Confronting
Textual Conflicts
Part 1
Bible students
occasionally are troubled by Bible
passages that seem to be in conflict with
other verses. I believe this textual
conflict in the Bible is
deliberate, beneficial, and purposefully
frustrating. God uses these conflicts to
motivate sincere Bible students to keep
studying so they obtain a deeper
understanding of His Word. Since
God speaks the truth (John 17:17), there
must be a resolution for every conflict
in Scripture. Resolving these conflicts
may require much effort, but the ultimate
result is very rewarding for the serious
Bible student.
A textual conflict
forces a truth seeking
Christian to make a decision. This
Christian has to ask himself, Is it
academically honest to cherry pick
the Bible for verses that support my
position? Does it please God if I ignore
the texts that I cannot explain? Should I
reach a temporary conclusion based on the
weight of evidence as I understand it, or
should I leave my conclusion unanswered
until I can satisfactorily align
everything the Bible says about a
subject? Ultimately, is the
Christian willing to allow the Bible to
reveal conclusions that he does not want
to believe? If a Christian seeking the
truth accepts the popular premise that
the Bible contains conflicts (that is,
one passage cancels the content of
another passage), he is forced to admit
that it can be manipulated according to
bias, preconceptions, traditions, and
prejudice. This admission only makes
things worse, because ultimately, the
Bible cannot be trusted if it is
internally conflicted, has texts in
opposition to each other, and can
be made to say whatever someone wants it
to say. If the Bible cannot be trusted,
it has no value or authority.
On the other hand,
if a seeker of truth believes Gods
Word is consistent and truth is proven by
the harmony that comes from the sum of
all Bible texts on the subject, then he
has the assurance that the Holy Spirit
will provide a proper understanding in
due time. Experienced Bible students know
that apparent conflicts are
beneficial because they require deeper
study into Gods Word. Precious
stones generally do not lie on the
surface of the Earth, but instead must be
mined with substantial effort and
determination from deep within the Earth.
Mining Gods Word for hidden gems
can take much effort. Many Bible concepts
are easy to understand, but other
elements may not be as easy. Even though
textual conflicts can be frustrating,
resolving them can be exciting because
each discovery always proves to be a
glorious gem just waiting to be exposed.
For example, I was
puzzled for more than twenty-five years
why two Passovers feasts were observed
during the week of Christs
crucifixion. The gospels indicate that
Jesus and His disciples observed the
Feast of Passover in the upper room before
His death (Luke 22:15) and the nation of
Israel observed the Feast of Passover after
Jesus was crucified. (John 18:28) Knowing
that God had said it was a sin to observe
Passover at any other time than the
appointed time (Numbers 9:13) and that
Jesus never sinned (Hebrews 4:15). I
could not understand what led the nation
of Israel to sin by observing Passover at
the wrong time. My frustration
disappeared when I discovered that two
different calendars were used during the
time of Christ and these two calendars
are typically two days apart!*
Ironically, the discovery of two
calendars occurred while I was working on
another textual conflict. Sometimes,
solving one conflict can lead to
solutions for other conflicts!
*Note: For an explanation of this
matter, please see Chapter 6, Gods
Timing is Perfect, in my book,
Daniel, Unlocked for the Final Generation
or go here: http://www.wake.up.org/Daniel/Timing.pdf
The Difference
Between Bible Review and Bible Study
For many Christians,
Bible study actually means
Bible review. Although Bible
review is a very good thing to do, it
differs from Bible study because Bible
review is a limited process. When
a Bible student reads verses to affirm
ideas he already believes, it is Bible
review. True Bible study is an unlimited
quest for truth. Bible study means
to search the Bible with no restraint to
determine what Gods character,
love, plans, and will are all about. The
Christian involved in sincere Bible study
may pray fully begin his study by saying,
Lord Jesus, I do not care what Your
truth is or where it may lead, I just
want to know and love Your truth. As
you can see, Bible review (limited
review) varies significantly from true
Bible study (unlimited searching for the
truth).
Very few laymen
concern themselves with true Bible study
because trusting the experts
is easy to do. Each religious leader
enjoys a measure of religious authority
and/or leadership within his religious
body and rightly so. However, laymen
should be aware that clergy serve their
denominations as Defenders of the
Faith. Clergy do not want
social unrest in the church or
theological conflict. When they are
challenged on various topics, a clergyman
will uphold the traditions of his church
99% of the time. The Protestant
reformation ended more than a hundred
years ago, but it appears that Christian
leadership is returning to the Dark Ages.
It seems the majority of Protestantism
has embraced the medieval concept that
the church is to be exalted
because truth is owned by the church.
This means that Protestant clergy
primarily serve as keepers of the
church rather than shepherds
leading the flock toward greater light.
To prove my point, ask your clergyperson
to recount the last time new light came
from the Bible and the whole church
embraced it. I think many Protestant
pastors have sacrificed the importance of
unlimited Bible study on the Altar
of Unity.
It is true that
Christianity is much larger than ideas
derived from Bible study.
One does not have to travel the whole
world to realize that Christianity is a
mixture of cultural values, religious
ideas, and social interactions. When
these properties are combined, they
produce an enormous amount of inertia.
Wouldnt it be great if each
generation of Christians cleared its own
piece of virgin ground, dug its own
theological footers, and erected its own
theological structures instead of
occupying a paradigm built by previous
generations? When Bible study
is limited to Bible review,
church members go away with the idea that
Bible study is all about affirming and
unifying what is already known. No
student likes to study last years
text book. When Bible study is not fresh,
challenging, and transforming, people
lose interest because once the boundaries
are known; there is no point of
continuing more research. However,
seekers of truth have a very different
relationship with the Bible. They want to
see every facet of truth with their own
eyes and understand it with their minds.
They are weary of traditions because they
know there is Bible review and
there is Bible study. They hunger
for the fullness and beauty of Bible
truth. They also know that they are
pilgrims in this world and following the
leading of the Holy Spirit is not
optional. There is no other way to arrive
at truth by following the directives of
the Holy Spirit. (John 16:13)
Now that we have
reviewed these concepts about the nature
and importance of unlimited Bible study,
let us consider textual conflicts:
Heaven or Hell at
Death
Millions of
Christians believe that when a person
goes to Heaven or Hell at the time of
death. The Bible teaches something
different.* When a person dies, two
things happen. First, whether the dead
person was good or evil, the breath of
life (Hebrew: ruwach) returns to
God who gave it and second, his body
returns to dust. (Ecclesiastes 12:7) This
means when a person dies, he ceases to
exist. When Jesus came to Earth, He
declared that He would resurrect all dead
people. Those judged to be righteous will
be resurrected at the Second Coming (John
6: 40-44; 1Thessalonians 4: 13-18) and
those judged to be wicked will be
resurrected at the end of the thousand
years. (Revelation 20:5; John 5: 28, 29;
12: 48) Because space is not available
for a comprehensive study on death,
judgment, and two resurrections, these
four passages will have to suffice.
*Note: For more in-depth
discussion on this matter, please see
Chapter 13, What Happens at Death?
in my book, Jesus: The Alpha and The
Omega or go here: https://www.wake-up.org/who-is-jesus/jesus-alpha-omega-book/chapter-13-what-happens-at-death.html
For the
living know that they will die, but the
dead know nothing; they have no further
reward, and even the memory of them is
forgotten." (Ecclesiastes 9:5)
Do not be
amazed at this, for a time is coming when
all who are in their graves will hear his
voice and come out those who have
done good will rise to live, and those
who have done evil will rise to be
condemned. (John 5: 28, 29)
For my
Fathers will is that everyone who
looks to the Son and believes in him
shall have eternal life, and I will raise
him up at the last day. (John 6:40)
According
to the Lords own word, we tell you
that we who are still alive, who are left
till the coming of the Lord, will
certainly not precede those who have
fallen asleep. (1 Thessalonians 4:15)
If we allow the four
statements above (one by Solomon, two by
Jesus, and one by Paul) to mean that a
dead person ceases to exist, and there is
no intelligence while waiting for the
resurrection, we find what appears to be
a textual conflict with the book of
Philippians. Paul appears to support the
idea that upon his death, he would
immediately be with Christ. As you study
Pauls words below, keep two things
in mind. First, Paul was languishing in a
Roman prison when he wrote to the
believers in Philippi and second, years
earlier Paul had experienced the most
wonderful experience that a human being
can have. Paul was taken to Heaven in a
vision (2 Corinthians 12: 1-9), just like
John (Revelation 4: 1, 2). With these two
thoughts in mind, consider Pauls
words to the church at Philippi
[insertions mine]:
I eagerly expect and
hope that I will in no way be ashamed [of
Jesus and His gospel], but will have
sufficient courage [when I am
summoned before Caesar] so that now as
always Christ will be exalted in my body,
whether by life or by death. For to me,
to live is [to serve] Christ and
to die is gain [is desirable].
If I am to go on living in the
body, this will mean fruitful labor for
me [even in prison]. Yet what
shall I choose? I do now know! I am torn
between the two: I desire to depart [this
world and be free of sins curse] and
be with Christ [which I have already
experienced], which is better by far [than
my present circumstances]; but it is
more necessary for you that I remain in
the body. Convinced of this, I know that
I will remain [alive for as long as
the Lord wants]. And I will continue
with all of you [serving the Lord and
praying] for the progress and joy in
the faith, so that through my being with
you again [whether in person or in
letters] your joy in Christ Jesus will
overflow on account of me. (Philippians
1: 20-26, insertions mine)
Conflict
resolved: The apparent
conflict in Philippians comes from this
phrase which is often understood to mean:
I desire to depart [this
world] and be with Christ [immediately].
If this statement was the only
mention which Paul had written on the
topic of death, it would be reasonable to
say that Paul believed that he would be
with Christ at the time of death. But
Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1
Corinthians 15 where he clearly says that
the righteous dead and the righteous
living will be resurrected at the Second
Coming. Moreover, the righteous living
and the righteous dead will meet the Lord
together in the air when He
appears. Therefore, we can resolve this
conflict with this understanding of Pauls
thoughts: I desire to depart [this
world] and [to once again] be
with Christ [which will occur at the
resurrection of all His saints].
This understanding of Philippians 1:
20-26 aligns with the four statements by
Solomon, Jesus, and Paul and the conflict
is resolved.
Next month we will
examine additional conflicts from more
difficult passages.
Larry Wilson