Questions and Answers (Sorted by Subject)
Welcome to our archive of more than 200 questions and answers! While some doctrines and subjects require an extensive book or booklet for thorough explanation, and others are sufficiently covered through brochures or magazine articles, certain subjects generate questions that need only short answers. Here, we answer a wide assortment of questions readers have raised through the years in their study of the Bible.
Bible Prophecy
- Are there any books you would recommend that deal with futuristic events and/or conditions?
- How are the Germans identified in Bible prophecy?
- Is “The Urantia Book” a valid addition to Scripture?
- Please explain Revelation 14:11.
- Please explain Revelation 20:10
- Please explain the “seventy weeks” prophecy recorded in Daniel 9.
- Please explain the peculiar phrase found in Daniel 5:25, “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.”
- Should we store food and other provisions to prepare for the time of famine and tribulation prophesied in the Bible?
- What is the “abomination of desolation,” mentioned in Matthew 24:15 and several other passages?
- What is the meaning of Ezekiel 13:18-23?
- What is the message of the seven thunders of Revelation 10:4?
- What is the significance of the 1,290 and 1,335 days mentioned in Daniel 12:11-12?
- What will take place after Christ's 1,000-year reign on earth?
- Which nations are the modern descendants of the tribes of Israel?
- Who are the modern-day descendants of the Chaldean/Babylonian peoples?
- Who are the two witnesses, described in Revelation 11?
- Why is the tribe of Dan not mentioned in Revelation 7 along with the 144,000 described there?
Conversion
- Did God the Father forsake Jesus Christ, as stated in Matthew 27:46?
- Is confession a biblical practice?
- Please explain Matthew 7:6.
- What did Christ mean when He said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple”?
- What is the meaning of “the synagogue of Satan,” mentioned in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9?
- What is the meaning of Christ’s instruction in Matthew 8:22, “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead”?
Government
Health and Healing
- Does Satan have the power to heal?
- In Mark 8:22-25, why did Christ not immediately heal the blind man?
- Is the use of smokeless tobacco wrong?
- What does the Bible say about eating meat that has been prepared “rare”?
- What does the Bible say concerning the consumption of animal fat and kidneys?
- What does the Bible teach concerning blood transfusions?
- What is the difference between kosher and non-kosher foods and beverages?
Holy Days
- At what time of the day did Christ's crucifixion take place?
- Does the Bible teach that we should observe new moons?
- Please explain Matthew 26:17.
- Please explain the command, “You shall not seethe a kid [young goat] in his mother’s milk.”
- What are the days referred to in Romans 14:5-6?
- What are the fasts mentioned in Zechariah 8:19?
Laws of God
- Is circumcision required as part of God's Law today?
- Is it wrong to participate in games of chance?
- Is suicide a sin?
- Please explain I Corinthians 10:27.
- Please explain Luke 16:16.
- What does the Bible say about “mercy killing”?
- What does the Bible say about the hunting and killing of animals?
- What does the Bible teach concerning insurance?
- What does the Bible teach regarding the harvesting of fruit on young trees?
- Why did Christ mention only six of the Ten Commandments, in Matthew 19:16-19?
Man’s Holidays
- Is it wrong for Christians to participate in April Fools' Day?
- Is Jeremiah 10:2-5 a reference to a Christmas tree?
- Is there scriptural evidence that Jesus Christ's birth was in the fall of the year and not on December 25?
- Should Christians celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day?
- What is the meaning of the “fish” symbol so popularly displayed today? Is this proper? Is it a pagan symbol?
- What is the meaning of the Jewish Feast of Purim?
- What is the origin of the cross?
- What is the significance of the Jewish winter holiday, Hanukkah?
- Who were the Nicolaitanes, referenced in Revelation 2:6, 15?
Marriage and Childrearing
- Is it proper to wear wedding rings?
- What does God's Word say about the subject of birth control?
- What does the Bible say regarding marriage between relatives?
- What does the Bible teach about divorce and re-marriage?
Miscellaneous
- Are Bible marginal references always reliable?
- Are the Jews God's chosen people?
- Can you explain the great disparity between pre- and post-Flood life spans?
- Did Jephthah keep his vow and sacrifice his daughter, as indicated in Judges chapter 11?
- Did Mary, the mother of Jesus, actually appear in a vision during the “miracle of Fatima”?
- Did the Israelites actually pass through the Red Sea on their way out of Egypt?
- Does Satan have the power to read the thoughts that are in our minds?
- Does the Bible teach that it is acceptable for men to wear earrings?
- Giants are mentioned in the Old Testament. What happened to them?
- How does the Bible define a “generation”?
- Is drinking coffee a sin?
- Is hypnotism something that Christians should practice or subject themselves to?
- Is the shroud of Turin legitimate?
- Is the word “LORD” a modern-day version of baal?
- Is there a scripture stating, “It is better that a man spill his seed in a whore’s belly than on the ground”?
- Is there a scripture stating, “You can't tell winter from summer except by the budding of the trees”?
- Is there evidence, besides the Bible, proving that Christ existed?
- Please explain Genesis 32:32.
- Please explain Genesis 9:25: Was Canaan cursed for a sin committed by his father, Ham?
- Please explain I Samuel 6:19. Did 50,070 men actually die in this account?
- Please explain II Chronicles 30.
- Please explain Jonah 1:17 and Matthew 12:40. Was the “great fish” in Jonah 1:17 actually a whale?
- Please explain Luke 22:36, and Christ’s statement, “he that has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.”
- Please explain Mark 4:11-12. Why did Christ speak in parables?
- Please explain Matthew 27:9.
- Please explain Matthew 2:23.
- Please explain the apparent contradiction between Acts 9:7 and 22:9, concerning Paul's conversion.
- Please explain the meaning of Psalm 23.
- Please explain the meaning of the symbols and words dividing the sections of Psalm 119.
- Please explain the origin of the steeples and spires that are commonly found as part of the architecture of modern church buildings.
- Please explain the statement in Deuteronomy 23:2, “A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord.”
- Please explain what the Prophet Ezekiel saw in chapters 1 and 10.
- Should a wife take her husband’s name in marriage?
- Should Christians use Old King James English when praying, or when speaking in church services?
- Should Christians watch television soap operas?
- Should crops be planted according to either the signs of the zodiac or the phases of the moon?
- Was Abraham a Jew?
- Was Jesus a Jew?
- What are the biblical origins of the Latin American peoples?
- What can you tell me about the Star of David?
- What do the letters “cir.” mean?
- What do the terms B.C. and A.D. mean?
- What does the Bible say about the woman Lilith?
- What does the Bible say about those who claim to have psychic abilities?
- What does the Bible say about water divination?
- What does the Bible say regarding proper dress for women?
- What does the Bible say regarding women's proper hairstyles?
- What does the Bible teach regarding pictures and/or statues of Christ?
- What is a “holy kiss”?
- What is the meaning of the Hebrew word selah?
- What was the fate of the pharaoh who ruled during the time of the Exodus?
- What were the contents of the ark of the covenant?
- Where is Golgotha located?
- Who is the “elect lady” of II John 2?
- Who wrote the book of Hebrews?
- Who wrote the books of the Bible?
- Why did Christ call Peter “Satan,” in Mark 8:33?
- Why did Christ tell Mary Magdalene not to touch Him?
- Why did Moses not bless the tribe of Simeon when he blessed the other tribes of Israel, in Deuteronomy 33?
- Why did Paul call himself a Jew?
- Why didn't the Apostle Paul and other New Testament writers say more about Christ's physical life and ministry?
- Why do Matthew 27:5 and Acts 1:18 seem to contradict each other?
- Why does the Bible contain accounts of immorality and violence?
Other Doctrines
- Are the archangel Michael and the Person who later became Jesus Christ one and the same?
- Are the “Holy Spirit” and “Holy Ghost” different spirits?
- Can you explain the practice of “the laying on of hands”?
- Did Christ's sacrifice do away with God's Law, as Colossians 2:14 and Ephesians 2:15 seem to indicate?
- Do Matthew 5:29-30 and Mark 9:43-48 literally mean that we should cut off our body parts when we sin?
- Does Acts 13:2-4 prove that God is a trinity?
- Does Acts 5:3-4 and the story of Ananias and Sapphira prove that God is a trinity?
- Does God answer the prayers of sinners?
- Does God command Christians to go from door to door preaching the gospel?
- Does I Corinthians 15:29 validate the practice of being baptized for those who have died?
- Does I Kings 17:21 prove that man has an immortal soul?
- Does I Samuel 28 validate the belief of the immortality of the soul?
- Does Mark 16:18 validate the practice of snake-handling as a demonstration of faith?
- Does Revelation 3:14 mean that Christ was created by God?
- Does the Bible validate the practice of baptizing children?
- Is II Peter 3:10 referring to the complete annihilation of the earth?
- Please explain Christ’s statement in John 10:30, “I and My Father are one.”
- Please explain Exodus 34:28. Does it mean that Moses wrote the Ten Commandments?
- Please explain I John 5:16-17.
- Please explain I Peter 4:6.
- Please explain Leviticus 19:19 and Deuteronomy 22:11.
- Please explain Leviticus 19:27 and 21:5. Do these verses mean that it is wrong to shave, or cut one's hair?
- Please explain Matthew 16:18-19.
- Please explain Revelation 6:9-11 and the “souls under the altar.”
- Please explain Romans 10:4.
- Please explain Romans 7:4.
- Please explain why the phrase “was without form, and void,” in Genesis 1:2, should have been translated “became without form, and void.”
- What does the Bible mean when it states that God is a “jealous” God?
- What does the Bible say about taking oaths?
- What does the Bible say about the events of Christ's life between the ages of 12 and 30?
- What does the Bible say about visions and dreams?
- What does the Bible say concerning the devil's final fate?
- What is the meaning of the Urim and Thummim?
- What was the purpose of the ancient custom of casting lots?
- When Jesus Christ was crucified, was He nailed to a cross or a stake?
- Who are the 24 elders of Revelation 5?
- Who is the ANCIENT OF DAYS referred to in Daniel 7?
- Who was Nimrod?
- Why is Christ referred to as the “Son of man”?
Salvation and the Afterlife
- At Christ's Resurrection, were the resurrected saints made immortal?
- Can people still be saved during the coming Great Tribulation?
- Could you explain the phrase “much people in heaven,” found in Revelation 19:1?
- Does the Bible teach reincarnation?
- How will the earth be able to sustain all of the people prophesied to be resurrected in Revelation 20:5, 11-12?
- In the future, is God going to resurrect animals?
- Is cremation wrong?
- Please explain Hebrews 9:27
- Please explain Matthew 10:28.
- Please explain Matthew 24:40-41. Does this scripture validate the belief in the “rapture”?
- Please explain Micah 4:5
- Please explain Philippians 1:23-24.
- Please explain the meaning of the terms “everlasting fire” and “everlasting punishment,” found in Matthew 25:41, 46.
- Should we pray for the dead?
- Were Moses and Elijah actually with Christ in the transfiguration?
- What does the Bible say about “out-of-body” life-after-death experiences?
- What is the meaning of “worms that die not,” in Mark 9:44-48?
- What is the meaning of Christ’s statement to “the thief on the cross”?
- Will aborted, miscarried and stillborn babies be brought back to life in the resurrection?
- Will the resurrected saints go to heaven to confer or see God the Father or will they not see Him until the plan for mankind is complete and Christ delivers the kingdom (1 Cor. 15:24)?
The Plan of God
- Does the Bible support the theory of the existence of extraterrestrial life forms and the validity of UFOs?
- Please explain Matthew 19:30.
- Please explain the differences in Matthew 1 and Luke 3, in listing Christ's genealogy.
- Was the man healed by Christ in John 9 predestined to be blind?
- What is the meaning of the phrase “until Shiloh come” of Genesis 49:10?
- What is the significance of 19-year time cycles, pertaining to the Hebrew calendar?
- What is the significance of numbers in the Bible?
- Where does the Bible mention the 6,000-year rule of man?
- Why will Satan be released after Christ's 1,000-year rule on earth?
The Sabbath
The True Church
- Could you cite a source for the definition of Laodicea?
- Does God's Word allow the ordaining of women as ministers?
- How does one become an ordained minister of The Restored Church of God?
- Is it proper to address ministers by the title “Reverend”?
- Please explain the phrase “the word of My patience” in Revelation 3:10.
- Should Christians involve themselves with the fraternal orders or lodges that exist today?
- What can you tell me about cults?
- What does the Bible say concerning instrumental music as part of Church services?
- What is the correct biblical name for God's Church?
- What is the meaning of Luke 14:28, and “counting the cost”?
- Who are the “other sheep” in John 10:16?
- Who was Simon Magus?
Tithing & Finance
- Does Deuteronomy 23:18 mean that it is wrong for Christians to sell dogs and tithe on the income?
- Is it wrong for Christians to collect interest or usury on money loaned?
Tools of Growth
- The word “amen” appears to be of pagan origin. But it is used quite often in the Bible. Can you explain this?
- What is the meaning of the “spirit of the Law,” vs. the “letter of the Law”?