Finding Hope Through Discovery in Bible Study

  Evil and the Justice of God God’s Judging Process   December 24, 2022 Larry R Evans   Introduction   Perhaps one of the greatest revelations of God’s expectations of us and therefore a reflection of His own character is found in Micah 6:8, He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (NIV) To “act justly and to love mercy” in an evil world is not easy for us but is characterized by the three phases of God’s judgment which have been called (1) the pre-Advent judgment, (2) the millennial judgment, and (3) the executive judgment.   Before we get to these final phases of the judgment, we can see God’s justice revealed as He relates to three dimensions of the problem created by sin.  First, we see the call of Abraham (Gen 12) that addresses the problem of the rebellion in Eden and the expulsion of Adam and Eve. Secondly, and related to the call of Abraham, was the election of Israel who w

  Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up The Biblical Worldview of Human Nature   December 17, 2022 Larry R Evans   Introduction   To Tell the Truth   is an American  television show that aired  on the CBS television network, from 1956 to 1968, and then in syndication, from 1969 to 1978. As of 2021, there have been 31 different seasons. Each program had four celebrity panelists who first heard a statement of truth about a featured special guest. With the guest were two persons who claimed to be the special guest and they did so by sharing convincing lies.  In the end, the panelists were to decide who was telling the truth.  The one telling the truth was often not the one who was believed .   Pretenders are not something new. The Bible speaks about many who claimed to be the real thing but were not.  In the previous two weeks  we’ve, we’ve seen how one fundamental lie told by Satan in the Garden of Eden grew in its deceptive influence. We’ve seen that original lie express itself through fo

  Dead Men Tell No Tales “End-Time Deceptions”   December 10, 2022 Larry R Evans   Introduction   The phrase “Dead men tell no tales” was once a common pirate phrase that meant when someone was dead, they could no longer communicate.  In other words, it was the best way to silence someone from telling what they knew. For the pirates, it was the standard excuse for leaving no survivors. Such is not the case for many today.  The belief that the dead can speak to the living is widely accepted. The supernatural and the mystical are featured in books, TV shows, and movies as if they were a common belief and experience.  The Bible does not deny that the supernatural exists, but it does present explicit warnings about deceptive spirits who are at work to deceive and harm. Deception comes in many forms.  The Apostle Paul warned the Galatians of deceptions in his day when he wrote, Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even i

Hell, and the God of Love ( “ The Fires of Hell ” )   December 3, 2022 Larry R Evans   As we read the Bible, God is sharing  His  story with us.    No doubt we are part of it, but we need to let God tell the whole story. When we do, the parts of the puzzle come together. Many of our questions when seen from this perspective are answered including the questions about hell.    There are at least four parts to the story:    creation, (2) the fall, (3) redemption, and (4) restoration. When we leave out any of the story’s parts, we develop a distorted picture of God.    Today, many forget the “bookends” to God’s story. The bookends are the creation and the restoration of creation.    With them gone or deemphasized it’s hard to understand God and his plan for us. This is important for our study today because the “biblical” subject of hell is part of God’s 4-part plan.   Ellen White captures this truth when she wrote  The Conflict of Ages Series . The series is composed of five volumes that f