This past week we received a phone call from a friend that, during a conversation,  was confronted with a seeming ‘contradiction’ in the Word. We talked about it for awhile, but afterwards, it made me think. It seems sometimes that the ‘naysayers’ are ‘better armed’ with all sorts of ‘bible facts’  that ‘prove’ contradiction within the Bible. And although we do not believe that any contradiction exists in the Scriptures, we are caught unaware by these passages, and automatically feel a need to ‘defend the Word ‘, without any idea how we’re gonna do it . . . 🙂 Ever been there ? We have . . . But we have come to the point that we work from this basic premise – there is NO contradiction in the Word . . . so when ‘contradiction’ rears it’s ugly head, we must remember there is always that ‘other piece’ that puts the whole puzzle together .

Case in point . . .Genesis 5:24  says   ” . . .And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him . . .”   Also, 2 Kings 2:11  tells us that  ” Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.  But John 3:13 says that “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  So, what’s up with that ?

Well, first of all, there is NO contradiction in the Word. So, with that in mind, let’s see what we can uncover. We have found that with a little study and some context the confusion just seems to go away. We know from Scripture that others have ascended into ‘the heavens’. We also know that there is not contradiction. So let’s take a closer look at the text to see if anything is ‘gettin’ lost in the translation’  ?  And by the way, you do not have to be a language scholar to take a look at the translations. Something as simple as some online free bible study software can be a big help.

Here are the words or phrases in the Greek text of John 3:13:  and, no one, go up, into, the heaven, if only, not, lest, the, out from, the, heaven, to go down, the, son, the , of , man . . .

So, knowing what we know of and about Scripture, what can we do with these words / phrases that fits with the rest of the Word ? Well, we know that the Lamb of God was slain before the foundation of world was laid . . . (Rev 13:8 )   We know that Yeshua was ‘before Abraham” . . .( John 8:58 )  And Yeshua is the Word that was in the beginning . . .( John 1:1-14)  So, if we know that others have ascended, and we know that Yeshua ascended and descended more than just in the Gospel accounts, then perhaps we can put the words / phrases together in this manner without doing any harm to the text or to the truth and fiber of the Word . . . ‘and no one goes up into the heaven, not except or lest out of the heaven one come down, the son of man . . .’  hmmm . . . that seems to line up with the Word, the words, The Living Word and the truth of the Word . . . If it had not be designed from before the beginning for HIM to ‘come down’, then there would NOT be the opportunity for anyone to ‘go up’ . . . Jesus said “No one comes to the Father except through Me ( John 4:16)  He is the Door so that you may come in . . . ( John 10:1-10 ) . . . just a thought to ponder . . . if you’re into ‘pondering’ . . . 🙂 Blessings –  J & R