Category Archives: Bible Study

Beware of Worldly Virtues in the Church

Andrew Bernhardt's Home Page Posted on by

Ever since Jesus warned His disciples of false prophets in Matthew 7:15, “wolves in sheep’s clothing” have promulgated their doctrine. Most of the New Testament epistles addressed the errors of various false teachers such as the Judaizers and Gnostics. But the New Testament warns us things will be much worse in the end times, just before Jesus returns, …and that some Christians would buy into the doctrines of demons: Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons… – 1 Timothy 4:1 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for … Continue reading →

“Why did Noah curse Canaan?”

Andrew Bernhardt's Home Page Posted on by

And Noah began to be a husbandman, and planted a vineyard. And he drank of the wine, and was drunken, and he uncovered himself in his tent. And Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren outside. And Shem and Japheth took the upper garment and both laid it upon their shoulders, and went backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were turned away, that they saw not their father’s nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and learned what his youngest son had done to him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; Let him be a bondman of bondmen to his brethren. – Genesis 9:20-25 On reading … Continue reading →

Who Is The Israel Of God? – Part 5

Andrew Bernhardt's Home Page Posted on by

So why all the fuss over who Israel is today? Isn’t this just quibbling over a minor doctrinal understanding? Does it really make any difference what position you take? I said at the beginning that the doctrine of supersessionism has profoundly affected much of the church’s view of the Jews, end-times prophecy, and theology. Here are some of the effects of the Church taking on itself the role of the new Israel: When the Church called itself the new Israel, it started following the patterns of Israel’s worship in the Old Testament. Israel was divided into twelve tribes, of which only one had rights to temple service, of which only a part had the priesthood, of which only one was … Continue reading →

Who Is The Israel Of God? – Part 4

Andrew Bernhardt's Home Page Posted on by

We’ve seen the evidence to know God is not done with Israel. Now let’s look at the scriptures used to promote replacement theology to see how they’ve been misinterpreted. I saw, when, for this very cause that backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorce, … – Jeremiah 3:8 Taken by itself, this verse appears to say that God was done with the northern ten tribes of Israel. Once you’re divorced, you’ve cut all ties with your spouse. However, God did not cut all ties… “They say, ‘If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him, and become another man’s, will he return to her again?’ Wouldn’t that … Continue reading →

Who Is The Israel Of God? – Part 3

Andrew Bernhardt's Home Page Posted on by

Now let’s see what the New Testament says about the people of Israel. All of the epistles were written after Jesus was rejected by His people. Yet, even that was not enough for God to reject them. Paul writes in his epistle to the Romans: I ask then, did God reject his people? May it never be! For I also am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God didn’t reject his people, which he foreknew. … Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. … I ask then, did they stumble that they might fall? May it never be! But by their fall salvation has … Continue reading →

Who Is The Israel Of God? – Part 2

Andrew Bernhardt's Home Page Posted on by

One of the most important foundations of Bible interpretation is: No scripture contradicts other scripture. If it’s all inspired by God, it must all agree with itself. This means you cannot set one set of verses against another set of verses to see which wins out because all of the Bible agrees with itself. If one passage seems to contradict another passage, you can be sure you have a wrong understanding of one or both passages. If something does not make sense, you must be open to the possibility that a doctrine you believe in may be wrong. It’s not enough to have select proof-texts to support what you believe. You must look at all of scripture to determine if … Continue reading →

Who Is the Israel of God? – Part 1

Andrew Bernhardt's Home Page Posted on by

If you lived five-hundred years ago, you would have thought the earth to be at the center of the universe. It would have been hard to convince you otherwise, for we don’t sense the earth moving beneath our feet, but we do see the sun, moon, stars and planets spin across the sky. While various cultures around the world followed the geocentric model, it was Claudius Ptolemy (100 – 170 A.D.) who formally explained the motion of the planets as a combination of their orbit around the earth, plus a mysterious epicycle to explain why the planets backtracked at times in the sky. His theory prevailed for over 1200 years, not just because it felt true, but because it worked: … Continue reading →

The Key To Understanding Job

Andrew Bernhardt's Home Page Posted on by

And so it was, after Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, that Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath has been kindled against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Job 42:7 This is the key verse to understanding the book of Job. It is not a book about Job or about suffering but about the character and nature of God. God’s statement to Eliphaz, “…you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has,” should stir up serious and confusing questions in your mind, for on the surface it appears Job’s friends spoke right about God and Job didn’t. But … Continue reading →

God Remembers

Andrew Bernhardt's Home Page Posted on by

“And God remembered Noah…” – Genesis 8:1 God does not forget like we forget, but He does remember. Once a year my wife and I fly from our home in Nevada to visit my parents in New Jersey. When the visit is over, we fly back home. The trip takes about five hours. If the flight is during the day, I like to look out the window to see where we are. Below I see cities and towns and the Appalachian mountains. Later I see the Mississippi river, then the plains, followed by the Rocky Mountains. But when the canyonlands of the southwest come into view, I know soon the pilot will remember to adjust the controls to begin our … Continue reading →

Holistic Bible Study

Andrew Bernhardt's Home Page Posted on by

For I have not shrunk back from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. – Acts 20:27 (VW) Biblical illiteracy is epidemic in the church today. Unlike any other time in history, we swim in an ocean of Bibles, but we don’t make an effort to study them for ourselves. We prefer to trust others to tell us what the Bible says and means. As a result, we’re ignorant of even the basics, and we let every wind of strange and corrupt doctrine sway us. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the rudimentary principles of the Words of God; and you have come to need milk and not … Continue reading →