It is an obvious fact that when a Christian dies and goes to heaven he is completely delivered from the power of sin. It is manifestly impossible that sin can have any power or authority over a dead man. But it is not so readily seen that the believer, at the present time, is as […]
We know how difficult it is to see things as they really are. Ophthamologists tell us that our eyes actually see everything upside down. Our brain then turns the information rightside up. And what we call a blue shirt is really everything but blue. Every other color is absorbed; blue is “rejected,” or reflected from […]
It is possible that this generation will see the rapture of the Church, that we will be those unique members of the Body that “remain unto the coming of the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:15). It would give us a connection to our brothers and sisters in Christ who lived in the first century. As they […]
Anyone reading Church histories, especially those covering the Middle Ages, will doubtless meet the Waldensians, the Lollards, and the Anabaptists. But who were they? THE WALDENSIANS In 1160, Peter Waldo (?-1217), a wealthy young banker, was stunned by the death of a guest at one of his banquets. Peter had also been impressed by the […]
Two friends of mine, Gentile believers in the Lord Jesus living in Israel, shared the excitement of the impending birth of their firstborn. I inquired as to the due date of the child. The proud father-to-be replied, “The doctor said the child is due December 25.” I lamented, “The poor child will only receive one […]
Many of us cringe if someone starts talking about being loyal to tradition. We think of formal churches with their ornate ritual and Gothic architecture, the priestly garb of their ministers, and the lack of spontaneity in their services. But how does Scripture use the term? The word “tradition” is a translation in the New […]
“The first century following the death of the Apostles produced few Christian writers, few men of learning or note. For the most part, the Christians of those days were concerned about living Christianity and they found in the Scriptures all that was necessary to their salvation and edification.”1 However, during the second and third centuries, […]
When Christians hear “Grand Rapids,” they think Zondervan or Radio Bible Class or Children’s Bible Hour. But where was the first Zondervan book typeset? And where did M. R. DeHaan bring his early manuscripts to be checked before airing them? Who first produced a Bible course for The Wordless Book in Arabic? The Reason Why […]
No period in Church history…presents a darker picture than Christian Europe at the close of the tenth century. The degradation of the Papacy, the corrupt state of the Church within, and the number and power of her enemies without, threatened her complete overthrow. Besides the Muslims in the East, and the pagan Northmen, a new […]