Scripture Central

In this episode of Handmaidens, Harems and Heroines: Women in the Old Testament, Lynne Hilton Wilson explores the book of Daniel, a remarkable account of faith, prophecy, and survival. As Jerusalem falls and terrible judgments come upon the people of Israel, Daniel and his companions must remain faithful to God while navigating the dangerous world of the Babylonian court. First there is the lion's den, then Nebuchadnezzar’s troubling dream of a great statue destroyed by a stone cut out of a mountain without hands and finally the mysterious handwriting on the wall that announces the downfall of a king. Daniel reveals God’s power over earthly kingdoms and His continuing purposes for His covenant people.But what can we learn about the women who lived and wielded influence in the Babylonian court? Although women are less prominent in Daniel’s narrative than in many other Old Testament books, royal women held positions of influence in the ancient Near Eastern world, and the book invites us to consider the roles women played in the courts and cultures surrounding Israel’s exile. Lynne examines the historical setting of Daniel’s visions and experiences, the powerful figures who shaped this era, and the lessons of courage, wisdom, and faithfulness that emerge from these extraordinary events. Join us as we discover how the book of Daniel points beyond earthly rulers and empires to the everlasting kingdom of God—and strengthens our faith in Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah.#HandmaidensHaremsAndHeroines #LynneHiltonWilson #BookOfDaniel #WomenInScripture #WomenOfTheOldTestament #OldTestament #BibleStudy #BabylonianExile #DanielInTheLionsDen #ScriptureCentral #ComeFollowMe #JesusChrist

Why will not all join the Church and faithfully live the gospel during the Millennium? And what about on the other side of the veil? Won’t everyone get on board there? Why do people fall away today? Why do we not do all we believe today? Why do we sin knowing better? In the end, it is a matter of will—not faith, not belief, not even knowledge, all of which are essential, but in the end it’s a matter of will. Lucifer and one-third of the hosts of heaven rejected God Our Father while in His presence! How does that happen? They were not ill-informed, rather unwilling to embrace Heavenly Father’s plan. It is this stubborn unwillingness to follow the Lord in blind disregard of daily signs and wonders that show the more excellent way, that causes even God to repeatedly ask, “What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?”The answer, of course, is nothing. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Even God cannot save us from ourselves. Even the Lord Jesus Christ cannot save us against our will. For it is given to us to choose. We must not only know and believe the truth but marshal the will to live it.What are you willing to do, willing to sacrifice, willing to give, willing to suffer, willing to bear? What price are you willing to pay? Transcript/Notes: https://storage.googleapis.com/scripturecentral-prod-strapi-uploads/Episode_39_Final_PDF_d3b7ed08a1/Episode_39_Final_PDF_d3b7ed08a1.pdf

Welcome to “Finding Christ in the Old Testament.” To view the resources connected with this episode, visit https://johnhiltoniii.com/findingchrist.

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Whether you're using this course for personal enrichment or to help with "Come, Follow Me," we hope it will be valuable in your studies.

In this episode of Handmaidens, Harems and Heroines: Women in the Old Testament, Lynne Hilton Wilson explores the book of Ezekiel and its powerful prophetic messages, symbolic actions, and striking portrayals of women. Called to serve as a prophet during the Babylonian exile, Ezekiel delivers difficult messages to the people of Judah, warning of Jerusalem’s destruction while offering hope for Israel’s eventual restoration. His unusual prophetic assignments—including lying on his left side for 390 days and his right side for 40 days—dramatically illustrate the consequences of Israel’s and Judah’s sins. What can these symbolic acts teach us about covenant responsibility, judgment, and the Lord’s enduring desire to bring His people back to Him?Ezekiel also uses the image of a woman to portray Jerusalem and the covenant relationship between the Lord and His people. Through vivid and sometimes unsettling imagery, he describes Jerusalem as an unfaithful woman, exposing the spiritual betrayal, idolatry, and broken covenants that contributed to the city’s downfall. Lynne examines how women appear throughout these prophetic messages and how their experiences and symbolic roles illuminate the book’s larger themes of faithfulness, accountability, loss, and renewal. From Ezekiel’s warnings of destruction to his visions of restoration and new life, discover how this challenging Old Testament book invites us to reflect on our own covenants with God and the hope of returning to His presence through Jesus Christ.#HandmaidensHaremsAndHeroines #LynneHiltonWilson #OldTestament #BookOfEzekiel #WomenInScripture #BibleStudy #LDS #ComeFollowMe #ScriptureCentral #JesusChrist

Welcome to “Finding Christ in the Old Testament.” To view the resources connected with this episode, visit https://johnhiltoniii.com/findingchrist.

Please like and comment on this episode and subscribe @scripturecentralofficial so you can more easily see the rest of the videos and resources in this course.

Whether you're using this course for personal enrichment or to help with "Come, Follow Me," we hope it will be valuable in your studies.

In this episode of Handmaidens, Harems and Heroines, Lynne Hilton Wilson explores Jeremiah 31–38 and the book of Lamentations, taking us into some of the darkest chapters in the Old Testament: the final days and devastating fall of Judah. Lynne examines the stories of the last five kings of Judah and the political, spiritual, and personal choices that led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the collapse of the house of Judah. Through Jeremiah’s eyes, we see the horrors of conquest, famine, violence, captivity, and the heartbreaking suffering of a people watching their world disappear.Yet even amid destruction, Jeremiah’s message contains some of Scripture’s most powerful promises of hope and restoration. Lynne explores the covenant themes surrounding Israel, Judah, Jerusalem, mothers, daughters, wives, and the imagery of God’s relationship with His people. Lamentations gives voice to the grief of a nation—and Jeremiah reminds us that even after judgment, the Lord has not abandoned His covenant people. What can these ancient stories teach us about faith, loss, repentance, and the hope of redemption through Jesus Christ?#Jeremiah #Lamentations #OldTestament #BibleStudy #WomenInScripture #HandmaidensHaremsAndHeroines #LynneHiltonWilson #Jerusalem #Judah #JesusChrist #ScriptureCentral

Because of sin, all die spiritually, cut off from the presence of God. Jesus Christ alone bridges that awful gap. Because of Him you can be born again, you can receive God’s greatest gifts: the gift of His Spirit and the gift of His life, by the gift of His Son. Jesus Christ is the Life.

There is a hole in every heart, caused by separation from God. Much of what we do is touched by a hazy, almost unconscious desire to fill that void and recover the security and warmth we once knew. On our own, nothing is enough, because the void is separation from God, and only God’s presence can fill it again.

We can’t begin to imagine the pains He had to bear. We can’t comprehend suffering so great as to cause blood to ooze from every pore. We can’t fathom the depths of His despair as he cried out three times for the bitter cup to pass Him by, three times yielding God’s will be done, three times denied.

Is it any wonder then, He and He alone could pay the full measure of our debt? Is it any wonder, He and He alone can succor and sustain and strengthen and understand us wherever we are, whoever we are, whatever we are?

How can we not trust in Him?

There are two critical dimensions to Christ as the Life. He is the Resurrection (victory over physical death) and the Life (victory over spiritual death).

The promise of the resurrection is a glorious promise of a bright future, but no more glorious than the blessing of the human body in the first place. You can’t fully appreciate the wonder of resurrection without appreciating the wonder of the body today. One of the primary reasons for the creation of the earth and the heavens, one of the central purposes of God’s plan for all His children is to receive the incomprehensible blessing of a physical body. A body is a major step toward godliness.

Because of their rebellion before the world began, Satan and those who followed him are deprived of physical life, deprived of a body forevermore. They will never know physical life, but they can do much to desecrate and destroy it so that others may be as miserable as they.

“He is not here: for he is risen.” Those angelic words may be the most important words, the most beautiful words uttered anytime, anywhere, by anyone ever.

This was victory, final and complete, unimaginable victory over death. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” Nowhere!

Transcript/Notes: https://storage.googleapis.com/scripturecentral-prod-strapi-uploads/Stand_Forever_Episode_36_216fa63d6e/Stand_Forever_Episode_36_216fa63d6e.pdf

Welcome to “Finding Christ in the Old Testament.” To view the resources connected with this episode, visit https://johnhiltoniii.com/findingchrist.

Please like and comment on this episode and subscribe @scripturecentralofficial so you can more easily see the rest of the videos and resources in this course.

Whether you're using this course for personal enrichment or to help with "Come, Follow Me," we hope it will be valuable in your studies.

In this episode of Handmaidens, Harems and Heroines, Lynne Hilton Wilson explores Jeremiah 1–22, opening a powerful window into the life and prophetic calling of Jeremiah. From the very beginning of his ministry, Jeremiah is given a daunting commission to speak truth to a people who have turned away from the Lord. Along the way, Lynne highlights the often-overlooked women and feminine imagery woven throughout Jeremiah’s message—including images of daughters, mothers, wives, brides, and Jerusalem as a woman whose covenant relationship with God has been broken.Lynne also examines Jeremiah’s famous Temple Sermon, his courageous warnings to Jerusalem, and the persecution he endured for delivering an unpopular message. What can Jeremiah’s experiences teach us about standing faithful when others reject the truth? And what happens when kings and leaders refuse to listen? The episode concludes with the condemnation of King Zedekiah and the consequences of Judah’s continued rebellion. Join Lynne as she uncovers the women, warnings, covenant imagery, and powerful testimony of the Messiah found in Jeremiah 1–22.#Jeremiah #OldTestament #BibleStudy #WomenInScripture #HandmaidensHaremsAndHeroines #LynneHiltonWilson #Jeremiah #TempleSermon #JesusChrist #ScriptureCentral

Welcome to “Finding Christ in the Old Testament.” To view the resources connected with this episode, visit https://johnhiltoniii.com/findingchrist.

Please like and comment on this episode and subscribe @scripturecentralofficial so you can more easily see the rest of the videos and resources in this course.

Whether you're using this course for personal enrichment or to help with "Come, Follow Me," we hope it will be valuable in your studies.

Who really belongs to God’s covenant people? Isaiah 58–66 takes us on a sweeping journey from fasting and Sabbath worship to the coming Messiah, the redemption of Zion, and visions of a restored heaven and earth. In this powerful concluding section of Isaiah, we discover that covenant belonging is about far more than ancestry—it is reflected in how we turn to God, keep His covenants, care for others, and welcome His redeeming presence into our lives.Join Lynne Hilton Wilson as she explores the women, imagery, and profound spiritual teachings woven throughout these chapters. What does God actually want from us when we fast? Why does Isaiah connect the Sabbath with delight and covenant identity? How does Isaiah describe the Messiah and His mission to save and restore? And what can Isaiah’s breathtaking visions of Zion and cosmic restoration teach us about God’s ultimate plan for His children?As Isaiah looks toward a day when God will gather His people, rebuild Zion, and create “new heavens and a new earth,” we are invited to consider one of scripture’s most important questions: Who belongs to God’s covenant people—and how can we become part of that covenant community?Discover the promises of Isaiah 58–66 and see how these ancient prophecies point us toward Jesus Christ, covenant belonging, Zion, and the ultimate restoration of all things.

Can anyone know the truth and if so, how? How do you close the gap between your beliefs and the truth? How can you discern between truth and error? How can you avoid deception?Having considered both the scientific method of experience and the analytical method of reason, today we turn our attention to the last two methods, study or the academic method and revelation or the divine method.The academic method of learning involves study of the written word. Study is as essential as experience and reason in the pursuit of truth, as essential to knowledge as breath is to life.Answers to the primary questions do not come by answering the secondary questions. There are answers to the secondary questions, but you cannot prove a positive by disproving every negative. You cannot prove the Church is true by disproving every claim made against it. That will never work. It is a flawed strategy. Ultimately there has to be affirmative proof and with the things of God affirmative proof finally and surely comes by revelation through the Spirit and power of the Holy Ghost.

Welcome to “Finding Christ in the Old Testament.” To view the resources connected with this episode, visit https://johnhiltoniii.com/findingchrist.

Please like and comment on this episode and subscribe @scripturecentralofficial so you can more easily see the rest of the videos and resources in this course.

Whether you're using this course for personal enrichment or to help with "Come, Follow Me," we hope it will be valuable in your studies.

What do Isaiah’s prophecies teach us about the Messiah—and about our personal relationship with God? In this episode of Handmaidens, Harems and Heroines, Lynne Hilton Wilson explores Isaiah chapters 50–57, some of the most powerful and deeply Messianic passages in the Old Testament. These chapters point forward to Jesus Christ, describing His suffering, rejection, sacrifice, and redeeming mission centuries before His mortal ministry.Lynne also explores the beautiful imagery Isaiah uses to describe God’s relationship with His covenant people, including the imagery of a mother caring for her children, a bride and bridegroom, and a loving God who remembers and gathers His people. As we examine the “Suffering Servant” and Isaiah’s prophecies of the Savior, we discover not only what Christ would do for us, but what those ancient promises reveal about who we are and how closely God desires to be connected to us. Join Lynne as she uncovers the women, symbolism, covenant language, and Messianic promises woven throughout Isaiah 50–57—and discover how these ancient words can deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ today.

Is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the kingdom of God on earth?

There is one Church and one Church only, that fulfills all that has been foreseen and prophesied regarding the kingdom of God on earth in these last days, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Like a magnet, The Church of Jesus Christ has always and will always draw criticism and opposition. It will always have many times more than its share of antagonists, desperately striving to disprove, debunk, discredit, and destroy, often curiously fueled with malevolent zeal. That is so, because it is true. Opposition, criticism, and antagonism are constant companions to the truth.

Truth never exists unopposed.

Christ is the center, the chief cornerstone of His Church. No religion does more to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and make the blessings of His infinite Atonement available to God’s children everywhere on both sides of the veil than The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established for that very purpose. Everything revolves around Christ to the end of bridging the gap with God, our Eternal Father. That is so because it is His Church.

Welcome to “Finding Christ in the Old Testament.” To view the resources connected with this episode, visit https://johnhiltoniii.com/findingchrist.

Please like and comment on this episode and subscribe @scripturecentralofficial so you can more easily see the rest of the videos and resources in this course.

Whether you're using this course for personal enrichment or to help with "Come, Follow Me," we hope it will be valuable in your studies.

What does it mean to see God as a mother in labor, a nursing mother, and a bridegroom? In this episode of Handmaidens, Harems and Heroines, Lynne Hilton Wilson explores Isaiah 40–49 and the powerful feminine imagery that reveals God’s love, compassion, and covenant relationship with His people.Lynne examines the surprising ways Isaiah describes God as a woman in childbirth, a nursing mother who cannot forget her children, and Jerusalem or Zion as a bride. These images invite us to see the Lord’s relationship with His people through the tenderness, sacrifice, and enduring love of motherhood and marriage.The discussion also turns to Cyrus the Great, the Persian ruler who played a remarkable role in the history of Israel and the restoration of Jerusalem. What does Isaiah’s prophecy teach us about God’s ability to work through unexpected people and nations to accomplish His purposes?Join Lynne as she uncovers the women, symbols, and covenant themes woven throughout these chapters—and discovers how Isaiah’s words continue to deepen our understanding of the Savior.In this episode:God as a woman in childbirthNursing mothers and the Lord’s unfailing remembranceCyrus the Great and the restoration of IsraelJerusalem and Zion as a brideThe tender, covenant love of GodSubscribe to Scripture Central for more episodes of Handmaidens, Harems and Heroines and discover the women and feminine imagery that help us better understand the scriptures.#HandmaidensHaremsAndHeroines #LynneHiltonWilson #Isaiah #OldTestament #ScriptureCentral #BibleStudy #Zion #CyrusTheGreat

Is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the kingdom of God on earth?The Church could have lost its way and divine approval since it was organized in 1830. It wouldn’t be the first time; in fact, it is the pattern of history. Jesus said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” So, let’s look at some of the fruits. Christ is the center, the chief cornerstone of His Church. Priesthood authority is evidence of the kingdom of God on earth. Beginning with Joseph Smith and down to the present-day, God has called prophets to guide us as He has always done before.One of the glorious truths of the restoration is that the heavens are open, and God speaks not only to prophets as He has done throughout the ages, but to all His children who ask, knock, and seek. Revelation is both a sign of the truth and the means to know it.Is it worth the effort to find out? No endeavor could be more important, nor could more hang on a single question.Apostasy has always toppled the kingdom of God on earth, but not this time. This time the kingdom of God will stand forever against all odds and opposition. This time it will not fail.

Welcome to “Finding Christ in the Old Testament.” To view the resources connected with this episode, visit https://johnhiltoniii.com/findingchrist.

Please like and comment on this episode and subscribe @scripturecentralofficial so you can more easily see the rest of the videos and resources in this course.

Whether you're using this course for personal enrichment or to help with "Come, Follow Me," we hope it will be valuable in your studies.