Filter by Categories
Prepare to Meet Your God! (Part Five): Religion and Holiness
Article by John W. Ritenbaugh and Richard T. RitenbaughThe Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness, as recorded by the prophet Amos, emphasizing the gravity of His pronouncement. Although His Word alone is sufficient, God occasionally swears oaths to underscore the seriousness of His declarations. As noted in Hebrews, when God made a promise to Abraham, having no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, affirming the unassailable certainty of His commitment. This act of swearing by His holiness reveals the depth of His affront at Israel's spiritual state, for despite being given His calling, promises, Word, and laws to become His sons and daughters, they stood in opposition to Him, showing no resemblance to His character. God expected to see His own attributes reflected in His people, yet He found instead a nation steeped in spiritual adultery, pursuing other gods and ways of life contrary to His own.
Prepare to Meet Your God! (Part Seven): The Prophesied Blow Falls
Article by John W. Ritenbaugh and Richard T. RitenbaughGod, in His solemn declaration, underscores the certainty of His judgment upon Israel by swearing by His holiness and by Himself. In Amos 4:2 and 6:8, He affirms His commitment to His word with the full weight of His moral integrity and sovereign authority over all creation. Yet, Israel remains unmoved by these profound oaths. In response, God declares that if His own nature and essence fail to impress them, He will swear by something they hold in high regard—their own pride—revealing the irony of their misplaced values. This act emphasizes the gravity of the coming punishment, as God aligns His promise of destruction with something Israel cannot ignore, highlighting their spiritual disconnection and the inevitable consequences of their disobedience.
Prepare to Meet Your God! (The Book of Amos) (Part Two)
Booklet by John W. RitenbaughThe Lord God, in His supreme authority, has sworn by His holiness, underscoring the gravity of His pronouncements against Israel. Though His Word alone is sufficient, He sometimes swears oaths to emphasize the seriousness of His declarations. As recorded, when God made a promise to Abraham, having no greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, affirming His unassailable commitment. In the face of Israel's spiritual adultery and rebellion, God, affronted by their lack of resemblance to Him despite His gifts of calling, promises, Word, and laws, swears by His holiness to highlight the depth of their opposition to His nature. Moreover, He swears by Himself, indicating His sovereignty over all creation, yet Israel remains unimpressed by such solemn oaths. In a striking irony, God declares He will swear by their own pride—something they value highly—since His holiness and His own name fail to move them, revealing the profound disconnect between God and His people.
Amos (Part Seven)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughGod, through His prophets, warns that He will chasten His people with increasing severity until they repent and begin to reflect His characteristics.
Amos (Part Six)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughThe favorite-son status of Israel was conditioned on accepting the terms of the covenant with God. Israel, then and now, has placed her trust in material things.
Amos (Part Eleven)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughAncient Israel had at the core of its religion an obsession to please the self at the expense of justice and the best interests of the disadvantaged.
Psalm Genres (Part Three B): Messianic (continued)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe psalmists, often through typology, centered on David, prophesying about the character, suffering, resurrection, kingship, and priesthood of Jesus Christ.
'But I Say to You' (Part Five): Oaths
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughWe must grow in personal integrity, providing a witness for the truth to those around them, not needing the crutch of an oath to guarantee our integrity.
Abraham's Sacrifice (Part Five): Promises Confirmed
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughSome critical scholars, unable to distinguish between conditional and unconditional promises, mistakenly jump to the conclusion that God cannot be trusted.
Hebrews (Part Eight)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughJesus Christ's priesthood is superior to the Aaronic priesthood because Christ tenure is eternal rather than temporal, guaranteeing both continuity and quality.
Hebrews (Part Seven)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughWith godly hope, we need to envision the successful accomplishment of God's purpose for us, realizing that God has bound that promise with an oath.