The overwhelming majority of those who call themselves Christians recognize that they cannot follow everything that is commanded within the Bible. Though there exists a very small percentage of confused “Christians” who claim that they follow the entirety of what the sixty-six books of the Bible instructs, one would be hard pressed to state that they brought an unblemished sheep down to their local temple last Sabbath in order to offer a sacrifice unto God.
As a Christian, I stand as a believer who has been forgiven[1], reconciled[2], and justified[3]. While seeking to understand one’s position in Christ, however, we must ask a question – is forgiveness from God conditional or does the person whom Christ shed His blood for stand assured of their forgiveness? Let’s compare a couple of verses in order to identify an answer:
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. [Matthew 6:14-15]
versus
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. [Ephesians 4:32]
The fact of the matter is that within the Bible there are contradictions. There are no mistakes or errors within the Bible, but there are certainly contradictions. When the average Christian stumbles upon what appears to be a contradiction within their Bible, their tendency is to ignore it, to make it go away somehow, or at best, to hope to find or hear an answer in the future as to why it is that a particular verse or passage does not make sense to them at that moment. The last thing they want to do is to admit that there is a contradiction facing them within the verse that they are reading.
To say that there are contradictions within the Bible is to cause people to think that there is an infringement upon God’s character being suggested. To state that there are contradictions within the Bible appears, at first glance, to be an attack upon the Word of God. Atheists have gone to great lengths to point out errors, mistakes, and contradictions within the Bible and in fact, have produced works such as “The Skeptic’s Bible” in an attempt to prove that the Bible is wrong and cannot be trusted. Let’s be clear, there are no errors and there are no mistakes within the Bible and the contradictions that can be found within the Bible are easily resolved through Right Division. Let’s look at some additional examples of contradictions within Scripture:
Is a person saved by grace or do they have to do something in order to be saved?
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. [Ephesians 2:8-9]
versus
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. [Matthew 10:22]
Was Christ’s blood shed for many or for all?
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. [Matthew 20:28]
versus
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. [1 Timothy 2:5-6]
If there is one gospel message within Scripture, why hasn’t the end come yet?
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. [Matthew 24:14]
versus
If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; [Colossians 1:23]
Are the sins of a Christian, living under grace, atoned for currently or are they waiting for that atonement?
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. [Romans 5:11]
versus
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; [1 Peter 1:13]
If the apostle Paul provides a very serious warning in Galatians, chapter 1, concerning following any other gospel than the one he preached[4], including one provided by an angel from heaven –
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. [Galatians 1:6-9]
– how can one possibly tell you that the content of the gospel that an angel preaches in Revelation 14 is the same as Paul’s gospel:
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. [Revelation 14:6-7]
Skeptics of the Bible have a field day with passages such as these and can, as the Bible puts it, shipwreck the faith of those who don’t understand the Bible. That said, when dealing with an agnostic or an atheist, the first thing we need to understand is that nine times out of ten, we are dealing with someone who has not read the entirety of the Bible. Because of that, their tendency is to believe that everything written in the Bible is to be applied to the professing Christian of today. That’s why you will hear questions such as “do you trim the corners of your beard,” or “do you wear mixed fabrics,” and “do you eat shellfish?” Those who have not actually read the Bible naturally think that every page of the Bible is to be followed and obeyed by the professing Christian. That simply is not the case[5].
The studied Christian realizes that it is impossible to obey everything that is stated within the Bible. The fact of the matter is that God reveals His instructions to different people at different times, in different places, for different means and thus, the obligation is upon the individual Christian to study their Bible in the correct context in order to know what God would have them to do and obey during the time in history in which they live. That is what Dispensational Bible Study attempts to accomplish and that is why a future post will be devoted entirely towards defining what “Dispensationalism” actually means. Realize for now that there is a tremendous amount of confusion and false teaching surrounding the subject of Dispensationalism.
Dispensational Bible Study asks the question, “what would God have me do?” If, when approaching the Bible, you ask that question, you will quickly identify that the Bible provides many different answers to what it is that God actually tells people to do. Contradictory instructions exist within the Bible and thus, the student of the Bible is eventually forced to pick which instructions he or she is going to follow. Let’s look at some additional examples:
If Jesus instructed His followers to sell all their possessions and to follow Him –
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. [Matthew 19:21]
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. [Mark 10:21]
And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. [Acts 2:44-45]
– why do we read in the chapters immediately following these verses that those following Jesus owned possessions such as houses?
Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ. [Romans 16:5]
The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. [1 Corinthians 16:19]
Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. [Colossians 4:15]
Must a person keep God’s commandments in order to have eternal life?
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. [Matthew 19:16-17]
versus
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. [Acts 16:31]
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. [Ephesians 2:8-9]
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: [Romans 3:24]
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray (commonly, but errantly, referred to as the Lord’s Prayer), why did He not instruct them to give thanks and to pray in His name while doing so?
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. [Matthew 6:9-13]
versus
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; [Ephesians 5:20]
If Proverbs 6 provides us wisdom and instructs us not to be sluggards, but to work for our food –
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. [Proverbs 6:6-8]
– why did Jesus instruct his disciples not to worry about what they would eat –
And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? [Luke 12:22-24]
– and the apostle Paul later instructs the church at Thessalonica:
For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. [2 Thessalonians 3:10]
We see different instructions within these verses. Obviously the context has changed within my last example – you cannot be both the ant and the raven at the same time. A question remains, however – which instruction are you going to obey? In Proverbs 6, the ant stores food. In Luke 12, the disciples (a disciple being a “follower”of Jesus Christ) are instructed by the Lord not to worry about food and that obviously includes not storing it away. The answer to this supposed contradiction comes by way of rightly dividing Scripture. Within Luke 12, Jesus is preaching the Kingdom and the context is different from both Proverbs 6 and what Paul instructs in 2 Thessalonians 3. Proverbs 6 is found within the Old Testament where the promised kingdom was not yet coming. In Luke 12, Jesus is preparing His disciples to go into a prophesied kingdom in which food would be provided to them. If the disciples are going to be provided manna from heaven, as the nation of Israel was in the wilderness, then they don’t have any need for packing up bread and taking it with them. Jesus is preaching “follow me into the kingdom” and the disciples are asking “what about food?” Jesus’ answer is “don’t worry about that, it will be provided.” After the nation of Israel rejected Jesus, their Messiah, the kingdom “program” was put on hold, the Church was birthed, and the apostle Paul was specifically chosen to provide instruction to the new entity known as the Church, the body of Christ[6]. Paul instructs that during the dispensation of grace, if you don’t work, you don’t eat. It is not your instruction today to be like the ravens, who don’t work, yet do eat. There are contradictory instructions being provided here within Scripture and recognizing and admitting that fact will lead you to an understanding of the Bible rightly divided.
It is not overly-simplistic to state that God tells person A to do this and God tells person B to do that. The student of the Bible must identify what it is that God is telling them and thus the need to rightly divide the Bible. Confusion sets in when denominations and/or individual churches, not knowing how to rightly divide, choose certain verses from the Old Testament, the four Gospels, the Pauline epistles, and the remainder of what is called the New Testament, as if it is all instruction for the Christian to follow today. Most churches mix verses together from different parts of the Bible and they pick and choose verses in order to emphasize a particular point, a particular theme, or to make a particular message more impactful to its hearer. The student of the Bible must ask, “why do they pick the verses that they pick,” and “how do they pick the verses that they pick?”
To state that there are contradictions within the Bible and that there are different instructions for different people at different times is not to suggest that God changes His attributes in any way. God never changes:
For I am the LORD, I change not; [Malachi 3:6 a]
The writer of Hebrews also tells us:
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. [Hebrews 13:8]
God never changes His character. He is always merciful, He is always loving, He is always the judge, He is always righteous. God never changes, but yet there are instructions that God gives that do change. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but God does change His instructions during different times, epochs, and ages. A change in instructions should not be viewed as a change in God’s attributes. When the Bible tells us that God never changes, it is talking about His character, His attributes, and His nature. God can’t stop being God… Knowing that, what is the student of the Bible to do with a verse such as the following:
And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. [Exodus 32:14]
The verse above states that the Lord repented of the evil, or the calamity, which He thought to do to His people. This verse tells us that the Lord repented. When asked, “what must one do to be saved,” isn’t a common answer to that question “repent and trust in Jesus”? Is it not common for most fundamentalist Christian preachers to tell their listeners that they are sinners, that they need to stop sinning, and that they need to turn away from their sins? If one is to make “repent” the act of turning from their sins, they’ve got a theological problem with God here in this verse. We know that God cannot sin[7] and thus we must recognize that the word “repent” means a change of mind. Within Exodus 32:14, this word “repent” is being used pertaining to God, who has no sin, changing His mind about the evil that He thought to do unto His people, Israel. I’m using this example primarily to demonstrate that God changed His mind. God never changes His character. God never changes His nature. God does change His mind about what He is going to do and with that, God has given different instructions over the course of human history to different groups of people for them to follow.
Within the Old Testament, we see many examples of this. God makes covenants with His chosen nation, Israel, and in the case of the Mosaic Covenant, conditions exist in which God states, “if you do this, I will bless you, but if you do that, I will curse you.” When God prepares to punish Israel for their disobedience, we often see Moses appealing to God for mercy while the nation offers sacrifices for forgiveness. Similarly, we’ve all read about the prophet Jonah being sent to the city of Nineveh and the people of Nineveh repenting and God sparing them[8]. Thus we read that God changes His mind about things, while not changing His nature. God also changes His instructions within His Word and this indicates a change as to how God is dealing with humanity during a certain time within history. That is a brief understanding of what Dispensationalism is – it is how God deals with humanity during the course of time and it is how He expects humanity to respond to those changes.
The Bible was written during the course of over 1,500 years by no less than 40 different authors and the span of its contents goes from the beginning of Creation to what it calls the fulness of times. With a seven thousand year history being represented within the pages of Scripture, there is a change of context, and therefore a change of instructions, that inevitably takes place. The studied Christian needs to be able to acknowledge, understand, and explain that there are contradictions within the Bible if they are going to accurately identify God’s will for them today. The studied Christian needs to understand that there is a change in context within Scripture and one example of that fact comes to us by way of Romans 15:8:
Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
The book of Romans was written after Jesus was killed. Romans was written by the apostle Paul after Christ’s death and verse 8 of chapter 15 is describing Jesus’ ministry before He died and was resurrected. This verse tells us that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision, for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers of Israel. The emphasis here is obviously Jesus Christ, but notice that this verse states that He was a “minister of the circumcision.” The circumcision, within Scripture, is a reference to the nation of Israel.
As we read further within the book of Romans, chapter 15, verse 16, we learn:
That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.
Within Romans 15, we see two different assignments being given to two different individuals. Romans 15:8 tells us that Jesus Christ was the minister of the circumcision. Romans 15:16 tells us that God gave Paul grace and assigned to him that he should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, the uncircumcision. Romans 15:8 also tells us why Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision – “for the truth of God.” Yes, the nation of Israel rejected Jesus the Christ and His message, but there was no mistake made by God. God had made promises to the nation of Israel, Jesus was a minister to that nation, and it was for the truth of God that Jesus came to the nation in order to confirm all of the promises that God had made to the fathers of Israel. It was likewise for the truth of God that the apostle Paul was sent to the Gentiles. You must at this point ask yourself, are you of the nation Israel or are you a Gentile? Are you of the circumcision or are you of the uncircumcision?
Right Division is concerned with trusting God, and what He has stated within His Word, and not trusting man, and what he has to say about the Word of God. The skeptic claims that there are mistakes and errors within the Bible. They are incorrect. The skeptic claims that there are contradictions within the Bible. There are times when those claims are true, but contradictions are not mistakes or errors. Recognizing the existence of contradictions within the Bible will only cause the student of the Bible to read the Scriptures more carefully. It is all too common for readers of the Bible to “step back” from the Bible whenever a contradiction is encountered and to step so far back that the contradiction just goes away. Right Division is concerned with explaining those contradictions and with having a clearer understanding as to who is being spoken to when and for what reason. If you come to the Bible, believing it is error free and that it is special revelation from God, you will find that there are answers to every contradiction put forth from even the most intelligent skeptic. It takes a work of the Holy Spirit in order for us to understand Scripture and thus it should be your prayer for God to lead you into a correct understanding of Right Division in order to more accurately understand Scripture.
Speaking of the Holy Spirit, have you ever wondered why it is that most Christian churches teach that the Church started in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came –
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. [Acts 2:1-4]
– when a careful reading of Scripture reveals that the Holy Spirit was already given to individuals who had seen the crucified and risen Christ before Acts 2 and Pentecost:
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: [John 20:21-22]
So when did the Church begin? Did it begin in Acts 2 with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? Did it start in John 20 with Jesus’ apostles? Did, as the Roman Catholic Church claims, the Church begin in Matthew 16 with Peter[9]? Are we to believe, as Covenant Theologians teach, that the Church has always existed and that the Church today is just an expansion of Israel? Can Right Division help us answer this question?
Supposed contradictions within Scripture will cause you only to study the Bible more carefully and when each claim is searched out, it will then increase your understanding of Christian doctrine and theology. This increased understanding will lead you to a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, what He has done, and why He has done it.
As you study Right Division, it will be necessary for you to learn the difference between Prophecy and Mystery. You will need to understand that there is a Prophecy program within Scripture and that there is a Mystery program within Scripture. It is crucial, in order for you to understand the Bible correctly, for you to distinguish the difference. That topic brings us to our final contradiction raised within this post. Please do realize, however, that within Appendix 4 (link here), I have provided over 100 common contradictions for you to research and explore.
One of the most important contradictions within Scripture that we can study out comes to us by way of comparison between Acts 3:21 and Romans 16:25:
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. [Acts 3:21]
versus
Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, [Romans 16:25]
If one is to look at these two verses carefully, they will recognize that a fixed-point is provided to us within both of these verses: “since the world began.” So our starting point for two different subjects is provided. Acts 3:21 tells us that something was spoken since the world began. Romans 16:25 tells us that something was kept secret since the world began. The two subjects being discussed are mutually exclusive. They are not the same thing.
Next, we recognize that within Acts 3:21, the subject which was spoken of was done so by the mouth of God’s holy prophets. A prophet, amongst his many duties, when speaking to the nation Israel or when recording revelation within Scripture, spoke prophecy. A prophet received information from God and he repeated it verbally and/or wrote it down for the nation of Israel and by extension, the whole world. In contrast to that, we see in Romans 16:25 that the apostle Paul, the author of Romans, is referring to a secret that was kept since the world began. Paul is not referring to prophecy, he is referring to something known as a “mystery.”
Acts 3:21 and Romans 16:25 provide us what could be labeled as the most important division within our Bibles. Within Acts 3:21, we have the apostle Peter addressing the crowd at Pentecost, often represented as the starting point for the Church. Within Romans 16:25, we have the apostle Paul writing to the church in Rome and notice that he is referring to something that he labels as “my gospel” within that verse. Within a future post, we’ll explore what Paul is speaking to when he states “my gospel,” but for now, we must recognize that there is a difference between what Peter is talking about and what Paul is talking about.
Peter goes on within Acts 3 to discuss how all the prophets, from Samuel and those that followed, as many as had spoken prophecy, had likewise foretold of the events and signs that were happening as he stood there addressing the crowd at Pentecost[10]. Peter is not speaking about a secret. He is speaking about subjects that were clearly spoken before that day by multiple prophets sent by God and he is speaking to subjects that were clearly recorded within Scripture, what is often referred to as the Old Testament. Peter is stating that prophecies that were recorded in the Old Testament were happening then and there; they were being fulfilled.
In Romans 16, Paul uses the same words “since the world began” that are found in Acts 3:21, but what we see Paul referring to is not something that any prophet had spoken to within history. Paul is speaking to a subject that was never recorded within Scripture. Paul is speaking to new revelation that was provided to him and him alone. Paul spoke and wrote about something kept secret. Paul spoke and wrote about something he referred to as a “mystery.” Peter spoke and wrote about something that was not kept secret. Peter spoke and wrote about prophecy. We must recognize that there is a difference. We must recognize that there is a contradiction between these two verses.
Within Ephesians, chapter 3, we read where Paul states that the reason why he was preaching something kept secret was because God gave him something secret; that it was not a situation where Paul picked one thing and Peter picked another, but that God revealed Jesus Christ to him:
For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. [Ephesians 3:1-7]
Within the passage above, we see a number of things. Paul is addressing a specific group known as the “Gentiles.” Paul makes reference to something known as “the dispensation of the grace of God.” Paul states that by revelation, this “mystery” was made known to him by God. He states again that this mystery subject was not made known to men during ages prior to the age in which he was writing his letter to the church at Ephesus. He states that the gospel, elsewhere he refers to it as “my gospel[11],” is the key to Gentiles being fellowheirs, of the same body, and partakers of God’s promises. Lastly, I would highlight that Paul’s emphasis is upon grace, and that is grace that is given as a free gift from God. What we read in this passage is that the “dispensation of grace” is the mystery that Paul is talking about in Romans 16:25. Because of this, it is critical for the student of the Bible to understand what a dispensation is within Scripture[12]. Realize for now that there is more than one way to divide the Bible. Dividing the Bible by dispensations is but one of many ways in which the student of the Bible can come to understand the overall story-line to the Bible.
God does not put mistakes or errors within His Word. Different contexts and different instructions do, however, create contradictory verses within the Bible. These contradictions make it impossible to obey every instruction found within the Bible. It is necessary to rightly divide the Lord’s instructions for us today from the instructions provided in times past or from those instructions provided in Scripture speaking to the ages to come. It is a common practice for Christians to make a separation within their Bibles between what is labeled as the Old and the New Testaments. The fact of the matter is that both of the Testaments are the subject of Prophecy to Israel. It is the Mystery information provided to the apostle Paul that demands that the student of the Bible acknowledge further division from that which was prophesied within Scripture. Contradictions within the Bible can be easily reconciled when we identify who is speaking, who is being spoken to, and under what dispensational context those words are being spoken into.
Contradictions in Scripture only reflect a change in context and instructions.
[1]Colossians 2:13. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
[2]Colossians 1:21-22. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
[3]Romans 4:25. Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
[4]1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
[5]Granted, there is a small minority of those who call themselves Christians who do indeed attempt to follow everything stated within the Bible, but those individuals are woefully confused and are in danger of the condemnation stated by the apostle Paul within Galatians 1.
[6]Galatians 1:11-17; Romans 11:13; 1 Timothy 1:11-16
[7]1 John 3:5. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
[8]Jonah 4:11. And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
[9]Matthew 16:18-19. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
[10]Acts 3:24. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
[11]Romans 2:16; 2 Timothy 2:8