The Bible talks a lot about names. In the NIV, the Hebrew and Greek words for "name" appear 944 times. That's a bunch! I get a lot of questions about Bible names. Many people are confused about how "name" is used in the Bible. It's used in more than one way, so some explanation would be helpful. The simplest way the Bible uses "name" is like this:
We have very little information about Paradise. We only find the word paradeisos in three passages in the Bible:
- Luke 23:43, where Jesus tells the thief on the cross that he would Join Him in Paradise that day
- 2 Corinthians 12:4, where Paul talks about a man who was 'caught up' into Paradise, or "the third Heaven."
- Revelation 2:7, where Jesus writes to the church in Ephesus.
Nag Hammadi is a town in Egypt. In 1945, two Egyptian brothers found a large urn near Nag Hammadi, filled with ancient papyri. The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of manuscripts is believed to be from the 4th century, copies of documents written earlier. Most of the documents are indirectly related to early Christianity, though the content varies. None are considered inspired Scripture.
Discovered in 1945, the Gospel of Thomas is part of the Nag Hammadi library of manuscripts. Also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas, it is a collection of 114 supposedly secret sayings of Jesus.
The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a movement made up of a number of like-minded people who call themselves Christian, but share a number of unbiblical ideas. Most NAR teachers are also Word of Faith teachers, another decidedly unbiblical set of ideas.
At first glance, God in the Old Testament seems harsh, and perhaps callous. God in the New Testament seems loving, and gentle. With respect, this is a simple misunderstanding. It's also not new...this has been a common misunderstanding since at least the turn of the first century AD.
Many skeptics of Christianity believe that Jesus never claimed to be God. Some claim that nobody believed He was God until long, long after His death. Others argue that Jesus' own words show that He believed Himself to be simply a man, or only the Son of God and not God Himself. Still others claim that Jesus' divinity was created by the apostle Paul, and that his teaching and Jesus' teaching are in conflict. From Jehovah's Witnesses to Muslims to atheists, a whole bunch of people deny that Jesus is God.
God told Noah to build a big boat. This boat - an ark, which means "vessel" - had to be big enough to save Noah, and his family, and two of each kind of animal from a big flood. How big was Noah's ark?
Are dogs and cats mentioned in the Bible? The Hebrew word for dog (keleb) and the Greek word for dog (kyon) appear a number of times in the Bible:
The Book of Enoch is an ancient apocalyptic Jewish text. Written (approximately) between 300BC and 100BC, it carries the name of Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. Jude mentions the book in Jude 1:14-15...
It's clear from simply reading the New Testament that baptism by the Holy Spirit is not just for the apostles (Jesus' first disciples). To see this, we only need to go to the most famous verse in the whole Bible, and read it in context. It is, of course, John 3:16. It's important to read the whole section in John 3.
