When the finite tries to understand the infinite, there is bound to be difficulty. The Bible is the inerrant Word of God. If we don’t understand a verse or message in the Bible, it does not mean that it is false. Since we are inferior to the creator, God, then his word is true and our understanding is false when we propose a contradiction.
The Bible is not the entire mind of God. All the books in the world cannot hold the essence of the mind of God. God reveals to us the things he wants us to know at this time, and withholds knowledge that is forbidden to us at this time. God has no obligation to explain to us statements made in his Word. Since he is God, we are the creation, then we must believe his statements.
Just as some men believed the world to be flat and found out it was round, so some of the statements in the Bible will make more sense to us in the future. Some men believed the sun circled the earth, but eventually found out the earth circled the sun. Again, the Bible has never been found to be incorrect in any of its statements.
The blinded ones say, “The Bible was written by man, how could it be the Word of God”? God created man in his image and gave him the truths he wanted written for mankind. God sent his Holy Spirit to divinely inspire the very words of the original writings of the 66 books of the Bible. The Holy Spirit of God then divinely led the KJV team to choose the 66 books for the Bible.
There are many prophecies in the Bible and not one prophecy has ever proven to have failed. Many hundreds of prophecies have come true and all will come true before time expires. There were over 100 prophecies written about the promised Messiah, and Jesus fulfilled all 100 of them in his birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and will fulfill many hundreds more prophecies before, during, and after his second coming.
Those who question conflicts with scripture have the idea that this will exempt them from being condemned to the Lake of Fire by God. They are deluded by Satan into thinking God will overlook their rejection of his Son because they did not understand certain parts of the Bible. This is a lie Satan would have them to believe.
God will judge them from the Bible regarding their rejection of his Son. Not one of the questions excuses presented to God will help when God says, “depart from me ye who work iniquity, I never knew you”.
It is ironic that some of these enemies of Christ can be so ignorant in their questions about the Bible. There is not one question that these people ask that has not been asked billions of time throughout history and answered billions of time, yet those asking the questions seem to think they have come up with something that will stump God. We have to shake our head in disbelief at the sheer ignorance of the questions and the person asking the question.
The first item to set straight is that the present version of the KJV in the English translation is not held by scholars of the Bible to be absolutely infallible and inerrant. The doctrine held by fundamental believers is that the original scriptures were absolutely infallible and inerrant.
Of the many copies of the original manuscripts, the study of them has proven that not one important doctrine is under question from the copies of the original manuscripts. All legitimate scholars agree on this issue. Yes, there have been errors found in some of the copies from the original manuscripts, but they have been reconciled and no major problems exist in the KJV Bible that would affect doctrine.
he statement that the Bible is the Word of God does not mean that God spoke every word of it. Most all people are well aware that the Bible contains many stories and histories of various nations, tribes and individuals. The Bible did not try to hide the errors and sins of the many individuals in the Bible.
Men have made improper and untrue statements in the Bible, but God let the writers of these books include them because they show the whole picture of God, Satan, mankind, and the struggles between good and evil. In fact, this causes problems of interpretation from those who do not carefully read the scriptures to see “who is talking”, “who they are addressing”, and “the reason for the statements”. Too many verses are taken out of context and are false when removed from their meaning.
The Bible is also written by men who witnessed events, but did not have the understanding of other eras, and described the events in their limited knowledge of those events. For instance, Elijah was taken into heaven by a whirlwind and a chariot of fire. Was it really a horse drawn chariot of fire, or some other type of machine that was not common to them?
Sometimes the language seems to be a problem. Luke called someone a proconsul. Critics claimed it was impossible for that place and time. The ruler would be a proprietor. The conservative scholars went along with the mistake, but later archaeologist and historians found that the senate had made an exchange with the Emperor; Cyprus had become a senatorial province, and its ruler a proconsul. So, even the conservative scholars and critics were wrong and Luke was right in his writings.
Many times, further research and advanced archaeology has discovered new evidence proving the Bible correct where critics had once claimed it to be in error. Critics claimed Daniel was in error because there was no such person as Belshazzar in the history of Babylon. Later, clay cylinders were discovered at Mugheir and other Chaldean cities with his name on the tablets.
Critics claimed that Moses could not have written the Pentateuch because writing was unknown in his day. Later discoveries proved writing far exceeded Moses time.
Legitimate scientists of today can prove nothing against the order of creation as given in Genesis. Although, I and most fundamental believers claim creation as being six days of 24 hour periods, we do not base our salvation on this perspective. We realize that God has used the word “day” to represent periods of years (1000 for the millennium) and even stated creation took place in a day in Genesis 2:4.
If we (Christians) are wrong, then it would be our misinterpretation of the Genesis story, not God’s Word. The same applies to the critics. If it was created in six days of 24 hours, then the critics have misinterpreted the scriptures. The truth that needs to be realized is that God is the creator of all. Actually, there is no time with God, as he is eternal.
Critics state that light could not have existed prior to the creation of the sun, but scientists claim there was cosmic light prior to the sun. Also, God is light; Christ is the light of life. Once again, the fact is God created all; we only try to interpret the information from Genesis.
There are some theories that the heavens and the earth were created before verse 1 of Genesis, and that the rest of the Genesis creation was a refitting of the earth from one lacking form and void to one refitted for mankind. Again, the main gist of the creation story is that God created all and made the earth habitable for the man he had created. When man stands before God, he cannot question God regarding creation. God will only want to know if he accepted or rejected salvation from his Son.
The age of man from history has not been determined. There are various guesses and some interpolation from Nineveh and Babylon, but these records cannot be trusted as proof. The record counted from lineages in the Bible place us at about 6000 years for mankind. The Bible states neither, but some verses tend to indicate the age of mankind will be 7000 years including the 1000 year reign of Christ when he returns. The critics have no proof, nor do we Christians have absolute proof of the 7000 years. The Bible is still true and nothing in it has been disproved.
If Jesus comes in the very near future, then we can pretty much state the critics were wrong, and our interpretation is correct. If this does not play out in the time period predicted by Christians, then the Bible is not wrong, but those who made these interpretations were wrong. Still, the Bible has never been proven wrong on any of its statements.
The genealogies listed in the Bible do not say these are included in the Bible to determine the length of man’s time on the earth. It is possible that some of the names listed are the most important names and not necessarily the next name in the natural line. It is possible names were skipped for various reasons. The point is that we use the lists to date time, but the Bible does not tell us this is the reason for the lists. The possibility exists that man has been here for 10,000 years instead of 6000 years, but this has nothing to do with God as the creator nor deters from any of the doctrines of the Bible.
WHY WOULD ABRAHAM SLAY HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON?
God did not tell him to slay him, but to offer him as a sacrifice for a burnt offering. Abraham obeyed God by faith and offered Isaac and was willing to slay him because he had faith in God’s promises. Abraham knew God would provide a way of escape, even if he had to raise Isaac back from the dead.
The following scriptures prove this. God had promised Abraham that his covenant would be with Isaac and his seed after him. This meant Isaac would have to live, so Abraham knew God kept his promises. God later reassured Abraham that his seed in the future would be through Isaac.
Finally, Isaac asked Abraham, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering”? Abraham answered that God himself would provide a lamb for the offering and God did just this in his only begotten son, Jesus. This was not the typical sacrifice to idols because Abraham knew Isaac would still live. Abraham had faith in God, his promise, and that Isaac would live.
Genesis 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shall call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant and with his seed after him.
Genesis 21:12 … for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Genesis 22:7-8 7And Isaac spoke unto Abraham his father, and said, my father: and he said, “Here am I, my son”. And he said behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8And Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Genesis 22:11-12 11And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fear God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thy only son from me.
We are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God.
WHY DID GOD HARDEN PHARAOH’S HEART? WAS GOD FOR PHARAOH’S SIN?
God foreknew that Pharaoh’s heart was wicked and evil. God told this to Moses in Exodus 4:21. The first meeting between Moses and Pharaoh regarding this issue is recorded in the scripture below.
Exodus 5:1-2 1Afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, thus says the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. 2Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD that I should obey his voice to let Israel go”? I know not the LORD; neither will I let Israel go.
Pharaoh did not honor God and would not consider God’s request. His heart was already set. When the sun shines on clay, the clay hardens. God knew the plagues would not soften Pharaoh’s heart; he knew in fairness and righteousness, he must give Pharaoh the same chance as other rebellious. God is slow to anger and not willing that any should perish; he will go the full route to give everyone and opportunity to repent.
Pharaoh immediately placed greater burdens on Israel because of their God. In verse 21, it says Pharaoh abhorred their God. In Exodus 7:10 and the following scenes, Moses and Aaron went into the presence of Pharaoh and performed signs as proof they were from God. Pharaoh would not listen, and the Revised Standard Version states “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened” which is correct according to original manuscripts.
In Exodus 7:22, it said Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, not that God had hardened his heart. In Exodus 8:15, it says Pharaoh hardened his own heart. It is a combination of his rebellious attitude and hatred toward God that hardened Pharaoh’s heart. God never quits sending warnings to the wicked. Continuous warnings to the wicked will cause some to repent and escape the Lake of Fire; others will harden their heart even more, thus condemning their own souls.
Pharaoh had the same chance as all others in response to God’s warnings of “repent or perish”. God is righteous. If Pharaoh had repented, God would have welcomed him with the same love that he has for all mankind. God gave his only begotten Son for Pharaoh to have a chance for eternal life in Christ the same as everyone.
THOSE WHO JOURNEYED WITH SAUL TO DAMASCUS CLAIMED THEY HEARD THE VOICE THAT SPOKE TO SAUL. PAUL CLAIMED THEY SAW THE LIGHT BUT DID NOT HEAR JESUS SPEAKING TO HIM.
Acts 9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. Acts 22:9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spoke to me.
This appears to be a contradiction. If you study the original copies of the manuscripts, the words used indicates that Saul was the only one who heard the words spoken to him, but the others heard a sound from heaven.
This could easily be explained by the 2 Corinthians 12:3-4 3And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows 
4How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. This was Saul on the road to Damascus. Since he heard unspeakable words, not lawful for man to utter, it is logical that those who accompanied Saul heard sounds, but did not hear the speech. Paul was probably trying to stress that “he only” heard the unspeakable words.
God commanded Israel to go into certain cities and destroy everything that breathed even to babies and cattle. In other cities that were not peaceable to them, Israel was to destroy the males, but spare the women. In other cities that were peaceable to them, they were to return peace to the people and live in harmony with them.
History has confirmed the wickedness of some of these cities chosen for annihilation. Some cities were so corrupt they were a cancer to the human race and had to be destroyed. God did this in Noah’s day when the world became so sinful that God destroyed it with the flood.
The Bible warns of grievous sins such as homosexuality when he destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. God warned against men practicing sacrifice of children and humans to idols, or being involved with satanic beings (fallen angels). This world is fast approaching the same magnitude of possession by fallen angels under the guise of Eastern mysticism and other cults.
God abhors unrighteousness and will destroy nations and cities infested with unrighteousness. What about the babies and young children and those who did not have an opportunity to choose between good and evil? It may be God’s merciful act to destroy babies and young ones before they became possessed with satanic beings. In God’s wisdom, he may have other plans for these little ones to give them a better chance at salvation. I often wonder if those who died early might be revived to enter the millennium to continue their chance to accept or reject Christ.
CAN ANYONE SEE GOD?
Contradictions appear in the Bible because of our lack of understanding not due to the passages of scripture. If someone asks me if I have seen the back of my head, I could say no and be correct. If I answered yes, I could still be correct. Although, I have not curved my eyes around to the back of my head, I have seen its image in a mirror and images of it on pictures.
In most cases, we misunderstand the contradicting statements or take them out of context. John 1:8 No man has seen God at anytime. Exodus 24:9-10 9Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 10And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
God is a spirit and not a man. God is seen in his creation, felt in his creation, and his actions are observed in creation. God has often been seen as a theophany, but the Bible states that heavens of heavens cannot contain God. He is too vast for man to see. He is beyond our vision and complete understanding. Thus God sometimes appears to man in a vision or view that portrays his glory, yet man still cannot see God in his vastness.
The verse in Exodus above is a typical theophany of God. Both statements are true, but in different understandings. Jesus said that anyone who has seen the Son has seen the Father. This also seems to contradict John 1:8, but it does not. Jesus was God incarnate, but the Son of man (flesh) actually shielded God the Father from mankind in his absolute glory. However, if you know Jesus, you do see God with the spiritual eye. You can understand much about God by knowing his Son.
WHERE DID CAIN GET HIS WIFE?
The most valid assumption is that Cain took his wife and children with him. Cain knew his wife and had a son named Enoch.
HOW CAN A RIGHTEOUS GOD TELL A LYING SPIRIT TO TELL LIES TO SOMEONE?
This is a typical question of one who does not understand the Bible, or God, and tries to find fault with both. The wicked king of Israel, Ahab, wanted the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat to join him to defeat Ramothgilead.
Ahab had 400 false prophets who always gave him the answer he desired. There was a prophet of God in Israel, Micaiah. Jehoshaphat asked Ahab to enquire of his 400 prophets if they would be victorious. Ahab asked his prophets; they agreed he would be victorious. Jehoshaphat did not believe Ahab’s prophets and asked if there was a prophet of Israel available.
Ahab, told him there was Micaiah, but he never agreed with Ahab. Jehoshaphat insisted that Ahab ask Micaiah to enquire of God. Micaiah enquired of God and was sent to tell Ahab they would surely lose the battle. Ahab was mad and told Jehoshaphat that he knew Micaiah would be against him. Ahab’s mind was set regardless of God’s answer.
God already knew his heart.. There was a lying spirit that told God he would go to the 400 false prophets and have them persuade both Ahab and Jehoshaphat to go and they would have victory. God told the lying spirit, go and tell them. Ahab had jailed Micaiah because of his answer.
God knew Ahab’s heart, so he allowed the lying spirit to do its work. God often turns a man over to the Satan when he has crossed the line and set himself against God. God is merely said, “You will not listen to Micaiah, so here is the lying spirit; choose which one you would believe. The onus is always placed on each human to make his choice. A man can believe God or a lying spirit, Satan.
It is the same situation as with Pharaoh. He had hardened his heart, so God kept sending Moses knowing Pharaoh would get madder at God and would harden his heart even more. Once a man passes God’s limitations, God allows him to become more hardened until he destroys himself.
TEACHING REGARDING STRONG DRINK
Proverbs 31:6-7 6Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that is of heavy hearts. 7Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Most realize Jesus taught “it is not what goes into a person that defiles him, it is what comes out of the heart that defiles a man”. It is also assured that Jesus teaches discipline, and man should abstain from anything producing a tendency to lose control over one’s reasoning or moral obligations.
The scorners say the Bible is approving alcoholic beverages for those who are in misery. This is not so. In fact, those who become alcoholics are weak in discipline and use alcohol in an attempt to cope with life. This is not the teaching of this passage.
If one reads verses 1-5, it becomes clear the Bible is telling the king to abstain from strong drink as it clouds his judgment. Then the 6th verse kicks in and says “only” give strong drink to those who are about to die and are in great misery from the pangs of death. His life is over and his pain is great, let him have ease in his suffering and remember no more his poverty and heavy heart. Let him die in peace as much as is possible.
It is the same with those who are dying in hospitals and at home, except we now have better drugs to ease the pain as one perishes.
WAS JESUS OR PAUL CORRECT ABOUT THE TIME OF THE RETURN OF CHRIST?
Matthew 24:32-34 32Learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33Likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 33Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things are fulfilled.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 13I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which asleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15This we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Neither was wrong. It is the same as always, some continue to take verses out of context, leaving off key verses that explain the whole thought. The verse brought into question from Jesus is the 33rd verse of Matthew 24. Jesus did not state the generation standing there with him would live to see “all” these things fulfilled.
If you take the two previous verses, Jesus is talking about future signs as when the end time was near and Jesus would return. He said mankind should look for the budding of the fig tree (Israel once again becoming a nation) and all signs preceding these verses in the same chapter. Then Jesus stated that this generation of Jews (who sees all these signs) will live to see Jesus coming again to fulfill all remaining prophecy. He did not say it would be generation talking with him at that time.
The same principle applies to Paul’s scripture in 1Thessalonians 4:15. Paul did not insist they would be alive when Jesus returned. All verses preceding verse 15 is part of the entire thought. Paul told them not to sorrow for those who are already dead in Christ; they will not miss the Rapture.
When Jesus Raptures all Christians alive at the time he appears, he will bring the souls with him of all who are dead in Christ. Their corruptible bodies will be resurrected to incorruptible bodies and reunited with their souls. The dead in Christ will be raptured prior to living Christians. They should not fret over the dead in Christ. This was the point of the passage.
All had been taught “no one” except the Father knows the exact time of the Rapture. Paul had the same right to expect Jesus to return at any time, the same as everyone. In verses 15-17, Paul merely asserts that we will not prevent the dead from being resurrected. However, any Christian alive will be resurrected immediately after the dead have been resurrected.
His last words in verse 18 were to comfort one another with these words. These passages do not state Jesus had to come in the same generation as the apostles, nor the same generation as the Jews at the time of Paul.
THE BIBLE IS FULL OF OBSCENE PASSAGES?
Yes, it is true that the Bible includes some obscene acts of sex and violence, but the acts and violence are not used to praise sin, but to show the readers the awfulness of sin. It is a credit of the Bible that it has exposed theses sins as examples to avoid them.
DID JESUS PREACH TO THE SPIRITS IN PRISON?
1 Peter 3:18-20 18Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
Nothing indicates a second chance for the wicked from the days of Noah, before Noah, or since Noah up to the time of Christ’s death. It states Jesus preached to those in the spiritual prisons. We are not told the reason for this preaching; we can only speculate using other scriptures.
All believers in God by faith, prior to the atonement of Christ were under bondage to the Adamic sin. It seems improbable these dead in Christ could have entered heaven until the sin debt was paid.
The thief on the cross would go to Paradise as soon as he died. He died before Jesus; he went to Paradise under bondage to Satan, until Jesus died to release him from bondage.
All who died without faith in God were in hell awaiting resurrection and judgment. So, hell and Paradise were both under bondage until the atonement of Jesus on the cross cancelled this bondage. As Israel was under bondage to Egypt, so was all of mankind under bondage to Satan until the debt was paid.
Preaching is also a declaration of facts. Jesus could have gone to the prisons where the just and unjust were held in bondage. Jesus probably declared he had paid the penalty and all who had previously believed in him by faith were free to leave. They would ascend with him into heaven after 40 days.
His declaration to the unjust was probably their condemnation and their awaiting judgment. There is no second chance for salvation. We have one life, and after that the judgment. Jesus now held all power, and the keys to heaven and hell.
Other verses, such as those below, indicate those who lived by faith in God were released from prison. Graves were opened and many resurrected saints went into Jerusalem and were seen by many. Jesus took (captured) the righteous from Satan’s bondage and took them to heaven with him. The Ephesians’ verse indicated these who were released (captured from captivity) ascended with Jesus into heaven.
Matthew 27:52-53 52The graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Ephesians 4:8 When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive.
There was no record of any wicked resurrected or conversions. It appears Jesus preached condemnation of the wicker and freedom of the righteous.
SALMS OFTEN CONTAINS CURSES AGAINST INDIVIDUALS.
This is true, but once again, the Bible is merely recording an individual’s anger and thoughts regarding an incident. One Psalm utters a statement against the wicked rulers of Babylon who destroyed Jerusalem. It says, “Happy shall he be, that takes and dashes thy little ones against the stones”.
If someone came into your home and killed your wife and children, you would probably say the same thing in anger and anguish. The Bible mere records a statement by an ordinary person such as ourselves and gives a balanced view that those involved were frail humans.
HOW COULD JESUS COMMEND THE ACT OF AN UNRIGHTEOUS STEWARD?
Read Luke 16:1-14. The three points in protest are: (1) Jesus upholding this dishonest person for our imitation; (2) Jesus commending an unrighteous steward; and (3) Jesus telling his disciples to make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness.
Jesus did not hold the dishonest person up for imitation. He used the story as a warning to unfaithful stewards that they would have to give an account to their master. He said the children of this world are wiser in worldly things than children of light (believers). This makes sense; believers are wiser about God and spiritual things.
Jesus is tells a story about a master (lord), his servants, and what the worldly master would say to his steward. This was not Jesus speaking to a servant from his righteous position. It was the lord of the steward speaking to his servant. Yes, Jesus uses the story for truth, but not as the master of this steward. It is the man’s lord (not a capital “L” in lord) speaking to his steward.
The master of the steward commended him, not for his unfaithfulness, but for his cleverness. Both were worldly people and the story is about unfaithfulness as a steward. He would probably still fire him from his job, as his master called him an unjust steward.
Money is called mammon in the Bible. Mammon of unrighteousness means money. The verse, “Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations”, needs careful reading. Jesus is telling his disciples to use the unrighteous mammon (money) in their possession to help others in need and to help their brethren. Be generous with your assets to help others.
If you read the verses immediately following the one above, it becomes clear, Jesus tells the disciples to be faithful with their money for Christ and his people. Being faithful with their money, they do several good things. Help the needy, spread the gospel, if they are faithful in a few things God will make them ruler over many things, and if they should fail and become needy, those to whom they have given will be glad to help them.
God did not tell them to be friends with the rich, nor covet money for their own lust.
DID THE SUN STAND STILL AS COMMANDED BY JOSHUA?
In Joshua 10:12-14, Joshua prayed to God for the sun to stand still while the Israelites defeated their enemies. Critics claim this is impossible; the universe would come apart or collapse if this happened. However, God controls all motions of all the universe and can easily make the sun stand still in its place, that is the earth would stop rotating or tilt on its axis.
Even though the scientists claim this could not happen, nothing is impossible with God, the creator; the one who controls the earth and sun. Another interesting tidbit is that the sun remains visible all 24 hours on certain days at the North Pole. God could have easily rotated the earth on its axis for that region of the world to have the sun visible for 24 hours.
The original manuscripts states the sun tarried all day long, and not that the sun nor earth stood still, even though it is possible with God. Since we do not know the method God used to keep sunlight visible for Joshua the entire day, we have no right to say it could not have happened. There may be other explanations for the sun to have been visible the entire day.
One thing we can believe from the incident is that God honored the prayer of his servant and provided the sunlight for Israel to defeat their enemy.
DOES GOD CHANGE HIS MIND?
Malachi 3:6 I am the Lord, I change not. James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 1 Samuel 15:29 The strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: he is not a man that he should repent. Hebrew 13:8 He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Jonah 3:10 God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. Genesis 6:6 It repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
The Scoffers say the two sets of scripture contradict each other. Both sets of scripture are correct, but do not contradict each other.
God has made it clear; his punishment, wrath, and treatment of individuals or groups of people depend on their conduct. God’s message to all is “if” you abide in my word, I will bless you. If you choose wickedness, my wrath is on you. Israel found this out many times. They were blessed by keeping God’s Word and were punished by rebelling.
The people of Nineveh repented of their ways when Jonah preached to them. When they repented, God withdrew his intended wrath against them. This was not God changing his ways or his character. It his standard procedure; God remained steadfast in his Word and character. Had they not repented, God’s wrath would have been executed against them.
The same is true of the flood. God is righteous, hates unrighteousness, and will not allow it to continually abide. God is longsuffering and not willing that any should perish. It grieved God when man rejected him and chose the flood.
God had no choice. His righteousness demanded he destroy the wicked of the world, but it grieved him that he had to send the flood. He had Noah preach to the people for 120 years warning them of the flood, but they would not listen. Had some repented and the wickedness waned, the flood would have been stayed.
This word repent means the same as the other word grieved. God created man to be loved by him and for man to love him by choice. It hurt (grieved/repented) God to know he had to destroy his creation. The word repented as used here is better suited to the word lamented.
WHO LED DAVID TO NUMBER ISRAEL?
2 Samuel 24:1 Again, the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, go, number Israel and Judah. 1 Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
These two verses are used as contradictions by those who do not understand God, or his Word. God takes Satan and men’s intended evils and uses them for his purpose. God often produces goodness from evil. It taught David humility and reliance on God instead of making decisions due to his anger.
The verse from Chronicles uses “Satan”. The verse from 2 Samuel uses “he”. The word “he” could have been Satan. The translator’s thoughts may have been: because God’s anger was kindled against Israel he allowed Satan to move David to this deed. Instead of using the word Satan, the translator may have used “he” and did not think of it referring back to “Lord” in the first part of the sentence.
Even if the “he” was intended to be refer back to “Lord”, it still poses no problem as God often removes protection from the disobedient and allows Satan to embarrass them. The point of the story was that David was told by God not to number Israel. So, God allowed Satan to have his way in the flesh against David to teach David a lesson to obey God.
WAS JESUS IN THE HEART OF THE EARTH FOR TRHEE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS?
Matthew 12:40 As Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (There are several explanations which could be true. The problem is not the Bible, but wrong assumptions made by men. This is always the problem.)
Tradition says Jesus was crucified on Friday between 3PM and sundown, and was raised from the dead very early on the morning of Sunday. Some commentaries say a day and a night was considered a day. The ancient Jews considered a fraction of a day as a full day. This means Friday was a day and night; Saturday was a second day and night, and Sunday was part of a day and a part of a night. Even though this satisfies the ancient Jewish consideration, it does not satisfy many people.
However, the Bible never says that Jesus was crucified on Friday. It states Jesus was crucified on the “day before the Sabbath”. The Jews had Sabbaths other than Saturday. The first day of the “Passover Week”, regardless of the day it fell, was always a Sabbath day. It could have been any day of the week.
The Passover Sabbath always falls on the 15th day of Nisan, which came that year on Thursday. John 19:14 said the day Jesus was tried was the “Preparation of the Passover”. This could mean Jesus was tried on Thursday (Preparation of the Passover) and crucified on the Nisan Sabbath day which would have been Wednesday.
The book of John seems to correct wrong impressions by some from reading the other gospels. John makes it clear; Jesus ate the Passover Supper with his apostles on the night before the 14th day of Nisan. John shows Jesus died on the cross at the very time of the 14th of Nisan (Thursday) when the sacrificial Passover lambs were being slain.
There are many more examples in John and prophecies that ties the crucifixion down to Wednesday instead of Friday. The crucifixion took place at sundown on Wednesday, but it was considered the beginning of Thursday. At any rate, the body was eventually taken down from the cross. Joseph of Arimathaea then begged the body from Pilate, was granted his body, and it was finally buried in the tomb. The actual burial was sometime on Thursday which means Jesus was in the grave for 3 days and 3 nights.
MANY SAY IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR A WHALE TO SWALLOW A MAN DUE TO THE SIZE OF ITS THROAT.
Since God created whales and man, it is a simple matter for God to allow a whale to swallow a man. In fact, the old axiom is true; Jonah could have swallowed the whale if God declared it to be so.
Even though the word “whale” is used in the account in Matthew, the original word in the Greek is actually a sea-monster. Jonah 1:17 calls it a great fish. We are unsure if it was a whale, but it could have been. We know it was a huge fish of some kind. There is a recorded incidence of a man being swallowed in the Mediterranean Sea by a huge sea-monster. It was killed and the man taken alive out of its stomach.
Another recorded incident told of a whole horse being taken from the belly of another. Cachalots, Sperm whales, have been cut open and huge objects taken from their stomach. One object was about 8’x6’x6’ which is definitely bigger than a man. The story was told in Jonah, and Jesus confirmed it in Matthew, so we know it is true. Even the acids in the stomach are not a problem with God; he can control the actions in a whale or fish.
CONFLICT BETWEEN MATTHEW & ZECHARIAH REGARDING JUDAS & THE 30 PIECES OF SILVER
Matthew 27:9-10 9Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, and they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; 10and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.
Zechariah 11:11-13 11And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12I said unto them, if ye think well, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 13The LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised (appraised/valued) at of them. I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
Doubters state an error in the Bible due to Matthew using Jeremy the prophet, and the Book of Zechariah showing the prophecy attributed to Zechariah. In the many manuscripts that were found of Matthew, “Jeremy the prophet” was noted in some and omitted from some copies. All the manuscripts were hand copied, so there seemed to be a question when some copies were made.
Some scribes may have known the prophecy was from Zechariah and omitted Jeremiah from Matthew. However, it is just as reasonable that some of those who made copies knew that Jeremy the prophet had made the same statement. So the original manuscript writer of Matthew had probably read or heard of Jeremy the prophet stating this prophecy.
It is not a contradiction, but can easily be explained under several views which may all be true. It was shown as a prophecy by the Zechariah and came to pass through Judas. The bottom line is that although Zechariah has it recorded, Jeremy the prophet could have made this same prophecy. Since both are prophets, the spirit of God could have just as easily had both prophets make the same statement.
If Jeremiah was a prophet prior to Zechariah, then it is also possible that Jeremiah had made this prophecy, but not written it down. Zechariah could either have heard that Jeremiah had made this prophecy and wrote it down, or God had revealed it to both of them, and Zechariah wrote it down. The contradiction is from the reader who does not know “the rest of the story”.
CONTRADICTING GENEALOGIES OF JESUS
There is no contradiction. The genealogy in Matthew is of Joseph, the legal father of Jesus by law, and Joseph is the husband of Mary. The genealogy in Luke is of Mary the mother of Jesus.
The gospel of Matthew was basically written for the Jews. Joseph is prominent in Matthew and Mary is scarcely mentioned. In Luke, Mary is the chief personage and Joseph is brought in only incidentally because he was the husband of Mary.
In Matthew, Jesus is presented as the Messiah, and in Luke, he is presented as the Son of man, our brother and redeemer. Matthew gives the royal line from David to Joseph. In Luke it is from Jesus all the way to Adam showing that Jesus is also from the lineage of man. David is shown in the lineage through Nathan, David’s son, so as not to show it as the royal line but the human line.
The prophecy was that the Messiah was to be the son of David according to the flesh. Joseph, who was of the royal line, was not shown as his father because God was the Father of Jesus. So, there is no contradiction. Jesus is both fully God and fully man.
WHY DID THE FOUR GOSPELS GIVE A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT OF THE RESURRECTION?
Two gospels say the women saw two angels at the grave site, and the other two gospels say they saw one. Matthew said they saw an angel; and Mark presumably saw one angel. This does not rule out the possibility of being two angels present. It is possible they saw both angels, but the writer was only interested in showing an angel had spoken to them.
None of the four gospels states there was “only” one angel. Luke said they saw two men in dazzling apparel when they entered the sepulcher. Matthew referred to an angel outside of the sepulcher. Mark’s gospel indicates there was a young man (probably an angel) sitting on the right side of the sepulcher. It is entirely possible this latter angel was joined by the other standing outside and maybe the two who were standing beside the women on the inside of the sepulcher.
The account in John said there were two angels in white sitting at the head and feet where the body of Jesus had lain. This is easily accounted for by the different people present at different times. The first viewings by the group of women were not the same viewing of these two angels. This incident was the appearance of Mary Magdalene unaccompanied by anyone else. She was the first one to the tomb and had left before the other women arrived at the tomb.
This is actually a miracle that God would have four different writers record the same incident and give basically the same information. It also proves there was no collusion between the different writers. If there was collusion, the writers would have cleared up anything that appeared to be a discrepancy.
The main thing most unbelievers miss in this passage is Jesus did not have to have the angels present to roll back the stone so he could exit the tomb. A little later he entered a room without coming in the door where the apostles were meeting. He could have walked through the rock covering the tomb. The angels were present to show the visitors to the tomb that Jesus had risen from the dead. Their purpose was as a witness to confirm that Jesus had risen.
GOD CALLS DAVID A MAN AFTER HIS OWN HEART, YET DAVID COMMITTED ADULTERY WITH BATHSHEBA AND MURDERED HER HUSBAND TO HAVE HER AS HIS WIFE.
It is to the credit of the Bible that it does not withhold evil acts of man in the stories allowed to enter the Bible. The stories were told intact allowing mankind to see the pitfalls of disobeying God. It also reveals that God is forgiving when man (David) repents of his sins and turns to God.
The Bible told of David’s repentance for his deeds. The Bible reveals the bad results of David’s wrongdoings. His Son died an early death, and other members of his household suffered violence due to David’s evil deeds. These acts of violence brought anguish and suffering to David because he knew it was his fault. God spared nothing in bringing to light the Biblical statement, “God is not mocked, whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap”.
Even though David murdered Uriah, he was never in danger of losing his status as a child of God, because he accepted God by faith, and the Spirit of God was upon David.
DID STEPHEN MAKE A MISTAKE ABOUT THE SEPULCHER OF ABRAHAM?
Acts 7:16 And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulcher that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem. Genesis 23:17 17The field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure. Genesis 33:19 He bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor (Emmor), Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.
Genesis 23 does not say that Abraham bought a sepulcher from Ephron the Hittite; it says a “field” and a “cave”, and Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave. The scriptures do not say Jacob was buried in the grave site bought from Ephron. It is almost a certainty that Abraham owned more than one burial grounds or burial sites for all of his people.
Most likely both scriptures are correct and record the purchase of two different burial sites, the one where Sarah was buried and the one where Jacob and his family were buried. Doubters of the Bible try to find any possible conflict or contradiction to discredit the Bible. None have yet to succeed.
The burial site in Genesis 33 bought by Jacob does not present a problem. This was probably another plot bought from the same children of Emmor from whom Abraham bought his burial plot. You can almost hear the words from Abraham to Jacob, go to the sons of Emmor and purchase your burial plots, he has sold me some in the past.
To completely annul any attack by the scorners, it really makes little difference if there had been a mistake. Stephen was not an apostle; he had nothing to do with writing the scriptures. The writer of Acts merely recorded the words of Stephen as he spoke on this day. If he were to have made a mistake, it was Stephen’s mistake and not the mistake of the writer who was under divine anointing by God to write the book of Acts.
WHY DID SCRIPTURE DEFEND THE MURDER OF SISERA BY JAEL?
The Bible neither defended nor glorified the action of Jael. The Bible simply recorded the event. It was prophesied that it would happen, and some of the people associated with the event praised Jael for the murder, but the Bible did not say it approved or disapproved of the murder.
HOW CAN WE JUSTIFY JEPHTHAH’S BURNING OF HIS DAUGHTER?
The Bible made no excuse for Jephthah. We do not know for certain that Jephthah kept his vow and sacrificed his daughter. There has been some speculation from history that Jephthah devoted his daughter to a life of perpetual virginity. However, assuming he did carry out his vows and offered her as a burnt offering, it was not God’s fault, but Jephthah’s own foolish vow and actions.
WHY DOES MATTHEW, MARK. LUKE, AND JOHN SHOW DIFFERENT WORDINGS FOR THE INSCRIPTION ON THE CROSS OF JESUS?
John 19:20 states the inscription was written in the Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. It is then sensible that the inscription would be worded differently by Matthew (Hebrew), Mark (Latin), Luke (Greek), and John (Roman form). It all says basically the same thing in all four gospels. It is pathetic that Satan could get his people to make such a fuss over such a small item as this. This example shows how far an unbeliever will go to try and discredit the Bible.
Father Time
