I believe Jesus was/is God because of a statement I think you made, can’t recall if it’s actually written Scripture or not but when you said, and I may be paraphrasing it, “In order for God to be a just God, He had to experience everything we experienced.” And to me, in order for God to experience everything we experience, He had to become like us.

Since we are all descended from Adam, what branch of the family is from which of Adam’s sons? I have long wondered who gave birth to which areas of nations and beliefs? As a Christian whose family is all from Italy, where in the family tree do I come in? Did Cain’s or Able’s branch give us the Jews and Gentiles? I get most of the lineage but I always get lost at Cain & Abel.

Can you tell me what 1 Peter 4:17 means? “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God?: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of Christ” This verse has really impacted me.

Of the four soils in Matthew chapter 13, which ones do you think actually represent people who are truly saved?

I have a little concern here:

“Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barabbas (also known as Justus) and Mathias. (Acts 1:21-23) This means that there were more than 12 disciples that had been with Jesus all the time and were eyewitness since his Baptism and ascend to heaven. But why does the Bible only dwell on twelve?

It has been common among talk of the end times to use the phrase “The Great Tribulation.” And it is assumed that this phrase is referring to only the last half of the final 7 year period before Christ’s return. This is assumed because of the word “The.” But when Jesus used this phrase in Matt. 24:21, He never included the word “The.” Without the word “The,” the phrase “great tribulation” is much less precise, and doesn’t specifically refer to a period named “The Great Tribulation.” This would allow the period to refer to the entire 7 years of the 70th week. I would appreciate your comments on this issue.

The 7th chapter of Revelation seems to occur before the last 3 1/2 years. At the beginning of the chapter, the 144,000 are sealed, which happens before the last 3 1/2 years. And in context, the remaining verses speak of those who came out of the great tribulation. If this is referring to the final 3 1/2 years, then this part of the vision will have to happen after the final 3 1/2 years. But it seems more likely to me that this whole chapter takes place before the final 3 1/2 years. Which is correct?

Hebrews 9:27 says that it is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment – does this mean once believers die, they are judged for their works? If so, the judgment occurs at a different time for each believer. For some reason, I thought it happened at the rapture. Am I correct?

I have a friend who is very knowledgeable in the Word, and we meet for study every week. We have only one main disagreement, and although we have discussed it at length many times, he keeps going back to it. He is not convinced that there is a rapture and believes instead that the Church will be protected somewhere on earth by the Lord during the Tribulation period. He is also convinced that the woman in Revelation 12 is the Church, but this is the only scripture he can really use to support his view. We have pointed out that this woman is Israel, and having given birth to a child, can’t be a virgin bride. Would you agree?

I’ve always been taught that the beasts of Daniel 7 were simply another way of viewing the parts of the statue of world governments in Daniel 2, i.e. Babylon, Medes and Persians, the Greeks, Rome, and finally the feet of iron and clay — the last world government. But I’ve also heard it said that the beasts of Daniel 7 refer to Great Britain, Russia, America, and Germany respectively. Can you clear this up?