All posts by David Stevenson

Hell is another word for Hades

Hell is another word for Hades

24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,

“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.

IN ITS original languages, the Bible uses the Hebrew word she’ohl’ and its Greek equivalent hai’des more than 70 times. Both words are related to death. Some Bible translations render them as “grave,” “hell,” or “pit.” However, in most languages there are no words that convey the precise sense of these Hebrew and Greek words. The New World Translation therefore uses the words “Sheol” and “Hades” in footnotes. What do these words really mean? Let us note how they are used in different Bible passages.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 states: “There is no work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the Grave [“Sheol,” footnote], where you are going.” Does this mean that Sheol refers to a specific, or individual, grave site where we may have buried a loved one? No. When the Bible refers to a specific burial place, or grave, it uses other Hebrew and Greek words, not she’ohl’ and hai’des. (Genesis 23:7-9; Matthew 28:1) Also, the Bible does not use the word “Sheol” for a grave where several individuals are buried together, such as a family grave or a mass grave.Genesis 49:30, 31.

To what kind of place, then, does “Sheol” refer? God’s Word indicates that “Sheol,” or “Hades,” refers to something much more than even a large mass grave. For instance, Isaiah 5:14 notes that the Grave, or Sheol, “has enlarged itself and has opened its mouth wide without limit.” Although Sheol has already swallowed, so to speak, countless dead people, it always seems to hunger for more. (Proverbs 30:15, 16) Unlike any literal burial site, which can hold only a limited number of the dead, ‘the Grave is never satisfied.’ (Proverbs 27:20) That is, Sheol never becomes full. It has no limits. Sheol, or Hades, is thus not a literal place in a specific location. Rather, it is the common grave of dead mankind, the figurative location where most of mankind sleep in death.

The Bible teaching of the resurrection helps us to gain further insight into the meaning of “Sheol” and “Hades.” God’s Word associates Sheol and Hades with the sort of death from which there will be a resurrection. * (Job 14:13; Acts 2:31; Revelation 20:13) God’s Word also shows that those in Sheol, or Hades, include not only those who have served Jehovah but also many who have not served him. (Genesis 37:35; Psalm 55:15) Therefore, the Bible teaches that there will be “a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”Acts 24:15

Here is why I believe Jesus is God

Here is why I believe Jesus is God

Matthew 1 vs 20 – 23

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

This is the fulfilment of prophecy given by God in Genesis 3.15 and Isaiah 7.14

The Protevangelium

The first mention in the Old Testament that the coming Christ would be born of a virgin occurs right at the beginning.
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Genesis 3:15
This prophecy, known as the Protevangelium, comes from the most ancient oracle known to man. The oracle that the Lord pronounced when He found our first parents, Adam and Eve, guilty of sin. The Lord is speaking to Satan, who has enticed “the woman,” Eve, into disobeying the Lord’s command against eating fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He is saying that Satan will someday be crushed and utterly defeated by the seed of the woman.
The pronoun used to designate the seed is “his” (in “his heel”). In place of “it” (in “it shall bruise”), the more accurate translation is “he” (1). Therefore, the coming conqueror must be a single man. But why is He called the seed of a woman? A child is ordinarily regarded as the seed of his father and forefathers. The striking and unnatural character of the expression “her seed” suggests that it is a uniquely fitting name for the victor over Satan. Unlike other men, He would be the seed of a woman only. He would not be a man’s seed. A virgin would conceive Him without losing her virginity.

Isaiah’s Oracle

Over seven hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah enlarged upon the Protevangelium.
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14
The name Immanuel means, “God with us.” Isaiah is appending to Genesis 3:15 the information that the virgin-born conqueror of Satan would be God Himself in the flesh.

This also tells me Gabriel knew Jesus is God so it could not have been Gabriel that met Mohammad in a cave

Isaiah 9-6 Cannot be applied to Hezekiah

Isaiah 9-6 Cannot be applied to Hezekiah

It can not be applied to Hezekiah whose rule was confined to Judah, and which was neither progressive nor perpetual.

Hezekiah had already been born when this prophecy was given.

Isaiah 9-6 CANNOT be a reference to Hezekiah as NO son of Hezekiah did or can establish the throne of David forever. The kingly line through Hezekiah ended and will not be reinstated.

It is also important to notice that Hezekiah did not nor ever will reign over the kingdom of David, David reigned over the 12 tribes of Israel. Hezekiah only reigned over the kingdom of Judah, a divided kingdom. A kingdom that has not yet been reunited under one king.

Hezekiah DID NOT establish the kingdom of David forever.

Hezekiah’s kingdom not only came to an end, it certainly did not end peaceably.
His kingdom was
destroyed by the Babylonians

The kingdom of David is given to Jesus and it is JESUS who will establish the throne of David forever.

Here’s what I learned from living in a Muslim country

Here’s what I learned from living in a Muslim country

“Here’s what I learned from living in a Muslim country. The prayers Muslims say five times a day spout hateful bias towards Jews and Christians. Most Muslims are taught to repeat the part condemning Jews and Christians, so they are actually repeating condemnation about 10-15 times per day.

This is brainwashing at its finest.

At least 64% of the Quran condemns non-Muslims. A large percentage of that number specifically names Jews and Christians in this condemnation.

Imams always use Quran verses in their sermons at mosques. With the Quran so heavily based on condemning Jews and Christians and preaching Islamic supremacy and conquest, most all sermons are very anti-Jew and/or anti-Christian.

The ONLY Muslims that befriended me and/or that I could trust, were Muslims who did not say the five daily prayers and who did not go to mosque. I call them non-practicing Muslims (they were born Muslim but never practiced the religion). They were people who were not brainwashed and who thought for themselves.

Over a ten-year period, as Islamists gained more power, they were able to socially force men to go to mosque by harassing men who were found on the streets on Friday during the main Friday prayers. You either went to mosque or remained in your home. Over time, shops didn’t open (shopkeepers got harassed), nothing opened until after the big prayer and sermon.

Then, Islamists began socially forcing men to stop work during the weekday to go attend mosque at the various prayer times. If you didn’t stop your work to go pray, you could lose your job. The result was, men who never prayed, and who never went to mosque, were forced to. They began to say the words of hate and become brainwashed. They went to mosque and heard the hateful preaching.

I went to university in Cairo; my classmates were Muslim. I worked in Cairo; my colleagues were Muslim. But because of this enforcement of prayers and mosque attendance, over time, many people who I thought were my friends alienated themselves from me–and some became hateful towards me.

HIgh Day

HIgh Day

Notice also that John 19:31 mentions that the Sabbath immediately after Jesus’ death was “a high day””not the weekly seventh-day Sabbath (from Friday evening to Saturday evening), but one of the annual Sabbaths, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (see Leviticus 23:6-7), which can fall on any day of the week.

In fact, two Sabbaths”first an annual Holy Day and then the regular weekly Sabbath”are mentioned in the Gospel accounts, a detail overlooked by most people. This can be proven by comparing Mark 16:1 with Luke 23:56.

Mark’s account tells us, “Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him” (Mark 16:1). However, Luke’s account describes how the women who followed Jesus saw how His body was laid in the tomb. “Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils” for the final preparation of the body. “And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56).

Mark tells us that the women bought the spices after the Sabbath, “when the Sabbath was past.” Luke, however, tells us that they prepared the spices and oils, after which “they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.” How could the women have bought spices after the Sabbath, yet then prepared them and rested on the same Sabbath?

That is obviously impossible”unless two Sabbaths are involved, with a day between them. Once we realise this, the two accounts become clear .Christ died near 3 p.m. and was placed in the tomb near sunset that day”a Wednesday in 31. That evening began the “high day” Sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which fell on Thursday that year.

The women rested on that day, then on Friday purchased and prepared the spices and oils for Jesus’ body, which could not be done on either the Holy Day or the weekly Sabbath. They then rested again on the weekly Sabbath before going to the tomb before daybreak on Sunday morning, at which time they discovered that Christ had already been resurrected.

Historical evidence for the crucifixtion

Historical evidence for the crucifixtion 2

QUESTION: Is there historical evidence of the crucifixion?

ANSWER:

Is there historical evidence of the crucifixion? The crucifixion of Jesus Christ did not take place in obscurity. The writers of the four gospels were actual figures in history that wrote, from various perspectives, about the life, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Their writings depicted eyewitness accounts of documented happenings in history. The variety of theories as to the events following the crucifixion and to what happened to the body of Jesus, only serves to further establish the fact of this heinous death. Such well-known legends as the swoon theory, that Jesus only passed out on the cross and was later resuscitated by the cool air of the tomb, and the case of the stolen body are strewn throughout literature chronicling the events of that time. The fact is, the death of Jesus Christ was never disputed. The Jews, both those who hated him and those who would become His future followers, witnessed His death. It was a public event that took place in front of the whole world. John 12:32-33 says, “‘But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.’ He said this to show the kind of death He was going to die.” Joseph of Arimethea, himself a notable figure of the Jews of that day, requested the body of Jesus in order to give Him an honorable burial.

As to the validity of the mode of execution, it was established that by the first century, crucifixion was the Roman method for certain non-Roman criminals. It was initially employed as a form of punishment causing extreme pain and humiliation, so much so that the word “excruciating” was created for the express purpose of describing the unfathomable horror of the individual’s suffering on a cross. Excruciating literally means, “out of the cross.” How wonderfully this fit into the plan and will of God: “If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. . .” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23).

The massacre and shame that the Savior endured as one accursed was suffered for our benefit. He who never sinned suffered on our behalf, for our sins worthy of death; we were the accursed. The severity of the punishment was a stark reflection of God’s holiness and His hatred of sin. While we as humans justify ourselves and compare ourselves to others who may not be as “good” as we are, God has indicated that the slightest infraction is an affront to His holiness.

1 John 5:17 says, “All wrongdoing is sin. . .” What a terrible weight Jesus carried, the load of our sins that so disfigured Him, that even the Father turned away? Matthew 27:46 “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ – which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'”

Perhaps the greatest evidence of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the eternal results in the lives of those who have accepted Him. Those who have believed in what happened on Golgotha have been given the right to be called sons of God, and may now cry “Abba, Father.” We can now have fellowship with the living God.

Jesus Christ was not the first or last person to be crucified. He was the only one, however, to be resurrected, and that from such a horrible death. He bore in His resurrection body, forever, the scars of His crucifixion in His hands and feet and side. We are told in God’s Word that this will ever be a witness, for as the prophet foretold, “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son” (Zechariah 12:10).

Holy Bible and the Quran speaks of the Covenant of God - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

Holy Bible and the Quran speaks of the Covenant of God – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

The Holy Bible and the Quran speaks of the Covenant of God with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob:

Exodus 2:24-25: “…and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So God looked on the sons of Israel and God took notice.”

2 Kings 13:23: “But Jehovah was gracious unto them and had compassion upon them and turned to them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Psalms 105:7-10: “He is Jehovah our God. His judgement are in all the earth. He has remembered his covenant even forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, the covenant which he concluded with Abraham, And his sworn statement to Isaac, And which statement he kept standing as a statue even to Jacob, As an everlasting covenant to Israel.”
In harmony with the above stated Covenant, Surah 29:27 affirms that the Prophethood will remain in the lineage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Given below are four different translations of Surah 29:27.

Surah 29:27: And (as for Abraham), We bestowed upon him Isaac and (Isaac’s son) Jacob, and caused prophethood and revelation to continue among his offspring. (Asad)

And We bestowed on him Isaac and Jacob, and We established the prophethood and the Scripture among his seed. (Pickthall)

And We granted him Ishaq and Yaqoub, and caused the prophethood and the book to remain in his seed. (Shakir)

And We bestowed Ishaq and Yaqub to him, and kept the Prophethood and the Book among his descendants. (Faridul Haque)
Surah 29:27 mentions that Prophethood and Scriptures came uniquely through the seed of Isaac and Jacob

Holy Communion

Holy Communion

What Is the Significance of the Holy Communion?

The love of Christ

To partake of the Holy Communion is to taste the extent of Jesus’ sacrifice. It is to realize the full dimensions of His love:

The depth to which the king of heaven descended to suffer as a sinner for our sins
The width of His arms spread on the cross to bring all humankind into His embrace
The height He rose to transcend death and Hades and lead us in triumphant life and glory

As we eat the bread, we remember the body that was broken by nails, His splintered flesh. As we drink of the cup, we remember the blood that poured from His wounds. We not only remember His suffering. We proclaim the eternal life in heaven the Lord Jesus Christ prepared for us through His death and resurrection.

The life of Christ

The spiritual effect of the sacrament is based on the Lord’s own words:

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in Me, and I in him. (Jn 6:53-56)

Isn’t it a profound, wonderful mystery that Jesus Christ would give us His flesh and blood to eat and drink? It represents the completeness of His sacrificeHe gave us His all; His life. Through the Holy Communion, we connect with the Lord Jesus Christ not only in the memory of His death, but in the spiritual life He gives to us. By receiving the spiritual flesh and blood, Christ lives in us and we in Him. Only with the life of Christ in us can we have eternal life and resurrect on the last day. Therefore, all believers of Christ must partake of the Holy Communion.

Holy Spirit2

Holy Spirit2

The helper that was sent is the Holy Spirit.

First, the Holy Spirit does many things in the lives of believers. He is the believers’ Helper (John 14:26). He indwells believers and seals them until the day of redemptionthis indicates that the Holy Spirit’s presence in the believer is irreversible. He guards and guarantees the salvation of the ones He indwells (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). The Holy Spirit assists believers in prayer (Jude 1:20) and “intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:2627).

The Holy Spirit regenerates and renews the believer (Titus 3:5). At the moment of salvation, the Spirit baptizes the believer into the Body of Christ (Romans 6:3). Believers receive the new birth by the power of the Spirit (John 3:58). The Spirit comforts believers with fellowship and joy as they go through a hostile world (1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14). The Spirit, in His mighty power, fills believers with “all joy and peace” as they trust the Lord, causing believers to “overflow with hope” (Romans 15:13).

Sanctification is another work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. The Spirit sets Himself against the desires of the flesh and leads the believer into righteousness (Galatians 5:1618). The works of the flesh become less evident, and the fruit of the Spirit becomes more evident (Galatians 5:1926). Believers are commanded to “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), which means they are to yield themselves to the Spirit’s full control.

The Holy Spirit is also a gift-giver. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them” (1 Corinthians 12:4). The spiritual gifts that believers possess are given by the Holy Spirit as He determines in His wisdom (verse 11)

The Holy Spirit also does work among unbelievers. Jesus promised that He would send the Holy Spirit to “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8, ESV). The Spirit testifies of Christ (John 15:26), pointing people to the Lord. Currently, the Holy Spirit is also restraining sin and combatting “the secret power of lawlessness” in the world. This action keeps the rise of the Antichrist at bay (2 Thessalonians 2:610).

The Holy Spirit has one other important role, and that is to give believers wisdom by which we can understand God. “The Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:1011). Since we have been given the amazing gift of God’s Spirit inside ourselves, we can comprehend the thoughts of God, as revealed in the Scripture. The Spirit helps us understand. This is wisdom from God, rather than wisdom from man. No amount of human knowledge can ever replace the Holy Spirit’s teaching (1 Corinthians 2:1213).

Holy Spirit 1

Holy Spirit 1

It’s impossible to follow God unless we are led by the Spirit. And the only way to be led by the Spirit is to follow God’s command to be filled by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). Interestingly, God contrasts being filled with the Spirit with being drunk. Somebody who is drunk with wine or alcohol is controlled by and consumed by alcohol. But somebody who is “drunk in the Spirit” is controlled and consumed by the Spirit, who helps us live holy lives.

How are we filled with the Spirit? The Holy Spirit entered you when you decided to give your life to Christ, to become a Christian. But we need to continually ask the Holy Spirit to lead us, to guide us, to help us do the things God wants us to do. When we’re growing as Christians, we should allow the Spirit to take control over more and more areas of our lives.

The Holy Spirit plays many roles. You can read about some of them in these passages: John 14:15-27, John 16:5-15, Romans 8:1-17, Galatians 5:16-26.

In John 14, for example, Jesus says the Holy Spirit will comfort us when we’re hurting. “I will not leave you as orphans,” Jesus says (14:18), promising that the Spirit will bring us peace (14:27).

Jesus also says the Spirit will help us recall the things we’ve learned about God (14:26)which also means the Spirit will help us when we tell others about our faith.

In John 16, Jesus refers to the Spirit as a “Counselor” who will guide us in our everyday lives. One way he’ll guide us is by convicting us of sin (16:8). And this is really a good thing: God wants us to get rid of the things that displease him, and the only way to identify those things is to be convicted by the Spirit. The Spirit works through our conscience to make us aware of sin in our lives.

Romans 8 tells us the Spirit will help us stop sinning and do the things that please God. A verse later in that chapter also tells us that the Spirit helps us pray (8:26). We’ve all gone to God and said, “Lord, I’m just not sure how to pray or what to say.” The Holy Spirit helps us in those times, and actually intercedes for us, saying the prayers for us.

Now, the Holy Spirit can’t do all the work for us. We’re still responsible to do our partespecially to consistently read our Bibles and pray, asking the Spirit to show us the truth and teach us how to live.

It’s important to remember that the Spirit will not prompt us to do anything that goes against Scripture. People sometimes justify their actions by saying, “My conscience told me … ” We need to make sure we’re listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, not the voice of our own desires. And we know which is which by checking this voice against the truth of God’s Word.

How can you tell if you’re being led by the Spirit? By the “fruit” of your lifeyour attitudes and actions. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Are these things evident in your life? Two verses later, it says, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”