Articles by BibleThinker

CLICK HERE for the video on Christophanies (appearances of Jesus) in the Old Testament.

CLICK HERE for the FULL series on How to Find Jesus in the Old Testament.

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CLICK HERE for Foundation Worldview which has actual video lessons to help teach your kids a Christian worldview.

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0:00 – Intro

0:07 {Spiritual but Not Religious?} How should we respond when someone says, “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual”?
23:14 {Who is our “Neighbor”?} “Who, then, is my neighbor?” In Luke 10:25-37, I know the Good Samaritan is me, but who does the “neighbor” he helped represent? I have never met a naked, beaten, and robbed Jew…I don’t think.
26:35 {About Mid-Acts Dispensationalism} Can you give some more information on the Mid-Acts Dispensationalism movement? It sounds biblical.
31:11 {Should Ungodly Behavior Cause Doubt?} If I were to doubt Christianity (I don’t), it would be because of a lack of holiness. Christians seem to be jerks at the same rate as the world, or more. Why is this, if we have the Holy Spirit?
36:40 {God in the Garden} Who was walking in the garden in Genesis 3:8? Was it Jesus, the Father, the Holy Spirit, or all three?
41:50 {About Anglo/British Israelism} What are your thoughts on Anglo-Israelism or British Israelism? It is the belief that America and the British commonwealth are physical descendants of Israel.
44:41 {Discerning True vs. False Prophecies} How do you test WOF prophecy when it sounds more like insights/encouragements, not foretelling future events? What SHOULD modern prophecy sound like?
48:49 {Is Fear of Hell a Valid Motivator?} Would a death bed conversion work if the main driving factor is the fear of Hell rather than choosing to trust God?
51:58 {Biblical Advice for Parents} What advice can you give to parents in these times to help them raise children who choose to trust and follow Jesus later in life? Can you do a biblical series on parenting?
55:33 {What Should I Do if I Question My Salvation?} If someone is thinking that they might not be saved, seeing their sinfulness, what should they do? “Not sinning” sort of seems like a Band-Aid on the problem.
1:00:07 {Singular vs. Plural Pronouns for God?} Why is it improper to refer to God as “they” instead of “He,” since He is three persons? Example of the problem: “He spoke to Job out of the storm” tends to make us think the Father alone is speaking.
1:03:03 {Can Past Sins Disqualify a Man from Leadership?} If a man’s pre-salvation life is especially disgraceful, could he ever t

There are several links to additional stuff you might be interested in:

1) An article on “raqia” or the Hebrew word we often see translated as “firmament.” The big debate on this word is whether it implies the sky has a hard, solid dome or if it’s just talking about an expansive space. I didn’t cover it in today’s video because it isn’t about the shape of the earth. But, people are interested, so CLICK HERE for an article that Cultish put together on the topic.

2) Cultish is a very interesting show which covers lots of fringe topics and a variety of groups from Charles Manson’s group, to Masons, to the JW’s strange Bible translation, to the “cult of right wing politics.” CLICK HERE to visit their YouTube channel.And CLICK HERE for their website.You can also find them on whatever podcast app you use.

Allow me to react to some of the kinds of comments I expect to get on this video, since they also came in on the Cultish version of this interview which released earlier, and to make a few requests for those inclined to consider them.

1) “Mike is biased and untrustworthy, disingenuous, and generally bad.”My response: That’s a lot of bad stuff about me, but you haven’t touched my reasoning or handled the Bible in context in order to demonstrate your position. Please comment below with Bible verses that, when examined in full context, promote your view. And please don’t just post a verse, post your interpretation of it, as well, so that we can all understand and learn.

2) “No flat earth proponents use those verses. Mike isn’t dealing with the real Bible verses we use.”My response: That’s definitely not true. I got these verses from flat earthers, I didn’t make them up. However, it’s true that many of those who say the Bible supports a flat earth never really get around to offering specific verses that you can examine. They tend to just reference the Bible more vaguely or lean on what someone else says about the Ancient Near East. If you reject these as flat earth Bible verses, then you actually agree with me that those who use them (and plenty do) are misinterpreting the Bible for their purposes. However, if you have OTHER verses that support a flat earth, then please comment below with Bible verses that, when examined in full context, promote your view. And please don’t just post a verse, post your interpretation of it, as well, so that we can all understand and learn.

3) “You should have a flat earth proponent on to talk about this stuff for themselves.”My response: No thanks. I don’t need to have every single person on my channel who I disagree with. Imagine the apostle Paul inviting Judaizers on tour with him or cowriting Galatians with someone who disagrees with him for, you know, objectivity. That’s silly. I can handle views without turning my entire ministry into a debate and interview platform. I read plenty of flat earth literature and looked at plenty of videos from proponents in order to make sure I got Bible verses that were really being used to support that side. This complaint is merely a way of ignoring what I’ve said and saying I should have done something totally different. I’m not your puppet, and this response ignores careful Bible study instead of considering it. I’ve got books by Rob Skiba and Dean Odle, and have had a private and long conversation with Dean Od

I know it can feel oppressive to constantly hear that we have such a high calling to self-sacrifice and self-examination. But it’s only oppressive to our flesh. And if you don’t kill that sinful selfishness, it will kill everything else.
My website: https://BibleThinker.org

You know, there’s one benefit of sharing bank accounts that I never mentioned in this video. It’s the reality that you can’t hide things as easily when you both can see what the money is being spent on. This inability to hide expenses is a good thing since grievous sins are often nurtured in the dark.

Thank you to Lisa Laizure, of “Women’s Bible Study” for organizing and hosting this event. Her ministry website is HERE.

My website https://BibleThinker.org

0:12 {People we Shouldn’t Pray For?} My father believes that there are people we do not (or should not) pray for. He backs it up with John 17:9, saying that it may even be a sin to pray for people we shouldn’t pray for. I would love to hear your thoughts!
8:22 {Truth in Love when Family is in Sin} My fiancé’s sibling is transgender. I’m scared our future children will think it is a good thing and that it’s right. His family accepts this lifestyle unquestionably. I don’t want to cut them out of our lives, but I don’t know what else to do to protect our family. How can I be obedient to God and still be loving to his sibling and the rest of the family?
12:43 {Spiritual vs. Political Progressivism} Isn’t Progressive Christianity simply the outcome of forcing progressive/leftist ideology onto Christianity? Should we even make the distinction between politically & religiously progressive beliefs?
19:04 {Witnessing to a Dying Loved One} My grandpa is dying, and doesn’t have long. He has dementia/Alzheimer’s now and has never been a Christian. Is it too late to share the Gospel with him? If not, how do I do it effectively?
23:32 {About House Churches} What do you think of the house church movement (Francis Chan)?
29:04 {About Levirate Marriages} Why did God endorse levirate marriage? Isn’t it wrong to pressure a man to marry someone he doesn’t want to? And since marriage will supposedly end in Heaven, is love not a factor for God?
35:08 {Must Pastors be Married?} Does 1 Timothy 3:2 mean that I must have a wife to be a pastor? What about a man who doesn’t have a wife?
40:56 {Are Illusionists’ Tricks Sinful?} Is there anything wrong with learning sleight of hand magic or using it in evangelism?
46:16 {About Marriage in Heaven} In Matthew 22:23-29, Jesus rebukes the Sadducees for trying to trap Him, saying they don’t know the Scriptures. Where in the Scriptures is this topic of marriage in Heaven mentioned?
51:03 {About the Census: Luke 2} Is there any extrabiblical evidence for the census in Luke 2? I heard it would be a pretty dumb idea to send people to their place of birth if you later want them to pay taxes from their current home.
57:46 {About Jesus’ Divinity Upon His Death} Was Jesus still fully God when He died? What happened to His divinity between God “turning His face away” and the resurrection?
1:01:37 {Navigating Marital Struggles} What should a Christian wife do if her husband doesn’t want to work on their marriage, expects her to do almost everything when it comes to responsibilities, and doesn’t provide enough for her needs?
1:06:09 {Overcoming Self-Consciousness} Mike how can we be less self-aware or self-conscious? It stops me from preaching to anybody because my thoughts tell me I’m being disingenuous.
1:09:00 {Ideas for What to Pray About} I have issues praying every day because I feel like I don’t have anything to pray about. What would you suggest, to help with this?
1:10:49 {Is Islam an “Abrahamic Faith” that Saves?} How do I defend the Christian faith with my family when they always bring up Genesis 22:18, arguing that Islam can also lead to salvation because it’s an Abrahamic faith?
1:16:01 {Should I Correct my Christian Boss?} I work for a company that is owned by a professing Christian. He makes inappropriate jokes. I don’t know if rebuking or correcting my boss is proper or not. How do I go about this?
1:20:08 {Catholic vs. SDA School for Children?} Would it be better to send my children to a Catholic School or a 7th Day Adventist school? We are looking to take our children out of public schools, and these are the two options available to us.
1:22:28 {Guiding a Wayward Teen} How do I respond to my 17 year old daughter who is persistent

Reading the Bible in context is all it takes to solve most of these bad teaching issues. This is Senior Pastor Mike Thomas, from Radiant Church in Seattle, Washington. Original video can be found HERE.

Thank you to Woke Preacher Clips for making these sorts of clips available for needful discussion.

Here’s me on Twitter.

My website, with hundreds of hours of free content helping you learn to think biblically about everything: https://BibleThinker.org

There’s a popular, fairly progressive Christian meme that has made the rounds online. It pretends to refute a “colonizer Jesus” and to support a “historical Jesus.” But it turns out to just be another piece of poorly thought out propaganda. Proving once again that lots of people care very little about understanding Jesus and care very much about claiming that Jesus is supportive of their agenda.
You all said that I should walk through this popular progressive meme and unpack it. We aren’t going to shoot for talking points or picking sides here, unless the “side” is Jesus’ side. This will be a thoughtful analysis of each point in this popular meme.

0:24 {The “What is a Woman?” Bandwagon} Do you think that the now famous question “What is a Woman?” is a relevant area of focus for biblical Christians? Doesn’t the Gospel naturally address these issues we face today?
18:54 {Helping Friends be Biblical} Most of my friends claim to be Christians, but they support “pride month.” It depresses me that they encourage gay marriage which the Bible clearly says is a sin. How do I talk to them about this?
25:16 {Friends vs. Servants of Christ?} In John 15:15, Jesus tells the apostles, “No longer do I call you servants, but friends.” How do we properly approach our position as “friends of Jesus” while not neglecting to still serve Him?
29:01 {Is John 1 about the Bible?} What does John 1:1-4 say about the importance of the Bible? Should we worship the Bible? Some say they won’t read the Bible, but at the same time say they are Christian.
34:37 {Are there Sins we Really Can’t Help Doing?} How can I reconcile 1 Corinthians 10:13 after decades of struggling with sloth, bad work ethic, sin at work, etc.? I’m praying for forgiveness, but was recently diagnosed with ADHD. I now see I can’t help it without meds.
41:26 {Was the Bible Written w/Chapters & Verses?} Since the Bible wasn’t written with chapters and verses, how should that impact our reading of the current translations?
43:40 {Why Don’t the Jews Believe?} What is your understanding as to why the Jews don’t believe in Jesus and are waiting on someone else to come?
49:59 {About Receiving the Spirit} If we are to believe that you receive the Holy Spirit when you believe, why does there seem to be a separation from believing and receiving in Acts 19:1-2?
52:12 {Are Cards Inherently Sinful?} Are playing cards wrong? My parents think they are wrong even if I’m not playing Poker or anything like that. They think that there is some kind of evil in the card itself.
56:40 {Will We Fall into Sin in Heaven?} If Satan was able to disobey and sin against God in Heaven (along with him persuading others to sin), how do we know we will not sin against God when we are home with Him? I’m struggling with this question.
1:01:07 {Should Christians be Organ Donors?} I am wondering how Christians should think about organ donation? Is there a clear answer in Scripture?
1:03:43 {Loving God vs. Fearing Punishment} I find that I fear Hell rather than love God. Prayer and Bible reading feel like selfishly avoiding Hell more than devotedly pursuing God. How do I stop my fear from getting in the way of my relationship with God?
1:08:37 {Marriage in Heaven?} Since Jesus says that wives will be had in Heaven in Matthew 19: 29, why do most Christians say marriage won’t exist in Heaven?
1:13:42 {Mental vs. Spiritual Health Struggles} When I talk to some people about my mental health struggles, they suggest that the cause is a spiritual issue. How do I explain that being a faithful Christian doesn’t mean I can’t struggle?
1:17:42 {What is an Apostate?} What is an apostate? Can they come back to God?
1:19:32 {About Elisha & the Bears} How can we explain 2 Kings 2:23-24 in context? it involves Elisha and a group of young mockers who then get killed by 2 bears.
1:26:58 {Should Immoral Things Be Illegal?} Should biblically immoral mean illegal? Surely if sin harms the community, then all legal sin harms society and should be against the law.
1:29:28 {Fellowshipping as an Introvert} I am worried that being an introvert is keeping me from congregating in the church. Does this mean that I’m truly not saved? Where is the joy that I’m supposed to have in the Lord? Please help.
1:33:05 {Was Elihu in Job Correct?} In Job 32:7-9, the Lord tells Job’s 3 friends to sacrifice burnt of

Did you know that there is an egalitarian “silver bullet” Bible verse? Many egalitarians (who hold that women can rightly be elders, or any other position in the church) see Galatians 3:28 as such a powerful and wide-sweeping statement that it overrules any interpretation of any other passage in the Bible that would restrict roles of women in any fashion.
In my own experience, every egalitarian knows about this but many complementarians do not.
In this video, part 7 of my Women in Ministry series, I’ll be doing a detailed analysis of egalitarian scholar, Cynthia Long Westfall’s case for why Galatians 3:28 is such a pivotal passage for understanding women’s roles and for proving that complementarian views are fundamentally wrong.
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28
After years of being a bit confused about the topic of women in ministry I set out to spend months researching the topic in great detail to produce this exhaustive teaching series on the topic.
CLICK HERE for the playlist of ALL the videos in this series (more will be added as I make them).
Resources you may be interested in:

My notes from today
Discovering Biblical Equality is the most updated work from a slew of egalitarian scholars. While I thoroughly disagree with it in a somewhat continual manner, it’s a good resource for cutting edge egalitarian scholarship. The publisher, IVP, was kind enough to send me an advanced copy when I first started this research project.
Ben Witherington’s 1981 paper, “Rite and Rights for Women”
CLICK HERE for my video on the Hebrew Roots Movement in regards to Acts (this relates to my claim that Jews and Gentiles did, indeed, have differences in the church in some ways)
CLICK HERE for my video on what the Bible teaches about slavery

I have other references and data in my notes from this series, which you can freely have through my website https://BibleThinker.org

Today’s Time Stamps:

0:14 {Can Christians ever Sue Christians?} Does 1 Corinthians 6 prohibit believers from ever taking other believers to court? Is there ever an appropriate time to take a brother “before unbelievers”?
20:43 {Working for God Without Selfishness} How can I do work for God to receive a reward but not be seeking to put myself first, such as in Luke 22:24-30?
25:50 {Are Secret Churches “Denying God Before Men?”} Do secret churches in countries where Christianity is illegal contradict Matthew 10:32-33?
28:50 {Is Rapture Theology Biblical?} Is it true that rapture theology didn’t exist before the 19th century and that it’s a relatively modern interpretation?
33:00 {Anxiety about Hell} I’ve become anxious about the thought of eternal torment in Hell. If that’s the punishment for our sins, wouldn’t it have been best for unbelievers never to be born?
39:30 {Understanding Philippians 4} Philippians 4:8 confuses me because so many true things are none of the other things on the list. A lot of truth is just the opposite. I read books about true things that are not the other things.
44:03 {Is Eternal Subordinationism Biblical?} I read recently that the idea that God the Son has been eternally submissive to God the Father is heresy (Arianism). Is that true? Was Jesus only temporarily submissive to God the Father while on Earth?
47:32 {Prayer for a Struggling Marriage} Would you please pray for my wife and I? I know it’s a vague request without much detail, but we are struggling in our marriage and prayers are much needed.
48:53 {Balancing Duties as a Young Leader} I am a full time high school/youth pastor whose role involves a lot of leadership and administrative duties. As a young person, I find it challenging and catch myself trying to overcompensate. Advice?
51:28 {Breaking the Sin Cycle of Lust} I’m a 15 year old that has struggled with lust for such a long time, and I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. It feels like I will never get out of this constant sin cycle. Could you please help me?
54:37 {Dealing with Toxic People} What biblical counsel would you give for dealing with toxic people, especially Christian family members you live with, who are oftentimes mentally and emotionally unhealthy to be around?
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58:18 {Why Would God Give us our Heart’s Desires?} Why would God give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4) if the heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9)?
1:04:56 {About OT Sacrifices} In the Old Testament sacrificial system, there seems to be a lot of required sacrifices. How often were those sacrifices required, and who was required to offer them? Was it just the heads of households?
1:07:24 {Volunteering vs. Getting a Paying Job?} I’m 31, living with my unbelieving parents. They’re pushing me to get a real job, but I feel I should continue volunteering to keep a Foundation alive that’s barely holding on. Any biblical advice?
1:11:05 {About the Joy of the Lord} What is the “joy of the Lord,” and how is it our strength?
1:13:48 {Can we be Refilled with the Spirit?} Is it unbiblical to ask for a “refilling of the Holy Spirit”? Don’t we already have Him living inside us? I hear this a lot at my church, and I don’t know what to think of it.
1:16:57 {The Descriptions of Jesus in Scripture} After reading Daniel 10 and Revelation 1, I was wondering what the connection is between the descriptions of the visions. The description of Jesus in Revelation is so similar to the description given in Daniel 10.
1:19:13 {When Israel is Mentioned in Scripture} In the Bible, when Israel is mentioned in the context, is it referring more to the people or to the land (country)? (Ex: Romans 11:26)
1:22:43 {When Science Cannot Answ