Posted May 26th, 2006 in Ask a Bible Teacher
What are the bible’s thoughts on this? Christians who try to change our society through government or “Christian activism”. They say Christians who don’t participate, are just being lazy, apathetic, etc. That we must “get out there” on the street and change our world for Christ by “getting involved.”
Posted May 25th, 2006 in Ask a Bible Teacher
Is the Peace Treaty of Dan 9:27 before or after Israel re-builds the Temple?
Posted May 25th, 2006 in Ask a Bible Teacher
If the outline of the times of the gentiles is laid out in Dan 2 then I believe that Jerusalem still has to be trodden on by the ruler of the ten kings or revived roman emperor. He will take over Jerusalem and the temple for a while. Just something else interesting Jewish PM Olmert has already made out a plan to divide israel with the “palestinians”
Posted May 24th, 2006 in Ask a Bible Teacher
Q. I recently heard an ‘alternative’ sermon regarding turning the other cheek. According to this teacher, if you turned the other cheek and caused someone to strike you with the back of their hand, it was actually an act of defiance rather than submission. He said Jesus was therefore teaching us to ‘stand up for ourselves’. I would be grateful for your thoughts.
Posted May 24th, 2006 in Ask a Bible Teacher
I’m wondering what you have to say about Catholics “praying” to Mary or other saints. I understand that the first commandment tells us to have no other gods, but Catholics seem to believe they’re not praying to Mary or the other saints, but somehow praying to God through them.
Posted May 24th, 2006 in Ask a Bible Teacher
Q. What evidence do we have that Old Testament prophecies we believe to be Messianic Prophecies are also considered to be Messianic Prophecies by the Jewish people? And if our versions of them are the same what is their reasoning for not accepting Jesus?
Posted May 24th, 2006 in Ask a Bible Teacher
Q. I have a question regarding some numbers in the book of Revelation. Firstly, in Chapter 4, where the 24 elders are believed to represent the raptured church, what’s the significance of the number 24? Why wouldn’t we be inclined to take this number literally, as you previously suggested for the two groups of 144,000 which appear in chapters 7 & 14?
Which brings me to my next question: if one of the groups are Jews, and the other represents the raptured Church, does that mean that 144,000 is the pre-determined number of Christians who will be saved & raptured before the Great Tribulation? In which case, aren’t there a lot more Christians in the world than that today? Does this mean that only a select portion of the Church will be taken in the rapture? I have read in a study Bible, that this 144,000 probably represents a group of believers who have remained in a ‘purposeful celibate state of separation unto God’, (hence the mention that they ‘have not defiled themselves with women’)…what does this mean? Is the 144,000 even referring to the Church at all or am I missing something? Please help! I believe in the rapture of the Church but this is really confusing to me…
A. As far as the 24 Elders is concerned, I believe it is a literal number. They appear 7 times in the Revelation, and there are always 24. Some say this number symbolizes the 12 tribes and the 12 disciples combined to suggest the union of Old Testament and New, but I think it’s exclusive to the church. 12 is the number of government and being a multiple of twelve, 24 expresses the same thing in a higher form. It is the number associated with the heavenly government and worship, two duties to which the Church is called. While the 24 represent the entire Church, their presence around the throne isn’t meant to symbolize millions of elders sitting on thrones there. It may be that just as King David divided the 20,000 priests of his day into 24 groups with one priest at the head of each to more effectively govern Temple activities(1 Chron. 24), so will the Church be divided to more effectively govern in Heaven.
As for the 144,000 of Revelation 7 and 14 I wrote that both are literal numbers as well, though they represent different groups. In Rev. 7 we have 12,000 from each of 12 tribes of Israel living on Earth. In Rev. 14 we have 144,000 who have been redeemed from the earth. This 144,000 is a sampling of the redeemed, brought to heaven in the rapture of Rev 4, and presented as the first fruits of the harvest of souls, just as the wave offering was the first fruits of the harvest of grain (Lev. 23:9-14). All the grain was harvested, but only a sample was presented. So it is with the Church. The 144,000 is not meant to be the full number raptured, just a sample.
As far as the phrase “defiled themselves with women” is concerned, it’s used to symbolize the worship of idols. Since pagan worship was sexual in nature, the Lord sometimes described idol worship in sexual terms. These 144,000 had not done that. In fact they were found to be totally blameless, further evidence that they’re the redeemed in Heaven. No human on Earth is blameless. There’s no Biblical evidence that men who remain celibate will receive special rewards.
Posted May 24th, 2006 in Ask a Bible Teacher
I was surprised when you said that John had recorded the “cleansing of the Temple” out of order. There were two cleansings to indicate two points. In the first Jesus said it was His Fathers Temple,at the beginning of His ministry. While in the second cleansing at the end of His ministry, He says “your temple” indicating the departure of the Holy.
Posted May 24th, 2006 in Ask a Bible Teacher
Can you tell me more about the 7 year peace treaty? Between whom will it take place, when, and will we be raptured before then? Is it the last thing to take place before the rapture?
Posted May 24th, 2006 in Ask a Bible Teacher
Were the dinosaurs before or after the flood?
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