Did Paul Change His Name? (Q&A)

The Harbor at Paphos, Cyprus

Someone asked me recently about an article posted on Messiah’s Mandate.org, “Why Did Paul Change His Name?” (http://messiahsmandate.org/why-did-paul-change-his-name/).  The point of the article is to challenge the idea that Saul’s name change to Paul was a rejection of his Jewish identity, which is how many Christians understand it.  As the article correctly states, the idea that Paul would reject his Jewish identity to follow the Jewish Messiah makes no sense at all.  It’s the result of hundreds of years of anti-Jewish thinking in the Church.

But the fact remains that in the earliest accounts of his life, this famous apostle is called Saul, while in the later accounts he’s called Paul.  Why the change?

What is the “Dead Body” where the Vultures Gather? (Luke 17:37)

Birds of Prey in Israel

“Where the dead body is, there also the vultures will be gathered together” (Luke 17:37, also Matt. 24:28).

Have you ever wondered what this verse means?  The picture it paints is familiar from old Western movies:  vultures circling in the sky over a dead body that slowly descend to feed on it.  Yes, vultures do gather around a dead body.  But Jesus mentions this at the end of some teaching about the time of his return (Luke 17:22-37; also in Matt. 24:23-28).  A dead body and vultures don’t seem to fit the subject.  Even the disciples had trouble following him.  The full verse says (in Greek), “And answering, they said to him, ‘Where, Lord?’  But he said to them, ‘Where the dead body is…’” (Luke 17:37).  They were expecting an answer to their question.  But instead he mentioned a dead body and vultures.  

The Millennium and the Pit in Isaiah 24

The Millennium doctrine of Revelation 20 seems strange to many Christians because a specifically one thousand year future period is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.  Yet a future time in which the Messiah will rule on this earth is a common prophetic theme.  It’s only the length of this period of time that isn’t mentioned elsewhere.  But the prophets foretold not only the coming reign of the Messiah.  They also mentioned other details of the Millennium teaching long before the time of the New Testament.

A Generation of Generations

There are many beautiful expressions in the Bible that slip by translators for one reason or another.  One of these is the phrase “a generation of generations” (dor dorim).  Most translate it “through all generations” or something similar.  This does capture the idea in a general sort of way.  But as Jesus taught, in God’s Word even the smallest letter and stroke of the pen is important (Matt. 5:18).  In fact, this simple expression captures an amazingly beautiful insight into the resurrection:  that the final generation of mankind will be a single generation made up of many generations.

Baptism for the Dead? (Q&A)

An early Christian baptistery in the shape of a cross.

“Else what will those being baptized for the dead do?  If in fact the dead are not raised, why indeed are they being baptized for them?” (1 Cor. 15:29)

Q:  I noticed that this verse says something about baptizing for the dead. What does that mean? –Tammie H.

A:  The short answer is that nobody knows for sure.  The long answer is that they were probably being baptized for believers who had died before they were baptized.*  

Hell, Hades, and Gehenna: A List of Verses

Confused about hell?  It’s no wonder.  Most English translations, and many other languages, use one word, "hell," to translate the names of two radically different places: Hades and Gehenna.  They couldn’t be more different:  one is spiritual, the other physical; one is temporary, the other eternal.  So how can we get these two straightened out?  We’ll start with a short description of each one, and then list all the verses where they appear, so you’ll know exactly what the Bible is talking about.

Jesse Tree/Advent Calendar Bible Verses

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, or whether you celebrate Jesus’ birth in December or not, it’s good to occasionally look back at the birth of Yeshua (Jesus) and be reminded of what an awesome event it was.*  More than just a cute baby born in Bethlehem, he was the Messianic Son of David, the fulfillment of prophecies stretching back through the ages to the Creation itself. 

* December 25th first became the date for the celebration of Jesus’ birth in the 4th century.  Before this, January 6th was the date of celebration.  The connection between December 25th and January 6th is still marked by the festal period known as the Twelve Days of Christmas.  The New Testament itself doesn’t mention the date of Jesus’ birth.  

Beginning in the Middle Ages (10th cent.), Christian art expressed the anticipation of Jesus’ coming with the Jesse Tree.  This was a symbolic tree or vine that represented the prophecy in Isaiah 11:1 that the Messiah would be “a branch…from the stump of Jesse.”  The spreading branches represented Jesse’s descendants, the ancestors of Jesus listed in the genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3.  The prophets that prophesied his coming were also often shown, as in the illuminated manuscript shown here.  (For more pictures, see the Wikipedia article Jesse Tree).* 

* This led to the idea of representing one’s ancestry as a tree, resulting in the idea of a family tree.

In recent years, the tradition has started of putting up a Jesse Tree in the weeks before Christmas and hanging on it symbols of Jesus’ ancestors and the prophets that prophesied his birth.  This is usually done during the month of December, with a new symbol being added each day accompanied by a Scripture reading.  This is an improvement over many Advent calendars because it includes the prophecies and events all through the Bible that point to Jesus’ birth.  This makes it more clear to children and others why this birth is so extremely important.