Random Articles
Carried About by Every Wind
(Copyright 08-27-2025) by Richard T. Ritenbaugh (Charlotte, North Carolina) In Ephesians 4:11-16, the apostle Paul famously explains the reasons for Christ’s gift of the ministry to His church: “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry” and “for the edifying of the body of Christ” (verse 12). This educational and supportive element is necessary because those He calls out of this world have been steeped for decades in the ideas and behaviors of a society cut off from God. They must learn God’s truth and begin living His way. As Paul writes later in the chapter, they must “be […]
Death in the Vatican
(Copyright 04-23-2025) by Richard T. Ritenbaugh (Charlotte, North Carolina) On April 21, 2025, Pope Francis, 88, died of a stroke and irreversible heart failure in Vatican City. Though the pontiff had returned to work after a five-week hospital stay, he was still recovering from double pneumonia and related health complications. The day before his death, he made his last public appearance at St. Peter’s Basilica, offering a final Easter address (delivered by his aide, Archbishop Diego Ravelli) for the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics. Argentine-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the 266th leader of the Catholic Church, was the first Jesuit pope, the first from the […]
Stephen and the New Deal
(Copyright 06-25-25) by Richard T. Ritenbaugh (Charlotte, North Carolina) Luke begins the action of the book of Acts just weeks after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In his second chapter, only days after Christ’s dramatic ascension to the Father’s right hand, he relates the giving of the Holy Spirit that launches the New Testament church. The ensuing chapters detail its subsequent growth and expansion throughout the world as God added thousands of believers to the church (Acts 2:41; 4:4). He shows the apostles performing stunning signs and wonders—even Peter’s shadow passing over the sick left healed people in its wake (Acts 5:12-16). An anomaly to the dynamic […]
Biblical Symbolism
(Part One)(Copyright 01-29-2025) by Richard T. Ritenbaugh (Charlotte, North Carolina) Many people who profess Christianity feel they understand the Bible. Tens of thousands of books, commentaries, Bible dictionaries, and prophetic writings explain and re-explain it by thesis, exegesis, and endless debate. However, how much do the authors of these works truly understand? If the Bible is so easy to understand, why are there so many varying opinions? Why do equally brilliant scholars come up with opposing explanations? Even within the many denominations of Christianity, innumerable disagreements exist on virtually every part of God’s Word. The Bible contains numerous images and illustrations. It […]
The Price of Atonement
(Copyright) by Richard T. Ritenbaugh (Charlotte, North Carolina) “Nothing that man can present to God by way of sacrifice can ever purchase the blessing of forgiveness.”—Charles H. Spurgeon Like Luke in Acts 27:9, we tend to think of the Day of Atonement as “the Fast.” Afflicting our souls by not eating and drinking for the entire 24-hour period looms large in our thoughts as the day approaches—and certainly as we are experiencing the hunger pangs as hour number 23 crawls along! Even so, the holy day is called “the Day of Atonement” (or “Day of Atonements,” as the Hebrew word is plural) in Leviticus […]
The Model Prayer
The Model Prayer (Part One): Introduction(Copyright) by Richard T. Ritenbaugh (Charlotte, North Carolina) Prayer is an intrinsic part of the religion revealed in the pages of Scripture. The Old Testament records many instances of faithful men and women humbly requesting mercy and aid from the God of heaven and earth, whether it is Daniel beseeching God to forgive Israel for her many sins (Daniel 9) or Hannah requesting a son, whom she would dedicate to God for His use (I Samuel 2). A study of the Old Testament prayers reveals a wide range of subjects, attitudes, circumstances, and styles in which God’s people have […]
Biden’s ‘Battle for the Soul of the Nation’ Speech
by Richard T. Ritenbaugh (Charlotte, North Carolina) On the evening of September 1, 2022, the President of the United States, Joseph Biden, delivered a primetime address to the nation from Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Typically, a speech from that storied location would elicit thoughts of the bravery and foresight of America’s Founders, hearkening back to the beginnings of the Republic and the spirit of freedom and self-governance that inspired the thirteen colonies to unite and defy Great Britain. Not so this night. While Biden tried to evoke these images through words, what the audience and viewers around the country saw conjured […]
A Chance to Right the Abortion Curse
by Richard T. Ritenbaugh (Charlotte, North Carolina) On May 2, 2022, the American political scene erupted into an inferno of controversy with the unprecedented leak of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. If enacted as written, the ruling would strike down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion throughout the United States and set aside the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision. Most observers believe the draft was leaked to Politico to pressure a Supreme Court justice to change his or her vote on Dobbs and “save” abortion rights. At this time, an investigation ordered by […]
Transgenderism: Erasing the Created Order
by Richard T. Ritenbaugh (Charlotte, North Carolina) As late as 2019, Will Thomas swam for the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s swim team, winning one 500-meter freestyle event in 2019 and being named to the All-Ivy League second-team a season earlier. COVID-19 canceled the 2020-2021 season. When swimming competitions resumed in late 2021, Thomas—now known as Lia—swam for the university’s women’s team after undergoing at least a year of testosterone-suppression treatments, as required by the NCAA. Swimming against biological females, Thomas wins races and breaks records with ease, shattering pool, meet, school, and national marks, sometimes by several whole seconds. If Thomas […]
Let No One Deceive You
by Richard T. Ritenbaugh (Charlotte, North Carolina) As Daniel 12:4 predicts, we live in a time of increasing knowledge. Data flows constantly around the globe, facilitated by communications satellites, the Internet, television and radio, newspapers and magazines, telephones, pagers, and a host of other means and methods. This rapid—indeed, almost instantaneous—flow of information makes possible the doubling of man’s knowledge in just a few years rather than the decades it used to take. Having such a sea of information available at the touch of a key or the click of a mouse makes some people uneasy. They may like being able to get […]
Holy Days: Atonement
by Richard T. Ritenbaugh (Charlotte, North Carolina) In our continuing study on the holy days, we have seen the plan of God broaden from our personal redemption and removal of sin in Jesus Christ’s offering of Himself on Passover to ridding the self of corruption in the Days of Unleavened Bread and to the founding of the church and giving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Trumpets pictures the return of Christ, the changing of the saints into immortal spirit beings, and God’s judgment on all mankind. But before Christ’s rule on earth begins, another hurdle must be overcome: Spiritual cleansing leading to salvation must be made […]
‘As It Was In the Days of Noah’
by Richard T. Ritenbaugh (Charlotte, North Carolina) Bahal was beginning to worry, since, as mayor, it was his job to worry for the rest of his remote, highland community. His wife, Chera, had remarked the day before that the rain was unusually heavy for this time of the year, but he had shrugged off her comment. Yet now, having endured three days of steady, heavy downpours, he felt the rain was something more than “unusual.” Earlier in the day, he had braved the pelting raindrops to check on his son’s livestock down the road. His son, Sair—off on his honeymoon with his […]