Bible – Page 32 – Jimmy Akin

“To Be Absent from the Body Is to be Present with the Lord”?

There is a common argument used against the idea of purgatory in some circles which goes like this: “St. Paul says that ‘to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord’ (2 Cor. 5:8). It’s that simple: If you’re a Christian and you aren’t in your body then you are with Jesus in heaven. There is no room for purgatory in St. Paul’s view. Purgatory is just a Catholic fable–a ‘man made tradition.'”

Is this true?

It turns out that if you examine what St. Paul really said, the whole argument is based on a misquotation. St. Paul said nothing of the kind.

Furthermore, if you look elsewhere in St. Paul’s writings–to the very same church he was addressing in his “absent from the body” passage–you find strong evidence for purgatory.

Far from being a Catholic fable, purgatory is rooted in the thought of the Apostle Paul himself–as I show in the following video.

I’ve also been working on a special mailing for the Secret Information Club where I “interview” John Paul II on the subject of purgatory. In the interview, I pose questions, and the answers are taken from his writing. Current Secret Club members will get it automatically.

Purgatory is a controversial subject that Catholics are often attacked over, so if you’d like to receive the special interview with John Paul II on purgatory, just sign up for the Secret Information Club by Friday, June 29th, and you’ll have it in your inbox on Saturday morning.

You should sign up using this handy sign up form:

If you have any difficulty, just email me at jimmy@secretinfoclub.com.

If you’re reading this by email, click here to view the video.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Why Are the Psalms Numbered Differently?

While the Bible is divided into chapter and verse today, these divisions developed over time and were not in the original manuscripts, with few exceptions.

One exception is the book of Psalms, which is divided into 150 different chapters, each of which is a different psalm. Those divisions are original, because this was the hymnbook for the Jewish Temple, and the different psalms were different hymns.

So it’s ironic that different editions of the book of Psalms today do not have the same chapter numbers.

You may have had the experience of seeing a reference to a quotation from one of the Psalms, going to your Bible to look it up, and finding that the quotation is not there!

What’s going on?

It may be that the quotation actually is there, but one psalm before or after the one you looked up.

For example, suppose you wanted to look up the famous line:

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

This is famed as the first verse of Psalm 23. But if you look it up in certain Bibles–like the Douay-Rheims–you won’t find it there. Instead, it’s the first verse of Psalm 22.

The explanation is that there are different ways of numbering the Psalms, and different Bible (and other documents) follow different numbering system.

One numbering system is that used by the Hebrew Masoretic text. This is the version used by most modern Bible translations.

Another is that used by the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. This version was inherited by the Vulgate and thus by the Douay-Rheims.

Because both numbering systems are in circulation, Catholic sources often use both systems, which is why you’ll see references like “Ps 23[22]:1” (or “Ps 22[23]:1”, depending on which numbering system they’re treating as primary).

Okay, fine. There are different numbering systems for the Psalms. But what makes them different?

The answer is that the Hebrew numbering sometimes combines (splices, joins) a psalm that is reckoned as two psalms in the Greek numbering–and visa versa.

Let’s take a look at how that happens.

(Note: I’m not assuming anything about whether one version is joining two psalms that were originally separate or whether it is dividing a psalm that was originally one. Simply for the sake of clarity, I’ll describe what you’d see in the Hebrew version first and then what how things would appear if you looked for the equivalent passage in the Greek version.)

The first time the numbering varies is when the Hebrew psalms 9 and 10 are joined as the Greek psalm 9. That causes the Greek numbers to be one less than the Hebrew numbers for most of the book, which is why the Hebrew 23rd psalm gets reckoned as the Greek 22nd psalm.

The same thing happens when the Hebrew psalms 114 and 115 are joined as the Greek psalm 113.

“Oh, no!” you may be saying to yourself. “Now they’re going to be off by two numbers!”

Well, they would be, except the very next Hebrew psalm–116–is divided into two in the Greek numbering, resulting in Greek psalms 114 and 115. So now the Greek numbering is only one psalm behind the Hebrew numbering again.

Whew!

Since both the Hebrew and Greek editions of the book of Psalms both have 150 entries, though, how do they get joined back up again?

That happens when we hit Hebrew psalm 147, which also is divided into the Greek psalms numbered 146 and 147.

With that resolved, the two numbering systems can now march arm-in-arm through the final three psalms: 148, 149, and 150.

Here’s a handy chart to keep it straight:

What Does “Amen” Mean?

Many of us grew up saying prayers and, in imitation of the adults around us, we learned to end them by saying “amen.”

But this is a word most of us never used in any other context, and for many of us, we had no idea what it meant. It was just that think you say at the end of prayers.

I confess that when I was growing up, I thought it meant something like “over and out.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers a brief explanation of the meaning of the word at the end of its section on the Lord’s Prayer, where it quotes Cyril of Jerusalem:

“Then, after the prayer is over you say ‘Amen,’ which means ‘So be it,’ thus ratifying with our ‘Amen’ what is contained in the prayer that God has taught us” [CCC 2856].

It also says:

By the final “Amen,” we express our “fiat” [Latin, “so be it” or “may it be”] concerning the seven petitions: “So be it” [CCC 2865].

The Catechism also has a longer discussion of the meaning of “Amen” at the end of its section on the Creed:

1062 In Hebrew, amen comes from the same root as the word “believe.” This root expresses solidity, trustworthiness, faithfulness. and so we can understand why “Amen” may express both God’s faithfulness towards us and our trust in him.

1063 In the book of the prophet Isaiah, we find the expression “God of truth” (literally “God of the Amen”), that is, the God who is faithful to his promises: “He who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth [amen].” Our Lord often used the word “Amen,” sometimes repeated, to emphasize the trustworthiness of his teaching, his authority founded on God’s truth.

1064 Thus the Creed’s final “Amen” repeats and confirms its first words: “I believe.” To believe is to say “Amen” to God’s words, promises and commandments; to entrust oneself completely to him who is the “Amen” of infinite love and perfect faithfulness. the Christian’s everyday life will then be the “Amen” to the “I believe” of our baptismal profession of faith:

May your Creed be for you as a mirror. Look at yourself in it, to see if you believe everything you say you believe. and rejoice in your faith each day.

1065 Jesus Christ himself is the “Amen.” He is the definitive “Amen” of the Father’s love for us. He takes up and completes our “Amen” to the Father: “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why we utter the Amen through him, to the glory of God”:

Through him, with him, in him,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honor is yours,
almighty Father,
God, for ever and ever.
AMEN.

One of the things the Catechism mentions is that Our Lord sometimes repeated the word “Amen.” In some versions of the Bible this is translated “Verily, verily” or “Truly, truly,” but what he actually said was “Amen, amen.”

This was something characteristic of Jesus’ own personal manner of speech.

In any event, the word means more than just “over and out.”

God’s Infinite Mercy

At some point in their lives, virtually everyone has wondered whether they can be forgiven for what they’ve done. The good news is, they can!

But sometimes the doubts linger, particularly for people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and particularly in connection with certain passages in the Bible, such as some in the book of Hebrews that deal with the subject of apostasy–the complete rejection of the Christian faith.

Passages like these:

Hebrews 6:4-6

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

Hebrews 10:26

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left.

Can an apostate be forgiven? If you’ve knowingly and deliberately rejected Christ, will he take you back? And what is the real meaning of those passages in Hebrews?

In this episode I respond to a gentleman who is struggling with these very issues.

I demonstrate that the Hebrews passages do not mean what the gentleman fears and reveal, instead, the infinite mercy of God.

The good news is: No matter what you’ve done, if you are willing to come back to God, God is eager to take you back. He loves you, and your sins are not greater than his love.

I’m also preparing a special mailing for the Secret Information Club where I “interview” Blessed John Paul II on heaven.

If you’d like to read what John Paul II says about heaven and how we can get there by God’s mercy, you should sign up for the Secret Information Club by Friday, June 8th, and you’ll have it in your email inbox Saturday morning.

You should sign up here (and if you have any trouble, just email me at jimmy@secretinfoclub.com):

Now here’s the show! Just click “Play” to listen!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Who Is the Holy Spirit? (Video)

This Sunday is Pentecost, and to celebrate, I have made a special video in which I demonstrate a simple way that you can show that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person.

The divinity of the Holy Spirit was infallibly defined at the First Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381, but not everyone accepts the fact that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person–one of the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity.

For example, Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that the Holy Spirit is merely God’s “energy” or “active force.”

In this video, I show a simple and surprising way that you can use the Bible to show both that the Holy Spirit is a Person and that he is a divine Person, alongside the Father and the Son.

It starts with a basic argument from the Great Commission, in which Jesus tells the disciples to baptize the nations “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”–and it reveals the unstated implications of this passage.

Then it looks at various passages from the New Testament that reveal the fact that the Holy Spirit has the attributes of a person–not those of merely a force or energy–such as the ability to make choices and to intercede for us.

It then turns to passages which reveal the Holy Spirit actually speaking and using personal pronouns like “I” and “me.”

Finally, it concludes with a passage that reveals what what one does to the Holy Spirit, one does to God, indicating that the Holy Spirit is God himself.

Here is the video, and have a great Pentecost Sunday!

Who Is the Beast of Revelation? (Part 2)

There is more evidence regarding who the Beast of Revelation is than I could fit in the first video I did on the subject, so in this video I pick up where I left off and reveal new and surprising facts–things most people have never heard of–that point to who the Beast is.

Here is a link to Part 1 in case you haven’t seen it.

And now, here is Part 2!

I’m preparing a Secret Information Club communique in which I “interview” Pope Benedict about the Book of Revelation.

If you’d like to know what Pope Benedict says about Revelation, you should sign up by Friday, May 25, and you’ll get the special interview on Saturday morning.

You should sign up using this form right here:

Or you can use the one in the top right hand margin or by going to www.SecretInfoClub.com (if you have trouble, email me at jimmy@secretinfoclub.com.

Who Is the Beast of Revelation? (Video)

One of the most sinister figures in the Bible is the so-called “Beast” from the Book of Revelation. Portrayed as a frightening monster and identified with the ominous number 666, the Beast has been the subject of an enormous amount of discussion down through the centuries.

Countless individuals, both past and future, have been proposed as the true identity of the Beast, but what does the evidence from the Bible say?

In this video, I take a calm, balanced look at the evidence from the perspective of the original Christians reading the book of Revelation in the first century and suggest that the evidence points to an individual that many will find very surprising, especially if they view the book of Revelation as applying almost exclusively to the future.

Here’s the video!

By the way, I’m preparing a Secret Information Club communique in which I “interview” Pope Benedict about the Book of Revelation.

If you’d like to know what Pope Benedict says about Revelation, you should sign up by Friday, May 25, and you’ll get the special interview on Saturday morning.

You should sign up using this form right here:

Or you can use the one in the top right hand margin or by going to www.SecretInfoClub.com.

One of the Most Important Events in Christian History

This Sunday’s readings deal with one of the most important events in Christian history.

Although the majority of Christians have little or no knowledge of the event, a pivotal moment in the history of the Church is recorded in Acts 10.

This event is the conversion of the household of the Roman centurion Cornelius, and it is important because, when this event occurred, it became clear that one did not have to become a Jew in order to become a Christian. This opened the door to a wave of conversions from people of all nations and kept Christianity from being a purely Jewish phenomenon, ethnically speaking.

But the conversion of Cornelius is controversial. It was in its own day, and it is in ours as well.

Some try to draw lessons from it like everyone should speak in tongues upon their conversion to Christ . . . or that baptism is merely a symbol that does not convey God’s grace.

How can one respond to these claims, and what are the *true* lessons that one can learn from this turning point in the history of Christianity?

In this video episode of the Jimmy Akin Podcast, Jimmy discusses the arguments and reveals both surprising and reassuring facts about the conversion of Cornelius.

This must-see video will prove eye-opening for Christians of all persuasions.

You can watch it here . . .

. . . or DOWNLOAD IT BY RIGHT-CLICKING HERE.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Was Jesus a Vegetarian? Should Christians Be?

Vegetarianism is a hot topic today. Many people are cutting out some or all animal products from their diet.

When done for health reasons, this is a matter of science rather than faith. But what about claims that Christians should be vegetarians for religious reasons?

Some even claim that Jesus himself was a vegetarian.

And what are we to make of the slogan “A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy”?

In this video episode of the Jimmy Akin Podcast, best-selling author Jimmy Akin looks at the evidence and reveals startling facts that are often overlooked, though they are right there in the Bible.

With charity and patience, Akin explores the truth about the Bible and vegetarianism and provides a balanced view of the relationship between humans and animals.

You can watch it online . . .

. . . or DOWNLOAD IT HERE.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Christianity = Communism ?

Last Sunday one of the readings was from Acts 4:32-35 . . .

The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.

This passages recalls one a couple of chapters earlier in Acts (2:44-47), which reads as follows:

All who believed were together and had all things in common;
they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need.
Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart,
praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

We’ve got a lot of communal property going on here, and not just between husbands and wives.

These passages raise a number of questions like . . . to what degree is Luke holding this situation up as a model for the Church in general? . . . what should we learn from this? . . . and does this mean that we should abolish private property?

How are we to sort through these questions?

I know!

Let’s ask the pope!

KEEP READING.