Jeroboam I

Using the story of God's prophet in I Kings 13, John Reid derives several lessons we can apply in this time of doctrinal confusion.

Jeroboam, pragmatic and fearful, established a more convenient idolatrous festival to prevent his people from keeping the real Feast of Tabernacles in Judah.

As he aged, Solomon listened to his foreign wives and fell into idolatry. For this, Charles Whitaker shows, God divided his kingdom between Israel and Judah, but promised that a king of Judaic lineage will alway rule Israel—another search criterion i. . .

The history of Israel is not only a fascinating study, but it also reveals important facts and principles necessary for proper understanding of prophecy. Once Isreal is identified prophetically, Bible prophecy opens up and God's plan becomes plain!

Abijah had three good years but was suddenly cut off because he didn't remove the idols. One act of faith is only something to build on, not a cause to rest.

The high places—and more specifically, the idolatrous worship they came to represent—were a critical issue in the histories of Israel and Judah. ...

God points out four kings of Judah who did not remove the high places. Many kings neither built nor destroyed high places, yet God points out four who failed.

John Ritenbaugh observes that the people to whom Amos addresses have the mistaken assumption that because they have made the covenant with God that they complacently bask in a kind of divine favoritism—God's country, God's people, God's church. God's. . .

Amos 8:11 speaks of "a famine . . . of hearing the words of the LORD." Such a spiritual famine is occurring today: The words of God are readily available, but few are hearing them. David Grabbe explains this prophecy and its connection to the Feast of Unle. . .

Matthew 27:29 records that a reed was placed in Christ's hand as a mock scepter. But when He returns, He will take the scepter of the Kingdom of God.

Israel had every opportunity that the Gentiles did not have. God gave the Israelites gifts to live a better way, but they completely failed to reflect Him.

John Ritenbaugh reiterates that the false religions embraced by the descendants of Jacob are not preparing God's people for the harsh punishment God will surely bring to modern Israel. Amos indicts rampant dishonest practices in modern Israel, placing dish. . .

John Ritenbaugh focuses upon the episode in Matthew 20, in which Jesus was deep in thought, reflecting on the prophecies leading up to His crucifixion. At this point, His disciples were not converted, but displayed considerable carnality. The mother of two. . .

Martin Collins, reflecting on Jerusalem's current reputation for violence, murder, immorality, multi-culturalism, and conflict, looks at the city's history and at its prophesied status as the capital of God's Kingdom. The reputation for the City of Peace d. . .