More Gap Theory Questions Biblical Qs and As

Reblogged from   https://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher        

Sunday, October 4th, 2015

• Creation

Q. Question about the gap theory? Exodus 20:11 states that heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them was created in six days. Wouldn’t this include the angels and Satan? The Garden of Eden?

Wasn’t Satan in the garden of eden at some point in the creation drama? How could he have fallen and been judged and still be the anointed cherub and present in the garden of Eden before his fall.

God said that his creation was GOOD. It was good with a fallen and judged angel hanging around?? That doesn’t make sense to me.

I just recently found your site and have enjoyed your Revelation studies. I just can’t go along with the gap theory though. Why is it needed? It provides nothing and calls God’s word into question.

A. In Exodus 20:11 the Hebrew word for heaven is in the dual form, indicating that it refers to two heavens. They are the Earth’s immediate atmosphere and the vast reaches of space. The place of God’s throne, where the angelic host dwells, is called the third heaven in 2 Cor. 12:2 and is not included in Exodus 20. The creation account of Genesis 1 uses the same word, indicating that it wasn’t talking about the 3rd Heaven either.

The Garden of Eden was located on Earth and Satan was there. But the gap theory postulates that he was there after his judgment, after (according to Isaiah 14:12) he had been cast to Earth. Ezekiel placed this fact early in his narrative of chapter 28 to show that he’s not talking about the Earthly King of Tyre, but about Satan, the power behind him.
On the 2nd day of Creation, God did not pronounce His work good. This was the day on which He divided the first heaven, the Earth’s atmosphere, from the 2nd one, that we call space. In Ephesians 2:2 Paul called Satan the ruler of the Kingdom of the Air, leading many to believe that Satan and his forces immediately inhabited Earth’s atmosphere as it was being formed.

I like the parts of the Gap Theory that help to explain passages like Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 where Satan’s fall is described, Job 38:1-7 describing the angels singing as the Lord began the six days of creation, and Isaiah 45:18 where in effect God says he did not create the earth formless, as the English in Genesis 1:2 says, but ready for habitation. In fact it makes all of Genesis 1:2 clearer for me. So rather than adding nothing to or disputing God’s word it helps me to tie it all together.
But as I’ve said before the Gap Theory, as it’s used today, is much different than when it was first proposed. I do not agree with using it to explain fossils as evidence of a pre-Adamite race of humans and animals, including dinosaurs. Neither did its original proponents.

Unforgiveness And Hell

Reblogged from gracethrufaith.com

Friday, October 2nd, 2015

• Creation
• Faith
• Forgiveness
• Grace
• Salvation

Q. I have a question regarding unforgiveness and hell. I recently saw a program where they claimed that true believers could go to hell if they harbored unforgiveness in their hearts towards anyone, even if they’re an unbeliever or a stranger.

They used Matthew 5:21-22 and Matthew 6:14-15 as their basis, and said that if you are a Christian there can be no darkness in you and that you shouldn’t believe the “once saved always saved” theory. I know I am a Christian, I have repented of my sins and turned my life over to Him. But what they said has really disturbed me and caused distress. Is any of what they said true?

A. Some in the Church delight in using scare tactics like this to make believers feel guilty. And that’s all it is. It’s an effort to steal away the joy of our salvation. In John 3:16, the most popular verse in the Bible, Jesus said that whoever believed in him would inherit eternal life. In John 6:28-29 He said that the only work God requires of us is to believe in the one He has sent. In Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul said that we’re not saved by our behavior but by our faith in God’s grace. In Romans 7:20 he said that when we sin, God knows that it’s not us but the sin nature that dwells within us, and in 2 Cor. 5:17-21 he said that we’re a new creation, as righteous in God’s eyes as He is. Then in Romans 8:38 he said that nothing can separate us from the love of God that’s in Christ Jesus.

There are about a dozen other verses that I could quote, but you get the idea. In Matt. 5:21-22 Jesus was saying that just because you don’t murder someone doesn’t mean you haven’t broken the commandment because anger is just as bad. He said the same thing about lust and adultery in verses 27-28. He was showing us that it’s impossible to keep the law and that’s why we need a Savior. And in Matt. 6:14-15 He was teaching us that forgiving each other helps maintain our relationship with God so we can enjoy His blessings here on Earth. It has nothing to do with our eternity. Otherwise He would be breaking His own promise that it’s our belief that saves us and not our behavior.

You should memorize 2 Cor. 1:21-22 and repeat it whenever someone tries to sell this un-Biblical guilt generating trash to you.
“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

God owns you, He put His Spirit in you as a deposit guaranteeing what’s to come, and accepted responsibility for keeping you His.

In the idiom of the Old West, He bought and branded you, put you in His corral, and even if you break out and wander off, He’ll come after you and bring you back. Anything that conflicts with this is the doctrine of demons.

Will We Inherit The Earth? Q´s and A´s

Reblogged from  gracethrufaith.com

Saturday, August 29th, 2015

• Interpreting Verses

Q. Can you tell me what it means when it says “we shall inherit the earth” like in the beatitudes – I know that we will rule with Jesus during the Millennium but could you help me understand this better?

A. You’re referring to Matt. 5:5, “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the Earth.” Here’s how that works.
In Psalm 2:8 the Father said to the Son, “Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the Earth your possession.” In Romans 8:17 and Galatians 4:7 Paul said that since God has made us His children He has also made us His heirs. In Romans 8: 17 he expanded on this calling us “co-heirs with Christ”. Put it all together and you can conclude that if Jesus was given the Earth as His inheritance and if we have been made co-heirs with Him then we also will inherit the Earth, just like He said.

The Straight And Narrow Way - Jack Kelley

Reblogged from gracethrufaith.com

  Saturday, August 1st, 2015

• Salvation

Q. I know the Bible says that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But why does Jesus say in Matt 7:14 “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”  Is it pertaining to faith?

A. While it is true that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13), it’s clear that no where near everyone has done so. In fact the Lord’s statement in Matt. 7:14 indicates that the number of people saved is a relatively small percentage of Earth’s total population.

In addition to those who reject the Gospel outright, many others have been distracted and misled onto the wrong road by false religions, false teachers and false doctrine that change the straight and narrow intent of Scripture.

For example, just within “Christianity” some of these doctrines teach that Jesus is not really the only way to salvation, or that Jesus wasn’t really God in the flesh, or that you don’t really need to be born again, or that his death didn’t really cover all of your sins so you have to work to finish the job yourself. The list of things man has done to distort the Gospel message is nearly endless.
The straight and narrow way is clearly laid out in John 6:28-29. When the people asked Him what work God requires of us, Jesus said, “The work of God is this; to believe in the one He has sent.”

This means we must accept the fact that we’re sinners in need of a savior, and believe that Jesus came to die for our sins and rose again, proving that His death was sufficient to purchase our pardon. Anything that adds to or subtracts from that simple statement can cause people to miss the straight and narrow way.
“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame’ “ (Romans 10:9-11).

How Can I Tell If An Old Testament Verse Is For Me?

Reblogged from http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher

Tuesday, May 5th, 2015

• Interpreting Verses

Q.  How can I know which verses from the Old Testament can be applied to my life today?  I used to think verses like Jeremiah 29:11 were applicable to everyone.  Now I see that verse was for a specific people at a specific time and the church today often takes it out of context as if God was speaking it to us now.  Since I realized this, I now question whether I’ll misinterpret other verses in the OT.  I worry that I’ll believe a verse such as Proverbs 3:5-6 that says trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding is for everyone only to discover later that it wasn’t.

A.  You can tell if an Old Testament verse is meant for a specific time or people by the context in which it appears.
In the example of Jeremiah 29:11 God had Jeremiah write a letter to the Jewish exiles in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:1).  He encouraged them to build houses, plant gardens, marry and have children, etc (Jeremiah 29:4-6).  Then in Jeremiah 29:10 He said after 70 years He would come to them and bring them back to the promised land, because He had great plans for their future there (Jeremiah 29:11).  This tells us He was speaking to the Jewish captives at the outset of the Babylonian captivity. From this we can see that Jeremiah 29:11 was intended specifically for them.

Your other example,  Proverbs 3:5-6, does not contain contextual clues like those in Jeremiah 29:11.  That means it’s intended for everyone.
So the general principle is to read several verses surrounding the one you’re wondering about, looking for clues that will tell you whether it was meant for a specific people or time.  If you don’t find any, you can assume it’s for everyone all the time.