1 Samuel 4:1-11, especially v10-11 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. And the ark of God was captured. The people of Israel treated the ark of the covenant as […]
What does the Bible say about what people would be like in the end of days?
One of the longest passages about what people would be like like in the last days is 2 Timothy 3:1-9: But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, […]
If only two people entered Canaan, how could they break the wall of Jericho?
Whilst the Bible states that of those who left Egypt only Joshua and Caleb entered Canaan (Num 14:30), there would have been many children born to the Israelites during the forty years in the wilderness.
How do Christians know that Christianity, and not other religions, is right?
There are lots of reasons — all of which add together — that give Christians confidence that what they believe is true. For example, the Bible contains prophecies which predicted events in world history before they happened: this is often cited as a reason for trusting the Bible, and its teaching, over against other religious teachings.1 […]
Paul went up to the third tier of Heaven which was not located on the earth: does this show that the saved go to heaven when they die?
No. Whatever happened to Paul when he was ‘caught up to the third heaven’ (2 Cor. 12:2) happened to him when he was alive, not dead, so it is no indication of what happens to people when they die. For more on the third heaven, see the answers to: ‘What is the third heaven? (2 […]
Why was Simon’s name changed to Peter?
Simon’s name was changed to Peter (Mat. 16:18) because Jesus wanted to highlight the important role Peter would have in the early church. Peter means ‘rock’, so when Jesus said ‘on this rock I will build my church’ (Mat. 16:18) he was using a pun to refer to Peter’s role as one of the strong, […]
Could the coming great deception be the return of fallen angels or nephilim disguised as grey aliens/UFOs?
Nope. Quite apart from anything else, there is too much wild speculation in this suggestion for it to be a valid interpretation of a Biblical passage. It might not be quite so interesting to some as fallen angels, nephilim, aliens and UFOs, but the ‘deception’ warned about in the New Testament is to do with […]
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” […]
Who are the “us” and “we” referred to in Acts 20:5-6?
The “us” an “we” in Acts 20:5-6 refer to the author of Acts (i.e., Luke) and Paul (also see Acts 16:10–17; 20:5–15; 21:1–18; 27:1– 28).
Can you tell me what “shaddai” means?
Even though El Shaddai is generally translated God Almighty, shaddai is from the same root as “breast,” with reference to nurturing. This title occurs significantly in Genesis referring to God’s development of Abraham’s descendants. Exod. 6:4 affirms this: “I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but by my name yhwh I did […]