What About? verses
Have you ever considered a Biblical verse in another light?
-
The Sign of the Prophet Jonah
There are three mentions of the Sign of Jonah in the New Testament. Matthew first mentions it in Matthew 12:38-42 and then again in 16:1-4. Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of…
-
When Shall These Things Be?
Jesus/Yeshua makes a bold prophetic prediction during his ministry concerning the pride and joy of Jerusalem: the buildings of the second temple standing in the first century. In Matthew 24 we read: 24 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. Clearly, Jesus/Yeshua is speaking to his disciples, who are physically in his presence, about structures that are physically standing at that time:…
-
Calling Upon the Name of the Lord
This afternoon I was reading an article found at an Assembly of God website entitled, “How Can I Be Saved?” In answer to that article’s question, the author referenced three passages: Romans 10:13, Joel 2:32 and Acts 2:21 that all essentially say the same thing: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” And this brought to my mind the passage at the end of Genesis 4. 25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.26 And to Seth, to him also there was…
- 3-Grass, Seed-Yielding Herbs, Fruit Trees, 6-Living Creatures on Land, 6-Man and Woman, Creation, Garden of Eden, What About? verses
Did the Creator’s Design Change After the Fall of Man?
Many seem to think that the creation established in the beginning was later altered by God and that He instituted physical death, in response to the Fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden. However, upon careful examination of the stories found in Genesis 1-3, I draw a different conclusion. In the Garden of Eden Genesis 2 tells us of the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil that existed in the Garden of Eden. The created man (both male & female) was placed in that garden. And while the man was told by God that he could eat of any tree therein, he…
-
What Does It Mean to Be Perfect?
I came across a comment on another website yesterday from an apparent Bible believer that indicated his/her belief was that humans are not perfectible. And that begged me to respond. Humans Are Perfectible According to the Bible, in Genesis 6:9, Noah is described as being perfect. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. Then in Genesis 17:1, we see that YHVH told Abram to be perfect. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. The Hebrew word translated as “perfect” in these verses is “tamiym” (H8549), and according to Brown Driver Briggs, it means “complete, sound“. This word is used all throughout…
-
The End of An Age
When I hear things like the Day of the LORD is quickly approaching & Jesus/Yeshua is coming back, I have to ask, what exactly are people expecting to see in the physical realm with these notions? When the New Testament speaks of the Day of the LORD, I believe it is referring to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. (with the destruction of the temple/power structure & accompanying power/control figures, which Yeshua prophesied would come to pass), and that has obviously passed. There was a physical remnant of people that were spared from physical death in that generation — they had to figure out how to live outside the…
-
Tzitzit: To Wear or Not To Wear Fringes
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. I am the LORD…
-
To Take Unto Thee Mary Thy Wife
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just [man], and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and…
-
What is Hell?
A friend recently posted the following verse on Facebook, pointing to the reference to hell: And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28 KJV) This got me to ask the question, What is Hell? I typically don’t rely on definitions of the English words translated to understand the meanings of the author, when they wrote in a different language. While definitions of the English words can be helpful, I think getting to the definition/meaning of the word used in the source language of the text…
-
Announcing the Virgin Birth in Luke 1
Oftentimes people meld the accounts in Matthew 1 and Luke 1 to form the basis for the Virgin Birth Doctrine. However, these accounts are speaking of two different episodes in time. First Things First Despite the fact that Matthew appears first in the New Testament, the first chapter of Luke describes events that happen prior to those described in the first chapter of Matthew. Luke 1 lays out a visitation from the angel to the virgin Mary before she is pregnant. She is identified as being espoused to Joseph, and therefore attached to him. She is his woman, and he is her man. Matthew 1 lays out a visitation from…