Showing results by author "Bill Creasy" in All Categories

Both Isaiah and Hosea are writing at the same time, during the reigns of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, 740-686 B.C. In Isaiah 1-35, Isaiah hauls Israel into court, charging her with unfaithfulness, calling out witnesses and finding her guilty. The theme of these chapters is judgment. In Hosea, God says: “You know what I think; now I want you to know how I feel.”

Paul sends 1 Corinthians to the church at Corinth, and when they receive the epistle, they are livid! They immediately write back to Paul in very harsh terms (the letter from Corinth has been lost, but Paul alludes to it in 2 Corinthians), prompting Paul to get on board ship in Ephesus, sail to Corinth and address the church in person. It is not a pleasant visit. When Paul gets back to Ephesus he has second thoughts about his “short but painful visit”, and he writes 2 Corinthians to smooth things over.

Jonah knew that if he delivered God’s message to the Ninevites they would repent and God would save them; but he also knew that even if the Ninevites repented, they would backslide into their old ways. And that’s exactly what happens. The prophet Nahum makes clear what will happen to the capital of the Assyrian empire if they turn away from God.

The Book of Micah is a complex mixture of judgment and hope. God is a god of justice, as well as a god of love, and genuine peace cannot come until justice prevails on earth. Micah’s message of judgment culminates in the redemption of Israel and of all humanity, but a fearful judgment must come first. Join Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy as he explains how judgment and hope are intimately intertwined in the plan of salvation.

When the Babylonian sacked Jerusalem in August of 586 B.C., the Edomites--descendants of Jacob's twin brother, Esau--looted the city. Obadiah is a 1-page book--the shortest book of prophecy in the Bible--that signals God's displeasure with Edom's actions. Join Logos Bible Study's Dr. Bill Creasy as he makes a stunning discovery about one of Esau's descendants who will appear in the New Testament!

The 4th of Paul’s so-called “Prison Epistles,” this personal letter to Philemon is the shortest of Paul’s writings, but it is perhaps the most self-revealing. Written from Rome during A.D. 60-62, Paul had met a runaway slave in Rome named Onesimus, owned by a man from Colossae named Philemon, an acquaintance of Paul’s. Under Paul’s tutelage, Onesimus had become a believer.

In this book Paul continues his discussion about the return of Jesus Christ that he introduced in 1 Thessalonians. Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy explains how this critical issue dominates much discussion during the first generation of the church and what answers Paul provides for those who expect the Lord to return in the very near future.

Paul and Titus had worked together for many years, but in this letter Paul calls Titus to task. Left by Paul in Crete sometime between A.D. 63-67 to finish up the work they had started there, Titus has failed to complete the job. Paul writes this letter to give Titus a swift kick in the butt, telling him to complete the work quickly and to join Paul in western Greece as soon as possible.

As Paul writes his last will and testament in 2 Timothy, so Peter writes his in 2 Peter. It is A.D. 68, and Peter, like Paul, has been arrested during the persecutions under Nero, then tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. In his second epistle, Peter urges us to remember the foundational teachings of the Gospel and not to be led astray by false teachers and those who serve their own interests, rather than Christ’s. Join Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy as we bid farewell to Peter and listen to his last words of encouragement.

Traditionally ascribed to Jude, a brother of both James and the Lord, mentioned in Matthew 13:58, Jude had wanted to write a rather thorough theological treatise, but present circumstances in the church compel him to address a different topic: what believers can do in days of apostasy. Written sometime in the late 80s or early 90s, this epistle offers very practical advice for those living in what appear to be the "end times".

Like 2 John, 3 John emphasizes that love must be rooted in truth. This epistle is addressed to John’s friend, Gaius, whom John thanks for all the help he has given believers in need. He also warns Gaius to watch out for Diotrephes: the man is a snake and can’t be trusted! Like 2 John, this short 13-verse letter ends abruptly, with John saying that he’ll stop by for a visit to continue his discussion.

Left to our own devices, humanity is incapable of resolving the issue of sin. God must do it for us, and here he introduces his plan.

Every good story has a conflict, and our conflict enters the story here: Sin. In our class we define sin, not as an action that we commit, but as a condition we are in: “Sin is a condition of alienation and separation from God, that manifests itself in outward, sinful action.” And that condition has several inevitable consequences. We explore the nature of sin in this lecture.

God sends Amos to the northern kingdom of Israel to prophecy against it. Confronting the king and his priests, Amos tells the leaders precisely what will happen if they do not return to God: the northern kingdom of Israel will be destroyed by the Assyrians, and the high priest’s wife will become a prostitute in the city! Join Logos Bible’s Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy as he highlights the social, political, and historical milieu of the era in which this most unlikely of prophets speaks.

Joel may be the earliest of the writing prophets; if he is, then he introduces the term “the Day of the Lord” as a reference to a set of final, catastrophic events that will befall Israel—and indeed all humanity in the “end times.” Illustrating his message with reference to a dreadful locust plague that occurred in the past, we shudder as God makes clear that if Israel does not repent something much greater than a locust plague will occur.