Q&A – Page 93 – Church of the Eternal God

Could you explain the correct original order and number of the books of the Bible?

January 12, 2007

Virtually all English Bibles, which we have today, do NOT accurately
set forth the order or divisions of the Biblical books, as originally
maintained and inspired by God.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Hebrew Bible of the Old Testament consisted originally of 24 books. It is to be divided into three sections:

(1) The Law (5 books of Moses)

(2) The Prophets (8 books)

— The former prophets—Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings (4 books)

— The latter prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 12 Minor Prophets (4 books)

(3) The Writings (11 books)

— Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs (4 books)

— Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther (4 books)

— Daniel, Ezra/Nehemiah, and Chronicles (3 books)

It
is fairly established today that the Hebrew Bible originally consisted
of 24 books (Compare, The Bible as Literature, The Barnes & Noble
Outline Series, p. 19; The Jerusalem Bible, p. xii: “The Jewish Bible
thus consists of ‘twenty-four books’”; Prof. Felix Just, of Loyola
Marymount University: “Jews count 24″; Encyclopedia Britannica,

The Bible teaches that Christ became flesh at His First Coming. Yet you say that Christ already appeared as a human being in Old Testament times. Did He already become flesh on those occasions? Was He still flesh–or did He change to flesh–after His resurrection?

January 5, 2007

John 1:1 tells us that the “Word” was God. The “Word” is a reference
to Jesus Christ (compare Revelation 19:13; 1 John 1:1-3). John 1:14
tells us that Jesus Christ, the “Word,” “became flesh and dwelt among
us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth.”

Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
existed as a God being long before the events took place, which are
described in John 1:14–that is, long before He “became flesh.”
Philippians 2:5-11 tells us that Christ, who was “in the form of God,”
took “the form of a bond servant” and came “in the likeness of men.”
Hebrews 2:14 confirms that Jesus partook of flesh and blood, so that He
could die. As long as He was an immortal Spirit being, He could not die.

We

Is it true that the design of the European flag has been adopted from a picture of the "Virgin Mary"?

December 29, 2006

This is apparently correct. The historical background of the design
of the European flag, and its biblical significance, is quite
interesting. The Catholic News Agency, Zenit, wrote the following on
December 7, 1999:

“December 8 is a very special day for Europe:
in 1955, on that day, the European Ministers’ delegates officially
adopted the European flag designed by Arsene Heitz… The decision was
taken following the 1950 European Council’s… convocation of a
competition to design the flag of the newborn European Community…: 12
stars on a blue background.

“Recently Heitz revealed to a French
magazine the reason for his inspiration. At that time he was reading
the history of the Blessed Virgin’s apparitions in Paris’ Rue du Bac,
known today as the Virgin of the Miraculous Medal. According to the
artist, he thought of the 12 stars in a circle on a blue background,
exactly the way it is represented in traditional iconography of this
image of the Immaculate Conception…

“According to Javier
Paredes, Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Alcala
in Spain, in statements sent to ZENIT, ‘Heitz listens to God in his

Does God work out His Master Plan for Man according to a pre-determined time table?

December 22, 2006

Perhaps no other single event captures the focus of religionists
more than that of the return of Jesus Christ. From the first generation
of the Church of God until now, people have been utterly convinced that
Christ would return in their own lifetime. That has led some into
bitter disappointment and even an absolute abandonment and rejection of
their faith!

In spite of what people concoct in their own
imaginations, is God actually working out His plan according to a
pre-determined time line?

Let’s see what God reveals in His
written Word, and in doing so, let the Bible teach us a true
understanding and a balanced perspective on this important question.

Scientists
have examined the make-up of this universe, and in their quests, they
have gained remarkable insight about the physical creation of God. One
extraordinary discovery is the approximate age of the universe—about 14
billion years!

With that perspective in mind, consider that the
Bible introduces God’s creation of mankind, and this event is but a
tiny moment in time from the galactic standpoint.

In this
beginning period for the creation that God accomplished that is

Hebrews 9:27 states that "it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." But aren’t there several instances in the Bible where some were resurrected to life and died again? They did not enter into judgment after they died the first time–did they?

December 15, 2006

Indeed there are numerous examples of resurrections, both in the Old
and the New Testament! For instance, 2 Kings 13:21 relates the record
of a dead person who “revived and stood on his feet,” when the bones of
Elisha touched him. There was no magic associated with Elisha’s bones
but it was a demonstration of God’s power and His approval of
Elisha–showing that he died as a servant of God, even though he died
from a sickness (verse 14). Also, John 11:38-44 records the story of
the resurrection of Lazarus who had been dead for several days. We also
read, in Luke 8:49-56, that Christ brought a dead girl back to life. In
the case of the young girl, we read that Christ commanded the parents
“that she be given something to eat” (verse 55) — proving that this

How can you really prove what the Bible teaches?

December 8, 2006March 23, 2020

(Español: ¿Cómo se puede demostrar realmente lo que enseña la Biblia?)

The original writings of the Bible are, in fact, God’s infallible Word. However, in the face of such myriads of beliefs—all claiming the Bible as their source, most people dismiss the real authority of the Book that God has inspired.

Both Catholics and Protestants use the Bible as the basis for what they believe and teach. Various translations and versions of the Bible are available, and these differing accounts do reflect the bias of those organizations and individuals who have authored them.

However, the Bible transcends both language and translation issues. For example, consider the record found in Acts 2, where the disciples on the Day of Pentecost were led by God’s Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel. In particular, note what occurred for those who heard this message:

Would you please explain Mark 11:24. We are told in this passage that we will receive from God all things, if we only believe. Is this promise conditional, and if it is, what are those conditions?

December 1, 2006March 20, 2026

As we point out in our booklet, “Teach Us To Pray!”, Christ’s promise in Mark 11:24 is indeed subject to several conditions. In this passage, Christ is emphasizing the absolute necessity of manifesting living, unwavering and obedient faith in our lives (compare verses 22-23). Without faith that God will do what we ask Him for, we cannot expect to receive anything from Him (compare James 1:6-8). But godly faith alone is not sufficient, either. As explained in our booklet, additional necessary aspects of successful prayer include the need to ask; to ask in faith; to pray boldly; to keep God’s Commandments; to bear the right kind of Christian fruit in our lives; to pray in Christ’s name; and to pray always.

Another additional extremely important and all-encompassing condition for successful prayer is the necessity to pray in accordance with God’s Will (1 John 5:14). This requires that we learn to understand and agree with God’s Will for us (Ephesians 5:17; Romans 12:2). In other words, God must reveal His Will to us (Ephesians 1:9).

Would you please explain the meaning of the terms, "latter days," "last days," "time of the end," "end of the world," "day of the LORD," "in that day," and the "time of Jacob’s trouble."

November 24, 2006July 12, 2016

When trying to understand Biblical prophecy, it is critical that we are familiar with the meaning of certain key prophetic phrases. For instance, all these terms listed in the Question have a FUTURE prophetic application. This means that when we read a passage in the Old or New Testament, which uses one of these phrases, we should recognize that the passage refers to the future!

Here is an overview of the meaning of these phrases:

The LATTER DAYS

When we come across the term “the latter days” (in Hebrew, “acharith” for “latter”), we are being introduced to events which will happen at the end of this age or present civilization, including the first resurrection or the “resurrection of the just,” and the beginning of the Millennium.

Who is the bride? When the Bible speaks of the “bride,” is it only in reference to the saints who will be in the first resurrection?

November 17, 2006

The answer is that the bride will ultimately involve many more
than those who are given eternal life in the first resurrection. A
review of this topic will reveal just what the Bible means when it
refers to the “bride.”

First of all, Jesus Christ is presented as
the bridegroom in many examples. Even at His appearance as a human and
before His death, Jesus spoke of Himself as the “bridegroom” (Luke
5:34-35). In this account, Jesus taught that He would be taken away and
that no “marriage” would be consummated at that time.

Note, as
well, that Jesus gave a parable indicating that He, as the bridegroom,
would return (Compare Matthew 25:1-13). In this story, Jesus began His
teaching with these very important words: “‘The kingdom of heaven shall

Would you please explain Matthew 5:21-22? Why are there distinctions in judgments and penalties, and what do they mean?

November 10, 2006February 8, 2021

In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus speaks about literal murder as well as feelings and expressions of hate. The passage reads as follows:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ [Margin: Lit, in Aram., Empty head] shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell [Margin: Gr. Gehenna] fire.”

As seen above, the New King James Bible, as well as most translations, render the last expression as “fool.” However, as this word is understood today by the common reader, it does not seem to be much worse than the term “Raca” (i.e., “empty head”). Why, then, the strong difference in potential judgment? Some commentaries and