Sex before marriage is repeatedly condemned in the Bible. Some examples are given below. Exodus 22:16-17: a man had to marry the woman with whom he had premarital sex, if the father approved of the marriage, or pay a high price. Deuteronomy 22:13-21: under the Law of Moses the expectation was that a woman would […]
Were the apostles married?
We know Peter was married as he had a mother-in-law (Luke 4:38). The only other information we have in the Bible about the marriage-state of the apostles is given in Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 9:5: “Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers […]
Where is the Kingdom of God right now?
A kingdom comprises a king, subjects, laws and a land to live in. There is a sense in which the kingdom of God exists right now — Jesus Christ is king, the believers are his subjects, the laws are the commandments of Christ, but there is no special land as believers come from many countries. […]
What are the signs of the return of Jesus Christ?
Jesus referred to many signs of his return in the Olivet prophecy, recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. The unmistakable signs are given in Matthew 24:29-30, “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens […]
What is the beast in Revelation?
There are two beasts in Revelation: the beast that comes out of the sea, and the beast that comes out of the earth. The beast of the sea The beast of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, of Revelation 13:1-2 and 17:3-10, represents the kingdoms of men. Revelation 13:1-2. And I saw a […]
What does it mean to be “truly a widow”?
This question is based on 1 Timothy 5:3-6 Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. She who is truly a widow, […]
What is Malachi 4:5-6 about?
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Malachi 4:5-6) In anticipation of […]
What does the Bible say about the “firstborn”?
In the Old Testament the firstborn son had authority in the household when the father was absent, and on the death of his father he inherited twice as much as the other sons. (2 Kings 2:9) In the New Testament Jesus Christ is described as the firstborn, not only because he was the eldest in his […]
Does “heaven” stand for “God” in Matthew?
When Matthew uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven” he means exactly the same thing as the “kingdom of God”. However, I don’t know any other context where Matthew uses “heaven” in place of “God”, and he often uses heaven to mean heaven (e.g., Matthew 3:17; 5:12,16). Matthew is the only writer who uses “kingdom of […]
Who carried the cross — Jesus or Simon of Cyrene?
In John 19:17, Jesus is described as carrying his own cross, but in the other gospels we are told that Simon of Cyrene carried the cross for Jesus (Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26). It was customary in Roman crucifixions for the prisoner to carry his own cross. Most likely, he had to carry only […]