Questions and Answers
Surprising as it may sound to some, the Bible nowhere identifies a particular person as “the Antichrist.” Even though religious preachers and programs may be talking about the “coming Antichrist,” they really misapply certain Scriptures to promulgate such a false concept. It is correct that the Bible says that two individuals, called the “beast” and the “false prophet,” will appear on the world scene, and that Satan will use them, as his instruments, to bring havoc to this world. Scriptures also refer to the “false prophet” as the “man of sin,” and they speak of the “beast” as the “king of the north” or “King Jareb of Assyria.” But the Bible nowhere says that either one of those two persons–either the “beast” or the “false prophet”– is “THE Antichrist.” To give just one example, the following explanation of the “antichrist” in the “Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,” by W.E.Vine, must be rejected, as totally lacking all Scriptural support and being actually in contradiction with Scripture: “What the apostle [John] says of him [antichrist] so closely resembles what he says of the first beast in Rev. 13, and what the apostle Paul says of the Man of Sin in… Over the years, there has been much speculation about the identify of the “two witnesses.” Some fanciful and some down-right ridiculous concepts have been advanced, and there have been people at all times–it seems–claiming that they are one of the “two witnesses”, or that they know who they are. The truth is that it has not been revealed yet who the two witnesses will be–and we strongly hold that those who may believe that THEY ARE the two witnesses are misled and are misleading others. Some claim today, thereby inadvertently adopting the opinion of some confused Catholic “church fathers,” that the two witnesses are or will be ancient Moses and ancient Elijah or ancient Enoch, who will either be resurrected from the dead, or who have been kept alive for thousands of years in a state of “limbo”–not really being alive, and not really being dead, either. Apparently, this latter concept is alluded to in the uninspired Book of Enoch–a Jewish legend and fairy tale which has correctly been rejected as part of the inspired Word of God. Others feel that the two witnesses are two angels. However, there is absolutely NO indication in the Bible that any of these foregoing… There is no inconsistency, but we must understand the context of the passages involved. Titus 1:2 tells us: “… in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.” God CANNOT lie. In other words, it is IMPOSSIBLE for Him to do so. Malachi 3:6 adds: “For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” God’s character does not–CANNOT–change, because God has WILLED not to change in that respect. Since He has a perfect Will and a perfect character, He CANNOT do something against His own nature. It is impossible for God to sin because He has WILLED never to sin. And His Will is perfect. To put it still differently, God CAN DECIDE to make something impossible with Him. Note another example when something has BECOME unalterable–so that even God cannot change it. Due to a perfect unconditional promise, He binds Himself never to deviate from it. Since breaking an unconditional promise is tantamount to lying, it is impossible for God to break His unconditional Word. We read in Genesis 9:11 about one of God’s unconditional promises in this way: “Thus I establish My covenant with you:…… As we point out in our booklet, “Should You Fight in War?,” it is wrong for a Christian to take the life of another human being in war or otherwise, including in “self-defense.” But does this mean that a Christian must do NOTHING when he or a loved one is being attacked? The Bible does not say that at all. In fact, we have a tremendous responsibility for action in those kinds of circumstances–but we must know what exactly is required of us. Most will disagree with the following comments, because human nature is unwilling and incapable of obeying God and His Law. True Christians have no alternative but to do exactly what God commands–however unpopular and difficult and even wrong in the eyes of man this approach might be. For an answer to this important question, we are quoting at length from our free booklet, “Should You Fight in War?“: “The question boils down to this:… Do we believe in God and rely on Him for our protection, having the faith that it is GOD who is our protecting shield…? Do we think that God is incapable of helping us in certain circumstances?… “The most important of all the… This passage of Scripture has indeed puzzled many people. Proverbs 26:4 reads: “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him.” Verse 5 adds: “Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.” When trying to understand these two verses, we need to realize that the Bible does not contradict itself. God’s entire Word is truth, as Christ said in John 17:17: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” This is a strong statement of Jesus’ confidence in the truth of the entirety of Scripture. Christ also said in John 10:35: “the Scripture cannot be broken…” There are no contradictions in God’s Word–no passage of Scripture “breaks” or contradicts another passage. Jesus’ response made the truth of His argument rest on the absolute trustworthiness of all Scripture. Rather than being contradictory, the two statements in Proverbs 26:4, 5, complement each other. The last part of each statement shows the sets of circumstances or scenarios under which each of the two statements is to be applied. In every case, before deciding whether or not to answer, we need to consider the questioner’s motives–where the questioner… The Ten Commandments are listed in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. There is universal acceptance that the number of the commandments which God gave to us, is ten. In fact, the Bible calls this set of commandments from God, “…the Ten Commandments” (Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13; 10:4). There is, however, disagreement as to HOW to number the Ten Commandments. Many professing Christians count the Ten Commandments differently today than the Jews do–and the early New Testament Church did. For instance, the Jews count Exodus 20:2-3 as the First Commandment, which reads, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.” The Jews count Exodus 20:4-6 as the Second Commandment, which reads: “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 [margin: worship] 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… Centuries before Christ, the ancient Romans celebrated the evenings of February 14th and February 15th as an idolatrous and sensual festival in honor of Lupercus, the “hunter of wolves.” The Romans called the festival “Lupercalia.” In her book, “Customs and Holidays Around the World,” Lavinia Dobler states on page 172: “It was not until the reign of Pope Gelasius that the holiday became a ‘Christian custom.’ As far back as 496, Pope Gelasius changed Lupercalia on February 15th to St Valentine’s Day on February 14th.” The Encyclopedia Britannica states on page 336 in its 15th edition, volume 10: “St Valentine’s day as a lovers’ festival and the modern tradition of sending valentine cards have no relation to the saints but, rather, seem to be connected either with the Roman (sexual) fertility festival of the Lupercalia (February 15th) or with the mating season of birds.” The Encyclopedia Americana states that “this pairing off was, of course, linked with sexual immorality.” An article from the Internet (http://www.techdirect.com/valentine/origin.html) gives several descriptions of the origin of Valentine’s Day, including the following: “The first interpretation has this celebration originating as a pagan tradition in the third century. During this time hordes of hungry wolves roamed outside of Rome… The Bible reveals that Jesus Christ was always the Son of God; that is, the second member of the God Family. However, the Bible also reveals that Christ BECAME the Son of Man when He gave up His divine glory and became a human being. Hebrews 1:2 states that God “has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.” The very next verse (verse 3) then describes Jesus, God’s Son, in this way: “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” From these two verses in Hebrews 1, we learn that God made the worlds through His Son–John 1 verifies this! In other words, God the FATHER made the worlds through His SON, as Hebrews 1:2 testifies. We also see that Jesus is described as being an exact image of God–a description that is, by itself, an indication of a father and a son. Add to this the fact… It is important that we understand correctly the meaning and usage of the Hebrew word “Elohim,” as many teach that the word “Elohim” either ALWAYS conveys a singular meaning, or that it ALWAYS conveys a plural meaning. However, both of these teachings are WRONG! It is correct that the Bible teaches that God is a Family, presently consisting of TWO immortal God Beings, called in Scripture God the Father and the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It is also correct that the Hebrew word, “Elohim,” translated as “God,” describes the God Family. However, the Bible does NOT teach that the Hebrew word, “Elohim,” ALWAYS refers to more than one God Being in the God Family. A thorough study of the Old Testament reveals that the word “Elohim” CAN refer to the entire God Family, but, depending on the context, it can ALSO refer to EITHER ONE of the God Beings within the God Family. Jeremiah 31:1 is an example where one of the two God Beings, the LORD, speaks about Himself, calling Himself “God,” or “Elohim.” As many other Scriptures reveal, the word “LORD” refers mostly, but not necessarily always, to the Son, Jesus Christ. However, there are a few… Virtually all English Bibles, which we have today, do NOT accurately THE OLD TESTAMENT The Hebrew Bible of the Old Testament consisted originally of 24 books. It is to be divided into three sections: (1) The Law (5 books of Moses) (2) The Prophets (8 books) — The former prophets—Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings (4 books) — The latter prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 12 Minor Prophets (4 books) (3) The Writings (11 books) — Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs (4 books) — Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther (4 books) — Daniel, Ezra/Nehemiah, and Chronicles (3 books) ItWho is the Antichrist prophesied to come?
Who are the "two witnesses"?
We are told in the Bible that nothing is impossible with God. But we are also told in Scripture that there are things which are impossible for God. Is there an inconsistency?
If someone tries to confront us physically, what is an appropriate response for a Christian? Would it be okay to try to subdue him, or should we not give any resistance at all? What if someone physically assaulted a loved one?
Would you please explain Proverbs 26:4, 5. Don't these two verses contradict each other?
How are we to number the Ten Commandments?
What are the origins of Valentine's Day which is celebrated on February 14?
Was Jesus Christ always the Son–even prior to His human birth?
You teach that in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word, "Elohim," which is translated as "God" in most English Bibles, is a plural word, referring to more than one God Being in the God Family. But Jeremiah 31:1 seems to contradict this assertion. Please explain.
Could you explain the correct original order and number of the books of the Bible?
set forth the order or divisions of the Biblical books, as originally
maintained and inspired by God.
is fairly established today that the Hebrew Bible originally consisted
of 24 books (Compare, The Bible as Literature, The Barnes & Noble
Outline Series, p. 19; The Jerusalem Bible, p. xii: “The Jewish Bible
thus consists of ‘twenty-four books’”; Prof. Felix Just, of Loyola
Marymount University: “Jews count 24″; Encyclopedia Britannica,
copyright 1959, under “Bible”: “The 24 books of the Hebrew Canon have
become 39… in the English Bible, by treating each of the…
