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Bible Q

What does the Bible say about near-death experiences?

Near-death experiences, outside the Bible Records of dreams and visions on the sickbed, near death, go back to ancient times. An example is the story told by the Greek writer Plato who recalls the visions seen by a Pamphylian soldier, Er son of Armenious, after he had revived from near death after being left for dead several days among […]

Was Mary Magdalene the sister of Lazarus?

This is not something that is explicitly stated in the gospels, but many have made this link. An excellent summary of the argument is given by Harry Whittaker in his book Studies in the Gospels. The relevant essay can be found online here.

Where is “Abraham’s bosom” located? (the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Luke 16)

Abraham’s lap “Bosom” is a King James Bible term which meant something akin to ‘lap’ in Shakespeare-era English. Being “in someone’s bosom” is a picture of being embraced by them. An example is found in John 13:23, where the disciple whom Jesus loved is “leaning on Jesus’ bosom” in the KJV. The term “Abraham’s bosom” […]

Why did Jesus weep at the tomb of Lazarus? (John 11:35)

We aren’t specifically told why Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb. A possible answer is that he was upset because his friend was dead (although he knows he’s going to raise him soon [John 11:23], so this doesn’t seem like the fullest answer). Another possibility is that he weeps because the people around him don’t seem […]