La Roca Ministerio Internacional

GotQuestions Bible questions answered https://www.gotquestions.org/ All rights reserved-Published with permission Every time there is a conflict in or around Israel, many see it as a sign of the quickly approaching end times. The problem with this is that we may eventually tire of the conflict in Israel, so much so that we will not recognize when true, prophetically significant events occur. Conflict in Israel is not necessarily a sign of the end times. Conflict in Israel has been a reality whenever Israel has existed as a nation. Whether it was the Egyptians, Amalekites, Midianites, Moabites, Ammonites, Amorites, Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, or Romans, the nation of Israel has always been persecuted by its neighbors. Why is this? According to the Bible, it is because God has a special plan for the nation of Israel, and Satan wants to defeat that plan. Satanically influenced hatred of Israel—and especially Israel’s God—is the reason Israel’s neighbors have always want...

GotQuestions Bible questions answered https://www.gotquestions.org/ All rights reserved-Published with permission The emperor of Rome from AD 54 to 68 was Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, also known simply as Nero. The emperor was not known for being a moral and ethical person, to say the least. In AD 64 the great Roman fire occurred, with Nero himself being suspected of arson. In his writings, the Roman senator and historian Tacitus recorded, “To get rid of the report [that he had started the fire], Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace” (Annals, XV). It was during the reign of Nero that the apostle Paul wrote his epistle to the Romans. While one might expect him to encourage the Christians in Rome to rise up against their oppressive ruler, in chapter 13, we find this instead: “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except...

GotQuestions Bible questions answered https://www.gotquestions.org/ All rights reserved-Published with permission If we read the Bible at face value, without a preconceived bias for finding errors, we will find it to be a coherent, consistent, and relatively easy-to-understand book. Yes, there are difficult passages. Yes, there are verses that appear to contradict each other. We must remember that the Bible was written by approximately 40 different authors over a period of around 1,500 years. Each writer wrote with a different style, from a different perspective, to a different audience, for a different purpose. We should expect some minor differences. However, a difference is not a contradiction. It is only an error if there is absolutely no conceivable way the verses or passages can be reconciled. Even if an answer is not available right now, that does not mean an answer does not exist. Many have found a supposed error in the Bible in relation to history or geography only to find out...

GotQuestions Bible questions answered https://www.gotquestions.org/ All rights reserved-Published with permission Our answer to this question will not only determine how we view the Bible and its importance to our lives, but it will also have an eternal impact on us. If the Bible is truly God’s Word, then we should cherish it, study it, obey it, and fully trust it. If the Bible is truly the Word of God, then it is the final authority for all matters of faith, practice, and morality. If the Bible is the Word of God, then to dismiss it is to dismiss God Himself. The fact that God gave us the Bible is an evidence of His love for us. God communicated to mankind what He is like and how we can have a right relationship with Him. These are things that we could not have known had God not divinely revealed them to us in the Bible. The Bible contains everything mankind needs to know about God in order to have a right relationship with Him. How can we know that the Bible is the Word of God and n...

GotQuestions Bible questions answered https://www.gotquestions.org/ All rights reserved-Published with permission Many people understand  Genesis 6:3  to be a 120-year age limit on humanity, “Then the  Lord  said, ‘My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.’” However, Genesis chapter 11 records several people living past the age of 120. As a result, some interpret  Genesis 6:3  to mean that, as a general rule, people will no longer live past 120 years of age. After the flood, the life spans began to shrink dramatically (compare  Genesis 5  with  Genesis 11 ) and eventually shrank so that very few people lived to be 120 years old. By the time of the Exodus, almost no one survived to that age. Moses and Aaron lived that long ( Numbers 33:39 ;  Deuteronomy 34:7 ), and Jehoiada the priest lived to 130 ( 2 Chronicles 24:15 ). So, 120 years was not a “hard” boundary; rather, it w...

GotQuestions Bible questions answered https://www.gotquestions.org/ All rights reserved-Published with permission Sports is a big part of life for many people, whether they’re watching athletic events, driving their children to and from sports practice, or directly participating in sports themselves. According to MarketWatch, Inc., Americans spent $100 billion on sports in 2017—$56 billion on attending sporting events, $33 billion on sports equipment, and $19 billion on gym memberships. Sports and athletic competitions have been popular since ancient times. The Bible draws several analogies of the Christian life from the sports world:  1 Corinthians 9:26  contains a reference to shadowboxing; the author of Hebrews likens the Christian life to a race ( Hebrews 12:1 ); and Paul admonishes us to “run in such a way to win the prize” ( 1 Corinthians 9:24, CSB ). Given the Bible’s positive use of sports-related analogies, there can be nothing inherently wrong with viewing or partici...

GotQuestions Bible questions answered https://www.gotquestions.org/ All rights reserved-Published with permission Paul’s charge to us in  Romans 13:8  to owe nothing but love is a powerful reminder of God’s distaste for all forms of debt that are not being paid in a timely manner (see also  Psalm 37:21 ). At the same time, the Bible does not explicitly command against all forms of debt. The Bible warns against debt, and extols the virtue of not going into debt, but does not forbid debt. The Bible has harsh words of condemnation for lenders who abuse those who are bound to them in debt, but it does not condemn the debtor. Some people question the charging of any interest on loans, but several times in the Bible we see that a fair interest rate is expected to be received on borrowed money ( Proverbs 28:8 ;  Matthew 25:27 ). In ancient Israel the Law did prohibit charging interest on one category of loans—those made to the poor ( Leviticus 25:35-38 ). This law had many ...

GotQuestions Bible questions answered https://www.gotquestions.org/ All rights reserved-Published with permission If there is anything that will spark a spontaneous debate, if not an outright argument, it is a discussion involving politics—even among believers. As followers of Christ, what should be our attitude and our involvement with politics? It has been said that “religion and politics don’t mix.” But is that really true? Can we have political views outside the considerations of our Christian faith? The answer is no, we cannot. The Bible gives us two truths regarding our stance towards politics and government. The first truth is that the will of God permeates and supersedes every aspect of life. It is God’s will that takes precedence over everything and everyone ( Matthew 6:33 ). God’s plans and purposes are fixed, and His will is inviolable. What He has purposed, He will bring to pass, and no government can thwart His will ( Daniel 4:34-35 ). In fact, it is God who “sets up kings...