Answering Bible Contradictions: Part 4

Righteous live?
Ps.92:12: "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree."

Isa.57:1: "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart."

Pslams refers to David talking about the righteous in the end.

David is not talking in Isaiah and it refers to the wicked who condemn the righteous at the present time.

Acts 1:18: "Now this man (Judas) purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out."

Matt. 27:5-7: "And he (Judas) cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests...bought with them the potter's field."

Judas was a three time loser. As a weak, greedy man, he determines to join the disciples, hoping to make it big in Jesus' kingdom. When this vision falls apart, he decides to steal from the communal purse and finally betray Christ for a paltry sum. Even this act leaves him feeling empty and guilty. His final decisive move was to commit suicide by hanging himself. Even in this final act he fails! Perhaps the rope held long enough to kill him before breaking. Perhaps as he jumped the noose gave way immediately. Falling from a great height, Judas' mangled body is splattered down below.

Jesus' first sermon plain or mount?
Matt.5:1,2: "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying...."
Luke6:17,20: "And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people...came to hear him.. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said..."

Jesus was an itinerant preacher who no doubt gave this message many times as He traveled about. Paul was not a Christian at the time Jesus preached. Later, however, he specifically references Christ's message and then draws a distinction where he augments it (I Corinthians 7:12).

Jesus' last words
Matt.27:46,50: "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, eli, lama sabachthani?" that is to say, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" ...Jesus, when he cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost."
Luke23:46: "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, "Father, unto thy hands I commend my spirit:" and having said thus, he gave up the ghost."
John19:30: "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished:" and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."

You fail to understand that a gospel writer choosing not to record a given detail mentioned in another gospel is not necessarily a contradiction. If each gospel covered the exact same details, there would be no purpose to having four gospels!

Years of famine
II SAMUEL 24:13: So God came to David, and told him, and said unto him, shall SEVEN YEARS OF FAMINE come unto thee in thy land? or will thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue. thee?

I CHRONICLES 21:11: SO God came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee. Either THREE YEARS OF FAMINE or three months to be destryed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee;

Now first of all, from this scripture, all the way to David's choices of punishment for his sin before the Lord were:

1. Three years of famine

2. Three months to be destroyed before his enemies

3. Three days of pestilence in the land

In I Chronicles 21, these three choices are given to David. Notice, that the next two choices are parallel in II Samuel 24, but the first choice is different, both in the number of years mentioned and in the way the punishment is worded. The Lord there does not invite David to chose 3 years of famine, but rather asks, "...shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land?"

In 2 Samuel 21:1, it says,

"Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites."

Three years of famine had already occurred. Add to this the current year (the time which passed from II Samuel 21:1 to II Samuel 24:13), and then the three years of famine as recorded in 1 Chronicles 21:11, and you have seven years of famine. There is no contradiction.

Moved David to anger?
II SAMUEL 24: And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Isreal and Judah.

I CHRONICLES 21: And SATAN stood up against Isreal, and provoked David to number Israel.

God does not tempt any to do evil, but does permit Satan to tempt man. At times, when the Lord permits temptation to come upon an individual, He is described as doing what He has permitted to occur.

On account of the Lord's anger against Israel, He permitted Satan to tempt David, and Satan prevailed against him.

The GENEALOGY OF JESUS?
In two places in the New Testament the genealogy of Jesus son of Mary (PBUH) is mentioned. Matthew 1:6-16 and Luke 3:23-31. Each gives the ancestors of Joseph the CLAIMED husband of Mary and Step father of Jesus(PBUH). The first one starts from Abraham(verse 2) all the way down to Jesus. The second one from Jesus all the way back to Adam. The only common name to these two lists between David and Jesus is JOSEPH, How can this be true? and also How can Jesus have a genealogy when all Muslims and most Christians believe that Jesus had/has no father.

1. The two different genealogies of Jesus come from each of the parents: Joseph and Mary.

2. The writers of the New Testament describe Joseph as being the earthly father, but not the father who made Mary pregnant to have Him. Joseph was of the seed of David. He married Mary and they became the earthly parents of Jesus, but not the spiritual parents. Is there something wrong with this here? There is no contradiction.

3. Well, let's see. Maybe because they're all right? (Muslims, however, do not know the real Jesus.) Jesus never had a physical father, only an earthly one in name. Plus, Joseph had to be Mary's husband, otherwise everyone would think Mary got pregnant before she married, and that is very bad. Mary was also of the line of David, so we have no contradiction here.Jesus was born of the line of David (Mary). He had an earthly father, but only in name, not physically.

God be seen?
Exod. 24:9,10; Amos 9:1; Gen. 26:2; and John 14:9
God CAN be seen:
"And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my backparts." (Ex. 33:23)
"And the Lord spake to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend." (Ex. 33:11)
"For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." (Gen. 32:30)
God CANNOT be seen:
"No man hath seen God at any time." (John 1:18)
"And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me and live." (Ex. 33:20)
"Whom no man hath seen nor can see." (1 Tim. 6:16)

No man can see the Lord as He is. One scripture of yours states that He

"...alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen."

--I Timothy 6:16

When you read of someone in the Bible seeing the Lord, they have not seen Him in this unapproachable form.

For there to be a contradiction, you need to produce a passage which states that someone has approached the Lord's "...unapproachable light..." We find several times in Scripture the Lord appearing in various forms, such as -- a burning bush (Exodus 3); with the appearance of a man (Ezekiel 1:26); as the Angel of the Lord (Numbers 22:27; Judges 6:22); and through a cloud and pillar of fire (Numbers 14:14).

The only time it seems that a man came close to seeing the Lord in His unapproachable form is Moses in Exodus 33. The face to face meeting with the Lord in verse 11 is not with His "unapproachable light", for in verses 20-23, the Lord tells Moses he cannot see His face. Moses could not see while the glory of the Lord passed by.