Questions and Answers

Light from the Book

The Firmament answers questions in God’s Word with God’s Word.  Feel free to submit any questions you have via the Contact-Us page.

Q&A: Who is the “queen of heaven” referred to in Jeremiah?

/ By / Biblical Light, Holidays of Man, Questions and Answers

In Jeremiah, the “queen of heaven” is mentioned in two places, chapter 7 and 44. To answer this question, we are going to focus on chapter 7. So, lets start with the scripture.

Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. (cf. Jer 44:17-25)

Do they provoke Me to anger? says the Lord: do they not also provoke themselves to the confusion (shame) of their own faces?

Jeremiah 7:17-19

Notice that this worship practice which provokes God’s anger causes shame and confusion as well. Let’s see…

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Q&A: Did the people back in Adam and Eve’s days really live to be 1000 years old?

/ By / Biblical Light, Questions and Answers
Old as Methuselah
Old as Methuselah

Throughout the book of Genesis, the recorded lifespans of people are much greater than they are today. Methuselah being the oldest recorded at 969 years (Gen 5:27). This is a major point of contention for those who consider that today, living to be 100 years old is quite an accomplishment. However, there is purpose in everything in God’s Word, even if at first, you don’t understand it.

When things are put in a strange way, we should stop, take notice, and ask questions. This is one of the intentions of allegory and what are sometimes viewed as inconsistencies in God’s Word. They draw our attention to them for consideration. Upon consideration, we might find that they were simply translation errors. On the other hand, we might find hidden gems waiting for our discovery. Remember, God is the Creator of our perfectly ordered Universe (kosmos), so anything coming from Him MUST be logical.

This particular inconsistency regarding the lifespans of the people of Genesis has done its job well. Christians of all denominations and Atheists alike have filled books attempting to address this question. Most assume that this is literal and sadly the discussion ends there. Atheists accusing Christians of the belief that people lived to be 900+/- years old. Christians accusing atheists of not having the faith to believe in what seems illogical.

What you will see if you continue reading is that the power is in the allegory or shadow and not the literal meaning. Don’t get caught up in something that is unproveable and miss the point.

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Q&A: Is Jesus referring to himself as God in John 8:24

/ By / Biblical Light, Questions and Answers

It sounds like you are trying to say that Jesus is God by connecting the “I am” from John 8:24 to the statement that God made to Moses “I AM that I AM” in Ex 3:14.

As always let’s start by reading the scripture in context.

Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and you shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: where I go, you cannot come.
Then the Judeans (Pharisees v:13) said, Will he kill himself? because he said, Where I go, you cannot come.
And he said unto them, You are from below; I am from above: you are of this world; I am not of this world.
I said therefore unto you, that you shall die in your sins: for if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sins.
Then said they unto him, Who are you? And Jesus said unto them, Even the same that I said to you from the beginning.
I have many things to say and to judge of you: but He that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him.
They understood not that he spoke to them of the Father.

John 8:21-27
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Q&A: Is it a sin to read books left out of the Bible?

/ By / Biblical Light, Questions and Answers
Open Bible, light from sun

It is neither a sin to seek knowledge about the books left out of the Bible, nor is it a sin to seek knowledge from them. Anyone who tries to dictate what you read, especially if they are using God and sin as a pretext, is someone you should get far away from.

What is Sin?

1 Jn 3:4 Whosoever commits sin, transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Ro 5:13 For until the law, sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

So, Sin is the transgression (in the sense of missing the mark) of the Law and where there is no Law there is no sin. Nothing in the Law dictates what you can and cannot read.

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Q&A: Is the Holy Spirit a person we can see?

/ By / Biblical Light, Questions and Answers

“Is the Holy Spirit a person we can know and see as Lord Jesus teaches in the Gospel of John chapters 14; 15; and 16?”

In the Gospel of John, chapters 14, 15 and 16, Jesus refers to one he calls “the Comforter”, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, whom he said the Father would send in his Name at the appointed time: “He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you.”

The clues to who this person is are contained in these references. Lets take a look…

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Q&A: When Did Jesus Become God?

/ By / Biblical Light, Questions and Answers, Top Ten

The majority of ‘Christian’ denominations believe that Jesus is God. Some say he became God at the moment of his creation inside Mary, the immaculate conception of God by God. Others believe Jesus became God when he was physically born. Still others think it was at his baptism by John the Baptist. If so, John was one powerful guy! And lastly, some point to his resurrection. As Jesus ‘raised from the dead’ he simultaneously became divine or God. But there is a fifth, much overlooked, point in time when Jesus actually ‘became’ God. Want to know when that was?

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Q&A: “What is Baptism?”

/ By / Questions and Answers

Sprinkled or dunked? Required for infants, kids, teens or adults only? Performed before salvation, after salvation or is it the actual act of salvation? Baptism. One of the key ‘sacraments’ of most ‘Christian’ denominations, is fraught with disagreements. Who, what, when, how and even if followers are to be baptized is one of the major defining tenets that differentiates between the denominations. Who is in-line with God? Let’s sort this all out.

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Q&A: “Is Revelation 13 being fulfilled now?”

/ By / Questions and Answers

The Scripture

Is this the Mark of the Beast?

Revelation Chapter 13 is arguably the best known piece of scripture in the Bible.  This is the prophecy of the Mark of the Beast.  We are going to focus on the last few verses to answer this question, but I encourage you to read the entire chapter for context.

To summarize, there is a dragon (lit. serpent) and a beast which she empowers. These two entities are the Whore and Beast of Revelation 17.  Revelation Chapter 13 goes on to say there is ‘another’ beast. This beast is a magnification of the dragon mentioned before. It looks like a Lamb, speaks like a dragon, and causes all to worship the first beast.  The first Beast is a governing or secular power, while the dragon-like second beast is a false religion. The false religion has the appearance of righteousness but is actually from Satan. Historically, this dynamic of religion empowering government has always existed, but not on a worldwide scale.

Now we are going to focus on the last few verses to determine how we will know if or when Revelation 13 is being fulfilled.

And he (the first beast) causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive their mark in their right hand, and in their foreheads: And that no one might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, the name (or authority) of the beast, and the number of their name.

Revelation 13:16-17
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