Questions and Answers
There were, in fact, numerous “Old Testament” covenants. Our free booklet, “And Lawlessness Will Abound…“, explains the different Old Testament covenants in detail. Bible scholars sometimes refer to “the Old Covenant,” but when they do, they basically talk about the covenant that God made with Israel at Mount Sinai, as described in Exodus 19. When Israel broke that first “old” covenant, by worshipping a golden calf, God made a new “old” covenant with Israel (Exodus 34:10, NIV). Later, God made a third “old” covenant with the younger generation of Israel, in Moab, just prior to their entering the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 29). By that time, the sacrificial system, which was added due to Israel’s sins, had become part of that covenant made at Moab. When scholars use the term, “the Old Covenant,” they include the sacrificial system that was added and became part of the package, as Israel broke the laws on which the original first “old” covenant (in Exodus 19) was based. A covenant is an agreement between parties based on law. When one party breaks the agreement, the other party is no longer bound by that agreement, either. God says that because they did not keep the… Several have asked this question, especially in light of inconsistent teachings of the Church of God in the past on this matter. First of all, let us try to determine who the Pharaoh of the Exodus was. Some believe that the Exodus took place around 1290 B.C. and have concluded that Ramses the Great was the Pharaoh who resisted Moses. However, Ramses ruled a full century and a half later than the Exodus occurred. Quoting from a Good News article of the March-April 1988 edition: “A careful consideration of all biblical and extra-biblical evidence reveals that the Exodus occurred in the middle of the 15th century B.C. — specifically, in the year 1443, during the reign of Amenhotep II, whose tomb Loret excavated. He was the pharaoh who ruled… when the Egyptians would not let Israel go. This year — 1443 — was 430 years after the covenant with Abraham, made in the spring of 1873 B.C. (Genesis 17:1, Exodus 12:40-41, Galatians 3:17). And it was in the 480th year before the laying of the foundation of the Temple in Solomon’s fourth year (964 B.C.), as required by I Kings 6:1… Moses (born in 1523) was brought up as a… In the context of Matthew 17, Peter, James and John accompany Jesus to a high mountain, and then, in verse 9, Jesus says, “‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.'” In this vision they witness Jesus being transfigured and appearing in His glorified state. Along with Jesus, Moses and Elijah also appear. In the parallel account of Mark 9, these disciples wonder at the instruction from Jesus when He spoke of His resurrection: “So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant” (verse 10). Their curiosity led to the question we find recorded in Matthew 17:10: “And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?'” The scribes, along with the rest of the religious leadership of that time, did not understand how the Messiah would first appear. Not understanding the scriptures, they were only looking for the establishment of Israel’s kingdom and the destruction of their enemies. Following the resurrection of Jesus, even His disciples asked: “‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel'” (Acts 1:6)? Not unlike some people… A careful review of the Scriptures reveals that God forgives us our sins, when we repent. In the same way, God requires of us to forgive a sinner his or her sins or trespasses AGAINST US, when he or she repents. Many times, however, we may not know whether or not a person has repented of his or her sins against us. The Bible instructs us as how to deal with such a situation: We should always have a forgiving attitude and a willingness to immediately forgive upon repentance, as this can be the start of any reconciliation process. We must never develop and harbor grudges against another person (Leviticus 19:18). We must hate the sin, but we must never hate the sinner. If we begin to hate the sinner, and develop resentment against the sinner, then we may find ourselves in a position where we might not be able to forgive the sinner, when he or she does repent and/or when his or her repentance comes to our attention. Further, harboring grudges against someone is not spiritually or physically healthy for ourselves. It can deprive us of the inner peace and joy of God which we are supposed to have… We need to properly understand what exactly was given to the Jews — what is meant with the word “oracles.” In Romans 3:2, we are told that the “oracles of God” were committed to the “circumcision.” At the same time, we are told that “their unbelief” did not make “the faithfulness of God” without effect (verse 3). The Greek word for “oracles” is “logion.” It is also used in Acts 7:38; Hebrews 5:12; and 1 Peter 4:11. In all these passages, the oracles or “sayings” must originate from God. If something is being said or written which is contrary to God’s Word, it does not constitute any longer the “oracles of God.” The “Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,” by W. E. Vine, points out: “”Logion, a diminutive of logos, a word, narrative, statement, denotes a Divine response or utterance, an oracle; it is used of (a) the contents of the Mosaic Law, Acts 7:38; (b) all the written utterances of God through the O.T. writers, Rom. 3:2; (c) the substance of Christian doctrine, Heb. 5:12; (d) the utterance of God through Christian teachers, 1 Pet. 4:11.” When referring to the oracles that God committed to the Jews or the “circumcision,”… The Bible proves that God only forgives us, if we meet certain conditions. One important condition is repentance. God does not forgive us, if we refuse to repent. Today, God has only called comparatively few and is not yet judging the rest of the world. This means, God has not yet forgiven the world, as they have not yet repented, but God does not hold them accountable at this point in time (This is not to say that sin does not have built-in penalties which a sinner will have to pay automatically). Those not called and not forgiven yet are described in Acts 17:30-31: “Truly, these times of ignorance God OVERLOOKED [not, forgave!], but now COMMANDS ALL MEN [those called] EVERYWHERE TO REPENT.” We have to REPENT of our sins before baptism (in addition to accepting Christ’s sacrifice as payment for our sins), even though we might have committed sins in ignorance (compare 1 Peter 1:13-15; Ephesians 4:17-18; 1 Timothy 1:12-13; Acts 3:17). God offers us the gift of repentance, when He calls us, but we must respond to it and accept it (2 Timothy 2:24-26; Romans 2:4). When the people realized that they had killed Christ, the Son of God,… For a thorough understanding of the time frames referred to as “Great Tribulation” and “Day of the Lord,” please study our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.” In short, the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21) is followed by the Heavenly Signs (Revelation 6:12-14; Joel 2:30-31; Matthew 24:29) and by the Day of the Lord (Revelation 6:17). The indication is, from Scripture, that the Day of the Lord begins one year before Christ’s return (compare, for example, Isaiah 34:8). But even as the Day of the Lord does not end with Christ’s return, but is ongoing, so the Great Tribulation (which begins approximately 2 1/2 years prior to the Day of the Lord) does not end, either, when the Day of the Lord starts. Rather, it continues until Satan, who causes the Great Tribulation to occur, is removed from his throne. Christ returns to cut the Great Tribulation short (Matthew 24:21-22). This means, the Great Tribulation is still ongoing — it overlaps for one year, in that sense, with the Day of the Lord. So, all in all, the Great Tribulation lasts approximately 3 1/2 years, but during the last year of the Great Tribulation, God starts… Genesis 41:44-46 reads as follows: “Pharaoh also said to Joseph, ‘I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.’ And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah [the Margin of the New King James Bible states here: “Probably Egyptian for ‘God Speaks and He Lives.'”]. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt.” We also read, in Genesis 46:20: “And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him.” In Genesis 48, we read the stirring account of Jacob’s adoption of Joseph’s two sons (Genesis 48:5); his blessing of the two sons; his placing his name (that of “Israel”) on them (v. 16); and his “setting Ephraim before Manasseh,” Joseph’s firstborn son (v. 20). Jacob prophesied that Manasseh would become a great people, but that Ephraim would be “greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations” (v. 19). We know from history that… It is not. Although the Passover is at times referred to as a feast day (compare Leviticus 23: 4-5), the Bible distinguishes between the day of Passover (on Nisan or Abib 14) and the seven Days of Unleavened Bread (on Nisan or Abib 15-21). [The first month of the year, in accordance with the Hebrew Calendar, is called Abib or Nisan. Abib, the original name, means “sprouting” or “budding.” The name Nisan was adopted following the Babylonian captivity. The first month is comparable to the Roman calendar period of March-April, and begins, in Biblical terms, with a new moon.] Exodus 12:14 refers to the first day of Unleavened Bread (compare Leviticus 23:4, 6), NOT the Passover. We find that Christ and His disciples kept the Passover on Nisan or Abib 14. At that time, the Passover was sometimes included in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but then the entire time was counted as lasting eight days, not only seven (compare Matthew 26:17-20; Mark 14:12-18; Luke 22:1, 7-16). However, the distinction between the Passover evening and the seven Days of Unleavened Bread was still clearly understood (compare Mark 14:1). One of the reasons why the Passover was included as an “unleavened”… The Biblical text does not indicate here whether this was a marriage which had taken place some time previously or whether this was a recent event. The Hebrew commentary, Soncino, offers one possible explanation that the Cushite woman was “a woman of Ethiopian origin.” It continues:”Legend tells that Moses married the queen of Ethiopia…” The Hebrew writer Josephus gives the following narrative in his work, “Antiquities of the Jews”, p. 58, addressing one of Moses’ campaigns as an officer in Pharaoh’s army, prior to his flight from Egypt (compare Acts 7:22-29; Hebrews 11:24-27): “Tharbis was the daughter of the king of the Ethiopians: she happened to see Moses as he led the army near the walls, and fought with great courage; and admiring the subtlety of his undertakings, and believing him to be the author of the Egyptians’ success, when they had before despaired of recovering their liberty, and to be the occasion of the great danger of the Ethiopians were in, whence they had before boasted of their great achievements, she fell deeply in love with him; and upon the prevalency of that passion, sent to him the most beautiful of all her servants to discourse with him about…Is the Old Covenant still in force and effect today?
Did the Pharaoh of the time of the Exodus drown in the Red Sea?
Some claim that Elijah will appear before the return of Jesus Christ and that he may even still be alive. How do you explain the passage in Matthew 17:11 in which Jesus is quoted as saying that Elijah will come and restore all things?
You teach that God does not forgive us our sins if we refuse to repent. Does this mean that God does not require us to forgive those that sin against us if they refuse to repent?
As the oracles are given to the Jews, why don't we follow their example of keeping Passover on the same day that they do, rather than keeping it one day earlier?
Some teach that God forgives our sins, even though we may not repent of them. They claim that Christ receives us "just the way we are." Isn't repentance one of the requirements for God's forgiveness?
Please explain the difference between the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. Does the Great Tribulation stop when the Day of the Lord begins? Does the Day of the Lord begin when Christ returns?
Why did Joseph marry Asenath, the daughter of an Egyptian priest? Didn't this violate God's instructions against marrying a pagan non-believer?
Exodus 12:14 states that "this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD." Some teach that this feast day or memorial, referred to in Exodus 12:14, describes the Passover. Is this correct?
Numbers 12:1 reports about Miriam's and Aaron's rebellion against Moses "because of the Cushite woman whom he had married." Is it known who this Cushite woman was, and when Moses married her?
