I love religious lists – especially those involving facts or debunkings. In memory of the very popular list on factlets people get wrong I have put this one together inspired by the same excellent source. Be sure to add your own factlets to the comments, and when you are done, check out the Top 10 Misconceptions About the Bible. This list also features a competition, so be sure to check out the bonus item.
Contrary to popular belief, Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden not because they ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but in order to prevent them from eating from the tree of life (both forbidden trees are in Genesis 2:9) which would have made them eternal. God doesn’t like competition! Here is the verse (Genesis 3:22-23): “And he said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing good and evil: now, therefore, lest perhaps he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever. [23] And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure, to till the earth from which he was taken.”
We all know the tale of Jonah and the whale… but how well do we know it? Well enough to know that he wasn’t eaten by a whale? It was no mammal that ate Jonah – it was a huge fish – though its type is not mentioned. Of course, I am presuming that everyone reading this list knows that a whale is not a fish.
Samson and Delilah is a famous story from the Old Testament which ends rather badly, as Samson’s long hair is cut short to destroy his strength. The common misconception is that Delilah was the one to give him the chop – a kind of ancient bobbit if you will. But in fact, it was Delilah’s servant who did it.
The “Rapture” is not in the Bible! Despite being believed by a large number of protestants (many of whom also believe that only that which is in the Bible can be true) it was actually invented in the 1600s by one Cotton Mather – otherwise famous for murdering women by strangling them to death (by hanging) in the Salem witch trials. The term in the Bible commonly mistranslated to the word “rapture” actually comes from the Greek ἁρπάζω (harpazo) which actually means “caught up” or “taken away” and it refers to one person only (Philip).
There weren’t three and they didn’t visit Jesus in a manger. The Bible gives neither the number of men (but does the number of gifts as three, which is probably where this misconception stems from). Additionally, Herod demanded the death of all boys under two, making it probable that Christ had been born up to two years prior. Also, the wise men visited Jesus when he lived in a house according to the Biblical account in Matthew 2:11.
The Bible does not condemn drinking alcohol (remember that Jesus’ first public miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding party), or gambling and betting. The closest it comes to the latter is to recommend against get rich quick schemes (Ecclesiastes 5:10) and loving money excessively. Be sure to remember that next time you are sipping your wine at the local casino. Addendum: “The Bible does NOT condemn the drinking of alcohol – that misconception is a holdover from Calvinistic and Purtanical Prtotestantism – which worked its way into Methodism etc; What the Bible DOES say is “Be not DRUNK of the fruit of the vine” – at the same time many gainsayers will claim that the water was turned into grape juice – but the original Gospels clearly use a word which translates from the original Greek as WINE a “fermented grape beverage”. [addendum courtesy of carra 23]. Traditionally drunk means “falling down drunk” – in other words, the loss of the will to control oneself.
“God helps those who help themselves” – a wise and good quote that everyone knows is from the Bible. But, in fact, it isn’t. It was a man, not a god who coined the well known (and overused) proverb. It was Benjamin Franklin in his Poor Richard’s almanac.
Another quote we all know from the Bible is “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Now ask yourself – do you know what God’s answer was to this question? You don’t – no one does because the Bible doesn’t tell us what He replied. If God were to have answered, we can presume it would have been in the affirmative if all of the other commands to look after our brothers in the New Testament are taken into consideration.
The Virgin Mary is not described in the Bible as having travelled to Bethlehem on a donkey. No mention is made at all in the gospels of the mode of transport used in the journey. The first mention of her riding a donkey comes from the non-Biblical Protoevangelium of James which you can read here. It was written around 150AD and is also one of the oldest works to describe Mary as a virgin both before and after the birth of Christ. The exact quote from the Protoevangelium is “And he [Joseph] saddled the ass, and set her upon it;”
This has been mentioned in passing in comments on previous lists but it definitely warrants a mention here. Unlike most of the misconceptions here which deal specifically with what the Bible says or doesn’t say, this one is a misconception about the translation of part of it. The Old Testament refers to Moses as having horns on his head after he went up the mountain to see God. This prompted Michaelangelo to sculpt him with the horns. Many people believe that this was due to a mistranslation of the description of Moses but, in fact, it isn’t. Moses really is described as being horned. And the reason for this? In Old Testament times, a person who was believed to have seen or been touched by God was described as having horns (or rays of light) coming from their head. It was an ancient symbol much like today’s gloriole.
[NOTE: The competition has now ended and the two winners of the beautiful Bible are: 23redleader and MrsBenLinus - congratulations!]
In honor of this list being about Biblical misconceptions and the fact that Christmas is almost one week away, we are having a competition. After the publication of tomorrow’s list I will choose two commenters at random to win a copy of the Haydock Bible – a stunning leather bound Bible which has a commentary alongside each verse giving interpretations from the early Christian fathers. It is my favorite edition of the Bible and it is an impressive size (11×9 inches). This book is valued at $118 USD and we will deliver to any country.
With regards Herod and the slaughter of children it is interesting to note that the bible is the only place in history that this is recorded or even suggested. Indeed information gleaned from recent archeological efforts is strong enough to suggest that the story is in fact a fabrication.
That is not true they are coming up with a lot of facts that are proving quite the opposite. I guess it is all in who you are listening to. I do not care what archeologists come up with or not. Historians differ on this fact also. We have an awesome God and because of that you are free to believe what you wish.
Is it just me or is it depressing how much time and effort is given to this story book written by men. When will humans take off the shackles of religion?
Amen.
Archworf: I am interested in the thought process and the facts that you use to arrive at your conclusions. Additionally, many of your posts seem to show that you are angry and insecure. I am willing to offer you any assistance that I can in these areas. When I personally met and developed a relationship with Jesus, all of my anger and insecurities were eventually erased.
“however, if you will never die, what is the consequence of living in sin? you won’t go to hell or anything.” In response to this comment: it also says in the Bible that no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God. If Adam and Eve were to be eternally in sin, they could never return to God’s presence; therefore, it was necessary for God to not allow them to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life and live forever in sin.
Yes, God did know better than all involved; he would of had to or he couldn’t be called God. That is why the Bible says that Jesus Christ was prepared BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD to redeem us from the fall of Adam and Eve. Creating this world, giving man and woman life and their free agency is the beauty of it all. What a wonderful way for God to teach us right from wrong, sickness and health, sadness and happiness. We learn from these oppositions. In fact, the Bible says that after partaking of the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve had become like God; knowing good and evil. It is an eternal process we are on to eventually become heirs to God and joint heirs with Christ. (Romans 8:17) That is to say, we inherit all that the Father has along with His Son. That’s a lot of power and with the Lord’s help we over come sin and become perfect like unto him. Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
Do You Have Feedback About This Page?
LOLWTF?!
Moses had horns?! Never heard of that one before. Very interesting list. SO bloody thankful you didn’t put your own biased opinion about this (in the nicest possible way). God only knows how many more comments would have been made.
Fun true story about the garden. The great yogi Yogananda once was in a conversation with an orthodox christian. Yogananda remarked that the story of Eve and the snake had to be symbolic since, as we all know, snakes have no vocal chords. The man was silent for a moment and then firmly defended the Bible: ‘In those days, snakes did have vocal chords !’
Furthermore I think it’s outrageous and sinful that the women that found the empty grave had gone shopping for oils first. On Sunday !!
Did they go shopping? I can’t find that part in the Bible. They came to the grave with oils to finish the burial process that was halted by Shavuot on Friday night (notice that Jesus dies within a couple of hours of sunset, the beginning of the Holy Day for the Jews so there was not time to prepare His body. It may be that they already had the necessary oils and spices and that they just didn’t have the time to properly prepare His body on Friday before Shavuot.
Since there has always been a argument over religion to put it plain and simple me being pagan say a christian comes to my door preaching the word of god i say come on in i listen they hand me a bible i say ty now i want to talk to you about being pagan i have a book for you nine times out of ten they prob don’t wanna hear it they are stubborn as long as they are prancing about thumping that book on to people and getting people to join them its all dandy its not about saving someones soul its just like those facebook friend *****s the more people they have in their little church the more profit they get and more attention they get.
That is not true for everyone if you handed me a book I would take it and read it. Can you say you would do the same with the bible? I have sat down with several pagans and talked with them. I respect their views I don’t agree with them. I believe it helps me to understand where they are coming from.
Would you do the same if Mormon missionaries handed you a copy of the Book of Mormon? You’d read it from cover to cover? After all, it is “Another Testament of Jesus Christ”
I just wanted to throw this out there, but back in biblical times, I very much doubt anyone knew that a whale was in fact not a fish. So if Jonah was indeed swallowed by a whale, and they didn’t know what TYPE of “fish” it was, they would have described it as a giant fish.
Well, it might ver well have been a whale that was intended. What science consider a fish and what the bible considers a fish might not overlap so neatly, the catholic chucrh for example considers the otter to be a fish.
you guz are so dum dum dum idiots i can think better than the computer
A passage that often is misquoted is Timothy 6:10 . Almost anytime it’s used you will hear the person say “money it the root of ALL evil . There is a decided difference between ALL and the one credited to most biblical interpretations.
New International Version (©1984)
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. ”
ALL KINDS of EVIL has a far differnt meaning than ALL. Basically it means many evils, but certainly, not the the only evil man has enticing his behavior.
As this is about biblical facts, this might be out of place, but historically Herod never gave the order to kill any boys or babies. It’s just one of the often used ‘proofs’ in the bible for the specialness of the main character of the story, the sole survivor. There also wasn’t a census in Palestine, this was just made up to explain how Jesus of Nazareth!!! could be the messiah who was supposed to be born in Bethlehem. Besides, forcing people to their birthplaces for registration would have been plain silly — and still would be, even today — for obvious reasons.
Enter your comment here.
Another fact that everyone seems to get wrong that’s missing (sorry if someone already commented this), is that most people think Saul changed his name to Paul once he converted, but we read in Acts 13:9, after Elymas the sorecerer tried to turn the governer away from the faith that : “Saul-also known as Paul-was filled with the Holy Spirit”, therefore saying that his other name was Paul, even before he converted.
Regarding Jonah and the whale. While it’s true the OT says a fish, the NT has Jesus calling it a whale. Matt. 12:40 KJV.
That’s just the KJV translation. The Greek word is “ketos” which means “sea monster” or “large fish”. That word is, however, where we get our word “cetology” which means the study of whales.
What I find fascinating is how many on this list seem to think that a whale is “really” a mammal and any other classification system is false or erroneous.
I knew a few of these, but the one about the horned moses was quite a surprise… Very interesting. I also enjoyed the one about Ben Franklin… Smart guy.
Unfortunately, you just identified two–but far from the only two–errors on this list. There is far more misinformation than information in these 10 items.
Ben Franklin may have popularized the saying, “God helps those who help themselves,” but he didn’t originate it. That exact English wording appears in Algernon Sidney’s “Discourses Concerning Government” in 1698, eight years before Franklin was born. Even then, Sidney wasn’t expressing a new sentiment. He was slightly updating the well-known moral to “Hercules and the Wagoner,” an Aesop fable that had appeared over 2,000 years prior. That one said “Help yourself and the gods will help you.”
Regarding horned Moses, I believe the list is even more misleading. The author claims “In Old Testament times, a person who was believed to have seen or been touched by God was described as having horns (or rays of light) coming from their head. It was an ancient symbol much like today’s gloriole.” As far as I can tell, this is completely false. There is certainly nothing in the Old Testament itself to confirm this view. And it’s not like we have an abundance of extra-Biblical material from the time period.
The fact of the matter is, Moses is described by the Qal form of the verb qaran which means “to shoot out rays”. It is certainly related to the noun qeren which means “horn”. And the same verb in the Hiphil (which ISN’T used to describe Moses) means “to display or grow horns” or “to be fully developed.” In the 4th century AD, the Latin Vulgate mistakenly translated the Qal form as “horned”.
The verb qaran is used only 3 times in the Old Testament. All three are use of Moses in the same passage–Exodus 34. All three times, the verb is in the Qal and thus means, as we said, “to shoot out rays”. But even if we say it means “to display horns”, Moses is the only Biblical individual of whom this is ever predicated. I know of no evidence that this was a common way to describe someone “who was believed to have seen or been touched by God.”
true or false ..the fact is this religion is too much contradiction
I have an idea. Why don’t you come up with a list of what you believe are biblical contradictions, and then post it, and then sit back and wait for that list to be torn apart? Because it will be, you know. That’s the fact.
false; Peoples understandings and interpretations are contradictory. That is why we are not supposed to lean to our own understanding but to the Holy Spirit for guidance and if it is from the Holy Spirit than the interpretation will not contradict itself
Name
Name
It seems there are two main reasons mainstream Christians are doing it wrong: ignorance and mistranslation.
On ignorance: People don’t get in the Good Book and reading it for themselves, most are being spoon fed religion.
Mistranslation: Greek has multiple words for one concept, each having a specific meaning and context. For example, the word love. I the Greek, the three major ones: Agápe (Unconditional), Éros (passionate, errotic, *****ual), Philia (brotherly). All of these have been translated in to one English word, which can (and often does) give an inaccurate and miss interpreted meaning, and that is just one example. Furthermore, there wasn’t any punctuation in many of the ancient texts, which further complicates translation.
I’m willing to forgive the translation issues, that’s the scholar/historian/linguists’ fault. Not understanding what is abundantly available in a largely uncensored world simply because they’re too lazy to read? Not so much.
About the three wise men, they found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Luke 2:16-20
Karen, what you’re referring to is the shepherds, not the wise men.
Robert, the terminologies are different but the story in Matthew 2:11 & Luke 2:16-20 are just the same, about the birth of Christ. So, who really visited Him? The wise men or the shepherds? In Matthew they found the holy family in the house but according to Luke they are in a manger.
Karren
Matthew 2:7-11 clearly is speaking of the wise men
Luke 2:7-16 clearly is speaking of the shepherds.
These are in two different places. One is in a royal palace, where the high and mighty were and the other is in the fields, where the lowly were. These two settings, are on opposite ends of the societal spectrum.
I’m not saying you are wrong about the Rapture, I’m just saying being “caught up” refers to more than just Philip. And if you are wrong about this fact then you could be wrong about many of the other religious subjects you present on this site. Check out these verses: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and Philippians 3:20-21
These are just 3 that I personally know about which talk about being “caught up”, there are several others if I had time to look them up.
Jonah 1:17 does say the Lord prepared a fish to swallow Jonah. In Matthew 12:40 the Bible says, for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whales belly:
Are these two different men. It is my understanding they are the same men.
It’s OK @E. Waters. They are the same person.
It’s a bit of a moot point whether is was a fish or a whale. Different translators have translated it differently, that’s all. The point, as you rightly draw attention to, is that *the Lord prepared it*.
Same guy. Your Matthew quote uses the Greek word “ketos” which is probably better translated as “sea monster”. It is, however, where we get our word “cetology”, so the identification of “ketos” with whales and other large sea mammals goes back for years.
I think our 3rd grade teachers did us a disservice when they told us that a whale isn’t “really” a fish. They made us think that anyone using a different classification system was at odds with “reality”. Somehow, a lot of us took that attitude into adulthood.
Our current classification system has its reasons and its benefits. It works well for a lot of things. But it’s still a system, a convention. These animals we group together. Those over there, that have certain similarities, we group separately. Fine and good. But those groupings aren’t written into the fabric of the universe. They’re just helpful ways of dividing material that could be organized differently.
Another thing our educational system may have failed us on is language. We never really seem to grasp that a translation does not and cannot find exact equivalents between two languages. The best a translator can do is find a word that covers similar territory to the word in the source text.
Do when we translate the Hebrew word dahg as “fish”, that’s not the same as saying that dahg occupies an identical semantic domain and has an identical semantic range. Our English word “fish” refers to many sorts of sea creatures, but not to the whale. (Well, in “Moby Dick”, Herman Melville spent a few pages arguing that the whale is a kind of fish, so even in our language there is some flexibility.) That is no guarantee that the Hebrew word dahg refers to many sorts of sea creatures, but not to the whale. Translating dahg as “fish” simply means the translator thought that “fish” is the best single word we have in English that covers a similar territory to that covered by dahg in this context.
So one possible answer to your question is this. It was a large fish that swallowed Jonah. And if you want to know more specifically what kind of fish, it was a whale.
Name
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
oh i am sorry i don’t know about christianity but in Judaism almost every one is taught that it wasn’t a whale mainly because in accordance to jewish beliefs the fish that swallowed jonah will be our food when the messiah comes
Hello! I realize this is kind of off-topic however I needed to ask. Does operating a well-established website like yours require a massive amount work? I am completely new to blogging but I do write in my diary every day. I’d like to start a blog so I will be able to share my experience and feelings online. Please let me know if you have any kind of suggestions or tips for new aspiring blog owners. Appreciate it!My website is about Weight loss recipes.
I would like to know too!
I love this site!
I really enjoyed this list. THis is my first time to this site. Does it change regularily or is this a static list?
nice work love it
Very interesting reading indeed.
FAIL! on this LIST.
The Rapture, though not in exact word might not be mentioned, but there is plenty of scripture to validate Christ’s Return:
http://www.digisys.net/users/ddalton/the_rapture_in_scriptures.htm
Eve eating the apple:
Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Another for “Am I my brothers keeper?”
http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/10/the_real_meaning_of_my_brother.html
I can go on, but what you are doing is taking scripture out of context or twisting it. You are obviously NOT a biblical scholar or Linguist. STOP IT!
Here are some more facts related to your facts:
10) Adam and Eve did not know the difference between good and evil while they lived in the Garden (Genesis 3:4, 22). They learned it after eating of the fruit.
9) The Hebrew word used here is dag which is a term for all fish, mammal or not.
8) Correctly stated, “and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head;” (Judges 16:19)
7) You may have gotten this one wrong. 1 Thes. 4:17 says, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
6) Correctly stated, wise men is anywhere from 2 to infinite. Also, the concept of this taking place a while after the birth is also correct. Matthew 2:11 states that they came to “a house” not a manger. And Jesus is referred to as a “young child” and not a babe. The Greek term “paidon” supports that.
5) The Bible does condemn the drinking of wine, although it was accepted and done by most except Nazarites. Hosea 4:11 states, “*****dom and wine and new wine take away the heart.” Proverbs 20:1 states, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”
4) Thanks for clarifying, I get tired of constantly nagging my students about that one.
3) Cain’s rhetorical question is answered loud and clear by the Lord to the ancient Jews (Leviticus 19:18) and by Jesus, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’
2) Tradition dictates so much of our Christmas celebration. Shall we tackle December 25th as the birthdate?
1) A wonderful monument to the ignorance of the people during the Dark Ages.
Planning on doing a follow up to this list? I’m sure we can come up with another 10 or more misconceptions. Good job and keep up the research.
sorry to correct you in honed Moses. in Hebrew, shining and horned are the same word. when they said that Moses’s face were horned, in Hebrew it means his face were shining. a classic case of lost in translation…
Did not know some of these thigns! Thanks very much for sharing!!
I was saddened not to see the prohibition of Christmas trees as detailed in Jeremiah 10: 2-4. Especially in light of Christmas’ proximity.
Very interesting. When you have texts and stories that are thousands of years old, I find it fascinating to see how things have changed, which misinterpretations were proven wrong and which have stuck. It sheds quite a bit of light on how cultures and societies as a whole have evolved.
I’ll get to 2-10 after I post this – but one is correct only if you don’t think too much. If you tell your kid not to eat the cookies or the ice cream and he eats the ice cream, you kick him out of the kitchen because you don’t want him to eat your cookies, too. This is true. However, you wouldn’t have kicked him out if he didn’t eat the ice cream… so, yeah, you’re kicking him out for eating the ice cream.
Normally I wouldn’t post something like this out, but if you’re going to write a list of “ha! gotcha! you’ve been wrong all along” in order so appear clever – you should be, well, clever – not overly literal.
This may be the worst list I’ve read on here. You actually contradict yourself in point 1, make nitpicky points up and down the list, assume people don’t know Ben Franklin’s quotes, decide arbitrarily what drunk means, and dither about pre-enlightenment taxonomic usages that have been translated numerous times (whale vs. fish, since I doubt you’ll take the time to look up the big words since you didn’t even take the time to look up half your “facts”).
I was hoping to read something witty here. What a suckfest.
I’ve been following this list for over a year, and am fascinated that it’s still drawing traffic.
Jesus is my Lord and Saviour, and the Bible is the word of God. It’s important to read what it actually says, and God Himself is the one who can give us understanding. Some people seem to think God should have created a bunch of ‘robots’ that just did as they were programmed, but I think that the only way His *love* can be satisfied is in the way He has chosen to operate. “Aye, but thou, O man, who art thou that answerest again to God? Shall the thing formed say to him that has formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?” Romans 9:20
Ok, what? (and this is coming from an athiest) — Adam and Eve were not kicked out for eating from one tree, but to prevent them from eating from the other? Had they not eaten from the first tree they would not have been removed. They created the risk by eating from the tree. They were removed as a direct result of eating from the tree, you say so yourself in that paragraph. There is plenty of misconceptions and impossible inaccuracies in The Bible, are misguided semantics really necessary?
There weren’t three and they didn’t visit Jesus in a manger. The Bible gives neither the number of men….
So how do you know they WEREN’t 3 ?
Good answer, the correct answer is more than 2 and less than infinity. So I guess 3 is a plausible number.
9.. The Bible was written thousands of years ago. The classification of mammals-fish is recent, How do you expect them to know we wouldnt consider whales fish ?
Number 7 is wrong – the rapture is biblical! Check out 1 Thesselonians 4:17… “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds….”
The Greek word for “caught up” is harpazo, and it is used in this passage.
You are correct, I stated it so in my earlier comment.
What we differ on is whether the Rapture is
1) pre-tribulation
2) mid-tribulation
3) pre-wrath
4) partial
5) post-tribulation.
That’s for a whole new debate.
wow, so many of these are so far off it is not worth correcting.
This is a website I will never visit again. I don’t care what your so called source says the description horned comes as a mistranslation of a word similar in hebrew to horned. When you don’t have vowels it can get viery tricky. It just so happens that the same combination of ltters translates to radiant and horned. Now tell me which one seems more likely at a holy moment. Change your sources from Christian focused ones if you want to talk about “The Old Testament”
It seems to me that much like anything to do with the one true God people take things and distort them. We are called hypocrits because we fall short of the glory of God. We do not claim to be perfect. These innocent people Adam and Eve knew better than to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They spoke with God on a regular basis.
Excellent comments Corine.
# 7 THE RAPTURE: While the word ‘Rapture’ is not written in the scripture, the concept of being raptured (or removed, caught up, taken out) is. It is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
This is true but not in the way you mean it….I don’t believe, Heb 9:27-28
Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. NIV
2 Peter 3:10
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. NIV
You “rapture” people think we will then come & live on the earth for 1,000 yrs totally cutting these scriptures out of the text I guess.
Interesting list. I was suprised that you didn’t bring up Noah’s Ark. If Noah brought 2 of every animal then how did he sacrifice one of each as a offering when they were safe. Noah brought 7 of those that where considered clean and only 2 of the unclean which wouldn’t be used for sacrifice anyway.
I can’t believe you didn’t get Christmas as being Christ’s birthday! No where in scripture are we told this, told to celebrate it, in fact the shepherds would have had their herds out in spring not winter, when Jesus was born. This was a catholic/pagan holiday & can be found in any encyclopedia it’s origin. We are commanded to celebrate His death & ressurection as this is what saves us.
it is not spelled that way either…Revelation
For example, until 1993 there was no proof of the existence of King David or even of Israel as a nation prior to Solomon. Then in 1993 archeologists found proof of King David’s existence outside the Bible. At an ancient mound called Tel Dan, in the north of Israel, words carved into a chunk of basalt were translated as “House of David” and “King of Israel” proving that he was more than just a legend.
Then in 2005 Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar found King David’s palace relying on the Bible as one of her many tools. She says, “What is amazing about the Bible is that very often we see that it is very accurate and sometimes amazingly accurate.” (from Using the Bible As Her Guide http://www.thetrumpet.com/?q=8023.0.133.0 accessed March 1, 2011 )
In 1990 Frank Yurco, an Egyptologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, used hieroglyphic clues from a monolith known as the Merneptah Stele to identify figures in a Luxor wall relief as ancient Israelites. The stele itself, dated to 1207 B.C. celebrates a military victory by the Pharaoh Merneptah. “Israel is laid waste” it reads. This lets us know the Israelites were a separate people more than 3,000 years ago. (for more on the stele http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merneptah_Stele)
“Much of the Bible, in particular the historical books of the old testament, are as accurate historical documents as any that we have from antiquity and are in fact more accurate than many of the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, or Greek histories. These Biblical records can be and are used as are other ancient documents in archeological work. For the most part, historical events described took place and the peoples cited really existed. This is not to say that names of all peoples and places mentioned can be identified today, or that every event as reported in the historical books happened exactly as stated.” (you can write the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Washington DC for the full text.)
I referred your inquiries to our staff archeologist, Dr. George Stuart. He said that archaeologists do indeed find the Bible a valuable reference tool, and use it many times for geographical relationships, old names and relative chronologies. On the enclosed list, you will find many articles concerning discoveries verifying events discussed in the Bible.
~ National Geographic Society, Washington D.C.
R.D. Wilson who wrote “A Scientific Investigation of the Old Testament” pointed out that the names of 29 Kings from ten nations (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and more) are mentioned not only in the Bible but are also found on monuments of their own time. Every single name is transliterated in the Old Testament exactly as it appears on the archaeological artifact – syllable for syllable, consonant for consonant. The chronological order of the kings is correct.
There are a number of other ancient inscriptions that have provided valuable insights into biblical history from a non-biblical perspective. Among these are the Gezar Calendar, the Samaria Ostraca, the Siloam Inscription, the Lachish Letters, and numerous Phoenician and Aramaic inscriptions. (These can be examined in translation, with reference to the originals, in Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, ed. James B. Pritchard, 2nd ed., Princeton: Princeton University, 1955, pp. 320-24; 3rd ed., 1969, pp. 653-62.) Among the most important of these are the royal inscriptions of the Assyrian and Babylonian kings. We have inscriptions of the Assyrian kings Sargon II and Sennacherib describing their sieges of Samaria in 721 and Jerusalem in 701, respectively, as well as inscriptions relating the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar’s conquests of Jerusalem in the latter years of Judah’s existence before the exile. (See Pritchard, 2nd ed., pp. 284-88; 3rd ed., pp. 563-64.)
Finally let’s look at Jesus. What evidence do we have the he existed? The Roman historian Tacitus writing between 115-117 A.D. had this to say:
“They got their name from Christ, who was executed by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. That checked the pernicious superstition for a short time, but it broke out afresh-not only in Judea, where the plague first arose, but in Rome itself, where all the horrible and shameful things in the world collect and find a home.” From his Annals, xv. 44.
Here is a pagan historian, hostile to Christianity, who had access to records about what happened to Jesus Christ. Mention of Jesus can also be found in Jewish Rabbinical writings from what is known as the Tannaitic period, between 70-200 A.D. In Sanhedrin 43a it says:
“Jesus was hanged on Passover Eve. Forty days previously the herald had cried, ‘He is being led out for stoning, because he has practiced sorcery and led Israel astray and enticed them into apostasy. Whoever has anything to say in his defence, let him come and declare it.’ As nothing was brought forward in his defence, he was hanged on Passover Eve.”
That there is any mention of Jesus at all is unususal. As far as the Roman world was concerned, Jesus was a nobody who live in an insignificant province, sentenced to death by a minor procurator.
To conclude, there is plenty of historical proof that the Bible is historically accurate.
One example is the first event, the separation of light from darkness. This is an excellent description of an event astronomers refer to as the photon decoupling event. Prior to that event, say modern astronomers, the universe was opaque.
Light could not stream, helium atoms could not form. There was no material for building worlds, there was no light and darkness. After this event, light formed and streamed creating light and dark places in the universe.
Helium atoms could form and thus worlds were able to be formed. The photon decoupling event as described by astronomers matches Moses description of the separation of light from darkness.
What is interesting is the size of the moon in relationship to the earth. It is much larger in comparison to the earth than any other moon is compared to the planet it circles. Due to its size and composition, the Moon is sometimes classified as a terrestrial “planet” along with Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
Scientists still have not decided exactly how the moon came to be in orbit around the earth or even how it was formed. What is interesting to us, is that the moon is so large that it could easily destroy the earth. A shorter distance away and the moon would not circle the earth. If it were any closer, it would impact the earth creating massive destruction. Our moon is unique in the Universe and is precisely placed to accomplish it’s purpose.
This doesn’t even touch the other facts I can dig up in science that proves it !
Religious morons who have their heads up the Pope’s ass will hate this, but for sane people out there, this is a refreshing list. Your Adam and Eve point is the only one I’d argue with you on, but the rest is very well done – especially the Wise Men. Christmas was in fact invented to get pagans to convert, in true Catholic fashion.
No man knows all, but the only one that knows everything is God. Whatever people say may be right and may not,but to be more sure about anything in this world is by knowing God more, and you will see and know more things you never heard and seen before. God is the alpha and omega. Thanks
I reckon that if the Rapture was to happen, it would have happened years ago. It’s like ‘Beam me up Scotty”.
Did Jesus and his brother James have dreadlocks? The Bible states that Samson had 7 braids?
1. It depends on the bible ur reading or being ur basis,. And u di.Ck havnt red of the tree of life ‘will’ only be at the new jerusalem,genesis doesnt mention any kind of tree on eden,
after they eat the fruit did they become like God? . . No ass. Theyre just humans,they find themselves naked. .
Wine and alcohol,where does wine come from grapes,rice?What makes them stronger . . alcohol . .
There where tree wise man with tree gifts,ofcourse there where sheperds,bible doesnt state if jesus stayed for how long in the manger. .