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Author "john-oakes"

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

Question: NT writers contradicted the teachings of the Law & Prophets, and they have the nerve to say that they believe in Moses & Prophets. For e.g. NT directly contradicts with Deut. 24:16 and Ezekiel 18:20. If Jesus’ sacrifice was pre-destined, then why did God say this before? Was God double-minded or did the NT […]

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wrote in General Apologetics, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Uncategorized .

Question: David (Dowd – the Beloved) wrote Psalm 22 in first person because it is Dowd himself who would fulfill Passover Matsah and FirstFruits. He would have said “you” if he were speaking of someone else. YHWH calls Dowd His “Son, Messiah, Shepherd, Counselor, King, and Gibbor.” Isaiah 9 says that a child IS born– […]

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

Question/Comment: The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) do not prove the inerrancy or historical accuracy of the Bible. The writings in DSS show a hugely different history than in the Bible. The Genesis Apocryphon is noticeably different from the Bible’s Genesis. Exodus, 1-2 Samuel and Jeremiah are extremely different in the DSS than in the Bible. […]

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

Question: I’ve been struggling for a while now to read the Bible itself but very often read commentaries, articles etc. concerning Scripture.  I want to read Scripture itself but feel like I get the information so much ‘quicker’ from books etc.  Any words of advice please? Answer: First of all, you do not need to feel […]

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

Question: Qadianis (Ahmedis) believes that Jesus escaped persecution and went to Kashmir where he lived to old age. What are your thoughts on this? Answer: People believe all kinds of things which are patently untrue, and this is one of them.  There is literally NO evidence that Jesus ever set foot in the subcontinent of […]

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

Question: What is your take on Saturday being the Christian Sabbath, as taught by some Christian churches? Answer: Two things are true, which is that Saturday (actually, Friday sundown until Saturday sundown) is the Jewish Sabbath. The command for its celebration is found as one of the ten commandments (Deuteronomy 5:12).   It is also true […]

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

Question: if Jesus is fully God and fully man at the same time right now in 2024 , do you mean for example that Jesus knows and does not know at the same time right now ?  God knows everything but man does not know everything.  If Jesus is fully God and fully human, do […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Resurrection of Jesus .

Question: You preach everywhere regarding the means of Jesus’ death, but my Muslim friend said to me: “They are spreading lies which will lead them in Hell.”  That would include you. What should be our response? Answer: Your Muslim friend is claiming that when we Christians teach that Jesus died on a cross in Jerusalem, […]

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

Question: I am studying the Scriptures. Now, following  your guidance, I am using a biblical dictionary, interlineal Greek-English Bible, and two Bibles (Scofield RV-1960 and Peshitta).  I have a question. What is the difference between grace (xaris) and mercy (eleos)?  I read someone (Danilo Montero, is an evangelist singer) who said: “Grace means to get […]

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

Question: What is it called when someone believes that God manifested himself in the Father, the Son and the Spirit, but that they are not separate persons? Answer: The most common technical name for this theology is Modalism, or the more technical name, which is Monarchical Modalism.  It is called this because the teaching is […]

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

Question: In the Gospel of Matthew 11:19, one version says wisdom is justified of her children(KJV) and another version says wisdom is justified by her deeds(ESV). Please explain this variant “children and deeds” Answer: This is a familiar example of a textual variant with a fairly well-understood explanation.  The explanation of the textual variant is found […]

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wrote in General, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

Question: I am a Christian living in Latin America.  Thanks for sharing God’s truth all these years.  I have a question:  Should I biblically visit my dead parents or relatives or am I falling into idolatry, or waste of time?  What could be the best approach to the correct understanding?  Thanks. Answer: This is a […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: According to the Koran (3:146-148), there were many Prophets who have done Jihad and large numbers of God-devoted men have fought alongside them. They did not surrender to the non-believers merely because of their numerical inferiority and lack of resources.  Can you show me such Prophets in Biblical history who have done Jihad? Please […]

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

Question: The teachings of the Koran are not a new or strange thing. All former prophets and messengers have also taught the same, that real life is the life of the hereafter and no soul bears the burdens of another soul, and the same has been said in the former books, the books of Abraham […]

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

Question: God promised paradise to those in the Torah and the Gospel who are killed in a holy war, or who kill others in a holy war as stated by the Koran (9:111), but paradise is missing from the OT (including the Torah) and holy wars are missing from the NT (including the Gospels). Have […]

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wrote in Apologetics, Audio, Bible Teaching, Church History, Pain and Suffering, Philosophy, Uncategorized, World View .

Dr. John Oakes gave a series of lessons for various regions and for the college students in the London Church of Christ, May, 2024.  This collection is rather ecclectic, as I was teaching in a wide variety of situations for different groups. A Defense of the Christian Worldview Audio    A Defense of the Christian...

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wrote in Apologetics, Archaeology, Audio, Bible and Science, Creation, Existence of God, Jesus, Manuscript/Textual Issues, Other Religions, Prophecy, Theology, World View .

Dr. John Oakes gave a series of classes on the Evidence for Christianity to students at UC Merced Spring/Summer 2024. Existence of God Audio    History Archaeology and the Bible Audio    History, Archaeology and Bible PPT    Claims of Jesus Audio    Claims of Jesus Audio earlier version    Contradictions Audio    Supposed Contradictions...

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wrote in Audio, Bible, Bible Teaching .

Dr. John Oakes taught an in-depth class on Christian Hermeneutics, along with Kene Izuchukwu in Spring, 2024.  Most of what is posted here is the material from John Oakes. Hermeneutics PPT Oakes    Hermeneutics Notes Oakes    Hermeneutics Audio I    Hermeneutics Audio II    Hermeneutics III Audio    Hermeneutics IV Audio    Hermeneutics Audio...

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wrote in Audio, Church History .

Dr. John Oakes gave an 11-week class on the History of Christianity for the Haiti School of Ministry.  The classes are taught in English, but translated into French.  The PPT is in French.  Note: Audio for class I was lost.  Sorry! Church History Haiti II Audio    Church History Haiti Audio III    Church History...

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wrote in Audio, Bible Teaching .

Dr. John Oakes gave a series of several lessons from Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes and Proverbs for the Merced Christian Church in Spring, Summer 2024. Job I Audio    Job II Audio    Job III Audio    Psalm 42 Audio    Lessons from David Audio    Psalms II Psalms of Asaph Audio    Psalms III Praise...

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wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Other Religions, Q & A .

[Editor’s note:  This comes from a Muslim believer who claimed that Muhammad fulfilled the prophecy that one like Moses would come to save God’s people.  I responded by giving him several ways that Jesus fits the description quite well, but asked him to provide “evidence” for the parallels between Moses and Muhammad.  I also explained […]

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wrote in Articles, Bible Teaching .

Dr. John Oakes gave a class for the Petionville region of the Port au Prince Church of Christ in Haiti 4/28/2024.  The class is on ethical issues related to culture and the Bible.  This is a particular issue in the conservative culture in Haiti, influenced by legalistic Pentecostal teachings.  In the lesson, Dr. Oakes discusses […]

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

[Editor’s note:  This is a two-part question.  The first question needed clarification, which was given, allowing me to give a more nuanced answer to the original] Question: According to Duet. 13:1-3, if a prophet appears among the Israelites and announces a sign and if that sign takes place, and then that prophet orders them to […]

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

Suggestion and Questions: Last night I took my nen’s Genesis Bible study group on a “field trip” to see “The Ark in the Darkness”. We really enjoyed the movie. It was laden with great supporting technical data and evidence. On our way home though, I raised a couple of questions that remain unanswered, and I […]

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wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Comment: The Messiah depicted by the Hebrew prophets was NOT verified in Jesus. Their Messiah was a warlike conqueror, who should slay and subdue the Gentiles, and deliver Israel from the enemies. Who is right, the prophets or Christian apologists? Response: What can I say?  I believe that you are simply mistaken in your stated […]

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

Question: According to Philip R. Davies, a British biblical scholar, prophetic books are primarily the product of scribes who imitated the traditional style of intermediaries and wrote for their own interest. Does it mean our prophetic books are fake? Answer: Philip R. Davies is an unbeliever.  He is not a Christian and it is not […]

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

Question: I have been doing a lot of research on Biblical authorship. Recently, I came across an article entitled “A biblical text with ‘new’ facts about Jesus was found — and Christians ignore it.” In this article the authors claimed that Luke wrote a document called “The Dialogue of Jason and Papiscus.” Apparently, it was […]

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wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: From where did keepers of the Dead Sea Scrolls get prophecies other than 16 prophetic books? The Dead Sea Scrolls contain prophetic texts identified as 2Q23, 6Q10, 6Q12 and 6Q13. Please respond to this because my Muslim friend asked me this and I’m confused. Answer: This Muslim person is not your friend, at least […]

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

Questions: Could you do an exhaustive defense of Sola Scriptura?  I heard Roman Catholics using arguments, claiming that Sola Scriptura is never mentioned in the Bible.   I also have heard that since the Bible doesn’t give us a list of what is inspired scriptures, we have to look outside to know what is inspired and […]

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wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A .

[Editor’s note: This is a list of several questions, with the answers interspersed between them] Is the idea of crucifixion and resurrection originally a Judeo-Christian view?  The idea of a crucified saviour is unique to Christianity (not Judeo-Christianity), of course.  In fact, execution by nailing to a cross was a fairly recent invention of the […]

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

Question: I’ve been hesitant to ask this question because I suspect this would be slightly annoying to do on your part, but here it goes…    I read one of your past Q & As addressing unfulfilled prophecies on rationalWiki: https://evidenceforchristianity.org/can-you-explain-all-the-unfulfilled-old-testament-prophecies-listed-at-rationalwiki/ You may or may not know this, but some authors on rationalwiki have actually posted your […]

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wrote in General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A .

Question: What would you say to someone who is skeptical about “dual prophecy” where the prophecy was already fulfilled in a sense but could also refer to Jesus? For example, some Jews would assert that Isaiah 53 is about Israel and not about Jesus. I suspect this is not the only prophecy where this objection […]

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

Question:  Jewish Christianity was the actual Christianity because Jesus was thoroughly Jewish, kept the Torah, and never disciplined [editor: discipled?] the Gentiles. The earliest Christians were all Torah observant Jews and saw Jesus as their Messiah, nothing else. Jewish Christianity, which emphasized keeping the Torah (among other ideas), came into conflict with Greek and Latin […]

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wrote in Articles, Bible Teaching, Bible Teaching, Spanish Articles, Spanish Content .

Thanks so much to Illumination Publishers, Toney Mulhollen and Amy Morgan, I now have two brand new books translated into Spanish.  They are de la sombra a la realidad (From Shadow to Reality) and hebreos: vivir por fe (Hebrews: Living by Faith).  Both are now available at www.ipibooks.com. de la sombra a la realidad    […]

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

Question: Did Alice Whealey prove conclusively that Agapius was translating the Syriac edition not of Josephus, but of Eusebius and did she refute the thesis that the Arabic fragment of the Testimonium supports its authenticity? Answer: I have not read Alice Whealy’s discussion of the Testamonium Flavianum in its entirety.  In fact, I have only […]

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wrote in Apologetics, Archaeology, Articles, Bible and Science, Creation, Manuscript/Textual Issues, Miracles, Other Religions, PowerPoints, Prophecy, The Existence of God, Theology, World View .

Dr. John Oakes is doing a series of classes on Christian Apologetics for the student group at UC Merced this Spring.  Notes, PPT and audio are here: Existence of God PPT    Existence of God Notes    Existence of God Audio    History, Archaeology and Bible PPT    History Arch and Bible Notes    History […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: Why is the “God of Israel” fond of using woman’s metaphors, such as Babylon as a humiliated woman whose nakedness shall be uncovered (Isa. 47), Israel as an unfaithful wife who played the whore with many lovers (Jer. 3), Samaria and Jerusalem as two adulterous sisters who played the whore in Egypt (Ezek. 23), […]

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wrote in General, Practical Christianity, Q & A .

Question: Is Christian mysticism biblical or is it ok to do? I am thinking of practices such as lectio divina and the theosis, for example. Answer: This is an interesting question.  Actually, let me re-word your question if you do not mind.  Let me ask two questions. 1. Are some or all of the practices […]

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wrote in General, Miracles, Q & A, Resurrection of Jesus .

Question: Lately I’ve been thinking about the so-called “swoon” theory: the idea that Jesus survived His crucifixion, which you probably already know. I’ve been looking at what apologists are saying about it and have my own thoughts concerning their claims (the best source for apologetical arguments against the swoon theory I’ve currently come across is […]

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

Question: Thank you very much, Dr. Oakes. Thank God I found you. There are also 6 more objections I found and was wondering what you think of these:  [Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to fourteen previous questions from the same person. The answers are interspersed between the questions.] 15. The historians who supposedly offered […]

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