Question: I have done a Bible study about the COVID 19 Virus and I wanted to get your thoughts on it. I was recently asked if I think that “meeting on line” would satisfy the command from when God said “Do not give up meeting together as some are in the habitat of doing but […]
Question: Hello. I want to ask some question if you don’t mind. 1. How do we relate the Law of Moses with the Christianity nowadays? I’m somewhat confused because some sources I heard said that breaking the Moses Law does not mean you sin. So how do we consider this Law of Moses Only as […]
Question: As a Theistic Evolutionist do you believe that viruses,bacteria and parasites are the result of the fall of man or are they the result of the evolutionary process? Answer: I am guessing this question is motivated at least in part by the emergence of Covid-19. There is plenty of evidence in the geological record […]
Question: Hi Dr. John. I want to have a better understanding about Melchizedek and the relevance of him to Jesus. Based on the text found in Gen 14:18 and Hebrews 7. What is his relevance to Jesus Christ? Thank you! Answer: Good to hear from you. It just so happens that I just published a […]
Question: My question regards the story of Lot’s wife. I had a discussion a week ago with an atheist who told me that the Bible is a book of legends and a good proof for that is the story of the wife of Lot who was turned into a pillar of salt. He referred to […]
Question: I remember in your Evidence for Jesus articles that there was a Jewish source which talked about the fact that Yeshu was be executed. I looked up what Yeshu means on Wikipedia and it means Jesus but people say that Yeshu refers to people who practice magic or deal with sorcery. My question is […]
Missionary Teaching Trip to Indonesia and Hong Kong Jakarta, Indonesia 3/13 After passing through Hong Kong we land in Jakarta. Corona virus has become a big threat and we see many with masks. President Trump declared a travel ban from Europe just at the time we were leaving. We considered reversing course, but decided the […]
Question: Is there any evidence other than the Bible that show that the 12 disciples existed? Answer: Yes, there is plenty of evidence that the twelve disciples were real people. In fact, no one who knows the evidence can seriously entertain the thought that these men were not real people. We have evidence from both […]
Question: Is there evidence for the Red Sea crossing by the Jews under Moses? Answer; The answer is no. No physical evidence has been found to support the story in Exodus of the crossing of the Red Sea. But this is only what we would expect. What could we possibly find that would prove a […]
Question: How can I defend my faith in Jesus when the question arises as follows: How can a physical shedding of blood cleanse the sins and iniquities of a person? Is it not like a superstition and even nonsensical? How can I defend the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ to the materialists? Answer: This […]
Question: I have a question concerning “the number of the Beast” which is 666. Does 666 come from somewhere where the author could have copied it in Revelations and used it as the number. To put it simply did it come from any ancient civilization? Answer: The answer is no. The number 666 was chosen […]
[Editor’s note: This person is asking about the book of Enoch and its discovery in the eighteenth century] Question: Before James Bruce stole the book in Ethiopia, Western world Christians did not know the book [of Enoch] existed, so why after studying the book, did they say the book is false or non canonical? Was […]
Question: What did Jesus do between the ages of 12 and 30? Where did he live? Did he travel? What is the evidence (not belief and conjecture) that forms the basis of your assertions in this regard? Thank you. Answer: My answer is that I do not know what Jesus did or even where he […]
Question: What does it mean in 1 Corinthians 6:3 when it says, “Don’t you know that we will judge the angels?” Thanks. Answer; I get two things from this passage. 1. The angels will go through some sort of judgment at the end time. 2. We (ie faithful disciples or some subset of the faithful […]
Question: I have a question on the dates when the kings of Babylon ruled. To be more specific I am referring to Nebuchadnezzar’s sons Belshazzar and Evil-Merodach. So my question is did Evil-Merodach rule Babylon before Belshazzar? Answer; Yes, Evil-Merodach ruled before Belshazzar. Evil-Merodach was legitimate heir of Nebuchadnezzar. Nabonidus had him assasinated after only […]
Dr. John Oakes’ new book In Christ has just been published by Illumination Publishers. It is available at www.ipibooks.com The book is about the blessings that come with life in Christ. A few of the chapters are: You Were Outside of Christ You Came Into Christ You Have Been Reconciled With Christ You Are a […]
Question: What is your comment on the Ussher chronology? He concluded that Adam was created in 4004 BC, and the flood covered the Earth 2348 BC, but this is incompatible with what we know about Egyptian history. The first king of Egypt, Menes died in 3150 BC (before the flood by 800 years!!!!) Can the […]
Question: Gen 3:22 …the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil… It is confusing to me. How does God ‘know good & evil’? Answer; Let me be honest. I am not EXACTLY sure what the Lord meant when he described himself as “knowing good and evil.” Let me give you […]
Question: In your understanding of the scriptures, what is the mark of Cain as described in Genesis 4? Jude 1:11 talks about the “way of Cain” which could indicate a possibility of it being a figurative mark…but maybe not? Answer: The answer is that I do not know what the mark of Cain is. Genesis […]
Dr. John Oakes is giving a series of three lessons on the general topic of who is Jesus for the Metro Region of the Los Angeles International Church of Christ. Notes, PPT and audio are included. The first lesson, “Who is Jesus?” is about the claims of Jesus versus other world religious leaders and the […]
Question: I have a question I hope you can help me with. It’s probably one you’ve answered before but I didn’t see any like it posted on your site. With so many great scientists not believing in God it sometimes makes me doubt my faith. I read somewhere it’s 30/70 for belief/non belief for scientists. […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching an Old Testament Survey class in Bakersfield the next few weeks. PPT, Notes and audio are attached. Old-Testament-Survey-PPT OT-Survey-Notes OT Survey I OT Survey II OT Survey III […]
Question: 2 Timothy 3:8 says : “Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.” How did Paul know the names of Jannes and Jambres while we can’t find them even in the Old Testament? Answer; A good question. Jannes and Jambres […]
Question: William Marrion Branham is considered by some to be an end-time prophet. They say that in order to be taken up by Jesus, every Christian must believe his end-time message. What do you think about ? Answer; I have come across the Branhamites in both West Africa and in Central Africa, especially the two […]
Question: How do I explain to someone who doesn’t believe in the inspiration of the gospels, how it is that John was able to write his gospel in Greek even though he was called “unschooled” Acts 4:13? “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they […]
Dr. John Oakes is teaching for various churches in Indonesia 3/13-3/25/2020. Notes, power points will be posted. All lessons will be in English with translation into Bahasa Indonesia. Hebrews Living by Faith Notes Hebrews Living by Faith PPT Hebrews 11 Bahasa Audio Hebrews Bandung PPT Hebrews Notes Hebrews Bahasa I Hebrews […]
John Oakes is now preaching regularly for the Bakersfield Church of Christ, so we will be posting all of his sermons here. 3/8 Mark V Notes Mark-Sermon-V PPT Mark V Audio 3/1 Real Jesus II Audio 2/23 Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up PPT Real Jesus Notes Will the Real Jesus […]
Dr. John Oakes, Gregg Marutzky and Brian Craig taught a 16 hour class on the Book of Romans for the Los Angeles School of Ministry and Missions Feb 6 & 7 in West Covina, California. We are posting powerpoint, notes and audio. Romans PPT Romans Notes Romans 1 Romans 4 Romans 5 […]
Question: I’ve been looking into commentaries regarding Matthew 21:28, the parable of the two sons. One commentary used this parable to explain how it does not necessarily matter the name an individual worships, as long as they are worshiping, connecting, and acting on the principles and power of universal love. As Christians, we happen to […]
Question: Is human nature good or evil? For the majority of my life, I have been told humans are born evil. Evil humanity must choose God so they will completely alter the core of their being to ‘good’. Humanity then lives the rest of their lives fighting the true self so God can continue to […]
We are excited to announce a brand new book by Dr. John Oakes and Robert Carrillo. It will be available in two weeks, but can be pre-ordered now from Illumination Publishers, International. www.ipibooks.com Here is the link for purchasing the book. https://ipibooks.ecwid.com/#!/Hebrews—Living-By-Faith/p/168762906/category=18671191 See below for a brief excerpt from the introduction to the book. Hebrews: Living […]
Question: Please explain to me the introduction of Luke’s account? 1. Is Luke stating or implying that he checked facts with those first eye-witnesses to the Gospel and the words of Jesus Christ of Nazareth? 2. Or, was Luke just stating that those eye-witnesses just left accounts he referenced, like the Gospel/documents? 3. Did […]
Question: The ten Commandment speaks about worshiping only one God – “Almighty God. ” Also, in the Old Testament the Almighty God did not command us to worship his son Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The Almighty God did not say to worship any another god and the Almighty God did not say to worship my […]
Question: This is my last semester in college and one the classes I’m taking is “Evolution and Systematics”. My professor is an outspoken atheist ( I had anticipated this) and regularly derides any belief in God ( sometimes adding foul language into the mix). During the first day of class, he asked us to “raise […]
Question: Should Christian Swear On Bible In Court? Answer: I cannot think of any biblical reason that a Christian cannot swear on the Bible if asked to in court. Now, it is true that Jesus said in Matthew 5:33-37 that we should not swear at all. However, we need to consider the context. In the […]
Dr. John Oakes taught a class, along with Dr. Nick Zola on teachers and teaching in the New Testament for the teacher’s conference Conversations on 3/6/2020. Much of this material comes from Dr. Glenn Giles who was originally scheduled to teach this class. Thanks, Glenn. Teachers in the NT PPT NT Teacher Audio […]
Question: I have three questions: 1. It is said by some who do a lot of research that Jesus Christ of Nazareth did not exist and all stories about Jesus Christ of Nazareth were retellings of older pagan myths by relatively well educated Greek-speaking (and writing) Christians during the 2nd half of the first century. […]
Question: Is human nature good or evil? For the majority of my life, I have been told humans are born evil. Evil humanity must choose God so they will completely alter the core of their being to ‘good’. Humanity then lives the rest of their lives fighting the true self so God can continue to […]
[Editor’s note: This is a rather long question, but the answer is below!] Question: This is on Daniel 9 and what Wiki has been saying about it. First of all, they say this has nothing to do with Jesus and the temple but it is about Jeremiah. As stated here: “The seventy weeks prophecy is […]
Question: Did God order that 6th commandment be broken when in 1 Samuel 15:3 He ordered the murder of the innocent children and infants (innocent in terms of them not having done the things the Amelikites did that forced God to order their killing). Or am I confusing the definition of murder? The reason I […]
Question: A friend of mine is adamant that discipling is unbiblical and is saying that the Holy Spirit alone is sufficient to teach us and people can lead us astray. He is using this scripture ( 1 John 2:27-28) to prove his point.. He is trying hard to negatively influence me about being in a […]
John Oakes is teaching a class on Hermeneutics in Bakersfield, California in February. This class focuses on the means to best interpret and understand the Bible. Classes are at 9:00 at 3010 Amber Canyon Place, Bakersfield (except 2/8 at 1:30). Notes, power point and audio are included. Hermeneutics Notes Hermeneutics PPT Hermeneutics Audio […]
Question: Who are the magi that visited baby Jesus? Why are they important enough to be in the Bible? What would the people of Jesus’ era and culture have understood about them? Answer; Matthew does not identify the magi, but we know they come from the East. If one is in Bethlehem, to the east […]
Question: I am confused with omnipresence of God and the theophany in Old Testament. My question is how the omnipresent nature of God can be consistent with theophany? Hope this helps. A similar question goes for the incarnation and the second coming of Christ. If God is omnipresent how then can theophany or incarnation makes […]
Quetion: I saw this comment online that reads : “Why do we teach that a person must continue to ask for forgiveness for sins that God is not counting against us and for which no sacrifice remains that God requires or accepts (2 Corinthians 5:19; Hebrews 10:17-18)?”. I know that we can’t deliberately keep on […]
Question: I was wondering if when God finished creating in Gen 2:2-3 he rested because he was actually tired. At first I thought that was absurd (and I still do to a degree). Maybe another reason for the rest was to establish the Sabbath, but then I saw the passage from Exodus 31:17 where it […]
Question: Can a Christian read the Koran and can you tell me a few reasons a Christian might want to do this? How can it be helpful for the Christian life? How many times did you red Koran and how has it helped you? Answer: Thanks for the question. I have read the Qur’an through […]
Question: Some people have asked me about Christians practicing yoga? Where is the red line in this practice, of whether Christians can do yoga? Answer: I am sure you know that I am not going to give you a “red line,” as to create red lines is to practice legalism. We do not need red […]
Question: Hey all at EFC! I was wondering how I would respond to a claim that Jesus lied in John 7:1-10. This doesn’t affect my faith whatsoever but I would like to know how I would handle this question. Also does Leviticus 25:44 necessarily teach that you can buy slaves as long as they aren’t […]
Questions: 1. If an allegorical system of interpretation is applied to the creation story, that is 6 days is billions of years, how about the rest of the scripture? 2. God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning— the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31), […]
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