Brannon Howse: Aired January 9, 2013

Brannon's guest is Dr. John Whitcomb for "Ask Dr. John." Question: Was Seth the third son or could he have had more older brothers? If Seth was the third son, then who was Cain afraid of? Was it just his sisters?

Question: Since Adam was 130 when Seth was born, could Cain and Abel have been more than 100 years old when Cain killed Abel? Does this explain who Cain was afraid of?

Question: Could there be any relationship between the wise men of Matthew 2:1 and the descendants of Abraham of Genesis 25:6 or the descendants of the wise men of Daniel 2:48?

Question: You have said that Mary cannot be the mother of God. When Mary visited Elizabeth, Elizabeth exclaimed, "And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?" (Luke 1:43, NASB). How could calling Mary “Mother of God” not be Scriptural, given that Elizabeth clearly declared it?

Question: I have not found in prophecy where the Roman Empire must fall and then later be rebuilt. What Scriptures are clear on this subject?

Question: What exactly are the "essentials" of the faith and where do I find them in Scripture? It seems there is disagreement in this area. Some say eschatology is an essential and others say it is a secondary issue.

Question: Can we unite with believers who differ on the essentials of the faith?

Question: My wife says that not only is the Holy Spirit in me, but also Jesus. I have always thought of Christ as being before the Father interceding for me and the Holy Spirit living inside every believer. Is Jesus inside me in the same way the Holy Spirit is inside me? And by the same reasoning, is the Father also inside me? (cf. John 17:20-26)

Question: In 1 Peter 3:1, women are commanded to be subject to their husbands even if they are not in obedience to God. My question is, how far must a woman obey her unbelieving husband when he is leading her into sin, and when must she disobey him? If the husband is teaching false doctrines to their children (or neglecting to teach them at all), should the wife teach the children instead? What words of wisdom can you offer a wife of a false convert?

Question: My wife had alcoholic, drug-using parents. Then she was adopted and it got worse. She was verbally, physically and sexually abused for years. She has confronted her adopted parents about what happened, but they said that they did nothing wrong. Since then she has been ostracized by her family. What should be her biblical response in dealing with this situation?