Questions and Answers

In the first part in this series, we discussed and reviewed what hyperbole is and what its uses are in the Bible.

When it comes to Scripture, we have many examples which we will now review.

2 Samuel 1:23:

“Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives, And in their death they were not divided; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions.”

The National Eagle Centre states that “Eagles can achieve 30 mph using powerful wing-beats and even faster when diving after prey (stoop). Bald eagles can dive at up to 100 mph; golden eagles at up to 150 mph.   However, “The fastest recorded human sprinter ever is Usain Bolt. At the World Championship in Berlin in 2009, he hit 27.78 miles per hour between meters 60 and 80 during the 100-meter sprint. Over the full 100 meters, he averaged 23.35 miles per hour, finishing in 9.58 seconds and setting a new world record.”

Obviously, there is no comparison between the speed that a man can run and an eagle can fly.   In addition, we read in Proverbs 30:30: “A lion, which is mighty among beasts And does not turn away from any.”

In Matthew Poole’s English Annotations on the Holy…

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First of all, let us read this verse: “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.”

This is a psalm that Church of God members will have sung many times as it features as hymn 105 in the Church’s Bible Hymnal.

In the previous verse we read: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” which shows that king David understood that God had perfect knowledge of man which is the heading of the Psalm.   God knows our very thoughts (verse 2) which means that even if we are praying silently, He still hears.   Therefore, verse 8 sums up the fact that wherever we are, God knows.

However, this verse can be seized upon by some to say that at death we go to heaven or to an ever burning fiery hell, neither of which are correct.   In fact, the Bible speaks of three heavens and for those who are not aware of these facts, or those who may wish to refresh their memories on this subject, please see https://www.globalchurchofgod.co.uk/q-a-3756/

In the Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament we read: “God, however, is omnipresent, sustaining the…

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On the National Geographic website, we read: “Wolves are the largest members of the dog family.   Adaptable gray wolves are by far the most common and were once found all over the Northern Hemisphere.  But wolves and humans have a long adversarial history. Though they almost never attack humans, wolves are considered one of the animal world’s most fearsome natural villains.  They do attack domestic animals, and countless wolves have been shot, trapped, and poisoned because of this tendency.”

In Acts 20:28-30 we read: “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.  For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.   Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.”

Paul is here describing a flock, and shepherding, which means that the members of the Church of God whom the apostle was addressing were likened to sheep.   Wolves are the enemy of sheep and sheep can be part of their diet.  There are other Scriptures where this same analogy…

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For members of the Church of God who have been attending services for many years, they may recall that they have never observed the Day of Atonement on a Friday or a Sunday. It does not matter whether they attended the Worldwide Church of God, the Global Church of God, the Church of the Eternal God, or most other Church of God fellowships. In fact, in examining a calendar listing dates between 1845 and 2072, the Day of Atonement has not and will not occur on a Friday or a Sunday in any of these years.

This may seem strange seeing how, in our Gregorian calendar, a fixed date can occur on any day of the week. And, in fact, with a solar-lunar calendar, a fixed date would normally be expected to occur on any day of the week. And yet it does not. This is a feature of God’s sacred calendar, of which the basics will be described below.

At the time of the exodus, God informed Moses and Aaron in which month the year was to begin (Exodus 12:1-2).  Remember that each month in a solar-lunar calendar begins approximately on the new moon. This is basically at the conjunction of…

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In the previous parts of this series, we discussed many concepts taught by the Roman Catholic church, related to their doctrine of indulgences. We saw that indulgences are required, according to Catholic tradition and theology, to ensure that help and assistance is given in Purgatory (a place that doesn’t exist and has no validity from Scripture), so that humans can go to Heaven (which Scripture clearly shows is not the place for the dead, nor is Hell, as commonly understood in orthodox Christianity!)  We also pointed out that the idea of indulgences applies in different ways: It addresses those who are in “Purgatory” and for whom prayers and “indulgences” are given by the living or the “saints in Heaven”, so that they can be freed from Purgatory; and it can apply to people in this life who give indulgences (for themselves and others) so that they do not have to suffer in Purgatory (or Hell) for as long as they otherwise would have to.

We also discussed the concept of partial indulgences (removing part of the “temporal” punishment due to sin), and of plenary indulgences (removing all temporal punishment due to sin).

Let us look at a further explanation in the following…

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In the previous parts of this series, we began to discuss many concepts taught by the Roman Catholic church, related to their doctrine of indulgences. We saw that indulgences are required, according to Catholic tradition and theology, to ensure that help and assistance is given in Purgatory (a place that doesn’t exist and has no validity from Scripture), so that humans can go to Heaven (which Scripture clearly shows is not the place for the dead, nor is Hell, as commonly understood in orthodox Christianity!)  We also pointed out that the idea of indulgences applies in different ways: It addresses those who are in “Purgatory” (or “Hell”) and for whom prayers and “indulgences” are given by the living or the “saints in Heaven”, so that they can be freed from Purgatory (or Hell); and it can apply to people in this life who give indulgences (for themselves) so that they do not have to suffer in Purgatory (or Hell) for as long as they otherwise would have to.

We also began to discuss the concept of partial indulgences (removing part of the “temporal” punishment due to sin), and of plenary indulgences (removing all temporal punishment due to sin). We also saw…

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In the previous parts of this series, we began to discuss the concept taught by the Roman Catholic church that the “immortal souls” of departed ones may be in Hell or Purgatory, and that “indulgences” or prayers for the dead can allegedly remove, partially (“plenary”) or completely (“in full”), punishment for sin, so that their souls can be freed from Purgatory or even Hell to go to Heaven. In order to answer the question regarding indulgences, we reviewed, among other questions, related issues such as the fact that we do not have an immortal soul; that we neither go to Heaven (where we, as immortal saints in Heaven, could allegedly receive prayers from the living and intervene on their behalf), nor do we go to Hell (as defined by orthodox Christianity) or Purgatory when we die.

We also discussed the spirit in man and showed that it is not just another concept for an immortal soul; but that the spirit in man has no consciousness when a person dies. We then began to review the Roman Catholic church’s teaching on Purgatory and showed why this concept is wrong.

With this background, we will now discuss in much detail the Roman Catholic church’s…

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In the first three parts of this series, we began to discuss the concept taught by the Roman Catholic Church that the “immortal souls” of departed ones may be in hell or purgatory, and that “indulgences” or prayers for the dead can allegedly remove, partially (“plenary”) or completely (“in full”), punishment for sin, so that their souls can be freed from purgatory or even hell to go to heaven. In order to answer the question regarding indulgences, we reviewed, among other questions, related issues such as the fact that we do not have an immortal soul; that we neither go to heaven (where we, as immortal saints in heaven, could allegedly receive prayers from the living and intervene on their behalf), nor do we go to hell or purgatory when we die.

We also discussed the spirit in man and showed that it is not just another concept for an immortal soul; but that the spirit in man has no consciousness when a person dies. Rather, upon death, the entire human being—spirit, body and soul (1 Thessalonians 5:23)—ceases to “live” or have any conscious “life” in any manner, shape or form.

In part 4, we began to review the Roman Catholic Church’s…

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In the first three parts of this series, we began to discuss the concept taught by the Roman Catholic Church that the “immortal souls” of departed ones may be in hell or purgatory, and that “indulgences” or prayers for the dead can allegedly remove, partially (“plenary”) or completely (“in full”), punishment for sin, so that their souls can be freed from purgatory or even hell to go to heaven. In order to answer the question regarding indulgences, we reviewed, among other questions, related issues such as the fact that we do not have an immortal soul; that we neither go to heaven (where we, as immortal saints in heaven, could allegedly receive prayers from the living and intervene on their behalf), nor do we go to hell or purgatory when we die.

We also discussed the spirit in man and showed that it is not just another concept for an immortal soul; but that the spirit in man has no consciousness when a person dies. Rather, upon death, the entire human being—spirit, body and soul (1 Thessalonians 5:23)—ceases to “live” or have any conscious “life” in any manner, shape or form.

In this part 4, we will review further the idea of…

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In the first two parts of this series, we began to discuss the concept taught by the Roman Catholic Church that the “immortal souls” of departed ones may be in hell or purgatory, and that “indulgences” or prayers for the dead can allegedly remove, partially (“plenary”) or completely (“in full”), punishment for sin, so that their souls can be freed from purgatory or even hell to go to heaven. In order to answer the question regarding indulgences, we reviewed, among other questions, related issues such as the fact that we do not have an immortal soul; and that we neither go to heaven (where we, as immortal saints in heaven, could allegedly receive prayers from the living and intervene on their behalf), nor do we go to hell or purgatory when we die.

Some, however, confuse the concept of the “immortal soul”—which does NOT exist—with Scriptures talking about the spirit in man—which does exist–claiming that, regardless as to whether one refers to the soul or the spirit in man, it would be helpful to pray to God in respect to that “spirit” in man which allegedly does not “cease to exist” when the person dies.

In this instalment, we will therefore explain…

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