Talmud

Richard T. Ritenbaugh:  The Bible is not against what we might call scholarship or intellectual pursuit. From all that history can tell us, the apostle Paul may have been one of the most intellectual men who have ever lived. ...

What happened to Israel after God sent her into captivity to the Assyrians? Did God turn from physical Israel and begin to work with spiritual Israel, the church? Charles Whitaker provides scriptural and historical evidence that Israel was not restored soon after her exile—in fact, God withheld His promised blessings from her for a very long time.

Martin Collins focuses upon the dark period in history called the Inter-Testamental period, approximately 400 years between the time of Malachi and Matthew, a time of intense political and intellectual fermentation. Internally, the terrible cataclysms gave rise to literature containing ardent Messianic expectation- including the Septuagint, with Malachi serving as the connecting link making a smooth transition between the Old and New Testaments. This time also marks a proliferation of law in the pharisaical tradition exalting the letter at the expense of the spirit- calling for a New Covenant antidote or solution in which minute regulations give way to principles.

Does the church of God practice the Jewish dietary laws of not eating milk and meat products together? John Plunkett explains from the Bible the correct understanding of Exodus 23:19.

John Ritenbaugh, cautioning against the danger of presumption, warns against assigning biblical types (like Joshua and Zerubbabel) to any contemporary ministers, pointing out that, except for a few superficial similarities, there are not enough parallels or grounds of comparison to make such an inferential leap. Two major assumptions made by calendar changers are that: (1) the calendar is too complicated and (2) the Jews are guilty of deliberate manipulation in order to create a calendar that is more convenient in actual usage. The Bible nowhere says that the calendar should be simple; everything God has created, including life Bible, the calendar, as well as life itself, is complex. God, totally faithful and reliable, gave us a calendar, assigning the responsibility for its maintenance to the nation of Israel, not to the church or private individuals, guaranteeing order, stability, and unity within the culture. The Anti-Christ inspires tampering with times.

Our world is full of lies and liars, and many in God's church are ignorant of just how much deceit is out there. Jesus tells us, however, that the best way to resist deception is being convicted of the truth.

John Ritenbaugh reiterates the startling uniqueness of John's message that God could become flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. In order for Christ to be our savior, He had to become subject to the pulls of the flesh in order to empathize with those He would later serve as High Priest and Advocate. Those who would become sons of God (qualifying for roles as kings and priests) must learn to trust or rely on Him, conducting their lives according to His name, conforming to the character that name represents. If we follow the living example of Jesus Christ, using the gifts of God's Holy Spirit, we will find inexhaustible resources for overcoming, serving, and growing in grace and knowledge, conforming to Christ's righteous and genuine character. Those who wrote the Gospels were eyewitnesses to the spectacular events (none of them done in a corner) in the life of Jesus Christ, providing a testimony that we may believe and develop iron-clad faith. Many extra-biblical sources such as Tacitus, Seconius, Justin Martyr, Pliny, and Josephus substantiate, corroborate, and validate the veracity of the biblical accounts of the historicity, identity, and divinity of Jesus.