Do you know what the word “Proselyte” means? Take a quick look at the definition, and a peek into our course on the Apostolic Tour if you haven’t already!
COURSE SPOTLIGHT FROM ACTS OF THE APOSTLES: (UNIT 2) APOSTOLIC TOUR
Author: Ryan Price | Student, Living Education – Charlotte, 2021-22
Estimated Reading Time: 5 min.
But if we judge the men and women of history by our standards, we learn only about ourselves. We must shed our modern biases to better understand history. Having said all of that, and in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine raging on, Mr. Dexter Wakefield took the Living Education–Charlotte students on a tour through Russian history to bring clarity to current events, as history isn’t just about the past, but also about the present and future.
Russia has a long history of expansionism. By the end of the Russian monarchy, it was an empire covering a vast territory, yet it wasn’t until Vladimir Lenin and the rise of the Soviet Union that it became a world power. Lenin led the Russian Revolution and overthrew the monarchy. He was considered a great thinker, a highly influential writer, and an utterly ruthless leader. However, as Mr. Wakefield explained, Lenin’s successor, Joseph Stalin, was far worse. From 1928 to 1953, Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union with an iron fist. It is estimated that twenty to thirty million people were killed under his regime—almost twice the carnage of Hitler’s administration! This was due to Stalin’s harsh dealings with those who disagreed with him, as anyone who was in any way opposed to his government was to die by firing squad or be sent to the dreaded gulag.
Mr. Wakefield took a few minutes to reflect on the Soviet Union and Communism by reading a collection of quotes from individuals who either lived through that time or looked back on it. He explained that Stalin’s version of Communism—commonly referred to as Stalinism—focused heavily on not only control of people’s actions, but also control of their thoughts. He illustrated how they could do this with a quote from George Orwell’s novel 1984: “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” Mr. Wakefield warned the students that this is exactly what many are doing today through revisionist history—seeking to control our thoughts so that they can control our actions. While Vladimir Lenin was the father of the Soviet Union, Karl Marx was the father of Communism. As Mr. Wakefield put it, “Marx built the cart, and Lenin put the wheels on.” The Soviet Union was the ideology of Marxism put into practice on a massive scale, and its impact on the world is felt even today.
Near the end of World War II, Germany was on the decline. With victory imminent, the Allies met to determine the state of postwar Europe. Mr. Wakefield explained that when Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Stalin designed postwar Europe, Stalin promised to provide democratic freedoms to the nations that fell under Russian control. But in truth, he had other plans. While the nations were allowed to elect their leaders, only Communists were allowed to run. Any other party that tried to rise would be swiftly crushed with military action. Thus, Russia absorbed the nations entrusted to it under a unified military command. As the Soviet Union rose in power, NATO was formed for the protection of Europe. These events led to the Cold War, a time through which Mr. Wakefield lived. It is generally accepted that the Cold War ended with the Soviet Union’s fall due to economic pressure and the increasing political freedom of its people. However, Mr. Wakefield expressed that a kind of Cold War is now back on; with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there’s a concern that tactical nuclear weapons—small nukes intended for battlefield use—will be deployed, which presents the risk of escalation into a full nuclear exchange. Mr. Wakefield remarked that, until recently, he hadn’t heard these things mentioned in the news since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The invasion of Ukraine has prompted many European nations to reconsider their place in world politics. For example, Germany has reversed decades of policies overnight and begun rebuilding its military. Catholicism has pushed to bring the Eastern Orthodox religion—which holds sway over much of Russia—into its fold. Vladimir Putin understands the power religion has over Europe and has accused the West of trying to split Russia. The growing alliance between Russia and China could spell trouble for the United States, Mr. Wakefield said, as both nations yearn to see America’s decline and aim to replace the American dollar as the national reserve currency.
Mr. Wakefield stressed that things can happen fast. Biblical prophecy tells us that ten European nations, lending their power to a religiously backed autocrat, will dominate the world scene primarily through finance and trade. They will be in conflict with two powerful alliances from the Middle East and Asia. Could the invasion of Ukraine be the catalyst that leads to a reorganization of the European Union and solidifies a European identity among the nations? Could the Russian territory west of the Ural Mountains be split from Eastern Russia due to political and religious pressure and join the EU as one of the ten end-time nations subservient to the Beast power? Stranger things have happened lately—only time will tell.
In conclusion, Mr. Wakefield told the students that while history is occurring all around us, we must get the facts. He warned us to beware of revisionist history and to critically examine what we hear and see—and above all, to keep Jesus’ charge found in Mark 13:37: “Watch!”
Here’s a description of some of Herod’s building works and activities during the early church period…
COURSE SPOTLIGHT FROM ACTS OF THE APOSTLES (UNIT 1) THE CHURCH BEGINS
Author: Yolanda Watt | Student, Living Education – Charlotte, 2021-22
Estimated Reading Time: 3 min.
To illustrate his point, Mr. McNair showed the students a video of songwriter Ben Folds composing an orchestra piece in ten minutes. The host of the program solicited the audience to select the piece’s key, tempo, and the main lyric line—an obscure sentence from the program booklet. Once the audience had given their answers, Ben Folds was given ten minutes to create a song. As we watched the composition take place, we saw a creative mind come up with music on the spot.
After the video, Mr. McNair emphasized that creativity started with God and His design. God also created creativity in humans, and we have the capacity to create many things that we put our minds to. We see examples of biblical creativity in Noah’s ark, the Tabernacle, the priests’ garments, and even Herod’s temple.
Mr. McNair gave us three principles for living a life of creativity:
Mr. McNair closed his lecture by showing the students another short video. This one showed Elton John composing a song in front of a live audience. An audience member had an electric oven manual with him, and he asked Elton John to compose a song using this manual. Elton John succeeded marvelously, regaling the audience with an on-the-spot pop song about using an electric oven! Mr. McNair challenged the students to use their God-given gifts and intellect to build a life of creativity.
Author: Yolanda Watt | Student, Living Education – Charlotte, 2021-22
Estimated Reading Time: 6 min.
Throughout this lecture we focused on God’s imperative to young people on how to seek Him. Mr. Frank quoted from a brief article in McClintock and Strong: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, by John McClintock and James Strong which states “the ancients considered youth in a much more extended view than we do. They regarded it relatively with strength, activity, vigor; and while a man retained those attributes he was reckoned a young man, or a youth, without reference to the number of his years.”
Mr. Frank then gave examples of men who were referred to as youth or a young man, regardless of his age such as Benjamin who was in his thirties and Joshua who was in his forties. The young lack the wisdom and experience of the elders and therefore they are repeatedly considered in the book of Proverbs as “sons”. There are times that the Proverbs describe the young as being simple. This is not meant to be an insult but is used to describe one who is inexperienced. God gives many instructions to young people throughout Scripture, as Mr. Frank explained. In the remainder of the presentation, he highlighted fourteen of these “imperatives” in the following list:
We are told in Psalm 119:9-16, that in order to cleanse our way and not sin we must study the Word. The cleansing here is a spiritual one which cleanses the mind and heart. It is vitally important for us to know God’s word in our hearts so we can strive to overcome sin. The more we know of God’s instruction, the less likely we are to stray away from it.
We must also meditate on God’s word. When we meditate, we do not empty our minds like in Eastern meditation, but we fill our minds with God’s instructions. We see examples of this in Psalm 71:17-18 and Job 29:1-5.
In Psalm 148:1-6, 12, is the admonition to praise the Lord—beginning with the angelic host, the creation, and finally young men and women. All people, regardless of social status, are united in that we should all praise God. In the model prayer of Matthew 6:9-13, Christ set the example that even our prayers should begin with praising God, followed by our request, and end with praising God again.
This is a command listed in Exodus 20:12. We are to always honor our parents, regardless of our age. However, as young people we should especially consider that parents have given us much, and God expects us to honor and respect them.
Ephesians 6:1-3 commands us to obey our parents, and as Mr. Frank explained, this applies as long as we are under our parent’s roof. When we are married and move away the relationship with our parents changes, because now we are bound to a new family with our spouse. To obey means that we recognize the authority of those who are over us.
We are commanded in Psalm 34:11-14 to fear God. Fear involves revering, and being in awe of God, but it also involves being afraid to disobey God and break His commands. There is a danger in not fearing God and that should motivate us to fear Him. He has the power of life and death over us. The fear of God is also defined as the beginning of wisdom in Proverbs 9:10 and in Proverbs 8:13 it is defined as hating evil.
In Psalm 71:5-6, we see the psalmist was loyal to God from his youth. God should be our trust as it was for this psalmist.
In Proverbs 8:1-2, 12-17, wisdom is depicted as a lady who extends an invitation to the inexperienced to learn from her. She promises life and not death, and she is very public and spiritual.
Ecclesiastes 11:9-10 admonishes us to rejoice in our youth, while we are yet physically able to gain a variety of experiences.
We are also admonished of this in Ecclesiastes 11:9-10. We are to let the timely recollection of God’s judgment and the fleeting nature of youth influence our conduct, and to stay away from that which will cause lifelong sorrow and regret.
In Isaiah 54:1-5, God is telling Jerusalem that when she repents and returns to Him, He will have mercy on her and help her forget the shame of your youth. If we have made mistakes in our past, we can turn to God with a repentant heart and put those things behind us to we can move forward in our lives.
In Lamentations 3:25-27, we are admonished to accept responsibility and work hard in our youth.
In Titus 2:1-8, we see that we are to be sober or wise. This admonition is geared towards the older men and women in teaching the younger to be sober.
In 1 Peter 5:1, the apostle urges his audience to submit to their spiritual elders. The elders have the responsibility to feed the flock and to set good examples. The young must submit to elders, which could be either the physical elderly or it could be the spiritual elders, our ministers.
1 Peter 5:8 warns us to be sober and vigilant because our enemy is always looking for a way to accuse the brethren. We also read 1 John 2:12-14, where John as an elder writes to the church encouraging the young to be strong because they have overcome the wicked one. As Mr. Frank brought out, this instruction also connects to his first point—to study God’s Word.
God provides directions and instructions for young people. We, as young adults, have the potential to achieve great things for God in our years of service to Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Work of God’s Church depends on the next generation being properly trained. The students were encouraged by Mr. Frank to enjoy the special time we have and to make the most of our fleeting youth, as it will serve well for the rest of our lives in our service to God and to His Church.
Did you know there was a discovery of a burial box that James the brother of Jesus Christ may have been buried in? In the fall of 2002 this discovery incited much scholarly debate over it’s inscription’s authenticity, which stated, “James the son of Joseph the brother of Jesus.”
Course Spotlight From The General Epistles: (Part 1) The Letters of James and Peter
Author: Mr. Kenneth Frank | Faculty in Theology, Living Education
Estimated reading time: 7 min.
Deep inside, humans know they have limited life spans. Nonetheless, people go about their daily affairs as if there would be no end of days. God inspired a psalm to remind us that, because of sin, human life is limited. He wants believers to make the most of their limited time serving Him. This Digging Deeper challenges its readers to think deeply about the brevity of mortal life while anticipating life eternal.
Our focus verse comes from a psalm that frames Moses’ prayer: Psalm 90:12 KJV throughout: “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Moses was not the only man of God to make such a request. David prayed a similar prayer in Psalm 39:4 “LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.” By contrast, notice how God views time in Psalm 90:4 “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.”
Notice the immediate context of Psalm 90:12 in v. 10: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” The NKJ Study Bible explains this lesson of counting our years: “The point here is not to set a maximum, but to present a context for the brevity of human life. No matter how long people live, it is inevitable that they will fly away to death” (Tecarta Bible App).
B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible provides some background for this psalm: “The author of Psalm 90 is Moses. He wrote this psalm while he was in the wilderness of Arabia. The internal evidence that Moses wrote it at this time is that it bears the stamp of the wilderness period all the way through” (e-Sword 13.0.0).
Henry Morris in his Days of Praise commentary for Psalm 90:10, entitled Threescore Years and Ten, wrote: “When Moses wrote these words near the end of his life, he was 120 years old (Deuteronomy 34:7), but all the rest of the people of Israel (except Caleb and Joshua) who had been over 20 at the beginning of the 40-year wilderness wanderings, had died there (Numbers 14:28-34), and so there were no others over 60 years old…Thus, the normal lifespan by Moses’ time was down to 70 or 80 years, and he prophesied that this would continue. It is remarkable that, with all the increase in medical knowledge, this figure has stayed about the same, and there seems to be little the gerontologists can do to increase it.”
F.B. Meyer in his Through the Bible Day by Day pictures the Israelites’ trauma as they witnessed the older generation dying off because God judged them for refusing to enter the Promised Land as He instructed: “The ceaseless succession of graves was the bitter harvest of Israel’s rebellions. Oh, that we might apply our hearts to wisdom that we may not fail of God’s rest” (e-Sword 13.0.0)! The Treasury of David, by C.H. Spurgeon, elaborates further: “Poor Israel was greatly afflicted. These deaths in the wilderness made her a perpetual mourner, but Moses asks that God will return to his people, cheer and encourage them, and let the few days they have to live be bright with his presence” (e-Sword 13.0.0).
B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible notes a fascinating correspondence between this psalm and a section of Deuteronomy: “There are several parallels between this and Moses’ Song and Blessing in Deuteronomy 32-33. For example, Psalm 90:1 equals Deuteronomy 33:27 a: Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations (Psalm 90:1). The eternal God is thy dwelling-place, And underneath are the everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27 a). Psalm 90:12 equals Deuteronomy 32:29: So teach us to number our days, that we may get us a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12.) Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end, (Deuteronomy 32:29.)” (e-Sword 13.0.0). Moses had properly instructed the people in God’s ways, but their rebellion resulted in multiple graves instead of blessing.
Even so, there is hope for all sinners. Bob Utley’s You Can Understand the Bible provides broader context for understanding this psalm: “Psalm 90:7-12 This strophe clearly admits that YHWH’s judgment on His people is the direct result of their sin. However, His people trust and hope in the basic character of God—mercy! To me, Psalm 103:8-14 is a sure hope in the character of God (cf. Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 4:31; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86:15; 145:8)” (e-Sword 13.0.0). Among his final statements, Moses admonishes the repentant to pray: “Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil (Psalm 90:15) “.
In Psalm 90:12 God’s people are counseled to apply their hearts to wisdom. The NET Bible defines heart: “The Hebrew term ‘heart’ here refers to the center of one’s thoughts, volition, and moral character” (e-Sword 13.0.0). The Jamiesson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary describes what wisdom entails in this context: “The ‘wisdom’ meant is that which flows from a right consideration of the brevity of life, and our guiltiness as the cause of God’s, anger against us; and consists in ‘fearing God’ and ‘departing from evil’ (Job 28:28)” (Ibid.). This is the essence of repentance.
The Sermon Bible Commentary, edited by W. Robertson Nicholl, enhances the meaning of wisdom: “Wisdom is a great word, because the idea it symbolizes is great. Wisdom represents that finer power, that higher characteristic of mind, which suggests the proper application of facts, the right use of knowledge, the correct direction of our faculties. He whose heart is applied to wisdom has put himself in such a position that he can think divinely—think as God would think in his place” (e-Sword 13.0.0). The Expository Notes by Dr. Constable then summarizes wisdom: “A heart of wisdom refers to discernment of Yahweh’s purposes” (Ibid.). Bible study and prayer reveal the mind of God to the faithful.
The Treasury of David by C.H. Spurgeon illuminates true spiritual wisdom: “That is the great matter, after all, to get the heart applied to wisdom, to learn what is the right way, and to walk in it in the practical actions of daily life. It is of little use for us to learn to number our days if it merely enables us to sit down in self-confidence and carnal security; but if our hearts be applied to true wisdom, the Lord’s teaching has been effectual” (e-Sword 13.0.0).
W. Robertson Nicholl’s The Expositor’s Dictionary of Texts elaborates with practical steps: “It means to gauge and test our own career in the light of its moral and spiritual issues. And as God teaches us this we understand the secret of true wisdom. For wisdom lies in a just estimate of the real values of things. T. H. Darlow, The Upward Calling, p. 436” (e-Sword 13.0.0). God’s wisdom teaches His adherents the things that really matter to prepare them for service in His eternal Kingdom.
Daniel Whedon’s Commentary specifies what God is trying to accomplish: “This looks to the end of all divine judgment. Lamentations 3:39-40. God’s displeasure is manifested to awaken a salutary fear of him, which shall turn men from sin, and lead to the practice of wisdom. So long as men treat sin as a trifle they will treat God with irreverence and themselves with abuse. Revelation 15:4” (e-Sword 13.0.0).
The Sermon Bible Commentary, edited by W. Robertson Nicholl, presses upon devotees the right use of their limited time: “A short life should be wisely spent. We have not enough time at our disposal to justify us in misspending a single quarter of an hour. Neither are we sure of enough of life to justify us in procrastinating for a moment. If we were wise in heart we should see this, but mere head wisdom will not guide us aright” (e-Sword 13.0.0). God gives Christians limited time – use it wisely!
Henry Morris’ Defender’s Study Bible makes an impressive comparison: “Compare Deuteronomy 32:29 in Moses’ valedictory address to the children of Israel. A person has only about eighteen thousand days in which he could apply his life to eternal values, so it is vitally important to be ‘redeeming the time’ (Ephesians 5:16)” (e-Sword 13.0.0). Bob Utley’s You Can Understand the Bible provides reassuring words to begin to bring this brief study to a close: “Once we realize our frailty and His permanence, then and only then, can we live a life of joy, peace, and trust. Our hope is completely in Him. Our service to Him brings meaning to life” (e-Sword 13.0.0)! The time that God does provide believers should be expended in His service. The NKJ Study Bible pinpoints the central lesson of Psalm 90:12: “This is more than just having a sense of mortality; it means valuing the time we do have by using it for eternal purposes” (Tecarta Bible App).
Kenneth Frank was born and raised in New Jersey, USA, and attended Ambassador College, graduating in 1973. He served in the Canadian ministry from 1973-1999, after which he returned to the USA to pastor churches in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina for 15 years. Having earned a BA degree from Ambassador College he later earned a MA degree from Grand Canyon University before being assigned to the Charlotte office to teach at Living University, now Living Education. Currently, he teaches the Survey of the Bible course to the on-campus students and writes the Digging Deeper column for our online Bible study program. He is married, has four children, and seven grandchildren.