Pandemic! Jesus Christ's prophecies of rampant disease are being echoed by experts predicting worldwide epidemics. In spite of man's advanced health care systems, epidemics are on the rise, and the world as a whole is not prepared. God, however, promises protection to those who are faithful to Him.

Panting After the Dust In every culture in every century, the rich and the strong have oppressed the poor and weak for their own gain. America is no different. How long will it be until God calls them into account?

Parables and a Pearl What is a parable? How are we to understand them? John Ritenbaugh uses the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price to explain how they apply to the church.

Parables and Prophecy We take for granted that the parables of Jesus are prophetic as well as instructive, but others may not be so sure. Have we just read our recent history into them, or are they truly prophetic?

Parched West Is 'Ready to Burn' The dry weather across the American West in 1992 made fire and famine a real possibility. God often uses drought and fire to show His displeasure.

Passover of the Most High God Among God's many names and titles is one that proclaims His supremacy over all others: "Most High God" or "God Most High." It is first used when Melchizedek meets Abram after his victory over the kings who had taken Lot and his family captive. David Grabbe traces the usage of this divine name through the Bible, illustrating how it should give us confidence in God's governance of our lives.

Passover, Obligation, and Love In the Model Prayer, Jesus mentions the forgiveness of sin in terms of paying off debt. Anyone with an unpayable debt that was redeemed by another would feel an immense sense of gratitude and obligation to his benefactor. John Ritenbaugh discusses how Christ's redemption of us from our massive debt of sin obligates us to obey and serve Him by doing good in acts of love and service to others.

Peace and Safety? With the end of the Cold War, are we entering a time of peace? Hardly, says Earl Henn. Human nature remains the same, so war is never far off!

Peer-Pressure: A Challenge for All All of us—teens and adults—have felt the stress of peer-pressure in one form or another. Though the Bible does not use the term, it teaches us not to conform to our peers but to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

Pentecost Revisited (Part One): Counting Consistently This year is another year in which Passover falls on a weekly Sabbath, making the count to Pentecost more complex. John Ritenbaugh, however, argues that the count need not be done differently in these particular years. All we need to do is to apply God's command consistently.

Pentecost Revisited (Part Two): Joshua 5 Correctly counting to Pentecost in years in which Passover falls on a weekly Sabbath is more than a matter of consistency. John Ritenbaugh explains that a far greater, more spiritual—and unfortunately, often overlooked—factor in the wavesheaf offering concerns a subject God considers highly important: holiness.

Pentecost, Consistency, and Honesty In recent years, the count to Pentecost has become contentious, particularly in a year like 2005, in which the Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread falls on the last holy day. John Ritenbaugh explains that, if we are consistent in our counting and honest with the instructions of Scripture, the solution is clear.

Perfection...Piece by Piece What is perfection? Does God require perfection of us? Mike Ford defines Biblical perfection and shows to what standard God holds us accountable.

Peter's Trumpets Message—on Pentecost Peter's first sermon took place on the Day of Pentecost, yet his subject seems to 'fit' the Day of Trumpets. Charles Whitaker explains that the fulfillment of Pentecost begins what will be completed in the fulfillment of Trumpets.

Pillars Stand for Something! God has called us to be "faithful pillars" in His house. John Reid explains what a pillar is, what we need to be doing to become pillars and the reward of a "faithful pillar."

Places of Safety Based on Revelation 3:10 and other scriptures, the church of God has conjectured that God will gather the faithful to an end-time Place of Safety. However, we should not discount that He can protect us in any situation, just as He did in biblical times for many of His servants. Levi Graham asserts that our safest place of safety lies in our faithful relationship with Jesus Christ.

Playing With Fire Solomon uses the analogy of burning oneself to describe sinning, which is particularly apt in describing the pain and scars left by sexual sins. Fulfilling our desires outside the bounds of what God allows is playing with fire: The sexually immoral must deal with perverse thinking, hurt, distrust, and betrayal, not to mention sexual diseases. John Reid explains.

Post-Historic Cave-Dwellers Sometimes, in reading through various parts of the Bible, we come across phrases and ideas that do not make much sense to us—or on closer reading do not mean what we have always thought them to mean. Charles Whitaker looks at Revelation's sixth seal in more detail, particularly the reaction of certain people to the amazing heavenly signs they witness.

Post-War Parallels Political leaders have tried to bring the world together under three different global institutions: the League of Nations, the United Nations and now the New World Order. Parallels suggest—and Bible prophecy predicts—that this last attempt will also end in war.

Power The concept of power brings many different ideas to mind, any and all of which may certainly be valid. David Grabbe, however, concentrates on the 'little strength' of the church of the Philadelphians, suggesting that Christ commends them for being 'faithful in little' and will reward them with much.

Power Belongs to God (Part One) As the return of Jesus Christ marches ever nearer, Christians need to be sure of one critical matter: Where does real power reside? John Ritenbaugh shows that all power has its source in God—and not just the kind of power we typically think of.

Power Belongs to God (Part Two) Human beings, even those who have been called to be children of God, have an innate fear that God will not always provide for us. John Ritenbaugh contends that this fear originates in doubt about God's power—a doubt that falls to pieces before God's revelation of Himself in the Bible.

Praying Always (Part Five) Praying always and watching—or overcoming—affect every facet of a Christian's life. Pat Higgins relates how deeply examining ourselves for flaws and shortcomings, as we do each year before Passover, helps us to accomplish Christ's Luke 21:36 command.

Praying Always (Part Four) Jesus' admonition in Luke 21:36 has a far deeper meaning to the people of God at the end time than most people have realized. Pat Higgins answers the next obvious questions: How does 'praying always' work, and why is it such a powerful tool in the process of overcoming?

Praying Always (Part One) Many of us know Luke 21:36 by heart: 'Watch and pray always. . . .' We think we know what it means because the church has traditionally taught that it refers to watching world events. But does it? Pat Higgins contends that there is far more to this verse spiritually than meets the eye.

Praying Always (Part Six) We have learned that Jesus' command to pray always contains the advice Christians need to strengthen their relationships with God as the return of Christ nears. In concluding his series, Pat Higgins shows how praying always assists us in several other areas of Christian living.

Praying Always (Part Three) The dual subjects of Luke 21:36—paying careful attention to overcoming and praying always—are top-tier priorities for those living at the time of the end. Before showing how to apply these commands practically, Pat Higgins explains how praying always is our primary weapon in the battle to overcome our spiritual enemies.

Praying Always (Part Two) In Luke 21:36, our Savior gives us two essential keys to being accounted worthy and escaping the terrors of the close of the age: watching and praying always. Pat Higgins explains the role of faith in the use of these keys, especially in our prayer life.

Precious Human Treasures We live in a youth-oriented culture. Once a person grays and wrinkles, he is essentially pushed to the margins of society, but this should not happen in the church of God! The elderly have a great deal to offer—if we will only pay attention.

Prepare for Next Year's Feast! The Feast of Tabernacles has passed for another year, and our hopefully positive experiences are fresh on our minds. We need to begin getting ready for the next festival now, providing a few areas of preparation we may well want to consider so we can call next year's Feast "the best ever."

Preparing for the Feast It is a rare individual in God's church who does not enjoy keeping the Feast of Tabernacles. Each feast becomes "the best Feast ever!" But why does God want us to keep this Feast? John Ritenbaugh shows that the Feast of Tabernacles is far more than a yearly vacation. It is a time set apart for both rejoicing before God and learning to fear Him.

Preparing to Rule! Have you ever considered what it will be like right after Christ returns? What will you do, as a king, to help and govern the people placed under you? Believe it or not, you are already developing those skills!

Presumption and Divine Justice Over the past few generations, orthodoxy in virtually every aspect of life has been discarded, indicating how perverse human nature is in its determination to rebel against God. John Ritenbaugh uses several examples from real life to illustrate human presumption, a tendency which we all share—and one God takes a serious stance against.

Presumption and Divine Justice (Part Two) The Bible reveals a definite pattern of God's displeasure with acts of presumption. John Ritenbaugh expounds several of these circumstances, showing that God's justice is always consonant with His righteousness—and that we should be grateful for His mercy, as we are all guilty of this sin.

Prevailing Winds Unless we are employed in a maritime occupation or have a particular interest in sailboats, we probably do not know a great deal about sailing. Using Paul's analogy in Ephesians 4:14, Gary Montgomery teaches a handy nautical maneuver, discussing how the steady, contrary winds of this world's way of life can be overcome by adjusting our sails to make spiritual headway.

Pride, Contention, and Unity The sin of pride underlies many of our other sins, and it is often the reason for the contentions we get into as brethren. John Ritenbaugh looks at the origins of pride and shows how it manifests itself in us.

Pride, Humility, and the Day of Atonement Atonement, when we are commanded to afflict our souls through fasting, is a time of self-evaluation and repentance. This is the only way to have real unity with God.

Priestly Purity God has called us as a royal priesthood, one whose spiritual purity cannot be compromised. Martin Collins explains how God's truth works to purify us for His Kingdom.

Proper Sabbath-Service Behavior Sabbath services are our opportunity each week to come before God and worship Him. Our and our children's behavior must conform to the serious and godly nature of this special time with God.

Prophecy and the Sixth-Century Axial Period Prophecy has many purposes, but it is never intended to open the future to mere idle curiosity. Its much higher purpose is to furnish guidance to the heirs of salvation. John Ritenbaugh explains how the tumultuous sixth-century BC prepares us for the time of the end.

Prophecy in Song Can a book like the Song of Songs contain prophecy that is applicable to today? Richard Ritenbaugh shows that, far from being just a book about married love, the Song of Songs relates to the present condition of the church.

Prophecy's Place Similar to the old E.F. Hutton commercial, when the preacher speaks on prophecy, everyone listens. Studying prophecy is good, argues Richard Ritenbaugh, but doctrine and Christian living are far more necessary and helpful to our practicing and growing in God's way of life right now.

Proselytism Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (Part One) Proselytism has become a bad word in today's discourse, but it has not always been that way. Charles Whitaker explores the Bible's view of evangelism, both from the Old and the New Testaments, as well as the world's official pronouncements on the practice.

Proselytism Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (Part Two) Though the world's political bodies have agreed that proselytism is a human right, in practice it is a right denigrated and even suppressed in certain regions. Charles Whitaker holds that, though proselytism has a poor reputation now, a time is coming when it will be used properly to bring this world peace and prosperity.

Purge Me With Hyssop The Bible frequently uses the hyssop plant as a symbol of cleansing and purification. In relation to Christ's sacrifice for our salvation, this herb has a connection to the Passover in both the Old Testament and the New.

Purging the Rumor Bug from the Body of Christ We all know about the church grapevine. It's very good in spreading news, but it can be equally as evil when it spreads gossip and rumor. David Maas reveals how gossip harms the gossip himself.