Useful Q & A

[Beetow]

1» Was Jesus A Christian?

Jesus was a Jew thru and thru who believed and practiced the Old Testament in
compliance with the Prophets and the various covenants; most especially the one
that Moses' people agreed upon with God per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy. (Gal 4:4)
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[B-A-C]

1» Was Jesus A Christian?

Jesus is Christ.
Christian means "follower of Christ".

Did Jesus follow Himself?

 

[Beetow]

2» Was John the Baptist a Christian?

John missed the cut. Jesus didn't begin assembling the "my church" predicted at
Matt 16:18 till after John was executed.

In point of fact, Christianity didn't exist prior to Jesus' resurrection-- specifically
before the day of Pentecost following that event.

The day of Pentecost kicked of an era characterized by the baptism of the Holy
Spirit (Acts 1:5 and 1Cor 12:12-13).

John was filled with the Spirit all his life, even prior to his birth (Luke 1:15). But he
wasn't baptized by the Spirit. This is a very, very important technicality.
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[Beetow]

3» How were John the Baptist's mom and Jesus' mom relatives?

John's mom was of the tribe of Levi. (Luke 1:5)

Jesus' mom was of the tribe of Judah. (Luke 1:32, Rom 1:3, and Heb 7:14)

Both tribes descend from Leah. (Gen 35:23)

Ergo: The two moms were cousins via the same grandmother.
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[Beetow]

4» Name all fourteen of Jacob's sons.

His twelve natural sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun,
Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. (Gen 35:23-26)

His two adopted sons were Manasseh and Ephraim. (Gen 48:5)
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[Beetow]

5» What is a Prophet?

The Hebrew word for prophet in the Old Testament is nabiy' (naw-bee') which isn't limited to big-gun prognosticators like Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel, rather, it mostly just refers to inspired people-- of either gender -- influenced, moved, and/or guided by a divine connection; e.g. Abel (Luke 11:50-51) Abraham (Gen 20:7) Moses (Deut 18:18) Miriam (Ex 15:20) Deborah (Judg 4:4) and Huldah (2Kgs 22:14).

People can be inspired and not even know it because God's influence is supernatural, viz: impossible to detect with the five natural senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

Every Christian is supposed to be inspired (1Cor 2:11-15, 1Cor 12:7, and 1John 2:26-27) which makes an inspired Bible teacher's job a whole lot easier.
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[Beetow]

6» What Is The Name That Is Above Every Name?

There are several names for God in the Old Testament, but only one that I know of
that's a moniker; and that's Jehovah. (Isa 42:8)

Well then; according to Philippians 2:9-11 Jesus has the God-given right to use the
name of Jehovah for his own personal name; ergo: everyone far and near, high and
low, must bow to Jesus Christ just the same as they would bow to God. Refusal to
do so dishonors the name of God the Father.
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[Beetow]

7» What's The Difference Between Immortality And Eternal life?

Immortality has to do with a body that's immune to age and won't die of natural
causes.

The negative side of immortality is it's impermanence. In other words: immortality
isn't indelible, i.e. it can be washed out; so to speak. For example: Adam's body
was created with immortality, but lost it as a result of him eating a certain fruit
known to be off limits for human consumption.

Whereas immortality has to do with the constitution of a being's body, eternal life
has to do with the constitution of one's being, i.e. the very core of their existence.

I am a man, ergo: the core of my being is human nature; whereas God is a deity,
so the core of His being is divine nature. The advantages of divine nature become
very apparent when it's juxtaposed with human nature.

When I was a youngster; it occurred to me that If my propensities and proclivities
were like God's, then it would be very easy to get into Heaven, and very easy to
stay in Heaven without ever getting evicted because doing what's right would come
just as natural to me as it does for God, i.e. God has no difficulty getting along with
God; so if I had divine nature instead of human nature, then I too would have no
difficulty getting along with God.

So it's easily seen that whereas immortality is beneficial; eternal life is far more
desirable because of its potential for making ordinary people super holy.
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[Beetow]

8» Name The Special Sabbaths.

First and last days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ex 12:16, Lev 23:5-8)

Feast of Trumpets (Lev 23:23-25)

Yom Kippur (Lev 16:29-34)
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[Beetow]

8» Name The Special Sabbaths.

Two more, along with those listed in post No.8, are the first and final day of the
Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 16:34-36, Lev 16:39)
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[Beetow]

9» Whence Did Mary Get The Y Chromosome For Baby Jesus?

In the beginning, God constructed a fully functioning woman from some material
taken from a man's body. Well; if God could construct an entire woman with
material taken from a man's body, then it shouldn't be too hard for him to construct
a teensy little male chromosome with material taken from a woman's body.

Now; it was essential that Jesus' Y chromosome not be created ex nihilo because he
had to be Man-- not just human but Man; as he spoke of himself on numerous
occasions throughout the gospel narratives. Were Jesus' Y chromosome to be
derived from some other source than Adam's biological posterity, then he might be
human but he wouldn't be Man as Man is defined in the book of Genesis.
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[Beetow]

10» How was Joseph related to baby Jesus?

Joseph was instructed to name Mary's baby.

• Matt 1:21 . . She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus

Joseph complied.

• Matt 1:25 . . And he gave him the name Jesus.

So Christ went in the books as Joseph's son because that's how it worked in those
days when a man stood with a woman to name her child. (cf. Luke 1:59 and Luke
2:21)

From that day on; Joseph was legally bound to Jesus as his father. (Matt 13:55,
Luke 2:27, Luke 2:41, and Luke 2:48)

NOTE: Adoption is very advantageous for children because it gives them not only a
legal right to their adoptive father's name and a position in his genealogy, but also
inheritance rights equal to biological children. This is very important in matters
related to not only the man's estate, but also his status. In other words: it's
possible for a child to circumvent blood, and go from pauper to prince by just the
stroke of a pen.
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[Beetow]

11» Was The Forbidden Fruit Toxic?

Eve was first to taste the forbidden fruit; and when she did, nothing happened. She
didn't get sick, and she went right on in the buff as before without the slightest
guilt feelings about frontal nudity. It wasn't till Adam tasted the fruit that she
underwent a change in her feelings about decency.
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[Beetow]

12» Wasn't Adam supposed to die right away? (Gen 2:16-17)

Yes; absolutely; however, the death that came upon him wasn't what might be
expected.

Adam was created with immortality (Gen 1:26-27). The consequence for eating the
forbidden fruit was the loss of his immortality. In other words; Adam's death came
upon him as a walking death in the form of mortality. As a result, mortality became
a pandemic malady: we all have it; and the only known natural remedy for mortality
is the tree of life; to which no one yet has been allowed access.
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[Beetow]

13» Why Were Mary And Joseph Chosen For Jesus' Parents?

It was due to a combination of genetics and the moment.

1) Mary was a Jew biologically related to David (Rom 1:3) and

2) Joseph was a Jew biologically related to David (Matt 1:20) and

3) Their confluence in history. (Gal 4:4)
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[Beetow]

14» Why Is Joseph's Genealogy Given In The New Testament?

This matter is of little importance to the average Gentile, but very important to
pious Jews.

God appointed Jesus to take David's throne (Luke 1:32). However: successors have
to meet two prerequisites. They have to be directly related to David, and they have
to be directly related to David's son Solomon. These prerequisites are non
negotiable.
(2Sam 7:12-16, 1Kings 1:13, 1Chron22:9-10, and Ps 89:3-4)

Jesus was directly related to David via his mother (Rom 1:3) but neither she nor he
were directly related to Solomon. However; Joseph was directly related to both
David and Solomon (Matt 1:6 and Matt 1:20).

Now whereas successors to the throne have to be David's biological posterity, they
don't have to be Solomon's biological posterity; they only have to be one of his
direct descendants; which made it possible for Joseph to pass the throne on to
Jesus by means of adoption: a process that gives children just as much standing in
the home as biological children, including the right to inherit, the right to their
adoptive father's name, and the right to be placed in his genealogy.

This is very important in matters related to not only the man's estate, but also his
status. In other words: it's possible for a child to circumvent blood, and go from
pauper to prince by just the stroke of a pen.

Jacob set the precedent for this procedure when he adopted his two grandsons
Manasseh and Ephraim in the book of Genesis; effectively endowing Joseph's two
boys with the status of tribal heads equal in rank and privilege to Jacob's original
twelve sons. So then, what Joseph did with Jesus was neither innovative nor
unheard of.
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[Beetow]

15» What Is A Savior?

• Luke 2:8-11 . . And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in
the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of The Lord
suddenly stood before them, and the glory of The Lord shone around them; and
they were terribly frightened.

. . . And the angel said to them: Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good
news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David
there has been born for you a savior, who is Christ the Lord.

The Greek word for "savior" in that verse is soter (so-tare') which means: a
rescuer.

Rescuers typically help people who are in grave distress and/or imminent danger of
death and/or serious injury, and helpless to do anything about it; e.g. Red Cross,
Firemen, Emergency Medical teams, snow patrols, mountain units, and the Coast
Guard and National Guard.

Wouldn't it be awful if those agencies refused to assist desperate folk until they first
proved themselves deserving? Well lucky for everyone that those agencies work on
the basis of need rather than merit or many of us would end up thrown back to the
wolves.

I think quite a few people are under the impression that Christ is some sort of
probation officer; viz: if people "endure to the end" as they say; then he grants
them a clearance for heaven. But God forbid they should fail to satisfy the
conditions of their probation, because then they're out the door.

Probation can be likened to a sword of Damocles hanging over people's heads by a
slender thread easily broken by conduct unbecoming. How dare the angel of Luke
2:8-11 describe his announcement as "good news of great joy" if probation were
actually what's meant by sozo instead of rescue.

On the other hand; if Christ is in the business of rescuing people from the wrath of
God in accord with the humane principles underlying normal emergency services;
then yes, I fully agree with the angel that the birth of Christ is something to get
excited about.
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[Beetow]

16» Define An Angel

The Hebrew word for "angel" is mal'ak (mal-awk') which doesn't especially indicate
a celestial being. The word is a bit ambiguous and essentially means a dispatched
deputy or a messenger; viz: someone who speaks for, and/or represents, another;
i.e. an ambassador and/or someone selected by God for a special purpose.

Priests are mal'ak. (Malachi 2:7)

The New Testament word translated "angel" is aggelos (ang'-el-os) which means
pretty much the same thing as mal'ak. For example john the Baptist is labeled an
aggelos. (Mal 3:1 and Matt 11:10) and his assistants too are labeled aggelos (Luke
7:24)

The heads of the seven churches to whom John penned letters in Revelation are
labeled aggelos.

All of which tells me we should never assume that the word "angel" in the Bible eo
ipso indicates a heavenly being. It could just as easily be a human agent on a
divine mission, e.g. Heb 13:2.
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[Beetow]

17» What Is Original Sin?

The so-called original sin was committed by the first man (Adam) relative to a
certain forbidden fruit. (Gen 2:8-17 and Gen 3:6)

The last ten verses of the letter to Romans explains that Adam's posterity are all
reckoned implicated in his act.

• Rom 5:13 . . Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through
sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned

"all sinned" is grammatically past tense; indicating that the entirety of Adam's
posterity, from first to last, regardless of age, race, gender, and/or religious
preference, are implicated in eating the forbidden fruit. That of course includes the
first women Eve because she was constructed with material taken from Adam's
body.

Thus so everybody is doomed to die not for something they did to deserve death,
but for what he did.

• Rom 5:18 . .The result of one trespass was condemnation for all

The fairness of this situation is very difficult to accept, nevertheless it is what it is,
and futile to complain.

The good news is that the original sin isn't a sin unto Hell, rather, it's a sin unto
death. In other words; the proper punishment for the original sin is simply
mortality, i.e. everyone's demise.
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[Beetow]

18» What Is The Fallen Nature?

In a nutshell: the so-called fallen nature is a preference for unobstructed,
unrestrained, self rule; i.e. deciding for one's self what determines right and wrong
and/or what determines good and evil. In that respect, the fallen nature tends to be
its own God and resists cooperating with the real God. (Gen 3:22 and Rom 8:7-8)
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