Lang - The complete book of Bible secrets and mysteries

THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BIBLE SECRETS AND MYSTERIEST H E C O M P L E T E B O O K O F Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. W H E AT O N , I L L I N O I S Visit Tyndales exciting Web site at www.tyndale.com TYNDALE is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Tyndales quill logo is a trademark of Tyndale house Publishers, Inc. The Complete Book of Bible Secrets and Mysteries Copyright 2005 by J. Stephen Lang. All rights reserved.

Cover photograph of woman in fabric by Larry Dale Gordon/Getty Images. All rights reserved. Cover images of trees, statue, stained glass, woman, blue silhouette, lantern, and gold urn by Photos.com. All rights reserved. Designed by Ron Kaufmann Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lang, J. Stephen. Stephen.

The complete book of Bible secrets and mysteries / J. Stephen Lang. p. cm. ISBN 1-4143-0168-5 (pbk.) ISBN 1-4143-0695-4 1. I. Title. Title.

BS612.L25 2005 220dc22 2004024554 Printed in the United States of America CONTENTS

THINGSPART 4: THE END (OF TIME)PART 5: WHATS IN A NAME?PART 6: INVISIBLE BEINGS,INDESCRIBABLE GODvPART 7: BELIEVERS, AND WHATTHEY DO TOGETHERPHRASES EVERYWHEREPLACESPART 9: CATCH THE SPIRITPART 10: THE BODY, LITERAL ANDSPIRITUALINTERFACEviLEFTOVERSvii Back in 1988, I published The Complete Book of Bible Trivia. When more than 700,000 copies and numerous translations and spin-off products were sold, I became happily aware that readers love that books hodge-podge of questions and answers about the Bible on a wide variety of topics. Now, for both your entertainment and edification, I have compiled a new collection of questions and answers, all related to the general theme of Bible secrets and mysteries. Why this theme? Partly because people seem fascinated by the mysterious and puzzling parts of the Bible, as evidenced by various books that claim to break the codes of the Bible. This fascination really isnt new, because people have been trying for centuries to decode the Biblesuch as figuring out who (or what) is represented by 666, the number of the beast in the book of Revelation. We may never know (until the end of time, perhaps) how to decode 666, but this hasnt stopped people from speculating. People also love to speculate about other coded passagessuch as John 21:11, which mentions that Jesus disciples caught exactly 153 fish in their net.

Was John simply reporting a literal fact (there were 153 fish in that net), or did 153 mean something else? Many great minds in Christian history were certain that the number had deep spiritual meaning, but no one can agree on just what it was. Heres a bit of good news: most of the Bible isnt written in code. Most of it is very literal and very easy to grasp. American humorist Mark Twain stated that while many people were bothered by the parts of the Bible they didnt understand, he was bothered by the parts he did understandsuch as the command to love our neighbors as ourselves. Twain grasped something that countless code breakers miss: The Bible isnt a puzzle to be solved. It is Gods revelation to humanity, most of it crystal clear and straightforward, no more puzzling than a Stop sign.

You shall not steal is no mystery, nor is You shall not commit adultery. Blessed are the merciful is easily grasped, as is All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No code breaking necessary, thank you. Having said that, however, the Bible is still very mysterious, for it is brimming over with miracles, with revelations of an awesome and invisible God. There are angels and demons, fire from heaven, dreams sent from God, wondrous escapes, battles in which a small force triumphs over a much larger force, resurrections from the dead, glimpses of ix heaven, the awesomeness of what the Bible calls Gods glory, the workings of the Holy Spirit, curious beasts like the leviathan and Behemoth, and prophecies of things to come, including visions of the final battle between good and evil. x

T SOME TRULY PUZZLING THINGSBIBLE MYSTERIES: THE TOP TEN The book you are now reading explores the Bibles mysteries and secretsand tests your knowledge of them. x T SOME TRULY PUZZLING THINGSBIBLE MYSTERIES: THE TOP TEN The book you are now reading explores the Bibles mysteries and secretsand tests your knowledge of them.

To begin, lets see how familiar you are with ten of the most puzzling things in the Bible, things that leave even the best-read Bible scholars scratching their heads in bewilderment. Some Truly Puzzling Things 1. One of the great puzzles of Genesis is this: Where did _____ get his wife? 2. In Revelation, what is the number of the beast who persecutes the saints? 3. What heroic Old Testament saint did God almost killjust after calling him into service? 4. What book of the Bible refers to a mysterious race known as the Nephilim? 5.

According to 1 Peter, where did Jesus go between his burial and resurrection? 6. According to Paul, women will be saved through what? 7. In Genesis 6, who do the daughters of men marry and bear children by? 8. What were the sacred dice used by Israels leaders in decision making? 9. According to Jesus, what is the one sin that can never be forgiven? 10. What organ, according to Jesus, is the lamp of the body? BIBLE MYSTERIES: THE TOP TEN (ANSWERS)1.

Cain, son of Adam and Eve, murderer of his only brother, Abel. Genesis 4:17 refers toCains wife, but readers wonder where she came from, seeing that the only peopleon earth (or at least the only ones mentioned in Genesis) were Adam, Eve, Cain, andAbel. The usual explanationnot that it satisfies everyoneis that Cains wife was

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