Contradiction with Isaiah 1:16
This verse emphasizes the need for individuals to wash themselves and make themselves clean, suggesting personal responsibility rather than divine intervention.
Isaiah 1:16: Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Contradiction with Jeremiah 17:9
This verse highlights the lasting deceitfulness and wickedness of the human heart, which contradicts the notion of a clean heart in Ezekiel 36:25.
Jeremiah 17:9: The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Contradiction with Romans 7:18
This verse indicates the perpetual struggle with sin within oneself, contradicting the idea of being fully cleansed and pure as proposed in Ezekiel 36:25.
Romans 7:18: For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [how] to perform that which is good I find not.
Contradiction with 1 John 1:8
This verse states that claiming to be without sin is self-deception, contradicting Ezekiel 36:25's promise of cleansing from all filthiness.
1 John 1:8: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Contradiction with Jeremiah 2:22
This verse suggests that no matter how much one tries to wash with soap, the stain of iniquity remains, in contrast with the cleansing promised in Ezekiel 36:25.
Jeremiah 2:22: For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, [yet] thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.
Paradox #1
Ezekiel 36:25 speaks about being cleansed with water. Some people see a conflict because they feel it suggests that cleansing comes solely from an external ritual. However, in the New Testament, particularly in the teachings of Jesus, there's more emphasis on inner spiritual renewal and faith for true purification. This might seem inconsistent when comparing the focus on external versus internal cleansing.