Bible Authenticity

Was Baby Jesus’ Life Threatened In Jerusalem – Contradiction?

March 18, 2025 BibleAuthenticity

Was baby Jesus’ life threatened in Jerusalem?
(a) Yes, so Joseph fled with him to Egypt and stayed there until Herod died (Matthew 2:13 23)
(b) No. The family fled nowhere. They calmly presented the child at the Jerusalem temple according to
the Jewish customs and returned to Galilee ( Luke 2:21-40)

The above is a claimed contradiction in the Bible accounts of Matthew and Luke. However, by combining the gospel accounts, we get a better picture of the events in Jesus’ life.

“Eight days later when the baby was circumcised , he was named Jesus . . . Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord”—Luke 2:21,22 NLT
In Luke’s account, Jesus’ parents took him to the Temple to be presented to God after he was circumcised on the 8th day after his birth. read more

Is The Law of Moses Useful Today? – Bible Contradiction?

March 17, 2025 BibleAuthenticity

Skeptics and critics have claimed that the Bible contradicts itself regarding the Law of Moses is useful for Christians today. Here is the alleged “contradiction”:

Is the Law of Moses useful?
(a) Yes. “All scripture is… profitable…” (2 Timothy 3:16)
(b) No. “ . . . A former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness… “(Hebrews
7:18)

This is a case of the scriptures being taken out of context.

The Old Mosaic Law Covenant was”set aside”, because it was “canceled” (Ephesians 2:14 NLT) since it could not permanently remove sin. “The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, but not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they never were able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship” (Hebrews 10:1 NLT). read more

Judas’ Death and The Field of Blood – Contradictions?

March 17, 2025 BibleAuthenticity

Skeptics and critics often assert that the Bible contradicts itself about the details of Judas’ death and the “Field 0f Blood” (Matthew 27:8; Acts 1:19). Let’s first get some background information from the scriptures.

THE FIELD OF BLOOD

The field, known as the “Field of Blood”, or Akeldama, is traditionally located in the Hinnom Valley near Jerusalem. This purchase is indirectly attributed to Judas, as the chief priests used the returned silver to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners (Matthew 27:6-8). This act fulfills the prophecy found in Zechariah 11:12-13, which speaks of the thirty pieces of silver and the potter’s field. read more

Who Heard Jesus’ Voice On The Damascus Road?

March 17, 2025 BibleAuthenticity

Is the Bible reliable? — Who heard Jesus’ voice on the Damascus road?

What Are Sheol, Gehenna and Hades?

March 7, 2025 BibleAuthenticity

Gehinnom Valley of Hinnom

A photo of Gehenna at Jerusalem Many Bibles render the Hebrew words Sheol, Gehenna and Hades as “Hell”. What are the accurate translations? The following is an actual discussion about this issue.

BA: “Hell” translates the Greek word “hades”, not “Gehenna”. According to the Bible, Hell (Hades) is the symbolic place of the dead who will likely be resurrected.

“My life drew near to Hades . . . I became like a helpless person, free among corpses, like casualties lying asleep in a grave” (Psalm 87[88]:4,5 [3,4]. Death is like sleep from which one does not wake up, unless one is later resurrected.

“The dead no longer know anything”—Ecclesiastes 9:5 NAB

“Those who contend with you shall be as nothing and will perish . . . Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent”—Isaiah 41:11,12 LSB; NASB read more

Should Modern Christians Speak In “Tongues”?

February 22, 2025 BibleAuthenticity

Speaking in Tongues - Fort Worth Christian Counseling

Millions of people around the world claim to have the “gift of tongues”, and to be able to “speak in tongues”. That the Bible speaks of such a gift is beyond dispute. The New Testament books of Acts and 1 Corinthians contain historical and doctrinal information relating to this gift of the spirit. What about today? Is the miraculous gift of “speaking in tongues” still happening today?

“TONGUES” IN THE EARLY CHURCH

What Were They?

First of all, let’s consider what “speaking in tongues” was in the 1st century. When miraculous “tongues” were first spoken, “there were devout Jews from every nation” present in the crowd, and although “all these people who [were] speaking [were] Galileans . . . each [person in the crowd heard] them in his own native language” (Acts 2:4-8 NAB). In attendance at that gathering of Jews from all around the Roman Empire were people from about 15 diverse areas, who were native speakers of about that many different languages, hearing Galilean Jews “speak different languages as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves” (Acts 2:4 NJB). These speakers were empowered by the holy Spirit to miraculously speak foreign languages that they did not know. And yet, each person in the crowd heard “them preaching in [their] own native language about the marvels of God” (Acts 2:11 NJB). read more

Could Jonah Have Been Swallowed By A Whale?

February 19, 2025 BibleAuthenticity

According to the biblical narrative, Jonah was swallowed by a “great fish” (Jonah 1:17 ESV), and spent three days and three nights in its belly before being spat out, unharmed. However, skeptics have long dismissed the tale as fantastical, citing physiological impossibilities. Could Jonah have been swallowed by a whale, or a “great fish”? A very modern event reminds us not to be too quick to dismiss Biblical accounts as fictional. The BBC reports: =&0=&

Does Philippians 2:6 Say That Jesus Is Equal To God?

February 15, 2025 BibleAuthenticity

(ESV) “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped, / Or a thing to be held on to for advantage” but emptied himself,

(NIV) “Who, being in very natureGod, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;” rather, he made himself nothing,

(NLV) “Jesus has always been as God is. But He did not hold to His rights as God.” He put aside everything that belonged to Him, read more

The Spanish Inquisition Type of Atrocities Foretold In Bible

February 4, 2025 BibleAuthenticity

An auto-da-fé, an important ritual of the Spanish Inquisition, being performed in Madrid, Spain in 1680. | Wikimedia Commons

The horrible persecutions of the Spanish Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church officially began February 6,1481. These types of atrocities by “Christians” were actually foretold and warned about in the Bible.

“The time will come when those who kill you will think that by doing this they are serving God.”—John 16:2 GNB

The following article, “The First Spanish Inquisition of February 6, 1481”, appeared in The Christian Post on February 2, 2025:

“This week marks the anniversary of when the first ever auto-da-fé, a ceremony of the Spanish Inquisition in which heretics confess their crimes before being punished, took place in Sevilla. read more

Does Forgiving Sins Mean Jesus Is God?

February 2, 2025 BibleAuthenticity

Nigel W.D. Mumford - Jesus heals the paralytic lowered down ...

Many Christians have been taught and believe that Jesus Christ is Almighty God because he actually forgave sins while he was on earth. Does forgiving sins mean that Jesus is God? Let’s analyze the scriptures objectively, and see for ourselves.

Mark 2:5-7 – “When Jesus saw their faith, he saw to the paralytic, ‘Child, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, ‘ Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?” (NAB). Does this assertion by Jesus’ enemies that, ‘only God can forgive sins’, mean that Jesus is God? Notice next what term Jesus uses to describe himself: read more