In the first part, we saw that Christ was called a stumbling block and that He indeed offended people, and He was still without fault or sin.

On the other hand, as we will show, the Bible tells us that we are not to cause offense. How is this to be understood in light of the fact that Jesus Himself did offend people?

We read in Luke 17:1-2:

“Then He said to the disciples, ‘It is impossible that no offenses (Greek skandalon, which means stumbling block) should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend (Greek skandalizo, which means, cause to stumble) one of these little ones.”

The following words by Jesus are added in Matthew 18:6-7:

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin (Greek: skandalizo), it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses (Greek: scandalon)! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!”

Continue reading "Would you please explain the concept of not giving offense to others? (Part 2)"

We need to carefully examine this misunderstood question. We will start with statements about Christ and His conduct; show what giving offense really means; and we will examine what Paul wanted to convey when talking about not offending our weak conscience or that of another person.

Let us first notice that Jesus Christ was called a stumbling stone and a rock of offense.

Isaiah 8:14 states this about Christ:

“He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

Romans 9:30-33 adds:

“What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone [Greek: proskommatos]. As it is written: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone [Greek: proskommatos] and rock of offense [Greek: skandalon; literally, stumbling block], And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’”

Continue reading "Would you please explain the concept of not giving offense to others? (Part 1)"

You are referring to 2 Timothy 2:15 which reads: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

In our Q&A “How Does the Church of the Eternal God and its International Affiliates Differ from Other Christian Churches? (Part 1) we state the following:

“In charging Timothy with ‘rightly dividing the word of truth,’ Paul brings out the fact that God’s Word must be read and studied, ‘here a little and there a little’ (Isaiah 28:9-10). All Scriptures to a given concept must be consulted, to avoid reaching a wrong conclusion. The Word of Truth must be taught honestly, while nothing is to be added or deleted. In dividing or ‘cutting straight’ God’s Word, error and false interpretations are being cut off. As Paul admonished Timothy to preach God’s Word ‘in season and out of season’ (compare again 2 Timothy 4:2), and not to be ‘ashamed of the testimony of our Lord’ and the gospel (2 Timothy 1:8), so Paul also did not shun ‘to declare… the whole counsel of God’ (Acts 20:27).”

Continue reading "Could you explain what “Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth” really means?"

The Bible teaches that the first resurrection is a resurrection to eternal, immortal life—to an existence in the spirit realm, when converted men and women become born-again members in the Kingdom and Family of God. We are told that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50), and that in the first resurrection, we will have incorruptible spiritual bodies, when we are “raised in glory” (verses 42-44).

We will be like Christ, bearing His very image (1 Corinthians 15:49), and Christ is the exact image of God the Father (2 Corinthians 4:4). We will be glorified God beings, as the Father and Jesus Christ are glorified. We will in that sense look like Christ.

We can find a description of the resurrected Christ in His glorified state in numerous passages of the Bible, and none of them implies that He has a physical body. For instance, we read in Revelation 1:14-16: “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice the sound of many waters… and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength…” (Compare also Revelation 2:18). A similar description of Christ, as He appeared in glory prior to His temporary existence as a human being, can be found in Ezekiel 1:26-28. This describes also His glorified state today, as the Father glorified Christ in His resurrection with the glory which He had with the Father before the world was (John 17:5).

Continue reading "How will we look like in the First Resurrection?"

When Christ returns to establish the Kingdom of God on this earth, will everyone experience immediately all the millennial blessings as described in the Bible?

Surprising as it may sound, the answer is no. Part of the reason for this answer is that those who have survived the terrible times of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord and who will still be alive, as human beings, when the Millennium begins, will have to be taught God’s Way of Life and they will have to accept it.

Some, if not many, will not follow God’s Way of Life right away, and in refusing to do so, they will have to suffer the consequences.

In addition, the world will be in a devastating condition, with destroyed cities and polluted landscapes, which will have to be restored and purified. All of this will take some time. It has been proposed that it may take up to two or three generations until mankind will experience the full effect of Christ’s rule on earth.

Continue reading "When Will the Millennial Blessings Begin for All People?"

The prophet Jeremiah was told by God, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). We are told here that God the Father and Jesus Christ knew Jeremiah BEFORE he was formed in his mother’s womb, though we are not told how long before his birth God knew him. Several questions need to be answered: HOW LONG before his birth did God know and sanctify Jeremiah, and what is meant with the phrase that God “formed” him in his mother’s womb?

To answer the first question, we say the following in our free booklet, “Are You Predestined to Be Saved?”, when we explain Revelation 17:8, stating, “[Those] who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are NOT written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world”:

Continue reading "Would you please explain Jeremiah 1:5, saying that God knew Jeremiah before He formed him in his mother’s womb?"

Most people have encountered disappointments in their lives at one time or another; quite a few become discouraged; others begin to suffer from a mild or even deep depression; and then there are those who entertain the thoughts of suicide and might even go through with it. Great biblical heroes were not immune from falling into depression and even from entertaining suicidal ideas.

In our recent Q&A, we stated the following:

“What circumstances would give rise to such a thought? Perhaps someone has an incurable disease (by man’s reckoning) and is in such severe pain that it seems to be the only way out of a terrible situation? Or someone doesn’t think him- or herself worthy of God’s calling and cannot reconcile the fact that he or she is a sinner who doesn’t seem to be making any progress in his or her life, perhaps even going backwards? What about someone who experiences demonic activity in his or her life which presses that individual to take such action as a way out of this misery? Drug or alcohol addiction, mental illness, depression, family issues, bullying and marital and financial problems can also be reasons why suicide might seem to be the answer, but it never is…

Continue reading "How to Conquer Disappointments, Discouragement and Depression."

We see many examples in this world of mankind using animals for heinous purposes, be it gambling on cockfighting or dogfighting or the culturally renowned bullfights in Spain.  Some animals are harvested for valuable parts used for show or pagan remedies.  Even in modern medicine, animals are used inhumanely in clinical drug trials.

Man was given dominion over the newly created world by God. “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis 1:28). And God expected man to take care of it, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15 NIV). God even fashioned clothing for Adam and Eve using animals, “Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21)

Continue reading "Is it appropriate for a Christian to kill animals for sport?"

As presented in Exodus 20, verse 15, the commandment stipulates, “‘You shall not steal.’” The meaning of the word “steal” is “to take (the property of another or others) without permission or right, especially secretly or by force” (dictionary.com).

God instructed Moses how stealing should be dealt with among the people of Israel. Even though the detailed penalties of restoration, as described in that law, are no longer in force today, the principles most certainly apply.

“‘If a person sins and commits a trespass against the LORD by lying to his neighbor about what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor, or if he has found what was lost and lies concerning it, and swears falsely–in any one of these things that a man may do in which he sins:  then it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore what he has stolen, or the thing which he has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost thing which he found, or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall restore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering” (Leviticus 6:2-5).

Continue reading "How should we apply the 8th Commandment?"

Surprising as this may sound, the answer is no.

We find the genealogies of Jesus listed in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. But Matthew 1 and Luke 3 describe different lines. Matthew 1 describes Christ’s legal genealogy through Joseph. Luke sets forth Mary’s physical line.

Matthew 1:16 tells us that Matthew’s record covers Christ’s lineage through His stepfather Joseph. It says “Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.”

A correct rendering of Luke 3:23 shows that Luke is setting forth Christ’s blood descent. However, the translation of the New King James Bible is misleading. It gives the impression that Joseph was the father of Heli, and that therefore, Luke is also setting forth Christ’s physical descent of Joseph. This is incorrect, as Joseph was not the SON of Heli, but of Jacob, as Matthew 1:16 points out.

Continue reading "Was Christ a Physical Descendant of Solomon?"