Author Archives

Herald Magazine

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

January 1, 2024

The Leaven of Character Jewish and Christian Perspectives (Exodus 12, 1 Corinthians 5:6-8). “For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel” (Exodus 12:15, quotations from BibleGateway NIV, except as noted). — Ken Osterman The “Feast of Unleavened Bread” is intimately associated with the Passover. In the ancient custom, […]

News and Views

January 1, 2024

Religious U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is developing a national strategy to combat Islam fear as the White House faces skepticism from many Muslim Americans for its staunch support of Israel’s military assault on Hamas in Gaza. The White House originally was expected to announce its plans to develop the strategy when Biden met with Muslim leaders, but that was delayed, according to three people familiar with the matter. — AP, 10/31/2023 A spokesperson for Russia’s Chief Rabbinate in Dagestan said that […]

Today in Prophecy

January 1, 2024

Decline of the Work Ethic? “We did not eat any one’s bread without paying, but with toil and labor we worked night and day,that we might not burden any of you” (2 Thessalonians 3:8, RSV). The U.S. labor force participation rate — the proportion of working-age citizens either working or actively looking for work — has declined from a high of 67.5% at the turn of the century to 62.3%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A 2022 article published […]

Seven Parables

January 1, 2024

Matthew 13 “All these things spake Jesus in parables unto the multitudes; and without a parable spake he nothing unto them” (Matthew 13:34, citations from ASV, except as noted). — James Parkinson Jesus spoke seven parables to the multitudes, in Matthew 13. It is reasonable to ask whether these seven parables are parallel to the seven stages of the church during the Gospel Age. Some think, Yes, and others think, No. How might we proceed to discover whether it is reasonable? It […]

Unleavened Offerings

January 1, 2024

How We Are to Offer “Now when anyone presents a grain offering as an offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it” (Leviticus 2:1, scriptures from NASB unless otherwise noted). — Ray Charlton Unleavened Bread The first mention of unleavened bread is in Genesis when two angels came to Lot in Sodom. Lot offered them the opportunity to stay in his house rather than in the town square. […]