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By Joseph S. Exell · 1887 · 1,353 illustrations
The Biblical Illustrator is a 56-volume reference work compiled by Joseph S. Exell in the late 19th century. Each passage of Scripture is illuminated with historical anecdotes, biographical sketches, analogies from nature, and homiletical observations drawn from ancient and contemporary sources. These illustrations have been carefully restored from the original public-domain text and rewritten for clarity and accessibility — preserving the historical depth while removing Victorian OCR artifacts.
John stood as the epoch's great man—mighty in word, wondrously successful, embodiment of matured strength.
The Apostle Paul establishes three critical truths about spiritual foundations.
Exell identifies a devastating spiritual reality: the helplessness of idols abandoned by their worshippers.
This imperative cuts deeper than His miracles over wind and waves—it exercises mastery over the highest principles of human nature itself.
1)—the first and last prophets of the old covenant—establishing the continuity between testaments.
Love flows from three sources: the love of the Father as its hidden root, the love of Christ as its first manifestation, and the love of believers for each other as its full outpouring.
Exell observes a crucial two-fold aspect in this verse: the same divine way operates as *strength* (Hebrew *maoz*, fortress) to the righteous and as ruin to the wicked.
Few win laurels; many lose by a hair's-breadth, never glimpsing the goal.
Isaiah quotes an ancient prediction (also preserved in Micah iv.
By "plants," we understand three categories: every false doctrine, every corrupt practice, and every unregenerate person who claims membership in the visible Church without transformation by Elohim.
The hand lifts itself to violence, as Cain's did against Abel, or grasps what belongs to others, as Achan seized forbidden spoils.
We are led not as brute beasts driven against our nature, but as reasonable creatures whose wills remain intact yet transformed by grace.
The scorner dismisses all religious forms as hollow "cant," corrupting the young and weak-minded through cynical manipulation.
The ancient preacher Francis Taylor, B.D., explicates this metaphor with Victorian clarity: lawful children flow forth like streams blessed by Elohim Himself.
He marks authentic ministry by three essential characteristics, each a renunciation of corrupted practice.
This joy flows from four foundations He revealed to His disciples in the Upper Room discourse.
Many drift through evil without defining it plainly; if compelled to articulate their actions honestly, they would recoil in horror.
De Witt Talmage, D.D., identified this threefold promise—banished crutch, loosed tongue, and waters in the wilderness—as Yahweh's comprehensive restoration.
— Human conduct divides into two paths, each revealing the heart's orientation toward Elohim.
This command reveals four profound truths about God's sovereignty.
The darkness itself becomes His instrument of war.
The righteous possess true faith in Christ, consecrate their spirit to Elohim, live a heavenly life on earth, and have been renewed by the Holy Ghost.
The apostle synthesizes two classes of temperament: the men of fire, who soar heavenward in ecstatic rapture, and the men of calculation, who remain tethered to practical reason.
But what constitutes a true prophet worthy of reception?