The world of the Bible - discover the Scriptures
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- Category: Biblical history
Queen of heaven in the Scripture
Jeremiah 7.18
King James Version "The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger."
New International Version "The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger."
Jeremiah 44.17-19
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Did Eve in the Garden of Eden eat an apple or other fruit
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil grew in the Garden of Eden, it is mentioned in the First Book of Moses in chapters two and three.
2.9 "And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."
2.16-17 "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Read more: What forbidden fruit did Eve and Adam eat - an apple?
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God's will - how to interpret God's response to our request
Do animals pray? They don't. And it's exactly the same zero effect that prayers asking for advice have when we assume in advance that we won't even do God's will when it conflicts with our own.
Many of us, when we have a problem or make an important decision in life, ask God in prayer for an answer on how to proceed. Once we get that answer, what do we mostly do? We don't follow God's will, but man's. If the answer doesn't satisfy us, we recognize that we misinterpreted the situation, that it probably wasn't the answer, and we ask again. We keep asking until we get the answer we expect, that is, the one that suits us. Is this the correct interpretation? Definitely not. Many such cases are also described in Scripture. Here are some of them:
Read more: God's will - how to interpret - a question to God and His answer
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- Category: Creation of the World
Biblical Creation of the World
day four
Genesis 1.14-19
King James Version "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good."
Read more: Creation of the world according to Scripture. Day four
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The prophecy about Zedekiah based on the Books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel
The prophecy about Zedekiah king of Judah in the book of Jeremiah may seem somewhat contradictory to that uttered by the prophet Ezekiel. Let's cite these prophecies.
Jeremiah 32.4-5 "And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper."
Ezekiel 12.12-13 "And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes. My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there."
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- Category: Creation of the World
Biblical Creation of the World
day three
Genesis 1.9-13
King James Version "And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day."
Read more: Creation of the world according to Scripture. Day three
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Biblical Creation of the World
day two
Genesis 1.6-8
King James Version "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And 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. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."
New International Version "And God said, Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water. So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky. And there was evening, and there was morning-the second day."
Read more: Creation of the world according to Scripture. Day two
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Biblical Creation of the World
day one
Genesis 1.1-5
King James Version: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."
New American Bible: "In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters. Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light. God saw that the light was good. God then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. Evening came, and morning followed - the first day."
Read more: Creation of the world according to Scripture. Day one
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How to interpret the words "Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place..."
Jeremiah 7:20 in various translations:
King James Version "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched."
New International Version "Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place-on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land-and it will burn and not be quenched."
Read more: Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place
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Prophecy about Cyrus in the Scriptures
The Book of Isaiah records a prophecy that was announced about 150-200 years before the events. It is contained in the verses:
Isaiah 44.26-28 "That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers: That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid."
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The 2nd commandment vs. the 11th commandment
The second commandment (called the eleventh by many), you will find in Exodus 20.4-6 and Deuteronomy 5.8-10 and it reads:
King James Version
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
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Hezekiah' pride
Isaiah 39: "(1) At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. (2) And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not. (3) Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon. (4) Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.
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Does a person have influence over his life
Many people wonder if they have influence over their lives, since the Bible says that all our deeds have already been written in a book, e.g: Psalm 139.16 "Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them."
So why should we toil and act morally when everything has already been predicted, and our fate is already known anyway? One might say, "what is to be, will be". Nothing could be further from the truth.
Just because God knows our future doesn't mean you know it. So why would Jesus come to earth? Let the fact that the Savior, prayed for us, suffered so that we could be saved, talked to people and tried to guide them to the right path, be eternal proof that we are the ones who influence our lives, otherwise prayers with requests would be foolishness or a waste of time, which is what Jesus taught.
Read more: What is to be will be - do we have an impact on our lives
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Did Jesus Christ have to die
Was the death of Jesus Christ necessary? Couldn't God Almighty have found a better way to save mankind? The answer is obvious and it is: He could not, it was the best possible decision.
Many ask themselves: if God is so powerful and can do everything, why did he choose such a way of salvation, why did he suffer, why were there animal sacrifices. After all, there are no limits before God, because if He wanted to, He could give eternal life to everyone without shedding His own blood.
At the outset of the answer, let's establish one thing: since God chose such and not another way of salvation, it means that this one was the best possible, and if we do not agree with it or do not understand it, then the problem lies in ourselves. A fish in an aquarium knows very little about the world, with our knowledge we surpass it countless times, and the same can be compared between man and God.
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How to interpret the words of Scripture
"Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks"
Psalms 137.8-9 "Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks." - (New International Version)
Psalms 137.8-9 "O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones." - (King James Version)
Psalms 137.8-9 "Daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, Blessed will be one who repays you With the retribution with which you have repaid us. Blessed will be one who seizes and dashes your children against the rock." - (New American Standard Bible)
Read more: Blessed will be one who seizes and dashes your children against the rock
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Stress-free child rearing in Scripture
The children referred to in the article do not refer to toddlers who do not distinguish between right and wrong, but to children and teenagers who are aware that they are doing wrong.
Is stress-free parenting a good thing? What does Scripture say about corporal punishment of children? The answer may seem surprising to some, but the Bible has nothing against the use of corporal punishment for sons. This is evidenced, among other things, by the words:
Proverbs 3.12 "For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."
Proverbs 13.1 "A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke."
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- Category: Creation of the World
God Of Wonders
I invite you to watch a wonderful video, in which you will see how the world around us is built and what miracles are happening on it.
After watching it, you will ask yourself whether it is possible that it all came into existence by itself by chance just as the big bang and evolution theory proclaims.
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What the Bible says about homosexuality
Homosexuality is growing rapidly around the world. More and more countries allow same-sex marriage, as well as the adoption of children by such couples, all supposedly in the name of love and freedom. We forget that the marriage relationship in the Bible was established for people of the opposite sex, and only such are blessed by the Lord. The institution of marriage, which was intended for people of different sexes, has been turned into an unbiblical practice.
What does Scripture say about homosexuality? Does the Bible condemn homosexuality?
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Why are there curses and wishes for evil in the prayers and psalms
interpretation
In Scripture, we repeatedly encounter verses in which the author curses the wicked and prays for their extermination. Among the psalms, Psalm 109 leads the way, in which we read, among other things:
"(6) Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. (7) When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. (8) Let his days be few; and let another take his office. (9) Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. (10) Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. (11) Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.
Read more: Why curses and wishes for evil occur in the Bible
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God's justice based on Psalm 69
Today God is mainly created in two misleading images.
Image 1 - an aged gray-haired grandfather who, in the name of love, will accept anyone into heaven, including even the greatest unrepentant sinner.
Image 2 - a tyrant who observes human suffering and does nothing about it.
Both the first and second views are false.
The correct image - a loving Caregiver who will accept into heaven even the greatest sinner, if he sincerely repents for his sins, opens his heart to God. Caring for us, but not always as we would like.
Read more: Whether God is just. How to understand God's justice.
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God of the Old Testament and his love for people
With sadness I listen to sentences in which so-called believers claim that God in the Old Testament is evil, murders, lacks love and that only Jesus Christ changed the face of God. This is a false view and anyone who believes in it has been deceived by Satan. Most often such statements are made by those who have not read the Old Testament, and how can you make such statements about someone you do not know at all. God gave us the Scriptures so that through them we would know Him better. Before you start vilifying God, read the Old Testament first, and you will see plenty of texts in which God is praised, loved and just, which many forget.
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Love for neighbor based on Psalm 37
Reading Psalm 37 in the Old Testament, we will come across texts that talk about how we should deal with an evil neighbor. The Psalm is very interesting and I encourage you to read it, we will learn there, among other things, about how the evil ones end up, how we should treat them and what awaits us after death.
Already in the first and second verses of Psalm 37 we read: "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb." How hard is it to give way to this doctrine, how many times a month do you give vent to your anger, and over small things?
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Moses' life is an example of humility and modesty
We can divide Moses' life into 3 stages.
Moses in Egypt at Pharaoh's court
Stage 1 (40 years) - birth, growing up, life in Pharaoh's court (pride).
The very birth and his growing up can be called a miracle. While the Egyptians were killing newborn Israelites (which reminds us of the murder of children in and around Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus), Moses not only survived, but was raised by his own mother until he reached adulthood. It is assumed that Moses, while staying with the Egyptians for so many years, sat in the position of commander of the army, but whether we can confirm this or not, it doesn't change the fact that as the son of Pharaoh's daughter he had great privileges. Living almost 40 years in splendor, being so close to power changes a person.
Read more: Three stages of Moses' life, 3x40 years, Egypt, the desert and the Israelites
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Did God order the killing of Isaac
interpretation, commentary
In the Old Testament, more specifically in the First Book of Moses chapter 22 in verses 1 to 18 we read about God putting Abraham to the test:
"(1) And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. (2) And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. (3) And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. (4) Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. (5) And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
