Search Results

A friend of mine wants to know ‘why can’t a prophecy today be considered scripture, if it is all inspired by the Holy Spirit?’

I was watching a fairly well known Bible teacher on television and at one point he said, ” Why do you think the Lord condoned slavery?” His answer was that the slaves who had benevolent masters were actually much better off then if they had been on their own as they were illiterate. I can only assume he was referring to slaves of the South before the Civil War, who were often grossly mistreated. I was totally stunned to hear a Christian say such a thing much less a teacher of God’s Word! I would very much like to know what your opinion is about this.

In Joshua 1:5 God said to Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you, nor forsake you.” In Hebrews 13:5 the writer said, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; and be content with the things that you have: for he hath said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you” quoting the promise to Joshua. How did he get from a specific promise made to an Old Testament individual, to a general promise for all New Testament believers? Was he applying a spiritual principle or describing a characteristic of God?

I wanted to see what your thoughts were on the 13 letters penned by Paul. I have read in some research that scholars only are sure that 7 were penned by Paul, maybe another 2 are 50-50, and the rest are likely not penned by Paul (the pastoral epistles). Personally, I think Paul did pen them but have no proof of this other than faith. Since early church fathers did not question Paul’s letters as part of the New Testament canon, I would believe we should not either.

Recently I asked for prayers for my daughter and myself as we are both due to have surgery in a few months. I did so on a message board that I get on when talking to my friends. Not long after I wrote the prayer request one of my friends messaged me back and told me they would keep us in their prayers and told me to check out (a currently popular self help book). Have you seen the movie or read the book? What is your opinion and how should I address this person?

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the Lord, who remains faithful forever. (Psalm 146:4-6)

Wouldn’t it be more accurate to state that the Bible was written under either the “guidance” or “authority” of the Holy Spirit rather than the “inspiration”? I realize that at first blush this might seem like hair splitting; however, I think that using a word slightly stronger than “inspiration” would better convey the authority of the Gospels. People might question less and read more.

Re: Inspiration of Scripture. We often hear people claiming this confidently but is there really a verse that really claims that the entire Bible is the word of God? 2 Tim. 3: 16 speaks along those lines but to me it refers more to Old Testament scriptures rather than all other scriptures, because much lf the New Testament hadn’t been written yet. What are your views on this?

Re: Matt. 18:15-17. I read these verses in William Barclay’s commentary in which he essentially says these have been misapplied. He further states that the language indicates to him that Jesus could not have said this in that specific way, i.e., it sounds too legalistic for Jesus, and sounds more like an ecclesiastic committee’s work. Also, Jesus would not say to take the matter to the Church, since the Church was not yet existent. This throws me a bit on the basis of inerrancy, so it must be some kind of interpretation that stands. Your thoughts?

I have always believed the Bible is inerrant, but I’m puzzled by the apparent discrepancy between the accounts in Matthew and Luke of the healing of the centurion’s servant: did the centurion meet with Jesus or not?

We all know that there are different methods of interpreting Scripture. Some “spiritualize” it and attribute it to allegory. Others, such as me and you interpret Scripture “literally, historically and grammatically.” Is there any place in Scripture where God told us how he wanted us to interpret his Word? How did we come to the consensus that Scripture was to be interpreted “this” way as opposed to “that” way?

Could you please explain who decided what books would be in the bible? And when was this decided?

I think I understand the basis for the validity of the Bible, and why arguments against it don’t hold up. However, I did have an issue that I don’t feel comfortable answering yet.

How would you answer a person who asked why God wouldn’t also “inspire” the copyists of the original manuscripts since God is omniscient and therefore knew that these were the (very important) copies which would be referenced for billions of people in the future? We take it by faith that the original manuscripts are absolutely perfect and without error because we don’t have the originals with us now, because we believe God is able to inspire his writers (from OT to NT times.)

In Daniel 8:21, the angel Gabriel explains that the king of Greece, Alexander the Great, is represented by the shaggy goat in Daniel’s vision. Knowing that scripture doesn’t just give information this detailed for no reason, I was wondering why Alexander the Great is represented as a goat, and is there any significance in the fact that the goat is shaggy?

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Pentecost comes in the early summer (mid May-mid June). It’s the only Levitical Feast Day between the three spring feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits) and the three in the fall (Rosh Hashanna, Yom Kippur, and Tabernacles). The Hebrew name for this Day is Shavuot,

Please help me understand the Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit in the new testament. I have studied and am a bit confused over this. My pastor is determined to call him the Holy Spirit, and yet the “Spirit” like a dove descended on Jesus, and then there is the fruit of the “Spirit” yet the gift of the Holy Ghost … see what I mean? I have I believe some understanding but would encourage your input.

We’ve been reading your website for a few months now and we’ve learned a great deal about current events and how they relate to Biblical prophecy. We also enjoy your writing style and indepth approach to studying the Scriptures. My question is this: I know that before Jesus died for us, no one could go to heaven and be in the presence of God. Where did Enoch go when he was translated, and where did Elijah go when he was taken up into heaven? God bless you. We pray for you often.

I just can’t seem to get enough of your website. I have learned more in the last few days than I have in the last few years! Blessings upon blessings to you for sharing your wisdom!!

One thing I am wondering is… Why is there 10 days between the ascension of Yeshua and His giving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost? Numbers are always significant and so I am wondering what this means or is symbolic of? Why didn’t he send the Holy Spirit right away? Thanks!!

In 1Thessalonians 4 when we read of the ‘rapture’ it states that the dead in Christ shall rise first. Why do you suppose this is?

Will it be that the dead will disappear from the earth a millionth of a second before we do or is there something else that our English doesn’t express as well as the Greek?

I think you make a good point about the literal days and the forthright manor that the creation story is told. I’ve always felt that the only reason to search for another angle to the 6 day creation, is to appease the evolutionist. When you think about it, for evolution to have been a convincing theory, you have to tack on infathomable number of years to argue that these changes took place very slowly, especially since nothing resembling Darwinist type evolution has been demonstratable in the history of “modern man”. In addition, one has to ask the question, how many deaths occurred during this God driven evolution before man was complete, when did he add a soul, and wasn’t death the result of sin, not the process to become a fully complete human being?

A quantum mathematician in Japan has said that his math is telling him that there is 9 dimensions and the 9th dimension runs everything. This sounds to me a lot like parallel universes. What do you think about parallel universes and what is God doing with all of this?

My question is this. If a person does not have a definite instance in their life where they declare that they are a sinner and accept Christ as Savior by praying something similar to the Sinner’s prayer (i.e. a salvation experience) are they really a believer? It was a topic of conversation with a friend who has no such experience yet believes she will go to heaven and longs to see Christ.

Is it your opinion that as we get closer to the Lord’s return, the more watered down the messages from the pulpit get? I am a charismatic; I believe that the gifts of the Holy Ghost are for today; that being said why do you think that most of the messages in charismatic churches today are based on prosperity? Where has all the prophetic teaching gone?

Don’t get me wrong. I believe and know that God wants to prosper us, but I believe we need to be preaching and teaching the full council of God… and that includes prophecy (end times)! Is part of the reason why we don’t preach or teach out of the book of Revelation because were living in the Laodicean church age and if we do we’ll see the truth slapping us right in the face?

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” cried Jesus. Who is Jesus’ God?