Going through a Bible study guide on Ephesians by Henry Vander Kam. Did some research on him. Quite an interesting life he lived immigrating from Netherlands, pastor in Christian Reformed Churches, and ultimately leaving to help start a new seminary and the United Reformed Churches. A dozen interesting facts on Henry Vander Kam: 1. Birth and Immigration: Born on November 8, 1917, in Houwerzijl, Groningen, the Netherlands, to Cornelius Vander Kam and Grace Volkema; immigrated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1924 as the youngest of his family. 2. Early Life Challenges: Grew up on a celery farm near Byron Center, Michigan; the Great Depression limited his education to eighth grade, requiring him to work on the family farm instead of pursuing immediate studies for ministry. 3. Education: Graduated from Calvin College in 1942; entered Calvin Theological Seminary that year, earning a Th.B. in 1945. 4. Marriage and Family: Married Elaine Dekker during his seminary years; the couple was blessed with three sons and two daughters. 5. Ordination: Ordained into the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) ministry on August 8, 1945, marking the start of a 50-year pastoral career celebrated in 1995. Served the Prosper Christian Reformed Church in Michigan from 1945 to 1950. 6. Subsequent Pastorates in CRC: Second Christian Reformed Church in Pella, Iowa (1950–1955); First Christian Reformed Church in Pella (1955–1964); West End Christian Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan (1964–1968); Rogers Heights Christian Reformed Church in Wyoming, Michigan (1968–1970); Living Hope Christian Reformed Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (1970–1972). 7. Denominational Leadership - Education: Served on the Calvin College and Seminary Board of Trustees in the late 1960s and early 1970s, acting as president from 1970 to 1973. 8. Denominational Leadership - Missions and Synod: President of the CRC Board of Home Missions; frequently delegated to CRC synods, where he served as clerk, vice-president, and president (president of the 1976 Synod). (Report 44 – homosexual practice is sinful and incompatible with membership and should be subject to church discipline. Also, synod 1976 explicitly rejected opening ecclesiastical office to women. Many conservatives at the time viewed 1976 as the last synod that clearly and firmly upheld traditional Reformed positions on Scripture, sexuality, and church order before the denomination began a long leftward drift in the 1980s and 1990s. Henry Vander Kam himself later cited the post-1976 trajectory as one reason he eventually left the CRC.) 9. Bible study guides Authorship: Letter to the Ephesians 1976, Amos – 1978, Thessalonians -1980, Timothy – 1982. All reprinted in mid 2000’s by Reformed Fellowship Inc. 10. Involvement in Reformed Renewal: One of the seven founding ministers of Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Orange City, Iowa (later moved to Dyer, Indiana), established in 1981 to promote biblical and covenantal preaching; taught Reformed Dogmatics there for over three years post-retirement. 11. Transition from CRC: Left the CRC in 1992 amid concerns over denominational directions; helped establish the independent Free Christian Reformed Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serving as its pastor until his death. 12. Scholarly Contributions and Legacy: Authored Bible study guides and longtime contributor to The Outlook Magazine promoting covenantal theology and critique CRC shifts; active in founding the United Reformed Churches; passed away on January 11, 1996 (79 y/o), due to congestive heart failure, survived by his wife and family.

Isaiah 13: God’s Sovereignty clearly displayed At the time Isaiah is speaking (around 735–700 BC), Babylon is not yet the world empire; Assyria is still the dominant power. This makes the prophecy dramatically forward-looking: Isaiah leaps over the next 100+ years and describes the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire at the hands of the Medes and Persians in 539 BC. This is one of the most remarkable predictions in the entire Old Testament. Babylon was the greatest, richest, most impregnable city of the ancient world—yet Isaiah declares it will be permanently abandoned. “And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generation.” Isaiah 13: 19 & 20a. This is historically fulfilled after Cyrus captured it in 539 BC and then Babylon gradually declined. By the time of Christ, it was already largely ruins, and today (2,500 years later!) it is exactly as Isaiah described: desolate heaps inhabited only by wild animals. The actual archaeological site of ancient Babylon covers about 10 square kilometers and is located roughly 85 km south of Baghdad, on the Euphrates River. It's an uninhabited ruin field—mostly mounds of crumbled mud bricks, excavated foundations, and remnants of walls—overgrown with sand, dust, and sparse vegetation. Wildlife like jackals, hyenas, and desert creatures do inhabit the area, aligning eerily with Isaiah's description. God’s Sovereignty couldn’t be made clearer. And as true as this prophecy was about Babylon, God gives us similar revelation of the final judgement of the entire world. May we heed to His word, not take it lightly, and put aside our pride and live for him.