Introduction to Ecclesiastes

As wisdom literature, Ecclesiastes is very helpful in coping with practical and philosophical issues we face. Proverbs is basic wisdom, giving fundamental principles to live by. Ecclesiastes is written by an older man, intended for a more mature audience – engaging the question: does death nullify all purpose and meaning in life? We will see that intellectual accomplishments, wealth, political power, and religious zeal are not what gives life purpose. Solomon provides two guidelines for living a good life: enjoy what God has given you under the sun and fear God, walking humbly before Him and man so that we do not get fixated on the good things of this earth. 

Enter Your Rest; Psalm 95

As we consider the warnings in Psalms 95, listen carefully to what He has told us in Hebrews 4 - “we who have believed enter that rest”. YHWH rested from His creation work. When we were made new creatures in Christ, we entered His rest. We still struggle against unbelief and we still grumble and lust after things of this world. But struggle is the operative word. We have our citizenship in heaven and Christ Jesus is coming to set all things right and put an end to unrighteousness. He is our Lord and King, He is mighty to save. The transcendent one is immanent. And He bids us come.

If what you hear is strange to your ears, He is calling you, Come. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart – come to Christ. He declares, Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life (John 5:24). Eternal life – an irrevocable gift from God. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. 

Theological Eureka

25 years ago, I came to understand the gospel and researched how it had been polluted in early history. 15 years ago, I did some research into how water baptism had been polluted by “infant baptism.” 5 years ago, I began looking into how the Lord’s Supper had been changed into a mere ritual and how the Hebrew Scriptures came together. 2 years ago, I read a lot on how the Christian canon came together. On a morning walk in early August, 2026, it came together.

In just a few generations after Christ ascended, people had drifted away from the simplicity of the gospel, thinking water baptism was salvific. Most common folk did not know how to read, and the educated within the larger Christian community were influenced by what they had learned in the culture – communication methods that were designed to influence people. This focus on people accompanied a lesser focus on God, resulting in the false gospel of means instead of grace.

As power-hungry religious men made friends with the state, Christianity was made legal, and comfort led to compromise on the other means God had gifted His people with: the reason for and content of the congregational meetings. The dynamic life-sharing and interactive teaching of the ecclesia of Christ gave way to a speaker/spectator format for efficient communication of the state-church’s message and the “love feast” Lord’s Supper gave way to the somber bare elements ritual we are still familiar with.

Those indwelt with the Holy Spirit had periods of awakening, as they partially grasped truth that had been neglected. The state-religion, in various forms, consistently oppressed God’s people, thinking they were honoring God. Some Christians believe that the Reformation of the 16^th century successfully recaptured everything the state-church had taken. I think that was another partial awakening, still connected to the speaker/spectator format and the somber bare elements ritual of the Lord’s Supper.

The Life of Solomon, 1 Kings

Whether it’s sports, financial planning, or the Christian life – we’ve all heard the admonition, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” Everyone likes the idea of finishing well, think it is the right priority. As Christians, we know we started in our new life as babes – weak and ignorant. The years go by and we grow stronger – we pray – maturing in Christ and sanctified by His Spirit. We will finish well – if we are His. Not without defeat, discouragement, and marked by sin – yet He will preserve us so we will persevere! As we look at the life of Solomon, we see a man who started strong, yet finished with one the saddest commentaries on life ever written. Here’s a brief overview from 1 Kings, contrasting the favor of God and the judgment of God on Solomon. 

What is the Lord's Supper?

What is the Lord’s Supper?

The most detailed description of The Lord's Supper is in 1 Corinthians 11. In verses 17 - 22, Paul rebukes the congregation for selfish behavior as they enjoy the dinner, which is referred to as “the Lord’s Supper.”

Now in giving the following instruction I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For to begin with, I hear that when you come together as a church there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. There must, indeed, be factions among you, so that those who are approved may be recognized among you. Therefore, when you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s Supper. For at the meal, each one eats his own supper ahead of others. So one person is hungry while another gets drunk! Don’t you have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you look down on the church of God and embarrass those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I do not praise you for this!

In verses 23 - 27, he describes the meaning of the supper.

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He also took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord.

Note: in verses 17 - 22, it's obvious the saints were taking part in a meal, likely the main meal of the day. The "breaking of bread" was more than breaking actual bread, although it included that. As Acts 2:46 reveals, it was a phrase that referred to a meal: "Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart." The meal commemorating the death and return of the Lord would be cause for the children of God to have sincere gladness in their hearts.

Then, in verse 25, Paul notes that "after supper" Christ took the cup. After supper, the Lord’s Supper - the main meal of the day which included breaking of bread.

Peter described (2 Pet. 2:12-13) false brothers, wicked people, who feasted with the saints - they took the supper in an unworthy manner, as Paul said. Jude made the same comment, noting these wicked people partook of the love feasts of the saints (verse 12-13).

The modern practice of a piece of unleavened bread and a shot glass of juice or wine began in the 4th century when Constantine gave permission for Christians to gather and gave them large buildings (pagan temples and bath houses) to meet in. Large crowds made actual meals difficult and several councils (Council of Laodicea (363–364 AD), Council of Hippo (393 AD) & Council of Carthage (397 AD), and Council of Trullo (692 AD)) forbade bringing food inside the "church buildings". How could sincere gladness of heart come from a rigidly ritualistic eating a crumb of bread and a very small amount of cheap wine? Later, in the papist religion, the wine would be withheld from the common folk.

If Christians are to be people of the Book, we should be about ordering our meetings according to the Book, and not according to traditions of men that we have been taught.

The practice was not abolished overnight but was suppressed through a series of regional church councils:

• Council of Laodicea (363–364 AD): This council issued Canon 28, which explicitly forbade eating or setting up couches for dining inside church buildings. This forced the agape meal outside the main place of worship.
• Canon 28. It is not permitted to hold love feasts, as they are called, in the Lord's Houses, or Churches, nor to eat and to spread couches in the house of God.

• Council of Hippo (393 AD) & Council of Carthage (397 AD): Led heavily by North African bishops like Saint Augustine, these councils banned the clergy from participating in these feasts and strictly prohibited the general public from holding them inside churches, unless no other space was available.
• Canon XLII. THAT no bishops or clerics are to hold feasts in churches, unless perchance they are forced thereto by the necessity of hospitality as they pass by. The people, too, as far as possible, are to be prohibited from attending such feasts.

• Council of Trullo (692 AD): This major eastern council issued Canon 74, reinforcing the strict penalties—including excommunication—for anyone who attempted to host a love feast inside a church sanctuary. This effectively delivered the final blow to the tradition in the East.
• Canon 74. It is not permitted to hold what are called Agapæ, that is love-feasts, in the Lord's houses or churches, nor to eat within the house, nor to spread couches. If any dare to do so let him cease therefrom or be cut off.

Each of these councils are held dear by the papist religion. They show themselves to be men of high position (who) exercised power over them. It must not be like that among you who claim Christ (Matt. 20:25-27). Let us gently work to return to the Biblical model of the Lord’s Supper, sharing our lives and what God has blessed us with, so with sincerity and gladness of heart, we will remember the Son of God and all He has done for us. 

Proverbs 10:17-32; The Righteous will not be Removed.

The kingdom Christ has prepared for us cannot be shaken, He is our rock and refuge and ever-present help in every circumstance. We have come, present tense, to Mount Zion and the city of the living God! Because our Lord and His kingdom are secure, we are secure.

As Paul observed: we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body (2 Cor. 4:7-10). We may be hard-pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down; we cannot be removed from the hand of God that holds us securely in the eternal Kingdom that cannot be shaken. You must have Christ! 

Proverbs 8:22-36; Wisdom Leads to Christ!

A proper hermeneutic will lead us to a correct understanding of Scripture.