In Daniel 8:21, the angel Gabriel explains that the king of Greece, Alexander the Great, is represented by the shaggy goat in Daniel’s vision. Knowing that scripture doesn’t just give information this detailed for no reason, I was wondering why Alexander the Great is represented as a goat, and is there any significance in the fact that the goat is shaggy?

I have a question about Rev 4:10-11. Would you please explain to me about the practice of casting crowns? I’m just confused about why, after Jesus awards us with crowns, we would give the crowns back to Him? I read where we will do this because we are thankful for what He has done for us, but it just seems that there is some other significance to this ceremony that I’m missing.

I was recently accused of character flaws at work. One was talking harshly to people and another was demonstrating a poor work ethic. I have felt conflicted about how to respond in my heart to such criticism. How can I discern whether this is Satan accusing me and causing me to feel guilty or whether it is God convicting me of sin? I have asked God to forgive me if I was wrong in any way. Still, I can’t seem to answer the question: Is this Satan attacking me or God trying to teach me? How can we as Christians tell the difference?

In Joshua 1:5 God said to Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you, nor forsake you.” In Hebrews 13:5 the writer said, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; and be content with the things that you have: for he hath said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you” quoting the promise to Joshua. How did he get from a specific promise made to an Old Testament individual, to a general promise for all New Testament believers? Was he applying a spiritual principle or describing a characteristic of God?

My son is a Jehovah’s Witness and he wants to talk about our differences. We have gotten on the subjects of Why Jesus is God and KJV Bible vs World Translation Bible. So far we just go round and round. I’m beginning to feel it is futile to do all of this. Is the Holy Spirit the only one who can convict him? Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do?

I read about a preacher from South Africa who for some reason would not forgive his wife for something she had said or done. Sometime later this preacher died and when he appeared before God, he was asked, “Why should I let you in heaven?” By God’s grace, this preacher was brought back to life and definitely changed his attitude about forgiveness. This is a true story. It’s on the internet.

By your understanding of God’s Word, is just getting by the way God wants you to live? By that standard then, God’s blessing of Job with more material things after his ordeal was not a blessing but a curse. Same with Abraham and Jacob and Boaz and David et., etc. And Gods word to Aaron that he was free to loot his victims of their gold and silver in a number of cases, why would He encourage taking these items? And is it not wise to have savings for an emergency? If so, how much or how little is the correct amount?

What do we have to believe about the traits of Jesus Himself (God, sinless, etc.) for our belief and trust in his atonement to be valid. For example, how could His death on the cross pay for our sins if He was not the perfect Son of God?

I got married last May, and to my dismay, some of our friends started spreading rumors that the reason we were getting married was that my wife was pregnant. This hurt my wife and myself dearly. We were all part of Bible studies, group outings, and camping trips through a Christian organization. The question I have is this, out of the four friends that did this only one friend came to us and asked us to forgive him. We did. The others openly lied to us and only made excuses as to why they spread the rumors. What are we to do? I want there to be forgiveness here but unless there is some kind of want of forgiveness on their side how can I?

In Rev. 8:13, an eagle announces coming woe to the earth. I know the word can also be translated as angel, but Ray Stedman says that eagle is the preferred translation in that particular context. Why an eagle? If Stedman is corrrect, what is the significance of that particular beast to make that announcement? It seems “out of place” somehow.