The question of abortion has been debated long and hard over many years with many different and varied outcomes.   We will cover this subject from a biblical standpoint but to start with we will look at the current situation around the world.

Some have put forward the idea of no abortion at all, under any circumstances,  while others have suggested that it be allowed up to a certain time.

On the BBC website under “ethics,” the following information is available:

“At various times some of the following have been allowed in some societies:

• abortion for the sake of the mother’s health including her mental health and where a pregnancy is the result of a crime such as rape, incest, or child abuse
• abortion where the child of the pregnancy would have an ‘unacceptable’ quality of life such as cases where the child would have serious physical handicaps, serious genetic problems or serious mental defects

Continue reading "The Abortion Question Today (Part 1)"

The second commandment describes a prohibition against idolatry. In Exodus 20:4-5, God presents the instruction to Moses, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.’”

Since God presented this commandment in an explicit way following the Exodus of Israel out of Egypt, does it mean that it began to take effect at that moment? Or was the commandment in effect before that time? The answer to the question of its existence prior to the proclamation of the Ten Commandments is clearly affirmative, as shown by the evidence in the Bible.

Continue reading "Is there evidence that the commandment against idolatry was in effect before the Ten Commandments?"

For a long time, the expression that Jesus used about Himself, the “Son of Man,” has been debated back and forth.

Wikipedia has this to say about this term: “Son of man is an expression in the sayings of Jesus in Christian writings, including the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation. The meaning of the expression is controversial.  Interpretation of the use of ‘the Son of man’ in the New Testament has remained challenging and after 150 years of debate no consensus on the issue has emerged among scholars.

“The expression ‘the Son of man’ occurs 81 times in the Greek text of the four Canonical gospels, and is used only in the sayings of Jesus.  The singular Hebrew expression ‘son of man’ (ben-‘adam) also appears in the Hebrew Bible over a hundred times.”

Continue reading "Why did Jesus call Himself “The Son of Man”?"

The answer is a resounding, emphatic and unequivocal “Yes!” We will show from the Bible that GOD is confident—convinced—that those whom He calls to eternal salvation in this day and age WILL succeed.

Paul expresses his and God’s thinking in this regard in Philippians 1:3-6, as follows:

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…”

The Amplified Bible says: “… And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ… developing… and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”

Continue reading "Can we be confident that we will make it into the Kingdom of God?"

Ezekiel 28:14, 16 states:

“You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones… And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.”

Many commentaries completely misunderstand this entire passage and wrongfully assume that a human king is being addressed here. Based on this false assumption, their interpretation of the fiery stones is equally wrong.

We explain the events described, beginning in Ezekiel 28:11 about the “king of Tyre,” in our free booklet, Angels, Demons and the Spirit World, in Part 2 and the sub-chapter on “Lucifer and Satan,” showing that the Bible addresses here Satan, not a human being:

Continue reading "What are the fiery stones mentioned in Ezekiel 28:14, 16?"

First of all, let us get our bearings as to what we should be doing today as baptised members of the true Church of God and begotten members of the God Family.

In Matthew 20:20-21, the mother of James and John was asking for top positions for her two sons, and this upset the rest of the disciples, because they were probably desirous of those top positions themselves.  Instead, they should have been looking at what they could do, not what position they would like to have had.  In verses 25-28 we read: “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’”

Continue reading "How will we be able to train and lead unconverted people in the Millennium?"

God reveals through His written Word, the Bible, that He “…desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Furthermore, God backs up His desire in that He has established a way for all of mankind to be offered the opportunity for salvation. Jesus explained how this would be possible:

“‘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).

On the Day of Pentecost, following the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Apostle Peter spoke to those assembled, saying:

“‘…Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call’” (Acts 2:38-39).

Continue reading "How are we saved by Christ’s life?"

It is an interesting phenomenon which has been observed over the years, that many of those who have been considered Church members leave the Church of God in a rather sudden manner, and that they immediately turn to the wrong things and behavior patterns which they rejected, while “in” the Church. This abrupt rejection of the Truth can be stunning and confusing if we don’t understand why this is happening.

There are certainly numerous reasons which we could address. In this Q&A, we want to focus on the more obvious ones. But first, we want to show from the Bible that such conduct is indeed prophesied. It happened already in the days of the apostle Paul and before, and it has continued to happen ever since, while it will be finding its climax in the days just ahead of us.

Continue reading "Why do Church members leave the Truth so quickly?"

In Exodus 20:1-17 God spoke the Ten Commandments, and the 5th Commandment reads as follows: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your (your)  God is giving you.” This is repeated in Deuteronomy 5:16.

The Church of God has long taught that the first four Commandments show us that we must love God first and foremost, followed by the love that we must have for other people which is defined in the last six Commandments. We further read in Ephesians 6:1-3: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with promise: ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’”

By so doing this sets a pattern for life which can only be of great benefit to the growing child.

Continue reading "The 5th Commandment – and why is it the first Commandment with promise?"

In the book of James, chapter 1 and verses 2-3, we read: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

In Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible we read that to count it all joy is to “regard it as a thing to rejoice in; a matter which should afford you happiness. You are not to consider it as a punishment, a curse, or a calamity, but as a fit subject of felicitation (an expression of such joy or acknowledgment).”

Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible observes: “Count it all joy … Did not Christ say, ‘Blessed are ye when men shall persecute you … rejoice and be exceeding glad’? (Matthew 5:11,12). This is exactly the thought of James here.”

Continue reading "How can we count it all joy when we go through various trials?"