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First of all, the midwives may have told the truth. It may have been that the Hebrew women, fearing the king’s commandment, did not call for the midwives in a timely way. Second, one is not obligated to disclose everything one knows. Withholding information is not necessarily a falsehood (cf. Luk...
The prophecy in Daniel 2:44 says: “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.” Some may speculate...
Many sincere Bible students frequently misunderstand this passage. It is also a source of some division. Let's explore the meaning. Walking in the Light First, 1 John 1:7 teaches that we have ongoing forgiveness only so long as we "walk in the light." Part of that "light" shows that we petition G...
One of the most difficult tasks for the Bible student is attempting to discuss the attributes of God with great precision. The divine qualities are so infinite, and our minds so finite, that we scarcely can fathom the Creator's marvelous features. In attempting to accommodate our limited scope of...
Whenever a command of Jehovah appears frivolous or unreasonable, we need to study the matter more closely. The Lord always does what is right (Genesis 18:25), regardless of how the situation might appear from our limited vantage point. First, we should define the term. To "hock" or "hamstring" a ...
First, no evidence shows that anyone other than the apostles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. They had been promised that blessing (see Acts 1:5, 8). The only other exception was to the household of Cornelius, in fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, as a divine token th...
The Catholic Church teaches two errors with reference to Mary’s alleged sinlessness: 1. It argues that the mother of Jesus was conceived "immaculately," meaning she did not inherit, as others supposedly do, the guilt of Adam's "original sin." 2. The Roman Church also contends that Mary never comm...
Certainly. Your question is very thoughtful. The following points, I believe, will help put this issue in focus: First, the Bible does not attempt to conceal the foibles of the great people that adorn its pages. Abraham, Isaac, Moses, and David were normal human beings. They sinned like all other...
The King James Version is an old and respected translation of the Holy Scriptures. We have a very high regard for this popular version. Its translators attempted to reproduce the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek original text into the English tongue in a faithful way. In evaluating any version, however...
God calls every person who is saved. Not only does God pardon the sinner (cf. Rom. 3:26), but he also teaches him about the need and means of forgiveness. The Lord Jesus said, ““No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day” (Jn. 6:44).” O...
The religious world is deeply divided over the following passage from Genesis. “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that the...
To begin with, it is important to refresh our minds with those principles that identify an actual discrepancy. The law of contradiction briefly stated is this. “A thing cannot both be and not be for the same object at the same time in the same sense.” To summarize, if different things (or people)...
As a general rule, we refrain from commenting on specific problems congregations or individuals may be having. Regardless, I must say that an individual who teaches what this question represents is incorrect in their views regarding Christ and the Holy Spirit. Let us consider each of the proposit...
In the King James Version of the Bible, Isaiah 14:12 reads: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” The term "Lucifer" was adopted by the King James Version translators from Jerome's Latin Vulgate editi...
The inspired passage poses this question: “Are they [angels] not ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation?” There are several points worthy of note here. First, as the question is framed in the Greek New Testament, there is the use of the neg...
There are those known as “conditionalists” who argue for the eventual annihilation of the wicked. The gentleman asking this question does not appear to be in this category, but he repeats a charge familiar to their theology. Conditionalists frequently suggest that Bible students believing in the ...
The record of Cain’s rejected sacrifice reads: ““And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering: b...
As to the nature of the fruit of the vine employed during the Passover supper, the New Testament (Matt. 26:26-29, etc.) itself is not explicit in its definition of the expression. Linguistically, "fruit of the vine" could denote grape juice or what we commonly call wine with some degree of fermen...
As is often the case, our Bible questions touch on some important fundamental issues: • What actually constitutes marriage in God's eyes? • What role does civil authority play? Let's examine what Scripture reveals. What Makes a Marriage Valid Before God? God's foundational design for marriage can...
What does this puzzling passage mean? As with any troubling or difficult passage, we must first understand the context to better grasp what the author means. Proverbs 31 begins as follows: “The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him” (v. 1). What did the king’s mother teach hi...