Posts Tagged ‘terminology’
I found a few mistakes in your answer about Galatians 5:12
Question: Hi there, I was doing a little research into Galatians 5:12, where Paul wishes that those who unsettle the Galatians would emasculate themselves. I came across your article, “In Galatians 5:12, is Paul actually wishing that some would emasculate themselves?” Thank you for the article, I appreciate you taking the time to write it.…
Read MoreWhat is the point of Lamech’s statement in Genesis 4, and what is meant that people began calling upon the name of the Lord?
Question: In Genesis 4:23-24, Lamech said to his wives that “If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.” What is the point of this message? It is what Lamech said, instead of being from God. So should we understand the statement in Genesis 4:24 as having no authority at all? In Genesis…
Read MoreWhat is meant by “although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage”?
Question: In Esther 7:4, it reads: “For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.” What did Esther mean when she said “although the enemy could not…
Read MoreWhat is spiritual death?
Question: What exactly is spiritual death? Some say that spiritual death is a separation from God. But what exactly is being separated? A physical separation, personal separation, or soul separation after physical death? If it was a physical separation, then why did God continue to have a relationship with Adam and Eve by clothing them…
Read MoreWhy is both the king of Babylon and Jesus called the morning star?
Question: Could you explain to me Isaiah 14:12-15? And then Revelation 22:16? Answer: “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will…
Read MoreDoesn’t the Bible say the earth is a circle as opposed to a sphere?
Question: Quick question or comment about the statement of the Earth being flat: You refute that claim with this: The real core of the argument is a claim that the Hebrew word tehom implies that something is flat. There is just one small problem. “Flat” isn’t in tehom’s definition. Tehom is “A noun meaning ‘the depths of the ocean'” But…
Read MoreHow could God repent for creating man when the Bible also says God is not like a man to repent?
Question: The Bible says in Genesis that God repented for creating man. But then why does the Bible say “God is not a man to lie, and not a son of man to repent”? And if God repented, why did Paul said that God prepared the chosen ones to give fruits before the world was…
Read MoreCan you explain what “if we sin willfully” in Hebrews 10:26 means?
Question: I am confused at what I am reading in Hebrews 10:26-27: “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries” (ESV). I am confused because I know…
Read MoreWhat does it mean to love the world?
Question: What does it mean to love the world? Answer: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of…
Read MoreWho are the daughters of Jerusalem?
Question: Who are the daughters of Jerusalem? Answer: The phrase “daughters of Jerusalem” was first used in the Song of Solomon. These are the ladies of the court, the wives of Solomon’s political marriages, potential brides for future arrangements, as well as the wives of Solomon’s noblemen who attended him at court. Being leading ladies,…
Read MoreShould we give testimonies in church?
Question: What is meant by a testimony? I’ve seen so many sharing their testimonies in churches. Can we share the testimonies like that? One brother asked me to share my testimony in their church. What can I say? Answer: To give testimony really means to give evidence that something is true. In many denominations, giving…
Read MoreWhat is meant by “where the worm dieth not?”
Question: What exactly does the scripture mean in Mark 9:44,46,48 where Jesus said, “where the worm dieth not”? Does it mean that pain will never cease for a person who is in hell? Why the reference to a worm? Answer: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you…
Read MoreWhat is meant by the beauty of the Lord?
Question: In Psalm 27:4 and others when it states the beauty of the Lord, what do you think of? There are several different ways, I think, to look at this and I wanted someone else’s’ opinion to help me. Thank you. Answer: “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that…
Read MoreWhat is the “free gift?”
Question: I’m having a little trouble with this passage and hope you can shed some light on it for me. Romans 5:12-21 talks about a “free gift”. What is it? Who brought it? What does it do for us? Answer: “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s…
Read MoreWhat does becoming “one flesh” mean?
Question: What does this mean: ”For this reason a man shall leave his father and leave his mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh”? Answer: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). This…
Read MoreIs there something wrong with being left-handed?
Question: What does Ecclesiastes 10:2 tell us? Is there anything wrong with left-handedness? Answer: “A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, but a fool’s heart at his left” (Ecclesiastes 10:2). Being left-handed is far less common than being right-handed. It is unusual enough that it is mentioned as a feature of some people.…
Read MoreWho are the elect in the Bible?
Question: Who are the “elect” the Bible talks about? Answer: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled…
Read MoreHow can Obadiah 21 speak of saviors when there is only one Savior?
Question: I have a question about Obadiah verse 21, in the King James Version the second word is “saviors”. And I know it does not mean Jesus, and it is a plural form. But who can be called savior except for Jesus Himself? I don’t understand the verse. Can you help me explain this? Thanks…
Read MoreWhat does it mean that everyone has the law written on their hearts?
Question: I was debating some people about inherited sin. They all feel it is true. Even in Baptist and Calvinist references when it quotes Romans 7, the part of once alive without the law, they say it was probably when Paul was a child without understanding. Anyway, when it says God’s word is written upon…
Read MoreWhat is the Golden Rule?
Question: What is the Golden Rule? Answer: It is the popular name for Jesus’ statement in Matthew 7:12, “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.”
Read MoreWhy does the Bible contain impolite phrases?
Question: I was always taught from a small child by my Christian parents, not to say bad words; yet, I noticed in I Samuel 25:22,34; I Kings 14:10; 16:11; 21:21; and II Kings 9:8 that the writer used these types of words. Could you tell me what this means? Answer: Terms that are concerned polite…
Read MoreWhat did Jesus expect of Peter when he said to feed his sheep?
Question: Our Lord Jesus in John 21 tells the apostle Peter to feed His sheep three times. What role was Peter being told to assume? Is it that of an elder? Which sheep was our Lord talking about? Is it the other apostles and disciples or the church that was going to be established at Jerusalem?…
Read MoreCan you explain what “beginning from the baptism of John” refers to?
Question: I had a study with a brother in Christ, concerning the qualifications for the apostleship in Acts 1:21-22. In verse 22 it says “beginning from the baptism of John”. My friend says he is referring to the beginning of Jesus’ baptism of John, and I said it refers to the beginning of John preaching…
Read MoreWhat did Jesus mean when he said to take up his cross daily and follow him?
Question: What did Jesus mean when he said to take up his cross daily and follow him? I know that in Luke 9:23 it also says to deny himself. Answer: There are a number of similar passages: “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves…
Read MoreHow do you define “church” and “scripture?”
Question: How do you respond to I Timothy 3:15 where Paul refers to the “church of the living God” as “the pillar and bulwark of faith?” As a follow up how do we define “church?” There seem to be literally thousands of different churches, with almost all claiming to be Bible-based, full gospel or something…
Read MoreHow can Jesus be coming quickly when it has been 2,000 years?
Question: Can you explain to me what this verse means? “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done” (Revelation 22:12). I was asked how this would be quick if the promise was made nearly 2,000 years ago. Answer: The Greek word tachu is…
Read MoreIs there a connection between the mark of the beast and the mark of Cain?
Question: I would like to ask you a question concerning the ‘mark’ of Cain. In Genesis 4:15, it talks about the ‘sign for Cain.’ I understand this was something God did. In Revelation 20:4, it talks about the ‘mark of the beast, on the forehead and hands’. My question is: Is there a connection or…
Read MoreWhat does it mean to know to do good, but not do it, it is sin?
Question: What does it mean in James 4:17, that “he that knoweth to do good, but doeth it not, to him it is sin”? I’ve heard it explained in two ways. One, that he knows how to live a moral life but neglects to do so sins. But this seems like a tautology to me. …
Read MoreWhat is an “idle” word?
Question: In Matthew 12:36, what does Christ mean when he says, “For every idle word … [man] shall give an account”? What is an “idle word”? Does “give an account” mean “suffer punishment” or “be required to explain”? Answer: “Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance…
Read MoreHow do you know when a passage is talking about older men in a congregation or the elders of a congregation?
Question: I was wondering with Elder being mentioned in 1 or 2 or 3rd John and refers to a woman. I just remember reading it (II John 1; III John 1). I remember someone mentioning it to me a long time ago and the question I have now is how do you tell two elders…
Read MoreWhat is so bad about a cottage in a vineyard?
Question: “And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city” (Isaiah 1:8). What’s so bad about ‘a cottage in a vineyard’ and a ‘lodge in a garden of cucumbers’? Answer: “Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with…
Read MoreWhat does “vain thoughts” mean in Psalms 119:113?
Question: I recently came across a section of the Psalms that concerned me. Psalms 119:113 says in the KJV, “I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love.” Doing a Google search for the phrase “vain thoughts,” I came across a few articles, mostly from British writers of the eighteenth century, that asserted that…
Read MoreWhat are the definitions of “foolish talk” and “coarse jesting?”
Question: Ephesians 5:4 says that “neither … foolish talking nor jesting” ought to be found among the saints. However, I have had difficulty coming to the precise meanings of these words, or maybe I am afraid to. I see on your web site that you, and most others, define “foolish talking” as sinful or tasteless talk, for…
Read MoreWho are the principalities and powers in heavenly places?
Question: Who are the principalities and powers in heavenly places that the church can make known certain things? Answer: “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the…
Read MoreWhat does it mean to be partakers of the divine nature?
Question: What does it mean to be partakers of the divine nature in II Peter 1:4-11? Answer: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him…
Read MoreWhat does it mean that John was “in the spirit?”
Question: In Revelation 1:10, John said that he was in the “Spirit” what did he mean? “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,” Answer: It means that while he was physically on Patmos, his spirit was elsewhere. A similar thing happened to…
Read MoreWhat is meant by “speaking the truth in love?”
Question: “That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ:”…
Read MoreDoes the word “lord” mean “baal?”
Question: It is my understanding that the word “lord” means “baal.” Can you shed some light on this? Answer: The word baal is a root word in Hebrew and other Semitic languages which can mean lord, owner, master, possessor, or husband depending on the context in which it is used. Owner “If an ox gores a man…
Read MoreWhat is the difference between “happy” and “joy”?
Question: I can’t find a defined difference between happy or happiness and joy or joyfulness in the Bible. I was wondering about the difference. I remember learning about it one time, but I can’t find what I learned anywhere and my dictionaries are not that in-depth. Answer: “Joy” is the translation of the Greek word chara.…
Read MoreCould you explain “foreknew” and “predestined” to me?
Question: I have struggled for years with the “foreknew” and “predestined” parts. I believe the Bible 100% and actually understand what is being said; however, there is something I can’t quite get. Maybe I can ask my question this way: I am blessed with two grandsons. God knew from the beginning everything about these children.…
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