This page contains the index to the ASK year 2012 Commentaries. Stories are listed in most recent first order. Click on a title to read the commentary.

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All Scripture Is Inspired - December 19, 2012

Why study Scripture ? ever? There is a purpose, a reason for doing so, and God tells us that purpose. The apostle Paul gives us the reason the written Word of God is useful to us at his time in history, and his reasons apply to us today as we approach the end of the age. Read and understand those reasons.
 

A Question about UR - December 1, 2012

This question and my answer deal with a basic question of all life: the plan of God, why is there evil, and the responsibility to God of each individual human being. As you read this Q&A, keep in mind this question also: would you ? should you ? worship a God who is a monster? a God who tortures people for eternity? Again, keep in mind that UR = Universal Reconciliation.
 

Hell in the News - November 16, 2012

Best-selling author Frank Schaeffer and author-pastor Mark Driscoll debated the idea of hell in an online September 22, 2012 CNN Belief Blog. Both were wrong. The article is titled "Different Takes: Should we abandon idea of hell?" I discuss this article in this Commentary.
 

Customs and Holidays - November 1, 2012

In this Commentary I want to briefly deal with customs which occur annually, such as holidays and anniversaries (national, regional, and personal). In the Bible these are called festivals or feasts. Your actions as a Christian during such observances can be difficult, whatever the culture and whatever the practice.
 

Portland Event and the Election - October 16, 2012

This Commentary notifies people in the Portland area about a public lecture I am presenting. Then I discuss the election of 2012 and how God's vote is the most important one in any election.
 

Hosea's Important Message - October 1, 2012

This month's article by Dr. Ernest Martin is "The Book of Hosea." Hosea is the first of the Minor Prophets, the Book of the Twelve. But first read the "October 2012 Newsletter." In Dr. Martin's presentation you will find some surprising information about the Book of Hosea that you never knew before. Why did you not learn it? Probably because most preachers think Old testament material is dull and difficult to understand (and some is indeed difficult), but often because theology disagrees with some of what a particular book says.
 

Boasting Is Good and Proper - September 17, 2012

Today, boasting is defined as excess vanity, speaking with exaggeration and excessive pride about oneself. In the Bible boasting was generally considered a very unwise practice. But the Bible also shows that there is a proper time to boast.
 

The Twelve Minor Prophets - September 1, 2012

The Twelve Minor Prophets are the subject of this month's presentation by Dr. Ernest L. Martin titled "The Minor Prophets for Today." Read first the "September 2012 Newsletter." This presentation is the introduction and the first of 14 lectures on the Minor Prophets. These will be presented in future months in transcribed, written, and expanded form. I also expand the material and add to each of Dr. Martin's presentations with relevant information.
 

The god of this World - August 17, 2012

I deliberately left the word "god" uncapitalized in the title above. I did not want God the Father (YHWH) to be confused with "the god of this world." A correspondent replied to my May 19, 2012 Commentary "The Son as God," stating that the 2 Corinthians 4:3?4 passage I quoted referred to God the Father. The argument was made that the one who "blinded (or blinds) the minds" of those who do not believe is God Himself, that He is "the God of this world" being discussed. I will show that this is not the case.
 

What Is Important to Children - August 1, 2012

I want to briefly discuss what is important to children, and particularly what is important to us as children of God. The article that I wrote for this month of August 2012 is titled "What Is Important." I am not asking a question with this title, I am making a statement. I discuss what is important to various elements of society and the world system that God has established through Christ. My discussion of what is important includes individuals and believers.
 

Meetings - July 15, 2012

This Commentary tells about three meetings where I will speak, God willing. The first is in Leiden, Netherlands on July 21, 2012. The other is in York, Great Britain on July 28, 2012. Times and places are listed. The third is in New Jersay on September 22, 2012.
 

Contradictions - July 1, 2012

"The Antinomy of the Bible" is the article for July 2012 by Dr. Ernest Martin. It deals with apparent contradictions in the Bible, which is basically what the term antinomy means. These supposed contradictions by God are not real, they are imagined by those who choose to dis-believe the truths of God. We must be precise in what we contradict, what we oppose. Public contradiction of God's word can be costly and result in great loss. Note this incident that occurred during the ministry of the apostles Paul and Barnabas.
 

Victory Over Fear - June 16, 2012

We all admire those who have courage. The courageous treat the ordinary fears of life with respect but they are not overcome with them. But people who have deeply entrenched fears are in a very unhappy state. "Fear has torment" (1 John 4:18). No one should want to be frightened out of his wits. To be terrorized with fears is itself a frightful experience. But those of courage are able to deal effectively with the fears that seem to constantly affect us of the human race. We all need to muster the confidence and stout-heartedness to conquer fear.
 

Ezekiel, the Temple, and Jeremiah - June 1, 2012

The prophet Ezekiel wrote extensively about the Temple in Jerusalem. This month's analysis of Ezekiel by Dr. Ernest L. Martin is about that Temple, the prophesied "little sanctuaries," the Temple prophesied to come after Christ returns, and the Temples composed of our bodies that contain God's Holy Spirit (with you and I fulfilling Ezekiel's "little sanctuaries" prophecy). This is all in Dr. Martin's article, "Ezekiel, Part 2."
 

The Son as God - May 19, 2012

The idea that the Son of God is God is probably not a surprise to most of you reading this, yet that concept (which is a fact) is a surprise to an increasing number of people. However, the Book of Hebrews has information that directly bears on this issue.
 

Jeremiah and Lamentations - May 1, 2012

Two articles this month again relate to the written works of Jeremiah the prophet. This prolific writer and thinker wrote the Book of Lamentations and his own prophecies, the Book of Jeremiah, along with still other writings (as indicated in the ASK Jeremiah articles). The first article this month is "Jeremiah, Part 4," which discusses the important subject of sabbatical years, while the second article is "The Book of Lamentations."
 

The Future of Syria - April 15, 2012

Events are continuing to change the Middle East. The current chaos in Syria that began in January 2011 is an example. The uprisings there will not immediately end the current country of Syria, although it will eventually result in Syria breaking into three new countries, and dividing its 11 million people.
 

Jeremiah and 70 Years - April 1, 2012

The 70 years prophecy in Jeremiah is interwoven throughout much of the rest of the Bible after the time of Jeremiah. If the prophecy is not directly mentioned, it is in the background. Dr. Martin's presentation this month, originally from November 1999, is "Jeremiah, Part 3." This article covers Jeremiah's 70 years prophecy and also Daniel's 70 "weeks" prophecy that derives from Jeremiah's original prophecy. Read the "April 2012 Newsletter" for more infor?mation about Jeremiah's writings.
 

God and His Creation - March 17, 2012

Believe it or not, God learns from His creation. God will be glorified both in His physical creation, but more importantly through His spiritual creation of us through Christ, the last Adam. It is the role of a parent, "to rediscover the universe while first watching a child discover it." I think this is true. This is how God is glorified by His creation of mankind, His sons and daughters: He observes us as we discover His creation for the first time.
 

The Soviet Union's Demise - March 1, 2012

Dr. Ernest Martin predicted the fall of the Soviet Union long before it took place. Dr. Martin produced a tape dated February 6, 1982 (reissued in 1991) in which he gives his reasons why the Soviet Union could not succeed and would collapse, hopefully without warfare. This in fact happened. The title of this month's article by Dr. Ernest L. Martin is "The Collapse of the Soviet Union."
 

Slime Over Time, Onetime - February 20, 2012

Atheists have a problem. They actually believe that everything that exists came from nothing (spontaneous generation ). Their justification is that given enough "time" the nothing became something. That something "arranged" itself into energy and matter. Matter formed into gasses, liquids, plasma, and solids. Another name for solids is rock. Then over still more time the precursors of life "happened." Then a right kind of spark occurred and life began. Eventually that life "developed" intelligence.
 

They Will Not Listen - February 1, 2012

The article this month is "Jeremiah, Part 2," along with the "February 2012 Newsletter." The article discusses the times and writings of Jeremiah the prophet. So why did the people and rulers of Judah not listen to the prophet Jeremiah and his warnings? They were not ignorant of God's threatened punishment for the people's sins. Not only did the people and rulers of Judah receive the public prophecies of Jeremiah, they also received prophecies from the prophets Zephaniah, Nahum, and Habakkuk.
 

An Ancient Canal in Egypt - January 16, 2012

I enjoy being surprised by new information about ancient history. I recently learned about a well-attested ancient canal for transit that existed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. There is a great deal of information in ancient writings. This article discusses some of the evidence.
 

Foundations of Your Faith - January 1, 2012

It has been 10 years this month since Dr. Ernest L. Martin died in January 2002. I think Dr. Martin would have been pleased with what ASK has accomplished and what is to be done in the future. The primary achievement of ASK is that we have flourished. The ASK website has matured and expanded greatly in content with 120 Newsletters, 120+ articles, 240+ Commentaries. GeorgeAnn Hughes has graciously given permission to put up on the ASK website several hundred hours of Byte Show recordings of Dr. Martin's material and articles I have written.
 

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