In the Beginning

September 1, 2017

Difficult Scriptures Listen to audio:  Though most of the Bible is easily understood, some verses are difficult. Some may be difficult for the reader, while some may be difficult to explain to others. Various sections consider questions about Death, God, Atonement, Christian Living, and three sections considering things to happen from now until the eternal Kingdom of God. Some examples of each section are: (1) Unwise punctuation unintentionally makes it seem as though Jesus was promising to take the thief with him to a paradise in […]

Difficult Scriptures About Death, Hell, Heaven, and Earth

September 1, 2017

Listen to audio:  ● Luke 23:43. Today in Paradise? Was Jesus promising the thief hell? The text in the King James Version implies that Jesus promised this man an immediate life in Paradise, ostensibly to be realized on the very day of their crucifixion. However, Acts 2:22-32 states that Jesus was in “hell” after his crucifixion, and Acts 10:40 assures us that God did not raise Jesus up until the third day. Did Jesus in fact promise this thief a resurrection in hell? […]

 Difficult Scriptures About God and Perfection

September 1, 2017

  Listen to audio:  ● Isaiah 45:5, 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 Corinthians 8:5. One God? How can we harmonize these scriptures with each other and with Deuteronomy 6:4? “I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me” (Isaiah 45:5). Jehovah God is here speaking to Cyrus, a Median general, and letting Cyrus know that He has been strengthening Cyrus for the best interests of Israel. God […]

Difficult Scriptures Concerning Atonement

September 1, 2017

Listen to audio:  ● John 1:14 (NASB). “And the Word became flesh.” What does it mean? It can only mean that in the beginning the Word was not flesh (but a spirit nature), yet he was transformed from the nature he had had into the fleshly human nature (when he was begotten in Mary, Galatians 4:4) — an actual change of nature. (At his resurrection he was again transformed — from the human nature into the divine nature — the highest of all natures.) JP ● Hebrews 2:10. “For it […]

Difficult Scriptures Concerning Christian Walk

September 1, 2017

Listen to audio:  ● John 11:26. “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” How can a believer now hope to never die? The Rotherham translation gives the sense of what Jesus intended. “No one who liveth again and believeth on me shall in anywise die.” The word “again” is not directly represented in the Greek, but that is the sense intended. It is similar to an expression about Jesus in Revelation 2:8, which says, literally, “who became dead, and lived.” The meaning is that Jesus died and lived […]