The Bible and Life

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

312 Azusa Street

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

312 AZUSA STREET

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Everyone knew another meeting place had to be found quickly. The Asbery home could no longer accommodate the crowds. So on April 14, 1906, Seymour and his elders set out to find the perfect place. They wandered around the city near their area until they came upon a dead-end street that was about a half a mile long. It was there, in the industrial business section of Los Angeles, that Seymour found what had once been an old Methodist church.

After its use by the Methodists, the building had been remodeled for a different purpose. It had been divided in half, the top section having been turned into apartments. But a fire had destroyed the floor, and the cathedral-shaped roof had been flattened and covered with tar.

When Seymour acquired the building, the top floor was being used for storage, while the bottom floor had been converted into a horse stable. The windows were broken, and bare electric light bulbs hung from the ceiling. Seymour was offered the building for eight dollars a month.

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As the word got out, people came from everywhere to help restore the building. A. G. Osterburg, the pastor of the local Full Gospel Church, paid several men to help renovate the building. Volunteers swept the floors and whitewashed the walls. J. V. McNeil, a devout Catholic and owner of the largest lumber company in Los Angeles, donated lumber for the cause. Sawdust was placed on the floor, and planks were nailed to wooden barrels for use as pews. Two empty crates were nailed on top of each other to act as Seymour’s pulpit.

It was in this humble, skidrow-like setting that Azusa Street prepared themselves for international revival.

- God’s Generals ( William J. Seymour )

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William James Roop

Friday, August 29, 2025

Undine Utley

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

Here is a short article about a girl evangelist from an unknown source.

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One phenomenon now long forgotten to most in the 1920s, was the girl evangelist. Hundreds, if not thousands, of girls, some as young as three, and some criss crossing the North American continent many times, took to the revivalist platform and preached nightly, sometimes to crowds of thousands, and conducted long crusades, averaging three weeks in length, in revival after revival.

One that stood out from all the rest was Uldine Utley, impacted by Sister McPherson. Uldine had just turned eleven. Within months her name would be spread across the United States. Within a year she would be one of the featured speakers, along with Smith Wigglesworth, at the “Great International Pentecostal Camp Meeting" in Berkeley, California 1924.

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

John Wesley's Devine Healing

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This is from John Wesley's Journal.

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DIVINE HEALING

John Wesley also recorded that he was miraculously healed on more than one occasion. In one such instance, he was so sick he couldn’t even raise his head.

He wrote:

Friday, 8.—I found myself much out of order. However, I made shift to preach in the evening; but on Saturday my bodily strength quite failed so that for several hours I could scarcely lift up my head. Sunday, 10. I was obliged to lie down most part of the day, being easy only in that posture. Yet in the evening my weakness was suspended while I was calling sinners to repentance. But at our love-feast which followed, beside the pain in my back and head and the fever which still continued upon me, just as I began to pray I was seized with such a cough that I could hardly speak. At the same time came strongly into my mind, “These signs shall follow them that believe” [Mark 16:17]. I called on Jesus aloud to “increase my faith” and to “confirm the word of his grace.” While I was speaking my pain vanished away; the fever left me; my bodily strength returned; and for many weeks I felt neither weakness nor pain. “Unto thee, O Lord, do I give thanks.”

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Of another occasion, he wrote,

When Mr. Shepherd and I left Smeton, my horse was so exceedingly lame that I was afraid I must have lain by too. We could not discern what it was that was amiss; and yet he would scarcely set his foot to the ground. By riding thus seven miles, I was thoroughly tired, and my headache more than it had done for some months. (What I here aver is the naked fact: let every man account for it as he sees good.) I then thought, “Cannot God heal either man or beast, by any means, or without any?” Immediately my weariness and headache ceased, and my horse’s lameness in the same instant. Nor did he halt any more either that day or the next.

The Wesley brother sometimes covered sixty miles a day in order to get to a prearranged destination on time. They traveled tirelessly, meeting the people wherever they were, learning about their needs and how best they could help them spiritually, mentally, and physically.

Roberts Liardon

God’s Generals ( The Revivalists )

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Friday, August 22, 2025

The Ark As A Symbol Of Salvation

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Here is an article about the Ark and its importance from an unknown source.

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1. The Ark as a Symbol of Salvation

Noah’s Ark represents God’s provision for salvation during a time of judgment. Just as the Ark physically saved Noah and his family from the flood, it symbolically points to the ultimate salvation found in Christ.

• 1 Peter 3:20-21 explicitly connects the Ark to baptism and salvation: “In the days of Noah… eight persons were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you.”

• The Ark was one way of escape, just as Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). This highlights the exclusivity of God’s salvation plan through Christ.

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2. The Animals on the Ark Representing Gentiles

The inclusion of animals in the Ark is more than practical—it carries profound symbolic meaning. Let’s break this down:

A. Clean and Unclean Animals: Gentiles Foreshadowed

• Noah was commanded to bring clean animals in pairs of seven and unclean animals in pairs of two (Genesis 7:2-3).

• The distinction between clean and unclean animals (later detailed in Leviticus 11) signifies the separation between Israel (clean) and Gentile nations (unclean).

However, both clean and unclean animals entered the Ark, signifying that God’s plan for salvation was never limited to Israel but included the Gentiles:

• Isaiah 49:6: “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

• The unclean animals being preserved alongside the clean foreshadows the Gentiles being grafted into God’s covenant people through Christ (Romans 11:17-19).

B. A Global Picture of Salvation

The animals came “from all flesh” (Genesis 6:19), representing every tribe, tongue, and nation. This points to the global scope of God’s plan:

• Revelation 7:9 describes a multitude “from every nation, tribe, people, and language” standing before God’s throne, made possible through Christ.

The animals’ journey to the Ark mirrors the nations being drawn to Christ, the Ark of salvation.

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3. The Ark and Christ: A Foreshadowing

The Ark serves as a type of Christ in many ways, each detail pointing to His redemptive work.

A. One Door for Entry

The Ark had a single door (Genesis 6:16), through which all had to enter to be saved. This reflects Jesus’ declaration:

• John 10:9: “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.”

• Just as there was one door to the Ark, there is only one way to salvation through Christ.

B. Covered with Pitch (Atonement)

The Ark was covered inside and out with pitch (Genesis 6:14). The Hebrew word for “pitch” (כָּפַר, kaphar) is the same word used for “atonement” in the Old Testament.

• This signifies that the Ark was a vessel of atonement, shielding its occupants from judgment, just as Christ’s sacrifice covers and protects believers from God’s wrath (Romans 5:9).

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4. The Ark as the Gathering of Nations

A. The Animals Represent All Nations

The animals coming from different regions of the earth to enter the Ark reflects the nations coming to Christ for salvation. This echoes the promise to Abraham:

• Genesis 12:3: “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

B. The New Beginning: Unity in Christ

After the flood, Noah’s family and the animals emerged from the Ark to repopulate the earth. This points to the unity of all people in Christ:

• Ephesians 2:14-16: Christ has broken down the dividing wall, uniting Jews and Gentiles into one new humanity.

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5. Judgment and Mercy: A Message for All

The Ark reminds us of both God’s judgment and His mercy.

A. The Flood and the Cross

• The flood was a righteous judgment on a corrupt world (Genesis 6:5-7). Similarly, sin demands judgment (Romans 6:23).

• The Ark, like the cross, demonstrates God’s mercy, providing a way of escape for those who believe.

B. Inclusion in Salvation

The Ark’s inclusion of both clean and unclean animals highlights the Gospel’s power to save both Jew and Gentile:

• Romans 1:16: “The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.”

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6. Connections to the Scapegoat

Returning to the theme of Barabbas and Jesus, the Ark and the Day of Atonement rituals converge in the imagery of salvation:

• Barabbas (humanity’s sin) was set free, just as the unclean animals (Gentiles) were preserved in the Ark despite their unclean status.

• Jesus (the sacrificial Lamb) bore the penalty for sin, just as the clean animals foreshadowed the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Conclusion: The Ark’s Symbolism Today

Noah’s Ark encapsulates the Gospel message. It reveals God’s heart for all humanity—Jews and Gentiles alike. Just as the Ark preserved life during the flood, Jesus is the ultimate Ark of salvation, drawing people from all nations into eternal life. The clean and unclean animals remind us that God’s plan was always to reconcile the world to Himself, uniting all in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

This study deepens our understanding of how God’s redemptive plan is woven through the entirety of Scripture, culminating in the invitation to enter the Ark of Christ, where salvation is found for both Jew and Gentile.

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William James Roop

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

William Seymour's Powerful Services

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Here is an article from an unknown source. Enjoy.

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JOHN G LAKE TALKS ABOUT WILLIAM SEYMOUR'S POWERFUL SERVICES IN LOS ANGELS.

"I was in a meeting in Los Angeles on one occasion. An old black man was conducting the services'. He had the funniest vocabulary. But I want to tell you, there were doctors, lawyers, and professors listening to marvelous things coming from his lips.

It was not what he said in words; it was what he said from his spirit to my heart that showed me he had more of God in his life than any man I had ever met up to that time. It was God in him who was attracting people.

One man insisted on getting up and talking every little while. Some people have a mania for talking. The old black brother endured it for a long time. Finally, the fellow got up again, and the old man stuck his finger out and said, "In the Name of Jesus Christ, sit down!" The man did not sit down. He fell down. And his friends carried him out. That is only one of the living facts of what Christianity is: the divine power of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, filling a man's soul and body, flashing through his nature like holy flame, accomplishing the will of God."

William James Roop

Friday, August 15, 2025

Let Us Love

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In order to love God, we must love our fellow man. In order to follow the Prince of Peace, we must live with man in peace.

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"We cannot pray in love and live in hate and still think we are worshipping God."

—A. W. Tozer

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8)

“And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)

“Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.” (James 3:9-12)