This is one of the questions we have received since many of you began the READ the BIBLE in One Year. We thought we would post it along with an answer from one of our staff.

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What is the belief on being spirit filled with the evidence of speaking in tongues? Do you believe that or not?

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Speaking in tongues is just one of several manifestations of the Spirit mention by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12. These are given according to the Spirit’s will and are for the common good (1 Cor 12:7). It is also apparent from this chapter that not all believers exhibit the same manifestations (verses 29 and 30). Moreover, nowhere in Scripture is the filling of the Spirit connect with any of these particular manifestations.

Rather, the filling of the Holy Spirit is conditioned on our obedience (Eph 4:30; 1 Thess 5:19; Gal 5:16) and is evident in the believer’s walk with the Lord. In other words, the person who is filled with the Spirit will have an attitude of love toward their fellow believers and of thankfulness toward God (Eph 5:18-20) and will also be full of God’s word (Col 3:16-17).

Richard Weisenburger

Who do you think the Nephilim are? Are they fallen angels? Are they giants?

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Grace and peace, Dave Lindstrom

The Nephilim of Genesis 6:4 probably comes from the Hebrew word pronounced “Nephal” which means “to fall” or pluralized “fallen ones”. According to the context of the passage found in Genesis 6:1,2 people were increasing on the earth (Genesis 6:1), there was marriage going on with the sons of God and the daughters of men (Genesis 6:2), and wickedness was great on the earth grieving Yahweh (Genesis 6:5,6).

1 When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.

4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. 5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.

The Nephilim were part of this offspring between the sons of God and daughters of men (Genesis 6:4) and seemed to exist before the flood and after the flood as mighty warriors and giant sized people (Genesis 6:4, Numbers 13:33, Deuteronomy 1:22, 2:10).

The main question to ask in this passage is,” Who are these sons of God and daughters of men?” Bible scholars have arrived at 4 possibilities: 1) Fallen Angels and Mortals, 2) Godly Line and Ungodly Line, 3) Dynastic Rulers and Commoners, and 4) Man and Woman. Even though all 4 views have some strengths and weaknesses, as other Scripture is compared, the main two views given the most support are 1 and 2.

Either the sons of God are the fallen angels who were allowed by Yahweh to have sexual relations and marital relations with human woman (view 1) or the sons of God are the believing line of godly people coming from the lines of Seth, Enoch, Noah, etc. who start intermarrying with non-believing lines of people (daughters of men). Depending on which view you take gives you the Nephilim which are either a combination of half-demon (fallen angel) and human or a combination of a godly believing line intermarrying with an ungodly believing line.

Due to the difficulty of the passage, a spirit of Christian grace should be given with a leaning to views 1 and 2 as best fitting the Scripture. There is quite a bit of study to do in supporting and disproving each of these positions that the space of this explanation will not allow. My personal view is position 2, the Godly Line and Ungodly Line. My main support for this view comes from the context of the passage (where people, not other life forms) on the earth are multiplying in wickedness, angels were not previously mentioned in Genesis before this, and the fact that nowhere in the rest of Scripture does it allow for angels to interact and mate with humans. Also, Jesus seems to
discredit this idea in Matthew 24:38, Luke 17:27, Matthew 22:30.

Another one of the questions we have received since many of you began the READ the BIBLE in One Year. We thought we would post it along with an answer from one of our Elders.

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Why did God, when addressing the Serpent specifically use the word “her” in the phrase in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;”?

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In the bulk of the passage, God is addressing the three ‘offenders’; Satan, the Woman, and the Man. There were consequences for each of them. One of the principles of interpretation here is to NOT assume an unwarranted exclusion, based on the use of the word. In other words, God wasn’t saying that there wouldn’t be enmity between Satan and the man’s offspring. He could have used the words ‘their seeds.’ He just chose to focus on the enmity between the woman’s offspring and Satan.

Why, though? In my view, at least two reasons. First, according to the text, Satan and the woman were in a conversation that resulted in the woman being deceived. Adam was apparently there, so he has full responsibility, but it seems that Satan deceived Eve, and Adam, watching his wife eat, took the fruit too, knowing that it had been forbidden by God to do so. So the order of the course of events was Satan deceived Eve, Eve disobeyed, and Adam disobeyed. In Hebrew, order is very important. Thus, when God handed out the consequences, Satan was first, Eve came second, and Adam followed.

There is another reason that I think has prophetic implications. The balance of the verse is And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

The ‘who’ in the offspring is significant. Eve’s offspring was first Cain, then all of humanity that followed out of her ’seed’, including Jesus….and including all of those that follow Christ, like you and me. The ‘enmity’ is there between the children of God and Satan. As to the ‘head crushing’…the ‘he’ in that is Jesus.

So, putting it all together, the offspring of Eve would continually be in conflict with Satan. Eventually, out of that offspring, Jesus would come and, despite a ‘flesh wound’ that is not permanently fatal (such as a heel injury, not to a vital organ…..and perhaps an early illusion to the nails through the feet on the cross), Jesus will deliver the fatal blow to Satan as he is ultimately cast into the Lake of Fire.

Finally, in Hebrew tradition, the blood line of a people is traced through the mother. The genealogy of Jesus is traced both through Mary’s lineage and through Joseph’s in the Gospels. Another reason that God probably chose to use the phrase, “her seed”.

Paul Klimke

This is one of the questions we have received since many of you began the READ the BIBLE in One Year. We thought we would post it along with an answer from one of our Elders.

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Genesis 2:2-3: In these verses it says that on the 7th day, God rested and he blessed it and made it holy. With Sunday being the first day of the week, why do we worship and keep Sunday holy? Please help me understand this.

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The pattern God set in Genesis 2 of alternating periods of work and rest became the pattern for the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. The command to observe the Sabbath day was given to Israel to teach them to honor God as holy and to trust Him for their needs (Exodus 16:22-30; 20:9-11 ― note: this will open the passage in a new window.) This command and the whole Old Testament law pointed forward to Christ.

Now that Christ has come, fulfilling the law, we as Christians are no longer under the law but under grace. Regarding the sabbath Paul says in Romans 14:5-8: “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.  He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord.” And Paul also states in Colossians 2:16 and 17: “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”

All of this means that we are no longer required to observe the Sabbath laws though it is still wise to maintain a weekly pattern of work and rest. Moreover, the New Testemant does command us to meet regularly in a local assembly (i.e. the local church). Very early in the Church’s history they began meeting on the first day of the week instead of the seventh to commemorate Christ’s resurrection, which was on the first day of the week. This is why we meet on Sunday rather than Saturday. It is important, however, to remember that everyday belongs to the Lord, so that no matter what we are doing, whether worship, work or play, we do these things as unto the Lord.

Richard Weisenburger

This is one of the questions we have received since many of you began the READ the BIBLE in One Year. We thought we would post it along with an answer from one of our staff.

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I have been meaning to ask this for the past week or so. I was wondering what the Biblical Community feels about Pangaea and the idea that a single land mass over time became the 7 continents that we see today.

This is being taught to my kids (and I am sure others) and I was curious how that might be explained through God’s creation and the disbursement of population with different languages throughout the world as explained in Genesis.

Any references would be greatly appreciated.

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There are a number of different views on Pangaea from a Christian perspective, but most are just speculation and theories. There are arguments that Pangaea could have existed, then been divided during the flood, which would have caused enormous continental shifts.

Genesis 1:9-10 reveals that God gathered and separated water and land from each other, suggesting also that the land and water were in one place together. (And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.)

The verse in Genesis 10:25 about the earth being divided in Peleg’s day has been debated as well (it could refer to continental shift or perhaps the Tower of Babel event in Genesis 11). Christians believing in an old earth, i.e., the earth is millions, if not billions, of years old, likely don’t have an issue with the concept. Christians believing in a young earth, i.e., the earth is a few thousand years old, will have some issues and explanations to explain continental shifts.

Here are a few websites I found that could be helpful and provide a variety of explanations:

• http://www.gotquestions.org/pangea-theory.html
• http://www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/FAQ216.html#wp2930663
• http://creationontheweb.com/images/pdfs/cabook/chapter11.pdf

Personally, I can see how the existence of Pangaea can be coherent with the truths taught in Scripture, but I am definitely not an expert on the subject.

In Christ,

Joel Mayward
Director of Junior High

Knowing GOD better is one of our biggest goals at RMCC. Reading through your Bible in a year, while a large undertaking, is an excellent way to “zoom out” and get a good look at God.

Many of us, including Elders and Pastors are journeying through the Bible with you this year. If you have questions, as you read, email us at biblequestions@rmcchurch.org or use our contact form and send to Bible Questions.

Stick to it! Keep pursuing God! If you miss a day or two, just pick up where you left off. May God bless you as you seek to know Him better.

As questions are asked and answered, check back here for the posts.

Pastor Carlyle Naylor

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