There are so many versions of the bible out, NKJ, NIV, etc to name just a few, and then there is the Catholic bible with the Apocrypha. How do we know that we have the right books in the bible? Maybe that’s why there are cults out there that state that the bible has been changed and by man. Could you explain why certain books are in our bible and why there are certain books that were not accepted and why is it that the Catholics have additional books that the Protestant world doesn’t? Are those “missing books” not the word of God?

This question deals with Is.43:10. If you do a quick read of Is.43:10 it almost sounds as if God himself was formed. This can’t be, can it? Wouldn’t that negate his being eternal, past and present? Appreciate your thoughts.

Because my sister is a non-believer, and accordingly will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, my question is will she know WHY she’s in Hell and understand that had she just accepted Christ as her personal savior she would be in Heaven? And because she’s a good, kind, generous, and giving person, will her punishment be less than say someone who murders or molests children? I continue to pray daily for her salvation because I know what’s coming.

Thank you for this ministry. I have grown in my faith and understanding from reading your articles. I was reading Luke 13:6-9 and I realized I had never read about (or heard discussed/preached about) the meaning of this parable. I recognize the man who owned the vineyard was God, and the visiting the tree over three years’ time was Christ’s ministry on Earth, but I wondered who might the vine dresser of the vineyard be? Also, when the vine dresser asks to be allowed to “dig around it and fertilize it,” what does that infer? I notice there’s no time period mentioned for waiting to see if this action produces fruit before the decision is made to cut the tree down. Is that a reference to the Church Age?

The Bible says that if we are saved then we will show good works. So what are good works? Is it not sinning, or is it helping an old lady across the road? And if it is helping an old lady across the road well, I’m going to say that unsaved people do that!!

I have thoroughly enjoyed your series on The End Times According to Isaiah. Each week I print the next part off and study carefully. We are also studying the Book of Isaiah in my Sunday School class. But we have differences in opinion. Some in my class think that Isaiah was prophesying in the 700’s BC to events which later occurred between the 600’s BC up to the beginning of the first century AD. They have difficulty applying Isaiah to “end time events” soon to come. How can I reconcile Isaiah’s prophecies to both Israel’s times of trouble before Jesus’ birth and also to upcoming “end time events?” Is there scripture to support God’s prophetic judgments through prophecy to equally apply to past history and the future?

Years ago, before I was a Christian, I hurt a family member. Since I came to faith in Jesus, I have repeatedly asked for forgiveness. The person refuses to forgive me, and has basically disowned me. I have asked the Lord for forgiveness for my past many times. But this person continues to express hatred toward me. This has caused great anguish, and I ask you, how do I reconcile this burden? The family member is not a Christian.

When we are raptured, where will we land, after meeting Jesus in the air? Heaven? The New Jerusalem? Neither?

I heard from my pastor years ago when he preached on the story of Joseph that God put him in bad (difficult) situations and says God will sometimes put us in bad situations. I have read Q&A on your website and you state that God does not put us in bad situations. In the story of Joseph, I believe he was hurt badly and deeply though God was not the cause of his problems nor did He put him in situations like that. But I believe He allowed him to be sold into slavery and put into prison and God used his bad situations and turned them around for his good (Romans 8:28). Do you think God put Joseph in these situations or allowed these bad things to happen to him?

I would like to ask if it is possible that the number 144,000 is a symbolic number fullness? It seems to me that in Revelation 7:4 is the symbolic figure of all Israel, and in Revelation 14:3 is a symbolic number fullness of the Gentiles.