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Previous article in this series: October 1, 2025, p. 10   Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will see thee as a gazingstock. And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?— Nahum 3:5-7 Nahum 3:5-7...

THE WRITER The apostle Paul was directed by the Holy Spirit to write thirteen of the twenty-seven books that constitute the New Testament Scripture. The book of Romans was one of them, as is specifically stated in Romans 1:1. He wrote this book during his missionary labors (along with 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Galatians, and 1 and 2 Corinthians), and not from prison as was the case for most of the others he wrote. Romans itself indicates that Paul wrote this book during his third missionary journey, while he was in Corinth, and prior to his final travels to Jerusalem...

THE WRITER The Lord used the same man, Luke, to write both the book of Luke and the book of Acts. This is clear from a comparison of Luke 1:1-4 with Acts 1:1. The opening verses of these books point to a close connection between them, with Acts being essentially a continuation of the book of Luke. The Lord prepared and used Luke as a man who was knowledgeable in medicine. He was a medical doctor, described by Paul as “Luke, the beloved physician” (Col. 4:14). He possessed a good understanding of medical matters, as is evident from the medical...

Previous article in this series: July 2025, p. 366. Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not; the noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses: Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the...

minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches, and member of Covenant of Grace PR Fellowship in Spokane, Washington   Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion. walked, and the lion’s whelp, and none made them afraid? The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin—Nahum 2:11-12   In Nahum 2:11, 12 the lions are the Ninevites; the old lion, the king of Nineveh;1 the lionesses, his queens; the young...

pastor of Doon PRC in Doon, Iowa   THE WRITER The inspired writer of this book was one of Jesus’ disciples. He and James were the sons of Zebedee and Salome (Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40). Prior to becoming a disciple of Christ, John and his brother James worked with Peter and Andrew in fishing. Initially, John was a follower of John the Baptist, but the latter directed him to follow Christ instead, which he did (John 1:35-36). This in itself did not make him Christ’s disciple; that occurred later when Christ specifically called him to be a full-time disciple (Luke...

minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches, and member of Covenant of Grace PR Fellowship in Spokane, Washington Previous article in this series: February 2025, p. 180. NAHUM 2:3-10 The first part of Nahum 2 is a vivid eyewitness account of Nineveh’s destruction by the Babylonians and Medes given some thirty years before the actual event, but sovereignly appointed and arranged by God. In verse 1 Nahum sees the King of Babylon coming at the head of his armies, described by Nahum as the one who will scatter Nineveh as Nineveh scattered other nations. He calls the Ninevites to defend...

pastor of Doon PRC in Doon, Iowa   THE WRITER The opening verses of this book, considered in connection with the opening verses of Acts, establish the fact that the Spirit used Luke to write this account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The two books of Luke and Acts are closely related. Both were addressed to the same man, Theophilus. Both manifest the same literary style. And the opening verses of Acts refer back directly to the opening verses of Luke. Since there is no question that Luke wrote the book of Acts, so it is beyond...

minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches, and member of Covenant of Grace PR Fellowship in Spokane, Washington Previous article in this series: December 2024, p. 109.   He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily. For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches—Nahum 2:1-2 Nahum 2:1 is an announcement of the coming of the Babylonian and Median armies and a call to arms...

pastor of Doon PRC in Doon, Iowa THE WRITER While no clear indication is given in the book itself that the Holy Spirit used Mark to write it, the church has always maintained that this is so. This is indicated especially by the writings of the church fathers in the second century AD.1 Mark’s full name was John Mark (Mark being his surname). His mother’s name was Mary (Acts 12:12), in whose house the church had gathered to pray for Peter when the latter was imprisoned by Herod. He was a nephew of Barnabas (Col. 4:10) and accompanied Paul and...