Q&A – Page 96 – Church of the Eternal God

Did Jephthah sacrifice his own daughter? If so, how could he still be granted access to the Kingdom of God?

February 25, 2005

The account referred to can be found in Judges 11:30-31, 34-40. We read:

“And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, ‘If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.’… When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah [after having defeated the Ammonites], there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, ‘Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it.’ So she said to him, ‘My father, if you have given your word to the LORD, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth… let me alone for two months, that I… bewail my virginity…’ And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She knew no man. And it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.”

Are there any reliable historical records that show how, where and when the apostle Paul died?

February 18, 2005

The Holy Scriptures do not record Paul’s death, and although historians agree that Paul was murdered, they are somewhat divided regarding the precise events leading to Paul’s death.

“Paul’s fate is hardly obscure. He himself saw that the charge against him, unrebutted by independent evidence, must bring him to the executioner’s sword, the last penalty for a Roman citizen. With this late and century tradition agrees (Tertullian, ‘De praescr. haer.’ 36), namely the very spot on the Ostian Way, marked by a martyr-memorial (‘tropaion,’ Caius ‘ap.’ Euseb. ii 25), probably at the modern Tre Fontane, some three miles from Rome. But the traditional date (June 29) reaches us only on far later authority. Acts simply suggests summer A.D. 62; and we may perhaps imagine Timothy reaching Rome in time to share Paul’s last days.”

Is the provision in Deuteronomy 23:2 still valid today? Does it apply to God's Church?

February 11, 2005

The passage reads, in the New King James Bible: “One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD.”

Before we address the questions whether this passage is still in force and effect today, and whether it applies to the Church of God, let us try to determine what the passage conveys, as worded.

Several translations, including the Authorized Version, the Living Bible, the Revised Standard Version, Lamsa, and the Elberfelder Bible translate the Hebrew word “mamzer” (“of illegitimate birth” in the New King James Bible) as “bastard.” First, what is meant with the word, “mamzer”? The Broadman Bible Commentary explains that the “meaning of the Hebrew word [“mamzer”] translated ‘bastard’ is not really clear. Rabbinical interpretation points to the offspring of mixed marriages such as are mentioned in Nehemiah 13:23.”

Is polygamy in accordance with the Biblical teaching on marriage?

February 4, 2005

God never promoted polygamy or intended that His followers should engage in that practice. Although the Old Testament records that several of the patriarchs practiced polygamy, it was never in accordance with God’s will and His intent for marriage. When a man took more than one wife, curses and punishment were the consequence.
Abraham sinned when he had sexual relationships with Sarah’s maid Hagar. This was not only a sin because he lacked faith in God that He could give him a son through his wife Sarah, who was barren, but he also sinned, because he was married to Sarah and therefore committed adultery with Sarah’s maid.

Even though Sarah had consented to this act, it did not in any way negate God’s law. And so, we read that Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham, “to be his wife” (Genesis 16:3), but when God speaks to and of Hagar, she is only referred to as Sarah’s maid (Genesis 16:8) or the bondwoman (Genesis 21:13). God never calls Hagar Abraham’s wife, but when God is referring to Sarah, He speaks of her consistently, even after the episode with Hagar, as Abraham’s wife (Genesis 17:15, 19; 18:9-10; 20:2, 7). In Genesis 21, it is recorded that Abraham sent Hagar away, as Hagar’s and Ishmael’s presence created problems for Sarah and Isaac. After the episode with Hagar, the Bible does not mention that Abraham had sexual relationships with any other women but Sarah, until Sarah’s death.

Paul writes many times about "Jews" and "Greeks" or "Gentiles." Compare, for example, Romans 2:9-10, 14, 17, 24. Does this mean that the term "Jew" only refers to the house of Judah, while all other tribes of the house of Israel are "Gentiles"?

January 28, 2005

The Bible distinguishes between the house of Israel (also referred to as the lost ten tribes) and the house of Judah, or the Jews. At the time of Paul, the house of Judah was politically composed of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and part of Levi. A careful study of Paul’s writings reveals that he uses the term “Jew” many times as a SUMMARY TERM, which also includes all the tribes of the house of Israel; for instance, Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh), Simeon, Levi, and Reuben.

We read, in Acts 21:39, that “Paul said, I am a man which am a JEW of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia.” However, in Romans 11:1, Paul explained: “I also am an ISRAELITE, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Notice that Paul called himself a Jew and an “Israelite” — a descendant of ancient Israel or Jacob — and not just a Jew.

Is it a Biblical obligation or merely a Church tradition that God's ministry officiate during a wedding or burial of Church members?

January 21, 2005

While the current practices of the Church of God have been shaped by both national laws and customs regarding the conducting of both weddings and funerals, the ultimate basis is firmly established in Scripture. These significant events of a Christian’s life are of great importance in the plan which God has established for all of mankind.

The joining together of a man and woman in marriage is a holy ordinance of God. This can be seen from numerous Scriptures. Marriage was established by God from the beginning of mankind’s existence on the earth. From Genesis 1:27-28, we see that God created male and female humans. In Genesis 2:20-25, it is further explained that the man and the woman were to be joined together, and the woman is specifically designated as the man’s wife. Further confirmation is given that it was God Who established marriage: “‘Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate'” (Mark 10:9; compare, too, Matthew 19:1-9). It is of particular significance that in the previous verses, Jesus explained that Moses was allowed, because of the hardness of the people’s hearts, to grant divorces for different reasons. Christ added, however, that this was not so in the beginning, and that Christians are only permitted to divorce in very limited circumstances. One reason for divorce was established in the record of the Church of God as noted in the letter from Paul to the Church at Corinth–that is, when an unbeliever is no longer pleased to dwell with the believer, and departs from his or her marriage obligations (compare 1 Corinthians 7:12, 15).

Is it possible that God may delay or accelerate end-time prophecies?

January 14, 2005

This possibility exists. In fact, several Scriptures suggest this to be the case.

For instance, we read in 2 Peter 3:12 that we are to be “looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God” — the return of Christ. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (“Strong’s”) defines the Greek word, “speudo,” (under #4692), translated as “hastening,” as “to ‘speed’…, urge on…; by impl. to await eagerly; (make, with) haste unto.”

Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible (“Young’s”) defines the word as, “to hasten,” or, “urge on.” The same Greek word is used, for instance, in Luke 19:5-6 and Acts 22:18 (translated as, “make haste”). In Acts 20:16, it is translated as “(he) hasted” and in Luke 2:16, it is translated as, “(they came) with haste.” Of course, to await or to anticipate eagerly Christ’s return has been the role of every Christian in all ages. Jesus instructed all Christians concerning prayer to ask: “‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven'” (Matthew 6:10). Paul stated about the return of Christ that we should be even more diligent concerning our fellowship as a Church, “…and so much the more as you see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). These statements affect all Christians in the Church leading up to Christ’s return.

How do you understand Daniel 9:27?

January 7, 2005

Let us read Daniel 9:24-27 in context, in the Authorized Version:

“(24) Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks [i.e., sixty-nine weeks]: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. (26) And after the threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (27) And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

Will prophetic events be "cut short"–that is, will some prophecies not come to pass?

December 31, 2004

The Scripture that some use to teach this concept is Matthew 24:22. Various translations use the terms “cut short” in quoting the words of Jesus Christ. For instance, the NIV states: “‘If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.'” Similarly, the NKJV renders this verse: “‘And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.'”

What days will be “cut short” or “shortened”?

In verse 3 of Matthew 24, some of the disciples asked Jesus: “‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?'” Jesus answered them by revealing events far into the future, and He concentrated His response on the events of the generation alive at the time that the Father would send Jesus back to the earth to forcefully intervene in world affairs.

Did Jesus Have Long Hair?

December 24, 2004

The Bible clearly reveals that Jesus Christ, when He was here on earth as a human being, did not wear long hair. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:14: “Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?” It would therefore be inconceivable to assume that Jesus would have worn long hair.

Some have misunderstood a passage in the book of Matthew, erroneously claiming that Christ was a “Nazirite” (also spelled Nazarite in the Authorized Version) and that He therefore wore long hair. However, Christ was not a Nazirite, but a Nazarene. The passage in Matthew 2:23 reads:

“And he [Joseph] came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, ‘He [Christ] shall be called a Nazarene.'”