BIBLE WATCH

There is so much misunderstanding in the Church today regarding the gift of prophecy. Many people believe that prophecy only refers to telling something before it happens. However, even in the Old Testament, the messages of the prophets contained as much, if not more, about the present than they did about the future. In Hebrew, the word translated prophecy is based on the word stem nābā, which simply means “to speak by divine inspiration, either in prediction or simple discourse.”  “ Prophecies ” is transliterated (i.e. brought straight over from Greek to English) from the noun  prophēteia . It is made up of  pro , meaning “before, in time or position” and a form of the verb  phēmi , meaning “to tell.” The verb form of this word can refer  EITHER : Foretelling  (predicting or telling something before it happens). It seeks to predict the future. It predicts or reveals personalities, occurrences, circumstances that will hap...

The question, "why did Jesus come" remains the most asked question ever. It is a crucial question, for a wrong answer could lead us to some awful misconceptions. For instance: If he came to teach morals - then we will think that His life was about ethics. If he came to fix the environment - then we will think that His life was about trees and plants. If he came to model manners and nice living - then we will think that He is like any other role model. A wrong understanding of why Jesus came will take us in all sorts of wrong directions! It is crucial we know why He came to the earth. So, let us read His own words explaining why it was He came. John 18:37  Jesus answered, "For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." Mark 1:38  [Jesus] said to them, "Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came f...

Many Christians thought that Jacob worked seven years for Laban, realized that Laban deceived him to marry Leah, and then worked seven more years before finally getting married to Rachel. However the bible shows that he took both Leah and Rachel immediately before he began serving Laban. For clarity, I advise you to read this Jacob's story in other translations of the Bible aside King James Version (KJV). Meanwhile lets look at look at some of the facts from the Bible: (Genesis 29:21 KJV) And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. Please note that the 7 years of service required of Jacob were the total dowry and not the customary waiting period before a wife was given to the groom. In other words, Jacob took Leah after the customary waiting period which was a couple of days just like we read in vs 21. Notice that he said, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled" implying a certain number of d...

If God's love is unconditional, does that mean there are no strings attached?  Want to start an interesting conversation among friends—or an endless argument among theologians? Ask this question: Is God’s love unconditional? Many will say yes. God is a loving God; in fact, God  is   love. So he’s going to love you no matter what you do. Someone who believes in this “no strings attached” kind of divine love might say, “Deep down you’re okay; God accepts you as you are—warts and all. God smiles on you even if you don’t jump through any hoops, because you have intrinsic worth. You can relax, bask in his smile, and let the basically good, real you emerge.” Others will say no. God is holy and his standard is absolute righteousness—perfection, even. If you are not righteous you do not deserve (and will not receive) God’s love. Someone of this school of thought might say, “The Bible says that God hates sin. So it can’t be true that you can sin all yo...

Some people contend that Jesus' ministry was only for the Children of Israel and not for all mankind. To support their claim, these people are quick to cite the following verses from the New Testament:  (Matthew 15:24) He (Jesus) answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."  (Matthew 10:5-6) These twelve (disciples) Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel."  It is important to realize first of all that Jesus was born of the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham many centuries earlier. Because of obedience and submission to God's will, God's promise to Abraham was two-fold. First, God promised to bless his lineage, namely Isaac, Jacob (Israel), and the Children (descendants) of Israel. Secondly, God promised that from this lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would...

The word lucifer is used only once in the English Bible and it is in Isaiah 14:12. Isaiah 14:12: “ 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!" It is from the Latin term lucem ferre , which literally means “bringer, or bearer of light, the shining one, the son of the dawn, the morning star (the star we now know by another Roman name, Venus). The morning star appears in the heavens just before dawn, heralding the rising sun. Isaiah is using this metaphor for a bright light, though not the greatest light to illustrate the apparent power of the Babylonian king which then faded." The Hebrew of this passage reads: " heleyl, ben shachar " which can be literally translated "shining one, day star, son of the dawn, morning star or son of the morning." In the Septuagint, a 3rd century BCE translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek, it renders הֵילֵל in Greek ...

In the garden of Eden, there were many trees, but two were specifically named.  One was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and one was called the Tree of Life.  It is interesting to note, however, that these two trees were located in the exact same place in the garden.   Genesis 2:9 Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.   Genesis 3:2-3 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”   These two trees were in the exact same place – in the middle of the garden. When God gave the children of Israel instructions on eating the fruit of trees, He tells them in  Leviticus 19:23 ‘When you enter th...

The view that God is associated with fear in the Old Testament and love in the New Testament stems from the perception that God manifests different natures or attributes under the two testaments. The fact is that God never changes His nature and attributes but the manner of His revelation.  In the Old Testament, God is commonly identified with the laws He gave to Moses and his influence appears to be closely restricted to the Jews, His covenant people. The rest of the world appear isolated and are often depicted as hostile to God and to His people. For example, the Psalmist captures this idea in  Psalms.  Psalms  47:3-4 which says “He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved.”  Psalms 96:5 “For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.”  The “nations” here refer to all nations or kindred apart from the Jews who were monotheistic...

This is one of the most quoted sayings of all times when it comes to God. The only problem is that it is not a verse in the Bible. Yes, God does work in ways we do not understand. This saying is most likely a simplified paraphrasing of the verse below. Romans 11:33  O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! It is not that this saying is wrong, it is simply not in the Bible.

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The idea of going to heaven is very popular, we see it in movies, hear about it in songs, read about it in books, and learn about it from the pulpit, but what does the Bible say about it? The "going to Heaven" concept is so ingrained in modern Christianity that many Scriptures are wrongly used in support of this pre-conceived notion. The Scriptures are plain that the earth, not Heaven, is the abode of the Believer/Righteous and there are several Scriptures to support this belief.   In  John 3:13  Jesus said, “ No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven .” Did Jesus forget Elijah? No, He did not. He equally stated in John 8:21 that where He was going (Heaven), the disciples could not come .  Also, Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” I know you are probably already thinking of common questions like, “What about Elijah, or the thief on the cross, or Lazarus in ...