Bible Question:
The rest of it: (sorry i did this in reverse order, i am a newbie :-) From Jeremiah: God lies to Zedekiah again by telling him that he will die in peace and be buried with his fathers. But later (2 Kg.25:7 and Jer.52:10-11) he dies a violent death in a foreign land. 34:5 All those who move to Egypt will die by the sword, famine, or pestilence. None "shall escape from the evil" that comes directly from God. But many, including Jews, have moved to Egypt and most seem to have escaped from God's promised evil. 42:15-18, 22 God prophesies that Babylon will never again be inhabited. But it has been inhabited constantly since the prophecy was supposedly made, and is inhabited still today. 50:39 God says that Babylon will be desolate and uninhabited forever. He says that only dragons will live there. But Babylon has been dragon-free and continuously inhabited since then. 51:26, 29, 37, 43, 62, 64 God promised Zedekiah (Jer.34:5) that he would die peacefully and be buried with his fathers. But here we see that he died a miserable death in foreign land. 52:10-11 From Micah: "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." The gospel of Matthew (2:5-6) claims that Jesus' birth in Bethlehem fulfils this prophecy. But this is unlikely for two reasons. "Bethlehem Ephratah" in Micah 5:2 refers not to a town, but to a clan: the clan of Bethlehem, who was the son of Caleb's second wife, Ephrathah (1 Chr.2:18, 2:50-52, 4:4). The prophecy (if that is what it is) does not refer to the Messiah, but rather to a military leader, as can be seen from verse 5:6. This leader is supposed to defeat the Assyrians, which, of course, Jesus never did. It should also be noted that Matthew altered the text of Micah 5:2 by saying: "And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda" rather than "Bethlehem Ephratah" as is said in Micah 5:2. He did this, intentionally no doubt, to make the verse appear to refer to the town of Bethlehem rather than the family clan.5:2 Moving onto the New Testament: From Matthew: Jesus mistakenly tells his followers that he will return and establish his kingdom within their lifetime. 16:28 Jesus predicts the end of the world within the lifetime of his listeners. 23:36 From Hebrews: In Genesis (13:15, 15:18, 17: and Exodus (32:13) God promises Abraham and his descendants "the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession." But here Paul admits that God's promise went unfulfilled. 11:9-13 From Peter: Peter wrongly believed that he was living in the "last times." 1:5, 7, 20, 5:4 Peter mistakenly believes that "the end of all things is at hand." 4:7 From 1 John: John thinks he is living in "the last times." He "knows" this because he sees so many antichrists around. 2:18, 4:3 John warns his followers to get ready because Jesus is coming soon. 2:28 John expects to live to see Jesus return. 3:2 |
Bible Answer: Hello, I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist this one. About King Zedekiah. Did you read Jeremiah 34:2-4 along with verse 5? And did you read how he died? King Zedekiah didn't die by the Sword. He died in prison. 34:2-4 says that King Zedekiah would be taken to Babylon to see the king, and verse 5 says that he wouldn't die by the sword. King Neb. sieged Jerusalem, took Zedekiah prisoner, and put him in prison. There, Zedekiah died, possibly of old age. Thus fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy. About Egypt and Jeremiah Jeremiah is talking to Judah, the southern kingdom. Judah made a peace treaty with Egypt in a vain attempt that Egypt would protect them from Babylon. However, Babylon marched all the way to Egypt and conquered them as well. Thus fulfilling Jeremiah's Prophecy stated in Jeremiah 42: 13-22 About Babylon Are there people living in Babylon, the city where Nabuchdnezzar had his capital? Nope! It's nothing more than ruins. In fact, there's no longer a nation called Babylon. Babylon died at tha Hands of the Medo-persian empire. About Bethlehem Actually, The ancient name for Bethlehem was Ephrath. Genesis 35:19 So, Micah is referring to the city, and the coming Messiah. About the immortal generation in Matthew 23. Actually, this passage is referring to the Destruction of the Temple in 70 ad. Such a destruction would be the end of the world to a devout jew. About Matthew 16. Jesus says that they will not "taste death". Now, Is Jesus referring to physical death, which he once referred to as sleep, or spiritual death? I would say that Jesus is referring to spiritual death. About Hebrews First off, Are you sure that the author is Paul? Because the name of the author is never given, and no one knows for sure who wrote Hebrews. Second, They didn't receive the promise in their lifetime. That doesn't mean that it was never fulfilled. About mystakenly believing that they were in the end times. Peter never says in the verses you state that he believed that he was living in the last times. He does tell us what to expect when the Last times come about. As for verse 4:7, being "at hand" means that it could some at anytime. He's telling the audience to be alert because Jesus could return at anytime. John's epistle is about being alert and staying aware of the dangers around you. Like Peter, John is warning his readers to stay alert. In closing, I must insist that if you desire to put more apparent contradictions up, that you read the whole context, not just what you desire to read. Many of these contradictions were easily explained by looking at the surrounding verses. Jesusman |