Questions and Answers
It was brought to our attention by a reader in Africa that there had been a paper produced entitled, “Was Jesus really born in Bethlehem? Why the Gospels disagree over the circumstances of Christ’s birth.” The paper was published in December of 2021 by Rodolfo Galvan Estrada III, Assistant Professor of the New Testament, Vanguard University. He states that “Every Christmas, a relatively small town in the Palestinian West Bank comes center stage: Bethlehem. Jesus, according to some biblical sources, was born in this town some two millennia ago. Yet the New Testament Gospels do not agree about the details of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. Some do not mention Bethlehem or Jesus’ birth at all. “The Gospels’ different views might be hard to reconcile. But as a scholar of the New Testament, what I argue is that the Gospels offer an important insight into the Greco-Roman views of ethnic identity, including genealogies. Today, genealogies may bring more awareness of one’s family medical history or help uncover lost family members. In the Greco-Roman era, birth stories and genealogical claims were used to establish rights to rule and link individuals with purported ancestral grandeur.” With these comments, the author implies that the four Gospel accounts cannot be relied upon… In Psalm 82 we read about God standing among other gods. This raises questions about who the “gods” are that are in the presence of “God” performing the judgment. Psalm 82:1-2 reads, “God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Selah”. To understand this passage to its fullest, we need to look into and investigate several questions. First, what are the Hebrew words used to translate into “God” and “gods”? Second, what does this passage reveal about the nature of God? Also, how can we understand the judgment of the many gods by the one God? Finally, what is the relevance to true Christians? After addressing these questions, we will find out much more about the nature of God and see how elegantly this event fits into His plan. To begin, we need to understand more about the translation of this passage. Knowing the origin of the Hebrew words that translate into “God” and “gods”, we will learn how to properly understand the meaning of this passage. Are the gods mentioned pagan gods? Are these God’s angels? Are these gods the other two members of the… In the previous Q&A in this series, we began to look at some great relationships in the pages of the Bible. Relationships – Great Relationships in the Bible (continued). In this final instalment, we will continue to review some more interesting relationships. Job and His Friends Job is described in Job 1:1-3 as the greatest of all the people in the East, and he had seven sons, three daughters and many possessions. However, Satan was allowed to tempt him, but not to take his life (Job 2:6). In his hour of need, he was visited by his three friends: “Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him. And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. So they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw… We have reviewed so far relationships between the Father and Jesus Christ; man with fellow man; those within the family unit; and our own personal relationship with God. In any great relationship, friendship is a fundamental and essential part along with other requirements such as honesty, trust, loyalty and a proper lifestyle. Great Relationships in the Bible In this Q&A, we are beginning to review examples of some of the great relationships in the pages of the Bible. Abraham and Lot When God told Abram (later Abraham) to “get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father’s house To a land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1), Lot went with him (verse 4). In the following chapter, we read that “Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock” (Genesis 13:5-7). The result was that Abraham gave Lot a choice of whether to go to the right or to the left (verse 9), even though it would have been Abraham’s… We have so far looked at the relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ; man’s relationship with fellow man and how to deal with others, together with reviewing relationships within the human family. In this Q&A, we are going to look at our vitally important personal relationship which we must have with God. Our personal relationship with God. So many today feel that they have a relationship with God while still trampling over His laws. But Christ tells us that we worship God in vain if we lay aside the commandments of God in order to teach and follow the commandments of men (Mark 7:6-8). In addition, “once saved, always saved” is a false doctrine that we have covered at length previously, and we have to be obedient to the Way that God has called His people to live, that of obedience to His law—not walking all over it, thinking that it doesn’t matter. It does. In his booklet “A World Held Captive,” Mr Herbert W Armstrong, late human leader of the now defunct Worldwide Church of God, observed as follows: “MAN was created to have a personal relationship with God — to be begotten as children of God, finally born into the GOD… One of the most famous passages where the word “meek” is used is found in the Beatitudes in the book of Matthew. In this section of Scripture, His so-called Sermon on the Mount, Christ is starting to define what it means to be a Christian, and even, in part, what it will be like when we are in the Kingdom of God. Christ’s sermon describes qualities to give us a picture of the character of the true people of God—those who are and will be a part of His Family and have the full blessings of the Kingdom to look forward to. We are told in the Beatitudes that meekness is a requirement. In Matthew. 5:5 we read: “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.” It refers to those who will be in the Kingdom of God, ruling this earth. But what exactly does the Bible mean by meekness? Miriam Webster’s Dictionary defines being meek as: “1: enduring injury with patience and without resentment; “2: deficient in spirit and courage; “3: not violent or strong.” According to this definition, while meekness in some respects has good attributes such as patience and humility and non-violent conduct, there are also some connotations that are not so… In the previous Q&A, we reviewed some Scriptures that show how we are to deal with others in our relationship with them. In this Q&A, we are going to look at relationships within the conventional family. Relationships within the human family. Family is a place where strong relationships are built and provides a sense of meaning and belonging, although it has been undermined and demeaned in recent years by those who have an agenda to eliminate the family as we know it. In our booklet “The Keys to Happy Families and Marriages!,” we read the following on page 18 under the heading of “The Christian Family”: “As the Bible gives clear instructions as to the individual roles and functions of husbands and wives, it also explains the duties and responsibilities of fathers and mothers toward their children, and of the children toward their parents. “As we have far too many marriage problems, we also have FAR too many family problems. Too often, parents know little about proper parenting, and rebellious children are the result. Children who are victims of divorce are expected to be resilient when someone they love suddenly disappears from their life. More often than not, they grow up with multiple mothers, fathers, and… In the second part of this series, we started to look at an outline of biblical information to show just how important inter-personal relationships are with other human beings. In this third part, we will review some Scriptures that show how we are to deal with others in our relationship with them. How we are to deal with others in our relationship with them. One of the most obvious places to start is in Exodus 20 where God gave Israel the Ten Commandments. The first four commandments are instructions about how humans should relate to God and the other six are about how people should treat and relate to each other. If these were taken seriously, all relationships would be unrecognisable to what we experience today where selfishness and self-serving predominate. The Ten Commandments give a summary of how to love God and how to love our neighbour. God gave additional statutes and judgments showing the practical application of the Ten Commandments. For example, Exodus 22:21-22 tells us: “You shall neither mistreat a stranger [sojourner or foreigner] nor oppress him… You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.” Rather than oppressing others, we ought to help them when we have opportunity. Deuteronomy 22:1-4 states: “You shall… In the first part of this series, we looked at the relationship between God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. In the second part, we will give an outline of biblical information to show just how important inter-personal relationships are with other human beings, and how bad relationships can be disastrous for everyone involved. Relationships – Man’s interpersonal relationships with fellow man. In Genesis 1:26, we read that God spoke about creating man who was to be made in His image with God’s end goal of reproducing Himself through man. As God is a Family, He wanted man to become part of His Family—to ultimately join Him in His Family as born-again immortal God beings. In Genesis 2:21-25, we read that a woman was made and that husband and wife, as well as their children, were to be a human family (compare Genesis 1:28). This was to be a physical pattern of the ultimate purpose of enlarging the God Family. However, Adam and Eve failed to obey God, and so there were conversations in chapter 3 where God spoke to Adam and his wife after they had eaten of the forbidden fruit and where, as a consequence, God expelled them from… One of the great themes in the Bible is that of relationships – between God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, God and man, and between human beings themselves. Pretty much everyone has relationships with other people unless they live on their own on a desert island, and so it should come as no surprise to anyone that it is a major theme running right through the Bible. Unless we get these relationships right, we will have a miserable life, but much more importantly, the spiritual application is of paramount importance, as we get close to God, and stay close to Him, which will give us eternal life in the Kingdom of God. This series of Q&As is but a brief overview on this subject, and we hope that it will prove helpful to all who read this information, and to those who decide to delve further into this matter. There is so much more in the Bible than that which we will cover in this series. Relationships – God the Father and Jesus Christ. Right from the dawn of civilisation we read in the first book in the Bible that there was a relationship with God the Father and one other…Was Jesus Really Born in Bethlehem? (Part 1)
Who are the “gods” mentioned in Psalm 82?
How important are relationships with God and with each other? – Part 7
How important are relationships with God and with each other? – Part 6
How important are relationships with God and with each other? – Part 5
Can you explain what it means to be meek or to have meekness?
How important are relationships with God and with each other? – Part 4
How important are relationships with God and with each other? – Part 3
How important are relationships with God and with each other? – Part 2
How important are relationships with God and with each other? – Part 1
