In Matt. 20:22-23 Jesus asked if James and John could drink the cup that He was to drink. In 1 Cor. 10:16 Paul referred to participation in the Lord’s death as our cup of blessing, and in verse 21 accused the Corinthians of trying to drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. How does this tie to Exodus 6:6-7?

My husband told me today that he was watching some rerun of a news show on the internet and a “biblical scholar” (who, I don’t know) said that Jesus and Joseph weren’t necessarily carpenters. The original language of the Bible said they “worked with their hands” and that could mean mason, carpenter… Do you know what the correct translation is? I think my husband feels that our Bible translations can’t be trusted if the original translators didn’t get it right. Thank you so much!

Are Matthew 22:34-40 and Luke 10:25-37 the same story told from different perspectives or two separate stories? Jesus goes on with the Good Samaritan parable in Luke but, the story ends with the greatest commandment in Matthew. It appears the characters are the same.

There is a bit of a discussion in a Bible study group I’m in on the topic of Jesus’ ancestry, and part of the discussion focuses on Mary’s ancestry. Your website asserts that “Mary and Joseph were both of the tribe of Judah and descendants of David”, and “Mary’s line was through Solomon’s brother Nathan (Luke 3:31).” Since Luke 3:23 begins Jesus’ lineage with “He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, “, how can this be said to be Mary’s lineage?

I’ve always believed without too much critical analysis what your website says, but now I want solid Biblical underpinning.

By faith, I am a believer as you know. There is a guy who frequently posts on a forum I belong to that history says the Gospels were not written by the authors listed (Mathew, Mark, etc) and continues to bash me and others who discuss Biblical research and facts, claiming that “real world” history proves otherwise. I was hoping you could point me in a direction outside the apologetics world for facts to dispute his claims, knowing you have far more knowledge on this than I do. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

I am really struggling with mental attacks, can you please keep me in your prayers? What I am struggling with is how do I let my light shine before men? When I am with non-believers whether family or co-workers I don’t know how to witness and when I don’t I come under condemnation.

You have written that in effect Jesus said to hate the sin but love the sinner. My friend says no where in the Bible does it say that Jesus or God ever said hate the sin, love the sinner.

In the broad “timetable” of the 21 Judgments of Revelation, where/when does the Abomination of Desolation take place? Is it possible to ascertain which judgment(s) it will be particularly associated with in that time frame? Is the midpoint the half-hour of silence?

Was Elijah the only prophet in the Old Testament who did not die a human death?

A thought has occurred to me…If Christians are saved by grace, and sealed with the Holy Spirit, what about “Christians” Who curse Israel? Some mainline Protestants seem to blame Israel for all the world’s problems. Their anti-semitic rants must rile the Lord. Would Gen. 12:3 apply?