The One Year Bible- December 27th

It is the last Wednesday in 2006 so that means this is the last post for the One Year Bible for this year. Next week will be post #1 for 2007 as we start fresh again. I hope you all will be joining us next year as well. If you were at all like me, seeing the end of the book is both exciting and rewarding. It is no small task to read the entire Bible. There are parts that are not much fun to read and there are parts that are hard to relate to. I think the best part for me is seeing how all the pieces fit together. The story as a whole is so much more powerful than some sections taken out of context. I hope that as you hear scripture being read in worship, you can fit it into its context and fill in some of the blanks in your mind to get the whole picture. I have finished my reading so this post will make reference to some things that you may have not read yet. Don’t worry, you can always come back and read the post again. With that, on to the last study of the year...

The Old Testament
This week we spent time in the book of Zechariah. The book of Zechariah is a post-exilic book, meaning it was written to the people who had returned to Jerusalem at the end of the exile in Babylon. It has many interesting and detailed images written in apocalyptic form. It was nice that we were reading from the book of Revelation at the same time since John seems to have used Zechariah for some of his imagery. This is not to say that John plagiarized his book but he did use other sources to help him make sense of what he was seeing. Many scholars have a difficult time with the prophecies in the book because there is no consensus on the historical context of many of the images. We know that some are obviously Christological (The Branch, illusions of Palm Sunday (9:9), looking on the one whom they have pierced (12:10)) and others must have some context in the day that we are too far removed to see. Eric Hartzell has this to say in his commentary on Zechariah:

Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai. He too had seen the captivity and had returned. With Haggai, he say the people’s apathy toward building God’s house. He joined in the message of Haggai who spoke for God...”Build my house!”

The book of Ezra tells us. “Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them” (Ezra 5:1)

There are many striking pictures in the book of Zechariah. Some of them are surrealistic and in kaleidoscopic colors. Some are stark and strange. Zechariah painted with prophetic brush on the imaginations and consciences of his people. We come upon these paintings today and see that over the years the colors have not faded and the images have not been blurred. He painted hell and heaven; he preached God’s law and his gospel.

Zechariah was also a prophet who spoke words directly describing the coming Savior. In this book we hear words that we recognize from the Passion History of our Lord. Zechariah knew the Savior by inspiration and by prophecy.


The New Testament
It would take me weeks to give you all the info needed to understand the book of Revelation. I took a class that studied the book last Spring and we spent hours trying to figure out what it all meant and to try to make some applications for ourselves. I read the biggest book I ever had for that class (almost 700 pages!!). I learned a lot but I am struggling trying to figure out how I can give you the condensed version. I will give you some highlights from my big commentary authored by Louis Brighton:

The book of Revelation is the last book of the Bible. Whether it was written last or not, the church was led to place it at the end of the canon because she saw in it the completion of God’s revelation. Nothing further would be revealed by God until the second coming of Jesus Christ. Revelation is thus the culmination of the entire story of salvation contained in the Bible. It is the end point of all that is written in both the OT and NT. for it draws all of revelation, both prophetic and apostolic, to its final goal: the exalted reign of Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of lords and the fulfillment of the promise of the new heaven and earth.

As the last book of the Bible and the completion of God’s revelation to his church, it is the lens through which the entire Scripture is to be viewed. Revelation reveals and confirms that Christ was prophetically promised and that his incarnation, death and resurrection happened so that God’s creation could be restored to its original glory and righteousness. Revelation thus points to the final meaning and the final answer to all that is revealed in the Bible. In addition, as the last book, Revelation puts an official stamp on all of God’s revelation, a final confirmation of the divine truth and origin of God’s spoken and written Word. This finality points to the urgency of the last times, in which all things will be brought to an end—an urgency which reminds the Christian to Hold fast to the faith and which encourages the church to complete her mission.

Brighton goes on to say:

The message of Revelation reveals two ongoing phenomena: the terrifying sufferings and horror on earth, and the reign of Jesus Christ as Lord in his heavenly exalted glory. As these two phenomena are described, God’s people on earth are encouraged to cling in hopeful faith to the eternal heavenly glory that beckons them in Christ. In turn they also are strengthened and encouraged for the work of Christ’s mission on earth. The tribulations and sufferings portrayed lead the Christian not to pessimism and despair but to realism. The adversities and troubles prophesied will come to pass, and Christians will suffer because of and through them, as will unbelievers. Such plagues and distresses demonstrate God’s wrath and judgment for the purpose of motivating the godless to repentance. God’s own people also experience these same sufferings and plagues, for the dragon, Satan uses these sufferings and plagues in his attempt to destroy the church and her witness.

With all this being said, the most important thing to get out of a reading of the book of Revelation is that God is in control, his wrath is coming, it is time to repent, God will be victorious and all those who put their trust in him will have the blessings of eternal life. If this is all you got out of the book, then great. The other stuff is there to help make this point clear.

Where We Are Going

A few more days in 2007 sees the reading of the book of Malachi and the finishing of Revelation. Here are the vital stats for Malachi:

PURPOSE: To confront the people with their sins and to restore their relationship with God
AUTHOR: Malachi
TO WHOM WRITTEN: The Jews in Jerusalem and God’s people everywhere
DATE WRITTEN: about 430 B.C.
SETTING: Malachi, Haggai, and Zechariah were post exilic prophets to Judah. Haggai and Zechariah rebuked the people for their failure to rebuild the temple. Malachi confronted them with their neglect of the temple and their false and profane worship.
KEY VERSES: “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace...But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall” (4:1-2)
SPECIAL FEATURES: Malachi’s literary style employs a dramatic use of questions asked by God and his people.

The book of Malachi is another post-exilic book and has many connections with the book of Nehemiah. Kenneth Barker in the book introduction of Malachi in the NIV Study Bible says:

Although the Jews had been allowed to return from exile and rebuild the temple, several discouraging factors brought about a general religious malaise: (1) Their land remained but a small province in the backwaters of the Persian empire, (2) the glorious future announced by the prophets had not yet been realized and, (3) their God had not yet come to his temple with majesty and power to exalt his kingdom in the sight of the nations. Doubting God’s covenant love and no longer trusting his justice, the Jews of the restored community began to loose hope. So their worship degenerated into a listless perpetuation of mere forms, and they no longer took the law seriously.

Malachi rebukes their doubt of God’s love and the faithlessness of both priests and people. To their charge that God is unjust because he has failed to come in judgment to exalt his people, Malachi answers with an announcement and a warning. The Lord they seek will come—but he will come “like a refiners fire”. He will come to judge—but he will judge his people first.


Malachi ends with a warning of the Day of the Lord. As we have discussed before in this blog, this Day is always referring to the Day of Judgment; the day that God will put an end to the wickedness of this world once and for all. It is never a good day for those apart from God, but for those who believe it will be a good day.

Verses to Remember:

Revelation 9:7
Psalm 148:1-2
Revelation 21:6-7

I think the best way to finish out this study is to quote from the last Psalm, number 150:
1 Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.


I cannot say it any better myself. AMEN!!!

The One Year Bible- December 20th

As Christmas fast approaches, so does the completion of our journey through the Bible this year. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. Like I said last week, this is really not an end but a beginning. I hope this year has got you in the habit of daily time in God’s Word. I hope you will continue with this habit whether it is reading the Bible again in this same format or it is another way to study, please keep up the hard work. This is the second to last post for this year. Next week I will wrap up all the readings for the year and then on January 3^rd I will give the first post of 2007 starting the Bible from the beginning again. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. On to today’s study...

Where We Have Been

The Old Testament
The book of Jonah is famous for its fish story and in many respects that is one of the keys to this book. Jonah tried to run from God. His fear got the best of him and he tried to get away from it. I found it interesting that even in the midst of his flight from God, the Lord was honored. Did you catch it when the men on the same boat as Jonah threw him overboard and the storm stopped? “The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him” (Jonah 1:16 NLT).

Micah is one of those gloom and doom books of the latter Old Testament. It has a similar message to many of the other books, i.e. destruction is coming, turn back to God. But there is a huge gem of prophecy in chapter 5, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past” (Micah 5:2 NLT). This is one of the great Christmas prophecies and shows why the Messiah had to be born in the small town of Bethlehem. Just one chapter later we see some great practical advice to the exiles as they live in captivity. “O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you; to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8 NLT).

The prophet Nahum writes some of the most comforting and the most disturbing things in the Old Testament. He reminds us that the Lord is slow to get angry (1:3) and he is our refuge (1:7), but what will happen to those who don’t believe (i.e. Nineveh) will be something awful.

I am glad the book of Habakkuk is not so long because most of it is depressing and bad news. Thank goodness for the last two verses of the book, “yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights” (Habakkuk 3:18-19 NLT) This is the key to the book. It reminds me in a way to the book of Job who said, “I know that my Redeemer Lives!”

The key to the book of Zephaniah is in Chapter 2, “Seek the Lord, all who are humble, and follow his commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly” (Zephaniah 2:3 NLT). Even in the middle of this destruction that will come as a direct result of sin, God still reminds them to do right.

Haggai writes to those who have returned to Jerusalem but were busy building their own houses and not a house for the Lord. Haggai gives the people encouragement to get to work on building the new temple and gives them a reminder that God is with them

The New Testament
I think maybe I need to back up and give you some perspective on the book of Revelation. Without seeing the whole picture, the details will only confuse you. First of all as I have written before, the book of Revelation is in the genre of other apocalyptic books. As the American Heritage Dictionary defines as: Involving or portending widespread devastation or ultimate doom. The book of Revelation looks at this in regards to the end of the world and it looks at it from different angles. As one of my seminary professors said John sees a vision of the end of the world from three points of view. Each point of view is like a different camera angle shooting the same scene. Each camera sees the action and the characters from a different point of view. Each angle provides certain aspects of the story to be emphasized. Some angles completely obscure the action and something may be lost. When John writes about what he sees we must keep in mind that this is not all happening in linear time as we are used to. John sees the complete destruction of the world with the seven seals on the scroll opened by Jesus himself. Then he sees the destruction of the world again with the seven trumpet blasts. This time different parts of the same story are emphasized. A bit later we will see the seven censers of God’s wrath being poured out. This time John will describe the end of the world from another point of view. In the middle of all of this is the cosmic war between Satan and Christ. We must remember that the war was won for us on the cross and the open tomb. We are part of the group that has been sealed in baptism and we have the mark of God on us. Therefore all of this bad stuff will not affect us. We are assured of our place in heaven already. I hope this give some perspective to you as you read. I will spend some more time next week getting into some of the details.

Where We Are Going

The Old Testament
Only two books to go... We will spend this whole week in the book of Zechariah. Here are the vital stats for the book:

PURPOSE: To give hope to God’s people by revealing God’s future deliverance through the Messiah

AUTHOR: Zechariah

TO WHOM WRITTEN: The Jews in Jerusalem who had returned form their captivity in Babylon and to God’s people everywhere

DATE WRITTEN: Chapters 1-8 were written about 520-518 B.C. Chapters 9-14 were written about 480 B.C.

SETTING: The exiles had returned from Babylon to rebuild the temple, but the work had been thwarted and stalled. Haggai and Zechariah confronted the people with their task and encouraged them to complete it.

KEY VERSES: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey...He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and form the River to the ends of the earth." (9:9-10)

SPECIAL FEATURES: The book is the most apocalyptic and Messianic of all the Minor Prophets.

The New Testament
We will continue with the book of Revelation. Try to get the overarching story first before the details. It would take us weeks and weeks to study this book in every detail so for now just try to get the story as a whole and I will try to fill in the important details next week.

Verses To Remember:

Revelation 5:12-13
Micah 5:2
Micah 6:8
Nahum 1:3
Psalm 139:13-16

The One Year Bible- December 13th

We have had some issues with the internet in the office today so let’s just jump right into the study...

Where We Have Been

The Old Testament
We covered a lot of ground this week and we will cover even more next week. Finishing up the book of Hosea we continued to see the symbolism of Gomer and Hosea’s relationship compared to the relationship between the Lord and his people. There are some hard things in this book but the steadfast love of God will persevere no matter what. His love keeps his anger in check, his love want the best for us, and in his love he will provide a way (think Jesus here) for us. We see this when Hosea writes, “No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you, and will not come to destroy” (Hosea 11:9 NLT). What comfort we have in our loving God.

Joel is one of those books that we see a lot about “The Day of the Lord”. We discussed this a few weeks ago. We will see its culmination in the book of Revelation as well. Since God is a just God, at some point, he will bring judgment upon those who have disobeyed. We read about the love of God in Hosea, but in Joel we see his judgment and it is not pretty. This will be a time of suffering and strife. One of the keys to the book comes in chapter two, “Don’t tear your clothing in grief, but tear your hearts instead. Return to the Lord you God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish” (Joel 2:13 NLT). We should have a change of heart before the Day of the Lord. The Lord says that he will be a refuge and a fortress for his people. There is some good news of grace but it is limited to those who belive.

The message of the book of Amos is similar. Amos describes that day like this, “What sorrow awaits you who say, ‘If only the day of the Lord were here!’ You have no idea what you are wishing for. That day will bring darkness, not light. In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion—only to meet a bear. Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house—and he’s bitten by a snake” (Amos 5:18-19 NLT). Not a good day indeed!! There are many warnings in the book to come back to the safety of Yahweh. The book ends with a mention of the Davidic Covenant (9:11) and a message of hope for all those exiled (9:13-15).

The book of Obadiah gives a message to the land of Edom. Those who live in this land are the descendants of Esau and have caused many problems for God’s chosen people for many years. Judgment is again the main theme and the return of the exiles is secondary. Edom, and when reading between the lines, others like Edom, will be destroyed because of how they treated others.

The New Testament
The small letters of 3 John and Jude are tucked away at the back of the New Testament but that does not mean that they are unimportant. Third John gives us some great words on supporting mission work and the people that are engaged in it. The book of Jude has some interesting quotes in it that make it a bit suspect in some circles. We know that the letter is general in nature being that it is written to all but the author quotes from a book called The Assumption of Moses in his letter. This is a bit odd because that book was never granted status as scripture. Because of this many discount the letter in its entirety. This may be a bit unfair because the book still has some very good and doctrinally sound material in it the best being verses 20 and 21, “But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life.”

On to the book of Revelation. This is one of the most intimidating books in the entire Bible. Outside of the Gospels, more has been written on this book than most of the others. I will admit to you that for many years I too have been scared of this book. Lutherans in general shy away from the book because for the most part we don’t sweat the details. We know that the world will end and that God has promised to take care of the believers. I think we have learned our lesson from many of the prophets in their description of “The Day of the Lord”. But just because we don’t worry does not mean we should ignore this book. We need to know what it says especially because other Christian groups spend an inordinate amount of time focusing on this book. We at least must be conversant when someone asks us a question.

The first thing to remember is that the book of Revelation is written as an Apocalypse, meaning it will describe the end of the world in figurative language. We should not get carried away with the literal interpretation of the book. We also need to remember to keep the events of the book within the context that they were intended. John was writing from a first century point of view to people with the same worldview. He was attempting to describe future events so his hearers or readers could understand. We should be weary of placing too much of our own culture and time on the text and make it say things John never intended. Don’t try to read too much into the text!!

As we begin the book we see a vision from John that is remarkably similar to ones we just read in Ezekiel and in Daniel. I think John was trying to use things that he knew to describe amazing things. The four beasts and the halo around God were all seen in the Old Testament as well as the sea of glass. We will get into this more but almost all the time when we see numbers of things, there is meaning there. For example the number three is almost always associated with the triune God, six is the number of evil, seven is the number of perfection and of God, ten signifies completion. Multiples of these numbers give emphasis.

John is told to write letters to the seven Churches in Asia Minor. If seven signifies perfection and God then this letter can be seen as being written to all the Churches in the world; each one giving us a glimpse of ourselves in their strengths and weaknesses.

I don’t want to get you too confused this week so I will let you digest this information first. As you read remember to keep it in context and remember that almost everything is written in symbolic language.

Where We Are Going

We have a lot to get through as we will be reading six books in their entirety this week. Here are the vital stats for Jonah:

PURPOSE: To show the extant of God’s grace—the message of salvation if for all people

AUTHOR: Jonah son of Amittai

TO WHOM WRITTEN: Israel and God’s people everywhere

DATE WRITTEN: Approx. 785-760 B.C.

SETTING: Jonah preceded Amos and ministered under Jeroboam II, Israel’s most powerful king. Assyria was Israel’s great enemy, and Israel was conquered by them in722 B.C. Nineveh’s repentance must have been short lived, for it was destroyed in 612 B.C.

KEY VERSE: “But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?” (4:11)

SPECIAL FEATURES: This book is different from the other prophetic books because it tells the story of the prophet and does not center on his prophecies. In fact, only one verse summarizes his message to the people of Nineveh (3:4). Jonah is a historical narrative. It is also mentioned by Jesus as a picture of his death and resurrection (Matthew 12:38-42)

Here are the vital stats for Micah:

PURPOSE: To warn God’s people that judgment is coming and to offer pardon to all who repent.

AUTHOR: Micah, a native of Moresheth, near Gath, about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem

TO WHOM WRITTEN: The people of Israel (the Northern kingdom) and of Judah (the Southern kingdom)

DATE WRITTEN: Possibly during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (742-687 B.C.)

SETTING: Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea

KEY VERSE: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (6:8)

SPECIAL FEATURES: This is a beautiful example of Hebrew poetry. There are three parts, each beginning with “Hear” or “Listen” and closing with a promise

Here are the vital stats for Nahum:

PURPOSE: To pronounce God’s judgment on Assyria and to comfort Judah with this truth

AUTHOR: Nahum

TO WHOM WRITTEN: The people of Nineveh and Judah

DATE WRITTEN: Sometime during Nahum’s prophetic ministry (663-612 B.C.)

SETTING: The particular prophecy took place after the fall of Thebes in 663 B.C.

KEY VERSE: “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into darkness. Whatever they plot against the Lord he will bring to an end; trouble will not come a second time. (1:7-9)

Here are the vital stats for Habakkuk:

PURPOSE: To show that God is still in control of the world despite the apparent triumph of evil

AUTHOR: Habakkuk

TO WHOM WRITTEN: Judah (the southern kingdom), and God’s people everywhere

DATE WRITTEN: Between 612-588 B.C.

SETTING: Babylon was becoming the dominant world power and Judah would soon feel Babylon’s destructive force.

KEY VERSE: “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” (3:2)

Here are the vital stats for Zephaniah:

PURPOSE: To shake the people of Judah out of their complacency and urge them to return to God

AUTHOR: Zephaniah

TO WHOM WRITTEN: Judah and all nations

DATE WRITTEN: Probably near the end of Zephaniah’s ministry (640-621 B.C.) when King Josiah’s great reforms began.

SETTING: King Josiah of Judah was attempting to reverse the evil trends set by the previous kings. Josiah was able to extend his influence because there wasn’t a strong superpower dominating the world at that time. Zephaniah’s prophecy may have been the motivating factor in Josiah’s reform. Zephaniah was a contemporary of Jeremiah

KEY VERSE: “Seek the Lord , all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.” (2:3)

Last but not least the vital stats for Haggai:

PURPOSE: To call the people to complete the rebuilding of the temple

AUTHOR: Haggai

TO WHOM WRITTEN: The people living in Jerusalem and those who had returned from exile

DATE WRITTEN: 520 B.C

SETTING: The temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed in 586 B.C. Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple in 538 B.C. They began the work but were unable to complete it. Through the ministry of Haggai and Zechariah, the temple was completed.

KEY VERSE: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains in ruins?” (1:4)

SPECIAL FEATURES: Haggai was the first of the post-exilic prophets. The other two were Zechariah and Malachi. The literary style of this book is simple and direct.

Verses To Remember:
Joel 2:28-29
Revelation 2:10
Revelation 3:5

Revelation 4:8b

The One Year Bible- December 6th

Each week as I sit at my desk to write our weekly studies, I pray for all of those who read it and are blessed by being in God’s word. I also think about how, as a group we have never met face to face. I don’t really know how many people are on this journey with me. I would love to get to know the people that have made this study a part of their lives this year. In addition, I would love to use your words to encourage others to join us in 2007. If you would take a few minutes out of your busy day and email me to let me know that you have been a part of this study and also if you would give me some comments on how this study has helped you in your walk of faith. What were some of the things that were difficult? How did you get by when you got behind? What words of encouragement do you have for those who are thinking of reading through the Bible? I greatly appreciate all of your time. Please send your comments to smoorman@bethanylutheran.org, thank you so much!!! On to today’s study...

Where We Have Been

The Old Testament
We finished up the Book of Daniel this week with some strange visions again. One big thing to learn from this section is that when you see a horn in a vision, like on a beast, it almost always refers to power. So the horns that get divided and grow all relate to power. With that being said the vision hopefully makes a bit more sense to you. It is always nice to get the meaning to the vision right in the book and Daniel helps us out a lot on this one. “These four huge beasts represent four kingdoms that will rise from the earth. But in the end, the Holy people of the most high will be given the kingdom, and they will rule forever and ever” (Daniel 7:17-18 NLT). The last vision most likely had its completion in the person of Alexander the Great and those that followed him. Some see this as an addition to the book of Daniel to make him look good and to prove that he was a prophet after his time, but I believe that Daniel was given this vision from the Lord! In Chapter 9 we read the prayer of Daniel and I want to draw your attention to one fascinating line. In verse 18 we read, “We make this plea, not because we deserve help, but because of your mercy” (Daniel 9:18b NLT). What a great phrase. Who said there is no Grace in the Old Testament? What a wonderful prayer. With the end of Daniel comes the end of what is known as the Major Prophets. With Hosea we begin the section called the Minor Prophets. Minor not in significance, but in scope of ministry and number of words recorded. We will really start flying through books so get ready.

Hosea is a fascinating book that relies on one major point of imagery or symbolism. The marriage of Hosea to the prostitute Gomer describes the relationship between God and his people who have prostituted themselves by worshiping idols. This book needs to be read through this image. We can extrapolate this image further by saying this is similar to the image of the bridegroom Jesus and his marriage to his bride, the Church. God loved us so much that he would still care for us even when we constantly go our own way and worship other things. As you read the rest of this book, keep this image in mind.

The New Testament
John likes to use imagery himself in his letters. Not unlike his gospel, we see many of the same images that describe our life in Christ (Dark and light, etc.) One theme that is constant in all of John’s letters is love. Not a bit must be said about love. In English this word has a variance of meaning. In Greek the word we translate as love can be one of four words which all have a range of meaning. Most often when we read the word love in John’s letters, he uses the word agape, which means unconditional love, It is more than just brotherly love, or love between members of your family. It is more than the love of husband and wife. It is pure, unconditional love that God has for us. It is not dependant on our behavior or actions. It is the kind of love Hosea has for Gomer, and what God has for us. Love almost overflows from the pen of John as he writes as he describes God’s love for us and the love we should have, not only for God but for other people as well.

Another thing we need to talk about is what John calls “antichrists”. What he is talking about are things and people who are against the message of Jesus. It is interesting to note that John talks about antichrists (plural) here and the antichrist (singular) later on in Revelation. Are they the same? Not really. The Antichrist in Revelation will have a much more specific meaning which we will get to later. John warns against those whom he calls antichrists. We should be watching out for such people who do not believe in Jesus or show love to their neighbors. He also calls them “false prophets” that we should watch out for.

Where We Are Going

The Old Testament
We will finish three books and start a third this week so a lot of ground to cover. Here are the vital stats for the book of Joel:

PURPOSE: To warn Judah of God’s impending judgment because of their sins, and to urge them to turn back to God

AUTHOR: Joel son of Pethuel

TO WHOM WRITTEN: The people of Judah, the southern kingdom, and God’s people everywhere

DATE WRITTEN: Probably during the time Joel may have prophesied from about 835 to 796 B.C.

SETTING: The people of Judah had become prosperous and complacent. Taking God for granted, they had turned to self-centeredness, idolatry and sin. Joel warned them about this kind of lifestyle and that it would inevitably bring down God’s judgment.

KEY VERSES: “ ‘Even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and relents from sending calamity” (2:12-13 NIV).

KEY PEOPLE: Joel, the people of Judah

KEY PLACE: Jerusalem

Here are the vital stats for the book of Amos:

PURPOSE: To pronounce God’s judgment upon Israel, the northern kingdom, for their complacency, idolatry, and oppression of the poor

AUTHOR: Amos

TO WHOM WRITTEN: Israel, the northern kingdom, and God’s people everywhere

DATE WRITTEN: Probably during the reigns of Jeroboam II of Israel and Uzziah of Judah (about 760-750 B.C.)

SETTING: The wealthy people of Israel were enjoying peace and prosperity. They were quite complacent and were oppressing the poor, even selling them into slavery. Soon, however, Israel would be conquered by Assyria, and the rich themselves would become slaves.

KEY VERSE: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream!” (5:24)

KEY PEOPLE: Amos, Amaziah, Jeroboam II

KEY PLACES: Bethel, Samaria

SPECIAL FEATURES: Amos uses striking metaphors from his shepherding and farming experience—a loaded cart (2:13), a roaring lion (3:8), a mutilated sheep (3:12), pampered cows (4:1), and a basket of fruit (8:1-2)

And the vital stats for Obadiah:

PURPOSE: To show that God judges those who have harmed his people

AUTHOR: Obadiah. Very little is know about this man, whose name means “servant (or worshiper) of the LORD”

TO WHOM WRITTEN: The Edomites, the Jews in Judah, and God’s people everywhere.

DATE WRITTEN: Possibly during the reign of Jehoram in Judah, 853-841 B.C., or possibly during Jeremiah’s ministry, 627-586 B.C.

SETTING: Historically, Edom had constantly harassed the Jews. Prior to the time this book was written, they had participated in attacks against Judah. Given the dates above, this prophecy came after the division of Israel into the northern and southern kingdoms before the conquering of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C.

KEY VERSE: “The Day of the LORD is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head” (verse 15).

KEY PEOPLE: The Edomites

KEY PLACES: Edom, Jerusalem

SPECIAL FEATURES: The book of Obadiah uses vigorous poetic language and is written in the form of a dirge of doom.

The New Testament
Three books to go and we will see all of them this week. We will read all of 3 John and Jude and we will start the book of Revelation. Here are the vital stats for 3 John:

PURPOSE: To comment Gaius for his hospitality and to encourage him in his Christian life

AUTHOR: The apostle John

TO WHOM WRITTEN: Gaius, a prominent Christian in one of the churches know to John; and to all Christians

DATE WRITTEN: About A.D. 90, from Ephsus

SETTING: Church leaders traveled from town to town helping to establish new congregations. They depended on the hospitality of fellow believers. Gaius was one who welcomed these leaders into his home.

KEY VERSE: “Dear friend, your are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you” (verse 5)

KEY PEOPLE: John, Gaius, Diotrephes, Demitrius

Here are the vital stats for the book of Jude:

PURPOSE: To remind the church of the need for constant vigilance—to keep strong in the faith and to oppose heresy

AUTHOR: Jude, brother of Jesus and James

TO WHOM WRITTEN: Jewish Christians, and all believers everywhere

DATE WRITTEN: About A.D. 65

SETTING: From the first century on, the church has been threatened by heresy and false teaching—we must always be on our guard.

KEY VERSE: “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints" (verse 3).

KEY PEOPLE: Jude, James, Jesus

And the vital stats for the book of Revelation:

PURPOSE: To reveal the full identity of Christ and to give warning and hope to believers

AUTHOR: The apostle John

TO WHOM WRITTEN: The seven churches in Asia, and all believers everywhere

DATE WRITTEN: About A.D. 95 from Patmos

SETTING: Most scholars believe that the seven churches of Asia to whom John writes were experiencing the persecution that took place under Emperor Domitian (A.D. 90-95). It seems that the Roman authorities had exiled John to the island of Patmos (off the coast of Asia). John, who had been an eyewitness of the incarnate Christ, had a vision of the glorified Christ. God also revealed to him what would take place in the future—judgment and ultimate triumph of God over evil.

KEY VERSE: “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” (1:3).

KEY PEOPLE: John, Jesus

KEY PLACE: Patmos, the seven churches, the new Jerusalem

SPECIAL FEATURES: Revelation is written in “apocalyptic” form—a type of Jewish literature that uses symbolic imagery to communicate hope (in the ultimate triumph of God) to those in the midst of persecution. The events are ordered according to literary, rather than chronological, patterns.

Verses to Remember:
1 John 1:7
Daniel 9:18b
1 John 3:16
1 John 4:7-12
1 John 5:1

Psalm 125:1-2