Is it possible that the almighty God created another world besides heaven, Earth, and hell?

Sincerely,
Multi-Dimensional

Dear Multi-Dimensional,

Anything is possible with God (Mk 10:27), but if He created other worlds, He never told us.  The secret things belong to God (Deu 29:29).  We cannot prove nor disprove whether God has created other worlds, but we do know that if they do exist – they don’t have any bearing on our lives.  The Scriptures tell us everything that we need to know to be saved (Rom 1:16)… parallel cosmic worlds aren’t something we need to know about.

Do you believe that Joseph, while being a slave in Egypt, had access to the Scriptures, so he could be filled with God’s Holy Word in order to be able to withstand all that he had to endure, including Potiphar’s wife?

Sincerely,
Looking for a Librarian

Dear Looking for a Librarian,

Joseph didn’t have access to the Scriptures because the first books of the Bible weren’t written until long after Joseph died.  Genesis through Deuteronomy were written by Moses – several generations after Joseph.  God gave the Jews the Old Testament Law when they went to Mt. Sinai (Num 3:1, Jhn 1:17).  Though the life of Joseph and his temptations are recorded in Genesis, Joseph didn’t have the book of Genesis in his lifetime.

Well, the last couple of days have really been tough…my girlfriend and I thought we conceived a baby (we are not married, and I know that is a sin), but I asked for forgiveness… but then it all fell apart.  I loved her and trusted her… she ended up telling me there was a possibility that the baby might not be mine; she left me because it was hard to be with me after she told me, and I admit it was hard, but I was willing to forgive and let go, but she left, and now she has told me that the doctors told her she probably lost the child.  I don’t know if the kid was mine, but I feel like it was.  I had dreams about it and saw myself with a lil’ boy I had never seen before.  I was so happy to find out I was going to be a daddy and was going to raise him right by God.  I’m not sure if it’s mine or if she miscarried.  I just want advice on why things like this happen.  I tried my hardest to make it work, and I wanted to be happy, but it all fell apart.  I’m twenty years old, and this is one of the hardest, if not the hardest, things I’ve ever dealt with.  I lost the love of my life and my possible child, plus she had a daughter, and she would call me “Dad”, so it’s like I lost two children.  Please, I need the Lord’s Word to get through this, so please help!

Sincerely,
Floundering

Dear Floundering,

You are experiencing the pain of sin in a very real and personal way.  God does offer forgiveness if we place our faith in Him (read “What Must I Do To Be Saved” for more details), but that forgiveness doesn’t remove the consequences of sin.  David sinned when he committed adultery with Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:2-4); God forgave David of the sin when David repented (2 Sam 12:13), but David’s child still died as a consequence of that sin (2 Sam 12:14).  Sin has both spiritual and physical consequences.  The spiritual consequence of sin is eternal death unless we are forgiven in Christ (Rom 6:23).  The physical consequences of sin still remain after forgiveness.  God says that we reap what we sow (Gal 6:7).  When we behave immorally toward a woman, lose our temper, mistreat others, are bad examples for our children, etc. – there are consequences to those choices.  God wants you to have a happy and healthy life here on this planet.  The only way to do that is to trust His Word that teaches us everything about life (2 Pet 1:3).  We are so sorry that your road has been so difficult as of late; hopefully, this will become an opportunity for you to start with a new commitment to live as God intends.  If you would like help finding a faithful congregation in your area (not all churches are equal) to help you on that journey, we would be happy assist you in locating one.  Simply e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

A couple of years back, I started working for a company that was directed by my mom’s husband.  That’s not my father; they divorced when I was younger.  My mom left my dad because of an affair with this other guy, and I grew up with my dad but spent plenty of holidays with mom and her husband.  Naturally, I got a little fond of them and their kids, but when I was older, I became aware of how it hurt my dad that I would want to spend time with them when I had the choice.  He never blamed me but told me a little about what he felt on occasion when the conversation covered certain things significantly related.  Anyway, now I’ve been working in the company for a while, and although I’ve had pressure to leave to honour my dad, I never left and instead asked other people what they thought.  They all said they didn’t think it was dishonourable.  But recently, again, I’ve had the feeling that it was breaking one of God’s commandments, and I heard the story of a Welsh revivalist (Evan Roberts, I think) whose messages were very simple, and one of the four points was to ‘get rid of grey areas’. This is CERTAINLY a grey area for me, and I’m not at all sure whether I’m breaking the commandment or not, but, I feel that probably I am, so even if I am not sure about breaking the commandment or not, I AM SURE this is a grey area!  So… my question is, do you know of any Bible texts that can clarify how I can know if grey areas should really be addressed?  If you have any idea about the commandment and what you think is happening here, that would be great, too… I know my salvation is at stake here; please help.

Sincerely,
The Good Kid

Dear The Good Kid,

The Bible specifically addresses gray areas in Rom 14.  There are two major factors to consider in areas of opinion:

1. If what you are doing causes other christians to fall away or stumble, then you must stop (Rom 14:13) – this is not very applicable to your situation because nobody is going to fall away because you work for your stepfather.
2. It can’t be something that bothers your conscience.  Rom 14:23 says “But he that doubts is condemned if he eats, because he eats not of faith; and whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”  Working for your stepfather’s company isn’t a sin, and isn’t necessarily dishonoring your biological father… but if you feel that it is wrong and inappropriate, you should quit.

Obviously, it is the second factor that is going to be the most difficult for you.  Anyone that tells you that working for your stepfather is doctrinally wrong is feeding you a line.  However, you must examine yourself and consider what you feel comfortable with.  Life is difficult because it is impossible to get rid of all gray areas.  It takes self-examination and wisdom to wade through those choices and discern between good and evil (Heb 5:14).

Genesis 30:16 – what are mandrakes, and what are they used for?

Sincerely,
Horticulturist

Dear Horticulturist,

There are many types of mandrakes, but the ones mentioned in Gen 30:16 are most likely Mandragora Officinarum.  Mandrakes are considered a delicacy and (so we have heard) have a taste similar to an apple.  They were primarily used for eating but have some medicinal uses as well (including use as a mild anesthetic).

How can I prove to someone that the kingdom is fulfilled?  I understand the kingdom is the church, and the person I am talking with believes that also, but for some reason, they don’t think the church is completely fulfilled; therefore, they believe in visions and miracles.  Are there any verses that specifically say that the kingdom has been fulfilled?

Sincerely,
Loyal Subject

Dear Loyal Subject,

The kingdom isn’t done with its work… but that doesn’t mean you can’t prove that visions and miracles have ceased.  The work of the kingdom won’t be entirely fulfilled until the Great Day of Judgment (Jude 1:6) when Christ will hand the kingdom over to the Father (1 Cor 15:24).

Visions and miracles have ceased because the kingdom doesn’t need them anymore.  Paul said that prophecies would stop when ‘the perfect’ comes (1 Cor 13:8-10).  The ‘perfect’ isn’t the end of time; it is the completed Bible.  The Bible is called “the perfect law of liberty” (Jas 1:25).  When the final book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, was completed, we no longer needed prophecy in order to understand God’s Will.  Jude said that we have God’s law handed down to us “once and for all, delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).  Since God provides all knowledge and wisdom in His Bible (everything that pertains to life and godliness – 2 Pet 1:3)… what would be the purpose of visions and prophecy continuing?  The church (i.e. the kingdom) still has work left to do here on this planet, but visions are no longer necessary to fulfill that work.  We recommend reading “I Dreamed A Dream” and “Three Cheers For Miracles” for more on this subject.