The Apologetics Newsletter
of the Missouri Baptist Convention
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In this issue: When angels desert ... Who is Michael the archangel? ... The witness of John to Christ's deity ... The Searcher's Guide to the Apocalypse ... and more! |
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The identity of certain angels in Jude 6 is a matter of much debate. Unlike Satan and most evil spirits, who roam free, these angels are kept "with eternal chains in darkness for the judgment of the great day ..." While many views have emerged, two seem to be most popular -- and both are tied, at least in part, to Gen. 6:1-4, and, to a lesser degree, the apocryphal Book of Enoch.
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Who is Michael the archangel? |
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Jude 9 offers one of the few references to Michael the archangel in Scripture. He is the only archangel mentioned in the Bible, and his name means, "Who is like God?" While it's important to understand who Michael is, as well as what he does in service to the Lord, it's equally important to understand who Michael is not.
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The witness of John to Christ's deity |
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Jesus not only claims to be God; he demonstrates his deity through divine acts that only God can perform. But is there corroborating testimony from the eyewitnesses who walked with Jesus during his earthly ministry? Yes, there is! For starters, let's look at what the apostle John had to say about the deity of Christ.
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Near the end of Jude's epistle, he quotes a prophecy from Enoch: "Look! The Lord comes with thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment on all ..." Nowhere else in Scripture is Enoch's prophecy recorded, prompting some to dispute the inspiration of Jude's letter. But there's good reason to accept the prophecy of Enoch as the very words of God.
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The Searcher's Guide to the Apocalypse |
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The Searcher's Guide to the Apocalypse is now available as a Kindle ebook. It's a verse-by-verse quest to understand the Book of Revelation, the final book in the Bible and the first place many people go to find answers about the future. But Revelation is more than prophecy. It is rich with information about the first-century church, which struggled with persecution, worldliness, and idolatry. Sounds a lot like the 21st century.
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What is the Word-Faith movement? |
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Does God want me rich? Can my words create reality? Are human beings, made in the image of God, actually "little gods?" Almost without exception, leaders of today's Word-Faith movement answer these questions with a resounding "Yes!" But is the Word-Faith movement orthodox in its theology? What, exactly, is this movement? And who are its leaders?
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Now on Audible: Jesus Before Bethlehem
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High Street Press, the publishing imprint of the Missouri Baptist Convention, now offers its newest resource, Jesus Before Bethlehem: What Every Christian Should Know About the Angel of the LORD, as an audio book on Audible. This 335-page resource explores dozens of Old Testament Christophanies, or appearances of the preincarnate Christ. Written for pastors and laypersons, the study is designed to show how the eternal Son of God has always taken a personal interest in those He created to be His imagers on earth.
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Missouri Baptist Convention | 400 E. High St., Jefferson City, MO 65101 | 573.636.0400 | mobaptist.org |
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