Topical Studies
God's Word as Spiritual Food
(From Forerunner Commentary)
|
Judges 6:13 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Invaders were infiltrating the country and destroying Israel's food. Notice the attention that God draws to this. What is the food of a Christian? The Word of God—the teaching, the doctrines, what we are fed from the pulpit. What God is showing is that, when the general character and spirituality of the people within the Body of Christ begins to deteriorate, the whole Body begins to weaken. with what? Instead of Midianites or Canaanites, the church begins to be invaded by false ministers who bring false doctrines—and a Christian cannot live on falsehoods. They will not strengthen or nourish him. We are strengthened by the truth. We must have faith in the truth. It takes truth to keep a Christian headed in the right direction and strong enough to resist the wiles of Satan, who is invading—infiltrating—the church with deception and lies.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Unity (Part 1): God and HWA
|
|
Matthew 4:4 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
There is a dimension to life apart from food and water, and that dimension is given life by the Word of God. God's Word provides it strength and the ability to grow. The Word of God adds an absolutely vital dimension to a person's life—if he wants to live the abundant life and eventually have eternal life.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Freedom and Unleavened Bread
|
|
Revelation 2:17 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The manna that fed Israel was spread on the ground for all to see and gather (Exodus 16:4, 35). Hidden manna, symbolizing God's Word, is concealed from the rest of the world; it is special insight from God that feeds the soul and sustains spiritual life. In the ancient world, a white stone was given to one under judgment as an absolution from guilt, a black stone to the condemned. A white stone signifies innocence through forgiveness and grace to enter the Kingdom of God. The new name reflects the holy character built by the repentant overcomer. These gifts, though certainly special and wonderful, are available to every true child of God.
Staff
The Seven Churches: Pergamos
|
|
Revelation 10:8-10 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
This little book is the Word of God. When we first hear the truth—when we first eat it—it is marvelous and exciting to us, and we try to devour even more of it. But as we begin to make it a part of our lives, begin to assimilate—digest—it, we find that putting it into practice is not always easy. Sometimes it is downright painful! Jesus says it is "the strait way, the difficult way, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:13-14). In addition, we find that the Word of God contains things within it that are very bitter indeed in terms of what it says in Revelation—terrifying, painful, oppressive, horrible things described in symbolic language. God is not at all pleased that such things must happen. And, of course, Scripture can bring upon us a great deal of sadness as well. It may taste good going in, but once in, we find it can be very bitter in application to our lives.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Revelation 10 and the Laodicean Church
|
|
Revelation 10:8 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Who is the "angel" holding this book in his hand, who stands on the sea and on the land? It is none other than Jesus Christ. The symbolism of verse 1 proves it cannot be anyone else. We see a time element begin here: The Angel speaks first, roaring, then the seven thunders take up from where He left off and utter their message in turn after Him, in succession. The seven thunders, then, are sequential, not contemporary. Now, who in the Bible gives the words for His ministers? Jesus Christ. He is the Word! He is the Logos. And the Bible is His authoritative message, which He gives to His prophets and to His apostles to teach others. So the Head of the church, the original "Lion that roared" (Amos 3:8; Revelation 5:5), the original "thunder," as it were, gives to His servant, John—who was both an apostle and a prophet—a book—His words—to eat, to ingest. I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. [Who went up in a cloud?] And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun [Whose face is like the sun?], and his feet like pillars of fire. He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. [Who is the lion of the tribe of Judah?] When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Two Witnesses (Part 1)
|
|
Revelation 10:8-10 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Ezekiel 1:26 through Ezekiel 3:27 is the Old Testament version of the "Little Book Prophecy" of Revelation 10, though it is called the "Scroll Prophecy." There is little difference between a scroll and a book. Both of them are full of words. Both of them are made into a delectable food for the prophet to ingest, and both Ezekiel and John have the same reaction. Ezekiel's prophecy helps to fill out the details of what happens to John.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Two Witnesses (Part 1)
|
XML RSS
feeds available
|
 |
The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment
Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. See what over 50,000 subscribers are already receiving each day.
Email Address:
|
We respect your privacy. Your email address will not be sold, distributed, rented, or in any way given out to a third party. We have nothing to sell. You may easily unsubscribe at any time. |
|
|
Printer-Friendly
E-mail this page
