THE HEARTBREAK of Jeremiah at the prophesied destruction of Jerusalem is evident in this week’s reading: My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh the walls of my heart!Continue Reading

GOD ALLOWED Assyria and Babylon to oppress His people because they had turned away from Him. In our study this week, we discuss Isaiah’s prophecy of a day when the world will come to Israel to bring tribute to the Lord.Continue Reading

GOD CAN deliver us in the face of overwhelming odds. We discuss two examples from the book of Isaiah this week–the miraculous healing of Hezekiah, marked by the backwards movement of the sundial’s shadow, and the deliverance of Jerusalem from the unstoppable might of the Assyrian army.Continue Reading

HEZEKIAH WAS a better king than any since David, and better than all those who followed. He repaired and restored the Temple, reinstituted the worship of Yahweh, and tore down the high places devoted to Baal and Astarte (not just in Judah, but in Israel, too).Continue Reading

ISAIAH PROPHESIED the fall of Babylon before it had risen. At the time of the prophesies we read this week, Assyria was still the dominant power in the ancient Near East, but the phrase, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon,” was revealed to the prophet anyway.Continue Reading

WE REACH the end of the New Testament this week. The Revelation of John concludes with final judgments against Satan, the Beast, Death, Hades, and all whose names are not written in the Book of Life.Continue Reading