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Did Jesus preach the Gospel to the spirits in prison?

In 1 Peter 3:18-20 we read these words, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison , who were formerly disobedient, when once the Divine long suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared in which a few, that is eight souls were saved through water” (NKJV). The phrase He went and preached to the spirits in prison , is a subject of debate. Some, perhaps many that are aware of this account in the church believe this means Jesus between His death and resurrection went to an area in the underworld called paradise and preached the gospel to Old Testament saints like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Daniel, Isaiah, etc. Jesus had to reveal to them that He was the Messiah they must believe in order to receive salvation so they could be taken to heaven when he led captivity captive (Ep

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

This is an age old question. I feel it is an appropriate one to ask in light of what the world is dealing with right now with this current worldwide pandemic Coronavirus (COVID-19). At the time of this writing in the US there are 50,818  confirmed cases, 333 recoveries and 678  deaths. Globally there  are 414,485  confirmed cases, 108,263  recoveries and 18,576  deaths. These numbers are according to WHO , CDC , CCDC  and ECDC . These are alarming statistics considering we have only known about this pathogen for about 3 months. The question has already been asked countless times, "Why is this happening to us? Are we in the last days?" Perhaps others are asking themselves is this a judgment from God? Fear has gripped the world. Hysteria abounds. Why else would people in a panic fight in the store aisles over toilet paper as if it can somehow save you. I still haven't figured out why people would want to hoard toilet paper. If this was the end of the world which it isn

Death and Life are in the power of the Tongue

I cannot speak for anyone else, but for this writer, this verse in Proverbs 18:21 has been somewhat of a challenge over the years. Why? Because if one takes these words literally, then some if not many will believe that we can produce death or life with our words. Is that true? Can we do that with our words? What is the writer Solomon telling us in this verse? First of all, I would like to convey what he is not saying. This verse by no means is saying we can literally bring about life and death by our words. Our words do not have that kind of power. Only God has that ability. God is the one that calls things which do not exist as though they did (Romans 4:17).   So, the power of positive confession although popular is not Biblical. To help define this verse, we need to look at other verses. Please remember that the best interpreter of scripture is scripture. Here is what we read in Proverbs 15:4, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit

The Living Dead

Horror films have been made about the living dead for sheer entertainment and excitement. Dead bodies coming out their graves to scare and kill people - zombies we call them. They have animation, but are technically dead. They do not have feeling or any vitality. The flesh is rotting and they lose limbs easily. They do not communicate - they only moan.  The Bible describes people devoid of God's Spirit as dead. Both Ephesians 2:1 and Colossians 2:13 describes us as being dead in trespasses and sins before God made us alive. What type of death is this? It is spiritual death. Jesus when rebuking the Pharisees described them as beautiful whitewashed tombs on the outside, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones (Matthew 23:27). So, the word of God reveals to us that there are spiritual zombies - those that are alive physically but dead spiritually. How did man become the living dead? We were born this way unfortunately. We have to travel all the way to the beginning of

Special 23rd Wedding Anniversary Edition Podcast - Part 2

Please click on link to listen https://drive.google.com/open?id=1s8S7pk_cGevHOB346lGDCFTnEvvIgLQx

Special 23rd Wedding Anniversary Edition Podcast - Part 1

Please click on link to listen https://drive.google.com/open?id=1d_GNBnktEoeV0zhF_4GKwX8YgQzSF2x7

Proverbs Chapter Two Commentary

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                             Chapter Two The value of Godly wisdom is priceless. One should be willing to sell everything to they own to obtain it. Yet that would never be enough. So, God grants it to all. Wisdom also has to be a diligent lifelong pursuit. Only fools reject knowledge and wisdom. That is what Solomon is stressing to his son. In order for one to have success in every area of life, one has to fear the Lord which is the root cause of wisdom. Verses 1-11 Solomon is teaching his son(s) again the value of listening to his words and obeying his commands. Insight has to be a willing expedition. Just as a miner searches for silver and gold, we must seek after wisdom as hidden treasure – be willing to attack whatever obstacle is in our way to capture our goal and win the prize. One that does that in regard to wisdom is on their way to greatness and success in life. Then and only then will one understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God (vs 5).