End Times – Evidence for Christianity

Please respond to a recent post in which it is claimed that resurrection was a “hot topic” at the time of Christ and that the church claimed it for Jesus for this reason.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, End Times, General, Q & A, Resurrection of Jesus .

Question: Please clear up for me the discussion below I found on line in which the writer tries to argue that the resurrection of Christ was invented by the later Christians for religions reasons: Christian apologists and conservative scholars have tried to argue that, while there was a belief in a coming general resurrection, the […]

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. […]

God promises Paradise to those who follow Torah and Gospel who are killed or who kill in war. This is found in the Koran, but was removed from the Old and New Testaments. Response?

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

Question: God promised paradise to those in the Torah and the Gospel who are killed in a holy war, or who kill others in a holy war as stated by the Koran (9:111), but paradise is missing from the OT (including the Torah) and holy wars are missing from the NT (including the Gospels). Have […]

Why does Jude quote from the non-canonical book of 1 Enoch?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Apocrypha, End Times, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: In reading the book of Jude, I discovered this: Jude 1:14 Enoch, the seventh of our ancestors after Adam, spoke of these people in advance, saying: “Behold, the Lord is coming with millions of angels” There are two questions to ask in this text: 1-Do you think Enoch is seventh in the Genealogy […]

In Ezekiel 38:17 it says that Israel’s prophets prophesied about Gog many times before. Who were these Israelite prophets that Ezekiel spoke about?

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

Question: Ezek. 38:17 mentions the Israelite prophets who prophesied about Gog, but no prophecy earlier than Ezekiel’s prophecy talks about Gog. Then who were those Israelite prophets and why did Ezekiel not name them? Answer: I do not know for sure what prophets Ezekiel is referring to. He does not tell us. However, it is […]

Is the New Covenant everlasting? Will Christians be under the New Covenant in heaven?

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

Question: Is the New Covenant everlasting? Will we be under the New Covenant in heaven? Answer: Believe it or not, this is a difficult question. Logically, it would seem that if the answer to the first question is yes, then the answer to the second question also needs to be yes, but this is not […]

Where do we go when we die? When Jesus raised someone, did he call them back from heaven?

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

Question: Where does your soul go when you die? Some say heaven (or hell) but if that’s true then the people that were raised from the dead were taken out of heaven and brought back to earth…? Jesus raised people before his crucifixion and Peter and Paul did too after Jesus died and rose again. […]

In Mark 13:30 Jesus said that “this generation will not pass away” before Jesus comes back at end times. How should I think about this?

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

Question: Mark 13:30 has bugged me for some time now. For context, in chapter 13 Jesus predicts the Temple’s destruction, then lists events that signal the end times, saying, “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” (NIV) But this doesn’t make sense: how can Jesus’ […]

If Revelation is about things that will “soon take place” (Rev 1:1) then how can it refer to the collapse of Rome more than 300 years later? What about current events?

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

Questions: 1. I was taught the following about the Book of Revelation: Because in Rev 1:1 it is written concerning “what must soon take place”, therefore all of the Book of Revelation speaks about the events immediately after it was written (96 AD). There are many images of plagues and disasters referring to the decline […]

Is Matthew 16:28 (some of you will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom) about the second coming?

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

Question: “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Matthew 16:28 NIV. What did Jesus mean here? Is he referring to his second coming? Answer: In Matthew 16:28 appears at first glance to be a reference to the second […]

Does 1 Peter 3:18 prove that Jesus had a spirit-only body after his resurrection as my Jehovah Witness friend tells me?

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

Question: Please respond to this article: https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/jesus-body/ Is it true that Jesus’ resurrected body was a spiritual one only according to 1 Peter 3:18, and that we too will have spirit, not physical bodies in heaven? Answer: First of all, you will do well to not listen to Jehovah Witnesses, both in person and […]

Why is there sin offering in the Ezekiel temple in Ezek Ch 40-48 if Jesus is our sin offering?

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

Question: I have a question about the Temple mentioned in Ezekiel Ch 40-48. It says that there will be sin sacrifices, but how can that be so if Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice? I know that there are both literal and figurative interpretations, but everything I have seen has favored the literal view of these […]

Will there be a New World Order government in the end times?

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

Question: Will there be a New World Order government over the United States in the end times? I watch the end times show on TBN and the host says the United States will end up backing out of New World Order or One World Government? Revelation makes it clear of the Antichrist’s role in end […]

What are the “spirit tongues” which are mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14:2-4?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, Miracles, Q & A .

[Editor’s note: This question is specific to the Indonesian translation of 1 Corinthians, although it is relevant to the general question about unknown languages and whether they are mentioned in the Bible] Question: I am from Bandung, Indonesia. One of my friends asked me about 1 Corinthians 14:2-4 What is the meaning speak in tongues […]

Who is the “man of lawlessness” in 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12? Is it the Roman papacy as I have read?

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

Question: First I’d like to thank you for your teaching and answers on the Evidence for Christianity website. You helped me in understanding some parts of the scriptures that troubled me. I have had paranoid schizophrenia for several years and I can easily get fearful of the future. I can feel that I could be […]

Did the number 666 in Revelation come from another culture or religion?

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

Question: I have a question concerning “the number of the Beast” which is 666. Does 666 come from somewhere where the author could have copied it in Revelations and used it as the number. To put it simply did it come from any ancient civilization? Answer: The answer is no. The number 666 was chosen […]

What does it mean when Paul says we will judge angels? (1 Cor 6:3)

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

Question: What does it mean in 1 Corinthians 6:3 when it says, “Don’t you know that we will judge the angels?” Thanks. Answer; I get two things from this passage. 1. The angels will go through some sort of judgment at the end time. 2. We (ie faithful disciples or some subset of the faithful […]

Should William Marrion Branham be taken seriously as an end-time prophet as his followers claim?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in End Times, General, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: William Marrion Branham is considered by some to be an end-time prophet. They say that in order to be taken up by Jesus, every Christian must believe his end-time message. What do you think about ? Answer; I have come across the Branhamites in both West Africa and in Central Africa, especially the two […]

Jehovah Witnesses teach that no one goes to heaven, and use Acts 2:34 where it says David did not go to heaven as a proof text. Can you explain?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Other Religions, Q & A, Resurrection of Jesus .

Question: Jehovah’s witnesses teach that no one goes to heaven after death. In proof of this they cite Acts 2,34 and they say that here Peter denies that David ascended into heaven and so if a man of God like David did not go to heaven it means no one go to heaven. Personally I […]

Why does the Old Testament not mention heaven and hell?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Daniel, End Times, General, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible .

Questions: I have two questions that cause a lot of troubles to me: Some people believe that the concept of hell is a pagan idea which Jesus copied from Egyptian and Greek culture. In the Old Testament they find nothing about the existence of hell and believe that the idea of hell was born in Egypt and […]

Is Isaiah 25:6-8 a dual prophecy?

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

Question: Is Isaiah 25:6-8 a dual prophecy – of the resurrection of Christ and of the second coming of Christ? The background of the question is the parable of the great banquet in Luke 14. I have read in Kenneth Baileys book “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels” that the Jews believed […]

I read an article about three separate raptures before the Millennial Reign. Is this biblical?

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

Question: Is the message below a correct understanding of the scripture with regard to a rapture/gathering of God’s people? [Editor’s note: A fairly lengthy and somewhat incoherent set of claims about a premillennial rapture is below. Normally, we would not put such stuff out there, but there are sufficient people who find themselves believing this […]

What should the Christian take be on Trump’s decision to acknowledge Jerusalem as the capital of Israel?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in End Times, General, History, Other Religions, Q & A .

Question: Since the announcement from Trump that he would move the US embassy to Jerusalem, there has been an uproar in the media about how this pushes back the effort for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. I am aware that the Jews have violated human rights in the occupied West Bank, but somehow deep […]

Will we be unconscious when we die–like being asleep?

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

Question: I have recently been thinking about what we experience when we die. I understand that information on this is extremely limited and most answers are speculations. Also, it is my understanding that people do not possess a soul but “are” in fact a soul. God says that when man was first formed it took […]

How do I prove that Mark 9:1 is talking about the day of Pentecost, not the time when Jesus comes back?

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

Question: A question recently came up in studying about the kingdom of God with a friend. It involves Mark 9:1 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.” My friend insists that Jesus is talking […]

Recently relics of St. Nicholas were in Russia and people were touching and kissing them. Is this idolatry?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Church History, End Times, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Recently some of the relics of St. Nicholas were brought to Russia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas). Thousands of the faithful lined up in a kilometer-long queue to kiss them and kneel before them. How should we react to this tradition to worship the relics, because it looks to be clearly idolatry? Do you know how the […]

What do you think about Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri? Is he right about the return of Jesus?

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

Question: What do you think of the Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri? Apparently he was Israel’s leading religious teacher up until 2006 when he died at 108 years. Supposedly during the latter years of his life he focused very intently on the teaching of the coming of the Messiah and how to recognize him. He wrote a […]

Why do some commentators interpret the 70th week in Daniel 9:27 to end in the future?

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

Question: On what basis do some commentators say the 70th week of Daniel 9:27 is still in the future? Why would the 70 week prophecy be broken down as 69 continuous weeks with the 70th week potentially some 2000 years detached from 69th week? Answer: Good question. There are two reasons that many commentators delineate the […]

Can the tribulation fit into the second half of the last “week” in Daniel 9:27?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Daniel, End Times, General, Q & A .

Question: Read your excellent answers to Dan.9:27… What do you think about interjecting Luke 4:18-21 as first half (Yeshua’s ministry being first half of 9:27 while all things being put under His feet during completion of Eph.4:13 during Great Tribulation Period second half of week… The adoption process of Romans 8:18-23 coming into the mind,will,and purpose […]

What is the meaning of the 1000 years of Revelation 20?

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

Question: Revelation 20 states that Satan will be defeated and locked up for 1000 years and then released for a short time. Did the 1000 years already happen or are we still waiting for it? Answer: I have taught a class on Revelation in which I address the question of the 1000 years in some […]

Did Paul teach that the law was removed by Jesus’ sacrifice? When will the ten lost tribes come back to Israel?

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

Questions: I was confronted with these questions. Did Paul teach that the law was over by Jesus’ sacrifice? Also, when will the ten tribes come back to Israel? Answers: Not sure if I would say it exactly that way: “the Law was over by Jesus’ sacrifice.” What Paul did say is, “When you were dead […]

Could 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 and Revelation 20:7-10 be describing the same event?

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

Question: Is it possible that 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 and Revelation 20:7-10 describe the same event? Answer: I am afraid that I cannot give you a definitive answer. I will have to say that I cannot blame people who see some potential parallels between the “lawless one” of 2 Thess 2:8 and the deception of Gog […]

What does the phrase in the New Testament “going to sleep” mean?

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

Question: What is the meaning of the phrase “going to sleep” that is used many times in the New Testament. Also, what happens when we die? Answer: This was a common euphamism for saying that someone died in their culture. We also use euphemisms for talking about death. We say someone “passed away.” Or we say that […]

What historical events are fulfilled in Revelation–especially in the last chapters of the book?

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

Question: Similar to you, I find preterism [editor’s note: this is the view that the majority of the visions in Revelation involve things which happened in the early period of Christianity] as the best interpretation of Revelation. However, I struggle with interpreting the events (especially the plagues). I also do not know what to do […]

How do you interpret 1 Peter 4:6?

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

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 […]

What do you think about supernatural claims by biblical scholars such as Tom Horn?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in End Times, General, Q & A .

Question: What is your take on supernatural biblical scholars (like Tom Horn ) who spend a great deal of time, research, field trips etc into writing books, documentaries, and then go on to Christian tv shows using current events to corroborate with the bilblical/ extra bibilical prophecies? Some of the stronger claims they allege is […]

Could Zechariah 14:16-18 be about a literal event, or is it about heaven? Wouldn’t the Jews have taken this literally?

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

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. […]

What passages in the New Testament use Egypt as a symbol of sin and slavery to sin?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General, Prefigures and Foreshadows, Types .

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, […]

What are the “Powers of the Age to Come”?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General .

Question: What are the “Powers of the Age to Come”? Answer: I assume that you are quoting from Hebrews 6:5. In context, he is talking about what happens to those who have become Christians but who later fall away. To describe those who have been saved, he talks about “those who have once been enlightened […]

Can you explain Isaiah 11:14? Is it about a restored kingdom of Israel under Jesus?

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

Question: Dr. Oakes, I have a question about Isaiah 11. I understand that the chapter is a messianic prophecy, but how do you interpret verse 14? Is it fair to say that this would conjure up images of a restored kingdom of Israel (God) and is symbolic of the breaking in of the kingdom in the […]

You are wrong when you say there is no evidence supporting the Left Behind scenario.

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General .

Question: I recently saw a question you answered in August of 2013 regarding the Left Behind movie remake. In it you remarked that there was not so much as a hint to support the idea that Left Behind teaches about the Rapture, that non-believers will be left behind on the earth. How can you say […]

Does the “last days” refer to end times or to the time of the end of the Old Covenant?

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

QUESTION: This is about the phrase “the last days” in Isaiah 2:2 and Acts 2:17. When I first studied the Bible, I thought it referred to end times. It didn’t make sense to me because if that’s what the Bible meant, then it seemed like a weird time to inaugurate the Church. But since I […]

If Jesus was God, how could he not know the hour of his return (Mark 13:32)?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: In Mark 13:32 Jesus(as man) did not know the hour o his return 2000 years ago, BUT did Jesus (as alleged god) know the hour 2000 years ago? Answer: Jesus was not an “alleged” God. Jesus was God in the flesh, as John tells us in John 1:1 and John 1:18. While in the earthly […]

What can you tell me about the second coming of Christ?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General .

Question: What literature will you suggest me to understand the Second Coming of Jesus? Thank you very much. I have already read two books of John Oakes: Reasons for Belief and From Shadow to Reality, they are amazing. God bless you Answer: There is a lot of bad information out there about the second coming […]

Who are the beast from the sea in Revelation 13:1 and the beast from the earth in Revelation 13:13?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, Daniel, End Times, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, History .

QUESTION: Hi Dr J. I have just clipped your interpretations of the four parts of the great statue in Daniel for my study: nice summary. But I have been struggling with the origin of the two beasts in Rev 13:1,11. Antichrist-beast comes from the sea – apparently the disorganised nations (whatever they are); but what […]

Do you know of scriptures which discuss the doctrine of Hades and the state of humans before judgment?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I recently looked over an essay from Douglas Jacoby on the doctrine of hell and it has changed my views of what it is. I believe the scriptures are pretty clear on it not being eternal torment although some scriptures are up for debate because of ambiguity regarding the word eternal but nonetheless my […]

How do you reconcile the two prophecies in Matthew 16:27,28?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: How do you reconcile Matt 16:26,27? They are two distinct prophecies in these verses. One is about the distant future which is the judgment.The other happened six days later. Answer: First of all, I assume you mean Matthew 16:27-28, not 26-27. In this little prophecy of Jesus he is doing what he often did, which is mix prophecies […]

Will believers reign on the earth after judgment?

Dr. John Oakes wrote in Bible Interpretation, End Times, General, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

QUESTION: I am studying with a pre-millenialist who is particularly caught up with Israel, end-times, and the special role of Jerusalem. The materials on Jacoby’s [editor’s note: he is referring to douglasjacoby.com] site recently published on the mass conversion of Israel were timely as well as John Oakes messages on the Kingdom of God. Thanks! […]

Are "double prophecy fulfillment", such as that done by JWs interpretations always wrong?

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

Question: I am deeply grateful for your research and teaching for brothers and sisters in the faith. Your web-site and publications have been so helpful, insightful and informative. I have been a Christian for over 21 years now, and your works, and those of other teachers, have proven helpful as tools to help deepen my […]

Jesus cannot be the Messiah because of many messianic prophecies he did not fulfill!

Dr. John Oakes wrote in End Times, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Prefigures and Foreshadows, Reliability of the Bible, Types .

Question: I have read some of your articles. I do not see how Jesus meets the criteria given for Messiah in the Tanakh… SITUATION OF HIS BIRTH Christians say he had no biological father. Therefore he had no lineage through Joseph to forebears. Christians then claim that he was ‘adopted’ or that the lineage was through […]