I’m reading your book on Revelation. I find it interesting that the 24-elders are wearing crowns (Greek word stephanos) and the first horseman of the apocalypse is wearing a crown (same Greek word). I’d appreciate your usual clear insight concerning why they have the same crown(s).

1 Thessalonians 4:11 says we should live quiet lives and mind our own affairs and work with our hands. It seems like in other places, God is telling us to live quiet lives. What does it mean to live a quiet life as a believer?

If you were a true, honest, believing Christian but you were in a situation where you were being tortured and through torture you were forced to renounce your faith in Jesus Christ, but in your heart you are still a Christian, feeling ashamed that you were too much of a coward to not resist denying Jesus Christ through torture, are you still saved?

Re: Matt. 27:52-53. I know that the saints will be risen at the rapture with Christ, but what was the purpose of these people being resurrected with Him? Is there a cross-reference stating who the saints were He chose to allow to rise and who did they go to? I would think that they should have played a major role in the start of the church but they didn’t, so what was their purpose?

When believers die, do they have bodies in Heaven or are they invisible spirits?

In the church I attend, there is an invitation to everyone present to share in communion when we have it. This includes visitors and non-Christians and I know it is so they won’t feel conspicuous or awkward by abstaining. I feel uncomfortable by it and my thought is that non Christians shouldn’t partake of the Lord’s supper since it has no meaning for them. Does scripture address this?

I am very thankful to God for the wisdom He had given to you. In this regard, I would like to hear from you a clearer explanation regarding Mathew 8:20 which says: Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” I guess, this is figurative speech, however, in verse 19 The teacher of the law was seemingly willing to follow Jesus wherever He went.” What was really the reason why Jesus answered that way?

Last week when I was reading thru the Bible, I got to a couple of rather bone-chilling verses and I’d like to get your 2 cents worth on it:

Mat 7:21-23 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

I don’t know if I can think anything more frightening than come final judgment day if the LORD tells me “depart from me I never knew you”. After giving it some thought I’ve come to the conclusion that just merely accepting Christ and that He died for my sins is NOT sufficient. I don’t mean that works are required except for ONE thing in addition to having faith—REPENT. The forces of darkness know who Jesus is and they believe in Him and know that thru Christ the sins of the people are forgiven. The difference is that they never had any intention of repenting. I don’t want to sound doom and gloom but this is starting to bother me a bit, which I assume is a good thing because that means the Holy Spirit is doing some conviction in my heart. But, what do you understand these passages to mean?

Can you explain why in Revelation the second half of the tribulation is 1260 days and in Daniel, the second half is 1290 days? Somewhere during the last 7 years of Jacobs trouble, there must be a leap year (extra 30 days) added because of the 360-day Jewish calendar. Is that what happens?

I recently went a few rounds with some pretty hardcore atheists, and I quickly discovered that trying to refer to Scripture was absolutely useless because their position is that the Gospels were written by a committee who simply scoured the OT for various prophecies. Then they patched it together and then presented the myth of Jesus. What are the most effective ways to counter this? All I could think of offhand was that utterly squelching Christianity would have been as easy as falling off a log in the face of such silliness. What else could one say to this?