In the Bible in Genesis 1:26, the words “us” and “our” are used.  Besides God, who is "us" and "our?"  Angels?  Other gods?  Immortal beings?  The Trinity?

Sincerely,
Guess Who?

Dear Guess Who,

In Gen 1:26, the word ‘us’ refers to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  In fact, throughout that chapter, every time you see the word ‘God’, it is in the plural if you read it in the original Hebrew.  The reason for this is because all three members of the Godhead were there at the Creation.  John 1:1 states that Jesus was there at the creation of the universe.  Gen 1:2 points out that the Holy Spirit was there, and Mal 2:10 makes it clear that the Father was also there.  When the Godhead decided to make man in “our image” (Gen 1:26)… all three of them were in agreement.

I was wondering about something and was hoping you can shine some light on this situation for me.  Why don't we as christians eat kosher food like the Jewish?  It does mention certain things we are not allowed to eat in Leviticus.  So if it says it in the Bible, why don't most of us christians follow it?  Also, am I sinning when I eat certain things that are not kosher?

Sincerely,
Dietary Restrictions

Dear Dietary Restrictions,

There is a difference between Old Testament laws and New Testament laws.  Christians are not bound to follow the Old Testament law because we are no longer under that law (Gal 3:24-25).  Feel free to read “Out With The Old?” for further details on the purpose of the Old Testament.

The Old Testament laws concerning what could and could not be eaten can be found in Lev. 11, but there is only one type of food that christians cannot eat – blood (Acts 15:29).  When an animal is killed, some cultures will strangle the animal so as to keep the blood in the meat, as opposed to draining the blood out.  Things like blood sausage, blood soup, blood stew, etc. are popular dishes in some countries, but eating them is wrong.  All other food is clean for New Testament christians... Jesus said so Himself in Mk 7:19.

In the Bible in Isaiah 19:19-20, what exactly is this "altar" or "pillar?" Is it possible that it can be referring to a pyramid?

Sincerely,
Pointedly Asking

Dear Pointedly Asking,

We don’t know for sure what the altar or pillar was, but it may have been an altar set up by a Jewish man named Onias during the days of Ptolemy.  In chapter nineteen, Isaiah prophesies that Egypt will be destroyed (Isa 19:1).  Nobody knows for sure whether this refers to the conquest of Egypt by Piankhi or to the conquest by Esarhaddon.  In either case, when Assyria attacked Egypt, Judah was on the side of Assyria, and God’s people left their mark on that land by building altars to Jehovah in Egyptian territory.  That is the most likely fulfillment of Isa. 19:19-20.

Due to all of the media attention to homosexuality, I'm wondering why most Christians are so adamant that it is intolerable.  Doesn't the Bible also say not to mix fabrics and eat shellfish?  What's the difference?

Sincerely,

A Confused Citizen

Dear A Confused Citizen,

You bring up a fair point.  It isn’t okay to fervently support the beliefs in the Bible that we like while ignoring the ones we don’t.  That is called subtracting from God’s Word, and it is strictly condemned (Rev 22:18-19).  God expects us to take the total sum of His Word and apply it (Ps 119:160), and part of taking the sum of God’s Word is keeping it in context.Here is where people get confused: the Old Testament laws should never be used as proof verses for Christian practices.  The Old Testament laws were for Jews, and the New Testament laws are for Christians.  Click here to watch a short video on the difference between the Old and New Testament.  The Bible does clearly condemn mixing fabrics (Deut 22:11) and eating shellfish (Lev 11:10)... but in the Old law for the Jewish nation, not in the New Testament.

On the other hand, homosexuality is clearly condemned in the New Testament in verses like Rom 1:26-27 and Jude 7.
The Bible does make it clear that we can’t pick and choose the verses we like and the sins we prefer to condemn... but it also teaches that we must not twist things out of context either.  The apostles taught the whole counsel of God, and so should we (Acts 20:27).  At our congregation in Monroe, that is exactly what we strive to do every day.

Does it indicate in the Bible how many times a day God required the levitical priests to enter His temple to do their duties?  If so, how many times and where does it indicate this?

Sincerely,
Daily Duties

Dear Daily Duties,

The Bible never specifically says how many times a day that the priests were allowed to enter the temple, but they had to do it at least twice.  All of the sacrifices and burnt offerings were made on the altar, which was outside of the temple (Ex 40:6) – and that is where most of the priests’ time would have been spent.  However, inside the temple structure itself, there were three things that needed regular attention: the golden lamp stand, the incense altar, and the table of showbread (Ex 35:13-15).  The table of showbread only had to be attended to weekly (Lev 24:5-9).  The lamp stand had to be kept continually burning (Lev 24:2).  And last, but not least, the incense altar needed to have incense burned on it every morning and every evening (2 Chr 13:11).  Since the priests were supposed care for the lamp stand at the same time that they burned incense (Ex 30:7-8), they didn’t need to enter the temple more than twice on any regular day.