Bible Questions & Discussion PAGE 909

Hi Leslie,

I've been studying much in the Old Testament. I've noticed amazing things over the past year that just amazes me. I've just noticed for instance Rebeka's nurse may have possibly been with Jacob from the moment his parents sent him away for a wife. Gen. 35:8 That it appears he was over 40 when he was convinced by his mother to fool Isaac. That they may have actually sent him away with the gifts for a wife, because the daughters upon leaving Laban said he had sold them, taken their money & inheritance. Gen. 28, Gen. 31:14,15,16,

After the Abraham Isaac mountain test. Abraham dwelt in a different place that Sarah seems to had died in. Gen. 22, Gen. 22:19, Gen. 23:1-4, It appears Isaac & Ishmael didn't fight. Gen 25:9,18,

Anyway, I'm responding to your note because there are many of us here that discuss the Old & New Testament but it's usually answering someones question. If you have a discussion you would like people to join in, just ask. If you were looking for some of those discussions, look in the questions tab several pages back, then tap to read replies.

I'd be up for a question in the Old Testament. Sharpening Iron :)

Johnny, In Matt. 13:55-56 it says that he is the carpenter's son, that his mother is called Mary and then lists the names his brothers (half through Joseph and Mary) which are James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas, and then it says that he has sisters (plural) in verse 56. So Jesus had at least two sisters by Mary and Joseph and maybe more. It states basically the same thing in Mark 6:3. Side note; these are his half brothers and sisters not cousins. The Bible will say cousins when it means cousins like in Luke 1:36.

Do you know people in heaven

Yes, I very much love this one!! In our darkest hours, to remind me/us HE knows us & created everything about me/us. A reminder to be encouraged, even though difficult to comprehend he has many precious thoughts towards me.

Amen GiGi.

Well spoken.

Thank You

Welcome Leslie,

I am sorry you feel disappointed by the content in the discussions here. We all come from different "angles" so to speak.

For me, I believe that our life with Christ is not all about prophecy and understanding it. Our life with Christ is very rich and involves so much more! I believe that the OT and NT is full of the God's revelation of Himself to us. Because of this, we all can learn from it according to the lead of the Holy Spirit for us as individuals. For me, I appreciate what people post about prophecy, as I am not feeling led at this time to delve into that topic. I am helped by the study of others in this area. So, I take the position of a student learning from others. Likewise, others may be helped by what I am led to study and can take that same position as a student. We are here sharing the Word with each other. We are fellowshipping together.

There is also a tab for prayer requests. If you wish, you can check that out and pray for some of the requests.

I hope you will stay with us for a while and see how God leads you. Certainly, we can learn from you.

Take care-have a good evening-God's blessing to you today.

I was blessed with a clearer understanding of God's word after reading Psalms 139. Thank you Heavenly Father.

Thank you Grae. As I read in that passage & particularly 2 Kings 5:2-4, it was the maid who suggested to Naaman's wife for Naaman to go & visit a prophet in Samaria who would help him. I wasn't intimating that the maid spoke about going to the Jordan & dipping in it seven times, but that she suggested visiting the prophet (Elisha) who would tell him more.

"And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy."

It could well have been that God inspired the maid to say what she did, but I was simply stating the verse. Do you read it another way than I have?

Yes Richard,

And He calmed the storm and walked on water as well, which were miraculous, along with feeding the 5000 x two from a few fish and loaves of bread. Oh, and He transfigured before the disciples. Jesus did not release Himself from all of His divine powers in the incarnation, in my opinion. He could do miracles of His own power anytime, but He only did so in obedience to the will of the Father. But some people teach that He "emptied Himself of His divinity" in the incarnation. I do not believe that. Some people teach that he "emptied Himself of His divine power". I do not believe that either, because the divine essence cannot be divided, increased or decreased.

But I do believe that He subjected Himself to the Father in all things, being obedient even unto death. But the part of this that I do not quite understand is, since God is eternal and self-existence and cannot die, did only the human aspect of Jesus die on the cross? Did the divine aspect of Jesus die on the cross, also? If only the human aspect of Jesus died on the cross, what did the divine nature do when Jesus die? I guess I will need to study this more.

I love the way we discuss things and this prompts us to ask questions and dig for anwsers! I hope some will reply with ideas about these questions.

Have a lovely evening.

Hi Mary.

Here is how you define Tabernacle in the Greek by strongs dictionary in

2 Peter 1:14.

Greek:

Transliteration: sknma

Pronunciation: skay'-no-mah

Definition: From G4637; an encampment that is (figuratively) the Temple (as God s residence) the body (as a tenement for the soul): -

It is basically our bodies referred to as a tent. temporary dwelling place for our soul and spirit.

Here in 2 Corinthians 5:2. tabernacle is spelled different in the Greek and have a slightly different meaning.

I have no idea of the significance of the difference.

Maybe we can get some help.

Greek:

Transliteration: sknos

Pronunciation: skay'-nos

Definition: From G4633; a hut or temporary residence that is (figuratively) the human body (as the abode of the spirit): - .

This old body will someday get an upgrade.

Paul makes mention of that in Romans. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:19-23.

I hope this helps.

God bless

I understand your feelings about Alex's comment though I don't believe that we can assume that the only people reading these comments r new to the Bible and Christianity . I'm not new to the Bible or Christianity and the enjoy reading posts that r a bit above my level , I want to learn also . I don't believe that we should censor our comments in order to appeal to the lowest common denominator only . As we all have different personalities and r at different levels in our understanding our posts r liable to b very different from each other . I don't c this as a bad thing , variety is stimulating and it's good to b stimulated into wanting to learn and understand more , I think so anyway . If we all said exactly the same things all the time there wouldn't b any need for more than one person on here . God uses different people to do different things . We r all valid on here and we can all help each other , I hope .

That is true perhaps as best illustrated when He did the miracle of wine into water when His time hadn't come yet. This may have been one time when He was given permission through His own authority and as a favor to those present to do this as this wasn't as a healing or salvation in later public ministry. Thar appears to be immediately after He was driven into the wilderness and fasted 40 days then tempted by Satan. That sacrifice of no longer having a set place to rest His head and traveling with Jerusalem the final destination at the cross was to come

Hey brother S Spencer,

Part 1

May I answer with humility my understanding. The scripture covering the creation of Adam in Genesis 2 is not the same creation of mankind on day six. Looking at Hebrew words, 'asah translated made, denoting something produced, as a work. Hebrew word bara', translated created, with the same implication as to work in all of Genesis 1, that God rested from on the seventh day.

There is a different word used in Genesis 2 for Adam, yatsar, formed meaning to fashion or form for a purpose. This is the same word found in Isaiah 43:21 proclaiming Israel to be 'the people I formed, (yatsar) for Myself', the purpose, to be a light to the nations, Isaiah 49:6. Before the resurrection, only the house of Israel had a covenant with God. John 4:22, Adam's purpose was the bloodline to the Last Adam Jesus.

We see the word ha-'adamah (the ground) now with the creation of Adam in Genesis 2:7, was not the Hebrew word 'erets meaning earth, land, countries, used in Genesis 1. The Hebrew word -eh (field) means field, land, agriculture, which brings in Genesis 2:5 the plants of the field was not in the earth as of yet because there was not a man to till it, husbandry, Adam.

The word translated till is the Hebrew word avad only translate here as till but the meaning is to work and serve, translated 141 times serve, and 7 times worship. What we serve and work at, we worship. Our walk is to till, same as a garden, we plow the field, we plant the seeds, we water, and God brings forth the harvest.



See part 2

Brother S Spencer

Part 2

The Hebrew word tledth means account, record, genealogy, history, These are the generations of, This is the account of, This is the history, etc. It usually comes with a name and it is usually asserted that tledth in Genesis introduces genealogical material which regularly, though not always, follows it.

This, of course, is problematic with Genesis 2:4 and 37:2 since no genealogy follows, and the subject matter covered by the heading appears to precede not follow its appearance. Does the heading, "these are the generations of the heavens and of the earth" precede or follow the subject matter?

Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. In Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. All the hosts of the earth would be all living beings including mankind, on the land, the air, and the waters. Then the seventh day God rests. Genesis 2:4 is after the seventh day and is a summation of Genesis 1, "in the day LORD God made the earth and heavens".

See part 3

My dear Mishael,

The word Trinity arose within the church during the first centuries before the church merged with the Roman Empire to become the Roman Catholic church. So, the word did not come from another religion.

In my opinion, the Roman Catholic church is not another religion than Christianity. It has false teachings as do many Protestant churches as do many individual Christians. But the RCC does profess Jesus properly. it is from the RCC that we get the teachings that He is truly God and truly Man, two natures but only one person; that He is the pre-existing son of God; that He was born of a virgin; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was, buried, and on the third day, arose from the dead bodily, appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, ascended into heaven to the right hand of the Father, will come again to judge the living and the dead, and He shall reign forever and ever. The RCC attests that Jesus died for the sins of the world and in Him is salvation for those who believe. The tenets of our creeds come from the struggles of the church through the centuries over heresies that conflicted with Scripture. The RCC has been the keeper of the gospel for centuries between the time of 500 A.D. and the Reformation, despite its problems.

I do not understand the angst people have towards the RCC and its adherents. I completely understand that there are many tenets they teach that are wrong, but they do profess Jesus correctly. As Paul said, (paraphrase) if someone else preaches the gospel, but is not part of our "group" we should not hinder them. Catholics are our brethren and we should seek to bring them into fuller knowledge of the truths of the word, just as we should do so for anyone caught in error. I think there are Catholic thins we should steer clear of, but I think we should admit we are indebted to the RCC for the preservation of the faith through the centuries until God acted to promote the Reformation. We should be loving.

Brother S Spencer

Part 3

We also see the animals on day 6 are of the erets (earth) and in chapter 2 the animals, beasts, of the -eh (field), not 'erets (earth) and fowls of the -eh (field), not of the water like on day 5. God formed, not made, or created of the ground or water as on days 5 and 6.

On day 3 "let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind", after its kind, no evolution. These were self-bearing plants to feed the beings God would create on days 5 and 6. In chapter 2 these were plants of the field, plants that had to be planted, tilled, and taken care of, a garden.

On day 5 the winged fowls the water brought forth abundantly. In chapter 2 out of the ground God yatsar, formed fowls for Adam to name. When Lord God formed Adam, he was placed in the garden to tend it and was all alone. In Hebrew custom naming someone or something indicated one's authority or ownership of that person/thing. It's the same when God renamed Abram to Abraham and Jacob to Israel. Eve was from Adam's rib. Could all that happen in a 24hr day like day six?

On day six, male and female and God told them to be fruitful and multiply and replenish (fill) the earth. Subdue it: and have dominion over everything. How could Adam and Eve do this from inside the garden of Eden when they were only given one command. If God told them after they were taken out of the garden, God could not have said what He said in Genesis 1:31, everything was very good.

These scriptures are about two different events and chapter 2 was not merely to fill in the details that are presented in Genesis 1.

I could write more but I hope this shows my understanding and like I said before the bloodline of Adam and Seth was on the ark in Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Eve is still the mother of all living because everyone living today comes from Adam and Eve.

God bless,

RLW

I've spent a few days going through the comments section and I'm really surprised that 99% of the comments are about New Testament protocol. Why are there no Old Testament buffs out there? Haven't you had enough of affirmations, much of it based on faulty doctrine? How is it nobody respects the prophets enough to read them and have an opinion on them? How are you supposed to understand the end times if you don't know the times you live in?

For those that are interested would find a light to know some simple hidden truths, like the earthquake in Revelation 6:12 is the same earthquake described in Revelation 11:13. You would know that if you've taken the time to think it through. Nothing is handed to you, except maybe that one.

If I can't exchange prophetic thoughts in this prophetic time, then my time here will be very limited.

Hi Johnny,

Mark 3:33 speaks of the Lord's mother and brother coming to visit Him.

It is not known how many children Mary had. But it is believed that James, who wrote the epistle, and leader of the Jerusalem church, was Jesus' brother or half-brother (if Joseph was a widower first and had children by his first wife).

Jude, who wrote the short book at the end of the epistles, is believed to be Jesus' brother or half-brother.

Also, Simeon, the bishop of the church in Jerusalem after James was martyred, is believed to be one of Jesus' brothers or half-brother.

It is very possible that there were a few other brothers and perhaps as many daughters as there were brothers. Since Mary was in her teens when she had Jesus and married Joseph, and if she had children at normally occurring intervals during her childbearing years, she could have had 10 or more children over this 25 year span unless Joseph died when Mary was still able to bear children, which is historically thought to have occurred, Joseph being much older than Mary.

It is apparent from the gospels that Mary was a widow by the time of Jesus' crucifixion (see what Jesus says to the apostle John concerning His mother). If Joseph was alive, he would have been present Mary at that time and Jesus would not have indicated a need for Mary to be cared for by John.

There is not much historical information about the life of Jesus prior to His baptism by John the Baptist. Nor do we know much about the life of His immediate family. If it was deemed necessary for us to know, it most likely would have been included in Scripture, as Mary accompanied the disciples in the early church years and the information could have been gathered from her.

1 Samuel 28, whole chapter.

Saul was consulting with witches and spirits of the dead. This is why Gods anointing left him.

Yes David

We should live obedient, godly lives because of who God is, not for what we may get from Him.

the more we grow in love for Him, the more we will seek Him for Who He is, because He will be all the Treasure we need.

Hi Dgjot.

I believe this is what you are looking for.

1 Samuel 28:19. Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

Hello Richard,

Well said

Oh, the depths of the riches both the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

Romans 11:33

God is ineffable: too great for words, inexpressible, beyond the limitations of our words or thoughts.

He is transcendent: existing apart from and not subject to the limitations of physical experience.

He is incomprehensible: beyond our ability to fully understand.

He is unfathomable: impossible for us to fully explore or measure the extent of His Being.

He is holy: set apart from any other being. Not like any other creature He created.

He is perfect: complete and uncorrupted in all attributes. without lack of anything.

He is infinite: His perfection never ends, there is never a top capacity to his perfection.

He is sovereign: complete authority over all creation. he is the Supreme Ruler of the universe.

How marvelous He is! makes us kind of speechless before Him.

Yet on the other hand,

God is imminent: He is involved in creation and history. He is Immanuel: God with us.

He is Omnipresent: every present at once.

He is Knowable: God has revealed Himself in history, creation, His Word and in us by His Spirit. But most importantly, by His Son, Jesus Christ. God has revealed to us what He wants us to know of Him so that we can be saved and know the difference between good and evil. This allows us to discern what is of God and what is of the devil or man.

In Heaven we will learn more about God and the spiritual realm, but we will never know all of God. There will still be much about Him that will remain a mystery to us forever. But even so, we will still be completely satisfied by Him. We have limits, He does not, so He will operate in us within our limits as creatures.

I am so glad God is so wonderful and infinitely greater than us. This way He can be ALL to us. We will lack for nothing we need because his riches exceed our ability to possess fully. How wonderful is that!

Generally, female children were not recorded in Genealogies. Unless like Deborah, Mary and others, there was a story of them in the Bible too.

Just type their name in the search engine box and see what comes up.

What are emerods?

Everyone has their own opinion. I will not adopt any Catholic interpretations. They told me I can't take communion in their Churches unless I go thru classes to be accepted. I was 17. But I knew enough to know exclusivism doesn't sound right.

I came from churched, chicken frying, horseshoe throwing, hymn singing, Baptist upbringings. Everyone was thrilled to be Baptized. Everyone got hugged. We all had to listen to "I knew your grandmother way back when stories." I loved those people!

Hello Richard, I love what you wrote concerning our existence in eternity with bodies that will never corrupt, die, or even be in need of healing. We will see the angels and heavenly creatures we could not even imagine nor have words to describe! But best of all, we will see God in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord! In Him the whole Godhead dwells bodily and yet the Godhead is everywhere present. Such an amazing mystery how that works!

I do have one thing I noticed about your post that caused me to pause and think. I wish to speak about it because I have read the same idea in many posts on this forum. You said that Jesus healed others because He had the spirit without measure. This is in that in Jesus the Godhead dwells bodily. But, even so, Jesus, Himself was God the Son, and so, I believe He was able to heal all he chose to heal simply because He was God in the flesh, and therefore had all the power and authority to do every miracle He did. We may be just talking semantics here, but I think it is important to speak of Jesus as both fully God and fully man. He did not need the Spirit to help Him do miracles, but that does not mean that the Spirit was not at work drawing people to Jesus to be healed or delivered from demonic. All three Persons of the Godhead work in harmony to accomplish the purposes of God because they are a unity as well as distinct persons. I 'm going to love heaven when we will be able to understand so much more about God and His workings and ways! He amazes me!

Hello CMF You can find information about the role of women in the church assembly in Paul's letters in Titus 2:3-5; 1Corinthians 11; 14:26-40 and a few other places. In a nutshell, Paul teaches that women should be submissive to their husbands, learn from their godly husbands, pastors, elders, deacons, and also from older women (who have wisdom and experience in the faith and in caring for their families that younger women can learn from).

Paul does state that women should not hold a place of authority over men, nor be a teacher over men (as in the case of a pastor, elder, deacon, or teacher appointed by the church to serve in these capacities.) However, it does not preclude women from teaching other women or children, such as in Sunday School or Bible Study groups.

As individual Christians, we are told by Paul to teach, encourage, exhort, correct, and build one another up in one another's faith through the word and sound doctrine. So. as Christians, men or women, we should be willing to learn from one another as we interact with one another in ways that promote godliness and knowledge of the faith passed down through the apostles.

There are some in the body that will speak that women are to keep silent and not teach at all. For me, when I encounter such persons I respect their point of view and let them carry the conversation or teaching role. But most believers I know accept helpful interchanges between one another regardless of sex as long as such interchanges are godly and centered on Christ.

Hope this helps. You will most likely get a number of responses as this topic comes up often and prompt many to reply.

Be open to hear everyone's responses and be prayerful about what you will receive as applicable to yourself in the situation you had in mind when you asked this question.

God Bless

Hello Alec,

To me, this theme you seem stuck in is constructed of much heresy. As Mishael stated, those who are new Christians or who have not been properly taught the basic essential doctrines of the faith (as Paul mentions existed in the early church to be taught to believers) will be confused and led astray by your doctrinal presentation here (and which you have repeatedly posted about over months). I know you believe that one does not need any one else to teach oneself, just the Bible and the Holy Spirit and that you have followed this strategy. yet, what you have presented her about the Trinity shows how such an approach to learning can go awry, as you have veered far from what has been taught in the Christian faith since the beginning of the gospel.

I do believe that the Holy Spirit will teach us from the Word, but the apostolic writings also tell us that Christians were taught the doctrines of the faith by appointed, pastors, elders, teachers, etc. in the church fellowships. (See 1 Timothy 4)

Alex, I know that you love the Lord Jesus, as I and Mishael do. And so, because we are brethren, we are to teach one another, building one another up in the most holy faith. All Christians should have an openness to receive and learn sound doctrine from one another. And as Christians, we should test ALL doctrine (even our own) against the whole Word of God-not by picking words out of context and weaving them together with one's own words to create a completely different narrative that teaches falsely, like your narrative here does.

When it comes to teachings about the nature of God, the Trinity, Jesus, I feel obligated to offer orthodox teaching when I encounter false doctrines being put forth. So, it is in the spirit of good will that I state these things to you, as I have in past posts, because you continue to re-post the same false doctrines without repentance.

In His Love and By His Grace-

GiGi

Good morning Mishael,

Thank you for your, explanation of the Trinity. It really is such a mystery yet the Bible clearly shows three distinct persons in the Godhead, and also states that God is truly one LORD ( Deut. 6:4). we can see the manifestation of the trinity at Jesus' baptism with the Son incarnated in Jesus, the Father speaking in an audible voice from heaven, and the Holy Spirit's descent upon Jesus. If one reads the Last Supper Discourse in John 14-17 one will note that Jesus speaks of the Father and the Holy Spirit as distinct persons but then He states the oneness of the three persons.

It is not just the Catholic church that affirms this, rather most traditional Protestant churches affirm this doctrine also. However, it was the Catholic church through those early centuries that repeatedly refuted the various heresies that evolved in those times concerning the nature of God. Among those heresies, there are a few that have emerged in recent times:

Modalism: teaches that God is only one person yet manifests Himself at different times as Father, Son, and Spirit. Scripture references Jesus speaking at the Last Supper Discourse of the Father and Spirit as real persons He was in relationship with. Yet Jesus also speaks of these Persons also being one with Him. ( John 14-18)

Adoptionism: teaches that Jesus attained godhood by living a perfect sinless life. Yet Scripture shows us that Jesus pre-existed His conception in Mary when He said to the Pharisees, "before Abraham was I am." During the Last Supper discourse, Jesus also asked the Father "glorify Me together with You, with the glory which I had with You before the world was." ( John 17:5) Paul states that the world was created by Jesus, so He existed eternally as God the Son before anything was created. ( Hebrews 1:1-3) and elsewhere.

Rejection of Jesus' divinity: Some sects in Christianity that hold to this doctrine teach that Jesus was just a perfect man, not part of the Godhead.