QUESTION: I’ve had a question that has really troubled me. Why is it that God would want us to be upset & regret Jesus dying on the Cross for our sins when his sacrifice was apart of God’s eternal plan in the first place? In other words, how could we feel “cut to the heart” […]

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QUESTION: Why do you think David uses gruesome imagery for righteous victors over wicked foes in the following verses? Psalm 58:10 “The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.”Psalm 68:23 “that you may plunge your feet in the blood of your foes, while […]

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Question: Many people cite Isaiah 17 as further evidence of a coming Armageddon. In current news, syria (and damascus ) do have an internal war going on. Verse 4-6 seem to imply Israel will be attacked or face a consequence related to the destruction damascus, concurrently. My question is: Has the destruction of Damascus happened […]

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Question: I am in a discussion with a friend in St. Louis. One issue he has brought up and its implication is that theistic evolution cannot be true as death did not enter into the realm of creation until Adam and Eve sinned and thus the geological sediments and all the animals and plants could […]

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QUESTION: I was reading the Gospel of John earlier today and I came across the crucifixion account. There was one verse that I’m pretty sure I’ve looked over before but caught my attention this time around. John 19:36 “For these things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled, “Not a bone of his will […]

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Question: How is it that when God makes creation beautiful to the eye it is considered godly but when we value beauty to the eye, it isn’t considered godly? (prov 31:30, 1st peter 3:3) Or when God wants to build an entire city, New Jerusalem, with diamonds and gold ( revelations 21) it is considered […]

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QUESTION: In a recent post you said: “the word “eternal” always means until the thing is completed. This applies to our eternal life as well.” Where did you come up with that definition? Rev 22:5 says believers will reign forever and ever. There is no “until the thing is completed” attached to this. Neither does […]

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QUESTION: How does one explain the fact of Lot’s wife being converted into salt when they were running away from Sodom’s destruction?  What is the “logic” or scientific” explantion behind this fact. Answer: I do not believe that there is any “scientific logic” to what happened to Lot’s wife.  What happened to his wife is […]

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QUESTION: What is the context of James 5:16?  What does confessing our sins have in relation to anointing the sick and him being raised up? Is that a commandment from Jesus to confess our sins to each other in any context? Answer: It does appear that James is a bit random in what he is talking […]

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QUESTION: I recently watched a video by Edward Fudge on Hell; you can see it at Douglas Jacoby’s website, clearly Douglas agrees with him, I would like your opinion. editor’s note:  The lecture can be viewed at http://vimeo.com/30967402  Douglas Jacoby’s site is www.douglasjacoby.com Answer: I just listened to the lecture by Edward Fudge. I believe […]

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Question: I was reading chapter 4 of Exodus this morning and a few things confused me. I am hoping that you can explain them or direct me to the answers.  1. (v 21-23) The LORD references Israel being his firstborn son. I’ve never noticed this before. Are there other references in the OT like this? What […]

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Question: I want to study out the New Testament and learn the Greek/Hebrew original words to understand it better.  Do you know of any good Bibles, or concordances, etc? Answer: I commend your desire to “take it deeper” and to study the scriptures more comprehensively.  We tend to get out of our Bible study in […]

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QUESTION: I was wondering if you could help me interpret 1 John 2:26-27? I know that the author is writing to a group of Christians, perhaps eyewitnesses of Christ. However once the author addresses the anointed he tells them that they have no need for anyone to teach them. He writes, “you have no need […]

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Question: Correct me if I am incorrect in my interpretation: God tells the Jews a key sign to look for is Elijah,who would come before the Messiah, and then God secretly puts the spirit of Elijah in the form of John the Baptist (who himself says he is not Elijah…) What would be the point […]

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Question: I wonder sometimes about Job.  As he was “blameless and upright” (Job 1:1), in some translations “perfect and upright”, does it mean that he was sinless?  The Bible teaches that no one is sinless (except Jesus), I guess Job was not sinless.  So what makes him “blameless” or “perfect”?  I know that every OT prophet […]

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Question: When I was reading in 1 Corinthians 7, I noticed that Paul said a rather peculiar thing. He said “To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord)…” (verse 12). What does this mean? If the words that followed this were “not [from] the Lord” then wouldn’t that mean that it was not inspired? Answer: […]

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Question: I’ve had several debates lately, one a Christian and an unbeliever re: the paganism involved in our holidays (i.e. Christmas/Easter).  I’ve already forwarded the article you had on Christmas to them, however, now there’s the debate w/ Easter and my believing friend is even arguing that if the OT law is obsolete, than why did Jesus […]

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Question: (editor’s note: This is a very long question!) I have a two part question for you. I. I have been reading about very young children who have claimed to have gone to or seen heaven after having both visual or death experiences particularly two named Akiana Kramarik, age 7, and Colton Burpo, age 4. […]

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Question:   The prefiguring and foreshadowing in the NT is so vast. I know a lot of them but also know that I’m missing out on a lot. Is there an exhaustive resource for them? A book maybe that you recommend?   Answer:   Yes I do.  The answer is that the most thorough book […]

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Question: I was going over Amos in my quiet times and came across this scripture:   Amos 9:13-15 (NIV) [13] “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. […]

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Question: I have a question.  Perhaps you can help me.  The New Testament was written in Greek.  Most of the ‘love’ words are ‘agape’.  My dictionary and lexicon both define ‘agape’ as unconditional love.  1 John 4:16 says that ‘God is love’, agape.  John 3:16 says ‘God so loved the world’, agape; this implies unconditional love, it […]

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Does Ephesians 1:11-14 mean we are saved merely by having the word of God preached? Question: I’ve been thinking about Ephesians 1:11-14 and baptism. Ephesians clearly states that a person is included in Christ when they hear the word of God preached. In addition it states that they’re marked and sealed with the Holy Spirit […]

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How do you respond to claims that Matthew (2:15) takes Hosea 11:1 out of context? What about Matthew 2:18 (weeping in Ramah)? Question: First I would like to mention that I am a Christian and am very grateful for your “questions and answers” section. I catch myself spending hours reading your answers for fun. I […]

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Question: Do you know who the seven shepherds and eight leaders of men are in Micah 5:5? Answer: Micah 5:5 is apocalyptic literature. This is a kind of literary style which was common in Jewish writings in the centuries immediately before and after the ministry of Jesus. It is also common in the Bible, with […]

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Question: Here’s a difficult question, and one I’ve been struggling with for a while. Is it possible that the Gospel of John contains certain sayings ascribed to Jesus that he didn’t actually say? I realize that this question sounds like it implies an attack on Biblical Inerrancy, but that problem can be avoided by making […]

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Question: I think that the one story that undoes the Bible and the claims made about its infallibility and God’s loving kindness is the story of Elijah calling down evil in the name of Jehovah on children. You defend it in the manner of someone who doesn’t really believe that 42 children were torn to […]

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Question: When did Christians begin to understand that the articles in the temple were foreshadows of Jesus? For example the bread on the Showbread table is a foreshadow of Jesus as the "Bread of Life". Did the disciples teach this principal? Did this thinking come later as the books of the Bible were collated? Answer: […]

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Question: Any thoughts on the contradiction between John having Jesus as crucified on the eve of Passover and the other gospels on Passover itself? Answer: This is a somewhat complicated question. There is no doubt that John tells us Jesus was crucified on the eve of the Passover. It was also the day before a […]

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Question: As a student studying Biology I personally believe in evolution, and I also believe in God. However, I have been struggling to figure out whether I should interpret Genesis chapter 2 literally. I looked at two different prestigious scientists who are both Christians but claim evolutionary creationism or bios logos. The first is Dr. […]

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Question: Does Genesis 1:7 say that there is water above the expanse(sky)?  Does the Bible support this wrong cosmology? Answer: Genesis chapter one is not a scientific treatise and should not be treated this way. It is a theological treatise, stating that God created everything in the universe, giving a rough order in which the […]

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Question: I have a friend who claims that there are biblical prophecies within both the Old and New Testament that have not come to pass as of yet. Though I am aware that not all biblical prophecy hasn’t been fulfilled, what are the basic rules for interpreting it? Should we focus on how Jesus had, […]

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Question: When did Jesus meet Simon? Was it when Peter’s brother Andrew asked Him to come see the Messiah (John 1:35-42)? Was it when Jesus healed Peter’s mother in law (Luke 4:38-43)? Or was it next to the sea of Galilee (Mark 1:14-20)? Thanks! Answer: Jesus met Simon (later known as Peter) when Simon’s brother […]

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Pregunta: Mi pregunta es la siguiente: Hay personas que afirman basándose en pasajes de Hechos que el Espíritu no necesariamente se recibe en el momento del bautismo. Aducen que se recibe en el momento de creer. Me gustaría saber que piensas acerca de eso.  Reputesta: Por supuesto, he escuchado esta opinión muchas veces. Yo creo […]

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Question: I am stuck on Daniel 7:26-28. It seems to say that after the defeat of Domitian that Jesus sets up his dominion on earth and that the dominion would be everlasting and that the saints would possese the kingdom. But Jesus never came it 96 A.D? Answer: The Kingdom which Jesus established is the […]

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Question: How would you interpret the formal contradiction in Mathew’s citation (Matt 2:6) of Micah 5:2? Matthew states that Bethlehem is by no means the least among the rulers of Judah, and Micah states that Bethlehem is small among the clans or rulers of Judah.Thanks! Answer: Here is a literal, word-for-word translation of the Greek […]

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Question: I have a question which bugs me a lot.  Reading Exodus 4:22-23 has overwhelmed me with doubts. Then say to Pharoah, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may worship me." But you refused to let him go; so I will kill […]

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Question: Why is the tribe of Dan NOT LISTED in Revelation with the other tribes of Israel? Answer: There are a number of theories about why Dan is not included. The scripture does not tell us, so we are left with the need to do at least some speculating. Let me list a few suggested […]

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