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? Is the
Bible supposed to be taken literally, that is, word for word?
? In the book of Genesis,
what do the ‘waters’ refer to in the Creation of the world: “Thus God
made the firmament and divided the waters which
were under the firmament from the waters which were above the
firmament; and it was so” (1:7)?
? When God created the
world, was each day a period of 24 hours?
? Why did people in the
Old Testament practice polygamy (marriage to more than one wife)?
? Is it true that Cain and
Abel married their sisters?
? What is the meaning of
the words in the Psalm, “Be angry and do not sin” (Psalm 4:4) ?
? What is the meaning and
significance of the three books of King Solomon (Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Songs)?
? What is the meaning of
the Bible verse “Do not be overly righteous nor be overly wise: why
should you destroy yourselves?” (Ecclesiastes 7:16)?
? What does the Song of
Solomon symbolise?
? What is the meaning of
the verse, “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines”
(Songs 2:15)?
? Why did Jesus convert
water to wine at the wedding of Cana, if the Bible speaks against
alcohol?
? What does it mean when
Christ says, “To look at a woman lustfully you have already committed
adultery” (Matthew 5:28) ?
? What is the meaning of
‘the world’ in the Bible, because in one place the Lord says, “For God
so loved the world”, and then in another He says, “Do
not love the world” ?
? What is meant by the
Bible verse “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10)?
? What is the meaning of
the number of the beast 666 in the Book of Revelation?
? Where in the Bible does
it say that people who went to heaven are alive? |
? Is the Bible supposed to be
taken literally, that is, word for word?
Yes, it is to be taken literally, but sometimes the Bible means
something spiritually. An example of this is when Jesus said, “If your
eye causes you to sin, pluck it out” (Matthew 18:9), Christ didn't
mean this literally, but meant if something tempts you to sin, turn
away from it.
? In the book of Genesis,
what do the ‘waters’ refer to in the Creation of the world: “Thus God
made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the
firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was
so” (1:7)?
The waters ‘above’ refers to the rain, and the waters ‘below’ refer to
the oceans.
? When God created the world,
was each day a period of 24 hours?
No. Creation occurred before the sun and moon were in existence, and
each day of creation was a long period of time, for example, we are
still living in the seventh day. So do not deal with the days of
creation in 24 hour time.
? Why did people in the Old
Testament practice polygamy (marriage to more than one wife)?
When God created Adam, He created only one Eve. But due to the sin of
the people, the Lord overlooked some of their weaknesses, such as
divorce and polygamy. However, in Christianity, due to the
accomplishment of salvation, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have
returned to the one Adam, and the one Eve.
? Is it true that Cain and
Abel married their sisters?
Yes. During the time of the first generation, marriage amongst
brothers and sisters was permitted for the purpose of procreation. But
gradually, it became forbidden.
? What is the meaning of the
words in the Psalm, “Be angry and do not sin” (Psalm 4:4) ?
It is the emotions which lead to anger, but it is important to have
your anger contained and controlled, so that you do not sin by
insulting or swearing or fighting. It is better to be angry with
yourself than be angry at others. Please practice self control,
through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit.
? What is the meaning and
significance of the three books of King Solomon (Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Songs)?
The three books of King Solomon correspond to the three steps in one’s
spiritual life: Proverbs is the book of ‘wisdom’, Ecclesiastes is the
book of ‘vanity’, and Song of Songs is the book of ‘love’. By ‘wisdom’
we mean the spiritual wisdom from God, not the earthly philosophical
wisdom. After gaining spiritual wisdom and being enlightened by God’s
divine light, you will come to the realisation that this world is
‘vanity’, because all will vanish. And once you will come to the
realisation about the world, you will look towards the Kingdom of
Heaven and the King of Heaven, our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. You will
devote yourself and your time to Him, and thereby you will be united
to Him through love.
? What is the meaning of the
Bible verse “Do not be overly righteous nor be overly wise: why should
you destroy yourselves?” (Ecclesiastes 7:16)?
It means we should be moderate in all things, because if, for example,
you exaggerate in your religious life by increasing the number of
prostrations you do, etc, it can lead to pride, and thereby harm you
instead of doing you good.
? What does the Song of
Solomon symbolise?
This very holy book speaks about the relationship between our beloved
Lord Jesus Christ (the Beloved), and the soul (the Shulamite). It can
also be interpreted as the relationship between the Lord and the
Church. And thirdly, it can relate to St Mary, in parts. It has been
said that if the Old Testament is a holy book, then the Song of Songs
is the holiest of holies. There are some people who consider this book
to be representing the sensual relationship between a man and a woman,
but this book should not be considered this way. We may take it,
however, to also symbolise the spiritual and holy union that occurs
between a man and woman in marriage, for the love that is shared in
marriage is spiritual ‘agape’ love.
? What is the meaning of the
verse, “Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines”
(Songs 2:15)?
These ‘small foxes’ represent the small sins. Sometimes we disregard
small sins as being insignificant, but these small sins are actually
more dangerous than big sins because they will grow. Therefore we must
be alert in order to catch and destroy these small sins before giving
them the chance to grow.
? Why did Jesus convert water
to wine at the wedding of Cana, if the Bible speaks against alcohol?
The wine which the Lord converted from water was not fermented, it was
refreshing grape juice, and for this reason, the master of the house
commented, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and
when men have well drunk, then that which is inferior, but you have
kept the good wine until now” (John 2:10).
? What does it mean when
Christ says, “To look at a woman lustfully you have already committed
adultery” (Matthew 5:28) ?
The point here is that it is wrong to look in order to fulfil some
kind of lust, or feed some sort of lust, because if this is the
intention, you have already committed adultery in your heart, and
eventually you will even commit the sin. But if you are strong, even
if you will look, and feel any desire, you will have self control, and
making the sign of the Cross, you will overcome. It is natural to have
these desires, but through the power and grace of God, you will keep
yourself holy at the same time.
? What is the meaning of ‘the
world’ in the Bible, because in one place the Lord says, “For God so
loved the world”, and then in another He says, “Do not love the world”
?
The word 'world' in the Bible has three interpretations and if we do
not understand each meaning, it can lead to confusion: 1. "For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life"(John
3:16). Here the 'world' means the people - 'whoever'. Therefore, God
loves everybody in the world, and created us in His own image; you
also must love everyone in the world in Christ, in a pure, fruitful,
building way. To deal with the world as people equals love. 2. “Do not
love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15). This verse
relates to the 'things' of the world; 'things' being sins such as
adultery and pride. 3. "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know
that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore
wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God"
(James 4:4). This verse emphasises how much the sin of adultery is
displeasing to God. Both James and 1 John explain how we must hate the
world as sin, but love the world as people. This is because we are
servants of the Lord, and members in the huge body of mankind, and it
is our purpose to witness in front of everybody for the Lord.
? What is meant by the Bible
verse “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10) ?
It means that in times of weakness I am going to ask for the power of
God to help me and strengthen me. We can obtain this power through
reading the Bible, reading spiritual books, receiving the Holy
Communion, praying from the Agbia, and through repeating over and
over, “My Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon me!” This small prayer is
called the ‘arrow prayer’ because it pierces the heavens and reaches
the Lord, and we receive a reply on the spot.
? What is the meaning of the
number of the beast 666 in the Book of Revelation?
It has so many interpretations, but the easiest is that, "it is the
number of man", (Revelation 13:18), because man was created on the
sixth day. Through this God is saying, 'My church do not be afraid
from your enemies, because your enemies are only men'; 666
representing several powers trying to attack the church, which can be
such things as Islam, Communism, and Atheism, but through the power of
the Lord, the church will be victorious and shall overcome at last.
? Where in the Bible does it
say that people who went to heaven are alive?
In the Bible, God said, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the
living”(Matthew 22:32). And as we know, at the time of God saying
these words, these three people were already dead in the flesh, but
alive in the spirit. Also in the Bible, we read the story about
Lazarus and the rich man, whom after they died physically, were
conversing with Abraham, and the rich man even felt concern for the
brothers he left behind on earth. Hence, although dead in body, they
are alive in spirit.
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