Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 4150 The picture of the Spirit as oil runs quietly through the whole Bible, from the anointing of priests and kings in the Old Testament to the believer’s anointing that John speaks of in his first letter. When Scripture presents the Spirit as oil it draws on the ancient practice of anointing, the pouring…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 4129 The sevenfold Spirit of Isaiah 11:2 is a description of the one Holy Spirit in his fullness resting upon the promised Messiah, not a picture of seven separate spirits. The prophet writes of a shoot from the stump of Jesse on whom the Spirit of the LORD shall rest, and then unfolds that…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 3001 This is perhaps the most important question any person can ask. It is the question Jesus Himself put to His disciples at Caesarea Philippi: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). Your answer to this question determines your eternal destiny. It is not enough to know about Jesus; you must know…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 10006 The covenant God made with David in 2 Samuel 7 stands alongside the Abrahamic covenant as one of the most significant unconditional commitments in the entire biblical narrative. It establishes the royal line through which the Messiah would come, the throne on which He would reign, and the kingdom that would have no…
Reading Time: 8 minutesQuestion 10075 Daniel’s prophecy of seventy weeks stands as one of Scripture’s most precise and remarkable predictions. It provides a chronological framework for understanding God’s dealings with Israel, pinpointing the exact timing of Messiah’s first coming, and revealing the future tribulation period. Understanding this prophecy unlocks much of biblical eschatology. The Historical Context Daniel received…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 3044 When we read the Gospels, we encounter the title ‘Son of David’ applied to Jesus with striking frequency. The blind call out to Him using this name. The crowds shout it during His triumphal entry. Matthew opens his entire Gospel by declaring Jesus to be “the son of David, the son of Abraham”…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 03017 Most Christians use the names “Jesus” and “Christ” interchangeably, and there is nothing wrong with that. But the two words are doing very different things. One is a personal name; the other is a title of office. Understanding the distinction opens up something genuinely rich about who he is and what God was…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 03085 The feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle of Jesus, apart from the resurrection, that appears in all four Gospels. Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17, and John 6:1-15 each record it, with John providing the most developed theological reflection on its significance. That level of independent attestation across all four…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 03003 When people say “Jesus Christ,” they are almost always using a familiar phrase without pausing to ask what “Christ” actually means. Most assume it functions something like a surname, in the way we would say “John Smith.” It is not. The word carries a specific theological meaning that, once understood, changes how Christians…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 3055 When you read Matthew’s Gospel and Luke’s Gospel, you encounter something puzzling. Both give genealogies of Jesus, but they are different. Matthew traces the line from Abraham through David to Joseph. Luke traces the line from Jesus back through David to Adam. But the differences go beyond direction. Even within the section from…