Questions: I hope you don’t mind but I have a couple questions that have served as mental stumbling blocks for me. 1. Are all Persons of the Triune God eternal? For instance, while Christ is the Alpha and the Omega and the Firstborn of all creation, does Scripture indicate what Christ’s existence (as the Second Person of the Triune […]

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Question: The Bible says that God is a jealous God; the Bible also says that God is love. Despite all this 1 Corinthians 13:4 says “love does not envy” (NKJV). So my question is: how can God be a jealous God and a God of love when the Bible says that love is not jealous? Answer: […]

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Question: I’ve been discussing different god and the bible with an atheist friend of mine and there were two points which I felt really unsure of. 1. The first was the problem of suffering; I explained the idea that creation was corrupted at the fall of man, but he pointed out that this in no […]

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Question: Hello, I have a couple of questions concerning our souls.  If consciousness can be determined to depend on the physical brain, does this mean our consciousness ceases to exist after death? Isn’t it obvious that if the brain is damaged in any way that it directly affects our consciousness immediately.  Also, if we have […]

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Question: Does 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11-12 imply that the church should be led by apostles only? What bearing do these scriptures have on the church today and it’s leadership? Answer: To be honest, I do not see where you could get the idea that the church should be led by apostles only from […]

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Question: Are apostles and prophets supposed to be part of Christianity today? Answer: No, apostles and prophets are no longer a part of the New Testament Church.   Apostles, by definition, had to be personal witnesses of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:21-24).  Obviously, there are no candidates for this office today!  As for prophets, these were men […]

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Question: I am finding it difficult to accept the concept that one could actually have an intimate relationship with God. God in His most simplistic definition is invisible and an immaterial being, additionally why would the very creator of the universe speak a human language. Isn’t that a hint the mankind has formed and molded […]

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Question: My college friend started to study the Bible and started really well. In fact, she quit her job (she’s a CPA) when she realized it was causing her to sin without us challenging her. But she suddenly sent me a message saying she will no longer attend the service and will not continue to […]

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Question: An argument that is used by atheists comes from the situation concerning Pilate, Judas and others associated with condemning Jesus to be crucified.  The point that is made is that none of these people had a choice in what they would or would not do. If any of these had changed what they were […]

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Questions: I have a couple of general questions below I wanted to ask: 1.) How can Jesus be a Divine Person when He had a literal human body made of flesh. Wouldn’t His fleshly body violate His divine nature and status? 2.) Why did Jesus have to be a male in physical terms to begin […]

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Question: Why does the church follow the doctrine of the divine right of kings, in this country (USA) ?   The founding fathers established a government based on limited government and a free market economy.   Did the first century church believe in no king but king Jesus ? [editor’s note: This question included a […]

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Question: I have a question on God’s will.  Romans 12:2 and many other passages suggest that doing God’s will can be pleasant, pleasing and perfect, yet It was incredibly hard even for Jesus to do God’s will. Also there are many passages that suggest that doing God’s will entails suffering and hardship. How do we […]

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Question: I have been guilty of skipping over the Old Testament but am reading it now with renewed vigor.  I love that I can now search for Jesus in the old testament as well.  My problem comes in with Jesus’ teaching about the greatest commandment being that we must “love God with all our hearts”. […]

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Question: I was so grateful for your sermon yesterday in the Cape Town church. I was wondering how you would assist someone who comes from the quantum physics background to believe the Bible.  In particular my friend adheres to the teachings of Bruce Lipton “The Biology of Belief”? Answer: Bruce Lipton is a well-qualified molecular […]

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Question: Does god play dice?  Quantum events are random. So how can God know who is going to heaven? The Bible mentions that those who are saved have been written in the book of life before creation. You also mention the universe has a sort of free will so how does God know about events […]

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Question: I’ve been interacting with a lot of punk rockers on facebook and on occasion one will post something anti religious and I’ve been making some gentle answers.  However, I am hoping you can help me with the question below.   Do you either have verses for me to cite or some short hand answers for this […]

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Question: Is implicit knowledge of Christ saving? Specifically, is it necessary to have explicit knowledge of Christ or is it enough to have faith in God (belief in one leads to the other)? If explicit knowledge is necessary for salvation, what is the soteriological effect of being unable to adequately describe the nature of the […]

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Question: Can you explain how evil exists in the world without either compromising God’s goodness, His omnipotence, and/or implying dualism? For instance, in Isaiah it is written “I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things,” (45:7) willed into existence by God “I have spoken […]

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Question: I have become fascinated with the shadow and reality relationship between the OT and NT.  I just bought your book, “From Shadow to Reality” and look forward to reading it.  It had a link to this website, so here I am.  I have a question/thought that I would appreciate your thoughts on if you […]

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Question: I have become fascinated with the shadow and reality relationship between the OT and NT.  I just bought your book, “From Shadow to Reality” and look forward to reading it.  It had a link to this website, so here I am.  I have a question/thought that I would appreciate your thoughts on if you […]

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Question: I have a question regarding practical Christianity in light of these verses: For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on […]

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QUESTION: I have a question concerning the usage of numerous names for God. I have been reading that Yahweh developed from the word El which was a Canaanite god. In addition El Elyon was a different deity from Yahweh and was a Caananite god in the city of Salem inhabited by the Jebusites. Why would […]

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QUESTION: Why would non-Israelites want to take Yahweh seriously? He’s the god of Israel, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Each nation had its own god: Dagon, Chemosh,Molech, the Baals and Astartes etc. Yahweh is just one among many gods. A local god. A God of War. Because victory in battle was what they were preoccupied […]

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Editor’s note:  The following is a series of questions and answers.  The tone is more familiar than usual because this discussion is happening with a good friend. Question: I just read your paper, “A Closer Look at the Laws of Thermodynamics.”  It was great.  Thanks.  I have a comment, though.  From Pr 16:33 we learn that anything that […]

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Question: Have you ever heard of the Doctrine Molinism?   I haven’t studied concerning the process of salvation in awhile. The last place I essentially left off was being convinced of the ideology of this doctrine. And as of now I still hold to Molinism. Thanks much. Answer: I am copying and pasting an article from Google […]

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Question: Although there were a number of issues as to why Adams, Hamilton, Washington, etc., decided to declare independence from England, taxation, for the most part, was the bottom line issue. But were their actions Biblical? Jesus said to “render unto Caesar…”. Also, regarding Jesus’ pacifism, and teaching the same, should we have not gone […]

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Question: Hello, John! Thank you for always answering questions, and your answers are always wise and humble! I have a question regarding the passage in Genesis 15:16. It says that the measure of iniquity Amorites not yet fulfilled. What could this mean? Does this mean that this, and perhaps other Nations, was allotted a certain […]

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Question: My brother recently vacationed in Utah and visited some of the Mormon sites, including the Mormon Tabernacle. He was quite convinced that they are Christian. I explained to him that they are not and introduced him to your website. Question he asked was about the Mormon Tabernacle choir. They sing Christian music, including songs […]

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[editor’s note:  This question rambles quite a bit.  I did a lot of correcting of grammar, spelling and the like, but I am afraid it still is a bit hard to follow.   Hopefully, you will get the idea.] Question: Aren’t the Bible and the Christian religion a Catch-22?  This would be defined as a […]

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QUESTION: I have never really thought about the ten plagues of Egypt this way until I was on an online forum where skeptics were lambasting Christians and saying that it is not only wrong but hypocritical for both Christians and God to condemn abortion/infanticide when God killed so many children in the plague that brought […]

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Question: I have a couple of questions that are somewhat related. A good friend and myself were discussing what happened to Robin Williams. My friend’s dad committed suicide many years ago, under very similar circumstances. He tried for years to get help, but in the end, he decided to do what he did. My friend […]

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QUESTION: I have studied and read some of the ancient rites that other nations practiced in regards to tattoos and cutting themselves. For a follower of Jesus, how would Leviticus 19:28 relate for today? Anthony: The common interpretation of Leviticus 19:28 is that it prohibits what we would call tattoos for those under the Covenant […]

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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 […]

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Question: I am  having a hard time seeing how the Christian spiritual condition has anything to do with our physical body (and vice versa). If the physically corrupting nature of sin (like lust, greed, selfishness etc.) affects our spiritual condition, shouldn’t the process of a purified spiritual condition (one redeemed by Christ) affect our physical […]

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Question: I read in one of your recent Q & A in which you explained Calvin’s predestination (or was it more accurately Beza’s double predestination) as a false doctrine. In this light, what is your opinion of the most logical relationship between God’s atemporality, foreknowledge, sovereignty, omniscience, and humanity’s free will without infringing upon one […]

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[Editor’s note: This is a series of interchanges which might be a bit hard to follow, but I decided to post this pretty much as is.  It is a series of exchanges on the rather abstract question of where Quantum mechanics interacts with free will.] Question: Dr. Oakes,  I am researching a study for my […]

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QUESTION: I listened to your lesson on Baptism (thank you, it helped me to better understand this aspect of our walk in Christ). However, I am not able to find any scriptural passages where it mentions that the apostles were baptized.  Scripture mentions they did baptize others. Can you help with this question please? Thank […]

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QUESTION: I listened to your lesson on Baptism (thank you, it helped me to better understand this aspect of our walk in Christ). However, I am not able to find any scriptural passages where it mentions the followers of Jesus were baptized? (The 12 disciples) Scripture mentions they did baptise others. Can you help with […]

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Question: Could you kindly explain in brief whether the widely accepted precept  “Once saved is always saved” is consistent with Biblical teaching? Answer: The once saved always saved teaching is false doctrine.   It originated as a result of the type of theology most commonly known as Calvinism, having been named after the 16th century theologian and […]

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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!   […]

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Comment: I am wondering about the idea of sins of the Father being passed on to the future generations or in this case all of us being blamed for Adam’s sin.  By ANY measure you wish to use, this is against all natural justice and fairness as is the idea that someone/anyone can take away […]

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