BIBLE WATCH

The term " Born Again Christian " is used to describe anyone that has received Jesus Christ as his/her personal Lord and Saviour. One who believes in Jesus Christ and one who has been regenerated through the agent of the Holy Spirit. The phrase "born again" can be seen in John chapter 3 in King James Version (KJV) and most other English Bible Versions. (John 3:3 KJV) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again , he cannot see the kingdom of God.  (John 3:3 CEV)  "Jesus replied, "I tell you for certain that you must be born from above before you can see God's kingdom!"  The Greek phrase is gennēthē anōthen which generally means "begotten from above" or "born from above". It can also mean "born again". Does this same double meaning of this Greek phrase apply also in Aramaic, which Jesus is assumed to have spoken, or did Jesus also speak Greek? Well, some texts suggest ...

There has been a lot of debate among Christians on the meaning of Jesus' words in John 3:5 with regards to the phrase "born of water and Spirit". (John 3:5 KJV) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  Many believe that the term "water" used in the verse figuratively refer to water baptism. However, it is not water baptism as all old testament saints were saved without water baptism ( read Hebrew chapter 11 ). More so, many people during Jesus ministry were forgiven of their sins without water baptism ( e.g. Luke 7:48 ) and water baptism was not held as essential to salvation as Paul did not major on it. (1 Corinthians 1:17 KJV) For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. So many other Christians believe that the "water" refers to the "Word of God...

Many believe that some day, particularly after "the rapture", that they will see God the Father face to face in Heaven.  First of all, before we discuss further on whether we'll see the Father's face or not, please take a moment to read my previous blog posts on IS RAPTURE BIBLICAL? , IS RAPTURE BIBLICAL PART 2  and  EVIDENCES FROM THE BIBLE SHOW THAT GOD NEVER PLANNED THAT ANY ONE WILL GO TO HEAVEN  to understand what the bible says about "the Rapture" and that God never planned that anyone should visit him in heaven. Now, back to our discussion on seeing God's face. Jesus said in John 1:18 that no one has ever seen God at any time. (John 1:18 ESV) No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (John 1:18 YLT) God no one hath ever seen; the only begotten Son, who is on the bosom of the Father -- he did declare. Please note that the oldest and most reliable manuscripts of this Gospel read " only begotte...

(Luke 1:36 KJV) And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. The King James Version (KJV) of the above verse seems to suggest that Mary, the mother of Jesus and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist were cousins. It is worthy to note that the Hebrew language has no word for cousin. The word translated cousin in the above verse is from the Greek word, suggenes which has same meaning as countryman, kinswoman, relative, one of the same race.  Also note that the word "cousin" used to mean any relative in the 17th century when the KJV was written. Other Bible Versions refrained from using the word "cousin" in Luke 1:36. (Luke 1:36 NLT) What's more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. (Luke 1:36 AMP) And listen, even your relative Elizabeth has also...