Showing results by narrator "Dr. Bill Creasy" in All Categories

Often incorrectly referred to as one of Paul’s “prison epistles” (he was not in prison in Rome in A.D. 60-62; he was living in his own rented house, free to come and go as he pleased), Ephesians is a brilliant exposition of Paul’s thesis that we are “saved by grace through faith”. It is also a glittering display of Paul’s rhetorical fireworks. Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy examines this extraordinary epistle in detail.

Read through a Christian interpretative lens, Daniel foreshadows the coming of the Messiah as well as the “end time” events in the book of Revelation. Daniel is a very important book for Jesus, who draws his self-referential title “Son of Man” from Daniel 7:13-14; who quotes directly from Daniel 12 in the Olivet Discourse; and who seals his “guilty” verdict before Jerusalem’s religious leaders by reference to the book of Daniel.

Although Romans is not the earliest of Paul’s writings, like Isaiah and Matthew, Romans sits at the head of the epistles and letters. Written as a formal argument and structured as a scholastic diatribe, Romans presents Paul’s great thesis that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works of Law. This is revolutionary! Romans, perhaps more than any other book ever written, has fundamentally changed Western civilization, and it is foundational to understanding all of Paul’s other epistles and letters.

In 2 Chronicles we continue the 1 Chronicles narrative, tracing the fall of the southern kingdom of Judah and its exile into Babylon captivity. As God observes in 1 Chronicles, “Israel went into captivity because of its unfaithfulness.” This is a harrowing story of man’s willful disobedience and God’s righteous judgment.

With Moses dead, Israel stands on the threshold of the Promised Land, looking to Joshua for leadership. Join Logos Bible Study as Dr. Bill Creasy takes us across the Jordan River and into the land of “milk and honey” in a brutal conquest - a campaign of extermination that raises profound moral and ethical questions in its day, as well as in ours.

The curtain goes up on our story as we view creation, both from God’s perspective and from man’s.

The story of David continues in 2 Samuel. With the death of Saul and his three sons at Mt. Gilboa, the door opens for David to become king. But David has, in fact, no legitimate claim to the kingship; indeed, he has been working for a decade as a mercenary for Israel’s Philistine enemies. Listen as Dr. Bill Creasy follows David from the triumph of his kingship to his colossal fall and ultimate reconciliation with God.

Habakkuk is the prophet with a question mark for a brain! “Why,” he asks, does a God of justice allow injustice to flourish; why does violence prevail? And God provides an answer: “Look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed, for I am going to do something in your day that you would not believe even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians!” Through Habakkuk God takes credit for using the Babylonians as his instrument of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem.

It is A.D. 68, the final year of Nero’s four-year persecution of the church, and Paul has been arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to death. In 2 Timothy Paul writes his “last will and testament,” appointing Timothy as the one who will take over Paul’s ministry after his death. At this point, Timothy has spent eighteen years with Paul and their relationship has developed into that of a father and a son.

From Solomon’s reign to the prophetic call of Elijah, 1 Kings tells the story of the collapse of David’s united monarchy into a nearly 100-year civil war and the fracture of a nation into two kingdoms: Israel and Judah. Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy journeys deeply into the historical and cultural nuances that underlie this amazing and compelling story.

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.

Working hand-in-hand with the prophet Haggai, Zechariah also encourages the people to resume work on the temple in 520 B.C.; but unlike Haggai, Zechariah extends his prophecy to foreshadow future messianic and end-time events. Like Ezekiel, Zechariah has several “weird” visions, including that of an ugly woman in a flying bushel basket! Listen as Dr. Bill Creasy of Logos Bible Study explores this fascinating book.

Jonah is one of the great stories in the Bible. Join Logos Bible Study’s Dr. Bill Creasy as he tells this story as no one else can! When God commands Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, and preach against it, Jonah heads in the exact opposite direction—to Tarshish, in Spain! Follow the adventure as a huge storm tosses Jonah’s ship, the sailors hurl Jonah overboard and a huge fish swallows him!

Peter and Paul were close associates, and Peter had read many of Paul's writings, some of which, he says “are hard to understand”. Peter was a commercial fisherman, not a scholar like Paul. Nonetheless, Peter has in mind in the early 60s to write an epistle addressing a number of important issues - but he doesn’t feel rhetorically equipped to do so. Enter Paul’s associate, Silas. Peter says, “With the help of Silas I have written this letter.” And what a letter it is!

Isaac survives, and our story continues with tales of Isaac and his twin sons, Jacob and Esau.

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!