Priests certainly existed before the law was given: And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) (Gen 14:18) Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came […]
Could the Urim and Thummin mean that the Priest could either look into heaven or hear from heaven from God?
The Urim and the Thummim were put into the breastpiece of the high priest. Urim means flame or light. Thummim means perfections. The purpose of the Urim and the Thummim was to enable the high priest to inquire for the LORD’s judgment about important situations. It is not known how the process worked, but it […]
Where did the Israelites get all the materials for the Tabernacle?
You say: According to the Exodus 35:23 (New American Standard Bible) ” Every man, who had in his possession blue and purple and scarlet material and fine linen and goats’ hair and rams’ skins dyed red and porpoise skins, brought them.” And according to my NIV bible for the same verse, it says, “Everyone who […]
Why was Tamar considered righteous?
Tamar has a sad story: She was married to Er, Judah’s son God killed Er for being wicked According to the custom of her time, she was then given to Onan, Er’s brother Onan refused to honor his levirate marriage responsibility (“Onanism” is named after him) So God killed Onan too Judah promised Tamar that […]
When does God condone lying?
The JWs maintain that the Bible sanctions “Theocratic War“: So in time of spiritual warfare it is proper to misdirect the enemy by hiding the truth. It is done unselfishly; it does not harm anyone; on the contrary, it does much good. Today God’s servants are engaged in a warfare, a spiritual, theocratic warfare, a warfare […]
Apart from Christianity and Islam, what are the other major religions?
Apart from Christianity and Islam (which, respectively, rank 1st at 2.1 billion, and 2nd at 1.5 billion adherants), these are the world’s major religions ranked by number of adherants (according to this site): Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion Hinduism: 900 million Chinese traditional religion: 394 million Buddhism: 376 million primal-indigenous: 300 million African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million Sikhism: […]
Does turning the other cheek mean that you shouldn’t protect your family?
Jesus says: But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Mat 5:39) Taken at face value, this says that if someone wants to hurt you, you should not resist. (See also John 18:36, Rom 12:19-21, […]
How can we feel the Holy Spirit in our lives?
To give a little context which might help answer this question, the person who originally asked the question also said: I want to built a relationship with God but…I do not feel the holy spirit. … How can I feel the Holy Spirit…? There is some good news for the person who asked this question. […]
What does the Bible say about fortune tellers and crystal readers?
What the Bible says about fortune tellers and crystal readers: Lev 19:26 … You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. Lev 19:31 NET. Do not turn to the spirits of the dead and do not seek familiar spirits to become unclean by them. I am the LORD your God. Lev 20:6 If a person […]
If the earliest manuscript we have for a book of the Bible is relatively late, does that mean the book is a forgery/unreliable?
No. A late date for the earliest manuscript of any ancient book could be evidence that the book is a forgery or unreliable;1 but it does not necessarily follow that a late date for an earliest manuscript means the book is a forgery or is unreliable. There is other evidence to take into account. Some […]