Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ (John 3:7) Jesus said this when talking to the Pharisee, Nicodemus. A few verses earlier we read Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, […]
Why are numerous major Biblical events so similar to contemporary and historical mythology?
By the end of the 19th century archaeology had discovered many Mesopotamian texts containing creation and flood narratives remarkably similar to those in the Bible. Critical scholars came to believe that the Biblical narratives had simply been copied from earlier Mesopotamian myths.[1][2] The Biblical flood narrative in particular is still considered by some scholars to […]
Must every Christian spread the word?
Christians should spread the word. Check out the following passages from Scripture: Matt 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. (15) Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the […]
Does it say anywhere in the Bible that we have guardian angels?
The Bible has some wonderful things to say about our relationship with the angels. For example, Hebrews 1:14 describes angels as ‘ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation’ — the angels minister to us for our good to bring us to eternal salvation! That’s simply amazing. […]
Was the serpent in Eden (Gen. 3) an animal or a supernatural being?
The serpent in Eden was not a supernatural being (often called the devil, or Satan), it was an animal. Genesis 3:1 says the following about the serpent: …the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made…. Here the serpent is identified as simply one of the […]
How do we know that things in Revelation (e.g., the dragon in Rev. 12:3) are not literal?
We know that Revelation uses symbols because it is a prophecy (Rev. 1:3) following on from Daniel’s prophecies in Dan. 2, 7 and 8. In Dan. 2, 7 and 8 prophecies are given that use symbols — Dan. 2: a statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay (which is crushed by a rock); Dan. […]
Who is Satan in Job 1?
Despite popular belief, there is a scholarly consensus that ‘satan’ in the book of Job is not a personal name, and does not refer to the supernatural evil being known as ‘Satan’ or ‘the devil’. ‘The appearance of “Satan” in virtually all English translations of the book of Job befuddles me since it is very […]
What does the name of each book of the Bible mean?
Before we look at the answer to this question, it’s worth remembering that the names of the books of the Bible aren’t necessarily inspired, although they are convenient (like the addition of chapter and verse numbers1). A lot of the books of the Bible are named after the person who wrote them, the recipients of […]
Did all nations and languages result from God confusing the languages at Babel and scattering the people from there (Gen. 11:1-9)?
(This answer was originally posted here.) The record of the tower of Babel is one of the most well known but most misunderstood passages of the Bible. People remember in general terms the great tower, man’s challenge to God, and the confusion of language, but they usually remember the specific details imperfectly. It’s a short […]
Why was the harmony described during the construction of the Tower of Babel destroyed by God via confusion of language?
Although no people are named specifically in account of the building of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, we can deduce from Genesis 10 that Nimrod was the king of the city of Babel (he is described as having a kingdom). He is therefore quite probably the main influence in building the tower. Can […]