Questions and Answers (Sorted Alphabetically)
This section offers over 200 “Q&As” addressing smaller Bible topics. Some biblical doctrines and subjects require an extensive book or booklet to thoroughly explain. Others can be sufficiently covered by way of brochures or magazine articles. But certain subjects generate questions that require only short answers to fully explain. These could be “stand-alone” subjects or small, specific aspects of a broader, more general subject.
In this section, we present answers to these types of questions, which many thousands of interested readers have raised through the years during the course of studying the Bible. More may be posted as the need arises, and if they are felt to be helpful to our readership.
- Are Bible marginal references always reliable?
- 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?
- Are the Jews God's chosen people?
- Are there any books you would recommend that deal with futuristic events and/or conditions?
- At Christ's Resurrection, were the resurrected saints made immortal?
- At what time of the day did Christ's crucifixion take place?
- Can people still be saved during the coming Great Tribulation?
- Can you explain the great disparity between pre- and post-Flood life spans?
- Can you explain the practice of “the laying on of hands”?
- Could you cite a source for the definition of Laodicea?
- Could you explain the phrase “much people in heaven,” found in Revelation 19:1?
- Did Christ's sacrifice do away with God's Law, as Colossians 2:14 and Ephesians 2:15 seem to indicate?
- Did God the Father forsake Jesus Christ, as stated in Matthew 27:46?
- 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?
- 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 Deuteronomy 23:18 mean that it is wrong for Christians to sell dogs and tithe on the income?
- Does God answer the prayers of sinners?
- Does God command Christians to go from door to door preaching the gospel?
- Does God's Word allow the ordaining of women as ministers?
- 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 Satan have the power to heal?
- Does Satan have the power to read the thoughts that are in our minds?
- Does the Bible support the theory of the existence of extraterrestrial life forms and the validity of UFOs?
- Does the Bible teach reincarnation?
- Does the Bible teach that it is acceptable for men to wear earrings?
- Does the Bible teach that we should observe new moons?
- Does the Bible validate the practice of baptizing children?
- Giants are mentioned in the Old Testament. What happened to them?
- How are the Germans identified in Bible prophecy?
- How does one become an ordained minister of The Restored Church of God?
- How does one determine the beginning and ending of the Sabbath in the Arctic?
- How does the Bible define a “generation”?
- How will the earth be able to sustain all of the people prophesied to be resurrected in Revelation 20:5, 11-12?
- In Mark 8:22-25, why did Christ not immediately heal the blind man?
- In the future, is God going to resurrect animals?
- Is “The Urantia Book” a valid addition to Scripture?
- Is circumcision required as part of God's Law today?
- Is confession a biblical practice?
- Is cremation wrong?
- Is drinking coffee a sin?
- Is hypnotism something that Christians should practice or subject themselves to?
- Is II Peter 3:10 referring to the complete annihilation of the earth?
- Is it permissible for Christians to state “The Pledge of Allegiance”?
- Is it proper to address ministers by the title “Reverend”?
- Is it proper to wear wedding rings?
- Is it wrong for Christians to collect interest or usury on money loaned?
- Is it wrong for Christians to participate in April Fools' Day?
- Is it wrong to participate in games of chance?
- Is Jeremiah 10:2-5 a reference to a Christmas tree?
- Is suicide a sin?
- Is the shroud of Turin legitimate?
- Is the use of smokeless tobacco wrong?
- 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?
- Is there scriptural evidence that Jesus Christ's birth was in the fall of the year and not on December 25?
- 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 Genesis 32:32.
- Please explain Genesis 9:25: Was Canaan cursed for a sin committed by his father, Ham?
- Please explain Hebrews 9:27
- Please explain I Corinthians 10:27.
- Please explain I John 5:16-17.
- Please explain I Peter 4:6.
- 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 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 Luke 16:16.
- 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 10:28.
- Please explain Matthew 16:18-19.
- Please explain Matthew 19:30.
- Please explain Matthew 24:40-41. Does this scripture validate the belief in the “rapture”?
- Please explain Matthew 26:17.
- Please explain Matthew 27:9.
- Please explain Matthew 2:23.
- Please explain Matthew 7:6.
- Please explain Micah 4:5
- Please explain Philippians 1:23-24.
- Please explain Revelation 14:11.
- Please explain Revelation 20:10
- Please explain Revelation 6:9-11 and the “souls under the altar.”
- Please explain Romans 10:4.
- Please explain Romans 7:4.
- Please explain the apparent contradiction between Acts 9:7 and 22:9, concerning Paul's conversion.
- Please explain the “seventy weeks” prophecy recorded in Daniel 9.
- Please explain the command, “You shall not seethe a kid [young goat] in his mother’s milk.”
- Please explain the differences in Matthew 1 and Luke 3, in listing Christ's genealogy.
- 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 meaning of the terms “everlasting fire” and “everlasting punishment,” found in Matthew 25:41, 46.
- 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 peculiar phrase found in Daniel 5:25, “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.”
- Please explain the phrase “the word of My patience” in Revelation 3:10.
- 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.
- Please explain why the phrase “was without form, and void,” in Genesis 1:2, should have been translated “became without form, and void.”
- Should a wife take her husband’s name in marriage?
- Should Christians celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day?
- Should Christians involve themselves with the fraternal orders or lodges that exist today?
- 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?
- Should we pray for the dead?
- Should we store food and other provisions to prepare for the time of famine and tribulation prophesied in the Bible?
- The word “amen” appears to be of pagan origin. But it is used quite often in the Bible. Can you explain this?
- Was Abraham a Jew?
- Was Jesus a Jew?
- Was the man healed by Christ in John 9 predestined to be blind?
- Were Moses and Elijah actually with Christ in the transfiguration?
- What are the biblical origins of the Latin American peoples?
- What are the days referred to in Romans 14:5-6?
- What are the fasts mentioned in Zechariah 8:19?
- What can you tell me about cults?
- What can you tell me about the Star of David?
- 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 do the letters “cir.” mean?
- What do the terms B.C. and A.D. mean?
- What does God's Word say about the subject of birth control?
- What does the Bible mean when it states that God is a “jealous” God?
- What does the Bible say about “mercy killing”?
- What does the Bible say about “out-of-body” life-after-death experiences?
- What does the Bible say about eating meat that has been prepared “rare”?
- 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 the hunting and killing of animals?
- 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 visions and dreams?
- What does the Bible say about water divination?
- What does the Bible say concerning instrumental music as part of Church services?
- What does the Bible say concerning the consumption of animal fat and kidneys?
- What does the Bible say concerning the devil's final fate?
- What does the Bible say regarding marriage between relatives?
- 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 about divorce and re-marriage?
- What does the Bible teach concerning blood transfusions?
- What does the Bible teach concerning insurance?
- What does the Bible teach regarding pictures and/or statues of Christ?
- What does the Bible teach regarding the harvesting of fruit on young trees?
- What is a “holy kiss”?
- What is the “abomination of desolation,” mentioned in Matthew 24:15 and several other passages?
- What is the correct biblical name for God's Church?
- What is the difference between kosher and non-kosher foods and beverages?
- What is the meaning of “the synagogue of Satan,” mentioned in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9?
- What is the meaning of “worms that die not,” in Mark 9:44-48?
- What is the meaning of Christ’s instruction in Matthew 8:22, “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead”?
- What is the meaning of Christ’s statement to “the thief on the cross”?
- What is the meaning of Ezekiel 13:18-23?
- What is the meaning of Luke 14:28, and “counting the cost”?
- What is the meaning of Matthew 24:19-20 in regard to the time of Christian flight?
- 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 “spirit of the Law,” vs. the “letter of the Law”?
- What is the meaning of the Hebrew word selah?
- What is the meaning of the Jewish Feast of Purim?
- What is the meaning of the phrase “until Shiloh come” of Genesis 49:10?
- What is the meaning of the Urim and Thummim?
- What is the message of the seven thunders of Revelation 10:4?
- What is the origin of the cross?
- What is the significance of 19-year time cycles, pertaining to the Hebrew calendar?
- What is the significance of numbers in the Bible?
- What is the significance of the 1,290 and 1,335 days mentioned in Daniel 12:11-12?
- What is the significance of the Jewish winter holiday, Hanukkah?
- What was the fate of the pharaoh who ruled during the time of the Exodus?
- What was the purpose of the ancient custom of casting lots?
- What were the contents of the ark of the covenant?
- What will take place after Christ's 1,000-year reign on earth?
- When Jesus Christ was crucified, was He nailed to a cross or a stake?
- Where does the Bible mention the 6,000-year rule of man?
- Where is Golgotha located?
- Which nations are the modern descendants of the tribes of Israel?
- Who are the 24 elders of Revelation 5?
- Who are the “other sheep” in John 10:16?
- Who are the modern-day descendants of the Chaldean/Babylonian peoples?
- Who are the two witnesses, described in Revelation 11?
- Who is the ANCIENT OF DAYS referred to in Daniel 7?
- Who is the “elect lady” of II John 2?
- Who was Nimrod?
- Who was Simon Magus?
- Who were the Nicolaitanes, referenced in Revelation 2:6, 15?
- 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 mention only six of the Ten Commandments, in Matthew 19:16-19?
- 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?
- Why is Christ referred to as the “Son of man”?
- Why is the tribe of Dan not mentioned in Revelation 7 along with the 144,000 described there?
- Why will Satan be released after Christ's 1,000-year rule on earth?
- 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)?



