Nicholas K. Lamoureux Comments
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Haha, good point! I'm ready to help! Thanks for the kind words, too.
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Hello and thank you for your question. "Shalach" is used over 800 times in the Bible, and it always carries with it the contextual idea of being "put forth" or "away from" something. In Greek and Hebrew, words often carry with them certain connotations, while in English we rely on the use of adjectives and adverbs as descriptors. Shalach never means to simply "release" something passively, but always includes the action of sending away - whether it's a hand, a dove, a person, or a goat (e.g. Gen 8:8-10, 12:20, 19:29, 21:14, 26:27, 26:29, Deut 22:19, etc). As for the Lev 16 goat being "forcibly-driven", this phrase should be understood in the context of animal husbandry, where to "drive" an animal means to move them through leading, prodding, or other measures, prompting it to depart from one place and go to another place against its own will. Because shalach can be translated a number of different ways, the translation I have offered is one that seems to best-align with the context, the actual events of the situation as related to the natural behavior of goats, and God's overall plan.
Hi, Mark - thanks for pointing out this verse. Because Christ was to be the Chief Administrator of the Kingdom of God and because He was there in-person, He was a direct representative of that Kingdom; thus, the Kingdom of God had, in a sense, "come upon" them. I think Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary captures the intended meaning of this verse pretty well when they translate it this way: "If this expulsion of Satan is, and can be, by no other than the Spirit of God, then his [Satan's] Destroyer is already in the midst of you, and that Kingdom which is destined to supplant his [Satan's] is already rising on its ruins."
Greetings Hanson,
Your comment seems very hostile and accusatory, and you claim that the presenter is offering “pure assertion without truth”. But it seems that you did not listen to the entire program, in which the presenter uses clear scriptural evidence to substantiate his claims. Back in Genesis 2:7 we can see that God created man, “and man became a living being” (“chay nephesh” - a living soul). As was pointed out in Ezekiel 18:4, “The soul that sins shall die”, and in Ecclesiastes 9:10, “There is no work, or device, or knowledge, or wisdom in the grave.”
Mr. Myers did not say there is no afterlife, but he did correctly state that the common belief where a person goes to heaven or hell upon death is false! So, what does happen to a person upon death? God has A GREAT PLAN He is working out, in which He will bring “many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10).
I challenge you to order and review our free study guide, “What Happens After Death?” to see if the beliefs you have are congruent with what the Bible teaches (https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/what-happens-after-death).
I hope you have a profitable week!
Greetings, thanks for voicing your opinions of disagreement. It’s not compulsory that you agree with all the views expressed in our programs. However, your disagreement with our statements doesn’t alter the recorded succession of various nations throughout history. Furthermore, to make the baseless claim that Arab nations are intended by Daniel’s prophecy solely because the Hebrew word “arab” is used for “mixed” would be a terrible fallacy.
Biblical prophecies don’t dogmatically identify Rome as the beast power; however, the Roman empire has followed a pattern throughout history which seems to correspond with end-time events. You’re correct that the Medo-Persian empire was superior in size and military strength to Babylon, but the reason why the Babylonian empire was considered superior was due to its unrivaled unity and influence, which is why other passages refer to the end-time system as one that mirrors the unity and influence of ancient Babylon.
I encourage you to read through our booklet: “The Middle East in Bible Prophecy”, as well as our Sabbath article: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-questions-and-answers/was-the-saturday-sabbath-changed-to-sunday
Hello Reverend Jim,
You ask some pretty good questions! We have many articles on these topics which can be located via the search bar. We do also have some booklets that address specific questions you have asked about; namely, “The Truth About The Rich Man and Lazarus” (free to order or download here: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/the-truth-about-the-rich-man-and-lazarus), and “Heaven and Hell: What Does the Bible Really Teach?” (available here: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/heaven-and-hell-what-does-the-bible-really-teach).
Regarding your questions about the soul, I will direct you to watch one of our other Beyond Today videos titled: “What is the Soul?” (available here: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/what-is-the-soul). There is also an article that goes into great depth on this subject, available here: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/heaven-and-hell-what-does-the-bible-really-teach/the-biblical-truth-about-the-immortal-soul.
Hope these resources help in your personal Bible study!
Hi Rod, the Israelite's physical Promised Land represented the coming Kingdom of God to be established on Earth. Heb 4:8 speaks to this imagery saying Joshua didn't give the Israelites true rest. As we await that true rest in His Kingdom, we observe the Saturday Sabbath as V.9 directs us: "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God."
Rest in Greek is 'sabbatismos' which means 'a keeping of Sabbath'. Looking at other translations makes the message plain: "There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God" (ESV), or "There is still a Sabbath-keeping for..." (BBE). This isn't referring to a figurative rest "in Christ" but to a literal one that points to the ultimate fulfillment.
Simply put: since Christ is our Savior, we physically rest on the 7th day Sabbath like Jesus, Paul, Timothy, and Luke did (Luke 4:16, 6:6; Acts 16:13, 17:2, 18:4), anticipating the true rest that Jesus will bring when He returns to setup God's Kingdom.
The Sabbath-rest originated on the 7th day of creation, occurs every 7th day of the week, and helps us look forward to Heb 4:11: "Be diligent to enter that rest." For more details, review our booklet: "Sunset to Sunset: God's Sabbath Rest".
Hello, Craig! What a great question! I agree that it doesn't always seem obvious - sometimes I feel like it would be so much easier if God had just made a checklist of "do's and do not's". Let me give you 2 answers: a direct answer, and a short answer.
The Direct Answer: Some commands - such as the laws you mentioned (clean and unclean meats + the Sabbath) - were established before the "Old Covenant" and have been in place since the beginning of mankind. For clean and unclean meats, remember early on that God made a distinction between the two in the story of Noah in Genesis 7? The weekly Sabbath, of course, was established at creation in Genesis 2:2-3.
The Short Answer: Commands are given to people (or specific groups of people) at a specific times, for specific purposes. When studying specific commands, it's important to look at the Bible in its entirety and not zoom-in too closely on any one command.
So, what laws still apply to us today? Gary Petty gave 2 sermons which should thoroughly answer your question:
https://www.ucg.org/sermons/doctrine-of-the-covenants-of-god-part-1
https://www.ucg.org/sermons/doctrine-of-the-covenants-of-god-part-2
Enjoy your study!!
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