What does Hebrews chapter 1 have to say about angels?

Angels, or literally messengers, are described throughout the Bible with three very consistent rules about them.
1. They are not physical beings. The can appear as such if it is appropriate, but they do their best work under cover.
2. They are not our masters or slaves. They serve God the same way we do, but in the capacity they were created to.
3. They are not Jesus. Angels worship Jesus. Angels don’t share God’s authority and status. Angels were created at a point in time.
Angels are amazing creatures, but they can’t hold a candle to the one who created us both. And it’s on Him our attention should be focused.


A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

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Question: If the gift of tongues can be a private prayer language to God, why is the gift of interpretation also necessary?

The gift of tongues is like any other spiritual gift. It’s given for a reason. It’s purpose is given in God’s word. And it’s source is God Himself. Tongues is no exception. However, before we discuss what tongues is, we have to clarify what it isn’t. The mental condition known as “Glossolalia” is where someone is whipped up into such a mental frenzy that they start spouting off random words without being aware of it. That is not or ever has been what the Bible calls the gift of Tongues. There are two separate kinds of uses for this spiritual gift that requires two different things in order for it to actually be Tongues as the Bible defines it. You are speaking with the intention to communicate in a language you don’t know. If it’s in prayer, Paul clarifies to the Corinthian church that an interpretation will always accompany it or it will serve no purpose. Likewise, when the gift of tongues was practiced outside the church to non-believers in the book of Acts, everyone listening understood the language as their own and understood every word. Either way, a legitimate use gift of tongues will always include an interpretation.



A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

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Question: How do we come to the conclusion that when the Bible mentions the “Angel of the LORD” it is referring to an appearance of God the Son before His incarnation?

The key to interpreting anything in the Bible is three-fold, pun intended. First, Context. Second, Consistency. And third, Clarity. When coming across passages that mention the Angel of the LORD, we need to examine the passage with these three principals in mind like we would in any work of writing. What do the verses leading up to and following the passage tell us about who is talking? Would interpreting the passage that way negatively affect other key truths in the Bible as a whole? Does the literal sense make sense? Let’s look at three examples to see this in practice.
In the book of Genesis chapter 22, we see the third verse mention God telling Abraham to offer his only beloved son on a specific mountain as a sacrifice. When the Angel of the Lord appears right before Abraham is about to obey God’s command, He stops the knife and repeats to Abraham the promise God made to Him in Genesis 12 as now official. And even more so, The Angel of the LORD tells Abraham that this is going to be the case because he obeyed His voice. Who told Abraham to offer his son again? The Angel of the LORD or God? It’s almost as if this passage is stating they are one in the same.
In the book of Judges, the soon-to-be mother of Sampson is praying to God for a child. This is noteworthy given the spiritual state Israel was in during this time in their history. The Angel of the Lord comes to her and her husband with a positive answer on one condition. The child they are to bring into this world is to keep the Nazarite Vow for his entire life. Then in reaction to this messenger, Judges chapter 13 and verse 22 states that they have seen God. No further encounters apart from the Angel of the LORD took place in the chapter, and if this claim was incorrect we have several examples in the book of Revelation where angels who were incorrectly treated as God take the time to immediately correct the person who is worshipping them. Since both Manoah and his wife both affirm this Angel of the LORD as God and aren’t corrected, could it be that they were in fact correct?
In the gospel according to Matthew, Jesus has physically incarnated as a human baby with his earthly parents. An Angel of the LORD appears to Joseph in a dream and warns him that Herod is going to try to kill the child. As per his instructions, they flee to Egypt until the tyrant’s death and escape a major tragedy predicted in the book of Jeremiah. The Angel of the LORD doesn’t make any claims about himself that are comparable to God, isn’t treated or regarded as God by Joseph, and obviously wasn’t Jesus Himself since He was now currently limiting Himself by adopting human nature.
Other examples can be given. The Commander of the Army of the LORD appears to Joshua and accepts worship. Daniel sees a vision of a Glorious Man, but the Angel who delivers the message clarifies that he is named Gabriel and not YHVH. The Angel that accompanied Moses and Israel through the Wilderness had God’s name in Him. Etc. The passages are plainly understood that when an Angel claims the sort of things only God could rightly claim, He’s either truly representing Himself as God or He’s no angel of God. Only someone with a prior agenda would try to spin the passages another way to dismiss what is plainly being said.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

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Is it true that Esther was betrothed to Mordecai rather than simply related to him as the Old Testament text says in English?

When someone claims that there is a major difference between the original Hebrew and the modern English translations, this is usually the best they have to offer when asked to give an example. There is no passage in scripture that couldn’t be understood in its proper context without an understanding of the original languages. With that said, the claim that Esther was bethrothed to Mordecai rather than simply adopted by him is an assumption made by the tradition that since Esther was orphaned, it would have been possible that Mordecai took him into his family through marriage. This however, is not a detail we are given or conclusion we’d come to from the text alone. It is nothing more than a deviation from the main point. The Amalekites continued to be a threat to Israel going all the way back to Exodus, and now they were going to be dealt with forever through Esther. Looking beyond the bible for rabbit trails that lead to shaky, if not outright false, conclusions are only going to end up wasting your time.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

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Follow Twitter: @ScottR4H

Follow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucsonWatch our Frequently Asked Questions on GodTube or YouTube.