Why does Jesus tell the women that went to see him on the day of His resurrection not to touch him for He had not ascended to His father yet.
Then a few days later he told Thomas to touch him and put his hand in the wounds in His side.

We believe maybe it is best explained with the following paraphrase: "Do not lay hold on me and detain yourself and me; I have not yet ascended; this is no brief, passing vision; I am yet in the world, and will be for some time, and there will be other opportunities to see me; the duty of the moment is to go and tell my sorrowing disciples that I have risen, and shall ascend to my Father." There was nothing urgently waiting when he invited Thomas to touch him but it was very important to get the word to the disciples without delay.


 

I am a member of the Church of Christ in San Francisco and I would like to know: Who other than Christ did God call his son?

As far as we can recall he only called Christ his Son (Hebrews 5:5). In several places the followers of Christ are referred to as sons or children of God, but as far as God calling someone his Son we believe Jesus Christ was the only one.


 

How do you pronounce this name: Elisha, I have heard many people  pronounce it E-lee-sha and E-lie-sha but which one is it?


It is E-lia-sha.


Where is the passage of scripture in the New Testament that refers to a woman's hair being her glory?

1 Corinthians 11:15 is the passage you want we believe.


I read somewhere that John the Baptist was a cousin of Jesus. Can you give me any information on this.

I Luke 1:36 Elizabeth (John the Baptist mother) is mentioned in most versions as being a cousin of Mary's in the NIV she is called a relative of Mary's so that would make Jesus and John some type of cousin it seems.


What if anything happened in Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God create the heaven and the earth. But in next verse, "and the earth was without form, and void and dark was upon the deep".  Was the earth destroyed and redone.

No, the earth was not destroyed and remade. It simply means that it had not been shaped into its final form and populated. After it was created it had to be shaped into its final form and inhabitants placed upon it, for until this was done it would be void or empty.


 

Where is the passage of scripture in the New Testament that refers to a woman's hair being her glory?

1 Corinthians 11:15 is the passage you want we believe.


Does the Bible mention the color blue anywhere?

The color blue occurs 50 times in the Old Testament (KJV), none in the New Testament. In more recent versions the Hebrew word is sometimes translated violet. It was a color, like purple, that was derived from a species of shellfish. Fabric dyed this color was used as a part of the pattern for the tabernacle tapestries, Exodus 26:1, and for the hangings in the Temple, 2 Chronicles 2:7. This color cloth was also used for royal palace decorations, Esther 1:6; 8:15, and clothing for the rich, Jeremiah. 10:9; Ezekiel 23:6 (KJV). Blue, or blueness, Proverbs 20:30 (KJV), was also used to the color of a wound, but usually the word referred to the wound itself.


 
When was the New Testament "title page," the page in most Bible’s between Malachi and Matthew placed in the Bible and by whose authority?
 
The Bible has always been a book of divisions. Even when the Old Testament was the only scripture it was divided into parts. The early division of the scripture by the Jews was a two-fold division: the law and the prophets. Jesus recognized this division in verses like Matthew 7:12.
Later the Jews further divided the Old Testament into three groups: the Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), the Prophets, former and latter (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the book of the Twelve), the last group, the Writings, were subdivided into three categories, books of Poetry (Psalms, Jobs, and Proverbs), the Five Rolls (Ruth, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther), and books of History (Daniel, Nehemiah-Esther, Chronicles). Some believe that Jesus implied this three-fold classification in Luke 24:44.
Later when the Greeks of Alexandria translated the Hebrew scriptures in a work called the Septuagint, they grouped the Old Testament books into these categories: Books of Law, Books of History, Books of Poetry, Books of Prophecy, major and minor.
The important thing to consider about the Old Testament is that it was God’s covenant with the Jews (Galatians 3, the book of Hebrews, and Romans 1-10). God wrote this covenant and completed it, and the Jews recognized and accepted it as complete. This led to the most natural division in all of scripture – the distinction between the Old and New Covenants. This distinction has always been recognized by the Church and is made even more evident by the fact that the gulf between the two Testaments is a period of Divine silence of approximately 750 years. Where the distinction between the Old and New Testaments is obvious, that distinction is a complementary one in that the Old Covenant looked forward to the New, and the New fulfilled the Old.
Geisler and Nix illustrate this point well in the chart I have included below, and in this phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo: "The New is in the Old contained, and the Old is in the New explained."
In the Old Testament Christ is:
In the New Testament Christ is:
In shadow
In pictures
In type
In ritual
Latent
Prophesied
Implicitly revealed
In substance
In person
In truth
In reality
Patent
Present
Explicitly revealed

The distinction between the Old and New Testaments is natural, obvious, and scriptural (Galatians 3).

As to who added the page in between the two, I don’t know. I also don’t know where or when. Whatever that page says is not the inspired Word of God, but the division between the two covenants is inspired.


1.How did we come up with 50 for Pentecost?
2.Was the city of Sodom & Gomorrah destroyed or the whole world?
3.Why were the Jews God's chosen people and not any other race? Explain through the scriptures.

 

Question 1
    "Pentecost" comes from a Greek word meaning fiftieth. The day was also called "Harvest Feast", or "Feast of Weeks." (Exodus 23:16; 34:22.) This annual feast day for the Jews is described in Leviticus 23:15-22. "And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord."

Question 2
    Genesis 13:10 states that "the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah." In Genesis 19:24 we read, "Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens." These cities on the shore of the Salt Sea were destroyed in the days of Abraham and Lot.

Question 3
    Originally the term "Jew" denoted one belonging to the tribe of Judah or to the two tribes of the Southern Kingdom (2 Kings 16:6; 25:25). Later its meaning was extended, and it was applied to anyone of the Hebrew race who returned from the Captivity. The term "Jew" came finally to comprehend all of the Hebrew race throughout the world.  The Israelite people were formerly regarded as the Lord's "chosen" (Isa.43:20, 21). Christ came into the world to provide salvation for all mankind, Jew and Gentile (Acts 2:39; Romans 2:28-29).  The gospel of Christ is addressed to all (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16). All who believe and obey it are chosen to salvation (1 Peter 2:9-10).


Who was the Army Commander healed from Leprosy?   Who got this man's leprosy?

 

Thanks for submitting your question. The army commander who was healed of his leprosy was Naaman the Syrian. His servant, Gehazi, was given the disease because of his greed and deception. This great story is found in II Kings 5.


What does the Bible say concerning superstition? Should Christians believe in old sayings, such as "getting up on the wrong side of  the bed", or "an apple a day will keep the doctor away"?

You have asked an interesting question. However the Bible has nothing to say about superstition except in a negative sense. Acts 17:22 Paul, in his famous speech in Athens used the word to mean "very religious". It does not give any credence to such things as you mentioned. Some superstitions grew out of good judgement, that is "don't walk under a ladder" - good advice- but only because something might fall on you, Christians are not to live there lives according to superstition.


 

Who was Mary's mother?

The name of Mary’s mother is not known, although her father may have been Heli, Luke 3:23, since Luke’s record of the genealogy of Christ is through Mary’s lineage. In reality very little is known about Mary. Of course, Jesus was born of her when she was a virgin. She was probably a peasant, the offering she and Joseph made of two turtledoves or pigeons, Luke 2:24, was the sacrifice of the poor. Her cousin Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist, Luke 1:36. She was present at Jesus’ first miracle, John 2:1-12. Mary is mentioned as wanting to see Jesus when He was surrounded by a great crowd, Luke 8:19-21. She was present at the cross, John 19:25-27. She was present in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, Acts 1:14. Mary had at least six other children, including four boys and at least two daughters, Matthew 13:55-56.


Which Prophet was teased for being bald and what happened to his teasers?

The prophets name was Elisha.  His teasers were torn apart by two she bears.
See II Kings 2:21-25


Do you know where Moses is buried

The scriptures do not tell us the specific place that he was buried except that he took him up to Mount Nebo and their the Lord showed him the promise land and then buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor.


Is it a sin to worship other gods when you’re already baptized or not?

Yes. It must be understood first that there are no others gods besides God who created the world and gave His son Jesus as an offering for our sins. Whether one should create an idol in some way and refer to it as a god or merely to think that there are other gods is an affront to the true and living God. Idol worship and the belief that there are other Gods are condemned throughout the Bible. In addition, to say that one worships another god is a false idea because, as stated above, there are no other gods. Read Isaiah 44:9-20 for a stinging rebuke of those who would worship idols. See also Romans 1:18-32.


What does the Bible say about the physical disciplining of children?  My concern is this,  often times that line of physical discipline is crossed and it is abuse whereby bruising, welts, and scars are left?  What does the bible then say about this?

 

"Discipline" is training which corrects, molds, strengthens, or perfects.  The Bible does more than condone physical disciplining of children- it affirms the necessity of physical discipline in the training of children (See Proverbs 13:24; 22:15; 23:13; 29:15).

Discipline is effective in a family where love and protection are also present.  Discipline is not to be equated with physical abuse.  Any good thing can be abused.  However, this is no reason to abandon that which is gook.   For example, many marriages result in abuse.  Is this reason to abandon marriage?


What does the bible tell us about the subject of worrying?

 

To worry is to be distressed in the mind, to be anxious, troubled, uneasy. And if there is one thing afflicting our world today, it is worry. There are so many problems that we are seeing in our society, in our families, and in our individual lives that we often feel there is no answer and we have nowhere to turn. Yet God instructs us not to worry. The Bible says in Phil. 4:6 to "Be careful for nothing…." We may wonder how in the world the apostle Paul could write that, but he did. Did he mean that one would never have any problems? No. Did he mean that one should never be concerned about problems that occur in life? No. What he, what the Bible means for us to understand is that in spite of our circumstances we can have a confidence in God to the point that I don’t have to let worry ruin my life and keep me in a continual state of depression. Now, how can I keep from worrying? Well, this very same verse gives a couple of helps, for he goes on to add, "…but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." The first is that I need to keep my heart in tune with God through prayer. I need to keep the communication lines open to Him. A second is that I need to thank God for the good in my life. We take so many things for granted. We ought to count our blessings every day and thank God for them. We should add to this that we must trust God. In a section of what we know as the Sermon on the Mount, Matt. 6:25-34, our Lord teaches us through the example of the birds and the flowers to not be concerned about clothing and food. God takes care of them and He will take care of us. Something else to be added here is that we need to make sure our priorities are right. Vs. 33 instructs us, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." When I have my priorities right, seeking to do God’s will in all things, then I know the other things will take care of themselves and I will not have to worry.


What is sheol?

 

In the KJV the word that is sometimes translated grave in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word sheol. There is no real exact equivalent for it in the English language, hence in the KJV it is translated grave, while in more modern translations it is translated sheol. The basic meaning of the word is the unseen realm, or the place of the dead, or the place of departed spirits. Its New Testament equivalent is hades, sometimes translated as hell in the KJV. From the story of the rich man and Lazarus, Luke 16:19-31, we see that sheol, or hades, has two divisions. One is a place of comfort, referred to as Abraham’s bosom, vs. 22. Jesus called it paradise in Luke 23:43. The other is a place of torment, vs. 23. Thus sheol, or hades, is the intermediate state between earth and eternity where the soul awaits the judgement when final sentence is passed and the verdict is given as to whether one will spend eternity in heaven or hell.