Does it indicate in the Bible how many times a day God required the levitical priests to enter His temple to do their duties?  If so, how many times and where does it indicate this?

Sincerely,
Daily Duties

Dear Daily Duties,

The Bible never specifically says how many times a day that the priests were allowed to enter the temple, but they had to do it at least twice.  All of the sacrifices and burnt offerings were made on the altar, which was outside of the temple (Ex 40:6) – and that is where most of the priests’ time would have been spent.  However, inside the temple structure itself, there were three things that needed regular attention: the golden lamp stand, the incense altar, and the table of showbread (Ex 35:13-15).  The table of showbread only had to be attended to weekly (Lev 24:5-9).  The lamp stand had to be kept continually burning (Lev 24:2).  And last, but not least, the incense altar needed to have incense burned on it every morning and every evening (2 Chr 13:11).  Since the priests were supposed care for the lamp stand at the same time that they burned incense (Ex 30:7-8), they didn’t need to enter the temple more than twice on any regular day.

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Hey, my friend has been trying to tell me for at least three or four days that christians are still under the law of God (Ten Commandments) because there is a difference among the Law of God, the Ten Commandments, and the Law of Moses (ordinances, sacrifices, etc.); could you help me to show that there is one law?  Also, he told me that God made one covenant with the Israelites specifically about the Ten Commandments and another at another time.  He also says that the Ten Commandments are in heaven (Rev 11:19).  Thanks.

Sincerely,
Not A Lawyer

Dear Not A Lawyer,

The ‘Ten Commandments’ were Old Testament laws, and you need to live by nine of them. The entire Old Testament law, including the ‘Ten Commandments’ was done away when Christianity replaced Judaism (Gal 3:23-25). The New Testament law supersedes the Old Testament one, and the law written on stone tablets (the Mosaic law which includes the Ten Commandments (Deu 4:13) has passed away (2 Cor 3:3-11).

Having said that, the New Testament reiterates nine out of the ten commands. Christians do obey nine of the ‘Ten Commandments’ because Christ thought nine of them were worth keeping in the New Testament.

1. Thou shalt not have any other god before me (Ex 20:3, 1 Cor 10:14)
2. Thou shalt not make graven images or bow down to them (Ex 20:4-5, 1 Jhn 5:21)
3. Thou shalt not take God’s name in vain (Ex 20:7, Heb 12:28)
4. Honor thy father and mother (Ex 20:12, Eph 6:1-2)
5. Thou shalt not kill (Ex 20:13, 1 Pet 4:15)
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery (Ex 20:14, Heb 13:4)
7. Thou shalt not steal (Ex 20:15, Eph 4:28)
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness (Ex 20:16, Rev 21:8)
9. Thou shalt not covet (Ex 20:17, Eph 5:3)

The only one of the ‘Ten Commandments’ left out is the keeping of the Sabbath (Ex 20:8). Christians aren’t bound to keep the Sabbath holy; Jews were. You have to keep the other nine though.

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From what I have read, he did not meet the criteria in the Old Testament (as you guys call it).  I have talked to deeply religious christians about this, and they can quote me Scripture all day long; however, since the Bible and Jesus are the most important things in their lives, you would think they would have done research on the historical origins of the Bible and the historic evidence of Jesus during the years of 1-60 AD, but I found in every single case without exception the same attitude of “I know nothing, and I do not want to know”.  One nurse I work with told me, “I do not need evidence; I just believe.”  Why do you think they call it blind faith?!

If you really think the New Testament is truly the word of God and not manmade, that means it all would make perfect sense, and there would not be any inconsistencies, and the more you learn, the more you will find out nothing is more obvious.

Plus, if we are right, then you guys are worshiping falsely and, therefore, are doomed under your own belief system.  The whole thing, in my opinion, comes down to our God-given gift of reason and common sense.

How would you respond if Muslims and Mormons told you they are the only way to God, and if you do not buy into it, you are doomed?

Can we not just respect each other?  If you know something I don’t and have historic proof and real evidence and not just blind faith, I would love to see it!

Sincerely,
Of A Friendly Faith

Dear Of A Friendly Faith,

It is an absolute travesty that no one has ever given you a better reason for believing in Jesus than blind faith.  We here at AYP believe that Jesus is the Christ because of the evidence – not in spite of it!  To save space, we are going to point you toward a couple of previous posts to read.  For information on the authenticity of the Bible and its divine origins, we recommend reading our posts “Who Wrote The Bible?” and perusing our evidences section of the AskYourPreacher archives.  God meant it when He told us to “come and reason together” with Him (Isa 1:18).  The more you dig into it, the more staggering the evidence is that the Bible was written by God.

The same goes for Jesus.  When the apostles first began preaching Jesus as the Christ, they did it to Jews who knew their Bibles.  The biggest stumbling block for every Jew was that Jesus died on a cross – something none of them believed would ever happen to the Messiah (Gal 5:11).  However, the apostles proved that the Bible did teach that the Messiah would have to suffer (Acts 26:22-23).  The apostles quoted verses like Ps 16:10 (used by Peter in Acts 2:25-31) and Isa 53:5-11 (used by Philip in Acts 8:32-35).  The Old Testament taught that the Messiah would suffer and die on a cross, and Jesus did that very thing.  We highly recommend reading The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel for further details on the evidence that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah.  Hopefully this gives you some evidence to whet your appetite; please feel free to continue to correspond with us as further questions arise.

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If Jesus is the “only begotten son” of God, how do you explain Psalms 2:7 where God tells David, “You are my son; today I have begotten you”? Thanks.

Sincerely,
Looking For Psalm Answers

Dear Looking For Psalm Answers,

Psalm 2:7 is a prophecy about Jesus.  David wrote many psalms, and some of them were prophetic.  The second Psalm is a prophetic psalm.  The reason we know this for sure is because in Acts 13:33, the apostle Paul specifically says that Ps 2:7 is talking about Jesus.

David was of the lineage of Christ, and there were times that God had him write Psalms that were in the first person – but referring to Christ.  Peter also mentions another occasion like this in Acts 2:25-31.  God specifically used David to write about Jesus in the first person because Jesus would be a descendant of David (Acts 2:30).

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Who is the one who saw Lot’s wife turn into a pillar of salt?  If they looked back, would they too not of turned to salt?

Sincerely,
Pepper Person

Dear Pepper Person,

The story of Lot’s wife turning into a pillar of salt is recorded in Gen 19:26.  The Bible never tells us who saw her turn into a pillar of salt, but it may have been Lot’s daughters who were also fleeing the city (Gen 19:16).  Lot’s daughters could have been standing behind their mother when she turned back and looked at the city – something she was expressly commanded not to do (Gen 19:17).  Either that or they may have returned later to see her frozen as a pillar of salt.  The Bible isn’t specific about who saw the event, but there are numerous plausible answers.

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In the book of Psalms, which scripture mentions sweet sleep?

Sincerely,
Insomniac

Dear Insomniac,

The verse you are looking for is in Proverbs, not Psalms.  Pr. 3:24 talks about the sweetness of sleep that can only be found in a wisely led life (Pr 3:13).  When we lean on the Lord’s will and not our own understanding (Pr 3:5), we will find a wisdom that is worth more than silver and gold (Pr 3:14-16).

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