Question: Is there any credible evidence for the supernatural (miracles, immaterial conscience, life after death, demon possession, etc.) ? Answer: Yes, there is. Quite a bit, actually. The evidence for Jesus of Nazareth’s resurrection is very strong. There is the fact of his execution by crucifixion, the fact of his empty tomb and the fact […]
[Editor’s Note: This is a series of several questions from a Muslim who has criticism of the Bible. Q & As are interspersed] Question: If you read Quran, you will observe that God is addressed as God for All Universe but in case of Bible, God is just a Tribal God addressed as “God of […]
Question: Unitarians claim that Zechariah 12:10 cannot be used to prove that Jesus is God because Zechariah 12:10 says that Yahweh will be pierced, but according to trinitarians- Yahweh is God the Father- and we know that God the Son was crucified and pierced- not Yahweh or Father. As a Trinitarian, how to respond to […]
Question: I have recently read an article that makes the argument that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. However, there is archeological evidence of another Bethlehem this therefore means that Jesus was not born in the town of David and that the gospel writers may have either lied about him being born in David’s Bethlehem or […]
Question: My Muslim friend claims that Genesis 21:13-21, Isaiah 42:11, Isaiah 21:13-17 clearly prophesy about Muhammad. How do I respond to him- because I am confused. Answer: There is a grain of truth to the first passage being about Muhammad, but just a very small grain. Let me explain. The Bible makes it plain that […]
Question: Is it possible that the vile ruler of Daniel 11:21 is Vespasian? As he seized the kingdom by intrigue, he wasn’t a Roman royal and he plundered and looted etc. Answer: The vile ruler is Antiochus Epiphanes, who ruled the Seleucid territories from 175-164 BC. I believe that if you look into it, you […]
Question: How to respond to a query about Jesus–whether he is a liar, a lunatic or God? Answer: I respond to this by asking the people to read my book “Reasons for Belief” (available at www.ipibooks.com). In this book I spend two chapters delving into the liar/lord/lunatic question. If they do not want to spend the […]
Question: Dr. William Lane Craig and others have pointed out that first century Jews were not waiting for humble Messiah who will suffer, let alone will rise from the dead. They waited for king who would free them from the Romans. But I found information in a video about Dr. Knohl who decoded an inscription […]
Question: I have a question concerning the kings of Syria as mentioned in Isaiah 7:1, it identifies the kings Uzziah, Pekah,and Rezin. Do we have evidence for these three kings? My special concern is for Rezin, the king of Syria. Do we have evidence for Rezin as a Syrian King? Alexander: Yes we do. He […]
[Editor’s note: the one asking this question did some follow-up research, finding his own really useful additional information on what Nebuchadnezzar did to fulfill the prophecies in Ezekiel and Jeremiah. His additional information is at the end of my original response.] Question: I want to ask some things relating to some answers you’ve given on […]
Question: John, have you heard/do you have thoughts about the Westar Institute material? They claim that Jesus was an exceptional man, but not the ‘son of God’. They are very learned and seem less ’emotionally motivated’ than a Bart Ehrman type account. https://www.westarinstitute.org/projects/the-jesus-seminar https://s3.amazonaws.com/tgc-documents/carson/1994_five_gospels_no_Christ_Jesus_Seminar.pdf They are saying, yes Jesus existed, and he said and […]
Question: I recently stumbled upon a theory that the story of Jesus as the Messiah is borrowed from people before him who also claimed to be the Messiah. Two claimants in particular were mentioned. The first one is called Simon, some aspects of his life are extremely similar to those of Christ. The second one […]
Question: When Jesus said the the Church of Jerusalem will fall, did he advise the Jews about the fall as well, or was it a prophecy and is there evidence of the church fleeing to the mountains? Answer: Actually, it was not the church in Jerusalem which fell in AD 70. It was the Jewish […]
Question: Rabbi Dtovia Singer has a video on youtube saying the church is lying about christology. In this video he says when Isaiah talks about Jesus’ peirced hands it is actually spun by Origen and other church fathers. The Rabbi claims the verse says that King David is like a lion surrounded by dogs with […]
Question: Hi Dr. John. I want to have a better understanding about Melchizedek and the relevance of him to Jesus. Based on the text found in Gen 14:18 and Hebrews 7. What is his relevance to Jesus Christ? Thank you! Answer: Good to hear from you. It just so happens that I just published a […]
Question: I have three questions: 1. It is said by some who do a lot of research that Jesus Christ of Nazareth did not exist and all stories about Jesus Christ of Nazareth were retellings of older pagan myths by relatively well educated Greek-speaking (and writing) Christians during the 2nd half of the first century. […]
[Editor’s note: This is a rather long question, but the answer is below!] Question: This is on Daniel 9 and what Wiki has been saying about it. First of all, they say this has nothing to do with Jesus and the temple but it is about Jeremiah. As stated here: “The seventy weeks prophecy is […]
Question: Who are the magi that visited baby Jesus? Why are they important enough to be in the Bible? What would the people of Jesus’ era and culture have understood about them? Answer; Matthew does not identify the magi, but we know they come from the East. If one is in Bethlehem, to the east […]
Question: My friend asks if Jesus is the only parameter to get to heaven. Not everyone gets to know Jesus like some do in their privilege. So she finds it hard to believe in a religion that doesn’t give everyone a chance. When she asks how the people prior to Jesus were saved, she was […]
Question: It is said that Matthew and Luke have skirted around the obvious contradiction of Jesus’ conception; that Mary and Joseph were only betrothed and not married. Clearly, Virgin Mary would not have allowed Joseph to have sex until they were married. Thus, he must have raped her. This is covered up by using his […]
Question: In Malachi 1:2-3, God says he loved Jacob, and hated Esau . Why? Answer: This is a fairly common question. We need to look at the context, both of Malachi and of the whole Old Testament in order to understand what God is talking about when he speaks to his people in this way […]
Question: A Jewish Rabbi said that the Hebrew Tanakh (Tanach) and the Christian Old Testament are quite different . It seems Tanakh is not an Old Testament. More so, he said that Catholic Church misinterpreted several important verses (over and over) of the Old Testament to suits New Testament claims in order to make it fit […]
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 […]
Question: If Jeremiah 33 15 says that Messiah will sprout up in the days of Israel’s restoration doesn’t this contradict the time of Christ’s appearance? Answer: The timing and meaning of a prophecy is determined by the context. Besides, many of the restoration prophecies in both Jeremiah and Ezekiel are what I call “double prophecies.” […]
Question: Question: If Jeremiah 33 15 says that Messiah will sprout up in the days of Israel’s restoration, doesn’t this contradict the time of Christ’s appearance Answer: The timing and meaning of a prophecy is determined by the context. Besides, many of the restoration prophecies in both Jeremiah and Ezekiel are what I call “double […]
Question: One area of Old/New Testament which I’m interested in is the genealogy of Jesus. Now what I’m wanting to find out is whether the genealogy of the line of David (as the Jews know the Messiah must come from his line) is still being recorded to this day? Is there any record of it […]
[Editor’s note: I received a long and somewhat rambling set of comments and questions from someone. I asked for a more succinct set of comments and questions so that I could respond. You will see below that the shorter version is still a bit unfocused, but this person asks sufficiently important questions that I felt […]
Questions: 1.Why did the council have to meet to discuss if Jesus was the Son of God or if he was human or a spirit? 2.If God inspired man to write the Bible and he lives in me, why do I need the Bible or Jesus to tell me how to live when I can […]
Question: Some people think that Jesus was begotten by the father only at his resurrection because the apostle Paul said about Jesus that he was appointed Son of God by His resurrection ( Romans 1 – or the speech of Paul in the Act of the Apostle). I’m currently reading the Bart Erhman’s book “How Jesus […]
Question: Is Zechariah 13:7 talking about the Messiah or is it about the false shepherd whom God strikes in Zechariah 11:17 or perhaps the false prophet in Zechariah 13: 1-6? Answer: The shepherd of Zechariah 13:7 is the Messiah. I know this for sure because in Matthew 26:31 the inspired gospel writer Matthew tells us […]
[Editor’s note: I am dispersing my answers among the questions. They will be in italics.] Question: I have been a believer of Jesus Christ for more than 10 years. Recently my brother who is an atheist challenged me with many absurd theories he found on the internet. That provoked me to look for solid evidence […]
Question: Doesn’t Revelation 17: 10 show that John got his vision during the sixth king, who is Vespasian? and the seventh king who is to come is Titus, who according to this verse will rule for a short time, and he did, from 79 till 81 AD? If this is true, then John got […]
Question: What proof is there against the stories about Jesus in the Talmud (for example in the Toledot) and Celsus? Answer: I am well aware of Celsus and his spurious attacks on Jesus and the Christian faith, but, to be honest, I had not heard of the Toledot before. Technically, the Toledot is not part […]
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 […]
Question: Our Hindu friends often quote from the Bhaghavad Gita where Krishna himself says that he would incarnate from age to age in order to protect the righteous and punish the wicked. He came thus to destroy the evil from the world. How shall we give our response and present Jesus as only the true […]
Question: The other day I overheard an atheist talking to someone about the Bible. I didn’t join in on their conversation, but they were loud enough and close enough for me to hear every word they said. Anyway, the atheist (I know he’s an atheist because I heard him say it) said that all the […]
Question: What would you say to an atheist who is a complete materialist (who believes in only the things he can see) to convince him that Jesus is the truth? Answer: That would depend on the person. Not every materialist is the same. If the person is even an iota open, I might do a […]
Question: I came upon your page while researching some Old Testament Biblical prophecies. I have a couple questions about two of them if you have the time. I’ve read two responses of yours to the Ezekiel prophecy regarding Nebuchadnezzar and Egypt, and found them very enlightening. However, in neither of your responses did I see […]
Question: I’ve been doing some sermons on Revelation and it obviously intersects with Daniel 7. I’ve been reading some of your Q/A, and I have a few thoughts to offer regarding the following section of Daniel 7. “After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings.” We understand this to […]
Can you prove Daniel 9 is about Jesus? Jeff: The word “prove” has a range of meaning. In a mathematics class or in a philosophy class it has the meaning of demonstrating with absolutely certainty that a particular proposition must be true. It is like proving the angles of an equilateral triangle are equal. In […]
Question: What do you think about the claim below about the cry from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” by the author Al Hsu below? The Cry of Vindication By Al Hsu When the Jesus film is screened in cultures that have never heard of Jesus, viewers often love the […]
Question: Some people say that there are no unambiguous prophecies about Jesus in the OT, hence such verses are open to interpretations. For example, even in one of the strongest prophecy about Jesus, Isaiah 53:10 it says, “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord […]
Question: My wife and I recently were having a conversation about the book of Daniel. She had been reading Daniel 8, and was wondering what it meant, especially about the part with the goat overthrowing the ram. After pondering the imagery for a while, I recalled a few points from your teaching on the subject […]
Question: I have a question regarding Jesus as being God. It is clearly stated in the Gospel of John, and in some of the epistles that Jesus is God as well as the Son of God. But after some research I found that the reliability of the Gospel of John and of those epistles are […]
Question: When was the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem issued? Answer: This is somewhat debatable, as there are at least three “decrees” in the Book of Ezra. The first is in Ezra 1:1-4. This is a decree of Cyrus that the Jews can go back to Judah and Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. This […]
Question: Hello, I was watching a video between a Rabbi and a Pastor recently, where the Rabbi stated Jesus could not be the Messiah because no man can die for another man’s sins. There is also a article on why Jesus could not be the Messiah, I was wondering if you could help me a […]
Question: I recently heard an argument that Bill Maher uses to debunk the authority and authenticity of the Bible. It says, “the Bible was a book written by men and edited by men as well”. How would you respond to this? Answer: My response would be to say that this is true. Maher is right. […]
Questions: 1. Why would Jesus charge the blood of all the prophets since Abel on the generation of Jews at the time of Jesus? 2. What is the definition of a prophet according to the Bible? I thought prophet means messenger of God, perhaps much like an angel. If so, why would Abel be called […]
Question: I wanted to ask about how JESUS OUR LORD fulfilled the prophecy of the PROPHET LIKE MOSES. Did Moses mean he would be like him in life similarities such as his infancy in Egypt, being rejected, etc. or more because of the miracles he worked? Thanks in advance Answer: A good rule of thumb […]
Question: Can you prove that Shiloh in Genesis 49 is Christ? Can you prove that this prophesy was fulfilled in Jesus? A Jewish website claims that it wasn’t fulfilled. What’s your comment? https://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/the-scepter-of-judah-shiloh-and-the-messiah/ Answer: We cannot “prove” that the Shiloh in Genesis 49 is the Messiah and that it applies to […]
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