Bible Studies

What is the true meaning of "I AM the Door" in John 10:9 "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." Sheep pens in Jesus' era were constructed with a single, narrow opening. This allowed the gatekeeper to control which animals got in or out. When allowed by the gatekeeper, shepherds could call to their flocks, who would respond only to the voice of their own shepherd. Jesus has used this well-known concept to explain His ministry to His religious critics. This verse continues the second of three analogies related to shepherding. Here, again, Jesus claims "I am the door." So far as this metaphor goes, Jesus mean…

Are Christians little gods? What is the “little gods” doctrine? Does the Bible really teach that humans are gods or that we can become like God? The “little gods” teaching is taught by various religious groups including Mormons ,the Word of Faith movement and also the New Age movement. For example Mormonism falsely teaches that the God of the Bible is a God among many other gods. They teach that faithful members of the church will eventually become gods and goddesses in the afterlife, be rulers of their own heavenly kingdoms and have spirit children. The Word of Faith movement teaches that because man was created “in the image of God”, then man is a “little god” who can s…

Micaiah was a common Hebrew name in the Bible. It means “Who is Like Yahweh?” Several people in the Old Testament bore the name Micaiah, the most prominent being Micaiah the prophet and son of Imlah. The account of Micaiah the prophet in 1 Kings 22:1–38 (and in the parallel passage, 2 Chronicles 18:1–27) calls attention to the conflict surrounding prophecy in ancient Israel. When Ahab ruled over Israel and Jehoshaphat over Judah, the two kings decided to come together to attack the city of Ramoth-Gilead to retake it from the Arameans. Before going to battle, they consulted with more than 400 royally appointed counselors of Israel. These were apostate prophets who had no r…

In prophesying an extremely dark period of punishment in Israel’s history, Isaiah sees even further forward to a future time of hope and deliverance. The prophet announces that the Lord will send a Redeemer, the promised Messiah, to usher in a new day: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). The prophecy reveals that the Messiah will be a human-born male child upon whose shoulders the government will rest. The Hebrew word translated as “government” in Isaiah 9:6 means “dominion, power, or sovereignty through legal…

Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) This title for Christ underlines how important it is to maintain the unity between the Old and New Testaments. Without the Old Testament, you would not have a clue what John means by the “Lamb of God.” Perhaps John was thinking of the prophecy of Isaiah where the suffering servant is compared to a lamb. In 53:7 we read, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter...” In his suffering, Christ remained as humble and as meek as a lamb. That’s what a lamb does: it follows the leader, the shepherd. And yet the element of submissiveness and hu…

The 11 Beliefs You Should Know about Jehovah’s Witnesses When They Knock at the Door 1. The divine name. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that God’s one true name—the name by which he must be identified—is Jehovah. Biblically, however, God is identified by many names, including: God (Hb. ‘elohim; Gen. 1:1), God Almighty (Hb. ‘El Shadday; Gen. 17:1), Lord (Hb. ‘Adonay; Ps. 8:1), and Lord of hosts (Hb. yhwh tseba’ot; 1 Sam. 1:3). In NT times, Jesus referred to God as “Father” (Gk. Patēr; Matt. 6:9), as did the apostles (1 Cor. 1:3). 2. The Trinity. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the Trinity is unbiblical because the word is not in the Bible and because the Bible emphasize…

Acts 2:38, “And Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” As with any single verse or passage, we discern what it teaches by first filtering it through what we know the Bible teaches on the subject at hand. In the case of baptism and salvation, the Bible is clear that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by works of any kind, including baptism (Ephesians 2:8-9). So, any interpretation which comes to the conclusion that baptism, or any other act, is necessary for salvation, is a faulty interpretation. Why, then, do some c…