Malachi 3:2 says, “But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.” This verse uses the imagery of a refiner’s fire and launderer’s soap to describe God’s purifying work in judgment. Let’s look closely at what these two images signify. Context of Malachi 3:2 Malachi 3:2 comes in the broader context of God’s coming judgment through the Messiah. Malachi wrote his book after the Jews had returned from exile in Babylon. Though they had rebuilt the temple, their worship of God had…
Author: Richard Curi
The Lord’s Prayer, also known as the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central prayer in Christianity. It was taught by Jesus to his disciples as recorded in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. The prayer consists of an address to God the Father, a petition for the coming of God’s kingdom and the fulfillment of His will, requests for daily bread and forgiveness, and pleas for deliverance from temptation and evil. While the Lord’s Prayer covers crucial elements like praising God, seeking provision, and requesting forgiveness, it notably does not include thanksgiving or expressing gratitude. This omission has led…
The account of Jesus in the Bible does not appear to be taken from the story of Serapis Christus. Here are 9000 words explaining why: The story of Serapis Christus originated in Egypt during the 3rd century BCE. Serapis was a Greco-Egyptian god who combined aspects of Egyptian and Greek deities. Some centuries after his cult was established, the legend developed that Serapis was a composite god merging the Egyptian Osiris and Apis with the Greek Hades and Zeus. In the 3rd century BCE, Ptolemy I established the cult of Serapis in Alexandria. Ptolemy I wanted Serapis to be a…
After the end of the Babylonian captivity, many Israelites who had been exiled to Babylon returned to rebuild Jerusalem and resettle the Promised Land. When they arrived, they discovered that some of the people had intermarried with foreigners from the surrounding nations. This greatly distressed Ezra the priest and the other leaders, who saw it as a breaking of God’s law and a threat to the religious purity of the returning exiles. The primary passages that discuss this issue are Ezra 9-10 and Nehemiah 13:23-27. According to these texts, the Israelites were commanded to divorce their foreign wives and abandon…
In Revelation 2:18-29, Jesus addresses the church in Thyatira with a message of warning and encouragement. Thyatira was a city in western Asia Minor that had a large commercial center and many trade guilds. The church there faced temptations to compromise with the pagan culture around them. Jesus begins by identifying himself as “the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze” (v. 18). This description emphasizes his piercing vision to see into the church’s condition and his power to refine and judge. He knows their deeds, love, faith, service…
The Apostle Paul is credited as the author of 13 books of the New Testament. These letters make up a significant portion of the New Testament and contain critical doctrine, instruction, and encouragement for the early churches. Here is a breakdown of the 13 books Paul wrote: The 13 Letters of Paul Romans The book of Romans was likely written by Paul in A.D. 57. This epistle was addressed to the church in Rome and is the longest and most theological of Paul’s letters. Key themes include the righteousness of God, salvation by grace through faith, and the unity of…
The Hebrew Scriptures, also known as the Old Testament, contain many prophecies and foreshadowings regarding the coming of the Messiah. Specifically, there are a number of passages that point to the Messiah’s death and resurrection. Isaiah 53 One of the most well-known Messianic prophecies is found in Isaiah 53. This passage speaks extensively about the “Suffering Servant” who would bear the sins of the people, be rejected, sacrificed, and killed. Yet, after this suffering and death, the passage points to his resurrection and exaltation (Isaiah 53:10-12). The Suffering Servant is portrayed throughout Isaiah as an individual person and the Messiah.…
The book of Nahum focuses on God’s judgment against the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh. Nahum prophesied sometime between 663-612 BC, likely closer to the latter date right before Nineveh fell to the Babylonians in 612 BC. The Assyrians were a cruel, warlike people who committed terrible atrocities against nations they conquered. So why did God judge Nineveh so harshly through Nahum’s prophecies? Here are some key reasons: 1. Nineveh’s long history of evil, violence and idolatry Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire, which was characterized by evil, violence and idolatry for centuries. Their kings worshipped false gods…
Platonism is the philosophy of Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher who lived in the 5th-4th century BCE. Plato’s philosophy had a profound impact on Western thought and culture. At the core of Plato’s philosophy is his theory of forms, which holds that the physical world we perceive is only a shadow of a higher, perfect realm of ideals or forms. Plato divided reality into two separate realms – the world of physical appearances and the realm of abstract Forms or Ideas. The physical world is imperfect and constantly changing, but the world of Forms represents perfection, eternal truth, and absolute…
Hating sin is an important part of the Christian life. The Bible tells us that we should hate evil (Psalm 97:10) and that God hates sin (Proverbs 6:16-19). As Christians, we are called to be like God and to hate what He hates. But hating our own sin can be difficult. Here are some biblical ways to learn to hate your own sin: Recognize the seriousness of sin Sin is extremely serious in God’s eyes. All sin is ultimately rebellion against God (1 Samuel 15:23). It incurs God’s wrath and judgment (Romans 1:18) and leads to spiritual death (Romans 6:23).…