Bible – Page 2

On Genesis 6: Did demons or fallen angels father children on earth?

January 8, 2016 by untilfulllight

People love sensational stories and sadly sometimes look for them in all the wrong places. Genesis 6 is one of those places where from a brief text, some people have come up with all sorts of fanciful stories about angels, demons, and their supposed offspring. But on careful study, these stories are more suited to the Sci-fi channel than careful Bible study.

Here are some useful commentaries on the passage:

The following excerpt is from: http://www.equip.org/bible_answers/did-demons-have-sexual-relations-with-women-in-genesis-64/

Genesis 6:4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

Genesis 6:4 one of the most controversial passages in the Bible. As with any difficult section of Scripture, it has been open to a wide variety of interpretations. It is my conviction however, that those who hold consistently to a biblical worldview must reject the notion that women and demons can engage in sexual relations. I reject this interjection of pagan superstition into the Scriptures for the following reasons.

First and foremost, the notion that demons can “produce” real bodies and have real sex with real women would invalidate Jesus’ argument for the authenticity of his resurrection. Jesus assured his disciples that “a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have” (Luke 24:39 nkjv). If indeed a demon could produce flesh and bones Jesus’ argument would be not only flawed but also misleading. In fact, it might be logically argued that the disciples did not see the postresurrection appearances of Christ but rather a demon masquerading as the resurrected Christ.

Furthermore, demons are nonsexual, nonphysical beings and as such are incapable of having sexual relations and producing physical offspring. To say that demons can create bodies with DNA and fertile sperm is to say that demons have creative power—which is an exclusively divine prerogative. If demons could have sex with women in ancient times, we would have no assurance they could not do so in modern times. Nor would we have any guarantee that the people we encounter every day are fully human. While a biblical worldview does allow for fallen angels to possess unsaved human beings, it does not support the notion that a demon-possessed person can produce offspring that are part-demon, part-human. Genesis 1 makes it clear that all of God’s living creations are designed to reproduce “according to their own kinds.”

Finishing Job, back to Genesis 1

January 8, 2016 by untilfulllight

This week you will finish up Job and then pick back up again with the story of Abraham. Next week I’ll have more on Abraham and how different the Muslim view is of him. When people talk about both Islam and Christianity having a common father in Abraham, you’ll see that the only thing in common is the name—they are talking about a very different person. Only the Christian view of Abraham can be historically verified.

Before we leave Job, please read this post I wrote on it as it will help answer one of the biggest questions in the book: With Job, we ask: What should we do when God disappoints and what does it really means to prosper

To go back a bit in Genesis. . . .

I wanted to link you to a question many people have about Genesis 6, where some people think angels or fallen demons are able to have sex with humans. That is not what the Bible teaches and this brief post helps explain it. http://www.untilfulllight.com/on-genesis-6-did-demons-or-fallen-angels-father-children-on-earth/

Application to this week’s readings:

As you finish reading Job this week, take some time to think through if you have fallen into the false belief that in this life you are promised only good things.

Journal where you have had wrong beliefs along the way and how after reading Job, how God wants you to look at difficulties.

We will all have a happy ending to our story, but like any good adventure story (think about the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, or Star Wars or any great adventure) there were always challenges along the way. For some we get a taste of the good ending in this life; for others we wait to see it in its fullness, where it will be far more glorious than our feeble dreams can imagine.

Reality of our situation—challenging spiritual warfare

January 7, 2016 by untilfulllight

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Eph. 6:12-13)

Working for the Lord in church communications is hard.

The bottom-line reality is that we are in a war. And in any war, one of the first things the enemy tries to knock out the communications equipment of their opponent. You aren’t just “doing the bulletin” or some other isolated project. You are the communication center for spiritual warfare for your church. When you got into communications work for your church or ministry you entered one of the most intense areas of spiritual warfare raging today. Satan wants to knock you out.

Troubles with hardware, software, and co-workers are to be expected. Especially people problems should be no surprise because Satan is “the accuser of our brothers” (Rev. 12:10) and one of the easiest ways to cripple you in the battle is to get you fighting with your fellow soldiers. Don’t let him win; don’t take on his job.

Remember also that you are in a war that has already been won. When Jesus died on the cross, he said, “It is finished!” When he rose from the grave, he conquered sin and death.

Because of Jesus’ finished work, our battle resembles the fighting of the resistance fighters in France at the end of WW2. The allies landed on D-Day and basically the war was over, but until Paris was liberated, the war wasn’t over for the French Resistance. The resistance army still had to fight. If you study the history of the resistance, you find that one of their primary weapons was communications. “Freedom is coming—the war is over—hold on until the victors arrive!” That was their message and ours is the same.

We may be involved in spiritual warfare, but we don’t have to fight alone. We can expect help for the battle. Our help never comes ultimately from new equipment, or a more peaceful work situation, or more considerate workers. Our help comes from our Lord and from doing our work according to his Word.

Learn to encourage yourself from the Word of God. If you don’t train yourself to look at the battle you are in as spiritual warfare, if you don’t draw your strength from Jesus, your job will be much more difficult than it should be.

God did not put you in your work to simply survive. Do your work with joy and passion, with your eyes on heaven and know that though the daily battles might be difficult, the war is over, victory is assured, and your King is coming.

This excerpt is from Devotions for Church Communicators by Yvon Prehn

Available in paperback and Kindle versions from amazon.com. CLICK HERE to go to them.

Bible Intro: Genesis and Job

January 2, 2016 by untilfulllight

Each week I’ll write a brief introduction and some thoughts about the readings you’ll be doing this week in our Through the Bible reading plan.

In most cases I won’t give links like I’m doing below because the additional posts will either follow this on the home page (if you aren’t getting the newsletter) or they will be links on the email newsletter. PLEASE sign up for the newsletter–it will come out on Monday with the notes on the upcoming readings and on Thursday with misc. materials that have been added to the site during the week. To sign up CLICK HERE.

As we are still in the stage of getting started on this new way of teaching, below are some links of current posts that pertain to our readings this week:

One very important post to read before you start Job:

Job intro: Know the end of the story before you read the book of Job-– this is important to read because it reminds you that God condemned the comments of Job’s friends, he said they were wrong in how they accused Job. If you don’t understand this, you’ll read the comments of the friends out of context and because many of them make sense on the surface, (even thought they are false) and believing them will make you believe many false teachings popular today.

Some additional posts that will be useful in your understanding of the readings:

Overview of Genesis and Job, foundations for answers to the big questions of life–brief intro to the books
Video: Job and Genesis, Foundational Answers to the Big Questions of Life –this is an hour long lesson, an in-depth overview of the books. PLEASE take time to look it over or listen to it
What was happening before God spoke the universe into existence?–brief devotional quote and thoughts
How do you know when the various books of the Bible were written?–citations of scholarly notes on dating the Bible with a special emphasis on the importance of when Job was written

Personal note:

“In the beginning God. . . . “

So starts the book of Genesis and for me it is one of my favorite things in the New Year–to start out with God, beginning again to read the Bible through in Chronological order.

I’ve been doing this for many years, but each time I learn more, see more, come to love God and his Word more. I’m so glad you are joining me in this journey.

Video: Job and Genesis, Foundational Answers to the Big Questions of Life

December 30, 2015 by untilfulllight

These are the first two books of the Bible that we are reading in our chronological reading through the Bible in a year. In this video we’ll talk about why we read Job in the middle of Genesis and how these two books help answer some of the big questions of life.

If you want to just listen to the audio, it will make sense without having to look at the images.

CLICK on the image to download the notes that go along with the video. Anyone may use and copy them for any Bible teaching situation.

Click on the image to download a PDF of the NOTES and DISCUSSION QUESTIONS for this video.

Please sign up for the newsletter (CLICK HERE)so you’ll be notified when I post commentary and lessons on the readings as we go along.

Five KEY Reasons why it’s important to read through the Bible in historical, chronological order

December 26, 2015 by untilfulllight

Reading through the Bible in historical, chronological order, where you read the events as they took place and where you read the material associated with a historical period close to the same times as reading the historical narrative is much more than an interesting alternative way to read the Bible.

It can be a totally life-changing experience. It will help you grow in your trust in and appreciation for the Bible and will enable you to grow as a disciple of Jesus in a way few other things will. Following are Five Key Reasons why it is important to read through the Bible in historical, chronological order:

1. God works in linear, historical order

One of the distinguishing marks of the Christian faith is that it views human history as a linear process with a starting point and ending point. In contrast, many Eastern religious systems view human history as an endlessly repeating cycle.

It follows therefore that God’s work, His revelation of Himself, and His actions are revealed in historical order. Salvation history builds upon the promise of the Savior immediately after humanity’s fall. It moves through the preparation for the Messiah in the Old Testament to His life, death, resurrection, and founding of the church in the New Testament to the promised culmination in the new heavens and new earth.

Revelation is progressive and many of the great themes of the Bible are seen dimly in the Old Testament, further clarified in the Prophets, brought to fruition in the Gospels, and applied to life explicitly by later writers such as the Apostle Paul.

Much of this is missed when Bible reading consists of jumping from passage to passage. Reading that way, you see bits and pieces of God, but not the full display of his grandeur. Continue Reading

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