I am struggling with Matthew 5:3 where Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” I also noticed that spirit is with a small s and not a capitol S. Could you please give me some insight into what Jesus was saying here as I really struggle to understand this verse.

Isaiah 45:7 speaks of God creating evil. How can this be so? Why would he do so anyway?

I have been studying the book of Daniel and came across a verse that has me puzzled. I am of the belief that Christian believers will be raptured before the tribulation (pre-trib) starts but this particular statement has me baffled. In the second half of Daniel 7:25 it says: “The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times, and half a time.” Aren’t we (Christian believers) the saints?

If this is so, this sentence sounds like it means we are handed over to satan during the tribulation? Am I missing or misinterpreting something here? Thank you so much for opening yourself up to Gods wisdom and insight.

1 Corinthians 12:3 says that a man cannot call Jesus Lord except by the Spirit of God, yet we see in the Gospels that many at the Great White Throne judgment will call Him Lord, Lord. Even though I fail Him many times, I also call Him Lord and have believed on Him with all my heart for salvation. Can you elaborate on those who call Him Lord, Lord, yet ended up lost?

I’ve accepted Christ as my savior and am a born again believer. Raised Baptist, I am now married to a Catholic man. We’ve talked much about salvation but his viewpoint is different from mine although he says he’s accepted the Lord as his savior. I understand that only God knows our hearts – but do the “words” (salvation, accept the Lord, etc.) used by different faiths mean the same thing?

Thank you for your site. It brings me great comfort. In these time I find I get the most anger not from the unsaved but more from Christians. They say the Pre-Trib Rapture is everything from an 1800’s fairy tale to the devils work and worse. Of course they are of post or no rapture beliefs themselves. I guess the question is why are they so angry at the pre trib rapture?

I was recently thinking about how the world would be like if Adam and Eve had not sinned. And then I began to wonder about about this: If Adam and Eve had not sinned against God, would we still worship Jesus like we do today? The reason why I ask is because we worship Jesus because he died for our sins. But if sin had not entered the world, then Jesus would not have had to die for our sins. So would we still worship Jesus?

I love your website and the huge amount of wisdom I’ve received here. My mother and my stepfather are heading for divorce. My stepfather is very actively involved in Church. However, when he is not in church his behavior is pretty much the opposite of a Christian person and doesn’t come nearly close to the standards of how he supposed to treat my mother according to the bible. He claims to love Jesus Christ on Sundays but acts like a complete unbeliever the rest of the week. Is he saved? If our behavior doesn’t match our faith, are we still saved?

May God continue to bless you and your ministry. A preacher on TV teaches that the Nation of Israel has salvation under the Old Covenant. That they don’t need to accept Jesus Christ or the New Covenant for entrance into God’s Kingdom. Is this a Biblical teaching? Or is it false and therefore makes him a false teacher?

Would you please explain what Jesus was referring to as “the end of the age” in this parable? Is it the end of this age, which will cease at the end of the Tribulation, and then goes right in to the 1000 year reign of Christ? Or is it referring to the end of the 1000 years just before going into eternity? Verse 43 says “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father..” Is this referring to the Millennium or eternity?