Answers | To Your Questions About the Bible, Theology and Christian Living

Jesus had four half-brothers as well as half-sisters:

Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” Matthew 13:54-56 (see Mark 6:3)

His brother James is the likely author of the book of James and the leader of the new church in the book of Acts (see chapter 15).

Ken Horn

I am confused about the meaning of “dead in Christ” in 1 Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” I have always been taught that when we die, we instantly go to heaven. If we are already in heaven and alive with Christ, how are we dead in Christ and caught up at His reappearance?

The apostle Paul makes it clear that believers go immediately into the Lord’s presence when they die. He calls this being “away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8, NIV). Those who are “dead in Christ” are called “those who have fallen asleep in him [Jesus]” (v. 14), “those who have fallen asleep” (v. 15), and “those who fall asleep” (v. 13). Sleep is stressed, not to indicate lack of consciousness but because, for believers, death is simply the appearance of sleep.

The body is dead and the spirit is with Christ. When Jesus returns he brings these believers with him (1 Thessalonians 4:13), their bodies will be glorified (made incorruptible) and reunited with their spirits “in the air” (v. 17).

“For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:52-53; read the whole chapter).

Ken Horn

I have learned not to put too much emphasis on current news. The day after Mussolini died I went into the Bible college bookstore and saw a big stack of books entitled Is Mussolini the Antichrist? They were marked “Five cents each.” In Israel in 1962 a converted Jew tried to persuade me that President Nixon was the antichrist because his name in Hebrew letters as Nigson added up to 666.

Jesus did not ask us to focus on current news. He said not to be alarmed by wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6). Most important is to live ready Jesus’ return (24:44). Jesus emphasized that the gospel of the Kingdom (the same gospel He and the apostles preached) must be proclaimed “in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (24:14, NIV). The question we should be asking is: “How much more can we do to get the gospel out to the many who still have never heard?”

Stanley M. Horton

The position of medical science is that exercise is a top priority for good health. Then why does 1 Timothy 4:8 say, “Bodily exercise profiteth little”? Is this an instance where science and the Bible are at odds?

No, there is no disagreement here. The context of the whole verse basically says that physical health has some value, but spiritual health is infinitely more important because it is eternal. First Timothy 4:8 in whole says, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (NIV).

Ken Horn

I have heard that the unpardonable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? How can I be sure I have not committed it?

“Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men,” Jesus said, “but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven” (Matthew 12:31, NIV). Forgiveness was available even for those who tortured and killed Jesus (Acts 3:13-20). What can be so horrible that it eliminates the possibility of God’s mercy and forgiveness from a person’s life?

Since God is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), individuals must close and lock the door to God’s love themselves. They do so by hardening their heart to God’s Spirit who seeks to draw them to Jesus for spiritual rebirth (John 3:5-8). This doesn’t happen in one impulsive moment, but by a lifetime of willful, deliberate rejection of the Spirit’s pursuit. This can create such spiritual and moral darkness that people call good evil (Isaiah 5:20) or attribute God’s works of deliverance through Jesus to Satan (Mark 3:22).

People who worry about the possibility of having committed this sin demonstrate by their concern they have not irrevocably hardened their hearts toward God.

Stephen Lim

Receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit

1. The seeker should be spiritually prepared.

Acts 2:38,39 says: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call” (NIV). We are spiritually prepared for the Baptism if we are born again. This promise from God was not just for the Day of Pentecost, but for everyone thereafter who would believe. The spiritual birthright of every Christian is to seek, expect and experience the same baptism in the Holy Spirit that was promised and given to the New Testament Christians.

2. The seeker should realize that the Holy Spirit has already been given.

The disciples were initially commanded to wait in Jerusalem (Acts 1:4) before beginning their ministry. This was the beginning of the Holy Spirit’s new relationship with believers. Once the Holy Spirit had been poured out in the Upper Room, believers no longer needed to wait in the same way for this fullness. The Book of Acts records after the Upper Room narrative four times when people were filled immediately by the Spirit of the Lord, with the evidence of speaking in other tongues either explicitly stated or implied by the context (Acts 8:14-19; 9:17; 10:44-48; 19:1-7).

3. The seeker should be aware that the Holy Spirit is received by faith.

Several instances in the New Testament remind us that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift. All of us have received gifts from loved ones, parents or individuals who wanted to show us kindness. Gifts are something we don’t earn; we simply accept them and acknowledge the kindness of the giver. Galatians 3:14 says, “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” Faith is the means through which we receive the gift.

4. Seekers should know that the Holy Spirit enables, but the believer does the speaking.

In every instance in the New Testament where people received the gift of the Holy Spirit, they were the ones who spoke in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. The Holy Spirit does not control a person like a puppet. We find this clearly in Acts 2:4: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” He “enabled.” He did not coerce.

5. Seekers should not fear that they will fall prey to a counterfeit experience.

The Word of God teaches that God gives only good gifts to His children. “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13). God will not allow another spirit to interfere with His sincerely seeking child.

Not everyone receives the Baptism immediately. Even the disciples waited in the Upper Room for 10 days before being baptized in the Spirit. Waiting is not cause to give up. Remember, the Baptism is promised to every believer. Many believers are baptized soon after leaving an altar where they had sought the Baptism. They may be at home or going about their business the next day. The important thing to receiving the Baptism is to continue to seek the Lord in faith. God’s desire and promise is to baptize each believer with the Holy Spirit.

Scott R. Erickson
Originally published in Today’s Pentecostal Evangel, issue #4648.

First John 5:7 in the King James Version is such a great proof-text for the Trinity. Why is it not found in newer versions?

When you read 1 John 5:7 in the KJV it does seem like a great proof-text for the Trinity. It reads, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

Newer versions omit that wording.

So why would Christians omit wording that helps prove the Trinity? (1) Those words are not authentic, and (2) There is plenty of proof for the Trinity without them. We don’t need to use spurious words to authenticate the doctrine.

Scholar F.F. Bruce explained it well in his excellent book History of the Bible in English:

They [the words of 1 John 5:7 as found in the KJV] first appear in the writing of a Spanish Christian leader named Priscillian, who was executed for heresy in A.D. 385. Later they made their way into copies of the Latin text of the Bible. When Erasmus prepared his printed edition of the Greek Testament, he rightly left those words out, but was attacked for this by people who felt that the passage was a valuable proof-text for the doctrine of the Trinity. He replied (rather incautiously) that if he could be shown any Greek manuscript which contained the words, he would include them in his next edition. Unfortunately, a Greek manuscript not more than some twenty years old was produced in which the words appeared: they had been translated into Greek from Latin. Of course, the fact that the only Greek manuscript exhibiting the words belonged to the sixteenth century was in itself an argument against their authenticity, but Erasmus had given his promise, and so in his 1522 edition he included the passage. (Today one or two other very late Greek manuscripts are known to contain the passage; all others omit it.)

[New York: Oxford University Press, 1978 (third edition), pp. 141-2]

Ken Horn

When was the first publication of red letters for the words of Jesus Christ? Why are the words of the Lord God, the Holy Spirit, or the Angel of the Lord in the O.T. not also given a special color?

In 1899, Louis Klopsch, editor of The Christian Herald read Luke 22:20 and was struck by the words “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” Because of the symbolism of the blood, Dr. Klopsch wondered if the words of the Lord might effectively be printed in red: “Why not a red-letter Bible with the red words to be those of our Lord?” He sought counsel from his pastor, T. DeWitt Talmage, of Brooklyn Temple. Talmage encouraged him and the first red-letter New Testaments were printed in 1901.

Red was applied to all the words of Jesus, including those quoted by others in the Bible, but not in the Old Testament theophanies (or appearances of Christ before He came to earth in flesh).

The first printing quickly sold out and red-letter Bibles have been immensely popular ever since.

Ken Horn

God cares about every portion of your life … the big things and the small. Lots of Christians admit to praying for a parking place at the mall. The needs of a living creature are certainly more important than that.

It has been clearly demonstrated that pets can have significant health benefits for people. That’s one of the reasons therapy dogs and therapy cats are in use today for institutionalized or shut-in patients. Recent studies indicate that people with pets live longer, healthier lives. They can be a very good thing for some people.

And the Bible is clear that God values even animal life, which are a part of His creation.There seems to be a glimpse of this in Jonah 4:11 (NIV): “But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?”

It is more pronounced in the New Testament. In Luke 12, Jesus addresses the eternal value of a soul, as well as the value of small things. Verses 6 and 7 say, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Children can learn compassion and kindness by watching how adults treat animals.

Yes, it is appropriate to pray for sick or injured pets, as well as for other small areas of our lives … but Christians should pray far more about things of eternal value. We just need to keep things in perspective.

Ken Horn

Some other scriptures about animals:

Exodus 20:8-10 Even work animals deserve a rest.

Deuteronomy 22:10 Don’t mismatch work animals. It would cause undue suffering for mismatched animals to be yoked together. (There’s a human application to this as well.)

Proverbs 12:10 People are expected to be kind to animals.

I have heard that the name Salome, who was responsible for the beheading of John the Baptist, is in the Bible but I can’t find it.

Yes, the name Salome is in the Bible … but not that Salome.

The infamous Salome was the daughter of Herodias and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, who ruled Galilee. She plotted with her mother, Herodias, to dance for her stepfather, Herod Antipas, gain his favor, and ask for John’s head. Herodias was the divorced wife of Philip, half brother of Antipas. Herod had imprisoned John for speaking out against this, but feared going further, since John had such a large following.

Herodias shared her husband’s hatred of John, but not his fear, so she put her daughter up to the scheme to get her weak husband to promise John’s death to his seductive stepdaughter. John was beheaded and his head put on display.

But Salome is not named in the Matthew 14 or Mark 6 accounts. Instead she is named by the extrabiblical Jewish historian Josephus.

But there is a Salome mentioned in the Bible. She was with Jesus in Galilee (Mark 15:40-41) and was present at the crucifixion (Mark 15:40), and was at the tomb of Jesus on the resurrection morning (Mark 16:1-2). Matthew 27:56 identifies her as the wife of Zebedee and, thus, the mother of James and John, the “Sons of Thunder.”

Ken Horn