That’s not in the Bible, but it is contained in some ancient texts. There is a tradition reported in the Martyrdom of Isaiah (a Christian text from around AD100 which expands on 2 Kings 21) that Isaiah was condemned to death by King Manasseh. Although he hid in a tree, he was found and the tree with [...]
Answers about Jewish beliefs
The Pharisees were a Jewish political party which began in about 140 BC after the Maccabean revolt. After the destruction of the temple in AD 70, the beliefs of the Pharisees became the basis for Rabbinic Judaism from which comes traditional Judaism today. The Pharisees were notable for their conflicts with the rival party of [...]
This question is about one of the most obscure references in the New Testament. Jude 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” To answer this question in every detail would require [...]
Return of an Unclean Spirit Matt.12:43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes [...]
This question refers to two verses: For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment. (2 Peter 2:4) And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, [...]
The following verse has perplexed many Bible readers. It is even the reason why the Mormon church has actually literally conducted baptismal rites for dead people (and in the process created genealogical databases of great use to people researching their family history). For other Christians the verse is simply an enigma… 1 Corinthians 15:29 Otherwise, what [...]
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14) This appears to be one of two references in 2 Corinthians to a Jewish myth circulating in the 1st Century. The original primary source “The Life of Adam and Eve” appears to have been written in Aramaic in the 1st Century [...]
Early Christians after the 1st century AD typically understood the devil/satan as a supernatural evil being, either a fallen angel or a demon. However, some early Jewish interpreters held a very different view. The famous 18th century Baptist commentator John Gill acknowledged that early Jewish teachers interpreted ‘satan’ as a reference to the natural inclination [...]
