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| Question / Comment - General doubts about God's character, prophecy and the Bible. |
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Their Question:
Hello, |
| Our Reply: Hi thanks for the email. God's purpose for Samson is stated in the following verse: Jdg 13:5 "For behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines." He reigned as a judge in Israel for 20 years and during that time Israel did experience deliverance from the Philistines. Unfortunately, as pointed out on the study, man still has free will and Samson made a lot of bad choices that eventually led to his downfall. Samson was not conceived through a 'miraculous seeding of the woman by an angel' as you mentioned. The Bible doesn't say that. 'The angel of the Lord' simply told the mother that she would conceive. God did initiate animal sacrifices in the Bible as they were used as a means of teaching the people about the seriousness of sin and how that forgiveness for sin ccome through a blood sacrifice. As recorded in Leviticus: Lev 17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. Of course, the animal sacrifices were only given to teach the people up until the time came when the final sacrifice would be made for sin - and that is Jesus' death upon the cross. That is why the book of Hebrews states that God didn't take pleasure in the sacrifices, though necessary and useful until the time that Jesus came - Heb 10:5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; Heb 10:6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Heb 10:7 Then I said, 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, O God.' " What God takes pleasure in today is people trusting in His Son who died for their sins. No more sacrifices are required. He has paid the price for all sin. But the Bible does tell us that without faith it is impossible to please God. If you want to please God then believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ - place your faith in Him and follow Him. That is what God requires of mankind today. That is what pleases Him. All the best |
| Their Reply: Hello Thank you for your reply: re my questions about Samson, his birth and animal sacrifice. On the subject of sacrificing an animal to God (in old testament times) we find that such rituals were common practice. Yet, it was rather a stupid one, considering the enormous waste of animal life that it entailed. However, its adoption saved many lives. Previously, it was children who were given up to the gods in sacrificial burnings. Offered up to gain favour or to placate the gods. The arrival of the One God ,mercifully put an end to this barbaric practice. Yet, the shedding of an animal's blood was curiously not enough. With the shedding of the blood of Christ, we have returned full circle as the wheel. But, then again the blood of man has always spilled to the earth. From the son of the first man and on down through millennium man's blood has always been spilled. In our own century, in the battle-fields of the world, man's blood is still being shed. Sacrifices to a god who vanished centuries ago. The Ark of the Covenant is lost, buried beneath the sands of the desert. Its radio no longer works. And the wood of the Cross of The Crucifixion has turned to dust. Where lies the tomb of Moses, the chosen of God? And what of John the Baptiser, the herald of Jesus? Where does he lie, where is his monument?. They are gone, each and everyone and nothing remains. In Jerusalem, believers bang their heads against a wall of stone. They bemoan the loss of their temple, the loss of a kingdom and the disappearance of their god. Should we not also wail? For the coming of the promised kingdom was no more than a false promise. |
| Our Reply: Hi thanks for the email. Concerning sacrifice - the God of the Bible hates and forbids the sacrifice of children which you are right in saying occurred amongst other nations. Israel was totally forbidden to participate in such a despicable practise. Concerning the current state of Jerusalem and the kingdom you would probably benefit from reading and understanding Bible prophecy. It would help you to see that "the plan" has not gone astray and that God has laid out in advance what will happen. The current state of Israel and Jerusalem has all been prophesied. What is still coming (including the return of Jesus and the setting up of His Messianic Kingdom) has all been laid out thousands of years in advance. It is remarkable. From as early as Moses, God laid out that the Israelites would disobey the Lord and would be scattered among the nation until the time of the end when God would regather them back into their land. The prophets said that they would go many years without any king or temple but also that they would come back to the Lord in the last days. The prophets also said that God would make Jerusalem a stumbling block for the nations (turn on your TV or the internet and look at how everyone tries, and fails, to solve the problem of Jerusalem!) The Bible prophets said that at the time of the end every nation would come against Israel and Jerusalem. Apart form the US backing Israel through the UN, it is easy to see that things are rapidly moving in the direction that the Bible declares will happen. There are better sites on this than mine but I do have a general page on prophecy here: http://www.jesusplusnothing.com/prophecy.htm All the best |
| Their Reply: Hello, I must confess today that I am in another quandary . Reading Genesis, I have stopped at at the point where Abel and Cain, make their offerings to God. I have thought hard but I still cannot understand why God turned down Cain's offering to him in favour of Abel's. Cain now rejected became angry and lashed out in that anger against his brother, resulting in his death. But, would it not have been more sensible of God to have accepted both offerings graciously? There then would have been no animosity of one brother to another. And as I think on God's rejection of Cain, I get a most uncomfortable feeling. If God knows the future, then he knew in advance the inevitable, murderous, consequences of his rejection of Cain's offering. He thus sanctioned murder. If someone gives a you a present which you do not favour, you do not throw back in their face. You hide your disappointment and accept it graciously. God could have done the same. That he did not baffles the mind. Let me have your thoughts. |
| Our Reply: Hi this issue is actually related to the sacrifices that we talked about previously so it could serve as a good example. Concerning the offerings of Abel and Cain the New Testament says: Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. 1Jn 3:12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Abel offered a 'better sacrifice'. Why was that? Well firstly because it was based on a blood sacrifice. And it was based on faith. As I mentioned in a previous email right from the very start God was trying to teach mankind that for sin to be forgiven there must be a sacrifice. All of these sacrifices pointed to the final sacrifice for sin - Jesus Christ. Cain on the other hand decided he could come and offer God something that was the fruit of his own work - product from the land. In other words it is the age old battle between whether a person is declared righteous on the basis of their own 'good works' (Cain's offering) or whether God declares a person righteous based on their faith in a sacrifice for their sin (Abel's offering). The answer is obvious. Salvation today comes by the same means as how Abel was accepted - it is through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our behalf. As for your comment that God 'sanctioned murder', that is a, um, novel comment! God was obviously not responsible for Cain's murder of Abel. Cain made that choice by himself. God even encouraged Cain that he could still be accepted. Have a look at what God said to Cain AFTER Cain gave the wrong offering: But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. (Genesis 4:4-8) In other words, God still instructed Cain that he can be accepted if he does what is right. God was gracious towards Cain. He told Cain to be careful because sin is crouching and waiting and that he needs to master it. Of course Cain didn't listen or do what is right... he simply took Abel out into the field and killed him. All the best PS Did you read the info on Bible prophecy? |
| Their Reply:
Thanks for your email, but there are
still too many things that do not make sense.
After Cain murdered his brother Abel, God cried: "What have you
done? Listen! Your brother's voice cries out to me from the
ground." Iain, I can feel the anguish and the sorrow in these
words. But where is the punishment for Cain's despicable act?
There was no punishment!
In Numbers.35.6-34 God said: And
from each man,too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his
fellow man."
There was no accounting!
Yet, in (Numbers.35.6-34) God saw fit to have a man stoned to
death for collecting
firewood on a Sabbath.
This is all very difficult. I want to make sense of the Bible, but
I become the more perplexed as I read its pages.
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| Our Reply:
Hi Gen 4:11 Now you are under a curse and
driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your
brother's blood from your hand. All the best |
| Their Reply: Hello, Thank you for writing. As to prophecy Iain we must be careful as some terrible blunders were made by prophets. I enclose the following for your interest:: Ezekiel 29:10-11 Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. Never in its long history has Egypt ever been uninhabited for forty years. Regards |
| Our Reply: Hi, Concerning Ezek 29:10-11, the Hebrew prophets of the Bible didn't make 'blunders'. In fact God has said in His word that if someone prophesied something that does not take place then they are a false prophet - so the pass rate for a Biblical prophet is 100%! No pressure then! Ezek 29 is an interesting one as the Bible speaks of desolation for Egypt still to come. There is a useful article on it here: http://www.raptureforums.com/FeaturedCommentary/egypts40yeardesolation.cfm Have you read much to do with the prophecies of Jesus' first coming or His return? Detailed, clear and accurate. I purchased and watched a good DVD on it recently from here: http://www.thedanielprojectmovie.com/ It is really good. Have a look at this site for prophecies of Jesus first coming (given hundred of years in advance) http://www.thedevineevidence.com/prophecy_jesus.html Or read this for prophecies concerning our age: http://www.raptureforums.com/Signs/50reasons.cfm All the best |
| Their Reply: how are you keeping? Well I
I hope. I have just re-read your
reply concerning Ezek 29. You voice the opinion impression that the
desolation of Egypt, is still to come. Iain, it is quite fascinating
that both you and I who read the same biblical passages somehow arrive
at different answers. Now I would be quite willing to concede that the
Egyptian waste and desolation spoken of by Ezekiel, will occur in the
future; providing, of course, that this is what the prophet was
actually saying. But it is not written so. Stop for a moment to
visualise his oratory. To whom was he speaking? Was he speaking to
some idle villagers or to the warlords of Israel? Whoever he was
talking to, can you imagine their response when he says he is not
talking of the present day but of the future, of a time so far away
that they really cannot comprehend its time scale. They would be
puzzled and confused. Their hopes, their intentions were the times
they lived in. What care they if Egypt, was to be destroyed
in two thousand years, or more. No, Iain, the prophecy of Ezekiel 29,
concerning Egypt related to Pharaoh's Egypt, not some future Egypt .
As the following scripture clearly shows. The word of the Lord
came to the prophet saying: " Son, of man set thy face
against Pharaoh, king of Egypt and prophesy against him, and against
all Egypt. ...I am against thee
Pharaoh...I will bring a sword upon thee...and the land of Egypt shall
be laid desolate and waste...and her cities shall be desolate 40
years." Regards |
| Our Reply: Hi have a read of the link I supplied again. It says: "Portions of Ezekiel 29-30 seem to find connections with Nebuchadnezzar's time; however Ezekiel 30:3 alludes to the "day of the Lord," which is commonly associated with the Tribulation period. Additionally, Ezekiel 30:5 speaks of more than Egypt being attacked. It alludes to Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, and Chub. The expanse of Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom seems to not have included all these countries. Therefore, this part of Ezekiel's prophecy seems to connect better with Daniel 11:42-43, which is also often taught to be a Tribulation event. Thus, we have to consider the possibility that Ezekiel 29-30 contain both near (fulfilled during prophets lifetime) and far (to be fulfilled after the prophets lifetime) prophecies. Some events Ezekiel describes clearly found fulfillment during Nebuchadnezzar’s time (near), whereas others seem to be reserved for future fulfillment. " This is quite common. The prophets often gave prophecies that had partial fulfillment in their time but also spoke to a future time. For example, at the Bible study home group that I take, we are currently going through the book and prophecies of Joel. Joel gives prophecies and speaks of events in his own time but seamlessly jumps to the time of the end giving prophecies concerning the 'day of the Lord' (the time leading up to and including the 2nd coming of Jesus) . A related example... When Jesus read from Isaiah 61 in the synagogue as mentioned in Luke 4:18 and said that it was fulfilled today in their hearing, He actually stopped mid-verse and closed the book. Why? Because the part that He read was to do with His first coming (and thus fulfilled when He came) and the second part of the verse (the day of vengeance of our God) relates to His 2nd coming and thus was not read. He knew this and thus stopped mid-verse! Here is what he read from Isaiah (in blue and what he didn't read in black) "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." (Isaiah 61:1-3) All the best |
| Their Reply: Hi I have read the link you
supplied. As to prophecy it is either correct or incorrect. Edgar
Cayce was considered a prophet. He was however a complete failure. He
was as stunned as everybody else when the bombs fell on Pearl Harbour.
If a prophecy is made it must come true in its entirety, it cannot be
partially correct. otherwise its other parts must necessarily be
incorrect or false. And you are left with no more than the result of a
good guess. Jesus prophesied on at lest two occasions that he would
return to earth and be seen by those to whom he spoke. He told his
disciples and a high priest that they would not taste death, until
they had seen the kingdom of God come and the Son of Man coming in the
clouds of heaven. Mark 9:1 & 14:62. Iain, you speak of the day
of vengeance of our God. I have never heard of such a thing? A day of
Vengeance? Please enlighten me. Regards |
| Our Final Reply:
Hi Being an obedient Jew under
the law, Jesus answered: "It is as you said." He then asserted
His Messiahship and deity even more strongly: "Nevertheless, I say
to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right
hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." In essence
He was saying, "I am the Christ, the Son of God, as you have said. My
glory is presently veiled in a human body; I appear to be just another
man. You see Me in the days of My humiliation. But the day is coming
when you Jews will see Me as the glorified One, equal in all respects
with God, sitting at His right hand and coming on the clouds of
heaven." In verse 64 (from Mathew
26) the first you is singular, referring to Caiaphas. The
second you is plural (also the third), referring to the Jews as
representative of those Israelites living at the time of Christ's
glorious appearing, who will clearly see that He is the Son of God. "The assertion is sometimes made," writes
Lenski, "that Jesus never called Himself ‘The Son of God.’ Here (in v.
64) He swears that He is no less." |