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His-Story Backgrounds

Here are a series of articles on Biblical backgrounds, culture, theological concepts, and other information that may be helpful for understanding the different books of the Bible as you read. Normally only the summary of the article is shown below. Click on the Title of the article to read the entire article.



The things that are - the Church Age

March 17, 2011 by Tom Brunson

The second division of Revelation presents "the things that are." In this section, Christ the Judge, who is over the Church (and therefore the churches, or local assemblies), sends letters to seven specific churches in Asia, evaluating them. We tend to be surprised to learn that "the things that are," are disappointing...

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Things you have seen - an introduction to Revelation

March 16, 2011 by Tom Brunson

The tone of Revelation is so different from the rest of the New Testament that it took the early Church some years of debate to agree that it was inspired Scripture. Eventually it was agreed that it indeed was Scripture, and is not simply "another" book, but is a very necessary book to give the Church a proper view of God. Recall that the greatest thrust of the previous Epistles is to both correct false doctrine and to warn against false teachers. The most common warning concerns either a return to Law or to the adding of some "works" to the Gospel as necessary for Christians to really be righteous...

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What saves, Faith or Believing?

February 7, 2011 by Tom Brunson

Now that we have read through the Gospels, some interesting questions come up. I was recently asked, "What is the difference between ‘faith' and ‘believe' as they are used in the Gospels?" This came up because the Gospel of John never uses the word "faith" but states in 20:31, "but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."...

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The Kingdom of Which World?

February 5, 2011 by Tom Brunson

In John 18 Jesus tells Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world (lit. ‘from here'). If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." Some will use this verse to claim that Jesus meant his Kingdom was really a "spiritual kingdom." However, that is not what other Scriptures define, for the Kingdom was to be a literal kingdom in Israel, with Jesus ruling Judah and Israel - a real, geo-political kingdom...

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Doing the Works of God

February 4, 2011 by Tom Brunson

We often hear the Mosaic Law described as a way that Israel (as a nation) could live in a way pleasing to God. Some then extrapolate and say that if it was how they should live, then it is also the rule for our lives. Then, however, they have to hedge and say the sacrifices required are not for us, the required festivals aren't for us, and eventually they try to redefine the Law as simply the Decalogue or Ten Commandments. Paul, however, notes both that the Law is a whole that can't be divided, and that Gentiles have never been under the Mosaic Law, and still are not when they are in the Church...

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How does God see death?

February 3, 2011 by Tom Brunson

John tells us the story of Lazarus, and we should read it closely. It is common in Christian circles to say that we should see the death of a Believer as a time for rejoicing. True, the person is with the Lord, and not destined for punishment, but should death ever be a time to rejoice? How does God see death? Jesus said "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" - so in Jesus' response to death we see God's response. Jesus could have gone to Bethany in time to prevent Lazarus' death. Yet He intentionally waited two days until Lazarus had died before starting...

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Women and Wells

February 1, 2011 by Tom Brunson

John tells us the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well near Samaria. It has been common for commentators to read the conclusion back into the introductory details of this story, to claim that this woman was obviously shunned as a woman of ill repute. However, those interpretations overlook some important points that say otherwise. One point is the time of day that this took place. The text says it was the 6th hour. In Jewish reckoning the day begins at 6:00, so the 6th hour would be noon. So some say that the women of the city would have drawn their morning's water much earlier, and this woman was...

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Introduction to John

January 30, 2011 by Tom Brunson

According to Church tradition and internal evidence, the Gospel of John was written much later in the Apostolic age than the other three Gospels. John was the last apostle to die, and wrote this around 90 AD, after the deaths of Peter and Paul in the 60s, and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. The tradition says he wrote it from Ephesus. Tradition also says he wrote this Gospel for the Church. However, he states a very evangelical purpose for it: 20:31 says, "but these have been written so that you may believe that...

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The Focus of the Harvest

January 26, 2011 by Tom Brunson

In Luke chapter 10 he records Jesus appointing and sending 70 disciples out to the cities where He would come. His instructions, and summary when they return, can help us have a good perspective on evangelism. He begins saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." He says this, and yet...

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Luke Overview

January 22, 2011 by Tom Brunson

Luke was not an apostle or eyewitness to the events of the Gospels. He was a physician, probably a Greek (Gentile), and travelled with Paul at least on Paul's third missionary journey. The normal criteria for considering a book as part of the New Testament included that it was either written by an Apostle, or written under an Apostle's authority. Luke is considered to be written under Paul's authority, although it records events that Paul also did not witness. Paul cites Luke in 2nd Timothy, calling his writing Scripture...

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