The Bible says talking to the dead is a sin (Lev 19:31). Does that confirm that talking to the dead is possible? After all, Saul consulted with a necromancing medium in 1 Samuel 28 in order to talk to the deceased prophet Samuel right? Was that really Samuel or something else?
Continue readingAuthor Archives: Michael A. Campbell
11th star in Joseph’s dream
A curious question about Joseph’s dream of the stars (Gen 37:9-10). There are 11 stars instead of 10 even though Benjamin hadn’t been born yet. One might wonder, does this apply to Dinah or Benjamin?
Continue readingEt (Aleph Tau) in Genesis 1:1
Some people have taught that there are 7 words in the Hebrew version of Gen 1:1 and the word “Et” is a special word that points to Jesus. “Et” is spelled with “את” (aleph and tau) the first and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. They say this word is untranslated because the Jews forgot the meaning, and that it points to Jesus because says he is the “alpha and omega” in Revelations 1:8 which references the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet. This gets connected to John 1:1 which says “In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” It sounds so romantic but this is not true.
Continue readingTruth in Love
When interacting with the world, believers must speak the truth in love (Ep 4:15). Anyone trapped in sin doesn’t matter if it is drug addiction, sexual sin, idolatry, or greed, will be defensive about their habit. The best thing to do is to focus less on the specific category of sin, and instead on the person needing salvation.
Continue reading120-Year Lifespan in Genesis 6:3
Many theologians and such throughout the years have interpreted Gen 6:3 to mean that humans only have 120 years to live, however, many post-flood people lived way longer than that, Terah: 205 (Gen 11:32), Abraham: 175 years (Gen 25:7), and Isaac: 180 years (Gen 35:28). What does this mean?
Continue readingGod’s Protection Promise
There is a lot of fear-mongering going around. How are Christians supposed to react to things that are out of their control? If the food supply is poisoned or if mass inflation is happening, can Christians count on God?
Continue readingA Deeper Look At Psalms 1 and 2
Psalms 1 and 2 are alluded to in Jesus’ teachings, let’s look at what they are saying.
Continue readingWhat is Testing God?
What does it mean to test God? In Matt 4:5-7 when Satan is tempting Jesus he tells Jesus to jump off of the Temple and says that God should protect him. Then Satan quotes Psalms 91:11-12, which says, “It is written: ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Jesus responds in verse 7 by saying, “It is also written: ‘You must not test the Lord your God.”
Continue readingGod’s Image is Not God’s Likeness
Gen 1:26-27 says that all of humanity from the beginning was made in the image and likeness of God. We are all made in the image of God, but our likeness has changed because of the failure of humanity to keep God’s commands (Gen 3:1-24). God’s solution to make us like him again, is to pour out his spirit on us and give us a new spirit/heart that will make us like him again. It’s the holy spirit that was promised to circumcise our hearts (Deut 30:6, Jer 4:4, Ez 36:25-27, Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2:16-21, Rom 2:29, and Col 2:11) and give us the power to overcome sin nature so that we could accomplish the task of keeping God’s commands so that we can be his likeness.
Continue readingIs God’s Truth Relative?
Some people believe truth is relative and that everyone can have their own “truth” even though it contradicts another thing. However, the truth is not true if isn’t consistent and grounded so that can’t be true. What happens when two truths contradict each other? How can computer technology even work if true and false are relative and interchangeable? Computers work with circuits built on logic gates with binary switches, something has to be true or false in order for a program to determine which method to use under certain conditions. Where does truth come from? One answer would be God, but how do we define God?
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