Showing results by narrator "Dr. Bill Creasy" in All Categories

Revelation is the easiest book in the Bible to read and to teach—providing you have read all the books in the Bible that precede it! We noted at the very start of our study together that the Bible—in its final, finished form—is a unified literary work: The curtain rises in Genesis and it falls in Revelation. In between we have a linear narrative: God is the main character; sin is the conflict; redemption is the theme. Thus, reading Revelation is like reading the final chapter in a 2,000-page novel.

Forgiveness of sin does not cancel the consequences of sin. And in 2 Samuel 12 the consequences envelop David. David’s eldest son and heir to the throne, Amnon, rapes his half-sister, Tamar. Absalom, Tamar’s brother and David’s favorite son, murders Amnon in revenge, and then Absalom flees into exile.

The Babylonian Captivity is catastrophic for the Jews. In Psalm 137 we read: “By the waters of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion” (Psalm 137: 1). And 1 Chronicles 9: 1 tells us: “The people of Judah were taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.” Cyrus the Great king of Persia (559-530 B.C.—modern-day Iran) conquers Babylon by 540 B.C., and following his enlightened policies allows the people conquered by Assyria and Babylon to return to their homes and rebuild.

We’ve all heard the story of David and Bathsheba, but never like this: There is no great love affair between David and Bathsheba; adultery is not David’s great sin; and although God forgives David for what he does, there are far reaching consequences that shake the kingdom and bring David to his knees. This is one of the greatest stories in all of world literature, dazzling in its brilliance, stunning in its nuance and profound in its understanding of human nature.

Saul of Tarsus was one of the most brilliant young men of his generation. He was being groomed for leadership in the Jewish community, and he was destined for greatness. With the birth of the Church and its rapid growth, Saul saw the threat posed by this emerging, radical sect of Judaism, and he took it upon himself to lead a fierce persecution against it.

Jonah is one of the great stories in the Bible. Join Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy as he tells this story as no one else can! When God commands Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, and preach against it, Jonah heads in the exact opposite direction—to Tarshish, in Spain! Follow the adventure as a huge storm tosses Jonah’s ship, the sailors hurl Jonah overboard and a huge fish swallows him!

A very short personal letter by John to “the lady chosen by God and her children”, 2 John may be addressed to a literal woman and her children, or perhaps to a specific church (the “lady”) and her members (her “children”). In either case, John emphasizes that love must be rooted in truth, a concept that we often ignore today. Amusingly, John ends his short epistle by saying: “I have much to write to you, but I don’t want to use paper and ink.” Instead, he says, I’ll be stopping by for visit soon!

Jewish Bibles classify Daniel among the “Writings,” not the “Prophets”; Christian Bibles elevate Daniel to the position of a major prophet. Daniel is taken captive to Babylon after its first attack on Jerusalem in 605 B.C. Daniel’s book is set in Babylon and spans the years 605 – 539 B.C.

When the Babylonian sacked Jerusalem in August of 586 B.C., the Edomites--descendants of Jacob's twin brother, Esau--looted the city. Obadiah is a 1-page book--the shortest book of prophecy in the Bible--that signals God's displeasure with Edom's actions. Join Logos Bible Study's Dr. Bill Creasy as he makes a stunning discovery about one of Esau's descendants who will appear in the New Testament!

Traditionally ascribed to Jude, a brother of both James and the Lord, mentioned in Matthew 13:58, Jude had wanted to write a rather thorough theological treatise, but present circumstances in the church compel him to address a different topic: what believers can do in days of apostasy. Written sometime in the late 80s or early 90s, this epistle offers very practical advice for those living in what appear to be the "end times".

It is A.D. 68, the final year of Nero’s four-year persecution of the church, and Paul has been arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to death. In 2 Timothy Paul writes his “last will and testament,” appointing Timothy as the one who will take over Paul’s ministry after his death. At this point, Timothy has spent eighteen years with Paul and their relationship has developed into that of a father and a son.

Although their names sound alike, few men in the Bible are more different than Elijah and Elisha. Elijah loves a show; Elisha is shy. Elijah loves a grand exit; Elisha dies quietly, alone. Yet, in many ways, Elisha is an even greater prophet than Elijah. This is his story.

From a literary perspective, Isaiah may be divided into three parts: 1) Part 1 (chapters 1-35) is written in dramatic form, and its theme is judgment; 2) Part 2 (chapters 36-39) is written in narrative form, and it serves as an historical interlude; and Part 3 (chapters 40-66) is written in poetic form and its theme is grace. In Part 1, we encounter a courtroom scene in which God sits as judge—with Israel in the defendant’s seat—as witnesses come forth and accuse Israel of sin and unfaithfulness: The verdict, guilty; the punishment, exile.

Every good story has a conflict, and our conflict enters the story here: Sin. In our class we define sin, not as an action that we commit, but as a condition we are in: “Sin is a condition of alienation and separation from God, that manifests itself in outward, sinful action.” And that condition has several inevitable consequences. We explore the nature of sin in this lecture.

We continue our story of Paul as he begins his 2nd missionary journey, A.D. 50 – 52, leaving Syrian Antioch and making his way across Asia Minor, into Macedonia and finally arriving in Greece, where he spends 18 months at Corinth. Then it’s on to his third missionary journey to Ephesus, A.D. 54 – 57, and finally he is caught in a thicket of legal problems that take him to Rome and an audience before Caesar himself.

Drawing primarily on Luke and Matthew this session focuses on Jesus’ birth. John writes in his prologue: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... [and] the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1: 1, 14). This is the great miracle in the Bible: God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, became man and lived among us.

As we move through the Bible, we encounter both oral and writing prophets. Elijah and Elisha, for example, are oral prophets, neither one writes anything that we know of. We simply have their stories in 1 & 2 Kings, stories about what they said and did. Writing prophets, on the other hand, write books. Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and the twelve Minor Prophets commit what they have to say to writing, sometimes in long books like Isaiah (66 chapters), and other times in short books like Obadiah (1 chapter).

With the Law in hand and the Tabernacle functioning, Moses organizes the Israelites by tribe, clan and family. A head count numbers 603,550 men, ages 20-50. The march to the Promised Land begins!

Jonah knew that if he delivered God’s message to the Ninevites they would repent and God would save them; but he also knew that even if the Ninevites repented, they would backslide into their old ways. And that’s exactly what happens. The prophet Nahum makes clear what will happen to the capital of the Assyrian empire if they turn away from God.

When Cyrus the Great king of Persia allows the Jews to return home and rebuild Jerusalem, only 42,360 do (Ezra 2: 64), about 10% of the population. The rest stay behind in Assyria, Babylon and Persia. After all, it had been nearly 200 years since the Northern kingdom had been taken captive into Assyria and almost 70 years since the Southern kingdom had been taken captive to Babylon. The Jews had built homes, started businesses and settled into their new lives.