One of the things that the Law taught was that God’s people should be holy because their God is holy (Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:26). As one commentator writes, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’ ‘could be termed the motto of Leviticus’.1 In truth, God wants his people to be morally holy: Peter explains God’s call […]
Why did Adam and Eve need immortal souls and when did they get them?
Adam and Eve didn’t have immortal souls. In fact, the typical idea of an “immortal soul” isn’t one that’s from the Bible (see the answer to ‘How is “soul” used in the Bible?‘). Like our ancestors Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:17; 3:19), all people are mortal (1 Cor. 15:21-22). We live for the duration of […]
How did Gehazi die?
We are not told in the Bible (or, as far as I am aware, in any other historical records) how Gehazi1 died. Notes 1. Gehazi was Elisha’s servant. He first appears in the Bible in 2 Kings 4 (v12). Also see – Did Gehazi still have leprosy in 2 Kings 8:4? – Is “leprosy” in the Bible […]
Did Jesus ever baptise anyone himself?
No, Jesus didn’t physically baptise anyone himself. John 4:1-2 explains: …Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples) Jesus’ disciples, under his authority, were baptising people on his behalf.1 Notes 1. Perhaps it’s a bit like in the Old Testament when the Tabernacles was […]
I thought we automatically received the Holy Spirit when we believed, but Luke 11:13 doesn’t seem to imply that. What does it mean?
The Holy Spirit is a multi-faceted subject. You have to look carefully at the context to understand what a given reference means. On one level, all people, believers or otherwise, have the spirit of God, because we know when people die, the spirit which powers them, goes back to God who gave it. Ecc 12:7: […]
Why does Jesus call the Father ʺhis Godʺ (Rev 1:6)?
… and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen (Rev 1:6) This is just one of a number of passage which speak of the God of Jesus: And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” […]
How did any Egyptian livestock get boils in Exodus 9:10 when they all died in Exodus 9:6?
…All the livestock of the Egyptians died… [plague 5, Ex. 9:6] …boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. [plague 6, Ex. 9:10] The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast….[plague 7, Ex. 9:25] First off, Exodus 9:3 says that the fifth […]
Is it OK for Christians to serve on a jury?
No. At the moment, Christians are to judge those in the church (1 Cor. 5:12; cf. 1 Cor. 6:5) and, in the future, they will ‘judge the world’ (1 Cor. 6:2) and even “judge angels” (1 Cor. 6:3). But, for the time being, Christians are not to judge those outside the church: they are to leave that to […]
Do you think Joshua’s spies knew that Rahab believed in their God before they went to Jericho?
Joshua 2:1 simply says “[the spies] came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there”. No reason or motive is stated for them choosing the house of Rahab, so we can only speculate. There is one practical reason for choosing the house of a prostitute. It would not be unusual […]
Who took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne and who was on the throne? (Rev 5:7)
The one who sat on the throne is God (cf. Rev 4:8,11). The one who took the scroll is Jesus (“the Root of David” Rev 5:5; “Lamb” Rev 5:6).