Print Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." (Revelation 21:5a) Introduction I debated ending the Essentials series with The Return of Jesus Christ—Part 3: The Lion Invades but I decided on this brief finale so that we believers may be enlightened now about the eternal glory that awaits us. The Lion Invades ends with the return of Jesus Christ after which He will establish His Kingdom and reign from Jerusalem over the Earth for one thousand years. The Millennial Kingdom will climax as follows: Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released fr ..read more

Print Introduction True Wealth is the third installment in my series on Economics, Money & Wealth. This teaching builds upon True Economic Value and True Biblical Money . You will want to read those first in that order if you have not done so already. True Economic Value is all about the man, True Biblical Money is all about the measurement, and True Wealth is all about the motivation. The True Riches Let us start with a parable from Jesus and His subsequent explanation to help us define some terms: He [Jesus] also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charg ..read more

Print All Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible unless otherwise noted. He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. (John 3:29) In Part 1 of the Essentials teaching, The Return of Jesus Christ, I laid the necessary foundation for understanding the coming kingdom of God in the context of the Gospels. Here in Part 2, we will examine how the events of the coming return of Jesus Christ are patterned after the ancient Jewish wedding. There are several Ne ..read more

Print All Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible unless otherwise noted. Then the LORD will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. … Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with You. (Zechariah 14:3–4, 5b)  The Return of Elijah The p ..read more

Print "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Jesus Christ; Matthew 5:17) "Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God." (Jesus Christ; Luke 22:6) "What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?" (Jesus Christ; John 6:62) God was manifested in the flesh ... (1 Timothy 3:16) For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blo ..read more

Print All Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible unless otherwise noted. And faith is of things hoped for a confidence, of matters not seen a conviction ... (Hebrews 11:1; YLT) What Faith Really Is In this Essentials exploration of faith, I am going too use the 11th chapter of Hebrews, a survey of some of the Old Testament heroes of faith, as an outline for learning the unique aspects of it. I will allow the rich beauty of the word of God found here to be my guide for making known what "faith" really is. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the ..read more

I recently switched my primary Bible version from the English Standard Version (ESV) to the New King James Version (NKJV). This switch was prompted by what I have learned from my ongoing work to write the Essentials series. Notably, The Power of the Word of God to Change Lives teaching was a key turning point for me. Going forward, the NKJV will be the standard translation of True Vine Life. I regard the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible as the preeminent translation and I sometimes use it in my personal study, but I prefer the NKJV for the modern English, especially when it comes to wri ..read more

Print “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.” (Exodus 23:20) The Angel of the Lord The primary words translated in our English Bibles as “angel” or “angels” are the Hebrew word mal’ak (Old Testament) and the Greek word aggelos. Both mean “messenger”. However, there are several Old Testament versus (e.g., Job 1:6 and 38:7) where angels are referred to as the “sons of God.” This is ..read more

Print By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10) Introduction In the last Essentials teaching in The Predicament section, The Corruption of Sin—Part 2: The Plot is Established, I covered what happened after the serpent deceived ..read more

Print Introduction Demons is the final installment of "The Players" section of the Essentials series which also covers Satan, the holy angels, and higher orders of celestial beings. If you have not already, I recommend reading Holy Angels - Part 1 prior to this. Origins Angels are (exclusively) male spirit beings (that do not have wings). When God originally created the angels they were all the same. They were all holy. However, one-third of the angels joined Satan (the dragon) in his rebellion against God (Revelation 12:4). This sin transformed them into unholy angels or demons. Adding confi ..read more