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Author "john-oakes"

wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Jer. 30:8-9 and Ezek. 34:23-27 clearly speaks about a king who will rescue the Jews from the hands of those who enslaved them. Obviously, Jesus did not fulfill these prophecies. Are these prophecies are made-up? Response: You say that Jesus “obviously” did not fulfill these prophecies.  Forgive me, but this is not obvious at […]

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wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: My friend says: During the Babylonian exile, the Jewish scribes created “oracles of glorious future” for comforting the Jews that a king from David’s descendants would deliver them from slavery but the truth is: Jesus is not a king according to those so-called oracles. If those visions/oracles had been genuine, then the Jews would […]

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wrote in Church History, General, History, Other Religions, Q & A .

Questions: My Muslim friend says:  The Major and Minor Prophets echoed the words of pagans i.e. God has wife, God has sons & daughters. The New Testament authors followed them and create God’s-Son in the form of Jesus to attract Roman public. Also, if thousands of people witnessed his crucifixion (which is a hoax) and […]

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wrote in Articles, Pain and Suffering, Philosophy, PowerPoints, Theology, World View .

Dr. John Oakes is giving a lecture 2/12/2022 for the Alpha Omega Christian Club of Bakersfield.  It will be at 7300 Stockdale Hwy at 7:00.  Here are the notes, ppt and, eventually, the audio:    Problem of Pain and Suffering Notes   Problem of Suffering PPT    Pain and Suffering Audio           […]

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wrote in General, General Apologetics, Other Religions, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Muslims says:   God does not beget nor he has wife nor he has bodily form but prophetic books contains polytheistic concepts about God for e.g.   1. God has bodily form (Dan. 7:9)   2. God has sons & daughters (Isa. 43:6)   3. God treats Jerusalem/Israel as Wife (Isa. 54:5, Hos. 2:2).  What’s your response? Answer: […]

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wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I’ve written questions to you before about Jeremiah. I’m now studying Daniel and have found questions regarding the language.  Daniel is written in Aramaic and Hebrew. There are different arguments about the Aramaic. Some say it is quite young – 300BC and later. Others claim it is much older. The Hebrew I think is […]

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wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Why do writers of the Bible blend God’s words i.e. “thus says the Lord” with human words such as speeches and human histories? Answer: A good question.  The Bible has several different genres of literature, depending on what God is trying to accomplish.  Sometimes he wants to simply speak to us directly.  Then he […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Questions: 1. How do you respond to the argument that even Christianity is ultimately deed-based? In other words, even if we believed Jesus Christ, got baptized, a believer must keep his moral character and should maintain the discipline in order to inherit the eternal life in heaven. Even if someone believed in Jesus Christ and […]

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wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: This person claims that there have been entire books removed from the bible. https://quranicwarners.org/gospel They all seem legitimate.   What’s your opinion? Answer: It is hard to know exactly how to respond to this article, because the author is not specific as to which “entire books” were removed from the Bible.  If he does not specify […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

Question: Biblically, is it a sin to not remember and keep the 7th day Sabbath set apart? If not, then why would the remaining commandments still be binding for believers in Messiah such as: you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not bear false witnes, etc.  For example in Revelation 21 […]

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wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I have heard apologists say that the oldest manuscript of the Odyssey of Homer is from 2200 years after it was written.  I am preparing to teach a class on the reliability of the Bible in which I want to make the point that the biblical manuscripts are more reliable than any other famous […]

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wrote in General Apologetics, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

Question: This is in regards to your article about religious exemption for the vaccine. Is witchcraft allowed by God’s people? What is the Greek root words for pharmacy? I believe it’s pharmacopa which is basically witchcraft so I believe there are verses that support not taking it based on your faith. .. do you agree […]

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wrote in Articles, Church History, PowerPoints .

John Oakes is giving a class on the history of issues related to unity and division within the Christian Church. This is part of a mini-seminar titled The Unbreakable Church for the Spokane Christian Church.  He will be covering issues related to ecumenism and restoration/patternism and how the church, historically has succeeded or failed in […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: I have questions related to baptism that are always making me question my faith. Is baptism necessary for entering the kingdom of God?Many say the answer is yes based on what Jesus said in John 3:5. What happens to people who sin even after baptism?  Will they be forgiven? And if Jesus was sinless […]

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wrote in Articles, Bible Teaching .

Dr, John Oakes has a new book, just published by Illumination Publishers.  The title is Speaking of God. It is now available at https://www.ipibooks.com/collections/all/products/speaking-of-god The book is a how-to on leading group Bible studies, as well as seventy ready-to-go group Bible study outlines.  It is available today.  Tell a friend.

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wrote in Audio, Church History .

John Oakes  gave a six hour class on the History of Christianity in Bakersfield Jan-Feb, 2022. Church History Audio I    Church History Audio II    Church History IV audio    Church History Notes    Church History PPT                                ...

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wrote in Apologetics, Audio, Jesus, Prophecy .

John Oakes gave a midweek lesson for the San Diego Church of Christ in which he showed why we can trust the reliability of the Bible and also why/how we can understand its meaning.   Trust and Understand the Bible audio    Trust and understand PPT    You can trust and understand the Bible Notes  ...

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wrote in General, History, Q & A .

Question During the period of the divided Kingdom of Israel, who were the priests who administered the Temple in Judah? I understand that the tribe of Levite was part of the northern Kingdom of Israel.  Thank you. Answer: If you look in the Book of Joshua, you will see that the Levites were not given […]

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wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, Miracles, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Is there any archaeological evidence verifying the event of an angel killed 185,000 Assyrian troops, which was written in 2 kings 19? I think a mass discovery of 185,000 dead bodies would be overwhelming. Answer: The answer is yes and no.  Let me explain.  The specific thing you are looking for has not been […]

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wrote in Articles, Bible Teaching, General, Practical Christianity, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Recently, a friend who is a minister in a Christian church was approached by a few members of his church to sign a request for a religious exemption from getting the vaccination for the Coronavirus.  He asked me to express my opinion about whether he ought to grant such a request.  Below is an edited […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

[Note: This is a series of three questions, all on a related topic.  The answers are interspersed between the questions.] Question: I want to ask you about John 6:57.  What do you think Jesus meant by the words “I live because of Father.” ? Answer: This is an interesting question.  To be honest, I had […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A .

Question: I want to ask you about John 6:57. What do you think Jesus meant by the words “I live because of Father”? Answer: This is an interesting question.  To be honest, I had never looked carefully at this verse.  It is an interesting statement by Jesus that he lives because of the Father.  Jesus […]

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wrote in Anthropology, Creation, General, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

Question: Recently Dr. William Lane Craig published his book called ‘In Quest of the Historical Adam’ he also mentioned you in his podcast https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9mZWVkcy9yZWFzb25hYmxlX2ZhaXRoLnhtbA/episode/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9yZWFzb25hYmxlX2ZhaXRoLzgxNjMzMTkyL3JlYWN0aW9ucy1iZWdpbi1vbi1oaXN0b3JpY2FsLWFkYW0tYm9vay8 What do you think of his thoughts and what he said there? Answer: I love this article and am glad you found a reference to myself by Dr. Craig.  This was […]

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wrote in General, Philosophy, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I find it difficult to reconcile the relationship between God’s foreknowledge and man’s freewill. How could God foretell one is going to drink coffee or tea if man has free choice or predict the winner of two evenly matched basketball teams assuming He does not manipulate the game. For the same rationale, how did […]

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wrote in General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Why did Moses give Pharaoh the impression the children of Israel would only go to wilderness to worship 3 days then return? Was He lying? Did God participate in this by commission or by omission? Answer: I had to think about this one for a while.  To be honest, I am not absolutely sure […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A .

Question: Is it fair to say that the sacrifices in the Old Testament never took away sins, as Hebrews 10:4 says, but rather held back the consequences of it until Jesus came as the perfect sacrifice to finally atone for sins? Answer: This is not exactly how I would put it, but it is pretty […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: In the seven letters that Paul clearly wrote, did he write that Jesus is God? In other words, did he teach that God existed in the form of three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Can you give me verses for this? Answer: To be honest, I do not want to answer this question.  […]

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wrote in Anthropology, General, Philosophy, Q & A, Science and the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question:  I wish to bring up some issues regarding neuroscience. I was watching something on television about a man who suffered very serious brain injury. He survived, but his personality and behavior were completely different. Even his friends and loved ones said he was a totally different person. Does this prove that behavior really is […]

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wrote in Articles, Bible Teaching, PowerPoints .

Dr. John Oakes gave a number of sermons on the Book of Isaiah for the Bakersfield Church of Christ.  I am attaching the combined powerpoint and combined notes for the eight sermons, as well as the audio.  Isaiah Sermons combined Notes    Isaiah Sermons Combined PPT    Isaiah Sermon I Audio    Isaiah Sermon II […]

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wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, General, History, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Recently an unbeliever raised an objection against the reliability of the biblical accounts, he said that the account of Moses in which he was placed in a basket on the river by his mother had been a copy of the biography of Sargon of Akkad, a Mesopotamian monarch around 2400 BC. The account of […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A .

Question: How do you view Isaiah 19:18-24?  It seems that the prophecy has not been accomplished yet from my understanding of the scripture. I’ve seen some commentaries claiming that Assyria and Egypt unification is more related to Christianity and that the Coptic and Syriac churches united as one in fellowship with our Lord. Could there […]

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wrote in General, Q & A, Versions of the Bible .

Question:  What are your thoughts on the Passion Translation of the Bible, accuracy, etc.? I was reading some information online and unsure about sources. Answer: The Passion Translation is not really a translation, at least not in the classic sense.  It is more of an interpretation.  It is not done by a university-trained biblical scholar.  […]

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wrote in Articles, Bible Teaching, PowerPoints, Prophecy .

Dr. John Oakes is teaching a six-part class on the Book of Isaiah for the Church of Christ in Sao Paulo, Brazil September and October, 2021.  The classes will be live on zoom Wednesdays at 4:00 Pacific Time address http://www.icisp.org.br/estudoBiblia  Power point and audio recordings are here:  Isaías – Brazil PPT    Isaiah Sao Paulo Audio I  […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Questions: The NT authors manufactured prophecies about Jesus by twisting OT passages out of context to make them say things the original authors never intended. For e.g. (1) The murder of children by King Herod was not prophesied in Jeremiah 31:15 because Jeremiah was describing the deportation of Israelites from Ramah a century before his […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: If the Law (Heb. Torah) was abolished or nailed to cross then why in the New Covenant does God put His Torah within us and write it upon our hearts? Answer: I assume you are referring to Colossians 2:13-14.  “He forgave our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against […]

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wrote in General, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

Question: What is the book of Ecclesiastes all about? I read it once- it seems pessimistic and hopeless- though the last of  the12th chapter is a bit okay. There it’s written nothing makes sense- life is all about eating and drinking and everything is nonsense and meaningless. The message of Ecclesiastes seems utterly different from […]

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wrote in Articles, Bible Teaching, Church History, PowerPoints, Prophecy .

Dr. John Oakes is doing a four-part series on the Book of Revelation in Spanish for Iglesia de Cristo de Guadelajara.  Power point and autio are being posted here   Apocalypsis ESPAÑOL PPT   Apocalypsis Guadalajara Audio 1    Apocalypsis Guad II    Apocalypsis III Dr. John Oakes is doing a six-part series of classes on […]

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