Date: 12/11/2024
Questions
Before Jesus- where did people who died go? Especially Gentiles. Did they all go to hell because the Gospel wasn’t “for them” yet? -6 grade youth
- Those who had faith in God’s promised Messiah (who hadn’t yet come; who is Jesus), went to be in God’s presence when they died (heaven; paradise). Those who did not have faith in God’s promised Messiah to come went to a place called Sheol (hell) when they died.
- We do see that there were Gentiles who believed (Rahab, Ruth, as examples). In the New Testament, there were Gentiles who were called God-fearers as well.
When did say incest was wrong? After creation, didn’t men start marrying their sisters because God wanted them to fill the earth? – 6 grade youth // How did Adam and Eve’s kids have other people to marry if they were the 1st family?
- Obviously, the first few families didn’t have options other than to marry within their own family.
- As far as when incest became wrong, Leviticus 18 prohibits incest as do other passages in Leviticus as well as Deuteronomy.
When did the dinosaurs die out in relation to Adam and Eve? Were there dinosaurs on the ark?
- Christians disagree on this as there isn’t explicit evidence in the Bible on the death of dinosaurs. Some Christians believe they were on the ark with Noah and others believe that they had died out long before the flood.
Is God still creating universes? Is that why there are an endless amount of universes today? – Malia
- From the one science class I took during my doctoral studies, I believe that the universe is expanding, but I don’t know anything about new universes being created. Science isn’t my area of study.
Why did God create us so that we would sin and disobey him in Eden? – Malia // Why did God make the tree in the garden of Eden?
- God didn’t create us so that we would sin, he created us with the choice to obey or disobey. That’s called freedom. And for love to be part of our relationship with God, the choice to obey or disobey him was given to Adam and Eve.
Where is heaven now?
- Heaven is where God is.
Where is hell? Are there people in hell?
- Hell is where God isn’t. Yes, people are in hell right now.
What does it mean about eternal life?
- It means you will live forever. As will all people: either in heaven or hell.
- In the Bible, eternal life means life with God forever. And eternal death means life without God forever.
Why did Satan choose to make bad choices? // Did Jesus and the devil fight when Jesus died?
- The Bible doesn’t give us a clear answer as to why Satan disobeyed and rebelled against God. It just tells us that he did.
- Though I like the idea of Jesus and the Devil putting on boxing gloves and giving it a go, Jesus and the Devil did not fight after Jesus died.
How could Paul love God but hate Jesus before he was saved, since God and Jesus are 1?
- What Paul would say is that he didn’t love the real God. The god he believed in — before believing in Jesus — was not the true God. Even though he was a practicing Jew — and sincerely believed that he worshiped the One true God — in rejecting Jesus — he showed he wasn’t worshiping the One true God after all.
Were angels always there?
- Angels are creatures. And, in being creatures and like all creatures, they are not eternal. They were created.
How was God a thing? How did God begin?
- God has no beginning (or end). He has no Creator — he is the Creator. He’s always existed. That’s what it means for him to be God.