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I am a Christian Pastor(Reformed Baptist) and I have been puzzled about the blatant exegesis that we often involve ourselves in. I especially think about the belief that the Unclean Food Lists of the OT have been nullified. Now the basis for this declaration is cited as being from Mark 7: 19 and Acts 11:5-11. Looking at these passages closely I find that the first (Mark) is concerned with Ritual defilement and I find that when our Lord declared all foods clean, he was referring to the fact that no food can defile you spiritually- thus the explanation that it enters the body through the mouth and then is excreted. The other reference in Acts was to declare to Peter, a Jewish Christian, that he was not to refuse the good news to the Gentiles (who did come to him with a request to preach the good news to them after that vision!!) as God had chosen to reveal His salvation even to them.

Now how can we in good Christian conscience twist these texts to say that we can eat anything and everything?

I am involved in a discussion on what we (born-again believers) will be like after we are raptured into Heaven. The discussion is getting wild and some are suggesting that “we will be like him” to the point of becoming God in the same manner as Jesus Himself. They are quoting verses in the old and new testaments involving the word “glory.” to indicate that we will be exactly like him.

I don’t believe that we are going to become “God” as our Lord Jesus is, can you help?

My sister in law refuses to forgive me for an argument that happened last year. I asked for forgiveness and apologized for what I did wrong, but she has never acknowledged any of her wrong-doing and refuses to speak to me. She has basically cut me out of her life. I was just wondering where do I go from here? I want things to be better and I want reconciliation, but she won’t have anything to do with me. Please help me. I am having a hard time with this.

This question has probably been posed before, but could you advise us HOW we are supposed to pray? I hear of people saying they spent hours praying, etc. Well, I don’t have that long of an attention span. Usually, my prayers are ongoing throughout the day whenever I have a moment or I am just contemplating something. I pray every night, but to be honest, I often fall asleep while praying. Is that bad? I don’t think so, but I don’t want to be rude to God!

I know that we are to have a conversation with God and that is my method. When I try to sit down or kneel down and pray for an extended period of time, I lose focus as I get too caught up in the process of praying and therefore, I always think I am doing something wrong. However, as you know, there are some that think we are supposed to dedicate an hour a day, etc. to praying. Is there a Biblical basis to this? If so, HOW are we supposed to pray? If God already knows what we need are we just supposed to spend an hour or two thanking Him over and over again? I don’t want to sound flippant, I am just trying to grow and learn where I can.

Your article concerning the “solution” to the three day and night controversy disregards the eyewitness testimony of the authors in the Bible, all of who agree (including our Lord) that Jesus Christ rose “on” the third day. This is repeated 13 times in one form or another. It also disregards the testimony of Flavius Josephus who was an annual eyewiteness to the Feasts of the Lord in Jerusalem. Jesus Christ was clearly crucified as the Lamb of God, on Nisan 14. If Firstfruits (as it testified to by the feasts of the Lord and Flavius Josephus) was held each year on a Sunday and is the 16th (after the Sabbath as stated by Josephus) then it was, just as the Bible says, a “3rd Day” resurrection. Paul confirms that Christ, our Firstfruits, is risen from the dead.

The Church (regardless of denomination) has been right all along and there is absolutely no need to “fix” Scripture because of the statement of Jesus concerning “three days and three nights” when every other time the Resurrection is mentioned is clearly stated as “on the 3rd day.”

The three day and three night “conflict” you perceive is no conflict at all. It has been long understood in Jewish teaching that any part of a day includes the entire day.

I am not Catholic but have serious concerns on witnessing to a Catholic friend about the subject of Infant baptism and the Catholic teaching of babies go to hell when they die if they have not been baptized. I want to be bible based factual when I witness.

In Jude chapter 1 verse 9 it says, “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”I don’t ever remember anyone fighting over Moses’ body or is there a different meaning all together?

I can’t thank you enough for all the help you so generously give to the body of Christ.

Can you identify “Chittim” for me. Seen in several places in the Old Testament, some being Isaiah 23, Jeeremiah 2, Ezekiel 27, and Daniel 11.

Thank you very much for any information or ideas that you have.

As I understand, the sprinkling of blood around the temple altar by the old testament priests was a ceremonial preparation for the cleansing of the hearts of all people who would accept Jesus’ sacrifice (a future occurrence) ending the necessity for future sprinkling. (Heb 9:13 & 14).

Jesus did command us to”go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit”. May I please ask if the verses in the Old Testament (IE: Isaiah 52:15) mentioning “sprinkling of many nations has any direct relationship to his command to baptize. and is the temple sprinkling of blood and water baptism for the same purpose? Also is baptism by sprinkling an acceptable practice?

Your article on the 144,000, or the 12 tribes of Israel, was insightful. You address the facts that Dan is not mentioned among the 12 tribes of Revelation and that Joseph was divided into two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, but only Joseph and Manasseh are mentioned in the passages. So far, so good. But, then, you conjecture that,

“So it makes sense to view the 144,000 of Rev. 7 just as they’re described…Messianic JEWS (my emphasis) called by the Lord to witness to the world after the church is gone.”

No, Jack, it does not make sense. The JEWS are from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and half of the Levites only. The JEWS stayed in and around Jerusalem (the Southern Kingdom – called JUDAH) after the tribes split under Rehoboam and then were conquered by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians in 586 BC. The other 10 tribes, under Jeroboam, formed the Northern Kingdom (called ISRAEL) and was conquered and dispersed in 722 BC by the Assyrians. After 70 years of captivity, JUDAH (the Jews) were released under Cyrus and went back to Jerusalem. These are the Jews of today. The other ten tribes are still dispersed throughout the world and don’t know who they are.

So, while all JEWS are Hebrews, not all HEBREWS (12 tribes) are Jews. So, by saying that the 144,000 are all JEWS is ridiculous and shows a great lack of historical knowledge in the Bible.

I know I’ve emailed you about this before. Why don’t you take note? Don’t you believe me? I didn’t make up the history contained in the OT. Look it up for yourselves (2 Chronicles and 1 Kings are good places to start for the history of the 12 tribes).