Question: Hell: is it a real place? There’s so much material out there about the nature of hell and many Christians misinterpret the meaning, some even saying hell is not real. What did Jesus historically teach about it? Answer: What I can say for sure is that the Bible describes hell as a real place. […]
Question: I was talking to a member of a church with different beliefs on salvation from mine, and she gave reasonable and biblical evidence for why communion is the way to salvation. She used John 6:53-58 as the basis for her belief, saying that the only way to have eternal life is to take part […]
Question: I would be interested in hearing your notes / commentary on Genesis 1-11. From my research, there appears to be a lot of interpretation going into the transalation of our English language bibles. A superficial reading of our English language Bibles in Genesis would seem to support a young earth and a global cataclysmic […]
Question: Can you explain Ecc 3:1-8? Answer: This may be one of the top ten famous passages in the Bible. It was popularized by the rock group The Byrds in the 60’s. We have to look at the context of this passage. Solomon is not discussing deep theology here. He is presenting what he learned […]
Question: In Romans 2:1 and in many other places the Bible says that we should not judge each other. We should not condemn each other. How exactly am I to understand any difference between condemnation and mentoring–between condemnation and the attempt to save a brother or sister from the consequences of their choice? I heard […]
Question: I have a question about Isaiah 59:1-2. I have heard it taught that the last words of verse 2, “your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear”, means that when people who are not Christians pray, their prayers were not heard, even if they are sincerely religious. I always […]
Question: How can baptism be a saving act? I was raised in a Presbyterian church and attended a Calvinist school (I was not a Christian at the time). So the idea of anything beyond the cross (namely baptism) being a requisite for entering heaven has been troubling for me. Initially, I thought that baptism was […]
Question: How are we to understand 1 Peter 4:6? Answer: This passage is one of the few in the New Testament which are relatively difficult to know for sure the exact meaning. In the context, Peter is talking about the suffering of Christ on our behalf (1 Pet 4:1-2) and about our salvation when we […]
Question: I have just finished to read all the NEW TESTAMENT and I have some questions about some points. 1 Can you explain how a death ( Jesus’ death on the Cross) can forgive the sins of any human being even many years after? I think it is tough to understand and its a matter […]
Question: Did Paul predict the return of Jesus during his life time? Answer: The answer is no, Paul did not predict when Jesus would return. There is not verse in the New Testament in which he even hints at a date for the return of Jesus. However, it is easy to get a sense from […]
Question: If a person was locked alone in a room with a Bible, and knew nothing about Church history, would they really come out of this room as a cessationist? I have trouble believing this statement. I am attaching a debate link that I found useful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLOSesbHxQr2ShoYe9sgnTZ1er9GGYz5F0&v=c0biTwj635I&app=desktop [editor’s note: the questioner is using the word […]
Question: The OT describes the prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah. The doubt I have comes from the question, did God the Father command Israel to worship this Messiah? Or on the other hand, did he only predict the coming of a great prophet who will teach Israel his way (like the old prophets […]
Question: I am reading your book on Mormonism [editor’s note: available at www.ipibooks.com] and I came across the section about Mormon belief and one of the beliefs was baptism for the dead. Do they take this from the 1 Corinthian 15:29 verse? What does the verse mean? Answer: Mormons do not get baptism for the […]
Question: War or peace? Exodus 15:3 says The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name. Romans 15:33 says Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Can God be both a man of war and a man of peace? This question is so important I feel because it deals […]
Question: God is, in principle, against human sacrifice: the religious ritual killing of innocents to appease God, or any gods, for that matter. So it would be likewise true that God is, in principle, against anyone’s ever *thinking* that God is ever in favor of such sacrifice. So, if God caused Abraham to think that […]
Request: I need to understand the verse when Jesus said He will be at the right side of God. Response: Because God is not a physical being, I take this statement metaphorically. To be at the right hand means to be the chief support and second-in-command. A prince sits as the right hand of a […]
Question: Is there really a mother God in the Bible/Christianity? What about these scriptures: Revelation-21:9-10, 22:17 and Galatians-4:16? Answer: I assume you want the Christian answer to this question. Other religions do propose a mother goddess. This would include Mormonism and, in a sense, Hinduism. However, Christianity, like Judaism and Islam, is avowedly monotheistic. There […]
Question: My question relates to Romans 2:12-16: “All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the […]
Answer: I was reading my Bible this morning in Joshua, I noticed the word “darkness” in Joshua 24:8. I looked it up in Strong’s and in the Hebrew, it is called “maaphel”. In your opinion, is this literal darkness or something else? Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance says “something opaque”. http://biblehub.com/hebrew/3990.htm Joshua 24:7 NIV But they cried […]
Question: I was hoping you could help me understand how the the setting of Zechariah 14:16-18 could be referring to somewhere other than Earth. “Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. […]
Question: My question relates to Romans 2:12-16: “All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the […]
Question: Is someone who has an income that he does not pay tax on sinning? Answer: I cannot answer every possible issue related to your question. There may be some gray area here. I do not know what country you live in, which would also affect my answer. In the United States there are gray […]
Question: I have a question about creation: In Genesis 1 it says God made vegetation, water creatures and birds before making man but in Genesis 2 it’s says that man was made before vegetation and animals Is this a biblical contradiction? I ask this question as a disciple who struggles with being logical at times, […]
Question: I think it is hard to understand the trinity because a man cannot be in America, in Africa and in Asia at the same time: that make the trinity hard to understand when I take it in a human way. I want to ask you if the trinigy is like this: 3 forms of […]
Question: There so many things in the Bible I don’t understand up to now. For example, I struggle to understand the nature of Jesus Christ. Some verses show us that he is God but some show that Jesus and God are different. In John 17 Jesus was praying God. So If he is God why […]
Editor’s Note: This response comes from Kedron Jones, a member of the board of Apologetics Research Society Question: Thanks for following up about my baptism issue I brought up. Basically it was an article on the question as to whether “baptism” is necessary to be saved/go to heaven? The article went through many scriptures and […]
Question: I want to seek your thoughts on who Paul speaks to in 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. Is he talking to saved people who are sinning or to people who have gone back to their sinful ways, fallen away and are no longer saved? In the passage he says “you still live in flesh” which tells […]
Question: I’ve been reading Judges and, boy there are some good parenting lessons in this book. I’m writing because I would like your take on chapter 11, specifically the vow Jephthah made to God. Why do you think God allowed him to go through with his vow and not stop him, especially since she was […]
Question: I found your book From Shadow to Reality to be great and have since purchased your book Reasons for Belief. I have a question about a statement you made on page 144 of From Shadow to Reality. I understand the 2 classes of sacrifices… worship/offering and for sin, and how the worship sacrifice is […]
Question: My question is on this passage: “For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by […]
Question: I have a comment regarding your response to the question “If the Hebrew word “yom” in Genesis means a 24 hour period, why do you interpret it figuratively to be a period of time?” I do not agree with your answer. In NET translation it says “There was evening, and there was morning, a […]
Question: Why did Jesus keep telling people not to tell anyone that he healed them? He knew that by sharing that news many people would get to know him, so why not let them do it? Even when he told them to be silent the news of his power spread everywhere, didn’t it? Answer: Jesus […]
Question: I’ve been reading through the Book of Esther and some small nuances have caught my attention. One has to do with the background of Haman the Agagite. Most websites I’ve found claim that he was a descendent from Agag King of the Amalekites from 1st Samuel 15. They say that his existence is a […]
Question: In the sermon on the mount, Jesus commands us not to swear at all and, “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37; NIV). So is it ok for a Christian to make vows at a wedding and to swear to tell […]
Question: In 1 Samuel 28 Saul consulted a medium which he himself banished before as Samuel instructed him. Why did God allow Samuel’s spirit to talk through the medium? Does it mean such psychics and mediums have access into even the soul of a holy prophet like Samuel? Karen: The events in 1 Samuel 28 […]
Question: What passages in the New Testament portray Egypt as a symbol of “slavery and sin”? Answer: Actually, because of the exile of the Jews in Babylon, the New Testament uses Babylon more often as the symbolic place of sin, and even Rome (Revelation 17:7–18). Examples of Babylon used as a symbol of sin are Revelation 14:8, […]
Question: I don’t quite understand 1 Peter 4:5-6. If we have been made righteous through the blood of Jesus, why would we have to give an account of our life, especially since God knows how we have been living and striving to live godly? It seems redundant to me and what would we have to […]
Question: I see from your articles that you view Genesis 1-3 as ‘true myths’ and I found this view really helpful. I wanted to ask how you determine at what point Genesis stops being a record of hebrew myth and becomes historical. Why, for example, do you not consider chapters 4-11 true myths? I know […]
Question: I have a friend who is Seventh Day Adventist and we constantly debate whether hell is eternal. I show him passage after passage that demonstrates that the Bible teaches everlasting punishment, but he continues to bring up the fact that, for people in hell, their ultimate fate is to be thrown into the lake […]
Question: I’ve been listening the audios of the Evidence for Jesus classes. Thank you very much for them. But I have a doubt about the claims of Jesus in John 10. Verses 34 to 36 are rather confusing for me. It says: 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, […]
Question: I have a study that focuses on the words “LORD” Hebrew Yahovah {yeh-ho-vaw’} H3068 from H1961. Jehovah = “the existing One” 1) the proper name of the one true God. “Lord” Hebrew Adonay (ad – o – noy) H136 from H113 1) my lord, lord a) of men b) of God. “Lord” Hebrew “adown” (adone) […]
Question: The book of Numbers says Balaam practiced divination and was certainly a wicked man, worshiping idols. How could a holy God talk through him and even made him bless Israel when Balak wanted them cursed? Doesn’t God detest things like sorcery, divination and witchcraft? Answer: God certainly hates witchcraft, divination and idolatry. However, […]
Pregunta: (Englislh translation below) Puede explicar esta escritura por favor, ¿Aquien se refiere pablo al hombre malvado? 2 Tesalonicenses 2:3-4 TLA No permitan que nadie los engañe. Ese día no llegará hasta que los enemigos de Dios se rebelen contra él y haya aparecido el hombre malvado, que será destruido. Ese hombre está en contra de […]
Question: About eating blood, I recently read an answer by you on whether it is wrong to eat blood (Acts 15:28-29). You said that it is not wrong, but I found some of your answer to be very confusing. You have said that “it is not sinful for a Christian to eat blood” From what […]
Question: How could Jacob defeat an angel of the lord in his wrestling match? Did God make the angel powerless? And why did the angel ask Jacob to leave him as sun was rising? Why did he even need permission? Answer: I am afraid that there are certain things in the scriptures for which […]
Question: I have a question about Psalm 51:5. In this passage David says “Surely I was sinful at birth, from the time my mother conceived me.” This scripture was used by a friend as an argument for infant baptism. He claimed that babies do have sin because David said so in this passage. God says […]
Question: I read in a question at the web site concerning the prophecies of Daniel 11 in which you said that the Kingdom of the North which were the Seleucids become later identified as the Romans. Why is it that this change seems random as if to accommodate for the fact that Antiochus IV did […]
Question: I believe that a Christian can lose their salvation. However, I hit a metaphorical stone wall when I read Romans 11:29. “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Salvation is referred to as a gift in the New Testament, so where do I go from here? Answer: From the tone of […]
Question: In your post from April 5th, you state “Biblically, the only way we receive the indwelling Holy Spirit is at baptism (Acts 2:38). ” From Acts 10 it appears that salvation (receiving the Holy Spirit) comes before baptism (Acts 10:47), What is you response to this event? In full disclosure, I hold to the […]
Question: The idea has been brought to my attention in a Bible study that sin does not only inflict spiritual death but physical death as well. Possible biblical support for this is that when God curses Adam and Eve for disobeying, He mentions that “from dust we came and to dust we will return.” However […]
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