In Ecclesiastes 12:8–14, the book is coming to an end, and in this epilogue we find a strong endorsement of the book’s content. In 12:9, the writer calls the Preacher “wise” and someone who “taught the people knowledge.” So the content between the prologue and epilogue came from a wise person who taught wisdom. This Preacher wasn’t rash or thoughtless with his words, either. Wise people know better than to talk like that. His practice was “weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care” (12:9). The frame editor is telling us that the Preacher’s teachings—called “proverbs”—were the result of the Preacher’s prolonged reflection and careful construction.

Interpreting the book of Ecclesiastes has challenges. Some of the claims in the book are uncomfortable to read. The tone throughout the book feels less like a warm hug and more like a splash of cold water to the face. The speaker’s words are quite grim at times, he claims that animals and people have the same destiny, and he makes comments about how stillborn children are better off than the living. The writer even seems preoccupied with the fact that we’re all going to die.
When you survey commentaries on the book of Ecclesiastes, you’ll notice that not every interpreter is convinced we should trust the words in this book. So how should we approach it? Is the content of Ecclesiastes like the book of Job, in which the speeches of Job’s friends have a mixture of truth and error? Or do the Preacher’s observations about life “under the sun” stay uncorrupted and trustworthy?
I think we can thoroughly trust the book’s content and wisdom, and I want to offer some considerations as to why.
If we pay attention to structural elements in the book, we will see that Ecclesiastes 1:1–11 form a prologue to the body of the book, which leads to an epilogue in 12:8–14. The opening and closing sections of the book are in the third person, and the body of the work unfolds in the first person.
There is much scholarly discussion about how the opening and closing sections relate to the body of the book. Are they from the same author or from different authors? I don’t think we can ultimately be sure if the frame of the book (1:1–11 and 12:8–14) was provided by an author different from the first-person “Preacher” (in 1:12–12:7). My inclination is that a second writer provided an introduction and conclusion to the wisdom material. Nevertheless, the resulting words in the book known as Ecclesiastes are inspired by the Holy Spirit, whether the Spirit worked through one human author or through more than one (2 Tim. 3:16).
In Ecclesiastes 12:8–14, the book is coming to an end, and in this epilogue we find a strong endorsement of the book’s content.
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Ezekiel 1 is full of bizarre imagery, yes. But the content is not about what we call a UFO. The chapter is a vision of heavenly creatures—called cherubim—and the majesty of Yahweh. The heavenly throne was supported by wheels, as if God sat upon a throne-chariot. God is exalted, transcendent, reigning supreme.

When I was in high school, I remember going into an independent Christian bookstore and seeing a book on UFOs. I immediately pulled it from the shelf and flipped through it. One of the chapters was about Ezekiel 1 and how the prophet saw a UFO. I was fascinated and read through the argument. I’m not sure at that point that I’d ever read Ezekiel 1, much less thought about its meaning.
Since that encounter with a UFO book, I’ve heard people bring up Ezekiel 1 and UFOs from time to time. When I teach Old Testament Survey at Boyce College and Southern Seminary, I now bring up the issue during our study of Ezekiel. Most recently, Tucker Carlson made some waves on the interwebs by saying in an interview that Ezekiel 1 contained a description of UFOs.
So, is it true? Is Ezekiel 1 about a close encounter of an alien kind?
The Vision
Ezekiel 1 has twenty-eight verses. Verses 1–3 introduce the chapter—and the book—by locating the man Ezekiel in Babylonian exile. Originally from Jerusalem, Ezekiel was deported to Babylon in approximately 597 BC. And in 593 BC the Lord called him into prophetic ministry.
Then a vision commences in 1:4–28. And it’s the language in this vision that some people have interpreted as a description of a UFO.
Verses 4 and 5 mention “a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures.”
Each creature had four faces, and each had four wings, straight legs, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot (1:6–7). Under the wings were human hands (1:8). The faces looked like a human face, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (1:10). The creatures “darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning” (1:14).
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In 1 Timothy 3:7, the potential pastor must be well thought of by outsiders. This requirement is “so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.” Looking at this purpose statement, we can see that “disgrace” is the devil’s snare that’s in view. If people outside the church could make legitimate accusations about a pastor’s character to show that he isn’t above reproach, then this compromised character will lead to the pastor’s disgrace. The devil wants pastors to be disqualified and disgraced.

Is your pastor biblically unqualified? Then that situation pleases the devil while at the same time displeasing God.
But if your pastor is biblically qualified, then you should know that Satan hates him. Godly, qualified pastors are a particular source of demonic rage.
Let’s think about a few lines from 1 Timothy 3 that point to the devil’s plans. In 1 Timothy 3:1–7, Paul tells Timothy about the qualifications for church leaders (called “overseers” in 3:1, a term synonymous with “pastors” or “elders”). In 3:6, the leader “must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.” In 3:7, “he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.”
In back-to-back verses, Paul mentions the devil, and this observation reminds us that pastoral ministry is spiritual warfare.
According to 1 Timothy 3:6, a pastor must not be a recent convert. A recent convert lacks the maturity and wisdom necessary for pastoral ministry. Moral steadfastness is vital for being qualified for ministry, and such steadfastness becomes evident over time. While a convert may become qualified for ministry at a later time, the timing has not arrived as long as the adjective “recent” still applies.
Self-conceit can grip the heart of a recent convert who is thrust into the responsibilities of pastoral ministry. And then the pastor may “fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1 Tim. 3:6). What is the role of the of here? Is this the condemnation which the devil will experience?
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The pursuit of godliness requires focus, sacrifice, commitment, and endurance. Paul knows that training is a perfect metaphor for Christian obedience—training “for godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7b). This kind of training has value for the present life and the life to come. In other words, there is an all-compassing value to this pursuit. Don’t you want to invest in what matters most? Don’t you want to give yourself—your time, your resources, your energy—to what is of surpassing value?

What goals do you have? Do you have aims for your job, your household, your personal life? Paul thinks you should have an overarching goal, and it’s the goal he wrote about to Timothy.
“Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:7b–8).
Paul employs the metaphor of an athlete who is training to compete. And he recognizes that bodily training “is of some value.” There are bone and muscular benefits, there are mental health benefits, and there are organ and immune system benefits to regular exercise.
Why is bodily training of only “some value”? Because graveyards are filled with people who ate well and went regularly to the gym. Bodily training cannot defeat death. So while bodily training is of some value, it is not of ultimate value.
Bodily training involves focus, sacrifice, commitment, and endurance. Let’s think about each of these terms.

Focus—You need to know why you’re training. What’s the goal? Why are you putting yourself through the rigor of training? Do you have your eye on the prize?
Sacrifice—If you’re in training mode, you can’t live like those who aren’t training. Your mindset is different. You forgo what inhibits your training. You let your goal shape your behavior in the present. This behavior involves sacrifice—

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Christians are a Last Days people and will continue to be, until Christ’s return. Let’s not get caught up in the Speculation Industry that promotes confusion, distorts biblical texts, and deceives people far and wide. The Lord Jesus will return in great glory and splendor. But his return isn’t prompted by or connected to a total solar eclipse.

“End Times” hysteria is popular and comes in waves. A big deal on April 8, 2024 has been the total solar eclipse and whether that has apocalyptic significance.
So does the total solar eclipse signal the impending rapture of the church? Does it fulfill biblical prophecies about heavenly disturbances? Does it confirm that we’re living in the “last days”? The answer to all of those questions is No.
It is true that “end times” speculation makes headlines in news outlets and publications. But the speculations are misguided. Facebook memes can contain erroneous theology!
We are living in the last days, but that truth has nothing to do with a total solar eclipse or any other heavenly phenomena. The biblical authors consider the “last days” as something Christ himself inaugurated.
Texts That Speak of the Last Days
During Peter’s speech in Acts 2, he quotes the prophet Joel in light of the outpouring of the Spirit, and he says, “But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh…’” (Acts 2:16–17). The outpoured Spirit confirms that the “last days” had come.
In 1 Timothy 4:1, Paul says that “in later times some will depart from the faith.” The greater
context of 1 Timothy 4:1 demonstrates that such departures were already happening. The “later times” had arrived.
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“He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Ponder the powerful effect that these proofs and teachings would have had on the disciples. What a unique and precious period of their earthly lives to have such encounters with the risen Christ during that forty-day period. 

So, the tomb is empty. Just as he said he would, Jesus rose from the dead in victory. What happened in the days that followed? The ascension wasn’t immediately after the day of resurrection. Forty days stood between the resurrection and ascension. And those days mattered for the disciples and for many others.
In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul gives us a list of bodily appearances: “he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles” (1 Cor. 15:4–7).
There were bodily appearances of Jesus to his disciples on the day of his resurrection. Generally speaking, these appearances countered the fear in the disciples. He said, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). The appearances also confirmed his bodily risen state, for he showed them his hands and side (20:20). And his appearances involved instruction for the days to come (20:21–23).
Some of the instruction Jesus gave during the forty days was about the Old Testament. He taught his disciples how to interpret this prior revelation in light of what he had accomplished. “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:45–48).
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The disciples are in the first stage of spiritual sight, seeing but not fully. Jesus is indeed the Christ, but they don’t understand what the Christ has come to do: be rejected, suffer, and die. Peter’s rebuke confirms his partial sight. He thinks he’s seeing better than he actually is.

Stories have turning points, and Peter’s confession—“You are the Christ”—is a turning point in Mark’s Gospel. Many New Testament scholars divide Mark’s Gospel in a way that outlines sections before this confession and after it. Peter’s confession is a threshold.
In Mark’s Gospel, the confession, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29), occurs after Jesus healed a blind man at Bethsaida. Reading this miracle alongside Peter’s confession can be interpretively helpful, especially since Mark’s Gospel is the only book that records this miracle. What can we notice by reflecting on this miracle and then on Peter’s confession?
The Blind Man’s Partial Sight

The miracle didn’t seem complete, as if Jesus’s first attempt fell short of the mark. Jesus laid hands on the man’s eyes, and then his sight was restored: “he saw everything clearly” (Mark 8:25). Success!
We’re not used to seeing miracles take place in stages. We’re used to something more immediate. When Jesus tells the leper, “Be clean,” the leper is healed instantly (Mark 1:41–42). When he tells the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your bed, and go home,” the paralytic immediately rises (2:11–12). When he tells the man with the withered hand, “Stretch out your hand,” the man stretches out his now-restored hand (3:5).
Mark 8:22–26 reports a miracle in two stages. But this was not a record of dwindling power. The stages are the point.
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Drawing together the biblical evidence from 1 Timothy, Titus, Acts, 1 Peter, and Ephesians, we can reasonably conclude that an elder is an overseer, that an overseer is a pastor, and that a pastor is an elder. The apostles use these notions interchangeably for the role and responsibilities of church leaders.

When Paul talks about those who care for the church, he uses the term episkopos or “overseer” (1 Tim. 3:1). And when he tells Titus to appoint leaders in Crete who will give doctrinal instruction to the local church, he uses the term presbyteros or “elder.” How do these terms relate, and are they different from the term “pastor” (from poimen)?
I want to show that the terms “pastor” and “elder” and “overseer” all refer to the same position.
Let’s start in Titus 1. Paul tells Titus to “appoint elders in every town as I directed you” (Titus 1:5). He then gives qualifications for elders and explains it this way: “For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach” (1:7). In Titus 1, an overseer is not different from an elder. An elder is someone who exercises oversight, and they must be biblically qualified.
Let’s go to Acts 20. In Acts 20:17, Paul “sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.” The Ephesian elders arrive, and Paul told them, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). In Acts 20, Paul calls these Ephesians elders overseers because they exercise oversight in the Ephesian church.
Let’s consider 1 Timothy 3. Paul lists the character qualifications for “overseers” (1 Tim. 3:1–7), and he gives parallel qualifications for “elders” in Titus 1:5–9. In 1 Timothy, the terms for “elder” and “overseer” are interchangeable. For example, in 1 Timothy 3:3 the “overseer” must be able to teach, and in 5:17 those who labor in teaching are called “elders.”
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Deuteronomy 6:5 is about loyalty, covenant faithfulness, allegiance. What kind of people should the Israelites be? They should be loyal to God who had redeemed them from Egypt and who (in the context of Deuteronomy) had carried them to the border of the promised land. Their love for God would take the shape of obedience—internalizing and walking according to God’s commands.

The biblical authors teach us how we should respond to the God who made us and redeemed us. For example, we should trust, obey, fear, and praise the Lord. These are not recommendations from the biblical authors. They are commands.
Christians also know from Scripture that we are to love the Lord. This, too, is a command. But do you know when the Scripture first commands us to love God? In Exodus 20:6, the Lord spoke of his steadfast love to those who love him and keep his commandments, but that isn’t framed as a command. In Leviticus 19:18, we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves, but that is not an explicit command about loving God.
The first command to love the Lord is in Deuteronomy 6. Moses has just reiterated the Ten Commandments to the Israelites (Deut. 5:7–21), and now he gives this instruction: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5). Here is the first time in the Bible where we are called to love the Lord.
This command in Deuteronomy 6:5 is probably familiar to you. It comes right after the opening Shema language in 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
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Paul is saying to women: there is salvation in Christ for you. Trust Christ and continue in that faith. Persevere in godly living, and bear the fruit of holiness and love. In Christ you have been saved, you are being saved, and you will be saved. Don’t rebel against God’s design for you. Embrace life as a godly woman. In a culture that says, “Look inside yourself,” look to Christ instead. 

Peter once wrote that there are “some things” in Paul’s letters “that are hard to understand” (2 Pet. 3:16), and 1 Timothy 2:15 would surely be among “some things.” Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 2:15 comprise one of the most difficult verses in the whole New Testament.
Paul said, “Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control” (1 Tim. 2:15).
Can we make some sense of what Paul is saying? Let’s look at the verse carefully, in parts.
She
Who is the “she”? In the previous verse, Paul said “the woman was deceived and became a transgressor” (1 Tim. 2:14), and this was his summary of what happened to Eve in Genesis 3 when the serpent tempted her. There is no independent Greek pronoun at the beginning of 1 Timothy 2:15, so the subject must be implied.
Given the content of the previous verse, the subject at the beginning of 1 Timothy 2:15 is probably “She” or “The/A woman.” But Eve alone is not in view, because later in the verse the plural “they continue” denotes women. Apparently the implied “she” (or “woman”) is representative of women, and the plurality is confirmed by the “they continue” later in the verse.
Will Be Saved
The Greek word for “saved” here can mean rescue from danger, healing from disease, or deliverance from sin. So what does “saved” mean in 1 Timothy 2:15?

One view is that a woman can be “saved” from deception. If 1 Timothy 2:14 says that Eve was deceived, maybe 2:15 is telling us that there is deliverance from deception.
Another view is that a woman will be physically safe through childbearing.
A third possibility is that Paul means spiritual salvation (from sin and judgment).

Which view should we prefer? Most of the time in his letters, Paul uses this word “saved” to mean salvation from sin and judgment. More specifically, in the Pastoral Epistles of 1–2 Timothy and Titus, Paul uses this word “saved” consistently for deliverance from sin and judgment (see 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Tim. 1:9; 4:18; Titus 3:5).
Even in the very chapter where 1 Timothy 2:15 is found, Paul spoke of God’s desire for all people “to be saved,” and this salvation is from sin and judgment. While the first view (being “saved” from deception) is possible, the pattern of Paul’s use of “saved” is against the idea of being saved from mere deception. Regarding the second view, we know that there are women—even Christian women—who have died in the act of childbearing, so the second view is unlikely.
The language of “will be saved” denotes salvation from sin and judgment.
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