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Thanks for the continued good work. Please explain Gen.49:10 … The scepter shall not depart from Judah … I have read somewhere that this refers in some way to the Roman occupation of Judea at the time of Christ’s coming.

I am a believer. I am eagerly looking forward to meeting the Lord in person, face to face.

Until that day arrives I am curious as to how to grow my relationship with the Lord. It appears that my communication with him is one way (me talking to, and listening for him). To date, (although I feel that I am listening) I have not heard anything but silence. Effective two-way communication seems to be essential in getting to know God. I don’t see any substitute. I am asking for help in this matter. I appreciate your time. Thanks.

I have read in one of your previous posts that if we continually ignore the Holy Spirit’s guidance we will lose the ability to hear him. I believe this is called quenching the Spirit and it bothers me for obvious reasons. If someone did indeed quench the spirit is that a permanent event or can it be restored by restoring our fellowship with God?

Thank you so much for your continued help and guidance. My question is about the significance of Jacob’s wrestling match in the book of Genesis. Was the angel he was wrestling a theophany? What was the significance of the wrestling and the length of the wrestling and the crippling of his hip afterward? Thanks as always.

Does the Bible offer any insight (other than mentioning 10% in the Old Testament) of how much we as Christians are to tithe, under the new covenant?

I’ve heard ministers of God claim that when they refused God’s call he sent tragedy into their lives even as far as killing their loved ones. They cite Jonah as an example of how far God can go to get someone to obey his call. Is this an accurate description of God? Also Eph. 4:11-13 says the gifts of the Spirit are given until we can all reach a unity in faith etc. Does the church have to get to this point before Christ can come for us in the rapture or is it as a result of the rapture that the church reaches this unity thus leading to an end of the gifts?

I have fallen into a grievous sin that I can’t seem to get away from. I am concerned because I am not very sensitive to it anymore even though I know it is sinful. Is there any way for me to regain that “innocence” and sensitivity to this sin that I once had when I first got saved? I long for it but am convinced that I will never have it again. I can’t even cry about it anymore and that makes me sad.

I have a question concerning Grace. Is it possible or is there a scripture that says we can speak Grace to the mountain? The mountain being sickness, prosperity, problems, etc. In our church service on Sunday, we were told we could speak Grace to the mountain. There was no scripture reference. Can you help me with this?

I have a couple of questions for you. These are just thought provokers and not a salvation issue or anything like that. First, is time really going to end? Hebrews 1:12 says that God’s years will not fail and in Revelation 20:10 says that people in Hell will be tormented day and night forever and ever. The alluding to measurements of time here makes me think that the people that live on Earth throughout eternity (anyone not a member of the church) will still observe time. What are your thoughts?

Second, seeing how the solar systems and galaxies are all set up like ours is, meaning having planets; and stars for suns; and moons and etc.., etc.., wouldn’t it seem as though these are going to be used for more than a galactic playground for the church and the angels? Just curious about what you might think. Thank you for the great site. I have been blessed much from it and am considering supporting you since you are so true to the Word of God!!!

My pastor believes that Jesus was born in the Spring, March or April because of the shepherds tending their sheep at that time of the year when the angels appeared to them in the fields, and because the Lord also died in the Spring when he was 33 which would match the time of his birth. Why do you believe that the Lord was born in September? Thank you, as always, for your great insights and for your ministry.

I wanted to know if Jesus Christ was born in a house or manger? In Matthew 2:11 says house, but Luke 2: 6-7 says manger. Why do they disagree?

If the “eternal”part of us goes to be with the Lord at death,what happened to the “eternal”part of those who died before Jesus did?

Romans 11:29 says “for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable”. Can this verse be used in support of OSAS (eternal security, or once saved, always saved) as it relates to Romans 8:30? If so, it seems one of the clearest statements I’ve seen to contradict anything we hear about losing our salvation.

My question concerns the word “heart” that is used several times in the New Testament. We can take Romans 10: 9 where the Bible says “…and believe in your heart..”. I’m always tempted to think that the Bible doesn’t refer to the heart that pumps blood in our body but our spiritual heart. Can you please explain further what the Bible is referring to? Your opinion will help me make sense when I’m responding to questions my Sunday school kids ask.

Gen. 3:8 says, “Then the man and his wife heard the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” As I was studying angels with my small group of high school boys, we came across this verse and I was intrigued by the fact that it implies God taking some physical form and interacting with the earth as humans would. Is this simply the Angel of the Lord? Or perhaps this Gabriel or Michael?

I remember being told that in Jerusalem there was a passage between two walls of the city that was referred to as the eye of the needle. It was very difficult for a camel to go thru and hence the words from Christ that it was easier for a camel to go thru the eye of a needle then for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This was a reference to that area in between the walls and the people understood that it would be difficult but certainly not impossible. Have you heard of this?

You have said that “do not judge” is a blanket statement and therefore does not pertain to hypocritical judgment only. I recently read an article about members of a “prayer group” who sexually assaulted and then murdered the wife of the group’s leader with his permission. I cannot believe that Jesus would have us not render any judgment about the people who did these things. I cannot see how you would need to pluck something out of your own eye first before rebuking them.

Re: The Eye Of The Needle There was and still exists today in Jerusalem a narrow passage between two walls of the city that is referred to as the eye of the needle. This was an emergency exit/entrance that was the only access at night. On my visit to Jerusalem (I traveled by bus and not by camel) I personally went through it and understood the picture Jesus was portraying clearly. It is a single narrow doorway allowing access to one person at a time and therefore very secure and defensible. A person arriving at the city after dark would do so with his earthly possessions loaded onto the back of a camel. The choice was clear: unload the camel or leave both it and your possessions behind if you want to enter the city. Camels are obstinate beasts and it took a lot of coaxing and pulling and even beating to get them through the narrow passage into the ante-chamber inside the wall.

We currently are studying Revelation in our small group and we were in chapters 2-3. A couple of ex-Catholics talked about still holding Mary in high esteem, not praying to her, but praying to God through Mary. One of them used the miracle written by John about turning water into wine as Jesus doing what his Mother asked him to do, to justify this. Could you comment on this event in regards to this miracle?

My husband had a history of adultery. I turned a blind eye for many years. Over a year and a half ago he left me and the children for another woman. He has been living with his mistress for over a year. Because of financial reasons on his part and child custody issues ( he was absent for four months) we are still legally married under state law. I filed over a year ago and it’s finally coming to an end. About 6 months ago I started seeing a long time friend. We have fallen in love and plan to marry. His family are very quick to judge and claim that I am committing adultery because I am still legally married. The bible says that God hates divorce unless adultery is committed. In my heart I tried everything. My husband cheated and abandoned me and the children. I prayed and God sent me this wonderful man I have now committed my life to. I no longer have any love for my legal husband and I feel that under God’s law we are divorced. What is more important, state law or Gods law?

Did the twelve Apostles represent each of the 12 tribes? In other words, was each of them from a different one of the tribes?

We had a guest speaker at church who said some things that I hadn’t heard before and didn’t sit quite right with me. Will you please clarify if these statements of his have any truth to them, and if they are regularly taught subjects?

(1) Based on Genesis 9 and 10, only Japheth’s descendants (which are caucasians) are Gentiles and were given the responsibility of spreading the Gospel; (2) There are two apples of God’s eye – Israel and America; (3) In Matthew 21:43, the kingdom of God was given to “a nation” (singular), which is America. (Strong’s says this word could mean people, and I always thought it meant the church.)

I’ve been reading the book of Acts especially chapter 1 and 2 looking for something that suggests that Mary the mother of Jesus was also there on the day of Pentecost. Its seems as if I read something like that in the bible and now I’m really struggling to get it. Please help me if you can.

In Mark 9: 14-27 a man brought a boy with a dumb spirit to JESUS. In vs. 19 he asked the father how long ago did this happen? Why did JESUS ask him that? Wouldn’t JESUS have known that? Then in vs: 22 the father said if you can do anything help us, and in vs 23 JESUS said if you can believe all things are possible to him that believes. In vs: 24 the father said i believe.. help my unbelief. What does all that mean? Did he believe or not?

In Matthew 12:29 Jesus said we must first bind the strong man ( the devil ) then we can spoil his house. Does that mean we are to bind the devil also? I hear that in lots of churches ie: I bind you Satan in the name of Jesus. Can we bind him in the name of Jesus?