The Rich Young Ruler (Matt. 19)

The rich young ruler asked Jesus: “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus answered, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:16-17).  But...wait!  Was Jesus really telling him that eternal life comes by obeying the Law of Moses?  It may sound that way at first.  But by the end of the conversation, Jesus was talking about discipleship: “Come follow me” (Matt. 19:21).  So then why does he tell the man to obey the commandments? A common interpretation is that Jesus points to the Law as a reminder of our inability to keep its commands.  But to this, the man responds: “I have kept all these things” (Matt. 19:20).  And Jesus never contradicts him. 

When Was Daniel’s 70th Week Fulfilled? (Q&A)

The following question is from one of our recent seminars on the Book of Revelation. The question assumes that the 70th week of Daniel 9:24-27 will take place in the future. This teaching is popular in conservative churches.  This is, however, a relatively recent teaching, first appearing the 19th century.  Before that, Christians taught that the 70th week of Daniel had already been fulfilled. And they had good evidence to back it up, as mentioned in the answer below. The original series of three questions and answers has been consolidated to make for easier reading.

Q:  I heard the teacher say that Daniel’s seventy sevens [the seventy weeks in Dan. 9:24-27] have been completed. Could you please clarify the following questions:

The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11

Who are the two witnesses of Revelation 11? They shoot fire from their mouths, they stop rain from falling, they turn water into blood, they even strike the earth with plagues (Rev. 11:5-6). But despite their great powers, the two witnesses are eventually killed by a horrible, beastly enemy, and lie dead and unburied for three and a half days (Rev. 11:7-9). Yet after the three and a half days, they raise from the dead and ascend into heaven (Rev. 11:11-12). This is gripping reading, but what does it mean? Who are the two witnesses?

The Sons of God in Genesis 6:2-4

One of the most puzzling passages in the Bible is Genesis 6:2-4.  It mentions the “sons of God” (the “sons of Elohim”) who took wives from the “daughters of man.” This happened just before the Flood of Noah.  Many sensational videos have been made recently to explain this strange event and the mysterious giants (the Nephilim) mentioned in these same verses.  But what do we actually know about these “sons of Elohim”? And what can we learn about them from other passages in the Bible?

What Will be our Language in Heaven? (Q&A)

Q:  Someone in our small group asked this question when we were going through Revelation, “What will be our language in heaven?” referencing Revelation 7:9-10:

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (ESV)

Will it be that we will be worshiping and singing to the Lord in our own language? And will we be communicating with our own languages yet understanding each other and never needing any translation? (I’m thinking of 1 Corinthians 13:12 on this.)

Could you enlighten me please? I want to know your thoughts. —Jean R.

Understanding Alfred Edersheim’s “The Law in Messianic Times”

What will happen to the Law of Moses in the time of the Messiah?  This was an open question in Jesus’ day.  And it still generates strong opinions today.  Does the Law of Moses have any legitimate place in the Christian Church?  What about for Messianic believers in Jesus?  And what about in the Messianic age to come?  You may think your church or Christian organization is exempt from such controversies.  But if your church teaches that Jesus did away with the Law of Moses, how does it explain continued obedience to the Ten Commandments?  This “moral law” as some call it is still nevertheless a part of the Law of Moses.  So is the Law of Moses in force today or not?

The famous Messianic scholar Alfred Edersheim laid out some important insights into these questions in the 14th appendix of his classic The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.  Unfortunately, his style of writing and the difficulty of tracking down his references cause many skip over this little gem.  So to make it more accessible, I’ve written a brief summary with explanatory comments, complete with internet links to his rabbinical references in English.  His original writing is also linked below.  (A few of the links require you to sign-in to archive.org and to “borrow” the book in order to read it.  The references that I can’t find at the indicated location are marked with a “?”.)

Edersheim may not answer all our questions.  But he helps us understand the background to this discussion among the Jewish people.  Hopefully, this short summary will make it easier to grasp his main points and to find many of his references.

Can We Command God? Isa. 45:11 (Q&A)

Q:  A classmate sent me an online poster titled “You Will Command Me” (Tetzavuni) and said we can command Jesus to do healing, not ask!  The poster has different translations of Isa. 45:11, including the original Hebrew.  Is this true?  How to explain the Hebrew here? –Ruth C.

NOTE:  The poster includes an English translation from the Darby Bible:  “Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask me of the things to come; concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me” (Isa. 45:11)

A:  It’s certainly true that many translate the end of this verse as “you command me concerning the works of my hands.” But meaning is derived from context, and so we need to look at the context to figure out what this means.   

The passage appears in the middle of a prophecy about Cyrus, the Persian ruler who defeated the Babylonians (in 539 BC).  God says that he will “subdue nations” before Cyrus, even though Cyrus doesn’t know the God of Israel:  “though you have not known me” (Isa. 45:1,4).  And why will God support Cyrus in this way?  In order to prove that “besides me there is no God” (Isa. 45:5-6).  Not only does the prophecy mention Cyrus by name, it also mentions that he will rebuild Jerusalem and let the Jewish exiles go free (Isa. 45:13).  These are tremendous miracles that actually happened more than a hundred years after Isaiah’s prophecy was given.