2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

(KJV)

In many Bibles, a note often says "Some MSS (manuscripts) omit the italicized portion." However, in verse seven, the invalid’s response to Jesus validates the narrative of the italicized portion.

John 5:7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

Pigs and Demons

The pigs into which Jesus sent the legion of demons was about 2000 -- not just a few.

Mark 5:12 The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them."

5:13 He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

That indicates there had to be at least 2000 demons.

Veil Torn in Two

At Jesus’ crucifixion, the Veil (a heavy curtain that separated the holy place from the “Holy of Holies” where God’s presence was) in the temple was torn in two

Matthew 27:50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.

Dead are Raised

At Jesus’ crucifixion, bodies were raised from the dead!

Matthew 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. (KJV)

Demons today

Throughout the gospels, we read Jesus casting out demons, and different ones being possessed of demons. In fact, there are more passages in which Jesus cast out demons than in which he healed people. That being the case, why are we so hesitant to identify demons today? If they were prevalent then, they have to be ever flourishing now. Either we have been intimidated into believing more “acceptable” explanations for the causes of various physical and mental problems, or we don’t believe in demons at all today.

Miracles Dependent on Faith

Jesus’ ability to do miracles is dependent on the faith of the recipient

Mark 6:5-6

5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. (KJV)

Matthew 9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. (KJV)

Mark 5:34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. (KJV)

Matthew 8:13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” * And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Was Jesus’ ability to heal based on the subject’s faith? This and other passages indicate that God is limited by various constraints we do not understand. These constraints (involving faith, the performance of miracles, and how they do things), whether self-imposed, restricted by a promise, or reality-imposed, might explain why God does what He does and how He decides to do it. (See The Big Picture)

He Called Them Adam

God called both Adam and Eve “Adam.”

Genesis 5:2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Adam and Eve’s First Son

Was Cain Adam and Eve’s first son?

By implication we conclude that Cain was Adam & Eve's first son (Genesis 4:1) because this is the first mention of Eve becoming pregnant, but this is not a necessary conclusion.

Adam and Eve’s Second Son?

Abel was not necessarily Adam and Eve's second child

Genesis 4:2 does not even require that Abel was Adam's second son. Only that at some time later, Abel was born. His birth is being mentioned because it leads into the account about the first murder.

Not Adam and Eve’s Third Son

Seth was not Adam's third son. Genesis does not say he was.

He was born when Adam was 130 years old indicating that approximately nine months before is when Cain killed Abel. (Genesis 4:25 with Genesis 5:3)

But Adam's children by this point were likely numerous. And their children were numerous. And their children’s children were numerous. And their children’s grandchildren were numerous!. This explains where Cain got his wife. Yes, in this time, the marrying of siblings was not forbidden -- in fact, it was not even "risky" because the gene pool was not corrupt. It was nearly perfect.

The main reason Seth is even mentioned is to show the lineage of Noah. (Genesis 5:3-29) This is Noah’s line that came through the flood.

By the same line of reasoning, Seth did not live 105 years before having his first child, but mentioning his other children was not relevant to the account being told. This child was the ancestry of Noah.

Noah’s Sons

Likewise, Noah did not live 500 years before having any children. But that at 500 years, he had Shem, Ham, & Japheth. (Genesis 5:32 & Genesis 8:10,18)

Taking this line of reasoning further, it is possible that those three had children by the time the ark was completed, but that the children were unrighteous, and did not board the ark.

Genesis 7:1 is a bit problematic:

"The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation."

But may be understood differently than presented here, as indicated by Genesis 9:18. "The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)" This position is supported by the NASB and ESV which read "you and all your household" indicating those who lived with him.

The significance of Seth

What was the significance of Seth? He was a son that looked like Adam. (Genesis 5:3) Evidently the children born to Adam and Eve had different, but easily identifiable, traits that distinguished them from each other, and from Adam and Eve. In addition, Seth was the first son born to Eve after Abel was murdered.

The death penalty authorized by God:

Genesis 9:6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man."

Esau was literally hairy

The Bible tells us in Genesis 25:25 and Genesis 27:11 that Esau had so much hair that one would think he was wearing a garment — not only as a man, but when he was first born!

Giants as tall as cedars

Some giants in the Bible may have been as tall as 150 feet! (Amos 2:9) These beings were live versions of giants we’ve seen in the “mythological” movies of the cinema.

Horrible Account!

Probably the most horrible account recorded in the Bible:

While Samara was under seige, two Samaratan Women agreed to each kill and eat their sons in turn, but after they ate one of the sons the other woman refused to offer up her son to be eaten.

2Kings 6:24-30

God uses Angels

Despite our idealizing God’s abilities and behaviors, whether for efficiency’s sake, for practicality, or ability, God has the need for, and uses, angels. (See also “The Big Picture”)

Matthew 24:31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Matthew 13:38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest¤ is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

40 "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

NO ONE is righteous

On the statement that NO ONE is righteous:

Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (KJV)

I believe that is very contextual, and not generally applicable to Christians.

Consider:

Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (KJV)

1Jn:3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. (KJV)

And:

1 Tim 1:8-9 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, (NKJ)

This indicates that there must be some righteous or Matthew, John, and Paul’s words in these passages have no meaning.

1Peter 4:18 And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"

This indicates that Christians are considered righteous.

30 Pieces of Silver

Some say the price of 30 pieces of Silver was not all that much money, but I disagree. It was enough to buy a field of property:

Matthew 26:15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. (KJV)

Matthew 27:6-9 6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. 7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. 8 Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. 9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; (KJV)

Food Jesus ate

The only food documented for us that Jesus ate is fish! (See Luke 24:42-43) It is implied that He ate other things, but nothing else is specifically stated.

Promise might have gone to Terah

It appears as if Abram's father, Terah, was first given the suggestion by God to go to Canaan. Genesis 11:31-32 For some reason Terah took his immediate family and they were headed to Canaan, but settled in Haran. Then God made the offer to Abram.

Ungodly Store Wealth for the Godly

God gives the ungodly the task of generating wealth to eventually hand over to the Godly.

Ecclesiastes 2:26 To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.

Angel Detained

A messenger of God was detained until the archangel Michael came and helped out

Daniel 10:12-13

NIV:

12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince [Isa 24:21] [Isa 24:21] of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, [ ver 21 ; Da 12:1 ; S Jude 9] [ver 21; Da 12:1; S Jude 9] one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.

NLT:

12 Then he said, "Don't be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. 13 But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia.

Angels sometimes act autonomously

When the Angel appeared to Zechariah in the temple, he closed Zechariah’s “mouth” so that he could not speak. The way this took place indicates that Angels are autonomous beings.

Luke 1:20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. (KJV)

Contention over the body of Moses

Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. (KJV)