Dr. John Oakes and Pedro Figueroa are teaching an in-depth class on the books of Philippians and Colossians on six consecutive Saturdays from 9:00-10:45 beginning 2/25/17. We have now started Colossians. Pedro has started teaching. The PPT and notes below include Pedro’s. The class is at the Chinese Community Church 4998 Via Valarta, San Diego, CA […]
Question: I know we have many prophecies of Christ in the OT, but I did not find one that says ‘He will rise from the dead’. Is there any verse that explicitly states this? Or is it as He said to the doubting people the only evidence He will give them is the sign of […]
Question: Should I have faith in the canonical Bible being reliable and inspired because of those who established it back then, or should I mix this with trying to see the biblical evidence for myself? It is tempting to want to find all the evidence myself, as if I am the one who determines what […]
Question: I thank you for highlighting that Jesus Christ was a REAL person and his story can be backed up by multiple accounts. I am a believer. But, my question to you is why did you omit the facts on Jesus’s black skin color or African Hebrew heritage. It is convenient for one to say […]
Question: It makes me extremely uncomfortable to be the devil’s advocate regarding Exodus but just to give fair treatment to both sides of the story, I read the Wikipedia section summary of numbers, logistics, and archaeology. They all seem to have strong arguments of how the Exodus just couldn’t have happened. Do you have any […]
Dr. John Oakes gave two lessons for the Coastal Region of the LA Church of Christ. The audio is attached. Daniel Manhattan Beach Audio Evidence for Jesus Manhattan Beach
Editor’s Note: The following document, clearly, has no relationship to Christian evidence, but a good friend published this treatise on the Restoration Movement which I believe will be of interest to some of our subscribers. It is written by a friend John Teal who has himself been part of a group within the Restoration Movement […]
Question: I have a question that have been pondering. Are African Americans the true Israelites ? Here’s why I ask: Deuteronomy 28:15-68 (KJV) “And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt (also meaning bondage) again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye […]
Question: If God is omnipotent, does it necessarily follow that He has the ability to not exist? And if God has the ability to not exist, does it logically follow that He does not exist necessarily? But if He does not have the ability to not exist, then He is not omnipotent. And if God does […]
Question: I believe that you have heard about the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Reading its historical background, I see that this was used by Bobby Henderson as a logical supportive argument why Intelligent Design should not have equal attention in science classes along with evolution. The argument is that a religious faith such as a belief […]
Question: In Luke 8, Jesus is touched by a woman who was subject to bleeding for 12 years. If Jesus was touched by her, wouldn’t that make him “unclean” as stated in Leviticus 15:25-27? Is there a punishment for unclean persons who break the law by making others unclean? Answer: This is an interesting question. […]
Question: What are the biggest differences between Christians and Jehovah Witnesses? I know JWs don’t believe in a hell when in fact Jesus talks more about hell then he does Heaven so why don ’t they believe in a Hell? Answer: There are a rather large number of absolutely fundamental differences between what the Bible […]
Question: On what basis do some commentators say the 70th week of Daniel 9:27 is still in the future? Why would the 70 week prophecy be broken down as 69 continuous weeks with the 70th week potentially some 2000 years detached from 69th week? Answer: Good question. There are two reasons that many commentators delineate the […]
Question: This question is about the Law of God, which is pretty controversial among the people. In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus states that He has come to fulfill the teachings of the Law of Moses (the Torah) and the prophets. He also states that “not the least point of the Law will be done away, not […]
Richard Wright, a student in our ARS Christian Apologetics Certificate Program wrote a paper on the Framework Theory as an explanation of the Genesis creation accounts in the first two chapters of Genesis. This paper does not reflect the opinion of the ARS board. In fact, Richard argues in this paper against a theory that […]
Question: I’d like to ask a question. It’s about the book of Revelation. I read that the book of Revelation wasn’t accepted until now in the Syriac Orthodox Church… Is that right??? In addition, is there another difference between churches about the canonicity of the books of the New Testament today? Another question, Why were […]
[Editor’s note: I have had a lot of positive interaction with Roman Catholic believers, but I also get a lot of comments accusing this web site of being anti-Catholic and biased against that viewpoint. Normally, I simply respond respectfully, but I wanted to give a more complete response and publish it as an article, so […]
Question/Comments: Why are you misinforming the public about the Holy Catholic Church? I see that you state priests wearing vestments is unbiblical? How wrong you are. God commanded they be used in the Old testament. ‘For your brother Aaron you will make SACRED VESTMENTS to give dignity and magnificence…they will use gold and violet material […]
Questions: If the Passover of the New Covenant (Jesus flesh and blood) is the only way to receive forgiveness of sins, then why did the Council of Nicaea remove this important teaching in AD 325? If the Passover of the New Covenant (Jesus flesh and blood) is the only way to receive forgiveness of sins, then […]
Question: Why does Satan mean TRUTH in ancient Sanskrit while Jehovah means EVIL GOD in Hebrew? Answer: Satan does NOT mean truth. Period. I went to a web site that makes this bogus claim. The Hebrew word means what it means. The fact that a particular set of sounds in Algonquin is used for one […]
Question: How is Christianity true when true ancient Satanism and the ancient satanic Scriptures pre-date Christianity and Jesus himself? Answer: I am afraid that your argument is a classic example of the logical fallacy of appeal to age. This logical fallacy is that something is right or better simply because it is older. If that […]
I have heard some theories that the Big Bang could be possible due to the way quantum mechanics work, which would allow for empty space and matter to be created out of nothing. What are your thoughts on this? Do these theories rely on circular reasoning? Luke: There are highly speculative theories—so speculative so as […]
Question: Firstly, thank you for making this website and authoring the book “Is there a God?” Especially for the book, I found it to be faith-strengthening as well as enriching my knowledge in “explaining” God of the Bible from a scientific perspective. I have two questions about Qur’an and Hindu cosmology. My questions will be […]
Question: Who are the 24 elders in Revelation? Are they human beings or supernatural creatures? Answer: As in virtually all of Revelation, the 24 elders are symbolic, so asking a specific question is perhaps not all that helpful. I believe that these are symbolic of God’s people. The number 12 is the number of God’s […]
Question: I have a question for you. In the book of Ezra there are several decrees to rebuild Jerusalem. You count 490 years from Ezra 7, why not Ezra 1? [Editor’s Note: This is significant because in my book Daniel, Prophet to the Nations, I use Artaxerxe’s decree of 458 BC, combined with the 490 […]
Question: Is it true that 1 john 5 :7 was added later and was not in Greek manuscripts until the 1500s? Please explain this to me. If so why is it in King James Version? If this is the case, has the Bible been subject to changes by human hands? Answer: Yes, this is true. […]
Dr. John Oakes and Pedro Figueroa gave a six week, nine hour class on the books of Philippians and Colossians March, 2017 in San Diego. The audio, ppt and notes are attached. Christ in You Audio I Christ in You Audio 2 Christ in You Audio III Christ in You Audio IV Christ In You...
Question: Why were the gospels written in Greek, when the apostles were Jewish? Also I know there is some proof of writings outside of the gospels but why are there no writings during the times that Jesus was alive? He did many amazing things, so why did no one else document any of these events […]
Question: People say that the story of Jesus’ resurrection is a copy cat from the Egyptian myth about the gods Horus and Isis. Is this claim credible? Answer: I have heard this charge many times. It is a very common point of discussion on the internet. At ARS we sponsored a public debate on this […]
Question: How did Daniel the prophet die? Answer: The answer to this question is simple. We have no idea how Daniel died. There is no source which is helpful on this at all. However, from Daniel chapter six we know that Daniel survived at least a couple of years into the administration of Persia after […]
Teaching Trip to South Asia January, 2017 Delhi Jan 5-7 I arrive in Delhi after 24 hours of travel. Delhi is the political capital as well as being perhaps the most important city of industry in India. It is a mega city with a population of nearly 25 million. Despite the massive population, Delhi is […]
Dr. John Oakes is delivered a number of lessons on a missionary teaching trip in South Asia Jan 5-22, 2017. Attached are power points, notes and audio for these lessons. From Shadow to Reality India Audio Existence of God Audio Reliability of the Bible Audio Marriage Divorce and Remarriage Audio Marriage and Divorce Notes Acts […]
Dr. John Oakes taught a class on the Evidence for Jesus for the Coastal Region of the LAICC 2/26/17. The class focuses in on the claims of Jesus and the fulfillment of messianic prophecies. Evidence for Jesus Manhattan Beach...
John Oakes taught a lesson for the Coastal Region of the LAICC Feb 26, 2017 on Daniel. The class principally covers the prophecies in Daniel. Daniel Manhattan Beach Audio...
A good friend of ARS, Davaid Simmons did a lesson on the resurrection of Jesus on New Year’s Eve. We are posting the power point here. Apologetics and the Resurrection – 2016-Dec Here is a link to see the video: Jesus’ Resurrection – an Apologetic View
Question; I’m a faithful Christian. I believe with all my heart that Jesus died for my sins and He is the way, the truth and the life. But one question has been bothering me a lot. The question is- How can we say that Christianity is the true religion if there are many other religions […]
Dr, John Oakes did to lessons for the Coastal Region of the LA ICOC on 2/26/17. Here is the audio for the two lessons. Evidence for Jesus Manhattan Beach Daniel Manhattan Beach Audio...
Question: In John 5:26 it says For as the Father has life in Himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. So if God gave Jesus his life then doesn’t that just make him another prophet? Also God had life always so that’s why he’s God so why is Jesus God if he was […]
Question: Greetings, What date or month was Jesus born? I know that many scholars say it was December. Is this true? Thank you very much. Answer: Because we know that Herod tried to have Jesus killed and because Herod died in 4BC, it is most likely that Jesus was born about 6BC plus or minus […]
Question: What do you think about the hypothesis that the resurrection was all based on hallucination, or mere subjective visions? Is this a strong theory? What is the best way to defeat this theory? Answer: Here are the undisputed facts: 1. Jesus was crucified by the Romans under Pontius PIlate in Jerusalem. 2. His tomb […]
Question: Does the Bible address the topic of the origin of demons? Are they spirits of the dead or spirits of the fallen angels? Alexander Campbell delivered a very learned lecture in Nashville, Tennessee on March 10, 1841, in which he, in rather persuasive fashion, argued the case that the demons of the ancient world were […]
We are reposting an article on a biblical and historical perspective of Christmas from 2007 for your enjoyment. Merry Christmas. John Oakes Question: Is Christmas a Christian Holiday? Answer: Christmas sure has taken a beating lately, seemingly from all sides. The secularists demand that we say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, while some believers have […]
Question: I have been struggling recently with wondering why God has done everything he has. Why did he decide to create the universe? Why did he make man? Why did he create angels and strange creatures to worship him all the time? Why create a son? And why choose that as the way to save […]
Question: Who is Melchizedek in the Bible? Is he Shem the son of Noah? I there any evidence about his geneology? Answer: Melchizedek is a somewhat enigmatic figure in the Bible. He only appears in Genesis, Psalms and Hebrews. He was a worshipper of Jehovah, but was not from Abraham’s family and, therefore, by […]
Question: Jews always criticize the Christian explanation of Daniel 9… https://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/daniel-9-a-true-biblical-interpretation/ Can you prove that Daniel really spoke about Jesus in Daniel 9? Answer: I cannot “prove” that Daniel is talking about Jesus in Daniel 9. Such things do not allow for mathematical-type proofs. However, I can show sufficient evidence that any open-minded person would […]
Question: What is the meaning of the altar mentioned in (Hebrew 13 : 10)? Catholic and Orthodox Churches use this verse to prove that there is an altar in the New Testament–justifying their use of an altar in their worship, and the idea that the Eucharist is a sacrifice. In Arabic translations, the word altar […]
Question: Please tell me whether the concept of the “second death” means a complete disappearance or eternal torment in a lake of fire? Answer: I believe that the biblical “second death” is neither merely a complete disappearance, nor is it eternal torment in a literal lake of fire. First, I must address what Bible says about the […]
Question: How do we know the Bible, a collection of books and letters written of centuries, is the word of a deity? Answer: Given the amazing evidence for the inspiration of the Bible, the fact that it is a collection of writings written over many centuries makes it even more impressive. The Bible contains the […]
Question: Why are the twelve apostles all men? Answer: God does not tell us why all the apostles were men. To attempt an answer is to speculate, as God did not tell us his reasons. So…. My response is just my own opinion, and you should take that for what it is worth. There are […]
Question: I have a question regarding Mat 5:33-36 where Jesus forbids us to take oaths of any kind. Would this include pledges of allegiance to our nation, especially for immigrant Christians who would like to become American citizens? Answer: I believe you may be putting words into the mouth of the Jesus. He did not say that […]
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