Scripture begins with this sober statement. But although simple, this statement is comprehensive. There is one God and He is the Maker of all. It literally says that this was “in beginning”. Not God’s beginning, because God has no beginning,… Lees verder
That Genesis is a special book hardly needs explanation. When we read it, it takes us to a primeval time, which we can hardly imagine. Consider the events in the Garden of Eden, where we find the beginning of humanity:… Lees verder
Christ suffered and died for our sins. He bore the suffering that came upon Him, because He knew the joy that was set before Him (Heb.12:2). Jesus Christ knew the glory He would receive and that He would receive it… Lees verder
It sometimes surprises me that in the secular world we hear truths that people would not expect there. Like in pop music. I could name many examples of that. Sometimes it is very obvious, such as with lyrics by U2:… Lees verder
In an earlier blog I wrote about seven temples. A temple in the sense of a holy place or a sacred place. That is the place where God lives and has attached His name to. The tabernacle is also included… Lees verder
In Judaism it is expected that the third temple will soon be built. There are several organizations that are involved in this, the best known of which is probably “The Temple Institute”. They indicate on their website that the ultimate… Lees verder
Knowing that Paul compares the ecclesia to the temple in his letters, we can find many treasures beneath the surface in the Old Testament histories. We can then assume that what we find described about the temple is ambiguous, that… Lees verder
In the Old Testament, God, who is invisible (1 Tim. 1:17), appeared in various ways. For example, we find it described many times that God spoke and appeared through an angel of the Lord, literally: a messenger of YAHWEH (Gen.22:11;… Lees verder
We know the custom of laying the foundation stone of a building or a house. Laying such a first stone is important and is often accompanied by a ceremony. But how do we come up with such a custom, does… Lees verder
The ecclesia, the body of Christ, is the temple of the living God (2 Cor.6:16). It is God who builds this temple, who perfects the parts of this temple and brings them together. As the members of the body are… Lees verder
The Hebrew word eben means stone. This word is a combination of two other words. The first part is ab, which means father (think of abba), the second part is ben, which means son. In Hebrew the stone is a… Lees verder
In the last blogs about the 144,000 we identified this group. We now know who they are, what they will do and when they will perform. Literally, only Revelation 7 and 14 speak of the group of 144,000, but some… Lees verder
Finally, I would like to discuss a number of matters on this fascinating subject, which do not have so much to do with the identity of the 144,000, but are mentioned in the context of the book of Revelation, or… Lees verder
In the previous blogs we have seen when the 144,000 appear on the scene. In the words of Revelation, this is after the sixth seal (Rev.6:12), which is according to Matt.24:29: immediately after the tribulation of those days. And Zechariah… Lees verder
In the previous blog we looked in particular at the moment when the 144,000 will be introduced. That is after the great tribulation. But who are they? We don’t have to guess about their identity. They are taken from the… Lees verder
Who are the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation? The answer to that question shouldn’t be difficult. The number 144,000 is mentioned only three times in Scripture and all times in the last book of the Bible. All three times it refers… Lees verder
In the previous blog we saw in particular what Paul teaches in the 1st Thessalonians letter. The 2nd Thessalonians letter is a sequel to the first letter. This is evident not only from the numbering, but also from what Paul… Lees verder
In the 2nd Thessalonians letter, Paul provides additional teaching to his readers. Paul had only been in Thessalonica for three weeks (Acts 17:2) and had written to the Thessalonians in his first letter about the parousia (>presence, second coming) of… Lees verder
Prayer is often seen as reciting a prayer, as is done, for example, by praying a form prayer before eating. But the Bible understands prayer as not just speaking to God, but has a much broader meaning. We might call… Lees verder
The first words we find of Jesus recorded in the Bible were spoken at the age of twelve. He was in Jerusalem with his parents to celebrate the Passover festival there. On the way back, Joseph and Mary thought that… Lees verder