Archives for January 2014

J.C. Ryle Challenges You on the Meaning of ‘Israel’

The great 19th century theologian and Anglican Bishop John Charles Ryle issued a simple challenge that has never been satisfactorily answered.  Below is the question in bold and the context in which it is found: The word ‘Israel’ is used nearly seven hundred times in the Bible.  I can only discover three senses in which […]

The Song of Moses Makes a Distinction Between Israel and the Church

There are a myriad of ways to clearly demonstrate from the Bible that Israel and the Church (i.e. Body of Christ) are not to be understood as the same entity. Here let us consider the example rooted in the Song of Moses: “They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked […]

The Gospel of Matthew Was First Written in Hebrew

Though no copies are extant, there is good historical evidence that Matthew’s Gospel was first written in Hebrew.  Around 130 A.D., Church father Papias (a former student of the Apostle John) explained: So then Matthew wrote the oracles in the Hebrew language, and everyone interpreted them as he was able.  (Recorded by Eusebius in Church […]