Results 161 - 180 of 190
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Bill Richardson Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
161 | When did the hebrew become jew and why | Gen 11:16 | Bill Richardson | 230729 | ||
MJH, I agree with your answer for the most part but I thought I might add a little something. God did provide for an alternate way for a Gentile to become part of God's Jewish family although most Jews didn't seem to appreciate the idea. The two most prominent were 1) Rahab the harlot who hid the spies for the conquering nation as they spied out Jericho, Joshua 2 and 2) Ruth who became a wife to Boaz and literally becomes part of the lineage to Christ Himself. The Book of Ruth is really one of the most powerful love stories in the Bible. So it was quite possible for a Gentile to become a Jew. The Israelite nation never did appreciate God's sentiment in this matter as indicated in... Is 66:18 “For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. 19 I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. AND THEY SHALL DECLARE MY GLORY AMOUNG THE GENTILES. 20 Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the LORD out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the LORD. (My emphasis with all caps above.) Go with God in all things, my friend. Bill |
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162 | Affecting the Vatican | NT general | Bill Richardson | 230728 | ||
In my humble opinion, I don't think so. King Herod and his reign pre-dated the Kingdom of God through His Son. The transfer of power from the Roman Empire to the Vatican is the biggest source of influence. The desintigration of the Roman Empire left a big gaping hole in the political arena of the world. If you'll check your history books, you'll discover the development of Papal power was a very gradual thing. We don't know all the details but we do know there were eventually 5 major cities with their own "chief bishops/elders," at that time called Patriarchs. These cities were Jerusalem, Constantinople, Rome, Alexandra and Antioch. It all probably started innocently enough as most things started by God and messed up by mankind. God's Word always provides for plural "elders" whenever cited in the scriptures, with NO chief elder. And this pattern was followed as much as possible with the assistance from the Holy Spirit and Paul's sons of the faith: Timothy and Titus. But then Paul also predicted the coming apostacy (falling away) and the coming of deceivers within the Lord's church. 2 Thes 2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Acts 20:29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. The gradual build up of "chief elders" was probably done to improve things, i.e. efficiency and speed of making decisions on a wide scale, city-wide. Eventually these five cities began to literally compete for the position of being the "main man" of the whole church with the final two combatant cities being Rome and Constantinople. They even sent out armies against each other and killed many thousands of people all "in the name of Christ." Yes what a tremendous tragedy. All this strife eventually resulted in two major branches of the Lord's church: the Catholics in Rome and the Greek Orthodox in Constantinople, now known as Istanbul. All this is described in more detail in a book entitled "Church History" by John D. Cox. He takes us on through the Dark Ages, Reformation and the Restoration, very inlightening. Sorry for all the extra detail. Go with God in all things. Bill |
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163 | what kind of person was ezekial | Ezekiel | Bill Richardson | 230715 | ||
From Wikipedia: The author of the Book of Ezekiel shows himself as Ezekiel, the son of Buzi,[Ezekiel 1:3] born into a priesthood (Kohen) lineage of the patrilineal line of Ithamar, and resident of Anathoth. The author dates ages, prophecies and visions by making references to the lengths of time King Jehoiachin of Judah was in exile. Under the direction of Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylonian armies exiled three thousand Jews from Judah, deposing King Jehoiachin in 597 BCE. In reference to Ezekiel being in his "thirtieth year... during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile",[Ezekiel 1:1, 2] it could be determined that he was born c. 622 BCE. According to Matthew Henry, Ezekiel is also believed to have been known as Nazaratus Assyrius, a teacher to Pythagorus. However, James Ussher, in his writings of the Ussher chronology, republished as "The Annals of the World" claims that this is a mistake, basing his opinion on the writings of Clemens Alexandrinus. However, Sir William Smith, in his "Bible Dictionary," points out that John Selden, among others, consider it a possibility. In the book "Pythagoras: Greek philosopher" it states; "Nazaratus, the Assyrian, one of Pythagoras' masters, was supposed to be the prophet Ezekiel, and Thomas Stanley's Life of Pythagoras says that Ezekiel and Pythagoras flourished together. We have to remember all of God's prophets were inspired by Him to communicate His Message of Love and Concern for His people, His beloved Israelites. In spite of all their wonderful history of miracles done before the very eyes of their ancestor, they as a nation had such an extreme habit of being unfaithful to their God. They would repent for a little while but then they would return to their sinful ways. Ezekial was a little more visionary than most and described many unusual scenes in his writings. But we must remember that all of this was written to a specific audience. Some of the symbols don't mean much to us and are difficult to interpret so there's some controvesies as to their meanings. Are theses writings applicable to us in this century? Absolutely. They give us some indication of just how wonderful Heaven will be and how much our God truly loves all mankind. He inspired so many different kinds of men from all walks of life to write from their background and communicated in a tremendous variety of writing styles but God is consistent with one idea. And that is that He loves His Creation of human beings above all else, Jn 3:16. Go with God in all things, Bill |
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164 | Mt. of Transfiguration? | NT general | Bill Richardson | 230705 | ||
Quoted from Matt 17... Matt 17:2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. From Clarke's Commentary... Verse 2. Was transfigured That fulness of the Godhead, which dwelt bodily in Christ, now shone forth through the human nature, and manifested to his disciples not only that Divinity which Peter had before confessed, Matthew 16:16, but also the glorious resurrection body, in which they should exist in the presence of God to eternity. Clarke gives us a comment on Jesus' being or appearance but he doesn't proffer one on that of Moses or Elijah. It seems curious that the passage in Jude doesn't include that of Elijah. The most curious item is the fact that this passage in Jude is the single instance of mention (with no further details) and there is no other ocassion of Satan's fighting over anyone else's body. Therefore it would be, in my humble opinion, dangerous to speculate about the passage in Jude. The only other comment about Moses' appearance is from... Lk 9:30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. What does "appeared in glory" mean? Who could know; Clarke doesn't comment on it. Is it safe to speculate any further? I would choose not to do so. Go with God in all things, Bill |
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165 | who was the first person jesus saved? | Bible general Archive 4 | Bill Richardson | 230699 | ||
MJH, I'm afraid I would have to disagree as even in the case of the secular and objective world of "Wikipedia" the definition of salvation is pretty clear as follows... Within religion salvation is the phenomenon of being saved from the undesirable condition of bondage or suffering experienced by the psyche or soul that has arisen as a result of unskillful or immoral actions generically referred to as sins. Salvation may also be called "deliverance" or "redemption" from sin and its effects. Salvation is a concept common to most of the world's great religions and is in many respects the principal goal of religious practice. Depending on the religious tradition, salvation is considered to be caused either by the free will and grace of God (Theistic religion) or by personal responsibility and self-effort (e.g. the sramanic and yogic traditions of India). Religions often emphasize the necessity of both personal effort (e.g. repentance and asceticism) and divine action. And since we're on a Bible Study Forum with participation with serious Bible students, I would further state that we all agree salvation from God Almighty is only available through one single avenue as stated by Jesus Himself... Jn 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Now true enough Jesus did heal a multitude of folks with many different and varied problems, including diseses and demons. But if I remember correctly, He only said those "magic words" indicating being saved to the thief on the cross (and him only)... Lk 23:43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Can you tell me the Bible scripture that would indicate an alternate definition of salvation? And remember now, we are talking about those whom Jesus saved. Please advise and go with God in all things. Bill |
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166 | How do I control my emotions for betraya | Bible general Archive 4 | Bill Richardson | 230695 | ||
In addition to CDBJ's good answer, I can offer one more bit of guidance and refer you to the way Jesus responded to His betrayal. We all remember the story of Judas' betrayal kiss and Jesus' horrible mockery of a trial with the resulting execution, history's most gruesome and painful way to die. But my point is He took it all in with complete submission to His Father. What is my point to you? Now that your whole congregation knows about the goings-on of this errant person, I'm sure the true christians in your group will treat the person with the right amount of love so as to aim for their repentance. That love might have to be "tough love" and mean a reasonable amount of distrust and caution when it comes to all relationships. BUT the most important point is this all MUST be done with love toward their coming back to the Lord in repentance. If it helps re-read the whole story of Jesus and His Journey to the Cross. None of us have a reason to complain. Just my thoughts. Go with God in all things, Bill |
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167 | Can a believer be demon possessed? | Bible general Archive 4 | Bill Richardson | 230694 | ||
CDBJ's answer is quite good. Just thought I add another thought. In addition, I've been taught the devil and his demons have been restricted by God during this Christian Dispensation as reflected in... Rev 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. So yes indeed our God has imprisoned Satan for a little while but we should devote ourselves as shown in... Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Go with God in all things, Bill |
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168 | right type of bible to use | Bible general Archive 4 | Bill Richardson | 230685 | ||
I have found through much experience in my personal study and in teaching Bible class that it's best NOT to develop too much of an addiction to any one version as they are all compiled and interpreted by men. We humans are inclined to mistakes. Don't get me wrong; God's Word is Absolutely Inerrant and Perfect but that was the autograph edition which didn't survive the 1st century and for good reason. Can you imagine if we really did have an actual autograph edition of the very first few copies of God's Word? First of all, they would turn into icons of worship, taking our focus off our Lord and Creator. Second it would require all of us to learn ancient Koine Greek. Anyway, through the ages the Bible needed to be updated to become readable to all mankind thus the hundreds of versions and the sub-versions. I've found it's best to pick out several of the best, the most reliable ones with the widest reputation of acceptability within the scholarly community and use those for both personal study and leading a class. My favorites are the NKJV and the NASB. I also have NIV but it does have a couple of problems but it's so easy to read. So again appreciate each version for its own strengths and beware each of its weaknesses. Then you'll be prepared to handle the tough questions when someone brings up somthing "misinterpreted" by a particular version. (This also will minimize embarrassing apoligies after finding out your mistake because of your version with that misintertation. Yeah, been there and done that.) It's also ideal to have someone in the congregation who has studied the original Greek version so you can settle some of your worst arguments with someone who's particularly stubborn on one or more issues. Go with God in all things, Bill PS: I really should explain "sub-versions" above. By that I mean the ones we as serious Bible students should discard, i.e. The Living Bible and other so-called "paraphrase" versions. Another hint I didn't make clear: It's NOT a good idea to buy the latest, neat-looking Bible with all those "great" helps. I did it and learned to regret spending so much money. Now that version sits in my library shelf not used so much. Just another bit of advice from us graduates of the School of Hard Knocks. |
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169 | Can women be bishops? | NT general | Bill Richardson | 230683 | ||
I'm afraid the answer is No, at least for those ladies who wish to obey and please the Lord. Also, it needs to be said that bishops, elders, shepards, overseers and pastors are all in reference to the same function or person in the first century when the church was established. And of course the qualifications are quite clear throughout the NT... 1 Tim 3:1 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, THE HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. (My emphasis with all caps above.) BUT don't let this dishearten you. This is just God's Order of things like the earth circling the sun and our putting the horse in front of the cart. We all have our assigned roles from God in this world. Elders are to be stewards of God's Word enforcing His Provisions and Patterns like that done in 1 Cor 5 with the incestuous relationship, corrected with repentance in II Cor 2. When we follow God's Perfect Pattern that it reduces our chances for making mistakes as we humans are inclined to do. Tit 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, AS A STEWARD OF GOD, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 1 Cor 4:1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. Also women do serve a great and important function in the Lord's church in training the young women as provided in... Tit 2:3 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— 4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. So we all have our assigned duties and should rejoice in that we don't have nearly the burden like the Jews in the OT, with at least 633 rules and regulations from the Law of Moses. I hope this helps. Go with God IN all things. Bill |
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170 | Was Matthew a carpenter? | Matt 9:9 | Bill Richardson | 230664 | ||
life, Maybe you're confusing two prominent figures in the Bible: 1) Jesus Christ who most certainly was a carpenter following in the footsteps of His earthly father and 2) Matthew who was a tax collector as Azure has mentioned already. So once again such a mix-up is easily resolved with just a little Bible study. You really need to spend some more time His Word. Go with God in ALL His Ways and all areas of your life and God will bless you. Bill |
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171 | What is God's unconditional love? | Eph 1:3 | Bill Richardson | 230659 | ||
In addition to the good responses you've already received, I thought you might be interested in this discussion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Loves Go with God in all things, Bill |
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172 | Hezekiah | Bible general Archive 4 | Bill Richardson | 230657 | ||
life, I'd like to assume you're "brand spanking new" to the concept of being a Bible student. I've been a Bible student for a long time and I really do appreciate a little humor now and again but these two questions of yours are rather too much for most people's taste for us serious Bible students. So I'm going to assume from the newness of your registration that you just didn't know any better. Both of these questions can easily be answered with just a little bit of Bible study. So why don't you do that and come back to us with the answers AND some more really challenging questions. I and everyone else will really appreciate it. I really do hope to see some more mature questions from you, my dear friend. Go with God in all things. Bill |
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173 | who was the first person jesus saved? | Bible general Archive 4 | Bill Richardson | 230649 | ||
Good answer Beja. I'm only guessing Patorsma is asking if Jesus actually saved anyone during his 3 and 1/2 year ministry while here on earth. His main purpose and top priority as directed by His Father was to be the Perfect Sacrifice for all mankind and give us all the opportunity to be saved, as reflected by Beja. So the only person who would really qualify to the assumed stipulations mentioned above would have to be the thief on the cross. He was the only one who had actual assurance from Jesus Himself before He died that he too would "join Him in Paradise." Interesting question. Go with God in all things. Bill |
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174 | Safe passage from Earth to Heaven | John 14:6 | Bill Richardson | 230645 | ||
I have to agree with Azure. The OT is dominated by the thread of prophecy about the coming Messiah and is completely fulfilled in the NT. So the Bible is indeed God's telling all mankind He does want us to return to Him and now He has provided a road map. We MUST comply with Jesus' Instructions: Jn 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” So this also means we must follow the sacred Guidance from the Holy Spirit as reflected through His Representatives, the Apostles throughout the whole NT. Go with God in all things, Bill |
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175 | is there a purgatory | Bible general Archive 4 | Bill Richardson | 230644 | ||
First of all let's define the word or concept. From my dictionary: Purgatory 1) is the intermediate state after death for expiatory purification; a place or state of punishment wherein according to Roman Catholic doctrine the souls of those who die in God's grace may make satisfaction for past sins and so become fit for heaven 2) a place or state of temporary suffering or misery (the return trip was absolute...) I'm not really sure who actually originated this concept (593 AD) but it seems the biggest proponent at least to the secular world was John Milton. He wrote "Paradise Lost" and made this concept rather famous, 1667 AD. Of course all of this is in direct contradiction to God's Word. I can think of two scriptures that clearly teach against this concept. Heb 9:24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 AND AS IT IS APPOINTED FOR MEN TO DIE ONCE, BUT AFTER THIS THE JUDGMENT, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (All caps above done for emphasis.) Jesus parable about Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16. There Jesus emphasizes the gulf separating the rich man so he could get no relief. Jesus depiction of hell here is simply scary with no chance of escape. Surely, if there were the slightest way of getting out of such a place our Lord, as compassionate as He was would have mentioned it. This idea of purgatory was probably someone's attempt to satisfy some rich person on his death bed after a life of many wrongs and leaving God out of life. In exchange he probably left his wealth to the church. Go with God in all things my dear friend, Bill |
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176 | division? | 1 Cor 14:1 | Bill Richardson | 230641 | ||
I think it's worthwhile to note that in both cases, the OT and NT were progressive as compared with their contemporaries in the world at that time. God has always been far more decent to women than most men of the world are inclined to be. It also needs to be said that all of us, men and women MUST follow our roles as provided by God. This Guidance from God does place men over women, just as He placed His Son over the church, His bride. In no way does this imply a position of one superior or inferior to the other. It's simply the Order of God's World, much like we put a horse in front of the cart or a car in front of the trailer. But I'll be first to admit the very real truth to the old axiom: "Behind every good man stands a good (and sometimes better) woman." God's Way is ALWAYS the best way. Go with God in all things. Bill |
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177 | Acts 17:6 Who is Jason? | NT general | Bill Richardson | 230640 | ||
We need to remember that people of this period didn't have additional names as we do in this century. So Jason was just another character in God's story about the spread of His Son's Gospel to the world. Sometimes God's Word mentions a person just one time like Melchizedek which is really surprising since our Lord is compared to him, Ps 110. Then there's others like Lydia and Philemon, mentioned briefly for a specific purpose and the narrative moves on. God's Word is basically a Love Letter from God to all mankind, reminding us He wants us to come back home to Him. The details like our names and those others in the Bible is not really all that important from an eternal perspective. Go with God in all things, Bill |
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178 | Did Adam have blood before fall? | Lev 17:11 | Bill Richardson | 230638 | ||
I have to agree with the answer above. We're not given much detail but we at least know that Adam and Eve were aware of their nakedness and differences between their bodies. Their bodies had to have been fully functional and mature in order to "tend to the Garden" as instructed by the Lord. They were also equipped to reproduce and bear children, without any further changes from God. So their bodies were completely human in every way as are our bodies, thousands of years later. Go with God in all things, Bill |
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179 | astrology, christmas magi (astronomers) | Bible general Archive 4 | Bill Richardson | 230637 | ||
As you say, the Bible does clearly teach against our consulting mediums and people of that sort. And yet we do have this wonderful story of wise men visiting our Lord soon after His birth, WITH specific assistance from God so as to save the baby from execution. And to save the wise men from probably losing their lives so as to keep the news of this whole event from spreading any further. So how do we handle this star business leading the wise men to their destination? I can only respond by saying it's in the same category with the Lord's leading of the Israelite nation by cloud in the daytime and a pillar of fire at nightime. We could compare this phenomenon to Moses parting the Red Sea with his staff and closing at his choosing to destroy the Pharoah's army. These are all extrodinary exceptions to God's Physical Law of Nature which He Started when He Created the whole universe. He did it again with the burning bush while talking to Moses. Then we have the other wonderful miracles from Jesus and His Apostles. We have the other miracles of God's prophets in the Old Testament. All of these are in direct but temporary opposition to the Laws of Physics and Nature as we know them. So we're forced to accept this manifestation of God's Power once again. As miracles go, don't you think this was a wonderful way for God to show off his son. Both to the wise men of the world AND to humble servants such a shepards. We don't really have much to go on as to how the wise men figured out this star was worth following so once again we just accept God's Wisdom which is so far above our own. Go with God in all things my friend, Bill |
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180 | Genesis 4:24 Lamech assumption? | Genesis | Bill Richardson | 230628 | ||
It's a little easier to understand this assumption when we check the Genesis record and see that in all liklihood, Cain was still alive as was Adam and Eve and most of their whole clan. So the stories from these famous people was still fresh on their minds in spite of their ages of several hundred years each. (They probably shared these kinds of stories around the campfire for many generations. I like to think the Garden of Eden left a very vivid impression on Adam and Eve. And holding one-on-one conversations with God Almighty was totally awesome.) Cain's reputation was probably widely disseminated then as it is now. Further, since God hadn't given out much Guidance it's not difficult to understand how a person like Lamech might have made such a conclusion. Remember all mankind likes to think we're great thinkers and problem solvers. Our biggest problem: we like to do ALL this thinking and solving without God's Input. Big mistake. He created us and knows what makes us tick far better than the wisest amoung us. But most are like your's truly and graduate from the University of Hard Knocks and then go back for our Masters and PhD. Yeah, after we get enough bumps and bruises, by NOT following His Perfect Maintenance Manual, His Word, we finally go to Him for Advice. Well, enough of my stuff. Go with God in all things, my friend. Bill |
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