Special Announcement

After more than two years of work, I have just published a book on Peter's confession and related topics:

Upon This Rock: A New Look
Catholicism, Israel, and the Church

It is a technical, exegetical study of Matthew 16:13-20; John 20:21-23; 21:15-19; Romans 11; and Ephesians 2. Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., President Emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, wrote the Foreword. The book is now available at Amazon.com as well as other online sellers of books.

For a thorough introduction to the book, as well as Dr. Kaiser's Foreward, see my Web site, PetersConfession.org.

Latest Items Posted

• A new book review--The Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul. This book was highly acclaimed by F. F. Bruce and attests to Luke's complete accuracy in the Book of Acts. We also posted an article dealing more generally with the topic of accuracy: "Is the New Testament Historically Accurate?" (May 5, 2013)
• Alexander McCaul was a Hebrew and Rabbinic scholar of the highest order and had a great love for the Jewish people. We have posted his entire book, Plain Sermons On Subjects Practical and Prophetic, which we hope you will find fascinating. The book contains fourteen sermons. The two-part sermon, "The Blessed Hope," is most highly recommended. No doubt most of us will be found "wanting" in this essential characteristic of the true Christian. (April 12, 2013)
• Theodor Zahn's book, Bread and Salt From the Word of God, is a collection of sixteen sermons that we're sure you will enjoy. They are posted here in their entirety. (April 2, 2013)
• Check out the new Picture This--"Feeding the 5000." (Mar. 14, 2013)
• Generally speaking, the Old Testament prophets are among the least known books of the Bible, but personally I find them the most exciting part. The so-called "minor prophets" are an especially good place to start. They are not only intensely exciting, but they are also short enough to get a good grasp of their content and message in a short time. This combination should make for high motivation! Take a look at "The Prophets." (Feb. 26, 2013)
• William M. Christie's book Palestine Calling is a classic almost impossible to find today. Dr. Christie offers many insights into the biblical text and the life and ministry of Christ based on his extensive, first-hand knowledge of the land of Israel, both ancient and modern. You will find chapter XIV, The Land of Goshen, particularly fascinating. (Feb. 27, 2013)
• Historic Premillennialism. How important is that branch of theology known as eschatology--the study of the doctrine of last things? Do you know the signs or events that precede the second coming of Jesus? Do you know the three different views of the "millennium"? To date, we have not emphasized our positions on eschatological issues. However, with the eyes of the world on Israel and the Near East today, we believe it is time to do so. Therefore, we have just posted a strongly polemic page that contains a number of scholarly papers that discuss end-time events. This page defends the positions strongly advocated by this Web site: a posttribulational rapture and historic premillennialism. We repudiate replacement theology, strongly support the State of Israel, and believe that all the covenantal and prophetic promises made to national Israel will be literally fulfilled by national Israel. Israel is the nation written on the palms of God's hands (Isa. 49:13-16), and whoever touches Israel touches the apple of God's eye (Zech. 2:8). This new page is called Historic Premillennialism. (Jan. 28, 2013)
• Is the book of Ezekiel obscure? Ezekiel 37:15-28 certainly is not. It unequivocally teaches the full restoration and reunion of the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel under the Messiah, and their eternal possession of the land of their fathers. We have just posted a new entry in Carol's "Daily Devotions from the Classics" for April 16: "The Two Sticks." It's excerpted from The Messiahship of Jesus (1852) by Alexander McCaul, one of the best books on Messianic studies. McCaul argues that there is no other possible interpretation of this passage. The Lord himself concludes this word to Ezekiel, "The nations will know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies Israel." (Aug. 6, 2012)

Popular Items

• Books for Jewish Ministry and Evangelism
• The Truth About "Battle Hymn of the Republic"

Neglected Treasures

• A Short Study on the Book of Revelation. Don't miss the excellent appendix on the parousia!
• Who Is the King of Glory?
• Does Eschatology Matter in Jewish Evangelism?
• Were Amram and Jochebed the Parents of Moses?
• Jephthah's Vow: did he really sacrifice his daughter?
• Our Book Reviews: 17 In All!
• Our Daily Devotional from the Classics: 365 Great Excerpts

We have long lamented the lack of depth in the preaching within Evangelical churches today. Many Christians possess only a shallow knowledge of both the Bible and theology. Check yourself with two questions that should be very simple to any Christian who attends a Bible-believing church.

Bible knowledge: The Psalmist wrote, "Sing the glory of his name" (Ps. 66:2). What is his name? What is the name of the God of the Bible, the God you worship?

Theological knowledge: What is the meaning of the word propitiation, which is used, for example, in 1 John 2:2?

The answer to the first question is Yahweh (often misspelled "Jehovah," based on an error made by the church during the Middle Ages). Why doesn't every Christian know the name of God? Part of the reason, no doubt, is that even though it is used about 6000 times in the Old Testament, our English translations foolishly render the Hebrew name Yahweh as "LORD" (all capital letters). However, every minister should be using God's name as he preaches and should also be explaining to his congregation how to recognize when the divine writers of Scripture are using it. For more information, read my paper, Who Is the King of Glory?"

The answer to the second question is appeasement of wrath. That the death of Christ appeased the wrath of God on us is central to the theology of salvation. Why doesn't every Christian know the definition of propitiation?

We hope that the Bible study material posted at this site will both increase your knowledge of the Bible and theology and also encourage you to buy and read books by great Christian preachers and theologians. On this Web site we've posted a number of condensations of classical works as well as full-length books by various scholars and theologians. There are also a number of sermons by the "Prince of Preachers," Charles Spurgeon. In addition, you'll find several original, in-depth Bible-study papers written by us. The Site Map shows you everything on this Web site at a glance.

We hope you enjoy this Web site and that the Lord will use it to stimulate your interest in the Bible and the theology it teaches. Comments and questions are always welcome.

Daily Devotions from the Classics

Carol's "Daily Devotions from the Classics" contains 365 short, insightful excerpts from great Christian scholars and preachers of long ago as well as the recent past. You will be blessed by the writings of these godly men, among them Matthew Henry, Thomas Watson, Charles Spurgeon, and J. C. Ryle. Click here for your "daily devotions from the classics"!

Our Sister Web Site
Messiah Studies

We have another Web site, Messiah Studies, that is devoted to a detailed study of Messianic prophecy. However, it is a new Web site, and so far there are only a few papers posted. It is our goal, however, to develop a series of papers dealing with the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament in historical order. The site is designed for Jewish inquirers, but Christians can gain much from these studies as well. There is also some Jewish music you can listen to, including HaTikvah, Hava Nagila, Jerusalem of Gold, and the Yigdal. Please take a look and send us your suggestions. (January 27, 2012)

Psalm 122:6