Since You Asked

What is the spiritual signifigance [sic] of "train", if any, that Isaiah saw in his vision of the Lord. This certainly must have been more than a typical robe that we read about in chapter 6. Thanks, Wayne Cash, Howe, Ok

The KJV, ASV and RSV in Isaiah 6:1 simply refer to the Lord's “train” filling the temple, whereas the NKJV states: “the train of His robe.” The original language word for “train” means “hem"; therefore, the NKJV adds the word “robe” (italicized to show that it is not in the original) to help the English reader better understand precisely what is filling the temple in the vision, namely the “hem."1 The NIV and NASB also read “the train of his robe,” without the italics, however, which does not show that the word “robe” was added for clarification. Elsewhere, the word “hem” appears instead of “train" in the following verses: Exodus 28:33-34; 39:24-26. “Skirts” appears instead of either “train” or “hem” in these verses: Jeremiah 13:22, 26; Lamentations 1:9; Nahum 3:5.

The Holy Spirit, through the words of Jesus Christ and the pen of the apostle John, applied the prophecy of Isaiah 6:1-13 to the Christ (John 12:34-41). The Holy Spirit had inspired Isaiah to write the Isaiah 6 context and no one, therefore, is more capable of making the appropriate application (Acts 28:25-26). Fittingly, the word “hem" appears respecting the attire of Aaron, the high priest (Exodus 28:33-34; 39:24-26), to which hem bells and pomegranates were attached. (Elsewhere, though, as noted above, “skirts" appears in references not applicable to the Christ.) Jesus, we learn from the New Testament (Hebrews 6:20; 9:11), is our high priest.

In the vision, the Lord's robe, inclusive of its hem and whatever might be expected to be hanging from the hem, completely fill the floor of the temple. There is no standing room (i.e., no room for anyone else) so that the angels that are styled seraphim must fly and not stand (Isaiah 6:2).

He saw the Lord, and what more he saw was the all-filling robe of the indescribable One. As far as the eye of the seer could look at first, the ground was covered by this splendid robe. There was consequently no room for any one to stand. And the vision of the seraphim is in accordance with this.2

We may conclude from the “train” (hem) of the Christ's robe filling the temple in the vision that he is preeminent in glory. Further, one may deduce from Isaiah 6:1; Exodus 28:33-34 and John 12:41 that our Lord's attire in Isaiah's vision is not only kingly, but priestly (as in the high priest) also. Yet, he is at the same time the King of kings (John 18:37; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). Isaiah 6:1 depicts him as king and perhaps as priest, too.

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1 shuwl (shool); from an unused root meaning to hang down; a skirt; by implication, a bottom edge: hem, skirt, train. Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.

2 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.

Dear Bro. Rushmore, I enjoy your website very much. I appreciate the good job you do with it. I have a Bible Question for you. One of our Bible Class teachers asked me if Noah put fish on the ark? I told her I had never really thought about it. So I read Gen. 6 & 7 and did not see any indication that he did. Would I be correct in telling her that no fish were on the ark since God does not specifically mention them being there. I look forward to your reply. Hayden Childs

Genesis 7:2-3, 8, 14 identify Noah's non-human passengers as beasts, cattle, fowl and creeping things from the earth (i.e., land). Further, including Noah's family and the non-human passengers, they all were such creatures in which there was "the breath of life" (Genesis 7:15). Genesis 7:22 summarizes what creatures (including man) that died as being "All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died." Again, the next verse stipulates that only the creatures on the surface of the land were affected by the great deluge. "And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth …" The biblical record clearly reveals that sea creatures, including fish, were not the object of the destructive flood of Noah's day. No fish were on the ark as part of the 'two by two' passengers. (This doesn't preclude the possibility that fish may have served as food on the ark for either Noah's family or the animal passengers.)

What do we do with Colossians 1:16, "For by Him all things were created, that are in heaven and that are in earth?" Does this mean All things? Or is it explained by the rest of the verse: " Whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him," even musical instruments. ~ Tracy Rhodes

The verse reads: "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him" (Colossians 1:16). The words "all things" literally read in the Greek, "the all." This refers to the creation of the universe. The word "created" in the Greek means to bring something into existence from nothing. This verse states that Jesus Christ is responsible for creation of the visible universe as well as other aspects of the created universe that are not visible to the eye. Musical instruments, automobiles, homes, etc. are not created but fashioned or made (reworked) from existing (already created) materials. Hence, Colossians 1:16 has no reference to manufactured or even handcrafted items for which mankind may be responsible. Mankind cannot do what is in this verse attributed to Jesus and this verses does not either attribute to Jesus what mankind makes from pieces of the created universe. Further, in the next verse, Jesus is attributed with causing what he created to continue to exist, without which power and interest of Jesus all the created universe would cease instantly to exist.

I came across your article while doing some research on the internet. thanks for your insight. A couple of questions come to mind that I wonder if you can help me with. First, would it make any difference if tonges, prophecy, knowledge are understood not as miracles but as manifestations of the Spirit in the worship of the body? Secondly, can the phrase "now abides . . ." refer to right now in the present age and not after the Lord's return? … My background teaches cessationism based largely on this verse but I certainly have read a good many NT scholars who hold differently. In His Name, Mike Garrigan, Bluff Park, AL

Granted, "tongues, prophecy and knowledge" were manifestations of the Spirit that sometimes occurred in the assembly (1 Corinthians 14). Howbeit, 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14 dealt with the abuses that the Corinthian church made of the miraculous gifts afforded them. In the context, then, these were miraculous manifestations. The biblical definition of "tongues" from Acts 2 is that they were languages common to men of various nations, which the Holy Spirit enabled some such as the apostles to speak without prior acquaintance with them. In a sense, we still use tongues today, though instead of relying upon miracles, we must study the languages to learn to speak in the languages of various nations.

"Faith, hope, charity" (1 Corinthians 13:13) does refer to the present and not to when the Lord returns, as when Jesus Christ returns, faith and hope will evaporate in the face of realization of the things for which we formerly entertained faith and hope.

No offense intended, but is your reference to "scholars" relative to Greek lexicographers or denominational theologians whose doctrinal stance has been decided for them by others before they approach the sacred text? Really, this is a rhetorical question. The context of 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 is such that it must be manipulated to make the partial revelation not refer to the context's counterpart of complete revelation.

What is the exact word and meaning for Apostles in Greek ... Apostles are the eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ, Right? (Acts 1:22) as they were twelve and apostle Paul (Acts 26:13-18) ... But some people are arguing that there are 16 Apostles which includes the following. Can you  please Explain ... Twelve + Paul = 13 ... + Matthias = 14 ... Acts 14:14 ... + Barnabas = 15 ... Heb 3:1 ... + Jesus = 16 ... ~ Joe David

"How many apostles" as it is represented above is a trivia or trick question that one might pose to try to stump someone. Yet, of course, there is a valid aspect to determining what the word apostle means and in what sense it is variously applied in the New Testament.

The word for "apostle" is transliterated (brought over without translation and the Greek letters exchanged for English letters) from the Greek, apostolos. Literally, it means, "one sent forth." It is applied by Jesus to his twelve disciples (Luke 6:13). When a replacement apostle was selected to replace Judas who by transgression fell, one was to be selected from among those who had been with the Lord in his earthly ministry and had seen the resurrected Lord (Acts 1:22); Matthias was chosen (Acts 1:26). Through this point, there existed 12 apostleships of Christ and there had been 13 persons who had or were serving as apostles of Christ. The apostle Paul was singled out by Jesus to serve as an apostle of Christ, and our Lord appeared unto him for that purpose (Acts 22:14; Galatians 1:1). This brings the number of apostleships to 13 and the number of persons who served as apostles of Christ to 14.

Barnabas, a fellow evangelist with the apostle Paul, along with Paul himself are referred to other than as apostles of Christ to be apostles of the church in Antioch of Syria (Acts 14:4, 14). They had been selected by the Holy Spirit and appointed by the church in Antioch with laying on of hands before being permitted to begin Paul's first missionary journey (Acts 13:2-4). Barnabas and Paul were 'ones sent' or in that sense 'apostles of the church in Antioch of Syria.' Barnabas is not usually viewed as an apostle of Christ in the sense in which the twelve, then Matthias and then Paul were viewed specially as the apostles of Christ.

Again, Jesus Christ is referred to as an apostle in the sense of 'one sent.' Obviously, Jesus Christ was not an apostle of Jesus Christ. The basic meaning of the word is what is meant regarding Jesus (Hebrews 3:1). John 17:3 phrases it, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." The Greek word for "sent" here is related to the Greek word for apostle. Jesus Christ was sent from heaven by the Father, and in that sense, Jesus was an apostle of heaven.