation, tribe, people, and tongue (Rev. 7:9), so that every word can be taught and obeyed (Josh. 23:14; Mt. 28:20; Jn. 17:17).

THE FOURFOLD AIM OF THE LOCKMAN FOUNDATION

1. These publications shall be true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

2. They shall be grammatically correct.

3. They shall be understandable.

4. They shall give the Lord Jesus Christ His proper place, the place which the Word gives Him; therefore, no work will ever be personalized.

PREFACE TO THE LEGACY STANDARD BIBLE
In the history of the English Bible translations, the King James Version is the most well-known. This time-honored version of 1611, itself a revision of the Bishops’ Bible of 1568, became the basis for the English Revised Version, which appeared in 1881 (New Testament) and 1885 (Old Testament). Its American counterpart, a product of both British and American scholarship, was published in 1901. Recognizing the values of the American Standard Version, The Lockman Foundation felt an urgency to preserve the ASV while incorporating recent discoveries of Hebrew and Greek textual sources and rendering it into more current English. This resulted in the New American Standard Bible, a translation based upon the time-honored principles of translation of the ASV and KJV, along with other linguistic tools and biblical scholarship.

The Legacy Standard Bible reflects another iteration of such preservation and refinement. Worked on by a core translation team in conjunction with pastors and educators from different countries, it is designed to honor, maintain, and advance the tradition represented by the NASB.

PRINCIPLES OF TRANSLATION
Key Principles: The Legacy Standard Bible has worked to uphold the style and translational choices of the NASB as much as possible. Even more, it has endeavored to follow through on the NASB’s stated intent to be true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. While the interpreter, teacher, and pastor have the goal of understanding what the text means, the translator is to provide them with what the text says. Consistently, the goal of this translation is to be a window into the original text. Within that goal, this revision has focused upon accuracy and consistency. It has checked that words and grammar have been carried over properly. It also established rules for the consistent translation of terms within their various nuances. This allows the reader to more easily reconstruct what the original texts said. It also helps the reader more easily trace the flow of argument within a text, identify when the same word is used in another passage, and make connections between texts.

There are limits to the application of this philosophy. In this edition, a word might not be translated consistently in order to maintain a highly familiar rendering of a text or to preserve a wordplay in the text that advances the inspired author’s message. Moreover, because Scripture is a literary masterpiece, some linguistic features could not be transferred to this translation, not even by a note. Nevertheless, ensuring that the original languages are precisely rendered paves the way for careful readers to discover these insights for themselves.

In this way, the LSB upholds the philosophy that a translation does not replace pastors or teachers but rather depends upon faithful believers and the church to study and live out what has been written (Acts 8:30-31). Translation is a tool for the church and must be done in that context so that each word of Scripture may be taught and lived.

Modern English Usage: The attempt has been made to render the grammar and terminology in contemporary English. When word-for-word literalness was determined unacceptable to the modern reader; a change was made in the direction of a more current English idiom. In the instances where this has been done, the more literal rendering has been indicated in the notes. There are a few exceptions to this procedure. Of note, while an effort has been made to incorporate conjunctions as much as possible, the conjunction “and” is occasionally not translated at the beginning of sentences because of differences in style between ancient and modern writing. Punctuation is a relatively modern invention, and ancient writers often linked most of their sentences with “and” or other connectives.

Alternate Readings: In addition to the more literal renderings, notations have been made to include readings of variant manuscripts, explanatory equivalents of the text, and alternate translations that may bring out a play on words difficult to maintain in the text. These notations have been used specifically to assist the reader in comprehending the terms used by the original author.

THE COMMITMENTS OF THE LEGACY STANDARD BIBLE

The Legacy Standard Bible aspires to be a legacy preserved – to uphold the work and tradition that is found in translations from the KJV, ASV, to NASB.

The Legacy Standard Bible aspires to be a legacy performed – to advance the commitments of past translations by bringing forth features of the original text relative to accuracy and consistency.

The Legacy Standard Bible aspires to be a legacy passed on – to equip generations to study Scripture and continue the philosophy of being a window.
~ The Lockman Foundation

For additional information we recommend you contact The Lockman Foundation -- https://www.lockman.org/legacy-standard-bible-l

AMOS (767-753 BC)

Acrostic: Judgment on Judah’s neighbors (ch. 1)
Ungodliness of Israel explained (ch. 2)
Destruction of Israel coming (ch. 3)
God’s reproofs went unnoticed (ch. 4)
Making plea for repentance (ch. 5)
Elimination of unrighteous wealthy (ch. 6)
Nature of God’s judgment (ch. 7)
Time ripe for judgment (ch. 8)
Scattering & Israel’s restoration (ch. 9)

[READ Amos 1:1]

1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders from Tekoa, which he beheld in visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

I. WHO WROTE THE BOOK?

The prophet Amos lived among a group of shepherds in Tekoa, a small town approximately ten miles south of Jerusalem.

The name Amos comes from a Hebrew word that means “burden” or “to carry.” This fits him well, because he carried the heavy message of God’s judgment.

Amos made clear in his writings that he did not come from a family of prophets, nor did he even consider himself one.

[READ Amos 7:14-15]
14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. 15 But Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.’

So, we learn Amos was “a grower of sycamore figs” as well as a shepherd. Amos painted vivid pictures with his words. He described roaring lions, locusts, plumb lines, and baskets of ripe fruit.

[READ Amos 8:1-2]
1 Thus Lord Yahweh showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”

These images helped the people understand how serious the message was.

Amos’s connection to the simple life of the people made its way into the center of his prophecies, as he showed a heart for the oppressed and the voiceless in the world.

II. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?

Going back to chapter 1, we learn that Amos prophesied “two years before the earthquake.”

[READ Amos 1:1]
1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders from Tekoa, which he beheld in visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

What earthquake was that? Let’s turn to another prophet for a moment to see what we can learn.

[READ Zech. 14:5]
5 And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; indeed, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then Yahweh, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of a massive eighth-century BC earthquake at sites throughout Israel and Jordan. Based on the extent of the destruction, some researchers estimate that the quake may have reached a magnitude of 7.5 to 8.0 on the Richter scale. Its impact was so significant that, as we’ve just read, Zechariah later refers to it, even though he wrote nearly 300 years after the event. He uses it as a foreshadowing of Jesus’ second coming when our Lord returns to earth and the battle of Armageddon begins.

Amos’ ministry took place just before the halfway point of the 8th century BC, during the reigns of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam II, king of Israel. Their reigns overlapped for fifteen years, from 767 BC to 753 BC.

Though he came from the southern kingdom of Judah, Amos delivered his prophecy against the northern kingdom of Israel and the surrounding nations, leading to some resistance from the prideful Israelites.

[READ Amos 7:12-13]
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and there do your prophesying! 13 But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal house.”

Jeroboam’s reign had been quite profitable for the northern kingdom, at least in a material sense. However, the moral decay that also occurred at that time counteracted any positives from the material growth.

III. WHY IS AMOS SO IMPORTANT?

Amos was fed up. While most of the prophets interspersed redemption and restoration in their prophecies against Israel and Judah, Amos devoted only the final five verses of his prophecy for such consolation. Prior to that, God’s word through Amos was directed against the privileged people of Israel, a people who had no love for their neighbors, who took advantage of others, and who only looked out for their own concerns.

More than almost any other book of Scripture, the book of Amos holds God’s people accountable for their ill-treatment of others. He repeatedly points out the failure of the people to fully embrace God’s idea of justice. They were selling off needy people for goods, taking advantage of the helpless, oppressing the poor, and the men were using women immorally. Let’s look as several examples from God’s Word that make this clear.

[READ Amos 2:6-8]
6  Thus says Yahweh,
For three transgressions of Israel and for four
I will not turn back its punishment
Because they sell the righteous for money
And the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 These who pant after the very dust of the earth on the head of the poor
Also turn aside the way of the humble;
And a man and his father go to the same young woman
In order to profane My holy name.
8 On garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar,
And in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

[READ Amos 3:10]
10  “But they do not know how to do what is right,” declares Yahweh, “these who hoard up violence and devastation in their citadels.”

[READ Amos 4:1]
4  Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria,
Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,
Who say to their husbands, “Bring now, that we may drink!”

[READ Amos 5:11-12]
11 Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor
And take a tribute of grain from them,
Though you have built houses of cut stone,
Yet you will not live in them;
You have planted desirable vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.
12 For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are mighty,
You who distress the righteous and take bribes
And turn aside the needy in the gate.

[READ Amos 8:4-6]
4  Hear this, you who trample the needy, even to cause the humble of the land to cease, 5 saying,
“When will the new moon pass over,
So that we may sell grain,
And the sabbath, that we may open the wheat market,
To make the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger,
And to cheat with a deceptive balance,
6  So as to buy the poor for money
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”

Drunk on their own economic success and intent on strengthening their financial position, the people had lost the concept of caring for one another; Amos rebuked them because he saw in that lifestyle evidence that Israel had forgotten God.

IV. WHAT’S THE BIG PICTURE?

With the people of Israel in the north enjoying an almost unparalleled time of success, God decided to call a quiet shepherd and farmer to travel from his home in the less sinful south and carry a message of judgment to the Israelites. The people in the north used Amos’ status as a foreigner as an excuse to ignore his message of judgment for a multiplicity of sins.

However, while their outer lives gleamed with the rays of success, their inner lives sank into a pit of moral decay. Rather than seeking out opportunities to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly, they embraced their arrogance, idolatry, self-righteousness, and materialism. Amos communicated God’s utter disdain for the hypocritical lives of His people.

[READ Amos 5:21–24]
21 “I hate, I reject your feasts,
Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings.
23 Remove from Me the tumult of your songs;
I will not even listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like waters
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

The final theme in these chapters is that because Israel and its king have rejected Amos and other prophets, God will send a great and terrible act of judgment, on Israel. The book closes with a series of visions Amos experienced, which are symbolic depictions of the coming Day of the Lord. He sees Israel devastated by a locust swarm and a scorching fire before being swallowed up like overripe fruit. In the final vision, Amos sees God violently striking at the pillars of Israel’s great idol temple at Bethel, and the whole building comes crumbling down. It’s an image of God’s justice on the leaders and false gods of Israel. Their end had come.

More specifically, he predicts that a powerful nation will come to conquer and destroy their cities and take them away into exile. We know that his prediction came true some 40 years later. The Assyrian empire swooped in and did exactly as Amos said they would (2 Kings 17).

Amos’ prophecy concludes with only a brief glimpse of restoration, and even that is really directed to Judah, rather than the northern kingdom of Israel.

[READ Amos 9:11-15]
11  “In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David
And wall up its breaches;
I will also raise up its ruins
And rebuild it as in the ancient days,
12  That they may possess the remnant of Edom
And all the nations who are called by My name,”
Declares Yahweh who does this.
13 “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh,
“When the plowman will overtake the reaper
And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
When the mountains will drip sweet wine
And all the hills will melt.
14  Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel,
And they will rebuild the desolated cities and live in them;
They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine
And make gardens and eat their fruit.
15  I will also plant them on their land,
And they will not again be uprooted from their land
Which I have given them,”
Says Yahweh your God.

Verse 15, actually foreshadows the fulfillment of a glorious promise in Israel’s future. The ultimate fulfillment of God’s land promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:7; 15:7; 17:8) will occur during Christ’s millennial reign on earth (see Joel 2:26-27). Revelation 20 describes the 1,000-year reign of Christ on the earth, as a time of peace and joy under the perfect government of the Savior Himself. At that time, believing Israel and the Gentile Christians will live and reign with Christ.

V. HOW DO I APPLY THIS?

Injustice permeates our world, yet as Christians we often turn a blind eye to the suffering of others for “more important” work like praying, preaching, and teaching. But the book of Amos reminds us that those works, while unquestionably central to a believer’s life, ring hollow when we don’t love and serve others in our own lives. Do you find yourself falling into that trap at times -- prioritizing prayer over service?

The prophecy of Amos should simplify the choices in our lives. Instead of choosing between prayer and service, the book of Amos teaches us that both are essential. God has called Christians not only to be in relationship with Him, but also to be in relationships with others.  For those Christians whose tendency has been to focus more on the invisible God than on His visible creation, Amos pulls us back toward the center, where both the physical and the spiritual needs of people matter in God’s scheme of justice.

Trivia Question: Amos is quoted in the NT. Who quoted him and where? Answer: James, Acts 15:16 (Amos 9:11)

AMOS

Minor Prophets (Lesson 4) - Nov. 5, 2025 - Supplemental Study

TEXT: Selected Scriptures (NASB)

Judgment on Judah’s neighbors (ch. 1)
Ungodliness of Israel explained (ch. 2)
Destruction of Israel coming (ch. 3)
God’s reproofs went unnoticed (ch. 4)
Making plea for repentance (ch. 5)
Elimination of unrighteous wealthy (ch. 6)
Nature of God’s judgment (ch. 7)
Time ripe for judgment (ch. 8)
Scattering & Israel’s restoration (ch. 9)

Amos 1:1

I. WHO WROTE THE BOOK?

The prophet Amos lived among a group of shepherds in Tekoa, a small town approximately ten miles south of Jerusalem. The name Amos comes from a Hebrew word that means “burden” or “to carry.” This fits him well, because he carried the heavy message of God’s judgment. Amos made clear in his writings that he did not come from a family of prophets, nor did he even consider himself one.

Amos 7:14-15

So, we learn Amos was “a grower of sycamore figs” as well as a shepherd. Amos painted vivid pictures with his words. He described roaring lions, locusts, plumb lines, and baskets of ripe fruit.

Amos 8:1-2

II. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?

Going back to Amos 1:1, we learn that he prophesied “two years before the earthquake.” What earthquake was that?

Zechariah 14:5

The impact of this earthquake was so significant that, as we’ve just read, Zechariah later refers to it, even though he wrote nearly 300 years after the event. He uses it as a foreshadowing of Jesus’ second coming when our Lord returns to earth and the battle of Armageddon begins.

Amos’ ministry took place just before the halfway point of the 8th century BC, during the reigns of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam II, king of Israel. Their reigns overlapped for fifteen years, from 767 BC to 753 BC. Though he came from the southern kingdom of Judah, Amos delivered his prophecy against the northern kingdom of Israel and the surrounding nations, leading to some resistance from the prideful Israelites.

Amos 7:12-13

Jeroboam’s reign had been quite profitable for the northern kingdom, at least in a material sense. However, the moral decay that also occurred at that time counteracted any positives from the material growth.

III. WHY IS AMOS SO IMPORTANT?

While most of the prophets interspersed redemption and restoration in their prophecies against Israel and Judah, Amos devoted only the final five verses of his prophecy for such consolation.

Amos holds God’s people accountable for their ill-treatment of others. He repeatedly points out the failure of the people to fully embrace God’s idea of justice. They were selling off needy people for goods, taking advantage of the helpless, oppressing the poor, and the men were using women immorally.

Amos 2:6-8, 3:10, 4:1, 5:11-12, 8:4-6

Drunk on their own economic success and intent on strengthening their financial position, the people had lost the concept of caring for one another; Amos rebuked them because he saw in that lifestyle evidence that Israel had forgotten God.

IV. WHAT’S THE BIG PICTURE?

With the people of Israel in the north enjoying an almost unparalleled time of success, God decided to call a quiet shepherd and farmer to travel from his home in the less sinful south and carry a message of judgment to the Israelites. The people in the north used Amos’ status as a foreigner as an excuse to ignore his message of judgment for a multiplicity of sins.

Amos 5:21-24

The final theme in these chapters is that because Israel and its king have rejected Amos and other prophets, God will send a great and terrible act of judgment, on Israel. The book closes with a series of visions Amos experienced, which are symbolic depictions of the coming Day of the Lord.

More specifically, he predicts that a powerful nation will come to conquer and destroy their cities and take them away into exile. We know that his prediction came true some 40 years later. The Assyrian empire swooped in and did exactly as Amos said they would (2 Kings 17).

Amos’ prophecy concludes with only a brief glimpse of restoration, and even that is really directed to Judah, rather than the northern kingdom of Israel.

Amos 9:11-15

Verse 15, actually foreshadows the fulfillment of a glorious promise in Israel’s future. The ultimate fulfillment of God’s land promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:7; 15:7; 17:8) will occur during Christ’s millennial reign on earth (see Joel 2:26-27). Revelation 20 describes the 1,000-year reign of Christ on the earth, as a time of peace and joy under the perfect government of the Savior Himself. At that time, believing Israel and the Gentile Christians will live and reign with Christ.

V. HOW DO I APPLY THIS?

Injustice permeates our world, yet as Christians we often turn a blind eye to the suffering of others for “more important” work like praying, preaching, and teaching. But the book of Amos reminds us that those works, while unquestionably central to a believer’s life, ring hollow when we don’t love and serve others in our own lives. Do you find yourself falling into that trap at times -- prioritizing prayer over service?

The prophecy of Amos should simplify the choices in our lives. Instead of choosing between prayer and service, the book of Amos teaches us that both are essential. God has called Christians not only to be in relationship with Him, but also to be in relationships with others. For those Christians whose tendency has been to focus more on the invisible God than on His visible creation, Amos pulls us back toward the center, where both the physical and the spiritual needs of people matter in God’s scheme of justice.

NAHUM (663-654 BC)

Acrostic:
God’s character and judgment (ch. 1)
Overthrow of Nineveh imminent (ch. 2)
Details of Nineveh’s judgment (ch. 3)

I. WHO WROTE THE BOOK?

The only mention in Scripture of Nahum the Elkoshite occurs in the first verse of his own book. Scholars have proposed a number of theories about Nahum’s hometown, though there is no conclusive evidence. One theory is that it refers to the city later called Capernaum (which literally means “the village of Nahum”) on the northern end of the Sea of Galilee.

Nahum’s prophecy against the city of Nineveh would have been significant for the people of Judah, who would have needed encouragement in the face of the terrifying power of the Assyrian Empire.

II. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?

The book of Nahum was written after the destruction of the Egyptian city of Thebes (No-amon).

[READ Nah. 3:8, 10]

8  Are you better than No-amon,
Which sits along the waters of the Nile,
With water surrounding her,
Whose rampart was the sea,
Whose wall consisted of the sea?
10 Yet she became an exile;
She went into captivity;
Also her infants were dashed to pieces
At the head of every street;
They cast lots for her honorable men,
And all her great men were bound with fetters.

This event took place in 663 BC when it was conquered by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. Therefore, Nineveh was still standing at that time. There is some evidence that Nahum wrote shortly after the destruction of Thebes, because Judah was still under Assyrian control during the time of his writing. This was the situation during the reign of Manasseh (697-642 BC) but not during the reign of Josiah (640-609 BC). In addition, the city of Thebes returned to power in 654 BC, meaning that Nahum likely wrote before then. So, Nahum can be dated between 663 and 654 BC. Therefore, Nineveh must have been destroyed after 654 BC but no later than 612, when the Medes are mentioned as the conquerors of the city.

[READ Nah. 1:1, 3:11-15]

1 The oracle of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite ….
11 You too will become drunk;
You will be hidden.
You too will search for a strong defense from the enemy.
12 All your fortifications are fig trees with ripe fruit --
When shaken, they fall into the eater’s mouth.
13 Behold, your people are women in your midst!
The gates of your land are opened wide to your enemies;
Fire consumes your gate bars.
14 Draw for yourself water for the siege!
Strengthen your fortifications!
Go into the clay and tread the mortar!
Take hold of the brick mold!
15 There, fire will consume you;
The sword will cut you down;
It will consume you as the locust does.

But when, during this more than fifty-year period, did Nahum preach? The Assyrian Empire, which had its capital at Nineveh, was at its most powerful in the first half of this period, having a stranglehold on Judah during King Manasseh’s reign.

[READ 2 Chron. 33:10-13]

10 Then Yahweh spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11 Therefore Yahweh brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains, and took him to Babylon. 12 And when he was in distress, he entreated Yahweh his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 Then he prayed to Him, and He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and returned him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that Yahweh was God.

Nahum preached during the reign of King Manasseh, perhaps the most wicked and evil king in Judah’s long history, a man who needed the pain of his own experience to teach him the lessons of being a good king. Commentator J. Barton Payne suggests that Manasseh’s great conversion took place late in his reign, around 648 BC, a mere half-dozen years before his death. That means Nahum preached during the darkest period in Judah’s history to that point; a time filled with idolatry of all kinds in a nation that had completely turned its back on God. The Lord’s willingness to send Nahum, whose name means “comfort,” into such a hopeless situation evidences His unrelenting and overwhelming grace.

III. WHY IS NAHUM SO IMPORTANT?

Nahum’s singular focus on the impending judgment of Nineveh offers a continuation of the story that began in Jonah. Sometime around 760 BC, God sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach repentance and hope to the Assyrian people, a message they heard and acted upon, at least for a time. Approximately 150 years later, during the time of Nahum, the Assyrians had returned to their wicked ways, conquering the northern kingdom of Israel and lording their power over Judah in the south.

[READ 2 Kings 17:1-6] 

1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king over Israel in Samaria and reigned nine years. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, only not as the kings of Israel who were before him.  3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria went up against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; therefore, the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.
5 Then the king of Assyria went up against the whole land and he went up to Samaria and besieged it three years.
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and took Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

[READ 2 Kings 18:13] 

13 Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them (see also 18:14–19:37).

Jonah failed to realize what Nahum reminded the people of Judah: God’s justice is always right and always sure. Should He choose to grant mercy for a time, that good gift will not compromise the Lord’s ultimate sense of justice for all in the end.

IV. WHAT’S THE BIG PICTURE?

After allowing approximately two hundred years of powerful Assyrian kings and rulers, God announced through Nahum His plans to judge the city of Nineveh. While the book as a whole clearly shows God’s concern over sin, His willingness to punish those guilty of wickedness, and His power to carry out His desire for judgment, it also contains rays of hope shining through the darkness. Most significant, the people of Judah would have immediately taken hope in the idea that Nineveh, their primary oppressor for generations, would soon come under judgment from God. Also, a small but faithful remnant in an increasingly idolatrous Judah would have been comforted by declarations of God’s slowness to anger …

[READ Nah. 1:3]
3 Yahweh is slow to anger and great in power,
And Yahweh will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.

His goodness and strength …

[READ Nah. 1:7]
7 Yahweh is good,
A strong defense in the day of distress,

… and His restorative power … 

[READ Nah. 2:2]
2 For Yahweh will restore the majesty of Jacob
Like the majesty of Israel,
Even though those who empty them have emptied them to destruction
And ruined their vine branches.

Despite Nineveh’s great power, the city fell just as Nahum had prophesied. It would not be until the 1800s that archaeologists would excavate portions of the ancient city. Nineveh had indeed been “hidden,” as Nahum predicted long ago …

[READ Nah. 3:11]
11 You too will become drunk;
You will be hidden.
You too will search for a strong defense from the enemy.

The fall of Nineveh is an example of how God is at work in history. He won’t allow arrogant or violent empires to endure forever. This is very similar to the message of the book of Daniel. Assyria stands in a long line of violent empires throughout history, and Nineveh’s fate is a memorial to God’s commitment to bring down the arrogant in every age.

Nahum is a gloomy book, but it’s important to see how Nahum’s message addresses the tragic and perpetual cycles of human violence, oppression, and suffering. Human history is filled with tribes and nations elevating themselves and using violence to take what they want, always resulting in massive loss of innocent lives. The book of Nahum, using Assyria and Babylon as examples, says that God is grieved and cares about the death of the innocent and that His goodness and justice compel Him to orchestrate the downfall of oppressive nations. God’s judgment of evil is good news, unless, of course, you happen to be the nation who is doing evil.

V. HOW DO I APPLY THIS?

No doubt we all have felt overwhelmed by the darkness both within ourselves and in our world. Nahum lived in a dark time, a time in which the faithful few must have wondered how long they would have to resist cultural and spiritual compromise.

Have you ever found your will to do what’s right weakening as you became discouraged with what you saw in your life and in the world around you? The prophet Nahum reminds us of God’s active hand, working even in the darkest of times to bring justice and hope throughout the world.

Also, God is patient and slow to anger. He gives every country time to repent of sin and follow Him as Lord. But He is not mocked. Any time a country turns away from Him and rejects righteousness evil results, and God steps in with judgment. This was true for Assyria, and it will be true for any nation today. As Christians it is our duty to stand up for biblical principles and proclaim Christ, for it is only in repentance and the life-changing message of the gospel that any country can find hope.

NAHUM

Minor Prophets (Lesson 3) - Oct. 22, 2025 - Supplemental Study

TEXT: Selected Scriptures (NASB)

God’s character and judgment (ch. 1)
Overthrow of Nineveh imminent (ch. 2)
Details of Nineveh’s judgment (ch. 3)

I. WHO WROTE THE BOOK?

The only mention in Scripture of Nahum the Elkoshite occurs in the first verse of his own book. Scholars have proposed a number of theories about Nahum’s hometown, though there is no conclusive evidence.

II. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?

The book of Nahum was written after the destruction of the Egyptian city of Thebes (No-amon).
Nahum 3:8, 10

There is some evidence that Nahum wrote shortly after the destruction of Thebes, because Judah was still under Assyrian control during the time of his writing.

This was the situation during the reign of Manasseh (697-642 BC) but not during the reign of Josiah (640-609 BC). In addition, the city of Thebes returned to power in 654 BC, meaning that Nahum likely wrote before then. So, Nahum can be dated between 663 and 654 BC.

Therefore, Nineveh must have been destroyed after 654 BC but no later than 612, when the Medes are mentioned as the conquerors of the city.
Nahum 1:1, 3:11-15

When, during this more than fifty-year period, did Nahum preach? The Assyrian Empire, which had its capital at Nineveh, was at its most powerful in the first half of this period, having a stranglehold on Judah during King Manasseh’s reign.

2 Chronicles 33:10-13

Nahum preached during the darkest period in Judah’s history to that point; a time filled with idolatry of all kinds in a nation that had completely turned its back on God. The Lord’s willingness to send Nahum, whose name means “comfort,” into such a hopeless situation evidences His unrelenting and overwhelming grace.

III. WHY IS NAHUM SO IMPORTANT?

Sometime around 760 BC, God sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach repentance and hope to the Assyrian people, a message they heard and acted upon, at least for a time. Approximately 150 years later, during the time of Nahum, the Assyrians had returned to their wicked ways, conquering the northern kingdom of Israel and lording their power over Judah in the south.

2 Kings 17:1-6, 18:13

Jonah failed to realize what Nahum reminded the people of Judah: God’s justice is always right and always sure. Should He choose to grant mercy for a time, that good gift will not compromise the Lord’s ultimate sense of justice for all in the end.

IV. WHAT’S THE BIG PICTURE?

While the book as a whole clearly shows God’s concern over
sin, His willingness to punish those guilty of wickedness, and His power to carry out His desire for judgment, it also contains rays of hope shining through the darkness. Most significant, the people of Judah would have immediately taken hope in the idea that Nineveh, their primary oppressor for generations, would soon come under judgment from God.
Also, a small but faithful remnant in an increasingly idolatrous Judah would have been comforted by declarations of God’s slowness to anger, His goodness and strength, and His restorative power.

Nahum 1:3, 7, 2:2

Despite Nineveh’s great power, the city fell just as Nahum had prophesied. It would not be until the 1800s that archaeologists would excavate portions of the ancient city. Nineveh had indeed been “hidden,” as Nahum predicted long ago …

Nahum 3:11

The fall of Nineveh is an example of how God is at work in history. He won’t allow arrogant or violent empires to endure forever.

V. HOW DO I APPLY THIS?

Nahum lived in a dark time, a time in which the faithful few must have wondered how long they would have to resist cultural and spiritual compromise.

Nahum reminds us of God’s active hand, working even in the darkest of times to bring justice and hope throughout the world.

Also, God is patient and slow to anger. He gives every country time to repent of sin and follow Him as Lord. But He is not mocked.

As Christians it is our duty to stand up for biblical principles and proclaim Christ, for it is only in repentance and the life-changing message of the gospel that any country can find hope.

JONAH (780-750 BC)

Acrostic:

Flight from God’s presence (ch. 1)
Intercession from within fish (ch. 2)
Sackcloth worn in Nineveh (ch. 3)
Human failure of Jonah (ch. 4)

Introduction: The account of Jonah’s unusual experience is one of the more familiar stories of the OT, no doubt written by Jonah himself. He described himself simply as the son of Amittai from Gath-Hepher (2 Ki. 14:25) located in the territory allotted to the tribe of Zebulun (Josh. 19:10,13). As a side bar, this means that Jonah’s hometown was north of Nazareth in Galilee. This means the Pharisees were wrong concerning their derogatory statement about Jesus recorded in John 7!

[READ Jn. 7:52]

52 They answered him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.”

Jonah had received a command from God to go to Nineveh and preach a message of warning and repentance toward to the true God. But Jonah attempted to flee from the Lord only to be deterred by a great storm on the ship he boarded bound for Tarshish (Spain). After being rescued by the big “fish” and cast onto the shore, Jonah quickly made his way to Nineveh and preached his message, only to be disappointed by her amazing repentance. If Jonah’s ministry occurred about 150 years before the fall of Nineveh (612 BC), the book recorded a unique situation where God spared and Gentile city for more than a century because of her immediate repentance in response to the preaching of Jonah.

The 48 verses of this small book contain 14 questions, 11 of which are directed at Jonah, and by extension, to the reader as well. So, for our purposes in this study, we’re going to cover the key topics with questions.

I. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?

The first half of the eighth century BC was a prosperous time in the northern kingdom of Israel. Before the reign of Jeroboam II, Israel’s northern neighbor – Damascus – had steadily encroached on Israel’s borders. When Assyria subdued Damascus (797 BC), Israel’s borders were no longer pressured, and the nations reestablished its territory nearly to the extent realized under David and Solomon. At the same time, Assyria’s infighting diminished its appetite for conquering smaller nations like Israel, reaffirming the Israelites’ sense that they were God’s chosen people (Deut. 32:10; Zech. 2:8). Yet before long, Israel had once again forgotten God.

During this time (780-760 BC), Amos and Hosea warned that Israel was testing God’s patience. God had a message for Assyria as well – offering grace to the people of Nineveh (Assyria’s capital city) and promising judgment if they refused it.

II. WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE WERE THE ASSYRIANS?

Assyria was on the rise at this time in history and many felt it would only be a matter of time before her blood-covered boots came marching toward the Promised Land. The cruelty of the Assyrian armies was unparalleled in ancient history. Here are a few examples.

Some of the victims were held down while one of the band of torturers, who are portrayed upon the monuments gloating fiendishly over their fear work, inserts his hand into the victim’s mouth, grips his tongue, and wrenches it out by the roots. In another spot, pegs are driven into the ground. To these, another victim’s writs are fixed with cords. His ankles are made fast in like manner, and the man is stretched out, unable to move a muscle. The executioner then begins at the accustomed spot making an incision with a sharp knife. The skin is raised inch by inch till the man is flayed alive. These skins are then stretched out upon the city walls, or otherwise disposed of so as to terrify the people and leave behind long-enduring impressions of Assyrian vengeance. For others, long, sharp poles are prepared. The sufferer, taken like all the rest from the leading men of the city, is laid down; the sharpened end of the pole is driven in through the lower part of the chest; the pole is then raised, bearing the writhing victim aloft; it is planted in the hole dug for it, and the man is left to die. Pyramids of human heads marked the path of the conqueror; boys and girls were burnt alive or reserved for a worse fate; men were impaled, flayed alive, blinded, or had their hands and feet chopped off, or their ears and noses, while the women and children were carried away into slavery, the captured city plundered and reduced to ashes, and the trees in its neighborhood cut down.

Archaeology has shown that ancient Nineveh was indeed a “great” city in terms of its size and scope. It housed anywhere from 120,000 inhabitants to nearly 600,000 and was perhaps the world’s largest metropolis in Jonah’s time.

When the French archaeologist Austen Henry Layard unearthed the city of Nineveh, he found the city’s hub to be on mile in width and two and a half miles in length. Its metropolitan area, however, stretched up and down the Tigris River for more than 20 miles. The outward perimeter of the city (which included other suburbs) was determined to be more than 60 miles in length. The 60-mile wall around the city was estimated to be 100 feet tall. In addition to this wall, there were 1,500 towers that were 200 feet in height. No wonder it took Jonah 3 days to cover the city! (Jonah 3:3).

The Ninevites may have been guilty of much cruelty and injustice even among their own people. That their king decreed they each should “turn from … the violence that is in his hands” when they heard the prophetic message (Jonah 3:8) may refer to repenting from violent crime within Nineveh.

III. WHAT ABOUT THAT BIG FISH?
[READ Jonah 1:17]

17 And Yahweh appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

The Hebrew term “fish” is not used in a modern, biological sense here. Rather, it refers to a large marine creature – and there are certainly known monsters of the deep large enough to swallow a man whole. In her booklet The Bible Today, Grace Kellogg identifies at least two of them: the blue while and the whale shark. Neither of these creatures has any teeth. They feed by opening their enormous mouths, dropping their lower jaws, and moving through the water at high speed, straining food as they go.

A 100-ft. blue whale was recorded off Cape Cod in the 1930s. Its mouth was 10 to 12 feet wide – so big it could easily have swallowed a horse. These whales have four to six compartments in their stomachs, any one of which could house a group of full-grown men. The nasal cavity of this whale contains an enormous air storage chamber as well, often measuring seven feet high, seven feet wise, and 14 feet long. If this creature had an unwelcome guest on board that caused a headache, the while would swim to the nearest land and discharge the offender, just as the great fish did with Jonah.

Interesting as these facts are, we do not need marine biology to prove that a sovereign God can direct the elements of His creation to accomplish His purposes. If we do not believe that God could and did prepare a giant fist to disciple a prophet, then we will have through believing that a dead man names Jesus of Nazareth came back to life.

IV. DOES GOD CHANGE HIS MIND?

The doctrine of immutability says that God is unchanging.

[READ Ps. 102:26-27]

26 Even they will perish, but You will remain;
And all of them will wear out like a garment;
Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.
27 But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.

Yet, there are three OT passages which state that God changed His mind about something He did or was going to do. Let’s take a quick look at them.

[READ Gen. 6:7]

7 And Yahweh said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I regret that I have made them.”

[READ 1 Sam. 15:10-11]

10 Then the word of Yahweh came to Samuel, saying, 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not established My words.”

[READ Jonah 3:10]

10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, so God relented concerning the evil which He had spoken He would bring upon them. And He did not bring it upon them.

From our perspective, it certainly appears that God changed His mind, but when we see God’s response from His perspective, we find the consistency that we expect of Him and His Word. Here’s how we can understand these seeming contradictions:

* God’s change is an accommodation. When God uses language such as, “I am sorry I have made man.” He is doing it as an accommodation to use, stooping to communicate in the only terms we understand: the language of humanity.

* God’s change is an affirmation. God’s “repentance” is not a change of His will; it is His willingness to allow us to change. While it is true that God knows everything in advance, it is a mistake to infer from this that He is incapable of emotion or reaction to His creatures. The Scriptures show that He is a God who cares deeply for those made in His image, and He acts according to that love.

* God’s change is an application. God’s immutability does not mean He is immobile. He is consistently pursuing a righteous course, and thus He adapts His response to people’s moral changes. God’s unchanging holiness requires that His treatment of the wicked will differ from that of the righteous. When the righteous turn wicked – or the wicked turn righteous – the way He treats them must change. God must deal with each of us according to the way we are currently living – and particularly according to the ways we change.

V. WHAT PROPHECY IS THERE IN JONAH?

The book of Jonah, which is essentially a narrative, contains only a few prophecies except those immediately fulfilled. When the storm engulfed the ship, Jonah rightly prophesied that if they threw him overboard, the storm would cease.

[READ Jonah 1:12]

12 So he said to them, “Lift me up and hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will become quiet for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.”

After hesitating for a while, finally the sailors threw Jonah overboard, certainly thinking they had killed him. The sea immediately became calm and was proof to the men that Jonah’s God was the real God (vv. 15-16).

The prophecy that Nineveh would be destroyed in 40 days was conditional. After her repentance, her judgment was deferred for 150 years, much to Jonah’s displeasure. The narrative gives remarkable insight into Israel’s lack of ministry to the Gentile world.

The principal prophetic significance of Jonah, however, is that fact that Jesus Himself referred to Jonah and his experience as a type of His own death and resurrection as stated in Matthew 12.

[READ Mt. 12:38-41]

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered and said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation eagerly seeks for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

In this statement Jesus not only affirmed the historicity of Jonah himself, but also the historicity of his strange experience of being swallowed by the great fish and eventually delivered safely to shore. The question has also been raised as to whether the three days and three nights literally meant exactly 72 hours. Some scholars believe that they may include only parts of three days and that a part of the day was counted as a whole frequently in the Bible.

In connection with the unbelief of the Pharisees and Sadducees who were seeking signs, Jesus stated …
[READ Lk. 11:29-32]

29 Now as the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. 30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Though some have doubted the story of Jonah because it was a truly supernatural event, it is not any stranger than the many other supernatural acts of God. The events of Jonah must be taken as historical and their application prophetically by Christ is confirmation of the veracity and inspiration of the book of Jonah. The possibility of a great fish swallowing a man and later that man being rescued alive is not without historical precedents. The major factor, however, of confirmation is the word of Jesus Christ Himself that the story of Jonah is true, and illustrates the supernatural character of His own death and resurrection.

JONAH

Minor Prophets (Lesson 2) - Oct. 1, 2025 - Supplemental Study

TEXT: Selected Scriptures (NASB)

Flight from God’s presence (ch. 1)
Intercession from within fish (ch. 2)
Sackcloth warn in Nineveh (ch. 3)
Human failure of Jonah (ch. 4)

INTRODUCTION: The account of Jonah’s unusual experience is one of the more familiar stories of the OT, no doubt written by Jonah himself. He described himself simply as the son of Amittai from Gath-Hepher (2 Ki. 14:25) located in the territory allotted to the tribe of Zebulun (Josh. 19:10,13).

John 7:52

I. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?

The first half of the eighth century BC was a prosperous time in the northern kingdom of Israel. Before the reign of Jeroboam II, Israel’s northern neighbor – Damascus – had steadily encroached on Israel’s borders. When Assyria subdued Damascus (797 BC), Israel’s borders were no longer pressured, and the nations reestablished its territory nearly to the extent realized under David and Solomon. Yet before long, Israel had once again forgotten God.

II. WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE WERE THE ASSYRIANS?

Assyria was on the rise at this time in history and many felt it would only be a matter of time before her blood-covered boots came marching toward the Promised Land. The cruelty of the Assyrian armies was unparalleled in ancient history.

Jonah 1:17

III. WHAT ABOUT THAT BIG FISH?

The Hebrew term “fish” is not used in a modern, biological sense here. Rather, it refers to a large marine creature – and there are certainly known monsters of the deep large enough to swallow a man whole.

IV. DOES GOD CHANGE HIS MIND?

The doctrine of immutability says that God is unchanging.
Psalm 102:26-27

There are three OT passages which state that God changed His mind about something He did or was going to do.

Genesis 6:7; 1 Samuel 15:10-11; & Jonah 3:10

From our perspective, it certainly appears that God changed His mind, but when we see God’s response from His perspective, we find the consistency that we expect of Him and His Word. Here’s how we can understand these seeming contradictions:

* God’s change is an accommodation.

* God’s change is an affirmation.

* God’s change is an application.

V. WHAT PROPHECY IS THERE IN JONAH?

The book of Jonah, which is essentially a narrative, contains only a few prophecies except those immediately fulfilled.

Jonah 1:12

The principal prophetic significance of Jonah, however, is that fact that Jesus Himself referred to Jonah and his experience as a type of His own death and resurrection as stated in Matthew 12.
Matthew 12:38-41 & Luke 11:29-32

The major factor proving the story of Jonah is true is the confirmation of Jesus Christ Himself, and that it illustrates the supernatural character of His own death and resurrection.

LAST THINGS ABOUT THE LAST DAYS

Text: Selected Scriptures (LSB)

Introduction: There are a few things I want share as we prepare to close this chronological study of the Bible, and especially as we wrap up our survey study of the end times over these last couple of lessons. We’ve actually come full-circle back to where we began about three and a half years ago. We started by looking at creation, and ended by considering re-creation. The Bible starts with a new beginning and ends with a new beginning.

There are basically two topics I want us to look into this morning, one comes from our study two-weeks ago – “Jesus Will Return,” the other from this past Sunday’s message on “Waiting for the Consummation.”

I. ESCHATOLOGICAL CERTAINTY

The church has been waiting for Jesus’ return for over 2,000 years. Unfortunately, some, in eager anticipation of that day, have tried to predict the date of Christ’s return. Whether by applying complicated mathematical formulas to numbers in the book of Daniel, search the secret “Bible codes,” or by supposed direct revelation, hundreds over the years have predicted the date of Christ’s return. Here are just a few of them within the recent past.

William Miller, a Baptist preacher from New York, stated in 1842, “My principles in brief, are, that Jesus Christ will come again to this earth, cleanse, purify, and take possession of the same, with all the saints, sometime between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844.” When this did not happen, he then recalculated and determined the correct date to be October 22, 1844. This date became known as “The Great Disappointment” by the Millerites (his followers) after Jesus failed to return. Thousands of them had sold their possessions and were awaiting the coming of Christ.

The Watchtower Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses) have predicted that Christ would come in 1914, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975, and 1994. When He failed to return each time, they reinterpreted these dates to refer to “spiritual” events in heaven.

Hal Lindsey, author of the book The Late, Great Planet Earth, predicted no less than four times a date for the return of Christ: 1981, 1988, 2007, and 2040.

Edgar Whisenant wrote a book entitled 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Is in 1988. When that prediction failed, he “recalculated” and come out with revised predictions of 1989 and then 1993. The year 1988 was a popular choice because it was 40 years, or one “generation,” after the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948.

Harold Camping, an American Christian radio broadcaster, wrote a book called “1994,” in which he predicted Christ’s return – that date came and went. Then famously, a few years later, he predicted that Jesus would return on May 21, 2011. Camping’s followers donated millions of dollars to purchase radio ads and billboards to warn people of the coming apocalypse. When the day passed without the predicted return, Mr. Camping “recalculated” the date to be October 21, 2011, again a failed prediction.

In an interview in 2012, World Bible Society President F. Kenton Beshore stated that Christ’s return will occur sometime between 2018 and 2028.

As you can see, there have been many attempts to set a timetable for Jesus’ coming, and they’ve all been wrong. To some people, the failed predictions are proof that they don’t need to take Jesus’ return seriously – kind of like the boy who cried wolf. I think we should look at what Jesus Himself clearly stated about His return.

[READ Mt. 24:36]

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

We can be sure that Jesus will return, but He has not revealed to us the time when this will happen. So, when you hear people set dates for Jesus’ return, don’t believe them. The only way anyone could correctly predict the exact date of the second coming is if Jesus Himself was wrong.

This is just one of many areas of disagreement among Christians about the end times. But there are areas where all believers agree when it comes to eschatology. Like we were learning week before last, there are some things that all of the different positions can agree on, even if they disagree on the timing. So, let’s examine some Scriptures and try to identify the points of agreement.

Group 1:

[READ Mt. 24:44]
44 For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

[READ Mt. 25:13]
13 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

[READ 2 Pet. 3:10]
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be found out.

[READ Rev. 22:20]
20 He who bears witness to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

These verses inform us that no one knows the time of Christ’s return.

Group 2:

[READ Acts 1:11]
11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

[READ 1 Thes. 4:16]
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

[READ 1 Jn. 3:2]
2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not been manifested as yet what we will be. We know that when He is manifested, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

[READ Rev. 1:7 (DAN. 7:13; ZECH. 12:10)]
7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, AND EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM, EVEN THOSE WHO PIERCED HIM; and all the tribes of the earth will MOURN OVER HIM. Yes, amen.

Jesus will return in bodily form just as He left at the ascension.

Group 3:

[READ Dan. 12:1-3]
1 “Now at that time, Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will stand. And there will be a time of distress such as never happened since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to reproach and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

[READ Acts 24:15]
15 … Having a hope in God, for which these men are waiting, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.
Both believers and unbelievers will experience bodily resurrection.

Group 4:

[READ 2 Cor. 5:9-10]
9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

[READ Rev. 21:1-4]
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things passed away.”

Believers will appear before Christ for judgment and be rewarded with eternal life, living with God for eternity in the new heavens and earth.

Group 5:

[READ Rev. 20:14-15]
14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

[READ Rev. 21:8]
8 But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Unbelievers will face eternal punishment in the lake of fire.

So, regardless of which view you hold, you can find agreement with other Christians that Christ will return in bodily form at a time we do not know (but should be ready for) to judge the living and the dead who will be resurrected in bodily form. Those who are in Christ will inherit eternal life, but unbelievers will be consigned to eternal torment in the lake of fire. The differences in views are really a difference in timing, not substance.

II. CONFUSION ABOUT HEAVEN

There have been many books written by those who supposedly went to heaven and returned to tell us about it. Their stories are full of specific details about what heaven is like, who is there, and what is happening in the celestial realm. But when we compare their claims with Scripture, it becomes clear that they are merely figments of the human imagination, not true visions of heaven as it is described in God’s Word.

There is simply no reason to believe anyone who claims to have gone to heaven and returned.

[READ Jn. 3:13]
13 And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

[READ Jn. 1:18]
18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Four biblical authors had visions of heaven – Isaiah, Ezekiel, Paul, and John. Three of these men later wrote about what they saw – and the details they gave were comparatively sparse (Isa. 6:1-4; Ezek. 1, 10; Rev. 4-6). They all focused properly on God’s glory. They also mentioned their own fear and shame in the presence of such glory. They had nothing to say about the mundane features that are so prominent in modern tales about heaven (things like picnics, games, juvenile attractions, familiar faces, odd conversations, and so on). Paul gave no actual description of heaven but simply said what he saw would be unlawful to utter.

We need to accept the boundaries that God Himself has put on what He has revealed. It is dangerous to listen to anyone who claims to know more about God, heaven, angels, or the afterlife than God Himself has revealed to us in Scripture.

It is, however, right and beneficial for Christians to fix their hearts on heaven.

[READ Col. 3:1-2]
1 Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

[READ 2 Cor. 4:18]
18 … While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

[READ Phil. 3:20-21]
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by His working through which He is able to even subject all things to Himself.

Such a perspective is the essence of true faith, according to Hebrews 11. Those with an authentic, biblical faith acknowledge that they are strangers and exiles on this earth (v. 13), seeking a heavenly homeland (v. 14) and desiring the city God has prepared for them (v. 16), the heavenly Jerusalem.

No matter how much they might obsess over what heaven is like, people who fill their heads with fantastic or delusional ideas from others’ near-death experiences have not truly set their minds on things above. Since the inerrant biblical truth God has given us is the only reliable knowledge about heaven we have access to, it is what should grip our hearts and minds, not the dreams and speculation of human minds.

III. WHAT WE’VE HEARD FROM THE WORD

We are called in Scripture to set our minds on things above (Col. 3:1-4), and the saints in Hebrews 11 are commended for looking forward to the heavenly city rather than valuing the things here on earth. Knowing what Scripture teaches about eternal life should motivate us to serve and love others here on the earth, and encourage us to share the gospel so that there will be a new earth filled with people worshiping and serving the Lamb who is worthy to be praised forever and ever.