This is a rebuttal to the 3rd alleged Bible contradiction

Question #3: Will those who worship God suffer?

Okay, now for the verses Evans presented to make his claim.

In the 'no' category, we have

Psalms 91:5-10, Proverbs 12:21

and in the 'yes' category, we have

Matthew 5:11-12, John 15:20, 1 Peter 4:12-13

My preface

I have a feeling that this is going to come up a lot. I'll just spit it out. Each dispensation
has its own rules, it's own promises and obligations. The promises and obligations for people
of the Church Age (which is now) are generally very different than those of the Age under the
Law of Moses. They are not completely different, of course, but the believers in Jesus
go to Him for those promises and obligations (specified in the gospels and the epistles), not
to the Law of Moses. Jesus spoke about the world getting in Himself a new Covenent which
replaces (once and for all) the Old Covenent.

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This
is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the
cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed
for you. -- Luke 22:19-20

And while I'm on this topic, I don't think that I should take for granted that the people
reading this page even know that the Old Testament has a prediction of the New Testament.

31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that
I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out
of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto
them, saith the Lord: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts,
and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And
they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest
of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their
sin no more. -- Jeremiah 31:31-34

By the way, remember that I said that we have to approach God on more than just the
'cylinder' of the mind? Here, God expressly tells us that we have to approach Him on the
basis of the 'cylinder' called the heart. All 4 cylinders are: heart, soul, mind, and strength.

And, what does Paul have to say about this? Remember Paul -- the apostle who said
that we are not under the obligation to the works of the Law of Moses?

Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them
who are under the law. -- Romans 3:19a

However,

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one
that believeth. -- Romans 10:4

So, my point is that when Mr. Evans makes a list of Old Testament verses
against a list of New Testament verses, I am immediately doubtful of its
validity, though that wouldn't always be the case, I suppose. Again, I do
not claim to be a Christian apologist. That is to say, I have not dedicated
my life's work for Jesus in the area of apologetics.

Let's get something straight, folks. Not every book of the Bible is equally important
as every other book of the Bible in the categories of prophecies, wisdom, and moral
and spiritual behaviors and pieties. I go to Jesus's words first, then to the writings of the
apostles, and then to all other writings. Sure, there's to be found some good wisdom in
the Proverbs and the Book of Ecclesiastes, but they aren't more important than the words
of Jesus Christ. When Jesus gave His list of the Books of the Old Testament that He would
be fulfilling in His life and death, He included the Psalms but not the Proverbs. If you
refuse to elevate the words of Jesus as supreme over all else in the Bible, you are
already in sin.

My answer

My answer is a simple yes and no. We are all born under the Curse.
We will all suffer and most of us will taste death. Those who will
not die are those who will be raptured just before the return of Jesus
Christ. Those in heaven will have their tears wiped away and all
rememberance of those events (at least the painful ones) will be
wiped away.

1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John
saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice
out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he
will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall
be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are
passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all
things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and
faithful. -- Revelation 21:1-5

It's clear that the promises in those verses of the last book of the
Christian Bible is the lifting of the curses laid down on Mankind in the first
book of the Bible. As it says in Revelation 22:3, And there shall be no
more curse. Well, what curse is it referring to?

Everyone who is born, is a descendent of Adam and is therefore born under
the Curse given to Adam:

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy
seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his
heel. 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy
conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall
be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said,
Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten
of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it:
cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the
days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;
and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt
thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou
taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. -- Genesis 3:15-19

Now, to Psalms 91. I'm going to present the entire thing because there are
many points to make on this Psalms. The first thing to note about this psalms
is to whom it is addressed. It is addressed to 'He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the most High'. I have no idea who that is. Are they the people who
will live as saved beings under the rule of King Jesus after He returns to set
up His Kingdom during His Millennial reign on earth? Maybe. I don't think it
could even be thought to apply to the average Jew at the time it was written.
If it was written by David, we know that David suffered. He suffered from the
shenanigans of King Saul and from his own misdeeds. All of these protections
mean nothing until we can figure out to whom they apply.

This Psalm also does not seem to be aimed at the Christian of this Church Age.
Jesus promised the believer to have trials and tribulations in this life.

1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under
the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge
and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver
thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou
trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid
for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the
pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth
at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy
right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt
thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9 Because thou hast made
the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There
shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy
ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot
against a stone. 13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young
lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 14 Because he hath
set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high,
because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will
answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour
him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
-- Psalms 91:1-16

It's interesting the the Devil thought (or at least pretended to think) that this
psalm applied to the Son of God:

1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he
was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he
said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made
bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth
of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth
him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the
Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels
charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest
at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him,
It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. -- Matthew 4:1-7

Proverbs 12:21: Okay, Mr. Evans, I'm going to give you my opinion about
the Book of Proverbs. It has a lot of commonsense wisdom in it.
It has some great verses, but not many. Most of the wisdom in that book
was directed to the Jews at the time of Solomon, though some of it still
applies today. But Jesus said:

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you,
while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were
written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms,
concerning me. -- Luke 24:44

Sorry, but I have to follow the priorities that Jesus set for His
church, and the Book of Proverbs wasn't that high on His list.

There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled
with mischief. -- Proverbs 12:21

This promise was consistent generally with the blessings and curses God
gave to all the children of Israel in the Law of Moses, but it was never
to be taken as absolute. It was also said in those times that the evil
prosper, while the good languish. [Psalms 73:3, Jeremiah 12:1, etc] If
you want to take that as a contradiction, Mr. Evans, so be it.

Now for the verses that deny a life free of suffering: Matthew 5:11-12,
John 15:20, 1 Peter 4:12-13. I'm not going to present them because I don't
contest them. In fact, I can present a great many more such verses. These
are verses to be kept in mind for all true followers of Jesus.

Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered
in the flesh hath ceased from sin; -- 1 Peter 4:1

How does this work, Peter? Maybe because when we suffer in the flesh,
we gain a new appreciation for the fragility of life and for the need
to focus on the long-term issues of life, not just immediate fleshly
satisfactions. Believe it or not, it's all part of 'walking in the Spirit'.

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust
of the flesh. -- Galatians 5:16

Some of the most indifferent people there are to the sufferings of others are
those who themselves have never suffered much. To love much may require to
suffer much. And that love covers the multitude of sins. [1 Peter 4:8]

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort
them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are
comforted of God. -- 2 Corinthians 1:4

So, we learn how to comfort others by needing comfort for ourselves. But to
get this comfort, we must be in some kind of trial or tribulation for which
comfort makes sense.

Question 4: Should people be punished for the sins of past generations?

Remember this: The righteous are mindful of the poor and help them; the wicked do not! (Proverbs 29:7)

You either get control of your lusts and feelings of entitlements or they will get control of you. -- Ilfinor