by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. Previously, the plight of the very many hostages (~240) of many different nationalities taken by Hamas last October 7, including women, elderly, children and babies seemed to have been relegated to the backstage by the world’s media as the fighting hogged news coverage. But now, it seems our prayer together…
Gaza in the Bible
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. Israel has now gone into northern Gaza, into Beit Hanoun in particular as it demolishes the terrorist Hamas tunnels. It has made daring raids into the heart of Hamas territory, including into Al-Shifa Hospital where a Hamas complex is actually housed underneath it. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have now…
The LORD God’s Compassion and Jonah’s Anger (Jonah 4)
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. After the prophet Jonah made 2 great confessions about the LORD and his power and salvation, he made a proclamation of divine judgement: Nineveh would be overthrown (Jonah 3:4). But the Ninevites repented and prayed to the Lord God and were saved from utter destruction. Nineveh was overturned, turned over…
Jonah and Repentant Nineveh (Jonah 3)
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. In the past 2 chapters we have seen the prophet make 2 great confessions about the LORD. First, he feared/revered “the God of Heaven who made the sea and dry land.” Jonah understood that the LORD caused the storm at sea to punish his disobedience and resulted in him being…
The Salvation and Thanksgiving of Jonah (Jonah 2)
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. Last week, we walked through the verses of the first chapter of the Book of Jonah. I had seen the connection the entire prophetic book during our Wednesday, Mid-Week Prayer Gathering when we all prayed for Israel after the attacks against it by Hamas terrorists from Gaza. But we also…
The Flight of Jonah (Jonah 1)
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. Last week, we studied the source of the Lord Jesus’s reference to the sign of Jonah the prophet in Matthew 12:39-41 (and Luke 11:29-30, 32) and traced it back to Jonah 1:17 – 2:1, 10. We also saw that it came from the Septuagint (LXX) version of the book. Now…
The Sign of Jonah (Jonah Matthew 12:38-42)
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. Last week, we studied the posting of a guard at our Lord’s tomb because the Jewish authorities recalled that the Lord Jesus, when he was still alive, talked about the sign of Jonah (see Matthew 12:38-42 and its parallel Luke 11:29-32) referring to his claim of resurrection on the third…
The Guard at the Tomb (Matthew 27:62-66)
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. After a 3-week visit to my daughter’s family (especially my grandson) in Canada, and the effects of jet lag, I would like to continue with new Bible Study topics as I promised before we left in early September. However I saw that I had left over in my planned Reflection-Bible…
The Olivet Discourse (Sheep and Goats – Matthew 25:31-46) – Part 1
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. Now we continue with the prophetic passage featuring the Lord Jesus as the Great Shepherd separating the sheep from the goats during the Final Judgment in Matthew 25:31-46. This marks the end of the Olivet Discourse chapters (24 & 25) for the Gospel according to Matthew. It is also the…
The Olivet Discourse (Talents and Minas)
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. Before continuing with the final judgment scene in Matthew 25:31-46 featuring the Great Shepherd separating the sheep from the goats, we will briefly explore a parallel text from the Gospel of Luke. Earlier, we saw in Matthew 25:29 the master makes the judgment that the faithful and worthy one who…