The Greek ba´pti·sma refers to the process of immersion, including submersion and emergence; it is derived from the verb ba´pto, meaning “dip.” (John 13:26) In the Bible, “to baptize” is the same as “to immerse.” The fact that baptism was also used to symbolize a burial indicates complete submersion. (See Rom. 6:4-6 and Col 2:12.) When one is immersed in water, one is temporarily “buried” out of sight and then lifted out.
“It is evident that Baptism in the early Church was by immersion.” - New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967, Vol. II, p. 56)
“The first Christians received baptism by immersion everywhere where water was found.” - Larousse du XXe Siècle, Paris, 1928
From the definition of baptism as stated above along with historical sources showing that the early Christians were baptized by immersion, it is clear that baptism is complete immersion or submersion in water, not a mere pouring or sprinkling.
Jesus was also a notable example. He was baptized in a sizable river, the Jordan, and after being baptized he came “up out of the water.” (Mr 1:10; Mt 3:13, 16) John selected a location in the Jordan Valley near Salim to baptize, “because there was a great quantity of water there.” (John 3:23)
Another example involves the Ethiopian eunuch. When asked to be baptized when they came to “a body of water”, they both “went down into the water.” Afterward they came “up out of the water.” (Acts 8:36-40)
For more, see:
Baptism and Your Relationship With God
What Is Baptism And Is It For Infants?
Your Decision to Serve God
Is baptism a requirement for salvation?
Search For Bible Truths - ARCHIVE
Scriptures Index
Search For Bible Truths - Search Guide
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Wednesday, March 3, 2010
To how many does the Bible hold out hope of heavenly life?
Luke 12:32 mentions that they would be a "little flock" in comparison to the great crowd that will "come out of the great tribulation” who look forward to living right on into an earthly paradise. (Rev. 7:9-14) The actual number of those mentioned in the Bible going to heaven is 144,000:
According to Revelation 14:1, the apostle John says:
“I saw, and, look! the Lamb [Jesus Christ] standing upon the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads.”
John went on to say that
"the hundred and forty-four thousand...HAVE BEEN BOUGHT FROM THE EARTH." (Rev. 14:3)
For more, see:
Eternal Happiness—In Heaven or on Earth?
If Jehovah's Witnesses believe that only 144,000 people go to heaven, then wouldn't making more Jehovah's Witnesses reduce their own chances of getting into heaven?
What future hope is there for Jehovah's Witnesses if they believe that only 144,000 go to heaven?
What Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe Regarding Physical And Heavenly Afterlives? The 144,000?
Search For Bible Truths - ARCHIVE
Scriptures Index
Search For Bible Truths - Search Guide
According to Revelation 14:1, the apostle John says:
“I saw, and, look! the Lamb [Jesus Christ] standing upon the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads.”
John went on to say that
"the hundred and forty-four thousand...HAVE BEEN BOUGHT FROM THE EARTH." (Rev. 14:3)
For more, see:
Eternal Happiness—In Heaven or on Earth?
If Jehovah's Witnesses believe that only 144,000 people go to heaven, then wouldn't making more Jehovah's Witnesses reduce their own chances of getting into heaven?
What future hope is there for Jehovah's Witnesses if they believe that only 144,000 go to heaven?
What Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe Regarding Physical And Heavenly Afterlives? The 144,000?
Search For Bible Truths - ARCHIVE
Scriptures Index
Search For Bible Truths - Search Guide
Appearance (Physical) - Links to Information
Click on any link to view:
Appearance (Search Results From the Watchtower Online Library)
Young People Ask - How Can I Make a Good First Impression? (AWAKE! JUNE 2011; JW.ORG)
Cosmetic Surgery - Does it provide true happiness? (Search For Bible Truths)
Are tattoos for Christians today? (Search For Bible Truths)
"Would it be proper for Christian men to wear a neatly trimmed beard? We all know in biblical times Christian men had them including Jesus." (Jehovah's Witnesses Questions and Answers)
What would be appropriate attire when attending places of worship and why? (Jehovah's Witnesses Questions and Answers)
Should you allow some physical traits that you have no control over get in your way of talking to others about God's Kingdom? (Jehovah's Witnesses Questions and Answers)
Does Deut. 22:5 mean that women should never wear men's pants? What does this Scripture mean? (Jehovah's Witnesses Questions and Answers)
Because 1 Cor. 11:14, 15 is concerned about women having longer hair than men, does this mean that women should only have long hair? (Jehovah's Witnesses Questions and Answers)
Where did all of the varieties of human races/skin tones come from? (Jehovah's Witnesses Questions and Answers)
Appearance (Search Results From the Watchtower Online Library)
Young People Ask - How Can I Make a Good First Impression? (AWAKE! JUNE 2011; JW.ORG)
Cosmetic Surgery - Does it provide true happiness? (Search For Bible Truths)
Are tattoos for Christians today? (Search For Bible Truths)
"Would it be proper for Christian men to wear a neatly trimmed beard? We all know in biblical times Christian men had them including Jesus." (Jehovah's Witnesses Questions and Answers)
What would be appropriate attire when attending places of worship and why? (Jehovah's Witnesses Questions and Answers)
Should you allow some physical traits that you have no control over get in your way of talking to others about God's Kingdom? (Jehovah's Witnesses Questions and Answers)
Does Deut. 22:5 mean that women should never wear men's pants? What does this Scripture mean? (Jehovah's Witnesses Questions and Answers)
Because 1 Cor. 11:14, 15 is concerned about women having longer hair than men, does this mean that women should only have long hair? (Jehovah's Witnesses Questions and Answers)
Where did all of the varieties of human races/skin tones come from? (Jehovah's Witnesses Questions and Answers)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Rom. 9:5 - NOT Proof That Jesus is God.
Romans 9:5 "... Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen." - KJV.
Some trinitarians have run these two separate statements of Jesus and God together in such a way as to give the impression that they both refer to the same subject: Jesus. The technique is identical with that of the "speaker confusion trick" we have been examining, and neither is acceptable as proper evidence for a "Jesus is God" faith!
Rom. 9:5 is really a confusion of subjects rather than speakers that we find in some trinitarian interpretations of this scripture.
This is the scripture that A Catholic Dictionary calls
"the strongest statement of Christ's divinity in St. Paul, and, indeed, in the N[ew] T[estament]."
The Jerusalem Bible (Roman Catholic) renders it, like the equally trinitarian KJV, in such a way as to make Christ appear to be God: "Christ who is above all, God for ever blessed! Amen."
And the very trinitarian The NIV Study Bible, 1985, in a note for Ro. 9:5, calls it:
"One of the clearest statements of the deity of Jesus Christ found in the entire NT, assuming the accuracy of the translation (see NIV text note)."
Highly-regarded trinitarian NT scholar, F. F. Bruce writes concerning Ro. 9:5:
"God who is over all be blessed for ever. The relation of these words to those which precede is disputed. RSV takes them as an independent ascription of praise to God, prompted by the mention of God's crowning his many blessings on Israel by sending them the Messiah (similarly NEB, GNB)."
Bruce then gives reasons for and against such an understanding and concludes with:
"It is, on the other hand, impermissible to charge [accuse] those who prefer to treat the words as an independent doxology with Christological unorthodoxy. The words can indeed be so treated, and the decision about their construction involves a delicate assessment of the balance of probability this way and that." – p. 176, The Letter of Paul to the Romans, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Revised Ed., Eerdmans Publ., 1985.
However, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology is forced to acknowledge that even if such a trinitarian rendering of the Greek were accurate,
"Christ would not be equated absolutely with God, but only described as being of divine nature [see the DEF study.], for the word theos has no article. But this ascription of majesty does not occur anywhere else in Paul. The much more probable explanation is that the statement is a doxology [praise] directed to God." - Vol. 2, p. 80, 1986.
Trinitarian scholar John L. McKenzie also admits:
"Paul's normal usage is to restrict the noun [`God'] to designate the Father (cf 1 Co 8:6), and in Rm 9:5 it is very probable that the concluding words are a doxology, `Blessed is the God who is above all.'" – p. 318, Dictionary of the Bible, Macmillan Publ., 1979 printing.
The trinitarian United Bible Societies (UBS) makes the same admission:
"In fact, on the basis of the general tenor of his theology it was considered tantamount to impossible that Paul would have expressed Christ's greatness by calling him `God blessed for ever'." And, "Nowhere else in his genuine epistles does Paul ever designate ho christos [`the Christ'] as theos [`God' or `god']." - p. 522, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, United Bible Societies, 1971.
The UBS has therefore punctuated their NT Greek text in such a way as to show the separateness of Christ and God at Ro. 9:5.
Even A Catholic Dictionary admits the possibility that the scripture in question is really a doxology directed to God and not to Jesus:
"There is no reason in grammar or in the context which forbids us to translate `God, who is over all, be blessed for ever, Amen.'"
And this statement is from the very same trinitarian reference work that calls Ro. 9:5 "the strongest statement of Christ's divinity" in the entire New Testament!! If this is the "strongest" such statement, where does that put the rest of the trinity "proof"?
Illustrating the high probability that the last part of Romans 9:5 is directed as a doxology to the Father, not to Jesus, are these translations of Ro. 9:5 found in trinitarian Bibles where the statement in question is not directed to Jesus:
The Revised Standard Version (RSV), 1971 ed. - "... of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ. God who is over all be blessed for ever. Amen." - See p. 165, So Many Versions? (SMV), Zondervan, 1983.
The New American Bible (NAB), 1970 ed. - "... from them [Israelites] came the Messiah (I speak of his human origins). Blessed forever be God who is over all!"
The New American Bible (NAB), 1991 ed. - "[From the Israelites], according to the flesh, is the Messiah. God who is over all be blessed forever, Amen."
The New English Bible (NEB), 1961 ed. - "... from them, in natural descent, sprang the Messiah. May God, supreme above all, be blessed forever!"
Revised English Bible (REB), 1989 ed. - "... from them by natural descent came the Messiah. May God, supreme above all, be blessed forever!"
An American Translation (AT), 1975 printing - "... and from them physically Christ came - God who is over all be blessed for ever!"
Today's English Version (TEV), 1976 ed. - "Christ, as a human being, belongs to their race. May God, who rules over all, be praised forever!"
The Living Bible (LB) - "...Christ was one of you ... he who now rules over all things. Praise God forever!" - Tyndale House Publishers, 1971.
The Bible, A New Translation, (Mo) by Dr. James Moffatt, 1954 - "[From the Israelites] (so far as natural descent goes) is the Christ. (Blessed for evermore be the God who is over all! Amen.)"
New Life Version (NLV) - "Christ himself was born of flesh from this family and He is over all things. May God be honored and thanked forever." - Victor Books, 1993.
Not only can Ro. 9:5 be interpreted as having two different statements about two different subjects (1. Jesus came to earth as an Israelite, and, 2. Bless God who is over all.), but that is almost certainly the meaning intended by Paul (compare Ro. 15:5, 6; Ro. 16:27; 2 Cor. 1:3; Gal. 1:3-5; Eph. 1:3; 1 Tim. 1:16, 17).
Why, even the NIVSB, which called Ro. 9:5 "One of the clearest statements of the deity of Jesus Christ found in the entire NT" (see above), also gave the following in a footnote for Ro. 9:5 as proper alternate translations of this verse:
"Or Christ, who is over all. God be forever praised! Or Christ. God who is over all be forever praised!"
But some trinitarians have, instead, run these two separate statements of Jesus and God together in such a way as to give the impression that they both refer to the same subject: Jesus. The technique is identical with that of the "speaker confusion trick" we have been examining, and neither is acceptable as proper evidence for a "Jesus is God" faith!
Trinity Indexes
Examining Trinity 'Proof Texts'
Search For Bible Truths - ARCHIVE
Scriptures Index
Search For Bible Truths - Search Guide
Some trinitarians have run these two separate statements of Jesus and God together in such a way as to give the impression that they both refer to the same subject: Jesus. The technique is identical with that of the "speaker confusion trick" we have been examining, and neither is acceptable as proper evidence for a "Jesus is God" faith!
Rom. 9:5 is really a confusion of subjects rather than speakers that we find in some trinitarian interpretations of this scripture.
This is the scripture that A Catholic Dictionary calls
"the strongest statement of Christ's divinity in St. Paul, and, indeed, in the N[ew] T[estament]."
The Jerusalem Bible (Roman Catholic) renders it, like the equally trinitarian KJV, in such a way as to make Christ appear to be God: "Christ who is above all, God for ever blessed! Amen."
And the very trinitarian The NIV Study Bible, 1985, in a note for Ro. 9:5, calls it:
"One of the clearest statements of the deity of Jesus Christ found in the entire NT, assuming the accuracy of the translation (see NIV text note)."
Highly-regarded trinitarian NT scholar, F. F. Bruce writes concerning Ro. 9:5:
"God who is over all be blessed for ever. The relation of these words to those which precede is disputed. RSV takes them as an independent ascription of praise to God, prompted by the mention of God's crowning his many blessings on Israel by sending them the Messiah (similarly NEB, GNB)."
Bruce then gives reasons for and against such an understanding and concludes with:
"It is, on the other hand, impermissible to charge [accuse] those who prefer to treat the words as an independent doxology with Christological unorthodoxy. The words can indeed be so treated, and the decision about their construction involves a delicate assessment of the balance of probability this way and that." – p. 176, The Letter of Paul to the Romans, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Revised Ed., Eerdmans Publ., 1985.
However, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology is forced to acknowledge that even if such a trinitarian rendering of the Greek were accurate,
"Christ would not be equated absolutely with God, but only described as being of divine nature [see the DEF study.], for the word theos has no article. But this ascription of majesty does not occur anywhere else in Paul. The much more probable explanation is that the statement is a doxology [praise] directed to God." - Vol. 2, p. 80, 1986.
Trinitarian scholar John L. McKenzie also admits:
"Paul's normal usage is to restrict the noun [`God'] to designate the Father (cf 1 Co 8:6), and in Rm 9:5 it is very probable that the concluding words are a doxology, `Blessed is the God who is above all.'" – p. 318, Dictionary of the Bible, Macmillan Publ., 1979 printing.
The trinitarian United Bible Societies (UBS) makes the same admission:
"In fact, on the basis of the general tenor of his theology it was considered tantamount to impossible that Paul would have expressed Christ's greatness by calling him `God blessed for ever'." And, "Nowhere else in his genuine epistles does Paul ever designate ho christos [`the Christ'] as theos [`God' or `god']." - p. 522, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, United Bible Societies, 1971.
The UBS has therefore punctuated their NT Greek text in such a way as to show the separateness of Christ and God at Ro. 9:5.
Even A Catholic Dictionary admits the possibility that the scripture in question is really a doxology directed to God and not to Jesus:
"There is no reason in grammar or in the context which forbids us to translate `God, who is over all, be blessed for ever, Amen.'"
And this statement is from the very same trinitarian reference work that calls Ro. 9:5 "the strongest statement of Christ's divinity" in the entire New Testament!! If this is the "strongest" such statement, where does that put the rest of the trinity "proof"?
Illustrating the high probability that the last part of Romans 9:5 is directed as a doxology to the Father, not to Jesus, are these translations of Ro. 9:5 found in trinitarian Bibles where the statement in question is not directed to Jesus:
The Revised Standard Version (RSV), 1971 ed. - "... of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ. God who is over all be blessed for ever. Amen." - See p. 165, So Many Versions? (SMV), Zondervan, 1983.
The New American Bible (NAB), 1970 ed. - "... from them [Israelites] came the Messiah (I speak of his human origins). Blessed forever be God who is over all!"
The New American Bible (NAB), 1991 ed. - "[From the Israelites], according to the flesh, is the Messiah. God who is over all be blessed forever, Amen."
The New English Bible (NEB), 1961 ed. - "... from them, in natural descent, sprang the Messiah. May God, supreme above all, be blessed forever!"
Revised English Bible (REB), 1989 ed. - "... from them by natural descent came the Messiah. May God, supreme above all, be blessed forever!"
An American Translation (AT), 1975 printing - "... and from them physically Christ came - God who is over all be blessed for ever!"
Today's English Version (TEV), 1976 ed. - "Christ, as a human being, belongs to their race. May God, who rules over all, be praised forever!"
The Living Bible (LB) - "...Christ was one of you ... he who now rules over all things. Praise God forever!" - Tyndale House Publishers, 1971.
The Bible, A New Translation, (Mo) by Dr. James Moffatt, 1954 - "[From the Israelites] (so far as natural descent goes) is the Christ. (Blessed for evermore be the God who is over all! Amen.)"
New Life Version (NLV) - "Christ himself was born of flesh from this family and He is over all things. May God be honored and thanked forever." - Victor Books, 1993.
Not only can Ro. 9:5 be interpreted as having two different statements about two different subjects (1. Jesus came to earth as an Israelite, and, 2. Bless God who is over all.), but that is almost certainly the meaning intended by Paul (compare Ro. 15:5, 6; Ro. 16:27; 2 Cor. 1:3; Gal. 1:3-5; Eph. 1:3; 1 Tim. 1:16, 17).
Why, even the NIVSB, which called Ro. 9:5 "One of the clearest statements of the deity of Jesus Christ found in the entire NT" (see above), also gave the following in a footnote for Ro. 9:5 as proper alternate translations of this verse:
"Or Christ, who is over all. God be forever praised! Or Christ. God who is over all be forever praised!"
But some trinitarians have, instead, run these two separate statements of Jesus and God together in such a way as to give the impression that they both refer to the same subject: Jesus. The technique is identical with that of the "speaker confusion trick" we have been examining, and neither is acceptable as proper evidence for a "Jesus is God" faith!
Trinity Indexes
Examining Trinity 'Proof Texts'
Search For Bible Truths - ARCHIVE
Scriptures Index
Search For Bible Truths - Search Guide
The Father (Jehovah) is God Alone
1. God is Jehovah (YHWH in Hebrew text) Alone.
2. Jehovah is the Father Alone.
3. The Father (Jehovah) is the God of the Messiah.
4. The Father (Jehovah) is God Alone.
....................................................
Bible students should know, as basic information, that most English Bibles have mistranslated God's only personal name as "LORD" over 6000 times. This name, YHWH in the Hebrew OT text, is properly transliterated as "Jehovah" (ASV, MKJV, Young's, etc. and in a few places such as Ps. 83:18 in KJV and Exodus 3:15 in MLB, LB, etc.) or "Yahweh" (JB, NJB, Rotherham, etc.). This name is found in Hebrew as:
http://www.studylight.org/lex/heb/browse.cgi?letter=y&sn=101&pn=6
It is important to have this knowledge in order to better understand exactly who is the only true God.
1. God Alone = Jehovah (YHWH in Hebrew text) - Ps. 83:18; 86:10; Is. 37:16, 20 (and numerous Israelite personal names like 'Elijah' which mean 'God is Jehovah).
Psalms 83:18 That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah (YHWH), Art the Most High over all the earth. - ASV.
Ps. 86:10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone. 11 Teach me thy way, O Jehovah (YHWH); I will walk in thy truth: Unite my heart to fear thy name. - ASV.
Is. 37:16 O Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, that sittest [above] the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. - ASV.
.......................................................
2. Only Jehovah = the Father in heaven - Ps. 2:7 (Acts 13:33); Is. 64:8 (and numerous Israelite personal names like 'Abijah' which mean 'The Father is Jehovah')
Psalms 2:7 I will tell of the decree: Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my son; This day have I begotten thee. -ASV.
Acts 13:33 that God hath fulfilled the same unto our children, in that he raised up Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. - ASV.
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Jehovah, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. - ASV
But there are no personal names in scripture which mean "Jehovah is the Son" or "Jehovah is the Messiah," or anything else to indicate that the firstborn son of God is Jehovah or is God.
.....................................................
3. The Father (Jehovah) is the God of the Messiah
Micah 5:2-4 2 And thou, Beth-Lehem Ephratah, Little to be among the chiefs of Judah! From thee to Me he cometh forth--to be ruler in Israel, And his comings forth [are] of old, From the days of antiquity. 3 Therefore he doth give them out till the time She who bringeth forth hath brought forth, And the remnant of his brethren return to the sons of Israel. 4 And he hath stood and delighted in the strength of Jehovah, In the excellency of the name of Jehovah his God - Young's.
Ro. 15:6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. - NASB.
Revelation 1:6 and He [Jesus Christ in heaven] has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. - NASB.
2 Corinthians 11:31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. - NASB.
................................................
4. The Father (Jehovah - see above) = only true God
John 17:1, 3 "Father, .... 3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. - NASB.
Jeremiah 10:10 "But Jehovah is the true God; he is the living God," - ASV.
The Father (Jehovah) = only God for Christians - 1 Cor. 8:6
1 Corinthians 8:6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. - RSV.
1 Corinthians 8:6 yet there is for us only one God, the Father, who is the Creator of all things and for whom we live; and there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created and through whom we live. - TEV.
Ephesians 4:6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. - NASB.
For more, see:
Is God the Father?
Search For Bible Truths - ARCHIVE
Scriptures Index
Search For Bible Truths - Search Guide
2. Jehovah is the Father Alone.
3. The Father (Jehovah) is the God of the Messiah.
4. The Father (Jehovah) is God Alone.
....................................................
Bible students should know, as basic information, that most English Bibles have mistranslated God's only personal name as "LORD" over 6000 times. This name, YHWH in the Hebrew OT text, is properly transliterated as "Jehovah" (ASV, MKJV, Young's, etc. and in a few places such as Ps. 83:18 in KJV and Exodus 3:15 in MLB, LB, etc.) or "Yahweh" (JB, NJB, Rotherham, etc.). This name is found in Hebrew as:
http://www.studylight.org/lex/heb/browse.cgi?letter=y&sn=101&pn=6
It is important to have this knowledge in order to better understand exactly who is the only true God.
1. God Alone = Jehovah (YHWH in Hebrew text) - Ps. 83:18; 86:10; Is. 37:16, 20 (and numerous Israelite personal names like 'Elijah' which mean 'God is Jehovah).
Psalms 83:18 That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah (YHWH), Art the Most High over all the earth. - ASV.
Ps. 86:10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone. 11 Teach me thy way, O Jehovah (YHWH); I will walk in thy truth: Unite my heart to fear thy name. - ASV.
Is. 37:16 O Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, that sittest [above] the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. - ASV.
.......................................................
2. Only Jehovah = the Father in heaven - Ps. 2:7 (Acts 13:33); Is. 64:8 (and numerous Israelite personal names like 'Abijah' which mean 'The Father is Jehovah')
Psalms 2:7 I will tell of the decree: Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my son; This day have I begotten thee. -ASV.
Acts 13:33 that God hath fulfilled the same unto our children, in that he raised up Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. - ASV.
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Jehovah, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. - ASV
But there are no personal names in scripture which mean "Jehovah is the Son" or "Jehovah is the Messiah," or anything else to indicate that the firstborn son of God is Jehovah or is God.
.....................................................
3. The Father (Jehovah) is the God of the Messiah
Micah 5:2-4 2 And thou, Beth-Lehem Ephratah, Little to be among the chiefs of Judah! From thee to Me he cometh forth--to be ruler in Israel, And his comings forth [are] of old, From the days of antiquity. 3 Therefore he doth give them out till the time She who bringeth forth hath brought forth, And the remnant of his brethren return to the sons of Israel. 4 And he hath stood and delighted in the strength of Jehovah, In the excellency of the name of Jehovah his God - Young's.
Ro. 15:6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. - NASB.
Revelation 1:6 and He [Jesus Christ in heaven] has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. - NASB.
2 Corinthians 11:31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. - NASB.
................................................
4. The Father (Jehovah - see above) = only true God
John 17:1, 3 "Father, .... 3 "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. - NASB.
Jeremiah 10:10 "But Jehovah is the true God; he is the living God," - ASV.
The Father (Jehovah) = only God for Christians - 1 Cor. 8:6
1 Corinthians 8:6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. - RSV.
1 Corinthians 8:6 yet there is for us only one God, the Father, who is the Creator of all things and for whom we live; and there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created and through whom we live. - TEV.
Ephesians 4:6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. - NASB.
For more, see:
Is God the Father?
Search For Bible Truths - ARCHIVE
Scriptures Index
Search For Bible Truths - Search Guide
Monday, March 1, 2010
Is Satan a real person?
The Scriptures portray Satan the Devil as a real person. The Devil is a spirit creature and therefore he is invisible to humans for the same reason that God is invisible to human eyes. “God is a Spirit,” says the Bible. (John 4:24)
Long ago, one of the perfect spirit sons of God acted upon an improper desire and made himself Satan the Devil. The Bible explains the process: “Each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death.” (James 1:14, 15) (See: How did one of God's spirit sons become Satan the Devil, and what was his motive?)
Some contend that Satan is simply the "personification of the evil." However, the biblical evidence showing that Satan is a real person include the instances where Satan actually CONVERSED with others. (Genesis 3:1-5) God Himself talks to Satan at Job 2:1-7 and Jesus does too at Luke 4:3-12. Satan cannot be the "personification of the evil" since God and Jesus do not have any evil at all in them.
Another instance showing how Satan is a real person is the account at Rev. 12:7-9, where Michael and his angels actually waged war with Satan and had him "hurled down to the earth". This would make no sense if Satan was merely the "personification of the evil".
For more, see:
How Real Is the Devil to You?
Is the Devil Real?
THE DEVIL - More Than Just Superstition
Satan—Myth or Sinister Reality?
Who Is the Devil?
Does the Devil Make Us Sick?
Who Really Rules the World?
The Source of Evil Exposed!
Search For Bible Truths - ARCHIVE
Scriptures Index
Search For Bible Truths - Search Guide
Long ago, one of the perfect spirit sons of God acted upon an improper desire and made himself Satan the Devil. The Bible explains the process: “Each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death.” (James 1:14, 15) (See: How did one of God's spirit sons become Satan the Devil, and what was his motive?)
Some contend that Satan is simply the "personification of the evil." However, the biblical evidence showing that Satan is a real person include the instances where Satan actually CONVERSED with others. (Genesis 3:1-5) God Himself talks to Satan at Job 2:1-7 and Jesus does too at Luke 4:3-12. Satan cannot be the "personification of the evil" since God and Jesus do not have any evil at all in them.
Another instance showing how Satan is a real person is the account at Rev. 12:7-9, where Michael and his angels actually waged war with Satan and had him "hurled down to the earth". This would make no sense if Satan was merely the "personification of the evil".
For more, see:
How Real Is the Devil to You?
Is the Devil Real?
THE DEVIL - More Than Just Superstition
Satan—Myth or Sinister Reality?
Who Is the Devil?
Does the Devil Make Us Sick?
Who Really Rules the World?
The Source of Evil Exposed!
Search For Bible Truths - ARCHIVE
Scriptures Index
Search For Bible Truths - Search Guide
Is the Earth really only 10,000 years old?
Some "Christian" Fundamentalists and Creationists believe that the earth itself is only 6-10,000 years old. This conclusion by them is based on Bible genealogy and interpreting the 'days' mentioned in Genesis as literal 24 hour days. The Biblical creation account as recorded in Genesis IS compatible with scientific evidence...it is just that the conclusion mentioned above is a misinterpretation of the Genesis account.
Starting from the beginning, scientific evidence indicates that the universe came about 13.7 billion years ago via the "Big Bang". Genesis refers to God doing just this in Gen. 1:1. But the important thing to realize is that billions of years could have passed (and probably did, considering the scientific evidence) between the statement "In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth" (Gen. 1:1) and the next sentence in Gen. 1:2.
Gen. 1:2 and on describes God's terreforming of the earth over a period of what the account calls as "days". However, these "days" were most likely NOT literal days, but rather figurative "days" such as the descriptive sayings: "Back in the 'day' of my youth" or "In the 'day' of the dinosaurs". The creative "days" mentioned in Genesis could not have been literal 24 hour days because, in just one example in Gen.1:11-13, grass is described as shooting forth and vegetation bearing seed and fruit trees yielding fruit in just one of these "days". So because these creative "days" were figurative, they could have actually been hundreds, thousands or even millions of years in length.
To recap, God first created the heavens and earth. Billions of years probably then passed. Then God prepared the earth for human habitation during the creative FIGURATIVE "days" which most likely took more millions of years. Then, AFTER all of this time had passed, the Bible says that God finally created man.
Bible genealogy does provide evidence that MAN has been on earth for nearly 6,000 years. But that does not have to mean that the "heavens and earth" have only been around that long as many "Christian" Fundamentalists and Creationists will want one to believe.
So God most likely created the earth billions of years ago and THEN created man only 6,000 years ago. Concerning the time in between, the Genesis account clearly outlines how certain animals were created before man was. Fossils are just the remains of animals that existed before man was created.
For more, see:
Creation
Does Science Contradict the Genesis Account?
RECONCILING Science and Religion
The Awesome Universe - What the Big Bang Explains—What It Doesn't
Why Do Some Scientists Believe in God?
Search For Bible Truths - ARCHIVE
Scriptures Index
Search For Bible Truths - Search Guide
Starting from the beginning, scientific evidence indicates that the universe came about 13.7 billion years ago via the "Big Bang". Genesis refers to God doing just this in Gen. 1:1. But the important thing to realize is that billions of years could have passed (and probably did, considering the scientific evidence) between the statement "In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth" (Gen. 1:1) and the next sentence in Gen. 1:2.
Gen. 1:2 and on describes God's terreforming of the earth over a period of what the account calls as "days". However, these "days" were most likely NOT literal days, but rather figurative "days" such as the descriptive sayings: "Back in the 'day' of my youth" or "In the 'day' of the dinosaurs". The creative "days" mentioned in Genesis could not have been literal 24 hour days because, in just one example in Gen.1:11-13, grass is described as shooting forth and vegetation bearing seed and fruit trees yielding fruit in just one of these "days". So because these creative "days" were figurative, they could have actually been hundreds, thousands or even millions of years in length.
To recap, God first created the heavens and earth. Billions of years probably then passed. Then God prepared the earth for human habitation during the creative FIGURATIVE "days" which most likely took more millions of years. Then, AFTER all of this time had passed, the Bible says that God finally created man.
Bible genealogy does provide evidence that MAN has been on earth for nearly 6,000 years. But that does not have to mean that the "heavens and earth" have only been around that long as many "Christian" Fundamentalists and Creationists will want one to believe.
So God most likely created the earth billions of years ago and THEN created man only 6,000 years ago. Concerning the time in between, the Genesis account clearly outlines how certain animals were created before man was. Fossils are just the remains of animals that existed before man was created.
For more, see:
Creation
Does Science Contradict the Genesis Account?
RECONCILING Science and Religion
The Awesome Universe - What the Big Bang Explains—What It Doesn't
Why Do Some Scientists Believe in God?
Search For Bible Truths - ARCHIVE
Scriptures Index
Search For Bible Truths - Search Guide
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