Results 1 - 13 of 13
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Nikkicole Ordered by Date |
||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Receiving Christ - Works? | Bible general Archive 2 | Nikkicole | 139194 | ||
What the Evidence Shows A government official of the city of St. Petersburg, Russia, explained: “Jehovah’s Witnesses were presented to us as some kind of underground sect sitting in the darkness and slaughtering children and killing themselves.” However, the people of Russia have recently become better acquainted with the true nature of the Witnesses. After working with Jehovah’s Witnesses in connection with an international convention, the same official observed: “Now I see normal, smiling people, even better than many people I know. They are peaceful and calm, and they love one another very much.” He added: “I really do not understand why people tell such lies about them.” Jehovah’s Witnesses do not hold ritualistic meetings, nor is their worship cloaked in secrecy. Non-Witness author Julia Mitchell Corbett notes: “When they meet, usually more than once a week, in Kingdom Halls (their meeting sites are not called churches), most of their time is spent in Bible study and discussion.” The meetings are open, and the general public is invited to attend. Unannounced guests are more than welcome. The “Witnesses have earned the reputation of being honest, courteous, and industrious,” adds Corbett in her book Religion in America. Many who are not Witnesses readily acknowledge that there is nothing freakish or bizarre about Jehovah’s Witnesses. Their conduct does not clash with what is accepted as normal social behavior. The New Encyclopædia Britannica accurately states that the Witnesses “insist upon a high moral code in personal conduct.” The director of news and special projects for a television station in the United States wrote to Jehovah’s Witnesses in response to a biased report about the Witnesses on the TV news show 60 Minutes. He said: “If more people lived the way your faith does, this nation wouldn’t be in the shape it is in. I am one newsman who knows that your organization is founded on love and a strong faith in the Creator. I want you to know that not all News people are as biased.” Is it fair to say that Jehovah’s Witnesses are a small fringe religious group? In a sense, Jehovah’s Witnesses are few in number compared to some religions. However, recall what Jesus said: “Narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.”—Matthew 7:13, 14. At any rate, the Witnesses are far from being a small fringe cult. In the spring of 1993, more than 11 million people attended the Witnesses’ Memorial of Christ’s death. But more important than their number are their moral character and exemplary behavior, which have brought them worldwide commendation. More important, they are engaged in an educational program that has no comparison. How many religions have an organized system to pay personal visits to every individual in their community? Jehovah’s Witnesses do this in more than 200 lands and in more than 200 languages! Clearly, Jehovah’s Witnesses are “absorbed in humanity.” |
||||||
2 | meaning of isaiah 50:7 | Bible general Archive 2 | Nikkicole | 139156 | ||
To ‘set or direct one’s face’ has the sense of looking toward some goal, purpose, or desire (Ge 31:21; 1Ki 2:15; 2Ki 12:17), and it carries the thought of strong intention and determination. (2Ch 20:3; Da 11:16-19; Lu 9:51-53) Daniel ‘set his face to Jehovah’ in that he earnestly sought Him, looking to him for help. (Da 9:3; compare 2Co 1:11.) Strong determination is often reflected in the countenance by the firm set of the lips and jaw, as well as the steadiness of the gaze. Isaiah ‘set his face like a flint’ in his determination not to let enemy attempts turn him from his assigned ministry. (Isa 50:7) Rebellious Judeans “made their faces harder than a crag” in their obstinacy and refusal to accept correction. (Jer 5:3) On the other hand, Jehovah’s ‘setting his face against’ the violators of his righteous law meant their being rejected and condemned, resulting in calamity or death.—Le 17:10; 20:3-6; Jer 21:10; compare 1Pe 3:12. To get more bible questions answered, copy and paste the following link. http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/1998/12/15/article_01.htm |
||||||
3 | What tells scripture about hell? | Mark 9:45 | Nikkicole | 139153 | ||
This raises the question: Did Almighty God create such a place of torment? Well, what was God’s view when the Israelites, following the example of peoples who lived nearby, began to burn their children in fire? He explains in his Word: “They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart.”—Jeremiah 7:31. Think about this. If the idea of roasting people in fire had never come into God’s heart, does it seem reasonable that he created a fiery hell for those who do not serve him? The Bible says, “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) Would a loving God really torment people forever? Would you do so? Knowing of God’s love should move us to turn to his Word to find out just what hell is. Who go there, and for how long? Webster’s Dictionary says that the English word “hell” is equal to the Hebrew word Sheol and the Greek word Hades. In German Bibles Hoelle is the word used instead of “hell”; in Portuguese the word used is inferno, in Spanish infierno, and in French Enfer. The English translators of the Authorized Version, or King James Version, translated Sheol 31 times as “hell,” 31 times as “grave,” and 3 times as “pit.” Let us make clear that the Hebrew word Sheol and the Greek word Hades mean the same thing. This is shown by looking at Psalm 16:10 in the Hebrew Scriptures and Acts 2:31 in the Christian Greek Scriptures, which verses you can see on the next page. Notice that in quoting from Psalm 16:10 where Sheol occurs, Acts 2:31 uses Hades. Notice, too, that Jesus Christ was in Hades, or hell. Are we to believe that God tormented Christ in a hell of fire? Of course not! Jesus was simply in his grave To learn more and get more bible questions answered, copy and paste the following link. http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2002/7/15/article_02.htm |
||||||
4 | Are you interested in studying with me? | Bible general Archive 2 | Nikkicole | 139126 | ||
... |
||||||
5 | Did Jesus ever drink wine? | Bible general Archive 2 | Nikkicole | 139125 | ||
The recorded history of wine making is more than forty-three hundred years old, the oldest account telling how Noah planted a vineyard after the Flood and made wine from its grapes. (Gen. 9:20, 21) From earliest times this beverage has been used at mealtime, (Gen. 27:25; Eccl. 9:7) Wine, bread and other foods are often associated together. (1 Sam. 16:20; Song of Sol. 5:1; Isa. 22:13; 55:1) Melchizedek set “bread and wine” before Abraham. (Gen. 14:18-20) Jesus drank wine with his meals when it was available.—Matt. 11:19; Luke 7:34. Wine was very much a part of special celebration—banquets (Esther 1:7; 5:6; 7:2, 7, 8; Dan. 5:1, 2, 4), wedding feasts (John 2:3, 9, 10; 4:46), and other festivals. (1 Chron. 12:39, 40; Job 1:13, 18) The royal commissaries were stocked with wines (1 Chron. 27:27; 2 Chron. 11:11); King Solomon had his “house of wine” (Song of Sol. 2:4); it was the customary beverage of kings and governors. (Neh. 2:1; 5:15, 18; Dan. 1:5, 8, 16) Travelers often included it in their provisions for the journey.—Josh. 9:4, 13; Judg. 19:19. Wine and its proper use are not censured, but drunkenness and lack of self-control are Scripturally prohibited and condemned. “Woe to those who are getting up early in the morning that they may seek just intoxicating liquor, who are lingering till late in the evening darkness so that wine itself inflames them!” (Isa. 5:11) “Who has woe? Who has uneasiness? Who has contentions? Who has concern? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has dullness of eyes? Those staying a long time with the wine, those coming in to search out mixed wine.” (Prov. 23:29, 30) “Do not come to be among heavy drinkers of wine,” for an excess of alcohol causes “poverty,” “drowsiness,” ‘takes away good motive,’ causes “rage,” “loafing about,” or makes one “boisterous.”—Prov. 23:20, 21; Hos. 4:11; 7:5, 14; Zech. 9:15. |
||||||
6 | About the Rapture... | Bible general Archive 2 | Nikkicole | 139124 | ||
Does the Bible teach that there will be a rapture of all true Christians to heaven? Will they be taken away leaving the rest of mankind behind to face calamity? Actually, the word “rapture” is not found in the Bible. The belief is based on 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17, where the related words “caught away” are found. There we read: “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first. Afterward we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” Believers in the rapture give the following literal interpretation to this passage: Christ will again come to the earth. The dead “saints” will be resurrected and the living “saints” will be caught away, or raptured. Given new immortal bodies, they will rise and join Christ in the air, and he will take them to heaven. This belief, then, is tied in with the return of Jesus Christ. But what does the Bible show to be the purpose of Christ’s return? The Bible does not indicate that there will be a literal, bodily return of Christ to earth. Rather, it shows that he returns in the sense of turning his attention to the earth and to accomplish certain definite purposes respecting mankind. To learn more and get more bible questions answered, copy and paste and log on to website http://www.watchtower.org/library/pr/index.htm |
||||||
7 | marriage and masturbation. | Bible general Archive 2 | Nikkicole | 139123 | ||
Well, then, do the Christian Greek Scriptures say anything about masturbation? No, they do not discuss the subject. Not even wet dreams are mentioned. But does that mean that the Christian Greek Scriptures give no direction in forming a proper attitude toward masturbation? No, it does not. Consider Colossians 3:5, which reads: “Deaden, therefore, your body members that are upon the earth as respects fornication, uncleanness, sexual appetite, hurtful desire, and covetousness.” And 1 Thessalonians 4:4, 5 says: “Each one . . . should . . . get possession of his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in covetous sexual appetite such as also those nations have which do not know God.” Such counsel applies to married Christians as well as to those who are single, but even more restraint needs to be exercised by single persons since finding relief of passion by sexual relations is limited to those who are married. Can you see that masturbation is a practice that violates the command to deaden “sexual appetite”? True, Jehovah created humans with an appetite, or desire, for sex, even as he created us with an appetite for food and drink. So the Bible is not saying that having sexual appetite is wrong, just as it does not condemn having a natural, proper appetite for food and drink. Yet we know that in our imperfect condition, appetites can get out of control. A person can come to have an inordinate desire for food or alcoholic beverages and become a glutton or a drunkard. Similarly, sex can become a chief or prominent part of a person’s life, and he can thus become like people of the nations who have a “covetous sexual appetite.” A person who masturbates is putting improper emphasis on sex. He feeds and enlivens his sexual craving in a wrong way. Yet not only men are involved; there has been an increase of masturbation among women. God, however, provided humans the gift of sex to use within the arrangement of marriage. But a masturbator is using sex outside the marriage arrangement for personal gratification. Such a person needs to deaden his sexual appetite in order to please God. He needs to cultivate the self-control that is necessary to de-emphasize sex in his life and to leave his sexual organs to adjust to any pressures in the normal way. To get more bible questions answered, copy and paste the following link http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/1999/7/15a/article_01.htm |
||||||
8 | Searching for the truth | Bible general Archive 2 | Nikkicole | 139122 | ||
... | ||||||
9 | Women Preachers? Yes or No? | Bible general Archive 2 | Nikkicole | 139121 | ||
Those charged with oversight of a congregation are described in the Bible as being males. The 12 apostles of Jesus Christ were all males, and those later appointed to be overseers and ministerial servants in Christian congregations were males. (Matt. 10:1-4; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12) Women are counseled to “learn in silence with full submissiveness” at congregation meetings, in that they do not raise questions challenging the men in the congregation. The women are ‘not to speak’ at such meetings if what they might say would demonstrate lack of subjection. (1 Tim. 2:11, 12; 1 Cor. 14:33, 34) Thus, although women make valuable contributions to the activity of the congregation, there is no provision for them to preside, or to take the lead by instructing the congregation, when qualified men are present. But may women be preachers, proclaimers, ministers of the good news, outside the congregation meetings? At Pentecost of 33 C.E. holy spirit was poured out on both men and women. In explanation, the apostle Peter quoted Joel 2:28, 29, saying: “‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I shall pour out some of my spirit upon every sort of flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams; and even upon my men slaves and upon my women slaves I will pour out some of my spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.’” (Acts 2:17, 18) In like manner today, women properly share in the Christian ministry, preaching from house to house and conducting home Bible studies.—See also Psalm 68:11; Philippians 4:2, 3. To get more questions answered, copy and paste the following link. http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/1998/12/15/article_01.htm |
||||||
10 | WHY DON'T WE TEACH THE CROSS? | Bible general Archive 2 | Nikkicole | 139120 | ||
The Greek word rendered “cross” in many modern Bible versions (“torture stake” in NW) is stau·ros´. In classical Greek, this word meant merely an upright stake, or pale. Later it also came to be used for an execution stake having a crosspiece. The Imperial Bible-Dictionary acknowledges this, saying: “The Greek word for cross, [stau·ros´], properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling [fencing in] a piece of ground. . . . Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole.” Was that the case in connection with the execution of God’s Son? It is noteworthy that the Bible also uses the word xy´lon to identify the device used. A Greek-English Lexicon, by Liddell and Scott, defines this as meaning: “Wood cut and ready for use, firewood, timber, etc. . . . piece of wood, log, beam, post . . . cudgel, club . . . stake on which criminals were impaled . . . of live wood, tree.” It also says “in NT, of the cross,” and cites Acts 5:30 and 10:39 as examples Thus the weight of the evidence indicates that Jesus died on an upright stake and not on the traditional cross. To get more Bible questions answered, copy and past following link. http://www.watchtower.org/library/rq/article_11.htm |
||||||
11 | what is meant by "balm in Gilead? | Bible general Archive 2 | Nikkicole | 139119 | ||
The “balsam [Heb., tsori´] in Gilead” appears to have been of a unique quality and possessed of special medicinal properties. (Jer 8:22; 46:11) This balsam is first mentioned as among the articles carried by the caravan of Ishmaelites from Gilead, E of the Jordan, and to whom Joseph was subsequently sold. (Ge 37:25-28) Jacob later included it in with “the finest products of the land” when sending a gift to Egypt with his returning sons. (Ge 43:11) According to Ezekiel 27:17, the wealthy merchants of Tyre imported it from the kingdom of Judah. References to the healing virtues of balsam, chiefly as a cure for wounds, are common in ancient literature. All references to such healing properties in the Scriptures are made by Jeremiah. He uses these, however, in a figurative sense, first when lamenting the spiritual breakdown in Judah (Jer 8:14, 15, 21, 22; compare Jas 5:14, 15), then in chiding Egypt as to her vain efforts to avoid defeat by Babylon (Jer 46:11-13), and finally in pronouncing God’s judgment of calamity against Babylon.—Jer 51:8-10. Identification of the specific plants or trees represented by the Hebrew words bo´sem and tsori´ is not definite. The name “balsam of Gilead” has been applied to a shrublike evergreen tree called Commiphora opobalsamum (or, Commiphora gileadensis). Its greenish-yellow oily resin is gathered by making incisions in the stem and branches, and the little balls of sap that form are later collected. While this particular tree is found chiefly in S Arabia, the Jewish historian Josephus indicates that it was cultivated around Jericho in Solomon’s time, and the Greek geographer Strabo records that in Roman times it was also grown beside the Sea of Galilee. To get more Bible questions answer copy and paste the following hyperlink and logon to website. www.watchtower.org |
||||||
12 | Receiving Christ - Works? | Bible general Archive 2 | Nikkicole | 139118 | ||
Faith Produces Fine Works Besides making us loving and merciful, faith produces other fine works. (James 2:14-26) Of course, professed faith that lacks works is not going to save us. True, we cannot earn a righteous standing with God by works of the Law. (Romans 4:2-5) James is talking about works motivated, not by a law code, but by faith and love. If we are moved by such qualities, we will not merely express kind wishes for a needy fellow worshiper. We will give material aid to an unclad or hungry brother or sister. James asks: ‘If you tell a needy brother: “Go in peace, keep warm and well fed” but do not provide the necessities, of what benefit is that?’ None. (Job 31:16-22) Such “faith” is lifeless! We may be associating with God’s people to some extent, but only wholehearted works can back up our claim that we have faith. It is fine if we have rejected the Trinity doctrine and believe that there is one true God. Yet, mere belief is not faith. “The demons believe,” and they “shudder” fearfully because destruction awaits them. If we truly have faith, it will move us to produce such works as preaching the good news and providing food and clothing for needy fellow believers. James asks: “Do you care to know, O empty man [not filled with accurate knowledge of God], that faith apart from works is inactive?” Yes, faith calls for action. To learn more copy and paste the following link and logon to the website for more Biblical answers. http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2002/4/1/article_01.htm |
||||||
13 | Still looking for an answer. | Is 14:12 | Nikkicole | 139117 | ||
Revelation 12:9 "So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him." Revelation 12:12 "On this account be glad, YOU heavens and YOU who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to YOU, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” To learn more copy and paste the hyperlink below, and go to website to get many more questions answered: http://www.watchtower.org/library/t22/who_rules.htm |
||||||