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Jesus revealed that all of the Old Testament laws were designed to instruct us how to love God and love others. Therefore, the two commands that dealt directly with loving God and others (Lev. 19:18 and Dt. 6:5) were the most important.
The religious leaders had become so obsessed with keeping every minor detail of the law that they had lost sight of its ultimate purpose. They neither loved God nor their fellow man, yet they thought they were keeping the law.
The same thing is happening today. Some of the cruelest acts of men towards their fellow men have...
It is very doubtful that the situation that the Sadducees were relating ever took place. It is more probable that they were stating a hypothetical case to complicate the understanding of the resurrection and thereby discredit it.
If you accept their basic supposition (marriage continues in heaven), then their reasoning was correct. It would not be possible to administer marriage in heaven with multiple mates as their story described. Their reasoning wasn't flawed, but rather the "facts" that their reasoning was based on were not scriptural.
The scriptures speak of two becoming "one flesh" in marriage, and angels are not flesh. Paul said, "Flesh and blood cannot...
The word heaven comes from the Greek word meaning "the sky; heaven as the abode of God"; by implication, "happiness; power; an eternity."
Paul mentioned being caught up into "the third heaven" in 2 Corinthians 12:2. Since "the third heaven" exists, there must also be a first and second heaven. The first is probably the atmospheric heaven, the second, the abode of supernatural angelic beings, and the third, the place where God dwells.
God now dwells in the hearts of His people, but He also sits on His throne in heaven. The Lord's commitment to dwell in us and never leave us or forsake us, must be taken as an indication of His great love for us. Heaven has a real temple which is patterned after the Old Testament tabernacle. Saints...
The Greek word used here for resurrection means "a standing or rising up." The resurrection is a major theme of New Testament teaching. Out of the 13 sermons in the book of Acts, 11 stress or simply mention the resurrection.
Man consists of three parts - a spirit, a soul, and a body (1 Th. 5:23). The body is mortal while the spirit and soul are immortal. At death, man's body goes through the decomposition process and returns to its original elements.
At the resurrection, man's departed soul and spirit are called forth from either heaven or hell. The material elements of the body are raised up, reassembled, and united with the spirit and soul. Thus we have the complete personality of the individual reconstituted. Everyone will be resurrected - some to life, and...
WHY PARABLES? WHEN THE DISCIPLES ASK JESUS WHY HE TAUGHT IN PARABLES, HE TOLD THEM BECAUSE IT WAS GIVEN TO THEM TO KNOW THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BUT IT WAS NOT GIVEN TO THE NON-BELIEVERS. THEY SAW WHAT THEY WANTED TO SEE AND HEARD WHAT THEY WANTED TO HEAR AND UNDERSTOOD NOTHING. (MATTHEW 13:10-16) JESUS ALSO SAID IT WAS TO FULFILL THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAH WHICH SAID "By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:"
The image on the denarius, the only small silver coin acceptable for imperial tax payments, was probably that of Tiberius Caesar (reigned A.D. 14-37). The inscription upon the coin read "Tiberius Caesar Augustus, Son of the Divine Augustus" with the reverse side reading "Chief Priest." This inscription was a claim to divinity and as emperor, the right to be worshiped.
The Jews had tried many times to accuse Jesus on the basis of religious issues and had always failed. Now they approached Him about paying taxes in hopes that His answer might give them the opportunity to deliver Him to Pilate for prosecution.
These Pharisees...