BIBLE WATCH

This is a question that many people tend to avoid for fear of offending some other people. For a Christian however, the Bible clearly provides the right answer to the question. Therefore, there should not be further search for answers or anymore debate on it. The answer can be found in the following verses: (Leviticus 18:22 NLT) “Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin. (Romans 1:27 NLT) "And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NLT) "Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards...

In the book of Mark chapter 8 verse 31, Jesus described His mission to His disciples which involves being killed/ crucified. (Mark 8:31 KJV) And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. However, in the book of Matthew, Mark and Luke, He made statements which seem to suggest that He is unwilling to fulfill this mission.  (Matthew 26:39 KJV) And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.  (Mark 14:36 KJV) And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. (Luke 22:42 KJV) Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Some critics of Jesus' mission have jump...

Jesus said in John 6:53, that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. This statement annoyed many of His disciples who consequently decided not to follow him again for they said that it will be difficult for anyone to accept such statement.  (John 6:53-58 KJV) Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.  (John 6:60 KJV) Many therefore o...

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The Bible says that Jesus Christ came not only by water, but by water and blood. What does this statement mean? (1 John 5:6 KJV) This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. The secret to understanding this scripture is in the context. John used many verses in his 1st epistle to affirm that Jesus Christ came in the flesh (i.e. in real human body) and to counter the teachings and belief of some in those days that Jesus never came in the flesh. (1 John 1:1-2 NIV) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched --this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. (1 John 4:1-2 NLT) Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claim...

Did you know that the Bible says that man was made a little lower than God? Do you know where it is in the Bible? It is in Psalms 8:5 and Hebrews 2:7. (Psalms 8:5 KJV) For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. (Hebrews 2:7 KJV) Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: The Hebrew word rendered angels in the above verses is Elohim (Elohiym) which should have been translated as God. The verse should rather read, " thou hast made him but a little lower than God". (Psalms 8:5 NLT) Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. (Psalms 8:5 GNT) Yet you made them inferior only to yourself; you crowned them with glory and honor. The LXX (which is the Septuagint or the Greek Old Testament or septuaginta (in Latin) or seventy or LXX (in Roman numerals)) was followed by the Authorized King J...

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...

The word “Bible” comes from the Greek word τὰ βιβλία, tà biblía which means “ the books ”.  The word derived from the old city of Byblos (sometimes spelled Biblos ) in Phoenicia in Lebanon, since it was the main supplier of papyrus (paper) to the ancient world. The Greeks took the name of the city as their word for book, biblos and from their word for books named our Bible. If you like our blog, kindly share your views, suggestions, and comments. Like our Facebook page  @BibleWatch , follow us on Twitter  @bible_watch  and click to the  Subscribe button  above.

(Mark 10:25 KJV) It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle , than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.  Have you ever heard the teaching that the "eye of the needle" as used by our Lord Jesus Christ in the above verse is a small gate on the Jerusalem wall, besides the main gate, by which a camel can go through (not without difficulties though) if it is made to stoop and pushed through the gate with all its baggage removed? Most of those that offer this teaching believe that this statement of Jesus Christ concerning the rich man is exaggerated, hence they try to provide the above explanation to soften it down.  Well, there is no widely accepted evidence for the existence of such a small gate.  The statement of Jesus is rather a proverbial expression denoting something that is impossible for humans or very difficult. If you like our blog, kindly share your views, suggestions, and comments. Like our Facebook page  @BibleWatch , follow us on...

Have you noticed in the bible, that the Sabbath starts in the evening? (Lev 23:32 ESV) "It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath .” (Neh 13:19 ESV) "As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath , I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day". Sabbath begins in the evening and so do all other Jewish festivals. The biblical Jewish calendar date begins with the night beforehand. While a day in the secular calendar begins and ends at midnight, a Jewish day goes from nightfall to nightfall even though this may not be so clear-cut. However, in the book of Genesis, the evening is mentioned before the morning and this validates the dark...

By counting the letter values of the Greek transliteration of Jesus' name. If you like our blog, kindly share your views, suggestions, and comments. Like our Facebook page  @BibleWatch , follow us on Twitter  @bible_watch  and click to the  Subscribe button  above.

Did you know that there seems to be a connection between the Feasts instituted by God for the children of Israel and the events of the last days? Let us look at some of the amazing facts from the bible: Jesus was crucified on the Day of Preparation (i.e on Passover day which begins on the 14th of Abib/ Nisan). Jesus Himself was sacrificed as the Passover Lamb. Please note that Passover is not a Sabbath. It is the day of preparation for the High Sabbath (that is, it is the first day of the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread). Jesus died on Passover, but was removed from the cross before sunset, which began the High Sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. (Leviticus 23:5 KJV)  "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover." He was in the tomb during the feast of unleavened bread. The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the 15th of Nisan and ends on the 21st, seven days later. The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a High ...

The concept of meditation has been mostly appropriated to other religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism and other eastern religions. Sadly, some Christians today have never practiced meditation the bible way, and typically when you ask some believers how many of them meditate on a regular basis, the answer is only a few.  There are many forms of meditations encompassing practices from different traditions, cultures, spiritual disciplines, and religions which are not in line with the concept of biblical meditation. Some of them include: Silent meditation which involves simply sitting in quiet without thoughts for anything. Calming meditation which involves focusing on a particular object which could be your breath, a mantra, a visualization without focus on God and His Word . Yoga meditation which may include sitting calmly on a rug, and/or listening to sonorous music. Biblical meditation is not even primarily for relaxation, although you may find it calming and comforting. It is...

3 John 1:2 KJV Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. Many Christians regard the above verse as a declaration from God of His desire to financially prosper believers. While we acknowledge the bible-fact that God's plan for His children is that of good and not of evil, however, the above verse is not a sovereign declaration of Almighty God; it is rather a greeting/prayer from Paul to Gaius. The verse is never God's promise to financially prosper any believer, which has faith, in this dispensation as some profess. Paul's statement in that verse is like saying, "Hello dear, I hope all is well with you. I wish you long life, good health and prosperity as you grow in the things of the spirit'. Here are other translations for better understanding: 3 Joh 1:2 CEV Dear friend, and I pray all goes well for you. I hope you are as strong in body, as I know you are in spirit. 3 Joh 1:2 ISV Dear friend, I pray ...

The last supper of our Lord Jesus Christ was a passover feast on the Jewish Day of Preparation. He directed two of his disciples in the book of Luke 22:8 to go and make preparations for the passover feast by getting a room for the supper. ( Luke 22:8 KJV ) And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.  ( Luke 22:12 KJV ) And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. In the course of the meal, Jesus gave bread and wine to his disciples to share amongst themselves and thereafter instructed them to do this in remembrance of him. The question is which of the activities did he instruct them to do in remembrance of him. Is it the celebration of the passover feast which at that point they were observing or his last supper, which was also part of his activities of the passover feast. Please note that the passover meal was usually concluded with eating the remaining portion of the unleavened flat bread (called afikomen matzah) a...

Did you know that the bible verse in Genesis 8:22 often quoted by a lot of the gospel ministers to support giving of money, offerings and tithes has nothing to do with money? (Genesis 8:22 KJV) While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.  The statement in the verse was made by God to Noah immediately after the flood. It was made to assure Noah that He will never again destroy all life on earth by water anď that as long as the earth remains none of the following will ever cease on earth: Planting of seeds and harvesting of seeds. The four different seasons - spring, summer, fall and winter. Day and night. In other words, the natural life on earth is perpetual . I recommend you read at least the entire Genesis chapter 8 in other bible translations to better understand the context. So when next you hear the verse in connection to giving just remember the context in which God made the statement. If you l...