Bible Question: Can religion and church membership help you go to heaven?

Accepting Jesus as your savior is the way to gain salvation. Gathering with those “of like precious Faith” will be a means to assist you to be faithful. No Scripture teaches us to have a church membership. 2 Pet 1:1-3 But the Scriptures do admonish Christians to have close fellowship around the Bible teachings. Acts 2:42, 1 John 1:3

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6. Jesus told us to follow him (not a Church organization or a man). Luke 9:23 Paul, one of the twelve appointed apostles, admonished Christians to only follow him to the extent that he followed Jesus. 1 Cor 11:1 Paul also reminded the Christian to remember that Jesus was the authority for the Church. “Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” 1 Cor 1:12-13

The “Christian Church” is not made up of memberships in specific denomination(s) but is a “little flock” (Luke 12:32) that has been gathered by the Lord from around the world over the last 2000 years since its founding at Pentecost as recorded in Acts. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling..” Eph 4:4 The True Church is made up of those called and consecrated to His Cause. Rom 8:17, Psa 50:5

The Bible encourages the “called” to seek fellowship with likeminded: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest (Jesus glorified) over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Heb 10:19-25

We encourage you to seek fellowship with those who point you to the Scriptures and follow the examples set up by our Lord at the First Advent and recorded in the Gospels and book of Acts. The Bible Study book entitled The New Creation is a place for you to begin a study of Christian fellowship and the teachings set forth in the early church. Study 5, "THE ORGANIZATION OF THE NEW CREATION", is a good place to start a personal study. http://www.biblestudents.com/htdbv5/htdb0143.htm

Bible Question: Where is this in the Bible? For the creation itself will be a witness to everyone on earth so that they have no excuse so as not to believe.

You may be thinking of Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

This scripture indicates that nature itself testifies to the existence of God. In a way, there are two Bibles issued from the same Divine Author; the Bible of the unwritten word, and the Bible of the written word. Or we may look at it as one bible in two volumes, the volume of Nature and the volume of Scripture; and the first volume is the second volume illustrated.

Ignorance and superstition in the world are not the fault of God. Rom 1:21 Because that , when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Men began to disregard God’s laws soon after the fall of man. The heathen quickly replaced the true God with worship of wood and stone. Only the faithful like Noah and his lineage through Abraham retained God in their thoughts.

It is interesting to look at a concordance and see how many times God identifies himself as the creator of all that exists. This is his fingerprint, so to speak, which may be traced in everything in which has been created in heaven and earth. Isa. 42:5, Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it and spirit to them that walk therein.

Bible Question: Well, from my understand god creating the world in six days? Dinosaurs lived for thousands of years. Where were they when god created the man on the 6th day?

We agree with you that it doesn’t make sense that dinosaurs could have lived for thousands of years before man if the creative days were 24-hour periods. Our understanding is that the Bible teaches each creative day was 7,000 years, and the whole creative week was 49,000 years. Therefore, dinosaurs could have been around for many years before man was created at the end of the 6th creative day.

The concept behind the creative day equaling 7000 years comes from calculating Bible chronology, which demonstrates that from the creation of Adam to Christ’s 1000 year reign is 6000 years. Then we are told Christ’s reign is 1000 years. Therefore, the last creative day (in which God rested, man was created, and the work of restoring mankind to his perfection lost is given to Christ to accomplish) is 7000 years.

This chronology can be found at:
http://www.biblestudents.com/htdbv5/htdb0086.htm

Having established that the last creative day is 7000 years, it is reasonable that the previous 6 creative days were also 7000 years each. This concept is based on the Jewish sabbath system of 6 days labor and 1 day rest.

We also find this concept shown when Jesus said he was Lord of the sabbath (Matt. 12:8). Jesus healed on the sabbath in order to picture that on the great Sabbath (the last 1000 years of the seventh 7000-year Creative Day, the Millennium) he would heal the whole world. Rev. 20 clearly states the antitypical Sabbath would be 1000 years, so we can conclude that 6 "days" of labor under sin and death came before it.

The 1000 years of Christ’s reign is mentioned specifically in Rev. 20, Psa. 90, and 2 Peter 3. In Psalm 90:3 the whole 7000 years of man’s fall into sin and their restoration is summarized: "Thou turnest man to destruction;and sayest, Return, ye children of men." In Psa. 90:4 the whole 7000 years is stated to be, in God’s timing, days of 1000 years length: "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night."

In 2 Peter 3 the context is the return of Jesus for the day of judgment (vs. 7). In the day of judgment, the old order will be replaced by Christ’s new order (vs. 10). Verse 8 is letting us know the judgment day is to be 1000 years.

It should be noted that there are different "days" in the Bible. Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness are called a day in Heb. 3:8. The last creative day of 7000 years is called a day in Heb. 4:4. So 2 Peter 3:8 is specifically telling us that the judgment day, the Millennium, the day of the Lord is 1000 years. All these scriptures are clarifying the concept of the 1000-year day in regard to the sabbath system.