[Faith-talk] {Spam?} Baffling Bible Questions Answered for Monday, September 19, 2016

[Paul Smith]

Hello and greetings once again to my astute Bible students out there.  
Hope your day is going well, by God's matchless grace and His 
providential care.

As I did yesterday with a new member receiving my messages, so I will 
do here.  Scott, for the past several months now I've been presenting 
baffling Bible questions answered columns, beginning with Job, and now 
we're in Matthew, Part 3.  Don't know who wrote these columns 
originally, but he or she surely knows his/her Bible, in my opinion.  
We are now in Matthew, Part 3.  Each question begins with a verse, the 
question is given and the writer answers it.  So Scott and all, if 
you're ready, we begin with the latest column in Matthew.



Matthew 2:17

Question:  How many boys did Herod's soldiers actually kill? And what 
does the prophecy in Jeremiah have to do with the "slaughter of the innocents?"

Answer:  Archaeological surveys of the Bethlehem area suggest that its 
population was between 300 and 1,000 in the first century A.D.  Given 
the larger number, one would expect no more than 20 and more likely a 
dozen or so male children two years old and younger.  We are shocked by 
the brutality of the act, but the massacre is in fullest harmony with 
what is known of Herod's character and fierce defense of his throne.

The Jeremiah passage quoted is linked to this event.  Jeremiah 31:15 
portrays Rachel, the symbolic mother of the Jews, weeping as her 
descendants are torn from the Promised Land.  Yet that prophecy is 
found in a context of the hope that, despite the tears, God promises 
the exiles will return.  Now, despite the tears shed for the innocent 
victims of Herod's slaughter, their deaths underline the escape of the 
child Jesus, whose survival ultimately means restoration of humankind 
to a personal relationship with God.  As tears intermingled with joy in 
Jeremiah's time, so tears and joy intermingle in Bethlehem.  Each 
passage thus foreshadows salvation.



Matthew 3:2

Question:  Why did John preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is 
hnear?" What was the kingdom of heaven?

Answer:  The "Expository Dictionary of Bible Words" (Zondervan) points 
out that "in the OT (Old Testament), "kingdom" is best expressed by the 
idea of reign or sovereignty.  One's kingdom is the people or things 
over which he or she has authority or control." The Bible portrays 
God's kingdom (heaven's rule) in several ways.  On one hand, God is 
sovereign ruler of all creation, and the universe is His creation (ps. 
145:11-12; Dan. 4:3).  At the same time the prophets foresee a time 
when God's sovereignty is expressed in visible form here on earth.  
Daniel 2:44 says, "The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will 
never be destroyed." In the New Testament, another form of God's hidden 
kingdom is emphasized:  God rules in the hearts and lives of Jesus' 
followers, and He works out His will in them through circumstance and, 
at times, miracle.  Thus, Christians are rescued from the domain of 
darkness governed by Satan and brought "into the kingdom of the Son He 
loves" (Col. 1:13).

In what sense then John mean his announcement, "The kingdom of heaven 
is near?" It is certain that John's listeners thought at once of the 
earthly, political kingdom the prophets foretold.  But John's 
proclamation was intended to draw attention not to a particular form of 
the kingdom but to the presence of the King.  The kingdom was near 
because King Jesus was about to begin His public ministry.  The kingdom 
was near (available) for anyone who truly believed in Jesus as Messiah 
and Son of God.  By giving allegiance to the King, they could 
personally enter that realm where heaven rules.  In that sense, the 
kingdom of heaven is near to human beings today, as well.  All one 
needs to do is to bend his or her knee to the King.  By that simple act 
of faith, he or she will be transformed and become a citizen of the 
kingdom of our God.



Matthew 3:11

Question:  How many kinds of baptisms are mentioned in the New 
Testament? And how was John's baptism different from Christian baptism?

ANSWER:  This verse mentions three baptisms:  of water, of the Holy 
Spirit, and of fire.  So at least three baptisms are mentioned in the 
New Testament, and if we add Christian baptism, we have four.

John's water baptism was a symbol of repentance and commitment.  The 
Jew who accepted baptism from John confessed his sins and expressed his 
determination to live a righteous life.

The water baptism practiced by the early Christian church was also a 
symbolic act.  But rather than symbolize repentance, Christian baptism 
symbolizes the union of the believer with Jesus in His death, burial, 
and resurrection (see Rom. 6:1-4).

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is defined in 1 Corinthians 12:13 as 
that act by which the Spirit unites the believer to Jesus as a member 
of His body.  This spiritual union is the reality symbolized by 
Christian water baptism.

The baptism of fire referred to in Matthew 3:11 has been understood in 
two different ways.  Some take it as a reference to the fire that 
destroys the unrepentant (wheat and chaff, Matt. 3:12).  Others 
emphasize the many symbolic references to fire in the Old Testament as 
a purifying agent (Zech 13:9; Mal. 3:2-3).  In this view the Holy 
Spirit and fire are closely linked, reminding us that, when the Holy 
Spirit enters our lives, He not only joins us to Jesus but also begins 
a purifying and cleansing process.

And there, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of our 
heavenly King-Father and saints of the Most High God, is your Baffling 
Bible Questions Answered column for this week.  I hope that you 
received some worthwhile spiritual food that you can chew on.  Until 
next Monday when, Lord willing more of the same will be posted, may the 
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and 
collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian 
friend and brother, Paul