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I have been studying James 1:5-8. It sounds like if I believe without wavering that God will give me the wisdom I seek that he will give it liberally. Is there something wrong with my faith if the wisdom I ask for isn’t received? Am I being impatient?

Due to over crowding, the students in a nearby village are not getting enough personal attention from their teachers.  The weaker ones are falling behind and when that happens the government threatens to take them away from their parents.  The principal asked the government to build another classroom to correct this problem, but she was turned down.  Unlike many principals, she insists her students learn music, art, and sports in addition to required classes, making hers one of the few full day schools around.   This costs money that would otherwise be available for buildings.  They said she can’t have both.

Not willing to sacrifice the quality of her program, she asked us to build the overflow classroom, and after getting permission from the government, we agreed.  This is a campus format so each classroom is a separate building.  We are providing this at no cost to the school and out of gratitude, parents with construction skills have agreed to help with the labor under the direction of our crew.  They are proud of their school and are happy to help preserve its programs.  As you can see the kids are pretty happy, too.

In light of the administration’s reaction to Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Congress, it seems as if the U.S. Government is beginning to turn its back on Israel. How can Jerusalem become a “city without walls” if its allies begin fading away? Will the current battle against ISIS/ISIL cause the Arab countries to form a strong coalition to defeat these terrorists, enfolding Israel into its protection in the process, thus leading to a fulfillment of prophecy?

How can we act on the free will God gave us to be born again if someone uses their free will to murder us? What is to say that the person that was murdered after the accountability age would or would not of chosen a life with Christ had they not been murdered or that a person for some reason would reject Christ later on in life? God’s will is we all come to the saving grace of His Son Jesus but He knew before He made us what our choice would be. Was our destiny set before we were born or will people who met an untimely death have an argument at the judgement or why even have a judgement if our life was predestined? What about the fact that God calls us to salvation, not that we were first to choose?

Is it true that Orthodox Jews believe that Christians are an offshoot of the Babylonian religious system? What is your argument against this? On the issue of Jesus and Mary vs. Semiramis and Tammuz, how could the counterfeit come first even before the prophets had written what was prophesied?

If there was no sin nature in the Garden and they sinned, what is to keep sin from happening in the New Jerusalem? We will be immortal then, too, just like Adam and Eve originally were. What am I missing?

Re: No Second Chance? I would agree with you except for one thing. “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” 2 Thes 2:11

At our church some people teach that after the rapture of the Church, the ‘grace’ or the ‘Holy Spirit’ will be taken away from the gentiles and given to the Jews. Now we believe that many Jews don’t believe in Jesus because it’s not their time of grace, but ours (the gentiles), and once the Church is gone then this time of ‘grace’ will be given to the Jews. Is this true according to the Bible? If it is, then is it fair to say that who ever remains on earth during the tribulation period, it will be very hard for them to give their lives to God as the Holy Spirit wont’ be there for them to convince them of their sin. Is this true? Thank you for your answer.

Thank you for all of you efforts and insight. I have a question regarding Satan. If he indeed studies scripture to know what he knows about the future, then why didn’t he know about Jesus’ coming crucifixion and what it was going to accomplish? I have read that if he could look into the future, he would have never let it happen. Am I missing something?

I have heard several prophecy teachers state that the Rapture of the Church and the beginning of the Tribulation do not necessarily happen at the same time. I believe that to be true. I know that the Tribulation starts when the Antichrist signs a peace treaty with Israel. I know no one has inside information on the timing of the Rapture because it is a signless event. I just wonder how long of a gap there could possibly be between the Rapture and the Tribulation. The Rapture will undoubtedly put the world into a time of unprecedented crisis and I highly doubt the Antichrist will take too long to take advantage of this time of turmoil before he steps in as the “man with a plan”. Do you have any opinion on what kind of a time frame we might be looking at between these two events?

My step dad has become a very religious man, which is great for him. But he has no relationship with my mom, doesn’t ever contribute any support to the family, and just sits in the garage studying the Bible on the internet. He only speaks to her to remind her she’s supposed to submit to him. He believes the Lord wants him to do this and it’s the right way to live. He has withdrawn himself completely from every day normal life because he’s convinced the world will end soon. Even if that’s true, is this really how the Lord wants him to live?

I am a Christian of 50 years. I have always believed and looked forward to the pre trib rapture of believers. The more I study God’s word the more I am convinced of his soon return. This is just a thought I have had for many years. When Jesus takes out the living Christians will their clothing go with them or will there be lots of little piles of clothing left to indicate to the world that they were once here? I would like your opinion on this if you have one. May God bless you in your ministry. I will meet you one day.

Here’s a paragraph you wrote recently in Ask a Bible Teacher:

“I’ve probably studied the different views of the Rapture as much as any person alive and have always come away convinced of the correctness of the pre-trib position. In fact, over the years my opinion on the timing of the Rapture has gotten earlier in the End Times Scenario, not later.”

Would you please expand on the last sentence with details of things that have caused you to revise your thinking about when the Rapture is likely?

I’m not asking for date-setting. I know it is not possible, and I believe it would be sinful for me to encourage you to do it.

I’ve read your responses to the question of how gentiles were saved in the Old Testament. You say there was a court called the Court of the Gentiles outside the temple that gave Gentiles a chance to recognize God. But what about the people that lived too far away to ever have heard of it? You also say that every person on earth has a bona fide chance to hear the gospel at one point in their life. But what about the time right after Jesus died but the gospel hadn’t been spread yet? What about people in other countries like the Native Americans? (and I don’t believe the Mormon Jesus preached to them). How could they have a chance to accept the gospel if it hadn’t spread to them yet? I’ve read your other answers about nature testifying about God. If someone came to that realization before hearing about Christ, was that enough? Because certainly, it took some time for the gospel to spread.

When the Israelites were about to enter the promised land, the Lord commanded them to kill all the living, men ,women, children. I know our God is firstly and above all love, but he is also judgment. My question is, whats the difference between this situation and the muslim thing of killing those who don’t believe their religion?

In Jesus’ prayer for His disciples (John 17) He says He’s not asking the Father to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one (John 17:15). Those who disagree with the pre-trib position use this as evidence that the church will go through the tribulation. How would you respond to this?

Once the Rapture occurs, based on my understanding, our bodies will be glorified and our sin nature removed. Now, what I am having a difficult time wrapping my mind around is the type of consciousness that will still be present within an individual in regards to all of their earthly memories and emotions. For example, let’s say only one individual in a particular family is Raptured leaving behind their spouse, children, siblings, family and friends, it is hard to fathom how this person will not experience sadness knowing all of their loved ones have been left behind to face the horrors of the Tribulation, and even potentially an eternity in hell should they take the mark during that time period, while they are filled with joy and basking in glory beyond comprehension. I was wondering what your view was on this entire concept.

What is your opinion of casual, infrequent marijuana use by Christians, done in private, in a safe setting? True, it’s use is illegal and health risks of smoking are well documented. Those issues aside, in your opinion is it sinful to enjoy the “buzz” of pot or the sensation that a glass or 2 of wine provides?

In one of your articles you mentioned Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17. I was wondering in your opinion what do you think will happen first? I wanted to also know when will the peace that the Apostle Paul spoke of in I Thessalonians 5:3 come about? What event will bring this on?

I heard a sermon recently based on the premise that mankind’s soul is not immortal (that we were created immortal but by choosing to sin, we died and could only be resurrected by God thru Jesus) and that hell was permanent – not ongoing. The pastor gave several Bible references to bolster his understanding.

I’ve always envisioned hell as an everlasting (meaning ongoing) fire – not just a fire or judgment that completely destroys us and that there is no chance to reverse our path once we are there. The last part, he embraced – no second chances. He quoted John 3:16 – that believers in Jesus would not perish ( not suffer eternally, consciously). He also spoke from Rev. 20 where God would send the fire to devour, (not just make it a continuing punishment for) the wicked. I would appreciate your understanding of this concept.

I want to thank you for this site and for your wisdom. I deal a lot with the final expense market. I find it very interesting the percentage of people that opt for cremation vs. traditional burial. Today I visited with a lady who wanted to research in her Bible what was the right way. What does scripture say about this issue?

Does mankind have true free will to make a conscious choice to become a born again Christian, to believe In Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, and that Christ came to this world and suffered and died on the cross to save us from our sins and to seek salvation? Or, does God solely choose the elect via His grace to be saved?

Why are so many Protestant churches doing Ash Wednesday when this is a sacrament instituted by the Catholic church. Does it have a bigger meaning than we Protestants know about?

Ezekiel 33:12 says, “The good works of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the sins of evil people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins.” Does this passage go as far to say you can lose your salvation?