How well do you know the Word of God? Does it mean much to you anyway I wonder?
If you are a Christian and know the Word of God, see if you knew a few of these;
Why were Adam and Eve expelled from Eden?
Contrary to popular belief, Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden not because they ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but in order to prevent them from eating from the tree of life (both forbidden trees are in Genesis 2:9) which would have made them eternal. God doesn’t like competition! Here is the verse (Genesis 3:22-23): “And he said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing good and evil: now, therefore, lest perhaps he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever. [23] And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure, to till the earth from which he was taken.”
Or maybe since it's just been Christmas and we know that story so well, a few of you might have realised this about the Wise Men;
There weren’t three and they didn’t visit Jesus in a manger. The Bible gives neither the number of men (but does the number of gifts as three, which is probably where this misconception stems from). Additionally, Herod demanded the death of all boys under two, making it probable that Christ had been born up to two years prior. Also, the wise men visited Jesus when he lived in a house according to the Biblical account in Matthew 2:11.
How about the 'end times', do you believe in the Rapture?
The “Rapture” is not in the Bible! Despite being believed by a large number of protestants (many of whom also believe that only that which is in the Bible can be true) it was actually invented in the 1600s by one Cotton Mather – otherwise famous for murdering women by strangling them to death (by hanging) in the Salem witch trials. The term in the Bible commonly mistranslated to the word “rapture” actually comes from the Greek ἁρπάζω (harpazo) which actually means “caught up” or “taken away” and it refers to one person only (Philip).
Interesting misconceptions that we can have about the Bible, even sometimes over the things we've read often, but then there's always those parts of the Bible that we often don't read, how about some of the Old Testament that maybe we think isn't so relevant anymore since Jesus has now been..
I was reading yesterday in Luke 21 where Jesus talks about the end of the age and says "All men will hate you because of Me." v17
I see many Christians these days doing the right thing and 'selling' Christianity as something people need, but at the same time trying to be 'nice' people so much so that sometimes discount or even get some of the things of God wrong just so they can paint their religion in a light to be accepted.
How well do you know the Word of God? Do you love God with all of your strength, mind and soul? Are you afraid of being persecuted though? Living a life that is acceptable to God won't always be loved by the world - we read that throughout the Bible - we can't compromise God's Word just so we can be accepted by the world - we will lose everything!
I know many people of many faiths that are dedicated to their religion, but often don't actually read the primary souce themselves - this is dangerous!! How do you really know what you believe if you only hear parts of it told second hand, or even third hand.
How well do you know the Word of God? If you're a Christian and don't read the Bible on a very regular basis, you could find that you're in for a shock when Jesus says "I don't know you" [Luke 13:27] because you didn't know the parameters for the narrow door. (Read Luke 13:22-30)
Read the Word of God - it brings life - don't try to put your own spin on the Word either, but let the Holy Spirit give you the meaning to each word and you will find life!
God bless you and may the Spirit of God guide you
