A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

As Esther might have told it today…

As I mentioned last time Mordecai is my cousin, although he’s so much older than I am that he actually remembers life in Jerusalem before the Babylonians destroyed it. When my parents died he took me in and raised me as his own.

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

(NOTE: Ray C. Stedman’s book “The Queen and I” was a major source of inspiration for this series of articles on the Book of Esther.)

This is part of Jack’s, Bible Thru the Eyes of Its Writers series where he tells the stories in first-person—as if the authors were telling the story themselves.

You can stop talking with God, but you cannot stop being His child.

This title was written on her forehead: Mystery Babylon the great; the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.
Rev. 17:5

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Part 2. The Gospel Of Grace

The word “grace” appears 170 times in the English translation of the Bible, 37 of them in the Old Testament. Of the remaining 133, only four are contained in the gospels and they all refer to the Lord Jesus (Luke 2:40,

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Part 1. The Gospel Of The Kingdom

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matt. 3:1-2)

Prophecies of a Messianic King appear throughout the Old Testament and many in the Jewish leadership saw John’s arrival on the scene as their fulfillment.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. Hebr. 11:1-2

Of all the so-called holy books, only the Bible authenticates itself. It does so through a method we call predictive prophecy and it works like this.

He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. (Daniel 11:21)

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.