Is God Cruel In Punishment?

 Question Text : “Is God cruel? I was   shocked when Iread deuteronomy 28:15-68 full of curses”.

Answer Text :  Your  question of God being cruel is a against the Bible revelation which presents God as love (1Jn.4:8).   Sinners get punished because they work against the operating principles of God and God is helpless.  Now read on.

If  God is love how are we to understand God punishing people for their sins?  You must remember that God operates this universe using fixed laws which can NEVER be changed as long as this earth lasts (Psa.148:6).  There are physical laws like the law of gravity. Can you imagine jumping from a high flat with out getting hurt?  No one can break the law of gravity and can imagine that he would escape with out getting hurt.  Scientists have discovered several of the physical laws and we use them for our benefit. 

Now, God uses spiritual laws as well.  And God has given in writing all the spiritual laws by which we need to abide by (Psa.147:19). One of the unchanging laws of God is “what a man sows, so he reaps”.  And God has given us the freedom to choose life or death. Any one who breaks any of God’s written laws is bound to get hurt.  God can not be blamed for the hurt as He has clearly told us what is what in His Word.  He has given us the freedom to choose life or death. 

Read what the Bible says about it.  “Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. You will reap exactly what you plant. If you plant in the field of your natural desires, from it you will gather the harvest of death; if you plant in the field of the Spirit, from the Spirit you will gather the harvest of eternal life” (Gal 6:7-8 GNB).  That is why Ezekiel would ask, “why should Israel die” (Eze.18:31). 

In Dt.28 God is telling us clearly what will the result of obeying His laws or disobeying them.  We can choose what we want in life.  God is helpless if we choose to disobey Him.  We will surely get hurt now and later our sin and our disobedience will tak e us to a place from where God has withdrawn His presence and the Bible calls in hell.  This happens because God does NOT want to force any one to choose Him or to choose goodness only.  If that was the case, we would have been like robots.

Need for Indian Christian Theology

Question Text :   i  am really  confused about the question raised by our professor in our college  about  the indian christian theology………….  my question is that do we need an indian christian theology in  the indian context if yes  than why do we  need indian chrristian theology  if no than why we  dont need what hermeneutical principle would we apply to follow  to  do so……………..  would  be very happy  if u would please help me to  find out ?

Answer Text :  Though the gospel is the same,  the way it is appreciated and understood is different in different cultures. Jesus came to the world as a Jew and He lived and taught as a Jew. His food and clothing were Jewish. But when that message was to be preached around the world, the Jewish element has to be explained to the hearers so that the message will be understood properly. That is why there are so many commentaries written on the Bible. Otherwise there could be total misunderstanding of the message.

The classical example of this is found in the book ‘Peace Child’ written by Don Richardson. Richardson was a missionary among the cannibalistic Sawi tribe in Indonesia. He learnt their language with much difficulty and when the gospel was preached to the tribe, the people saw Judas as the hero and Jesus was to them a dupe to be laughed at, as deception was the highest virtue in their culture. Richardson was in great difficulty and he was determined to leave the mission field because the tribes were still fighting between them. But because the tribes did not want him to leave, they decided to make peace between them and the way it was done was by exchanging children to the enemies to be looked after. When he saw this he got the clue and he presented the Christ as God’s Son sent to reconcile us to Him. The result was the conversion of the tribes to Christ and the establishment of an indigenous church among them.

One reason why the Gospel did not make head way among Indians is that the early missionaries did not take note of the cultural offenses while they preached to Indians. For example, slaughtering a calf for food is a highly offensive thing here and the Bible translators could have avoided the mention of the calf being slaughtered for food. Instead in that place if they had simply said a grand meal was prepared with out specifically mentioning the slaughter of calf for food, many more Indians would have been willing to read the Bible.

The greatest Indian saint Sadhu Sunder Singh would put this idea in his own words when he said “we need to give the water of life in an Indian vessel”. The core message of the Bible has to taken out and presented it in a way which is understood and appreciated by the indigenous community. In Richardson’s language there will be “redemptive analogies” in each culture and until they are discovered and the gospel presented, it will become an offence to the hearers and they would never be able to appreciate what God has done to redeem this world.

Is there need for an Indian Christian theology? Yes, indeed. Every time the gospel is preached, preachers are using Indian languages, Indian illustrations, Indian cultural traits to make the gospel relevant to the hearers. The gospel makes its head into the community if it is presented in the way appealing to them.

Bible Meddled With?!

Question Text :  they claim the documents are under the archives of the vatican and the church is said to have mixed up and edited that suits their own purposes?

do u think after all they are part of gnosticism?

what will happen just in case if the alleged noto scrolls emerged? will it destroy christianity? will it disprove jesus christ` divinity?

so far as i read the chapters clearly a fake jesus went to india he taught panthesism mixxed with biblical and buddhistic doctrines but more disturbing it stressed man find spirituality and perfection within?

Answer Text : 

Your first question whether the church is said to have mixed up and edited the documents of the NT as we have them today is based on pure misunderstandings about things in the past.  You must remember that the church was a persecuted minority in the Roman empire till Constantine changed his attitude towards the church in the beginning of the 4th century.  It is true that the full Bible as we have it now in manuscript form is found from the 4th century AD.  But there are hundreds of manuscript fragments which confirm the fact that the NT writings, as we have them today,  have NEVER been meddled with at all. Please read about the NT manuscripts in http://biblefacts.org/history/oldtext.html .

Your second question whether they are part of Gnosticism is thoroughly to be thrown out because NT writings are AGAIST Gnostic teachings!  It is true that Gnosticism was prevalent in the NT world and the church had to FIGHT against it for its pure doctrine. And 1John clearly speaks against Gnostic concepts in clearest terms. 

Your question about noto scrolls is interesting, as if one piece of obscure writing could destroy all that was written about Christ and His redeeming work!! You asked whether Christianity could be destroyed.  If it was ever possible for it to be destroyed, it would have been done in the first two centuries of its existence.  If none could do it then, NO FORCE ON EARTH CAN EVER DO IT AS JESUS SAID, “I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH”.  Any one who tried to destroy this faith got destroyed themselves eventually.  The last major attempt was done by the Communist regimes and you know what happened.  Let any one else come up.  I guarantee THEIR destruction and NOT the destruction of this faith which is delivered to saints once and for all. 

Dear friend, you asked whether it will disprove the divinity of Jesus.  His divinity does NOT depend on a few manuscripts any where in the world.  It is Eternal, unchallengeable, and unchallenged.  His divinity was made manifest to us mortals by a few parchments.  But it DOES NOT DEPEND ON HUMAN WRITINGS AT ALL.   

Then your last question that some found spirituality and perfection elsewhere is NOT surprising at all.  From time immemorial, the Enemy has been trying to blind the minds of people all over, so that the light of the gospel may not be visible to them.  He has been supplying them with duplicate material all over.  One of the greatest lies of the Devil is Islam where millions are said to have found “spiritual solace”.  Is there any wonder that some find it else where in some other spurious writings?  God bless!!

The Bible on Obedience

Question Text :  What does God say about obedience?

Answer Text :  One of the dictionary definitions of obedience is `humble respect`. God expects man to pay humble respect to all His laws. In fact, the very first sin of humanity was disobedience to the command of God. The word `sin` is a totally misunderstood term. When the Bible says all men are sinners, many are offended at that. When one realizes that the word `sin` in the Bible is a technical term and that it has special meaning attached to it in the Bible, the problem is somewhat solved. For example, the words `bug` and `virus` in a computer textbook are technical terms and they have special meanings attached to them. Unless those meanings are arrived at, one can never comprehend a computer textbook. 1Jn.5:17 defines what the Bible means by the word sin. `All wrongdoing is sin` (RSV).

In simple terms all mistakes are sins. Is there some one out there who has never ever made a mistake in life? The Bible categorizes all spiritual and moral mistakes as sins. If God expects man to obey Him and then when man disobeys, it is a mistake and therefore it is a sin. The Bible could not be clearer when it says, `And Samuel said, `Has the Lord much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed better than fat of rams` (1Sam.15:22). Why is there such an emphasis on obedience in the Bible? Are we to think that God is a cruel despot and He does not want anyone to think or do anything against Him as some people are prone to think? No, never. God is not a cruel despot at all. He is a God of love. Yes, indeed, God is love (1Jn.4:8,16). Why does the loving God expect every one of His creatures to obey Him always? The answer is very simple. Since He is our creator, He knows what is best for us. Psa.103 v.14 puts it so beautifully when it says, `He knows our frame`. He knows what is best for us. He also knows what is going to hurt us. And graciously He has revealed His laws to His people.

The Bible is like an operator’s manual. `He shows His Word to Jacob, His Precepts and His judgments to Israel`(Psa 147:19). He has not done so with any nation; and they have not known His judgments. Praise Jehovah!` (Psa 147:20). And that is why Ezekiel would ask, `Oh, House of Israel, why should you die?` Eze.18:31b). In His sovereign will, God has given man the ability to choose to obey Him or not to obey Him. But when man chooses to disobey Him, God knows it is going to hurt man. When man gets hurt, that is hurting God Himself (Is.63:9). That is why God says, `I have no delight in the death of the wicked` (Eze.18:23).

God hates disobedience and sin as it is going to hurt the sinner. In turn it is going to hurt God Himself. So let us remember that when ever we break a known command of God, we are hurting ourselves and in turn hurting the loving heart of God. Hence the talk about crucifying the Son of God afresh in Heb.6:6.

Walking by faith and not by sight

Question Text : How is the believer to walk by faith and not by sight when most of what we encounter is seen?

Answer Text : Oxford Dictionary defines faith as 1. complete trust or confidence 2. strong belief in a religion 3. a system of religious belief. The basic meaning of the word thus is complete trust or confidence. It is not a religious word at all in that sense.

Human society survives by faith and trust. We trust each other. We trust our milkman. We trust our railroad timetable. With out faith and trust the human society can not go on. But we all trust people and things which are physical and visible.

But when it comes to faith and trust in God, since God is not physical and visible, we are called up on to walk by faith and not by sight(2Cor.5:7). Though God is not visible, He is an ever present reality. The Bible declares that `the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen (God) are eternal` (2Cor.4:18). The physical things that we put our trust in might fail any time.

For example the milkman might never show up or the train might have an accident. But this could never happen with God and His Word. We could be absolutely sure about some thing if the Scriptures declare it to be so. No one knows what the next minute might bring to us. But we could be absolutely sure that what ever is predicted in the Word of would come true.

It is true that God uses physical people and things around us for His glory. But we could never ever trust them as we could trust in God and His Word.Thus we walk by faith(in the invisible God) and not by sight. Ps.138:2 declares `thou hast exalted above everything thy name and thy word`. So even though God is invisible we could put our faith and trust in Him and in His Word much more than we could do it on people and things around us.

Destined To Hell?!

Question Text: I am a fairly new Christian and struggle with predestination. Can I ask for Jesus to be lord of my life, read his word, desire to know truth, God, and apply what I learn to my life? I trust God’s word is truth, even though I don’t` understand all of it. Will I stand before him to hear him say, “I did not choose you ` and be gone to hell’ . I do not want to go to hell. I deserve it but I want to be with God. I have been praying for people in my life that are family and crossed my path for the conviction of the Holy Spirit to lead them to repentance and saving faith. Should I not do this because God chose those he knew would be His and he loses none of them? I am so disturbed over this. Please help!

Answer Text: I was so moved as I read your question. Your sincere desire to be in heaven and be in presence of the Lord for ever after you leave this world WILL NEVER EVER be denied by the Lord by any means as the Bible NEVER teaches that God has chosen certain people to go to hell. God loved the whole world (Jn.3:16). Christ died for sins of the whole world (1Jn.2:2). That surely includes you and me with out a question. Praise be to His Holy Name!

But the doctrine of divine election is a subject which is CLEARLY taught in the Bible. You can not read the Bible and miss that subject. If any one denies divine election, that person is guilty of denying a clear teaching of the Word of God.

While positive election is clearly taught in the Bible, the Bible NEVER teaches that God has elected some people TO GO TO HELL. In fact hell is NOT prepared for man. HELL IS PREPARED FOR SATAN AND HIS ANGELS (Mt. 25:41). The Bible clearly teaches that God is NOT willing that any should perish (1Tim.2:4; 2Pet.3:9). So if some one goes to hell, it is happening against God`s perfect will. That is why when Jesus, our Lord, taught His disciples to pray, He asked them to pray, `thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven` (Mt.6:10).

Then you are absolutely right about the role of grace even for accepting Christ as savior. Jesus clearly says `unless the Father draws, no one can come to me` (Jn.6:44). From these verses it is clear that when we pray for the salvation of our loved ones and friends, God gives them the grace to accept Christ even as we pray. Because we are clearly taught in the Bible that if we pray in the will of God, God will surely listen to us (1Jn.5:14).

So from now on please make your prayers for the conversion of your friends more intense and more specific and soon you will find the Lord touching them. There is one prayer to which God will never say “no” for an answer. It is when we pray for the salvation of others. Surely there will be struggle as Satan will not easily give up on certain people. But if we strive in prayer as we are taught in Rom.15:30-32, surely answer is bound to come.

When we read the biography of George Mueller of Bristol, we will come to know that he prayed for the conversion of a friend of his for 53 long years! But Mueller, who was a mighty man of prayer, could not see his friend’s conversion when Mueller was still alive. But the biographer of Mueller reports that the friend for whom Mueller was praying for 53 years accepted the Lord at the funeral service of Mueller! So be fervent in prayers for your friends and be sure that answer is bound to come sooner or later.

The question of the sovereignty of God and the freedom of man can not be easily solved by us. It is like the doctrine of Trinity. How could you explain that God is One yet there are three persons who have all the qualities of Godhead? The Bible calls it the mystery of God (Rev.10:6). What we have to do is to take the Bible verses at its face value and believe them and teach them as it is found there. If we emphasis one against the other we get in to all sorts of wrong teachings which are common among many Christians. May God bless you as you try to seek after Him whole heartedly. To His name be all glory. Amen.

God’s Love And Hell

 

Question Text:  hey I am 15 years old from Lebanon and I am called Michel Youssef and I have a simple question that I can not understand it. Everybody said that god loves us , but everybody says that if we do a lot of sin we will burn in hell , if he loves us why should he hurt us ?

Answer Text:  My dear son Michel, I am so proud to meet a fifteen year old with such thought provoking question. I am sure you are going to turn out to be a great person in future. And with God you will be able to achieve things beyond any man’s imagination.

 In your  question you said that everybody says God loves us but everybody says that if we do a lot of sin we will burn in hell. Ok. Son, please remember everybody does not say this. This is what that Bible tells us about God and you do not have to do a LOT of sins to burn in hell according to the Bible! And you asked if God loves us why should He hurt us. Indeed, it is an excellent question. I will explain it from two angles.

The first thing to remember is that God has ordained this world to be ruled by laws which do not change (Ps.148:6). Now we all know about the law of gravity. The universe is guided by this law of gravity. As human beings living upon the face of the earth, we simply have to abide by this law. For example, none of us could ever imagine to jump down from a three storied building without getting hurt. Can we? Just as there are physical laws under operation, God guides humanity by moral and spiritual laws which also do not change. Anyone breaking any of these would hurt himself without a doubt. While scientists have been able to discover some of the physical laws of this universe, we are so glad that God has revealed through His people Israel the spiritual laws by which He operates this world of humanity (Ps.147:19). When someone breaks any of the moral or spiritual laws of God, that person is bound to get hurt without a doubt. Since God has revealed it to us, the full responsibility is given to us. That is why the prophet Ezekiel would say, “why should you die, o house of Israel?” (Eze.18:31).

So now if someone gets hurt by breaking the command of God, can we blame God for the same? Now the question of hell is a real problem. But let us look at it this way. A person who says, “I do not want to obey the command of God” is, in fact, saying that he does not want this God. Am I right? If a person goes on to say that he does not want God and His ways in his life till the end of his life, at the time of his death God will accept his final “no” to Him and allow him to go to a place from where God has withdrawn His presence. That is what is called hell. Hell is the place prepared for Satan and his angels (Mt.25:41). God does NOT want any one to go there (1Tim.2:4). But if someone does not want God and His ways for himself, God will finally allow him to go there with tears in His eyes (Eze.33:11).

My dear son Michel, I humbly request you that you will never say “no” to God and to His commands. He will not accept your ‘no’ till your last breath. But once you leave this world without accepting God’s ways, you would have chosen for yourself a place where God is not present and it is hell and it burns with fire and brimstone (Rev.21:8). Since none of us knows when death will come to us, it is best for us to come to Him NOW and accept Him in our lives now before it is too late.

 

 

 

 

Will God Send Good People To Hell For Not Accepting Christ?

Question Text: How would you explain God sending some one like Gandhi to hell for not accepting Christ, when Jesus said you shall know them by their fruit?

Answer Text: You have posted an excellent question.   Good people in hell can be understood by the fact that they are dead in spirt and therefore lived a life separated from God here and will do so hereafter.

The Bible doctrine that no man is good stands unchallenged (Ps.14:3). Your statement that we can know them by their fruit was made by our Lord in the context of false teachers (Mt.7:20). Your assumption that Gandhi’s fruit was good is to a great extend agreeable though in his autobiography Gandhi confesses to have lied on occasions. Yet, he was known as the Mahathma which literally means a ‘great soul’.

Gandhi was indeed a great soul with out a doubt. But his spirit was dead and was separated from God. The Bible teaches that man is a tripartite being. Man has a body, soul and spirit (1The.5:3). The spirit in man is that part of man by which man could be in contact with God. When Adam committed sin, he became dead in spirit. Which means Adam lost His fellowship with God as he was separated from God by sin. In Adam all die (1Cor.15:22). This means all men are born in this world being separated from God. Unless a regeneration takes place every man born on earth is born and lives being separated from God. A natural man is lead by his soul element in him (1Cor.2:14). The original word for ‘natural man’ in 1Cor.2:14 is ‘psuchikos’ which means a ‘soulish (man)’. Until some one accepts Christ, he is lead by his soul and he remains separate from God.

When some one accepts Christ, a reversal takes place. A death takes place (2Cor.5:14) and a new life begins (Eph.2:1). He dies to self (soul) and he is made alive in spirit. Now a child of God is to be lead by the spirit (Rom.8:14). Tragically there are occasions when a child of God also is lead by the soul like ordinary men (1Cor.3:3). Thus they become carnal Christians. The important thing to note is that soul and spirit are identical twins and we really can not identify them or separate them and indeed, we would not have even known about these two different elements in man if the Word of God had not made it clear to us (Heb.4:12).

Gandhi being a ‘great soul’ produced fruit very similar to that of the fruit of the spirit as taught in Gal.5:22. But surely, it was the fruit of his soul and not of the spirit. His spirit being separated from God is not capable of producing the fruit of the spirit.

It is God’s desire that all men should be with Him in heaven (1Tim.2:4). God has done every thing possible for every man to be saved. Now it is man’s duty to make the choice whether to be found with God or with out Him. We know from the biographies of Gandhi that he was clearly exposed to the gospel of Christ. In fact Gandhi liked the Sermon on the Mount so dearly that he read it almost regularly.

Yet, Gandhi chose not to accept Christ as his Lord and savior and remained a soulish man and never became linked to God in a practical way in his spirit. God of love does NOT force any one to accept Him. If Gandhi does not want to be with God in heaven, God is helpless and God can not and will not take him to heaven.

To me, hell also is a sign of God’s loving nature, being unwilling to force any man in to His mould with out man’s clear permission and decision. So if there is any truth in the Bible, Gandhi can not be in heaven because he did not choose to be in link with God while here on earth through Christ who said no one can come to the Father but by me (Jn.14:6). It is not a question of God sending any one to hell, it is a question of people choosing to live with out God here and now which will be their fate all through eternity as well. I hope this clarifies your question.

Two Issues

Question Text Can you help me with two issues. 1) What exactly did Jesus mean by `i never knew you` when casting those who believed they served him into hell. 2)How can anyone who has not yet recieved the holy spirit, therefore a carnal being, make the decision that he or she understands and believes the gospel which is surely a spiritual decision and if God does something in advance to remove the barrier of being decieved by the God of this world in the mind of some people, why not all?? please help,,thanks.

Answer Text The answer to your first question is that relationship with the Master is more important than service to the Master. There are ever so many who pretend to serve Him with out ever knowing Him in person. There are so many in the world today who believe in the gospel with out ever repenting while the clearest statement of the gospel is to repent and believe in the gospel (Mk.1:15). It is repentance towards God and faith towards Christ which makes a person a true child of God (Acts 20:21). Look at the Laodecian church. They are a church, alright! Yet Christ is standing out side and knocking for an entry (Rev.3:20)!! The Bible is written so that we KNOW that we have eternal life (1Jn.5:13). Tragically many who serve Him to doay do not KNOW for sure whether they are saved or not!! So, any one serving Christ must make sure that he/she has a right relationship with Christ to begin with. Otherwise they would face the same words one day being uttered to them like those others who thought they were serving Him as well!!

 

Your second question needs a little clarification. You talk about any one who has not received the Holy Spirit as being carnal. This is not what the Bible teaches. Any one who has not received the Holy Spirit is said to be a `natural man` (1Cor.2:14). It is the natural men who can not understand the things of God. On the other hand, carnal men are those who are born again children of God who never bothered to feed themselves daily with the Word of God and therefore have not grown and live like the natural men(1Cor.3:1-3).

 Ok. I am sure, your problem is about natural men who are not able to understand the things of God. The Bible clearly states that no one can ever come to Christ unless the Father draws him (Jn.6:44). And it is the Spirit of God who convicts the world of sin, of judgment and of righteousness (Jn.16:8). Unless God the Holy Spirit convicts a person, and unless the Father draws that person to Christ, none can ever come to Christ. This is why INTERCESSION is most important in all our evangelistic activities. The one who presents the gospel must simultaneously pray that the Spirit of God will convict that person and the Father will draw him/her to Christ.

Evangelism with out prayer is cultivation with out water. Here the intercessor is entering into real spiritual warfare as he is trying to plunder the goods of the enemy (Lk.11:21,22). Some times the strongholds of the enemy where he has trapped them are very strong (1Cor.10:3,4). Unless these strongholds are demolished, those trapped inside can never see the light of the gospel (2Cor.4:4). That is why we are commanded to continue steadfastly in earnest prayers, praying always in spirit (Eph.6:18) for those who are preaching the gospel (Eph.6:19-20). This truth is amply illustrated by the history of the church. The early church in Acts was a praying church. The result was that the then known world was saturated with the gospel. When ever, where ever there was a praying church millions turned to Christ. The times of Wesley, Moody, Finny and others in history who made such impact in church history were simply because there was a movement of prayer associated with them. God is not partial. Even today such things can happen if there are individuals and churches who are willing to obey the clear commands of the NT about striving in prayer (Rom.15:30-32). These verses in Romans clearly tell us that God’s perfect will can ONLY be achieved by striving in prayer. May the Lord give us grace. To His Name be all glory. Amen,

Are There Any Scientific Truths In The Bible?

Question text:

Hi, I am a Muslim living in Istanbul, Turkey. I focus on the religion matter from scientific perspective. Are there any scientific truths in Bible? Does Bible talk about Moon, Sun, Universe, World… Does Bible mention about any scientific facts about them? I watched the movie `Passion` directed by Mel Gibson. I was very affected. Had Bible been written before Jesus died, or after he died? I will be very appreciated with your kind replies. Thanks in advance and with my best regards. 
              
Answer Text

Peace to you my good friend. Thank you for contacting us with your questions about the Bible and about Jesus. I am so glad to learn that you are interested in the matter of religion from a scientific perspective. Your first question “Are there any scientific truths in the Bible?” is a good one. Though the Bible is not written to teach us science, since it was written by men who were inspired by God who is the Creator of the Universe, there must not be contradictions between true science and the Bible. And truly it is so. Long before Galileo discovered that the earth was round, the Bible talked about the “circle of the earth” in Is.40:22 written in 720 B.C. In Job 26:7 which is the most ancient book of the Bible we read “He stretches out the north over empty space, And hangs the earth upon nothing”. This was written when man knew nothing about space or about gravitational force! About Sun and moon in Gen 1:14-16 we read “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years: (15) and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. (16) And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also”. About stars the Bible says they are numerous like the sand of the sea shore in Gen 22:17 “that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore. And thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies”. You know that Abraham the patriarch lived around 2000 BC and in those days men thought there were only countable number of stars in the sky. These are some of the passing references to modern scientific discoveries which we see in the Bible.

Please go to the link I am giving you now  and read the article about scientific truths in the Bible.  http://www.trueword.net/trueword/Advanced%20Reader/bible_and_modern_Science.htm

 Then you asked whether the Bible was written before Jesus died or after. The Bible was written over a period of 1600 years from the time of Moses the first of the writing prophets who lived around 1500 years before Jesus and the last book of the Bible was written around 96 AD by John, an Apostle of Jesus, nearly 65 years after His death. Forty different men were used by God to write this Bible which has 66 books in it. The place where Jesus was to be born, the way He would live, the manner of His death and His glorious resurrection were all very clearly predicted long time before it took place. There are so many verses relating to these things that it is difficult to quote any. But please read Psa.22 and Isa. 53 which talk about His death and His resurrection. Dan.9:26 tells us exactly the very date of His crucifixion. These verses were written a 1000, 750, and 550 years before the incident. Can you imagine the Almighty becoming a man? Impossible. Impossible. Impossible. But He made it possible in order to save us from the punishment of our sin. Jesus was Almighty God in human form bearing the sins of humanity to set us free from its guilt and punishment.

The Holy Quran says that Jesus will come as a judge of mankind at the end of days. The Bible also says the same thing. But the glorious thing the Bible says is that tomorrow’s Judge is willing to act as your advocate today (1Jn.2:1,2). I accepted Him as my advocate and He cancelled my sins because He paid it all for me and for the whole world. Muslim friends around the world these days are seeing visions of Isa and are turning to Christ for this free gift of salvation. Only the Bible offers salvation full and free. It is based on the work of Christ. Only through Jesus we can approach God as Father (Jn.14:6) as He alone died to make us free. You can search qotquestions.org pages for Muslim questions and find many answers there. But please feel free to mail back to us for any further clarifications. We are so glad that you contacted us. And we are so glad to answer your questions. We also encourage you to look at the articles on our website, especially those about salvation http://www.gotquestions.org/questions_salvation.html and those for Muslims at http://www.gotquestions.org/Muslim-questions.html. May peace be yours which Christ offers to all mankind full and free. To His Name be all glory. Amen.