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Weekly Bible Study Resources
Bible Characters for Your Weekly Bible Study
Compiled by Lt Gen C. Norman Wood, USAF (Ret), Burke, VA 22015
For week of June 19 - 26, 2011
SUBJECT: CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
Heywood, Florence “Flossie” L., “Christian Science,” POEM, Journal, Vol. 4 (July 1886), p. 85.
(also Hymn 29)
BREAKING through the clouds of darkness,
Black with error, doubt and fear;
Lighting up each sombre shadow,
With a radiance soft and clear;
Filling every heart with gladness,
That its holy power feels,
Comes the Christian Science Gospel;
Sin it kills and grief it heals.
Christlike in its benedictions,
Godlike in its strength sublime,
Conquering every subtle slander,
With a meekness all divine,—
May it go across the ocean,
And be known in every land,
Till our sisters and our brothers,
All united in one band,
Raise to Heaven their glad hosanas,
For a world from sin set free;
And to God, the Heavenly Father,
Then subdued will all things be.
CONCEPTS USEFUL FOR THIS LESSON
Prophecy
“PROPHET. A spiritual seer, disappearance of material sense before the conscious facts of
spiritual Truth.” (S&H p. 593)
“No comprehensive definition of an Israelite prophet is possible. The persons conventionally
included in this category appear to have manifested great diversity of character and function.” (Oxford
Guide to People & Places) A prophet is “a religious intermediary whose function is to carry messages
back and forth between human beings and a deity. Persons performing this social function have been
found in a wide range of times, places, and societies, though they may not locally be known by the title
prophet.” (Eerdmans Dictionary)
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — June 20 - 26, 2011
“Prophecy in the New Testament is the reception and subsequent communication of
spontaneous and divinely given revelations; normally, those who were designated ‘prophets’ in early
Christianity were specialists in mediating divine revelation rather than those who prophesied
occasionally or only once.” (Oxford Guide to People & Places)
WAGERS, RALPH E.(CSB, Lecturer, Associate Editor, Normal Class Teacher, and President),
“Christian Science: A Prophetical Religion,” EDITORIAL, Journal, Vol. 79 (June 1961), p. 318.
--Prophecy replaces material sense with spiritual sense by bringing human experience under the control
of Christ, Truth.
--…man is spiritual only, and he is the perfect image and likeness of God.
• …sinning mortal man is not that man….
--Christian Science is a prophetical religion.
• The Church of Christ, Scientist, is a prophetical church.
---By enthroning Spirit, God, as supreme over all, it is doing what the Master expected
his church to do.
• This Science accepts as real only that to which spiritual sense testifies.
---It repudiates misconceptions and removes from human experience the erroneous
concepts which appear as discord and disease, both mental and physical.
Numerology in the Bible
“In common with most people in the ancient world, the Israelites attached symbolic significance
to numbers. So whenever the biblical writers mention a number, it is likely that they had a symbolic
meaning in mind; in many cases the numbers must not be taken in their literal sense at all.” (Oxford
Guide to Ideas & Issues)
Two: “Differences, distinctness, a witness. Also, opposition, enmity and division.” (Janet Boyer, ebook Divination—History, Methods, and Uses)
Seven: “The sum of three plus four, of heaven and earth, signifies completeness and perfection.”
(Oxford Guide to Ideas & Issues)
Martin, Mrs. Pamela K., “666—The mark, the number, the name of the beast,” MILLENNIUM
WATCH, Sentinel, Vol. 100 (27 July 1998), p. 24.
--Dummelow’s Commentary on the Holy Bible sheds some light on this subject [numbers].
• It explains that in Greek and Hebrew, letters of the alphabet were used as numbers.
---The number for the Greek name “Jesus” is 888.
---The number 777 stand for completeness, perfection, and holiness;
---thus the number 666, the name of the beast, falls as far below perfection and holiness
as 888 , the name of Christ, rises above it.
--Perfection and holiness are our birthright; we are not children of the beast.
--How grateful I am to learn in Science that there is no power other than God—infinite, omnipresent
good.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — June 20 - 26, 2011
Holy Ghost/Comforter
"HOLY GHOST. Divine Science; the development of eternal Life, Truth, and Love." (S&H 588)
"The word 'ghost' is of Anglo-Saxon origin and means 'spirit' or 'soul.' Ghost, spirit, or soul—
whatever it be called—represents something intangible which can be regarded as the essence of life,
apart from the material body." (Asimov's Guide to the Bible) HOLY GHOST [is the] KJV designation
for the Holy Spirit." (Holman Dictionary)
"HOLY SPIRIT [is the] mysterious third Person of the Trinity through whom God acts, reveals
His will, empowers individuals, and discloses His personal presence in the Old and New Testament."
(Ibid)
“When we enter upon the NT we find the doctrine of the Spirit marvelously enriched, the main
idea involved being still that of power….The spirit of prophecy had ceased.” (Funk & Wagnalls Bible
Dictionary) "The N.T. treats of Messianic times and the dispensation of the Spirit, and consequently the
Spirit is mentioned much oftener in the N.T. than in the O.T. The doctrine of the Spirit advances
beyond the teaching of the O.T. chiefly in becoming more definite in respect to his personality. Though
the word ‘spirit’ is neuter in Greek and fem. in Hebrew, yet the spirit is referred to in English by the
masc. form of the pronoun (John 14:26; 16:13). The Spirit further speaks in the 1st person, using the
pronouns I and me (Acts 10:19-20; 13:2)." (Westminster Dictionary) “In the NT the word spirit
(pneuma) is to be understood as the spirit of God approximately 275 times; in as many as 92 of these
occurrences, the expression is ‘holy spirit’ (pneuma hagion).” (Dictionary of NT Background)
….
The Paraclete is a "transliteration of Gk. paráklētos, derived from the verb meaning 'to call
alongside,' often for the sake of exhorting or encouraging. Therefore, some have interpreted the term as
'Comforter." Others have pointed to the use of paráklētos in Greek and Hellenistic legal contexts,
entailing a judicial meaning similar to 'Advocate.' This sense is certainly present in 1 John 2:1, which
states that Jesus Christ acts as the sinning believer's paráklētos before the Father. The remaining NT
occurrences all appear in the 'Farewell Discourses' of the Gospel of John (John 14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7)."
(Eerdmans Dictionary)
“In the Fourth Gospel our Lord is represented as speaking at great length regarding the Spirit
with [his] disciples at their last gathering. His previous references are even more sparse than in the
Synoptics (Jn 3:5-8; 6:63), and the Spirit’s coming is declared (by the Evangelist, however, not by
Jesus) to be conditioned by Jesus being glorified (7:39).” (Peloubet’s Bible Dictionary)
Haskell, Olcott, “The Holy Ghost,” Journal, Vol. 43 (August 1925), p. 279.
--The advent of the Holy Ghost is invariably associated with the revelation of Truth and with healing,-with spiritual illumination and regeneration; and in reviewing the successive Scriptural references to the
attainment of this exalted degree of spiritual understanding it is seen as how natural, how divinely
normal, are the experiences recorded in connection therewith; for when one understands divine
Principle, then is he in a position to demonstrate its power.
--While the exact words “Holy Ghost” are not to be found in the Old Testament, yet it is certain that the
inspired patriarchs and prophets caught clear glimpses of Truth, and were led by some degree of that
same Christ-understanding which illuminated the lives of Jesus and the apostles.
--[The] great theme of the allness of God, good, and the consequent nothingness of evil, is sustained in
the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — June 20 - 26, 2011
McCrackan, Prof. Willaim D., M.A., (CSB, Lecturer, and Associate Editor), "Christian Science:
The Promised Comforter," LECTURE, Journal, Vol. 32 (June 1914), p. 125.
--To those looking with hope and faith for better things, Christian Science comes as the Comforter
promised by the Master.
• It shows that the right ideals which we have cherished and nourished are not idle dreams, but
realities of God's creation; that the ideal man is God's man now; that the kingdom of God is at hand.
• It answers the cry of mankind for deliverance from its woes.
• It assures us that no sorrow is too deep, no sin too persistent, no sickness too severe, no
question too perplexing, and no burden too heavy for the saving grace of spiritual understanding.
• It teaches us to know God, in whom we live, and move, and have our being.
• It corrects the false concept of God as the supposed source of evil, shows that evil has no real
origin, permanency, and power, and thus, once and for all, removes the sting of fear from our existence.
Angels
“ANGELS. God’s thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration
of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality.” (S&H
581: 4)
“In Israel’s early traditions, God was perceived as administering the cosmos with a retinue of
divine assistants. The members of this divine council were identified generally as ‘sons of God’ and
‘morning stars,’ ‘gods’ or the ‘host of heaven,’ and they functioned as God’s vicegerents and
administrators in a hierarchical bureaucracy over the world. Where Israel’s polytheistic neighbors
perceived these beings simply as part of the pantheon, the Bible depicts them as subordinate and in no
way comparable to the God of Israel.” (Oxford Guide to People & Places)
“Angels are heavenly beings who carry God’s messages between heaven and earth. They are
agents and assistants of God and appear throughout the Bible, especially at the strategic moments in the
history of God’s people.” (Complete Bible Handbook)
Kennedy, Mrs. Janet V. (CSB and Lecturer, Cinnaminson, NJ), “Angels,” THE LANGUAGE OF
SPIRIT, Journal, Vol. 125 (February 2007), p. 49.
--Although traditionally angels have been portrayed as ethereal beings, who make announcements (for
example see Luke 1: 11-38 in the Bible) and bring blessings from God, Mary Baker Eddy’s explanation
of angels in the Glossary in Science and Health gives a spiritual view of angels that can be proved
practical in any situation.
• She wrote: [See definition above].
--We all have had encounters with angels, though we may not have recognized them as such.
--Many people, when asked where angels reside, would say in heaven or in God’s kingdom.
• Christ Jesus told us that the kingdom of God is within us (see Luke 17: 21).
---What a concept to ponder that the angels of His presence are within our own
consciousness, just awaiting our acceptance.
Woman
(See the Sections, below)
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — June 20 - 26, 2011
“a woman took, and hid three measures of meal” (Section II)
“a virtuous woman” (Section V)
”a woman clothed with the sun” (Section V)
“the woman fled into the wilderness….which brought forth a man child” (Section VI)
Serpent/Devil/Satan/Dragon
Serpent: “…(ophis, in Greek; nacash, in Hebrew). Subtlety; a lie; the opposite of Truth, named error;
the first statement of mythology and idolatry; the belief in more than one God; animal magnetism; the
first lie of limitation; finity; the first claim that there is an opposite of Spirit, or good, termed matter, or
evil; the first delusion that error exists as fact; the first claim that sin, sickness, and death are the
realities of life. The first audible claim that God was not omnipotent and that there was another power,
named evil, which was as real and eternal as God, good.” (S&H 594: 1)
“Serpents are mentioned often in the Bible, and a number of names are used for them.”
(Interpreter’s Dictionary) A serpent is a reptile, and in the Bible another name for snake; a symbol for
evil and Satan.
“In the ancient world, there was general respect for, revulsion at, and fear of serpents, most being
assumed to be poisonous and therefore dangerous. The serpent thus came to be understood
symbolically with both positive and negative connotations. In some ancient cultures, the serpent was
associated with deity and was depicted in statues and paintings with various gods and goddesses.
Serpents also played various roles in ancient mythological stories…. Some even linked the serpent with
the process of healing, as in the case of the Greek god Asclepius. In Canaanite religion, which the early
Hebrew people encountered upon their arrival in the area, the serpent was associated with the fertility
worship of Baal, his consort Astarte…being depicted with a serpent.” (HarperCollins)
“Against this general background, one is not surprised to find many references to serpents in
biblical writings. In the OT literature, serpents usually have a negative connotation. The older story of
creation (Gen 2:4—3:24), which explains the sinfulness of the human race, has as its villain the serpent
(note, however, that not until much later is the serpent in this story identified with Satan or the devil).”
(Ibid)
Devil: “Evil; a lie; error; neither corporeality nor mind; the opposite of Truth; a belief in sin, sickness,
and death; animal magnetism or hypnotism; the lust of the flesh, which saith: ‘I am life and intelligence
in matter. There is more than one mind, for I am mind, — a wicked mind, self-made or created by a
tribal god and put into the opposite of mind, termed matter, thence to reproduce a mortal universe,
including man, not after the image and likeness of Spirit, but after its own image.’" (S&H 584:17)
The word devil is “used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew ‘Satan’ and in the NT as a
virtual synonym for the same term. In the KJV, it is also regularly employed as a translation of another
Greek word (daimón), which, however, in the RSV is translated as 'demon.'” (HarperCollins
Dictionary) “The basic sense of the Hebrew term satan is something like “accuser” or “adversary.”
(Complete Bible Handbook)
The devil is “the personal dimension of that which opposes God’s purposes in His world. For
some people, belief in a personal Satan is part of mankind's nursery furniture.” (Holman Dictionary) He
is portrayed as a slanderer, the arch-enemy of man's spiritual interest in Job, Zechariah, and Revelation.
The devil is called also "the accuser of the brethren" in Revelation.
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — June 20 - 26, 2011
Satan: Satan is "the name of the archenemy of God and the personification of evil, particularly in
Christian tradition. The name may derive from a Semitic root śţn, but the primitive meaning is still
debated, the most popular suggestions being 'to be remote' and 'to obstruct.'" (Oxford Guide to People &
Places)
"In intertestamental, NT, and contemporary Jewish (esp. apocalyptic) literature , the term is used
as a proper name to denote a supramundane being who stands in complete opposition to God and is
dedicated to frustrating his work….His ultimate aim is to disrupt or destroy [the elect’s] faithfulness to,
and trust in, God, and thereby induce in them the seeds, if not the flowering of disobedience to
conventional obligations." (Eerdmans Dictionary) "In the New Testament it is used as interchangeable
with Diabolos, or the devil, and is so used more than thirty times." (Easton Dictionary) "One of the
more interesting designations is 'the evil one.' In fact, it is quite possible that, in the Lord's Prayer, the
original meaning of the petition, 'deliver us from evil,' may have been 'deliver us from the evil one'
(Matt 6:13b)." (Harper Collins Dictionary)
He is also called "the dragon," "the old serpent" (Rev 12:9; 20:2); "the prince of this world"
(John 12:31; 14:30); "the prince of the power of the air" (Eph 2:2); "the god of this world" (II Cor 4:4);
"the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Eph 2:2). The distinct personality of
Satan and his activity among men are thus obviously recognized. He tempted our Lord in the
wilderness (Matt 4:1-11).
Dragon: “RED DRAGON. Error; fear; inflammation; sensuality; subtlety; animal magnetism; envy;
revenge.” (S&H 593: 7)
The dragon is “a reptilian monster well known in the mythology and iconography of the ancient
Near East.” (HarperCollins Dictionary) "'Dragon' is an increasingly less frequent rendering of Hebrew
terminology in recent English versions of the OT." (Eerdmans Dictionary)
In the New Testament the word "dragon" is found only in the 12th chapter of Revelation, and is
there used metaphorically of "Satan."
McCrackan, Prof. William D. (CSB, 1st Reader, and Associate Editor), "Uncoiling the Serpent,"
EDITORIAL, Sentinel, Vol. 19 (7 April 1917), p. 631.
--The present pretense of evil is that it holds the whole world in its grasp.
• From time immemorial the serpent has typified evil in religious symbolism; therefore the
picture suggested today is that of a serpent coiled around a seemingly defenseless globe, and the task of
true religion is that of mentally uncoiling this supposititious serpent by spiritual means. Ever since the
serpent deceived Adam and Eve it has been playing traitor to the human race considered individually
and collectively.
--Treachery is its particular trade, and this it combines with subtlety, envy, presumption, malignity, and
cruel arrogance. In order to discourage the human race from freeing itself, the mentality typified by the
serpent seeks to scandalize spiritual benefactors and to falsify life motives. It expresses itself in the
Pharisees to whom the Master said, “Ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over
them are not aware of them.”
Rosebery, Joyce, “No devil in infinite good,” Sentinel, Vol. 81 (16 July 1979), p. 1228.
--Passing a drive-in theater one day, I noticed that the movie then showing was on the currently popular
theme of the devil’s influence over mankind.
--My immediate reaction was one of thankfulness for Christian Science.
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• This Science has shown me that, contrary to the orthodox theological teaching of my
childhood, there is no personal devil in opposition to God, good.
---There is no evil power to tempt us into forsaking goodness, to become a part of our
very nature, finally pulling us down into the everlasting punishment of hell.
--Indeed, Christian Science teaches us to impersonalize evil—to see not only that evil is not being
called Satan but that it is never part of man.
Thornburg, Syreta, “’Get thee hence, Satan,’” Journal, Vol. 83 (May 1965), p. 243.
--The Christ, the true idea of God, acting in human consciousness releases mortals from false traits of
personality stemming from the belief of mind in matter.
• This opposite of divine Mind, called mortal mind, arrogantly claims that man is a physical
personality with mortal impulses and desires. This is “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,
which deceiveth the whole world” (Rev. 12:9).
--Shall we allow the devil’s alluring promise of ease in matter, more luxurious living, and frivolous
pleasure to overshadow the Christ ideal?
• Or shall we follow the Master’s example and resist evil’s every selfish aim, its mad ambition,
and say, “Get thee hence, Satan”?
--The Christ is infinitely expressed, and its purpose cannot be thwarted.
• Its eternal mission is to destroy evil works and bring the kingdom of heaven to earth.
GOLDEN TEXT: The Word of God comes from the power of the Holy Ghost (II Pet 1: 21 prophecy)
TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: Second Peter was written by Peter to the Christians of the early church
to expose false teachers. It was written just before his death in 68 AD.
“While Scripture is not of human origin, neither is it the result of human will [not…by the will
of men, v.21].” (MacArthur Bible Commentary)
WAGERS, RALPH E. (CSB, Lecturer, Associate Editor, Normal Class Teacher, and President), "The
Word of God Is with Authority," EDITORIAL, Sentinel, Vol. 65 (17 August 1963), p. 1431.
--…those who accept…the Word of God are healed; their lives are quickened and transformed
--We must gain spiritual inspiration in order to understand Spiritual teachings.
--…the enlightened human consciousness grasps through spiritual sense the substance and power of the
spiritual message. This is why even a moment of true consciousness can banish a severe malady.
--…exercise spiritual sense by reaching out in expectant prayer…the power of Truth enlightens human
thought to the point where the illusive error instantly disappears.
--Peter mentioned that “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (II Pet. 1:21).
• Even so, we may listen as we are “moved by the Holy Ghost.”
---Then we hear the divine message.
SECTION 1: Zechariah's vision of the gold candlestick, seven lamps and pipes, and two olive trees
(Zech 4: 1-3,12,14))
RELATED SCRIPTURE: Rev 11: 4
TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: Written by the priest Zechariah, c. 520 BC.
"The fourth vision focused on Joshua the high priest and, by extension, the cleansing and
restoration of the nation to her divinely appointed role as priest (3:1-10). This fifth vision focuses on
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — June 20 - 26, 2011
the civil leader Zerubbabel, a descendant of David, to encourage him in the work of rebuilding the
temple." (MacArthur Bible Commentary)
“The vision of the golden candlestick, and the two olive trees can be divided as follows:
(1) the details of the vision (vss. 1-5) and
(2) the explanation of the vision (vss. 6-14).” (King James Bible Commentary)
"This [the angel that talked, v. 1] is the Angel of the Lord…the protector, deliverer, and
defender of Israel, sent to bring completion of this temple to fulfillment." (MacArthur Bible
Commentary)
“The significance of the vision of the golden candlestick and the two olive trees to the Israel of
Zechariah’s day was the assurance that the work of God (the building of the Temple) would be
accomplished through God’s leaders [two anointed ones, v. 14], Joshua and Zerubbabel, who would be
enabled to perform their tasks by the Spirit of God.” (King James Bible Commentary)
Peeke, Oscar Graham, “Lamps,” Journal, Vol. 51 (March 1934), p. 669.
--In the Scriptures the word “lamp” is sometimes used to symbolize spiritual illumination. In one of the
visions of Zechariah reference is made to seven lamps. It is generally understood that the numeral
“seven” in many instances in the Bible indicates wholeness or completeness. In the light which
Christian Science throws upon the Scriptures it is seen that the seven lamps and the two olive trees
spoken of by Zechariah may be taken to prefigure the complete revelation of God.
--In Revelation the two olive trees are definitely referred to as “two witnesses” having great power; and
the Revelator figuratively describes the mental fermentation caused by their divinely inspired teachings.
Previous to John’s revelation Christ Jesus, in referring to his divine mission, had said, “The Son can do
nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth
the Son likewise.”
--We who today are known as Christian Scientists, by our faithful endeavors to demonstrate the now
fully revealed truth, are empowered to hasten the coming of the day envisioned by Jeremiah, as he
voiced the divine promise, “They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them,
saith the Lord.”
John is told to measure the temple and count the people, and is given two prophetical
witnesses (Rev 11: 1 the angel, 3, 4)
REALTED SCRIPTURE: Zech 4: 1-4, 14
TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: Written 93-96 AD, probably by John at Patmos, to the first-century
Christians in Asia [Turkey] who were in a crisis of identity.
“It is widely held that in the 2nd interlude John has adapted earlier Jewish apocalyptic material to
his use and that this reworking of an older source is responsible for much of the difficulty in
understanding its message.” (Interpreter’s One-volume Commentary)
"The seer passes to the prophecy of the two witnesses. God will give them power to prophesy
throughout the calamitous period—1,260 days equal 3½ years. They are first described with imagery
adapted from Zech 4:1-4, where two olive trees, apparently representing Zerubbabel and Joshua and
symbolizing the channels through which God's power becomes effective, pour their oil into a single
lampstand located between them.” (Interpreter’s One-volume Commentary) “Here the olive trees
represent Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets.” (Abingdon Bible Commentary) In John's use of
the images both the olive trees and the two lampstands symbolize the witnesses." (Interpreter's Onevolume Commentary)
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Bible Characters for your weekly Bible study — June 20 - 26, 2011
"two witnesses"
A witness "is in the legal sphere, one who speaks from personal experience about what happened
to oneself or another….It is in this legal sense that two or three witnesses are called upon to corroborate
a member's apostasy." (HarperCollins Bible Dictionary)
McCrackan, Prof. William D. (CSB, 1st Reader, and Associate Editor), “The Two Witnesses,”
EDITORIAL, Sentinel, Vol. 19 (19 February 1917), p. 491.
--The explanatory note to be found in The Christian Science Quarterly contains the phrase, “The Bible
and the Christian Science text-book are our only preachers.”
• On the cover of this same Quarterly an artist has drawn, in the conventional lines of a pattern,
two olive branches or trees, associated with lamps of oil.
---Are the Bible and Science and Health the two olive trees or branches of Zechariah’s
vision, “which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves…the two anointed
ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth,”?
---Are they the revelator’s “two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the
God of the earth,” as described in the eleventh chapter of the Apocalypse?
• If this interpretation be accepted by Christian Scientists, then it becomes apparent to them that
Christian unity and continuity is dependent upon an unbroken connection being maintained between
these two preachers.
SECTION II: The Parable of the Leaven, and the Purpose of Jesus’ Parables (Matt 13: 33-35 The)
RELATED SCRIPTURE: Mark 4: 33, 34
PARALLEL GOSPELS: Luke 13: 20, 21
TIME LINE: The Year of Popularity and Fundamental Principles (Jesus’ 2nd year of ministry), 28 AD.
“a woman took, and hid three measures of meal”
“Leaven, in Jewish parlance, is a symbol for evil influences carrying infection….Here it is used
in a good sense of the kingdom of God, as represented by the teaching of Jesus.” (Twentieth Century
Bible Commentary)
"This parable, paired with that of the mustard seed (Matt 13:31-32; Luke 13: 18-19), indicates
that the small and suspect can produce the great and valuable….
The image of the woman may reinforce Matthew's frequent locating of women among the
followers of Jesus, but this parable emphasizes the yeast, not the baker (compare 13:31-32, which
focuses on the seed, not the sower)." (Women In Scripture)
WAGERS, RALPH E. (CSB, Lecturer, Associate Editor, President, and Normal Class Teacher), “The
Leaven of Truth at Work,” EDITORIAL, Sentinel, Vol. 62 (11 June 1960), p. 1029.
--As yeast has a leavening effect in making bread, producing fermentation and raising the dough, so the
leaven of Truth brings forth a higher moral and spiritual manifestation as the spiritual idea, or Christ,
permeates human consciousness.
--The divine demand upon Christian Scientists…is that they go higher spiritually in their understanding
of being in order to comprehend man’s completeness in Spirit.
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--…when one is healed by Truth, that is, when he has gained the realization that health is the reality and
has proven to some extent the unreality, the deceptiveness, of error, he is less susceptible to disease than
he was before.
--…healing…is the thing added rather than the thing sought.
__________, “True Innocence,” EDITORIAL, Journal, Vol. 81 (October 1963), p. 546.
--Innocence derives from the purity of Soul.
• …it was Jesus’ innocency that enabled him to rebuke the devil in the wilderness.
--As human consciousness yields to the leavening of divine Science, mankind are able to reject the false
belief that man is a sinning mortal and to accept the spiritual fact that man is now the perfect son of
God, spiritual, sinless.
--The leaven of Truth produces gradually a moral and spiritual change in which innocence enables one
to discern the evidence of ever-present good in spite of all appearance to the contrary.
• Christ Jesus likened it to the kingdom of heaven when he said (Matt 13:33), “The kingdom of
heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was
leavened.”
--Mrs. Eddy states in “Miscellaneous Writings” (p. 166), “Like the leaven that a certain woman hid in
three measures of meal, the Science of God and the spiritual idea, named in this century Christian
Science, is leavening the lump of human thought, until the whole shall be leavened and all materialism
disappear.”
SECTION III: Jesus’ promise of signs to follow (Mark 16: 17, 18)
RELATED SCRIPTURE: Luke 10: 19; Acts 28: 3-6
PARALLEL GOSPEL: John 20: 26-29
TIME LINE: The risen Savior—Sunday of the resurrection, April, 30 AD in Jerusalem.
“The external evidence strongly suggests that these verses [9-20] were not originally part of
Mark’s Gospel. While the majority of Greek manuscripts contain these verses, the earliest and most
reliable do not. A shorter ending also existed, but it is not included in the text.” (MacArthur
Commentary) “Internal evidence points definitively to the conclusion that the last twelve vv. are not by
St. Mark.” (Dummelow Commentary)
“The distinctive emphasis of these miraculous signs [v.17] causes some to conclude that the
disputed ending of Mark was added to support the spiritual gifts that are listed.” (King James Bible
Commentary)
“This [They shall take up serpents, v.18] was fulfilled in Paul, who was not hurt by the viper
that fastened on his hand, which was acknowledged a great miracle by the barbarous people.”
Swan, Carolyn B. (CSB and Associate Editor), “Speaking the new tongue, ‘with new tongues’,”
EDITORIAL, Journal, Vol. 105 (October 1987), p. 38.
--Christ Jesus said that signs would follow believers—those who understood his lifework and its
message.
• He promised, "They shall speak with new tongues." (Mark 16:17)
--Throughout Christendom, conceptions of the fulfillment of this promise have ranged from the practice
known as glossolalia to a fixed belief that the promised signs were meant only “to assist the diffusion of
the gospel at the very first.”
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--A renaissance of the genuine signs Jesus foretold came with Mrs. Eddy’s discovery of Christian
Science.
• Science brings newness to both aspects of the Greek word translated tongue, which is defined
literally as “a member of the body, the organ of speech” and figuratively as “the language” used by a
particular people in distinction from that of other nations.
SECTION VI: The source of John’s revelation (Rev 1: 1)
TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: Written 93-96 AD, probably by John at Patmos, to the first-century
Christians in Asia [Turkey] who were in a crisis of identity.
“The title ‘The Revelation to John’ was added by the church in the process of the formation of
the New Testament. John’s own title to the document, which summarizes its content, is the Revelation
of (from) Jesus Christ.” (People’s NT Commentary)
With respect to The Revelation (v.1), "The Greek word from which the English word apocalypse
comes literally means 'to uncover, or to reveal.'" (MacArthur Commentary) “…apocalypses are works
in which heavenly secrets are disclosed in visionary manner.” (Oxford Bible Commentary)
Blair, Vernon H., “Christian Science: The Ultimate Revelation,” Journal, Vol. 77 (December 1959),
p. 632.
--In chapter VI of the Christian Science textbook, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,”
Mary Baker Eddy refers to her remarkable discovery of Christian Science in the year 1866 and tells of
her ever-increasing faith in the allness of Mind, God, and the nothingness of matter.
• Following her discovery she was divinely motivated to write the textbook, which contains the
scientific statement of this new and revolutionary idea.
--Broadcast evil powers in the world today—supposititious mental powers, to be sure, but organized
and persistent in their war against the Christ-idea—should not be ignored but handled scientifically and
fearlessly on the basis of their powerlessness, since God, good, is All-power.
--As we gain a demonstrable understanding of the Christ-idea advanced in Science and Health, the
success of our journey heavenward will be assured.
The Vision of “another mighty” Angel with the Little Book (Rev 10: 1 I saw, 2 [to :], 911)
TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: Written 93-96 AD, probably by John at Patmos, to the first-century
Christians in Asia [Turkey] who were in a crisis of identity.
“The first 6 trumpet visions following one another in rapid succession have ended.”
(Interpreter’s One-volume Commentary)
"The vision of 'another mighty angel' shows links to both Christophany in ch. 1 when John is
first commissioned…and the vision in ch. 5 when the Lamb is commissioned to open the sealed
book…." (Eerdmans Commentary)
“The Seer is on earth and sees a strong angel descending from heaven—Gabriel, perhaps, whose
name suggests strength. He is described in terms which recall 1:15, so that some scholars understand
Christ himself to be meant.” (Abingdon Commentary)
“This act [Take it, and eat it up, v.9] graphically illustrates taking God’s Word.” (MacArthur
Bible Commentary)
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“another mighty angel”
“Many commentators understand this [another mighty angel, v.1] to be Jesus Christ. But the
Greek word translated ‘another’ means one of the same kind, that is, a created being. This is not one of
the seven angels responsible for sounding the trumpets (8:2), but one of the highest ranking in heaven,
filled with splendor, greatness, and strength (cf. 5:2; 8:3; 18:1).” (MacArthur Bible Commentary)
Ker Seymer, Miss Violet (CSB, Lecturer, and Associate Editor), “The Angel’s Right Foot,”
EDITORIAL, Journal, Vol. 52 (April 1934), p. 37.
--In the tenth chapter of Revelation we read of a “mighty angel” having “in his hand a little book open;
and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth.”
• The interpretation of this verse found on page 559 of “Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures” gives the clue to the final extermination of evil.
---There Mrs. Eddy writes: “Did this same book contain the revelation of divine Science,
the ‘right foot’ or dominant power of which was upon the sea, — upon elementary, latent error, the
source of all error's visible forms? The angel's left foot was upon the earth; that is, a secondary power
was exercised upon visible error and audible sin.”
• It is easy to see that, should the revelation of divine Science be utilized merely curatively, by
means of the angel’s left foot, or secondary power, fresh errors would indefinitely continue coming to
the surface for destruction.
Phinney, Allison W., Jr. (CSB, CoP, Lecturer, Clerk, Editor, and President; Boston, MA), “It is time
to eat the book up,” EDITORIAL, Sentinel, Vol. 86 (1 October 1984), p. 1700.
--Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy is of course at the very center of Christian Science. To say only a
very small part of what it is, it’s the basic statement of Christian Science theology and
metaphysics…and it shows something of the inspiring spiritual odyssey of the woman who discovered
the actuality of infinite Mind, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter.
--Familiar as one may think one is with the textbook, there are always new things to be found and, most
important, more of the totality of the revelation of spiritual reality to be assimilated.
• Quoting from the book of Revelation in the Bible, Mrs. Eddy writes, “Then will a voice from
harmony cry: ‘Go and take the little book. . . . Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter,
but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.’ Mortals, obey the heavenly evangel. Take divine Science.
Read this book from beginning to end. Study it, ponder it.” [S&H p. 559]
--Hasn’t the time come to eat the book up—to read it with thanks and wonder—to rediscover the
discovery!
SECTION V: The worth and the wisdom of the “virtuous woman” (Prov 31: 10, 26, 29)
TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: "Proverbs was not assembled in its final form until Hezekiah's day [744698 BC] or thereafter." (MacArthur Bible Commentary) Chapter 31 reflects "the words of Lemuel
[King of Massa], who perhaps was Solomon." (Ibid)
“a virtuous woman”
“Most of the references to women and their role in society that have appeared earlier in Proverbs
have been of a markedly negative character. Predominantly in chs. 1-9 the threat the young men posed
by the ‘unattached,’ or ‘loose,’ woman is given prominence.” (Eerdmans Commentary)
This passage from Proverbs is also referred to as “The Good Wife. These verses are in the form
of an acrostic poem in which each one begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. As
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characterized in the poem, the good wife is an industrious housewife; a shrewd businesswoman; an
enterprising trader; a generous benefactor (v.20); and a wise teacher (v.26). Her husband has complete
confidence in her, since he knows that his wealth and his reputation are safe in her hands (vv.11-12).”
(Oxford Bible Commentary)
“Verse 29 reads literally ‘many daughters,” rather than the ‘many women’ usually rendered.”
(HarperCollins Bible Commentary)
"Better Models," Monitor (24 July 1989), p. 17.
--One model I have always admired is the "virtuous woman" in Proverbs." [Prov 31:10-31]
• The Bible's description seems to me to summarize the good qualities a woman—or man, for
that matter—should have.
The description starts out: "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies."
--Then Proverbs explains that she can be trusted; she does good; she works willingly; she brings food
from afar.
• She is strong; she helps the poor. She keeps those in her charge equipped; she is loved by those
around her. In all this list of the fine qualities she expresses—and there's much more to it—there is no
indication of her age, size, shape, or color! Her real values are spiritual, which is the only true model for
any of us.
--As we look deeper at the qualities we admire and want to emulate, we discover that they are indeed
spiritual.
Bell, Leslie C., “The Law of Kindness,” Journal, Vol. 58 (February 1941), p. 613.
--Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, says (Miscellaneous Writings, p.
127), “Wise sayings and garrulous talk may fall to the ground, rather than on the ear or heart of the
hearer; but a tender sentiment felt, or a kind word spoken, at the right moment, is never wasted.”
--Mere human kindness which believes in the existence and reality of evil may not attain its object of
helping the sufferer, but divine kindness, revealing the nothingness and powerlessness of evil, and the
eternal presence and power of God, good, is a spiritual law.
• It is the expression of the omnipotent law of Love and unfailingly accomplishes good.
--Not only did Mrs. Eddy heal many hopeless cases of sickness and sin, but those with whom she came
into contact were deeply impressed by her understanding and lovingkindness.
• There is a verse in Proverbs which reads, “In her tongue is the law of kindness;” and this
description may be very fittingly applied to our beloved Leader.
The “woman clothed with the sun” delivers the “man child” (Rev 12: 1, 2, 5)
TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: Written 93-96 AD, probably by John at Patmos, to the first-century
Christians in Asia [Turkey] who were in a crisis of identity.
”a woman clothed with the sun”
“Revelation 12:1—13:18 narrates the mythic battle of good and evil much more fully.”
(Theological Bible Commentary) “This is the first of seven signs in the last half of Revelation.”
(MacArthur Commentary)
“The persecution which the Church had already suffered, and which was about to burst forth
again, is the great fact which underlies the whole ‘Revelation.’” (Dummelow Commentary)
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“The Church of both the Old Testament and the New Testament covenants, is shown under the
figure of a woman, clothed with heavenly glory (v.1) from whom the Messiah is about to come….She is
opposed by the devil (v.9) pictured as a dragon, red with blood of the saints.” (Ibid)
“Despite Satan’s efforts to destroy Israel and the messianic line, Jesus’ birth took place as
predicted by the prophets [she brought forth a man child, v.5].” (MacArthur Bible Commentary)
Carlson, Lois Rae (CSB and Contributing Editor, Evanston, IL), FRONTLINE, "The 12th chapter of
Revelation is about each of us," Journal, Vol. 120 (February 2002), p. 10.
--Revelation 12 portrays a woman who is about to give birth, when a huge red dragon with seven heads
and ten horns arrives to eat up her child.
--The story continues with the description of a great war in heaven against the dragon. The angel
Michael and his angels engage in the battle, and the dragon is kicked out of heaven….The story ends
with the implication that the dragon will continue to undermine successive generations of believers.
--Even if opposition to our spiritual progress repeats itself over and over in new forms, evil has no
authority over us, because it cannot withstand the protective power of God.
--The good news of the Gospels is that our spiritual individuality is secured and defended by Christ in a
way that tells us that our real substance is in perfect harmony with the work God has given us to do.
Smith, J. Woodruff, “Appreciating Spiritual Womanhood,” Sentinel, Vol. 42 (27 April 1940), p.
686.
--It is regrettable that the world generally considers the qualities of womanhood to be weak.
• True womanhood naturally bears fruit in gentleness, intuition, tenderness, loving forbearance
and forgiveness, faith in good.
--The profound value of this revelation to humankind will be seen in certain statements by Mrs. Eddy in
her work "Christian Healing," a sermon delivered in Boston.
• Referring to one of St. John's figures of speech in the twelfth chapter of Revelation, she says
(p.10), "The dragon that was wroth with the woman, and stood ready 'to devour the child as soon as it
was born,' was the vision of envy, sensuality, and malice, ready to devour the idea of Truth."
---Then she makes this significant statement: "But the beast bowed before the Lamb: it
was supposed to have fought the manhood of God, that Jesus represented; but it fell before the
womanhood of God, that presented the highest ideal of Love."
• We are left in no doubt as to our Leader’s conviction.
--Let us be faithful to our beloved Leader’s vision by bringing out the true spiritual idea of both
manhood and womanhood….
SECTION VI: The war in heaven between Michael and the dragon results in the defeat and dismissal
of Satan (Rev 12: 6-10 [to :], 13, 15, 16)
RELATED SCRIPTURE: Isa 14: 12; Dan 10: 13, 21; 12: 1; Luke 10: 18; 14: 26; John 12: 25, 31; 21:
31
TIME LINE AND AUTHOR: Written 93-96 AD, probably by John at Patmos, to the first-century
Christians in Asia [Turkey] who were in a crisis of identity.
“the woman fled into the wilderness”
Verses 7-12 are "an episode prior in time to vv.1-6 and explanatory of them. There had been
war in heaven, and Michael and his angels had prevailed, and hurled Satan down to earth (cf. Isa 14:12,
Luke 10:18, John 12:31). But with this event in the past is blended a song of triumph in heaven,
proclaiming the victory of the faithful over the dragon through the blood of the Lamb and the witness of
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the faithful to it (v.11), and their readiness to lose their life in order to save it (cf. Luke 14:26, John
12:25)." (Abingdon Bible Commentary)
“The tumultuous events on earth during the Tribulation find their counterpart in heaven [there
was a war in heaven, v.7] .” (MacArthur Bible Commentary)
"The fact that he [the great red dragon] has been cast down from heaven (v.9) means that evil is
already defeated, the most important and first stage in Satan's conquest has been already achieved (Luke
10:18, John 21:31). (Abingdon Bible Commentary)
Michael
[Mī’kay-uhl] (Heb. “who is like God?”)
Michael is the title given to one of the chief archangels. “In apocalyptic literature he is Israel’s
patron angel, the guardian angel of the Jews, who fights for Israel against the angels of other nations.”
(Oxford Guide to People & Places) He is "first mentioned by name in Dan. 10:13,21; 12.1."
(HarperCollins Dictionary) He disputed with Satan about the body of Moses. He is also represented as
warning against "that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world"
His role grows in the last centuries BC and he is named as the chief adversary of the devil in the
War Scroll of the Qumran community and in the books of Jude and Revelation.
“As the true representative of God, identified with the ‘angel of Yahweh,’ Michael withstood
Satan’s accusations and vindicated Israel at the heavenly tribunal.” (Eerdmans Dictionary)
Ker Seymer, Miss Violet (CSB, Lecturer, and Associate Editor), “Michael and the Dragon,”
EDITORIAL, Sentinel, Vol. 35 (17 September 1932), p. 50.
--In revealing the supremacy of God, infinite good, Christian Science necessarily exposes the imposture
called evil.
• Thereby it lifts the crushing burdens so long borne by mankind, burdens of needless fear,
despair, disease, sin, unhappiness. With divinely guided footsteps, Mrs. Eddy threaded her way through
the deep symbolism of the Bible.
---“Michael's characteristic is spiritual strength. He leads the hosts of heaven
against the power of sin, Satan, and fights the holy wars.” (S&H 566: 30-1)
--Christian Science initiates one into the saving art of true thinking derived from God, absolute Truth, in
which there is no fear and nothing to be feared.
--Evil, masquerading as creative and sentient matter, is the imposture which mortals in general both
worship and fear, and the result takes form in sickness, sinfulness, limitation, death.
--In three masterly verses (Rev 12: 10-12) the Revelator shows the impotence of the attempts of evil to
withstand the might of Spirit.
WAGERS, RALPH E. (CSB, Lecturer, Associate Editor, President, and Normal Class Teacher), "The
Powerlessness of Evil," EDITORIAL, Journal, Vol. 78 (May 1960), p. 262.
--Christ Jesus sent forth two groups of disciples, twelve in one instance and seventy in the other,
directing them to preach the gospel and heal the sick.
• Both groups were successful.
---Luke records the experience of the seventy who, returning with joy, said (10:17),
"Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name."
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--The Master replied: "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to
tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means
hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice,
because your names are written in heaven."
--It is helpful to consider the Master's reference to Satan, impersonal evil, in connection with Isaiah's
prophecy and its fulfillment in Revelation.
• Referring to Satan's attempt to dethrone Deity, Isaiah wrote in typical Bible language (14:12),
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations!"
--Chiding Satan for his intent to ascend into heaven, exalt his throne above the stars of God, sit upon the
mount of the congregation in the sides of the north, and foreseeing Satan's inevitable end, the prophet
wrote: "Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly
look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake
kingdoms?"
__________, “Warfare in Heaven,” EDITORIAL, Sentinel, Vol. 65 (25 May 1963), p. 901.
--Aggressive warfare is incubated in a mental atmosphere that is deficient in moral and spiritual values.
--The Revelator refers to “war in heaven.”
• This is the way he puts it (Rev. 12:7,8): “There was war in heaven: Michael and his angels
fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their
place found any more in heaven.”
---Christian Scientists take this to mean a metaphysical, or spiritual, warfare that is
capable of exposing and destroying the cause of war on the earth.
--In Science and Health we read (pp.566,567): "Michael's characteristic is spiritual strength. He leads
the hosts of heaven against the power of sin, Satan, and fights the holy wars."
• "The hosts of heaven" are those enlightened qualities of thought which recognize the dragon,
Satan, to be the deceiver.
---They see this deceiver as the suppositional source of all misunderstanding and strife as
well as of all sin and disease.
--There is a difference between spiritual warfare, or “war in heaven,” and physical warfare, or war on
earth.
• In spiritual warfare, Truth overcomes error.
• In physical warfare, men destroy each other in a vain attempt to overcome the error that would
afflict them.
--Those who are able to cast the claims of evil out of consciousness as wholly unreal will make a real
contribution to the cause of peace in the world.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
The Bibliography is provided only in the notes of the first Sunday of the month.
*The weekly Bible Lessons are made up of selections from the King James Version of the Bible
and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy,
the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science.
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