Question and Response
Question: What do you mean by "journaling"?
April 2, 2025
Question: I see the term “journaling” in several of your articles. Just what is meant by that? Response: Some would refer to the daily exercise of keeping a diary as “journaling.” That’s not what we’re speaking of. Rather, too commonly today, “journaling” refers to the mystic practice of emptying one’s mind and calling upon a “spirit guide,” who is the one “channeling” their thoughts through our mind and guiding the hand recording these same ideas. More than three decades ago, Dave Hunt wrote about The Way International former cult member Mark Virkler, who found his way into charismatic circles. He has since become a popular speaker. “Virkler teaches seminars designed to ‘open one up to two-way communication with Almighty God,’ which…‘is going to change the nation….’ (Sadly enough, not just Virkler’s seminar but the growing use of visualization may indeed ‘change the nation.’) The secret is in two divination techniques (divination is forbidden by the Bible in any form): ‘journaling’ and ‘visualization.’ What Virkler calls ‘the breakthrough’ into two-way dialogue with God came through information gained at a seminar conducted by Dennis and Matthew Linn, Jesuit priests who teach the visualization of Mary and Joseph for inner healing. Virkler teaches visualization of a ‘Jesus’ who can be conjured up at will in the imagination but then begins to move and speak on his own. Clearly contact has been made with some spirit entity independent of the visualizer’s imagination, but it is not our Lord Jesus Christ, for He cannot be called from the right hand of the Father on high to appear before us as our private guru any time we please.”
Question: Are we NOT to partake in communion if we attend a church that does?
March 26, 2025 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Question: I go to a Presbyterian church and they do communion monthly. I used to attend a non-denomination that did that as well. Are we not to do communion if we attend a church that does it?? I’m still trying to unlearn a lot of false teachings I learned over the years. But God is so good, and I’m grateful He’s gotten me out of those things. Response: Communion is a memorial as Paul carefully explains: “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come” (1 Cor 11:26). As Peter points out, we need to have our memories constantly jogged (2 Pet 1:13), in order to remember what the Lord has already done (Heb 10:12). Paul’s remarks concerning communion clearly show the importance of this event. Although partaking of communion does not contribute to our salvation and should only be done by those already saved, it serves as a reminder of what the Lord Jesus has done for us. “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Cor 11:24-25).
Question: I believe psychology filtered through the Bible is a powerful tool. What do you say?
March 19, 2025 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Question: I am a registered psychotherapist and I reject Freudian and Jungian beliefs. However, I did find that when you remove these demonic influences and stick with the "science" behind psychology and filter it through the Bible that it's a powerful tool. Proverbs in particular along with New Testament scriptures encourage us to guard our heart and mind, renew our mind with God's Word, and find peace of mind. The Bible is actually the BASIS of TRUE Psychotherapy if you study the subject biblically. What do you say? Response: It's instructive that just in the last week we have been contacted by Christian psychologists who insist that "psychotherapy" by name has been discarded by Christians who limit themselves to being called Biblical Counselors. Further, secular psychologists have also gone down this path. We appreciate your "rejection" of Freudian and Jungian beliefs. It is clear that your heart is for those you seek to help. With that in mind, the pertinent question to ask, however, is how thorough that process has been? We say that because some of these counselors are still using the teachings of those you correctly label as "demonic influences." Other psychologists have "come out" with the same concern for how they have been trained, and what they have learned in practices that span several decades. More recently, the Transgender movement has shown that "science" has very little to do with an utterly emotional, anti-science practice. So, we have to make sure we've gutted the structure of psychology/psychotherapy. There is, however, the often seen reference to the “Science” of psychology. There's a fascinating article entitled The Puzzle of Paul Meehl: An intellectual history of research criticism in psychology (i.e., checking them out from the perspective of real science [https://bit.ly/4ihy1qx]). Professor Andrew Gelman writes, "There’s nothing wrong with Meehl. He’s great. The Puzzle of Paul Meehl is that everything we’re saying now, all this stuff about the problems with Psychological Science and PPNAS and Ted Talks and all that, Paul Meehl was saying 50 years ago. And it was no secret. So how is it that all this was happening, in plain sight, and now here we are?" Meehl concluded his 1967 article by saying, "Some of the more horrible examples of this process would require the combined analytic and reconstructive efforts of Carnap, Hempel, and Popper to unscramble the logical relationships of theories and hypotheses to evidence. Meanwhile our eager-beaver researcher, undismayed by logic-of-science considerations and relying blissfully on the ‘exactitude’ of modem statistical hypothesis-testing, has produced a long publication list and been promoted to a full professorship. In terms of his contribution to the enduring body of psychological knowledge, he has done hardly anything." We will pray that as you devise your way, the Lord will direct your steps further.
Question: Do professed believers who commit suicide still go to heaven?
March 12, 2025 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Question: We have been asked to respond to the question of whether or not someone who is a believer and commits suicide will still go to heaven. The individual who committed suicide had some form of depression for years, which caused great suffering. Response: This is certainly a difficult question to ask and whether we take one position or the other, we still have to admit that we can't see what's going on in an individual's mind. We have prayed for an individual whose spouse had a stroke that changed their personality. They knew the Lord and throughout married life the individual was a good and kind spouse. But post-stroke the victim’s personality changed. We can't say they "willfully" changed their personality. Did they arrange for the stroke to happen? Their spouse said they constantly struggled to control their temper. When we are saved, scripture tells us we are a new creation, old things have passed away (sins are forgiven), and all things have become new (2 Cor 5:17). But, we still inhabit a body subject to illness and pain. Scripture very clearly says "the old man" is still active in our life. Paul writes in Romans 7 about his struggle. That will continue until we die or are raptured. Then, and only then, "we all shall be changed" (1 Cor 15:51). That is, the old body we inhabit will undergo a resurrection and all the "evil" is done away with. In the meanwhile, the Scriptures speak of the security of the believer. I remember a conversation I had with a Christian doctor when he was briefing me about some oral surgery I was advised to have. I made a joke, saying, "Please don't record what I say under anesthesia." The doctor laughed and said he wouldn't listen and then spoke of some patients he described as “beautiful grandmothers who were saved and yet under anesthesia would sometimes say some of the most vile things.” And, let's also acknowledge mental issues. We’re not talking about psychology. As Tom and Dave both noted and medical science has shown, there can be biological damage to the brain that affects someone's ability to communicate, whether the damage is from an accident, internal tumors, or other disease. The question then arises: is there a point where disease or other factors bring an individual to a point where they are not thinking with a right mind? James 4:17 tells us, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” We must also consider the biological issues that come with old age. We don't have the insight to understand what is physically happening to an elderly person's brain. But, if things progress to where an individual isn't fully in control of themselves, can we arbitrarily believe God will send them to hell for that? "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen 18:25).
Question: How could Jesus have paid for the sins of those who will go to hell anyway?
March 5, 2025 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Question: Can you help me with this question: “If Jesus died for all and has legally purchased all through substitutionary atonement, then how can those people go to hell? That would be a ‘Double Jeopardy’ of the sins of those people being paid for twice.” This is my husband’s main question and I would really appreciate help with it based on Calvinism. Response: The Bible says that God wants all to be saved: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). But the Bible also says that not all will be saved (Matt 7:21-23; Lk 13:22-27, etc). Nevertheless, the Bible also tells us that God is all powerful (Ps 147:5; Jer 32:17; Matt 19:26, etc). Calvinism has its own explanation. They strive to make things add up. “If God is all powerful,” the reasoning goes, “and God wants all people to be saved, then all people will be saved. Since not all people will be saved, Christ must have died only for some; God must not want all to be saved.” This is unbiblical according to the much-explained John 3:16 (what “world” means), and the blunt statement of 1 John 2:1-2: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” But to some, it makes nice, theological sense. This is, however, putting one’s reason above God’s Word; believing what makes sense rather than believing all of what God has said. As Dave Hunt wrote in Calvin’s Dilemma: God’s Sovereignty vs. Man’s Free Will (pp 9-10), “William L. Pettingill wrote, ‘God insists upon His sovereignty and also upon man’s responsibility. Believe both and preach both, leaving the task of ‘harmonizing’ with Him.’ In a similar vein, A. T. Pierson, although a leading Presbyterian, declared that both ‘the sovereign will of God and the freedom of man’ are taught in Scripture and that ‘if we cannot reconcile these two, it is because the subject is so infinitely lifted up above us. Man is free.... Thus the last great invitation in God’s Book is an appeal to the will.’ “Unfortunately, neither John Calvin nor many of his followers today have been willing to accept both sides of this biblical teaching. The result has been devastating in its consequences for the gospel: that man can only reject Christ; he cannot accept and believe in Him unless he is sovereignly regenerated by God. Calvinism refuses to accept what so many great evangelists have recognized is vital. Edgar Mullins expresses very well the essential balance that is missing: “‘Free will in man is as fundamental a truth as any other in the gospel and must never be canceled in our doctrinal statements. Man would not be man without it and God never robs us of our true moral manhood in saving us.... The decree of salvation must be looked at as a whole to understand it. Some have looked at God’s choice alone and ignored the means and the necessary choice on man’s part.’”
Question: Why is Jesus called the Everlasting Father in Isaiah 9:6?
February 26, 2025 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Response: It is true that Isaiah 9:6 says that Jesus’ name will be called “Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,” etc. What it does not say is that Jesus is the Everlasting Father. As God, He obviously has the characteristics of God. Simply put, Jesus being part of the godhead has the attributes of God. This includes everlasting or “eternal life.” Micah 5:2 agrees with this: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” It has been asked why if Jesus’ name is “Everlasting Father,” then why don’t we call Jesus “Everlasting Father”? Or why not call him “Wonderful Counselor” or “Mighty God” or “Prince of Peace”? Isaiah 9:6 speaks of a “name,” and there are four characteristics associated with that name. Again, this reveals it is the characteristics of the coming Messiah that is in view here. The fact that the Messiah is God is shown in Hebrews 1:3 when it says, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high….” Why shouldn’t the Lord subsequently say, “…He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (Jn 14:9)? Jesus is the “express image” of God the Father as His prophesied name establishes.
Question: Did the constellations correspond with the tribes of Israel?
February 19, 2025 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Question: During the past Sunday evening Bible study, the following was presented: Some [astrological] constellations corresponded with the tribes of Israel: Judah—Leo; Dan—Scorpio; Benjamin—Gemini. Further, the tribes in the wilderness were arranged around the Tabernacle according to the “mirror reflection” of where their corresponding constellation was located in the heavens. How does one research whether or not these things are true? Response: First of all, is this idea anywhere taught in Scripture? Certainly not! Secondly, it has been pointed out numerous times that the “Signs of the Zodiac correspond to the position of the sun relative to constellations as they appeared more than 2,200 years ago” (https://bit.ly/3csogxi). However, practitioners of Astrology, and in particular those who make their living on it, would say (without any evidence) that this makes no difference. Further, their argument is in direct conflict with verifiable science as much as it is with the Word of God. Indeed, the Lord says in Jeremiah 10:2, “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.”
Question: How can Psalm 40:6 and Leviticus exist at the same time?
February 5, 2025 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Question: Psalm 40:6 reads, “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.” Why did David say this verse when a good chunk of Leviticus made rules on sacrifice? Response: First of all, because he was inspired by the Lord to write this down. Secondly, he’s referencing 1 Samuel 15:22, where Samuel was inspired to say, “Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” Further, he is speaking prophetically of the Lord Jesus. Verse 7 of Psalm 40 reads, “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me.” Hebrews 10:5 explains further, “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me….” Simply put, David wrote this verse because he was inspired by the Lord to do so and it speaks emphatically of the end of the Levitical sacrifices. In Hebrews 10:9, God inspired the writer to say, “Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.”
Question: Why do some believers fall away?
January 29, 2025 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Question: I have a question which simply asks, “In view of all the Lord has done for believers, why do some fall away or go into apostasy?” Response: First, as Scripture tells us, there are those who claim to be believers, who have never been saved (See—https://bit.ly/41d6nwq). Apostasy has been a part of every generation since the beginning and fall of mankind. Scripture tells us that it will culminate in the last days when the Antichrist is revealed. His religion will be an apostate Christianity—it will accommodate all religions. Although the apostasy will not be fully realized until after the Rapture of the church, its development has been ongoing from the time when sin entered the human race. Furthermore, down through biblical and church history, many true believers, either in ignorance or because of the weaknesses of their flesh, have contributed to apostasy. Solomon seems to exemplify this, he also married pagan women, which was contrary to Scripture. These women turned him to idolatry and he built temples for them to worship their false gods.
Question: Why do so many focus on Trump and America in regard to Israel?
January 22, 2025 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Question: Why do so many focus on President Trump and America in regards to Israel? I am expecting all nations to turn against Israel, but others seem to think America is the answer to Israel’s problems. I have quite a few of your books (Dave Hunt and T. A. McMahon) and have been getting your newsletter for many years. I’m not swayed by these kinds of ideas, but I am bewildered at what is being promoted. Building the Third Temple? I know some are working on breeding red heifers, too. Response:Some may consider America and President Trump to be the answer to Israel’s problems, but Scripture has another view. In Joel 3:2, the prophet writes, “I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land [emphasis added].”...
Question: Was it permissible to worship at the high places?
December 4, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Question: I have a Bible question which I don't understand—would you mind teaching me? In a Zoom Bible study originating from a Hong Kong Ministry, the teacher who is teaching suggested it is permissible to worship and sacrifice to the LORD at the high places since the Temple wasn't built yet and is forbidden after the Temple was built: But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire (Deuteronomy 7:5); And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God. But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks…. (Deuteronomy 12:3-6) 1 Kings 3:2-3 said that Solomon offered 1,000 sacrifices to the LORD at the high place at Gibeon and after that God was revealed to him and accepted him, but in 2 Chronicles 1:5 Solomon actually went to the Tabernacle and offered at the brazen altar. So, did he do the right thing? Response: 2 Chronicles 1:3 tells us that Solomon, early in his reign and before the temple was built, worshiped at a high place. Verse 3 reads, “So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness.” We know that the tabernacle was set up there. But, both Deuteronomy 7:5 and 12:3-6 clearly tell us that all the pagan materials are to be removed from the high place prior to any worship of the Lord. A “high place” itself is not a pagan location, except if the statues and the other things used in their rituals are there. Consequently, the reason Solomon worshiped at this particular high place was, as already noted, that the tabernacle was set up there. It was the same tabernacle that the children of Israel, according to the instructions given Moses, had constructed in the wilderness. Therefore, before the construction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, the tabernacle was what God had chosen for the sacrifice and worship by Israel. It has been pointed out that Solomon’s father King David had previously worshiped the Lord at this high place in Gibeon. First Chronicles 16:39 notes, “[David left] Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon….” The tabernacle was where the altar of burnt offering had been set up (see 1 Chronicles 21:29). Again, it was not the high place itself that made it a suitable place for the sacrifices, but rather a place cleansed of all pagan paraphernalia and with the tabernacle already set up there.
Question: Should Paul's Epistles be part of Scripture?
November 27, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Question: What can you tell us about a group who say they are Christians, but tell us that Paul’s epistles should not be in the New Testament? Also, they say that we must learn the Scriptures through Hebrew eyes and culture. Finally, the names “Hebrews,” “Israel,” “Israelites,” and “Jews” have different meanings in today’s context and that “Israel” and “Jews” don’t mean the same people. Response: From what you have said, you very likely have met a cultist who is presenting himself as the authority when it comes to learning Scripture. The intent to help Christians understand better the Scriptures through Hebrew eyes and culture is not in itself “bad.” But, if any group places emphasis upon these aspects, such as how someone is saved, we’re only seeing through their eyes and their assumed culture. To them the Bible “must” be in error, because it contradicts what they teach. Yet, if they won’t include Paul as a part of the New Testament, consider what Peter said in 2 Peter 3:16: “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they doalso the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (emphasis added). Further, the Lord has promised to preserve His Word, as in Psalm 12:6-7: “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.” Regarding your question about the meaning of “Hebrews,” “Israel,” “Israelites,” and “Jews,” all speak of the descendants of Jacob (Israel). The Lord distinctly said that “...though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished” (Jer 30:11). As to their importance as “signs of the times,” the prophet Joel recorded that “I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land” (Jl 3:2; see also Zechariah 7, 8, 12, 14, etc.). Finally, the apostle Paul also noted that God was far from finished with the nation of Israel (Rom 11:1-25).
Question: Do Christians still commit sin?
November 20, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Question: Our church is teaching that Christians will not commit sins if they are truly saved. So, are scriptures such as 1 Peter 4:15 talking about unbelievers? Response: Concerning your question, 1 Peter 4:15 tells us: “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.” Peter is writing “…to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied” (1 Pet 1:1-2). It is to these believers that Jesus warns, “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief…[etc.]” (1 Pet 4:15). It is to believers that John writes in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Consequently, Peter wouldn’t warn those who cannot sin, nor would John have written of a remedy for those who haven’t sinned. Though the saved (still living in the “old man,” i.e., the flesh) can still say, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). Yet, Peter still warns the church in 1 Peter 4:15.
Question: If Christ paid the debt in full, then there's no need for us to repent...
November 13, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Question: If Christ took upon Himself the grave and the Lake of Fire, then there is no need of repentance and trusting Him for our salvation. Wouldn’t both penalties be paid in full? Response: We could not be saved unless Christ paid in full the penalty demanded by God’s judgment against our sin. The penalty of sin is death. That is the sentence death has already passed upon man and will culminate in his separation from his body and from this planet and from God forever. God cannot merely make a bookkeeping entry in heaven. The debt demanded by His justice must be paid in full for man to be pardoned. Why do we need to repent and believe in Christ if the penalty has been paid in full for everyone? The good news of the gospel is that salvation is offered to all.
Question: If eternal security is true, why are there scriptures that seem to contradict it?
November 6, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
Question: Though I’ve read your excellent discussions on eternal security, I still need understanding of the following Scriptures—Romans 11:21-22: “...if thou continue in His goodness” sounds conditional; Colossians 1:22-23, “If ye continue in the faith…” ditto; Hebrews 3:6, 14 have the same idea; 2 Peter 2:20-22 speaks of those who have “escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord…and who were washed…being entangled again and overcome.” If these apparent contradictions could be covered in a future “Q&A,” it would be greatly appreciated. Response: The New Testament contains frequent exhortations to godly living, to “continue in the faith” and to “hold fast the confidence firm unto the end” (Hebrews 3:6, 14) and to “walk worthy of the Lord” (Ephesians 4:1; Colossians 1:10), and warns of being “cut off” (Romans 11:22). The exhortation is to two classes of people: (1) Those who are false professors, in order to show them that their lives demonstrate that they do not truly know the Lord; and (2) Christians who are living in disobedience, to warn them that if they continue to dishonor their Lord, He will severely discipline them. The latter could be “cut off” from fellowship with other believers, or from this life....