I am a believer. I was raised in a Christian home and have a very passionate belief in Christ and God’s grace. I’m not ashamed of Jesus, nor would I ever deny Him under any circumstance. However, at a young age I chose the profession of bar tending and as I get older I wonder how the Lord may view this. Also, I have developed some tough habits to break over the years that I know aren’t pleasing to God, like drinking and drug use. Will this keep me out of the promise that other believers are going to receive? Will I be left behind? I do feel conviction at times, but i also feel like I am a complex person that isn’t defined by those things viewed as wrong by others.

What happens at the Rapture/Resurrection to a born again believer who is cremated? I know the dead in Christ will rise first but what about those who are cremated?

I was reading a recent post that referenced Ezekiel 43:6-7. After reading the verses, I’m not certain what the Lord is saying. Is God promising that the house of Israel will one day no longer defile the place of His throne? I don’t understand the prophecy that is being spoken of here.

I saw a video in which a Bible scholar taught on a passage in Luke that he claimed was the Lord giving us a clue to the Antichrist’s identity. In Luke 10:18, Jesus said, “And I beheld Satan as lightning falling from the heavens…”. The filmmaker went on to point out that in the Hebrew text, the word for ‘lightning’ is ‘Baraq’, and ‘heavens, or ‘high places’ is Bamah. You can see where he was going with this but it didn’t set right with me, so I decided to ask you about it. What are your thoughts on this?

I have been perplexed for some time now about the controversies that rage within the Body of Christ these days. There are large groups who hold views that other large groups claim are apostate. How can we all be led by the same Spirit in so many conflicting ways? Why is the discernment in one believer so different from the discernment in another? Why is there not a consensus amongst the Body of Christ?

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.

In the epistle of Jude, Chapter 1, Verses 14 &15, (KJV) he mentions a prophecy of Enoch dealing with the return of the Lord accompanied by ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment upon all. Since those saints had to be in Heaven in order to accompany the Lord back to earth, isn’t this a prophecy describing the end of the Rapture period of the Church in Heaven and the Second Coming of Christ?

Re: What Does Deny Mean? You made the comment that some English translations use the word “disown” in 2 Tim 2:12, but the Greek word is never translated that way, and it changes Paul’s meaning because to disown means to renounce or repudiate. When I looked it up in the online interlinear Bible, it is always translated ‘disown’. Now I’m confused.

My question has to deal with the “elect” in the Olivet Discourse. Jesus was indeed talking to a Jewish crowd (his disciples). However, they were also His followers. I’ve taken Matthew 24 to mean that He’s referring mostly to persecution of the Jews in His teaching. However, Luke 21:12, Jesus says, “…You will be brought before kings and ruler’s for my name’s sake.” Jews obviously don’t recognize “His name” as a deity, so clearly Jesus is referring to Christ followers at this point. Historically, both Jews and Christians have been brought before kings and rulers, and been persecuted. So, I guess my question is, “Is Jesus talking to Jews, Christians, or both?” Also, do you believe the elect gathered from the 4 winds are Jews, or all of the Christians?

Based on my interpretation of Matt 18:8-9, Mark 9:43-45 and John 20:25-27 I’ve concluded that our so called incorruptible/glorified body will bare all the scars and amputations of our fleshly body. What do you think?