© 27 November 2015 Revive Israel Ministries

Queen of the Epistles

By Cody Archer

The epistle to the Ephesians was written and sent as a circulating letter throughout the Asian congregations Paul planted, of which Ephesus was one. In the other epistles written by Paul, we see a pattern of him extending personal greetings to people he knows.  Ephesians is the most impersonal letter written by Paul.  There is almost no personal greeting, and it does not address any specific local issues, as in his other letters.  In two places Paul mentions that he has not met some of his audience, but only heard of their faith (Eph 1:15; 3:2).

When we look at the original manuscripts in Greek, we see a different introduction than most modern translations give us. The first verse in the original goes like this: Paul, To the saints  who are faithful in Christ Jesus. There is no mention of the city of Ephesus. In verse two, Paul, like in all of his letters greets his readers with the words – grace and peace. Grace in Greek is charis and was a common greeting among the Greek speaking world, just like peace - shalom in Hebrew is the common greeting among Hebrew speakers. Paul is writing both to Jews and Gentiles.

Paul wrote this letter at the end of his life while under confinement in Rome. Paul uses seventy words that he does not use in any other letter. He had fewer distractions, was not traveling and had much more time to think in prison.This explains why many scholars refer to this letter as the "Queen of the Epistles" because of its high and expressive language.  In the first chapter Paul writes one sentence that goes on for ten verses (3-10)! I imagine that, after years of obedience, intimacy and supernatural encounters with God, Paul is bubbling over with excitement and worship as he carefully writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 

Romans may be known as Paul's systematic theology, but in this letter Paul pens the highest and weightiest revelations.  Understanding the background of this epistle as a circulating letter to be read by all and its emphasis on the relationship Jews and Gentiles have in Yeshua – makes this book a clear handbook for unity and preparation for Yeshua's return. Let us return to this epistle regularly for our thoughts to be elevated, purified and set in right order so that we would be holy and without blame before Him in love!

Bread & Wine (Part 1)

In this first part of a two part teaching Asher speaks about the meaning of the bread when believers take communion. What are we actually declaring when we take the bread?

To watch in English with translation to Chinese, click HERE!

By David

Recent decades have been witness to an explosion of a different type of IT (information technology). Not the explosion that Microsoft and Apple have been part of, but rather an explosion of discovery in the realm of ancient bio-nano-technologies. It's the stuff God engineered in each of our cells, tissues, organs and biological systems: in the human body and millions of other kinds of creatures.

"… what may be known of God is manifest … For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power… so that they are without excuse." (Romans 1:18-20)

Much was already obvious long before Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans. So much can be known about the Creator by looking at the beauty and order of Creation on the macro scale.

Elite Technology

In the last few decades, scientists are learning more and more about the engineering of living organisms. Researchers are discovering so many ingenious solutions and patents, that a whole new area of research has been spawned, called "bio-mimicry." Engineering companies are saving years of expensive R&D by harvesting the "ideas" that were engineered into life. Velcro is a copy of burr seeds which stick to your pants. Airplane wing development is still informed by bird wings.

As an engineer, I personally seek to picture the creatures around me as a landscape full of crawling, swimming, running and flying bio-robots. They are all in fact elite technology autonomous machines capable of incredible functions, and far surpass every technology mankind has developed.

Atheism on the Decline

Many objective scientists, and even philosophers, those who are aware of biological discovery, are making the Romans 1:19 deduction, and turning away from an atheistic worldview.   We live in a Romans 1 generation - a time, more than any other in history, when open thinkers should be able to logically comprehend the existence of the "Intelligent Designer" by looking at the world that is manifest around us.

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'Ana Elech', where will I go, is a collection of ten songs written by Birgitta Veksler, Inspired by psalms and performed in their original language - Hebrew. The songs reflect the longing for a savior, the Messiah that is embedded in the heart of the Jewish people.
For more about Birgitta and her New CD, visit www.birgittaveksler.com