The Ransom for All

Matthew 13:31 He set another parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; Matthew 13:32 which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.  Mark 4:26 He said, "So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed on the earth [ground, farm land, soil], Mark 4:27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he doesn't know how. Mark 4:28 For the earth [ground, soil, farm land] bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. Mark 4:29 But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts forth the sickle, because the harvest has come." Mark 4:30 He said, "How will we liken the kingdom of God? Or by what parable will we compare it? Mark 4:31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the...

{Matthew 12:39} But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Matthew 12:40} For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of the Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. {Matthew 12:41} The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here. {Jonah 1:17} Jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. {Jonah 2:2} He said, "I called because of my affliction to Jehovah. He answered me. Out of the belly of sheol I cried. You heard my voice. Some claim that there is a discrepancy in the Bible's account since Jesus had proclaimed that he would be dead for three days and three nights. The claim appears to be that i...

The question was presented: How could the earth be made in seven literal days, since without the earth, there would have been no days? The argument seems to be that if there is no earth, then there could have been no days in which the earth was created. Actually, the scriptures nowhere state that the planet earth was created in seven days, but rather that the heavens and the earth were created in six days, and on the seventh, Jehovah rested from creation. (Exodus 20:11; Exodus 31:17; Genesis 1:1-2:2.  This would mean that the "beginning" referred to in Genesis 1:1 includes the entire six days. The skies and the land were created during the six days described. -- See our study: The Six Days of Creation How could the heavens and earth be created in "six days," if there were no "days" until the earth was created? To understand this, we need to realize that in the Bible, as in well as in our common speech today, "earth" does not always mean ...