Results 41 - 60 of 380
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: biblicalman Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
41 | what is important about 40 | Bible general Archive 4 | biblicalman | 229562 | ||
LOL We don't know whether there were exceptions or not, as we don't have histories of all the peoples in the world. How can that affect anything? But it was true throughout the Middle East (the Ancient Near East). Everyone in Palestine, Sumer, Babylon and Assyria saw 7 and its multiples (e.g. seventy sevens) as indicating divine perfection, and thats good enough for me. No, creation was finished in SEVEN days, six was the number of MAN (just as 666 is the number of the Man of Sin) and man was created on the sixth 'day'. But creation was completed when God blessed the seventh day. Apart from you everyone speaks of seven day creation. However, it doesn't really matter what you think or decide to do. What matters is that I have provided the information requested, and everyone can judge for themselves. Best wishes |
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42 | what is important about 40 | Bible general Archive 4 | biblicalman | 229557 | ||
Point 3 Searcher said: ... On 70 ... in Numbers 7:37 "his offering was one silver dish whose weight was one hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels" ... so does that mean one bowl was of "divine completeness" and the other not? Also read other passages (Jdg 1:7, 8:30, 9:2 …) My reply: as I said when measurements are in use we would expect exact numbers. However in the case of your Judges examples they may well all indicate divine completeness to the author, which is probably why he stresses them. Adoni-bezek may well have been using a round number with the idea that the kings he had mutilated were given to him by his god. The numbers 7 and 70 were almost universally seen as indicating divine perfection at the time. Best wishes. |
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43 | what is important about 40 | Bible general Archive 4 | biblicalman | 229556 | ||
Re Point 2. Well I would count the three period of rest in Judges as having one and the same significance. But there are good grounds for suggesting that even the periods of rest were test periods to see if they would continue faithful, which in the main they did not. Once the generation that had learned its lesson passed away the past was forgotten. Judges is a book of testing, see Jud 2.6-23. Best wishes. |
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44 | what is important about 40 | Bible general Archive 4 | biblicalman | 229555 | ||
Hi Searcher, Both of us believe that the final words written by the Scripture writers were verbally inspired by God, so that in one sense each word is God's, but where we differ is on how God went about it. I am in no doubt that God allowed each writer to write from his own viewpoint, although kept from error, and that each writing reveals the personality and slant of its author. One obvious example is where in Samuel we read that God caused David to number Israel, whilst in Chronicles we read that it was Satan who caused David to number Israel. Both are correct. If you study Samuel you will discover that he writes with a strong emphasis on God's sovereignty in everything that happened. He rightly sees God as the prime cause of everything that happens. The Chronicler on the other hand looked at second causes. That too is correct. There are many second causes. They also wrote in terms of their own times, and used the ideas in vogue in those times, while again being kept from error,although of course gradually a tradition would build up, as it did in the use of numbers. Indeed that all this is so is clear when we examine their writings. God was quite happy for them to use numbers as they wished as long as it did not produce error when looked at from their viewpoint. We have to be astute. Thus if one wanted to use 40 or 70 symbolically, and another did not, God did not intervene. The Bible is not so artificial. Take for example the numbers connected with the reigns of Israel's and Judah's kings. In some cases there appear to be blatant contradictions. But the truth is that some sources dated the reigns from when they became regents with their fathers, others dated them from when they began their sole reigns. Again some included the year of accession, while others excluded the year of accession. Both methods were in use at the time. Best wishes |
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45 | What happens to people who never hear? | Rom 1:20 | biblicalman | 229548 | ||
Hi Ismaila, Another group of verses to take into account when considering this question are Romans 2.14-16. They may well indicate that in a limited number of cases some who have not heard of Christ will be acceptable to God because they have responded to His call in their hearts (although their acceptance will of course be on the basis of the cross). We must also remember that when Paul was writing many Jews among the dispersion would not have heard of Christ. To them therefore the Old testament teaching would still apply. There are unquestionably cases where missionaries have gone to certain peoples and have been approached by some who said, 'We know the God Whom you are talking about, and we have been waiting for you to come.' The ways of God are wonderful. If you want a good read and want to read an amazing story try to get hold of a copy of 'Mimosa', by Amy Carmichael. (Dohnavur Press). You will end up saying, 'My God, how great thou art'. Best wishes |
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46 | what is important about 40 | Bible general Archive 4 | biblicalman | 229547 | ||
I cannot agree that if we give a significance to a number in certain contexts it has to be consistent throughout the Scriptures. The use of numbers developed over time. It may well be that in some cases a number had a significance for a certain time, and that that significance was then dropped. I would see the 40 years old of Isaac and Esau when they married in that light (although I suppose marriage could be seen as a trial - lol). The periods of forty years in the wilderness, forty years rest on Judges (three times), forty years of Eli's rule, forty years of David's rule, and forty years of Solomon's rule are in a cluster. They may well indicate 'a generation'. But this does not tie forty down to always meaning a generation (it could only do so in the case of years). Or it could be that the same number has twofold significance, used in one way sometimes, and another way the other. The Bible was written by a large number of different authors and they could well have had their own viewpoint. This is why when a pattern does emerge it suggests that it is significant. The spies went out for forty days (possibly a round number) which may well have been intended to indicate a significant period of testing out the land. The 'forty years' of wandering, was in fact thirty eight years. Thus the 40 years brought in their journeying, and encampment at Sinai, before they started wandering. But it was called forty years because instead of Canaan being tested, they were being tested. Note how in fact they are deliberately contrasted. The forty men who sought to kill Paul parallesl the forty days of Goliath's testing of Israel. Both had a death in mind. It was certainly a test of Paul's faith, and of his calling, as it was with Israel. 1 Kings 6:17 and 7:38 are measurements which may well not have been seen in the same light. There is in fact a forty year period during which Israel was under the rule of another country (Judges 13.1), and this may well be intended to cotrast with the 40 years periods of rest. It was thus both a period of trial, and indicating a generation. I am not sure why just because forty is intended to indicate a period of testing and trial it must therefore follow that all periods of testing have to be forty years. Approximate length of time also has to be taken into account. Incidentally Judah were not in Babylon for seventy years. Even if we commence the period from the first exile in 605 BC the period was only 67 years. But Jeremiah did not say that they would be. His seventy year prophecy was concerning the period when 'these nations (including all the nations round about) will serve the King of Babylon'. Thus we can date it from 609 BC (when Nebuchadnexzzar first operated against the nations) to 539 BC. And of course 70 is the number of divine completeness. We can compare the deliberate manipulation of the names of the patriarchs who went into Egypt (Genesis 46.8-27), who of course went with 'their households' probably numbering a few thousand. Best wishes |
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47 | Why can't women lead a church? | 1 Tim 2:12 | biblicalman | 229539 | ||
Hi Ismaila, It is a controversial question partly because women don't like the Scriptural emphasis. I will give you three pointers: 1). Jesus only appointed male Apostles, even though women disciples were travelling around with Him (Luke 8.2). 2). Paul stated that no woman should teach authoritatively or have overall authority in the church (1 Tim 2.12). 3). Paul said 'the head of the woman is the man' confirming 2). (1 Cor 11.3). Best wishes |
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48 | Do God hear/answer prayers of unsaved? | Bible general Archive 4 | biblicalman | 229521 | ||
Hi Joe, Welcome to the forum. While agreeing with all that has been said, I am always a little hesitant about telling God what He must do. The Scripture reveals His usual practise, and that is that God does not hear the prayers of those living complacently in sin, or treating Him lightly. But when unsaved men begin to seek Him I think He may well begin to hear their prayers. Consider the people of Nineveh when Jonah preached to them. God heard their prayers and spared Nineveh. Or consider the people of Israel, who time and again when they were in a period of backsliding prayed in times of need and God delivered them, e.g. when Jerusalem was spared from the Assyrians. In both cases God heard their prayers as part of the proocess of bringing them to Himself. Of course I accept that we do not know at what point such people are 'saved', thus it may come under the heading of responding in salvation. All I am saying is that we should beware of discouraging people from praying,as long as their prayers are genuine, while at the same time warning against glib prayers. Such praying may be part of the process whereby He is wooing them to Himself. Best wishes |
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49 | Does Isaiah 45:7 mean that God created e | Is 45:7 | biblicalman | 229519 | ||
hi Ismaila, Not in the sense in which you mean it. Moral evil is an attitude and action of a morally evil person. It was not created, but was the result of man's freewill. Moral evil is brought about by evil people making the choice to do evil. That is the only way in which it is 'created'. It is created by morally evil people. What is being described in Isaiah 45.7 is physical evil, things that harm men and cause them distress, e.g. storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. which God did create as part of the natural order. Notice the contrasts in the verse. 'I form the light, I create darkness' (contrast of light with darkness). 'I make peace/well-being, I create evil'. Thus the contrast is between physical well being, and what is not for man's physical wellbeing, i.e. natural disasters. Compare. 'shall evil come on a city and the Lord has not done it' (Amos 3.6). In this case the disaster of war. Best wishes |
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50 | Zacharias/Zechariah | Luke | biblicalman | 229505 | ||
Hi renewingmind' welcome to the forum Yes Zechariah is the Hebrew form of Zacharias (the Greek form). Best wishes |
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51 | john 11:1-37 should life hurt this bad | John 11:1 | biblicalman | 229503 | ||
hi Aileen, welcome to the forum. In the midst of life we are in death. Death comes to all men because all have sinned. And sadly the pain is endured by those who are left behind. I presume you are fairly young. Am I to take it that you have suffered a bereavement? I know it can be so hard. But God promises to be with us in our bereavement. At least Martha had the comfort of knowing that Lazarus would arise at the last day, and had meanwhile gone to be with God. These are times that we have to learn to deal with. If used rightly they bring us closer to God. I have seen my father and mother go, and my elder sister. But be assured that the pain wears off. Meanwhile, 'trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.' He suffers with you in your grief. It is times like this that make us stronger if we allow them to drive us into the arms of Jesus. GOD BLESS YOU. |
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52 | How do I to better stand on His word? | Bible general Archive 4 | biblicalman | 229496 | ||
None of us know all God's promises. The Bible is full of them. As you read the Bible you will discover more and more what God has done for you in fulfilment of His promises. As you come across them rejoice in them and give Him praise and thanks. Don't worry too much about the others. As you come across them it will like finding diamond after diamond. You have a whole lifetime in which to discover them and enjoy them. best wishes |
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53 | How do I to better stand on His word? | Bible general Archive 4 | biblicalman | 229494 | ||
The Bible speaks of the natural man. The natural man is the unsaved man, man without Christ (1 Cor 2.14). Such a man does not have the Spirit of God within Him. But a Christian can be called 'carnal'(fleshly). See 1 Cor 3.3-4, in contrast to spiritual. Being carnal is revealed by behaving in a carnal way (1 Cor 3.3). Just as being spiritual is revealed by behaving in a spiritual way (Gal 5.22). But the reason for the latter is that they behave in that way as a result of walking in the Spirit (Rom 8.4-9). It is best not to speak of a carnal nature, as though a Christian man had two natures. It is rather two tendencies within one nature. He is a man by nature, influenced by both flesh and Spirit. The old man is the man that I once was. The new man is the man that I now am in Christ. I am to put to death the old man so that the new man might live through me (Eph 2.22-24). It is misleading to speak of the old nature. Best wishes |
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54 | what is important about 40 | Bible general Archive 4 | biblicalman | 229493 | ||
Hi Peggy, Welcome to the forum. Numbers are regularly used in the Bible to convey ideas rather than in order to indicate exact amounts. Thus both Isaac and Esau were 'forty yars old' when they married. The idea is probably that they were seen to have reached maturity. If you look at ages in Genesis you will be surpirsed how many end in 0, 5, or 7 (in those days 5 was the base number, not ten, and 7 was seen as a divine number. It is clear that the number forty is often connected with God's judgments. The rain came at the Flood for forty days and forty nights. Goliath challenged Israel for forty days. The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years (although strictly for thirty eight years, as the first two years included the wait at Sinai, and the journey from Egypt. But it is thought of in terms of forty years). The maximum number of stripes that could be given were forty. Israel was delivered into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. Forty is also seen as a period of waiting on God or similar. Moses went into the mount for forty days and forty nights. Elijah fled to Horeb taking forty days. Jesus Himself was tempted for forty days and forty nights. It is quite possible that in some cases it simply indicates 'a little over a month'. In Judges the land regularly 'has rest for forty years', probably indicatiing 'for a generation'. In one case it is eighty years (twice forty). Eli judged Israel for forty years. Ishbosheth began to reign when he was forty years old. Both David and Solomon reigned over Israel for forty years. These are probably round numbers (note how these were all within a comparatively short period). Thus the number does appear to be important to God, as representing His activity. Best wishes |
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55 | How can you explain the SDA faiths? | NT general | biblicalman | 229491 | ||
The word baptizo means 'to drench', and derivatively 'to overwhelm' (looking at both Biblical and secular usage). What a word means is not determined by its root, but by how it is used. (The use of bapto is therefore irrelevant to its meaning). The Pharisees did not wash their hands they drenched them, pouring water over hands and wrists. Paul's use in 1 Cor 10 was metaphorical. The Israelites were not really baptised, thus whether they got wet or not is irrelevant. Paul is using the word as a technical term. Certainly in the UK you will not find any baptists that I know of who suggest that baptism saves. Indeed they could not, otherwise they would not allow a delay in baptism after salvation. I know of no UK baptist church thast insists on baptising people the moment they believe. Most would insist on a course of instruction to ensure that the person knows what they are doing. Salvation occurs through faith in Jesus Christ and His blood shed for us, not through baptism. Baptism is simply a final visible seal indicating outwardly that the person is claiming to have been sealed by the Spirit, baptism in water being important but not vital. The reason Baptists practise immersion is: 1) because they believe that that is how it is portrayed in Scripture. 2) because they believe it better portrays the idea of dying with Christ and rising with Him, which is the main meaning of baptism in Scripture. It is only a sacramentalist who would suggest that it mattered whether every part of the head and body were covered. Few UK baptists are sacramentalists. But of course as immersion means going right under the water it is difficult to see how any part could not be covered by water. Thus if there is absurdity, the absurdity that talks about a part not being covered lies with those who suggest otherwise. (It is a pity that Christians try to point to other Christians as having absurd ideas. Whatever they may be they are rarely if ever absurd. Baptists could say that sacramentalist ideas are absurd, some probably do, but I do not think it right to do so. Such ideas may be wrong, but they are not absurd. We should respect each others views). I write this not in order to promote baptists but in order to correct any fales impressions that may have been gained from what has previously been said. Best wishes. |
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56 | Advice and encouragement | 2 Tim 2:15 | biblicalman | 229476 | ||
Hi Julcol, If the JWs have the Holy Spirit why do they always look in their books for their answers rather than in the Bible? And why have they changed their Bible to suit their beliefs? And why do the beliefs in their books keep changing (and incidentally so does their Bible)? Your husband is worried that if you read the Bible you might not be led into the ideas found in his books, because those ideas are not Biblical. In 1920 the JWs issued a book titled 'Millions Now Living Will Never Die". In 2011 that is begin ning to look a bit of a joke. They don't issue that book any more. I wonder why not? The JWs constantly change their beliefs as one false prophecy after another goes wrong. I remember them coming to my door and insisting that Jesus Christ was coming back to earth visibly in 1977. I am still waiting. So you are wise to read and study your Bible, and as you grow in understanding you will learn more and more why the Watchtower have gone astray. You can be sure that the Holy Spirit is far more likely to guide you through the Bible than He is through Watchtower books. God bless you. |
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57 | when will tribulation/rapture occur | Matthew | biblicalman | 229465 | ||
Hi, While not wanting to raise contention I feel that I must add to Searcher's list that there are many who believe that there will be no 'Great Tribulation Period' prior to Christ's coming. There will of course be tribulation in places, but many do not see a seven year (or three and a half) year period as Scriptural. But as Searcher says, for anyone who wants to read more about it there are plenty of past answers on the forum which can be consulted. I agree with him that it has been discussed sufficiently. |
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58 | How did Moses know he was Jewish? | Exodus | biblicalman | 229464 | ||
Hi We are accounted as righteous (justified) as a free gift through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, and this as a consequence of our faith in Him (Rom 3.24). This occurs while we are still ungodly (Rom 4.5) and makes us acceptable to God at the moment of truly believing. The fact that He justifies the ungodly demonstrates that this happens at the moment of believing. One moment we are ungodly. The next moment we are accounted as righteous. So once we have believed in Jesus Christ as our Saviour we are no longer counted as ungodly. We are accounted as righteous before Him (Rom 4.3). It is something that happens once for all at the moment of believing. This is because God has set Him forth to be a propitiation (means of turning side God's antipathy to sin) through faith in His shed blood (Rom 3.25). At the same moment we are accounted as holy (sanctified), that is, set apart wholly to God (1 Cor 1.2, 30; 6.11; Heb 13.12; Acts 26.18) and seen as holy in Christ. We are 'sanctified ones' (1 Cor 1.2). Then begins the process of making us holy (2 Cor 3.18). Having sanctified us once for all in Christ the moment that we believe, covering us with His righteousness and holiness, God then begins to sanctify us in reality through the process of sanctification (God has perfected for ever those who are being sanctified - Heb 10.14), a process which continues on through our lifetime. Our Justification and initial sanctification are once for all. Our continuing sanctification commences from that moment and continues on through life as God works within us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil 2.13). And this goes on until we are presented perfect before Him. |
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59 | What Hebrew governed Egypt | Exodus | biblicalman | 229426 | ||
Hi Arnold, It was Zaphnath Paaneah otherwise known as Joseph, Best wishes |
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60 | when will tribulation/rapture occur | Matthew | biblicalman | 229421 | ||
Hi, The question is which days? Commencing with a resume of history Jesus was specifically prophesying about three things: The destruction of the Temple that Jesus was looking at (verse 2-3a; vv 15-22). The second coming of Jesus Christ (verse 3b vv 27-31). The end of the world (verse 3c ch 25.31-46). Now if the Abomination of Desolation (destructive idolatry) does not refer to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD it would mean that (according to Matthew) Jesus had not answered the first question at all. And we should note that in fact Mark and Luke concentrate on that question of the destruction of the Temple, (they do not refer to the second coming), and Mark also speaks of the Abomination of Desolation. It would be even more strange if Mark posed only one question and did not answer it. Furthermore paralleling verse by verse with Luke we discover that the Abomination of Desolation refers to armies surrounding Jerusalem followed by the Jews being scattered among the nations until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (Luk 21.20-24). We shouild note that the 'great tribulation' was also to be initially escaped by fleeing to the mountains suggesting that it was limited to the Jews. Unless we are trying to fit it into some prophetic scheme this great tribulation mentioned here (which is like nothing before or since) is the tribulation that commenced for the Jews when Jerusalem was surrounded and taken with horrendous slaughter and suffering, continued on through the ages in their dispersion (including the Holocaust) as Luke brings out, and is even now being experienced by Jews in many parts of the world. You will note that connected with it is the rising of false Messiahs and false prophets which certainly occurred following the fall of Jerusalem. As to being trodden down by the Gentiles ancient Jerusalem is still occupied by the Arabs, and there are at the present time serious negotiations taking place for it to be taken over by the United Nations. It will be interesting to see what happens. Best wishes |
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