In the books of Moses we find many laws and institutions that had a practical application under the old covenant, but that also, and above all, point forward to something better. The law is the introduction of a better hope… Lees verder
Anyone who is familiar with Paul’s letters knows that Paul is the apostle who reveals mysteries. Of this he says that the things he reveals were not previously made known (Eph.3:5). Yet early in Scripture we find a statement about… Lees verder
Time and again I am amazed that intelligent people, who can read very well, suddenly can no longer read when they open a Bible. In fact, they suddenly read the opposite of what is written. They read in 1 Timothy… Lees verder
One of the great prophets from the Old Testament is Samuel. We find the beginning of his stories in the beginning of the book of 1 Samuel. Samuel is Eli’s successor. The moment Samuel appears, we see Eli disappear. Eli… Lees verder
In chapter 4 of the letter to Philippians we find a beautiful passage. Few passages are as “practical” for a believer as this one. In the Statenvertaling there is an inscription above the chapter: admonitions. But this word completely misses… Lees verder
In the well-known passage from Acts 17 where Paul speaks on the Areopagus about the unknown God, according to most Bible translations, Paul calls on the Greeks with whom he is talking to, to repent. Repentance is a well-known word… Lees verder
El Shaddai is translated as: God Almighty. God is Almighty, which means that He is above all powers, because He is the one and only God. But that does not mean, as is sometimes said, that He can do everything.… Lees verder
How did Jesus die? This question seems like an obvious question, after all, Jesus was crucified and will have died of His wounds. Or more precisely, when that moment came, it said: He let go of the spirit (Matt. 27:50),… Lees verder
In Genesis 4 we find the well-known story of Cain and Abel, in which Cain kills his brother Abel. In the verses that follow, we encounter the first mention of the word cathar (H5641), which is translated hidden. This word… Lees verder
In the previous blog we saw that Genesis is composed of different parts by several writers, who are distinguished from each other by the concept of toledoth. Moses is the editor of Genesis. He brought the various writings together, made… Lees verder
In Genesis we encounter a concept that, when carefully studied, turns out to be a key concept. It is the Hebrew toledoth (H8435). The expression occurs 13 times and runs like a common thread through the first book of the… Lees verder
A few weeks ago I wrote a series of blogs about the first verses of Genesis. I want to pick that up again now, because there is much more to say about the creation story. For example, about the six… Lees verder
Yesterday I spoke in a study about Solomon’s judgment, in which Solomon judges between two whores and through his wisdom brings the truth to light. Solomon uses a sword for this, without actually using the sword. 1 Kings 324 Then… Lees verder
The fear of the Lord, literally: the fear of YAHWEH, is a concept that we encounter quite often in the Hebrew Bible and most believers will also be familiar with the term. The best-known text is probably: the fear of… Lees verder
In recent weeks I have written a series of blogs about the first verses of Genesis and related topics, because I had received questions about them. I have particularly discussed the so-called doctrine of restitution, which presupposes a judgment between… Lees verder
In the 2nd Peter letter, in the last chapter, Peter speaks about the then world, which has perished, being flooded with water. What world is he talking about? Some read in this that there must have been a world before… Lees verder
The Bible speaks ten times of the casting down (Greek: katabole) of the world. Does this downfall concern a judgment that has come upon a world that existed before ours, as is sometimes supposed? Or is it different? We already… Lees verder
Following my previous blogs about the beginning of Genesis 1, I have received questions from various sources, all of which concern the casting down of the world. What is that and what does it have to do with Genesis 1?… Lees verder
God has subordinated creation to vanity and corruption (Rom.8:20-21). It does not say: creation from Adam onwards. And neither: from a supposed fall of Satan. No, God designed creation this way and this world is transient by design. Genesis 12… Lees verder
In the previous blogs we looked at Genesis 1:1, the mighty words, that in (a) beginning God created the heavens and the earth. There is of course much more to say about this and we will do so when we… Lees verder