BIBLE WATCH

The first occurrence of speaking in tongues in the New Testament is in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2:1-6  "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language." The Greek word translated tongues literally means "languages." Therefore, the gift of tongues is often speaking in a language a person does not know in order to minister to someone who does speak that language. The Jews visiting from the Diaspora that ca...

Ephesians 4:8: “Wherefore he says, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.”  Does this verse teach that Christ takes people “captive” and leads them to heaven? How does Christ lead “CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE”? What does this short phrase mean? The great universal church teaches that this is a reference to LIMBUS PATRI—meaning the place of limbo occupied by the fathers (Old Testament fathers like Abraham, Moses, David, Samuel, Isaiah, etc.). Their idea asserts that these men were captives trapped in limbo before Christ “ascended” to heaven and made it possible for them to go there, too. In this way, Christ supposedly led “captivity (the fathers) captive” to Himself and took them to heaven.  This whole concept seems silly—when one thinks of men trapped in captivity in some vague spiritual “neverland” or “prison” for thousands of years until Christ could “free” them.  The real meaning here is simply that those who serve sin are captive to it ...

The Bible reference is Luke 23:42-43: “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto you, Today shall you be with Me in paradise.” Upon death, did Christ go directly to "paradise" in heaven? Did He promise the thief that he would join Him there the same day? Before continuing in Luke 23, read John 20:17. Christ told Mary Magdalene, four days after Luke 23:43 occurred, that He had still not been to heaven! Could He have so quickly forgotten what He told the thief? (John 20:17 KJV) Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.  Reread Luke 23:43, but now read it with the comma after the word “today” and not before. The Greek is best understood as “Verily I say unto you today, shall you be with Me in paradise.” In verse 42, the thief said, “remember me when You come ...

We read in Matthew 28:19 " Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost " Notice the use of singular "name" in this verse, and yet it is referring to 3 persons. The disciples or Apostles who all knew Jesus personally recognized the name of the father. Jesus is the name of the father.  John 5:43 says ,  " I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive ."  So they baptized "In the name of the father" which is Jesus.  And everybody there knew that Jesus was the name of the son .  Matthew 1:21 says,  " And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins."   Lastly, what is the name of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit?  John 14:26 says,  " But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, h...

This is a two-part question. The first part is “Did God know Satan would rebel?” We know from Scripture that God is omniscient , which literally means “all-knowing.” Job 37:16; Psalm 139:2–4, 147:5; Proverbs 5:21; Isaiah 46:9-10; and 1 John 3:19–20 leave no doubt that God’s knowledge is infinite and that He knows everything that has happened in the past, is happening now, and will happen in the future. Looking at some of the superlatives in these verses—“perfect in knowledge”; “his understanding has no limit”; “he knows everything”—it is clear that God’s knowledge is not merely greater than our own, but it is infinitely greater. He knows all things in totality. If God’s knowledge is not perfect, then there is a deficiency in His nature. Any deficiency in God’s nature means He cannot be God, for God’s very essence requires the perfection of all His attributes. Therefore, the answer to the first question is “yes, God knew that Satan would rebel.” Moving on to the second par...

The Scriptures refer to King David as a man after God's own heart. This can be found in 1Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22:  1 Samuel 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.  Acts 13:22 says, “After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.”  In both Scriptures the exact meanings of the Greek and Hebrew prepositions (le and kata respectively) are pretty broad, however, the context makes it clear that the meaning was basically "a man who seeks the same goals and desires that I have."