In the NT when it refers to Jesus as the firstborn (Rom 8:29, Heb 1:6 & 12:23, Rev 1:5, Col 1:15,16,18) does that mean that he is first to be “born again” by his baptism? A great question! To answer this question, one must understand what “firstborn” meant to the Jews. For the Jews, the […]
In Genesis 2:7b What does it mean when it says “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”? is the “breath of life” referring to oxygen or the spirit/soul? I would say that, when in doubt, we should let the obvious meaning stand. Genesis seems to be saying that God made the inanimate Adam […]
What did the word “Son of God” mean to the Jewish people in Jesus’ time? is there any historical evidence about what that meant? I am afraid you that I am not an expert on this question by a long shot. I will provide at least a hint of an answer, but suggest you continue […]
Acts 22:28 states that Paul was a natural born Roman citizen while Philippians 3:4-5 states that he’s a Hebrew. There are other passages in Scripture that cite his apparent dual citizenship. My view here is that he was a Roman citizen by virtue of his being born within Roman territory, while his heritage made him […]
The words “new heavens & a new earth” are found in 2 Peter 3:10-13 & Revelation 21:1. Does that mean a literal new physical universe and earth or is it a way we as humans can relate to heaven? Well, put it this way. If we can assume that the “new earth” is a physical […]
In Exodus 3:2 & Genesis 18,19 use the word “angel”, I heard that the word could mean “messenger”. If it is so, is it possible that Jesus could be this “messenger”? You are not the first one to propose that the “angel” in Exodus 3:2 could in fact be Jesus, the Son of God. Below […]
In Daniel 7:27 it says “Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the most high. My question is in what way were the sovereignty, power and greatness of the those kingdoms handed over to saints? Being somewhat prideful, I […]
In Matthew 16:18 it says “I also say that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;” I’ve been taught that the rock in this scripture is a reference to Jesus, but it seems to me that it refers to Peter. After all Jesus did build the church through Peter (Acts […]
Someone told me that Acts 2:23 talks about the fact that every human being who ever lived contributed to Jesus’ death. But all I read is that Peter is talking to the crowd who agreed that Jesus be put on the cross. I don’t understand how my sin is a contribution to Jesus’ death 2000 […]
In Matthew 5:5 why does it say that the gentle (meek) will inherit the earth? Is it talking about the new heaven and the “new earth” when Jesus returns or is it something else? “The meek shall inherit the earth” is a truism. A truism is a general statement which can be applied to a […]
A sister in the church told me that the word unfaithful can mean other things besides being sexually unfaithful, in terms of divorce. But from what I understand you can only divorce if your spouse has been sexually unfaithful. What does God (the Bible) say? I will assume that you are referring to the text […]
In Daniel 2:44, when he says “setup a kingdom” does it mean the one in heaven or the church? to me it seems heavenly. Also can you let me know some scriptures where it says “kingdom…” which refer to the heavenly kingdom and some which refer to the church (OT & NT).If you cant answer […]
In Matthew 6, there is an admonishment to not mindlessly repeat a prayer. However, isn’t that what we do when we say the Lord’s Prayer which follows a few sentences later? How is the Lord’s Prayer different? In Matthew chapter six, Jesus was not so much attacking the saying of a prayer mindlessly, as he […]
In Daniel 2:44 it says that: “…it will crush and put an end to all those kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.” In what way will the kingdom “crush” the other kingdoms? Is he talking about when Christ returns and destroys the physical realm which include the earthly kingdoms or is he talking about […]
How do you explain that Jesus called people “fools”? Wouldn?t he be subject to hell fire according to his own words? What does this mean to us? Who can we call fools? Who not? (The explanation, that Jesus was filled with Gods Spirit and knew what?s necessary doesn?t seam to be sufficient.) Matthew 5:22 But […]
This is a bit confusing. In Luke Jesus asks the Father to forgive those that murdered him, in Acts 2:23 Peter accuses these same people of murder, then in Acts 2:38 Peter tells them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do […]
What about when the words of Jesus in red in one Gospel, describing a one-time event do not EXACTLY match other accounts? The temptation of Christ, for example. I am not upset about this for some reason, and it doesn’t shake my faith in Christ, but is there a reasonable answer? Just different ways the […]
Paul was baptized by Ananias, but did any of the Apostles lay their hands on him to pass the out pouring gift of holy spirit? If not from whom did he received the baptism of Holy Spirit? You are asking me to speculate on something which is not specifically stated in the New Testament–a thing […]
Explain what Hebrews means in chapter 6 and 10 about being saved. I have been taught that once saved always saved is true but according to the Book of Hebrews this is not true. I would say that your own personal Bible study has led you to understand the correct sense of Scripture on this […]
Does it say in the New Testament that we are not to go by the laws of the old testament only the Ten Commandments? First of all, you should understand that for the Jews, the distinction between the Ten Commandments and the other commandments in the Law of Moses is not particularly important. It is […]
In the opening chapters of Genesis, the Bible says that Cain was afraid of others who might take vengeance upon him. Where did these people come from??? They could not have been his brothers for there is hardly enough time for procreation to have resulted in a population large enough for Cain to be concerned […]
Why did Jesus tell Judas he would be the head of one of the twelve tribes if Judas was going to betray him? Who were the Twelve who saw the risen Christ in Paul’s account of the resurrection. If Judas was dead how could he be one of the “twelve” who saw Christ. Jesus did […]
How do you reconcile the accounts in Matthew and Luke regarding the events immediately following the birth of Jesus? In Matthew, Jesus is brought to Egypt from Bethlehem and then later to Nazareth after the death of Herod. In Luke, from Bethlehem he is brought to Jerusalem and then immediately to Nazareth. The way Matthew […]
I have been a Christian for the past few years and have been seeking the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. I have been told by my fellow brethren that if I ask God for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit I will receive Him. Well I have been doing this for years now and nothing […]
Was Satan kicked out of Heaven? There is a very common belief that Satan was kicked out of heaven. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, you will not find this clearly stated in the Bible. This is one of many examples of a common misconception taking on the appearance of authority or truth simply because it is repeated […]
What are the names of the seven angels listed in the New Testament? what is the name of the beast of the New Testament? I have heard the claim in the past that there are seven named angels in the Bible, but I cannot confirm this claim from studying the Bible itself. The specific named […]
In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul’s had a vision about the “Third Heaven”. What was Paul referring to when he mentioned the “Third Heaven” in verse 2-3? I am going to do something I have never done at this web site, which is copy another person’s answer to this question verbatim, without changing it at all. […]
When God destroyed the earth with great flood all the creatures of ground and air were destroyed (Gen 7:22-23), but what about the creatures of water ? Were they also destroyed? There is no evidence in Genesis that the creatures in water were destroyed wholesale by the flood–be they fresh or salt-water life. It would […]
Did the “disciples” get baptized again on the day of Pentecost or was Jesus baptism the same as for the forgiveness of sins? This is a fairly common question. Unfortunately, to answer the question requires speculation. The Bible simply does not answer this questions. You can assume that the answer you get to this question […]
*Did the messianic prophecies foretell of the “second coming?” *Does God explicitly reveal to Moses the 8 day circumcision decision procedure or is it more like it was a “best practices” act that was handed down over generations and then was written down by Moses? *Do we know how long Jesus was in Egypt? There […]
Have you noticed there are two accounts in the bible of Jesus cursing the fig tree and when Jesus drove the money changers out? In one account, Jesus drove the money changers out and then cursed the fig tree the next day. (Matthew 21:10-22). And in the other account he cursed the fig tree first […]
I’m writing to ask if you have any explanation for one apparent discrepancy that I have often wondered about: “three days and three nights”. I have read that the “days” part of that statement was due to the Jewish tradition of counting any part of a day as a whole day in the description of […]
Why dopastors still preach teach and insist on Old Testament laws when the same stand cancelled in the New Testament? Preachers teach the need for Christians to follow the Old Testament law because of bad theology. This is one of the most common false doctrines in the “Christian” world. Different religious groups teach the need […]
In anew Comparative Religion course I’m taking at school. we’re currently studying Hinduism and will soon move on to Buddhism its actually quite fascinating. Hinduism, with all its splendid contradictions and incongruities, is really not that bad of a religion. Dont get me wrong, my faith is not wavering but I found that studying the […]
Genesis 11:1 says that the world at that time “had one language and a common speech.” However, Genesis 10:5 seems to imply that there was more than one language at that same time. Please explain this. I can think of a couple of possible explanations, but the most obvious one is probably correct. Although Genesis […]
I have been studying the new testament for the past 6 months and found a lot of encouragement generally throughout and it was leading me to begin to believe, though some parts of the text I found a bit troubling and not often addressed by other Christians other preachers. I even discovered some misinformation on […]
For some time I have held the view that the age of the earth, dinosaurs, and remains like “Lucy” can be explained by the gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. The earth was created “in the beginning”, not the first day. The earth was then “formless and void”, a phrase that can be rendered […]
As usual I have another query. This is regarding the Baptism for the Dead mentioned in 1Cor15:29: “Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?” Now I know this cannot mean that Paul […]
Micah 5:2 Says that the messiah would be born in Betlehem. After that it goes on to speak of the assassins invading Israel and that he and 7 others would save Israel. (v.4-6).What’s that about? If also verses 4-6 can apply to the same great leader in v.2 (and it seems to me that it […]
In Luke 2:49 Jesus refers to Temple of Jerusalem as his father’s house. Also, King Solomon built this Temple for God according to His instruction. However, in Acts 17:24 it is taught that God does not live in any human built building. I am having some difficulty to explain this issue can you please help […]
I was fielding some good questions from co-workers today like — “If all roads don’t lead to God, then how do you know which one is right? I know many people from different religions that seem very happy and fulfilled from their faith. It’s not fair that God will send people to hell if they’re […]
What does the Bible says about slavery? Many people have tried to argue that since the Bible endorses slavery, citing certain pauline letters which seem to encourage compliance with slavery, then the Bible must be flawed and therefore not the word of God. I was wondering how you would answer this? Also, if God made […]
Can a disciple of Jesus have a relationship with someone who is not? Jesus certainly had relationships with people who were not his followers. How can we influence the world if we are not willing to have relationships with those who are in the world. I am guessing that you are asking if it is […]
If our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisee to enter the kingdom, should we be perfect as our Father in heaven is? Are there any exceptions according to Christ? It seems that the scriptures say you must be perfect according to the Gospels, but Paul mentions grace. Yet Christ never mentions the word grace. […]
What did God say to Job about water molecules and where do I find it in the Bible? I am going to guess that the passage you are referring to is found in Job 36:27. Here, Elihu says “He draws up the drops of water which distill as rain to the streams; the clouds pour […]
You have said, based on Luke and Hebrews, that if a person continues sinning constantly after they have received the Holy Spirit they will be dammed to hell-what about the prodigal son story of God always forgiving, and always being able to come back to God? Excellent question. Of course, the story of the prodigal […]
I have really been struggling a lot over this one… I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, and thus does not contain obvious error and contradictions that would make it untrustworthy. Yet upon reading the gospel accounts of Peter’s denial of Jesus, there seems to be a glaring contradiction here. In […]
I know this is impossible to answer, but I have always been told that when you die and go to Heaven, that you will get a new body, and there will be no sorrow, hurts, wants,etc;………so my question is…Do you think that our loved ones that are in Heaven can somehow see us, or hear […]
I would say that at first glance this passage might be difficult to understand if one were assuming it was about judgment day. God is talking about bringing physical judgment on the city of Jerusalem and on Judah for their unrighteous deeds. In fact, that is the main subject of Ezekiel chapters 20-23. Israel had […]
Question: After death do we go to heaven, hell, or do we “sleep” until the return of Christ? Answer: This is a very good question. To be honest with you, to do justice to this question would require an answer of at least ten pages. Besides, I do not feel particularly qualified to answer this […]
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