We learn about the Lord, Jesus through the Bible which has 66 books. Any translation version works, ESV, Aionian, etc. since it’s written in multiple languages Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek. Here’s a summary.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God, YHWH, created the heavens and the earth. Angels created. First human male ADAM = MAN, first female, Eve created in image of God. Paradise, Garden of Eden. Adam, Eve, disobey God, eat forbidden fruit, sin, tricked by serpent, Satan, the Devil, fallen angel. All human descendants’ genetics cursed to have limited life, death. Adam and Eve son, Cain, became first murderer, killed brother Abel. Long lives, almost 1000 years old, shortened to around 120 years old. Earth violent, all humans evil. Flood, ark, saved NOAH = COMFORT family and animals. Consequence of sin is death. Bloodline names spells out ADAM = MAN Appointed Mortal Sorrow; The Blessed God Shall come down Teaching His death shall bring The Despairing COMFORT = NOAH Descendant Abraham’s son Isaac going to be killed, God provides lamb to be sacrificed instead. Jesus’ foreshadowing. Descendant Jacob named Israel, place where Jesus will die, city Bethlehem.
Exodus 12:1-13. Children of Israel in slavery in Egypt by Pharoah. Moses, prophet of God. Prophecy can be prediction of future. Plagues, for all except those protected with blood of Lamb. Plagues against false gods of Egyptian mythology. Moses parts Red Sea, Israelites escape. Exodus 20, God gives 10 Commandments. 1) The LORD YHWH is only God. No other gods 2) No worship of idol images 3) No misuse of God’s name. 4) Keep Sabbath day holy, day of rest, Jesus is now our rest. 5) Honor your father and mother 6) No murder 7) No adultery 8) No stealing 9) No false witness 10) No coveting neighbor’s belongings.
Leviticus 17:1 Consequence of sin is death. Animal sacrifice to atone for sin. Jesus foreshadowing. Rituals, festivals, tabernacles, ceremonies.
Numbers 14:33 Israelites too scared to go into God’s Promised Land. Wander in wilderness 40 years. Miracles.
Deuteronomy 18:15-22 Moses announces new prophet.
Joshua 11:1. Israelites military victories against Canaanites cult with child sacrifice for demon Molek, which LORD was against. Israelites enter Promised Land.
Judges 11:24 Joshua dies. Israelites worship evil Canaanite demons. God lets enemies oppress Israelites. Israelites worship God, they win. Cycle repeats several times for 300 years.
Ruth 1:1 Famine. Bethlehem man takes family out of Israel. Boaz and Ruth great grandparents of Israel king David.
1 Samuel 7:15. Samuel Israel’s final judge anoints Saul first king. Saul too prideful, disobeys God. Samuel anoints David, who slayed tall guy Goliath. Saul jealous, killed.
2 Samuel 1:1 Jerusalem city. David commits sin of adultery, dies.
1 Kings 1:1 David’s son, Solomon, now king, blessed. Solomon worships other gods, dies. Civil war. New prophet, Elijah.
2 Kings 1:1 Elisha new prophet. Israel worships more false gods. Babylonians attack, Jerusalem destroyed.
1 Chronicles 1:1 Summary of genealogy, Adam to David.
2 Chronicles 1:1 Summary of 1 and 2 Kings.
Ezra 70 years captivity in foreign land. Rebuild temple.
Nehemiah 1:1 Construction of Jerusalem walls.
Esther 1:1 Exiled Jews no return to Jerusalem, they stay in Persia instead. King wants to genocide all Jews, evil, the Queen is secretly Jewish.
Job 1:12 Lord and Satan talk. Upright man named Job tortured by Satan. Lord restores Job’s fortunes, heals.
Psalms. Collection of songs of praise to the Lord. King David wrote a lot of it.
Proverbs Wisdom and moral teachings from the Lord. King Solomon wrote a lot of it.
Ecclesiastes 3:41 King Solomon existentialism, depressed, life is meaningless without God.
Song of Solomon 1:1 King Solomon talks about love. Married people make love to each other.
Isaiah 26:9 Isaiah new prophet, saves Jerusalem from Assyrian attack. Predicts Babylon attack. Predicts a promised Messiah, born of a virgin, rejected by His people and killed to save them from sin. Jesus foreshadowing.
Jeremiah 30:24 Jeremiah new prophet. Babylonians attack. 70 years captivity.
Lamentations 3:31 Jeremiah sad.
Ezekiel 38. Ezekiel new prophet. Prophecies that Gog, chief prince of Rosh, Meshek and Tubal, (President of Russia, Moscow and Tobalski, Vladmir Putin) will invade center of land (Ukraine). Nuclear bombs. Apocalypse.
Daniel 12:4 Daniel new prophet. Captive in Babylon. Predict’s Christ’s appearance and the Internet.
Hosea 6:1 Hosea new prophet, gives Israel advice.
Joel 2:28 Joel new prophet, predicts end of the world.
Amos 9:14 Amos new prophet Lists sins
Obadiah 1:5 Obadiah saves 100 prophets.
Jonah 1:1 New Israel prophet. Swallowed by great fish, Jonah recognizes sin, thus repents, fish spits him out. Jonah warns Assyrians. Assyrians repent. God forgives them.
Micah 1:1 Micah new prophet. Promises end to God’s anger, God’s people all restored, aka everyone.
Nahum 1:1 Nahum new prophet. Promise of God’s judgement.
Habakkuk 1:1 Habakkuk new prophet. God promises to do something amazing for everybody.
Zephaniah. 1:1 Zephaniah new prophet. God promises to restore His people.
Haggai 1:1 Haggai new prophet. Reconstruction of temple.
Zechariah 1:1 Zechariah new prophet. Reconstruction of temple. Predicts Messiah’s coming, suffering and glory.
Malachi 1:1 Malachi new prophet. Condemns sins.
New Testament
Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 5:21, Luke 8:40, John 20:30. The Gospel, good news, told from 4 perspectives. Jesus Christ is the Lord God in human flesh. He was born of a virgin, Mary and Joseph. Lived a perfect life, free of sin. Healed and fed the sick and hungry. Miracles. Cast out demons possessing people. Raised the dead. Calms storm. Water to wine.
Acts 3:21 Holy Spirit arrives. Everyone who believes in Christ has the Holy Ghost, God, inside of them permanently. Thus, all people will be made Holy through Him and be saved. Paul, former enemy against Christians, is converted.
Romans 3:28 Jesus’ message to the Roman Empire. All humans of Adam are evil, they all have sin. The wages of sin is death. Only faith alone in Christ washes away all sins.
1 Corinthians 15:22 Paul gives instructions to Church in Corinth.
2 Corinthians 5:19. Paul gives encouragement to Church in Corinth
Galatians 3:8 False work salvationists appear. Faith alone in Jesus is the only way to be saved from sin!
Ephesians 2:8 Salvation is grace through faith in Christ. This is for Jews and Gentiles alike, everybody.
Philippians 3:9 Paul in Roman prison. Gospel of Christ spreading worldwide.
Colossians 1:15. Jesus is God. We are not bound by Old Testament Mosaic Law, but the new law of love through Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul reviews new church start up. Christ will resurrect all believers. Thus, everyone will become believers in Christ and be made alive permanently.
2 Thessalonians 1:1 Church getting persecuted, God will protect them.
1 Timothy 2:3 Church pastor, Timothy, gets letter from Paul for advice.
2 Timothy 1:1 Personal letter from Paul to Timothy.
Titus 2:11 Beware of false teachers, false Christs.
Philemon 1:1 Thieving slave should be welcomed back as beloved brother in Christ.
Hebrews 1:2 Jewish people want to go back to Jewish law. Jesus Christ better than all human prophets before, better than all angels.
James 2:13 Good works only come after salvation, not before. Only with the Holy Spirit inside of us are we capable of producing good works.
1 Peter 1:1 Asian believers persecuted, encourages them of God’s grace through suffering.
2 Peter 3:9 Peter going to die, beware false prophets, await coming of Christ.
1 John 2:2 God is light, love, truth. Believers have a new Holy Spirit supplied nature that’s against sin.
2 John 1:1 Christians must balance truth and love.
3 John 1:1 Contrast of Gaius and Diotrephes, love vs lack of love.
Jude Gospel is always the same, always true.
Revelation 5:13 The end times. End of the world. Mark of the Beast. 666. Antichrist has one-world government. Satan on Earth attacking. Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Civil wars, plagues, famines. New Heaven and New Earth are created. Everyone eventually becomes believers in Christ and lives in New Jerusalem in peace and joy. No more pain, no more sorrow. A happy ending for everybody :D

u/danmihai, u/Gnath0, u/mnaah, u/the-peregrina
NIV Matthew 6:

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

English Standard Version:

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

"evil" or "evil one"?
Both are possible according to Greek grammar.
Ellicott preferred "evil one":

Deliver us from evil.—The Greek may grammatically be either neuter or masculine, “evil” in the abstract, or the “evil one” as equivalent to the “devil.” The whole weight of the usage of New Testament language is in favour of the latter meaning. In our Lord’s own teaching we have the “evil one” in Matthew 13:19; Matthew 13:38; John 17:15 (probably); in St. Paul’s (Ephesians 6:16; 2Thessalonians 3:3), in St. John’s (1John 2:13-14; 1John 3:12; 1John 5:18-19) this is obviously the only possible interpretation. Romans 12:9, and possibly John 17:15, are the only instances of the other.

Expositor's Greek Testament agreed:

The probability is in favour of the masculine, the evil one. The Eastern naturally thought of evil in the concrete. But we as naturally think of it in the abstract;

On the other hand, Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges thought "evil" was better:

from evil] Or, from the Evil One, Satan. The Greek bears either rendering, but the neuter is preferable and gives a deeper sense. We pray to be delivered not only from external evil, but from the evil within us.

Barnes was more neutral:

Deliver us from evil - The original in this place has the article - deliver us from the evil - that is, as has been supposed, the Evil One, or Satan. He is elsewhere called, by way of eminence, the "Evil One," Matthew 13:19; 1 John 2:13-14; 1 John 3:12. The meaning here is, "deliver us from his power, his snares, his arts, his temptations." He is supposed to be the great parent of evil, and to be delivered from him is to be safe. Or it may mean, "deliver us from the various evils and trials which beset us, the heavy and oppressive calamities into which we are continually liable to fall."

Also, Matthew Poole:

But deliver us from evil; from the evil one, as some read it, because of the article prefixed; but others think it not material whether we understand the devil, who is the evil one, or the evil of temptations, which harm us not if we be not overcome by them.

There are at least 3 interpretations: 1. prefer "evil one" 2. prefer "evil" 3. no preference.
I go with the first because of Ellicott's analysis.

In his teenage years, my father severally carried live glowing embers of fire to his farm.
Upon arriving at those farms, farmer-boy would have quickly rekindled those weakly glowing embers into flaming fire for roasting or boiling his meal come lunchtime at one of many far from home farms. If the embers were too weak or the farms too far from home, the glowing embers may flame out before he arrives at his farm location.
The farmer will then have to shout-out to neighboring farm camps or trek extra distances to get fire for himself. "There is no smoke without fire" are the tell-tale signs of his better prepared neighbors.
Modernity has since set in but I witnessed a bit of it in my teen years as a Nigerian.
In those days, getting live-fire to the farm makes the difference between a full stomach or starvation while surrounded by the farm sumptuous plenty.
The fire must be kept burning.
Years ago, my pastor used to stir his congregation up with, "Shun a Christian faith that won't get your fire to the farm."
As a Christian we are saved by grace through faith and not because of any good merit on our part.
~~~ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. - Ephesians 2:8 ~~~
The question you must answer is this. "Will your faith or Christian profession get you to heaven?"
Let me explain.
When anyone says he has been Born Again, we are not apt to doubt their profession. Rightfully so for who are we to judge?
Nevertheless, we ought to discretely probe to know what we (and those Christians) believe about God and Jesus Christ. If their beliefs about God and our Savior Jesus Christ are wrong, then their Christian professions are meaningless. No matter how fervent and sincere, such professions are can't get any of such professors to heaven.
This is not judgemental Pharaseeism. Rather, this is a wake-up call for us to examine our faith and beliefs. Ensure you're building your faith on the right foundation.
~~~ For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. - 1 Corinthians 3:11
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. - John 14:6
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. - 1 Corinthians 2:5 ~~~
Image Source

In his teenage years, my father severally carried live glowing embers of fire to his farm.
Upon arriving at those farms, farmer-boy would have quickly rekindled those weakly glowing embers into flaming fire for roasting or boiling his meal come lunchtime at one of many far from home farms. If the embers were too weak or the farms too far from home, the glowing embers may flame out before he arrives at his farm location.
The farmer will then have to shout-out to neighboring farm camps or trek extra distances to get fire for himself. "There is no smoke without fire" are the tell-tale signs of his better prepared neighbors.
Modernity has since set in but I witnessed a bit of it in my teen years as a Nigerian.
In those days, getting live-fire to the farm makes the difference between a full stomach or starvation while surrounded by the farm sumptuous plenty.
The fire must be kept burning.
In those days, fire lighters and matches were not so common or cheap. So, rural African dwellers will often resort to carrying live fire from their homes to their farms or borrow the same from nearby farm camps.
Hence, this saying is common in my place and many pastors use it to explain why Christians ought to be fervent and steadfast in the Lord.
In those days, people do go to their neighbor's kitchens to fetch live fire. I did it too - almost 50 years ago.
Years ago, my pastor used to stir his congregation up with, "Shun a Christian faith that won't get your fire to the farm."
As a Christian we are saved by grace through faith and not because of any good merit on our part.
~~~ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. - Ephesians 2:8 ~~~
The question you must answer is this. "Will your faith or Christian profession get you to heaven?"
Let me explain.
When anyone says he has been Born Again, we are not apt to doubt their profession. Rightfully so for who are we to judge?
Nevertheless, we ought to discretely probe to know what we (and those Christians) believe about God and Jesus Christ. If their beliefs about God and our Savior Jesus Christ are wrong, then their Christian professions are meaningless. No matter how fervent and sincere, such professions are can't get any of such professors to heaven.
This is not judgemental Phirseeism. Rather, this is a wake-up call for us to examine our faith and beliefs. Ensure you're building your faith on the right foundation.
~~~ For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. - 1 Corinthians 3:11
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. - John 14:6
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. - 1 Corinthians 2:5 ~~~
Image Source

Note: The following was posted on Biblical Insights on July, 2007, and was then posted on the La Vista Church of Christ website. I cannot find the statistics that Brother Adams had made in this article, but in my personal opinion, I have no doubt that these statistics, wherever he had gotten them from, have become much worse since the time he had wrote this, and there are little signs of it stopping anytime soon. To those who struggle with pornography or any other forms of sexually immoral behavior, I hope you find this to be helpful on your behalf so that you may be one step closer to God.
Cyberspace has opened an exciting world of enjoyment, business, educational, and networking opportunities. However, what exists in cyberspace via the Internet is merely a clone of the real world and real-time. The Internet can be used as a tool for growth or a weapon for destruction. The choice is often made impulsively at the click of a mouse.
How many of us in real-time would turn our kids loose to walk down any street, to enter casinos and gaming houses, to go into X-rated movie theatres, to frequent strip joints, to be approached by strangers, or allow long-term "friendships" with seedy persons who are twice their age? The Internet provides all of this and more in "cyber time" at the click of a mouse.

The Facts

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• 1 out of 5 kids has been solicited sexually online
• 1 out of 17 kids has been harassed, threatened, or bullied online
• 1 out of 3 kids has been contacted by a stranger and ½ of these contacts were considered inappropriate
• Most kids do not report inappropriate Internet contact to their parents because they are afraid of losing computer privileges
• 9 out of 10 parents will never know that any inappropriate contact has even occurred

Unfortunately, it is not just a matter of trusting your kids to use the Internet responsibly. It is a matter of whether or not you can trust the other millions of people who are also on the Internet-and, whether you can trust yourself
The problem not only affects youth. It poses a real threat for adults as well. Internet addiction affects 5-10% of all online users. The world recognizes the problem as specialty rehabilitation programs are springing up rapidly in response. The church cannot afford to hide the fact that there is an epidemic among us, too. From my interactions with brethren and from reports of denominational leaders it appears that about 20% of religious men struggle with Internet or cable television pornography. My guess is that women and chat rooms are not far behind that number.
Those caught in the web at addictive levels are obsessed with online pornography, chat rooms, gaming, stock investing, and even addictions to online auction houses. Excessive hours are spent online robbing fidelity in marriage, creating sleep-deprived zombies, isolating from family and friends, and creating shame/guilt about "the secret." The damage manifests itself in families, marriages, job performance, and even more so in the church.
Currently, more than 60% of all Internet visits involve a sexual purpose. Over 100 new porn sites are opened and linked each day. Without significant fear of discovery, people are investigating and exchanging information about the most intimate details of sexuality. Fantasies allow the viewer or chatter to be whoever they want to be. Voyeurism is encouraged. The whole perversion whether in pornographic pictures (more men view these) or porn chat (more women go there) leads to continuous descent into more perversion, loss of relationship (family, health, jobs), and distancing from connectedness with God.
Compulsive users often will not hear or listen to the concerns or criticisms of those around them who see the danger and are willing to speak out. Nor are they likely to respond to their increasingly neglected career, family life, or lack of sleep. Even worse, they blame the very same troubled family, problematic job, or loneliness for their irritability and exhaustion. They may be willing to lose it all to participate in sex at whatever level online.

The Stages of Internet Addiction

Here is where the addiction to Internet pornography entrenches itself:
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1. It is progressive. What satisfied, in the beginning, fails to continue to satisfy so the perversion seeks more extreme websites. This becomes scary as the perversion leaves the screen and is carried into real life.
2. The person is preoccupied with planning the next website visit and fantasizing about it.
3. There is an inability to control or quit. Once started, the person sits for hours surfing for pictures, movies, and in chat rooms.
4. The person becomes oblivious to time, space or sites visited.
5. There is continued use despite consequences. Even when caught the person may become more devious in planning their next visits to an Internet porn or chat porn site.

Effectively, those caught in the porn and chat sites have found a way to detach and avoid the pain and anxiety of the real world by riding the "high" of their own sexual build-up to orgasm. In "the zone" (as addicted persons call it) fantasy takes over. A person can become whoever they want to be, look any way they want to look, and be told what they want to hear. Stress, anxiety, loneliness, boredom and hurts disappear, as the person stays suspended in "the zone." It is to the sex addict what heroin is to the junkie and alcohol is to the drunkard.
My work in the mental health and addiction field has led me to see the progression of deviant Internet sexual behavior in six stages:
Level 1 -- casual viewing and enticement, obsession.
Level 2 -- viewing or chatting involving masturbation, alternative sexual behaviors based on fetishes and secret preferences, introduction to cybersex via camera and sound access with an online partner in cyberspace.
Level 3 -- virtual sex with a partner online via camera/sound and movement through the mouse or explicit sexual chat with the online partner.
Level 4 -- the transition from online to real-world via meetings, rendezvous, exhibitionism, voyeurism, public sex, anonymous sex, escort services, obscene phone calls, and seeking opportunities for more.
Level 5 -- becoming "a friend with benefits," multiple sex partners, sexual boundaries are almost gone, making ones' own Internet movie recordings.
Level 6 -- more serious crimes: rape, child molestation, sexual abuse of older adults, incest, bestiality, etc.

Verses that Will Help You

Matthew 5:27-30 warns us not to "look" for the purpose of lusting. The consequence is "adultery ... in your heart." Jesus talks about our "eye" and "hand" causing us to stumble in lusting. He says if the eye or hand offends, cut it off. Jesus is warning us to take extreme measures if we cannot control ourselves. Internet porn viewing and chatting often involve both the eye and hand in self-gratification. Certainly, there are lesser steps to take first in "fleeing youthful lusts" (II Timothy 2.22). Three of those steps may be
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1. screen blockers/nannies,
2. positioning the computer in a room all can see, or
3. throwing our computer away if we cannot control it.

Jesus' warning is to do whatever it takes to stop sexual "lust:'
I Thessalonians 4:1-8 speaks of our sanctification being tied directly to "avoiding sexual immorality" and "learning to control our own body" in holiness and honor. We must do this. Then, Paul tells us what we must not do -- "not in passionate lust like the heathen who do not know God." If we do what we must not do, "the Lord will punish for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you." We have been warned!
II Peter 2:14 reminds us that it is possible to go so far into sexual sin that we cannot find our way out. Peter described this as, "having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin." That is a heavy warning to those who are "checking out the babes or guys." The appetite for sex when fed can reach a point where it takes over our life.
"Flee from sexual immorality!" (I Corinthians 6:19). Flee does not mean to see how close we can get. It means to put great distance between self and the situation for immorality. Proverbs tells of two foolish men who sought illicit sexual favors and instead entered "a highway to the grave leading down to the chambers of death" (Proverbs 5:1-22; 7:1-27).
What the mind dwells on, the body acts on. Rather than filling our minds with perversion and things that destroy relationships, let us fill our minds with better things (Philippians 4:8). If a person lets their thoughts go, they dishonor God, their spouse, and the object of their lust -- and set themselves up for an ever-deepening struggle with sin. Flee fornication in every form!

Leviticus 21:1-9 (ESV)

Holiness and the Priests
¹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, ² except for his closest relatives, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, ³ or his virgin sister (who is near to him because she has had no husband; for her he may make himself unclean). ⁴ He shall not make himself unclean as a husband among his people and so profane himself. ⁵ They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts on their body. ⁶ They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. For they offer the Lord's food offerings, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy. ⁷ They shall not marry a prostitute or a woman who has been defiled, neither shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. ⁸ You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I, the Lord, who sanctify you, am holy. ⁹ And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by whoring, profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.

Questions

1. Today's reading (and the rest of the chapter) focus on rules for the priests. Why have additional cleanliness rules for priests?

Please feel free to leave thoughts, comments, and questions of your own!

I'm a Christian who thinks the bible has errors, along the lines of "If God allows the church to make mistakes, why not let the Bible?" If you believe it is inerrant I want your help (and I really do want your help, not a debate, so I'm not going to respond to comments except perhaps to ask for clarification). I've made a list of things that seem to me like contradictions, not in the sense that they can't be reconciled, but in the sense that any reconciliation seems to me less honest/less sensible than saying "Something's wrong here." Let me know how you understand these passages.
Try not to introduce new information for which we have no evidence (for ex. "Quirinius must have had a governorship under Herod the Great"). I think such arguments are usually weaker than "It's a contradiction." But if you evidence for something like that go ahead.
Also don't say "The Text is Corrupt." I think if God wanted his word to be inerrant he wouldn't allow textual corruption to persist.
Please don't assume someone, i.e. Mark, knew that a later lettegospel would clarify what he left out.
Finally, if one or two of these I come up with are stupid and easy to reconcile, don't dogpile on that. I bet some will have easy explanations. Come up with responses for all of them if you can, especially since all of them have to right for the bible to be infallible.
Here they are:

1. Did Elhanan kill Goliath or his brother? (2 Samuel 21:19, 1 Chronicles 20:5)
2. Do Cherubim have 2 or 4 wings? (1 Kings 6:24, Ezekiel 10:20-22)
3. Did the men at Paul's conversion hear the voice or not? (Acts 9:7, Acts 22:9)
4. Were there two angels at the tomb (Luke, John) or one (Matthew, Mark)?
5. Is Bartholomew (Synoptics) or Nathaniel (John) the 12th disciple?
6. Do the bandits taunt Jesus (Matthew 27:44) or is one sympathetic to him (Luke 23:39-43)?
7. Did Jesus abolish the law? (Matthew 5:17, Ephesians 2:15)
8. Where is Matthew's quote from Jeremiah (Matthew 27:9-10)? Jeremiah buys a field (32:6-15) and visits a potter (18:1-3) and does buy pottery (19:1-13) but this quote seems to be based loosely on Zechariah (11:13)
9. Does Jesus confuse Zechariah son of Barachiah (Zechariah 1:1) with Zechariah son of Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24:20-22) in Matthew 23:35?
10. Is divorce permitted in cases of adultery? (Matthew 19:9 and 5:32, Mark 10:10-12)
11. Does Jesus answer any charges of Pilate? (Matthew 27:14, John 18:33-38)
12. Does the feast of Unleavened Bread end on the evening of the 21st or 22nd day of Nissan? (Exodus 12:14-20, Leviticus 23:4-8)
13. How did Judas die? (Matthew 27:5, Acts 1:16-19)
14. Does the resurrected Jesus meet the disciples in Jerusalem (Luke) or does he go ahead of them to Galilee (Matthew 28)?
15. Is the last supper the Passover meal (Mark 14) or is it something before the Passover (John 19)?
16. Was Jesus born under the reign of Herod the Great (Matthew) or during the governorship of Quirinius (Luke)?
17. The Roman Census could require travelers to return home (I think we even have a text to that effect), but requiring people at home to travel is highly inefficient and makes it impossible for tax collectors to tax people based on how much land they have. Is Luke's census believable and if it was global, why isn't it in Roman records? (Luke 2)

I know this may get downvoted but please read. Let this be a warning for y’all to not make the same mistake I did. Endure to the very very end. Please.
On the night of October 15 2021 I was praying for certain people to get saved and all of a sudden while I was in prayer I started physically feeling like I was going to explode and was having doubtful thoughts that Jesus is the Messiah. I was even hearing a voice talking to me (Sounded like my inner monologue but it was speaking to me). I’ve never done drugs or alcohol and this is the only time I’ve experienced hearing any type of voice in my head and this physical feeling in full. One thing I do remember the voice saying was “How dare you [pray for these people to accept Jesus as the Messiah]?” (I put that part in brackets because the how dare you part is the only part I conclusively remember hearing). Right after the physical feeling like I was going to explode but before I heard the voice, I asked God, “Help me help me”, and at this point I was clinging to my bed from the force. While the doubtful thoughts were occurring I kept recalling why I came to the faith and stuff. I kept on doing this and probably other defensive tactics but it kept on going on for longer, I don’t know how long exactly. Eventually it got to a point where I essentially gave up. I thought “If I think this thought and something radically happens, then this voice is true and Jesus isn’t the Messiah”, and I tested the voice. Nothing happened and disgustingly I felt relief. These past days I’ve actually realized what I did and I’ve been disgusted and in disbelief on the fact that I did it. In the moment it was probably the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced but I still don’t blame God for what I did, I blame myself, especially with the fact that I think I finished the whole New Testament not long before this event occurred. I was going to just kill myself tonight but I don’t want to deprive God of glory and I want to help save souls. I don’t want to bring grief and anger to my family. I’ve been searching for Bible verses in hopes that I’m still saved but for the very most part I’m seeing that if you don’t persevere in a trial or keep the faith unswervingly, you won’t be saved. I didn’t stand in this attack, I didn’t put on the full armor of God. In my mind at the time I wasn’t denying Christ or renouncing my faith but this might have been what I did. I was traumatized by this event but I kept on practicing my faith and I intend to keep doing so. Please never deny Christ no matter how painful or scary what you’re going through is. Don’t get discouraged in your trials of MANY kinds, having God with you is a PRIVILEGE.
Edit: here are my Scripture references of why I believe I may not be saved. 2 Timothy 2:12, Colossians 1:22-23, Hebrews 3:12-14, 1 John 2:22-28, Hebrews 10:23,36, 2 Peter 2:20-21, Ephesians 6:10-13, Revelation 2:12-13,26

Even though that's definitely true, that's absolutely no excuse for all the abusive Christian parents out there. It doesn't magically undo all the abuse caused by Christianity. If Christianity is gonna claim credit for the "good" stuff like "Honor thy father and mother," then Christianity should take the blame for the bad stuff like abusive parents. If you're responsible for the good stuff, you're also responsible for the bad stuff too. Stop making excuses.
This is kinda like making a racist comment then saying "I'm not racist I have black friends! I've also said we should all love each other and we're all equal!" Well good for you, but that doesn't excuse your racist comment. Take responsibility for your mistakes

The Song of Solomon does not mention God at all except possibly in (ESV) 8:

6 Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD.

very flame of the LORD שַׁלְהֶ֥בֶתְיָֽה׃ (šal·he·ḇeṯ·[yāh]()https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3050.htm) Noun - feminine singular Strong's 7957: A flare of fire
Jah or Yah (Hebrew: יָהּ‎, Yāh) is a short form of יהוה (YHWH). It is the same form as in "hallelujah".
New International Version translates it differently:

It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

In this case, -yah works as an intensifying suffix. The Song of Solomon as translated by NIV does not mention God at all.
There are scholarships supporting both translations.

Battling addiction we must find our salvation through God and God alone. James 1:13Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. So since God is not the one who tempts then it’s not of Him therefore he will help us with it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. When we are tempted God will give us a way to escape being tempted, look for the way out! James1:12 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Desires are good but we must have the right ones. 2 Corinthians 10:5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Our thoughts give birth to our desires and when we line them up to Christ we then can have the right ones. Philippians 4:8Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. We are not the same anymore. Romans 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. We now have a new life in Jesus. And since we are new we must change the way we think. Ephesians 4:22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Romans 1:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Don’t forget that God will meet us where we are at. James 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. We must never give up, continue to present our bodies as living sacrifices even unto our death and we will receive the Crown of Life.

• Look for the way out
• Control your thought life
• Think of good things
• We have new life
• Do not be conformed to this world
• Renew your mind and your Spirit

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Ephesians 6:4: Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
this is a little verse i feel like many parents forget it exist in the bible, every day i see parents demanding their kids to honor them because its in the bible, but those same parents also forget to return the honor.
Being the head of the house does not mean being a tyrant who get angry and pick a fight for whatever little insignificant matter that could be solved with a simple talk.

And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:6

The armor of God
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, with the strength of his power.
11 Put on the complete armor of God, so that you may be able to resist the devil’s tactics.
12 Truly, our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers* of this darkness and against the evil spiritual forces of the supernatural realms.*
13 Therefore, put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to resist when the evil day comes. Having accomplished all things, may you stand your ground!
14 Yes, stand [firm], having the belt of truth around your waist, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 having fitted shoes on your feet so as to be ready in the Good News of peace.
16 Above all, take up the shield of faith which will enable you to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.
17 Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word [spoken] by God.*
Unceasing prayer
18 Pray at all times in [the] spirit* with intercessions and requests; never get tired of this and persevere in your requests for all the saints.

bolded tldr
While the Trinity is central to creedal theology, numerous cultural factors influence readers to reject the creed’s centrality and key ideas. One major factor is our culture’s rejection of external authorities (like “tradition”) in favor of personal experience. For instance, many today would describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” For most, that means that they have rejected traditional forms of worship and practice, but they still seek spiritual experiences. Without the boundaries of traditional forms, these spiritual experiences can come in various (often nontraditional) ways. Many now see more ancient worship practices (i.e., liturgy), such as using the Nicene Creed or taking weekly communion, as not helping but hindering worship because the goal of worship has become having a personal and authentic feeling of connection with God. Religion and its cousin theology, then, are seen as a roadblock to being spiritual. But can you truly be spiritual without a connection to the Trinity and the ideas expressed in the Creed?
The question of what makes an experience authentically spiritual is not new. One of the longest letters in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians, is an extended attempt by the apostle Paul to refine the Corinthians’ understanding of spirituality. Paul’s perspective undergirds the thrust of the whole book: the most authentically Christian experiences of God are Trinitarian, and these Trinitarian experiences fundamentally shape the way we engage one another and the world around us.
In 1 Corinthians 1–4, for example, Paul addresses the division and infighting that had taken over the church. Surely, you might say, the doctrine of the Trinity cannot apply to the problems they were having. However, when we consider the clear action of the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, we see how Trinitarian theology is at the heart of Paul’s response.
After detailing the issue of division (1 Cor 1:10–17),
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 1 Corinthians 1:10‭-‬17 ESV
Paul’s first point is a distinctly theological one: God’s wisdom is most fully revealed in the “foolishness” of the cross of Christ (1:18–31).
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:18‭-‬31 ESV
If you want to know the Father’s heart, you must look at Jesus, particularly his willingness to suffer for others. You cannot truly have God without a suffering Jesus. This is not ivory-tower theology for Paul. If Jesus reveals what God is like, then we too should live for others rather than dominating them (2:1–5).8
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:1‭-‬5 ESV
According to Paul, if the Corinthians truly understood Trinitarian theology, they would not treat each other this way. Not stopping at the Father and Son, Paul then makes an extended appeal to the Spirit: those who are led by the Spirit will follow the wisdom of God displayed by the crucified Christ (2:6–3:4). Spirit people will be cross people, sacrificing themselves for one another rather than trying to control and best one another.
Engaging Theology, Introduction, by Blackwell and Hatchett, published by Zondervan Academic, 2019

1 John 1:7 The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

The blood is central to the sanctuary service

Hebrews 9:22-23 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
John 1: 29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Jesus by His life and death on the cross fulfilled the ministry represented by the Sanctuary’s courtyard. He came to be the sinners sacrifice. He came to be the Lamb of God. No longer do people need to offer an animal to God when they sin. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is our sacrifice.

The Laver of Washing

Now before we move on to the sanctuary itself, there is one other item in the courtyard that we need to take a look at, and that is the laver of washing.
Exodus 30:18-21 You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, lest they die. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them-to him and his descendants throughout their generations.
When we come to Jesus, confessing our sins, the promise is that not only are we forgiven our sins but we are also cleansed from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
This cleansing is spoken of in Titus 3:5 as “the washing of regeneration,” or as it may also be translated, “the washing of recreation,” for we are to be made a new creature, a new creation in Christ.

A New Creation

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
In other words, Jesus is not offering us a mere bandage fix to our sin problems, but it is His design to completely recreate us. He does not plan to simply patch up the old sinner, but to recreate you as a whole new person in Christ.

A Kingdom of Priests

The priests as they came to minister in the Sanctuary were to first wash themselves in the Laver of Washing before they performed any of the work of the Sanctuary. Likewise, we must ourselves be washed and made clean before we can effectually minister to others, bringing them to Jesus, for it is God’s purpose that we as Christians are to be to Him as a kingdom of Priests ministering to the world.
Exodus 19: 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
1 Peter 2:5,9 You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. … But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Washed in the Word

Just as the priests of Israel needed to wash themselves daily as they served in the Sanctuary, we also, so long as we live in a sin polluted world, need to a daily washing as we go about ministering to others. And what is this water in which we are to wash ourselves daily? It is the Word of God. Said Jesus to His disciples;
John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
And again, it is written of Christ’s church;
Ephesians 5:26 That He [Jesus] might sanctify and cleanse her [the church] with the washing of water by the word.
John 13:3-15 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”
Just as the feet of the disciples, though they had bathed, needed to be washed after walking the dusty streets of Jerusalem, so we also, though washed with the “washing of regeneration” (Titus 3:5) need to be refreshed and cleansed by the water of the Word as we go about ministering to others in this sin filled world.
Titus 3:5-6 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
This is the message of the laver of washing.

The Holy Place

Now moving on from the courtyard – How does Jesus fulfill the ministry of the Holy Place?
Hebrews 9: 24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.
After slaying the lamb, the repentant sinner could only walk away, trusting by faith in a promised Redeemer that his sins were really forgiven and that he was cleansed of guilt. After the sacrifice was made the sinner could do no more for himself except to trust in the promises of God. Promises such as;
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
However, the Sanctuary service on behalf of the sinner did not end at the Altar of Burnt Offerings, nor does the plan of salvation end at the cross. The cross, however, makes all the rest possible. Without the cross everything else would be impossible.

The Blood Ministry

Now begins the blood ministry of the priest on behalf of the sinner. The exact ritual varies depending on who sinned and what the sin was – and again, as previously noted in earlier posts, this is a somewhat simplified overview of sanctuary service. And also, as previously noted, for simplicity sake I will be using a lamb in my examples when speaking of the earthly services.
Typically, either directly or indirectly, the priest carries the blood of the sin offering into the Sanctuary – into the first chamber known as the Holy Place – and sprinkles the blood before the altar of Incense which stands before the veil dividing the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Thus symbolically, a record of the sins of the people are carried and deposited inside the Sanctuary. This symbolic record of sins is representative of the books of record that the Bible tells us exist in heaven.
Daniel 7:10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
The Bible speaks of records that are kept in heaven, records that record our every act, our every thought, and even our motives. This book is spoken of in the Bible as the Book of Remembrance. There is also another book besides these that the Bible speaks of, and it is called the Book of Life.
As the sinner confessed his sin over the lamb he symbolically transferred his sin to the lamb. After the lamb was slain its blood was carried into the Holy Place of the Sanctuary and deposited before the Altar of Incense – a record of (and note this carefully), a record of CONFESSED SINS.

Only the sin that is confessed is brought into the Sanctuary

Only the sin that is confessed is covered by the ministration of Jesus our heavenly High Priest. As the Bible says;
Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
And again;
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Once for All – The Fullness of Christ’s Ministry

In the services of the earthly Sanctuary there were many different kinds of sacrifices because no one single sacrifice was sufficient to illustrate all the fullness of Christ’s ministry. But in contrast, Jesus, who is the fulfillment of all these multitudes of sacrifices was offered only one time – once for all. And His one sacrifice was all sufficient.
Hebrews 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Hebrews 10:10-12 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.

An Unceasing Ministry

Day after day, year after year, century after century the endless offerings went on, each yearly round of ceremonies illustrating to the people the whole of God’s plan of salvation.
The building of the Sanctuary itself, as originally constructed by Moses, was an elaborate tent constructed of various fabrics and animal skins over a gold plated wooden frame. Inside the first veil which served as a doorway into the structure was the Holy Place. Here stood the seven branched candle stick, the Table of Shew Bread, and the Altar of Incense. Passing through the second veil you entered the Most Holy Place. Here was the Ark of the Covenant.
The ministry of the Holy Place (just like that of the courtyard) was continual, daily in nature. It never ceased, but continued year around – symbolic of Christ’s unceasing ministry on our behalf, symbolic of the constant availability of forgiveness, and of restoration, and of reconciliation.

The Blood Ministry of the Holy Place

And the ministry of the Holy Place, was also a blood ministry, as it is written;
1 John 1:7 The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
And as the earthly Sanctuary serves as an example and shadow, an illustration if you will, of heavenly things – Then we can expect to find in the heavenly Sanctuary a blood ministry that corresponds to the blood ministry of the earthly Sanctuary. And indeed, we do.
Hebrews 9: 11-14, 22-24 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?… And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.

A Heavenly Sanctuary

The Bible is explicit. A Sanctuary exists in heaven. Jesus is the High Priest of that heavenly Sanctuary. And all that was done in its earthly copy is symbolic of the reality that is accomplished for us in the heavenly.
Upon His ascension, Jesus entered into the Holy Place of the heavenly Sanctuary, where He intercedes for us. Hebrews 9:24 says He appears in the presence of God for us with His own blood. The work of the Holy Place symbolizes Christ’s work of perfect intercession. The Altar of Incense in the Holy Place represents Christ’s life of perfect righteousness. His perfect life is added as precious incense to the prayers of the God’s people as they ascend to heaven.
In the book of Revelation we are given glimpses of this heavenly sanctuary – and of Jesus as our High Priest. In Revelation 1 we see Jesus inside the Holy Place of the Sanctuary.
Revelation 1:12-13 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
Here Jesus is seen in that part of the heavenly Sanctuary containing the seven golden candlesticks – whose earthly counterpart was the seven branched candlestick in the Holy Place.
Moving on to chapter 8 we find activity in yet another part of the Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary.
Revelation 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
This Altar of Incense (just like the Altar of Burnt Offering), also stands in a direct line between the repentant sinner and the law. In regard to the earthly service at this second altar, God says;
Exodus 30:1,7-8 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it … And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it and when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
[And by the way, – just a little side note – it was here by the Altar of Incense that the angel Gabriel announced to Zacharias that his wife Elizabeth would have a son, and that son was to grow up to be John the Baptist.]

Three Impassable Barriers

Again, it is important to note that in the wilderness sanctuary as God directed Moses to build it, thee barriers stood between the repentant sinner and the broken law. These were the Altar of Burnt Offering, the Laver of Washing and the Altar of Incense. All three stood in a direct line between the repentant sinner and the broken law. What we see here is the reality that Jesus, by virtue of His perfect life and sacrifice, stands between the repentant sinner and the broken law. The sinner is reconciled to God through the death of Christ and saved by His life;
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Jesus is not only He who died for us, but He is also the One who lives. Our God is a living God.
Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
The earthly Sanctuary and its services serve as a very accurate and reliable illustration of the heavenly Sanctuary and its services. By the understanding of the earthly in the light of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, we can understand the ministry of Jesus (our great heavenly High Priest) in the heavenly sanctuary.
By EjmMissouri
To be Continued