Results 21 - 40 of 74
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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Truthfinder Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
21 | sons of god as in early gen | Gen 6:2 | Truthfinder | 80178 | ||
Hi Phil, The first mention of "sons of the true God" is at Genesis 6:2-4. There such sons are spoken of as 'beginning to notice the daughters of men, that they were good-looking; and they went taking wives for themselves, namely, all whom they chose,' this prior to the global Flood. Many commentators hold that these 'sons of God' were themselves human, being in reality men of the line of Seth. They base their argument on the fact that Seth's line was that through which godly Noah came, whereas the other lines from Adam, that of Cain and those of any other sons born to Adam (Ge 5:3, 4), were destroyed at the Flood. So, they say that the taking as wives "the daughters of men" by "the sons of the true God" means that Sethites began to marry into the line of wicked Cain. There is, however, nothing to show that God made any such distinction between family lines at this point. Corroborating Scriptural evidence is lacking to support the view that intermarriage between the lines of Seth and Cain is what is here meant, or that such marriages were responsible for the birth of "mighty ones" as mentioned in verse 4. It is true that the expression "sons of men [or "of mankind"]" (which those favoring the earlier mentioned view would contrast with the expression 'sons of God') is frequently used in an unfavorable sense, but this is not consistently so.-Compare Ps 4:2; 57:4; Pr 8:22, 30, 31; Jer 32:18, 19; Da 10:16. Angelic sons of God. On the other hand, there is an explanation that finds corroborating evidence in the Scriptures. The expression "sons of the true God" next occurs at Job 1:6, and here the reference is obviously to spirit sons of God assembled in God's presence, among whom Satan, who had been "roving about in the earth," also appeared. (Job 1:7; see also 2:1, 2.) Again at Job 38:4-7 "the sons of God" who 'shouted in applause' when God 'laid the cornerstone' of the earth clearly were angelic sons and not humans descended from Adam (as yet not even created). So, too, at Psalm 89:6 "the sons of God" are definitely heavenly creatures, not earthlings.-See GOD (Hebrew Terms). The identification of "the sons of the true God" at Genesis 6:2-4 with angelic creatures is objected to by those holding the previously mentioned view because they say the context relates entirely to human wickedness. This objection is not valid, however, since the wrongful interjection of spirit creatures in human affairs most certainly could contribute to or accelerate the growth of human wickedness. Wicked spirit creatures during Jesus' time on earth, though not then materializing in visible form, were responsible for wrong human conduct of an extreme nature. The mention of a mixing into human affairs by angelic sons of God could reasonably appear in the Genesis account precisely because of its explaining to a considerable degree the gravity of the situation that had developed on earth prior to the Flood. Truthfinder |
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22 | sons of god as in early gen | Gen 6:2 | Truthfinder | 80869 | ||
Hi again Phil, In further support of what I already noted and in reply to Radioman2 I write: Only after carefull study have I come to understand that angels definitely did materialize human bodies on occasion, even eating and drinking with men. (Ge 18:1-22; 19:1-3) Jesus' statement concerning resurrected men and women not marrying or being given in marriage but being like the "angels in heaven", as you argue, actually shows that marriages between such heavenly creatures do not exist, no male and female distinction being indicated among them. (Mt 22:30) But this does not say that such angelic creatures could not materialize human forms and enter marriage relations with human women. It should be noted that Jude's reference to angels as not keeping their original position and to them as forsaking their "proper dwelling place" (certainly here referring to an abandoning of the spirit realm) is immediately followed by the statement: "So too Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them, after they in the same manner as the foregoing ones had committed fornication excessively and gone out after flesh for unnatural use, are placed before us as a warning example." (Jude 6, 7) Thus, the combined weight of the Scriptural evidence points to angelic deviation, the performance of acts contrary to their spirit nature, occurring in the days of Noah. There seems to me to be no valid reason, then, for doubting that the 'sons of God' of Genesis 6:2-4 were angelic sons. Truthfinder |
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23 | Exodus 3:14 connected to John 8:58? | Ex 3:14 | Truthfinder | 76078 | ||
Part 2 Although the natural English translations differ, there are two contexts of this kind in which Jesus uses the words egw eimi alone to identify himself: in 6:20, where the disciples are afraid of the apparition they see walking on the water, and Jesus reassures them by identifying himself, quite naturally, with these words, which translate into English as 'It is I'; and in 18:5, while Jesus acknowledges that he is Jesus of Nazareth by speaking the same words, which are naturally translated into English as 'I am he'. The syntactic difference between them is that in the former egw is the complement, the unexpressed subject being something equivalent to 'what you see', and in the latter egw is the subject, the unexpressed complement being 'Jesus of Nazareth'. In both these passages egw eimi is the natural Greek response [4] in the circumstances, as may be seen in 9:9, where the man cured of blindness uses exactly the same words to acknowledge his identity. The dramatic reaction of the arresting party in 18:6 is readily explained if we note that the confident authority of Jesus's presence was such that he defeated the merchants in the temple (2:15), and he simply walked away when the crowd was intent on throwing him over the brow of the hill near Nazareth (Luke 4:28-30). The verb 'to be' is used differently, in what is presumably its basic meaning of 'be in existence', in John 8:58: prin Abraam genesthai egw eimi, [5] which would be most naturally translated 'I have been in existence since before Abraham was born', [6] if it were not for the obsession with the simple words 'I am'. If we take the Greek words in their natural meaning, as we surely should, the claim to have been in existence for so long is in itself a staggering one, quite enough to provoke the crowd's violent reaction. For the emphasis on the words 'I am' we need to look back to God's words to Moses in Exodus 3:14, 'I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: "I am has sent me to you".' The passage in its Hebrew form has been discussed by many commentators as something of a problem, with possibilities that the verb could mean 'I am', 'I will be', 'I become', or 'I will become', and the pronoun 'that', 'who', 'what', or even 'because'. Some see a need to emend the text, and some stress various critical principles as basic to its interpretation. A few refer to the Septuagint translation of the passage as relevant for understanding it. [7] (continued) Truthfinder |
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24 | Elijah went to heaven alive | 2 Kin 2:11 | Truthfinder | 72857 | ||
Elijah and Enoch The Hebrew sha·ma'yim (always in the plural), which is rendered “heaven(s),” seems to have the basic sense of that which is high or lofty. (Ps 103:11; Pr 25:3; Isa 55:9) “The heaven(s)” may apply to the full range of earth’s atmosphere in which dew and frost form (Ge 27:28; Job 38:29), the birds fly (De 4:17; Pr 30:19; Mt 6:26), the winds blow (Ps 78:26), lightning flashes (Lu 17:24), and the clouds float and drop their rain, snow, or hailstones (Jos 10:11; 1Ki 18:45; Isa 55:10; Ac 14:17). “The sky” is sometimes meant, that is, the apparent or visual dome or vault arching over the earth.—Mt 16:1-3; Ac 1:10, 11. This atmospheric region corresponds generally to the “expanse [Heb., ra·qi'a]” formed during the second creative period, described at Genesis 1:6-8. It is evidently to this "heaven" that Genesis 2:4; Exodus 20:11; 31:17 refer in speaking of the creation of “the heavens and the earth.” In harmony with Elijah’s action in appointing Elisha years earlier, the time comes when Elijah must transfer the mantle of this prophetic office to Elisha, who has been well trained. This takes place during the rule of Ahaziah’s successor, his brother Jehoram of Israel. At that time Elijah goes to Bethel, from there to Jericho and down to the Jordan, Elisha sticking close to him all the way. There Elisha is rewarded for his faithfulness by seeing a fiery war chariot and fiery horses and Elijah ascending in a windstorm to the heavens. Elisha takes up Elijah’s official garment that had fallen off him, and “two parts” (like a firstborn son’s portion) in Elijah’s spirit, a spirit of courage and of being “absolutely jealous for Jehovah the God of armies,” come on him.—2Ki 2:1-13; 1Ki 19:10, 14; compare De 21:17. Elijah does not die at this time, nor does he go into the invisible spirit realm, but he is transferred to another prophetic assignment. As John 3:13 tells us “Moreover, no man has ascended into heaven but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man.” This is shown by the fact that Elisha does not hold any period of mourning for his master. A number of years after his ascension in the windstorm Elijah is still alive and active as a prophet, this time to the king of Judah. Because of the wicked course taken by King Jehoram of Judah, Elijah writes him a letter expressing Jehovah’s condemnation, which is fulfilled shortly thereafter. Read 2Ch 21:12-15 Enoch, the son born to Jared at the age of 162; the seventh man in the genealogical line from Adam. In addition to Methuselah, who was born to him when he was 65 years old, Enoch had other sons and daughters. Enoch was one of the “so great a cloud of witnesses” who were outstanding examples of faith in ancient times. “Enoch kept walking with the true God.” (Ge 5:18, 21-24; Heb 11:5; 12:1) As a prophet of Jehovah, he foretold God’s coming with His holy myriads to execute judgment against the ungodly. (Jude 14, 15) Likely persecution was brought against him because of his prophesying. However, God did not permit the opposers to kill Enoch. Instead, Jehovah “took him,” that is, cut short his life at the age of 365, an age far below that of most of his contemporaries. Enoch was “transferred so as not to see death,” which may mean that God put him in a prophetic trance and then terminated Enoch’s life while he was in the trance so that he did not experience the pangs of death. (Ge 5:24; Heb 11:5, 13) However, he was not taken to heaven, in view of Jesus’ clear statement at John 3:13: “Moreover, no man has ascended into heaven but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man.” It appears that, as in the case of Moses’ body, Jehovah disposed of Enoch’s body, for “he was nowhere to be found.”—De 34:5, 6; Jude 9. “Insight in the Scriptures” Truthfinder |
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25 | WHERE TO FIND ALL THE NAMES OF GOD | Ps 83:18 | Truthfinder | 75010 | ||
Hi, God has only one personal name. Among the Hebrew words that are translated “God” is ´El, probably meaning “Mighty One; Strong One.” (Ge 14:18) It is used with reference to Jehovah, to other gods, and to men. It is also used extensively in the makeup of proper names, such as Elisha (meaning “God Is Salvation”) and Michael (“Who Is Like God?”). In some places ´El appears with the definite article (ha·´El´, literally, “the God”) with reference to Jehovah, thereby distinguishing him from other godsYou mentioned god in the Hebrew language elohim, but this doesn’t reference only God Almighty. Also you mention EL-SHADAII, also Hebrew for God Almighty. But if you speak another language then you could come up with thousands. Almighty God has only one name. That name is Je·ho´vah [the causative form, the imperfect state, of the Heb. verb ha·wah´ (become); meaning “He Causes to Become”]. The personal name of God. Isa 42:8 “I am Jehovah. That is my name; and to no one else shall I give my own glory, neither my praise to graven images. Also Isa 54:5 “For your Grand Maker is your husbandly owner, Jehovah of armies being his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Repurchaser. The God of the whole earth he will be called. Though Scripturally designated by such descriptive titles as “God,” “Sovereign Lord,” “Creator,” “Father,” “the Almighty,” and “the Most High,” his personality and attributes—who and what he is—are fully summed up and expressed only in this personal name. Ps 83:18. Many modern scholars and Bible translators advocate following the tradition of eliminating the distinctive name of God. They not only claim that its uncertain pronunciation justifies such a course but also hold that the supremacy and uniqueness of the true God make unnecessary his having a particular name. Such a view receives no support from the inspired Scriptures, either those of pre-Christian times or those of the Christian Greek Scriptures. The Tetragrammaton occurs 6,828 times in the Hebrew text printed in Biblia Hebraica and Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. In the Hebrew Scriptures the New World Translation contains the divine name 6,973 times, because the translators took into account, among other things, the fact that in some places the scribes had replaced the divine name with ´Adho·nai´ or ´Elo·him´. (See NW appendix, pp. 1561, 1562.) The very frequency of the appearance of the name attests to its importance to the Bible’s Author, whose name it is. Its use throughout the Scriptures far outnumbers that of any of the titles, such as “Sovereign Lord” or “God,” applied to him. Noteworthy, also, is the importance given to names themselves in the Hebrew Scriptures and among Semitic peoples. Professor G. T. Manley points out: “A study of the word ‘name’ in the O[ld] T[estament] reveals how much it means in Hebrew. The name is no mere label, but is significant of the real personality of him to whom it belongs. . . . When a person puts his ‘name’ upon a thing or another person the latter comes under his influence and protection.”—New Bible Dictionary, edited by J. D. Douglas, 1985, p. 430; compare Everyman’s Talmud, by A. Cohen, 1949, p. 24; Ge 27:36; 1Sa 25:25; Ps 20:1; Pr 22:1 Truthseeker |
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26 | lucifer | Is 14:12 | Truthfinder | 70955 | ||
Satan the devil is not referred to as Lucifer in the Bible. |
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27 | What yr was Jesus born? | Is 61:2 | Truthfinder | 87945 | ||
1) The Bible does not tell us the exact date of Jesus’ birth. It does say, however, that he was born “in the days of Herod the king.” (Matthew 2:1) Many Bible scholars believe that Herod died in the year 4 B.C.E. and that Jesus was born before then—perhaps as early as 5 or 6 B.C.E. They base their conclusions about Herod’s death on statements by the first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. 2) According to Josephus, shortly before King Herod died, there was an eclipse of the moon. Bible scholars point to a partial lunar eclipse on March 11, 4 B.C.E., as proof that Herod must have died in that year. However, in the year 1 B.C.E., there was a total lunar eclipse on January 8 and a partial eclipse on December 27. No one can say whether Josephus was referring to one of the eclipses in 1 B.C.E. or to the one in 4 B.C.E. So, we cannot use Josephus’ words to pinpoint the precise year of Herod’s death. Even if we could, without more information we still could not determine when Jesus was born. 3) The strongest evidence we have of the date of Jesus’ birth comes from the Bible. The inspired record states that Jesus’ cousin John the Baptizer began his career as a prophet in the 15th year of Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar. (Luke 3:1, 2) Secular history confirms that Tiberius was named emperor on September 15, 14 C.E., so his 15th year would run from the latter part of 28 C.E. to the latter part of 29 C.E. John began his ministry during that time, and Jesus evidently started his ministry six months later. (Luke 1:24-31) This, combined with other evidence, would place the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in the fall of 29 C.E. The Bible states that Jesus was “about thirty years old” when he began his ministry. (Luke 3:23) If he was 30 years old in the fall of 29 C.E., he must have been born in the fall of 2 B.C.E. Truthfinder |
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28 | how were years started? | Is 61:2 | Truthfinder | 88150 | ||
Hi Reilly, Well, the Julian calendar was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C.E., to give the Roman people a solar-year time arrangement in place of the lunar year. The Julian calendar consists of 365 days in a year, with the exception that on each fourth year (leap year), one day is added, to make it 366 days. However, in the course of time, it was found that the Julian calendar year is actually a little more than 11 minutes longer than the true solar year. By the 16th century C.E., a discrepancy of ten full days had accumulated. Thus, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a slight revision, instituting what is now known as the Gregorian calendar. By papal bull ten days were omitted from the year 1582, so that the day after October 4 became October 15. The Gregorian calendar provides that centuries not divisible by 400 are not to be considered leap years. For example, unlike the year 2000, the year 1900 was not made a leap year because the number 1,900 is not divisible by 400. The Gregorian calendar is now the one in general use in most parts of the world. Truthfinder |
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29 | how/when was BC/AD initiated? | Is 61:2 | Truthfinder | 88218 | ||
Hi Reilly, You are exactly right. Early in the sixth century C.E. ( or A.D.; Common Era), Pope John I commissioned a monk, who also was a scholarly Roman abbot of the 6th century, and too an accomplished mathematician, named Dionysius Exiguus to develop a system of computation that would allow the churches to set an official date for Easter. Dionysius set to work. He calculated back in time, past Jesus’ death, to what he thought (notice I said what he thought) was the year of Jesus’ birth; then he numbered each year forward from that point. Dionysius designated the period from Jesus’ birth “A.D.” (for Anno Domini—“in the year of our Lord.”) While intending only to devise a reliable way of calculating Easter each year, Dionysius inadvertently introduced the concept of numbering the years from the birth of Christ forward, but missed it by a little over a year. Most scholars agree with what I showed you earlier, that Jesus was not born in the year Dionysius used as a basis for his calculations. Truthfinder |
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30 | queen of heaven | Jer 7:18 | Truthfinder | 80514 | ||
HI, The Scriptures do not specifically identify the "queen of the heavens." It has been suggested that this goddess is to be identified with the Sumerian fertility goddess Inanna, Babylonian Ishtar. The name Inanna literally means "Queen of Heaven." The corresponding Babylonian goddess Ishtar was qualified in the Akkadian texts by the epithets "queen of the heavens" and "queen of the heavens and of the stars." Mary is much spoken of in Catholic groups as the "Queen of Heaven" and the "Queen of Peace." This is not a new thought, for early apocryphal writings ascribed great honor to her as the "Mother of God." But let us go back much before that, into ancient Babylon with its pagan religion, to find its beginning. "Under the name of the 'Mother of the gods,' the goddess queen of Babylon became an object of almost universal worship. 'The Mother of the gods,' says Clericus, 'was worshipped by the Persians, the Syrians, and all the kings of Europe and Asia, with the most profound religious veneration." How did the practice creep into the "Christian" world? "The worship of the goddess-mother with the child in her arms continued to be observed in Egypt till Christianity entered. . . . With the generality it came only in name. Instead, therefore, of the Babylonian goddess being cast out, in too many cases her name only was changed. She was called the Virgin Mary, and, with her child, was worshipped with the same idolatrous feeling by professing Christians, as formerly by open and avowed Pagans."-The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop. Truthfinder |
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31 | prophet in dungeon | Jer 38:10 | Truthfinder | 94250 | ||
Jeremiah Jer.38:10-12 Truthfinder |
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32 | three men that wore hats | Dan 3:21 | Truthfinder | 94254 | ||
David 2 Sam 15:30 Also the three Hebrew companions of Daniel as recorded at Da 3:21 Truthfinder |
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33 | Help on the 69th, 70th Week of Daniel | Dan 9:24 | Truthfinder | 80062 | ||
Hi Amber_G This is a prophecy that definitely shows Daniel to be an authentic prophet. It reads, in part: "There are seventy weeks that have been determined upon your people and upon your holy city, in order to terminate the transgression, and to finish off sin, and to make atonement for error . . . And you should know and have the insight that from the going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Leader, there will be seven weeks, also sixty-two weeks (making 69 in all). . . . And after the sixty-two weeks (that is, 7 plus 62, or after the 69th week) Messiah will be cut off . . . And he must keep the covenant in force for the many for one week (the 70th); and at the half of the week he will cause sacrifice and gift offering to cease."-Daniel 9:24-27. Many Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant Bible scholars agree that the "weeks" of this prophecy are weeks of years. The Revised Standard Version, Ecumenical Edition, reads: "Seventy weeks of years are decreed concerning your people." Those 490 years began in 455 B.C.E. when Nehemiah was authorized by Persian king Artaxerxes "to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem." (Nehemiah 2:1-8) Sixty-nine weeks of years later, that is, in 29 C.E., Jesus was baptized and anointed, becoming the Christ, or the Anointed One, the Messiah. "At the half of the (70th) week," in 33 C.E., he was "cut off." His sacrificial death made atonement for the sins of mankind, thus causing the animal sacrifices under the Law of Moses "to cease." Because of this reliable prophecy, first-century Jewish people "knew that the seventy weeks of years fixed by Daniel were drawing to a close; nobody was surprised to hear John the Baptist announce that the kingdom of God had drawn near."-Manuel Biblique, by Bacuez and Vigouroux. Truthfinder |
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34 | who wrote Zephaniah? When was Zephaniah | Zeph 1:1 | Truthfinder | 71592 | ||
Hi Cassie, Writer: Zephaniah Place Written: Judah Writing Completed: Before 648 B.C.E. Early in the reign of King Josiah of Judah (659-629 B.C.E.), at a time when Baal worship was running rampant and "the foreign-god priests" were taking a lead in this unclean worship, the people of Jerusalem must have been startled by the message proclaimed by the prophet Zephaniah. Though he was possibly a descendant of King Hezekiah of the royal house of Judah, Zephaniah was highly critical of conditions in the nation. (Zeph. 1:1, 4) His message was one of doom. God's people had become disobedient, and only Jehovah could restore them to pure worship and bless them so that they might serve as "a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth." (3:20) Zephaniah pointed out that only by divine intervention might one "be concealed in the day of Jehovah's anger." (2:3) How appropriate his name Tsephan·yah' (Hebrew), meaning "Jehovah Has Concealed (Treasured Up)"! Zephaniah's efforts bore fruit. King Josiah, who had ascended the throne at the age of eight, started in the 12th year of his reign "to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem." He rooted out false worship, repaired "the house of Jehovah," and reinstituted the celebration of the Passover. (2 Chron., chaps. 34, 35) King Josiah's reforms were only temporary, however, for he was succeeded by three of his sons and one of his grandsons, all of whom did "bad in the eyes of Jehovah." (2 Chron. 36:1-12) This was all in fulfillment of Zephaniah's words: "I will give attention to the princes, and to the sons of the king, and to . . . those who are filling the house of their masters with violence and deception."-Zeph. 1:8, 9. From the above it appears that "the word of Jehovah . . . occurred to Zephaniah" sometime before 648 B.C.E., the 12th year of Josiah. Not only does the first verse identify him as speaking in Judah but the detailed knowledge he shows of the localities and customs of Jerusalem argue for his residence in Judah. The message contained in the book is twofold, being both threatening and consoling. For the most part, it centers around the day of Jehovah, a day of terror that is imminent, but at the same time, it foretells that Jehovah will restore a humble people that "actually take refuge in the name of Jehovah."-1:1, 7-18; 3:12. The authenticity of this book of prophecy cannot be successfully disputed. Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E., more than 40 years after Zephaniah had foretold it. Not only do we have secular history's word for this but the Bible itself contains internal proof that this happened exactly as Zephaniah had prophesied. Shortly after Jerusalem's destruction, Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations, describing the horrors he had witnessed, while they were still vivid in his mind. A comparison of several passages bears out that Zephaniah's message is indeed "inspired of God." Zephaniah warns of the need for repentance "before there comes upon you people the burning anger of Jehovah," whereas Jeremiah refers to something that has already happened when he says, "Jehovah . . . has poured out his burning anger." (Zeph. 2:2; Lam. 4:11) Zephaniah foretells that Jehovah "will cause distress to mankind, and they will certainly walk like blind men . . . And their blood will actually be poured out like dust." (Zeph. 1:17) Jeremiah speaks of this as an accomplished fact: "They have wandered about as blind in the streets. They have become polluted with blood."-Lam. 4:14; compare also Zephaniah 1:13-Lamentations 5:2; Zephaniah 2:8, 10-Lamentations 1:9, 16 and 3:61. History likewise reports the destruction of the heathen nations, Moab and Ammon as well as Assyria, including its capital Nineveh, just as Zephaniah had foretold at God's direction. Even as the prophet Nahum foretold Nineveh's destruction (Nah. 1:1; 2:10), so Zephaniah declared that Jehovah "will make Nineveh a desolate waste, a waterless region like the wilderness." (Zeph. 2:13) This destruction was so complete that scarcely 200 years later, the historian Herodotus wrote of the Tigris as "the river upon which the town of Nineveh formerly stood." About 150 C.E. the Greek writer Lucian wrote that "there is not a trace of it left now." |
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35 | who wrote Zephaniah? When was Zephaniah | Zeph 1:1 | Truthfinder | 71594 | ||
Hi Cassie, Writer: Zephaniah Place Written: Judah Writing Completed: Before 648 B.C.E. Early in the reign of King Josiah of Judah (659-629 B.C.E.), at a time when Baal worship was running rampant and "the foreign-god priests" were taking a lead in this unclean worship, the people of Jerusalem must have been startled by the message proclaimed by the prophet Zephaniah. Though he was possibly a descendant of King Hezekiah of the royal house of Judah, Zephaniah was highly critical of conditions in the nation. (Zeph. 1:1, 4) His message was one of doom. God's people had become disobedient, and only Jehovah could restore them to pure worship and bless them so that they might serve as "a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth." (3:20) Zephaniah pointed out that only by divine intervention might one "be concealed in the day of Jehovah's anger." (2:3) How appropriate his name Tsephan·yah' (Hebrew), meaning "Jehovah Has Concealed (Treasured Up)"! Zephaniah's efforts bore fruit. King Josiah, who had ascended the throne at the age of eight, started in the 12th year of his reign "to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem." He rooted out false worship, repaired "the house of Jehovah," and reinstituted the celebration of the Passover. (2 Chron., chaps. 34, 35) King Josiah's reforms were only temporary, however, for he was succeeded by three of his sons and one of his grandsons, all of whom did "bad in the eyes of Jehovah." (2 Chron. 36:1-12) This was all in fulfillment of Zephaniah's words: "I will give attention to the princes, and to the sons of the king, and to . . . those who are filling the house of their masters with violence and deception."-Zeph. 1:8, 9. From the above it appears that "the word of Jehovah . . . occurred to Zephaniah" sometime before 648 B.C.E., the 12th year of Josiah. Not only does the first verse identify him as speaking in Judah but the detailed knowledge he shows of the localities and customs of Jerusalem argue for his residence in Judah. The message contained in the book is twofold, being both threatening and consoling. For the most part, it centers around the day of Jehovah, a day of terror that is imminent, but at the same time, it foretells that Jehovah will restore a humble people that "actually take refuge in the name of Jehovah."-1:1, 7-18; 3:12. The authenticity of this book of prophecy cannot be successfully disputed. Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E., more than 40 years after Zephaniah had foretold it. Not only do we have secular history's word for this but the Bible itself contains internal proof that this happened exactly as Zephaniah had prophesied. Shortly after Jerusalem's destruction, Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations, describing the horrors he had witnessed, while they were still vivid in his mind. A comparison of several passages bears out that Zephaniah's message is indeed "inspired of God." Zephaniah warns of the need for repentance "before there comes upon you people the burning anger of Jehovah," whereas Jeremiah refers to something that has already happened when he says, "Jehovah . . . has poured out his burning anger." (Zeph. 2:2; Lam. 4:11) Zephaniah foretells that Jehovah "will cause distress to mankind, and they will certainly walk like blind men . . . And their blood will actually be poured out like dust." (Zeph. 1:17) Jeremiah speaks of this as an accomplished fact: "They have wandered about as blind in the streets. They have become polluted with blood."-Lam. 4:14; compare also Zephaniah 1:13-Lamentations 5:2; Zephaniah 2:8, 10-Lamentations 1:9, 16 and 3:61. History likewise reports the destruction of the heathen nations, Moab and Ammon as well as Assyria, including its capital Nineveh, just as Zephaniah had foretold at God's direction. Even as the prophet Nahum foretold Nineveh's destruction (Nah. 1:1; 2:10), so Zephaniah declared that Jehovah "will make Nineveh a desolate waste, a waterless region like the wilderness." (Zeph. 2:13) This destruction was so complete that scarcely 200 years later, the historian Herodotus wrote of the Tigris as "the river upon which the town of Nineveh formerly stood." About 150 C.E. the Greek writer Lucian wrote that "there is not a trace of it left now." |
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36 | who wrote Zephaniah? When was Zephaniah | Zeph 1:1 | Truthfinder | 71596 | ||
Hi Cassie, Writer: Zephaniah Place Written: Judah Writing Completed: Before 648 B.C.E. Early in the reign of King Josiah of Judah (659-629 B.C.E.), at a time when Baal worship was running rampant and "the foreign-god priests" were taking a lead in this unclean worship, the people of Jerusalem must have been startled by the message proclaimed by the prophet Zephaniah. Though he was possibly a descendant of King Hezekiah of the royal house of Judah, Zephaniah was highly critical of conditions in the nation. (Zeph. 1:1, 4) His message was one of doom. God's people had become disobedient, and only Jehovah could restore them to pure worship and bless them so that they might serve as "a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth." (3:20) Zephaniah pointed out that only by divine intervention might one "be concealed in the day of Jehovah's anger." (2:3) How appropriate his name Tsephan·yah' (Hebrew), meaning "Jehovah Has Concealed (Treasured Up)"! Zephaniah's efforts bore fruit. King Josiah, who had ascended the throne at the age of eight, started in the 12th year of his reign "to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem." He rooted out false worship, repaired "the house of Jehovah," and reinstituted the celebration of the Passover. (2 Chron., chaps. 34, 35) King Josiah's reforms were only temporary, however, for he was succeeded by three of his sons and one of his grandsons, all of whom did "bad in the eyes of Jehovah." (2 Chron. 36:1-12) This was all in fulfillment of Zephaniah's words: "I will give attention to the princes, and to the sons of the king, and to . . . those who are filling the house of their masters with violence and deception."-Zeph. 1:8, 9. From the above it appears that "the word of Jehovah . . . occurred to Zephaniah" sometime before 648 B.C.E., the 12th year of Josiah. Not only does the first verse identify him as speaking in Judah but the detailed knowledge he shows of the localities and customs of Jerusalem argue for his residence in Judah. The message contained in the book is twofold, being both threatening and consoling. For the most part, it centers around the day of Jehovah, a day of terror that is imminent, but at the same time, it foretells that Jehovah will restore a humble people that "actually take refuge in the name of Jehovah."-1:1, 7-18; 3:12. The authenticity of this book of prophecy cannot be successfully disputed. Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E., more than 40 years after Zephaniah had foretold it. Not only do we have secular history's word for this but the Bible itself contains internal proof that this happened exactly as Zephaniah had prophesied. Shortly after Jerusalem's destruction, Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations, describing the horrors he had witnessed, while they were still vivid in his mind. A comparison of several passages bears out that Zephaniah's message is indeed "inspired of God." Zephaniah warns of the need for repentance "before there comes upon you people the burning anger of Jehovah," whereas Jeremiah refers to something that has already happened when he says, "Jehovah . . . has poured out his burning anger." (Zeph. 2:2; Lam. 4:11) Zephaniah foretells that Jehovah "will cause distress to mankind, and they will certainly walk like blind men . . . And their blood will actually be poured out like dust." (Zeph. 1:17) Jeremiah speaks of this as an accomplished fact: "They have wandered about as blind in the streets. They have become polluted with blood."-Lam. 4:14; compare also Zephaniah 1:13-Lamentations 5:2; Zephaniah 2:8, 10-Lamentations 1:9, 16 and 3:61. History likewise reports the destruction of the heathen nations, Moab and Ammon as well as Assyria, including its capital Nineveh, just as Zephaniah had foretold at God's direction. Even as the prophet Nahum foretold Nineveh's destruction (Nah. 1:1; 2:10), so Zephaniah declared that Jehovah "will make Nineveh a desolate waste, a waterless region like the wilderness." (Zeph. 2:13) This destruction was so complete that scarcely 200 years later, the historian Herodotus wrote of the Tigris as "the river upon which the town of Nineveh formerly stood." About 150 C.E. the Greek writer Lucian wrote that "there is not a trace of it left now." |
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37 | What was Jesus doing in the earth 3 days | Matthew | Truthfinder | 93273 | ||
The Bible’s answer to the question, “What did Jesus do in Hell for 3 days?” To answer this question, you be the judge as to what the Bible says “death” is. A word of caution though, at the outset is in order, because there are indeed other teachings which tend to sway us. We are introduced to death as Adam’s penalty for sinning. Gen. 2:17 “But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.” Thus God says Adam would die. What though did Satan tell Eve? He told her at Gen. 3:4 “At this the serpent said to the woman: “YOU positively will not die.” I personally choose to believe what God told Adam and NOT what Satan told Eve. If we read Gen. 2:7, we learn what life is. Thus the opposite of life is death. Logical? Certainly it is. Gen 2:7 tells us, "And Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul." What consciousness did Adam have when he was a dead soul, a few momements earlier? I have no reason to conclude that he had any! What conclusion am I to draw but at dying Adam returned to total unconsciousness as he was before becoming a “living soul”? Is that not what the Psalmist tells us when speaking of living souls at Ps. 104:29, “If you conceal your face, they get disturbed. If you take away their spirit, they expire, And back to their dust they go.” Going back to Genesis 3:19, “In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.” What consciousness does dust have? Supporting Biblical thoughts abound and here are a few to contemplate: 1)Ps 146:4 “His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; In that day his thoughts do perish.” 2) Eccl. 9:5, “For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all" 3) Eccl 9:10, ”All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are going.” 4) Ps. 22:15, “My power has dried up just like a fragment of earthenware, And my tongue is made to stick to my gums; And in the dust of death you are setting me.” The Interpreter’s Bible (Vol. II, p. 1015), commenting on 1 Samuel 25:29,which says, “When man rises up to pursue you and look for your soul, the soul of my lord will certainly prove to be wrapped up in the bag of life with Jehovah your God; but, as for the soul of your enemies, he will sling it forth as from inside the hollow of the sling.", observes that “the idea of man as consisting of body and soul which are separated at death is not Hebrew but Greek.” (Edited by G. Buttrick, 1953) Similarly, Edmond Jacob, Professor of Old Testament at the University of Strasbourg, points out that, since in the Hebrew Scriptures one’s life is directly related with the soul (Heb. nephesh), “it is natural that death should sometimes be represented as the disappearance of this nephesh (Gen. 35:18; I Kings 17:21; Jer. 15:9; Jonah 4:3). The ‘departure’ of the nephesh must be viewed as a figure of speech, for it does not continue to exist independently of the body, but dies with it (Num. 31:19; Judg. 16:30; Ezek. 13:19). No biblical text authorizes the statement that the ‘soul’ is separated from the body at the moment of death.”—The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, edited by G. Buttrick, 1962, Vol. 1, p. 802. What must we hereby conclude once again? That even though the ancient Egyptians and other peoples of pagan nations, and particularly the Grecian philosophers, were strong in their belief in the deathlessness of the human soul, both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures speak of the Hebrew soul nephesh and Greek psykhe as dying (Jg 16:30; Eze 18:4, 20; Re 16:3), needing deliverance from death (Jos 2:13; Ps 33:19; 56:13; 116:8; Jas 5:20), or as in the Messianic prophecy concerning Jesus Christ, being “poured out . . . to the very death” (Isa 53:12; compare Mt 26:38). The prophet Ezekiel condemns those who connived “to put to death the souls that ought not to die” and “to preserve alive the souls that ought not to live.”—Eze 13:19. The only reasonable conclusion we can come to is that Jesus did absolutely nothing for three days, because he was dead. The Bible's definition of what Hell is will also enable one to see this more clearly. Truthfinder |
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38 | Thankyou, what do you think about this? | Matthew | Truthfinder | 93372 | ||
Hi Chusarcik, If a distiction of the greek words for Hell (Hades) and Tartarus is not taken into consideration, wrong conclusions will be drawn. Tartarus is a prisonlike, abased condition into which God cast disobedient angels in Noah’s day. It is found but once in the inspired Scriptures, at 2 Peter 2:4. The apostle writes: “God did not hold back from punishing the angels that sinned, but, by throwing them into Tartarus, delivered them to pits of dense darkness to be reserved for judgment.” The expression “throwing them into Tartarus” is from the Greek verb ta·ta·ro´o and so includes within itself the word “Tartarus.” A parallel text is found at Jude 6: “And the angels that did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place he has reserved with eternal bonds under dense darkness for the judgment of the great day.” Showing when it was that these angels “forsook their own proper dwelling place,” Peter speaks of “the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient when the patience of God was waiting in Noah’s days, while the ark was being constructed.” (1Pe 3:19, 20) This directly links the matter to the account at Genesis 6:1-4 concerning “the sons of the true God” who abandoned their heavenly abode to cohabit with women in pre-Flood times and produced children by them, such offspring being designated as Nephilim. From these texts it is evident that Tartarus is a condition rather than a particular location, inasmuch as Peter, on the one hand, speaks of these disobedient spirits as being in “pits of dense darkness,” while Paul speaks of them as being in “heavenly places” from which they exercise a rule of darkness as wicked spirit forces. (2Pe 2:4; Eph 6:10-12) The dense darkness similarly is not literally a lack of light but results from their being cut off from illumination by God as renegades and outcasts from his family, with only a dark outlook as to their eternal destiny. Tartarus is, therefore, not the same as the Hebrew Sheol or the Greek Hades, both of which refer to the common earthly grave of mankind. This is evident from the fact that, while the apostle Peter shows that Jesus Christ preached to these “spirits in prison,” he also shows that Jesus did so, not during the three days while buried in Hades (Sheol), but after his resurrection out of Hades. 1Pe 3:18-20. Likewise the abased condition represented by Tartarus should not be confused with “the abyss” into which Satan and his demons are eventually to be cast for the thousand years of Christ’s rule. (Re 20:1-3) Apparently the disobedient angels were cast into Tartarus in “Noah’s days” (1Pe 3:20), but some 2,000 years later we find them entreating Jesus “not to order them to go away into the abyss.” Lu 8:26-31 Truthfinder |
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39 | Do Angels have Genders? Male and Female? | Matt 22:30 | Truthfinder | 94375 | ||
Hi BKB, First Matthew 22:30 tells us that angels are sexless. God did not create angels male nor female nor with a desire for sexual relations with humans. Yet Satan evidently was able to get some of them to think improperly about such matters. Thus within certain angels a desire was cultivated for something that God purposed only humans should enjoy within the proper bounds of marriage. These angelic “sons of the true God” did a wicked thing, leaving their positions in heaven to come to earth to marry women. (Genesis 6:2) According to Jude 6, those spirits were “the angels that did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place” in the heavens. They took on fleshly bodies in order to enjoy illicit sex relations with women. When the Deluge compelled those angels to return to the spirit realm, they were thrown into Tartarus, a condition of utter debasement. (2 Peter 2:4) Truthfinder |
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40 | What about a passage not in early ms? | Mark 16:9 | Truthfinder | 79898 | ||
Hi all, One of my favorite subjects. Most certainly, in my opinion, was it only honest to let the reader know that a passage did not appear in the earliest manuscripts. I personally have considerable works on ancient manuscript studies and as Tim said makes for a most interesting study. One of the very oldest is a fragment of John's Gospel which dates back to about 125 C.E. Thru time as the trickle of newly discovered ancient Greek manuscripts turned into a virtual flood, scholars were able to compare them critically. But this textual criticism should not be confused with "higher criticism," which tends to lessen respect for the Bible as the Word of God. Textual criticism involves a careful comparison of all known manuscripts of the Bible in order to determine the true or original reading, eliminating any additions. To illustrate how this works, imagine what would happen if you asked 200 persons to make a handwritten copy of a longhand manuscript. Most of them would make errors, some minor and others more significant. But they would not all make the identical mistakes. If, then, an alert individual took all 200 copies and compared them, he could isolate the errors. An error in one or two would show up because it would not be in the other 198 having the correct reading. Thus, with effort he could come up with an exact script of the original document even if he never saw it. Truthfinder |
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