Bible Interpretation – Evidence for Christianity

Jesus said he will not bring peace on the world, but will bring conflicts on the earth: fire, sword, war. Does this mean believers removed the combat teachings of Jesus from the Bible?

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

Question: Jesus said: “Perhaps people think that I have come to cast peace upon the world. They do not know that I have come to cast conflicts upon the earth: fire, sword, war.” Doesn’t it mean that later Christian writers removed the combat teachings of Jesus from the Gospels? Answer: This is an egregious example […]

Where does the Torah explicitly teach that God will become incarnate, that Messiah will die as a sacrifice, and that circumcision will no longer be binding?

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

Question: Where does the Torah explicitly teach that God will become incarnate, that the Messiah will die as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, that circumcision and many Mosaic laws will no longer be binding, or that Gentiles will enter God’s covenant apart from the Mosaic Law? Answer: Actually, you are asking […]

Maimonides said that God gave the Jews a temple to accommodate the pagan religions around them, and that he intended the use of a temple to fade away over time. What are your thoughts?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: According to the famous Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides, God did not invent the concept of priesthood and sacrifices; instead, he transferred an existing, deeply ingrained custom to His own name, i.e. The Israelites grew up surrounded by Egyptian paganism, where temples, priests, and animal sacrifices were the only known way to worship a deity. […]

Is Toviah Singer right about Psalm 110–that it is not messianic and it is not about a “lord” who is God?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A, Types .

Question: I had a question about Psalm 110. Are we reading it wrong as Christians? I am not able to figure out who the writer was. Whether it was David himself, a scribe, or someone else. I’ve been reading a lot of commentaries and no one is able to decide the answer so I was […]

The Essenes Community Rule describes a prophet as well as two messianic figures. Does this suggest that the early church may have been mistaken about the messianic identity of Jesus?

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

Question: According to the Community Rule (1QS) 9:11 (DSS), [Editor’s note: This is a reference to a publication by the Essene group at Qumran in the first century AD, and was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls] there was an expectation of the coming of a “Prophet” and “two Messiahs”. Does this suggest that the […]

I believe one of the two witnesses of Revelation 11 was born about the time Israel became a nation again. What do you think of this?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, End Times, General, Q & A .

Question: I have come to a conclusion that one of the two witnesses was born around the time that Israel became a nation again. Therefor he is anchoring the generation that will not pass away. This could mean that there is a lot more time involved before the rapture and tribulation take place. I call […]

How would you respond to people who say The divinity of Jesus was invented at the Council of Nicaea?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions, Uncategorized .

Question: How would you respond to people who say “The divinity of Jesus was made up in the Council of Nicaea”? Answer: This is an oft-repeated claim which is not supported by the evidence. It is true that the idea of Jesus’ divinity was in question at the Council of Nicaea, because a faction had […]

In Judaic terminology son of God is about a person close to God, not a singular Son. Similar with the term father. Therefore, these terms of Jesus is about a common humanity.

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

Question: In Judaic terminology, the phrase “Son of God” often signifies closeness to God rather than a literal or exclusive divine status. Given that the Bible frequently uses such language—and that both Jews and Christians address God as “Father”—it becomes difficult to see how this title alone justifies a unique claim to divinity for Jesus. […]

Please respond to a list of criticisms from a Jewish apologist in which he says Jesus cannot be the Jewish Messiah.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A, Uncategorized .

Editor’s note: This is a response to a fairly long Jewish criticism of Christianity which included 50 “reasons” to believe that Jesus is not the Jewish Messiah. It can be found at https://voices.sefaria.org/sheets/624738 . Question: Please reply to criticisms # 2,3,9,10,11,14,26,30,40,44 in the following article: https://voices.sefaria.org/sheets/624738 Response: 2. I have already responded to point 2 […]

Does God allow the use of divination, as seems to be implied by Gen 30:27?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A .

Question: “But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.”” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭30‬:‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Is there a clear answer on the divination meaning here? I have been reading Genesis and was wondering how to understand this […]

Why did David write, “Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” in Psalm 51?

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

Question: Why did David write in Psalm 51:5, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”? Answer: We need to recognize first the genre of literature of the Psalms. These are poems. These are people talking to God, rather than God talking to people. For this reason, we should […]

How do I interpret prophecies which seem to jump between application to physical Israel and spiritual Israel, or when they vary between literal and figurative language?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Prefigures and Foreshadows, Q & A .

Question: Do you any advice on how I can know when to tell when a prophet jumps from talking about fleshly to spiritual Israel, or when they go from literal to symbolic or figurative language? Prophecies can be tricky for me, because it has been said they mix immediate historical events with foreshadowing of ultimate […]

A convert to Judaism from Christianity tells me that Paul’s teachings contradict those of Christ and that Christianity is the religion of Paul, not Jesus. Your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible .

Question: I need your help. I wanna know your responds to some statements by a quite popular Jewish influencer on Instagram. She is an ex Christian who converted to Judaism. So she said that many of Paul’s teachings are contradicted to what Jesus taught and the core belief or Christianity is actually Paul’s teaching and […]

Did the New Testament writers borrow the idea of hell as a place of punishment from the Greek mythology about Tartarus?

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

Question: Scholars say that the concept of hell in the Bible developed throughout time . Hell as a place of eternal suffering didn’t exist in the Old Testament, only the New Testament, which has led scholars to draw the conclusion that early Christians took the idea of hell being a place of eternal suffering from […]

In John 6, when Jesus said we must eat his body, the word used is not the normal one for eat, but it is the word for chew. What are the implications for the doctrine of the Real Presence?

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

Question: I understand many believe that Jesus is speaking metaphorically in John 6 about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. There are two different verbs used in John 6: “phagein”: the common verb “to eat” (used broadly in Greek), and “trōgō”: a more graphic verb, meaning “to gnaw, chew, munch, crunch.” Early in the chapter, Jesus […]

Is there evidence of infant baptism being practiced in the early Christian Church?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions, Uncategorized .

Question: Is this evidence for infant baptism being practiced in the early church? Hyppolytus: “Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them” (The Apostolic Tradition 21:16 [A.D. 215]). Origen: “The Church received from the apostles the tradition of […]

In an article you accuse the Catholic Church of teaching that we inherit sin from Adam, but that is not what they actually teach. What is your response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: In a post on original sin, you claim that the Roman Catholic Church teaches that we inherit sin that God must judge us for (I will leave the link of the article below for context.) however, it is my understanding that this is false. It seems to me that the Catholic Church teaches that […]

Would you use the Talmud to support the notion that Isaiah 53 is talking about a human rather than the nation of Israel?

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

Question: Would you use the Talmud to support the notion that Isaiah 53 is talking about a human being (not a nation)? Answer: This is a great question. So many Jewish commentators today deny that it is a reference to the Messiah, for the rather obvious reason that it IS about the Messiah, and this […]

Is Ezekiel 37:21 a reference to the modern state of Israel?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A .

Question: Is Ezekiel 37:21 a reference to the modern state of Israel? Answer: No, it is not. It is a reference, either to the restoration of the Southern Kingdom of Israel when Persia conquered Babylon, as recorded in Ezra and elsewhere, or it is a reference to the spiritual restoration of Israel in the church. […]

How could Jesus die for sins which had not yet been committed at the time of his crucifixion?

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

Questions: Dr. John, I would love to hear your insights on the following questions: 1. How could Jesus die for the future sins of people who hadn’t even been born at the time of His crucifixion? We can easily understand the ransom being paid for all the past and present sins. But how could we […]

Is water baptism essential for salvation?

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

Question: Is water baptism (immersion) essential for salvation ? Answer: Yes, it certainly is. Biblically, baptism is WHEN one is forgiven of sins and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38-41). Acts 22:16 provides further evidence, as Paul is told, “And now, what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized, and […]

Please respond to the claim that Isaiah 42:11, about a prophet to the people of Kedar is about Muhammad, not Jesus.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: In Isaiah 42:11 God is clearly saying that He will send the people of Kedar (i.e., the Arabs) a Prophet and they should “rejoice” and “raise their voices” in happiness. Also, “Let the desert and its towns raise their voices;” is clearly referring to Arabia, since Arabia is known to be made of mostly […]

In Zechariah 12:10, does the word translated as Me refer to the one killed/pierced, or not (as Jews say)?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: Concerning the exegesis of Zechariah 12:10, I read that the word translated “pierced” or “killed” theoretically could go either way, but how about the structure of the sentence? Jews seem to see it as not referring back to “ME” in the sentence where as the Christian interpretation is it does. Answer: I am not an […]

Do you know any quotes from the church fathers which reference infant baptism? Why do people ignore Augustine, who taught this doctrine?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, Church History, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: It’s is common knowledge that the early church held to what is called baptismal regeneration. We can find this through quotes and epistles from the fathers. What about quotes on infant baptism? I’m sure you’ve read a few that can supported infant baptism. What is your response to these quotes? Also, if we are […]

Who is right in the age-old controversy over whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father of from the Father and the Son?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I have a Catholic vs. Orthodox Church-based question… Does the Holy Spirit proceed from the Father or the Son and the Father? Where in scripture can we find an answer and what are your thoughts on this? Answer: It is not my job, or even my desire, to clear up a controversy between these […]

Do you agree more with the Roman Catholic or the Protestant view of authority for truth?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, General .

Question: I’ve come across this interesting question that Catholics love to argue for… if we all interpret the Bible a specific way and we can even agree or disagree with certain church fathers, who’s interpretation is correct? Holding to “sola scriptura” seems like it comes down to someone’s word vs someone else’s word at the […]

How is it that Jewish scholars ignore messianic prophecies such as Daniel 9:24-26?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: How was it that Jewish scholars can ignore the prophecies of Daniel chapter 9:24-26 about when the Messiah would come? This prophecy clearly points to Jesus. Answer: I do not think it is fair to say that Jewish scholars simply ignore Daniel 9:24-28. In fact, a number of Jewish authors have commented on this […]

Is baptism “in the name of Jesus Christ” as opposed to in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit the only valid means? Why the contradiction?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Some Apostolic-Pentecostal Christians claim that being baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38) is the correct form of baptism, and disregard baptism in the name of the Trinity (Matt. 28:18-20). They claim that there is a great importance concerning what you are baptized into. My question is this: are these baptisms the […]

Micah 5:2 and Zechariah 9:9 require a Messiah who rules as a king over a kingdom. The Christian interpretation is absurd!

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History, Q & A .

Question: The Jewish expectations of the Messiah as described in Micah 5 were not met by Jesus since, although “being the Messiah”, he lacked the traits of a “ruler.” Christians now absurdly believe that Jesus’ kingdom was spiritual, yet this prophecy actually refers to the earthly kingdom. The same is true of Zechariah 9:9–10, which […]

Why do you reject the doctrine of Original Sin? What about Augustine vs. Pelagius?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I read your post on original sin and have several issues/questions on the matter. No offense but I don’t believe that your interpretation of original sin is accurate. It seems to me that original sin is more of a human nature issue. Adam sinned, we all have the desire to sin, or we all have […]

Can you explain why Genesis 1 has light before the sun appears in the sky and what about the theory of evolution?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Creation, General, Q & A, Science and the Bible, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible, Uncategorized .

Question: Hello Dr. John! I’m young in my faith (it’s been only 4 and around 1/2 months since I got baptized) and I read the a lot of the Bible. Now I’m restarting the book of Genesis. I just wanted to ask a question of the order of Creation. I find it quite difficult to […]

What does Haggai 2:6-9 mean?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A .

Question: What does Haggai 2:6-9 mean? Answer: I believe that Haggai 2:6-9 is a prophecy about the coming of the kingdom of God, most likely being a reference to the ministry of Christ and the establishment of the church. Evidence for this interpretation is found, particularly, in 2:9, “And in this place I will grant peace.” […]

Could Donald Trump be the Beast from the Sea, and Elon Musk the Beast of the Earth in Revelation 13? Maybe MAGA hats are the mark of the Beast.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, End Times, General, Q & A .

Question: I have some Bible questions for you that I’ve been trying to figure out from Revelation 13 as it appears those events are now happening. I’m sure you’re familiar with “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.” from Revelation 13. […]

Do you believe in universalism? The original bible scriptures supported this.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Church History, General, Philosophy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Are you a believer in Christian Universalism (restoration of ALL) Apocatastasis rather than Unitarian Universalism? I believe the Bible in the original writings support this. You mention in some of your writings you believe in heaven but don’t mention hell. Hell–meaning eternal, conscious torment for all who don’t believe in Christ. To me that […]

Does God show favoritism to those who are saved compared to those who are not yet saved? Is this just?

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

Questions: There are scriptures that seem to indicate that before we become Christians, it really doesn’t matter how much we sin–whether we sin much or little, we die spiritually, and become lost. For example: – Adam and Eve sinned only once and they died – Paul says in Eph 2:5 that “we were dead in […]

How would you respond to a Jehovah Witness believer using Proverbs 8 to claim that Jesus is a created being?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Other Religions, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: What would be your response to a JW who uses Proverbs 8 to justify claiming that Jesus as a created being? Answer: First of all, I believe that this is one example of many in which Jehovah Witnesses do eisegesis–which means reading a meaning into the text, rather than from the text. This is […]

How long were the Israelites in Egypt? What is 430 years (Gal 3:16-18) or 215 years (Septuagint). How do we reconcile the different biblical answers to this question?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, History, Q & A, Uncategorized .

Question: How long were the Israelites in Egypt? 430 or 215 years (Septuagint)? If they were in Egypt for 430 years, how do we reconcile this with Galatians 3:16-18? Answer: It is worth bearing in mind that the Near Eastern way of thinking about lengths of time and numbers in general is not as precise […]

Is there value in reading authors who claim to have discovered inspired numerology in the Bible? For example the Bible Code?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A .

Question: I have an interesting question. What are your thoughts about the Bible Code? For example the Ivan Panin story: Ivan Panin, a Russian mathematician and linguist, noticed complex mathematical structures in the Bible, especially those based on the number 7. He believed that the biblical text contains a hidden, divine numerical code that confirms […]

Does Deuteronomy 32:8-9 suggest that there are two Gods of Israel–El and YHWH?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Bible Manuscripts and Textual Questions, General, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question; I have two questions that are troubling me. It concerns the passage from Deuteronomy 32:8-9. Please, answer if you can. 1. The ‘sons of God’—who are they in this passage? Are they divine beings, or are they Israelites? 2. Some critics say that this passage indicates that God El (the Most High in this […]

The New Testament contradicts the Law and the Prophets because it contradicts Deut 24:16 and Ezek 18:20, which say that one cannot be held accountable for the sin of another. Response?

Dr. 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 […]

What is your take on the teaching by some Christians that Saturday is the Christian Sabbath?

Dr. John Oakes 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 […]

If Jesus is fully God and fully man, does this mean that he both does and does not know everything at the same time?

Dr. John Oakes 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 […]

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?

Dr. John Oakes 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 […]

Jewish Christianity is the actual Christianity, as Jesus and all the early Christians were Torah-observant. Your response?

Dr. John Oakes 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 […]

If Jesus is metaphorically God’s son, and Jews are also called children of God, as well as David called God’s son, then what is the big deal about Jesus being called son of God?

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

Question: If Jesus was God’s son in a metaphorical sense, then Jews also called themselves God’s children. Israel was called God’s firstborn, and David was called God’s son. Thus, the reason of Jesus’ crucifixion depicted in the NT gospels seems baseless. And if Jesus was God’s literal son through spirit, then Adam also had no […]

Christians misinterpret Isaiah 53 and Zechariah 12 to justify the false belief that Jesus was crucified. Response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A .

Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to a question in which the person said that Christians have stolen Jesus out of the Old Testament, and taken him completely out of context. I asked for specifics so that I could respond, and this is what came in. Question: Christians specifically misinterpreted Isaiah 53 and Zechariah 12 […]

Does Deuteronomy 12:30 mean that Christians are not to study other religions, even in order to do Christian apologetics?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: Does Deuteronomy 12:30 forbid Christian apologetics toward other religions since we can’t inform ourselves about them? Does the verse apply for learning about other religious practices as a whole or simply forbid taking part in the practices of other religions? Answer: This passage appears to be a command to not even learn about other […]

Isaiah 53 is not a prophecy about a future Messiah because it describes the suffering servant in the past tense. Response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Q & A .

Question: The NT authors thought that Isaiah was describing the crucifixion of Jesus for the sins of the world in Isaiah 53, but the fact is Isaiah is not predicting that someone will suffer in the future for other people’s sins at all. Many readers fail to consider the verb tenses in these passages. They […]

What does Matthew 6:22-23 mean (the eye is the lamp of the body…)

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Q & A .

Question: What does Matthew 6:22-23 mean? Answer: By coincidence, I just preached on this passage two weeks ago. If we look at the context of the passage, both before and after the verse, the subject is the kingdom of God. Before the passage we are told that we must put our treasures in heaven. After […]

Muslims say that the Old Testament prophets only preached the oneness of God and did not predict God would have a son. Response?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Miracles, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: Muslims say that the prophets preached the oneness of God only. They never predicted God’s son to be born. Christians don’t worship God instead they worship Jesus. They pray to Jesus instead of God. What’s your response? Response: If this is what Muslims say then they are just plain wrong. They are mistaken. In […]