 |  |
|
ANSWERED CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE If this is the best that Zathras can do, he should go pick up a hundred year old book on higher criticism. At least those arguments against inspiration had some depth. This is too easy! [SNIP] GE 1:3-5 On the first day, God created light, then
separated light and darkness. GE 1:14-19 The sun (which separates night and day)
wasn't created until the fourth day. So what? God is light and He will be the light of
heaven long after the sun is gone (Revelation 21:23). Obviously He could have created a stream of light before He made
the sun. Dr. Russell Humphrey's has
suggested an intriguing explanation of the light God initiated on the first
day. It is detailed in his theory of
White Hole cosmology. GE 1:11-12, 26-27 Trees were created before man was
created. GE 2:4-9 Man was created before trees were created. Genesis 2:8-9 does not
describe the creation of trees but the creation of the Garden of Eden for Adam
to live in. In it God planted many
trees, among them the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of
life. GE 1:20-21, 26-27 Birds were created before man was
created. GE 2:7, 19 Man was created before birds were created. Genesis 2:19 does not
describe the creation of birds (which came out of the seas). Rather, God made one of each kind of
creature from the ground directly before Adam, so that he could name them. It was a second creative act that
familiarized Adam with all of the kinds of animals he was to rule over. GE 1:24-27 Animals were created before man was
created. GE 2:7, 19 Man was created before animals were
created. See above. GE 1:26-27 Man and woman were created at the same
time. GE 2:7, 21-22 Man was created first, woman sometime
later. Genesis 1:26-27 does not say
they were made at the same identical time, only that he made both. GE 1:28 God encourages reproduction. LE 12:1-8 God requires purification rites following
childbirth which, in effect, makes childbirth a sin. (Note: The period for
purification following the birth of a daughter is twice that for a son.) Baloney. Can't Zathras distinguish between being
ceremonially unclean and sinning? I
make my son wash his hands after playing in the sandbox. Does that make him disobedient to play
there? A woman with an issue of blood was
also said to be unclean, just a couple of chapters later. Does that make her sinful? GE 1:31 God was pleased with his creation. GE 6:5-6 God was not pleased with his creation. (Note: That God should be displeased is inconsistent
with the concept of omniscience.) God was pleased to give man a
free will. He is not pleased when man
uses that to rebel. GE 2:4, 4:26, 12:8, 22:14-16, 26:25 God was already
known as "the Lord" (Jahveh or Jehovah) much earlier than the time of
Moses. EX 6:2-3 God was first known as "the Lord"
(Jahveh or Jehovah) at the time of the Egyptian Bondage, during the life of
Moses. Moses wrote Genesis and used
the name for God that was revealed to him. GE 2:17 Adam was to die the very day that he ate the
forbidden fruit. GE 5:5 Adam lived 930 years. There is physical death (the
separation of the soul from the body) and spiritual death (the separation of
the soul from God). In a physical
sense, Adam BEGAN to die that day. In a
spiritual sense, which God consistently uses thereafter (see Ephesians 2:1 and
John 8:51) Adam died immediately; that is, his sin separated him from his
Creator the instant he ate the fruit. GE 2:15-17, 3:4-6 It is wrong to want to be able to
tell good from evil. HE 5:13-14 It is immature to be unable to tell good
from evil. Your interpretation of
Genesis 2 is totally screwed up. Their
sin was disobedience (doing evil) not wanting to know something. GE 4:4-5 God prefers Abel's offering and has no regard
for Cain's. 2CH 19:7, AC 10:34, RO 2:11 God shows no partiality.
He treats all alike. God DOES treat all
alike. Those that offer improper
sacrifices (like Cain) are rejected. If
Abel had offered an unbloody sacrifice, he would have been rejected too. GE 4:9 God asks Cain where his brother Able is. PR 15:3, JE 16:17, 23:24-25, HE 4:13 God is
everywhere. He sees everything. Nothing is hidden from his view. God gave Cain a chance to
come clean. I ASK my boy if he took a
cookie that I watched him snitch for the same reason. GE 4:15, DT 32:4, IS 34:8 God is a vengeful god. EX 15:3, IS 42:13, HE 12:29 God is a warrior. God is a
consuming fire. EX 20:5, 34:14, DT 4:24, 5:9, 6:15, 29:20, 32:21 God
is a jealous god. LE 26:7-8, NU 31:17-18, DT 20:16-17, JS 10:40, JG
14:19, EZ 9:5-7 The Spirit of God is (sometimes) murder and killing. NU 25:3-4, DT 6:15, 9:7-8, 29:20, 32:21, PS 7:11,
78:49, JE 4:8, 17:4, 32:30-31, ZP 2:2 God is angry. His anger is sometimes
fierce. 2SA 22:7-8 (KJV) "I called to the Lord; ... he
heard my voice; ... The earth trembled and quaked, ... because he was angry.
Smoke came from his nostrils. Consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals
blazed out of it." EZ 6:12, NA 1:2, 6 God is jealous and furious. He
reserves wrath for, and takes revenge on, his enemies. "... who can abide
in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and rocks are
thrown down by him." 2CO 13:11, 14, 1JN 4:8, 16 God is love. GA 5:22-23 The fruit of the Spirit of God is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. God hates sin and evil and
God loves goodness. So what is the
problem? His holiness means He must
execute a just penalty for sin. God's
love provides a means of forgiveness in Christ for all who will avail
themselves. There is no contradiction
here. GE 4:16 Cain went away (or out) from the presence of
the Lord. JE 23:23-24 A man cannot hide from God. God fills
heaven and earth. God took on a form to speak
with Cain (much like Moses at the burning bush or Abraham at his tent). Cain walked away from his encounter with
God. GE 6:4 There were Nephilim (giants) before the Flood. GE 7:21 All creatures other than Noah and his clan
were annihilated by the Flood. NU 13:33 There were Nephilim after the Flood. Some of Adam's descendants
were giants. Some of Noah's descendants
were giants. Some giants have lived in
recent history. So what? GE 6:6. EX 32:14, NU 14:20, 1SA 15:35, 2SA 24:16 God
does change his mind. NU 23:19-20, IS 15:29, JA 1:17 God does not change his
mind. God never changes. His actions towards us change as WE change
(much as the sun changes when I put on my shades). GE 6:19-22, 7:8-9, 7:14-16 Two of each kind are to be
taken, and are taken, aboard Noah's Ark. GE 7:2-5 Seven pairs of some kinds are to be taken
(and are taken) aboard the Ark. Zathras really stretches this
time. If seven of *some* are taken,
than two of *each* kind ARE taken.
There is no contradiction. A
contradiction would require that two of some kind NOT be taken! GE 7:1 Noah was righteous. JB 1:1,8, JB 2:3 Job was righteous. LK 1:6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous. JA 5:16 Some men are righteous, (which makes their
prayers effective). 1JN 3:6-9 Christians become righteous (or else they
are not really Christians). RO 3:10, 3:23, 1JN 1:8-10 No one was or is righteous. This is at least a reasonable
objection...oft-refuted, but reasonable.
God is totally, completely spotlessly righteous. He alone is perfectly holy. When men are
described as "righteous," it is always in a comparative way (ie Job
2:3 "there is none like him on the earth"). Men can only become guiltless before the bar of the Almighty by
being pardoned through the blood of Christ. GE 7:7 Noah and his clan enter the Ark. GE 7:13 They enter the Ark (again?). Come on! It is reiterating the event with a specific
dating scheme in Noah's life. GE 11:7-9 God sows discord. PR 6:16-19 God hates anyone who sows discord. God did not sow discord
(contention). He confused the
languages. By the way, there are a lot
of things that God does that He forbids man to do. So what? That is only reasonable. GE 11:9 At Babel, the Lord confused the language of
the whole world. 1CO 14:33 Paul says that God is not the author of
confusion. This is taken out of
context. God is not the author of
confusion IN THE CHURCH. GE 11:12 Arpachshad [Arphaxad] was the father of
Shelah. LK 3:35-36 Cainan was the father of Shelah. Arpachshad
was the grandfather of Shelah. Cainan was left out of
Genesis. Perhaps it was a copying
error, of which we have identified a few.
These do not materially impact anything in the doctrines of the Faith. It
is also possible that it was purposefully left out of this genealogy. While this would appear unusual, there are a
few kings left out in Matthew 1:8. It
also appears that in the Jewish tradition, the designation "son" was
somewhat flexible. There are multiple
instances in the scripture where a grandson is called a son or a son in law is
called a son. GE 11:16 Terah was 70 years old when his son Abram was
born. GE 11:32 Terah was 205 years old when he died (making
Abram 135 at the time). GE 12:4, AC 7:4 Abram was 75 when he left Haran. This
was after Terah died. Thus, Terah could have been no more than 145 when he
died; or Abram was only 75 years old after he had lived 135 years. This is a decent point since
it appears contradictory on the surface. However, Terah could have STARTED
bearing at age 70 (following the pattern of the genealogy in which the
childless years are mentioned first) and Abram could have been born last when
Terah was 130. This is not unreasonable since Abram himself bore children later
than that. (Genesis 17:17 indicates he
was ten years older than Sarah. Genesis
23:1 says Sarah died at 127. Genesis 25:1-2
tells us that Abraham was still bearing children with his subsequent wife
several years later.) Furthermore,
Abraham's brother got married, had Lot, and died ALL before Abram got
married. So Abram's brother, Haran, would
have been MUCH older. GE 12:7, 17:1, 18:1, 26:2, 32:30, EX 3:16, 6:2-3,
24:9-11, 33:11, NU 12:7-8,14:14, JB 42:5, AM 7:7-8, 9:1 God is seen. EX 33:20, JN 1:18, 1JN 4:12 God is not seen. No one
can see God's face and live. No one has ever seen him. The amazing thing is that
these verses resolve your confusion themselves! No one has seen God in all his
glory. In Exodus, God hid Moses from
seeing his face. Isaiah, John, and
others saw a vision of God. God takes
on a form (like a burning bush to Moses or a whirlwind to Job) before
conversing with man. GE 10:5, 20, 31 There were many languages before the
Tower of Babel. GE 11:1 There was only one language before the Tower
of Babel. Genesis 10 is a genealogy
that covers centuries. It includes the
period before Babel when there was one language (described in chapter 11) and continues
well after Babel detailing the divisions of languages that resulted from Babel. GE 15:9, EX 20:24, 29:10-42, 1-7, 38, NU 28:1-29, 40
God details sacrificial offerings. JE 7:21-22 God sayes he did no such thing. The context in the Jeremiah
7:21-22 is discussing God's first priority. Note the words “in the day that I
brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
That was BEFORE the giving of the laws. Indeed in Exodus 19:1-8, just
prior to the giving of the law & sacrificial system, God again focused upon
the first priority of obedience. It is
essentially the same message of Psalm 40:6-8. God obviously would command them
to give sacrifices, but He makes the point that THE FIRST FOCUS was on the
heart attitude. GE 16:15, 21:1-3, GA 4:22 Abraham had two sons,
Ishmael and Isaac. HE 11:17 Abraham had only one son. The passage in Hebrews is
being chopping off mid-thought to force a contradiction. “He that received the promise offered up his
only begotten son of whom it was said…” GE 17:1, 35:11, 1CH 29:11-12, LK 1:37 God is omnipotent.
Nothing is impossible with (or for) God. JG 1:19 Althofffaaugh God was with Judah, together
they could not defeat the plainsmen because the latter had iron chariots. What is this supposed to
mean? If Zathras is complaining that God did not easily give them victory over
iron chariots, it is ridiculous. The verse doesn't say that God fought
alongside Judah, only that he was “with them.” God often empowers us to have
victory in certain areas and leaves other areas as ongoing challenges for us to
work on (II Corinthians 12:8-9). This teaches humility, dependence, etc. GE 17:7, 10-11 The covenant of circumcision is to be
everlasting. GA 6:15 It is of no consequence. You are comparing the
longevity of a covenant with its potency (apples and oranges). Circumcision is an everlasting covenant. But it is of no value in taking away
sin. It never saved anybody. GE 17:8 God promises Abraham the land of Canaan as an
"everlasting possession." GE 25:8, AC 7:2-5, HE 11:13 Abraham died
with the promise unfulfilled. Abraham was in possession of
plenty of Canaan when he died. But you
miss the point of the verse. The
promised was to be fulfilled in Abraham AND his seed. One of the most amazingly
fulfilled prophecy is the rebirth of the nation of Israel in their ancestral
homeland. GE 17:15-16, 20:11-12, 22:17 Abraham and his half
sister, Sarai, are married and receive God's blessings. LE 20:17, DT 27:20-23 Incest is wrong. So what? Good people can do wrong things. Besides, the laws you cite were not given till
long after Abraham had died. GE 18:20-21 God decides to "go down" to see
what is going on. PR 15:3, JE 16:17, 23:24-25, HE 4:13 God is
everywhere. He sees everything. Nothing is hidden from his view. God went down to check out
Sodom to give Abraham a chance to intercede for it, and to demonstrate the
wickedness of the Sodomites; not because he was unable to check it out from
heaven. GE 19:30-38 While he is drunk, Lot's two daughters
"lie with him," become pregnant, and give birth to his offspring. 2PE 2:7 Lot was "just" and
"righteous." Remember whenever
"righteous" is used of man, it is comparative. Good people are not always perfect. If your ONLY flaw ever committed was getting
drunk for a couple of nights, I would say that you were pretty righteous. GE 22:1-12, DT 8:2 God tempts (tests) Abraham and
Moses. JG 2:22 God himself says that he does test (tempt). 1CO 10:13 Paul says that God controls the extent of
our temptations. JA 1:13 God tests (tempts) no one. Note Hebrews 11:17. A better translation of the Greek “peirazo”
is "tried" (or proved, tested).
God examines us much like a master teacher...to demonstrate our faith
(or lack thereof) and to mature us.
James uses it in this sense earlier in the chapter (James 1:2-3). There is a very different Greek used in
verse 13. “Peirasmos” means "a
solicitation to do evil." It is
based on our lusts or on Satanic seductions. GE 27:28 "May God give you ... an abundance of
grain and new wine." DT 7:13 If they follow his commandments, God will
bless the fruit of their wine. PS 104:5 God gives us wine to gladden the heart. JE 13:12 "... every bottle shall be filled with
wine." JN 2:1-11 According to the author of John, Jesus'
first miracle was turning water to wine. RO 14:21 It is good to refrain from drinking wine. Once again you create a
contradiction by screwing up the sentence.
The point is not that there is anything wrong with eating certain meats
or drinking wine. The problem is doing
things needlessly that offend a Christian brother. GE 35:10 God says Jacob is to be called Jacob no
longer; henceforth his name is Israel. GE 46:2 At a later time, God himself uses the name
Jacob. The Oriental tradition of
changing names was to signify a watershed in someone's life. It was an official change. The point is NOT that God forbids everybody
from calling him Jacob (in fact he is called Jacob just 4 verses later); rather
the idea is that he would no longer be KNOWN as "deceiver" (Jacob)
but as "God's fighter" (Israel). GE 36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho,
Gatam, and Kenaz. GE 36:15-16 Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz. 1CH 1:35-36 Teman, Omar, Zephi, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna,
and Amalek. Take the time to read the
passage carefully and you might just answer your own question. Genesis 36:12 adds Amalek (born by a
concubine) to the list started in verse 11.
You just plain miss Gatam and Amalek in Genesis 36:16. Later in the passage (perhaps
adopted as a son) Timnah is added as a duke GE 49:2-28 The fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel
are: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher,
Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin. RE 7:4-8 (Leaves out the tribe of Dan, but adds
Manasseh.) This is not a
contradiction. It is a change. Some have postulated this change was because
of the idolatry that was started in Dan which eventually caused Israel to be
judged and to go into bondage. GE 50:13 Jacob was buried in a cave at Machpelah
bought from Ephron the Hittite. AC 7:15-16 He was buried in the sepulchre at Shechem,
bought from the sons of Hamor. The sepulcher was a
cave. (Note Genesis 23:6-9 where the
original story is told.) Machpelah is
the region that became Shechem. Again
from the original story, we see that Abraham bought it from the sons of Hamor, specifically
from Ephron who lived among them and had the field with the sepulcher. When Jacob returned to his ancestral
homeland (Genesis33:17-19) he found that children of Hamor had conquered and
inhabited the region. He repurchased
the field from Shechem's dad, Hamor. EX 3:1 Jethro was the father-in-law of Moses. NU 10:29, JG 4:11 (KJV) Hobab was the father-in-law of
Moses. Many OT figures had two
names. This was particularly common in
the ancient traditions when one was leaving one clan to join another nation
(Joseph in Egypt, Daniel in Babylon, etc.).
Jethro was a Midianite. Likely
he was given a Hebrew name when he joined the Israelites. EX 3:20-22, DT 20:13-17 God instructs the Israelites
to despoil the Egyptians, to plunder their enemies. EX 20:15, 17, LE 19:13 God prohibits stealing,
defrauding, or robbing a neighbor. First, the rules of warfare
are, and have always been distinct from the rules in society (shooting down an
enemy plane is morally different from shooting my wife amidst an
argument). Secondly, God made these
laws for man, not for Himself. He can
take (or command to be taken) whatever He wants, anytime He wants. He made it all and as the rightful owner He
can dispose of it as He wishes. He is
God. [Since this same objection is
repeated below ad nausea, I will only say "dittos" from now on and
you can mentally insert the underlined text above.] EX 4:11 God decides who will be dumb, deaf, blind,
etc. 2CO 13:11, 14, 1JN 4:8, 16 God is a god of love. Sickness, disease, suffering,
and death are a result of sin and man's rebellion against God. God in justice judged the world. God in love provides a means of salvation so
that we can live in bliss with Him.
Perhaps YOU do not think that this is "loving" enough for
you. But you are not a HOLY God who has
been offended by sin. EX 9:3-6 God destroys all the cattle (including
horses) belonging to the Egyptians. EX 9:9-11 The people and the cattle are afflicted with
boils. EX 12:12, 29 All the first-born of the cattle of the
Egyptians are destroyed. EX 14:9 After having all their cattle destroyed, then
afflicted with boils, and then their first-born cattle destroyed, the Egyptians
pursue Moses on horseback. You first premise is
wrong. The murrain was on the cattle
and the horses (Exodus 9:3). No doubt
many of them died. However, verse six
states that all the cattle died. It
does not include the horses, asses, camels etc. EX 12:13 The Israelites have to mark their houses with
blood in order for God to see which houses they occupy and "pass
over" them. PR 15:3, JE 16:17, 23:24-25, HE 4:13 God is
everywhere. He sees everything. Nothing is hidden from God. God does not say He needed
the blood to SEE WHICH house was occupied by Israelites. He promised that WHEN He saw the blood, he
would pass by that house (including, no doubt, some believing Egyptians). EX 12:37, NU 1:45-46 The number of men of military age
who take part in the Exodus is given as more than 600,000. Allowing for women,
children, and older men would probably mean that a total of about 2,000,000
Israelites left Egypt. 1KI 20:15 All the Israelites, including children,
number only 7000 at a later time. This is height of
absurdity. First of all, the nation of
Israel was split into two kingdoms at the time of I Kings 20. Secondly, the context is that king Ahab was
besieged in Samaria (capital of the northern kingdom), and therefore could only
count everybody in the city. Thirdly,
he was counting ALL the children of Israel available for battle (verse 14). EX 15:3, 17:16, NU 25:4, 32:14, IS 42:13 God is a man
of war--he is fierce and angry. RO 15:33, 2CO 13:11, 14, 1JN 4:8, 16 God is a god of
love and peace. God is characterized by
both. So was Ronald Reagan. So what? EX 20:1-17 God gave the law directly to Moses (without
using an intermediary). GA 3:19 The law was ordained through angels by a
mediator (an intermediary). Just because Exodus 20 does
not mention angels does not mean they played no role. Nowhere does it say he did not use an intermediary. (Note that the Ten Commandments in stone
were said to be literally etched by God's finger.) EX 20:4 God prohibits the making of any graven images
whatsoever. EX 25:18 God enjoins the making of two graven images. Yet again you stop mid-sentence,
wrest it out of context, and manufacture a contradiction. Read before and after in Exodus 20. God was not forbidding someone from
whittling or doing sculpture work! He
is talking about making up a god, then engraving it, and then worshipping it. EX 20:5, 34:7, NU 14:18, DT 5:9, IS 14:21-22 Children
are to suffer for their parent's sins. DT 24:16, EZ 18:19-20 Children are not to suffer for
their parent's sins. You are confusing at least
three different concepts. When a NATION
had become so corrupt that God was going to completely wipe it out (Isaiah 14)
obviously all, young and old, would suffer this judgment. Under the law of Moses, God (not society)
would punish a HOUSEHOLD to the third and fourth generation for the parent's
sins. Perhaps this was a result of the
way households were structured and the collective way decisions were carried
out. Ezekiel 18:1-3 indicates that the SOCIETAL RULE was to be changed so that
children would not die for the parent's sin.
This is not a contradiction. It
is an attempt to change something that should not have been going on in Israeli
society (Deuteronomy 24:16). EX 20:8-11, 31:15-17, 35:1-3 No work is to be done on
the Sabbath, not even lighting a fire. The commandment is permanent, and death
is required for infractions. MK 2:27-28 Jesus says that the Sabbath was made for
man, not man for the Sabbath (after his disciples were criticized for breaking
the Sabbath). RO 14:5, CN 2:14-16 Paul says the Sabbath commandment
was temporary, and to decide for yourself regarding its observance. The disciples did not do
work. They violated the Pharisees
guidelines. Christ fulfilled the law,
and the ceremonial portions stopped being in effect at his death. This is the change Paul references in
Galatians 3:24-25. It is not a
contradiction. EX 20:12, DT 5:16, MT 15:4, 19:19, MK 7:10, 10:19, LK
18:20 Honor your father and your mother is one of the Ten Commandments. It is
reinforced by Jesus. MT 10:35-37, LK 12:51-53, 14:26 Jesus says that he has
come to divide families; that a man's foes will be those of his own household;
that you must hate your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and
even your own life to be a disciple. MT 23:9 Jesus says to call no man on earth your
father. You can still honor someone
that you hate. So there is no
contradiction even if one ignorantly believes Christ is saying we are to
dislike our parents. However, the English word hate poorly captures the
comparative nature of what Christ said.
When considered next to our love for God, our love for our parents (and
even ourselves) should dim to nothing in comparison. EX 20:13, DT 5:17, MK 10:19, LK 18:20, RO 13:9, JA
2:11 God prohibits killing. GE 34:1-35:5 God condones trickery and killing. EX 32:27, DT 7:2, 13:15, 20:1-18 God orders killing. 2KI 19:35 An angel of the Lord slaughters 185,000 men.
(Note: See Atrocities section for many more examples.) Ditto above. EX 20:14 God prohibits adultery. HO 1:2 God instructs Hosea to "take a wife of
harlotry." Hosea did not commit adultery. Where is the contradiction? EX 21:23-25, LE 24:20, DT 19:21 A life for a life, an
eye for an eye, etc. MT 5:38-44, LK 6:27-29 Turn the other cheek. Love your
enemies. Please! How can Christ be more clear? He plainly is changing the law to initiate
the age of grace in which we now live.
READ the whole passage. EX 23:7 God prohibits the killing of the innocent. NU 31:17-18, DT 7:2, JS 6:21-27, 7:19-26, 8:22-25,
10:20, 40, 11:8-15, 20, 30-39, JG 11:30-39, 21:10-12, 1SA 15:3 God orders or
approves the complete extermination of groups of people which include innocent
women and/or children. Dittos. (Note: See Atrocities section for many other examples
of the killing of innocents.) Dittos (wherever this section
is). EX 34:6, DT 7:9-10, TS 1:2 God is faithful and
truthful. He does not lie. NU 14:30 God breaks his promise. God made a promise to bring
the nation of Israel into Canaan. He
took them up to the edge and (with a couple of exceptions) they rebelled and
decided not to go in. Therefore God
fulfilled his promise in the next generation.
God never promised that EVERY individual that left Egypt would get to
Canaan. Many died for various reasons
in the wilderness. Even Moses did not
make it in. EX 34:6, DT 7:9-10, TS 1:2 God is faithful and
truthful. He does not lie. 1KI 22:21-23 God condones a spirit of deception. God PERMITS evil spirits and
evil men to do much harm. That does not
mean he is untruthful or condones their actions. EX 34:6, DT 7:9-10, TS 1:2 God is faithful and truthful.
He does not lie. 2TH 2:11-12 God deludes people, making them believe
what is false, so as to be able to condemn them. (Note: some versions use the
word persuade here. The context makes clear, however, that deception is
involved.) Since when have you become
concerned about context? God's patience
is long, but it has limits. After
several miracles in which Pharaoh hardened his heart, God hardened Pharaoh's
heart so that he COULD not repent (Exodus 10:1-2). The context clearly indicates that these people had ample
opportunity to repent, yet they had chosen the lie of Satan (vs 9) over the
truth of God (vs 10 and vs 12). Therefore,
in vs 11 God gives them over to a life of delusion. This is not God lying to them or deceiving them. It is God permanently sealing the fate that
THEY decided upon. EX 34:6-7, JS 24:19, 1CH 16:34 God is faithful, holy
and good. IS 45:6-7, LA 3:8, AM 3:6 God is responsible for evil. There are two senses in which
evil is used in the KJV. One involves a
moral failure on the part of someone.
The other is a misfortune that befalls someone. God causes the second to happen, but not the
first. Some have argued that God did
wrong to even create the potential of evil. However, it is not possible to make
light shine without there being darkness.
Similarly, it is not possible for God to have created "good"
without the potential for "evil."
To do otherwise would have been to create an amoral robotic machinery
with no will. EX 34:6-7, HE 9:27 God remembers sin, even when it has
been forgiven. JE 31:34 God does not remember sin when it has been
forgiven. You once again confuse
multiple issues. God judges sin. As Exodus 34 states, the consequences do not
stop just because the sin is forgiven (see also II Samuel 12:13-14). God knows everything and never forgets as
way we do. Yet, once sins are forgiven,
He chooses to never again bring it up to be used against the sinner. The second issue is the
difference between the way sin was treated under the law. It was never wiped out and required annual
sacrifices as a memorial of this limitation.
Sin was merely covered temporarily by the sacrifice of blood, awaiting
the coming perfect sacrifice that would wash away all sin. Jeremiah speaks prophetically of this
time. (Read the beginning of the
chapter.) It was fulfilled in
Christ. This difference is highlighted
as Hebrews 10:3 is contrasted with Hebrews 10:17. LE 3:17 God himself prohibits forever the eating of
blood and fat. MT 15:11, CN 2:20-22 Jesus and Paul say that such
rules don't matter—they are only human injunctions. Neither Jesus or Paul discuss
eating fat or blood. Christ was making
the point that you do not get sinful inside by eating with dirty hands. Sin starts in the mind and works out. Paul was combating legalists and Judaizers
that delighted in an ascetic lifestyle, adding a lot of unnecessary man-made
laws as a means of being more righteous. LE 19:18, MT 22:39 Love your neighbor [as much as]
yourself. 1CO 10:24 Put your neighbor ahead of yourself. One is a heart attitude
(love) and the other is the practical follow through of it
(self-sacrifice). Both go hand-in-hand.
LE 21:10 The chief priest is not to rend his clothes. MT 26:65, MK 14:63 He does so during the trial of
Jesus. Bad chief priest! So what?
(He did far worse than that in seeking to kill Christ.) LE 25:37, PS 15:1, 5 It is wrong to lend money at
interest. MT 25:27, LK 19:23-27 It is wrong to lend money
without interest. In the ceremonial law
instituted in the economy of Israel, God made interest on loans illegal. In telling the parable of this austere lord,
Christ never indicates whether charging interest is right or wrong. However, the era of the ceremonial law ended
(and with it the prohibition on charging interest) after Christ. NU 11:33 God inflicts sickness. JB 2:7 Satan inflicts sickness. Germs inflict sickness. So
what? NU 15:24-28 Sacrifices can, in at least some case,
take away sin. HE 10:11 They never take away sin. See above. In the OT, forgiven sins were merely
*covered* by a blood sacrifice in anticipation of being taken away when Christ
died. NU 25:9 24,000 died in the plague. 1CO 10:8 23,000 died in the plague. Likely neither are precisely
accurate since it was probably not an even number of thousands that died. More likely it was twenty-three thousand and
some. In the Hebrew writing, they
rounded it up since the point was not to give a precise number, but to
communicate the impact of the judgment.
The Greek language tended more toward precision and understatement. Even if exactly 24,000 died, Paul would
still be accurate in saying 23,000 died in a single day. A contradiction would arise if he said ONLY
23,000 died. Besides 1,000 could have died from the same plague in subsequent
days. NU 30:2 God enjoins the making of vows (oaths). MT 5:33-37 Jesus forbids doing so, saying that they
arise from evil (or the Devil). Once again, Christ fulfilled
and changed the OT law. He was very
clear that He was making a change.
There is no contradiction. NU 33:38 Aaron died on Mt. Hor. DT 10:6 Aaron died in Mosera. Likely Mt. Hor was in the
region of Mosera. NU 33:41-42 After Aaron's death, the Israelites
journeyed from Mt. Hor, to Zalmonah, to Punon, etc. DT 10:6-7 It was from Mosera, to Gudgodah, to Jotbath. Again, Deuteronomy summarizes
their movement through two regions (the latter full of rivers) while Numbers
identifies specific sites they stayed at and specific rivers (like Jordan). DT 6:15, 9:7-8, 29:20, 32:21 God is sometimes angry. MT 5:22 Anger is a sin. Dittos. DT 7:9-10 God destroys his enemies. MT 5:39-44 Do not resist your enemies. Love them. Dittos. DT 18:20-22 A false prophet is one whose words do not
come true. Death is required. EZ 14:9 A prophet who is deceived, is deceived by God
himself. Death is still required. You misunderstand Ezekiel 14
just like you did II Thessalonians 2:11.
Regardless, there is no contradiction here. A contradiction would require God letting him off. DT 23:1 A castrate may not enter the assembly of the
Lord. IS 56:4-5 Some castrates will receive special rewards. So what? A guy with a machine gun is not allowed into
the White House. Some guys with machine
guns got purple hearts from the president. DT 23:1 A castrate may not enter the assembly of the
Lord. MT 19:12 Men are encouraged to consider making
themselves castrates for the sake of the Kingdom of God. You mischaracterize Matthew
19. But regardless, there is no
contradiction. DT 24:1-5 A man can divorce his wife simply because
she displeases him and both he and his wife can remarry. MK 10:2-12 Divorce is wrong, and to remarry is to
commit adultery. Christ changed the law and
was very clear that He was initiating a change. A change is not a contradiction. DT 24:16, 2KI 14:6, 2CH 25:4, EZ 18:20 Children are
not to suffer for their parent's sins. RO 5:12, 19, 1CO 15:22 Death is passed to all men by
the sin of Adam. Dittos (and God clearly
judged many households because of parent's sin). DT 30:11-20 It is possible to keep the law. RO 3:20-23 It is not possible to keep the law. Deuteronomy makes the point
that the law is clear and plain so that we can understand and no excuse not to
keep it. It never says a man will be
able to go through his whole life perfectly and never break a single commandment. Paul's point is that no man has done
that. Indeed, that is why sacrifices
are an integral part of the law. JS 11:20 God shows no mercy to some. LK 6:36, JA 5:11 God is merciful. To the contrary, God had
mercy on the Amorites for many years (Genesis 15:16) till their iniquities
reached a point that God determined to wipe them out (Joshua 11). JG 4:21 Sisera was sleeping when Jael killed him. JG 5:25-27 Sisera was standing. It does not say that he was
standing when she killed him. It only
says that after she hit him in the head (v25) he bowed, fell down, tried to
rise again and fell again. Sounds like
death throes to me. JS 10:38-40 Joshua himself captured Debir. JG 1:11-15 It was Othniel, who thereby obtained the
hand of Caleb's daughter, Achsah. Does Zathras even try to
understand the passage? Are these
mistakes purposeful misunderstanding or just massive incompetence? Joshua made a pass through the land with his
whole army, wiping out all of the strongholds and destroying their cities. However, some of the cities were rebuilt by
the remaining inhabitants and needed to be reconquered. This second conquest of a weakened Debir
could be performed by a small band led by Othniel. Judges starts off by saying that this event occurred AFTER Joshua
died. The parallel passage is Joshua
15:16, not Joshua 10:38-40. READ the scriptures! 1SA 8:2-22 Samuel informs God as to what he has heard
from others. PR 15:3, JE 16:17, 23:24-25, HE 4:13 God is
everywhere. He sees and hears everything. So what? God delights to hear from us just like I
delight to have my little boy come running up to me, exclaiming about something
that I already know. 1SA 9:15-17 The Lord tells Samuel that Saul has been
chosen to lead the Israelites and will save them from the Philistines. 1SA 15:35 The Lord is sorry that he has chosen Saul. 1SA 31:4-7 Saul commits suicide and the Israelites are
overrun by the Philistines. First of all, God does not
say Saul will save them from the Philistines; only that he was chosen to do the
job. I Samuel 14:47-48 and subsequent
chapters indicate that for a considerable time he was successful in performing
this role. Ultimately, however, he
failed to obey God and fell himself to the Philistines. Is this supposed to be God's fault? 1SA 15:7-8, 20 The Amalekites are utterly destroyed. 1SA 27:8-9 They are utterly destroyed (again?). 1SA 30:1, 17-18 They raid Ziklag and David smites them
(again?). Firstly, I Samuel 15:9
indicates they were selective about their destruction, in disobedience to God's
command. Secondly, when a nation is
"utterly destroyed" it does not mean that EVERY person of that
nationality (some of whom might not have even been in the area at the time) was
killed. Undoubtedly there were some few
who escaped or were traveling elsewhere that over the years returned and
rebuilt their tribal homeland. In the
first campaign they occupy a large kingdom of many cities. In the second instance they are individual
cities that are weak enough to be conquered by David's outlaw band. 1SA 16:10-11, 17:12 Jesse had seven sons plus David,
or eight total. 1CH 2:13-15 He had seven total. These were times of ongoing
warfare and Jesse's sons were right in the middle of it. Is it any surprise that he lost one by the
time the genealogies were recorded in Chronicles? 1SA 16:19-23 Saul knew David well before the latter's
encounter with Goliath. 1SA 17:55-58 Saul did not know David at the time of
his encounter with Goliath and had to ask about David's identity. Saul saw David before the
battle (I Samuel 17:38). Verses 55-58
do not say Saul did not know David. It
says Saul asked WHOSE SON David was.
Likely he had forgotten Jesse's name (even though he had sent a couple
of messages to Jesse in the earlier passage). 1SA 17:50 David killed Goliath with a slingshot. 1SA 17:51 David killed Goliath (again?) with a sword. Any Sunday School kid could
straighten you out on this one. Goliath
fell face down and David had to make sure he was dead by cutting off his
head. It is called "finishing him
off." 1SA 17:50 David killed Goliath. 2SA 21:19 Elhanan killed Goliath. (Note: Some
translations insert the words "the brother of" before Elhanan. These
are an addition to the earliest manuscripts in an apparent attempt to rectify
this inconsistency.) Since when have you become
concerned about the original manuscripts?
Clearly the giant of II Samuel 21:19 is a different person since the
timeframes are totally different and since the second is called "the
Gittite." Perhaps these four were
sons of Goliath (seems to be implied in vs 22) and one of them was named after
his dad. 1SA 21:1-6 Ahimalech was high priest when David ate
the bread. MK 2:26 Abiathar was high priest at the time. Abiathar was the high
priest. His dad, Ahimelech, is not
called the high priest in I Samuel 21.
At that time, he is merely described as a priest. (He may have been the
ex-high priest in an arrangement like Caiphas and Annas at the time of Christ.) 1SA 28:6 Saul inquired of the Lord, but received no
answer. 1CH 10:13-14 Saul died for not inquiring of the Lord. Saul is a perfect
illustration of Proverbs 1:24-26. The I
Chronicles passage says Saul died for several things, including a pattern of
not inquiring of the Lord. He did not change his ways until it was too late and
God's judgment was already at the door. 1SA 31:4-6 Saul killed himself by falling on his
sword. 2SA 2:2-10 Saul, at his own request, was slain by an
Amalekite. 2SA 21:12 Saul was killed by the Philistines on
Gilboa. 1CH 10:13-14 Saul was slain by God. God directed the death of
Saul, as we detailed above. God used
the Philistines to carry out his judgment.
There is no contradiction to say "Saul was slain by the
Philistines" since he committed suicide just as they were closing in to
wipe him out. I believe you erred in
one of your reference. Perhaps you
meant II Samuel 1:2-10? Here the
Amalekite lied through his teeth in hopes of a reward. 2SA 6:23 Michal was childless. 2SA 21:8 (KJV) She had five sons. There is a disagreement in
manuscripts on the name. The KJV translators went with the majority while the
NIV and NAS go with the minority, the Septuagint and Syriac manuscripts. In this case, the minority (which have
Merab) appear to be correct. Note from I Samuel 18:19 that it clearly was
Merab, Michal's older sister. 2SA 24:1 The Lord inspired David to take the census. 1CH 21:1 Satan inspired the census. God permitted it, but Satan implemented
it. This is like the case with
Job. Note that God Almighty grants the
permission in Job 1:12 for Satan to strike Job, which the devil proceeds to do.
But Job knew enough about God to realize the Lord's omnipotence was still
behind this trial (Job 23:10). 2SA 24:9 The census count was: Israel 800,000 and
Judah 500,000. 1CH 21:5 The census count was: Israel 1,100,000 and
Judah 470,000. It could be that there were a
few different numbers floating around. Small wonder since I Chronicles 21:6
indicates that Joab purposely did a sloppy job and miscounted whole tribes
since he found the king's commandment to be abominable. But the discrepancy can be resolved if we
consider whether the army was included in each count. Note that the 800,000 of Israel probably did not include the
standing army of 288,000 described in I Chronicles 27:1-15 or the 12,000
specifically attached to the capital (II Chronicles 1:14). Conversely, the 470,000 count likely did not
include the 30,000 in Judah's standing army (II Samuel 6:1). 2SA 24:10-17 David sinned in taking the census. 1KI 15:5 David's only sin (ever) was in regard to
another matter. I Kings 15:5 does not say
David sinned only once. It says he
deliberately broke God's command (likely referencing the ten commandments) only
that one time. 2SA 24:24 David paid 50 shekels of silver for the
purchase of a property. 1CH 21:22-25 He paid 600 shekels of gold. On the surface this certainly
appears to be contradictory. However,
consider that 50 shekels of silver was paltry (reference Exodus 21:32) to pay
for a site that was later to become the temple mount. However, it might be an appropriate figure to pay for a yoke of
oxen. I Chronicles seems to indicate
that the initial discussion was about the property. Ornan then offered David the oxen too. II Samuel 24:24 says he bought the property and the oxen for 50
shekels of silver. Perhaps it would be
best rendered: David bought the property; and he also bought the oxen for an
additional 50 shekels of silver. 1KI 3:12 God made Solomon the wisest man that ever
lived, yet .... 1KI 11:1-13 Solomon loved many foreign women (against
God's explicit prohibition) who turned him to other gods (for which he deserved
death). Having wisdom and deciding to
use it to make the proper decision are two totally different things. It is like having money and knowing how to
invest it well. One of the perennial
themes of tragic drama is the character who knows better and makes the fatal
mistake anyway. 1KI 3:12, 4:29, 10:23-24, 2CH 9:22-23 God made Solomon
the wisest king and the wisest man that ever lived. There never has been nor
will be another like him. MT 12:42, LK 11:31 Jesus says: "... now one
greater than Solomon is here." Firstly, you are contrasting
"wisdom" and "greatness" (apples and oranges). Secondly, there never was another man as
wise as Solomon. Christ was God in the
flesh and can not be considered a mere man. 1KI 4:26 Solomon had 40,000 horses (or stalls for
horses). 2CH 9:25 He had 4,000 horses (or stalls for horses). Once again you fail to simply
read scripture. The passage in Kings
takes place before the temple is built while the passage in Chronicles takes
place many years later. (II Chronicles
9:25 is closer in time to I Kings 10:26 as is evident by the visit of the Queen
of Sheba.) Moreover, there is a distinction in the two passages in that the II
Chronicles 9:25 states he had 4,000 stalls for horses AND CHARIOTS. It appears
that there were 10 men and 10 horses per chariot. (Compare II Sam 10:18 and I
Chronicles 19:18 to see that the men of 700 chariots would be 7000 fighters.) 1KI 5:16 Solomon had 3,300 supervisors. 2CH 2:2 He had 3,600 supervisors. The passage in I Kings
specifically excludes the "chief officers" of which there were likely
300. 1KI 7:15-22 The two pillars were 18 cubits high. 2CH 3:15-17 They were 35 cubits high. This would seem to be a
pretty blatant mistake to make (getting the measurement wrong by twice). Let's consider the wording carefully. The I Kings passage says that "he cast
two pillars of brass, of 18 cubits high APIECE..." The book of Kings
further indicates at the time of the destruction of the temple (II Kings 25:16)
that "the height of ONE pillar was 18 cubits..." the identical
language is found in Jeremiah 52:20-21.
II Chronicles uses slightly different language: "he made before the
house TWO pillars of thirty and five cubits high..." It seems the author added them together to
come up with a combined height. Since
they were molten, formed from clay casts in the ground, perhaps they originally
were formed and measured end to end (I Kings 7:46). 1KI 7:26 Solomon's "molten sea" held 2000
"baths" (1 bath = about 8 gallons). 2CH 4:5 It held 3000 "baths." Both are correct. It "received and held" up to 3000
baths (Chronicles). Kings says it
"contained" 2000 baths. Apparently
they did not make a practice of filling it to the top, perhaps keeping it
convenient for the washing. 1KI 8:12, 2CH 6:1, PS 18:11 God dwells in thick
darkness. 1TI 6:16 God dwells in unapproachable light. I dwell in New Hampshire AND
in the United States AND in the world.
Some of these places are more or less bright. God dwells in heaven in unapproachable light. Between the third heaven and earth is both a
boundary of complete darkness so that no man would ever be able to see through
it and the darkness of outer space. A
good illustration of how God dwells in intense light within a protective sphere
of darkness is Exodus 19:21, Exodus 20:21 and Exodus 24:15-18. 1KI 8:13, AC 7:47 Solomon, whom God made the wisest
man ever, built his temple as an abode for God. AC 7:48-49 God does not dwell in temples built by men. But God did visit the temple
in a special way. In the end, the
temple was more a place for man to go to commune with God than a house in which
God could live on this earth. However,
if I knew that God would similarly visit a house that I built, I would happily
spend the rest of my life building it for Him. 1KI 9:28 420 talents of gold were brought back from
Ophir. 2CH 8:18 450 talents of gold were brought back from
Ophir. There were MANY trips to
Ophir to get gold. I Chronicles 29:4
indicates that 3,000 talents of gold from Ophir were stored up just to prepare
for the temple construction! 1KI 15:14 Asa did not remove the high places. 2CH 14:2-3 He did remove them. The Chronicles passage
describes his cleansing of the cities in Judah (see vs 5). In chapter 15 he proceeds to cleanse Benjamin
and portions of Ephraim of its idolatrous high places as well (15:8). However, the chapter ends like the passage
in I Kings. Verse 17 indicates that he
did not cleanse the remainder of the land.
Perhaps he even permitted some to reappear in Judah by the end of his
reign. (They went up and down quite
regularly in those days.) 1KI 16:6-8 Baasha died in the 26th year of King Asa's
reign. 2CH 16:1 Baasha built a city in the 36th year of King
Asa's reign. In Jewish tradition there was
no provision for a queen. Here, the
queen-mother, Maachah, takes on an important role when her son Abijam dies
after reigning only 3 years. She adopts
one of his sons Asa (I Kings 15:10) apparently as a figure-head and actually
reigns herself for the first 10 years (see II Chronicles 14:2). After this period, Asa wins a great battle,
is encouraged by the prophet in chapter 15, and takes over. He cleans the idols out of Judah AND
Benjamin (as noted above) and removes the idolatrous Maachah as queen (I Kings
15:13 and II Chronicles 15:16). Likely
this ten-year reign of the Queen mother alongside Asa is the reason for the
ten-year discrepancy in dating the Baasha event by how long Asa had ruled. 1KI 16:23 Omri became king in the thirty-first year of
Asa's reign and he reigned for a total of twelve years. 1KI 16:28-29 Omri died, and his son Ahab became king
in the thirty- eighth year of Asa's reign. (Note: Thirty-one through
thirty-eight equals a reign of seven or eight years.) Here we have a complex
plot. Elah had become the rightful
king. But one of his generals, Zimri,
conspired and killed him. Zimri, the
traitor, begins to reign in the twenty-seventh year of Asa. He rules for only seven days (I Kings 16:15)
before being overthrown by Omri, the other general. Omri immediately begins to reign but faces a rival king, Tibni
(vs 21), who is supported by fully half of the population of Israel. Over the years, Omri prevails. When his rival dies, he becomes undisputed
king over all Israel in vs 23. However,
his total reign was from Asa's twenty-seventh year to Asa's thirty-eighth year,
or roughly twelve years. 1KI 22:23, 2CH 18:22, 2TH 2:11 God himself causes a
lying spirit. PR 12:22 God abhors lying lips and delights in
honesty. This identical objection has
already been answered above. 1KI 22:42-43 Jehoshaphat did not remove the high
places. 2CH 17:5-6 He did remove them. The Chronicles passage states
that he took them out of JUDAH. No
doubt he cleaned out the region around the capitol. II Chronicles 20:33 confirms the Kings passage that he never
swept the whole land clean. Perhaps he
also permitted some to crop back up by the end of his reign. (As observed earlier, they appear to come
and go a lot during this time.) 2KI 2:11 Elijah went up to heaven. JN 3:13 Only the Son of Man (Jesus) has ever ascended
to heaven. 2CO 12:2-4 An unnamed man, known to Paul, went up to
heaven and came back. HE 11:5 Enoch was translated to heaven. Your problem is with this
interpretation of John. Christ is not
saying that nobody had died and gone to heaven. That would be preposterous.
Look at the context (vs. 11).
Christ is chiding Nicodemus for doubting. If he did not believe Christ on earthly matters, which could be
seen and verified; how then could he believe heavenly things where no man is
able to go up and verify? Those that
have seen heaven in the Scriptures have seen a vision (or have been brought
there in spirit alone). They did not
decide to up and see God. No man in the
flesh can see God and live (I John 4:12), while obviously plenty have died and
seen God. Incidentally, the event in II
Corinthians had not yet transpired when John was written. 2KI 4:32-37 A dead child is raised (well before the
time of Jesus). MT 9:18-25, JN 11:38-44 Two dead persons are raised (by
Jesus himself). AC 26:23 Jesus was the first to rise from the dead. There are plenty of others
that were raised which you do not cite (including by Paul himself). There is a fundamental difference,
however. They all died again. Paul is talking about the resurrection to
life (having a NEW body). See I
Corinthians 15:20-23. Christ is the
first with each who believe to follow.
2KI 8:25-26 Ahaziah was 22 years old when he began his
reign. 2CH 22:1 He was 42 when he began his reign. II Chronicles 21:20 says that
Ahaziah's dad began to reign at age thirty-two. He reigned for eight years and then died (at age forty). Obviously his son could not have been
forty-two at that time! However, it is quite
possible that there were a couple of kings that reigned in quick succession
here (since Ahaziah only reigned one year).
Supporting this idea is the confusion of names that appear for the king
at this time (Jehoahaz in II Chronicles 21:17 and Azariah in 22:6). Moreover, Matthew 1:8 completely skips this part
of the genealogy, further confusing the issue.
It also appears that Azariah was a VERY common name. Note in II Chronicles 21:2 that Ahaziah had
two uncles named Azariah! Perhaps one
of them reigned briefly. The age
difference would certainly fit. Note
also below. 2KI 9:27 Jehu shot Ahaziah near Ibleam. Ahaziah fled
to Meggido and died there. 2CH 22:9 Ahaziah was found hiding in Samaria, brought
to Jehu, and put to death. It is very likely that we are
dealing with two different individuals.
In support of this, II Kings describes how Jehu, after shooting Ahaziah,
goes to Samaria and kills numerous other members of the royal family (II Kings
10:12-14). Furthermore, the Ahaziah
that is killed in II Chronicles 22:9 is said to be the son of Jehosophat
(rather than grandson), and in II Chronicles 21:2 we note that Jehosophat did
have two sons named Azariah. Note also
above. 2KI 16:5 The King of Syria and the son of the King of
Israel did not conquer Ahaz. 2CH 28:5-6 They did conquer Ahaz. It was not a black and white
victory. The II Kings passage says that
the Syrian/Israeli confederacy besieged Jerusalem (into which Ahaz had
retreated) but did not overcome it.
However, they did according to vs 6 take over large portions of
Judah. The II Chronicles passage
details the defeat and ransacking of the region around Jerusalem. The end of this chapter makes it clear that
they did not capture Jerusalem or kill Ahaz (since the treasures were left
intact). 2KI 24:8 Jehoiachin (Jehoiakim) was eighteen years old
when he began to reign. 2CH 36:9 He was eight. (Note: This discrepancy has been "corrected"
in some versions.) It is true that this is a
discrepancy in our Hebrew texts. Some
have suggested that he reigned jointly with his father for ten years (but there
is no evidence in the scripture for such an explanation). Hebrew numbers were one of the biggest
challenges for scribes that copied the texts through the centuries. Hebrews used letters in the place of
numerals. The letters from Koph to Tau
express hundreds up to four hundred. Five certain Hebrew letters written in a
different form, carry hundreds up to nine hundred, while thousands are
expressed by two dots over the proper unit letter (for example the letter Teht,
used alone, stands for 9; with two dots it stands for nine thousand). Error in transcription of Hebrew numbers
thus becomes easy, preservation of numerical accuracy extremely difficult. 2KI 24:8 Jehoiachin (Jehoiakim) reigned three months. 2CH 36:9 He reigned three months and ten days. This is truly pathetic! If
you complain that the Kings passage is incorrect because the Chronicles passage
is more precise, than you could never be satisfied. For example, I am sure that it was not an exact ten days
either. Probably it was three months,
ten days, and some number of minutes. 2KI 24:17 Jehoiachin (Jehoaikim) was succeeded by his
uncle. 2CH 36:10 He was succeeded by his brother. Jehoiachin was son of
Jehoiakim. Therefore he was brother to
Jehoiakim and uncle to Jehoiachin.
Since the passage in II Chronicles 36:10 only briefly mentions
Jehoiachin, it is easy to think that they are the same person. Indeed, it is talking about Jehoiakim when
it mentions him as brother to Zedekiah. It is completely clear in I Chronicles
3:15 and Jeremiah 37:1. 2CH 3:11-13 The lineage is: Joram, Ahaziah, Joash,
Amaziah, Azariah, Jotham. MT 1:8-9 It is: Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, etc. I can not find your lineage
reference in II Chronicles 3:11-13. II
Chronicles does place Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah between Joram and
Jotham. Perhaps it was a copying error,
of which we have identified a few. It
does not materially impact anything in the doctrine of the Faith. (None of them do.) It is also possible that it was purposefully left out of this
genealogy. While this would appear
unusual, comparing Genesis 11:12 with Luke 3:35-36 indicates that Cainan was
left out. It also appears that in the
Jewish tradition, the designation "son" was somewhat flexible. There are multiple instances in the
scripture where a grandson is called a son or a son in law is called a son. 2CH 3:19 Pedaiah was the father of Zerubbabel. ER 3:2 Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel. II Chronicles 3:19 does not
exist. Likely you are dealing with
different individuals. For starters, check
the timeframes. 2CH 19:7, AC 10:34, RO 2:11 There is no injustice or
partiality with the Lord. RO 9:15-18 God has mercy on (and hardens the hearts
of) whom he pleases. This identical objection has
been answered above. ER 2:3-64 (Gives the whole congregation as 42,360
while the actual sum of the numbers is about 30,000.) I notice that you did not
cite verse two which clearly specifies that the passage was only listing the
men. Note also 2:22-23 seems to list
"men" synonymously. No doubt
the difference is because women were counted as part of the "whole
congregation." While that would
mean twice as many men as women, one would expect that the act of rebuilding
the homeland would attract a number of single young men. Indeed, Ezra 9 describes a massive
confrontation because the Jewish young men took themselves Gentile women of the
land in violation of God's law. JB 2:3-6, 21:7-13, 2TI 3:12 The godly are persecuted
and chastised but the wicked grow old, wealthy, and powerful, unchastised by
God. PS 55:23, 92:12-14, PR 10:2-3, 27-31, 12:2, 21 The
lives of the wicked are cut short. The righteous flourish and obtain favor from
the Lord. This paradox was the topic of
Asaph in Psalm 73. Finally he
understands by the end of the chapter that there are two acts to the play of
life. In act one, the first statement
may well be the Christian's experience.
At other times, Christians may not be persecuted, but God always
chastises them if they disobey. The
ungodly may well prosper for a time.
During the second act, Christians are always triumphant. The ungodly are always judged. A wise man once said, "Life as it is on
this earth is all the hell a believer will experience, and it is all the heaven
an unbeliever will experience." PS 10:1 God cannot be found in time of need. He is
"far off." PS 145:18 God is near to all who call upon him in
truth. The Psalmist here does not
make a statement. He cries out in a
rhetorical question because God does not seem to be answering him. It is an experience that many can relate
to. Sometimes it seems that God does
not hear us. By vs 17 he had assurance
that God had heard his prayer. Luke
18:7 says that God does hear, though at times he "tarries" to test
our mettle. PS 22:1-2 God sometimes forsakes his children. He does
not answer. PS 46:1 God is a refuge, a strength, a very present
help. Same as above. PS 30:5, JE 3:12, MI 7:18 God's anger does not last
forever. JE 17:4, MT 25:46 It does last forever. (He has
provided for eternal punishment.) The difference here is not
God, it is the object of His anger. He
is angry with His children when they disobey, but willing to forgive them when
they repent. He is eternally angry at
those who rebel against Him and scorn His mercy. PS 58:10-11 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees
vengeance. PR 24:16-18 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls or
stumbles. These are two different sets
of circumstances. In the first passage
it is wicked people. Christians rejoice
to see a serial murderer get caught and bear his just punishment. The second case is an adversary or
competitor who falls into misfortune.
We are not to gloat. PS 78:69, EC 1:4, 3:14 The earth was established
forever. PS 102:25-26, MT 24:35, MK 13:31, LK 21:33, HE
1:10-11, 2PE 3:10 The earth will someday perish. The Hebrew word used both in
Psalm 78 and the Ecclesiastes passages is "olam." It can mean "forever" (infinite)
or "ongoing" (comparatively perpetual). Obviously the second meaning is intended in these passages. To see other usages of this word in a comparative
sense, see Job 41:4 and Psalm 119:98. PR 3:13, 4:7, 19:8, JA 1:5 Happy is the man who finds
wisdom. Get wisdom. LK 2:40, 52 Jesus was filled with wisdom and found
favor with God. 1CO 1:19-25, 3:18-20 Wisdom is foolishness. This is an amazingly blatant
attempt to mischaracterize the passages in Corinthians. Both are clearly speaking of the world's
wisdom, as opposed to God's wisdom.
Look at I Corinthians 4:10.
Psalm 111:10 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom. How much fear of the Lord is in
the wisdom of the world? PR 12:2, RO 8:28 A good man obtains favor from the
Lord. TI 3:12, HE 12:6 The godly will be persecuted. You are comparing the
disfavor of men (persecution) with the favor of God (apples and oranges). PR 14:8 The wisdom of a prudent man is to discern his
way. MT 6:25-34 Take no thought for tomorrow. God will take
care of you. "Take no thought"
in Matthew can be better translated, "Do not worry. It is not God's desire that we stop making
plans. PR 14:15-18 The simple believe everything and acquire
folly; the prudent look where they are going and are crowned with knowledge. MT 18:3, LK 18:17 You must believe as little children
do. 1CO 1:20, 27 God has made the wisdom of the world
foolish so as to shame the wise. PR 16:4 God made the wicked for the "day of
evil." MT 11:25, MK 4:11-12 God and Jesus hide some things
from some people. JN 6:65 No one can come to Jesus unless it is granted
by God. RO 8:28-30 Some are predestined to be called to God,
believe in Jesus, and be justified. RO 9:15-18 God has mercy on, and hardens the hearts
of, whom he pleases. 2TH 2:11-12 God deceives the wicked so as to be able
to condemn them. 1TI 2:3-4, 2PE 3:9 [Yet] God wants all to be saved. This takes the cake for being
the biggest hodge podge of unrelated assertions. What is the supposed contradiction here? It seems that most of these points are made
elsewhere, so I will endeavor to answer them where the "discrepancy"
is clear, rather than trying to guess what is intended here. PR 8:13, 16:6 It is the fear of God that keeps men
from evil. 1JN 4:18 There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives
out fear. 1JN 5:2, 2JN 1:6 Those who love God keep his
commandments. The Christian's relationship
with God is a complex one. There is an
element of godly fear (reverence, respect, and great concern about offense)
along with love. But it is not the fear
that is discussed in I John 4:18 (a foreboding, tormenting fear of the future). There is also a maturing aspect that is
involved in the relationship. As a
little boy, I feared my dad's discipline if I disobeyed and played in the
street. As our relationship matures and
I came to understand the reasons for my dad's rules, I kept them out of love
and respect. PR 26:4 Do not answer a fool. To do so makes you
foolish too. PR 26:5 Answer a fool. If you don't, he will think
himself wise. Don't get into a prolonged
argument with a fool, lest you stoop to his level and OTHERS see you as foolish
too; but don't let him off without a quick retort either, lest HE get conceited
and think you are unable to respond. This is a tough balancing act
and I frequently come back to these verses for wisdom when I am engaged in a
debate that fits the bill. PR 30:5 Every word of God proves true. JE 8:8 The scribes falsify the word of God. JE 20:7, EZ 14:9, 2TH 2:11-12 God himself deceives
people. (Note: Some versions translate deceive as
"persuade." The context makes clear, however, that deception is
involved.) It does not appear that your
Jeremiah 8:8 reference is correct.
There is no falsifying the word.
God says the law was in vain and His preservation of it was to no avail
since the people were hearing but disregarding His commandments. |