Bible Gems for Friendship

What Are The "Heavenly Realms"?

2012-03-06T06:00:00.001-05:00

Biblegems #78

Ephesians 6:12 talks about wrestling against principalities and powers...and "against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." What is meant by “the heavenly places” in this case?

The phrase “heavenly places” or “heavenly realms” (NIV) translates the Greek word epouraniois, (lit., “the heavenlies”), and is found only 5 X in Scripture, all of them in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (Eph. 1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12). That is actually helpful for interpretation purposes because Paul clearly has a theme going in Ephesians in which ”heavenly realms” plays an important role. We can expect the phrase to have a consistent meaning throughout.

When we follow the concept throughout Ephesians we discover several characteristics of the “heavenly realms.” For example, chapter 1 verse 3 tells us that the heavenly realms are now the normal plane of the believer’s existence and experience. The spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ are given and received in the heavenly realms:

Eph. 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

This heavenly realm is where Jesus is right now at the Father’s throne:

Eph. 1:20 …which he [God] exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…

The obvious implication of this is that we as new creatures in Christ inhabit this same heavenly realm as Jesus does, even while we inhabit the earthly realm. In fact, Ephesians 2:6 specifically says that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead enables every born again believer in Jesus Christ to experience life in the heavenly realms as really as we experience life in the physical realm:

Eph. 2:6 [For] God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…

This is not a metaphor. God wants to introduce us, to show us off—His spiritual children—to those for whom heaven has been their only home. Why?

Eph. 3:10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms…

Beyond that, God needs us to function in the spiritual realm with a certain degree of confidence and familiarity. We now live in two realms at the same time, the earthly and the heavenly. We are creatures of two natures, and we are engaged in the spiritual warfare that is raging in both realms.

Eph. 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Those who are truly “in Christ” have been given access into the heavenly realms through the Spirit. We have “have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age,” as it says in Hebrews 6:5. One day that will be our primary residence; and it is that wonderful day and that wonderful, imperishable life that we are in preparation for now.

Dividing Soul And Spirit

2012-02-28T07:37:00.002-05:00

Biblegems #77

Question: What is the difference in Scripture between “soul” and “spirit,” and does the “soul” die?

Technically, the word “soul” in the Bible refers to the self-aware life force that allows the physical nature of man to function. Genesis 2:7 describes how God formed Adam from the same elements that were in the soil, but that Adam was nothing more than an intricate clay model—until God breathed life into him. That action turned the clay model into a conscious being (“soul”) in physical form. The soul is what makes the body come to life.

Gen. 2:7 …the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (“soul”—KJV).

It would even be somewhat inaccurate to describe man as a body with a soul in it, because the soul and body were designed for each other permanently. They were designed to function together and never be separated. When the two are separated, the body dies:

Matt. 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Therfore, “death” is not a ceasing to exist, but rather a change in condition. Both the body and the soul can be “destroyed” in hell, where the word “destroyed” (Gk. “apolesai”) means to be “lost,” not annihilated. The idea is that both body and soul have entered a form of existence from which there is no return.

In the same way, when a believer dies the body and soul are separated until the resurrection, at which time the body is raised imperishable:

1 Cor. 15:42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable

The “soul” gives us self-awareness and emotional responses, such as Jesus experienced in Gethsemane:

John 12:27 “Now my heart (Gk. “psuche”—“soul”) is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.

Human beings (souls) are spirit as well as body and soul, however. “Spirit” (Heb. “ruach;” Gk. “pneuma”) is what distinguishes humanity from the rest of the huge varieties of created, conscious, earthly life. Dogs and birds and fish are all forms of conscious life, and all are capable of varying levels of emotional responses, such as fear or desire. But only humanity has spirit.

Mankind is fashioned for existence in the spiritual realm. We are designed to live with God and to have interchange with other spirit-beings, such as angels and, of course, God Himself:

John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.

Jesus, as a sinless man, functioned in this spiritual capacity with perfection:

Mark 2:8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things?

As with the soul, when the spirit and body are separated death occurs. When Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from death, her restored spirit re-animated her body and soul:

Luke 8:55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.

Death is the result of sin and not part of God’s original design for man. Death is being cut off from God, our source of life, because of sin, and results in an un-natural separation of body, soul and spirit. Jesus came to restore us to God, and to a life that is imperishable:

1 Th. 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God'sWill And Free Will

2012-02-21T06:00:00.002-05:00

Biblegems #76

Question: How can we tell the difference between God’s will and man’s free will? How much free will does a person have?

There is clearly a distinction in Scripture between God’s will and human will. For example, in Deuteronomy 1:13 Moses recalls how leaders were chosen from the tribal heads of Israel to assist him in governing the Hebrew people in the Wilderness:

Deut. 1:13 Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.

This was exercising God-given freedom to make wise decisions for the sake of the whole nation.

On the other hand, God Himself was to choose the place where the Tabernacle would be established in the Promised Land, and it was the responsibility of the Israelites to discover what God’s will was in that matter:

Deut. 12:5 But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go…

Sometimes discovering God’s will is a matter of exhausting our own efforts at trying to influence events. For instance, when the apostle Paul’s companions and friends, including Luke, tried to convince Paul not to go on to Jerusalem because a prophecy given in the church indicated Paul would be severely persecuted there, they were unsuccessful. Paul chose to go anyway:

Acts 21:14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

However, more often than not, believers can discern God’s will easily enough just by choosing (i.e.,, exercising their free will) to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh, to stay intimately connected to God by avoiding sin and living in Christ’s righteousness. As Paul says in Ephesians:

Eph. 5:15-18 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

The reality is, God has given man a great deal of free will, but that power to make choices is always contained within the boundaries of God’s sovereignty. His grand plan for mankind and all of the universe will unfold as He has determined it should. He will never allow us to make choices that will alter that. I would encourage Bible Gems readers to read Bible Gems # 48, “Witnessing & Election,” for further insight related to predestination and free will.

The upshot is this: God does not want His will for us to be a mystery. Rather, His desire is that we should seek His will and freely choose His will over our own. As James reminds us,

James 4:15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.

Do you have other questions related to God’s will and human freedom of choice? Click on the “comment” link at the end of this article and submit your question.

Origin Of The Races

2012-02-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

Biblegems #75

Question: Where did the different “races” come from, since the Flood wiped out all humanity except Noah’s family?

This is a particularly important question, because the concept of “race” is so prevalent in society, even with all the cultural attempts to downplay it. Surprisingly, the answer is found within the question, as we shall see shortly.

When we speak of “race” we automatically think in terms of “red and yellow, black and white,” and associate the human color spectrum with the various ethnic groups (Asian, Hispanic, Caucasian, etc.). The Bible does recognize the obvious ethnic, national and language distinctions within the human family, but the term “race” is a uniquely cultural idea, not a biblical one. “Race” suggests subdivisions of ‘human being’ as a creature, which the Bible nowhere teaches or supports.

What the Bible does teach, however, is that all humanity ultimately descends from Adam and Eve, and from Noah and his three sons, Ham, Shem and Japheth.

Gen. 10:32 These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.

And…

Acts 17:26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.

Noah’s three sons, and especially their descendants, gradually moved away from the slopes of Mount Ararat in modern day Turkey, where the ark had settled after the Flood (Gen. 10-11).

As they and their extended families moved away from each other geographically and established communities, intermarriage between cousins was both common and necessary for survival. The genetic DNA pool would be limited, which would encourage particular traits to become dominant from generation to generation, such as darker or lighter skin and other physical characteristics. We see the very same effect when animals are closely interbred. As a result, there are now many more “breeds” of dogs than the canine ancestors which first entered the ark. Notice that these breeds are not considered different “races” of dog.

Basic people groupings can be traced back to Noah’s three sons and their descendants, but even here physical characteristics such as skin tone cross over between ethnic branches. There are dark and light skinned Hispanics, for example. So our modern distinction between Caucasian, Black, Hispanic and Asian is a completely arbitrary one that tends to divide more than it does unite us as people created in the image of God.

Generally speaking, Ham and his wife can be identified as the ancestors of the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Hittites, Canaanites, African tribes, and perhaps the Native American and South Pacific Island people groups. Shem is the ancestor of the Semitic and Arab peoples, and from Japheth descended the Europeans, such as the Greeks and Romans¹.

So the answer to this Bible Gems question is found within the question itself: There are no “races” in the human family. There is only the human race, descended from Noah, who was descended from Adam and Eve, and created in the image of God.

1. Morris, Henry M. The Genesis Record, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,1976, pg. 240-243.

What's A Graven Image?

2012-02-07T06:00:00.002-05:00

Biblegems #74

Question: I need explaining about Exodus that I read in a novel. It was a reference to the Amish people and how they don't like to be photographed. As it is written in the book:

Exodus 20:4 "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth."

So my question is does this apply to art, like drawing or painting or photography? Should we not do these things?

The Hebrew word in Exodus 20:4 translated “graven image” (KJV) or “idol” (NIV) is “fesel,” which is derived from a word that means to hew or carve into a shape. “Graven” is a Middle English word dating before 1000AD that means to carve or sculpt. Idols in the Old Testament era were typically carved out of wood or stone, but so were many other things, such as stone tablets for writing. So the term itself can be translated either as “idol” or “hewn,” depending on the context.

So, according to Exodus 20:4, what specifically does the commandment say not to do?

In Exodus 25, God instructs Moses to:

“…make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover” (Ex. 25:18-20).

These gold cherubim were to adorn the lid of the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple. The process of hammering out the gold and shaping it into the image of an angel or cherubim is exactly that of shaping an idol. What makes this any different than the kind of carving God says not to do in Exodus 20:4?

The difference is in the purpose of the carved image. The commandment in Exodus 20:4 is part of the first commandment, which states that no other god but the LORD (Yahweh), and no fabricated image, is to be worshiped:

Ex. 20:2-6 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand [ generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

God has no problem with art, statues, photographs or computer graphics—so long as they are not immoral, indecent or made and used for the purpose of worship. They are not in and of themselves a violation of the commandment to make no graven images. The NIV’s translation more accurately conveys the meaning of Exodus 20:4, that we are to make no “idols.” Therefore, praying to a likeness of Jesus or Mary or one of the apostles is idolatry, whereas having a nativity scene on the table as a simple reminder of the Savior’s birth is not.

So… the next time someone wants to take your picture —

Smile!

Revelation 1:10: "The Lord's Day," Part 3

2012-01-31T06:00:00.006-05:00

Biblegems #73

Question: Does the term "the Lord's day" in Revelation 1:10 mean Sunday or the Sabbath day—or something else?

(Note: If you have not read parts 1 & 2 of this series on “the Lord’s Day,” I strongly encourage you to do so [Bible Gems #71 & #72]. You should also read Bible Gems #68, which is closely related.)

New Testament teaching and practice clearly indicate that the phrase “the Lord’s Day” (Rev. 1:10) refers to Sunday, not the Sabbath. The history of the post-apostolic church¹ confirms that the phrase refers to Sunday as the traditional day of worship practiced among early Christians.

The early New Testament era church began to meet for worship regularly on Sunday, the first day of the week (1 Cor. 16:1-2; Acts 20:7). At first, this was in addition to the Sabbath and other Jewish holy days because the first Christians were predominantly Jews who had put their faith in Jesus as Messiah.

As more and more Gentiles came to faith in Jesus, the issue of observing Jewish laws and regulations or not became a source of serious contention. This question was formally settled by the apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 15:10-11, 28-29), who affirmed that no believer—Jew or Gentile—should be burdened with “a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear” (Acts 15:10).

The New Testament repeatedly warns against making the observation of a Sabbath Day or any other religious holiday a matter of spiritual value (Colossians 2:16). To do so is actually moving backward into a form of spiritual bondage:

Gal. 4:9-11 But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

The Greater Question:

The apostle Paul fought tirelessly to impress upon Jewish and Gentile believers that the purpose of the Law was to bring us to saving faith in Jesus Christ:

Rom. 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Believers are no longer bound to the Law. For a believer to put himself under its restrictions is tantamount to denying the grace that saved him:

Gal. 5:4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

For the Galatians the issue was one of circumcision more than observing the Sabbath. But regardless of which aspect of the Law some would insist we observe in order to please God, the greater question believers need to answer was asked by Paul:

Gal. 3:2-3 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

Conclusion:

To worship corporately on the Sabbath is not wrong, just as worshiping corporately on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is neither right nor wrong. What is wrong is to think that observing one day over another is what pleases God. What is important is that we come together regularly as the body of Christ for worship (1 Cor. 11:18. 20, 33; 14:26).

That being said, the practice of the early church gathering for worship increasingly centered around celebrating the resurrection of Jesus on Sunday, which came to be called “the Lord’s Day,” as this 3-part series has demonstrated.

Endnotes:

1 From the Didache (50-120 AD), an instructional manual circulated among the churches: “And on the Lord’s own day gather yourselves together and break bread and give thanks, first confessing your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure.” (Didache 14:1)

Also: “If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord’s Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death…” (Ignatius to the Magnesians, CHAPTER IX.—LET US LIVE WITH CHRIST)

See also, Ignatius of Antioch (110 AD); Pliny the Younger (112 AD); Eusebius of Caesarea, Bishop of Palestine, (263 – 339 AD); et. al.

Revelation 1:10: "The Lord's Day," Part 2

2012-01-24T11:43:00.000-05:00

Biblegems #72

Question: Does the term "the Lord's day" in Revelation 1:10 mean Sunday or the Sabbath day—or something else?

As was mentioned in Part 1 of this series, Rev. 1:10 is the only occurrence of the phrase “the Lord’s Day” in Scripture. It does appear, however, in early Christian writings after the close of the New Testament, and always in reference to Sunday, the first day of the week, as a celebration of the resurrection. The appearance of the phrase in Revelation, which was composed around 96 AD, shows that the phrase was coming into use among Christians at the close of the apostolic period, yet was common enough even then that John did not have to explain its meaning.

NT Teaching:

As people who live under the New Covenant, Christians are free from the obligations of the Law, which was imposed upon the Jewish people, including the observance of the Sabbath:

Col. 2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

In fact, when Jewish Christians in the early church insisted that male Gentile believers be circumcised, or else they could not be saved, the apostles in Jerusalem responded that new believers should not be encumbered with any of the Old Covenant regulations:

Acts 15:28-29 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.

Even the “requirements” they did stipulate were not matters of a new Law or conditions of salvation.

For a more complete look at the teaching of the New Testament on this, I encourage the reader to go to Biblegems #68, “Old Testament Sacrifices Under The New Covenant.”

NT Terminology

“The Lord’s day” in Rev. 1:10 is translated from te keriake hemera, where “keriake,” a possessive adjective, means “belonging to the Lord.” Similar phrasing in the New Testament is used of “the Lord’s supper” (1 Cor. 11:20), where “the Lord’s” clearly refers to Jesus.

While it is true there are numerous times when the phrase “my Sabbaths” is used by God to describe the Sabbath day (Ezek. 23:38; Is. 56:4; etc.), that does not mean that the Sabbath day and the Lord’s Day are one and the same. It was the first day of the week (Sunday) on which Jesus rose from the dead (Lk. 24:13-49; Jn. 20:1-25), and the following Sunday when He appeared to His disciples (Jn. 20:26). This is why the early church set aside the first day of the week for worship, the Lord’s Supper, the preaching of the Word and giving to the needy (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2).

The Sabbath celebrates the original creation; the Lord’s Day celebrates the resurrection and the new creation in Christ. The Sabbath is God’s holy day set apart for the Jewish people under the Law of Moses; the Lord’s Day affirms that:

Rom. 3:21 …a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

Revelation 1:10: "The Lord's Day," Part 1

2012-01-17T06:00:00.005-05:00

Biblegems #71

Question: Does the term "the Lord's day" in Revelation 1:10 mean Sunday or the Sabbath day—or something else?

To best answer this question we will need to look at the history of the post-apostolic church as well as the Scripture. Only the Bible gives us our authoritative guide for faith and Christian living, but the history of the early church gives us insight into how the generation following the apostles used the term.

First, “the Lord’s day” in Revelation 1:10 is the only use of the term in the Bible. There are a couple of things we can learn from this:

1) One verse is not sufficient to determine the meaning of the phrase, especially where the context does not give any clues.

2) We have to see what light the teaching of the apostles and practice of the New Testament church might give us.

3) We need to see if historical evidence sheds any light on the use of the term.

Christian Practice in the NT:

Acts 20:7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.

1 Cor. 16:1-2 Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

Christian Practice Post-NT

1) Ignatius of Antioch (110 AD): We have seen how former adherents of the ancient customs have since attained to a new hope, so that they have given up keeping the Sabbath, and now order their lives by the Lord's Day instead the day when life first dawned for us, thanks to Him and His death.

2) Pliny the Younger (112 AD) reporting to Emperor Trajan on his attempts to stop the growth of Christianity: “They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang an anthem to Christ as God, and bound themselves by a solemn oath not to commit any wicked deed, but to abstain from all fraud, theft, and adultery, never to break their word, or deny a trust when called on to honor it; after which it was their custom to separate, and then meet again to partake of food, but food of an ordinary and innocent kind."

Note: While the first day of the week is not specified, singing a hymn to Jesus at dawn would make the most sense as a celebration of the resurrection, as the quote above indicates.

3) Eusebius of Caesarea, Bishop of Palestine, (263 – 339 AD): "From the beginning, Christians assembled on the first day of the week. It was called the Lord's Day by John in the Apocalypse. They met on the Lord's Day for the purpose of religious worship, to read the Scriptures, to preach and to celebrate the Lord's Supper."

Next week, Part 2 will focus on other Scriptures related to this topic. Part 3 will tie everything together and present a conclusion.

Revelation's 1,260 Days

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Biblegems #70

Question: Revelation 11:3 speaks of the two prophets and the 1,260 days that they will be prophesying, and Rev. 12:6, 14 speaks of the woman having the child and after giving birth God sends her to the desert for 1,260 days. Does the 1,260 days refer to both events taking place at the same time?

It is likely that both passages refer to events happening during the last 31/2 years of the Antichrist’s reign. 1,260 days equals 31/2 years, according to the Jewish calendar of NT times, which contained twelve months of thirty days each. Let’s begin with Revelation 11:3.

The context tells us that the two witnesses of verse 3 carry out their ministry after the temple has been rebuilt in Jerusalem (v. 1), and specifically after the Gentiles have taken over the temple (v. 2). According to Daniel 9:27, this refers to the Antichrist outlawing the Jewish sacrifices and setting up a statue of himself in the temple to be worshiped. Jesus refers to Daniel’s prophecy:

When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains (Mark 13:14; see also Dan. 11:31; 12:11; Matt. 24:15).

The two witnesses of Revelation 11:3 are most likely Moses and Elijah. The miracles they perform (Rev. 11:6) are identical to those performed through Moses and Elijah in the OT. Elijah is mentioned in this regard by the prophet Malachi:

See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers… (Mal. 4:5-6).

Malachi’s prophecy places Elijah in Jerusalem, just before the Day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5), which means at the end of the last 31/2 years of the Antichrist’s reign.

In a preview of His Second Coming, when Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John, appearing with Him were Moses and Elijah (Mk. 9:1-4).

Turning to Revelation12: 6, 14, and 13:4-18, we see Israel under the control of the Antichrist, yet protected from annihilation (12:6), during the last 31/2 years of his reign. Indeed, the influence of the Antichrist will be world-wide:

All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world (Rev. 13:8).

This is the period Jesus calls the Great Tribulation (“Great Distress,” NIV, Matt. 24:15-29). As we saw earlier from Daniel 9:27, The Antichrist will have established an agreement with the nations, an agreement he will break halfway into his 7 year reign:

He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him (Dan. 9:27).

Though the reign of the Antichrist will last seven years, the Great Tribulation will be cut short as far as the persecuted church of Jesus Christ is concerned when Jesus returns to for His Church and pours out the wrath of God upon the Antichrist and an unbelieving world:

For then there will be great distress [Tribulation], unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened (Matt. 24:21-22). And—

Immediately after the distress [Tribulation] of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other (Matt. 24:29-31).

God's Book Of Deeds

2012-01-03T06:00:00.001-05:00

Biblegems #69

Question: Referring to Revelation 20:11-15, if we are assured of eternal life, then why will we be judged according to our works, and depending on those works, our names may not be written in the book of life, and therefore we would be cast into the lake of fire?

This passage in Revelation refers to what is typically called the Great White Throne Judgment. In interpreting the meaning of the Book of Deeds (v. 12-13) it is important to keep in view the order of events described in Revelation 20.

The chapter opens (vv. 1-3) with the beginning of Christ’s reign over the earth and the casting of Satan into the Abyss for a thousand years (the Millennium). Verses 4-6 describe those who have been raised from the dead and given authority to judge (4), to serve as priests (6) and to reign with Christ during the Millennium (6).

Who are these people? They are the faithful followers of Jesus Christ:

“Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!” — Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth (1 Cor. 6:3).

“You [Jesus] have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth,” declares Rev. 5:9-10, speaking of all those who have been saved by the blood of Jesus.

And again…

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Pet. 2:9).

We who have given our lives to Jesus in this life will reign with Him during the Millennium and sit with Him at the Great White Throne Judgment. As Rev. 20:12 clearly states, it will be the “dead, [not resurrected believers] great and small, standing before the throne” when the Book of Deeds is opened. The Book of Life is opened as well, revealing that their names are not recorded there. The dead at this time will be resurrected for judgment, judged according to the evidence compiled against them during their earthly lives (v. 13).

The Book of Deeds will reveal all the opportunities these people had to live for Jesus instead of refusing Him. No one will be able to say that God was not fair, or that He had not given ample opportunity to receive His saving grace through Jesus Christ. They will be cast into hell by God’s judgment, but also by their own history of life choices. They who said “No” to Jesus in their earthly life will hear “No” from God at the threshold of eternal life. Hell is the only alternative for those whose names are not recorded in the Book of Life (20:15), and their actions (deeds) in this life will prove where their loyalties truly lay.

So, in answer to the question “why will we be judged according to our works…?” — Revelation 20:12 does not refer to believers in Jesus. Judgment for our sins has already been paid for at the cross (1 Pet. 2:24).

Once again, context is the key to correct interpretation!

OT Sacrifices Under The New Covenant

2011-12-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

Biblegems #68

Question: How much of the Old Testament are we held to regarding the sacrifices and the Ten Commandments?

Paul and Barnabas brought this very issue before the apostles in Jerusalem because many Jewish believers in Jesus insisted that Gentile believers had to conform to Jewish laws and customs (Acts 15). Should Gentile males be circumcised when they come to Christ? Should Gentile believers offer sacrifices and worship on the Sabbath?

Here is the decision by the apostles in Jerusalem, confirmed by the Holy Spirit:

God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them [the Gentiles] by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are” (Acts 15:8-11).

So the rule for all believers in Jesus is that we are not bound by the law of Moses. As the Scripture says:

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ (Col. 2:16-17).

This idea of the sacrificial system, Sabbath day observance and celebration of religious holidays as being “shadows” of the reality found in Christ runs throughout the New Testament:

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship (Heb. 10:1).

Even when it comes to the Ten Commandments, followers of Jesus Christ are not under the law written upon stone, but under Jesus’ new commandment to love one another (John 13:34). As Paul says in Romans:

The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Rom. 13:9).

But here is the crux of the matter: The law, sacrifices and ceremonies are not bad; they are just incapable of changing a sinful heart into a loving heart. Only Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit can transform a person from the inside out. Then, keeping the Ten Commandments becomes a desire, not a law.

So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law (Gal. 3:24-25). The law, which highlighted our sin and condemned us, has been replaced in the life of the believer by the grace of God, who pardons our sins and transforms our sinful nature into a holy nature.

A Jewish Temple In The Last Days?

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Biblegems #67

Question: Will there be a new temple built by Jews in the Last Days? If so, will the ark of the covenant be in it?

According to Daniel 9:27, a new Jewish temple will have already been in existence, complete with animal sacrifices, by the middle of the seven year reign of the Antichrist. In fact, the verse tells us that the Antichrist will shut down the animal sacrifices after 31/2 years and that “on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation.”

Jesus refers to that “abomination that causes desolation” as something “standing” (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14); and the apostle Paul very specifically states that the Antichrist “will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thess. 2:4).

So the Antichrist will set himself up to be worshiped, or a statue of himself, on a wing of the newly rebuilt temple approximately 31/2 years into his 7 year reign.

The prophet Isaiah also refers to this temple, and makes it clear that it will be constructed by the Jewish people, not as a result of God’s leading but out of their own self-will. Isaiah 66:3-4 reads:

But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a man, and whoever offers a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig’s blood, and whoever burns memorial incense, like one who worships an idol. They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in them, so I also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring upon them what they dread. For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.

God is not pleased with the construction of the new temple and views the sacrifices which He has not ordained as contemptible as murder. Therefore, He allows the Antichrist to stop the sacrifices and set himself up as a god to be worshiped. This “abomination” results in the Jews revolting against the Antichrist and leaving the temple. Thus, “the abomination that causes desolation.”

As far as the ark of the covenant being re-instated in the new, or third, temple—it is highly unlikely. The ark has probably been destroyed. The reader should see Biblegems article # 16, “Where Is The Ark Of The Covenant”?

Revelation 3:10 & The Rapture

2011-12-13T06:00:00.002-05:00

Biblegems # 66

Question: Does Revelation 3:10 refer to the rapture of the Church before the Great Tribulation?

Rev. 3:10 reads, Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

This verse has been called “the watershed in the debate over the timing of the rapture.”¹ I have underlined the portions that are key to its interpretation.

Rev. 3:10 is addressed to the Church of Philadelphia. The promise given is specifically to the church of Philadelphia. However, the promise makes no sense unless the Philadelphian church is seen as a type of the future Church at the time of this predicted “hour of trial” because those of John’s day would not live long enough to see that period.

The promise is conditional: “Since” you have patiently endured, then (implied) I will keep you from the hour of global trial. Those who have endured are the Philadelphian Christians. No such promise is given to the other churches in Revelation 5. In other words, not all Christians will be ‘kept from the hour of trial,’ but only that remnant that has “patiently endured.”

The word “endurance” (Gk. hupomonais) means standing firm through trouble and adversity. So the idea is that standing firm through trouble and adversity now will result in God’s keeping you from “the hour of trial” in the future.

The “hour of trial” clearly refers to a specific period of time in the future. It will be world-wide, therefore the principal of divine protection promised to the Philadelphian church would apply to the church universal at the time of this world-wide “trial.” The “hour” actually describes the beginning of the Great Tribulation, which according to Daniel 12, begins 31/2 years into the reign of the antichrist.

The word “trial” (Gk. Peirasmoun) means “testing,” which aptly describes the Tribulation, but not the Day of the Lord’s Wrath, where testing is replaced by judgment. The two events should not be confused as one.

So the expectation of the Church as it approaches the time of the Great Tribulation, based on the cause and effect promise given to the church of Philadelphia, is that some believers, those who “patiently endure” the period just prior to the Tribulation (i.e., the first 31/2 years of the antichrist’s 7 year reign), will be kept from that “hour of trial.” They will be “kept” by God from experiencing that last 31/2 years known as the Great Tribulation.

This is not the Rapture, because it does not include the whole Church, but represents God’s protection of a remnant within His Church. Remember Jesus’ warning to those believers who are alive during the Tribulation to hide in the mountains when the antichrist sets up his image in the temple at Jerusalem (Matt. 24:15-21). Those who have been anticipating this terrible climax of human history and flee into hiding when they see the antichrist set himself up as a god may be among those whom God keeps “from the hour of trial.” They have been watching, enduring and preparing for that very day.

1 Rosenthal, Marvin. The Pre-Wrath Rapture Of The Church, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tenn. 1990, pg. 238

Explaining The Trinity

2011-12-06T06:00:00.003-05:00

Biblegems #65

Question: How can the concept of the Trinity be explained in a way that is both clear and biblically sound?

What a great Christmas season question!

Explaining the Trinity has vexed the Church from the beginning, not because it is unbiblical but because it is too easy to misrepresent the Trinity by using poor examples and analogies.

The Bible clearly states that there is one God (Dt. 6:4) who exists eternally in three persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). The Father, Son and Holy Spirit all share the same divine nature, yet they are three distinct persons who communicate with each other:

Gen. 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…

Jesus is one with the Father, yet a distinct person:

John 10:30 I and the Father are one.

The Spirit is a person and one with God in His holy nature:

John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Examples of misrepresenting the Trinity incude:

• God the Father created Jesus; the Holy Spirit is not a person but a force or power.

• The Trinity is actually three separate Gods.

• God took on the role of the Father, Son or Holy Spirit. An example sometimes used is that of water taking on the alternate forms of ice or steam.

• God and Jesus are the same person, just perceived sometimes as the Son and other times as the Father.

Perhaps the best analogy for the Trinity has been supplied by God Himself in the creation of man as a triune being. It is still not a perfect analogy, but then again, there is nothing else in all existence that perfectly compares to God. According to the Bible, man was created in the image of God as a three-fold being: body, soul and spirit. The soul is conscious life that animates the body (Gen. 2:7); the spirit gives him understanding and a connection to God beyond that of other living beings:

Job 32:8 But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.

I can point to my face and say, “This is me; my name is Paul.” I am carrying out the action of a living soul, pointing to the body inhabited by that soul and expressing a basic spiritual understanding of my existence in the world. My body, soul and spirit all belong to my one nature (human being), yet are also three distinct entities in that one nature.

God in His essential nature has no body. He is, by definition, spirit (Jn. 4:24). The miracle of Christmas is that —

Jesus, “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with

God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking

the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
(Phil 2:6-7).

Contradicting Numbers In The Bible

2011-11-29T06:00:00.003-05:00

Biblegems #64

Question: Why is it that one event involving numbers, such as a person’s age or the number of soldiers in an army, can be recorded in more than one place in Scripture and those references give apparently contradictory numbers?

For example, 2 Samuel 24:9 and 1 Chronicles 21:5 both give an account of the same event—a census of the number of fighting men available to king David throughout Israel and Judah, but give different numerical totals:

2 Sam. 24:9 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.

1 Chr. 21:5 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.

A second example has to do with a discrepancy over the age of Jehoiachin when he began his reign as king—was he 18, as recorded in 2 Kings 24:8, or 8 years old, as it says in 2 Chronicles 36:9?

These examples represent two of the most common types of apparent contradictions in the Bible when it comes to numbers. The first is an example of misunderstood context, while the other is an example of a scribal error during copying of the biblical text.

The issue of context is familiar to Biblegems readers. In the case of 2 Sam. 24:9 and 1 Chron. 21:5, the key to the problem is found in the reference to “able-bodied men” (“valiant men” KJV) in 2 Sam. 24:9. The term in Hebrew is “hayil,” meaning “battle-seasoned” troops. So the passage in 2 Samuel represents Joab’s report of 800,000 seasoned veterans ready for duty if called upon. The accounting in 2 Chronicles, however, is larger by 300,00 because it lists “all who could handle a sword,” in addition to the veterans.

The second example represents an error made by a scribe in the process of copying the text. Early Hebrew writing, such as that used in 2 Kings 24:8 and 2 Chronicles 36:9, used horizontal lines with a downward hook on the right end to represent a “10”. The number 20 would be shown as 2 of these hooked horizontal lines, one above the other. Vertical lines represented the number “1”. So 12 would be two vertical lines followed by a hooked horizontal line.

A scribe copying the number “18” onto a new parchment could easily misread the number as “8” if one of the horizontal lines were smudged, obscured by a crease or missing because of a tear in the original document. This is not an error in Scripture, or a contradiction, but a human error made in the process of copying. The miracle is how few—and how insignificant—such scribal errors are!

For those interested in an overview of further explanations of apparent Bible contradictions, I refer you to Debate Topics Apologetics 101 at http://debate.org.uk/topics/apolog/contrads.htm

Who Are The Holy Ones? 1 Thess.3:13

2011-11-22T06:00:00.002-05:00

Biblegems # 63

Question: Who are the “holy ones” Paul is referring to in 1 Thessalonians 3:13 who will be with Jesus when He returns?

There are three possibilities as to whom “all His holy ones” refers to. Either the phrase refers to all God’s angels, or all of those who are saved (the dead in Christ and those who are raptured at His appearing), or to a combination of God’s angels and the resurrected redeemed.

Some commentators say the phrase cannot refer to both angels and the redeemed of the Lord because “Paul would hardly include two such diverse groups in the same category.”¹

I disagree.

The apostle Paul has much to say about the Lord’s Return throughout his letters. In 2 Thessalonians he talks about the Lord being glorified in His people at His Return:

2 Th. 1:10 …on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.

Paul stated previously, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, that the dead in Christ will join with those who meet the Lord in the air at His Return:

1 Th. 4:15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. (16) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (17) After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

This “joining” of those who are raptured and those who are already with the Lord in heaven would constitute “all His holy ones,” if “holy ones” refers only to people and not angels. However, this joining of the living and dead in Christ at His return happens, we are told by Paul, “with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God” (1 Thess. 4:16). The timing is important in identifying the “holy ones.”

Jesus spoke of this same event in Matthew 24:

Matt. 24:31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Notice that according to both Jesus and Paul, the Rapture takes place at the trumpet call of God, which Jesus says is blown by angels (Matt. 24:31), and Paul says is accompanied by the voice of the archangel. All this, Jesus says, is at the visible return of Jesus Christ to planet earth (Matt. 24:30) immediately after the Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:29).

“All his holy ones” refers to all those who are in Christ at His appearing, together with all the angelic army of heaven.

1 The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Frank E. Gaebelein, Ed., Zondervan,1415 Lake Drive, S. E. Grand Rapids, MI 49506. ISBN: 0-310-36440-X Copyright © 1990 Electronic text hypertexted and prepared by OakTree Software, Inc., Version 1.5, in loc.

The Bible Through Fresh Eyes

2011-11-15T06:00:00.002-05:00

Biblegems #62

Question: I wonder at times, can I trust the person reading said translation, meaning myself? Regardless of translation, I am trying to bring fresh eyes to the reading of scripture. Thank you.

What follows are four questions I use to help get deep beneath the surface.

WARNING! You cannot dig deeper into Scripture without actually digging.

Ready?

• What am I asking of God? (Meditation)

Open your Bible.

Close your eyes. Ask God to speak to you through His Word. Ask God to reveal new insights into His Word. Ask God to speak His Word through you at some time during the day.

Open your eyes. Read the passage. If it’s very familiar, read it aloud to force yourself to read each word.

Read it again. Slowly. Savor each word. Let it sink in.

Do this a total of five times.

If the passage is short—one or two verses—write it down on an index card that you can put in your pocket or purse and re-read it throughout the day.

Ps. 119:97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.

• What does the Scripture specifically say? (Meaning)

We all have a tendency to read into Scripture what we assume is already there or what we have been taught. This is called “eisegesis.” To avoid this it is important to force yourself to ask ‘What does this passage actually say?’

For example, many of us have learned that 1 Peter 3:18-19 teaches that Jesus descended into hell between His crucifixion and resurrection. Read the passage in your favorite translation. Does the passage actually say Jesus descended into hell?

No.

Does it identify the “spirits in prison” as people in hell?

No.

Well, who are these “spirits” then?

Ah-ha! Now we have some digging to do!

• What does the Scripture in general say (Context)

Let Scripture interpret Scripture. Using 1 Pet. 3:18-19 again, does the Scripture anywhere identify these spirits? Begin your search close, then fan out into Bible in general. Does the Bible anywhere else talk about what happened between Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection?

• What Is God saying to me? (Application)

Once you understand what the passage means, close your eyes. You are now protected from incorrect doctrine and ready for God to apply this to your life. Ask God, ‘What do you want me to learn from this that will make me more like Jesus?’ Ask Him, ‘Is there someone you want me to share this truth with today?’

He may not answer you right away. You may need to walk into your day with Him before the truth of this passage comes into focus. You may need to share it with someone who needs it before you fully see its beauty and power. But God will answer.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7).

Answering Fools

2011-11-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

Biblegems #61

Question: It appears on the surface that Proverbs 26:4-5 is contradicting itself. Verse 4 says, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him.” But verse 5 says, “Answer a fool according to his folly or he will be wise in his own eyes.” Does this mean that we are to answer a fool according to his folly, just do it with love and the Word of God, not in arrogance and ignorance like the fool himself or we will become like him and he will become wise in his own eyes?

We have a saying in English that there are two sides to a coin. This passage in Proverbs is an example of the two sides of a coin in dealing with “fools.”

On one side of this coin, Verse 4 gives the usual approach a person should take in dealing with a fool. Responding to a fool at all will likely make you look like a fool as well. The Bible is cautioning us to stay away from getting into a fruitless argument or discussion with fools. There is virtually no way to answer such a person without coming across ourselves as equally opinionated, argumentative or just plain ridiculous.

However, on the other side of that coin, in verse 5, there are times when the “fool” is expressing ignorant or even dangerous opinions about important topics, and to say nothing could give the impression of being in agreement. In that case, it can become necessary to “answer a fool according to his folly”—in other words, rebuke him for saying something foolish that could lead others astray. If the fool is not challenged and rebuked, he will prattle on and on, thinking himself wise.

The apostle Paul had to take this second approach in dealing with some self-proclaimed spiritual leaders in the Corinthian church who contradicted Paul’s teaching and boasted about their superiority over Paul. Like all fools, they viewed themselves more highly than they deserved. Because of the damage they were creating in the church, Paul had to answer these fools “according to their folly” by boasting about himself in order to show how ridiculous they sounded:

2 Cor. 11:16-17 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool.

So, rather than contradicting itself, proverbs 26:4-5 shows two different ways of responding to a fool, depending upon which response is the most helpful and wise.

Can I Trust My Translation? Part 2

2011-11-01T06:00:00.002-04:00

Biblegems # 60

Luke 24:44 He [Jesus] said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

If Jesus believed the Bible, then it should be trustworthy and accurate, right?

Right!

Did you know that the Bible translation most often quoted by Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament? Sometimes they quoted directly from the Hebrew, and sometimes they mixed their quotes with both the Hebrew and Greek! Like most Christians today, Jesus and the apostles understood that God has preserved His Word through time and cultures by using translations into new and changing languages.

Last week’s blog highlighted the importance of manuscript evidence used in Bible translations. Today we will focus on how those manuscripts help provide accuracy and confidence in God’s Word.

There is a common misconception that there is one single Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT) manuscript of the Bible. That is not the case. The truth is there are literally thousands of ancient manuscripts, and portions of manuscripts, of biblical texts spanning 2,000 years in composition and copying over countless languages. All agree in content and meaning and prove the reliability and accuracy of Scripture!

Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest OT manuscripts available were from about 900 AD (the OT was completed about 1300 years earlier!) The translators developing the KJV had available to them an edited Greek text from the 5^th century A.D. They relied upon this and the Latin Vulgate (383 A.D.) to bring to English speaking people a new, dependable translation which the average person could read.

Now, through archeological research, we have discovered OT manuscripts dating from before the time of Christ. We have also discovered manuscripts of the Greek New Testament that are far older than anything previously available. These confirm the accuracy of the texts we already had. Where there are differences, these older manuscripts often help provide greater accuracy in determining a specific word or phrasing. Translations that take full advantage of these ancient manuscripts help bring us closer to the inerrant originals as composed by Moses, Paul, John, Isaiah, etc.

For example, Isaiah 2:22 in the KJV reads:

“Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?”

The NIV reads:

“Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?”

The same passage translated from the “Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa^a)” discovered in the Qumran caves at the Dead Sea that is nearly a thousand years older than any OT manuscript we had before this discovery reads:

“Stop focusing on mortals, who have only breath in their nostrils – for what are they really worth?”

What a beautiful reminder to trust God for the preservation of His Word as He uses human hands to bring it to new generations of Bible readers!

Can I Trust My Translation (Part 1)

2011-10-24T06:00:00.002-04:00

Biblegems # 59

Question: I use the NIV, along with the KJV and other translations. How can I be sure if the translations I use are accurate, according to the original Greek and Hebrew?

My first word of advice is to avoid all those angry posts and websites on the internet (as well as books, tracts and print articles) that condemn modern Bible translations because they may not conform to the KJV. Bible translations flourished and accurately conveyed the Word of God long before the KJV was published in 1611.

I thank God for the King James Bible. It is beautiful in its style and has been used by God for generations in leading people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, it uses 17^th century English, and cannot speak to the Chinese, the French or Russian speaking people. Language is fluid and changes over time; archaic English is increasingly difficult for modern English speaking people to understand.

The real issue is one of integrity. Does the translation you use accurately convey the meaning of the original languages of the Old and New Testaments? For the average Bible reader, the answer can usually be found in the “Introduction” pages in the front of your Bible. If your paperback edition does not have an Introduction, find a hard back or leather bound edition. The Introduction should tell you Who did the translation, Why they believed a new translation was needed, What Greek and Hebrew manuscripts they relied upon the most, and How they decided to translate difficult or unclear words or concepts.

All of the above affect the way your Bible version reads and how accurate it is. But the most important factors are What Hebrew and Greek manuscripts the translators used and How they decided to translate difficult passages.

For example, look at Mark 2:9 in three translations, compared to a literal, word for word translation of the Greek:

Literal Greek Translation¹: And they, hearing the king, went and — Look! — a star, which they had seen in the east, went ahead of them until it came to the place over where the child was.

KJV: When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

NIV After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

CEV The wise men listened to what the king said and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

Each of these translations aimed at bringing the Greek into the English language in a way that preserves accuracy and at the same time reads and sounds like the English language spoken at the time of the translation.

(Next week will be part 2 of this article)

Resources: 1 Nestle-Aland 26 at studylight.org

Yikes! Am I In A Cult?

2011-10-18T06:00:00.005-04:00

Biblegems # 58

Jesus said, “There will be many false messiahs and false prophets who will do wonderful miracles that would deceive, if possible, even God’s own children. Take care, I have warned you!” (Mark 13:22, 23)

Have you ever been accused of being in a cult because you attend a church that does not belong to a familiar denomination or, perhaps, because of the Bible translation your church uses? This Biblegems blog should help you discern if you are in a healthy, Christ-centered church or in a cult.

First, we need to know what we mean by the term “cult.” As we use the term today, a cult refers to a group that has split away from one or more core doctrines of the Christian faith. Those key doctrines are listed below. Sometimes “cult” is used to describe a group, religious or not, that has a controlling, dictator-type leader who uses manipulative techniques to keep his followers loyal, and often keeps his followers isolated from the outside world. It is not uncommon for both of these types (bad doctrine and manipulative leader) to found in one group.

The Bible does not use the word “cult” at all. It is a modern term. But the concept is very scriptural, usually identified with false teachers and false prophets. For example, the apostle Peter writes: “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves” (2Pet. 2:1).

So what are the “destructive heresies” Peter is referring to? Below is a list of basic Bible doctrines that are fundamental to true Christian teaching. As you go through the list, ask yourself (and if necessary, ask your church leaders) where your church stands on these doctrines. Christians can disagree on many secondary issues, but the doctrines below are fundamental to biblical Christianity.

1. GOD. There is one God, who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Dt 6:4; Matt. 5:48; 28:19).

2. JESUS. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. He died on the cross for our sins, was resurrected on the third day and is now at the right hand of God as our great High Priest. He will come again to establish His eternal kingdom, righteousness and peace (Phil. 2:6-11; Lk. 1:34–38, 21:27; I Pt. 3:18; Heb. 2:9, 8:1, 10:37; Rom. 5:9; Acts 2:23–24; Matt. 26:64; Tit. 2:11–14).

3. The BIBLE. The Old and New Testaments, inspired by God and without error as originally given, are the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men (2 Pt. 1:20–21; 2 Tim. 3:15–16).

4. Man. Man, created in the image and likeness of God, fell through disobedience, resulting in physical and spiritual death. All men are born with a sinful nature, are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who die without Christ will exist forever in hell, while those who trust in Jesus will exist forever in heaven (Gen. 1:27; Rom. 3:23;1 Cor.15:20–23; Rev 21: 1–4, 8).

5. Salvation. Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all men, and those who repent and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God (Tit. 3:4–7).

6. The CHURCH. The Church consists of all those who believe in Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Head of the Church, which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the gospel to all nations (Eph. 1:22–23; Matt. 28:19–20; Acts 2:41–47).

7. Christ’s Return. The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ will be personal and visible (Heb. 10:37; Lk. 21:27; Tit. 2:11–14).

In Jesus' Name

2011-10-11T08:00:00.002-04:00

Biblegems #57

If we are to pray to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit, do my prayers become null and void when I am praying to Jesus and end it with “in Jesus' name, amen”?

Jesus is the name given to us by which we know and approach God at the most intimate and personal level. Keeping our relationship to God personal is what Jesus had in mind even with regard to baptism when He taught us to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. "Jesus" is the personal name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

When you, as a follower of Jesus, pray to the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit, whether you use Jesus' name or not, God knows who you are talking to. He's not interested in correct formulas; He's interested in you! The role of the Holy Spirit is to direct us to Jesus, and Jesus always directs us to our heavenly Father. That's why we pray "in Jesus' name": "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Col. 3:17).

“God the Father” is a description, not a name. It’s accurate, but it is not personal. It’s like saying “Bob the teacher” or “Margaret the librarian”… accurate, but not personal. Likewise, the Holy Spirit is descriptive of God in His character (He is holy) and of His nature (He is Spirit). That’s like saying “the good-natured man.” It describes someone’s character (good-natured) and his nature (human, male).

Even in the Old Testament, when God revealed Himself by name to Moses at the burning bush—“Yahweh,” i.e., “I Am Who I Am”— (Ex. 3:14), He gave a name which described His relationship to Moses and the Hebrew people: “I Am the One who always exists, and who will be with you always.” This name was, and is, personal. In fact, it was so personal, so holy, that the Jewish people would not say it aloud or even spell it out completely, but only use the consonants: YHWH.

Consequently, when Jesus declared to the Jewish people of His day, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58), they understood Jesus was identifying himself with God and they attempted to stone him to death for blasphemy. In effect, Jesus was saying, ‘I am the great “I Am” in human form.’ God in flesh—the final and complete revelation of God that would provide salvation not only to the Hebrew people but to the whole world.

For:

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

The 4 Spirits of Zechariah 6

2011-10-04T06:00:00.003-04:00

Biblegems #56

I was reading in Zechariah today and something just caught my attention. In Zec 6 it is talking about the four spirits...when explaining where each one was going, it did not mention the fourth, which would be the one going to the east. Is there a reason for this and is it ever explained somewhere else? Thanks for taking your time to help those who want to know the Lord's Word in better detail.

The four spirits of Zechariah chapter six refer to angels of God’s judgment upon the rebellious nations of the earth, especially those who come against Israel in the Last Days just before Jesus’ Return. The scene in Zechariah’s vision seems to be the same one described in Revelation 6:1-8:

(1) I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” (2)I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. (3) When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” (4) Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword. (5) When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. (6) Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!” (7) When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” (8) I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

All four spirits are described in Zechariah as “coming out from between the two mountains” (1), indicating that they were carrying out God’s judgment from heaven over the entire earth.

The spirit identified by the red horses represents worldwide war (Rev. 6:4), as Revelation 6 picks up where Zechariah leaves off. The black horses represent starvation and death as a result of this war (Rev. 6:5-6). The “pale” or “dappled” horses represent death on a massive scale, not only from war but from diseases and disruptions throughout earth’s collapsing societies (Rev. 6:8). The white horses symbolize God’s victories over His enemies as Jesus returns in power and glory with His vast army of angels (Rev. 6:2; 19:11, 14; Matt 24:30-31).

As Jesus Himself reminds us, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Lk. 21:28).

Parental Accountability

2011-09-27T06:00:00.003-04:00

Biblegems #55

When parents dedicate their children to the Lord then backslide, how far does God hold the parents and disobedient children accountable?

The limit of parental accountability is an emotional as well as spiritual issue. We all know stories of poor parenting where the children have grown up to be responsible, spiritually mature adults, and great parents whose children rebel and become a source of grief to their parents. In the latter case, the parents cannot help but ask, ‘Where did we go wrong?’

The truth is, responsibility and accountability are both shared by parent and child, once the child becomes personally responsible for his or her own actions. There is no magical age of accountability here.

There was a popular belief in ancient Israel that God would punish parents for the sins of their children and even grandchildren. Behind this belief was a misunderstanding of the second commandment:

… I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me… (Ex. 20:5).

The “punishment” is aimed at “those who hate me.” If the sin of idolatry is passed down from one generation to the next, it will reveal itself in each generation in a hatred for God, and that generation will be punished for its own sin. This commandment against idolatry reveals how sin is so easily passed on from one generation to the next; but that punishment for the sin is leveled only against those who actually commit it:

Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin (Deut. 24:16).

Even so, the idea that parents would be held responsible by God for the sins of their children took on the form of a popular saying:

‘The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’ (Ezek. 18:2b).

God set the record straight through the prophet Ezekiel:

Ezek. 18:4 For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

And to make sure that Israel got the message right, the Lord emphasized again:

Ezek. 18:20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.

There is no question that God will hold parents responsible for the way they raise their children, as the story of Eli and his wayward sons illustrates (1 Sam 2:22; 1 Sam. 3:12-14; 1 Sam. 4:13-18; 1 Ki. 2:27). But God is just; He does not charge the sins of the children to the parents, or the sins of the parents against their children.

Vain Repetition

2011-09-20T06:00:00.001-04:00

Biblegems #54

The Bible says not to use “vain repletion” in our prayers. Does that include our constantly repeated prayers for lost loved ones? Should we just "ask" and turn it over to the Holy Spirit and say “done"? How does one differentiate between "repetition" and "concern"?

The passage in question comes from Jesus’ sermon on the mount:

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking (Matt. 6:7 KJV).

The word in the Greek NT for “vain repetitions” more literally means “to babble.” There are two ways this can be interpreted, both of which may well have been what Jesus meant. To “babble” can mean to talk on an on, filling the air with words for the purpose of impressing others and impressing God. To “babble” can also mean to utter meaningless sounds, nonsense words, repeating such sounds over and over. This practice is frequently used—then and now—to aid in self-hypnotic meditation.

Either way (or both), Jesus says, ‘Don’t do it.’

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matt. 6:8 NIV).

In contrast to this kind of babbling prayer, Jesus teaches us to be persistent in prayer regarding things of importance. He gives an example in Luke 11: 5-8 of a man who wakes up his friend at midnight to borrow some bread, but is unsuccessful. However, because of his friend’s persistence, the sleepy man finally gives in.

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Luke 11:9).

Praying persistently for the salvation of your unsaved loved ones does not fit the definition of babbling. God wants us to remain persistent in this kind of prayer, and not to give up, because He is not giving up on those we are praying for…

…who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4).

Who Named The Books of The Bible?

2011-09-13T06:00:00.005-04:00

Biblegems #53

Who decided what the names of the books in the Bible would be and how did they come up with them? I know the Bible is God breathed and Holy Spirit Inspired, but did God actually name the books as well or did the writers of each book name it due to the main plot and/or character?

The answer to this is almost as varied as the Bible itself. There are, of course, 66 books in the Bible, and each of these fall into broad categories, such as History, Poetry, Biography, Prophecy, Wisdom Literature and Letters. To some extent, these categories help establish the title of a particular book.

For example, letters by their very design to not typically have a title. So Paul’s letter to the Christians in Corinth or Rome quickly became known by their destination, i.e., Corinthians and Romans. Likewise, personal letters to Timothy or Titus, which were also shared with the churches these men pastored, became known by the names of their recipients.

Some N.T. letters, however, were written with the intent that they be read by several churches in a region, rather than one specific church or person. These became commonly known by the name of their author: 1 & 2 Peter, James, 1,2,3 John, etc.

Other books, especially of the Old Testament, derive their title from the opening word or words of the book. Again, these were not originally “titled” as books are today. “Genesis,” for instance, comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for “beginning” in the first verse. But it was not always known by that name. Ancient Jews used to refer to the first book of the Bible as “The Book of the Creation of the World.”

The prophetic books of the Old Testament are commonly recognized by their authors: Isaiah, Daniel, Amos, etc. Other books, such as “Judges” of the Old Testament and “The Acts of the Apostles” in the New Testament received their names as popular descriptions of what they were about.

“Revelation,” also sometimes referred to as ”The Apocalypse,” gets it name from the opening line, “The revelation of Jesus Christ…,” or in Greek, Apokalupsis. 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Samuel were originally one book in the Hebrew and were entitled “Samuel” by the Massorites, based on 1 Samuel 28:2 and following.

The Massorites were Jewish scholars who replaced the Scribes we are familiar with in the New Testament. Their task was to accurately reproduce the Scriptures, preserving them for future generations. Our English Bibles take their form from the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the LXX), which divided Kings and Samuel.

The list goes on, but these examples show how most Bible book names are not actually part of Scripture itself, but are commonly recognized terms for distinguishing one Bible book from another. Like chapter and verse numbers, which were added to Scripture as a study aid, Bible book titles are not themselves inspired, but they are very helpful.

The Face Of God

2011-09-07T08:00:00.004-04:00

Biblegems #52

A Biblegems reader sent in the following:

John 1:18 states that no one has seen the Face of God. Yet in Exodus 33:11 it says that Moses spoke face-to-face with God like a man talks with a friend. Then Exodus 33:23 says that God hid Moses in the cleft of the rock, and as He passed by Moses saw His back. Then, another place in Exodus talks about Moses’ face shining after his face-to-face encounter with God. How can those verses be compatible?

John 1:18 actually reads, “No one has ever seen God.” The generic Greek term for God (theon) is used, which would be equivalent to our English word, “deity.” It refers to God’s nature as a spiritual being. The meaning in John is that God is invisible to the physical eye because He is Spirit.

Exodus 33:11, however, does use the phrase “face to face” in describing Moses’ conversations with God. And Exodus 33:23 speaks of God removing His hand that prevents Moses from seeing the Lord’s face when He passes by, so that Moses will only be able to see God’s “back.” How does all this fit with the Bible’s clear teaching that God is spirit (see Jn. 4:24)?

The answer is three-fold.

First, when describing God, the Bible often uses figures of speech known as anthropomorphisms. An anthropomorphism is applying human characteristics to God, even though God is neither human nor physical, to help us understand God’s actions and character as if He were human. Exodus 6:6, for example, says that God brought the Hebrews out of Egypt with an “outstretched arm.”

Second, God at times reveals Himself in Scripture through the Angel of the Lord. Usually—but not always— when this is the case, the Angel of the Lord is identified as such. A good example of this is when the Angel of the Lord tells Abraham: “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count” (Gen. 16:10). Obviously the angel is not the one who will give descendants to Abraham, but he is speaking on God’s behalf and with God’s authority.

Third, God has revealed Himself to people in the Bible in human form. This is called a theophany. Genesis 17:1 says, When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.

When God reveals Himself in the Old testament in human form, or as the Angel of the Lord, He is providing a physical appearance for interaction with human beings who otherwise could not look on the “face” of God and survive the experience.

It is for this very reason that God finally revealed Himself in Jesus:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word (Heb 1:1-3a).

The End Of Time

2011-08-30T08:00:00.005-04:00

Biblegems # 51

Question (with background):

Daniel 8: 19-25 is a prophecy about Greece overcoming the Persian and Mede Empire and then dividing into four separate kingdoms following the king's death. This clearly matches what happened with Alexander the Great after his death in 323 BC. But in verse 19 it says that these events will take place at the very end of time. Did Daniel mean the end of time itself, or did he mean the end of the Old Covenant time, or something completely different?

In this passage, Daniel has been given a vision of the End Times. As the question above indicates, Daniel 8:19 places the rise and fall of these kingdoms at the end of human history: I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end (see also verse 17).

Verses 20-25 present a classic example of dual fulfillment of predictive prophecy. The “stern faced king” of verse 23 predicts the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, a Greek Emperor of the 2^nd cent. B.C. Antiochus’ rule over Israel was brutal and aimed at assimilating the Jewish people into the Greek culture. Antiochus sought to cement his grip on the Jews by forcing them to sacrifice a pig to Zeus¹.

But Antiochus is not the complete fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy. He foreshadows “the man of lawlessness”:

2 Th. 2:3-4 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for [that day will not come] until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

This the Beast and the Antichrist who is identified in the book of Revelation:

Rev. 13:3-5 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast. Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?” The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months (see Rev. 13:8ff).

Daniel’s phrase “the appointed time of the end” in 8:19 treats the unfolding events of history as if we were seeing them through a telescope. It takes the distant future from Daniel’s point of view and brings it rapidly up close. But in doing this, the vision also “compacts” the events of unfolding history, so that whole empires and several centuries are compressed into a few verses of Scripture. The rise and fall of Media-Persia and the Greek empire move imediately in this “compressed” view to the very end of human history and the unleashing of the Day of God’s wrath on rebellious mankind.

¹ 1 Maccabees 2:15

Jesus—God, And Praying To God

2011-08-23T08:00:00.004-04:00

Biblegems #50

How can Jesus be God if Jesus is “obeying the will of the Father” and praying to God?

This question gets right to the heart of one of Scripture’s greatest mysteries—the Trinity. And we have to be very careful to get this right, because many heresies have risen over the centuries based on misunderstandings of this critically important doctrine.

Scripture teaches Jesus possesses a dual nature as both God and man.

Colossians 1:15-17 declares:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

“Image” means that Jesus is the “exact likeness” of God on the one hand, and God Himself perfectly manifested in the person of Jesus on the other hand. As verse 19 goes on to explain:

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him…

And, as John 1:1 plainly states:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

These are just two of many passages that describe Jesus as being God, yet also being with God as a distinct person. Human beings are spirit, soul and body. We can speak of each of them separately, or as ‘this is who and what I am.’ God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each can be spoken of separately, or as who and what He is.

The Scripture also makes it very clear that Jesus is fully human:

For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people (Heb. 2:17).

And again:

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5),

When God took on human form He did not cease to be God. However, as a human, Jesus willingly surrendered some of His abilities as God. For instance, while God the Father is still able to be present everywhere at the same time, God in human flesh could only be in one place at a time. As it says in Philippians:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross (Phil. 2:5-8)!

As God in human flesh, Jesus placed certain limits on Himself. This necessitated that He communicate to God the Father just as any other human being needs to do. And in doing that, Jesus also demonstrated how human beings were originally designed to live in perfect harmony with the will of God through prayer and obedience.

God's Plan, Our Accountability

2011-08-15T08:00:00.003-04:00

Biblegems #49

How can God “turn the heart of a king” to do sin (i.e., pharaoh) yet hold them accountable?

The question seems to draw from two portions of Scripture. The first reads: The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases (Prov. 21:1).

The second is Romans 9, beginning with verse 17: For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (18) Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. (19) One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?”

Romans 9 gives a two-fold answer to this question. First, we are cautioned not to be arrogant in questioning God’s right to do as he pleases, just as a lump of clay has no right to challenge what the potter chooses to make of it (20).

Second, Romans 9:22-23 lumps humanity into two groups of people, those who are ‘objects of His wrath,’ and those who are ‘objects of His mercy.’ Those who are objects of God’s wrath have been “prepared for destruction” (22), whereas the objects of His mercy He has prepared in advance for glory. The question is, what does “prepared for destruction” mean?

Is God the one responsible for preparing the objects of His wrath for destruction? This is not what the Scripture actually says. In fact, the English translations accurately convey the Greek in pointing out that God is the one who prepares the objects of His mercy for glory, while the objects of His wrath are simply described as “prepared for destruction,” without naming God as the one responsible.

When verse 22 says that God “bore with great patience” the objects of His wrath, it reveals God’s desire to see those who are under condemnation to come to repentance. As Jesus told Nicodemus, the entire human race stands in condemnation (John3:18). We are all objects of God’s wrath, prepared for destruction by our own sinful nature. God’s love for us is so great, however, that He sent is own Son into this fallen world, “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The apostle Peter says the same thing:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9).

Pharaoh was the object of God’s wrath because, like all of us, he was a sinful human being. He, like all of us, was prepared for destruction by his own sinful nature and sinful behavior. God chose to use him for the purpose of displaying His power and glorifying His Name throughout the earth (Rom. 9:17). All the while, God gave ample opportunity for Pharaoh to repent, rather than destroying him on the spot. God used Pharaoh’s lack of belief and repentance to harden his heart (Rom. 3:18), much like God covers an open wound with scar tissue that has no feeling.

God makes no man sin. But He will use man’s sinfulness for His own glory, and as an example to others of God’s patience in bringing many sons and daughters to glory.

Witnessing & Election

2011-08-02T08:00:00.002-04:00

Biblegems #48

Question: If God has chosen those who will be saved (which is His right, and the Scriptures seem to say He did) then how can a commitment to Christ be free/voluntary? Wouldn’t this diminish our roles as witnesses, and the urgency that Kirk Kameron and Ray Comfort stress?

Jesus stressed the urgency of witnessing:

“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full… (Luke 14:23).

The apostle Paul spread the gospel with a sense of urgency, knowing that God’s plan for people hearing and responding to the good news required messengers being sent:

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? (Rom. 10:14-15)

In fact, the timing of the “end of the age” and the Return of Jesus Christ hinges upon the Church completing the Great Commission:

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Matt. 24:14).

So how does this sense of urgency square with the Bible’s teaching on election?

First, we need to humbly realize that the Church over the centuries has wrestled over what “election” and being “chosen” actually mean. This article will not settle that debate; and many will disagree with me. All I can do is share my understanding of God’s Word on the matter, and trust the Holy Spirit to bring glory to the Father.

There is a certain tension (not contradiction) in Scripture regarding election:

1. God’s Desire: 1 Tim. 2:4 [God] wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

2. God’s Choice: 2 Th. 2:13 … from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

Notice, this does not tell us who God chooses to be saved, but how a person is saved: through the agency of the Holy Spirit and believing God’s Word.

In similar fashion, Ephesians 1:4-5, 11-13 teaches that it was the apostles who were specifically predestined to be adopted as Gods sons and chosen to be His apostles (1-12), but that we who follow were “included in Christ” when we believed the gospel (13).

A careful reading of Scripture demonstrates that God does not predestine all who will be saved and all who will go to hell. He has predestined certain individuals for salvation (the apostles), but the rest of us are saved when we believe the gospel, and this is made possible through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

And this is precisely why there is such an urgency to share the gospel with those who are not saved.

They Know Not What They Do

2011-07-26T19:55:00.004-04:00

Biblegems #47

What did Jesus’ forgiveness from the cross accomplish for those who crucified Him; and were those who crucified Him truly ignorant of what they were doing?

Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

In earlier Biblegems (#37 and #40) we explored the effect forgiveness has when offered by a believer in the authority of Jesus’ name. In that case, if you were to sin against me and I forgave you, your sin against me would be cancelled out (Matt. 18:18-20). If your sin against me was an offense against others as well, you would still be accountable to God for that. I cannot forgive your sin against others.

Here, Jesus Himself is asking the Father to forgive those who are sinning against Him. Who are the guilty parties? Jesus is referring specifically to the soldiers who are following orders given by Pontius Pilate. It is the soldiers in verse 26 who led Jesus away from Pilate. It was the soldiers in verse 32 who led Jesus and the other criminals from Jerusalem to the hill called Golgotha. It was the soldiers who carried out the crucifixion itself in verse 33, and the same soldiers Jesus interceded for in verse 34.

Jesus sought their forgiveness because they were ignorant of the magnitude of their actions. They certainly knew the crime Jesus was accused of: claiming the role of king. But, unlike the Jewish leaders who trumped up the charges against Jesus, these Romans had no understanding of the revelation in the Bible of the coming messiah, the savior of the world. These unfortunate soldiers were executioners, likely performing their grisly task hundreds of times. This would seem no different. In fact, even though Luke’s Gospel alone records this saying of Jesus from the cross, both Matthew and Mark relate how the commander of those soldiers responded after Jesus died amidst an earthquake, and thunder and lightning under a leaden sky: “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mk. 15:39; cf. Matt. 27:54).

So what did Jesus’ act of forgiveness actually accomplish for these soldiers?

Jesus’ own teaching tells it all. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19).

Whatever else these soldiers might have to account for on Judgment Day, crucifying the Son of God would not show up on the list. For—

…as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us (Ps. 103:12).

This beautiful act of grace also demonstrates the power of the cross and the shed blood of Jesus to cancel out sin. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

The Bride Of Christ & The New Jerusalem

2011-07-19T08:00:00.003-04:00

Biblegems #46

Are the Bride of Christ and the New Jerusalem the same?

The question arises from the following two passages in Revelation:

Rev. 3:12 Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.

Rev. 21:2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

The word “city” often elicits images of crowded streets and clustered buildings, as when we hear the word “church” and picture buildings with sanctuaries and steeples. But in both cases, the principle idea behind the terms is the people within, rather than the structures that accommodate the people. After all, what would a city or a church be without people?

That being said, the Greek word used here for “city” is “polis,” which pictures a clearly defined town or city with walls. The New Jerusalem is presented in both the Old and New Testaments as city in terms of a physical location and as the people who populate it.

The New Jerusalem is not the same as the Jerusalem from which Jesus will reign on the earth during the Millennium. The Millennial Jerusalem will be built from earth’s resources brought in by the nations surviving Armageddon and the Lord’s return:

Is. 45:14 This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and those tall Sabeans—they will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you, coming over to you in chains. They will bow down before you and plead with you, saying, ‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god.’”

And…

Is. 54:11 O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires.

The New Jerusalem, however, is described as coming down from God through the new heavens to the new earth (21:1), all of which follows the Millennial Reign of Christ, the defeat of Satan and the Great White Throne Judgment.

This is the city Abraham anticipated:

For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Heb. 11:10).

This city is a “polis,” a physical location perfectly suited for the resurrected people of God:

…Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them (Heb. 11:16).

But the New Jerusalem is also the people who inhabit the city, the Bride of Christ:

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven (Heb. 12:22-23).

The Marriage Supper Of The Lamb

2011-07-12T08:00:00.002-04:00

Biblegems #45

Who make up the attendees invited to the marriage Supper of the Lamb, since the Bride of Christ is already present and the supper is for the Bride and the Groom? Are OT saints included? Are Gentiles who are won to Christ by the 144,000 included?

The Wedding Supper (“marriage supper,” KJV) is referred to in Revelation 19:9, which reads—

Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” And he added, “These are the true words of God.

The angel is responding to a thundering shout of praise from an uncountable throng of voices in heaven. Heaven’s inhabitants are glorifying God for His victory over evil (Rev. 19:1-4), for establishing His Kingdom on earth (Rev. 19:6), and for the impending Wedding Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7, 9). Earlier in revelation, this multitude is identified:

Rev. 7:9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

This multitude praising God in heaven is made up of all the redeemed throughout all the ages, including the 144,000 Jewish believers in Jesus from the Great Tribulation (Rev. 7:4-8, 13-17). This is the Bride of Christ. These are the ones shouting at the tops of their resurrected lungs, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’”

The “wedding” and wedding supper” (Rev. 19:7, 9) refer to the same event. This is not the marriage ceremony (i.e. “union”) of the Bride and the Bridegroom, but the celebration feast that traditionally followed a Jewish-style ceremony, and after the groom brought His bride home. Jesus accurately describes such a wedding banquet in a parable (Matt. 22:2-14). In fact, the “Wedding Supper of the Lamb” is what Jesus referred to when he said to His disciples at the last Supper:

“I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:29).

Clearly, Jesus has His followers, the Bride of Christ, in view as those invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Collectively, we who are in Christ are called the Bride of Christ. Individually, we are the guests at the Great Banquet. This is no contradiction, but a joyful mixing of metaphors to describe the many facets of our relationship to Jesus.

And, yes, this great company of the redeemed also includes the Old Testament saints. Jesus’ death on the cross was effective for them as well. As Jesus reminded the people of His day in speaking of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, “He is not the God of the dead but of the living” (Matt. 22:32)!

Jesus' Real Birthdate

2011-07-05T08:00:00.003-04:00

Biblegems #44

Does the Bible say what year Jesus was born? Also, who decided that we were going to recognize Jesus' Birthday on the 25th of December, and in what year did they decide this was going to take place? Just wondering. Merianne.

Jesus was likely born somewhere between 4 B.C and 6 B.C. The discrepancy is based upon an error made by a Christian in the 6^th century named Dionysius Exiguus, who intended to create a calendar based on the birth of Jesus. However, he miscalculated the year of Herod’s death, which was not recognized until many centuries later.

It is commonly held that December 25^th on our current calendar was not the actual birth date of Jesus. Here is what we do know for sure:

We know Jesus was conceived in the six month of Mary’s cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy (Lk. 1:24-27); and we know (based on when her husband Zacharias served in the temple) that Elizabeth conceived John the Baptist around the last week of the Hebrew month of Sivan (Lk. 1: 5, 8, 23-24). This would place the conception of Jesus in the month of Kislev (November – December). Nine months later would be the month of Tishri (September – October, according to our current calendar).

This means that the likely month of Jesus’ conception is the month when Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is celebrated by the Jews. Interestingly, Jesus is described in the NT as “the light of the world” (John 8:12, 9:5, 12:46). And the month of Jesus’ birth marks the last feast of the year on the Jewish calendar, the Feast of Tabernacles. As it says in John, 1:14, The Word became flesh and made his dwelling (lit., “tabernacled”) among us.

The first century church, apparently, did not celebrate Jesus’ birth. This started to become more popular in the 2^nd – 3^rd century. Because the exact date of His birth was unknown, the church tended to mark His birth at the time of the Winter Solstice, taking advantage of the symbolism involved in the increased light of the lengthening days to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the “light of the world” (Jn. 8:12). While some have often tried to condemn the tradition as yielding to pagan practices of sun worship, nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, Christianity took pagan practices and replaced them with a celebration of the birth of the Savior of the world!

Life Insurance—Good Stewardship?

2011-06-21T08:00:00.003-04:00

Biblegems #43

As Christians are becoming increasingly aware, The earth is the LORD’S, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it (Ps. 24:1). That means that all our money and possessions ultimately belong to God. It is wise to ask, therefore, is life insurance a good use of God’s money?

The word “insurance” stems from an older word, “ensure,” which in the mid-1500’s meant “engagement to marry” (Online Etymology Dictionary). It conveyed the idea of “making sure;” a binding agreement or contract. The term “insure” came into its modern use in the 1600’s, where it took on the idea of providing a financial means for “making sure” that necessary expenses were taken care of at death.

Life insurance, properly understood, is a form of inheritance. It does nothing, of course, to en-sure the length or quality of one’s life. Rather, it serves to protect the survivors of someone’s death against funeral costs and loss of income that person brought into the family.

The Bible says, A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous (Prov. 13:22). As believers learn to appreciate their role in God’s plan as managers of His resources rather than owners of our resources, the need becomes apparent to examine every expense, every investment in this light. We don’t want to spend God’s money frivolously, or in ways that once seemed right from a worldly perspective but may not be good stewardship from God’s point of view.

So we need to ask the hard questions: If I were to die today, would those who survive me be adequately protected financially to take care of final expenses (which can be quite high), plus have sufficient funds to manage the costs of living I can no longer provide for? Life insurance can provide the means for “making sure,” as well as we are able, that those who survive us are not overwhelmed financially.

Some people have sufficient wealth at their disposal and designated for inheritance that life insurance may not be necessary. But for most of us, life insurance is a kind of savings account specifically set up for that purpose.

This inheritance also conveys another important and beautiful truth from Scripture. An inheritance is a gift passed on, not earned income. To leave an inheritance is an act of grace; to receive an inheritance is to benefit from an act of grace. The Promised Land given Israel was given as an inheritance from God Himself:

… “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an

inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the

LORD your God, who has set you apart from the nations (Lev. 20:24).

Likewise, we who belong to Jesus Christ have our future needs provided for when we pass from this earthly life …into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you (1 Pet. 1:4).

The Bible And Cremation

2011-06-14T08:00:00.003-04:00

Biblegems #42

Does the Bible teach whether it is proper or improper, right or wrong, to use cremation instead of burial?

The Bible contains very few references to cremation, and gives no specific teaching on it whatsoever as a matter of right or wrong, or even proper or improper. That being so, why is cremation an issue for many Bible believing Christians? The reasons are more of a cultural and traditional nature than biblical.

Traditionally, Christians and Jews have buried their dead, while several eastern religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, have practiced cremation. Culturally, most Evangelical Christians have associated burial as consistent with biblical teaching, from the practice of the Old Testament patriarchs to the burial of Jesus. Perhaps the most poignant biblical reference in support of burial comes from Genesis 3:19:

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food

until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.

However, the fact that the people of the Bible were typically buried rather than cremated does not represent a Bible doctrine. Not only so, but cremation actually reduces the physical body to the “dust” of Genesis 3:19 much faster than burial does. The Bible realistically reflects the ultimate decay of a person’s deceased body to a state of dehydrated chemical “dust.”

Christians who take the Bible seriously also take the doctrine of the resurrection seriously. Resurrection presupposes that the same body of the person who perished will be raised imperishable (1 Cor. 15:42).

Resurrection does not require a recognizable body—only the fundamental elements that once formed that body. It does not matter how long the person has been deceased, or how scattered those remains may have become over time. If a person died at sea and was subsequently eaten by sharks, the chemical remains of that body would be no more difficult for God to reorganize and resurrect than the remains of someone who had been buried three thousand years ago on a hill long-since eroded by the winds and rain.

The Christian martyr Polycarp, discipled by the apostle John and the Bishop of the church of Smyrna, was burned at the stake in 155 AD. When he refused the offer of release if he would only declare Caesar as Lord, Polycarp responded, "Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" Polycarp did not lose his place in the resurrection because his body was burned at the stake.

The truth is, neither burial nor cremation makes any difference to God. It is not how we dispose of the body that is most important, but how we use the body while we inhabit its earthly form. As God’s Word says: If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing (1Cor. 13:3).

Three Days And Three Nights

2011-06-07T08:00:00.003-04:00

Biblegems #41

I have a question that I've heard several explanations for in the past. Speaking of his death, burial and resurrection, Jesus said in Matthew 12:40: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Friday through Sunday morning doesn't work out to 3 days and 3 nights.

Thanks,

Joyce

This question has vexed non-Jewish people in every generation, for the Scripture is clear that the literal time frame in which Jesus was in the tomb was two nights, two days, and part of a third day. The Jewish people of the day, however, did not question this well-known saying of Jesus (Matt. 27:63), even though they might easily have used it to charge Jesus as being a false prophet because he wasn’t in the tomb for 72 hours before His resurrection.

The reason this charge was never made is that the Jews understood this saying as accurate. Why? Because it was a long accepted practice of the Jewish people in calculating time to treat part of a day as a whole day. There are many examples of this in Scripture as well as in non-biblical sources.

For example, 2 Chronicles 5:7 & 12 tells us: Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people went away. Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” We do not know what time of day or night they arrived, nor does it matter. They could not afford to be as precise in setting appointments as we have grown accustomed to. If you showed up any time during the 24 hour period, you were on time. Any part of the day or night was considered a day.

“Three days and three nights” in Matthew 12:40 was a common figure of speech in the Jewish culture of Jesus’ day. Because we typically get side-tracked on the precise measurement of time, we also end up missing the point of the “sign of Jonah” Jesus’ intended. The meaning of the sign was to compare Jesus’ miraculous resurrection with Jonah’s miraculous deliverance from the huge fish’s belly. We don’t know what portion of those days and nights Jonah actually spent in suffocating stomach acids. What we do know is that what should have been certain death became a demonstration of the power of God.

To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God (Jonah 2:6).

As with Jonah, so also the Son of Man was not allowed to be defeated by death: …because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay (Acts 2:27). This was the sign of Jonah.

Forgiven Forever

2011-05-30T22:35:00.004-04:00

Biblegems #40

Is it true that, as followers of Jesus, when we forgive someone of an offense against us personally, God will not hold that offense against that person on Judgment Day?

Judgment Day is when unbelievers stand before the God of the universe and are judged according to their actions in this life (Rev. 20:11-14). These are people who have died without the saving grace of Jesus, and therefore their names are not written in the Book of Life, and they will spend eternity in hell (Rev. 20:15). But before they meet this terrible future, God reviews their lives in order to show that His Judgment is just and fair.

Jesus taught in Matt. 6:14-15 that if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. This means, at least in part, that forgiveness of a sin cancels out that sin.

Jesus taught this specifically in Matthew 18. In that chapter sin and forgiveness are both framed in the context of eternity. If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.

In verses 23-35, forgiveness is portrayed through a parable as the cancellation of a debt. When the king in the parable forgives the debt, the effect is a total cancellation. Nothing is held against the indebted servant whatsoever.

However, when the forgiven servant has the opportunity to cancel a much smaller debt owed him, the servant demands payment in full. As a result, the servant’s forgiven debt is re-instated by the king and the servant delivered to be tortured (Gk,: basanistais). Jesus then concludes the parable by emphasizing its point: This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart (35).

The point is clear—sin has eternal consequences, and so does forgiveness. When we truly forgive someone who has offended us or who has wronged us, their debt to us is completely cancelled. How terribly unfair it would be if the person owing the debt to the servant in the parable should have his debt cancelled, only to discover at a later date that the king expects the debt to be paid to him anyway!

But Jesus does not even suggest that. Instead, His parable focuses on the fact that a forgiven debt is completely cancelled.

Actually, the entire context of Matthew 18 demonstrates how sin has eternal consequences (6-9), and that when the Church disciplines someone for unrepentant sin that too has eternal consequences (15-18). As He says in verse 18, I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

He then applies the same principle to forgiveness (19-22), giving the parable of the cancelled debt as illustration (23-35). In fact, Jesus’ famous statement—…if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (Matt. 18:19-22)—is specifically related to the eternal effectiveness of Church discipline and forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a powerful act of grace. When we forgive someone for a personal offense, that offense is cancelled—now and forever.

The Bible & Tattoos

2011-05-17T08:00:00.002-04:00

Biblegems #39

Tattoos are all the rage. Men and women, young and old, non-believer and Christian—everybody’s doing it. A young Christian man I know wants a tattoo with a strong Christian theme. His rationale? He wants to use it as an invitation to explain it’s meaning as an avenue for sharing his faith in Jesus Christ. But before he does it, he wants to know what God wants.

There is only one verse in all of Scripture which specifically addresses the practice of tattooing. The Lord says in Leviticus 19:28, Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD. As always, context here is very instructive. Equally instructive is the lack of other teaching in Scripture concerning this practice. It is always unwise to build a doctrine on the strength of one verse.

For the context, we must begin with the verse itself. Unlike the ten commandments which give unconditional instructions and prohibitions, the proscription against tattooing in Leviticus 19:28 has to do with marking or cutting the body as part of a spiritual ritual in memory of someone who has died. This was a very common practice, along with cutting one’s flesh as an emotional expression of grief.¹ God’s instruction to the Israelites was designed to set them apart from the way the cultures around them either abused their bodies or decorated their bodies as a way of remembering loved ones who had died. God’s people were to be different, using their bodies to glorify God rather than memorialize the dead (see Lev. 21:11; 22: 4; Num. 5: 2; 9: 6, 7, 10; 6: 6; Deut. 14: 1).

The command against tattooing is actually just one of many examples given in Leviticus 19 of ways in which the people of God are to set themselves apart from the ungodly cultures around them. God’s Word to His people is be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy (Lev. 19:2).

This is the true message to God’s people for all time: Be like God, not like the rest of the world—in this case, in the way you treat your body. As Paul says in Romans 12:1, Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

The question for the believer today, as it has always been, is one of holiness: Will tattooing your body set you apart as a child of God or identify you more with the ungodly of the culture in which you live? Will tattooing your body be holy and pleasing to God—a spiritual act of worship?

Ultimately, this becomes a very personal matter between the believer and God. Leviticus 19:28 provides an example from everyday life in ancient Israel on how to treat your body in a way holy and pleasing to God that would mark you as a believer. Every generation has its own challenges in how to live as God’s children in the world without being mistaken for being just like the rest of the world.

Personal holiness is the response of an obedient heart lived out in the actions of an obedient life.

¹Commentary on the Old Testament, electronic version, by C.F. Keik & F. Delitzsch, Hendrikson Publishers, 2006. In loc.

Salvation In The Old Testament

2011-05-10T08:00:00.002-04:00

Biblegems #38

In light of John 14:6, which says: "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" — how can the people of the Old Testament be given eternal life?

The key to this puzzle lies within Jesus’ own words, where He refers to Himself as “I am.” In John 8:58, Jesus declares, …before Abraham was born, I am. The Jews He addressed that day understood perfectly that by using that phrase He was claiming to be the very same God whom Moses encountered at the burning bush (Ex. 3:1-15). There, God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Ex. 3:14).

Jesus in the New Testament is the great I AM of the Old Testament. Jesus could say to Thomas in John 14:6, No one comes to the Father except through me, because Jesus and the Father are one. As He says in the very next verse, If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. Those who put their faith in the I Am of the Old Testament put their faith in Jesus—before He was revealed in the flesh.

Jesus’ revelation of Himself as the I AM is sprinkled throughout the gospel of John, often with direct allusions to His presence among the people of Israel in the Old Testament:

“I am the bread of life…” “I am the bread that came down from heaven” (the manna in the wilderness, Ex. 16:13-34—John 6:35, 41, 48, 51).

“I am the light of the world” (the light of creation, Gen. 1:3-4—John 8:12).

“…I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world” (John 8:23).

“…if you do not believe that I am… you will indeed die in your sins” (John 8:24).

“When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am…” (raising the snake on a pole in the wilderness, Num. 21:7-9—John 8:28).

It was as true in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament that “…it is by grace you have been saved, through faith” (Eph. 2:8). That faith was always a matter of putting one’s entire trust in the One True God, as He revealed Himself prior to the final and perfect revelation in human form. As it says in Hebrews 1:1-3:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through

the prophets at many times and in various ways,

but in these last days he has spoken to us by his

Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and

through whom he made the universe. The Son is

the radiance of God’s glory and the exact repre-

sentation of his being, sustaining all things by his

powerful word.

"Bound" And "Loosed"

2011-05-03T08:45:00.004-04:00

Biblegems #37

One biblegems reader asked for an explanation of the following verse:

“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18).

The following two verses augment and expand Jesus’ teaching in verse 18:

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matt. 18:19-20).

The word translated “bind” from the Greek NT means “to bind, be in bonds, knit, tie, wind.”¹ To “loose” means to “break (up), destroy, dissolve, (un-)loose, melt, put off.”²

The ideas intended by these picturesque words are that believers in Jesus have been given authority by Him to forgive someone who offends us with such effectiveness that God Himself will count that offense as having been completely withdrawn, no longer to be considered as an offense. The forgiveness is “binding” for all eternity. By the same token, if we withhold forgiveness for an offense, understanding that God’s glory and will is better served by His judgment being “loosed” upon a person, then all restraints against God’s judgment are “dissolved” or “put off.”

A good example of believers exercising authority in Jesus’ name to “loose” God’s judgment upon someone is found in Acts 13:8-12. Here, A false prophet named Elymas persistently tried to prevent the apostle Paul from leading the proconsul of Paphos to faith in Jesus. Finally, Paul used his authority in Jesus and said:

Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord (Acts 13:11-12).

The context of Matthew 18:18 deals with forgiving or not forgiving someone who has sinned against you (18:15-35). So this is not a carte blanche permission slip from Jesus giving His followers authority to bind or loose whatever they feel like whenever they feel like it. God is not a dispenser of our whims, or even of our human sense of justice. That is why Jesus goes on to say in verses 19 and 20 that two or three believers are better suited to discern what God’s will is than a single person acting alone. Indeed, to ask for something “in Jesus’ name” means to ask for something already approved by Him.

1 Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, Public Domain, Electronic text downloaded from the Bible Foundation e-Text Library: http://www.bf.org/bfetexts.htm Hypertexted and formatted by Oaktree Software, Inc. Greek text added by OakTree Software, Inc. Version 2.4

2 ibid

Did God create Hell?

2011-04-26T21:23:00.005-04:00

Biblegems #36

Today’s question is, ‘Did God create hell?’

I suspect that behind the question is another question—“If God did create hell, why?”

Most English translations of the Bible loosely use the term “hell” to frequently translate the Hebrew word “Sheol” and the Greek words “Hades” and “Tartarus.” For example, in 2 Pet. 2:4 “Tartarus” (trans. “hell”) is not hell at all, but a holding area for rebellious angels awaiting the Day of Judgment and their final condemnation to hell. And in Luke 16:23, “Hades,” mis-translated “hell,” actually refers to the realm of the dead who are also awaiting the Day of Judgment. “Hades” is roughly equivalent to “Sheol,” the Old Testament Hebrew term for the realm of the dead.

Hell, according to Jesus, was prepared specifically as a final punishment for the devil and the angels with him who rebelled against God early in creation history. Unfortunately, as Jesus indicates in the following passage, there are many human beings who will also be cast into this eternal fire that was never designed for them: “Then he (Jesus) will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41).

The Bible describes hell as a lake of burning sulfur, where the fire never goes out. The “beast” and the “false prophet” of the book of Revelation are thrown alive into this lake (Rev. 19:20), where they are joined a thousand years later by the devil. There they will all be “tormented day and night for ever and ever” (lit., “into the ages upon ages”)—a hyperbole for eternity.

Some claim that while the fires of hell may be eternal, those who enter there are annihilated, not imprisoned. In other words, the fire is eternal, but the torment is not. This, however, contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture: And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Rev. 20:10). Not only is the fire eternal, but the suffering is as well. The “second death” is not a synonym for ceasing to exist. The sad truth is that this is a place of unending torment (Rev. 19:20).

Hell is not only described as an eternally burning lake of fire, but is expressly referred to as “the second death” (Rev. 20:14). It earns this moniker because here death itself will be destroyed: Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14-15).

It is from this horrible end that Jesus came to rescue mankind. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17).

Music In Worship

2011-04-19T22:56:00.005-04:00

Biblegems #35

Question: Could you address the historical / biblical role of music in worship?

The subject of music in congregational worship is huge, and there is no way it can be adequately covered in a 500-word Biblegems blog. So this article will be longer than most, yet still insufficient to cover the topic adequately. But I will attempt to present some highlights, which will hopefully spur interest in additional personal study.

As part of the Protestant Reformation, worship music composed by Martin Luther often took non-musical liturgies originally composed in Latin and translated them into the common language (German). He then put them to music, sometimes applying them to a familiar tune used by the Catholic church, sometimes using a Gregorian chant style, sometimes creating his own original melody, and often utilizing popular German folk tunes that the people already knew. To use a contemporary phrase, his desire was to make the music of worship “user friendly” to the people of his day.

In contrast to this, John Calvin, a contemporary of Luther’s, did not approve of Luther’s creative approach to church singing, but believed only Scripture put to music, with no harmony and no instruments, was appropriate for congregational worship. He was apparently unaware of the rich biblical heritage and instruction regarding the use of musical variety and creativity in worship.

Biblically, the purpose of corporate singing in worship is to provide an avenue or channel for people to enter God's presence—heart, soul, mind, body and spirit—in both reverential awe and joyful adoration.

Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs (Ps. 100:2).

Music stirs the emotions. It is supposed to, even in a worship service—perhaps, especially in a worship service. An important aspect of this is the use of musical instruments together with vocal praise:

Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD (Ps. 150:1-6).

In the New Testament, God’s Word says we are to… Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord (Eph. 5:19; cf. Col. 3:16). The verb “to speak” (laleo) refers to singing as well as speech, and even is used of the sound created by instruments. So the Bible is telling us to fill our times together with all different kinds of music—psalms, hymns, and songs. (Arndt & Gingrich’s Greeek / English Lexicon, in loc.)

Music was an important part of New Testament worship, both congregationally and spontaneously (Matt. 26:30; 1Cor. 14:26; Acts 16:25; Rom. 15:9). “Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” actually allude to types of music practiced by the early Christians.

“Psalms” refers to the Old Testament Psalms, which were integrated with Christian worship from the earliest days. The verb “to make music” (Eph. 5:19) is psallo, from which we get our English word “psalm.” Literally, psallo means “to pluck,” a reference to stringed instruments or praise songs to the accompaniment of stringed instruments. (Ref., EBC, Frank Gaebelin; Arndt & Gingrich’s Greeek / English Lexicon).

“Hymns” (‘’umnos: “songs of praise”) was a term used in pagan worship to praise some god or cultic hero. Christians adopted the word to describe songs that exalted the name of Jesus or God. Examples appear in the both the Old Testament (Ps. 40:3) and the New (Phil. 2:5-11).

“Spiritual songs” (odai pneumatikai) is a term intended to distinguish Christian music from secular music that may have sounded very similar. The term odai (“songs”) originally referred to secular music. The New Testament adopted the term to refer to songs of praise to God or Christ. “Spiritual songs” can also designate spontaneous singing in the Spirit.

Much of what the Church today considers “hymns” were once the “spiritual songs” adopted from the secular music styles of the day. “There Is A Fountain” and “Yesterday, Today, Forever” are both prime examples of 18^th-19^th century English & American traditional / folk styles that have been immortalized in our hymnals. The well-known Christmas carol, “Go, Tell It On The Mountain,” is an African American Spiritual of the same period. “O Sacred Head Now wounded” comes from the “Baroque” style of the 17^th century, while “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” reflects the classical musical style of the 18^th century. “What Child Is This” was taken wholesale and adapted from the Medieval folk song “Green Sleeves.”

Music in worship has always reflected the cultures and styles in which believers have found themselves. Worship music has been the music of the people because it is the music these people grew up with, knew and loved. What could be more natural—or spiritual— than to “baptize” the music of their time with their newfound love for Jesus?

God desires that worship be heart-felt and sincere, not defined by human traditions (old or new) that reduce worship to liturgical patterns (or the lack thereof) or styles or instruments or language preference:

The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men (Is. 29:13).

Some forms of music and types of instruments are especially well suited for arousing emotions of excitement, joy, adoration, directing those emotions to God. Worship music in Bible times included a great variety of instruments: Horns (Da 3:5, 7, 10), Cymbals (1Chr. 15:19, 28; 1Cor. 13:1), Flutes (Gen. 4:21; Dan. 3:5, 7, 10, 15), Gittiths, possibly a stringed instrument (Ps. 8; 81), Harps (1Sam. 10:5; 16:16, 23; 1Chr. 16:5), Lyres (1Chr. 16:5), Pipe (1Sam. 10:5; Is. 30:20; Dan. 3:5, 10, 15), Sistrum (2Sam. 6:5), Tambourines (i.e., drums with bells. Ex. 15:20), Trumpets (Josh. 6:4) and Zithers (Dan. 3:5, 7, 10, 15). All of these and more provided a lively, energetic background to the crescendo of praise pouring from the hearts and lips of God’s people.

The sheer volume of voices and instruments can stir the emotions and elicit a sense of awe appropriate to engaging people in the worship of God:

Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose (1 Chr. 23:5; 1 Chr. 23:5).

It is with such vibrant, loud and exciting music that the saints of all the ages will gather around the Throne of God and of the Lamb, declaring their love and adoration throughout eternity:

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns (Rev. 19:6).

Dinosaurs On The Ark?

2011-03-29T08:00:00.003-04:00

Biblegems #34

One young lady recently asked, were dinosaurs on the ark?

The first question that needs to be asked is, what, technically, is a dinosaur?

Today, most scientist agree that the term “dinosaur” generally refers to a variety of extinct, land-based reptiles whose limbs extend beneath the body, like that of a crocodile. Many were very large, some quite small. Most of these scientists also adhere to the theory of evolution, and so would assume that dinosaurs existed between 230 million and 65.5 million years ago. According to that point of view, dinosaurs were extinct long before humans came on the scene.

Biblically, of course, dinosaurs and humans did coexist. In fact they were both brought into existence on the sixth day of creation (Gen. 1:25-27). Roughly 1,600 years later the Flood inundated the entire earth, and nearly all land based animals and mankind were annihilated, including the dinosaurs. However, God had Noah bring onto the ark representatives of every “kind” of animal, including dinosaurs, along with the eight people of Noah’s family.

The term “kind” in the Bible refers to living creatures of the same type. Dinosaurs would be considered one “kind” of animal. So it was not necessary for the ark to have carried several variations of dinosaur, such as a brontosaurus or tyrannosaurus. It is certainly possible that a flying pair of dinosaurs were aboard the ark in addition to those that walked on the ground. It is also quite possible that infant dinosaurs of the larger variety were aboard.

What we do know for sure is that some dinosaurs were on the ark, because Scripture itself gives eyewitness accounts of humans interacting with them long after the Flood had receded (Job 40: 15-24; Job 41:1), and art work from post-Flood human settlements portray a great number of dinosaurs. Well known and respected historians and travelers such as Herodotus, Marco Polo and Alexander the great reported sightings of dinosaurs. And several Native American tribes have left oral and cave art records of interaction with dinosaurs, especially a giant flying reptile they call the “thunderbird.”

Most dinosaurs, of course, perished in the Flood. Those that did travel on the ark would have found it extremely difficult to survive in the radically altered landscape of the post-Flood world. Gone were the vast plains of tropical vegetation and the green-house-like conditions maintained by the pre-Flood water canopy around the earth. The Ice Age that followed the Flood would have wiped out many dinosaurs that struggled to breed and survive.

Eventually, dinosaurs became extinct, with the slight possibility that an extremely small number have continued to breed and may exist to this day in remote jungles, the ocean, or deep places in some large fresh water bodies where local inhabitants claim to encounter them.

The fossil remains of dinosaurs and the artwork and oral history of ancient peoples are a great testimony to the authority and accuracy of Scripture. God has left His signature upon the canvas of creation. The whole earth is indeed full of His glory!

Who Won't Taste Death?

2011-03-22T08:00:00.002-04:00

Biblegems #33

In Matthew 16:28 Jesus makes the surprising statement: I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

The question is: Just who and when is Jesus talking about? Who standing there won't taste death; and when will they see Him coming in His kingdom?

It is a very reasonable question, especially considering the context immediately preceding this verse. Jesus had just been explaining to His disciples and the surrounding crowd that He was about to go to Jerusalem where He would be arrested by the religious authorities, killed, and then be raised from the dead (Matt. 16:21). He warned them that following Him would require self-sacrifice, but that God would reward such sacrifice at the appearing of the Son of Man in glory (Matt. 16:22-27). Immediately afterward He makes the claim that some in that very crowd would “not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

It is the following verses, however, where Jesus’ puzzling prediction finds its fulfillment. It’s helpful to remember that when the Gospels were first written they did not have chapter and verse separations. Those were added as study aids centuries later. So for us today, coming to end of a chapter has the affect of concluding one scene and moving on to an entirely new scene in the next chapter.

Yet, for the readers of this Gospel prior to the addition of chapter and verse, Jesus’ statement about the Son of Man coming in glory would have merged seamlessly into the next verse. There, Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain where He was transfigured before them (17:1-8). These three disciples were the ones Jesus had prophesied about six days earlier. Not only did they get to see the Son of Man in His Kingdom glory, shining brighter than the midday sun, they also witnessed a conversation in the heavenly realms between Jesus, Moses and Elijah, followed by the voice of God Himself! The experience was so overwhelming, all three disciples collapsed in terror (Matt. 17:6).

We tend to associate the coming of the Son of Man in glory with the Return of Jesus at the end of the age (Matthew 24: 30-31). But the coming of the Kingdom actually began with Jesus’ Incarnation. As Jesus Himself announced, “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28).

Jesus’ Transfiguration reminds us that the Kingdom of God cannot be reduced to a timeline. Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you” (Lk. 17:20-21).

Healed Or Cured?

2011-03-15T08:00:00.002-04:00

Biblegems #32

One Biblegems reader would like to know, what is the difference in Scripture between being healed and being cured?

The two words can certainly be used synonymously, but there is a difference between them, especially where the words in the original language are concerned.

The primary words used in the Greek New Testament for “healed” or “cured” are: kathairo, sodzo, apallasso, iaomai and therapeuo.¹ All these terms can be used more or less interchangeably, with some minor differences in emphasis. Unfortunately, these four Greek terms are usually translated into only two English terms: “healed” and “cured,” and sometimes “made clean.”

For example, in Matthew 8, when Jesus heals a man of leprosy, he says to the man, “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy (8:3). The word translated “clean” and the word translated “cured” both come from the same Greek word, kathairo, which mans “to cleanse.” So this man’s “cure” was to be cleansed of an ailment that made him unclean.

In Acts 4, when Peter and John were questioned by the Jewish leaders about the miraculous healing of the crippled man at the temple gate (chpt. 3), Peter used the word sodzo (save; deliver; make whole) to describe the healing (Acts 4:9). Then, in verse 10 he says, by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, … this man stands before you healed. The term used is hoogiace, meaning “healthy” or “well.” The crippling condition this man had known since birth was not considered “unclean,” as was the case with the infectious leprosy.

Luke 8 records how some women… had been cured of evil spirits and diseases (2). The word used here, apallasso, means to “change away.” The idea is that Jesus “removed” the evil spirits and diseases from these ladies.

The Gospel of Matthew relates how Jesus healed a Roman centurion’s servant from a distance: And his servant was healed at that very hour (8:13). “Healed” translates the word iaomai, which is closest to our English terms “heal” or “cure.”

A little later in Matthew, following the death of John the Baptist, Jesus sought to be alone for a while and left with His disciples by boat to a solitary place. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick (Matt. 14:14). Here, the word therapeuo is used, literally meaning to serve someone. In this instance, like a bus boy clearing tables in a busy restaurant, Jesus went throughout the crowd relieving people of their illnesses. The emphasis is more on how Jesus performed the healing ministry than on those who were being healed.

To sum up, then, the English words “healed” and “cured” are used pretty much interchangeably for a variety of Greek terms. The Greek, however, is used with somewhat more care, especially when drawing a distinction between a condition that makes a person clean or unclean, or when emphasizing the person who is doing the healing in contrast to those who are receiving the healing. In the long run, the loss in translation is minimal. God still gets the glory for providing healing for the mortal body through His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ!

¹ Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, Public Domain. Electronic text downloaded from the Bible Foundation e-Text Library:Hypertexted and formatted by Oaktree Software, Inc. Greek text added by OakTree Software, Inc. Version 2.4

Language And Interpretation

2011-03-08T08:00:00.001-05:00

Biblegems #31

How does language influence our ability to understand and interpret Scripture?

Biblical interpretation is all about language. Correctly handling the language of the Bible is just one of several key aspects of rightly dividing the Word of God. The following are some brief examples of fundamental principles of biblical interpretation related to the use of language. Since most who read this will not be fluent in biblical Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, these principle will apply especially to the use of the native language you use for Bible reading and study.

—Correctly Interpreting words.

In John 20:17, Mary encounters the resurrected Jesus outside the tomb and is filled with joy. Jesus says to her, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father” (NIV). The KJV translates this verse: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father…” Is Jesus telling her not to cling to Him because He has places to go and things to do, or is he suggesting, as some have unfortunately interpreted, that she shouldn’t be touching Him because His resurrected body was not yet glorified? A little Bible study will quickly reveal that Jesus allowed others—even encouraged others— to “touch” Him before His ascension (Jn. 20:27, etc).

—Correctly Interpreting words within their context.

A standard rule of interpretation is that a text without a context is a pretext. What that means is that, without the context being taken into consideration, the meaning of a Bible verse or verses can be badly distorted.

For example, some have erroneously taught that Jeremiah 1:5 refers to the pre-existence of the human soul before a person is born. The only way one can arrive at that conclusion is to completely ignore the context, which has to do with God’s foreknowledge and plan for Jeremiah’s role as a prophet of Israel.

Context also includes the historical, archeological and cultural contexts, especially when dealing with issues that are unfamiliar to us today. All of these play a very important role in understanding Scripture properly.

—Correctly Interpreting Language Style.

The Bible contains a rich variety of styles, each with its own rules of interpretation. Here is a sampling

Poetry (Psalms; Son of Solomon)

Symbolism (John 1: 8-9)

Narrative (John 1:6-7)

Allegory (Hagar, Galatians 4)

History (Kings; Chronicles)

Parables (Matthew 13)

Apocalyptic (Revelation)

Wisdom (Proverbs)

You can imagine the chaos if Poetry were interpreted as apocalyptic or allegory as history. Yet, this is often what happens when a verse of Scripture is read and interpreted without an understanding of the language style being used.

God’s wants His Word to be understood by everyday people. And so God Himself exhorts us: Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15).

A Young Earth & Diamonds

2011-03-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

Biblegems #30

One Biblegems reader wants to know how, in a young earth scenario, diamonds are formed?

According to typical modern scientific theory, natural diamonds were formed millions—even billions—of years ago. The theory goes that deposits of pure carbon trapped deep in the earth’s mantle, under tremendous pressures and intense temperatures (1100 - 2900° C), eventually crystallized. Over millions and billions of years, these crystals gradually moved upwards through the earth’s crust, carried along by volcanic magma.

A standard scientific technique for determining the age of diamonds is applying the decay rate of Carbon 14 within them. Unfortunately for the popular scientific theory, carbon 14 is undetectable after 100,000 years, assuming the rate of decay remains constant. Yet carbon 14 is evident in diamonds, indicating that diamonds are only thousands of years old instead of millions.

Recent scientific studies by Andrew Snelling and Mark Armitage have also indicated that some structural formations peculiar to diamonds are likely due to water-born uranium 238. “It appears that Armitage's observations of etch trails, darkened linear features, and twisted tubes are remnants of fluid infiltration when the hot diamonds were in contact with hydrothermal fluids near the surface of the earth.”¹ For this to have occured, the process would have only required hours and weeks, not billions, millions or even thousands of years. It all could have taken place in the early days of creation.

The Bible plainly states that …

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (Gen. 1:1-2).

That primordial earth, the hard material of dirt and rock, was completely submersed in water. On the second “day” (Hebrew: yom, a literal 24 hour time period) of creation the waters were separated and the dry land appeared. On that same day vegetation burst forth from the ground at a super-accelerated rate that would have appeared much like our elapsed time digital productions of blossoming flowers or changing seasons. This would have provided the perfect environment for the rapid formation of diamonds.

While the Bible is not a scientific treatise, it does frequently address scientific issues and makes claims regarding the nature of the natural universe, its origins and its purpose. When these claims are made as statements of fact and not poetic metaphor, they need to be taken as fact. We cannot hold the Bible to be the true revelation of God on the one hand, and then alter its plain meaning to fit the theories of the day on the other.

The very existence of diamonds is a testimony in the earth of God’s creation as revealed in the Scriptures. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse (Rom. 1:20).

1. Vardiman, L. 2008. Diamonds May Be a Creationist's Best Friend. Acts & Facts. 37 (6): 6.