Dan Mellis
Thorsredballs
Hi all,
I usually am out for a debate but in this thread that's not my aim, and I won't enter into it (promise).
I've seen some Christians refer to a passage in Hosea (9:16) which has some pretty strong wording about 'Ephraim'. They interpret Ephraim to mean all of Israel; however from what I can see, it only refers to one of 12 tribes. Can anyone give me the reasoning behind the generalisation or is this incorrect?
Also, I'm interested in the apologetic argument for Jeremiah 29:17-19. Specifically, I've heard some arguments that 'death doesn't really mean literal death in the bible' and that you have to refer to NT when OT seems incongruent. The following quote was given from the aforementioned passage by a Christian to explain the gravitas of their faith...
“I will send the sword, Famine and plague against them, and I will make them like poor figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth and an object of cursing and horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. For they have not listened to my words,”
again, any other views?
I usually am out for a debate but in this thread that's not my aim, and I won't enter into it (promise).
I've seen some Christians refer to a passage in Hosea (9:16) which has some pretty strong wording about 'Ephraim'. They interpret Ephraim to mean all of Israel; however from what I can see, it only refers to one of 12 tribes. Can anyone give me the reasoning behind the generalisation or is this incorrect?
Also, I'm interested in the apologetic argument for Jeremiah 29:17-19. Specifically, I've heard some arguments that 'death doesn't really mean literal death in the bible' and that you have to refer to NT when OT seems incongruent. The following quote was given from the aforementioned passage by a Christian to explain the gravitas of their faith...
“I will send the sword, Famine and plague against them, and I will make them like poor figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth and an object of cursing and horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. For they have not listened to my words,”
again, any other views?