I read in your article where Paul cautions us not to associate with believers who live sinful lives. I have a dear friend whose family is not living a Godly life (in my opinion) but she’s a new believer. Her children ask me questions all the time about God and the rapture and Hell as does she. She truly believes what I tell her and professes Christ to everyone, but she has not left her worldly behaviors behind, even though I’ve talked to her about it. So, my question is am I sinning by associating with her?

I’ve been reading a lot about spiritual warfare. I’ve encountered something that I can’t make head or tails of and wanted to see what you think about it. Have you ever heard of a spirit called python? I’ve been looking at some other resources and have found out that it is also related to divination, and is also known as necromancer. My pastor had a dream where he encountered a spirit with the same name. I just wanted to know what you thought and what you may have found in the bible concerning this, thanks.

In reading one of your Bible studies I noticed you refer to the Day of the Lord as 3 1/2 years. Does this mean the tribulation period is 3 1/2 years not 7? As McGee says you have to put the cookies on the bottom shelf for some of us.

In Rev. 13:9 we read, “He who has an ear, let him hear.” Another prophecy teacher quoted this scripture as evidence that the church will be raptured before the tribulation. He said that “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” appears 7 times in the book of Rev. The only time it appears without “what the Spirit says to the churches” is in Rev. 13:9. Is this omission evidence that the church is already gone?

Re: Rev. 5:6, you wrote in a previous column, “Although John’s description is symbolic, many scholars believe John saw Jesus in physical form still bearing the scars of His crucifixion and that’s the way He looks today.” So, if our Lord still carries the scars of crucifixion, and we are supposed to become like Him, will we carry those scars also? Will his body become perfect at some point? I’ve never heard that mentioned, and can’t find anything to support it after years of Bible study.

When Christ our Lord died and rose again through the power of the Holy Spirit, did He take all the dead in Him that were waiting in Paradise to Heaven or are they still waiting in paradise for the Day of the Lord (Rapture)? I ask this because in 2 Cor. 12:2-4 Paul spoke about a man going to Paradise. Who was the man and why did he go to Paradise if there’s no one there?

I have been wondering what we can know, Biblically speaking, about the number of the days of our individual lives. Is it a predetermined number that we cannot alter by lifestyle or by choices we make (i.e. engaging in extreme or hazardous sports)? I have looked at Psalm 139, Job 14:5, Proverbs 3:1-2, Proverbs 9:11, Eccl. 7:15, etc. It might be reasonable to think that some choices we make (i.e. dietary, exercise, flossing, to name a few) could improve the quality of our life, but does anything under our control increase the number of days we are given?

Recently, I’ve received letters from a church saying that The Holy Spirit had directed them to mail me. I regularly receive letters claiming Spirit led instruction. It says that if I’m obedient, God will pour out great blessings for me. God has blessed me richly and I’ve been a faithful tither for several years. If it is instruction from the Holy Spirit, I want to be obedient. I’m not sure it is. I don’t want to be taken advantage of, but want to do the right thing. Am I missing something?

Could you please explain Matt. 16:28 to me. Isn’t Jesus speaking to the disciples when he says “some of you standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom”? Is that the Second Coming after the Great Tribulation or is that ‘coming in His Kingdom’ something else?

Somewhere in the Book of Jeremiah , God tells Jeremiah to purchase a plot of land and seal the deed in a clay pot and bury it. From my calculations this plot of land is in Anathoth, which is just north of present day Jerusalem. Could this be the deed for the plot where the new temple will be built? And isn’t this pot somehow reserved to be found in our time?