New Wine and Wineskins

The Gospels of Matthew (Chapter 9) and Luke (Chapter 5) record Jesus using the relationship between new wine and wineskins as a metaphor for the difference between the Old and New Covenants. The Lord Jesus said, “…no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and […]

How a Person Is Born Again

Being born again can also be translated as “receiving new life from God.” The Bible teaches that human life, passed down from our ancestor Adam, is sinful and mortal. To inherit eternal, immortal life, a person must receive God’s new life—they must be born again. Anyone who receives the truth and is united with Jesus […]

Leaven

In the Bible, leaven is often used to represent things that are bad or unrighteous. Just like the Chinese proverb “do not fail to do good because it is small, and do not do evil because it is small,” the saying that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Galatians 5:9) was a common proverb […]

An Introduction to the Concept of Sin

In Chinese, “sin” typically refers to a criminal act. However, the Hebrew and Greek words translated as “sin” in the Bible originally mean “to miss the mark” or “to fall short of the standard.” A person falls short of God’s standard, and this is what the Bible calls sin. The essence of sin is lawlessness, […]

The Shema

Shema (שְׁמַע) is a Hebrew word meaning “Hear!” It appears in Deuteronomy 6, and its meaning is encompassed in the entire passage from verses 4-9: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all […]

Measurement and Distance Units in the Bible

*Due to the passage of time and regional differences, the conversion values in this table are approximate. They are provided for reference only, to help with a better understanding of the Bible.

Samaria, Part I

Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. “Omri…bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the owner of the hill” (1 Kings 16:24). The city was strategically built on the Samaria hill, overlooking the Jezreel Valley […]

Apostle Paul

Paul, originally named Saul, was one of the most influential missionaries in the early church. “Saul” was a name commonly used by Hebrews, while “Paul” was a common Roman name. He later began to use the name Paul to make it easier to preach in Roman territories. Because he pioneered the spread of the gospel […]

The Holy Anointing Oil

[Exodus 30:22-32] The Lord said to Moses, “Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half that amount, that is, 250, and of fragrant cane 250, and of cassia 500, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin. You shall make of these a sacred […]

The Law

The Law is God’s decree given to humanity, so people may know what sin is. In the Old Testament, the Law was a body of statutes, ordinances, and rules that God gave to the Israelites through Moses. It included regulations for worshipping God, civil laws for society, rules for daily life, and everything that constituted […]