Bible Questions and Answers
Browse all the questions that have been asked at thisisyourbible.com and see their answers, read the most recent questions and answers, or have a look at some prepared questions and answers on key Bible themes.
Thank you for asking a question on This is your Bible.
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(All quotations from the New King James translation unless stated otherwise).
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That Jesus died, was placed in a tomb and raised to life again on the third day is clear.
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Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
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1 Corinthians 15:4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
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The idea of hell being a place that a fallen angel called ‘Satan’ has a key to, is not sustainable from scripture. The problem arises because the King James translators often translated the Hebrew ‘sheol’ and the Greek ‘hades’ as hell (which in old English meant ‘covered place’). In other places they translated it as ‘grave’. In the New King James translation, the word ‘sheol’ is again translated in some places as ‘grave’ (Genesis 37:35) and in other places left untranslated; whereas ‘hades’ is always left untranslated. Both ‘sheol’ and ‘hades’ mean the grave. That ‘sheol’ and ‘hades’ are equivalents is seen when Peter, in Acts 2, quotes Psalm 16.
Psalms 16:10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
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Acts 2:27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
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The soul is not something that lives on after the person dies. The soul is the person.
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AV Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
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When we die we become a ‘dead’ soul and we ‘sleep’ in the dust.
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Ezekiel 18:4... The soul who sins shall die.
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Acts 13:36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;
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No part of us has a conscious existence to go anywhere. Hell as a place of fiery torment presided over by a ‘fallen’ angel called Satan is Christian mythology. When Christ was raised from the dead to eternal life he was given all authority.
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Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
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This authority includes the power to open the graves and raise the dead. This is signified in Revelation as having the ‘keys’ to the grave and death.
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Revelation 1:18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
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These ‘keys’ or power was received not from a mythological ‘Satan’ but from God. God alone had the power of life and death.
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Deuteronomy 32:39 Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.
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This power is now in the hands of his son and we await his return.
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1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Please read:
Heaven and Hell (Click on the title) and also
Do You Believe in a Devil? (Click on the title)
.
(All quotations from the New King James translation unless stated otherwise).
.
That Jesus died, was placed in a tomb and raised to life again on the third day is clear.
.
Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
.
1 Corinthians 15:4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
.
The idea of hell being a place that a fallen angel called ‘Satan’ has a key to, is not sustainable from scripture. The problem arises because the King James translators often translated the Hebrew ‘sheol’ and the Greek ‘hades’ as hell (which in old English meant ‘covered place’). In other places they translated it as ‘grave’. In the New King James translation, the word ‘sheol’ is again translated in some places as ‘grave’ (Genesis 37:35) and in other places left untranslated; whereas ‘hades’ is always left untranslated. Both ‘sheol’ and ‘hades’ mean the grave. That ‘sheol’ and ‘hades’ are equivalents is seen when Peter, in Acts 2, quotes Psalm 16.
Psalms 16:10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
.
Acts 2:27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
.
The soul is not something that lives on after the person dies. The soul is the person.
.
AV Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
.
When we die we become a ‘dead’ soul and we ‘sleep’ in the dust.
.
Ezekiel 18:4... The soul who sins shall die.
.
Acts 13:36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;
.
No part of us has a conscious existence to go anywhere. Hell as a place of fiery torment presided over by a ‘fallen’ angel called Satan is Christian mythology. When Christ was raised from the dead to eternal life he was given all authority.
.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
.
This authority includes the power to open the graves and raise the dead. This is signified in Revelation as having the ‘keys’ to the grave and death.
.
Revelation 1:18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
.
These ‘keys’ or power was received not from a mythological ‘Satan’ but from God. God alone had the power of life and death.
.
Deuteronomy 32:39 Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.
.
This power is now in the hands of his son and we await his return.
.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Please read:
Heaven and Hell (Click on the title) and also
Do You Believe in a Devil? (Click on the title)
If you want to come to grips with what the Bible really teaches, why not take the free online Bible study course available on our website, www.thisisyourbible.com? This course will give you a background in the major themes of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. As with everything we offer, there is no cost to you other than your time and effort... You will also have a personal tutor to whom you may pose questions either from the course itself or those questions which come to you as you read the Bible.
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I hope this helps.
Glenn Smith
