God makes a promise or covenant to his people, the people rebel and defy God, God punishes them with death and separation, then God brings allows for reconciliation and give his people another…
The Doctrine and Covenants is a book of divine revelations, given to members of the Church of Jesus Christ, to help further the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom and contains an invitation to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. As one engulfs oneself into the Doctrine and Covenants, one will find out that, just as the Book of Mormon is the keystone of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Doctrine and Covenants is a companion to the Book of Mormon and is the capstone of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Doctrine and Covenants gives new insight to gospel topics and one can further partake of the bread of life as one drinketh from the pages of the Doctrine and Covenants to come closer to Christ.…
Covenant vs. Contract: No “Ifs, Ands, or Buts...” Only “Therefore…” We talk about it all the time in Church, books, worship songs, Bible studies, or conversations: human’s natural tendency and struggle of applying human behavior, concepts, expectations, and categories to God. Obviously, because of the Fall - which severed our relationship with the Lord and twisted our human nature - we will always be dealing with the allure of imposing our nature onto the Lord’s. Also, the “Enemy” or Satan’s seemingly primary strategy of manipulation and sowing discord, doubt, or indifference within Christian’s is to create “lies” about God’s character, nature, and relationality with us. You don’t have read very far into Scripture to see this take place.…
Saul was a nonbeliever in Christ who was traveling to Damascus. As he journeyed, an astoundingly bright light shot out from the sky and knocked him over. A voice came from the sky and questioned Paul asking why he was persecuting Him. Saul questioned him and the voice replied that he was Jesus. Jesus told him to get up and go to the city.…
In the Old Testament, God made the Mosaic covenant with Moses on Mount Sinai and the Noahic covenant with Noah after the flood. The Mosaic covenant is more of a formal agreement…
The Messiah was sent to as the messenger of the new covenant. Lastly, the Messianic prophecy in Malachi 4:6, “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse” was fulfilled in Luke 1:16-17 “And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.and Mark 1:3-5, “The Messiah's forerunner would turn many to…
Jesus came announcing that the kingdom of God was at hand (Matthew 3:2) and then preceded to demonstrate what God’s true kingdom on earth would look like. However, as Robert Stein points out, “Jesus never defined exactly what he meant by the kingdom of God/heaven” in his teachings (Stein 61). Instead, Jesus told John’s disciples “the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor” (Luke 7:22). In doing as such, Jesus was pointing out his kingdom reign on earth as it is in heaven. The kingdom of God is greater than the nation of Israel had expected, was misunderstood by many from the beginning, yet is best understood through the teachings of Jesus as being both a present and future reality.…
Pick Up the Mantle In 2 Kings 2:13, Elisha picks up the mantle that had been left behind by Elijah, symbolizing the passing on of the ministry to Elisha. God had not only chosen Elisha, but gave him the mantle, the covering of His Holy Spirit, to give him power and show his election and rite of succession. With this power Elisha was able to do great works for the Lord. God had chosen His only begotten son, equipping Him with the power to raise the dead, to give sight to the blind, to perform the impossible in the midst of unbelief, and to die for the sins of the whole world, all in order to bring His creation back to Himself.…
Sadly, since Israel failed to meet God’s law of obedience under the Old Testament, God made provisions to under the New Testament. The prophecy of the New Testament, the prophets foretold the New Testament: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah: - Jeremiah 31:31 As we read Jeremiah explains and describes ways that the ‘law of God will put in their inner parts’ and their ‘sins no longer remembered’ (Jeremiah 31:33-34). The writings of Ezekiel, we read of God’s supernatural powers accompanying the New Testament: “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” - Ezekiel 36:27. It is also mentioned in Ezekiel what God will do: • Will take the people from the nations and gather them from all countries (36:24)…
The New Covenant is alluded to in the books of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea and Malachi (p. 103), but it is strikingly different than the promises made through Abraham, Moses, and David (p. 104). The old covenant was flawed and Jeremiah gave Israel and Judah new hope. In verse 34, he talks about the forgiveness of sin. In addition, the second difference is in verse 33 where God’s law is put into a person’s heart (p. 104).…
In the Christian Bible, the gospels of Matthew and John have several conflicting details, each describing the life of Jesus differently. In the book of Matthew, Jesus is portrayed as a man who is partly divine, often emphasizing his humanity. In John, Jesus is portrayed as a divine being who is partly human, often emphasizing his divinity. This is shown by the differing ways that Jesus reacts to his imminent doom throughout the Passion story. In this essay I will demonstrate how Jesus’ attitude towards his sacrifice displays whether the reader sees him as more human or more divine.…
One reading the bible it is important to look for themes that can be found throughout the scripture to understand the importance of them. A main theme that can be traced can be understood as a main point to understand the character of God. One of those main themes as to do with covenants theology. It can be said that through covenants God expresses his desires on his people in the most clear form. This paper will be looking at what is a covenant, where can they be found in the bible and how do they relate to the ancient near east.…
The tradition of story has been a part of human tradition for centuries teaching us valuable life lessons and taking us on an elaborate adventure. One of the most influential stories is contained in the Bible. The most notable being the first five books called the Torah. Encompassed in the Torah is the creation of the world and God’s nation, Israel.…
You might recall that David and Johnathan made a covenant which David thought of when he helped Jonathan?s son Mephibosheth. But our focus is on covenants that involve God. God didn?t make a lot of covenants with individuals in the OT. He made one with Noah about future floods.…
The story of Israel’s conquest of Canaan can, like many of the other stories of the Hebrew Bible, can be explained as reflections of the religious, political, and societal beliefs of their composers and editors. As a historical piece, the account of Israel’s conquest of Canaan fails to match the current archeological understanding of the Canaanite settlements mentioned in The Book of Joshau. The inaccuracies fail to reflect an accurate historical model, but they suggest that the Book of Joshua is symbolic of its writers. The religious purpose of the story of the conquest of Canaan is to explain the geopolitical and geographical aspects of pre-exilic Israel whilst maintaining their belief that the people of Israel are the chosen people of God. The story highlights and explains several important facets of the Hebrew world at the time of the Book of Joshau’s inclusion in the biblical canon.…