I remember the head rabbi at the rabbinic school where I studied in Israel many years ago saying that the reason certain persons have power with God so that he answers their requests is that they have “merit” (Hebrew zehut) with God. It acts like a bank account in which the more “merit” you have, […]
Question: When might we expect the prophecies of Isaiah to be fulfilled? Answer: Isaiah’s prophecies cover the brief period of time that immediately precedes the coming of Jehovah to reign on the earth, also known as the “Day of Jehovah.” It begins with God’s raising up his endtime servant in response to a general apostasy
When might we expect the prophecies of Isaiah to be fulfilled? Read More »
For a long time I didn’t make the connection between Monday migraines and Sundays’ partaking of the gluten- and commercial yeast-rich sacrament bread, not to mention inhaling potent levels of fragrances some ward members feel compelled to wear that inevitably subject sensitive other ward members to often lingering allergic reactions. Being averse to taking medications
Many people down the ages have led religious lives that couldn’t necessarily be called spiritual, though they may have mistaken one for the other. When spirituality becomes hypocrisy, God springs a surprise that separates the true from the false: “My Lord says, ‘Because these people approach me with the mouth and pay me homage with
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While the phenomenon of the heavens “opening” to persons who receive visions of God and angels is well known from the scriptures, it is not so commonplace that every believer in Jesus experiences it. And yet, as the scripture says, “The gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on
It seems to me that being ordained a king or a priest has little meaning if the person so ordained merely bears those titles and doesn’t actually function as a king or priest—by God’s definition, that is, not man’s. Isaiah prophesies endtime persons being so ordained; but he also gives criteria for what it means
When President Ezra Taft Benson used to say “Find out what your mission in life is and pay any price to fulfill it,” it made me think that each of us has a calling in life that is unique to us besides the general calling for us to be saved from sin and obtain eternal
Isaiah’s own testimony—that his revelations specifically address the end-time; that they foretell the end from the beginning; that Israel’s ancient history consists of a series of types or precedents that foreshadow things to come; and so forth—clearly define his book as centrally important to understanding God’s dealings in human history, past, present, and future. But
Does the Book of Isaiah Supersede All Other Prophecy? Read More »
Question: What did Jesus and Israel’s prophets say about the writings of Isaiah?Answer: As the most quoted prophet in all of scripture, Isaiah is accorded the highest honors among God’s prophetic messengers. When Jesus says, “Search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life, for they are those that testify of me”
What did Jesus and Israel’s prophets say about the writings of Isaiah? Read More »
Isaiah predicts that before Jehovah’s coming to reign on the earth, kings and queens of the Gentiles will restore the house of Israel to God’s covenant and to lands of inheritance. We know from this prophecy and from other scriptures that these persons will serve as spiritual kings and queens not political ones. On the
When situations in life greet you in which persons and institutions whom you would expect should most stand by you instead oppose you, it indeed presents a paradoxical challenge difficult to reconcile. You might say that such situations would likely rarely happen because most people and proven institutions are good. True, but there are also
Time and again, I have proven to myself that the relationship between “doing” and “believing” works like a mathematical equation. As the Israelites said at the foot of the mount at the time they covenanted with God, “We will do and we will hear” (na’a’seh wenismâ’; Exodus 24:7), meaning that with the doing comes the
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