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I heard of a Vietnamese man who has been forced to recant his new found faith in Christ; he has signed a document saying he recants, but will also be required to sacrifice to his ancestors in order to publicly prove he has recanted. Matthew 10: 33 says that if we deny Christ before men he will deny us before the father. Would you please comment on this terrible situation, and also what relationship Matt 10:33 has to OSAS, in your opinion.

I have a question about Isaiah 56:1,2 and 58:13,14. What is profaning the Sabbath and how can we, as believers, apply these passages to our lives?

I just read an article in the Jerusalem Post that quotes a 13th century Rabbi saying that Esther’s son was named Darius.

I am not real familiar with the exact period of time that Ester lived and affected the life of the Persian King but I believe it was during the time of the Babylonian exile. Is it possible that this Darius is the same king that gave the order to rebuild the Temple?

I love your articles and find such encouragement here. I have a question about “storing up treasure”. I’ve asked so many different Christians about preparing for the hard times ahead and have received as many different answers. Most people think we are to be good stewards of our money and invest and save to take care of our families. Others think the Lord will take care of them completely. Some think a combination of the two. I personally, do not have time or brains to investigate different investments and watch them. I’d rather spend my time in the Bible, but I do want to do what the Lord said. Searching the scriptures, I don’t find store up in barns and banks, I can only find “take no thought for your life, what you will eat, drink, etc.” My husband is not a believer, so I can’t take the 401K out and give it away, but I’d like to. What should I do?

I was told to tithe off of gifts too. Is this biblical? I tithe off of my gross & also give offerings. I thought tithing was off of your “income” (ex. paychecks, investment profits) but I’ve never heard it taught where you also tithe off of gifts. I do not want to be under a curse, please give me your views.

Also, if I get a scholarship award for schooling, am I to tithe off of that even if the total went to the school & I received no money personally? Thank you so much for your time!

I believe Jesus said to his disciples that all power was given to him in heaven and on earth after his victory at the cross. (Matt. 28:18) Didn’t this break the power of Satan and remove his “god of this world” title?

I love the Lord and have responded to His call to a music ministry. Some Christians condemn contemporary Christian music as satanic and deceiving, but I have seen and felt the spirit of God flow through our congregation during worship. I respect the individual tastes and preferences of his saints. But I think it’s unfair for people to make blanket condemnations about this type of ministry. What is your take on this issue?

What do you think about choirs or individuals singing songs of worship for competition where there is a winner and a loser? Do you think they are singing to please God of man?

In your Isaiah study, you quoted:

“Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. For your Maker is your husband– the LORD Almighty is his name–the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The LORD will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit– a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God. (Isaiah 54:4-6)

I thought only the Church was the Bride of Christ. Does this also apply to Israel?

I absolutely respect your knowledge of spiritual beliefs when it comes to the Bible etc. Will you on record tell us who follow your site, tell us is Enoch a TRUE Prophet of God? And should the book of Enoch never of been taken out of the Bible?

If B.C. is before Christ and A.D. is after the death of Christ, then what do we call the 33 years he was alive? Thank you. You are blessed to have God work through you in this way.

Recently I have had a friend come to me with struggles and I have directed him to forget all of his “bible answers” and truly search for God. He grew up in church as I did and I told him to go back to basics and find what truly makes him believe and that it would strengthen him. Was I acting like a teacher? I don’t wish to have a harsher judgment placed upon me, I only wished to help him and I feel as though I was led to tell him this. Can you describe just what being a teacher means?

First off I would like to say that I have recently found your website and have enjoyed reading it a lot! I have been searching your site for answers and have found many, however, I still have questions.

At one point not long ago, I was convinced that you could lose your salvation. However, after finding your site I have read numerous posts and verses that state to the contrary and now am convinced that you can not lose your salvation (PRAISE GOD!) My question now is: even though I am eternally secure and will go to Heaven, I feel as if I am at a loss at what I am expected to do on Earth. My issue is that I don’t feel as if I am grateful enough. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad that I will be spending eternity with Jesus in Heaven, but I feel that I should be more than just glad. To me, grateful means having the desire to go WAY out of your way to do something for someone even if it is a HUGE inconvenience. I truly want to serve God, I just don’t feel I know how. Any insight would be appreciated.

I found your web site this week and it has been a blessing. While some of what I have read I am still digesting, other things I agree with you about.

There is one thing that I disagree with you based on three articles I have read over the past couple of years that seem to have the mathematical evidence for Yeshua being born at Succot rather than Rosh Hashanah.

Thank you for an amazing website! So many things have been made clearer to me because of it. I was reading 1 Chronicles 25 this morning and the words “who were to prophesy with lyres, harps and cymbals” caught my attention. Can you explain how to prophesy with music?

My question is, during the time of Jesus Ministry, was there tribal identity? If yes, is that the reason Luke and Matthew were able to accurately write the genealogy of Jesus in the gospels? Did the Jews have some remnant of the other 10 tribes of Israel in their midst during the ministry of Jesus?

Also, how do the present-day people of Israel tell to which tribe they belong to? Can the tribal identity be found out through some of the latest Bio-technologies using DNA samples of a Jewish person? And how does God separate the twelve tribes apart in Rev 7:4-8 before the Great Tribulation begins? Will He be the first to separate the tribes of present-day Israel through His omniscience and allow them to enter the Millennium once again by their tribal identity?

Lately I’ve been conversing with a lot of rather vehement atheists–which tend to come with my line of work–and they’ve frequently confronted me with arguments that I know are weak, but I don’t have a good, biblical response and I don’t know where to look for one really. They are referring to Leviticus and Deuteronomy and all the laws within them about how to live, what to wear, what to eat, who to stone, and on and on. They call Christianity (and Judaism) barbaric for calling for the death sentence for these seemingly mild crimes.

What do I tell them? They would never accept a “God knows better than we do” sort of answer and they want more than a “You’re taking the verses out of context.” I know they’re just basing their argument on anti-religion websites, but there are unfortunately fewer good apologetic sites than there are anti-Christian ones.

In short: How do I explain Levitical law to an atheist?

I have a question I hope you can help me with. My wife was Christian all her life and accepted Jesus as her savior a few years ago. It changed her life. She asked her pastor to baptize her but every time something happened. They use a lake because they don’t have a place in the church so bad whether stopped it one time and sickness another time.

Anyhow it never got done she was killed in a car accident 4 months ago. She was only 35 and this has been eating at me ever since. Would God keep her out of heaven because she was never baptized?

I was born and raised Catholic but since the accident, I have read the Bible and done a lot of research. I don’t consider my self a Catholic anymore. Do I need to be baptized?

Are the Christians of today included in the group that will rule with Jesus in the New Jerusalem during the Millennium? It is unclear to me because Rev. 20:4 mentions “beheaded” Christians during the Tribulation period and I’m not sure if when Jesus was speaking to His disciples about them ruling with Him if that includes the Christians of today.

Thank you in advance for your time and any light you are able to shed on this question.

I have been having a discussion related to end times with a pastor and he mentioned to me that he does not think all prophecy is meant to be understood and he referenced 1Co 13:9,12; and 1 Jn 3:2.

What is your position on this and is there any scripture to back up a competing position that it is all understandable? I would think the purpose of having it, and all scripture, is to provide us with some sort of knowledge about God. I agree that perhaps its not the full picture and God reserves some information. I’m not sure how to respond to his interpretations. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

I am curious, I had a dream last night, I saw the words Revelation 111 (I’m not sure if it’s 1:11 or 11:1) & also the numbers 648, again I don’t know if it is 6:48 or another book, 64:8. Are there any connections with these things to current times that this could be a sign of something coming or something I should be doing?

This really has me in a quandary. I am just beginning to read & learn the Bible; I have always been a strong believer in God & obviously, based only on faith since I’m not as familiar with the bible as most.

A brother asked me a very good question (loaded as well) about why aren’t we performing the miracles as in the days of the apostles. I have heard of some great miracles being performed in other countries, but why not in America? In Mark 16:17 it states these signs shall follow them that believe… where has our faith gone? The Lord says He is not a respecter of persons, so I know if He can use Peter and Paul He can use me as well. Is it a matter of our faith not being at a certain level, or can it have something to do with our condition in this country? Meaning if we get sick, the first thing we reach over for is the medicines not the Oil.

Thank you kindly for being an obedient servant of the Lord. Your site is a blessing to visit every day and learn from.

Here are a few questions I’d really like to know the answer to. First, where did Noah live when he built the ark? Secondly, the Bible teaches us there were 4 Great Rivers from Genesis. The earth was greatly changed due to the global flood and the releasing of the great fountains of the deep. How do we know the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that are named today are the ones mentioned in Genesis? How was it possible for Noah and/or his sons to recognize them after such a global change? Lastly, if those are the two original rivers, why not name the other two found in Genesis? Why should their names not be used? Or, did this have something to do with the confusion in languages from Babel?

I hope your gift in explaining things simple and easy to understand can also be used with these questions. I adore Genesis and I try to always be ready with an answer if someone asks me.

I recently discovered your website and have been reading the many questions posed to you, and your illuminating answers. It has been very helpful to me. I have a question, as well, having to do with the Epistle of Jude, verses 14 and 15, in which he quotes a prophecy from Enoch, the 7th from Adam. Here Jude is quoting First Enoch 1:9, from an apocryphal book deemed by early church scholars not to be inspired by God…and yet, Jude includes Enoch’s prophecy in his Epistle, which IS part of the canon of Scripture! How can this be? Your answer would be greatly appreciated.

1st Samuel 28:3 tells us that Samuel was dead. Further in that chapter the Bible tells us that Saul went to see a medium and ask her to ‘bring up’ Samuel. In 28:16 it tells us that Samuel spoke to Saul through this woman, she said she saw him coming up out of the ground. Wasn’t Samuel a man of God? Fortune telling and mediums are condemned by God, why was this practiced being used by His men?