WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT

  The kingdom of God is referenced often in the gospels (e.g.,  Mark 1:15 ;  10:15 ;  15:43 ;  Luke 17:20 ) and other places in the New Testament (e.g.,  Acts 28:31 ;  Romans 14:17 ;  1 Corinthians 15:50 ). The kingdom of God is synonymous with the  kingdom of heaven . The concept of the kingdom of God takes on various shades of meaning in different passages of Scripture. Broadly speaking, the kingdom of God is the rule of an eternal, sovereign God over all the universe. Several passages of Scripture show that God is the undeniable Monarch of all creation: “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” ( Psalm 103:19 ). And, as King Nebuchadnezzar declared, “His kingdom is an eternal kingdom” ( Daniel 4:3 ). Every authority that exists has been established by God ( Romans 13:1 ). So, in one sense, the kingdom of God incorporates everything that is. More narrowly, the kingdom of God is a spiritual rule over the...

  Judgment Day is the day of God’s final, ultimate judgment on sinful mankind. There are a number of passages in Scripture that refer to the  final judgment  after death at the end of time when everyone will stand before God and He will render final judgment on their lives. The Bible warns us of Judgment Day. Malachi the prophet wrote, “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them’” ( Malachi 4:1 ). John the Baptist spoke of the need to “flee from the coming wrath” ( Luke 3:7 ). Paul wrote to the unrepentant: “Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done’” ( Romans 2:5–6 ; cf.  Psalm 62:12 ). Judgment...

  Various theories on the location of hell have been put forward. A traditional view is that hell is in the center of the earth. Others propose that hell is located in outer space in a  black hole . In the Old Testament, the word translated “hell” is  Sheol ; in the New Testament, it’s  Hades  (meaning “unseen”) and  Gehenna  (“the Valley of Hinnom”).  Sheol  is also translated as “pit” and “grave.” Both  Sheol  and  Hades  refer to a temporary abode of the dead before judgment ( Psalm 9:17 ;  Revelation 1:18 ).  Gehenna  refers to an eternal state of punishment for the wicked dead ( Mark 9:43 ). The idea that hell is below us, perhaps in the center of the earth, comes from passages such as  Luke 10:15 : “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell” (KJV). Also, in  1 Samuel 28:13-15 , the medium of Endor sees the spirit of Samuel “coming up out of the earth.” We ...

  There are numerous examples of incest in the Bible. The most commonly thought-of examples are the sons/daughters of Adam and Eve ( Genesis 4 ), Abraham marrying his half-sister Sarah ( Genesis 20:12 ), Lot and his daughters ( Genesis 19 ), Moses’ father Amram who married his aunt Jochebed ( Exodus 6:20 ), and David’s son  Amnon  with his half-sister Tamar ( 2 Samuel 13 ). It is important to note, however, that in two of the above instances (Tamar and Lot), one of the parties involved was an unwilling participant in the incest—better described as rape in those cases. It is important to distinguish between incestuous relationships prior to God commanding against them ( Leviticus 18:6–18 ) and incest that occurred after God’s commands had been revealed. Until God commanded against it, it was not incest. It was just marrying a close relative. It is undeniable that God allowed “incest” in the early centuries of humanity. Since Adam and Eve were the only two human beings on e...

  Satan  is described in the Bible as an angelic enemy of God and, by extension, the enemy and opponent of those who follow God. Although everything God created was good ( Genesis 1:31 ), Satan chose to rebel against the Lord, and many other angels followed his rebellion ( Ezekiel 28:15 ;  Isaiah 14:12–17 ). Satan tempted Eve to sin in the Garden of Eden, and Adam followed her into sin, plunging the whole human race into a curse ( Genesis 3:16–19 ;  Romans 5:12 ). Pictured as a serpent and dragon in the Bible ( Genesis 3:1 ;  Revelation 12:9 ), Satan is a murderer and the father of lies. He promotes false doctrines and craftily seeks to keep unbelievers in spiritual bondage ( John 8:44 ;  2 Corinthians 4:4 ;  11:14 ;  1 Timothy 4:1 ). There are many things said in the Bible about Satan, but it is important to also establish what is not said about him. There are many misconceptions regarding the devil, including the following: • Satan is not a pers...