I was reading the end of the Gospel of Matthew today and came across verses, Matthew 27:51-53, that I’ve read several times but I’ve never heard any teaching on them; other than the veil being torn to show that God is now accessible to any who would seek Him and not just the priests. I just think the whole concept of the last two verses is very intriguing and the implications for what this resurrection could mean as it relates to the dead in Christ raising first as mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Can you expound upon these verses and offer any insight?

Mark 16:1 says spices were bought after the Sabbath for anointing Jesus. Luke 23:54-56 seems to say that spices were prepared to anoint the body before the Sabbath. If Jesus was crucified on Thursday there would be two consecutive Sabbaths where no work was allowed. I am confused about this. Can you help clarify it?

I have a question about Resurrection Morning. If I understand it correctly, on a Jewish calendar the Sabbath will end when the sun sets on Saturday correct? Does that mean that Resurrection Morning will begin at that time, and that Jesus could have come out of the tomb anytime after sundown Saturday?

Also, I was wondering what leads you to believe that Jesus was born in late-September during Rosh Hashanah? Thank you for answering my questions!

If Jesus said that John the Baptist was Elijah, does that mean Elijah’s spirit was in John or was Elijah reborn as John? What? I’m confused!

Anyway, if that was possible, do you think that Elijah’s spirit may be instilled in another person in our day and age. How will we know? What signs should we look for. How would we recognize this person as God’s emissary and not the evil one? Do you believe it is possible for Elijah to be among us now in the personage of another man of God?

My bible of choice is now a parallel bible containing both KJV and NIV. I made this choice largely because of you – because you use the NIV and I’m an ardent student of your material. In using my new bible I was surprised to find out that some verses in the KJV are intentionally absent in the NIV. I’m sure your aware of this and so I was wondering about your position on using the NIV. Just to be clear – I think using both is valuable and I can’t imagine not using both in my own study.

What is ‘The Anointing’? And to further quantify what is ‘The Anointing that breaks the yoke’? A pastor recently rebuked a teacher in his church for studying the history and events of The Bible so as to be able to teach / preach with clarity and accuracy. The pastor’s view is that there is no need to understand any of those factors. He said we should just minister out of our heart under ‘The Anointing’ and that our words will be right for the moment. The pastor’s view is that when you see people shouting and crying it is evidence of ‘The Anointing’ but if one teaches / preaches truth and what is factually correct but the people are not moved, it is evidence of the lack of ‘The Anointing’. Can you clarify this?

Would you please speak on the communion. Which bread is to be used?

In response to your post entitled, “To Hell And Back”. I was wondering if you would please elaborate more on why you do not believe in NDE’s, and what other support there is in the Bible for this view. I’ve read some of the reports from both surgeons and patients on the topic of near-death experiences. People have been clinically dead and have been successfully resuscitated only to tell amazing stories of heaven or horrible stories of hell. Couldn’t it be possible that the experiences people witnessed in these events are another way for God to spread his message to the world? The technological age brought methods to resuscitate people effectively even after they’re clinically dead. These could fall in the category of greater knowledge during the end times as our Lord foretold.

I have recently read the book about a man who claims he went to hell for a brief time and it has disturbed me immensely. I find myself trying to find ways to bring hell into conversations with people so I can tell them about the perils that await them if they don’t choose Jesus as their Savior. Is there any way to truly know what happens to people who die without knowing Jesus? Could there be one moment in time between their last breath and stepping into eternity where they have one last chance to make a choice? If I am praying and praying for someone’s salvation, would God truly allow them to go to hell?

I have a question about the use of a “pool of bethesda” in churches today. I was at a church that used this as a means to receive blessings from God and also healing. Their reasoning is that you should start thanking God for blessings you asked for before you walk through the pool. In this way you start acting like you have already received the blessings and if you believe this, then they will come to be.

I know that the original pool of Bethesda was where Jesus performed the miracle of healing on the man that waited for 38 years for someone to help him into the pool when it was stirred. Is there any scripture that would verify this pool can be used in today’s churches to receive blessings from God?