Questions and Answers
When reading the Bible in the Authorized Version or the New King James Bible, as well as in most other English translations, one will find that the words “pride” or “proud” are exclusively applied to wrong human conduct or emotions. This is especially true when analyzing Scriptures in the New Testament. There, three different Greek terms are used to describe pride, but all have a slightly different underlying meaning. In Mark 7:21-22, we read that “from within, out of the heart of men, proceed[s]… pride…” In this case, the Greek word for pride also designates “haughtiness.” In 1 Timothy 3:6, Paul addresses the qualifications of a minister, emphasizing that he should not be “a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.” We know from the Old Testament that Lucifer, who became Satan, sinned when his heart was lifted up and became proud. The Greek term, which Paul uses in 1 Timothy 3:6, alludes to this historical fact. The word actually means, “inflated with self-deceit.” Finally, in 1 John 2:15-16, we are told not to love this world or this present evil age, nor the things in the world. John continues to say that “all that is… In the first chapter of the first book in the Bible, we read that God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27). Man was created for a purpose, and that ultimate purpose is to become an immortal member of the God Family. In John 10, Jesus talks about Himself as being the good Shepherd and that He had “come that they have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (verse 10). In this day and age, God has only called very few people for salvation, but everyone will receive their opportunity to inherit eternal life when God deems that the time is right. Why would anyone who has received this marvelous calling today want to commit suicide? There are many “reasons” and “justifications” why even true Christians might erroneously think that this is the best course of action in their particular circumstances. What circumstances would give rise to such a thought? Perhaps someone has an incurable disease (by man’s reckoning) and is in such severe pain that it seems to be the only way out of a terrible situation? Or someone doesn’t think him- or herself worthy of God’s calling and cannot reconcile the fact that he or she… We find many times in the Old Testament a description of the Promised Land as a land flowing with milk and honey. The first reference can be found in the episode when God appeared to Moses in the burning bush. He told Moses in Exodus 3:8 that He would deliver His people “out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” This promise was later repeated many times, for instance in Numbers 14:8; Deuteronomy 31:20; and Ezekiel 20:15. Commentaries tell us that the promise referred to the fertility and bounty that awaited God’s chosen people. The mention of “milk” suggested that Israel’s livestock (consisting of cattle, sheep and goats) could find much pasture; and the reference to “honey” implied the bountiful farmland available where bees had plenty of plants from which to produce nectar. “Honey” could also refer to the sweetness of dates that grew in the land. All of this would mean that the promise included both richness and fertility. The website gotquestions makes the following comments: “God called the new land ‘good and spacious.’ The Hebrew word translated ‘good’ means… We have seen in the previous two Q&A’s that abortion at any time, after human life has been conceived in the mother’s womb, is a sin and murder in the eyes of God. On the website “gotquestions” we read: “Science tells us that human life begins at the time of conception. From the moment fertilization takes place [fertilization, a synonym for conception, is defined as the action or process of fertilizing an egg, female animal, or plant, involving the fusion of male and female gametes to form a zygote. See definition of zygote below], the child’s genetic makeup is already complete. Its gender has already been determined, along with its height and hair, eye and skin color. The only thing the embryo needs to become a fully-functioning being is the time to grow and develop. “More importantly, God reveals to us in His Word that not only does life begin at conception, but He knows who we are even before then (Jeremiah 1:5). King David said this about God’s role in our conception: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb . . . your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me… In the previous Q&A, we have looked at alleged and purported “reasons” for abortions, the many questions raised about this issue, the Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973, abortion statistics in the USA and worldwide, the Hippocratic oath, recent events in Alabama and elsewhere in the USA about abortion bans and probable appeals against such legislation and democratically elected women ignoring President Trump’s statement about abortion while they glory in their own “success.” We will now look at the Scriptural evidence to see when life begins while dismissing arbitrary times, depending on different thoughts, ideas and assumptions of many different people. First of all, we read in Exodus 20:13: “You shall not kill.” This is pretty straightforward, one would think, but something that never seems to enter the equation when discussing abortion. Perhaps some think that a conceived child is not a member of the human race until it is born; perhaps others don’t particularly care while others may not even think about it too much but whatever it is, it is wrong to kill the unborn. Let us now review the soul and the spirit in man. A living soul is defined as any living thing composed of flesh and blood including… The question of abortion has been debated long and hard over many years with many different and varied outcomes. We will cover this subject from a biblical standpoint but to start with we will look at the current situation around the world. Some have put forward the idea of no abortion at all, under any circumstances, while others have suggested that it be allowed up to a certain time. On the BBC website under “ethics,” the following information is available: “At various times some of the following have been allowed in some societies: The second commandment describes a prohibition against idolatry. In Exodus 20:4-5, God presents the instruction to Moses, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—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; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.’” Since God presented this commandment in an explicit way following the Exodus of Israel out of Egypt, does it mean that it began to take effect at that moment? Or was the commandment in effect before that time? The answer to the question of its existence prior to the proclamation of the Ten Commandments is clearly affirmative, as shown by the evidence in the Bible. Before beginning to cite evidence for the existence of the commandment against idolatry, it is important to clarify the scope of what it means. There is a clear admonition against creating anything that… For a long time, the expression that Jesus used about Himself, the “Son of Man,” has been debated back and forth. Wikipedia has this to say about this term: “Son of man is an expression in the sayings of Jesus in Christian writings, including the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation. The meaning of the expression is controversial. Interpretation of the use of ‘the Son of man’ in the New Testament has remained challenging and after 150 years of debate no consensus on the issue has emerged among scholars. “The expression ‘the Son of man’ occurs 81 times in the Greek text of the four Canonical gospels, and is used only in the sayings of Jesus. The singular Hebrew expression ‘son of man’ (ben-‘adam) also appears in the Hebrew Bible over a hundred times.” One commentator on the internet made these observations: “In the gospels, there are more than 80 places where Jesus refers to himself in the third person as the ‘Son of Man’. In most of those places, he is associating it with one of two prophecies concerning himself; either that the Son of Man will suffer and be killed (Matthew 17:12, Mark 8:31, 9:12, Luke… The answer is a resounding, emphatic and unequivocal “Yes!” We will show from the Bible that GOD is confident—convinced—that those whom He calls to eternal salvation in this day and age WILL succeed. Paul expresses his and God’s thinking in this regard in Philippians 1:3-6, as follows: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…” The Amplified Bible says: “… And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ… developing… and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.” God does WANT those whom He calls to salvation to be in His Kingdom—His Family. He is confident, convinced, sure that His disciples WILL “make it” into His Kingdom. When God calls us, He ENABLES us, and therefore KNOWS that we CAN finish our race successfully. Our ability, sufficiency, or qualification come from God. This… Ezekiel 28:14, 16 states: “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones… And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.” Many commentaries completely misunderstand this entire passage and wrongfully assume that a human king is being addressed here. Based on this false assumption, their interpretation of the fiery stones is equally wrong. We explain the events described, beginning in Ezekiel 28:11 about the “king of Tyre,” in our free booklet, Angels, Demons and the Spirit World, in Part 2 and the sub-chapter on “Lucifer and Satan,” showing that the Bible addresses here Satan, not a human being: “The Bible reveals that God created all of the angels. They were not created as robots, but as spirit beings with the power to choose and to decide. One high-ranking angel, a cherub by the name of Lucifer, rebelled and sinned against God (Isaiah 14:12–15; Ezekiel 28:11–17). Lucifer wanted to ‘ascend to heaven’ to dethrone God (Isaiah 14:13). He wanted to ‘ascend above the…Is Pride Always Condemned in the Bible? (Part 1)
What Does the Bible Say About Suicide?
What is the meaning behind God’s promise of “a land flowing with milk and honey”?
The Abortion Question Today – Part 3
The Abortion Question Today (Part 2)
The Abortion Question Today (Part 1)
Is there evidence that the commandment against idolatry was in effect before the Ten Commandments?
Why did Jesus call Himself “The Son of Man”?
Can we be confident that we will make it into the Kingdom of God?
What are the fiery stones mentioned in Ezekiel 28:14, 16?
