An “unknown ancient reptile roamed the Pyrenees mountains” according to a BBC News article published on April 20, 2017.
“The footprints of a mysterious reptile that lived about 250 million years ago have been identified in fossils from the Pyrenees mountains.”
“Footprints” have been found, now an entirely new species has been discovered? And it’s “a member of the group that gave rise to crocodiles and dinosaurs?”
All from “footprints?”
Many think the promises of living in the promised land of ancient Israel for God’s people are permanent. However, the Old Covenant was cancelled, and today God operates through the New Covenant and its reality.
“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim reflection of the good things to come, not the good things themselves”—Hebrews 10:1 NLT
“These are shadows of the things to come; the reality belongs to Christ”—Colossians 2:17 NAB
The old covenant shadows were fulfilled in the new covenant substance of reality.
Does modern day “physical Israel” (1 Corinthians 10:18 JNT) fulfill Bible prophecy? Many claim that it does. They often cite Old Testament prophecies of restoration of the promised land to Israel, asserting that modern Israel does fulfill Bible prophecy. Frequently, they cite verses that seem to indicate fleshly Israel would have this land forever, such as:
“They will live on the land I gave to Jacob my servant, the land where their ancestors lived; they shall live on it always”—Ezekiel 37:25 NAB
Critics claim that the temple cleansing in the Gospel of John is either the same temple cleansing reported by the three Synoptics, Matthew, Mark and Luke, or is out of place, therefore constituting a “contradiction” in the Gospels. Below are listed a number of reasons why the temple cleansing in John is accurate and was performed by Jesus around the time of the first Passover after his baptism, which was probably about six months earlier. John clearly states in John 20:31 and John 21:25 that he was highly selective in his reporting on the events of Jesus’ life. The other three Gospel writers had already reported on the second temple cleansing by the time John wrote his gospel. Upon close examination, it seems fairly obvious that John was very familiar with these other three Gospels, and quite possibly had copies of them in his possession as he wrote the fourth Gospel. John filled in many gaps that the Synoptics did not report on. In fact, 92% of his gospel is unique. John reports the following details about the first temple cleansing, that are omitted from the second temple cleansing recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke:
The early church is unanimous that the Gospel according to Mark was written by John Mark. (Acts 12:12; Acts 12:25; Acts 13:5; Acts 13:13; Acts 15:37; Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24)
Papias – c. 140 quotes an earlier source saying:
The title “According to Mark” appears in all the ancient canonical lists and many ancient manuscripts, and is thought to have been added very early in the history of the text.
Early church fathers all affirm Mark wrote the Gospel:
Second and third century books falsely claimed apostles as authors rather than secondary figures such as Mark.
Many “Bible scholars” claim that Matthew relied on Mark’s gospel as the primary source to write his gospel. Why would Matthew the tax collector, one of Jesus’ twelve apostles, rely so much on Mark’s account? The answer? He didn’t. He was an eyewitness of much of what he wrote, so there was no need for him rely on Mark, who was not an eyewitness, but a recorder of the apostle Peter’s memories (1 Peter 5:13). Both Matthew and Mark wrote their gospels “inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:16).
Is the New Testament based on eyewitness testimony? Let’s examine the Bible to find out.
“Draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses.” (Luke 1:1,2 NIV) The Bible writer Luke based his accounts on eyewitness testimony.
“You are eyewitnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:48 NIV) Jesus told his disciples they were eyewitnesses.
“This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe.” (John 19:35 NLT) – Spoken by the Apostle John.
Where did Native Americans come from? Are they descended from the so-called “Ten Lost Tribes of Israel”, as some, most notably, the Mormons, claim?
“We are getting closer to understanding who the first Americans really were,” BBC News reported in an article published on March 30, 2017, entitled “The first people who populated the Americas.”
“They probably came on foot from Siberia across the Bering Land Bridge, which existed between Alaska and Eurasia from the end of the last Ice Age until about 10,000 years ago. The area is now submerged by water.
Many churches and preachers teach that the Trinity doctrine is true Biblical. On this basis, therefore many sincere Christians believe in the Trinity doctrine. Can a person who who in the Trinity have a relationship with God?
“It is God who judges”—Psalm 75:7 NIV; “God is a righteous judge”—Psalm 7:11 NIV“He is a God of justice”—Psalm 50:6 NIV; “Why do you judge your brother or sister?”—Romans 14:10 NIV; “Be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves”—Matthew 10:16 NASB
Is the Bible reliable? Does it contain myths, or are the stories true? Did the writers simply write down stories they had heard from other people, or did they experience the things firsthand that they wrote about?
The Bible is not made up of cleverly devised fables or myths. “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:16 NAB). Many of the Bible writers were actually eyewitnesses of their written accounts. “But we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16 NAB; see also 1 Peter 5:1) Eyewitnesses also handed down their accounts to others who carefully researched these things. (Luke 1:1-3) Still others studied and pondered. (Ecclesiastes 12:9-10) But none came from human will. (2 Peter 1:21)