Contradiction #2
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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.
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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).
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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.
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Does Zathras even try to understand the passage? Are these mistakes purposefully misunderstood 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 inhabitants and needed to be re-conquered. 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!
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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.
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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 fails to obey God and falls himself to the Philistines. Is this supposed to be God's fault?
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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.
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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?
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Saul saw David before the battle (I Samuel 17:38). Verses 55-58 does 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).
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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."
David was doing as he said in 17:46. Simply doing as he had promised Goliath.
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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.
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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.)
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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.
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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.
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There is no contradiction here. Michal and Merab (Michal's older sister) were both a part in this, obviously. Merab (the wife of Adriel according to I Samuel 18:19) more than likely had the children with Adriel, and Michal (who was in love with David according to I Samuel 18:20, and later married David according to I Samuel 18:27) "brought up" (II Samuel 21:8) the boys just as the KJV says. My aunt brought up my younger sister, although she was born by my birth mother.
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It could be that there were a few different numbers floating around wonder since I Chronicles 21:6 indicates that Joab purposely did a sloppy job and miscounted whole tribes since he found the king's command abominable. But the discrepancy can be resolved if we consider what was included and excluded 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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 cannot be considered a mere man.
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Once again you fail to simply read scripture. Like anything else, this number changed over time. The passage in Kings takes place before the temple is built while the passage in Chronicles takes place many years later. The parallel passage to II Chronicles 9:25 is I Kings 10:26.
Many scoffers have cited I Kings 4:26 "And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen" and II Chronicles 9:25 "And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen" as a contradiction. There is no contradiction. He had 40,000 stalls for horses yet only 4,000 stalls for the chariots. They had 10 men and 10 horses per chariot in case they got a "flat tire." See II Sam 10:18 "And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians," and I Chron. 119:18 "But the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in chariots," to show the same point. The men of 700 chariots would be 7000 men.
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The passage in I Kings specifically excludes the "chief officers" of which there were likely 300.
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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..." Perhaps 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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.)
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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.
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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.
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This identical objection has already been answered above.
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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. (They appear to come and go a lot during this time.)
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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.
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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.
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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! It is 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. 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.
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It is very possible 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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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. It is 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.
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II Chronicles 3:19 does not exist. Likely you are dealing with different individuals. For starters, check the timeframes.
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This identical objection has been answered above.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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Same as above.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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You are comparing the disfavor of men (persecution) with the favor of God (apples and oranges).
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"Take no thought." in Matthew can be said, "Do not worry. It is not God's desire that we stop making plans
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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.
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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.
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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 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.
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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.
The fact that some scribes might twist, distort, or
misinterpret the scriptures has nothing whatsoever to do with
their being true. The silly notion of God deceiving people was
dealt with above.
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It would seem that God does both, depending on what He chooses at the time.
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Jesus is God.
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My grandfather is buried in a crowded cemetery. Is he buried by himself or with others? Both. Similarly Christ was alone in the tomb but was buried with the rich (wealthy gardens and sepulchers).
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"Sowing and reaping" can describe a literal planting and harvesting of grains or it can be an agricultural metaphor, applied in various ways under different circumstances to make a point. Jeremiah and Micah both use it in the first sense, describing how Israel had come to a place of judgment for sin (as predicted in Deuteronomy 28). Matthew and Luke both describe a ruthless lord who was wealthy and living off the efforts of others. II Corinthians 9:6 uses the phrase as a metaphor in the area of charitable giving; Galatians 6:7 uses it as a metaphor in the area of good deeds; and I Corinthians 3:6 uses it as a metaphor in the area of missions. The fact that different people in differing circumstances reap different results for their investment into different areas is no contradiction.
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This same argument is answered above.
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The promise is not that he would live a wonderful life. It was that he would die in peace rather than in war by the sword. Note the context of the passage in Jeremiah 34.
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The verse in Ezekiel is being terribly misinterpreted. Just a few verses down (vs 31) God reiterates his wrath at giving the firstborn to the fire. When God says he "gave them" in this passage, it is used in the same sense as Psalm 81:12 and Romans 1:24. God stopped trying to change them and gave them over to their wickedness.
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Tyre is one of the most dramatic evidences we have of fulfilled prophecy!
Nebuchanezzar failed to totally subdue Tyre because the inhabitants of this seacoast city all abandoned Tyre proper to escape to a large island fortress off the coast. Nevertheless, Nebuchanezzar's siege and looting of the seacoast city was praised and actually rewarded by God (Ezekiel 29:18-20). His destruction of mainland portion of Tyre certainly fulfills verses 7-11 which apply to him.
However, verse 3 stipulates that multiple nations would be involved in the ultimate destruction of Tyre. Some have said that there is no marvel in seeing such prophecy of a city's demise come true since every ancient capitol fell prey at one time or another. The significance of Biblical prophecy is that its proclamations are VERY specific and differ by the city. Notice the specificity:
- Vs 3 multiple nations involved.
- Vs 4 walls and towers were to be broken
- Vs 4 dirt was to be scraped off the area revealing the underlying rock
- All the debris of the city was to be dumped in the water
- Vs 14 It would be a place of fishermen spreading their nets.
- The site would never be rebuilt.
The dramatic fulfillment of the prophesied judgment was not completed in Nebuchanezzar since the inhabitants outlasted Nebuchanezzar on their Alcatraz-like island. When Alexander the Great came through conquering the city of Tyre, the citizens tried the same trick...evacuating for the island fortress. Alexander took a cue from the failure of Nebuchanezzar. He took ALL of the debris from the city of Tyre (literally scraping it bare), built a causeway out to the island, and proceeded to destroy Tyre. The modern city called Tyre was NOT constructed on this ancient site. In fact the ancient plot is largely barren rock (somewhat inland from the modern construction), and has quite literally been used by local fishermen to lay out their nets!
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Big deal. Maybe in Chaldean or Hebrew these two were the same word. Maybe he was referred to as king when he was acting ruler, in his dad's absence.
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It 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. There are also many instances when ALL of the descendants are collectively called "sons" (ie Genesis 23:3-5).
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It does appear to reference the quote in Ezekiel. Possibly the three books (Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel) were bound together at that time and called "Jeremy" much as the books the Pentateuch were bound together and called the Book of Moses.
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It clearly states nothing of the sort. Luke 1:27 and 34-35 go to great pains to make clear that Joseph was NOT Jesus' biological father. He was Jesus' earthly adopted father. That is why Luke 3:23 adds the all-important phrase "as was supposed." This genealogy traces the biological ancestry through Mary.
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Heli was Mary's dad. He was Joseph's FATHER-in-law.
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There are, as was noted above, several generations left out of Matthew's genealogy. However, since Luke's genealogy traces a separate lineage, there is no need to have the identical number of generations.
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The angel appeared to Mary before conception and to Joseph afterwards.
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The angel came to both in turn.
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It is unclear if any of Christ's family was present at the baptism. It is also unclear which members of the Lord's family thought he was out of his mind (or exactly why). However, history is replete with examples of great figures being scorned by their own family. Some may have been skeptical of His miracles, embarrassed by His claims, or jealous of the crowds that followed Him. Regardless of the reason, there is no contradiction here.
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He had a great many names. One of them was the Son of God. Immanuel means "God with us."
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The reason that there are four gospels is that they complement each other. Each one fills in events and perspectives that are not detailed in the others. The fact that Luke picks up the story some time after the birth and does not record the slaughter of the innocents or flight to Egypt is not a contradiction. In all likelihood, John the Baptist was not killed because he was not in the region of Bethlehem at the time.
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Possibly it references Isaiah 11:1, which uses the word "branch" (Hebrew "Netzer") out of David. The Greek in Matthew 2:23 is "Nazoraios."
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Neither the passage in Matthew 3 or John 1 indicate that John was decided on the fact that Christ was the Messiah (as opposed to a great prophet). Even if he had realized it, the incident in Matthew occurred while John was in jail. Possibly some rumors or misinformation had reached him concerning Jesus' preaching and he sent some disciples to find out whether Jesus was indeed claiming to be the Christ or had said something to the contrary.
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God can make a fire without light. God can also blind the inhabitants so that they are in complete darkness.
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Both did.
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What if the voice said, "Behold my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Who was addressed? Obviously both. This nit-picking is meaningless to the story or the understanding of the point made.
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This passage in John never mentions the baptism!
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Luke does not use chronological language to describe this event; but merely states: Satan did this, and this, and this.
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These are different events. For some time, the disciples did not stay with Christ full time. Peter met Christ initially and went back to fishing. Again he followed Christ for a few days and went back to his work. Later he abandoned the family business and followed the Lord full time.
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Jesus was an itinerant preacher who no doubt gave this message many times as He traveled about. Paul was not a Christian at the time Jesus preached. Later, however, he specifically reference Christ's message and then draws a distinction where he augments it (I Corinthians 7:12).
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Again, you confuse two separate issues. In Matthew 5, Christ encourages his followers to live a good life so that their works will draw people's attention to God. However, Christians are not to blow a trumpet before themselves to draw attention to their benevolence (Matthew 6). One passage deals with making sure you do good deeds, another deals with HOW you do the good deeds.
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There are two aspects to the law: ceremonial and moral. The ceremony ceased upon Christ's completed sacrifice. The moral code still applies to point people to their need for a Savior (Galatians 3:24-25).
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See above.
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You completely misquote Matthew 5:22. It says, "Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment." Certainly anger without proper justification is a sin.
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See Above
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Matthew uses the famous "exception clause" as a justification for divorce but does not legitimize remarriage. Mark 10:11-12 DOES NOT say "divorce on any grounds is wrong." It condemns the act of remarriage as adultery (as does Luke 16:18).
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Dittos (Note that Christ never resisted authorities and, while angry at sin and false teaching, always acted in love.)
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Dittos.
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This is inordinate stretching to try and concoct a contradiction. Christ desire that his disciples FIRST call on Jews (see Acts 1:8). The apostles message in II John 9-11 (not John 1:9-11) is certainly not motivated by hate. While a Christian must oppose anyone that is fighting against Christianity, one can still be loving.
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When it does, God will replace it with a new heaven and a new earth and live there (Revelation 21:1).
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It is not wrong for Christians to pray to be delivered from trials. However, if God brings them our way, we are to maintain a joyful disposition.
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This same objection is answered above.
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"Take no thought." in Matthew can be better translated, "Do not worry. It is not God's desire that we stop making plans!
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The second passage does not even use the word "judge." Again, we have a balance in scripture. Christians are not to pass judgment of their own accord (since we all are sinners before God). However, we ARE to declare God's judgment. We ARE to be discerning of false doctrine that would destroy the Faith and harm people (John 7:24) and apply God's Word to them. This is not judging people. Rather, it is making people aware of the judgment God has already rendered in His Word.
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The first passages are directed to believers with regard to having your prayers answered. The scripture in Luke 13 describes those that come to the judgment (note vs 25) and want to change their mind. See also Matthew 7:21 and 25:40-46.
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See above.
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The passages in Matthew say that those who do what God wants will get into heaven. Doing what God wants requires, first and foremost that one has faith in God (Hebrews 11:6). The citation in Luke has nothing to do with justification. Romans, likewise, does not refer to justification, but to the degree of judgment or reward (after the eternal destiny has already been decided).
We have in James an oft-misunderstood passage. It is actually a simple concept. Romans views justification from God's perspective (Romans 4:9). James views it from man's perspective. Men can not see a person's heart like God can. The only way we can evaluate if a man is justified is by the works that result. Someone put it well: "Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is never alone." Works demonstrate saving faith (James 2:18). James? argument was against those that gave a mere intellectual assent of Christianity (just like the demons in vs 19) without ever coming to a life-changing decision.
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Matthew does seem to imply that the centurion comes in person. However, the language does not preclude him from speaking through an emissary. Indeed that is what happened in Acts 10:30-33 with the centurion Cornelius (and the language is similar). This type of phrasing was customary at that time. It is not unlike a spokesperson today speaking for a head of state.
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It says He healed many with various diseases and cast out many demons. While it does not say that He healed all, it certainly does not preclude it.
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If there were two demoniacs (Matthew), then Mark and Luke are correct in saying there was one. They would only be a contradiction if they said ONLY one was healed. The demonic had multiple personalities (Note in vs 9 "We are many!") which may have confused the situation.
- Matthew 9:18 The ruler's daughter was already dead when Jesus raised her.
- Luke 8:42 She was dying, but not dead.
You characterize NEITHER passage correctly. In Matthew, they thought she was dead, but Jesus declared she was merely in a coma (vs 24); in Luke, they also informed Him that she had died before he gets there (vs 49) and Christ informs them she is only in a coma (vs 52). There is no contradiction.
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This is a ridiculous mischaracterization. The disciples do a great deal of healing and perform exorcism throughout the gospels and Acts. To claim that they were unable to do so because of this one instance of failure on their part is like saying Michael Jordan was unable to play basketball because he missed a key shot and lost a game.
- Matthew 10:2, Mark 3:16-19 The twelve apostles (disciples) were: Simon (Peter), Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, John his brother, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus (Labbaeus), Simon, and Judas Iscariot.
- Luke 6:13-16 The above except that Thaddaeus (Labbaeus) is excluded, and Judas the son of James is added (and Judas Iscariot remains).
- Acts 1:13, 26 Same as Matthew and Mark except that, like LK Thaddaeus (Labbaeus) is excluded, Judas the son of James is included, and Mathias is chosen by the others to replace Judas Iscariot.
Both Matthew and Luke were written by a disciple. It is hard to believe that either of them would forget the name or would misname one of the twelve who lived, ate slept, and suffered together! Even if these books were merely casual diaries and not holy scripture, one could not imagine such a blatant mistake being among the various errors that could crop up. It is far more likely that this is the same individual. Many of the disciples had multiple names. Perhaps he had three: Thaddaeus, Labbaeus, and Judas. The order in which the names are given (next to James) in each account would also seem to indicate this.
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He was to go first to the Jews and later to the Gentiles (Acts 1:8).
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These are two different mission excursions in which Christ was training his disciples for their future ministry. For a clearer example of how these unique requirements only applied to a specific mission trip, see Luke 22:35-36.
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He brought both, depending on the individual's response to Christ. The passage in John 16 was addressed to the disciples who believed on Him.
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Where is the supposed contradiction? I could see that there would be one if Romans 10 said that one must confess and believe, rather than calling on the name of the Lord. Instead, that passage in verse 13 mentions calling on the name of the Lord, indicating it is synonymous with confessing and believing. Furthermore, any person that does believe and call on God, will be born of the Spirit (simultaneous with being saved) and will endure to the end. The only passage that is slightly different from the others is I John, since it is not talking about what is required for salvation. It is discussing evidence of salvation (after-the-fact).
- Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:4 Jesus says not to fear men. (Fear God only.)
- Matthew 12:15-16, John 7:1-10, 8:59, 10:39, 11:53-54 Jesus hid, escaped, went secretly, etc.
Was Christ motivated by fear or a desire to avoid a physical confrontation before the appropriate time? John 7:6 and Matthew 26:18 indicates that Jesus was very concerned about the timing of His sacrifice. When that time came, He predicted His betrayal and death, offered no resistance to his arrest and gave no defense to Pilate, certainly not the actions of a fearful man.
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John does not say that he was not A prophet. Rather he denies that he is THAT prophet which they were referencing.
- Matthew 11:25, Mark 4:11-12 Jesus thanks God for hiding some things from the wise while revealing them to "babes." He says that he uses parables so that the meaning of some of his teachings will remain hidden to at least some persons, and specifically so that they will not turn and be forgiven.
- Mark 4:22 Jesus says that all things should be made known.
Christ does not declare that all things SHOULD be made known, but that all things would eventually BE made known. Indeed, after his death and ascension, the specifics of his life were made known to all who would listen, being preached throughout many countries in the ancient world.
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There is no in-between; it is black and white; you are a child of God or a child of the devil; bound for heaven or bound for hell. If you consider yourself indifferent or undecided towards the perfect Son of God who died for you, then you are against Him. You can change from one camp to the other, but you cannot hide in-between the two.
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The context of these passages makes the answer clear if it were read. Note in Mark 8:11 that the Pharisees were wrongly motivated. Christ does not perform a miracle on a whim to satisfy his enemies. His statement in Matthew 12:39 is that wicked people would only get one sign? His resurrection. He did many miracles to help people in need and to validate His message before those who were sincere.
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The book of John does not contain all the public sermons that are in the other gospels. However, there are still some parables (John 10:6).