An elderly couple passed away in their twilight years, and when they got to heaven the husband was simply astonished! He discovered that it was far more magnificent than he could possibly have imagined. It was fantastic! He turned to his wife and observed: "You know, if it hadn't been for your yogurt and bran muffins, we could have been here ten years ago!"

The early church in the first century was under attack from both the inside and the outside. So what has changed? It should not surprise us that the Holy Spirit has anticipated every conceivable form of attack and diversion, and the three epistles of John are full of insights that are timely for each of us - at the personal level as well as the corporate.

Matthew, being a Levite, emphasizes Jesus as the Messiah, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Each of the subtleties of his design supports this primary theme. His genealogy begins with the "first Jew," Abraham, and continues through David and the royal line to the legal father of Jesus, Joseph.

Some call the Book of Zechariah, "The Apocalypse of the Old Testament." The book is particularly timely today as it focuses on the siege of Jerusalem by the collective Gentile powers on Planet Earth - a circumstance that is shaping up as you are reading this article! (It also seems to suggest the use of neutron bombs and gives us the only physical description of the Antichrist found in Scripture.)

One of the most strategic locations in the Roman world was the isthmus of Corinth. This narrow neck of land between the Corinthian Gulf and the Saronic Gulf guaranteed its continued commercial prosperity. The transit across this isthmus avoided the long, risky voyage around the rocky, storm-tossed capes at the south of the Peloponnesus.

You can't help but love Peter. He was the most lovable of the disciples: bold, candid, human. Peter was one of the first disciples called; he always stands first in the lists of disciples; he was also one of the three who formed an inner circle around the Master. His impulsive devotion is frequently portrayed, and he acted as spokesman of the Twelve.

Luke, Volume II, commonly known as "The Book of Acts," completes the "Pentateuch of the New Testament." Regarded by many as the most exciting and relevant book for the current believer, it is, indeed, one of the most rewarding and instructive.

"Finishing Well" is the name of the game. Here was a rich, young ruler - a 1st century "yuppie" if you will - who, although getting off to a rather problematic beginning, finished well, indeed.

For many, the Gospel according to "the Beloved Physician" is the most readable and complete account of the life of Christ. It gives us many features omitted by Matthew and Mark: 20 miracles, of which six are in no other Gospel; and 23 parables, 18 of which we find nowhere else.

Have you ever wished you could win a lottery? Or inherit a great fortune? We all have indulged in fantasies of one kind or another. And yet, we have already won an inheritance that is beyond our comprehension! An inheritance that transcends any quantitative measurement.

The Second Epistle of John is among the most neglected books of the New Testament. It, like his third epistle, is simply a short personal letter from the Apostle. There is little doubt that the Apostle John was the author, but there are a number of conjectures as to whom it was written: someone called "the Elect Lady."

The famed foiling of the wicked plot of Haman to blot out the Jews is, of course, one of the more dramatic narratives in the Bible. In addition to the many twists in the plot, there are also some surprises hidden behind the text itself. It is significant that the name of the book itself, Esther, means "something hidden"!

Have you ever been puzzled by the inscriptions that are attached to some of the Psalms? This has puzzled scholars for centuries, and yet the key may have been in the Biblical text all along.

The Book of Joshua is a book of adventure and conquest - even the days were not long enough for his battles! His name is the same as Jesus, but in Hebrew rather than Greek: Yeho-Shua, or Joshua.

Here is a book of the Bible which is among the least studied and the most emotionally controversial. It's a book with only 117 verses and 470 Hebrew words, yet it is among the most difficult and mysterious books in the entire Bible. It's a book about lovemaking from an author who had 700 wives and 300 concubines (women who took his heart away from the Lord).

The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the two greatest theological treatises of the New Testament.1 This letter is, in a real sense, the "Leviticus" of the New Testament, detailing how the Lord Jesus Christ is both the fulfillment and the successor to all that had gone on before.

In view of the continuing tensions on the world scene, it is interesting to reflect on other November dates in history:

Here is one of the bravest and most tender, yet most pathetic figures in all history: a patriot as well as a prophet.

Often I will ask an audience, "How many of you are saved?" And, of course, most of the hands will go up. (It is, in that setting, the politically correct response!)

Many of us fail to really appreciate the remarkable - yet often misunderstood - epistle written by Jacob to the descendants of Israel. (Jacob means the supplanter; heel-catcher; tripper-up. It is Ya'kov in Hebrew, translated Jacobos in Greek, Jacques in French, Iago in Italian, Diego in Spanish, and James in English.)

The Prophet Ezekiel was called upon to undertake a number of strange performances, one of which was to lie on his side for a total of 430 days. Each day was expressly to represent a year of judgment against the nation.

Of the 27 books in the New Testament, over half were written by one man: Paul. But for the letters of Paul, we would be in darkness concerning the truth of the Church as the Body of Christ and its function, activity, and destiny. (17 of 28 chapters in Acts deal with Paul; from Acts 15 onwards, the other apostles are not even mentioned.)

There have been few dramas that can equal the cosmic warfare that took place against the gods of Egypt when God used Moses to free Israel from their bondage.

This smallest book of the New Testament is also, in many ways, the most provocative.

Last month we explored the origin of the Sabbath Day and its observance in the Old Testament and the period of the Gospels. As Christians, however, we venerate the first day of the week in honor of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and tend to regard that as equivalent - in some respects, at least - to "remembering the Sabbath Day to keep it holy."

Many Christians still remain uncomfortable over the issue of the Sabbath day. Observing Sunday as a memorial of the resurrection of our Lord is our traditional day of worship, and yet many are disturbed over this issue.

With the new CD-ROM release this month of our commentary on the Book of Ezekiel it seems like an appropriate time to profile this most fascinating prophet of the Old Testament.

This first book of the New Testament plunges right in to establish Jesus as the Meshiach Nagid, the Messiah the King. After first establishing the royal genealogy,1he then goes on to focus on the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies: Matthew uses the term "fulfilled" 82 times!

What is the greatest thought that ever entered the mind of Man? Daniel Webster suggested, "My responsibility to my Maker!"

When Moses asked Pharaoh to "Let my people go," Pharaoh responded, "Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?" If Pharaoh could have read the book of Hosea, he would have known that the Lord was a sovereign God (Chapters 1-3); a holy God (Chapters 4-7); a just God (Chapters 8-10); and a loving God (Chapters 11-14).