Commentaries and Podcasts

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The Epistles of Paul - 1 Corinthians Part 4: The Eternal Spirit of Man

In our presentation of 1 Corinthians chapter 2 we saw that in Paul's writings the phrase mystery of God does not mean to identify a mystery about God but rather it pertains to what God had announced in the prophets concerning that which He would do with His people Israel. This idea is encapsulated by Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 in his expression in verses 7 and 9, omitting the parenthetical remarks of verse 8, that “... we speak wisdom of Yahweh, that had been hidden in a mystery, which Yahweh had predetermined before the ages for our honor … just as it is written, 'Things which eye did not see, and ear did not hear, and came not into the heart of man, those things Yahweh has prepared for them that love Him'”. With this we may indeed perceive that this mystery which Paul refers to relates not to God, but to His plan for His people. Accompanied with that concept, we also saw that the spiritual things of Yahweh are revealed to us by His Word. Further supporting this assertion is the very next verse of that chapter, verse 10, where Paul explained that the things God has in store for His people are revealed to them through His Spirit, in concert with the Word of God found in Zechariah chapter 7, where it quite notably refers to “the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets”.

The Epistles of Paul - 1 Corinthians Part 3: The Mystery of Yahweh God.

1 Corinthians chapter 1 ends as Paul compares worldly wisdom, which is doomed to fail, with the wisdom of God which is far better than that of man. Paul explains that although the Gospel of God is folly to man, the wisdom of man shall be destroyed, and has already been made to look foolish in the account of the Christ. In many respects the humanist philosophies OF were comparable to those of modern times, and the religious authorities were just as humanistic as those of today. So while the world thinks that Christians are fools, in reality Christians should see that those who are worldly are the true fools. As David wrote in two of his Psalms, numbered 14 and 53, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.”

The first ministry of Paul of Tarsus in Corinth lasted over 18 months (Acts 18:11) until the Judaeans attempted to persecute him by charging him before the Roman proconsul Gallio. After the persecution had failed, Paul continued in Corinth for an additional but indeterminate period, which Luke describes only as “many days” (Acts 18:18). The end of Paul's ministry in Corinth having coincided with the term of the proconsul Gallio can therefore be dated to 51-52 AD from an inscription discovered at Delphi in Greece and first published in 1905 which is called the Gallio Inscription. The inscription represents part of a letter from the emperor Claudius concerning Gallio himself, which was written in 52 AD. After departing Corinth Paul spent three years in Ephesus (Acts 19, cf. vv. 10, 22, Acts 20:31) and after that passing through Macedonia he once again returned to Greece, where he spent another three months. By Greece, as the text records in Acts 20:2, it can be told from Paul's epistles that Corinth was where he spent at least a part of those three months. This first epistle to the Corinthians was written from Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:8, 19), and the second was written as Paul was en route from Macedonia to Corinth for his final visit there (2 Corinthians 1:8, 15-16, 23, 9:4, 11:9).

The Epistles of Paul - 1 Corinthians Part 2, The Folly of the Wisdom of Men

Here we shall briefly review the last few verses which we discussed at the end of our first presentation, beginning with 1 Corinthians chapter 1 at verse 4 where Paul wrote: “4 I thank my God at all times concerning you, in reference to the favor of Yahweh that is being given to you among the number of Christ Yahshua, 5 seeing that in all you have been enriched in Him, in all thought and all knowledge, 6 just as the proof of the Anointed has been confirmed in you, 7 consequently you are not to be wanting in even one favor, anxiously expecting the revelation of our Prince, Yahshua Christ, 8 who will also secure you until fulfillment, void of offense in the day of our Prince, Yahshua Christ.”

In this offering of gratitude to Yahweh Paul briefly mentions three things which reflect ideas that all Israelite Christians should consider to be among the most concrete Christian doctrines: the favor granted to the Christians at Corinth, the “proof of the Anointed”, and the security of that favor until the fulfillment, when the Corinthian Christians would be found “void of offense”.

Discussing the favor which was being bestowed by Yahweh God upon these Corinthians Christians, we cited passages from Jeremiah chapters 30 and 31 which demonstrate that such favor was a matter of prophecy and was promised by Yahweh to the children of Israel. This is explicit in Jeremiah 30:2 where it says: “Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.”

The Epistles of Paul – 1 Corinthians Part 1

The ancient city of Corinth sat in the Peloponnesus a few miles southwest of the nearly four-mile wide Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow neck of land that connects the Peloponnesus to mainland Greece. The Greek word ἰσθμός means neck, as describing a narrow passage. In the mid-19th century, the Greeks built modern Corinth much closer to the coast of the Adriatic Sea than the ancient city had once stood. The archaeology of the original site of Corinth indicates that there were people settled in the area in very ancient times. However the archaeology also indicates that the site of the city was only sparsely inhabited when the Dorian Greeks first settled there around 900 BC, if indeed it was inhabited at all. Like all Greek cities, myths were developed surrounding its founding, part of which are fascinating and surreal and part of which seem to represent historical facts. Most such myths put the founding of cites in the hands of the gods, the idols of a pagan people, and very often they were also developed for purposes which were political as well as cultural. In any event, the city of Corinth became a notable city among the Greeks by the end of the 8th century BC.

The Prophecy of Nahum - 09-19-2014

The prologue concerning the dating of the prophets is found here: Ordering and chronology of the Minor Prophets

Here we shall present the prophecy of Nahum, with some commentary and material from some of the correlating scriptures and history. Not much is known of Nahum himself. The prophet does not date himself except by the conditions expressed in his writing, and only calls himself Nahum the Elkoshite, most likely meaning that he came from a place named Elkosh.

There is conjecture that Capernaum, the New Testament town, was named for the prophet. The Hebrew word which gives us the name Nahum means comfort, and it is fitting for his message since the destruction of Assyria would be a comfort to Israel. The phrase from which the name Capernaum is derived means village of comfort. There are at least four towns named Comfort in the United States, in Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin and West Virginia. Capernaum may have been named likewise, and there is not necessarily a connection to the prophet.

There is also a place called Alqosh in what is now northern Iraq which allegedly dates to Assyrian times, which is plausible, and for which there has been claimed a connection to the prophet for many centuries. If that is so, then Nahum would be an Israelite of the Assyrian captivity. However while this is a possibility it cannot be taken for granted that it is true, and one may argue that the context of the prophecy, especially in the first chapter, places the prophet in Jerusalem.

The Epistles of Paul - Romans Part 21, 09-12-2014, Romans Chapter 16

I want to begin tonight with a discussion concerning Paul of Tarsus and accusations against him by anti-Christs and so-called “liberal theologians” that he was somehow a misogynist, or a woman-hater. Nothing is further from the truth, except that jews and all those who have accepted their conditioning do not understand the structure of a proper Christian society, which is a patriarchal society, and the reasons which necessitate such a society are indeed Christian. On the other hand, Christians must understand that the so-called liberation of women from the patriarchal society was a goal outlined in the perverse arguments of the Communist Manifesto. It was a jewish goal towards the destruction of God's creation from the very beginning, and it can be traced back to Genesis chapter 3.

The Epistles of Paul - Romans Part 20, Confirmation of the Promises of the Fathers - 09-05-2014

In Romans chapter 14 we saw Paul discuss some of the various things that early Christians already disagreed upon in his time. But these particular disagreements were not limited to Roman Christians, and as we noted from 1 Corinthians chapters 8 and 10 they were also among Dorian Christians, and they were apart from the disputes over various aspects of the law which were often being thrust forth by the Judaizers, such as those which concerned circumcision which we see Paul write about in Galatians. From Paul's words in Romans chapter 14, as well as in others of his epistles such as Colossians and 1 Corinthians, it can be determined that early Christians were at odds concerning the keeping of Sabbaths and feasts and whether it was acceptable to eat food which had been sacrificed to idols. Resolving this dispute, in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 Paul expressed the opinion that one may indeed eat any food sold in the markets, so long as one did not worry about the source of the food. However if it was made known that the food had been sacrificed to an idol then it was better for one to abstain, for the benefit of one's Christian brethren. Paul's answer in Romans was not dissimilar but it was not as elaborate.

It must be kept in mind that these disagreements are not in respect to the moral laws of Yahweh. Rather, these disputes were only in respect to certain things in the law which were related to the regulation of community life handed down by Yahweh to the children of Israel. What was barred or permitted on the Sabbath, the Feasts and what deemed foods to be profane or sanctified were things related to the ritual laws and the Levitical priesthood done away with in Christ (Hebrews 7). The moral laws expressed in the commandments of Yahweh are not negotiable, and Paul upheld them wherever he felt it necessary to discuss them.