When dealing with the Father’s and Christ’s relationship with His Church, we find that the Bible pictures the same through several analogies. One of these analogies is the concept of a marriage agreement—we read that both in the Old and in the New Testament, the “congregation in the wilderness”—Old Testament Israel—and the Body of Christ—New Testament Israel or the Church of God—are pictured as entering a marriage agreement with the LORD or YHWH, who was none other than Jesus Christ. In other words, the old covenant and the new covenant are compared with marriage agreements. We read that Christ—the bridegroom—will marry His Church—the bride.

At the same time, we read that we are Christ’s brothers and sisters, and that God is our Father—as He is also the Father of Jesus Christ. When we receive God’s Holy Spirit, we are called begotten children of God, and we will become born-again children at the time of our change to immortal spirit beings in God’s Family. The new covenant also includes for us a promise of inheritance. We are called co-heirs with Christ. All these meaningful analogies contain very important spiritual principles and teachings for us.

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It is interesting to look at the definition of this phrase. One of many definitions that can be found on the Internet makes the point well:

”They say that if you put a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will leap out right away to escape the danger. But, if you put a frog in a kettle that is filled with water that is cool and pleasant, and then you gradually heat the kettle until it starts boiling, the frog will not become aware of the threat until it is too late.   The frog’s survival instincts are geared towards detecting sudden changes.

“This is a story that is used to illustrate how people might get themselves into terrible trouble.  This parable is often used to illustrate how humans have to be careful to watch slowly changing trends in the environment, not just the sudden changes. It’s a warning to keep us paying attention not just to obvious threats but to more slowly developing ones.”

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As will be explained herein, many have taken this statement to justify anti-Semitic sentiments, or to explain horrible incidents like the Holocaust when millions of Jews were killed in gas chambers. But is it possible that a “curse,” which is placed by parents on their children and future generations, can automatically bring about such terrible results? Some turn for an explanation to the “curse” which God placed on parents and children who “hate” Him. 

In a previous Q&A, we asked and answered the question what it means that God will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him (compare Exodus 20:5), and explained that this does not contradict Scriptures such as Deuteronomy 24:16, stating that children are not to be put to death for their fathers, but that a person “shall be put to death for his own sin.”

Continue reading "What is the significance of the saying of Jews at Jesus’ time that “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25)?"

We read in Hosea 1:2-3 that God told the prophet Hosea to “take yourself a wife of harlotry” and that Hosea did so and married “Gomer the daughter of Diblaim” and that she had children with him. In Hosea 3:1-3, God commanded Hosea to “love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery,” and that Hosea bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and one and one-half homers of barley, but that he had no sexual relationship with her.

The question in this Q&A is whether these passages are to be understood literally, even though, in any case, they represent God’s relationship with Israel.

Commentaries are divided on the issue.

To begin with Hosea 1:2-3, Barnes’ Notes on the Bible states that Hosea was to take as a wife “one who up to that time had again and again been guilty of that sin” and that her children “shared the disgrace of their mother, although born in lawful marriage.”

Continue reading "How do you explain Hosea 1:2-3 and Hosea 3:1-3? Did Hosea really carry out what is described there?"

In certain Islamic countries, thieves and others are maimed, by cutting off their hand. Was such a procedure ever condoned or even enjoined in the Bible, under any circumstances? The passage in Deuteronomy 25:11-12 states: “If two men fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of […]

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In Acts 1:15, it says there were about 120 disciples.

In 1 Corinthians 15:6, we read that Christ appeared to 500 “brethren” or disciples.

Many commentaries suggest that the 120 disciples, mentioned in Acts 1:15, only refer to those in Jerusalem, and that the 500 brethren were living in Galilee at that time.

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown states: “… the number … about an hundred and twenty—Many, therefore, of the ‘five hundred brethren’ who saw their risen Lord ‘at once’ (1Co 15:6), must have remained in Galilee.”

The People’s New Testament agrees, stating: “[They were] about an hundred and twenty. This was the number of disciples at Jerusalem, but not all who were then disciples. See 1Co 15:6.”

Wesley’s Notes add: “Who were together in the upper room were a hundred and twenty – But he had undoubtedly many more in other places; of whom more than five hundred saw him at once after his resurrection, 1Cor 15:6.”

On the other hand, Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, thinks there were only 120 disciples at that time: “There were only 120 pledged to Christ and it is very unlikely that any of them had even been outside the narrow confines of Palestine in his life. Since there were about 4,000,000 Jews in Palestine, this means that fewer than 1 in 30,000 were Christians… If ever anything began from small beginnings the Christian Church did.”

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This is a question that has troubled people for ages. If God is perfect and powerful, and if sickness is bad, why do people become sick? Whether a sickness is life threatening or just enough to slow us down, it is important to understand the reason and purpose for sickness in man. The Bible reveals that sickness is something that God allows for several different reasons.

Before explaining some of the reasons for why sickness may occur, it is very important to draw a distinction between people who leave their life up to time and chance, and those who commit their lives into the trust of God. Ecclesiastes 9:1 declares that the righteous and the wise put their lives into God’s hands, to watch over and help control the circumstances in their lives. Those who are unwilling to live in submission to God’s Will give over their lives instead to time and chance (Ecclesiastes 9:11). This is important to acknowledge when asking about why people become sick because there are certainly situations in which God is not directly involved in causing an illness. (For more information on the biblical teaching of “time and chance,” please read our free booklet, “Human Suffering—Why?… and How Much Longer?”).

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In our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound,” we stated the following: “Another example [of an injunction which is no longer valid today for Christians] would be a law contained in Deuteronomy 22:12, commanding that tassels be made on the four corners of one’s clothing. The reason is given in Numbers 15:38–40: ‘…that you may look […]

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Some orthodox Jews wear leather boxes (“phylacteries”) which contain portions of Old Testament passages. They base this custom on Scriptures in Deuteronomy and Exodus.

One of those passages is Deuteronomy 6:6-8, which states, in connection with the pronouncement of the Ten Commandments:

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,  when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall BIND them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as FRONTLETS between your eyes.”

In addition, another passage used for the custom of wearing phylacteries, is Deuteronomy 11:18, which states, in connection with the second giving of the Ten Commandments:

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God’s command, not to add to or take from His Law, has wide-ranging applications and practical consequences in many areas of daily life. For instance, when we look at the question, why we are not to observe Christmas or Easter, then the first answer might be that they are pagan, not Christian, and that the Bible nowhere commands their observance. In fact, God prohibited His followers to worship Him, as pagans worshipped their gods (Deuteronomy 12:29-32), and Christ warned us that we are not to uphold human traditions while rejecting God’s commandments (Mark 7:8-9).

But there are additional important reasons to consider, which are not limited to the question of Christmas and Easter observance, and they affect our worship of God in other ways.

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