The son of friends has committed suicide and I have no idea how to console them. They were so hopeful that he would eventually come to know the Lord and then this tragedy happened. Is there anything at all in the Bible that could give them any hope for his soul? Anything you could offer would be of great help at this horrible time.

I read your question and answer regarding Paradise. I have been under the impression that when we die we merely fall asleep until the rapture or second coming. Are you saying that we immediately go to heaven? If so can our loved ones already gone there look down and see what is going on here on earth?

Also, what happens to the unsaved when they die? They don’t immediately go to hell do they?

I just read ‘Revelation 2 And 3 … Seven Letters To Seven Churches, Part 1, and have a question about the ‘It’s the second death that you have to watch out for. It’s the permanent one.’ statement.

Regarding the second death, what exactly happens to an unsaved soul? I’ve heard three views; the soul is banished to Hell to suffer eternal punishment by torment; the soul is totally destroyed and no longer exists (meaning there is no Hell); and the soul is totally separated from God in some inaccessible place, though not Hell, rather a dark place to spend eternity.

What’s your view?

I was wondering about Col 3:23-25. It says that whatever we do should be done unto the Lord to receive a reward, but whoever does wrong will receive for the wrong he has done because there is no respect of persons. If whoever means whoever, then does that mean believers will receive for the wrongs they have done?

I have been struggling with prayer for some time. I pray quite often but feel like I haven’t got my “message across”. I feel like I have to keep praying and praying saying the same things to make sure he hears me. I feel like if I don’t pray the same thing everyday sometimes 5 or 6 times a day then my prayer will not get answered. Also, I know we aren’t supposed to pray for selfish things, so is praying for God to help sell our house or find a house close to our family where we want to be wrong? Please help.

I recently encountered an interpretation of 2 Thessalonians 2:3 that was neither the “falling away / apostasy” nor the “departure / rapture” possibilities you have discussed in past posts on GraceThruFaith. The interpretation given was Paul warning believers of a great “rebellion / revolt”. Apparently, the word used in this verse can be rendered this way, and is implied in some translations? The thrust of the passage then suggests a worldwide, satanically-inspired, revolution among people of the world, that would lead to mayhem, and the conditions needed for, everyone to accept a worldwide leader to return order to the world. Is this a valid interpretation?

I’d like to read your interpretation of James 2:14-26. Do you think a believer can live a life with no change in his lifestyle and really be a true believer?

In Genesis 9, Noah gets out of the boat, plants a vineyard, makes wine, gets drunk and seemingly shames himself. Not judging – I’ve been there before. His youngest son seems to have compassion on this situation and covers the man with his brothers assistance. I’m thinking that deserves a ‘thanks for taking care of me son’ type of response but it ends poorly with a serious curse over his family to be perpetual slaves. Can this be explained without awkward contrivances and rationalizations or is this just one of those things we have to accept and go along with?

I just read a commentary on the three types of people who represent the seed of Abraham. The author likened them to the Jews, the Arabs, and the Church. I’ve only recognized these Scriptures to be speaking to two groups; the “earthly promises” to Israel and the “heavenly/spiritual promises” to the Church. Would you please clarify.

Over the years, I’ve heard folks like Hal Lindsey, Grant Jeffery, and you suggest that scripture contains a large percentage of prophecy. I am unable to find this percentage figure anywhere and thought you could help me with this for a presentation I’m making.