All Articles For Isaiah

Rev. VanOverloop is pastor of Georgetown Protestant Reformed Church in Hudsonville, Michigan. “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a...

Rev. Hanko is pastor in the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington. The First Prophecy (cont.) 9.Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man to his own house. 10.Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. 11.And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon...

Rev. VanBaren is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Marriage — Is It Necessary? The concept of marriage has been rapidly changing. Though vows spoken often include the “until death do us part,” some 50% of marriages are dissolved through divorce long before death comes. It is said that the same is true with marriages of those who belong to churches. There are large numbers of “single parents,” single not usually because of the death of one partner, but through choice. Women will have children outside of the marriage bond. Then there is the growing pressure to pass...

Reprinted from When Thou Sittest In Thine House, by Abraham Kuyper, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1929. Used by permission of Eerdmans Publishing Co. Summer Rightly viewed, the Scripture knows but two seasons of year: summer and winter. You hear this in the divine utterance after the Flood: “Henceforth, while the earth remaineth, cold and heat, summer and winter shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22). So in Psalm 74:17, in silence passing spring and autumn by: “Thou hast made summer and winter.” And in the vision of Zechariah (Zech. 14:8) it is said that “living waters shall go out...

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Denominational Activities This year’s Fall Ladies’ League Meeting, made up of ladies from PR churches in Iowa and Minnesota, met at the Doon, IA PRC on October 11 to hear Rev. R. Dykstra speak on the topic, “The New Age Movement in Our Day,” based, on Isaiah 5:13-30. Our Southeast PRC in Grand Rapids, MI played host to this year’s Mr. & Mrs. and Adult Bible Societies League Meeting on September 27. This year’s meeting featured Rev. R. Cammenga, speaking on “The Importance of Society Life in Our...

Rev. Kortering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Grandville, Michigan. As we begin our study of the book of Judges, we should bear in mind that the events that are recorded in this book follow historically upon those that we examined in the book of Joshua. The Lord raised up Joshua as a leader who guided the people of Israel in their conquest of the land of Canaan and in their assuming their places given to each tribe by the casting of lots. The question arises: what happened to these people after Joshua died? The answer is given...

Rev. Haak is pastor of Bethel Protestant Reformed Church in Elk Grove, Illinois. The cleansing of the temple marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. The miracle at Cana and the trip to Capernaum (v. 12) were of a more private nature, whereas the cleansing of the temple is performed before many and was something the Jews were not to forget (see Mark 14:57-59; Mark 15:29). By this act Christ enters fully into the work that the Father has given Him to do. More importantly, the work of cleansing the temple reveals the heart of the work of Christ. The temple in Jerusalem was a shadow...

Prof. Hoeksema is professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Dear Readers of The Standard Bearer: Although I am on leave of absence as a regular Staff writer during the current volume-year, before I left home I promised that I would write a few lines from Tasmania during our year’s sojourn here. In this letter I will try to furnish you a few early impressions. The other day my wife and I began listing things which are different here. And after we had each mentioned a few items, we ended by agreeing, “Everything is different!” First of...

A Word of Thanks to HCH… For the past 24 years, editorials in The Standard Bearer have appeared over the initials, HCH—the initials of Professor Homer C. Hoeksema. With this issue comes a change. Having informed the Staff last year that he would not accept a new appointment as Editor-in-Chief in 1988, Professor Hoeksema now steps down as editor of the magazine. We take this opportunity, on behalf both of the Staff and of the readers, to express our thanks to him for nearly a quarter-century’s work as editor. Perhaps only those who write can appreciate the demands put upon him in...

Rev. Hanko is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself, by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation. Now then are we ambassadors of Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. II Corinthians 5:18-20 What an amazing and blessed experience! God has reconciled...