The Bible says a lot of things

I know several men who have eschewed marriage and family so they are free to better serve the Lord.

Having trouble understanding a simple historical statement? Jesus was referring to the Ab, or father of the Sanhedrin. Jesus teaches his disciples that He would have no Second, after himself, established in his Church, of which He alone was the head; and that perfect equality must exist among them.

Never heard of a Christophany?

Already fulfilled in the time of the Acts. This is a fairly standard promise made to the servants of God. Isaiah 43:2.

Do you know what "hyperbole" means?

Yes. "In my Name." Does God want His Name associated with your request?

You were in a psyche ward? That explains a lot.

Well, let's see. He gathered 12 together. We have gathered 2 billion together. Billy Graham preached to 215 million. Now, which is "greater" (larger) 12, 215 million. 2 billion. Math is not your strong suit, is it?

Uh, you do know that painting was painted in 1940 by a man named Warner Sallman, right?

No, it doesn't.

So do you. The difference being Scripture is right and you are wrong.

Actually the Church of Rome has its beginning in the unholy marriage of church and state under Emperor Constantine AD c325, and reached its present (apo)state under Pope Leo, called "The Great" around AD 450-460.

 

The Bible says, "Many will become Eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of God". Any volunteers? Matthew 19 - Some are born eunuchs [born with no ability], some are made that way by other [slaves, etc], and some choose to live as if they were eunuchs. [Living a celibate life to serve the Lord] This is not figurative language. This is literal


Scripture says "Call no man your Father, while at the same time says "honor your Father and Mother" and Paul says, "I became your Father". Matthew 23:8-10 Jesus is not talking about biological fathers. He is talking about the terms of a spiritual leader. He references many terms. He is warning against placing a mortal man spiritually in the role of God. Jesus is speaking literally.


Scripture says no one has seen the face of God while at the same time saying Moses interacted with God face to face. God did speak to Moses face to face - as in how a "man speaks to his friend". So says Exodus 33. This does not mean their literal eyes, noses, mouths, and chins were next to each other. Moses then asks to see God's glory. God says he would show Moses his goodness, but that he, God, could NOT show Moses his literal face.


Scripture says those who believe in Christ will drink poison and it will not affect them. Any volunteers? Jesus speaks literally here. No, the Bible does not say that Christians can drink poison and not get sick. Jesus said to his disciples that signs would be among the believing disciples as they spread out through the world teaching about Christ. Paul, for example, was snake bit, and God protected him. This is NOT a command to purposely drink dangerous substances. It is a promise for God to miraculously protect those early evangelists who were doing his work across the then known world. Jesus was speaking literally - a literal protection. There should be NO "volunteers" as you say. That would be foolishly testing God. These signs have come to pass.


Scripture says "If you have the Faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains". Anyone seen a mountain move? Oh, this is QUITE literal. Have you ever seen a mustard seed? It's so TINY. But a full blown mustard bush/tree can be up to 20 feet tall and very wide. It's not the size of the seed, but the exponential growth of the faith. I've only known one person in the Bible or today who had the faith of a mustard seed - booming exponentially to the point of believing the wildly impossible. That was Joshua. He believed God would give him a victory in battle and Joshua didn't ask God to stop the sun from going down. Joshua TOLD the sun to stop and God obeyed Joshua's command to the sun. The Bible says it's the only time God hearkened to the voice of a man and let the man call the shots. But it was because Joshua and his mustard seed faith was firmly entrenched in the will of God. Oh, yes, someone with that kind of faith could definitely shout out to the mountain and say "move".


Scripture says, "ask anything of the Father in my name and it will be done for you". Many people beg God incessantly for healing of various afflictions in the name of Jesus and healing doesn't take place. I've personally experienced this far too many times to count. IF it is within the will of God. Paul had a terrible source of either physical pain or spiritual torment and he, too, begged God to take it away - three times. God said no - that he has a purpose in allowing that. James also say that we have not because we ask not....and if we do ask, we ask amiss. And again, Jesus was speaking in the context of his last words to those men who would turn the world upside down after he was gone.

Scripture says "If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out". I know without a doubt that my eye causes me to sin. Should I pluck it? I kid you not, I was in a psyche ward with a patient who plucked out his eyes over a pornography addiction. I'm sorry about that patient. What he did not understand is that the images of porn will still be in his mind. I'll pray for him.

Scripture says those who believe in Christ will do his works and greater works. There are approximately 2 billion Christians in the world and I know not of a single one who is doing the works of Christ and greater works. John 14 Not greater as in more powerful or more jaw-dropping. Greater as in spreading the movement across a greater area and increased in number. For example, Peter preached on the day of Pentecost and 3,000 people were saved. Greater in number. Think of how many 100's of thousands of people were saved in Billy Graham crusades. More in number. That's why Jesus left and sent the Holy Spirit. Jesus as a man on this earth could not walk the whole of the earth.

Scripture says it is shameful for a man to have long hair, yet all the depictions of Christ that I have seen show him with long hair. 1 Corinthians 11 Truly you don't believe that pictures painted of Christ two thousand years after he walked this earth are really what he looked like? Besides men who were undergoing a Nazarite vow, such as Samson, Samuel, and any other man or woman who chose to were required to let their hair grow out until the vow was over. That might have taken years depending on the vow. You are quoting [or you've copied from someone] who is quoting Paul's directives about headship. A man praying and prophesying in the church with hair the length of a woman dishonored God. It has nothing to say about how "long" is "long". The context is praying and prophesying in the church. We have NO idea how long or short Jesus' hair was. And it truly doesn't matter.

Scripture says it is wrong for a woman to talk in Church. No, the Bible does not say that women are not to speak in church. Paul, himself, says women can pray and prophesy in church with a head covering. He says, the same passage of 1 Corinthians 14 that three groups must be silent in church: people who want to speak in tongues when there is no interpreter, people giving a word of prophecy when God prompts another to speak, and wives who were asking their husbands questions in all of this chaos that the Corinthian church was in.

 

Do you know what a figure of speech is? A metaphor?

 

According to Strong's Concordance and Thayer's Greek lexicon and the context of which Jesus was speaking, a eunuch is a man who is one of three things::

[1] one who is born incapacitated for relations in a marriage
[2] who has been physically castrated
[3] one who voluntarily abstains from sex/marriage

When Jesus said there are some who make themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake, he isn't talking about men who have their testicles removed voluntarily. He is talking about men who remain whole and abstain for the sake of the work of the Lord.