Random Questions; Bible-based answers

[ewq1938]

The Scriptures contain a few discrepancies that will serve as my next RQs. Here are the first three:

MK 9:40 says "the person not against Jesus is for him", but MT 12:30 says "the person not with Jesus is against him".

Do you see a way to harmonize these?

Mar 9:39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
Mar 9:40 For he that is not against us is on our part.


Mat 12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
Mat 12:27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
Mat 12:28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
Mat 12:29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
Mat 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.



The subject and contexts are very different. There is nothing to harmonize.

LK 23:46 says the last words of Jesus were "Father, into...", and JN 19:30 says the last words were "It is finished".

Possible to harmonize?

Different people hear different things...nothing needs harmonized.

MK 10:46 reports that one blind man is healed, whereas MT 20:30 says two blind men are healed.

Which is it?

Again, not everyone sees and knows what others see and know. One person saw one blind man, another saw one more.

 

[GWH]

God often uses secondary means to accomplish his own plans.

.

Yes.

2SM 24:1, "Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying 'Go and take a census of Israel and Juday'".

1CHR 21:1, "Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel,"

Either Satan is viewed by the second writer as being the agent of God's wrath, and/or the writers have slightly different oral sources.

Okay, what about:

GN 2:17 says A&E would die on the day sin was committed, but

GN 5:5 reports that Adam lived 930 years before dying.

And y'all say?

 

[GWH]

Mar 9:39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
Mar 9:40 For he that is not against us is on our part.


Mat 12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
Mat 12:27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges.
Mat 12:28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
Mat 12:29 Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
Mat 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.



The subject and contexts are very different. There is nothing to harmonize.







Different people hear different things...nothing needs harmonized.





Again, not everyone sees and knows what others see and know. One person saw one blind man, another saw one more.

Very good answers IMO. There is only a problem if one believes the extant Scriptures are verbally (word by word) inspired.

See the next RQ just posted.

 

[ewq1938]

Yes.

2SM 24:1, "Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying 'Go and take a census of Israel and Juday'".

1CHR 21:1, "Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel,"

Either Satan is viewed by the second writer as being the agent of God's wrath, and/or the writers have slightly different oral sources.

satan isn't only a name but can simply mean an opponent. In this case, the Lord was an opponent of Israel.

Okay, what about:

GN 2:17 says A&E would die on the day sin was committed, but

GN 5:5 reports that Adam lived 930 years before dying.

And y'all say?

The first one was a spiritual death that happened the day they sinned. The second is physical death which happened hundreds of years later.

 

[GWH]

satan isn't only a name but can simply mean an opponent. In this case, the Lord was an opponent of Israel.

The first one was a spiritual death that happened the day they sinned. The second is physical death which happened hundreds of years later.

I agree regarding spiritual vs. physical death.

Regarding "satan isn't only a name but can simply mean an opponent. In this case, the Lord was an opponent of Israel.":

You raise a point I had not considered. While I had realized that God created theoretical evil or the possibility of rejecting Him as an option that actualizes MFW/free human personality, because as such it is necessary and even good (GN 1:31), and that it was wrong for Satan (1JN 3:8) and humanity (RM 5:12) to make evil actual by choosing to Sin or reject Faith in God’s Lordship,

I had NOT considered whether Satan was the means God employed for creating theoretical evil and therefore was good before he exercised volition to actually rebel against God. Hmm--(I am pondering that thought :^)

 

[ewq1938]

I agree regarding spiritual vs. physical death.

Regarding "satan isn't only a name but can simply mean an opponent. In this case, the Lord was an opponent of Israel.":

You raise a point I had not considered. While I had realized that God created theoretical evil or the possibility of rejecting Him as an option that actualizes MFW/free human personality, because as such it is necessary and even good (GN 1:31), and that it was wrong for Satan (1JN 3:8) and humanity (RM 5:12) to make evil actual by choosing to Sin or reject Faith in God’s Lordship,

I had NOT considered whether Satan was the means God employed for creating theoretical evil and therefore was good before he exercised volition to actually rebel against God. Hmm--(I am pondering that thought :^)

God can create something known as natural evil...tribulations, hardships, deaths and sometimes uses satan but not always....but not moral evil like doing wrongs to people.

 

[GWH]

God can create something known as natural evil...tribulations, hardships, deaths and sometimes uses satan but not always....but not moral evil like doing wrongs to people.

Yes, natural disasters and diseases should be viewed as amoral rather than as evil.

There are so many who seem to be sons of perdition that it may be difficult to recognize the main one when he is revealed!

(BTW, I still like the idea that Satan was the means God employed for creating theoretical evil and therefore was good before he exercised volition to actually rebel against God and thereby actualized evil in the world, which I may add to my website, so thanks :^)

 

[GWH]

Okay, the next two discrepancies:

GN 7:2-3 says Noah took seven pairs of the clean animals into the ark, but
GN 7:8-9 says he took the animals into the ark by twos

Also, GN 20:11-12 says that Sarah is Abraham's half-sister, but
LV 20:17 says a brother should not marry a sister.

Resolutions?

 

[ewq1938]

Okay, the next two discrepancies:

GN 7:2-3 says Noah took seven pairs of the clean animals into the ark, but
GN 7:8-9 says he took the animals into the ark by twos

Gen 7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
Gen 7:3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

Gen 7:8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
Gen 7:9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.


7 pairs of clean animals, just one pair of an unclean animal. So it would be 7 pairs of cows VS one pair of pigs. Verse 9 does not repeat that clean animals were 7 pairs. It just says "two by two" which is true because apparently animals went inside the Ark pair, then another pair. This is how orderly the animals went in, not how many of each type of animal there was.


Animals entering: 2 cows, 2 cows, 2 cows, 2 cows, 2 pigs, 2 cows, 2 cows, 2 cows.

That is animals "two by two" and is also 7 pairs of clean animals and one pair oof an unclean animal.

Also, GN 20:11-12 says that Sarah is Abraham's half-sister, but
LV 20:17 says a brother should not marry a sister.

Resolutions?

A sister is different than a half sister.

 

[GWH]

Gen 7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
Gen 7:3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

Gen 7:8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
Gen 7:9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.


7 pairs of clean animals, just one pair of an unclean animal. So it would be 7 pairs of cows VS one pair of pigs. Verse 9 does not repeat that clean animals were 7 pairs. It just says "two by two" which is true because apparently animals went inside the Ark pair, then another pair. This is how orderly the animals went in, not how many of each type of animal there was.


Animals entering: 2 cows, 2 cows, 2 cows, 2 cows, 2 pigs, 2 cows, 2 cows, 2 cows.

That is animals "two by two" and is also 7 pairs of clean animals and one pair oof an unclean animal.

A sister is different than a half sister.

Those resolutions satisfy me (plus Moses' law regarding sibling marriage was not known by Abraham,
who lived about a half-century earlier :^)

 

[GWH]

Okay, two more RQs re discrepancies:

1KG 15:14 says that Asa did not remove the high places
2CHR 14:2-3 reports that Ada removed the high places

JN 20:22 says the disciples received the HS
ACTS 2:1-4 says the disciples were filled by the HS

And you say?

 

[GWH]

This RQ is prompted by what Charlie Kirk just said: "Where can you lie on the beach, go to the mountains, take $900 worth of merchandise from a store, defecate on the street and receive government benefits if you are an illegal immigrant--all in one day?"

 

[GWH]

This RQ is prompted by what Charlie Kirk just said: "Where can you lie on the beach, go to the mountains, take $900 worth of merchandise from a store, defecate on the street and receive government benefits if you are an illegal immigrant--all in one day?"

Southern California--where you can wind up the day being burned to a crisp. (Floods and mudslides to follow.)

 

[GWH]

An article in Epoch Times by Anders Corr entitled "China Drone Swarms and US Lasers" prompts this RQ: Are you ready for Star Wars?

 

[GWH]

An article in Epoch Times by Anders Corr entitled "China Drone Swarms and US Lasers" prompts this RQ: Are you ready for Star Wars?

Y'all heard me right. We are on the brink of adding laser weapons to the mix in order to combat drone swarms. I guess it will a take a little longer for hand lasers to be developed.

 

[GWH]

RQ: Are you aware of the "Grooming Gangs" composed mainly of Pakistani immigrant men that have been raping poor white girls in northern UK for over a decade but no one cares enough to stop them? (Epoch Times article by Owen Evans dated Jan.15-17, 2025)

What is the Bible's answer regarding this?

 

[GWH]

RQ: Are you aware of the "Grooming Gangs" composed mainly of Pakistani immigrant men that have been raping poor white girls in northern UK for over a decade but no one cares enough to stop them? (Epoch Times article by Owen Evans dated Jan.15-17, 2025)

What is the Bible's answer regarding this?

The biblical answer is that those who do such wickedness will not enter heaven (RM 1:28-2:5), and godly governments punish such evil behavior (RM 13:3-4).

 

[GWH]

RQ: What apocryphal truisms might be found in Hezekiah?

 

[GWH]

RQ: What apocryphal truisms might be found in Hezekiah?

HEZ 1:1- Life is rarely simple; 1:2 - if it’s not one thing, it’s another. 1:3 - If something can go wrong, it will--at the worst time.

 

[Eli1]

RQ: What apocryphal truisms might be found in Hezekiah?

Sailor i'm curious, what apocryphal teachings are allowed in Southern Baptist American Church that you went to?

Thank you.