Was the Holy Spirit already in existence during the Old Testament or only after the New Testament? What was Holy Spirit doing in the beginning? The Holy Spirit, being God, existed before the creation of the world. He was not created, but has always existed, just like the Father and the Son. As proof of […]
In Leviticus 11:20 it says the Israelites must not eat ‘four-legged’ insects. I was wondering what ‘four’ meant for that passage and if all insects were considered four-legged literally? Actually, my English translation says “all flying insects that walk on all fours are to be detestable to you.” I would take “all fours” to be […]
How do you proclaim the truth to Atheists? There’s been times where they just don’t understand that the Bible is the word of God. How would one talk to atheists, being a good friend, and relating the love of Christ to them? I have answered similar questions at the web site. Let me add that […]
I would say the answer is none. Perhaps you are referring to the statement of Job in Job 3:11, 12 in which he was so worn out and full of grief that in an emotional outburst he declared; “Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb? Why were […]
The only thing I can imagine you are referring to are the five gold rats given in an offering by the Philistines to appease God in 1 Samuel 6:4. These gold rats were fashioned by the idol-makers of the Philistines. John Oakes, PhD
I am a student at the University of Georgia and I am taking Human Anatomy and Physiology. My question is this: I learned the other day in our text that basically all thoughts and emotions stem from our nervous system, specifically nerve cells, as well as hormones, etc. When I die, these processes, chemicals, cells, […]
I was wondering what your take on Matthew 24:14 is. I’ve been reading through it and, before reading any commentaries, I thought that perhaps Jesus was teaching us that when we’ve accomplished the great commission, reaching all the world with the gospel of God’s kingdom, he would come back for his church and for judgment. […]
Since, I want to make my time studying as useful as possible, my question is this: When studying the Bible with non-Christians, what “Christian apologetic subjects” have you found to make the greatest impact? The subject I have found to make the most difference, by far, is prophecies; especially prophecies about the Messiah. This material […]
Are there still prophecies that need to be fulfilled from the Old Testament and the New Testament? Absolutely. If you think about it, you will realize this yourself. For example, consider 1 Thess 4:16f, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with […]
I have a question about your website article on the NT canon. You said that the Muratorian Fragment is the earliest list of NT letters, but that it did not contain Hebrews, James or 1 John. Since Origen was also skeptical about these, should we be? Is there any proof to believe that these are […]
Where in the Bible did God promise David that he would place one of his descendants on his throne? That would be in 2 Chronicles 17:12-14 and Psalms 89:4 as well as 2 Samuel 7:14-16. Other passages could be used as well, such as Psalms 2:7, where he is speaking through David to his “son” […]
Is smoking sin? I’ve heard it was disputable and can go either way. Can you please give me deep detailed insight on this matter? Thanks. Yes, smoking is a sin. It is true that the Bible does not prescribe “thou shalt not smoke tobacco.” This is not surprising, because tobacco was not known to the […]
What does Christianity say about birth control and planned parenthood? The Bible does not say anything directly about birth control or planned parenthood. Nevertheless, a number of biblical principles may be applied in order to help a disciple of Jesus make personal ethical decisions regarding these very important and sometimes controversial topics. Some have taught […]
Where was Islam originate? Islam originated in what is now known as Saudi Arabia . It was founded by an Arab named Muhammad. In the year AD 610, at the age of 40, Muhammad claims to have been visited by the angel Gabriel in a vision. Muhammad claims that over the course of the next […]
Did the gospel writers borrow material from one another? Dozens of books and hundreds of ThD’s have been written on the subject of the sources of the gospels. Much of this is pure speculation–often an unfounded, biased attack on the veracity of the New Testament. It is fashionable to mention a supposed document Q, possibly […]
I recently watched a tv show about Moses, and it was discussing the Red Sea Crossing. They claimed that Moses never led the children of Israel through the “Red Sea,” but through an unknown sea. They also said the original Hebrew for Red Sea was Yam Suph which meant Sea of Reeds, and the “Red […]
I understand that the entire Bible is God-breathed. In the light of this unchangeable truth how are we to apply the book of Job to our lives? I don’t mean here, the overall theme i.e. that sometimes bad things do happen to good people. God’s integrity was at stake here. Job’s friend’s speeches take up […]
Psalm 51:5 says David was born into sin, and in sin did his mother conceive him. Can you explain to me please what that passage is referring to and the meaning of it. I’m kind of confused and it seems like it’s talking about original sin or necessary infant baptism? Also, Romans 5:12 says sin […]
I understand Isaiah 14 is a prophecy against Babylon (is Nebuchadnezzar intended? or the entire Babylonian kingdom – this is a sub-question). However, I have read a number of books where the authors have stated that this is a reference to Satan. They quote vs.12-14 and say these contain the five ‘I Will’s’ of Satan. […]
How do we know how to interpret the Bible correctly? How many interpretations are there in general? I was thinking one, but I don’t know for sure. You are asking a very broad question. One can take an entire college course in this subject. In fact, one can earn a PhD in the study of […]
What is 1 Corinthians 15:5, mean when it says Jesus appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve? Are the Twelve, the 12 apostles during Jesus’ ministry? Because Judas was dead when Jesus appeared to everyone who saw. And Matthew 28 says he appeared to the Eleven. Do you know what the scripture is referring […]
I was reading your answer to the question about if anyone was saved before Jesus came. I wanted to ask an additional question: Do you know any scriptures which contain hints from the OT and NT of people getting accepted to Heaven based on their acts of faith? Also I read the Douglas Jacoby answer […]
I have been a disciple of Jesus for five years. I am having a hard time overcoming my sinful nature especially with my purity…a lot of times I am even confused about whether I am still saved. I have been falling to a lot of pornography, masturbation, and impure thoughts…over and over again…the Bible gives […]
Will people who have never heard of God/Christianity be saved in the end? Like for example African tribes or monks in the mountains of China, people who’ve never even heard of the name God? This is the classic question I have heard dozens of times. The other one is “what about someone who wants to […]
What does Jesus mean when he says in Matt 24:36-37: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” I have wondered myself […]
Was everyone before the New Covenant saved? This is one of the easier questions I have been asked. Certainly not. If this were true, then that would mean that thanks to Jesus it became harder for a person to be saved. In fact, Jesus himself said in Matthew 7 that the gate is small and […]
Is the Old Testament plagiarized from the Zoroastrian scriptures? Quite simply, no. Many wild theories are thrown about by theologians looking for something to put into their ThD theses, and this is one of these ideas. The Zend Avesta is the principle scripture of Zoroastrianism, the pseudo-monotheistic sun-worshiping religion which began in Persia in about […]
Mark 10:5 says “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote this law but at the beginning of the creation ….” what does it mean because your hearts were hard ? It’s not logical that God changes his commandments because our hearts are hard. There’s nothing else that God has changed because of […]
In the Transfiguration, (Mt 17:3) Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus. Where had they been all the while? They weren’t in heaven right? Jesus said no one had been to heaven except Himself (Jn 3:13). Then where were they?? Also what exactly happened in the passage given below? I mean aren’t the dead to rise […]
I am a disciple of seven years. As I have gotten older, and particularly while in college, I have had a harder time holding onto my faith in God. Sometimes, I just feel like God should be more concrete than he seems to me. Could you help me come up with a plan/timeline on what […]
What about the Giants like Goliath? Is there any record outside the Bible that describes them? And how can I explain 2 Samuel 21:19? I suppose you will find some one who will claim that some obscure reference to giants in the literature of the Assyrians or the Egyptians or so forth supports the Biblical […]
Some argue that Noah’s flood was only local. What’s your view on this? In my experience, those who have proposed a local flood have done so in order to provide some sort of reasonable natural explanation of the flood, making it more easily acceptable to skeptics of the Bible flood story. The problem with these […]
Can you tell me what your view is about how God communicated to humans?. Did he do it in speech, did he send men or another way? In the OT there’s a verse were God spoke with Moses and were he showed himself to Moses on a rock/mountain. Moses was not able to see God’s […]
Why did God allow Solomon to have “700 wives and 300 concubines”? If monogamy is such an important principle in Christianity how do we explain this in the light of Biblical perspective? I would say that God allowed Solomon to have so many wives and concubines for the same reason he allows us to commit […]
I’m thinking about how perfectly ordered the whole universe is. It is a masterpiece and it actually would be logical to think that there is something or somebody behind it. However it is so hard for me to believe and to accept that this powerful creator, who created all of this, is the human-focused God […]
I know that the soul who sins is the one who will die. (Ezekiel18). Was that from the beginning of the creation? Or it has begun in Ezekiel 18 , because I can see that Abraham was a righteous man and was blessed, so Isaac & Sarah were also blessed because of Abraham . On […]
I assume you mean the Jews who were directly effected by Jesus’ ministry or those who knew them. Those who did not accept Jesus for who he said he was did not fail to believe because of lack of evidence. Jesus said “Even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may […]
What evidence do we have that points to the fact that the gospels were written by the apostles themselves? The first one who believed that they were written by them was Irenaius in 180 AD. It is impossible to prove absolutely that the apostles wrote the letters of the New Testament. Actually, you should be […]
I was looking for some credible evidence for the historicity of Jesus. Two main historians who wrote about Jesus, Thallus and Josephus, are controversial. It is not clear if they wrote it and when they wrote it. Are there records which date to the 1st century which we know where scholars are sure that they […]
Why are the Dead Sea Scrolls important? The Dead Sea Scrolls are a large number of manuscripts which have been found in a series of caves in the general area site of the ruins of the desert community of Qumran. Qumran was a settlement in the steep and arid hills at the Northwest end of […]
Why does God allow slavery in the Old Testament? The reason the Bible talks about slavery is that slavery was a very common phenomenon in both Old Testament and New Testament times. It is only natural that the topic would come up, both from a legal stand point and simply as a common part of […]
How do scholars date the ancient manuscripts and written records from the past and are there methods accurate? Scholars use a number of methods. You might think that carbon-14 dating, which gives an objective date for when the papyrus or vellum or other material was produced, would be the principal method, but actually it is […]
Can you explain to me clearly about the “Holy Trinity”, which the Catholics believe in. Is there a Holy Trinity? I believe my friend Douglas Jacoby has done a great job of answering this question already and would send you to www.douglasjacoby.com and click on archived material for an answer. Let me give you a […]
I have heard that the word ‘made’ in Genesis, actually means appointed in Hebrew not made (to make). Does this means that God could have created, appointed, Adam from an already upright walking species and formed it with dust into what we now know as Humans? My Hebrew dictionary defines the word asa as to […]
I understand that the Greek of the NT testament was Koine Greek. What can you tell me about this? I am not an expert on this subject, and would encourage you to do your own research into the style of Greek used by the writers of the New Testament. If you have a good commentary […]
If Jesus really did all the things that are recorded in the Bible, why isn’t there more information about him outside the Bible? Thousands must have seen or somehow heard from him. Is it maybe because the written testimonies about Jesus were burned, destroyed by the enemies in the 1st century ? Paul persecuted the […]
Isn’t Jesus Christ supposed to be more precious than God’s project of creation? (I mean the creation in Genesis) Was God pleased to let his son be crucified and face death etc…? Didn’t God know the future and realize that people would reject Jesus and crucify him? You are describing the situation exactly. Yes, Jesus […]
[<em>Since, I want to make my time studying as useful as possible, my question is this: When studying the Bible with non-Christians, what "Christian apologetic subjects" have you found to make the greatest impact?</em>]? The subject I have found to make the most difference, by far, is prophecies; especially prophecies about the Messiah.? This material […]
I’ve heard different information about the earliest NT manuscript. Is the ms from John (125 AD) the earliest? And what about the Magdalene manuscripts and of these from Mark (46 AD) found in Egypt are these the earliest MS? The manuscripts you refer to are the Rylands Papyrus and the Magdalene Manuscript. The Rylands Papyrus […]
How is it possible for people who are holding on to an other religion to come to salvation in Jesus. I have a lot of friends who are zealous Muslims. How can I help them ? And what about all the millions of Muslims around the world, how will they get an honest chance ? […]
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