Christian Clip Art Review

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Ecclesiastes Clip Art Index

Sample clip art from the listing below.

Sometimes multiple scripture using the same image are uploaded onto the same page. Keep looking on the post and you will find that there is a scripture from the Book of The Bible it is listed under here.

Introduction to the Book of Ecclesiastes by The Bible Project.

Post last updated December 30, 2021

Will Every One Be Saved?

The statement (I Tim. 2:6) that Christ gave himself a ransom for all, and other statements of like import might be taken to imply that all will eventually be saved in the next world if not in this, but it would be very rash to depend on such an interpretation. It would be an awful thing for a person who did so to find that it was wrong. If a king were to offer amnesty to all rebels who laid down their arms within a given time, the offer would be made to all, but only those who complied with the conditions would be benefited. Salvation is offered to all who accept Christ and there is no limit. If the whole world would accept him, his sacrifice would avail for all. Thus it is universal. But what is to be said of those who neglect it or reject it? There is no further sacrifice. It is not for us to limit God's mercy, but he gives us in his Word no ground for hope that another opportunity of accepting Christ will be afforded after death.

Is the desire for immortality a universal one, or must we regard it as one that appeals only to the enlightened or spiritualized heart?

The belief in immortality and the desire of it are worldwide. Yet when we look around us and see the vast majority of the human race with their affections strongly concentrated on material things, we may well doubt whether the problem of a future life is receiving the supreme attention it merits. There are three classes.

Those who really desire immortality and who try, with divine help, to mold their lives accordingly.
Those who shrink back from the great question...
Those who apparently never think of it.

This last is a very large class. What they hear on the subject seems to make no impression. Christ came to bring life and immortality to light, but there is no outward evidence that these darkened minds have ever heard and understood the message. The pursuit of riches, of pleasure, of luxury, of sinful indulgence, and of the prizes the world offers is fatal to spiritual development. Yet even such persons, once thoroughly awakened, often become the most zealous of Christians and the world's allurements seem to them a very little thing in comparison with the life to come.

Will a Christian who has studied and cultivated his mind here on Earth be any further advanced in heaven than if he had not?

All that has been revealed to us concerning the other life justifies the conviction that it is a state of vastly enlarged activities and uninterrupted progress. There the spiritual life, which has been kindled in the soul while here, will find amplest room for expansion, and all those noble qualities of heart and mind that go to the formation of the best type of character here below, and which are elementary forms of the perfect manhood, will doubtless survive after our spiritual enlargement, since they have a close affinity to the spiritual life. To efface all intellectual culture in the next life is as great an improbability as would be the effacement of individuality. Consequently, one who while on earth has cultivated the nobler faculties will probably begin the heavenly life with that advantage.

Is there scriptural authority for the claim that Christ will rule on Earth?

The passage in Revelations 11: 15 has its parallel in Daniel 2: 44. It is the visible setting up of heaven's sovereignty over the earth - that sovereignty which was rejected before by the world's rulers. This done, the distinction of the worldly and the spiritual shall cease. The whole earth, with all of its affairs, will at once be worldly and Christian, but worldly in the transformed sense, all being ordered in accordance with the divine will and in perfect recognition of and obedience to God's laws. But it should not be forgotten that the kingdom has its first beginnings in the hearts of God's true children here and now. This is repeatedly emphasized by Jesus in his talks with his disciples. These beginnings, though only a faint foreshadowing of the ultimate development of the kingdom, are nevertheless real and their earnest cultivation is a duty laid upon all believers. Christ ushered in the kingdom; his followers, like a little faithful flock, maintain it perseveringly and we look forward to the day, in the fullness of time, when it shall be proclaimed in divine majesty and power over the whole earth.

Does memory of the Earthly state continue after death?

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:27, 28) it is clearly shown that memory of the earthly state continues after death. This is so because the soul being freed from earthly obstacles sees clearly through space. Death is only a veil and transparent to those on the other side are the things here. In two distinct passages (I Cor. 13 : 12 and II Cor. 3 : 18) Paul employs a figure of speech to convey the idea that our mortality is an obstacle to spiritual vision - a veil. Death is the shedding of the garment of mortal flesh. As the believer nears the close of life, his hold on material things becomes feebler and his spiritual perception grows clearer. The soul is preparing to loosen its material environment; it is ripening for release - the putting off of the tabernacle of this flesh (II Pet. 1: 13, 14 ; II Cor. 5:1). As the end of the journey comes into view, the spiritual vision is enabled to perceive and understand many things it could not do before. With regard to the knowledge of those on the ''other side" of what is going on here, we have scriptural evidence in support of it. Hebrews 12:1 tells us that we are encompassed with "a cloud of witnesses.'' All heaven is looking on and watching our struggles here, although our own eyes are still holden. There are other texts in Scripture which go to show that those who have passed "beyond the veil" are not indifferent to us who are left behind (see Luke 16: 19-25).

Will the final judgment be of two kinds?

All that we read about the final judgment indicates that it will be of two kinds. There will be the great separation of the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:32) and there will also be another and more joyful judgment, in which rewards are distributed among the children of God in proportion to the work each has done for Christ (Luke 19:22-26). These rewards will not be given according to the prominence Christians have attained in the world, nor according to the quantity or conspicuity of the work done; but on Christ's principles of fidelity to him and his spirit. The apostle teaches that many a servant of Christ will miss a reward, because his work has not been done in the right spirit and motive. He will be saved if he is in Christ, but his work will not be accepted (see I Cor. 3: 13, 14). To cite examples: Can you conceive of a Christian man doing good works from an impure motive? Suppose a clergyman has lost the high ideal he had when he entered the ministry, and now his aim in preaching is to increase his popularity, or to get more money. Suppose a man gives a public library to the city, or pensions a widow, and his real motive, if he would honestly analyze it, is to get a reputation for charity and beneficence, or to promote his election to Congress. The clergyman's preaching may be earnest and effective and the other man's gifts may be well applied, but God, who reads the heart, knows that he has had his reward in getting the applause, or the money, or the position which was sought. Having had it he deserves no other, and he gets none. He suffers the loss of the reward God would have given him for work done for his sake.

There being no marriage in heaven, will spouces recognize eachother in heaven?

Recognition does not imply a resumption of the old relations. Christ's words were a reply to a question which assumed that there might be a dispute between husbands of the same woman as to the right of one of them to treat her as his wife. He reminded them that in heaven people would not have their fleshly bodies. After the resurrection they will have spiritual bodies (see I Cor. 15:44). The husband may and doubtless will recognize his wife and the wife the husband, and it will be a loving recognition; but they will be so absorbed in the spiritual delights of the new condition that the old relations will be gross and coarse in their eyes.

Did the Jews Believe in the Immortality of the Soul?

While the belief is nowhere directly stated in the early Jewish writings there are many passages which appear to indicate that it was general. The laws in the Pentateuch against holding communication with the dead imply a prevalent belief that the soul lived on after the death of the body. Saul's application to the witch of Endor (I Sam. 28) shows that he believed in the continued existence of the soul. In Heb. 11: 16 the statement is made that the patriarchs expected to enter a heavenly country. Christ also referred to the belief as existing in the days of Moses (see Luke 20:37).

Will There Be a Resurrection of the Wicked?

In the earlier stages the resurrection doctrine was evidently taught as a hope which applied to righteous Israelites, and it was afterward extended by degrees to others, including the Gentiles. In Luke 14: 14 a distinction seems to be made between the resurrection of the righteous and that of the wicked, and in Luke 20: 35, 36, those who are accounted worthy to attain the resurrection from the dead are spoken of as "the sons of God" - the inference drawn by some commentators on this point being that the resurrection of the righteous is to be separate from that of the wicked (see John 5 : 29 and Acts 24: 15 ; also I Thess. 4: 16; I Cor. 15 : 23, 24) . Compare also John 6:40, in which the resurrection of the righteous is represented as an act of grace, as also in John 5: 21; and in John 6: 44, 54 Jesus says: "And I will raise him up at the last day." Paul also, in Rom. 8:11, teaches a resurrection of the righteous. With regard to the second resurrection, whether it will be simultaneous with the first, or after an interval, commentators differ. Rev. 20: 4-6 has been held to imply an interval of a thousand years, but this is merely conjecture. There has been a great deal of discussion concerning the two resurrections, and many books have been written on the subject.

Is Sanctification Complete at Death, or Does It Continue in Heaven?

We cannot dogmatize about the state of the believer in heaven. So little is revealed to us about that state, that absolute knowledge is impossible. Judging by what we do know, we infer that there must be a vast increase in knowledge of God and divine things which must have its effect on the character. Then, too, to be in the presence of God, and associated with pure and holy beings and liberated from the gross influence of the flesh would, we should imagine, tend to elevate and ennoble and develop the spiritual nature. Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe the progress we expect as growth and development rather than sanctification.

Will the Future State Be One of Material or Spiritual Glory?

The future state will be one in which our personal identity will be preserved. We will have what may be called resurrection bodies, not greatly unlike that of our Savior after his resurrection. The book of Revelation being prophetic and highly figurative, is to be interpreted accordingly. As the resurrection body will be spiritual, so will the abode of these bodies be spiritual - a state of indefinite development of our highest powers, chiefly the moral, intellectual and spiritual. It will not be a disembodied state. The qualities seen in the spiritual bodies of those who have reappeared on earth (such as Moses, Elijah and Jesus himself) are, very likely, but properties superior to those we now possess. Read and compare Job 19 : 25- 27 ; Ps. 17 : 15 ; I Cor. 13 : 12 ; I Cor. 15 : 44, and entire chapter, and I Thess. 4: 17, etc. Many believe that the earth will be refitted, for the abode of the righteous in this exalted state. To others, it appears that then all the universe will form the theater of that existence, as we shall have powers of locomotion commensurate with all our other conditions.

What is Meant by "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed"?

This passage in Acts 13: 48 has been much discussed. Those Gentiles did not all become believers, but only those in whom the preaching of the apostles had awakened faith and who, being taken into the congregation, had striven earnestly to "make their calling and election sure." It forcibly reminds us that salvation is the gift of God and not in any sense something we can obtain by our own merit or acts; but at the same time, in order to attain this gift (which is divinely ordained to all those who comply with certain conditions), we must put ourselves in the attitude of faith and belief. Further, throughout the whole Scriptures, there is a pervading sense of the fact that many are specially called to be saints and to perform a certain work, who are obedient to the summons and yet who were not in such attitude before. The case of Paul is an illustration in point. He was called right out of the midst of his sinful life of persecution. Some commentators hold that in the case of these Gentiles, God had chosen for himself certain men to become witness-bearers and to be set apart for a special work. Still other translators make the passage read ''As many as disposed themselves to eternal life believed," referring to I Cor. 16:15. We may add, by way of further explanation, that while the call to salvation is a universal one, the call to special service is one that comes only to the few.

Did the Baptist Doubt Jesus' Messiahship?

John's message, asking through his disciples whom he sent to Jesus, "Art thou he that should come, or look we for another?" Matt. 11:3, was the result of impatience, almost of desperation. It must have seemed hard to him that his Master should let him lie so long in prison, after having been honored to announce and introduce him at the beginning of his mission. He tried to get Jesus to speak out his mind, or at least to set his own mind at rest. The conclusion of the incident, however, shows that his transient doubts were set at rest by the message he received.

What is Meant by "Buy the Truth and Sell It Not?

The passage in Prov. 23:23 - "buy the truth and sell it not" is not to be interpreted as meaning that both the buying and selling must be wrong. On the contrary, the meaning is that we should get the truth, whatever it may cost us, and that we should not part with it for any consideration, money, pleasure, fame, etc., for it is more precious than all of these. (See Prov. 4:5-7.) The inspired teacher urges us to get the principal thing, the truth, wisdom, understanding; the world's motto is: "Get riches and with all thy getting get more."

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

What is the parallel between Christ and Adam?

"As by the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life" Romans. 5:18. In this passage, Paul is comparing the influence of Adam and Christ. His argument begins with verse 12: "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin." (Dr. Denny says: "By Adam the race was launched upon a course of sin.") Paul goes on to state that sin was in the world before the written law was given, but declares that sin is not counted as sin where there is no law. God does not condemn a man for breaking a law of which he is ignorant. But even where sin was not imputed, death reigned, because death had come into the world as the result of Adam's sin, and became a universal experience, affecting even those who broke no specific and plainly stated command, as Adam did. But the grace that comes from Christ is even greater than the doom that came through Adam. One man sinned, and many were condemned; grace, through Christ, pardons many sins. Death reigned because of one man; now abundance of life and grace reign by one, Jesus Christ (verse 17). Verse 18 (quoted above) sums up what has gone before. Adam's disobedience made many men sinners; Christ's obedience shall make many righteous (verse 19). The law was given so that sin might be revealed. Sin was in the human heart, but men did not realize what it was till the law came. The law showed them that they were disobeying God. "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound;" there was sin for everybody, there is grace for everybody - and more grace than sin. The reign of sin brings death; the reign of grace brings eternal life.

What is meant by the passage "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found"?

It is a wholesome warning that a probable contingency may arise when the seeker, who postpones his search, may lose his power or disposition to seek. There are many instances of men who have put off seeking until they have made a fortune, or done something else, and then the time they set, having arrived, discover that business habits and long-time associations absorb them. They are out of touch with God. Even in church their thoughts are running on worldly concerns. It is very rare for an old man who has been
indifferent, or careless, or wicked, to turn to God. Not that God is unwilling to be found, but the man has become incapable of seeking him. None who really seek ever fail to find. (Isaiah 55:6)

In what sense is it true that "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away?'

When we use the customary phrase that God takes away any of our friends from this world, it is simply a familiar form of acknowledging submission to his will as the Disposer of all things. Life and death are in his hands. There is nothing irreverent about such an expression. All our blessings come from him and if trial and discipline also come we should accept them in the proper spirit. We should learn to bow to his will, even though it may sometimes try our hearts sorely to do so. (Job 1:21)

Are any by nature "Children of God"?

There is a large and true sense in which all mankind are children of God. Paul could say to the idolaters at Athens, "We are also his offspring." But there is a higher, closer, nearer sense in which regenerated men only are God's children. John says: "To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God." Speaking pointedly to believers, he says, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God." So there is no discrepancy between Paul and John. The one is speaking of God's children in the large human sense, while the other speaks of them in the restricted, adopted sense. We have, in fact, to recognize four grades of sonship. In the lowest grade there is the whole human family. In the next higher grade we have the regenerated children, who are really children in the spirit. Then in the next grade, we have the angels, who in the Book of Job are specially designated the "Sons of God" (38:7). Then, highest of all, in a sense absolute, unapproachable, divine, we have Jesus Christ, preeminently God's own Son. There is no need, therefore, to stumble at the doctrine of the Fatherhood of God; only we need to distinguish between what is implied in the more outward and the more inward relationship.

What is conveyed in the statement that "God is no respecter of persons?"

It may seem peculiar for Peter to have made this statement (Acts 10:34, 35) as to the vast majority of reverent minds it goes without saying. But to Peter, brought up as he had been among Pharisees and Sadducees and other religionists of the Old Dispensation, whose central belief was that God was a respecter of persons, the discovery of the great truth that God cares for all alike, came as a great awakening. The Pharisee who loved the uppermost seats in the synagogues and greetings in the market-places; who deliberately shunned contact with a publican, a woman or a Gentile, represented that self-righteous and exclusive Judaism in which no one else counted, but in which he was a favorite of the Most High. This exclusive Judaism Peter annihilated with the one sentence of the text, and thereby established the belief in that great, universal Fatherhood which, while it is all to all, is especially kind to the lowly and the meek; which watches even a sparrow and numbers even the hair of our heads. And because of this universal Fatherhood, everyone in every nation "that feareth him and doeth righteousness" is acceptable to him. He makes no distinctions of creeds, of theologies, of usages and customs, of observances and differences of opinions.

1rst and 2nd Kings Clip Art Index

Samples from the 1rst and 2nd Books of Kings.

All graphics/illustrations/clip art on this web journal are free to download and use for personal art projects, church related hard copy or webpages. Images are not to be redistributed in any other collections of clip art online. Please include a link back to this web journal if you use the materials for web articles. Link back to http://christianclipartreview.blogspot.com

Sometimes multiple scripture using the same image are uploaded onto the same page. Keep looking on the post and you will find that there is a scripture from the Book of The Bible it is listed under here.

Questions and Answers About the Books of Kings:

Who Were the Kings of Judah in Succession?
Who was the daughter of Zechariah?
How did God save a widow's sons from slavery?
Who was the 5th wife of King David?
Who was the daughter of Jeremiah of Libanh?
What two Bible chapters are alike?
Huldah, "Thus Saith the Lord"
Tahpenes' sister was Hadad's wife... - who was queen consort to Pharoah?
Who was Jeroboam's wife?
Naaman's wife and her little Israelite maid... - Who believed in Elisha's power?

The books of 1rst and 2nd Kings by The Bible Project.

Post last updated December 5th, 2023

1rst and 2nd Samuel Clip Art Index

Sample clip art from the books of Samuel listed below.

1rt Samuel Clip Art:

When Samuel Was Young - 1 Samuel 1:22 and 2:26
Samuel Hears God's Call - 1 Samuel 3:8
King Saul's Dark Night at Endor - 1 Samuel 28
David destroys the enemy of Israel - 1 Samuel 17:49

2nd Samuel Clip Art:

David establishes his kingdom... - 2 Samuel 5:1-7
Rizpah Protecting the Dead - 2 Samuel 21:10,11,12
Statue of David
Nathan and David talking together

Questions About The First and Second Books of Samuel:

Book of Samuel, Part 1 by The Bible Project

The Book of Samuel, Part 2

This post last updated May 15th, 2024

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

What Was Manna?

It is supposed that the manna of the Israelites was a saccharine exudation of a species of tamarisk, the
sap of which was set flowing by an insect. Several trees yield manna, as the flowering ash of Sicily and
the eucalyptus of Australia. In India a sweet exudation comes from the bamboo, and a similar substance
is obtained from the sugar-pine and common reed of our own country.

What became of Moses' rod?

There is nothing to show what became of Moses' rod. Aaron's rod, however, is said to have been preserved in the sacred Ark of the Jews along with the tables of the law and the pot of manna.

"Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant." Hebrews 9:3-4

What Two Bible Chapters Are Alike?

The two chapters in the Bible that are alike are II Kings 19 and Isaiah 37. Both are regarded as the work of Isaiah, relating a series of events which in one book are placed in their proper historical setting and in the other find their true place among the prophecies.

What is the meaning of "Mizpah?"

Mizpah, or Mizpeh, was the name of several localities in Old Testament history. The word means "a watch-tower'' and in literature the whole of the beautiful remark made by Laban to Jacob has been included in its meaning: "The Lord watch between me and thee when we are absent one from the other." Genesis 31: 149

Illuminated Words, Letters & Text Index

Sample illuminated letters from the listing below.

Illuminating Articles:

Include Initial Letters in Your Next Publishing Project
Te Deum laudamus - illuminated by Esther Faithful Fleet for The Victoria Press coming soon...

Questions and Answers About Words and Terms Used In The Bible: Illuminate your thinking . . .

Sample Illuminated Coloring Sheets from our Color The Bible Blog:

Last updated December 28th, 2021

How was the Brazen Serpent a type?

"As the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up." These were the Savior's words. Jesus' death on the cross was an uplifting, and in this sense it is compared to the uplifting of the brazen serpent. In both cases the remedy is divinely provided and there is another striking similarity: As death came to the Israelites in the wilderness by the serpent's sting and life came by the uplifting of a serpent, so, in redemption, by man came death, and by the death of the God-man in the likeness of sinful flesh comes life eternal. In the first instance the cure was effected by directing the eye to the uplifted serpent; in the other, it takes place when the eye of faith is fixed upon the uplifted Christ.

What is meant by the "Beast and His Mark?''

The Seer of Revelation appears to have had his visions in the form of a series of scenes, as in a panorama. Almost at the close (Rev. 14:9) he saw the beast you refer to. It is evidently identical with the beast described by Daniel (7:7). It is representative of the power which is said to have throughout the world's history opposed God. It appears in John's narrative in a series of forms, and is sometimes identified with a persecuting church, and sometimes is the civil power. At the culmination of its career, John saw it as the great Antichrist, who is yet to arise, who would attain to such power in the world that he would exclude any many from office and from even engaging in trade, who did not acknowledge him. Only those who bear the mark of the beast can buy or sell in that time. This mark may be a badge to be worn on forehead or hand, or as some scholars think, merely the coins to be used in business, which will bear Anti-christ's title symbolized by the number 666.

What Is the Baptism of Fire?

It has been variously interpreted to mean:

the baptism of the Holy Spirit
the fires of purgatory,
the everlasting fires of hell.

Modern theologians take the view that the baptism of fire and that of the Holy Ghost are the same, and that it may be rendered "baptized with the Holy Ghost through the outward symbol of fire or "as with the cloven tongues of fire'' referring to the Pentecostal baptism.