BIBLICAL MISTEAKS
by John T. Webb
-- Some of what you THINK you know is probably wrong!
Some common misconceptions ABOUT the Bible,
not mistakes IN the Bible.
(though there are plenty of those, too.)
WHAT IS THERE.
It should be obvious that God's Holy Days are not JUST for the Jews.
The time of Jesus' birth! See THIS. (NOT December 25!)
Paul continues to observe God's Holy Days (including the Sabbath) 25 years after Jesus had ascended. (Acts 18, 20) (i.e.: They were not done away with.)
WHAT IS NOT THERE.
Jesus was born in a manger. (Read Luke 2:7 again.)
Immortal soul. - - (Find it if you can.)
"The soul in biblical thought is not immortal except when new life is conferred upon it through Christ. Hell is therefore the place of its destruction as Gehenna, the valley of Hinnom, was of the rubbish of Jerusalem." (The New Bible Commentary: Revised, 1984, Guideposts, pg. 829 on Matt. 10:28.)
Angels singing. - - (ditto) (Luke 2:13)
(Rev. 14:2-3 mentions harpers singing before the throne, but the word "angel" means "messenger," and obviously, harpers are not messengers.)
The Sabbath was changed to Sunday. (Who did it?) (Who did it first?)
Saul's name was changed to Paul. (Acts 13:9)
("also called" does not mean "changed to")
Paul "converted" to "Christianity."
Even near the end of his ministry, Paul said, "I AM (not "WAS") a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee." (Acts 23:6) He also did not renounce the validity of the "law" still being in effect. Acts 24:14)
The word "rapture."
BUT, "caught up" in 1 Thes. 4:17 is, and "This is the basis for the New Testament doctrine of the rapture - the catching away of believers to be with Jesus; the word rapture is not in the Greek text, but comes from the Latin Vulgate, which translates the phrase caught up with rapturus." (From David Guzik Study Guide for 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4, from The Blue Letter Bible.
As for there being a "pre-tribulation" "rapture," a close reading of the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matt. 13:24 explains WHO goes first and WHEN.
"Trinitarianism." I really don't want to start a big to-do here, but for those who believe the strict trinitarian stance, including the ETERNAL and EQUAL existence of three persons of the godhead, first look at Rev. 22 and try to find the throne is for the Holy Spirit!
And BTW, the Holy Spirit is NOT EVEN MENTIONED in the Book of the Revelation! So where is that "coequality" and "coeternity"?
Also, the term "godhead" conjures up visions of the "trinity" for trinitarians. But modern translations render the term as "divinity" or "divine nature." The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "divine" as: "of, relating to, or proceding directly from God." Therefore, being the SON of God, Jesus is "divine," but NOT God.
YOU DECIDE:
Six days equals sixteen billion years. (Hint) (It's a lo-o-o-ong hint, but it will certainly give you something to think about.) A feasible explanation by an astrophysicist.
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6/22/13
Last update 16 May 2020