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Author "john-oakes"

wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, History, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Hi, John! I have some questions about discoveries. Tell me, please, if I am not right. 1. This tablet now in Germany – http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/evil-merodach-562-560-graciously-freed-jehoiachin/ 2. This tablet now in London (from your PDF) – text from tablet: [In] the seventh year, the month of Kislev, the king of Babylonia mustered his forces and marched […]

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

Question; I want to ask you about the one discovery – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezekiah%27s_Tunnel Is this the real tunnel from the Bible or not? Could you give me, please, a good web site about Bible discoveries? Answer: Yes, this is almost certainly the same tunnel which, according to 2 Kings, was constructed under Hezekiah in about 705 […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General .

QUESTION: It’s clear in Scriptures that only Jesus Christ can forgive our sins. If so what does John 20:23 mean? Answer: This is a good question. Biblically, only God can forgive sins. Mark 2:1-11 (especially 2:7) makes this clear. Theologically, it only makes sense that God, the one sinned against, can forgive sins committed against […]

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wrote in General, Practical Christianity, Supernatural, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I’d like to ask you a question about spirits and demon possession. If you could help me, below is the situation.  A friend of mine told me that he is helping a couple.  The husband told him that his wife is having times with different attitudes. He thinks that a spirit or a demon possesses his wife.  The […]

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wrote in Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Reliability of the Bible, Versions of the Bible .

Editor’s Note:   This is a series of interactions with a person who is obviously a Muslim making a typical argument against Isaiah 7:14 as a messianic prophecy.  See below for further arguments from this person. Question: If you say that the Hebrew word in Isaiah 14 means a virgin and that it is a dual prophecy, […]

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wrote in Anthropology, Creation, General Apologetics, Philosophy, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I recently read an interview with atheist psychologist Steven Pinker about one of his books that he wrote. It was on a website (unfortunately,I can’t recall it).   The topic of concern is the apparent biological basis for behavior and the impact this has on the traditional understanding of the Free Will Doctrine. As you […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Prefigures and Foreshadows .

Question: Some time ago you gave an enlightening lesson at church on offerings from Leviticus. I have it on my ipad and listen to it every once and awhile. As a result, my read of exodus 29 this morning was much more exciting than it was a couple years ago.  Here is one of my […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: May I know why God did not send anybody to India or some other countries just like he sent Jonah to Nineveh?   Some good people in India such Gauthama Buddha searched for truth.   Why did the true God Jehova did not respond to them by sending some angels to inform them? Answer: God did send […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, Creation, General, Uncategorized .

QUESTION: In Genesis 1:27 it is stated that God created “man”, with gender male and female. In Genesis 2:5-7 it is stated that God formed a man and called him Adam. Does this mean that God has created “man” first then later God formed Adam and Eve? In Genesis 6:1-2 it is stated that in […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Practical Christianity, Social Issues .

QUESTION:  I have met homosexuals who would like not to be.   In other words, their homosexuality is not chosen. I recognize the Bible considers homosexual acts as an “abomination”. I accept that in a non-fallen world, homosexuality would not likely have happened. However, even though the Bible is clear on its stance against homosexual activity, […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy .

Question: In John 1:24,25 The pharisees asked John the Baptist why he baptised if he was not the Messiah, Elijah or the Prophet. Why did they associate baptism with these 3 figures? Answer: When people saw John preaching and baptizing and that thousands came to hear him, they began to wonder who he was. Might […]

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wrote in Apologetics, Articles, Philosophy, World View .

Author: Bill Pratt   Editor’s note:  This article is taken from the web site www.toughquestionsanswered.org Old-school atheists like Friedrich Nietzsche recognized that atheism utterly failed to answer the most profound of human questions, and thus atheism, he believed, led inexorably to nihilism.  Nowadays, most atheists are very uncomfortable with nihilism and want to distance themselves from […]

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wrote in Announcements, Apologetics, Bible Teaching, Philosophy, The Existence of God, Theology .

We are pleased to announce that the sixth of an eventual ten courses in our Christian Apologetics Certificate Program series is now available for students to take the course.  The topic is The Existence of God.  The class is taught by Dr. Douglas Jacoby and Dr. John Oakes.  The class is $150 ($125 in the […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General .

QUESTION: If 2Pet 1:19,Rv 2:28, and Rev 22:16 reckons Jesus is the “Bright Morning Star” (even said so Himself) then how should we understand Isaiah 14:12? Answer: First of all, 2 Peter 1:19 does not call Jesus the “Bright and Morning Star.” I am not sure this changes your question much, but thought I would […]

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wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, Versions of the Bible .

QUESTION: The Greek translation of the Hebrew OT was called the Septuagint and I’ve read it was used in the early NT church and often quoted by NT writers. I’ve also read that it contained the Apocrypha, which was not accepted into the Hebrew OT canon. Question #1 “Was the Septuagint read in the NT […]

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wrote in General, Philosophy, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

QUESTION: What can you say about this statement: “Religion is Darkness”?  This comes from the character Mr. Kumar in the book and movie Life of Pi.  It turns out that Mr. Kumar is an atheist. Answer: What I can say about this is that it is a meaningless statement. What does this atheist mean when […]

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wrote in Apocrypha, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: I have “heard” that there are other letters Paul wrote that are not in the Bible. For example, there was a Third letter to the Church of Corinth that was not included in the Bible — Why not? Answer: It is hard to respond to the general question about “other letters.” There are many […]

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wrote in General, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: The order of the fig tree being cursed is different in different gospels.  How can you explain this apparent contradiction? Answer: As you stated in your email, “The order of the fig tree being cursed is different in different gospels.” Ultimately, your question (I take it) is: Is there a contradiction between Matthew 21:10-22 […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General .

Question: I would appreciate any light you could shed on another biblical issue: the “all things are permissible” concept Paul presents in 1 Corinthians 10.  Answer: This passage can be a bit difficult to know how to apply. Most scholars believe that there should be quotes around “all things are permissible.” Paul is giving an important […]

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wrote in General, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: Why are there different lists of apostles in different gospels? Answer: The principle reason that there are three different lists of the apostles is that the gospels are independent accounts of the life of Jesus.  If they were identical, then why would there be four gospels?  If one writer copied from another, then the […]

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wrote in Church History, General .

Question: I’ve really enjoyed reading your book, “The Christian Story” (editor: www.ipibooks.com) and hope to finish it soon. A question came up in our last Bible study that I didn’t remember reading about, so I’m hoping you could answer it for me. Who started the argument that the head of the Church was in Rome and […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: On the topic of owning a gun for the express purpose of using it to defend oneself or others has arisen; even with a willingness to kill if deemed necessary. I witnessed your adherence to the truth contained in the Word of God through your teaching and your passion to apply it, without bias, […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions .

Question: What is freemasonry? Is it a religion or is it a fraternity? What are their beliefs?  Can a christian be a freemason?  Or are they anti-christ? Answer: The definition of freemasonry is complicated. It is a fraternal order with very strong religious overtones. The essence of the group is that it is a service organization.  […]

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wrote in Archaeology and the Bible, Daniel, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy .

Questoin: I’m studying the book of Isaiah. When you look at the historical background of Isaiah, there are non-Messianic prophecies that were fulfilled, as the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions of Israel and Judah. Could you please write about these? Response: I have written some about prophecies in the Old Testament fulfilled before New Testament times already in my […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

QUESTION: Many congregations are attracted by the act of falling backwards when Pastors lay hands on them to pray. Generally these falls fail to bring-forth any results either. Is this act Biblical? Answer: There is obviously no mention in the Bible of what is sometimes called “slaying in the Spirit” in Charismatic churches. As far […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

QUESTION: In 1 Peter 3:20 – 21 the Bible says “this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also.”  What is Peter referring to ? What is “This water”? and what does it symbolize? Answer: “This water” is a reference to the water of the flood.  The same whater which deluged the world and destroyed […]

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wrote in Announcements, Articles, Bible, Bible Teaching, PowerPoints .

Robert Carrillo and Dr. John Oakes taught a six week class on the writings of John.  The class was on Saturdays 10/6,13,27, 11/4,11 and 1/26/2013 at the Mission Center of Hope 6162 Mission Gorge Rd., San Diego, CA 92120.  For more information, contact Jan Oakes at joakes01@san.rr.com or 858-505-8841.  Schedule and recommended reading below.  Recordings are now in the […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: The question I have is about the treatment of the Israelites in the wilderness and how it applies to the Christian walk. It seems that God did not equip the Israelites sifficiently for battle compared to the major cities they were up against. He also gave them the same food everyday. A reasonable person […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General .

Question: I want to ask about how to interpret scripture correctly. Why do people end up having different conclusions when they study the Scripture? For example, some people think that the creation account was not made in 7-24 hour days. Also, in 1 John 1:1 some say that John is trying to explain the existence […]

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wrote in General, Practical Christianity, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: How do you give it all to God if he owns everything? Answer: A really fair and reasonable question.   God gives us free will.  He gives us sovereignty over the things in our immediate sphere and in our lives.   He gives us “ownership” over our time, over what we think about, over what we possess, […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General .

QUESTION: According to Fee & Stuart, there are at least five major school of interpretation of scripture. What are they? Which do you prefer or which is more helpful to have a sound interpretation for the book of Revelation? And why are there such different schools of interpretation? Isn’t it possible to have one school […]

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