Our Thread

Pasa Graphe' Theopneustos Kai Ophelimos (Greek) is one of the most often-repeated passages from the Scriptures, ie, the Bible. The passage appears in the heading of our Facebook page. But what does it say to us in our various tongues? Well, for those of us who speak English, this passage is a bold testimony from the pen of one Paul, a first-century scholar from the Isrealite tribe of Benjamin. It is also a statement steeped in the thelogy of the Biblical narratives. So, Paul wrote to a young ethnic Jew named Timotheus: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable......"
At the time Paul wrote those words, there was not yet a codex known as the "New Testament." The scrolls of papyrus on which were written the Scriptures are what we call today the "Old Testament." In its immediate and limited interpretation, Paul is saying that the messages in the Old Testament are inspired by God. That being so, who is the man who would say that the record of the flood in Noah's day was simply an allegory, and not an historical account?

Haggai

In 586 B.C., after a long siege, the city of Jerusalem was captured by the king of Babylon. He burned the city to the ground and took its people as captives to Babylonia.

About 50 years later, a group of these Jewish exiles returned to their homeland. They wanted to rebuild the ruined Temple of Jerusalem. And they began the work. But after a while, they became discouraged because there was so much opposition from their enemies, mainly the Samaritans. The rebuilding activities came to a virtual standstill.

It was the divinely appointed work of the prophet Haggai to encourage God's people to get back to work—to finish the rebuilding of the Temple.

The book of Haggai contains four messages the prophet delivered to the discouraged people in the year 520 B.C. These inspired messages had a powerful effect. The work of rebuilding was restarted and carried to a successful completion in 515 B.C.

What an accomplishment! And, I might add, what an encouragement to us today! If we will but listen to God's prophets and act upon the principles they teach, we too can expect God's blessing. We, too will accomplish great things for Him.