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Series Code: AFBA
Program Code: AFBA202305S
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00:02 male announcer: It is the best-selling book in history.
00:05 No volume ever written has been more loved and quoted, 00:09 and its words, sometimes simple and sometimes 00:12 mysterious, should always be studied carefully. 00:16 It is the Bible, the Word of God. 00:19 Welcome to "Bible Answers Live," providing accurate and practical 00:24 answer to all your Bible questions. 00:28 This broadcast is a previously-recorded episode. 00:31 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned 00:33 in this broadcast, call 800-835-6747. 00:38 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 00:44 Now, here's your host from Amazing Facts International, 00:47 Pastor Doug Batchelor. 00:49 Doug Batchelor: Hello, listening friends. 00:50 Would you like to hear an amazing fact? 00:53 Perhaps you remember "The Jetsons." 00:56 Yes, that 1960s cartoon series about a 00:59 space-aged family that lives in the future. 01:02 They had robots, and they cruised around in flying cars. 01:07 Well, it looks like the future has caught up with fiction. 01:10 Swedish company Jetson Aero has built what it says is the first 01:15 commercially-available personal flying car. 01:18 The company says it hopes the vehicles will be able 01:20 to replace traditional cars in the future. 01:23 The carbon fiber and aluminum vehicle looks like a big drone, 01:28 can carry a 200-pound man up to 63 miles an hour, but it only 01:33 has a flying time of about 20 minutes. 01:36 That'll no doubt improve over time 01:37 as battery technology advances. 01:40 So now for about $100,000 you can purchase your 01:44 own flying car without a pilot's license. 01:49 I don't know, Pastor Ross, that sounds pretty interesting, but 01:51 you sure wouldn't want the battery to die on 01:53 you when you're at about 10,000 feet. 01:55 Jean Ross: That's right, Pastor Doug. 01:57 It sure would be nice to be able to get into your drone 02:00 and fly to wherever you need to go. 02:01 Doug: Especially when traffic's bad. 02:03 Jean: That's right. 02:04 You wonder what the traffic in the air is going to be like in a 02:06 few years if that keeps moving forward. 02:09 But, you know, the idea of flying has always been 02:10 something that's fascinated people. 02:12 You look at the birds and how they can fly, 02:13 and, of course, you've flown many a time in your 02:17 plane and then also commercial flying. 02:20 But there's something special about just breaking gravity and 02:24 being able to soar in the air, and of course we even find the 02:27 Bible speaking about a time when the redeemed will fly. 02:30 Doug: That's right. 02:31 There's not a lot of verses, but there's a few that explain we 02:34 will be able to fly like angels do. 02:37 One is in Isaiah 40, verse 31: "But those who wait 02:41 upon the Lord shall renew their strength. 02:43 They will mount up with wings like eagles. 02:46 They'll run and not be weary. 02:48 They will walk and not faint." 02:50 And so I'm looking forward to, as it says in the song "Rock of 02:54 Ages," soaring to worlds unknown. 02:57 I want to fly. 02:59 Jean: You don't have to worry about your 03:00 batteries dying halfway there. 03:02 You know, we have a book that's called "Heaven: Is It For Real?" 03:05 We talk about heaven and just--the Bible says eye has not 03:08 seen, ear heard, neither entered into the heart of man the things 03:11 that God is preparing for those that love him. 03:12 It's hard to imagine, but it's real. 03:15 Heaven is a real place. 03:16 And we'll be happy to send you a book if 03:18 you'd like to learn more about heaven. 03:19 The book is called "Heaven: Is It For Real?" 03:21 The number to call for that is 800-835-6747. 03:25 You can ask for offer number 189 or ask for the book 03:29 by name: "Heaven: Is It For Real?" 03:31 You can also dial #250 on your smartphone and just say "Bible 03:35 Answers Live" and ask for the book "Heaven: Is It For Real?" 03:39 We'll be happy to send it to you, 03:40 anyone in the US and Canada. 03:42 If you're outside of North America, you can 03:44 just go to the website, AmazingFacts .org, and 03:48 you'll be able to read the book right there online. 03:50 Well, Pastor Doug, we always want 03:51 to greet those who are joining us. 03:53 We have folks listening not only on the radio and on satellite 03:56 radio, but we have people joining us who are on social 03:58 media, watching on YouTube, also on Amazing Facts TV and some of 04:03 the other television networks that partner with us in this. 04:06 So we want to greet all of you. 04:07 If you have a Bible question, the phone line here 04:10 to the studio is 800-463-7297. 04:14 That's 800-GOD-SAYS, 463-7297. 04:19 That'll bring you here into the studio with your Bible question. 04:21 Well, Pastor Doug, before we go to the 04:23 phone lines, let's start with a word of prayer. 04:25 Dear Father, we thank You for Your Word. 04:27 We thank You for the opportunity to be able to study. 04:29 And tonight we ask the Holy Spirit to be with us 04:31 here in the studio, be with those who are 04:33 listening and watching wherever they might be. 04:35 Lead us into a clearer understanding of the Bible. 04:38 In Jesus's name, amen. 04:41 Our first caller today, we've got Ellie listening in Texas. 04:44 Ellie, welcome to the program. 04:45 Ellie: Awesome. Thank you for answering. 04:48 Hope you're doing well. 04:49 I have a question today in regards to 1 Corinthians chapter 04:55 11, verse 10 where it says, "For this cause ought the woman to 05:04 have power over her head because of the angels." 05:08 And my main question was on the 05:11 explanation because of the angels. 05:14 What does that exactly mean? 05:17 Doug: Yeah, well, this is a very interesting passage 05:20 where it talks about, in part, the relationship 05:24 between men and women and a woman's 05:27 hair, especially, like, praying in public. 05:31 And so Paul is addressing issues for the first Corinth--first 05:35 letter to the Corinthians of propriety and some of 05:39 it, we believe, is related to custom. 05:42 But it was understood that as a sign of humility God has given 05:47 women hair as a covering, and if they pray in public 05:50 they should cover their hair 'cause their hair is 05:52 their glory as a sign of their humility. 05:55 If you look in the book of Isaiah chapter 6, 05:58 it says that the angels cover their faces and 06:01 their feet in the presence of God. 06:04 And so it says the angels, you know, are beholding 06:08 when you address God, and as a sign of humility 06:11 that women should cover their heads. 06:13 The big question among theologians is, was this a 06:17 commandment that is universal for Christians through ages? 06:20 'Cause it's mentioned once in the Bible. 06:22 You know, the Bible says in the mouth of two or three witnesses 06:25 we should establish our doctrines, not one verse. 06:28 And it's not mentioned anywhere else. 06:30 So--or was it a custom? 06:32 And later on--and maybe, pastor, also help me find what verse is 06:36 it where he says we have--yeah, verse 16. 06:39 He says, "But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such 06:41 custom, nor the churches of God." 06:44 So many are wondering is this--was this a custom? 06:48 Jean: Seems as though the principle there is 06:50 reverence and respect when you enter into the house 06:52 of God and you're involved in worship. 06:54 You know, Pastor Doug, we've traveled to different places 06:56 around the world, and it's very interesting when 06:58 you go to these different cultures they have 06:59 different signs of reverence and respect. 07:03 We were in India at one of the largest Christian churches. 07:05 You were invited to speak there, 07:06 and it was very interesting for us. 07:08 Their sign of reverence and respect is to remove their 07:11 shoes when they enter into the church. 07:14 And so you go to this church that had thousands of members 07:18 and neatly out front they have little boxes and everybody puts 07:21 their sandals in their box and then they go into the church. 07:24 So that was a sign of reverence. 07:26 In our culture, probably if you are a man and you 07:28 walk into a church and you're wearing a hat, 07:30 it's appropriate to remove the hat. 07:33 So there are certain customs even 07:35 in our society that show reverence. 07:37 Doug: Yeah, and for--people have seen the Jews 07:39 praying at the Wailing Wall. 07:40 For them, the men always cover their heads when they approach. 07:44 And, you know, we've been together there at the Western 07:46 Wall, and when you go up they'll tell you--if you have a baseball 07:50 cap, you're okay, but if not, they'll hand you a 07:51 cardboard yamaka or something. 07:53 They say, "Do not approach this holy 07:54 place without covering your head." 07:56 So this was a custom, we believe, of 07:59 reverence that Paul is addressing. 08:01 Hope that helps a little bit, Ellie, 08:02 and we appreciate your patience. 08:04 Jean: Next caller that we have is Junith listening in Nevada. 08:07 Junith, welcome to the program. 08:09 Junith: Hello, good evening, Doug and Pastor Ross. 08:12 My question is, wasn't the decision of Sarah for Abraham to 08:21 have a kid with Hagar, it was not God's will. 08:25 But then if it was not God's will, could this be a major 08:30 reason why the second coming of Jesus has lengthened up? 08:35 'Cause it has a lot of compromise in this decision. 08:40 Thank you for answering. 08:41 Doug: Yes, okay, well, thank you, Junith. 08:43 The decision of Abraham to--at Sarah's suggestion to use Hagar 08:50 as sort of a surrogate wife to have a baby, she basically was 08:54 functioning as a concubine back in those days, 08:57 that was definitely not God's will. 08:59 Ultimately, God told Abraham--when Sarah said, "Send 09:03 her away," God said, "Yes, send her away." 09:05 Basically, it was a divorce. 09:07 As far as we know, he never saw Hagar again and it brought all 09:11 kinds of strife into the family and through history the 09:15 descendants that ended up growing into, you know, Mohammed 09:18 and the Muslims, the Arab world and the children of 09:22 Abraham--there has been so much strife between 09:25 the nations that came out of that decision. 09:28 Now, your question has that postponed the 09:30 coming of the Lord, I don't know. 09:32 I don't know that I could speculate about that. 09:34 It is interesting that the two largest religions in the world 09:37 today, Christianity and Islam, sprang out of that decision. 09:40 Or you can say they forked, you 09:42 should say, because of that decision. 09:44 So yeah, that was not God's will clearly. 09:48 God said, "I will give you a son through Sarah your wife." 09:53 Multiple marriages is not God's plan. 09:55 Jean: And we recognize that when God said to 09:56 Abraham, "Take your son, your only son whom 09:59 thou lovest," He's talking about Isaac. 10:02 So, you know, you think about that, Pastor Doug. 10:04 Both of these large religious movements, you got Christian-- 10:07 or Judaism and you've got Islam and-- 10:10 of course, Christianity came out of Judaism. 10:12 They all hark back to Abraham, and a lot has to 10:16 do with that decision, whether or not to be 10:18 faithful to God, to trust in God. 10:20 Little did he realize what would come of that decision. 10:23 Doug: It goes to show how one mistake like that has 10:26 ramifications just like the mistake of Adam and Eve. 10:29 Look what's going on in the world. 10:30 The mistake of Abraham has had long 10:33 lasting, as you say, ramifications. 10:36 Thank you, appreciate your question, Junith. 10:37 Jean: We've got Gary listening in Illinois. 10:39 Gary, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 10:41 Gary: In Revelation 9:14 and then again in Revelation 16:12 10:46 it says when the Euphrates river dries up four demonic angels 10:51 will be released unto one third of the population and their 10:56 power is fire, smoke, and brimstone. 10:59 So is that power is--are they describing hell? 11:04 Are those angels going to release hell on earth? 11:08 Doug: Okay, well, when you read about four angels who are 11:11 prepared for an hour, a day, a month, and a year, you also see 11:17 in Revelation chapter 7--is it 7 where it says there are 11:21 four angels holding back the four winds of strife? 11:24 It doesn't say they're demonic. 11:26 People are assuming that. 11:27 So the angels that are holding back the winds of strife, and 11:31 then you read here in this chapter it talks 11:32 about angels--again, four angels. 11:35 Four really represents in the Bible--this is universal. 11:39 Jesus said he'll send his angels to the four corners 11:41 of the earth to gather together the elect. 11:44 So what is going to happen here both in Revelation chapter 7 and 11:49 chapter 9 is talking about something universal. 11:55 When you look at the Euphrates river, you need to know some 11:58 Bible history that isn't specifically in the Bible. 12:01 There are prophecies that allude to it. 12:04 Before the children of Israel were freed from Babylon to go 12:07 back to the Promised Land, the Euphrates dried up. 12:10 The reason it dried up is because Cyrus the general in 12:15 wanting to conquer Babylon--the River Euphrates ran under the 12:19 walls of ancient Babylon, which was a huge city, 12:22 and he knew that if he could divert the river-- 12:25 they dug a ditch--big ditch. 12:28 He had an army do it. 12:29 They diverted the water from the Euphrates into a dry lake bed 12:33 and the water level going under the walls of Babylon dropped. 12:37 It dried up. 12:38 The Persians marched under the walls. 12:40 They sent a little contingent under. 12:42 They opened up the inner gates and let the rest of the army in. 12:46 And so for the Jew the drying up the Euphrates is a harbinger 12:52 that they would soon be going back to the Promised Land. 12:55 So when it tells us in the sixth plague that you read about in 12:59 the seven last plagues, it at least has a spiritual 13:03 application there that the power of the beast-- 13:07 Babylon is going to dry up, and you find a lot 13:11 about Babylon in chapter 17 of Revelation. 13:15 Now, whether there is a literal application makes you wonder 13:20 sometimes 'cause, you know, in Revelation it talks about before 13:24 the Lord comes the sun will be dark and the moon turns to 13:26 blood, the stars fall from heaven, powers heaven are 13:30 shaken, heaven is rolled back as a scroll. 13:32 Those things have happened historically sort of as wake-up 13:35 signs, but they're going to happen literally in quick 13:38 succession just before the second coming. 13:40 And so I think maybe God is using the fact the Euphrates--by 13:45 the way, the Euphrates is not totally dried up. 13:47 It's just gone down, and they're predicting it's going to dry up. 13:50 I wonder sometimes if the Lord is using that 13:52 to at least get people's attention. 13:53 But I wouldn't wait for four demons to come out of a cave. 13:57 I've heard people say there are some demons coming 13:59 out of a cave by the Euphrates river. 14:01 Doesn't say anywhere these are demons. 14:03 Jean: Well, there's two drying up of the River Euphrates. 14:05 You alluded to it. 14:06 You've got the sixth trumpet that the four angels release 14:10 from the River Euphrates, and then you have the drying up the 14:12 Euphrates, which is one of the plagues in Revelation chapter 9 14:15 where it talks about the sixth trumpet and the four angels that 14:18 are bound in the great River Euphrates. 14:19 A number of theologians, many of them especially the early 14:22 Protestant reformers, identified that as the expansion of Islam 14:27 under the Turks or the Ottoman Empire. 14:28 Doug: It was the judgment for the-- 14:30 Jean: A judgment that came upon the Christian. 14:31 That's right. 14:33 And they've identified the four main tribal groups that formed 14:38 the Ottoman Empire and their location in Baghdad, 14:41 another one in Aleppo, Iconium, Damascus. 14:45 So these are sort of the capital areas connected with the River 14:48 Euphrates, but that's where these tribes 14:50 came from that formed the Ottoman Empire 14:52 as a judgment under the sixth trumpet. 14:54 But then you have the drying up of the River Euphrates, 14:56 which is under the plagues as well. 14:58 Doug: Yeah, in Revelation 16. 15:01 Well, thank you. Appreciate that, Gary. 15:03 And don't have a book we can offer on that, but-- 15:07 Jean: Something we could write, 15:09 drying up of the River Euphrates. 15:10 It would be interesting. Jerry listening in Texas. 15:12 Jerry, welcome to the program. 15:14 Jerry: Hey, pastors. 15:15 I want to get you guys's take on this one text in Genesis, 15:20 Genesis 6:21 and--referring to the beasts of prey when they 15:25 came on the ark were--of course, we know that God can sustain 15:29 like He sustained Moses on the Mount Sinai for 40 days. 15:35 But were the lions and tigers vegetarians on the ark? 15:38 I guess they would have to be. 15:39 Were they vegetarians before? 15:42 Doug: Okay, good question. 15:43 Well--so yeah, the animals that were on the ark--of course, he 15:46 took two of the clean animals and the unclean--I'm sorry. 15:52 The clean animals were taken by sevens. 15:54 The unclean animals were taken by twos. 15:55 So what did the carnivorous animals eat? 15:58 Well, it says that Noah was told to bring food for them. 16:02 So there was extra food. 16:04 You know, ostensibly he didn't bring, 16:06 like, live animals for the lions to eat. 16:09 The other thing is--they've shown is that when animals are 16:12 taken on a boat, they go into a type of hibernation. 16:16 When boats are rocking, they sort of--they eat very less. 16:18 They're not mobile, and they probably 16:21 were not eating a lot on the boat. 16:24 But yeah, Noah was told to bring food for them, 16:26 so he brought something the lions could eat. 16:29 Jean: And, of course, lions can live--probably not their 16:31 preference, but they can live on a vegetarian diet. 16:34 There are some modern examples of lions that just for some 16:37 reason--little Tyke is what I'm thinking of, a lion that just 16:40 refused to eat meat and he lived very well on--she lived very 16:46 well on a diet of grains and eggs and--yeah, amazing. 16:51 Doug: Full-grown lion. 16:52 Jean: Okay. Thank you, Jerry. 16:54 We've got Sam listening in Canada. 16:55 Sam, welcome to the program. 16:57 Sam: I have a question relating to-- 17:01 how do we know the Bible is inspired? 17:04 I'm studying right now in university and we learn about, 17:07 like, the different flood myths around the world, and it's just 17:11 how similar it is to the Bible's Noah's flood. 17:16 Doug: Yeah. I'm glad you asked. 17:18 Actually the different myths that you find around the world 17:21 regarding the flood--like the Babylonians 17:23 have the "Epic of Gilgamesh." 17:25 The Hawaiians have a similar legend. 17:29 Those myths grew out of the true incident that Moses records. 17:34 Moses gives us the accurate account. 17:37 The other epics or stories, whether it's the Greek myth of a 17:42 worldwide flood--you've got the story in Greek mythology about 17:45 this powerful race that lived in this land called Atlantis, and 17:50 because of their wickedness the island was swallowed up. 17:53 Well, that's the flood. 17:55 It says powerful race that lived and because 17:57 of the wickedness they were destroyed. 17:59 Even Pandora's box, the idea of this woman opened a box that was 18:04 full of evil she wasn't supposed to open. 18:06 Well, it was Eve eating the forbidden fruit. 18:08 Over time some of these true stories, they get changed as 18:13 they're passed along and you develop these different myths. 18:16 But I think that's evidence the Bible is true. 18:19 In the Bible, you're getting the truth 18:21 about what really happened. 18:22 These other civilizations--you know, the Jews were very careful 18:26 of writing these things down, and one reason God told Moses to 18:30 write it down is because over time when they used to 18:33 sherry--share their history orally there was 18:37 a risk that things were going to be changed. 18:40 So Moses was inspired to write down the accurate account of 18:44 what happened, and it has stood the test of time. 18:47 Jean: You know, we have a book. 18:48 It's called "The Ultimate Resource," 18:49 and it's all about the Bible. 18:51 And Pastor Doug just mentioned one or two, but there are many 18:53 proofs in the Bible itself of its divine origin, 18:56 that the Bible is inspired. 18:57 You got prophecy. You got history, archaeology. 19:00 So the little book will give you more information. 19:02 It's called "Ultimate Resource," and it's all about the Bible. 19:05 To receive that, call 800-835-6747. 19:09 You can ask for the book. It's called "Ultimate Resource." 19:11 You can also dial #250, say "Bible Answers Live," and ask 19:15 for the book "Ultimate Resource." 19:17 Next caller that we have is Lee listening in Texas. 19:20 Lee, welcome to the program. 19:22 Lee: Yes, sir, my question is, who is Satan in the book 19:25 of Revelation that does false miracles? 19:28 I mean, I know who the Antichrist is and the man 19:30 of sin is, but who is supposed to be Satan? 19:34 Doug: Okay. 19:35 Well, in Revelation chapter 12, for instance, 19:39 it talks about him as the dragon. 19:41 It says that dragon of old, the devil, Satan. 19:45 So it uses four different titles there that we can't 19:48 confuse: the serpent, Satan, dragon, devil. 19:56 And that's--I think it mentions that twice in Revelation 12. 20:00 No, it does twice in Revelation. 20:02 And so you might be wondering when it talks about the beast, 20:05 the dragon, and the false prophet, and you know there 20:08 you've got the dragon certainly the devil. 20:12 It tells us that that old serpent, the dragon, the devil, 20:15 and that goes back to the Garden of Eden when the devil, 20:18 Lucifer, he basically used the medium of 20:20 a serpent to deceive Adam and Eve. 20:23 Jean: Now, of course the Bible does tell us that before 20:25 Jesus comes there's going to be many false Christs and false 20:28 prophets, and the Bible also says don't be 20:30 surprised because the devil himself can be 20:32 transformed into an angel of light. 20:34 So it wouldn't surprise us if the devil tries to 20:38 impersonate the second coming of Jesus. 20:40 Now we know according to the Bible that when Jesus comes a 20:42 second time he's not going to be walking on the earth. 20:45 The righteous are caught up to meet him in the air. 20:46 So if somebody appears, even if they do perform miracles and 20:50 they're walking around on the earth, that's a false Christ. 20:53 So the Bible does give us these guidelines, these pointers. 20:56 Next caller that we have is Angela-- 20:58 Angelina, sorry, from Oregon. 21:01 Angelina, welcome to the program. 21:03 Angelina: Thank you. 21:05 Thank you, and bless--God bless you both. 21:08 Doug: Thank you for calling. Your question. 21:12 Angelina: My question is I was looking at when Jesus called 21:18 the disciples, but I heard somebody said that Jesus didn't 21:24 call Judas Iscariot to be his disciple or his--or like one of 21:30 the apostles, that somebody took him to Jesus and recommended him 21:36 to Jesus because he was good for the group. 21:39 And other comment was that Judas invite himself to be one of 21:47 Jesus's disciples, and I need to find out where in the Gospels 21:54 said that Judas didn't--was not called by Jesus. 22:02 Doug: Well, it says in Matthew 8:19 that there was a 22:05 certain scribe that said to him, "Teacher, 22:07 I will follow you wherever you go." 22:09 Now, with most of the apostles Christ said, "Follow me." 22:13 And they left their nets and they followed him. 22:15 He said to Matthew, "Follow me," and he followed him. 22:18 He asked the rich young ruler, "Follow me," 22:19 and he didn't follow. 22:20 And here you've got a scribe that says, "Sir, 22:22 I will follow you wherever you go." 22:25 And many believe this was Judas because this person, this scribe 22:31 was hoping for some earthly gain. 22:33 And Jesus answers and says, "The foxes have their dens and the 22:36 birds of the air have their nests, but the son 22:38 of man has nowhere to lay the head." 22:40 In other words, "If you're following me because you think 22:42 you're going to get ahead in the world, don't follow me." 22:45 And, you know--and it's not specifically in the scriptures, 22:50 but some understand that the disciples were so impressed with 22:54 the education and the brilliance of this scribe by the name of 22:57 Judas they recommended him to Jesus and Jesus allowed him in. 23:01 Now, there is a place in the Bible where Jesus says, "Have I 23:03 not chosen you 12 and one of you is a devil?" 23:08 So Christ did ultimately lay hands on Judas like he did the 23:11 others and say, "Okay, you're recommending him to me. 23:14 I'm going to go ahead and treat him like an apostle." 23:16 But he kind of put himself forward as opposed to being 23:19 called, if we assume that this scribe is Judas. 23:23 Jean: And we also have some other references to where Judas 23:26 actually held the money bag so he came to be the 23:29 treasure--yeah, he was the treasurer of the group. 23:31 So holding a position of influence. 23:34 Good question. Thank you. 23:35 Next caller that we have is Taylor 23:36 listening in South Dakota. 23:38 Taylor, welcome to the program. 23:41 Taylor: Hello, pastors. 23:42 My question is on Joshua 21, verse 44 where 23:50 it says that the Lord delivered all their enemies 23:54 into their hand, them being Israelites. 23:58 But in another passage in chapter 15, 24:03 verse 63 it says that as for the Jebusites, 24:07 the children of Judah could not drive them out. 24:10 And there's a couple of other instances in chapters 16 and 17. 24:15 So I guess I'm wondering why it says that he delivered all their 24:18 enemies when there's a few instances where they didn't. 24:22 Doug: Yeah, I think that it's just an 24:23 understanding of the phraseology. 24:26 Everybody that Joshua went against 24:29 in battle, God delivered them. 24:33 There's only one example where Joshua's army lost a battle, and 24:37 he came back and then won the-- 24:38 you know, he won the war against Ai. 24:40 The initial battle against Ai, they were defeated. 24:43 God humbled them. They prayed. 24:45 And then they went back, they defeated Ai. 24:47 They defeated all the kings of the Amorites, 24:49 everyone they fought against. 24:51 But they made the mistake of once they basically 24:54 dominated the land they got comfortable. 24:57 They inhabited the cities. 24:59 They'd driven most of them out, but 25:02 they began to tolerate some of them. 25:04 Even by the time of King David, David is still trying 25:06 to get the Jebusites out of Jerusalem. 25:08 Jean: So there seem to be some mopping-up operations, you 25:10 might say, that needed to occur by the various 25:13 tribes once they occupy the land. 25:15 Some tribes were more diligent in doing that. 25:18 Others kind of just settled in and they didn't finish the work. 25:21 Doug: "Once the other tribes--once the other 25:24 nations are paying taxes and they're not 25:25 bothering us anymore, we're tired of war. 25:27 We want to start farming." 25:29 And problem was by allowing those pagan nations to live 25:33 among them, their children began to intermarry and--that's what 25:37 happened with Samson and others, and God 25:41 said, "This is what's going to happen. 25:42 They're going to be thorns in your sides." 25:44 And I think He said, "Sand in your eyes." 25:46 And it became a real curse because they didn't completely 25:50 drive them out as they were supposed to. 25:52 But everyone they--in the days of Joshua, everyone they fought 25:55 against in battle was delivered to them. 25:58 Jean: Okay, next caller that we have 25:59 is Caleb listening in New York. 26:00 Caleb, welcome to the program. 26:03 Caleb: Hello, pastors. How are you guys doing today? 26:05 Doug: Doing great. Thank you for calling. 26:07 Caleb: My question is about Romans 9, verses 11 to 13. 26:13 I'm just confused about it because it makes me a little bit 26:16 nervous because I just want to know is Esau ever 26:21 forgiven and how does that apply to us? 26:23 How do we know we're forgiven? 26:26 Did Esau know he was hated like-- 26:31 and would Esau even be in heaven? 26:33 I mean, he forgave his brother. 26:36 I'm just a little bit confused about-- 26:38 from Romans 9 to 11--11 to 13. 26:44 Doug: Yeah, and I'll read this for our friends. 26:46 It says in Romans chapter 9, verse 11, "For the children not 26:50 yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the 26:53 purpose of God according to election might stand, not of 26:56 works but according to him who calls, it was said 26:59 to her, 'The older shall serve the younger.' 27:02 As it is written, 'Jacob I have loved, but Esau I've hated.'" 27:05 Now, that is a big question. 27:07 So you hear the music, friends. 27:08 If you want to hear the answer, got to stay with us. 27:10 We're coming back after the break and we'll answer that. 27:17 announcer: Stay tuned. 27:18 "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly. 27:24 announcer: Can't get enough Amazing Facts Bible study? 27:27 You don't have to wait until next week to 27:29 enjoy more truth-filled programming. 27:32 Visit the Amazing Facts media library at aftv.org. 27:37 At aftv.org, you can enjoy video and audio presentations as well 27:42 as printed material all free of charge 24 hours a day 7 days a 27:47 week right from your computer or mobile device. 27:50 Visit aftv.org. 27:54 Doug: Okay, friends. Let's start with the basics. 27:56 We know we're here, but we're not here for very long. 28:00 So the most important thing would be if we could learn 28:03 during this life how to live forever. 28:05 This is the central focus of Amazing Facts. 28:08 Now, there's a lot of wonderful things 28:09 that Christian ministries do. 28:11 I believe in Christian education, but 28:13 if the schools lose the message of salvation, you 28:16 end up with more educated sinners. 28:19 I think it's very important for us to build churches, but if the 28:22 churches lose the message of salvation, they 28:25 just become buildings and shells. 28:27 I think it's important to have a medical ministry 28:29 and build hospitals, but if they separate that 28:32 from the message of salvation, you just 28:34 prolong a sinner's life for a little while. 28:36 That's why for years Amazing Facts has made it our focus to 28:40 present the saving truth that sets people free and, friends, 28:43 we want to thank you for your support and your gifts. 28:46 We'll do our very best to convert those 28:48 resources into the currency of heaven. 28:50 May God bless you, and keep Amazing Facts in your prayers. 28:57 announcer: You're listening to "Bible Answers Live," 28:59 where every question answered provides a clearer 29:02 picture of God and His plan to save you. 29:05 So what are you waiting for? 29:06 Get practical answers about the 29:08 good book for a better life today. 29:14 This broadcast is a previously-recorded episode. 29:17 If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions 29:19 on the air, please call us next Sunday 29:22 between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Pacific Time. 29:25 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this 29:28 evening's program, call 800-835-6747. 29:33 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 29:39 Now let's rejoin our hosts for more "Bible Answers Live." 29:44 Doug: Welcome back, listening friends, 29:45 to "Bible Answers Live." 29:47 And if you have a Bible question, just give us a call. 29:49 The number is 800-GOD-SAYS. 29:51 We are also broadcasting on the Amazing Facts Facebook page, the 29:57 Doug Batchelor Facebook page, the Amazing Facts YouTube page, 30:02 Amazing Facts television, and--program airs a number of 30:05 other stations also and rebroadcast. 30:09 So you may want to participate and call in with your Bible 30:11 question and it'll be a blessing to others as well. 30:13 My name is Doug Batchelor. 30:15 Jean: My name is Jean Ross. 30:17 And just before the break, Pastor Doug, we were talking 30:18 with Caleb, and he had a question about Romans chapter 9 30:21 where it says, "Jacob I have loved. 30:23 Esau I have hated." 30:25 Almost gives the idea that they were 30:27 predestinated even before their birth. 30:31 Doug: Yeah, it's--this is referring to 30:33 not Jacob individually necessarily. 30:36 Esau as an individual could end up being saved, not every 30:40 Edomite--the descendants of Esau were called Edomites. 30:43 Not every Edomite is lost, and not every Israelite is saved. 30:47 You know, every individual based on their lives. 30:49 Esau did make a big mistake, and he sold 30:51 his birthright for a pot of beans. 30:54 Well, that doesn't mean he couldn't have repented later and 30:57 turned to the Lord and been saved. 30:58 So this is not dealing with that. 30:59 But the nation of the Edomites generally turned away from God 31:04 and turned to paganism, and they are called Esau. 31:08 The nation of Jacob's was called Israel. 31:12 And so when it says, "I've loved Jacob and I've hated Esau," it's 31:15 not talking about the individuals. 31:18 "I've just decided I'm going to hate 31:19 this one and love this one." 31:21 It's saying because God knew in advance what they were going to 31:24 do, He could foretell which one was going to serve the other. 31:28 Jean: And it was also God just choosing. 31:30 I mean, the Bible says God didn't choose Israel because 31:34 they were more numerous or better than the other nations. 31:38 He chose Israel and was through Israel 31:40 that the Messiah was to come. 31:42 So in that sense the nation was chosen by God, not talking about 31:45 individuals but talking about the nation. 31:48 Israel was chosen and was set apart to prepare 31:50 the way for the first coming of Jesus. 31:53 Doug: And you can't really understand Romans chapter 9 31:56 unless you know what is Paul quoting. 31:57 Paul is quoting the Old Testament. 31:59 He's quoting Malachi chapter 1, verse 2. 32:03 It says, "'I have loved you,' says the Lord, 'yet you say, 'In 32:06 what way have you loved us?' 32:07 'Was not Esau Jacob's brother,' 32:09 says the Lord, 'yet I loved--but Jacob I've loved and Esau I've 32:12 hated, and I laidwaste his mountains and his heritage for 32:17 the jackals of the wilderness.'" 32:18 It's talking about a judgment 32:20 that fell on the descendants of Esau. 32:23 Not so much the individuals, but their nations. 32:26 Jean: You know, I think we have some good evidence, Pastor 32:28 Doug, that Esau actually--if you read about the death of Isaac 32:32 and you have Jacob and Esau actually 32:34 coming together to bury their father. 32:36 So it appears as though there was reconciliation 32:38 at least between the two of them. 32:40 Esau could very well at the end of his life have 32:42 returned to the God of his father, could have 32:45 been a worshiper of the true God. 32:46 But, again, we're not talking about individuals here, we're 32:49 talking about the nations that's represented. 32:51 Next caller that we have is Bradley listening in Missouri. 32:54 Bradley, welcome to the program. 32:56 Bradley: Good evening, pastors. 32:57 Thank you for taking my call. 33:00 My question tonight is on Revelation 14, verse 10 and 11. 33:06 And I see a lot of verses in the Bible that teach against eternal 33:11 hellfire, but I'm actually confused with the phrase in 33:15 Revelation 14 where it says the ones that take 33:18 the mark have no rest day nor night. 33:22 So my question is, if the wicked after being destroyed are 33:26 sleeping, I guess, what does it mean when it says 33:29 they are not resting day nor night? 33:33 Doug: Yeah, well, for one thing one of the big battles in 33:36 the last days is whether or not we're going to 33:39 be serving God or serving the Pharaoh. 33:42 You remember what the Pharaoh said to Moses? 33:46 He said, "Let my people go, that they might worship God." 33:48 And Pharaoh said, "I'm not going to let them. 33:49 You're not working hard enough. 33:51 Don't give them any straw anymore that they 33:53 may not think about worshiping God." 33:56 And Pharaoh said to Moses, "You are 33:58 causing the people to Shabbat." 34:01 Pharaoh said, "You're causing them to rest. 34:03 Those that worship the beast have no rest." 34:06 Jesus said, "Come unto me. 34:08 I will give you rest." 34:09 So the--and Hebrews it says, "They will enter into My rest." 34:15 The rest here isn't talking about like, you know, not 34:18 perspiring 'cause you're digging a ditch, it's talking about they 34:20 have no peace, no rest who worship the beast. 34:23 Jean: There's also judgment 34:24 that's portrayed in this passage. 34:25 So on the one hand there's rest--a lack of rest now for the 34:28 unbeliever, but there is a day of judgment, the Bible is quite 34:30 clear, and in that day of judgment the Bible says everyone 34:33 shall be rewarded according to his works. 34:36 Revelation chapter 20 talks about the lake of fire. 34:39 And if every person is to be rewarded according to their 34:41 works, not everyone's going to suffer the same. 34:44 In other words, some will die almost instantaneously. 34:46 Others might suffer a little longer. 34:48 The devil probably will suffer the longest, and it appears at 34:52 least a day and a night he will suffer. 34:54 It won't be eternal. 34:55 There won't be any--you know, he will ultimately be consumed 34:59 because the Bible says that the wicked become ashes and the 35:01 devils turn to ashes on the earth. 35:03 But there are penalties, there are judgments 35:05 that will come on the wicked. 35:07 And when it says, just to add to that, the smoke 35:10 of their torment ascends up forever and ever and they 35:13 have no rest day, those who worship the image. 35:15 When it says the smoke of their torment ascend forever, it's not 35:18 saying that they're going to be tormented forever but the 35:21 consequence of that judgment, of that fire is forever and ever. 35:25 Those are destroyed in the hellfire 35:27 at the end of the 1,000 years. 35:29 There is no resurrection that comes out of that. 35:31 They are eternally lost. 35:33 And so the consequences of their judgment is forever and ever. 35:36 So the smoke's forever, not the fire, and 35:38 that's just an idiomatic expression that we 35:40 find there in the book of Revelation. 35:43 All right, next caller that we have 35:44 is Hector listening from Florida. 35:46 Hector, welcome to the program. 35:48 Hector: Thank you. Good evening, everybody. 35:50 Doug: Evening. 35:52 Hector: My question concern two verses 35:58 that I have in front of me. 36:00 One taken from John 14, verse 2 to 3. 36:05 He's talking about, "My Father's house have many mansions." 36:10 And we got Isaiah 65, 36:16 verse 21 and 22. 36:22 As Jesus preparing house--in his Father's house has many mansions 36:29 for us and he went there to prepare a place for us, while 36:35 Isaiah 65 we have to build houses and inhabit them and we 36:45 shall plant vineyards and eat the fruits of them 36:49 and verse 22, contrary what he's saying, and 36:52 they shall not build, and another inhabit. 36:56 What can you explain about this? 36:58 Doug: Good question. 36:59 Well, first of all, you're going to have more than one house. 37:02 Jesus says that he's preparing a place in the New Jerusalem. 37:08 That's what comes down from God out of heaven, and then we will 37:11 go forth--you read in Malachi chapter 4 we're going to go 37:13 forth from the New Jerusalem, and it says we will--you know, 37:17 God is going to create a new heavens and a new earth. 37:20 The whole planet is going to be available for inhabiting. 37:24 The Garden of Eden that was created and planted by 37:27 God--before the flood, we assume that God 37:30 took the garden up, the tree of life. 37:32 It's all in the New Jerusalem. 37:34 It's the Garden of Eden, Central Park of the New Jerusalem. 37:37 But we're not all just going to live in the city 37:39 with this beautiful world God's created. 37:41 They're going to go forth from the New Jerusalem, and we will 37:45 have our own country estates and we're going to build houses on 37:49 them and we will plant vineyards. 37:51 See, God made Adam and Eve to be horticulturists, 37:54 to plant and to build and to develop. 37:58 God made men to create and do stuff. 38:00 We're not going to just sit there on clouds 38:02 and play harps in the New Jerusalem. 38:05 Jean: So basically, Pastor Doug, you're saying 38:06 everyone will have two houses. 38:08 You got your city house. 38:09 You got your country house. 38:11 You got a house--a mansion in the New Jerusalem and then you 38:13 have a place that you get to design and build, and you can 38:17 buy whatever you want for your house 38:19 and put it on your Father's account. 38:20 He'll cover it. 38:22 All right. Thank you, Hector. 38:23 Next caller is Don from Oklahoma. 38:25 Don, welcome to the program. 38:27 Don: Hi, yeah. 38:28 My question is in Matthew 7, verse 22. 38:34 Those will come to Jesus and say, "Lord, Lord, 38:36 have we not prophesied in your name and done-- 38:38 cast out devils in your name?" 38:41 And so on. 38:42 And, of course, his response is, "I never knew you." 38:46 So my question is, if they didn't know him, how are they 38:53 performing these miracles in his name? 38:56 Doug: Well, you could ask the question, is it possible for a 39:00 person who isn't converted to be casting out devils? 39:07 You have the example in the Bible where Jesus--I'm sorry. 39:09 Judas followed Jesus and Jesus sent out the 12 apostles and 39:14 they came back and said, "Even the demons are subject unto us." 39:18 And the apostles were really confused one day. 39:21 You read this in Mark chapter 9. 39:22 They could not cast out a devil 39:24 and they said, "What's the problem? 39:25 We usually cast them out. We couldn't cast this one out." 39:28 But Judas was in that group, and 39:29 he was evidently casting out devils. 39:31 And, you know, there's something about the power 39:35 of the Word and the power of the Lord. 39:38 Sometimes God can even speak through a donkey if He wants to. 39:42 So you can have someone, they're not totally converted. 39:44 They can preach and the power of the Word can still convert 39:47 people and the devils can be cast out of that person's life 39:50 'cause the power is in the Word and the person 39:52 themselves may not even be converted. 39:55 Jean: That's right, Pastor Doug. 39:57 I mean, you look at people in the Bible. 39:58 You have Saul--King Saul who was filled with the Spirit at the 40:01 beginning, even prophesied, and yet we find him at the end of 40:05 his life totally turning against God. 40:07 So God can use people, and the power is in the Word. 40:11 Just because somebody does a miracle, it doesn't always mean 40:13 that they're always going to be doing what's right. 40:16 Doug: So these are people that they were going 40:19 through the religious motions, even seeing 40:20 some fruit, but they weren't surrendered. 40:24 Thanks. Good question. 40:25 Jean: We got Isaac listening from New York. 40:28 Isaac, welcome to the program. 40:31 Isaac: Yes, Pastor Batchelor. My name is Isaac. 40:40 I'm 14 years old, and I would 40:45 like to know if there would be 40:51 any electronics in heaven, or lamps or anything like that. 40:57 Thank you. 40:59 Doug: All right. Yeah, good question. 41:02 Well, you can read in Revelation it says that 41:05 in the New Jerusalem there's no need of the 41:08 sun for the Lord God, He lights the city. 41:13 So the whole city is illuminated with a light 41:16 that comes from God's presence. 41:19 You know, God is brighter than the sun. 41:22 Jesus is referred to as the sun of righteousness. 41:24 So I don't think we're going to need a nuclear power plant to 41:28 give us electricity in the new earth. 41:31 The glory of God is going to light things. 41:34 Now, does that mean that as time goes by there'll be no science 41:38 where we're going to be using any kind of invention 41:40 or power, maybe even electric power? 41:43 I don't know, you know. 41:45 God created all these interesting physics and things 41:48 and, you know, we might have some creative uses for those in 41:52 the new earth or even on other worlds. 41:55 So it's hard to say. 41:57 I don't picture we're going to have electronic 42:00 devices like we do now, but there may be some 42:04 use of electricity at some point in the future. 42:06 I don't know. 42:07 Jean: And if you think about it like you say, Pastor Doug, 42:09 electronics is really just an outcropping 42:10 of studying the natural laws of nature and 42:14 figuring out how to harness those powers. 42:17 In the universe to come and the earth made new, I'm sure there's 42:21 going to be people interested in trying to figure out 42:23 why things work the way they work. 42:26 There will still be science. There will still be discovery. 42:28 There'll still be learning. 42:29 I don't know if we'll need to create, you know, 42:33 the network like the web--World Wide Web. 42:35 We don't need that in heaven. 42:36 Doug: The Cosmic Web. Jean: That's right. 42:38 But it is interesting, we'll be learning. 42:40 The Bible says eye has not seen, ear heard, neither 42:42 entered into the heart of man the things that God 42:45 is preparing for those that love Him. 42:46 Thanks for your call. 42:48 We got Eron listening in New York. 42:49 Eron, you're on the air. 42:52 Eron: Good evening, pastors. 42:53 I like to know the meaning of John chapter 11, verse 16. 42:59 A few verses before it, Jesus was explaining to 43:02 his disciples that Lazarus was dead. 43:06 In the--in verse 16, Thomas said something 43:10 that doesn't make sense to me. 43:12 Can you explain it? 43:13 Doug: Yeah, well, Jesus is in--he's up in the northern part 43:17 of the country around Galilee. 43:20 He's around the Sea of Galilee. 43:22 Jesus was born in Nazareth, which 43:23 was central Israel up in the north. 43:26 The headquarters was around Jerusalem. 43:29 The religious leaders down there and the priests, they wanted 43:32 Jesus dead because the crowds were following him. 43:36 Jesus had called them hypocrites. 43:39 And when Jesus said, "I'm going back to Bethany," which is in 43:41 southern Israel right--Bethany is not far from 43:44 Jerusalem, Thomas, who is sometimes a little 43:46 bit negative, he said, "Well, we love him. 43:48 Let's go, and we'll die with him. 43:49 He's going to get killed down there, 43:51 but we'll go die with him." 43:52 And so that's why he's saying that 'cause Jesus in order to 43:55 resurrect Lazarus he had to go back down to 43:58 where the hotbed of his enemies were. 44:01 Does that make sense? 44:04 Eron: Yes. Thanks. 44:06 Doug: Okay. Thank you so much, Eron. 44:07 Appreciate your call and your question. 44:09 Jean: Next caller that we have is Jim listening in Indiana. 44:11 Jim, welcome to the program. 44:14 Jim: Yes. Thank you. 44:15 Good to talk to you both again. 44:17 Doug: Thank you. 44:18 Jim: I was wondering in Revelations 16 and 17, but in 17 44:23 it says the ten horns--verse 16, "The ten horns which thou sawest 44:30 upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, 44:33 and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall 44:35 eat her flesh and burn her with fire." 44:37 Now, is--does that there coincide with 15-- 44:45 or 16:21, and there fell upon men-- 44:52 Doug: Were you talking about does Revelation 44:54 17 where it talks about the ten horns, does 44:57 that coincide with Revelation 16? 45:01 I'm not sure what you're asking. 45:03 Jim: You know, when it--yeah, when it talks about, "And there 45:06 fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, and every stone about 45:10 the weight of a talon and men blaspheme." 45:14 Does the city get burned by Jesus when he comes or-- 45:22 Doug: Yeah, the--in Revelation 16 you've 45:25 got in the last plague it talks about this great hail 45:28 that falls upon men, and this is the seventh plague. 45:31 It's all synonymous with the second coming of Jesus. 45:35 The last plague is the Lord comes and, you know, there's a 45:37 great earthquake and a great hail plague. 45:40 Then you read in chapter 17--and keep in mind Revelation 45:43 often backs up and gives more detail. 45:45 You can read in chapter 17 about the fall of Babylon and all 45:49 these plagues that seem to fall on Babylon, but the ten horns 45:53 specifically are the ten divisions of the Roman Empire 45:59 that had grown into the nations of Europe that 46:02 ended up becoming the economic powerhouse of the world 46:07 and that where the seed of the beast is. 46:11 So you almost need to better understand the ten horns. 46:14 You need to read our lesson on who is the Antichrist. 46:18 Jean: That's right. 46:19 Just to add to that a little bit, when it talks about the ten 46:21 horns, it says they're ten kings. 46:23 A king represents a kingdom. 46:25 So there appears, according to Revelation 17, that there is a 46:28 coalition of kingdoms supporting the beast power 46:31 described as Babylon in Revelation 17. 46:34 But when they realize that they've been 46:35 deceived, this is just before the second coming of 46:37 Christ, they actually turn against this power. 46:41 So those powers--those political powers that once supported this 46:45 political religious power ends up turning against it. 46:48 And then of course you have the hail, you 46:50 have the second coming of Christ. 46:51 So it's right near the end. 46:53 The parallel of that is the drying up of the River Euphrates 46:57 where the support that came to symbolic Babylon is withdrawn. 47:00 Those powers withdraw their support. 47:03 Okay. 47:04 We have Andre listening in Colorado. 47:05 Andre, welcome to the program. 47:08 Andre: Yes. Thank you, pastors. 47:09 You all can hear me? 47:10 Doug: Yes. Thank you for calling. 47:12 Andre: Yes. 47:13 So my question is--this one has been confusing me for quite some 47:17 years actually, and it's in the topic of divorce and remarriage. 47:23 And my question is in regards to--in the situation of a 47:28 divorce where adultery took place. 47:32 And can the person who's in the wrong be remarried after that? 47:42 After--is there a time of, you know, repentance that can take 47:45 place and then that person can get remarried? 47:49 And the confusion is, is that person not supposed to be 47:53 married for the rest of their life or can they be 47:57 remarried eventually with true repentance? 48:01 And of course with, for example, David and Bathsheba, wasn't he 48:07 married and then he committed adultery and then he did what he 48:12 did with Bathsheba but he eventually married her? 48:16 So can you please explain that, please? 48:18 Doug: Yes, well, what you're saying is true. 48:21 David basically he killed Bathsheba's husband. 48:26 He did it at the hands of other soldiers and then he took her to 48:29 be his wife, and Nathan the prophet confronted him and said, 48:32 "Because of what you've done, the sword will never depart from 48:36 your house and you--because you did this thing you will lose 48:41 four of your sons," which ended up happening. 48:44 He lost the baby, lost Absalom, lost Adonijah, and lost Amnon. 48:49 And so you can say, yeah, God did forgive David and Bathsheba 48:55 ended up becoming his wife, and God knows you can't, 48:58 you know, unscramble scrambled eggs. 49:01 I guess God can do anything. He can do that, too. 49:02 But, you know, typically once you get into these divorce and 49:06 remarriage things, God sort of meets us where we're at. 49:10 When Jesus met the woman at the well, of course she 49:12 was a pagan and didn't know any better. 49:13 She'd had five husbands and was living 49:16 with a man she's not married to. 49:18 Well, he still revealed he was the Messiah and 49:21 we believe he saved her because she goes out 49:23 right away telling everyone else. 49:25 So--but biblically, you know, there's no grounds for divorce 49:29 and remarriage unless the other partner has committed adultery. 49:35 Jesus said--otherwise, as soon as you start making loopholes, 49:39 everybody starts trying to make the loopholes bigger. 49:42 Marriage is--it's interesting Pastor Ross and I just came from 49:44 a marriage, very sacred covenant. 49:47 If you're watching our television broadcast, you see 49:48 we're dressed up a little more than usual because 49:51 we walked over from the marriage here. 49:52 It's a sacred covenant. 49:54 It's supposed to be till death do you part. 49:56 Now, when there is divorce and sometimes people get divorced 50:00 and remarried and they don't have biblical grounds, are we 50:03 saying that's the unpardonable sin? 50:05 No. 50:07 The Bible says something else is the unpardonable sin. 50:10 But I recommend you talk to a pastor. 50:14 Sometimes there's a lot of more intimate details connected with 50:18 divorce and grounds for divorce than--you don't want radio 50:22 pastors giving you life advice on that. 50:24 You probably get someone local. 50:26 Jean: You know, we do have a book, Pastor Doug, 50:27 that gives some good biblical principles called 50:30 "Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage." 50:32 And we'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and ask. 50:34 It's 800-835-6747. Just ask of the book. 50:39 It's called "Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage." 50:41 We'll be happy to send it to you if you're in Canada or the US. 50:43 If you're outside of North America, just go 50:45 to the website AmazingFacts.org. 50:48 We've got Jeffrey listening in Texas. 50:50 Jeffrey, welcome to the program. 50:52 Jeffrey: Hey, I had a question coming out of 1 50:55 Corinthians 14 and 2 where it talks about the unknown tongue. 50:58 I wanted to get you guys's interpretation 51:01 on that word unknown tongues. 51:04 Sorry. 51:05 Doug: Yeah. Yeah. 51:06 So in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, Paul goes 51:10 into a length explaining about tongues. 51:15 Now, the word tongues simply means language. 51:17 Every time here in 1 Corinthians where you read the 51:20 word tongue, just insert the word language. 51:23 When they were speaking in their services in the Corinthian 51:26 churches, they had slaves from all over the Roman Empire. 51:30 They spoke many languages. 51:31 Their services were becoming confusing. 51:33 People were praying in public in 51:35 languages no one else understood. 51:37 Paul said, "If you're going to pray in a tongue--" And when he 51:39 says unknown tongue, he means unknown to the majority there. 51:44 "If you're praying in a tongue that is unknown to the others 51:46 there, you should have an interpreter." 51:49 Paul says, "If not, pray to yourself." 51:53 And you can read, for instance, in verse 7 he says, "Even things 51:56 without life, whether a flute or a harp, when they make a sound, 52:00 unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how 52:02 will it be known what is piped or played?" 52:04 You know, when you play music, if you give it to 52:06 a child, they just start playing gibberish on the 52:08 piano, you don't know what the song is. 52:10 It needs to be order and distinction 52:11 for you to recognize the song. 52:13 It says so it is--and he goes on and says, "If the trumpet makes 52:16 an uncertain sound, who can prepare for the battle?" 52:20 Trumpets used to give very specific sounds. 52:23 He said, "In the same way there are many languages in the world 52:27 and none of them is without significance. 52:29 Therefore, if I don't know the meaning of the language," and 52:32 I'm in verse 11 now, "I'll be a foreigner to him 52:35 who speaks, and he will be a foreigner to me." 52:37 So, you know, we--he's basically saying speak in the languages 52:41 now--and you read in verse 13, "Therefore let him who speaks in 52:46 a tongue pray that he might interpret. 52:48 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my 52:51 understanding is unfruitful," meaning people listening, 52:55 it's--they don't understand what I'm saying. 52:58 My praying is unfruitful to them. 53:00 So the summary of it is whether you're preaching or praying in 53:06 public, do it in a language that people listening understand, or 53:10 have an interpreter, a translator, or don't speak. 53:15 Now, we have a book on this, 53:16 and I really hope you'll request this. 53:19 It's called "Understanding Tongues." 53:21 It's a book that deals specifically 53:23 with the subject of tongues. 53:25 I know in a lot of churches people kind of break out 53:28 speaking in tongues and it sounds like 53:30 babbling or gibberish and folks are 53:32 wondering, "What are they saying?" 53:33 They say it's a heavenly prayer language, but there's 53:35 no example of Jesus doing this or Paul. 53:38 The only time they spoke in tongues was in 53:41 Acts chapter 2, Acts 10, and Acts 19. 53:45 And there are several language groups present. 53:48 Purpose for a tongue is to communicate thought, 53:51 and the idea of us just babbling in a language 53:55 we don't even understand is not biblical. 53:58 So if you want to find out what the Bible really says on this, 54:01 and it's a pretty compelling book, it's not a big book, just 54:04 ask for the book "Understanding Tongues." 54:07 Now, listening friends, we're going 54:08 to be taking off in just a minute. 54:11 As you know, if you've been listening for a while, this 54:14 program goes all across the country and other parts of the 54:16 world and we kind of sign off in two stages because some are 54:20 listening via satellite, which is on a different 54:22 schedule from the land-based stations. 54:24 So in a moment we're going to say farewell to those who are 54:27 listening by satellite, and then we're going to come back and 54:30 we're going to answer some rapid fire Bible questions. 54:34 And two things, Pastor Ross. 54:35 One is, how does a person get the book "Unknown Tongues?" 54:40 And the other is, how do they send in their questions? 54:42 Jean: Okay, to get the book, just call 800-835-6747. 54:46 That is our resource phone line. Ask for the book. 54:48 It's called "Understanding Tongues." 54:50 We'll be happy to send it to you if you're 54:51 in Canada or in North America. 54:53 And if you'd like to email us your Bible question, we'll 54:57 include it in our program, just simply send an email to 55:00 BALquestions@amazingfacts.org, BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. 55:07 And we'll be back in just a few 55:08 moments with some email questions. 55:13 announcer: Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. 55:16 We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. 55:20 "Bible Answers Live" is produced by Amazing Facts International, 55:24 a faith-based ministry located in Granite Bay, California. 55:29 Jean: Hello, friends. 55:30 Welcome back for our email questions or the 55:33 texting questions that have come in. 55:34 Pastor Doug, we have several good ones this evening. 55:37 Question number one, "Are the seven 55:39 last plagues literal or figurative?" 55:42 Doug: Well, both. 55:43 We believe that they're real because you read in Revelation 55:48 when it talks in chapter 15, 16 about the seven last plagues, 55:52 many of them are similar to the plagues that fell 55:53 on ancient Egypt, which were very real. 55:57 There were ten plagues that fell on Egypt as a prelude to their 56:01 deliverance and the journey to the Promised Land. 56:05 The children of Israel were protected from 56:07 the last seven of those ten plagues. 56:10 So in Revelation when it says there are seven plagues God 56:12 protects us through those seven last plagues, but they are very 56:16 real plagues that prelude our deliverance from this world and 56:20 beginning a journey to God's promised land. 56:23 Now, there may be some spiritual applications to some of the 56:26 plagues like the darkness on the seat of the beast, probably 56:28 literal darkness, but it means they're also living in darkness. 56:32 Jean: All right, next question that we have, it says, "When 56:34 Jesus says he baptizes with fire, what does it mean?" 56:39 Doug: The Holy Spirit because John the Baptist 56:42 says that he that comes after you 56:44 will baptize you in fire in the Spirit. 56:47 He makes it clear what that--and then you look in Acts chapter 2. 56:50 When the Holy Spirit fell on the apostles, 56:52 it says it came like tongues of fire. 56:55 The children of Israel when they came out of Egypt they went 56:58 through the Red Sea, baptized in water, then they were baptized 57:01 in a pillar of fire that God used to protect them. 57:04 We need both baptisms. 57:07 Jean: "Did Jesus die on Wednesday if the Bible says he 57:10 was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth?" 57:13 Doug: No. 57:15 The only reason people try to move the crucifixion to a 57:16 Wednesday is they misunderstand Matthew chapter 12 where Jesus 57:20 said, "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the heart of 57:23 the earth, so the son of man will be--" Rather "Jonah three 57:26 days, three nights in the belly of the fish, so the son of man 57:29 will be three days, three nights in the heart of the earth." 57:32 The three days of Jesus begins with his suffering and his 57:37 surrender in the Garden of Gethsemane. 57:40 So it's talking about Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday 57:43 night he was suffering for the sins of the world. 57:46 That's including the suffering, the death, and the tomb. 57:49 He rose Sunday morning. 57:50 So you don't need to move the crucifixion to Wednesday. 57:54 By the way, we do have a book that talks about that three days 57:56 and three nights, and it's called "The Sign of Jonah." 57:59 Jean: That's right. 58:00 If you'd like to receive the book, just call 800-835-6747. 58:04 Pastor Doug, one more. 58:06 "Where in the Bible does it say, 'God 58:07 helps those who help themselves?'" 58:09 Doug: Doesn't say that in the Bible. 58:11 That was Benjamin Franklin. 58:12 Hey, listening friends, we're going to learn more next week. 58:14 Tune in, tell your friends, and go to AmazingFacts.org. 58:19 God bless. 58:21 announcer: "Bible Answers Live," honest 58:24 and accurate answers to your Bible questions. |
Revised 2023-09-13