Questions and Answers
Verse 14 summarizes the Parable of the Wedding Feast spoken by Jesus Christ in which He teaches about the Kingdom of God and about the accountability that people have when God offers them salvation—that is, eternal life (compare Matthew 24:1-14). Contrary to what many teach and who say that parables were used by Christ to make His teaching more clear, just the opposite is true. The Bible addresses this: “All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: ‘I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world’” (Matthew 13:34-35). In a previous account, His disciples directly asked Jesus why He taught the people with parables. The answer is revealing: “He answered and said to them, ‘Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak… The short answer is, no — the Holy Spirit is neither God nor a Person. Rather, the Holy Spirit is God’s POWER emanating from God the Father AND from God the Son. The Trinitarian concept of Greek Orthodox Christianity is that God is one Person who manifests Himself in three “modes of being” — the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They basically teach that God is only one BEING — but that He can represent himself in three different ways — as a person can be functioning in his capacity as a bank executive, as a father and as a husband. However, as we have seen in previous Q&As, (Who Was Jesus When On Earth?, What Was Jesus Before His Birth as a Man?, Is Jesus God? and How Can There Be Two Gods?) this concept is biblically incorrect. God is not just one Being, but God is a Family, consisting of TWO Beings — the Father and the Son. God is not schizophrenic, nor is He suffering from a bipolar personality, speaking to Himself in His “capacity” as Father to His “capacity” as Son, and vice versa. The Trinitarian concept of Roman Catholic Christianity, which has been… As we explained in previous Q&As, (Who Was Jesus When On Earth?, What Was Jesus Before His Birth as a Man?, and Is Jesus God?) Jesus Christ–the Word or Logos or Son of God–was “WITH” God since all eternity, and He also “WAS” God. The difficulty in understanding this fact may be easily resolved when we recognize that the word “God” is a NAME that can refer to both the Father and the Son. It is, in fact, a FAMILY name. Ephesians 3:14–15 confirms this truth, telling us that it is “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole FAMILY in heaven and earth is NAMED.” Note, too, how the New International Version renders Hebrews 2:11: “Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy ARE of the same FAMILY.” In addition, the German Menge Bible includes in the annotation to Ephesians 2:19 that the term “household of God” means “members of the FAMILY of God” (in German, “Mitglieder der Gottesfamilie”). In a subsequent Q&A, we will discuss the awesome and little-understood truth that it is man’s potential to ENTER the very FAMILY of God. Most people do not realize that… We have discussed in previous Q&As https://www.eternalgod.org/qa/9508 https://www.eternalgod.org/qa/9483 that Jesus Christ was God before He came to this earth, and that He is God today. From this it follows that He was and had to be God–the “Immanuel” or “God with us”–when He came to this earth during His First Coming. As we saw in the last Q&A, He confirmed this fact to the Jews at His time, when He called Himself the “I am”–the Everlasting One–the God of the Old Testament. But in what way was He God, when He was here on earth? The fact that He was God since all eternity–with no beginning and uncreated–has confused many who think that He was still “fully God”–as well as “fully man”–when He came to this earth. Of course, one cannot be fully something and fully something else, if these two characteristics are incompatible. And indeed, being fully God and fully man would be inconsistent. What then, was Jesus Christ, when He came to this earth? We are discussing this question in much detail in our free booklet, “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery.” We would recommend that you read the entire booklet, and for the purpose of this Q&A,… In our last Q&A, we showed that Jesus Christ is God today. As we will show in this Q&A, the Bible also teaches very clearly that Jesus Christ did exist, AS GOD, prior to His First Coming. In fact, there was never a time, prior to His birth as a human being, when Christ did not exist as God. (In future Q&As, we will address the relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ; the nature of the Holy Spirit; what Jesus became when He came in the flesh; and the potential of man.) In our free booklet, “God Is A Family,” we are explaining the following regarding the divinity of Jesus Christ–PRIOR to His birth as a human being: “Jesus Christ WAS—and IS—God! This is a profound statement that many may not have heard before! Some may well believe that God the Father created everything Himself. Many may have been taught that God is only one being, and that Christ is, at best, an angel, or, that He did not even exist before He was born as a human being. You may have heard those who claim that Jesus Christ is not God, therefore God the Father did… The Bible teaches very clearly that Jesus Christ is God. As we will see in future Q&A’s, the Bible also explains that Jesus Christ was God before His birth as a human being; who and what the Father is; and what is the potential of man. In this Q&A, we will address the biblical proof that Jesus Christ is God today. In our free booklet, “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery,” we are stating the following: “… the Bible is very clear that Christ IS God! For undeniable proof, notice Titus 2:11–14: ‘For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our GREAT GOD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.'” The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown commentary confirms that the entire phrase “Great God and Savior” refers to Jesus Christ: “There is but one Greek article to ‘God’ and ‘Savior,’ which shows that both are predicated of one and the… Let us read Hebrews 13:9 in context, including verses 10-16: “(9) Do not be carried about [away] with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods [or meat] which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. (10) We have an ALTAR from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. (11) For the bodies of the BEASTS, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. (12) Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. (13) Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His approach. (14) For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come [the heavenly Jerusalem]. (15) Therefore by Him let us continually offer the SACRIFICE of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. (16) But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such SACRIFICES God is well pleased.” Most commentaries will tell you that the passage of Hebrews 13:9 was written, at least in… No, it does not mean that at all. First, let us establish how long the Great Tribulation is supposed to last. In a previous Q&A on this issue, we wrote the following: “When the Great Tribulation ends, Christ will return. In fact, He will return to shorten the time in order to prevent all human beings from being destroyed (compare Matthew 24:22)… Some claim that the Great Tribulation will last for seven years. However, there is absolutely no Biblical evidence for that teaching. The Bible dogmatically postulates throughout that the Great Tribulation will not last longer than approximately 3 1/2 years… We read in Daniel 7:25: ‘He [an endtime religious leader, the ‘man of sin,’ also called the ‘false prophet’ in Scripture] shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand FOR A TIME AND TIMES AND HALF A TIME.’ “During the Great Tribulation, a religious power under the lead of the ‘false prophet,’ in collaboration with a military power under the lead of the ‘beast,’ will persecute the saints. They will do so for ‘a time and… Throughout the written Word of God, we see the record of prophets who have arisen to warn people of impending punishment—both on an individual basis and that given to nations. We find the warnings and the consequences that followed! In His great love and patience, God has sought to turn people from their rebellion against Him: “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live” (Ezekiel 18:23)? This proclamation is echoed in the writing of the apostle Peter when he states: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Likewise, the apostle Paul writes of God that He “…desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). From these statements we see that God’s purpose is to save people from death! Following the very severe… This account in Luke 2:41-51 is about the time when Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem for the “Feast of the Passover” (verse 41). At that time, Jesus was just twelve years old (verse 42). Jesus then lingered on and after three days, His parents realised that He was not in the company (verses 43-44). They returned to Jerusalem to look for Him (verse 45). They found Him sitting in the temple, both listening and asking the teachers questions (verse 46). In verse 48 we read that Mary said to Jesus: “Son, why have you done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” Jesus answered in verse 49: “Why is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” It is interesting that in verse 50 we read: “But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.” And in the following verse it states that “He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject (obedient) to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.” In Luke 1:30-33 we read the announcement to Mary of the birth of Jesus:…What does Christ mean when He refers to the many who are “called” and to the few who are “chosen” as recorded in Matthew 22:14?
You teach that both the Father and the Son are God. What about the Holy Spirit? Isn't the Holy Spirit also God — the Third Person within the Trinity?
You say that Jesus Christ was God since all eternity, and that He is God today. What about the Father? Isn't He God? How can there be two "Gods"?
Who was Jesus Christ when He was here on earth about 2,000 years ago?
Did Jesus exist prior to His birth as a Human Being? If so, who or what was He?
Why do you teach that Jesus Christ is God? Others say that He is an angel, or that He is an immortal or glorified man, but not God.
Would you please explain Hebrews 13:9? Doesn't Paul teach here that we are free to eat whatever "meat" we want?
You say that the Great Tribulation will last approximately 3 1/2 years, followed by the Heavenly Signs and the Day of the Lord. You also say that the Day of the Lord will last approximately one year and that at the end of the Day of the Lord, Jesus Christ will return. Others say that the Great Tribulation will last for seven years. Does this mean that once the Great Tribulation begins, there will be at least 4 1/2 years [or even 8 years] until Christ returns (3 1/2 years [or seven years] duration of the Great Tribulation plus 1 year duration of the Day of the Lord)?
How do you “Deliver those who are drawn toward death, And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter” as mentioned in Proverbs 24:11? Specifically, who are “those” and how do you hold “those” back?
This is the message that His servants are to bring to those who stand in opposition to God and whose course of life is leading to their destruction.In Luke 2:49 we read Jesus' reply to His parents when they had found Him in the temple. Wasn’t this a little disrespectful?
