Common biblical misconceptions

Ok for some reason I don't know why, when people talk about the Bible and they assert something is fact based on their own understanding but they don't check it with God first and read the Bible right through this really bothers me! If you try to tell them different they just argue more and more, insisting that they are right and the Bible must be wrong!

Some things like --- scholars claim that the Red Sea is really 'the reed sea' and that the Israelites passed through a swamp. Based on a faulty translation of scripture. But actually they did pass through the Red Sea because all the evidence in the Bible points that they did.There's also physical evidence.

Scholars also claim Jesus is the lion of Judah when they don't actually read the bible that John the Baptist AND John the Revelator both declared him the Lamb of God. They read the bible, fixate on one verse and assume the lion and the lamb are one and the same. Actually they are two different beasts symbolising two different notions of power, PLUS the lion slays the lamb, who rises again. It is only the Lamb who is worthy to take the throne. Even the lion (one of the beasts) has to bow down to the Lamb.

Scholars claim Mary Magdalene was totally different person from Martha's sister Mary. But if you read the Bible and compare the gospels the woman who anointed Jesus was actually Mary and they were the same person. They ignore the fact that Jesus was able to change Mary's heart to one of devotion because she was forgiven much.

Scholars claim that the Mt Sinai where Moses spoke with God is in Israel when the Bible says it's actually in Arabia. So there's a monastery and tourist centre on some other mountain!

Some other common misconceptions or assumptions - Eve ate an apple as the forbidden fruit (when the Bible talks about fig trees in the garden of Eden - and it was a fig tree Jesus cursed ).
There were three wise men (Bible doesn't say how many! There could have been ten!)

I'm not posting to pick holes in what people believe but to encourage you to read the Bible prayerfully and ask God and not make assumptions about Him :) He is an awesome God and if anyone lacks wisdom He's going to give it to you liberally!


















'
 
Last edited:
Revelation 5:5
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
John Wrote what He heard and saw.
Jesus was called the Lion of the tribe of Juda or the Lion of Juda.


The Bible does not specifically name the fruit. I don't believe it was an apple or fig.

It's the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
It was Thee forbidden fruit.
The tree of life was removed and appears in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

I don't believe we have ever seen this fruit.
I believe there is no other fruit like it.
I could be wrong there but there is only one tree of knowledge.
Apple tree bears apples
Fig tree bears figs

Tree of Knowledge would have it's own fruit.
Blessings to you
 
Before the curse, and as I was reading about the flood.. animals were not afraid of humans till after the flood (genesis 9:2). So I believe that the lion and the Lamb did lay down together... and will once again
 
No matter how hard we study the words of any translation of the Bible, we miss out because the inflection of whatever is physically spoken is not revealed.
There is one particular passage which I think is normally interpreted wrongly, and that is Luke 16,1-13. I have heard more than one preacher on this passage, and I cannot go along with their understanding which infers that Jesus said we should deliberately "cook the books".
If only we could have heard Jesus' voice, we might have realised the irony of what he said. It could be hyperpole. He would have shown by the way he spoke that He really meant "Go along with your unreliable mates, and see what good that does you!".
The "rich man" might be God, and the "servant" might be Satan. But that gives trouble in verses 8 and 9, unless Jesus was joking.
 
No matter how hard we study the words of any translation of the Bible, we miss out because the inflection of whatever is physically spoken is not revealed.
There is one particular passage which I think is normally interpreted wrongly, and that is Luke 16,1-13. I have heard more than one preacher on this passage, and I cannot go along with their understanding which infers that Jesus said we should deliberately "cook the books".
If only we could have heard Jesus' voice, we might have realised the irony of what he said. It could be hyperpole. He would have shown by the way he spoke that He really meant "Go along with your unreliable mates, and see what good that does you!".
The "rich man" might be God, and the "servant" might be Satan. But that gives trouble in verses 8 and 9, unless Jesus was joking.

I have to agree with you... it's not about cooking the books.. that's not in line with the Father's Character.

As I read Luke 16:1-13 in the message and the passion translation... it makes it way more plain and simple.

Jesus taught his disciples using this story: “There was once a very rich man who hired a manager to run his business and oversee all his wealth. But soon a rumor spread that the manager was wasting his master’s money. So the master called him in and said, ‘Is it true that you are mismanaging my estate? You need to provide me with a complete audit of everything you oversee for me. I’ve decided to dismiss you.’ “The manager thought, ‘Now what am I going to do? I’m finished here. I can’t hide what I’ve done, and I’m too proud to beg to get my job back. I have an idea that will secure my future. It will win me favor and secure friends who can take care of me and help me when I get fired!’ “So the dishonest manager hatched his scheme. He went to everyone who owed his master money, one by one, and he asked them, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ One debtor owed twenty thousand dollars, so he said to him, ‘Let me see your bill. Pay me now and we’ll settle for twenty percent less.’ The clever manager scratched out the original amount owed and reduced it by twenty percent. And to another who owed two hundred thousand dollars, he said, ‘Pay me now and we’ll reduce your bill by fifty percent.’ And the clever manager scratched out the original amount owed and reduced it by half. “Even though his master was defrauded, when he found out about the shrewd way this manager had feathered his own nest, he congratulated the clever scoundrel for what he’d done to lay up for his future needs.” Jesus continued, “Remember this: The sons of darkness are more shrewd than the sons of light in their interactions with others. It is important that you use the wealth of this world to demonstrate your friendship with God by winning friends and blessing others. Then, when this world fails and falls apart, your generosity will provide you with an eternal reward. “The one who manages the little he has been given with faithfulness and integrity will be promoted and trusted with greater responsibilities. But those who cheat with the little they have been given will not be considered trustworthy to receive more. If you have not handled the riches of this world with integrity, why should you be trusted with the eternal treasures of the spiritual world? And if you’ve not been proven faithful with what belongs to another, why should you be given wealth of your own? It is impossible for a person to serve two masters at the same time. You will be forced to love one and reject the other. One master will be despised and the other will have your loyal devotion. It is no different with God and the wealth of this world. You must enthusiastically love one and definitively reject the other.”
Luke 16:1‭-‬13 TPT (The Passion Translation)
https://bible.com/bible/1849/luk.16.1-13.TPT

Jesus said to his disciples, “There was once a rich man who had a manager. He got reports that the manager had been taking advantage of his position by running up huge personal expenses. So he called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? You’re fired. And I want a complete audit of your books.’ “The manager said to himself, ‘What am I going to do? I’ve lost my job as manager. I’m not strong enough for a laboring job, and I’m too proud to beg. . . . Ah, I’ve got a plan. Here’s what I’ll do . . . then when I’m turned out into the street, people will take me into their houses.’ “Then he went at it. One after another, he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “He replied, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ “The manager said, ‘Here, take your bill, sit down here—quick now—write fifty.’ “To the next he said, ‘And you, what do you owe?’ “He answered, ‘A hundred sacks of wheat.’ “He said, ‘Take your bill, write in eighty.’ “Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right —using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.” Jesus went on to make these comments: If you’re honest in small things, you’ll be honest in big things; If you’re a crook in small things, you’ll be a crook in big things. If you’re not honest in small jobs, who will put you in charge of the store? No worker can serve two bosses: He’ll either hate the first and love the second Or adore the first and despise the second. You can’t serve both God and the Bank.
Luke 16:1‭-‬13 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/luk.16.1-13.MSG
 
I think if we knew Hebrew or read or spoke it, perhaps we would find meaning that the english or other translation might have missed, but having said that, many jewish people read their bible in Hebrew and still miss out the prophecies of Jesus as their Messiah. You think, how can they miss that, but they do.

The thing was they were looking for a 'lion' but scripture shows us Jesus is the Lamb. When Jesus was crucified and sacrificed they still did not get it. Nor did they believe that same lamb that was slain by the lion rose again.
 
I have to agree with you... it's not about cooking the books.. that's not in line with the Father's Character.

As I read Luke 16:1-13 in the message and the passion translation... it makes it way more plain and simple.

Jesus taught his disciples using this story: “There was once a very rich man who hired a manager to run his business and oversee all his wealth. But soon a rumor spread that the manager was wasting his master’s money. So the master called him in and said, ‘Is it true that you are mismanaging my estate? You need to provide me with a complete audit of everything you oversee for me. I’ve decided to dismiss you.’ “The manager thought, ‘Now what am I going to do? I’m finished here. I can’t hide what I’ve done, and I’m too proud to beg to get my job back. I have an idea that will secure my future. It will win me favor and secure friends who can take care of me and help me when I get fired!’ “So the dishonest manager hatched his scheme. He went to everyone who owed his master money, one by one, and he asked them, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ One debtor owed twenty thousand dollars, so he said to him, ‘Let me see your bill. Pay me now and we’ll settle for twenty percent less.’ The clever manager scratched out the original amount owed and reduced it by twenty percent. And to another who owed two hundred thousand dollars, he said, ‘Pay me now and we’ll reduce your bill by fifty percent.’ And the clever manager scratched out the original amount owed and reduced it by half. “Even though his master was defrauded, when he found out about the shrewd way this manager had feathered his own nest, he congratulated the clever scoundrel for what he’d done to lay up for his future needs.” Jesus continued, “Remember this: The sons of darkness are more shrewd than the sons of light in their interactions with others. It is important that you use the wealth of this world to demonstrate your friendship with God by winning friends and blessing others. Then, when this world fails and falls apart, your generosity will provide you with an eternal reward. “The one who manages the little he has been given with faithfulness and integrity will be promoted and trusted with greater responsibilities. But those who cheat with the little they have been given will not be considered trustworthy to receive more. If you have not handled the riches of this world with integrity, why should you be trusted with the eternal treasures of the spiritual world? And if you’ve not been proven faithful with what belongs to another, why should you be given wealth of your own? It is impossible for a person to serve two masters at the same time. You will be forced to love one and reject the other. One master will be despised and the other will have your loyal devotion. It is no different with God and the wealth of this world. You must enthusiastically love one and definitively reject the other.”
Luke 16:1‭-‬13 TPT (The Passion Translation)
https://bible.com/bible/1849/luk.16.1-13.TPT

Jesus said to his disciples, “There was once a rich man who had a manager. He got reports that the manager had been taking advantage of his position by running up huge personal expenses. So he called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? You’re fired. And I want a complete audit of your books.’ “The manager said to himself, ‘What am I going to do? I’ve lost my job as manager. I’m not strong enough for a laboring job, and I’m too proud to beg. . . . Ah, I’ve got a plan. Here’s what I’ll do . . . then when I’m turned out into the street, people will take me into their houses.’ “Then he went at it. One after another, he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “He replied, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ “The manager said, ‘Here, take your bill, sit down here—quick now—write fifty.’ “To the next he said, ‘And you, what do you owe?’ “He answered, ‘A hundred sacks of wheat.’ “He said, ‘Take your bill, write in eighty.’ “Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right —using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.” Jesus went on to make these comments: If you’re honest in small things, you’ll be honest in big things; If you’re a crook in small things, you’ll be a crook in big things. If you’re not honest in small jobs, who will put you in charge of the store? No worker can serve two bosses: He’ll either hate the first and love the second Or adore the first and despise the second. You can’t serve both God and the Bank.
Luke 16:1‭-‬13 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/luk.16.1-13.MSG
Yes this passage can sometimes be a head scratcher but the use of irony in the Bible sometimes passes people by. I think it shows that a leopard doesnt change its spots.

Jesus does tell us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, it does kind of tie in with what he's saying here. We can use our intelligence for good, not evil. Its not meaning we can be evil or deceitful though. GOd made the serpent as more subtile than any other creature on earth...notice the Bible doesnt say 'more evil'. Meaning the serpent was very smart or wiley. But satan used this creature for his own ends.
 
Before the curse, and as I was reading about the flood.. animals were not afraid of humans till after the flood (genesis 9:2). So I believe that the lion and the Lamb did lay down together... and will once again
Jesus literally stopped the mouth of the lion with the sacrifice of the lamb. Many people misinterpet it to mean Jesus is the lion, which is not his character.
Definitely all the majestic beasts (including the lion- theres also an eagle, a man, and a calf) and the 24 elders and the angels bow down before the Lamb of God.
 
Another misconception, that the tree of knowledge of good and evil appear again in revelation. Wrong. There were two trees in the garden of eden, one was the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the other was the tree of life.

It is the tree of life that is in revelation.
 
Another misconception, that the tree of knowledge of good and evil appear again in revelation. Wrong. There were two trees in the garden of eden, one was the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the other was the tree of life.

It is the tree of life that is in revelation.
Thanks!
I did not catch the fact that I only said tree. Correction made.
 
Scholars also claim Jesus is the lion of Judah when they don't actually read the bible that John the Baptist AND John the Revelator both declared him the Lamb of God.


Jesus is called the lion of Judah and the Lamb of God.


Rev 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
Rev 5:2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
Rev 5:3 And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
Rev 5:4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
Rev 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Rev 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Rev 5:7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
Rev 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Rev 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
Rev 5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Rev 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
Rev 5:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.



PLUS the lion slays the lamb, who rises again.

Where is that written?
 
The lamb was as if slain, verse 5:6
You infer from the passage that the lion was the one who killed (slayed) the lamb, I think its fairly obvious. Maybe I am the only one in the whole world who sees this, and everyone else believes the lion just somehow turns into a lamb. just like many people believe humans descendend from apes. :)
 
The lamb was as if slain, verse 5:6
You infer from the passage that the lion was the one who killed (slayed) the lamb, I think its fairly obvious. Maybe I am the only one in the whole world who sees this, and everyone else believes the lion just somehow turns into a lamb. just like many people believe humans descendend from apes. :)


The Romans at the behest of the Jews slew Christ/the Lamb. A lion did not slay Jesus/the Lamb.
 
The angels also sing the new song of the lamb. They dont sing a song about a lion. because only the lamb is worthy.

Jesus did not come as a lion, but he is worthy because he was sacrificed. All the other kings came from Judahs line, look it this way, everyone expects the next in line to the throne of the UK to be Prince Charles right? But it would be like he is the only one thst could rule next plus hes male. However in this picture of revelation it would be like the next in line is actually not prince charles but Princess Anne because shes the eldest. Or she shows the qualities of royalty. (As a modern day example)
 
The Romans at the behest of the Jews slew Christ/the Lamb. A lion did not slay Jesus/the Lamb.
I am not speaking literally buy symbolically. kings and rulers - lions (the blessing of Judahs t was that he was like a 'lion' born to rule. ) sacrifice - the lamb . Good shepeherd - God. A shepherd looks after sheep right? And lambs. He does not allow them to be devoured by predators like lions. But lambs and sheep willingly give their lives to be sacrificed as meat for us.
 
The angels also sing the new song of the lamb. They dont sing a song about a lion. because only the lamb is worthy.

Jesus did not come as a lion, but he is worthy because he was sacrificed.

Doesn't change the fact that Jesus is the lion of Judah. That debunks the idea that he is only the Lamb.
 
I am not speaking literally buy symbolically. kings and rulers - lions (the blessing of Judahs t was that he was like a 'lion' born to rule. ) sacrifice - the lamb . Good shepeherd - God. A shepherd looks after sheep right? And lambs. He does not allow them to be devoured by predators like lions. But lambs and sheep willingly give their lives to be sacrificed as meat for us.

Lions don't share the same habitats as sheep. Wolves hunt sheep. Jesus is the Lamb of and the Lion of Judah.
 
Lions are carnivores right?
i think it might be a good idea to go on a field trip to either an abattoir or a wildlife park and see what happens to sheep and lions. And what happens if you put the two together. God created these animals and He wants us to think on the characteristics of each.

I for one am glad I do not live in a country where hungry lions roam free.
 
Back
Top