*Matthew 2:11 / *Mt. 2:11 -
(Re: To me Jesus is just a little *child)
Do you mean that to you He is figuratively a little child in His humility (cf. Matthew 18:3-4, Matthew 11:29)? For Jesus Christ has not remained the literal little child of Matthew 2:11. Instead, He grew up to be a man in His thirties (Luke 3:23) who went around preaching (Matthew 4:17) and performing amazing miracles (Acts 2:22). He then suffered and died on the Cross for our sins, and rose physically from the dead on the third day (Matthew 16:21, Matthew 26:28). He remains in His fully-human (Hebrews 2:16-17), adult, flesh and bones resurrection body (Luke 24:39, John 20:25-31), and will remain in it forever as Christians' fully-human mediator/high priest (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 2:17, Hebrews 7:24-26).
Revelation 1:13-18 shows how magnificently glorious the adult and resurrected Jesus Christ appears now. He is now ruling in heaven (1 Peter 3:22), and will return physically from heaven to reign on the earth for 1,000 years (Revelation 19:7 to 20:6, Zechariah 14:3-21). So He who was born as a little child will become King of the whole earth (Isaiah 9:6-7, Psalms 72:8-11). He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 19:16).
Some adults may want to keep Jesus in their minds as only a powerless little child, so that they can feel somehow superior to Him, and not have to feel any need to worship or serve Him as the tremendous and mighty God that He is (Isaiah 9:6b, Titus 2:13, John 20:28), one God with God the Father (John 10:30, John 1:1,14; 1 Timothy 3:16).
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*Matthew 2:15 / *Mt. 2:15 -
This refers to the "son" part of Hosea 11:1.
(See Hosea 11:1 above)
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*Matthew 3:12 / *Mt. 3:12 -
This will be fulfilled at the future, Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:15). For in Matthew 3:12 the unquenchable fire is the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41,46, Revelation 20:10,15, Revelation 14:10-11). And in Matthew 3:12 the wheat and chaff represent the same things as the parable of the wheat and tares.
(See Matthew 13:24 below)
~
(Re: Means annihilation?)
No, for while literal chaff is burned up in a fire, and in a mere instant, non-Christians will never be completely burned up.
(See Mark 9:45 below)
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*Matthew 4:1-11 / *Mt. 4:1 -
(Re: Is not it true that the devil never tempts us to do wrong?)
No, for he does do that (Matthew 4:7,10).
Also, even if you meant that the devil only tempts us to do wrong things by making them appear to us as good things, that is still mistaken. For while he can try to make us think that some wrong things are good things (Isaiah 5:20), he can still tempt us to do wrong things which we know are wrong. One way that he can tempt us to go ahead and do them anyway is by assuring us (in his words) that "even though it is a sin, do not worry about it; God will forgive you". And so he can gently lead us down a path where we begin to sin willfully, without repentance, to the ultimate loss of our salvation (Hebrews 10:26-29), while he is whispering in our ears: "It's okay; God will forgive you; no need to repent".
But Jesus Christ answers in a clear voice: "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die" (Romans 8:13); "lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain" (1 Thessalonians 3:5). "I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed" (2 Corinthians 12:21).
Also, note that the devil can even sometimes employ the Bible when he tempts us to do wrong (Matthew 4:5-7). This means that we have to know all of the Bible, every word of it (Matthew 4:4), to be able (like Jesus Christ did) to counter with Bible verses the devil's wrong use of other Bible verses.
(See 2 Thessalonians 2:12 and Matthew 4:4 below)
And Matthew 4:5-7 was not even the worst temptation that the devil did. For he even tried to tempt Jesus Christ to worship him (Matthew 4:8-10). Note that Jesus again countered the devil with a Bible verse. See also what Psalms 119:11 says.
(Also, see Revelation 13:4 below, and Isaiah 28:9 above)
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(Re: If it is Satan who tempts us to do evil, then who tempted Satan to become evil?)
No one had to tempt the unfallen "Lucifer" (Isaiah 14:12) to become the fallen "Satan" (Revelation 12:9). For he could have sinned out of the lust of his own heart, just as we are ultimately tempted and commit sin out of the lust of our own hearts (James 1:14-15, Mark 7:14-15,21-23).
~
(Re: If Satan is so evil, then why did God create him?)
God did not create "Satan" per se. Instead, God created "Lucifer", who started out good. It was Lucifer who corrupted himself by his own free will, and so became Satan (Ezekiel 28:15, Isaiah 14:12-15).
Lucifer ended up tempting himself to do wrong by his desire to be like God, while rebelling against God (Isaiah 14:12-15). And this, of course, is Lucifer's ultimate temptation to man: The false New Age and/or Gnostic ideas that man can become like God, or can already be God, even while rebelling against God (as in YHWH God of the Bible).
But if we choose to follow Lucifer's temptation to do wrong, instead of obeying YHWH God, then we will end up suffering the same ultimate fate as Lucifer himself (Isaiah 14:15). For ultimately, Lucifer and all humans who followed him (whether knowingly or unknowingly) into disobeying YHWH God, without repentance, will end up in the eternal suffering of the lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:10,15, Matthew 25:41,46).
It is important to always remember the ultimate fate of Lucifer himself. For during the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24, Lucifer will succeed in tempting the whole world into committing the ultimate wrong. For he will bring the whole world (except for some of God's elect people) into the worship of himself (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9).
(See also Revelation 13:4 below, and section 2 of Revelation 13 below)
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*Matthew 4:4 / *Mt. 4:4 -
(Re: *Bible study/reading)
The best way to study the Bible, as a whole, is simply to read every word of it (Matthew 4:4), over and over again. It ends up explaining itself once what it teaches has become engrained in your memory, and you see the connections between verses regarding something in one place in the Bible and other verses regarding that same thing in other places in the Bible. It is by comparing and combining related verses in different places in the Bible that we arrive at correct doctrine (Isaiah 28:9-10; 1 Corinthians 2:13).
It is also a good practice to always start and end each Bible-reading session with a prayer for understanding and remembrance of the whole Bible.
One great way to read the whole Bible, over and over, is to think of it as seven volumes:
1. Genesis to Deuteronomy
2. Joshua to Esther
3. Job to Song of Solomon
4. Isaiah to Malachi
5. Matthew to Acts
6. Romans to Philemon
7. Hebrews to Revelation
You can read a chapter in each volume every day. This will keep you current in every part of the Bible. After a while, there will not be any part that you have not read recently enough to remember what it teaches. When you reach the end of a volume, simply start again at the first chapter of that volume. In this way, you will be cycling through smaller volumes like #6 and #7 much more often than larger volumes like #2, but the smaller volumes are so much more dense with doctrine that it is profitable to read them over and over more often.
Also, you can listen to recordings of people reading the Bible out loud whenever you need to keep your eyes on something else while you listen (such as keeping your eyes on the road while you are driving, or on a cutting board while you are preparing food, or on your clippers while you are trimming a hedge). In this way, you can listen to the Bible throughout the day, whenever you do not need to be thinking about something else (such as at your workplace or school). Also, you can listen to the Bible even while you are going to sleep, so that it will become part of even your subconscious mind.
~
(Re: What about *fasting for understanding?)
That is what the prophet Daniel did (Daniel 10:2-3 & Daniel 10:12-14). Fasting can help Christians enter into a much deeper understanding of the Bible. A most powerful fast is three days and three nights (72 hours) with no food or water (cf. Esther 4:16). And if Christians are led by God into such a fast (or just a shorter one like skipping three meals in a row, with no liquids), Christians can dedicate the fast in prayer to God, and ask for His wisdom and understanding of the whole Bible. If Christians diligently seek God and His Word the Holy Bible, He will not fail to open it up to them (James 1:5, Luke 24:45).
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(Re: What about *memorizing the whole Bible, so that you can recall any verse that you want?) / (*Memorize)
There is no need to try to memorize the whole Bible, in the sense of focusing on one verse or passage at a time and trying to remember every word of it, and its chapter and verse numbers, so that you can quote it perfectly from memory any time that you want. Instead, focus on simply reading every word of the Bible (Matthew 4:4), over and over, and over again, until just naturally, after years of diligently, and systematically, reading parts of the Bible every day, every verse of the Bible will eventually become engrained in your memory, not in the sense of word for word, but in the sense of key words and phrases. Then, whenever you want to locate the chapter and verse number of a verse that you are thinking of, search for one of its key words in a Bible software program, or in a printed concordance which lets you search for all of the verses in the Bible with that key word.
The more that you read the Bible, the more that God's Holy Spirit can bring to your remembrance particular verses (cf. John 14:26) which apply to situations or discussions which you are partaking in. He will not necessarily bring to your remembrance every word of the verses, but usually enough of them (such as key words or phrases) so that you can easily look them up and then read or quote them in full to someone else, or reference their chapter and verse numbers to someone else so that they can look them up.
Try to read at least a few chapters of the Bible every day. Satan will do everything that he can to keep you from doing this, for he knows how powerfully God's Holy Spirit can work in your life once you know the Bible. Satan will try to distract you away from reading the Bible. He will get you to waste your time watching videos instead, or playing video games, or watching dumb shows on TV; anything to keep you from God's Holy Word.
~
(Re: I am sorry that you are stuck on the *KJV. I get a better understanding of Bible passages by referring to six or more different versions)
Some versions of the Bible are not translations of the original Hebrew and Greek words, but are more like paraphrased interpretations, which when checked against the original Hebrew and Greek words (by using, for example, a Strong's Concordance and Hebrew and Greek Dictionary) say something completely different than the original, inspired text. The KJV is a fairly literal translation, and so usually avoids this problem. Also, the words of the KJV are not constantly changing, like how new editions of the NIV are always coming out with some of the words changed. So you can remember key words and phrases in the KJV and use a Strong's Concordance (which is tied to the KJV) to help you find a particular verse which you are thinking of.
~
(Re: How do you know that the Bible is God's Word, or that it says today what it said on the day that it was first written down?)
Ancient Biblical manuscripts in the original languages (Hebrew for the Old Testament, Greek for the New Testament) still exist today, and it has never been proven that they differ in doctrine from the original manuscripts. At the same time, it has never been proven that they do not, just as it has never been proven that even the original manuscripts were God's Word. Indeed, God has purposely made it so that there is no way to scientifically prove that even the Gospel of Jesus Christ itself is true (1 Corinthians 1:18 to 2:16). Yet Biblical Christians nonetheless rightly believe that the Gospel is true, just as they rightly believe that the ancient Biblical manuscripts which we have match the original manuscripts in doctrine, and that all of this doctrine is God's Word (2 Timothy 3:15 to 4:4, John 8:31). For Biblical Christians have been granted God's miraculous gift of Christian faith (Ephesians 2:8, John 6:65; 1 Corinthians 3:5b) and some measure of God's own Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-16). And so they are able to spiritually recognize if something is said by God (John 10:4,27; 1 Corinthians 14:37) or only by some "stranger" (John 10:5).
And Biblical Christians know that the Bible is God's Word not only because of the spiritual evidence of faith (Hebrews 11:1), but also because Jesus Christ confirms that the entire Old Testament is true (Matthew 5:17-18, Luke 24:44-48). And the entire New Testament was written by eyewitnesses of Jesus (2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 9:1, John 19:35, John 21:24; 1 Peter 5:1, Luke 24:48, Revelation 1:17-19) or their immediate followers (Luke 1:1-2, Hebrews 2:3). And Jesus' New Testament suffering and death on the Cross for our sins, and His physical resurrection from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), fulfilled Old Testament prophecy (Acts 26:22-23, Isaiah 53, Psalms 16:10, Acts 2:31). Also, no doctrine in the Bible has ever been proven false. So there is no reason for any Christian to reject any doctrine taught by the Bible.
It is the Bible which is able to make people wise unto salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 3:15; 1 Peter 1:23-25, Romans 10:17, Acts 13:48, James 1:18). All of the Bible's teachings were given by the inspiration of God, and so they are all true and God's Word (2 Timothy 3:16 to 4:4). Jesus Christ says: "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed" (John 8:31). Christians must be willing to die before they would deny any part of His Word (Mark 8:35-38). One of Satan's prime aims is to get people to reject all or parts of God's Word, and start believing something else which sounds better to them as humans (Genesis 3:1-6, Matthew 16:21-23; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3-4), but which cannot save their souls from hell, so that they will end up suffering in fire and brimstone with Satan and his fallen angels forever (Matthew 25:41,46, Revelation 20:10,15, Revelation 14:10-11).
~
(Re: So people can understand the Bible only after they already believe that it is true?)
The ability to understand the Bible, and the ability to believe that it is true, come simultaneously, after people have miraculously been given some measure of God's own Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-13), Jesus Christ's own mind (1 Corinthians 2:16). For the natural minds of humans can see the things of God only as foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Corinthians 1:18), because of the wholly-corrupt nature of all humans (except Jesus) in their natural state (Romans 3:10-12). This corrupt nature makes it impossible for humans to ever come into faith in Jesus Christ by their own will (Romans 9:16, John 1:13, John 6:44) or their own intellect (1 Corinthians 1:18 to 2:16).
(See also Romans 9:11 below)
~
(Re: Why trust the Church's determination of the Biblical *canon?)
Biblical Christians believe that the Bible is God's Word (2 Timothy 3:15 to 4:4, John 8:31b), not based on some intellectual trust on their part in a purportedly infallible Church, but because Biblical Christians have been... (See "granted" above)
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(Re: Why trust the New Testament writers when you know nothing about them?)
The different books of the New Testament were all written for the early Church, which knew and trusted the writers and so kept their writings, because the writers were eyewitnesses of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 9:1, John 19:35, John 21:24, Luke 24:48, Revelation 1:17-19) or their immediate followers (Luke 1:1-2, Hebrews 2:3). Also, the early Church had received some measure of God's own Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-13), Jesus Christ's own mind (1 Corinthians 2:16). And so the Church was able to know whether a teaching of the writers was truly from Jesus or not (John 10:27,4-5), just as Biblical Christians can still know this today for the same reason. Also, Biblical Christians today, just as the early Church did, can confirm for themselves that the writers of the New Testament agree with what the Old Testament prophesied (Acts 17:11, Acts 26:22-23, Luke 24:44-48).
~
(Re: What about different church denominations and interpretations today?)
Biblical Christians are not to divide into denominations (1 Corinthians 1:12-13; 1 Corinthians 3:4). And they cannot interpret any Bible verse in a way which contradicts what the Bible as a whole teaches. Also, different interpretations of the Bible do not mean that its doctrines cannot be known for certain, but mean that it does not take away the free will of Christians (and those who wrongly claim to be Christians), who can wrongly employ their free will to reject the Bible's sound doctrines to chase after man-made fables instead (2 Timothy 4:2-4). If all Christians would become willing to accept what the Bible teaches when it is taken in its entirety (2 Timothy 3:16, Matthew 4:4, Isaiah 28:9-10; 1 Corinthians 2:13), then all Christians could become united in what they believe (1 Corinthians 1:10).
(See also Isaiah 28:9 above, and 1 Corinthians 15:1 below)
~
(Re: If someone today said that he had written a book inspired by God, would you believe it?)
If a person came up to Biblical Christians today and said that he had written a book inspired by God, they would have to check its teachings against what God's Word the Bible already says (Acts 17:11) and make sure that it did not contradict anything in the Bible (2 Timothy 4:2-4). Also, even if it did not contradict anything in the Bible, its teachings would still have to pass the test of Biblical Christians being able to, as it were, recognize the voice of Jesus Christ in what the book was saying (John 10:27). Biblical Christians are able to recognize if something said is from Jesus (John 10:4) or only from "a stranger", and they will not follow the latter (John 10:5).
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(Re: What about the non-Biblical gospels?)
No writing which contradicted the Bible was accepted by the Church. For God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).
~
(Re: Why no Gnostic writings in the Bible?) / (*Gnosticism)
(See the "Gnosticism" sections of Luke 24:39 and 1 John 4:3 below)
Gnostic writings are rejected by Biblical Christians as not being from God. For Gnosticism reviles YHWH, the God of the Bible, as an evil god, while Jesus Christ affirms that YHWH is the one true God (Mark 12:29-31, quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18). Also, Gnosticism denies that Christ is in the flesh (2 John 1:7), while Jesus Christ affirms that He is in the flesh (Luke 24:39, John 1:14, Romans 1:3, Hebrews 2:16-17). Also, Gnosticism claims that the Old Testament is false because it was written by YHWH and His followers, while Jesus Christ affirms that the Old Testament is true (Matthew 5:17-18, Luke 24:44-48). Also, even where Gnostic writings teach something not in the Bible which does not contradict anything which Jesus taught, the Gnostic writings still do not pass the test of Biblical Christians being able to recognize if something said is from Jesus (John 10:4,27) or only from "a stranger" (John 10:5). Biblical Christians are able to do this because they have received a measure of God's own Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-13), Jesus Christ's own mind (1 Corinthians 2:16).
Gnosticism was one of the greatest enemies of the early Church. And Gnostic ideas will be revived worldwide by the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast"), who will make war against Biblical Christians (not in hiding), and physically overcome them in every nation (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13). As a Gnostic, the Antichrist will utterly revile YHWH (Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36). And he will deny that Christ is in the flesh (1 John 4:3). The Antichrist will also deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22).
The "gnosis" of Gnosticism is the so-called "knowledge" which Christians must be careful not to be deceived by: "avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of gnosis falsely so called" (1 Timothy 6:20; see the original Greek).
Besides being a Gnostic, the future Antichrist will at the same time also be a Luciferian, that is, a Satanist.
(See Revelation 13:4 below)
~
(Re: So Gnostic writings are invalid simply because they contradict the Biblical canon?)
In considering the Gnostic writings invalid, Biblical Christians do not focus so much on the idea of "the canon" per se as on why the writings in the canon are included in the canon, and why the Gnostic writings are excluded. (See the section above)
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(Re: Does Matthew 4:4's use of "man" to refer to every man mean that Revelation 13:17c-18's "man" refers to every man?)
No.
Since there is no definite article preceding "man" in Matthew 4:4, it can be translated as: "a man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God", just as because there is no definite article preceding "man" in Revelation 13:18, it can be translated as: "it is the number of a man". But while what Matthew 4:4 says can be applied to every man, what Revelation 13:17c-18 says cannot be. For the gematrial number of the name of every man is not six hundred and sixty-six.
(See Revelation 13:18 below)
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*Matthew 4:8-10 / *Mt. 4:8 -
This was about wrongly worshipping the devil instead of YHWH God, not about Jesus Christ at His future, Second Coming rightly being granted physical rule over the whole earth by YHWH God the Father (Psalms 2, Psalms 66:3-4, Psalms 72:8-11, Zechariah 14:8-21).
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*Matthew 5:5 / *Mt. 5:5 -
This applies to obedient Christians, who will inherit the earth during the future Millennium (Revelation 5:10, Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 2:26-29), and then subsequently will inherit the New Earth (Revelation 21:1 to 22:5), as in a new surface for the earth.
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*Matthew 5:9 / *Mt. 5:9 -
This can refer to those Christians who turn strife into peace not by employing weapons or any other violence against people, but by being peaceable, that is, by employing calmness and soft words to a tense situation (Proverbs 15:1a).
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*Matthew 5:17-18 / *Mt. 5:17 -
This means that Jesus Christ came the first time not to abolish the prophecies in the Mosaic law and the Old Testament prophets regarding the Messiah's/the Christ's first coming, but to fulfill all those prophecies (Luke 24:44-48; e.g. Acts 3:22-26, Isaiah 53). Matthew 5:17-18 cannot mean that Jesus came not to abolish the letter of the commandments of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, for He did come to do that, on the Cross (Ephesians 2:15-16, Colossians 2:14-17, Romans 7:6; 2 Corinthians 3:6-18, Hebrews 7:18-19). Also, Matthew 5:17-18 cannot mean that Jesus came to fulfill the letter of all of the Old Covenant Mosaic law's commandments, for He could not possibly have done that. For example, some of those commandments applied only to women after childbirth (Leviticus 12:4-8), or to wives suspected of adultery by their husbands (Numbers 5:19-31).
As the Christ (Matthew 5:17, Luke 24:44-46), the mediator of the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28, Hebrews 12:24, Hebrews 7:22, Hebrews 8:6-9), Jesus had the divine authority to contradict the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law's commandments and replace them with His own, even better, New Covenant commandments (Matthew 5:38-44, Matthew 19:7-9, John 8:5-7), such as those He gave in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:19 to 7:29) and in the epistles of the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 14:37; 1 Thessalonians 4:2). And as the Christ, Jesus had the divine authority to allow His disciples to break the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law's commandments (Matthew 12:1-8).
(See the "Law" section of Ephesians 2:15 below)
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*Matthew 5:18 / *Mt. 5:18 -
(Heaven and earth pass)
In Matthew 5:18, "Till heaven and earth pass" means until the passing away of the present, literal first heaven (atmosphere) and surface of the earth, which will pass away after the future Millennium and subsequent events (of Revelation 20:7-10), at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). It is after this judgment that God will create a new first heaven (atmosphere) and surface for the earth (Revelation 21:1).
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Next entry / Prior / Table of Contents
Nov 27, 2018
(Re: To me Jesus is just a little *child)
Do you mean that to you He is figuratively a little child in His humility (cf. Matthew 18:3-4, Matthew 11:29)? For Jesus Christ has not remained the literal little child of Matthew 2:11. Instead, He grew up to be a man in His thirties (Luke 3:23) who went around preaching (Matthew 4:17) and performing amazing miracles (Acts 2:22). He then suffered and died on the Cross for our sins, and rose physically from the dead on the third day (Matthew 16:21, Matthew 26:28). He remains in His fully-human (Hebrews 2:16-17), adult, flesh and bones resurrection body (Luke 24:39, John 20:25-31), and will remain in it forever as Christians' fully-human mediator/high priest (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 2:17, Hebrews 7:24-26).
Revelation 1:13-18 shows how magnificently glorious the adult and resurrected Jesus Christ appears now. He is now ruling in heaven (1 Peter 3:22), and will return physically from heaven to reign on the earth for 1,000 years (Revelation 19:7 to 20:6, Zechariah 14:3-21). So He who was born as a little child will become King of the whole earth (Isaiah 9:6-7, Psalms 72:8-11). He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 19:16).
Some adults may want to keep Jesus in their minds as only a powerless little child, so that they can feel somehow superior to Him, and not have to feel any need to worship or serve Him as the tremendous and mighty God that He is (Isaiah 9:6b, Titus 2:13, John 20:28), one God with God the Father (John 10:30, John 1:1,14; 1 Timothy 3:16).
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*Matthew 2:15 / *Mt. 2:15 -
This refers to the "son" part of Hosea 11:1.
(See Hosea 11:1 above)
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*Matthew 3:12 / *Mt. 3:12 -
This will be fulfilled at the future, Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:15). For in Matthew 3:12 the unquenchable fire is the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41,46, Revelation 20:10,15, Revelation 14:10-11). And in Matthew 3:12 the wheat and chaff represent the same things as the parable of the wheat and tares.
(See Matthew 13:24 below)
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(Re: Means annihilation?)
No, for while literal chaff is burned up in a fire, and in a mere instant, non-Christians will never be completely burned up.
(See Mark 9:45 below)
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*Matthew 4:1-11 / *Mt. 4:1 -
(Re: Is not it true that the devil never tempts us to do wrong?)
No, for he does do that (Matthew 4:7,10).
Also, even if you meant that the devil only tempts us to do wrong things by making them appear to us as good things, that is still mistaken. For while he can try to make us think that some wrong things are good things (Isaiah 5:20), he can still tempt us to do wrong things which we know are wrong. One way that he can tempt us to go ahead and do them anyway is by assuring us (in his words) that "even though it is a sin, do not worry about it; God will forgive you". And so he can gently lead us down a path where we begin to sin willfully, without repentance, to the ultimate loss of our salvation (Hebrews 10:26-29), while he is whispering in our ears: "It's okay; God will forgive you; no need to repent".
But Jesus Christ answers in a clear voice: "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die" (Romans 8:13); "lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain" (1 Thessalonians 3:5). "I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed" (2 Corinthians 12:21).
Also, note that the devil can even sometimes employ the Bible when he tempts us to do wrong (Matthew 4:5-7). This means that we have to know all of the Bible, every word of it (Matthew 4:4), to be able (like Jesus Christ did) to counter with Bible verses the devil's wrong use of other Bible verses.
(See 2 Thessalonians 2:12 and Matthew 4:4 below)
And Matthew 4:5-7 was not even the worst temptation that the devil did. For he even tried to tempt Jesus Christ to worship him (Matthew 4:8-10). Note that Jesus again countered the devil with a Bible verse. See also what Psalms 119:11 says.
(Also, see Revelation 13:4 below, and Isaiah 28:9 above)
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(Re: If it is Satan who tempts us to do evil, then who tempted Satan to become evil?)
No one had to tempt the unfallen "Lucifer" (Isaiah 14:12) to become the fallen "Satan" (Revelation 12:9). For he could have sinned out of the lust of his own heart, just as we are ultimately tempted and commit sin out of the lust of our own hearts (James 1:14-15, Mark 7:14-15,21-23).
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(Re: If Satan is so evil, then why did God create him?)
God did not create "Satan" per se. Instead, God created "Lucifer", who started out good. It was Lucifer who corrupted himself by his own free will, and so became Satan (Ezekiel 28:15, Isaiah 14:12-15).
Lucifer ended up tempting himself to do wrong by his desire to be like God, while rebelling against God (Isaiah 14:12-15). And this, of course, is Lucifer's ultimate temptation to man: The false New Age and/or Gnostic ideas that man can become like God, or can already be God, even while rebelling against God (as in YHWH God of the Bible).
But if we choose to follow Lucifer's temptation to do wrong, instead of obeying YHWH God, then we will end up suffering the same ultimate fate as Lucifer himself (Isaiah 14:15). For ultimately, Lucifer and all humans who followed him (whether knowingly or unknowingly) into disobeying YHWH God, without repentance, will end up in the eternal suffering of the lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:10,15, Matthew 25:41,46).
It is important to always remember the ultimate fate of Lucifer himself. For during the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24, Lucifer will succeed in tempting the whole world into committing the ultimate wrong. For he will bring the whole world (except for some of God's elect people) into the worship of himself (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9).
(See also Revelation 13:4 below, and section 2 of Revelation 13 below)
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*Matthew 4:4 / *Mt. 4:4 -
(Re: *Bible study/reading)
The best way to study the Bible, as a whole, is simply to read every word of it (Matthew 4:4), over and over again. It ends up explaining itself once what it teaches has become engrained in your memory, and you see the connections between verses regarding something in one place in the Bible and other verses regarding that same thing in other places in the Bible. It is by comparing and combining related verses in different places in the Bible that we arrive at correct doctrine (Isaiah 28:9-10; 1 Corinthians 2:13).
It is also a good practice to always start and end each Bible-reading session with a prayer for understanding and remembrance of the whole Bible.
One great way to read the whole Bible, over and over, is to think of it as seven volumes:
1. Genesis to Deuteronomy
2. Joshua to Esther
3. Job to Song of Solomon
4. Isaiah to Malachi
5. Matthew to Acts
6. Romans to Philemon
7. Hebrews to Revelation
You can read a chapter in each volume every day. This will keep you current in every part of the Bible. After a while, there will not be any part that you have not read recently enough to remember what it teaches. When you reach the end of a volume, simply start again at the first chapter of that volume. In this way, you will be cycling through smaller volumes like #6 and #7 much more often than larger volumes like #2, but the smaller volumes are so much more dense with doctrine that it is profitable to read them over and over more often.
Also, you can listen to recordings of people reading the Bible out loud whenever you need to keep your eyes on something else while you listen (such as keeping your eyes on the road while you are driving, or on a cutting board while you are preparing food, or on your clippers while you are trimming a hedge). In this way, you can listen to the Bible throughout the day, whenever you do not need to be thinking about something else (such as at your workplace or school). Also, you can listen to the Bible even while you are going to sleep, so that it will become part of even your subconscious mind.
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(Re: What about *fasting for understanding?)
That is what the prophet Daniel did (Daniel 10:2-3 & Daniel 10:12-14). Fasting can help Christians enter into a much deeper understanding of the Bible. A most powerful fast is three days and three nights (72 hours) with no food or water (cf. Esther 4:16). And if Christians are led by God into such a fast (or just a shorter one like skipping three meals in a row, with no liquids), Christians can dedicate the fast in prayer to God, and ask for His wisdom and understanding of the whole Bible. If Christians diligently seek God and His Word the Holy Bible, He will not fail to open it up to them (James 1:5, Luke 24:45).
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(Re: What about *memorizing the whole Bible, so that you can recall any verse that you want?) / (*Memorize)
There is no need to try to memorize the whole Bible, in the sense of focusing on one verse or passage at a time and trying to remember every word of it, and its chapter and verse numbers, so that you can quote it perfectly from memory any time that you want. Instead, focus on simply reading every word of the Bible (Matthew 4:4), over and over, and over again, until just naturally, after years of diligently, and systematically, reading parts of the Bible every day, every verse of the Bible will eventually become engrained in your memory, not in the sense of word for word, but in the sense of key words and phrases. Then, whenever you want to locate the chapter and verse number of a verse that you are thinking of, search for one of its key words in a Bible software program, or in a printed concordance which lets you search for all of the verses in the Bible with that key word.
The more that you read the Bible, the more that God's Holy Spirit can bring to your remembrance particular verses (cf. John 14:26) which apply to situations or discussions which you are partaking in. He will not necessarily bring to your remembrance every word of the verses, but usually enough of them (such as key words or phrases) so that you can easily look them up and then read or quote them in full to someone else, or reference their chapter and verse numbers to someone else so that they can look them up.
Try to read at least a few chapters of the Bible every day. Satan will do everything that he can to keep you from doing this, for he knows how powerfully God's Holy Spirit can work in your life once you know the Bible. Satan will try to distract you away from reading the Bible. He will get you to waste your time watching videos instead, or playing video games, or watching dumb shows on TV; anything to keep you from God's Holy Word.
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(Re: I am sorry that you are stuck on the *KJV. I get a better understanding of Bible passages by referring to six or more different versions)
Some versions of the Bible are not translations of the original Hebrew and Greek words, but are more like paraphrased interpretations, which when checked against the original Hebrew and Greek words (by using, for example, a Strong's Concordance and Hebrew and Greek Dictionary) say something completely different than the original, inspired text. The KJV is a fairly literal translation, and so usually avoids this problem. Also, the words of the KJV are not constantly changing, like how new editions of the NIV are always coming out with some of the words changed. So you can remember key words and phrases in the KJV and use a Strong's Concordance (which is tied to the KJV) to help you find a particular verse which you are thinking of.
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(Re: How do you know that the Bible is God's Word, or that it says today what it said on the day that it was first written down?)
Ancient Biblical manuscripts in the original languages (Hebrew for the Old Testament, Greek for the New Testament) still exist today, and it has never been proven that they differ in doctrine from the original manuscripts. At the same time, it has never been proven that they do not, just as it has never been proven that even the original manuscripts were God's Word. Indeed, God has purposely made it so that there is no way to scientifically prove that even the Gospel of Jesus Christ itself is true (1 Corinthians 1:18 to 2:16). Yet Biblical Christians nonetheless rightly believe that the Gospel is true, just as they rightly believe that the ancient Biblical manuscripts which we have match the original manuscripts in doctrine, and that all of this doctrine is God's Word (2 Timothy 3:15 to 4:4, John 8:31). For Biblical Christians have been granted God's miraculous gift of Christian faith (Ephesians 2:8, John 6:65; 1 Corinthians 3:5b) and some measure of God's own Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-16). And so they are able to spiritually recognize if something is said by God (John 10:4,27; 1 Corinthians 14:37) or only by some "stranger" (John 10:5).
And Biblical Christians know that the Bible is God's Word not only because of the spiritual evidence of faith (Hebrews 11:1), but also because Jesus Christ confirms that the entire Old Testament is true (Matthew 5:17-18, Luke 24:44-48). And the entire New Testament was written by eyewitnesses of Jesus (2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 9:1, John 19:35, John 21:24; 1 Peter 5:1, Luke 24:48, Revelation 1:17-19) or their immediate followers (Luke 1:1-2, Hebrews 2:3). And Jesus' New Testament suffering and death on the Cross for our sins, and His physical resurrection from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), fulfilled Old Testament prophecy (Acts 26:22-23, Isaiah 53, Psalms 16:10, Acts 2:31). Also, no doctrine in the Bible has ever been proven false. So there is no reason for any Christian to reject any doctrine taught by the Bible.
It is the Bible which is able to make people wise unto salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 3:15; 1 Peter 1:23-25, Romans 10:17, Acts 13:48, James 1:18). All of the Bible's teachings were given by the inspiration of God, and so they are all true and God's Word (2 Timothy 3:16 to 4:4). Jesus Christ says: "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed" (John 8:31). Christians must be willing to die before they would deny any part of His Word (Mark 8:35-38). One of Satan's prime aims is to get people to reject all or parts of God's Word, and start believing something else which sounds better to them as humans (Genesis 3:1-6, Matthew 16:21-23; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3-4), but which cannot save their souls from hell, so that they will end up suffering in fire and brimstone with Satan and his fallen angels forever (Matthew 25:41,46, Revelation 20:10,15, Revelation 14:10-11).
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(Re: So people can understand the Bible only after they already believe that it is true?)
The ability to understand the Bible, and the ability to believe that it is true, come simultaneously, after people have miraculously been given some measure of God's own Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-13), Jesus Christ's own mind (1 Corinthians 2:16). For the natural minds of humans can see the things of God only as foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Corinthians 1:18), because of the wholly-corrupt nature of all humans (except Jesus) in their natural state (Romans 3:10-12). This corrupt nature makes it impossible for humans to ever come into faith in Jesus Christ by their own will (Romans 9:16, John 1:13, John 6:44) or their own intellect (1 Corinthians 1:18 to 2:16).
(See also Romans 9:11 below)
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(Re: Why trust the Church's determination of the Biblical *canon?)
Biblical Christians believe that the Bible is God's Word (2 Timothy 3:15 to 4:4, John 8:31b), not based on some intellectual trust on their part in a purportedly infallible Church, but because Biblical Christians have been... (See "granted" above)
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(Re: Why trust the New Testament writers when you know nothing about them?)
The different books of the New Testament were all written for the early Church, which knew and trusted the writers and so kept their writings, because the writers were eyewitnesses of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 9:1, John 19:35, John 21:24, Luke 24:48, Revelation 1:17-19) or their immediate followers (Luke 1:1-2, Hebrews 2:3). Also, the early Church had received some measure of God's own Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-13), Jesus Christ's own mind (1 Corinthians 2:16). And so the Church was able to know whether a teaching of the writers was truly from Jesus or not (John 10:27,4-5), just as Biblical Christians can still know this today for the same reason. Also, Biblical Christians today, just as the early Church did, can confirm for themselves that the writers of the New Testament agree with what the Old Testament prophesied (Acts 17:11, Acts 26:22-23, Luke 24:44-48).
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(Re: What about different church denominations and interpretations today?)
Biblical Christians are not to divide into denominations (1 Corinthians 1:12-13; 1 Corinthians 3:4). And they cannot interpret any Bible verse in a way which contradicts what the Bible as a whole teaches. Also, different interpretations of the Bible do not mean that its doctrines cannot be known for certain, but mean that it does not take away the free will of Christians (and those who wrongly claim to be Christians), who can wrongly employ their free will to reject the Bible's sound doctrines to chase after man-made fables instead (2 Timothy 4:2-4). If all Christians would become willing to accept what the Bible teaches when it is taken in its entirety (2 Timothy 3:16, Matthew 4:4, Isaiah 28:9-10; 1 Corinthians 2:13), then all Christians could become united in what they believe (1 Corinthians 1:10).
(See also Isaiah 28:9 above, and 1 Corinthians 15:1 below)
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(Re: If someone today said that he had written a book inspired by God, would you believe it?)
If a person came up to Biblical Christians today and said that he had written a book inspired by God, they would have to check its teachings against what God's Word the Bible already says (Acts 17:11) and make sure that it did not contradict anything in the Bible (2 Timothy 4:2-4). Also, even if it did not contradict anything in the Bible, its teachings would still have to pass the test of Biblical Christians being able to, as it were, recognize the voice of Jesus Christ in what the book was saying (John 10:27). Biblical Christians are able to recognize if something said is from Jesus (John 10:4) or only from "a stranger", and they will not follow the latter (John 10:5).
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(Re: What about the non-Biblical gospels?)
No writing which contradicted the Bible was accepted by the Church. For God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33).
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(Re: Why no Gnostic writings in the Bible?) / (*Gnosticism)
(See the "Gnosticism" sections of Luke 24:39 and 1 John 4:3 below)
Gnostic writings are rejected by Biblical Christians as not being from God. For Gnosticism reviles YHWH, the God of the Bible, as an evil god, while Jesus Christ affirms that YHWH is the one true God (Mark 12:29-31, quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18). Also, Gnosticism denies that Christ is in the flesh (2 John 1:7), while Jesus Christ affirms that He is in the flesh (Luke 24:39, John 1:14, Romans 1:3, Hebrews 2:16-17). Also, Gnosticism claims that the Old Testament is false because it was written by YHWH and His followers, while Jesus Christ affirms that the Old Testament is true (Matthew 5:17-18, Luke 24:44-48). Also, even where Gnostic writings teach something not in the Bible which does not contradict anything which Jesus taught, the Gnostic writings still do not pass the test of Biblical Christians being able to recognize if something said is from Jesus (John 10:4,27) or only from "a stranger" (John 10:5). Biblical Christians are able to do this because they have received a measure of God's own Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-13), Jesus Christ's own mind (1 Corinthians 2:16).
Gnosticism was one of the greatest enemies of the early Church. And Gnostic ideas will be revived worldwide by the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast"), who will make war against Biblical Christians (not in hiding), and physically overcome them in every nation (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13). As a Gnostic, the Antichrist will utterly revile YHWH (Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36). And he will deny that Christ is in the flesh (1 John 4:3). The Antichrist will also deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22).
The "gnosis" of Gnosticism is the so-called "knowledge" which Christians must be careful not to be deceived by: "avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of gnosis falsely so called" (1 Timothy 6:20; see the original Greek).
Besides being a Gnostic, the future Antichrist will at the same time also be a Luciferian, that is, a Satanist.
(See Revelation 13:4 below)
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(Re: So Gnostic writings are invalid simply because they contradict the Biblical canon?)
In considering the Gnostic writings invalid, Biblical Christians do not focus so much on the idea of "the canon" per se as on why the writings in the canon are included in the canon, and why the Gnostic writings are excluded. (See the section above)
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(Re: Does Matthew 4:4's use of "man" to refer to every man mean that Revelation 13:17c-18's "man" refers to every man?)
No.
Since there is no definite article preceding "man" in Matthew 4:4, it can be translated as: "a man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God", just as because there is no definite article preceding "man" in Revelation 13:18, it can be translated as: "it is the number of a man". But while what Matthew 4:4 says can be applied to every man, what Revelation 13:17c-18 says cannot be. For the gematrial number of the name of every man is not six hundred and sixty-six.
(See Revelation 13:18 below)
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*Matthew 4:8-10 / *Mt. 4:8 -
This was about wrongly worshipping the devil instead of YHWH God, not about Jesus Christ at His future, Second Coming rightly being granted physical rule over the whole earth by YHWH God the Father (Psalms 2, Psalms 66:3-4, Psalms 72:8-11, Zechariah 14:8-21).
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*Matthew 5:5 / *Mt. 5:5 -
This applies to obedient Christians, who will inherit the earth during the future Millennium (Revelation 5:10, Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 2:26-29), and then subsequently will inherit the New Earth (Revelation 21:1 to 22:5), as in a new surface for the earth.
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*Matthew 5:9 / *Mt. 5:9 -
This can refer to those Christians who turn strife into peace not by employing weapons or any other violence against people, but by being peaceable, that is, by employing calmness and soft words to a tense situation (Proverbs 15:1a).
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*Matthew 5:17-18 / *Mt. 5:17 -
This means that Jesus Christ came the first time not to abolish the prophecies in the Mosaic law and the Old Testament prophets regarding the Messiah's/the Christ's first coming, but to fulfill all those prophecies (Luke 24:44-48; e.g. Acts 3:22-26, Isaiah 53). Matthew 5:17-18 cannot mean that Jesus came not to abolish the letter of the commandments of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, for He did come to do that, on the Cross (Ephesians 2:15-16, Colossians 2:14-17, Romans 7:6; 2 Corinthians 3:6-18, Hebrews 7:18-19). Also, Matthew 5:17-18 cannot mean that Jesus came to fulfill the letter of all of the Old Covenant Mosaic law's commandments, for He could not possibly have done that. For example, some of those commandments applied only to women after childbirth (Leviticus 12:4-8), or to wives suspected of adultery by their husbands (Numbers 5:19-31).
As the Christ (Matthew 5:17, Luke 24:44-46), the mediator of the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28, Hebrews 12:24, Hebrews 7:22, Hebrews 8:6-9), Jesus had the divine authority to contradict the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law's commandments and replace them with His own, even better, New Covenant commandments (Matthew 5:38-44, Matthew 19:7-9, John 8:5-7), such as those He gave in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:19 to 7:29) and in the epistles of the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 14:37; 1 Thessalonians 4:2). And as the Christ, Jesus had the divine authority to allow His disciples to break the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law's commandments (Matthew 12:1-8).
(See the "Law" section of Ephesians 2:15 below)
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*Matthew 5:18 / *Mt. 5:18 -
(Heaven and earth pass)
In Matthew 5:18, "Till heaven and earth pass" means until the passing away of the present, literal first heaven (atmosphere) and surface of the earth, which will pass away after the future Millennium and subsequent events (of Revelation 20:7-10), at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). It is after this judgment that God will create a new first heaven (atmosphere) and surface for the earth (Revelation 21:1).
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