Does the Bible allow women to Preach?

q    Does the Bible allow women to Preach?

aThis response goes much deeper than the initial question. The answer may be found in Genesis, where Yahweh says to Eve that Adam was to rule over her (Genesis 3:17). Yahweh from the Beginning established that the man was to be the head of the relationship. Many people feel that this command no longer applies in such an advanced and modern world, however, Yahweh’s commands do not change through time.

Regardless of time or culture, Yahweh’s Word rules supreme for all those that will seek it with a pure and honest heart. Yahweh’s regulations and standards for mankind do not change. His Word remains the same for all generations. Malachi says in Malachi 3:6that Yahweh changes not. Therefore, we must understand that Yahweh’s commands are perfect and do not change for any reason.

In 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Paul says that women are to remain silent within the assembly: “Women should remain silent in the assemblies. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the assembly” (NIV).

Paul says that women are not allowed to speak in the assembly. When a women has a question she is to ask her husband at home in private. In Paul’s letter to young Timothy he again makes it a point to mention that women are to obey their husbands and learn in quietness. “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent” (1 Timothy 2:11-12, NIV). Scripturally, a woman must never place her authority over a man’s.

In the following Old Testament passages we find that all priests were men: Exodus 28:1; Exodus 32:26-29; Leviticus 8:2;Numbers 8:16-26. Nowhere within the Old Testament do we find priestesses. In 1 Corinthians 12:29 the Apostle Paul lists the different offices within His body, and all are masculine positions: “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?” (NIV). Nowhere did Paul or anyone else ordain a woman to official offices in the Body of Messiah.

The women’s role may not be formally within the assembly, but the women also have responsibilities which greatly affects the assembly as a whole. In Titus Yahweh through His Apostle says that women are to be sober-minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, submissive to their husband. The mother also is responsible with the father to raise the children in Yahweh. She is to teach them how to love their fellow man, and Yahweh.

Any assembly or culture starts with the family, and the morals and ethics are built from there. If the family is strong the culture will be strong, if the family is weak the society will be weak. Women have a great role in accomplishing Yahweh’s truth, and without women no assembly or society would survive.

What does the Bible say about calling on psychics?

q    What does the Bible say about calling on psychics?

aWe are warned by Yahweh not to call on familiar spirits. Seeking to commune with any other spirit being besides Yahweh is strictly forbidden. Yahweh has commanded that all worship must go to Him. He is zealous for His people and will not allow them to commit idolatry in such wicked ways.

“And the soul that turns to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards, to play the harlot after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people” (Leviticus 20:6)

Dr. E.W. Bullinger in his Companion Bible says that these familiar spirits are evil spirits impersonating human beings. Ghosts are nothing more than evil spirits trying to confuse mankind. Yahweh says that when a person dies that their spirit returns to Him and all their thoughts perish in the grave. Our spirit is our life source that Yahweh has given to us.

Many people today consult psychics, fortunetellers, astrology and other such spiritualism hoping that they can obtain the answers to life, but they do not realize that they are actually calling on Satan’s spirit realm. Many who play with ouija boards are ignorant of the fact that they are involving themselves in the spirits of darkness.

Yahweh’s people are to be pure from all evil worship. We should not have any part of Satan or his evils. By going to such sources for guidance we are in effect denying Yahweh. Satan rebelled against Yahweh’s rule and authority and by our consulting with the evil spirit realm we are turning from Yahweh.

Satan has many tactics to deceive those that would be deceived. The Bible says that Satan can disquise himself into what looks good and right. “…For even Satan fashions himself into an angel of light. It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

Satan can deceive us if we allow it. That’s why Yahweh tells us through his Apostle Paul that we are to “prove all things.” The Bible says that we are to stay away from any type of sorcery or demonic activity. Obey Yahweh and listen to his voice, that you may live peaceably in His truth.

What do you think about military service and also participation in politics and civil juries?

q    What do you think about military service and also participation in politics and civil juries?

aSince we are “pilgrims in a foreign land” (Heb. 11:13), military service is incompatible with the Believer’s goals and objectives. This is also a lesson we find when Yahshua confronted Pilate in John 18:36, “Yahshua answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” The military also presents Sabbath and feast difficulties for the Believer.

For some of the same reasons we believe that our involvement in politics should be minimal and any service in juries should conform to Yahweh’s Word, including the need for two to three witnesses before conviction, especially in capital cases (Num. 35:30,Deut. 17:6).

Are you open to discussions about your doctrines?

q    Are you open to discussions about your doctrines?

aOur teachings are the result of more than 40 years of in-depth study. Our doctrines undergo a great deal of scrutiny and have withstood numerous tests over the years. Our Bible studies are open and we encourage questions. If new information is presented we would be more than happy to take a look at it. We have never shied away from truth no matter where it comes from. Every one of us is enjoined in 1Thessalonians 5:21 to “prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”

Is it true that fallen angels mated with women in Genesis 6:1-4 and the resultant offspring were giants?

q    Is it true that fallen angels mated with women in Genesis 6:1-4 and the resultant offspring were giants?

aGenesis 6 has given rise to many false doctrines that bear on such notions as people from outer space or Satanic beings having relations with women.

It reads in verses 1-2, “1: And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.”

“Sons of Elohim” is a euphemism in the Hebrew Scriptures for the righteous men of Yahweh. It is used in other places to mean those who worshiped Yahweh in truth. The erroneous idea that these are angelic beings comes from the Apocryphal book of Enoch. “Daughters of men” simply refers to carnal women who were the daughters of the unregenerate masses.

In this passage, Yahweh was disturbed that those who were of a righteous bloodline founded on the Covenant were marrying unconverted, sinful women. So in verse 3 He gives a judgment and shortens their promised life on earth.

“Giants” in verse 4 is the Hebrew nephilim and means mighty ones, meaning those who have fallen. It is the same word used inNumbers 13:33. The children born to this unrighteous union became men of renown (“giants” in man’s esteem), which Bullinger’s Companion Bible says were the heroes of Greek mythology. “Mighty men” is from the Hebrew gibbor and means the heroes of ancient cultures. They became men of “renown,” or men of a name, who got a name for themselves because of their unrighteousness.

Whoever they were, they were not produced by a union of Satan and women or his fallen angels and women. Angels do not procreate, Matthew 22:30.

See article: Sons of Elohim for a more in depth study on this subject

Does your ministry believe in the rapture?

q    Does your ministry believe in the rapture?

aWe do not believe in the rapture as is commonly taught. Scripture confirms that Yahshua’s coming will occur at the end of the Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:29-31), at which time we will meet Him in the clouds (1Thess. 4:17) as He returns to the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4). Once Yahshua returns His saints will dwell on earth (Rev. 5:10, 20:6).

john-nelson-darbyThe pre-tribulation rapture idea was first introduced by John Nelson Darby in 1827 and popularized by the Scofield Reference Bible (1909). Until that time the teaching of a rapture preceding the Second Coming of the Messiah was largely unknown.

One passage often used to support a rapture is Matthew 24, where the Messiah stated:

“But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left” (Matt 24:37-41).

This passage is not referring to a pre-tribulation rapture, but to the destruction that will follow the return of Yahshua the Messiah, the same kind of ultimate destruction that occurred in the days of Noah.

For an in-depth study on the rapture read our booklet: Is There a Coming Rapture?

Your live, online sermon today brought up the woman accused of adultery in John 8, but no one was there to accuse her. Go back to Numbers 5. The law was that if two people were caught in the physical act, both would be stoned. There has to be three witnesses and the husband has to be there at the temple with the witnesses to bring this charge. John 8:6 says, “And this they said, trying Him, so that they might accuse Him.

q    Your live, online sermon today brought up the woman accused of adultery in John 8, but no one was there to accuse her. Go back to Numbers 5. The law was that if two people were caught in the physical act, both would be stoned. There has to be three witnesses and the husband has to be there at the temple with the witnesses to bring this charge. John 8:6 says, “And this they said, trying Him, so that they might accuse Him.

aThe issue in the sermon was, is this passage even legitimate in the first place? It is missing in many manuscripts. The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary documents the many Greek and Aramaic manuscripts where this passage is missing, “It is wanting in the four oldest manuscript—the newly-discovered Codex Sinaiticus (‘Aleph (‘)), the Alexandrian Codex (A), the Codex Vaticanus (B), and the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (C) – and in four other valuable Uncial manuscript, although two of these have a blank space, as if something had been left out; it is wanting also in upwards of 50 Cursive manuscripts: of ancient versions, it is wanting in the venerable Peshito Syriac and its Philoxenian revision, in one and probably both the Egyptian versions—the Thebaic and Memphitic-the Gothic, probably the Armenian, and two or three copies of the Old Latin: several of the fathers take no notice of it—as Origen, Tertullian, Cyprian, Cyril, Chrysostom: it is wanting in the most ancient tables of the sectional contents of the Gospels, though afterward inserted as an additional section: the variations in the manuscript which insert it exceed in number and extent those in any other part of the New Testament: and of those manuscript which insert it, four Uncials and upwards of fifty Cursives have an asterisk or other critical mark attached to it, as subject to doubt or requiring investigation.

We see in the scripture the examples of where polygamy was allowed but got the man into a heap of trouble with Yahweh in the end, i.e. David, Solomon. Aside from these examples in scripture, can you tell me why polygamy is wrong today?

q    We see in the scripture the examples of where polygamy was allowed but got the man into a heap of trouble with Yahweh in the end, i.e. David, Solomon. Aside from these examples in scripture, can you tell me why polygamy is wrong today?

aIs polygamy found in the Word? Yes. Is polygamy what Yahweh intended when He created a man and woman for marriage? No. Is polygamy how Yahweh defines a family? No. Did Yahweh give Adam more than one wife? No. Did he ever tell Adam he could have more later? No.

Genesis 2:24 defines marital boundaries: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Notice the singular “wife,” not “wives.” Yahweh never intended a man to have more than one wife.

What Yahweh may have allowed in the Old Testament (because of man’s hard heart) Yahshua raised the bar on in the New. Yahshua said even to look on a woman with lust is committing adultery, Matthew 5:28. How can lusting after another woman be adultery if additional wives are allowed?

The following passages are meaningless if Yahweh approves of polygamy:

Matt. 19:9: “And I say unto you, Whoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery…” In Yahweh’s eyes the man is still married to the woman. But the sin of adultery is irrelevant if polygamy is sanctioned.

1Tim. 3:12: “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.”

Elders and deacons set the standard of behavior for the whole assembly. A key to that standard is one wife, a truth the next reference reinforces.

1Tim. 3:2: “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach.” The limit of one wife per man is Yahweh’s prerequisite for sacred office and anything less disqualifies a man from pastoral positions.

What is the Biblical definition of “Fornication”?

q    What is the Biblical definition of “Fornication”.

a

The word fornication is a blanket term for illicit sexual intercourse in all its various forms. Adultery is fornication in a married state (Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature). These are sins as defined in the seventh commandment (Ex. 20:14 and 1Cor. 6:18-20). Fornication comes from five separate words in the Bible, two from the Hebrew and three from the Greek (zanah, taznuwth, porneia, porneuo, ekporneuo). These words all share similar connotations. They can mean illicit sexual relations between two unmarried persons. They can also mean adultery, whoredom, or a spiritual act of unfaithfulness in worship of Yahweh, as Israel committed being the betrothed of Yahweh.

The first time the word fornication is used in the Old Testament is in 2Chronicles 21:11. It is from the Hebrew Zanah (No. 2181 in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary) and usually refers to prostitution. It is also defined in Strong’s as to commit adultery (usually of the female, and less often of simple fornication, rarely of involuntary ravishment); zanah is used most frequently to signify spiritual prostitution or idolatry in worship.

The Complete Word Study Old Testament offers a more precise definition of fornication than Strong’s. It notes on p. 2312 in its Lexical Aid, “To fornicate, commit fornication, be a harlot, play the harlot, commit adultery; to apostatize, have intercourse with false g-ds or foreigners; to seduce. The main idea is to commit illicit sexual intercourse, particularly with women. However, this strong image is used in a figurative sense to describe illegal contact between Israel and other nations and their g-ds…”

*The second word translated fornication in the English is found once, in Ezekiel 16:29. It is the Hebrew taznuth (No. 8457) and means harlotry, idolatry.

*The third word translated fornication is the Greek porneia (No. 4202) and is first used in Matthew 5:32. It is defined in Strong’s as “from 4203; harlotry (incl. adultery and incest); fig. Idolatry: – fornication.” Porneia is used 32 times in the New Testament. The word fornication in Matthew 5:32 is often taken to denote an act of adultery, however an in-depth study will prove this understanding false, and confirm the true usage of this Greek word “porneia” in this particular passage, which is fornication, pre-material sex (RSB note). The Scriptures consider the betrothal or engagement period a virtual marriage (note that Joseph wanted to divorce Mary even though they were only betrothed, Matt. 1:19).

*The Greek porneuo is the fourth word translated fornication. It means to act the harlot and indulge in unlawful lust of either sex, or to practice idolatry.

*The fifth word translated fornication is the Greek ekporneuo and means to be utterly unchaste and implies excessive indulgence in illicit sex (Jude 7). It is porneuo on steroids.

In the fifth chapter of 1Corinthians Paul admonishes the Corinthian assembly to remove the sin that they were allowing in the assembly. One of the sins listed by the Apostle was a gentile committing “fornication” with his father’s wife. Now this is not what we consider fornication, but more accurately signifies incest with his stepmother.

In summation, fornication in either the Hebrew or Greek can have a wide range of definitions. It can mean literal fornication, adultery, harlotry, incest, pedophilia, bestiality, or any other sexual restriction that Yahweh has placed on mankind.

I did not see any material about tithing and the tithe. If you have an opinion about what the “biblical” tithe is I would appreciate hearing what you believe the tithe actually is (I will say that I think it is much more difficult than most realize, but you may have figured it out.) I am not referring to the principle of tithing, but to the actual “tithe.”

q    I did not see any material about tithing and the tithe. If you have an opinion about what the “biblical” tithe is I would appreciate hearing what you believe the tithe actually is (I will say that I think it is much more difficult than most realize, but you may have figured it out.) I am not referring to the principle of tithing, but to the actual “tithe.”

aThe Biblical explanation of the tithe speaks of a tenth of one’s “increase.” We don’t get too nitpicky about all the variables a person can probe like whether an investment nixes or adjusts the percentages or whether an amount has already been tithed upon because of extenuating circumstances. There is no end to that kind of thing if one were trying to get out of paying the tithe. We view the tithe as a starting point on which one is free to add more. It is the willingness of the heart to do what Yahweh expects which is the overriding concern.

Read “The Poor Widows Challenge- A Lesson on Tithing” for in-depth study on this subject.