On page 359 of your Heaven book, you mention speaking with the saints of old: “I would like to ask Elijah about being taken away in the chariot.” Elijah and Elisha were separated by a chariot of fire, but both NIV and KJV say in II Kings 2:11 that Elijah “went up to Heaven in a whirlwind.”
I read the other day about the disciples being possibly called at different times throughout Jesus' ministry to follow him, but they did not begin to follow him full-time until the last year and a half. I know some had families and jobs. Can you elaborate on the calling of the twelve? Was it a one time, drop everything and follow me call? Or did they hear about Jesus, come to know Jesus, followed off/on until later in his ministry.
I’m sure this passage in Genesis could have been further clarified, but perhaps it doesn’t need to be. God must have created out of nothing because there was nothing before he created (otherwise he would not be God).
Romans 8:8 “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
If this verse were all we had to take into account you could make a convincing argument that “those who are controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God” means that all the unregenerate are always controlled by the sinful nature, and therefore an unbeliever can NEVER do anything God is happy about.
But because Acts 10 and Romans 2:12-16 seem to say unbelievers can make right choices, and even that those right choices, in Cornelius’s case (Acts 10:1-4), can please God, this means Romans 8:8 and similar passages are not all we have.
Can a Christian be demon possessed? I have a friend who is convinced that demons are hanging out in her house and taunting her. She seems drawn to the mystical and occult much more than to Christ. I want to show her that, if she's truly in Christ (which she may not be), that she has nothing to fear. B. T.
This question arises, perhaps, from the different uses of the word “reincarnation”. Literally, reincarnation means “to become flesh again”.
You are correct to observe that often the imagery of being in or outside of a city wall means the difference between being in relationship or not. In the Gospels, study out "cast into outer darkness" and what that means, in regard to the walls and gates of a walled city. And look just how big the walls of this city are! The city is secure from the evil ones.
In verse 9 it says God "exalted and gave" a name. The Greek tense is what is called an aorist, in the indicative mood, "past time, in a point of time". So this verse says God has already given and exalted with the name.
In verse 10 it says, God gave and exalted this name, "for the purpose of/for the result that" every knee should bow. The verb "should bow" does not have any time element (it’s in what is called the Subjunctive mood). The action is one of a summary. Has the purpose been yet fulfilled for ...
Question from a reader:
What book would you recommend on authorial intent? And have you heard of The Ungospel? One of my professors at my Christian college recommended it.
Question from a reader:
On page 341 of If God Is Good (regarding Galatians 6:7) you say: “A man reaps what he sows. What goes around comes around means the same thing.” But I think verse 7 is often lifted out of context and applied to reaping in this life. But verse 8 shows that Paul is not saying “What goes around comes around”, but is referring to the eternal harvest we reap: “He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the spirit shall reap life ever-lasting.”
I believe “what goes around comes around” refers to things in this life, but this passage speaks of the eternal harvest we reap.
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