Dewey Bertolini's podcast

As you will hear in this PODCAST , with Jesus' words here in Matthew 24, the climax of human history as we know it will occur. No one will miss it . No one will mistake it . Everyone will know exactly what it is that is happening and why it is happening! The "it" to which I refer and which I intentionally repeated in the above sentences is Jesus' Second Coming. What did Jesus say? "Then all the tr...

As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , with Jesus' words in Matthew 24:15, words that describe a singularly hair-raising event, the Great Tribulation will begin. A 3½-year period of unprecedented spiritual defection and oppression, along with its resultant worldwide suffering on a scale never seen before on this planet. Don't take my word for that. Take Jesus' word for that. In Matthew 24:21,...

Birth pains. It's all about the birth pains. As you will hear in this PODCAST , as we enumerate the final three of the six "signs of the times," both Paul and Jesus made it crystal-clear that we are to think of these signs in terms of birth pains. Paul, who borrowed this most-meaningful metaphor from Jesus, used it most-appropriately when he in Romans 8 declared, "For we know that all creation has...

Welcome to the Olivet Discourse . The End Times prophetic address that Jesus gave to His disciples high atop the Mount of Olives, immediately to the East of the Holy City, Jerusalem. As you will hear in this PODCAST , that lovely little land that we affectionately call Israel is the center of the world. Literally and metaphorically. Literally , because Israel is the place where the three major con...

Picture him there, a grizzled, stooped, aged apostle, marooned on an island of rock, confined to a cave. See him in your mind's eye, with quill to parchment, writing fast and furiously in a mad dash to record everything that he is now seeing and hearing. Our old (and at the time of his writing Revelation) very old friend, the beloved apostle John. Writing, as you will hear in this PODCAST , what s...

"Watch out that no one deceives you." As you will hear in this PODCAST , given the wild-eyed speculations with which Christian community has historically been bombarded regarding all-things prophecy-related, Jesus' words in Matthew 24 give us a good warning indeed. A warning which explains why we want to take a sober, strictly-biblical look at what Jesus taught in Matthew 24 - 25 about His Second...

I can't tell you how excited I am in this PODCAST to break the seal on this, Jesus' walk through the remainder of human history as we know it. It's typically referred to as the Olivet Discourse because Jesus gave this prophetic panorama while sitting on the Mount of Olives, immediately to the East of Jerusalem, right across the Kidron Valley from the glorious Temple. One of the most breathtaking v...

One more week of camp. So one more Encore Podcast. My heart goes out to Mother Mary. Her name means "Bitterness." Sadly, and quite frankly, in many ways Mary lived up to her name.   Being the mother of Jesus was no small task. One that she fulfilled with great dignity. But boy did she face her challenges. In this PODCAST , we will gaze upon a Scriptural snapshot of Mary unlike anything you have ev...

I'm off doing my camp speaking thing. (I sure would appreciate your prayers: for me, but especially for the campers who are stuck having to listen to me for the week. But I digress.) Anyway, in this PODCAST , you will learn one singularly simple concept which, if you take it to heart, will change your life forever. It is my sense that in contemporary Christian culture in America, we have lost sigh...

To be perfectly honest with you, the passage here in Matthew 21 is coming -- for me,at least -- at just the right time. And perhaps for you as well. Given the current political climate in our beloved country, and the increasing despair that I have felt as the presidential primary season has now concluded, I so desperately need to hear my own message, courtesy of Jesus. Jesus assured His disciples,...

Welcome to Monday of Jesus' last week, His Passion week, the final few days leading up to His coming crucifixion. As you will hear in this PODCAST , At the very beginning of Jesus' ministry, way back in John 2 (Podcast #21), Jesus cleansed the Temple for the first time. Now here in Mark 11, at the very end of His ministry, Jesus cleansed the Temple for the second time. A display of uncharacteristi...

There is a beautiful and breathtaking symmetry to the life and ministry of Jesus. Case in point, as you will hear in this PODCAST , here in John 12, the beloved disciple brings us full circle. You may not see that now. But trust me, you will by the time we conclude this discussion. Let me give you one tantalizing little hint: This beautiful symmetry to which I refer has little to do with palm bran...

You talk about a collision of conflicting emotions, welcome to Jesus' Triumphal Entry into His beloved city of Jerusalem. As you will hear in this PODCAST , all of this emotional turmoil will come to a climax as Jesus paused during His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, gazed longingly at breathtaking panorama, and then suddenly sang this song of lament: "If you had known, even you, especially in thi...

The Apostle John turned out to be quite the lyricist. One could almost sing some of his melodious verses. In fact, many of us have. As you will hear in this PODCAST , John wasn't a scholar, not by any stretch of imagination. Quite unlike the Apostle Paul, for example. John engaged in virtually no complex doctrinal discussions involving the nuances of theology, the kinds of stuff in which Paul reve...

Meet Blind Bartimaeus, a man who seems at first blush to be nothing more than a bit player in this most dramatic and poignant moment. As you will hear in this PODCAST , this wasn't the first time that Jesus healed a blind man. Nor is this the first time we have talked about Jesus healing a blind man. Last November, Podcast 141, comes to mind. So I would totally understand if you were tempted to br...

You could call this story an epic "Opportunity Lost." You talk about a guy presented with a once-in-a-lifetime golden opportunity, an opportunity that he squandered. An opportunity that he squandered Badly. And. Sadly. As you will hear in this PODCAST , we're talking about an offer rarely made, and shockingly dismissed. A young man who burst on the scene like a blazing comet streaking overhead, on...

John 11:53 (NLT) is a most remarkable statement. It reads, “So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death.” As you’ll hear in this PODCAST , I’ll tell you exactly to what John refers with the phrase, “From that time on…” Again, this is most remarkable. But before we get to that, consider this: It is, in my humble estimation, the Single. Most. Misunderstood parable in the enti...

If last week’s discussion revealed to us the iconic image of the heart of Jesus, this week’s PODCAST  will unveil to us the iconic image of the humanness of Jesus. The beloved Apostle John wrote this in the first chapter of his Gospel masterpiece: “Jesus became human and made his home among us.” Paul wrote this to his beloved little community of Christ-followers in Philippi: “Though he was God…  J...

As you will hear in this PODCAST , there is No. Clearer. Picture in all of the Bible of the heart of God towards sinners -- I’m talking the hardest of hardhearted sinners -- than this one right here in Luke 13. A Scriptural snapshot that will go a long way to defining your biblical view of God and your biblical understanding of Jesus, both as a man and as God. If you think of the Bible as a pictur...

It’s called in our culture a “sea-change,” an idiom first introduced by Shakespeare in his play, The Tempest . A cultural cliché that refers to “a substantial or significant transformation.” A sea-change. As you will hear in this PODCAST , here in Luke 12, we are about to witness a sea-change. A substantial or significant transformation in the focus of Jesus’ ministry and message.  Jesus’ words we...

There is a forgotten figure in the Crucifixion-Resurrection drama. A remarkable man who came to a most-remarkable conclusion. As you will hear in this PODCAST , I am referring to the Roman officer who actually crucified Jesus. At the conclusion of the crucifixion, this Roman officer -- who had literally just killed Christ -- made this stunning statement: “This man truly was the Son of God!” Now, I...

We are, as you well know, engaged in a fascinating election cycle -- one that I have been following with great interest. Last week, one prominent commentator told of the time when, shortly after the swearing-in of a relatively recent President, he asked him, “What does it feel like to be President?” His answer, in case you are interested, was this: “I suddenly realized that everything I say will p...

It’s been a tough week for our country. Riots at political rallies. An increasingly course discourse. Much angst in the world. And I know you are feeling it. Well, consider this PODCAST to be a bright and beautiful shot of much-needed adrenaline to your system, some refreshing encouragement from Jesus’ heart to yours. Let's begin our discussion with this: It is one of the most precious, and quite...

This week, I have been reading a fascinating book of historical fiction entitled, The Robe , by Lloyd C. Douglas. As you will hear in this PODCAST , in the book Douglas records a conversation between Marcellus, son of a Roman Senator who has fallen out of favor with Emperor Tiberias, and Marcellus’ slave, Demetrius. The conversation goes like this: 'Demetrius'—Marcellus swept the sky with an all-i...

Get ready for a well-deserved pat on the back, and a hearty, “Well done!” In addition to that, welcome to Luke’s heartwarmingly endearing introduction of two precious women: Martha and her sister Mary. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST , this delightful little story now brings us full circle in our discussion of the Return of the Seventy from their very first mission’s trip. You might remem...