Question: According to Christianity, Jesus is the light (Isa. 42:6) and he came to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness (Isa. 42:7). On the other hand, Muhammad is the Lamp Spreading Light (Sura 33:46) and who came to release Jews […]
Request: Thank you for responding to my earlier question regarding the blog post written by Bart Ehrman on Messianic Prophecy. Your answer was very helpful and I learned a lot from it. click here for article I was wondering if you could respond to one of his claims he makes later in the post. Ehrman lists […]
Request: Would you be willing to give a response to this blog post by Bart Ehrman? I hope that’s not too much to ask for since it’s rather short. https://ehrmanblog.org/jesus-and-the-messianic-prophecies/ The blog is about Old Testament prophecy and Jesus’ fulfillment of them. His main point is that the Gospel writers “worked backwards” and that their writings […]
Question: In Isaiah 42:11 God is clearly saying that He will send the people of Kedar (i.e., the Arabs) a Prophet and they should “rejoice” and “raise their voices” in happiness. Also, “Let the desert and its towns raise their voices;” is clearly referring to Arabia, since Arabia is known to be made of mostly […]
Question: Concerning the exegesis of Zechariah 12:10, I read that the word translated “pierced” or “killed” theoretically could go either way, but how about the structure of the sentence? Jews seem to see it as not referring back to “ME” in the sentence where as the Christian interpretation is it does. Answer: I am not an […]
Question: If God’s Son had to be sacrificed, then why did the OT prophets not tell their generations in detail and leave it to the NT authors who interpreted passages like Isa. 52:13-53:12 to strengthen their case? If it was pre-planned, then why was God hesitant to reveal his son’s details to his beloved nation? […]
Question: How was it that Jewish scholars can ignore the prophecies of Daniel chapter 9:24-26 about when the Messiah would come? This prophecy clearly points to Jesus. Answer: I do not think it is fair to say that Jewish scholars simply ignore Daniel 9:24-28. In fact, a number of Jewish authors have commented on this […]
Question: The Jewish expectations of the Messiah as described in Micah 5 were not met by Jesus since, although “being the Messiah”, he lacked the traits of a “ruler.” Christians now absurdly believe that Jesus’ kingdom was spiritual, yet this prophecy actually refers to the earthly kingdom. The same is true of Zechariah 9:9–10, which […]
Question: The Gospel authors weave OT passages and themes into their various portraits of Christ, e.g., John’s Gospel fabricated a narrative that depicts Jesus being offered sour wine to fulfill the second half of Psalms 69:21, but that lacks anyone trying to poison Jesus to fulfill the first half of this passage. In reality, there […]
Question: The Gospels’ writers fabricated stories about Jesus which have no strong evidence, e.g., the sky grows dark for 3 hours at midday at the crucifixion, an earthquake rips the curtain in the Jewish temple & opens the tombs of the saints, from which dead people resurrect and then appear throughout Jerusalem. This is an […]
Question: It has been claimed that Jews borrowed Zoroastrian elements regarding the “final savior” during their time in Persia. According to Zoroastrians, an individual, called the “Saoshyant,” will usher in the final era and lead the battle against evil spirit (cf. Zech. 14:3) and all people will remain of one accord in the religion of […]
Question: Is 2 Samuel 7:16 a failed prophecy? “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”” 2 Samuel 7:16 ESV..I saw a critic claims that this is a failed prophecy, because “houses” and kingdoms do not last forever. Answer: This is in fact a […]
Question: I have a question about Daniel. I believe that the book of Daniel was create in 6BC, but this is the most problematic passage. Is Daniel 11:40-45 a fail prophecy ? Read this. Verse 40 is generally regarded by the majority of critical scholars to mark the transition from ex eventu prophecy to a […]
Questions: I am from India, which is the birthplace of Hinduism. I have some questions, Please kindly answer them 1. Hinduism says the incarnation of a human being in various forms occurs until he/she attains (moksha) heaven, Is not it a good idea, that it enables everyone to get into heaven? 2. What does the […]
Question: David (Dowd – the Beloved) wrote Psalm 22 in first person because it is Dowd himself who would fulfill Passover Matsah and FirstFruits. He would have said “you” if he were speaking of someone else. YHWH calls Dowd His “Son, Messiah, Shepherd, Counselor, King, and Gibbor.” Isaiah 9 says that a child IS born– […]
[Editor’s note: This comes from a Muslim believer who claimed that Muhammad fulfilled the prophecy that one like Moses would come to save God’s people. I responded by giving him several ways that Jesus fits the description quite well, but asked him to provide “evidence” for the parallels between Moses and Muhammad. I also explained […]
[Editor’s note: This is a two-part question. The first question needed clarification, which was given, allowing me to give a more nuanced answer to the original] Question: According to Duet. 13:1-3, if a prophet appears among the Israelites and announces a sign and if that sign takes place, and then that prophet orders them to […]
Comment: The Messiah depicted by the Hebrew prophets was NOT verified in Jesus. Their Messiah was a warlike conqueror, who should slay and subdue the Gentiles, and deliver Israel from the enemies. Who is right, the prophets or Christian apologists? Response: What can I say? I believe that you are simply mistaken in your stated […]
Question: From where did keepers of the Dead Sea Scrolls get prophecies other than 16 prophetic books? The Dead Sea Scrolls contain prophetic texts identified as 2Q23, 6Q10, 6Q12 and 6Q13. Please respond to this because my Muslim friend asked me this and I’m confused. Answer: This Muslim person is not your friend, at least […]
[Editor’s note: This is a list of several questions, with the answers interspersed between them] Is the idea of crucifixion and resurrection originally a Judeo-Christian view? The idea of a crucified saviour is unique to Christianity (not Judeo-Christianity), of course. In fact, execution by nailing to a cross was a fairly recent invention of the […]
Question: I’ve been hesitant to ask this question because I suspect this would be slightly annoying to do on your part, but here it goes… I read one of your past Q & As addressing unfulfilled prophecies on rationalWiki: https://evidenceforchristianity.org/can-you-explain-all-the-unfulfilled-old-testament-prophecies-listed-at-rationalwiki/ You may or may not know this, but some authors on rationalwiki have actually posted your […]
Question: What would you say to someone who is skeptical about “dual prophecy” where the prophecy was already fulfilled in a sense but could also refer to Jesus? For example, some Jews would assert that Isaiah 53 is about Israel and not about Jesus. I suspect this is not the only prophecy where this objection […]
Editor’s Note: This is a follow-up to a question in which the person said that Christians have stolen Jesus out of the Old Testament, and taken him completely out of context. I asked for specifics so that I could respond, and this is what came in. Question: Christians specifically misinterpreted Isaiah 53 and Zechariah 12 […]
Question: The NT authors thought that Isaiah was describing the crucifixion of Jesus for the sins of the world in Isaiah 53, but the fact is Isaiah is not predicting that someone will suffer in the future for other people’s sins at all. Many readers fail to consider the verb tenses in these passages. They […]
Question: Doesn’t Isaiah 44:28 force the Daniel 9:25 clock to begin at the same time as Erza 1:2? This would makeg the clock wrong as it ends in the mid-50s BC or around there? Answer: Good question. I can see why someone might wonder about this. In the Isaiah 44 passage we are told of […]
Question: Is there any messianic prophecy in Torah? Answer: I assume you are referring to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. If so, then yes, definitely. I suppose some would argue that there is a greater proportion of messianic prophecies in the Psalms and the Prophets, but there are plenty of messianic prophecies […]
Question: Muslims say that the prophets preached the oneness of God only. They never predicted God’s son to be born. Christians don’t worship God instead they worship Jesus. They pray to Jesus instead of God. What’s your response? Response: If this is what Muslims say then they are just plain wrong. They are mistaken. In […]
Question: Why can’t Jews/Christians prove that the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, etc. are the amalgamation of exact words of the prophets? Jonah is surely not written by Jonah as it is a historical narrative. Your response? Answer: It is the nature of ancient documents that no one can ever “prove” the provenance of any […]
Question: How can we be sure that the current books of the Major & Minor Prophets are actual words of the Hebrew Prophets? Christians interpret predictions of Israel’s glorious future fulfilled in the Church, but it’s their interpretation because prophets apparently never meant that. Jews are still looking for fulfilment of the glorious future predictions. […]
Question: In the thread below the author demonstrates that Israel’s idea of the Arabian tribes of the time was contradictory, and based on a 7th century BC understanding on how they worked. I’ll copy paste the comment here, but I implore you to read the entire thread. The question was “Where does the idea that […]
Question: Authors of prophetic books added their fantasies into God’s word for e.g. 1) Gentiles will come over to Israelites in chains and they will bow down before them (Isa. 45:14). David Guzik affirms this in his commentary. 2) A Gentile nation or kingdom that will not serve Israelites will perish and be utterly ruined (Isa. 60:12). […]
There is a short prophecy appended to the book of Jeremiah in Ethiopic Bible which August Dillmann translates: A Prophecy of Jeremiah. And Jeremiah spake thus unto Pashur: But ye all your days fight against the truth, with your fathers and your sons that shall come after you. And they shall commit a sin more damnable […]
Question: Christians deliberately corrupted the Jewish Scriptures to prove that Jesus is God, for e.g. they altered the translation of Isa. 9:6. They translate: “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” but the Jewish translation is: “The wondrous adviser, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, called his name, “the prince of […]
Question: Jesus came to the Jews to show them the right path, which was unacceptable for them. The New Testament tells us that he brought the concept of “God’s Son” or “Human-God” which was not prophesied in the Jewish Scriptures. That’s the reason the majority of the Jews rejected him. Similarly, when Muhammad came to […]
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 […]
Question: Why did Peter boast about Jesus that all the prophets testified about him (Acts 10:43) although they have a meagre record of 15-16 prophets and among them Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Obadiah not talk about Jesus? What is your response? Answer: My response is that all the true prophets of Jehovah did in fact prophesy about […]
Question: Jer. 23:6 does not talk about Jesus because it says: “this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.” Jesus was never called by this name or title in his lifetime as New Testament depicted. What is your response? Answer: As they say, lack of evidence is not evidence of […]
Question: Amos predicted that God will plant Jews in their own land, never again to be uprooted (Am. 9:15), but they were banished by Titus in 70 CE. Zechariah predicted that ten people from all nations will take firm hold of one Jew and say, Let us go with you, because we have heard that […]
Question: Dr. Oakes, After deep study of the prophetic books, I come to the conclusion that, on one hand, the Bible portrays opponents of Jeremiah & Ezekiel as false prophets and blames them for lying, adultery and wickedness and, on the other hand, its accepted prophets did the same things for e.g. Hosea had an […]
Question: I read that: Deut. 18:15 is about Muhammad because he was similar to Moses, i.e. he brought law to, and war against non-believers, etc. The same is true of Isa. 2:2-3, which is about Mecca, not Zion, because millions of pilgrims visit Mecca but nothing like that happens at Jerusalem. Isa. 42:4 is not […]
Question: Jesus failed to bring universal peace (Mic. 4:1-4; Isa. 11:6-9) because, after him, bloodshed occurred multiple times in Jerusalem. Former dominion was not restored nor was kingship established as predicted (Mic. 4:6-8). What’s your response? Answer: Jesus fulfilled Micah 4:1-4 word-for-word and in detail. He died to establish the Church, which is the Mountain […]
Question: Theologian Bernhard Duhm (1912) wrote: “This process of editing the Prophetic Writings, with such added expositions, enlargements, and supplementation, went on to so large an extent that now no single prophetic writing exists in its original form. Indeed, more than once we find that what was originally not at all the work of Prophets […]
Question: Jesus had no need to prove himself Messiah through corrupted Jewish prophecies. Jews fabricated the concept of “King like David”. Those prophecies will neither be fulfilled in the distant future for Jews, not as the Davidic Kingdom will never come to exist. Indeed, Jesus came as Messiah to teach Jews to leave their worldly […]
Questions: I’ve got a couple of questions. Some atheists and Jesus-mythers claim that a book like the Bible and the miracles in it are not surprising because during that time such writings and legends were common, with even serious historians like Tacitus adding miraculous or bizarre things to their writings. They say it was very […]
Question: Mary (mother of Jesus) was a devout woman who was well aware of God’s scriptures, then why did she doubt Gabriel about virgin birth, when she already knew the prophecy of Isa. 7:14? Did it mean Christians fabricated the prophecy of Isa. 7:14? Answer: Mary was indeed a devout woman. And we can assume […]
Question: Did Jesus have two fathers, as Luke mentioned in 1:32, i.e. God and David? If Jesus was not a Son of God in a literal sense, then why did Christians make him a deity? Answer: Good question. I am not sure what your background in Christianity is, so I will start with the basics. […]
Editor’s Note: This question comes from a Muslim, which might explain the tone of the question. Question: 1. The Christian Zionists claim that the modern Israelite state is made according to the Biblical prophecies for e.g., Ezek. 37:21-22, but the problem is: where is that king who will rule over them? Did all Jews return to Israel? […]
Questions: Do we have the exact words of Jesus or a paraphrase? How does it affect the credibility of Jesus’s words?What is your definition or understanding of a contradiction? Did Jesus say to loose and bring one or two animals( a colt and donkey) Thanks Answers: No, we definitely do not have the exact words […]
Question: If Amos, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai, Malachi were names of real people, why are they not found elsewhere in Biblical history? Answer: You are asking the wrong question, in my opinion. Here is the correct question to ask: Are Amos, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai and Malachi real people? It is not the job of a historian […]
Question: According to Jewish tradition, four messianic figures, called the Four Craftsmen, from a vision found in the Book of Zechariah (Zech.1:18-21). The four craftsmen are discussed in the Babylonian Talmud Suk. 52b. which identifies these four craftsmen as Messiah ben David, Messiah ben Joseph, Elijah, and the Righteous Priest. My question is: If Jesus […]
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