Yes, God knows our thoughts before we even think them. Psalm 139:2-4 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. (3) You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. (4) Even before a word is on my tongue, […]
Was there a rebellion in heaven?
There was not a rebellion in the literal heaven as God’s will is always done in heaven. See the Lord’s Prayer Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” God’s angels in heaven always obey the voice of God and always do his will. Psalm 103:19-21 “The […]
Where does the word Easter come from?
Easter (Ēostur) is the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of April, and is one of the twelve old Anglo-Saxon month names recorded by Bede (d.735). These Anglo-Saxon month names fell out of use after the Norman Conquest (1066) or earlier, and were replaced with the 12 Roman month names like January, February which we use today. […]
What is the difference between Easter and Passover?
There are two answers to this question. 1. Christian ‘Easter Sunday’ = the resurrection Sunday The first answer is that the word “Easter” has become established in Christian usage for the events of Christ’s death and resurrection which happened at the time of the Jewish Passover. So the Christian reference to Easter emphasises the Resurrection […]
Is Jesus called “Yahweh” in Jeremiah’s “Branch” prophesy?
The question relates to Jeremiah 23:5-6 where the prophet makes a Messianic prophecy about a new descendant of David. In the Hebrew text the word for English ‘LORD’ is the divine name YHWH, usually transcribed ‘Yahweh’ or ‘Jehovah’: 5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King […]
What does the Bible say about “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”
The devil of Baudelaire The Bible has nothing direct to say on this subject, since the phrase did not become popular till the 19th Century. The best known version of the phrase, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”, is a line delivered by the character Verbal (played by […]
Was the name “Christian” invented by opponents of Jesus’ followers?
No, there is no evidence for this idea. If anything it is the name ‘Nazarenes” which was used by the early enemies of Christianity. Use of two names in Acts The idea is perhaps based on a misreading of Acts 11:26 which suggests that the name was coined by the people of Antioch in response to […]
Was the “cross” at the crucifixion a crucifix-shape, a T-shape, or a stake?
Although the Greek word “cross” (stauros) originally meant just a stake, and the Romans kept large stakes permanently planted at places of execution, the available textual evidence from the Roman period points strongly to the use on the stake of a patibulum or crossbeam in crucifixions to spread and suspend the victim’s arms. Although the basic shape […]
What does “kill the body but cannot kill the soul” mean? (Matthew 10:28)
A contradiction with the Old Testament? Most readers finding Matthew 10:28 strange will probably already be in aware that in the Old Testament souls can die and be killed. Sometimes it is not clear from English translations where ‘soul’ (Hebrew nephesh) in phrases such as “all the souls died”, killing “souls” with the sword, and so […]
Why did Stephen say “Lord Jesus receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59) if Jesus is not God?
Does God actually “receive” the spirits of the dead in the Old Testament? At first sight, Stephen’s request to “receive my spirit” does look like the sort of thing we would expect to God to do, not Jesus. The somewhat surprising thing is that the terminology of God “receiving” men’s spirits does not actually occur […]