Have you ever had a conversation about Christianity with someone and they use the Bible to support an unbiblical concept?
It can be confusing and shocking when Scriptures are twisted!
Since its appearance on the religious and spiritual landscape in the Middle East, The Way, as it was popularly known and later called Christianity, has been the subject of misunderstanding, misinterpretation by its critics, detractors, and enemies.
Apologetics, the study of the defense of faith, works to provide not only a correct interpretation of the passage in question, but also an understanding of why it was misinterpreted. Here are five twisted Scriptures to share with you.
5 TWISTED SCRIPTURES
Second Advent of Christ
Daniel 8: 13-14: 13 »I heard then that one of the saints spoke, and another asked him:“ How much longer is this vision of daily sacrifice, of desolate rebellion, of the giving of the sanctuary and of the humiliation of the army? ”14 And that saint said to me:“ It is going to take two thousand three hundred days with its nights. After that, the sanctuary will be purified. "
Daniel's 2,300 prophetic days have interested many throughout history who have attempted to predict the date of the Lord's return. By interpreting each day as a year, William Miller, a Baptist pastor from Palmyra, New York, calculated that the second coming of Christ would take place between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844.
As the date approached, a wave of excitement and anticipation swept across the United States. Thousands of Christians from major churches, convinced of the accuracy of Miller's forecast, joined the new Advent movement. Many of these "Millerites" sold their properties to anxiously await the arrival of the kingdom of God.
When the date passed without any catastrophic event, Miller set October 22, 1844 as the new date for the parousia or the return of Christ at the end of time. A second failure, known as the "Great Disappointment," led Miller to regret his mistakes.
However, several of his followers said that Miller's latest date was correct, but that his explanation was incorrect. According to them, on October 22, 1844, Jesus moved from his seat at the right hand of God to the holy place to begin an "investigative judgment" of all professed believers, many of whom will be erased from the book of Life.
This remnant of Millerites eventually founded the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Reincarnation
John 9: 1-2: In his path, Jesus saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, for this man to have been born blind, who sinned, him or his parents?"
This verse, when twisted, seems to support reincarnation. The implication is that in a previous life man sinned and was born blind in the next life. The reference, however, is to a Jewish belief that a fetus could commit a sin while in its mother's womb. The concept of reincarnation was foreign to Hebrew thought.
The Jews believed in the resurrection, not the reincarnation.
Baptism of the dead for salvation
1 Corinthians 15:29: "If there is no resurrection, what do those who are baptized for the dead get? If the dead are not ultimately raised, why are they baptized for them?
Mormons refer to this verse as support for their practice of baptism for the dead. According to Mormon doctrine, no one can be born again apart from baptism at the hands of a Mormon priest. This creates a problem for those who live before the advent of Mormonism. The solution is to baptize the dead for power.
There are several possible interpretations for this verse. Even if baptism for the dead were a practice in some first-century congregations, it was being administered by heretics ("they"), who according to the passage rejected the resurrection.
Pablo was not endorsing the ritual.
Astral Projection
2 Corinthians 12: 1-2: "1 I am forced to boast, even if nothing is gained by it. I now turn to the visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a follower of Christ who fourteen years ago was taken to the third heaven (I don't know if in the body or outside the body; God knows). "
Some New Age teachers mention this verse as support for the practice of astral projection or soul travel. The followers of Eckankar regularly try to separate the soul and the body, through exercises and mental practices, which supposedly allow them to cross the various kingdoms of the universe.
Paul referred to his experience as a vision (12: 1) and indicated that it was not self-initiated, but happened to him unexpectedly. There is no biblical support for astral projection.
The Dream of the Soul after death
1 Timothy 6: 13-15: "Having God as a witness, who gives life to all things, and Christ Jesus, who gave his admirable testimony before Pontius Pilate, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or reproach until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will in due time bring to pass. "
The basic premise of the soul sleep theory, also known as conditional immortality, is derived from this verse, among others (see Genesis 2:17; 3: 4,19,22; Psalms 146: 4; Ecclesiastés 9: 5; Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 6:23).
Groups like Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, The Way International, and a host of "holy name" sects believe that when humans die, their bodies go to the grave and remain unconscious until the day of resurrection. However, the vast majority of Christians believe that human consciousness survives death.
Jesus exhorted: "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear Him who can destroy the soul and body in hell" (Mt 10:28).
The apostle Peter spoke of setting aside his "tent," that is, dying (2 Pet 1:14), which seems to indicate that the personality survives death.
Paul made a similar statement in 2 Corinthians 5: 1: "In fact, we know that if this tent we live in falls apart, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands."
Paul also wrote of death as "the desire to depart and be with Christ" (Philippians 1:23).
The author of Hebrews wrote about "the spirits of the righteous made perfect" (Hebrews 12:23).
And the martyred saints of tribulation cry out: "O Lord ... how long until you judge and avenge our blood?" (Revelation 6:10), showing that they are alive in making this supplication. Most importantly, Jesus spoke on the subject when he assured the thief on the cross: "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Lk 23:43). Referring to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Jesus concluded that "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Matthew 22:32).
It is important to read the Scriptures regularly, prayerfully study them in depth, and request discernment from the Holy Spirit to wisely divide the truth and the lie. The eternal future of the soul is at stake.
All the passages used come from the New International Version (NIV).
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