Pastor Shaun Marksbury

“Natural Understanding and the Spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:14–16) Series:               “1 Cor: Holiness from Messes” #9      Text:                 1 Corinthians 2:14–16 By:                    Shaun Marksbury                         Date:                November 30, 2025 Venue:              Living Water Baptist Church             Occasion:             AM Service   I.   ...

New Testament Overview Part 10 : The End Times I. Introduction We have completed every book of Scripture, except one. This session: Eschatology Is it important that we believe in the literal, bodily return of our Lord? II. What All Christians Believe The Apostle’s Creed Jesus Christ “shall come to judge the quick [living] and the dead.” The Nicene Creed He “shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead.” All Christians believe Jesus will return one day to judge the world, both those alive and those who have died. III. Questions about the Millennium Where Christians disagree is in relation to the thousand-year or millennial reign of Christ in Revelation 20:1–10. Matthew Waymeyer ( Revelation 20 and the Millennial Debate ) notes Christians debate  whether the binding of Satan is present or future,  whether the first resurrection here is a spiritual or a physical reality,  whether the millennium is a literal or an allegorical period,  and whether ...

 A recent question reminded me of this quote.  This is Kaiser on the question of cultural terminology in Toward an Exegetical Theology : But it is clear that Scripture refused to fall into some cultural containments which might thereby reduce the content of the message. One good example of this resistance is the Bible’s rejection of the “three-tiered” universe model. To see in certain poetical portions of Scripture the pre-Copernican cosmological model which had a solid dome, flat earth, and an abyss beneath the earth (along with supporting pillars and slits in the dome for rain and stars!) is either an exegetical contrivance or a failure to spot the use of figurative language.  The exegete must then ask when it is appropriate to adopt both the content and the form of the cultural item (p. 115).

 According to one popular Baptist resource, we read, Dispensational premillennialism can be identified through two basic features: (1) a distinction is made between God’s program for Israel and His program for the church; (2) a consistently literal interpretation of the Scriptures is maintained. Dispensational premillennialists believe that the church will be raptured (1 Thess. 4:13–18) prior to the Tribulation period; God will judge unbelieving Gentiles and disobedient Israel during the Tribulation (Rev. 6–19). At the end of the Tribulation Christ will return with the church and establish the millennial kingdom on earth. Following the thousand-year reign, Satan will be freed once more, whereupon he and his followers will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7–10). The eternal state will follow.  - Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology  (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 389. This is an interesting definition because of how it boils down these features. ...

Having completed His public ministry in northern Israel, Jesus moves southward.  Crowds again begin to gather around Him, so, “according to His custom, He once more began to teach them” (v. 1).  However, the Pharisees, ready to stop Him, asked Him a question they hope will test Him (v. 2). Their question was one of hot debate between two rabbinical schools; one said that divorce is always permittable, while the other said that divorce is only permittable in cases of adultery.  To complicate matters, Herod Antipas, ruler of this area, had left his wife to steal and marry his brother’s wife—and John the Baptist was killed for pointing it out (6:16–29).  Could the Pharisees make Jesus suffer the same fate? His response demonstrates key principles in biblical interpretation.  It models how to understand a contentious topic we may be wrestling with in our own souls.  It calls us to follow the Word of God. First, note what Scripture commands.  J...

(Last update, 6/19/17.) This is a short compilation of Scripture verses taken out of context. The point? These examples demonstrate the importance of keeping surrounding passages in mind when reading and interpreting the Bible. Feel free to add your own examples, and I will continue to update this post occasionally. Genesis 4:17 (and v. 14) “Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch…” I heard this one from someone who called me after leaving the service a bit perplexed. A preacher excitedly delivered a message on a Scripture he had not noticed before. Someone had used the fact that Cain’s son was named “Enoch” to present the forgiveness of God to those who repent, a message full of potential. The preacher noted that Enoch walked so closely to God that God simply “raptured” him from the earth (cf. Gen 5:24). He further postulated that Genesis 4:14 was an apology on Cain’s part. However, what the pastor failed to notice was that these are two, different Enochs. T...