A.  By comparing Matt. 26:6 and Mark 14:3 to John 12:1-3 we discover that Simon the Leper was the father of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. There’s no indication in the Bible that he was one of the ten men cleansed by Jesus.

A. From the Biblical accounts of their lives it’s hard to believe that John the Baptist had doubts about who Jesus really was, and yet his question in Matt. 11:2-3 makes it appear that he did.  This is one of those cases where a little background knowledge is helpful.  In the Lord’s time there was a religious group called the Essenes.  Josephus called them the third major religious sect after the Pharisees and the Saduccees. We know them as the  source of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  They misunderstood messianic prophecy and believed there would be 2 messiahs instead of two visits by the same one.  They called one Son of Joseph after Jacob’s 11th son.  He would be the suffering servant who would die for the people.  The other would be a conquering King who they named Son of David.

According to tradition, John spent time with the Essenes.  I think he knew of this belief and wanted to set the record straight.  The question he sent his disciples to ask could be translated from the Greek as, “Are you the (only) one who was to come, or should we (also) expect someone else?”

In His response, the Lord reminded them of miracles He had performed (Matt. 11:4-5). The Essenes believed some of these miracles would be performed by “Son of Joseph” and others would be performed by “Son of David.”  In effect, by pointing to the miracles of both Jesus was saying, “I am the only one.”

A. Jesus had to be a biological descendant of King David’s in order to have a legal claim to David’s Throne (Luke 1:32).  Since He had no earthly father, His mother had to provide this link. Mary was of the tribe of Judah and the family of David, being descended from David through his son Nathan (Luke 3:31).  An obscure reference in Exodus 20:5 seems to indicate that the sin nature passes from the father only.  This explains how Jesus could be fully man but with no sin nature.

A. The common understanding is that during the Church age the Holy Spirit is sealed within believers as a guarantee of our inheritance (Epes. 1:13-14). If that’s not the case, and He’s really everywhere all the time then that wouldn’t be much of a guarantee would it? Also, there’s precedent for the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit from Earth before a judgment.  It appears to have happened before the Great flood as well. (Genesis 6:3)

A.  Isaiah 17 has a dual fulfillment.  It was partially fulfilled in 732-722 BC when both Damascus and the Northern Kingdom were conquered by Assyria.  At that time many of the Jews were forcibly relocated into other countries and only a remnant was left. (This is what is meant by the glory of Jacob fading.)  Later, this remnant became known as the Samaritans.   The complete fulfillment of Isaiah 17 still awaits us.  And there is no battle in Israel’s history, either ancient or modern, that  fulfills the prophetic requirements of Psalm 83.

Will each of the judgments be shortened?  Will a specific judgment by shortened? Will all the 70 weeks be fulfilled, only the judgments shortened, but spread out so that the Earth will still fulfill the prophesy of the entire 70 weeks?  I realize your answer might be speculation, however, your thoughts on this question would be appreciated.

A. The Great Tribulation is the most thoroughly documented period of time in the New Testament.  Jesus mentioned it being cut short for the sake of the elect in Matt. 24:22, and some say this means it won’t be allowed to run its full course.  But John was one of the four disciples there as He said this and 60 years later, when he wrote the Revelation, John variously described its duration as 42 months (Rev. 11:2), 1260 days (Rev. 12:6), and 3.5 years (Rev. 12:14).  This confirms  prophecies in Daniel 9:27 & 12:7, and tells us the Great Tribulation will last the full 3.5 years prophesied for it.   Therefore this interpretation of Matt. 24:22 must be incorrect.

I’m one of those who believe Jesus was saying that if He didn’t return to put an end to it at its appointed time, no one would survive the Great Tribulation, so for the sake of the elect He would put an end to it.  Otherwise He would have been contradicting both Daniel and His own statement from the Olivet Discourse when he gave the Revelation to John.

A. Scholars are divided on the identity of the angel in Rev. 8:3 and there aren’t any real clues to help us.  I think since John identified the Lord on the two previous occasions when He has appeared (Rev. 1. 12-18 and Rev. 5:5-6) he most likely would have identified Him here as well.  But whether this angel is or isn’t the Lord is not critical to the passage.  Since Rev. 8:3 says the prayers are from all the saints, I would assume that means everyone, whether in Heaven or on Earth.

A. I don’t think Jesus was accusing Peter of being Satan’s mouthpiece in Matt. 16:22-24.  I think He was rebuking Peter for looking at events from an earthly perspective rather than a heavenly one.  By pledging to protect Jesus from the officials, Peter was not following God’s will and that’s why he was accused of acting in Satan’s interest. The Lord’s comment about believers denying themselves by taking up their cross to follow Him supports this idea.  Determining the direction of our own lives based on our Earthly perspective can actually benefit Satan because in the process we may be rejecting the Lord’s will for us.

A. You have to put a couple of details together to conclude that the Trumpet in Exodus 19 is the Trumpet of God.  First, Exodus 19 doesn’t mention anyone on Earth blowing the trumpet.  Second it only mentions God descending to the top of Mt. Sinai.   So if the sound of the trumpet is coming from where God is and if He’s the only one there, then it must be the trumpet of God.  Finally, the first time the trumpet is mentioned  (Ex. 19:13) the Hebrew text contains a word that’s only translated trumpet in this verse.  Normally either “terah”, as in Yom Terah (Feast of Trumpets) or shofar, as in ram’s horn, would be used.  But in this verse we find a word that usually means jubilee.  Put it all together and you have a good circumstantial case for the trumpet of Exodus 19 being the Trumpet of God.

Which brings to mind when Jesus said “forgive them Father for they know not what they do”. Was He talking about God’s chosen people the Jews and the crucifixion only, since the Church was not in place yet, or was He referring to all mankind in that God sent His Son so that the whole world might be saved? Or is this a plea/prayer from Jesus about all of our “unknowing sins” that we commit?

A. You can usually tell by the context of the passage who the Lord is speaking to or about.  For example the first passage you refer to is 2 Chron. 7:14.  In it God was speaking with Solomon, telling him how to respond when the Lord sent plagues or droughts upon Israel.  It was to be seen as a sign that they had drifted away from Him.  He was making a promise that as soon as they turned back, He would heal their land.  God has never made a promise like that to the Church because the Church has no land to heal.  Our home is not on this Earth. American Christians apply it to America because they’re confusing patriotism with religion.  You don’t see Canadian Christians applying it to Canada, or the Chinese, who probably have more Christians than the USA, to China.  It was a promise made to Israel.

When Jesus said “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing,” (Luke 23:34) He was referring to the people who had unknowingly put Him to death.  This would include the crowd that was duped into calling for His death and the soldiers who were carrying out the order, but not to the leaders who should have known from their knowledge of Scripture that they were executing their Messiah.