Participants:
Series Code: AFBA
Program Code: AFBA202307S
|
00:00 ♪♪♪
00:03 male announcer: It is the best-selling book in history. 00:05 No volume ever written has been more loved and quoted, and its 00:10 words sometimes simple and sometimes mysterious, should 00:14 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 answers to all your Bible questions. 00:28 This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. 00:31 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this 00:34 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, 00:48 Pastor Doug Batchelor. 00:50 Doug Batchelor: Hello, friends. 00:51 Would you like to hear an amazing fact? 00:54 The holy grail of global energy is the heat beneath our feet, 00:59 geothermal energy. 01:01 All over the planet, between 5 and 20 miles below our feet, 01:05 there is molten rock, well over 1,000 degrees. 01:09 That heat can produce enough steam-generated electricity 01:12 to power the planet. 01:14 The problem has been the drilling technology 01:17 to get down there. 01:18 The deepest hole ever bored into the earth was 01:21 the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia. 01:24 In 1992, it reached over 40,000 feet--that's 7 1/2 miles--before 01:30 it had to stop because the heat was melting the drill bits. 01:33 Now there's a company with new technology that does not rely on 01:37 traditional drilling methods. 01:39 Quaise Energy, working with MIT, has developed new drill bits 01:44 with a millimeter wave energy that are designed to melt and 01:47 vaporize rock to create deeper holes to reach and harness the 01:51 heat in the earth's core. 01:54 Quaise Energy says there's enough energy in the earth's 01:57 magma to power every city on earth for thousands of years. 02:02 Clearly, Pastor Ross, it's a question of going deeper. 02:05 Jean Ross: That's right. 02:06 The deeper you go, the more energy you get. 02:08 Doug: Get power. 02:09 Jean: I think there's a spiritual application there, 02:11 Pastor Doug. 02:12 If we want to have the power of the Holy Spirit, we need to seek 02:14 for a deeper experience in the things of God, a deeper 02:17 understanding of His Word, a deeper commitment 02:20 of our lives to Him. 02:22 There is power in the Spirit. 02:23 Doug: That's right. 02:25 Makes me think of the passage where Jesus says, in Luke 02:27 chapter 6, verse 48, "A wise man is like a man building a house, 02:32 who dug deep, and he laid the foundation on the rock. 02:36 And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against 02:39 that house, and it could not shake it, 02:41 for it was founded on the rock." 02:43 And, of course, Jesus said to the woman at the well that He 02:47 was offering her this artesian water, and she said, 02:50 "But the well is deep." 02:52 And, well, of course, that Jacob's well was deep, but you 02:56 also have to go deep if you want the living water, and going 02:59 deeper into our relationship with the Lord in our prayers, in 03:03 our study, you get more by going deeper, and we try to go a 03:08 little deeper sometimes on this program, but if you'd like to 03:11 know how you can have a deeper relationship with God in His 03:14 Spirit, how do we do that? 03:16 Jean: We've got a book, and it's free. 03:18 We'll send it to anyone who calls and asks. 03:19 The book is called "Life in the Spirit," 03:21 and it's all about the Holy Spirit. 03:23 That is our free offer today, and if you'd like to call for 03:26 it, the number is 800-835-6747, and you can ask for Offer Number 03:31 155, or just call, ask for it by name, "Life in the Spirit," or 03:36 there's another way you can get the book. 03:38 Just simply dial "#250" on your smartphone and say, 03:42 "Bible Answers Live!" 03:43 and then ask for the book "Life in the Spirit," and we'll be 03:46 happy to send that to anyone who gives us a call 03:48 or gets in touch with us. 03:50 If you're outside of North America, outside of the U.S. 03:52 and Canada, you can access this by just going to our website, 03:56 just, AmazingFacts.org. 03:58 You'll be able to read the book for free there. 04:00 And, Pastor Doug, we want to greet 04:02 all of those who are joining us. 04:04 I know we have people who are watching on AFTV and, of course, 04:06 listening on the radio across the country, but we also have 04:08 others who are participating in this program online, outside of 04:11 the U.S., folks all around the world and Europe and down in 04:15 Australia and likewise. 04:16 We want to welcome all of you to this special, kin-depth Bible 04:20 study where we try to go a little deeper in the Word. 04:23 Doug: Amen, and so, yeah, we're also streaming on, 04:28 as you mentioned, Facebook. 04:29 It's the Amazing Facts Facebook page, the Doug Batchelor 04:32 Facebook page, and you can text your friends right now and say, 04:36 "Bible Answers Live" is live. 04:38 So call in with your questions. 04:39 We're on TV, we're on radio, and we're going to go before the 04:43 Lord and then go on to the phones. 04:45 Jean: Let's start with a word of prayer. 04:46 Dear Father, we thank You, once again, that we have this 04:48 opportunity to open up Your Word and study. 04:51 Lord, we know there's power in the Word. 04:53 Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth will set 04:56 you free," so we pray, Lord, that our minds will be clear to 04:59 receive the Word of truth. 05:01 So bless those who are listening and those who call in. 05:03 And we pray for guidance, Lord, as we search here, in the 05:06 studio, the Scriptures. 05:07 We ask this in Jesus's name, amen. 05:09 Doug: Amen. 05:10 Jean: Well, we're ready to go to 05:12 our first caller this evening. 05:13 We've got a caller from London, England. 05:15 Dawn, welcome to the program. 05:16 You are on the air. 05:19 Dawn: Good morning, Pastor Doug and Pastor Jean Ross. 05:22 My question is God commands us to worship 05:26 on the seventh day, Sabbath. 05:28 Of all the calendar and timeline changes over the years, how do 05:32 we know with great certainty that the Saturday that we 05:37 observe today is still the Sabbath? 05:40 Doug: You know, when I get that question, I would--I always 05:43 am tempted to say to those that worship on the first day of the 05:47 week, "How do you know that's the day that it is?" 05:50 People usually have no trouble remembering what the days of the 05:54 week are until they learn the Sabbath truth and say, 05:56 "Well, we really don't know." 05:58 But, first of all, you can just look at--there's a whole nation 06:01 of Jews all over the world, and they have been keeping the 06:05 seventh day Sabbath in continuity from long 06:10 before the Christian era. 06:11 Somebody wrote a letter, Pastor Ross, to the U.S. 06:14 Naval Observatory, where they're, you know, they're very 06:16 particular about keeping time down to the millionth of a 06:20 second, and I'm not exaggerating. 06:22 They really do keep it to a millionth of a second. 06:25 And they said, "Has there been any change, any change in the 06:29 calendar that has affected the days of the week?" 06:34 And they said there have been, you know, several changes in the 06:36 calendar, but that never affects the days of the week. 06:39 You know, we had the Julian calendar, named for Julius 06:42 Caesar, and then we went to the Gregorian calendar, named after 06:45 Pope Gregory, and it was a change they needed to make to 06:47 adjust the seasons where because, you know, we've got 365 06:52 one-quarter days to the year, and they needed 06:55 to make that adjustment. 06:56 So they made the appropriate adjustment, and what happened 06:59 was--I think it was 1582, Thursday, 1582, October 5 was 07:06 followed by Friday, October 15. 07:08 They added ten days, but Friday followed Thursday 07:12 as it always does. 07:14 So the days of the week have not been affected by any calendar 07:16 change, and so, yeah, the U.S. 07:20 Naval Observatory said there has been no change in the calendar, 07:22 to their knowledge, that has ever affected 07:24 the continuity of the weekly cycle. 07:27 Jean: You know, Pastor Doug, you already addressed the Jewish 07:29 nation as a whole. 07:30 If you think back 2,000 years ago, Jesus was on the earth. 07:33 He knew which day was the Sabbath. 07:35 He kept the Sabbath the same day that the Jews kept as the 07:38 Sabbath, and then for 2,000 years for an entire nation to 07:42 get mixed up within the period of seven days as to which day of 07:46 the week they're on is impossible. 07:48 Doug: Yeah, it's their holy day. 07:50 And then, furthermore, in the Bible, it tells us very 07:52 specifically Jesus died on what we would call the preparation 07:55 day or Friday, the sixth day of the week. 07:57 That's why many call it Good Friday. 08:00 And then He rested in the tomb on the Sabbath. 08:03 He even kept the Sabbath in His death. 08:05 And then He rose the first day of the week, which people all 08:09 agree is Sunday morning. 08:11 So the Bible is clear. 08:13 Calendar is clear. History is clear. 08:15 You get the, you know, the Jewish nation. 08:17 There's really no question about that. 08:18 Jean: You know, we have a study guide. 08:20 It's called "The Lost Day of History." 08:21 That talks about the Sabbath. 08:23 Is it binding on Christians today? 08:24 What is its significance? 08:25 We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. 08:27 Again, the study guide is called "The Lost Day of History," and 08:30 the phone number to call is 800-835-6747, or dial "#250" 08:36 on your phone. 08:37 Ask for the study guide. 08:39 It's called "The Lost Day of History." 08:40 Doug: Thank you, Dawn. Good question. 08:42 Jean: We've got Gary listening in Illinois. 08:43 Gary, welcome to the program. 08:45 Gary: Thank you. 08:46 I was hoping you can help me understand 08:48 a biblical contradiction. 08:50 In Ephesians 2:8-9, it says, "We're saved by grace through 08:54 faith, and not of ourselves. 08:56 It is a gift from God, and not of works." 08:59 But now I found a--and everybody seems to quote that one, but in 09:03 Philippians 2:12, it says, "Work out your salvation 09:06 with fear and trembling." 09:08 And so that contradicts it, and same with Revelation 22, "I come 09:12 quickly, and My reward is with Me for what you have done." 09:17 So there seems to be a contradiction. 09:19 I was hoping you could clarify that for me. 09:22 Doug: Oh, I'm so glad you asked that question because it's 09:24 a common misunderstanding, and it is very important. 09:28 Let's go back to what you read to begin with in Ephesians 09:30 chapter 2: "For by grace--" this is verse 8. 09:34 "For by grace you've been saved through faith, 09:36 that not of yourselves. 09:37 It is a gift of God, not of works, 09:39 lest anyone should boast." 09:41 And then many people stop. 09:42 Read the next verse: "For we are His workmanship, created in 09:47 Christ Jesus for good works." 09:50 So, when we are born again, we're re-created. 09:52 We are re-created for good works. 09:55 So, a Christian definitely does works, but we're not doing the 09:58 works to be saved. 10:00 We're doing the works, because we are saved. 10:03 And that is, I think, a fundamental difference. 10:06 It's so important to understand that. 10:08 God saves us by His grace. 10:11 We're not saved because we earn it by doing good works. 10:15 When we accept His salvation, which is free, then we want to 10:19 do good works because we love Him. 10:21 Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep my commandments." 10:24 Now, an example would be the thief on the cross who--well, 10:27 there are two thieves, but one turned to Jesus. 10:29 He asked for mercy, said, "Lord, remember me." 10:33 Jesus said, "You will be with Me in Paradise." 10:36 He didn't do any good works. 10:37 All he did, shortly after that, was die. 10:40 So he would--definitely was not saved by his works. 10:42 He was saved by grace. 10:43 Now, if he had come down from the cross somehow and survived, 10:46 he would have lived differently out of love 10:49 for the Lord and gratitude. 10:51 So there are definitely works in the Christian life. 10:53 Even Martin Luther said that, you know, we are not saved by 10:56 works, but we will not be saved without them. 11:00 So the saved will have works in their life. 11:03 So, hopefully, that helps. 11:04 It's a great question, Gary, and we do have a book called "Does 11:08 God's Grace Blot Out the Law?" 11:10 Jean: And we'll be happy to send that to you, Gary, or 11:13 anyone wanting to learn more about the subject. 11:15 The book is called "Does God's Grace Blot Out the Law?" 11:18 The number is 800-835-6747. 11:20 That is our resource phone line. 11:22 You can also just dial "#250" on your smartphone and ask for 11:26 "Does God's Grace Blot Out the Law?" 11:28 You know, Pastor Doug, James, in the book of James, says, 11:31 "Someone says, 'I have faith,'" and then he goes on to say, 11:36 "Show me your faith by your works." 11:38 So the kind of faith that saves is a working faith, a faith that 11:41 is demonstrated in the life. 11:43 We've got Jerry listening in Texas. 11:45 Jerry, welcome to the program. 11:47 Jerry: Hey, pastors. 11:48 I just wanted to get your take on this. 11:50 I had a discussion with a good friend of mine, and I told her 11:55 that there was no marriage in heaven, and she was disappointed 11:58 by it, you know? 11:59 She loves children. 12:01 Of course, in Zechariah 8:5, it says the children, the boys and 12:05 girls, will play in heaven, but what about after 1,000 years 12:09 or 1,500 years? 12:11 Doug: That's a good question. 12:12 Well, you know, God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful, and the 12:15 word He used is "to fill the earth." 12:17 I think some versions say "replenish" it. 12:19 Just, it really means "to fill the earth." 12:21 God intended to populate the world with the redeemed. 12:25 I don't think God intended for people to continue to multiply 12:30 so that the resources of the planet would be crowded out, and 12:33 everybody'd be falling' off the planet into empty space. 12:36 You know, at some point, God was going to think, "Okay, we've got 12:40 the optimum number of people to enjoy this paradise I've made, 12:43 and there'd be no more procreation," 12:45 unless He kept making new worlds. 12:47 So, we understand now that the new earth, through the plan of 12:50 salvation, will be repopulated with the redeemed, and Jesus 12:55 said the saved do not marry nor are they given in marriage, 12:59 meaning that, you know, we don't procreate. 13:02 Will there be children in heaven? 13:04 The children of all those who were saved will be resurrected 13:06 or caught up into the air as children, but they will 13:11 eventually grow up, and you read about that in Malachi chapter 4. 13:14 It says: "They will go forth and grow up as calves of the stall." 13:18 So, and I think there's that passage in Isaiah, Pastor Ross, 13:23 where it says, "And the child will die 100 years old," and 13:26 that simply means they don't even cease to be a child until 13:29 they're 100 years old, so they grow more slowly. 13:32 But you're right, after 1,000 years, you probably won't see 13:35 any new children in the kingdom. 13:37 Kind of sad to think about, but I promise, 13:39 nobody's going to ask for a refund. 13:41 I promise. 13:43 Everyone will be happy in heaven. 13:45 Thanks so much, Jerry. 13:46 Appreciate that. 13:47 Jean: Okay, very good. Thanks, Jerry. 13:49 We've got Brittany listening in California. 13:51 Brittany, welcome to the program. 13:54 Brittany: Hey--hah-hah-hah. 13:56 Doug: Hi, thanks for calling. 13:57 Brittany: Well, my question is why does Matthew 22:16, Mark 14:03 12:14, and Luke 20:21, say the exact same thing in the 14:09 beginning but different wording at the end? 14:14 Doug: In Matthew 22, verse 16--I can 14:18 only go there real quick. 14:19 I'm starting with--you've given me several verses here. 14:22 I want to start with them, one by one. 14:24 Says, "And they sent to Him their disciples with the 14:26 Herodians, saying, 'Teacher, we know that You're true, and teach 14:29 the way of God, and You don't care about anyone. 14:31 You regard no person of men. 14:33 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? 14:35 Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?" 14:36 Is that the one you're talking about? 14:39 Brittany: Yeah, that's-- 14:40 Doug: Yeah, keep in mind that Jesus had a number of--and you 14:44 might find the wording a little different in other gospels. 14:47 Is that what you're saying? 14:50 Brittany: Yeah, I'm doing a topic study on the Christian 14:56 truth, and then I found these passages, 14:59 and it's saying the same thing. 15:01 I'm like, "What on earth is that about?" 15:03 So-- 15:04 Doug: Yeah, well, keep in mind that, first of all, Jesus 15:08 had a number of encounters with the scribes and the Pharisees 15:12 and the Herodians, and this, to me, I think, is evidence that 15:16 the wording is slightly different, then Matthew, Mark, 15:19 and Luke are not just copying each other. 15:21 They're telling the story the way the remember it, and they're 15:24 really all telling the same story, aren't they, about Him 15:27 holding up the coin and saying, "Render to Caesar the things 15:29 that are Caesar's," right? 15:32 Brittany: Yeah. 15:34 Doug: So the essence of the story and the answer and the 15:36 teaching of Christ is the same in all the stories. 15:39 The wording leading up to it may be a little different. 15:43 Another thing to keep in mind is that, as Jesus went from town to 15:46 town, some of His experiences had been repeated by others, and 15:54 so His confrontation with the scribes and the Pharisees and 15:58 Herodians may have been retold by the apostles to others, and 16:01 so you're getting them telling it from their perspectives, 16:05 and that's normal. 16:06 They're putting in their own words what happened. 16:08 They may have been very long conversations, but they're 16:11 making it very succinct. 16:13 Jean: And, again, as you mentioned, Pastor Doug, if you 16:15 look at what's actually being said, the content is the same. 16:19 The wording might be a little different, but the principle or 16:22 the point that Christ is making is clear 16:24 in all three gospel accounts. 16:26 Doug: Yeah, one more thing to remember is--and it was brought 16:29 to my attention that Jesus, He taught in Aramaic. 16:35 The scribes spoke, you know, Aramaic and pure Hebrew, and 16:39 they lived in a country that had been occupied by Greece, so many 16:43 of them understood Greek, and they were occupied by the 16:46 Romans, who spoke Latin, and so as these stories are told and 16:49 retold, the gospels are written in Greek, but Jesus didn't say 16:52 these things in Greek. 16:54 So they're translating what was said in Aramaic into Greek, and 16:58 you can choose a few different words to translate. 17:00 So that's one more reason sometimes 17:02 you'll see a little difference. 17:04 Jean: All right, that's a good point. 17:05 Next caller that we have is Tim listening in Wisconsin. 17:08 Tim, welcome to the program. 17:10 Tim: Good evening, pastors. How are you? 17:12 Doug: I'm doing great. Thank you for calling. 17:14 Tim: Excellent. 17:15 No, thank you for taking my call. 17:16 My question--I don't want it to be confusing. 17:21 In prophecy, we believe that the 70-week prophecy, the 490-year 17:26 prophecy, that was all in order from 457 B.C. 17:31 to 34 A.D., when the stoning of Stephen happened, and there's no 17:36 breaks in there, and some people believe that the last week of 17:39 the 60--or the 70-week prophecy is going to be in the future, 17:45 and we already know it's not because it's-- 17:47 it ended in 34 A.D. 17:49 Doug: Mm-hmm. 17:50 Tim: Now, my question has to do--and don't want to be 17:52 confusing, but my question has to do with Revelation chapter 17:57 16, verse 12, when the angel pours out the sixth bowl, I 18:02 believe, and the river Euphrates dries up, now, in prophecy, I'm 18:08 just having a little trouble because I want to go in order. 18:11 My mind works in order, one, two, three, four, five. 18:14 Doug: Sequentially, yeah. Tim: Thank you. 18:17 Kind of nervous. I apologize. 18:19 Doug: No, you're doing fine. 18:21 Tim: When the river Euphrates dried up when the Medo-Persians 18:25 attacked and conquered Babylon, is the river Euphrates still 18:30 going to dry up again in prophecy, according to 18:32 Revelation, or has that already happened? 18:35 And why, if we believe things, you know, in order, why would we 18:39 go back to believe that one? 18:41 I'm trying not to be confusing. 18:43 I'm just trying to figure it out. 18:44 Doug: Yeah, well, for one thing, Revelation has several 18:46 examples of history repeating itself. 18:48 You've got the plagues in the Old Testament that were literal 18:51 plagues, the blood and the frogs and the sun going dark, 18:56 so forth, the hail. 18:57 You see some of those same plagues repeated in Revelation, 19:01 so you do have history repeating itself. 19:03 The sequence isn't always the same, and the prophecies in 19:06 Revelation--I'm going to let Pastor Ross also address this 19:09 because it's, sort of, his special study. 19:11 The prophecies in Revelation are not all taking place 19:14 in sequential order. 19:16 The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation and Isaiah and 19:19 Ezekiel, they basically give a picture, then they come back, 19:23 and they show the same picture from a different angle, using 19:26 different symbols, and the time lapse may overlap a little bit 19:29 and then progress, but sometimes they back up to re-cover 19:33 something, and when it talks about the Euphrates drying up, 19:37 well, I think there's a spiritual application to that. 19:41 The Euphrates was the principal source for the water of Babylon, 19:46 and Ancient Babylon, we know, has a spiritual meaning too, and 19:50 it's going to dry up, but it is interesting the literal 19:53 Euphrates seems to be drying up also. 19:56 Jean: That's right, of course, if you look at the 19:58 context, Revelation 16, verse 12, we're talking about one of 20:02 the plagues, actually, talking about the sixth plague, and the 20:04 sixth plague sort of leads into the seventh, 20:08 which is the Second Coming of Christ. 20:09 There's some other things connected with it, but the sixth 20:12 plague prepares the way for the Second Coming of Christ. 20:16 So it's got a literal application, as you mentioned, 20:18 Pastor Doug, but there's also definitely a spiritual 20:20 application in that you have the water Euphrates. 20:23 In -- Bible prophecy, it represents people, multitudes 20:25 and nations and kins and tongues, and giving their 20:28 support to this spiritual power, called Babylon, but during the 20:32 plagues, they realized they've been deceived, and they withdraw 20:35 that support, and the drying up the river Euphrates is a 20:39 withdrawal of the support that the people gave or give to this 20:43 religious, political power at the end, and that is preparing 20:46 the way for the Second Coming of Christ. 20:48 There's also a counterfeit that takes place around that time. 20:52 It talks about three unclean spirits, like frogs, coming out 20:54 of the mouth of the dragon, out of the beast, 20:56 out of the false prophet. 20:57 This is the devil that is performing miracles just before 21:01 the Second Coming of Christ. 21:03 So there's a lot happening in this verse. 21:05 Doug: Yeah, and you actually see the drying up of the 21:07 Euphrates happening in Revelation 18, where it talks 21:11 about Babylon, and it says, "I sit as a queen, and 'No more 21:15 I'll see no sorrow,' she said. 21:16 Therefore her plagues will come in one day-- 21:18 death and mourning and famine. 21:20 And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the 21:23 Lord who judges her." 21:24 And it goes through that whole chapter and talks about how she 21:27 is drying up with--economically and socially and politically, 21:32 and, just, it shows the--basically, the decimation 21:35 of Babylon happening there. 21:38 Jean: All right, very good. Thank you, Tim. 21:40 We've got Angela listening in Illinois. 21:41 Angela, welcome to the program. 21:44 Angela: Oh, hi, Pastor Ross, and hi, Pastor Doug. 21:47 Doug: Hi. 21:48 Angela: I have a question in regards to 2 Chronicles 33. 21:53 I was reading about Manasseh, and I was just wondering, you 21:58 know, although Manasseh humbled himself, basically, reading all 22:02 of the despicable things that he did, you know, when Assyria took 22:08 him and he humbled himself and the Lord restored him, do you 22:13 think that Manasseh would be saved? 22:17 Doug: You know, it says he turned back to the Lord God, and 22:20 so assuming that that's the Holy Spirit working in his life, that 22:25 "since he repaired the altar of the Lord, he sacrificed peace 22:28 offerings and thank offerings on it," so he's claiming the mercy 22:32 of God and the blood of the lamb, "and he commanded Judah to 22:36 serve the Lord God of Israel," and this is 22:39 in 2 Chronicles 33:16. 22:42 So, and it talks about his prayer that he prayed. 22:44 There's a record of it that we don't have in the Bible, but it 22:46 mentions his prayer of repentance. 22:48 I think Hezekiah, his father, who is a good king, he's praying 22:53 for his son, before he dies, and I think God ultimately is 22:56 answering Hezekiah's prayer that Manasseh would be saved. 23:00 So I know it's despicable what he did, but God's mercy is so 23:05 great, I think He even forgave Manasseh. 23:09 Angela: Okay, thank you. 23:11 Doug: You're welcome. 23:12 Thanks so much. 23:13 Jean: Next caller that we have is Lee listening in Texas. 23:16 Lee, welcome to the program. 23:19 Lee: Yes, sir, Pastor, thank you. 23:20 Can you hear me? 23:21 Doug: Yes. 23:23 Lee: Okay, my question is "Can a person still repent 23:26 during the enforcement of the mark of the beast?" 23:30 Doug: Okay, possibly. 23:33 Now, when you say, "enforcement," once a person 23:35 receives the mark of the beast, I believe that they've grieved 23:38 away the Holy Spirit because it says that the wrath of God 23:42 abides upon them, those who receive the mark of the beast, 23:46 and you read that in Revelation 14, and, I think, a couple of 23:48 other places, but there'll be a time when the mark of the beast 23:53 is being issued, and people can still make choices, but, at some 23:58 point, the sealed are sealed, and the lost are lost, and 24:01 there's no forgiveness or repentance. 24:03 Is that your understanding? 24:05 Jean: Yeah, absolutely. 24:06 Of course, the mark of the beast issue is going to bring--it's 24:09 going to be brought before everyone, so everyone gets to 24:11 make a choice: Are they going to go along with man-made 24:13 traditions, or are they going to be obedient to the Word of God? 24:15 It's at that point, that critical point, where people are 24:19 either sealed with the seal, or they receive 24:21 the mark of the beast. 24:22 And then the Bible says probation closes, and Jesus 24:25 says, "He that is holy, let him be holy still. 24:27 He that is filthy, let him be filthy still." 24:29 Probation closes, the seven last plagues fall, and then Jesus 24:33 comes, so it's a pretty important time. 24:35 Doug: Says in Revelation 14:11, "They have no rest day or 24:39 night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives 24:43 the mark of his name." 24:44 So once they receive the mark, it seems like they settled their 24:48 decision, and they're lost for eternity. 24:51 Can we squeeze in one more before the break? 24:53 Jean: Yeah, let's try Edna in Canada. 24:55 Edna, welcome to the program. 24:57 Edna: Good evening, gentlemen. 24:59 I have a question in regards to Daniel 12:11 and 12, about the 25:05 1,290 days and the 1,335. 25:08 Where do they fit in, in this--in the prophecy? 25:13 Doug: Okay, good question. 25:15 You're asking one of the big questions on--you get more time 25:19 prophecies in Daniel 12, than anywhere else in the Bible, and 25:23 so it talks about 1,260 days, 1,335, and 1,290, 25:28 not in that order. 25:30 Daniel is dealing with a great apostasy that happens in the 25:34 church and a great persecution of God's people in a time of 25:37 trouble, and he, sort of, is summarizing what he has said 25:41 regarding these times, earlier in the book. 25:44 And do we have a study written? 25:48 I'm just wondering if we have something we can send because 25:51 it's sometimes a challenge to go through Clovis, the king of the 25:54 Franks, and the 1,335, and I don't know 25:57 if you want to take a stab at it? 25:58 Jean: Yeah, I'm just wondering, Pastor Doug, you 26:00 bring up a good point. 26:01 Maybe we do need to get a little book together because we do get 26:03 this question -- time. 26:04 Doug: We get that question a lot. 26:06 Jean: You know, historically, the conservative Bible 26:07 theologians, many of the early reformers, understood the 26:10 principle for a day equals a year, understood that these time 26:13 periods represent 1,290 years, or 1,335 years, and they've 26:19 identified a rather important date for the starting of that 26:22 has been 508, 508 A.D., when France or the Franks at the 26:28 time, the King of which was Clovis, when he converted to 26:31 Christianity and accepted Papal authority, that really opened up 26:36 for the establishment of the Papal power-- 26:39 Doug: The religious, political power. 26:40 Jean: --but throughout western Europe. 26:43 So using that as the starting date, you end up in 1798. 26:46 If you use the 1,290, and if you use the 1,335, it goes from 508 26:51 all the way up to 1843, which, if you study church history, you 26:56 realize that was a very significant time, a time of 26:58 revival, especially North America, and that was preparing 27:02 for entering into the time of judgment at the end of the -- 27:06 Doug: Church of Laodicea, which were 27:07 entered into during that time. 27:09 Well, and there's more to that. 27:10 We really need to do a study on Daniel 12, so, when people ask, 27:15 we can map it out for them because it's one of the deepest 27:19 Bible-study prophecies that's there. 27:22 Hey, friends, you hear the music. 27:23 This is halftime. Don't go away. 27:25 We have some important announcements I think you'll be 27:27 blessed by, and we're going to come back 27:28 and do more Bible questions. 27:30 It's not too late to call in with your question. 27:32 We'll talk and study in a minute. 27:34 ♪♪♪ 27:38 announcer: Stay tuned. 27:39 "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly. 27:42 ♪♪♪ 27:44 female announcer: Life can be overwhelming. 27:46 Where can an on-the-go woman find quality time with God? 27:49 The new Amazing Treasures of Faith box, sent from Amazing 27:52 Facts, empowers your devotional life with inspiring resources 27:56 that will bring lasting peace into your busy life. 27:58 This beautifully designed box set by women for women comes 28:02 with a 31-day devotional, recipe and Scripture cards, and special 28:05 messages from Pastor Doug and Karen Batchelor. 28:07 Get your Amazing Treasures of Faith box set today. 28:10 Just call 800-538-7275, or visit afbookstore.com. 28:18 male announcer: Written by the hand of God and spoken with 28:22 His voice, some words will never fade. 28:27 ♪♪♪ 28:35 announcer: Get Pastor Doug Batchelor's 12-part sermon 28:37 series on the "Ten Commandments," by calling 28:39 800-538-7275, or visit afbookstore.com. 28:45 ♪♪♪ 28:48 announcer: You're listening to "Bible Answers Live," where 28:51 every question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His 28:54 plan to save you. 28:56 So what are you waiting for? 28:58 Get practical answers about the Good Book 29:00 for a better life today. 29:03 ♪♪♪ 29:05 announcer: This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. 29:08 If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the 29:11 air, please call us next Sunday between 7 p.m. 29:14 and 8 p.m., Pacific time. 29:17 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this 29:20 evening's program, call 800-835-6747. 29:25 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 29:30 Now let's rejoin our hosts for more "Bible Answers Live." 29:36 Doug: Welcome back, listening friends, to "Bible Answers 29:38 Live," and if you have a Bible question, 29:40 you can still give us a call. 29:41 The number is 800-GOD-SAYS. 29:44 That's 800-463-7297. 29:48 We're also streaming on Facebook right now on the Amazing Facts 29:51 Facebook page or the Doug Batchelor Facebook page or the 29:54 Amazing Facts YouTube channel, and you can text your friends 29:58 and tell them listen in or call in with a question. 30:00 My name is Doug Batchelor. 30:02 Jean: My name is Jean Ross, and we've got a number of folks 30:04 who are waiting, holding on for a line. 30:06 We've got Bradley listening in Arizona. 30:08 Bradley, welcome to the program. 30:11 Bradley: Hey, how are you guys doing tonight? 30:13 I'm glad you took my call, and my question is--I've been doing 30:16 some studying, and I've heard some pastors on some other 30:19 satellite stations that made it sound like Jesus would've come 30:24 the second time already if we would've, as His people, had our 30:29 act together and gotten a good word out, and I'm wondering if 30:34 there's any Scripture that backs that up? 30:37 Doug: Yeah, actually, I think there is. 30:40 I think you'll agree, Bradley, that the children of Israel, God 30:44 wanted to bring them into the Promised Land sooner than He 30:47 did, but because of their lack of faith, 30:50 they wandered for 40 years. 30:53 You know, Jesus says in Matthew 24:14, he said, "The Gospel of 30:57 the kingdom will go into all the world." 30:58 I think, if Christians had been more inspired and diligent to 31:02 share their faith and get the gospel out, He would've come, 31:06 and there's a verse, if you look--and this is one of several 31:09 I could probably show you. 31:10 If you look in 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 12, it says, "Looking 31:15 for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which 31:20 the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements 31:23 will melt with fervent heat?" 31:25 And he says that we should be "looking for and hastening." 31:28 So how do we hasten? 31:29 Well, it said everyone needs to hear the gospel even though they 31:32 may not all believe. 31:33 It goes out as a witness to all nations. 31:35 So, I think--and there's a lot of other verses, I think, that 31:40 imply that--I mean, God knows--He knows everything. 31:42 He knows when He's going to come. 31:44 He knew the children of Israel were going to wander 31:46 longer than they needed to. 31:47 So it's not like God's been surprised, but as far as our 31:51 responsibility, things could've happened sooner 31:55 if we had been more diligent. 31:58 Jean: All right, very good. Well, thank you, Bradley. 32:00 Good question. 32:01 We've got Ann listening in Minnesota. 32:02 Ann, welcome to the program. 32:05 Ann: Hi, Pastor, thanks for taking my call. 32:07 Doug: Thank you. 32:08 Ann: My question today is "Can the Bible be an idol?" 32:12 Doug: Well, I think so. 32:14 You know, I think some people take a big family Bible, and 32:16 they put it on the coffee table in the living room, and they'll 32:19 put flowers in it, and they'll tell everyone to, you know, dust 32:22 it, and they don't ever read it. 32:25 So it's like they've got--they say, "We've got this Holy Book," 32:27 and they might kneel in front of it and pray to it, 32:29 and you could make a Bible an idol. 32:32 Not too many people do that, but, technically, 32:35 I suppose you could. 32:36 They're not reading it and following its teaching. 32:38 It's like they're revering just the book for being a Holy Book. 32:42 Jean: Now, there is something to treating 32:43 the Bible with reverence. 32:44 Doug: Yeah, we should. 32:46 Jean: You don't just treat it like any other book. 32:47 It is the Word of God. 32:48 Doug: But we don't pray to the Bible. 32:50 Jean: No, there's no--I mean, it's the words in the book 32:51 that have the power-- 32:53 --not the book, in and of itself. 32:54 Doug: True. 32:56 Jean: Does that help, Anna--or Ann? 32:57 Ann: Yes, it does. Thank you. 32:58 Jean: All right, you're welcome. 33:00 Thanks. 33:01 We've got Grace listening in California. 33:02 Grace, welcome to the program. 33:04 Grace: Hi, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross. 33:06 Good evening. 33:07 Doug: Evening. 33:09 Grace: My question is about is it good for a Christian to 33:12 take a student loan? 33:16 Doug: Well, the principle in the Bible, as far as possible, 33:20 we should avoid debt. 33:22 You've got examples, where it says, you know, the borrow is 33:25 servant to the lender. 33:27 There's a story in the Bible in 2 Kings chapter 4, where this 33:32 wife, she was married to one of the sons of the prophets. 33:35 Her husband takes out a loan for some land or something, and he 33:38 dies, leaving the family in debt, and the children are about 33:41 to be sold off, and she's terribly anxious and suffering 33:46 because of this debt, so, but maybe he had no choice. 33:51 Some people will never get through school or buy a home 33:53 unless they take out loans, but you don't want to borrow more 33:57 than you can really handle. 33:59 I think we saw, a few years ago, this terrible home-loan crisis 34:03 in North America. 34:04 The banks were giving away loans to people that really weren't 34:07 qualified, and then, when the market imploded, thousands, 34:12 millions of people lost their homes because they took on too 34:16 much debt, and it was very tragic. 34:18 So, you know, sometimes the only way that you're going to get 34:21 through school or get a home is to make-- 34:25 take on a responsible debt. 34:27 Just make sure you don't get in over your head or what you can 34:29 reasonably pay. 34:31 And so you need to pray about that, but it's not a sin. 34:35 Jean: You know, Pastor Doug, we also have the book written 34:37 about what the Bible has to say about debt, and we actually 34:41 advertise that book during our break with the program here, and 34:44 we'll be happy to send that to-- 34:46 Doug: Yeah, "Freedom From Debt." 34:47 Jean: --yeah, we'll be happy to send it 34:48 to anyone who calls and asks. 34:50 The number is 800-835-6747, and the book, again, 34:52 Pastor Doug, I'm looking for-- 34:53 Doug: "Freedom from Debt." Jean: "Freedom from Debt." 34:55 Doug: It may not be in our list here. 34:56 Jean: It's a newer book. 34:57 We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls. 34:59 In Canada and the U.S., just ask for the book by name, 35:01 "Freedom from Debt." 35:02 Also, you could get the book by pressing "#250," 35:07 on your smartphone. 35:08 Say, "Bible Answers Live," and ask for the book. 35:10 Next caller that we have is Dennis listening in Oregon. 35:13 Dennis, welcome to the program. 35:15 Dennis: Hello, pastors, good evening. 35:18 Yeah, my question is--go back to the beginning here, Genesis 1, 35:24 verse 28, talks about "Go forth and multiply." 35:29 Well, my understanding is Adam and Eve only had three sons. 35:35 I wonder how this is supposed to be possible? 35:38 Doug: Well, you have to go to chapter 5. 35:40 You got your Bible in front of you? 35:41 Dennis: Yes, I do. 35:43 Doug: Okay, go to chapter 5, and it tells about the first 35:45 three sons, but there were many others. 35:47 You look in verse 4, and it says, "After he begot Seth, the 35:51 days of Adam were 800 years, and he had sons and daughters." 35:56 So, Adam and Eve, living all those years--and I'm sure they 35:58 were fertile for many years. 36:00 God told them, "Be fruitful and multiply," and she may have had 36:04 several sets of twins. 36:06 I heard, I think, the record is one woman had 69 children. 36:11 That's the record as far as I know. 36:12 It's been years ago, but I think on Mother's Day, 36:14 years ago, I did that. 36:16 One woman had 69 children, several sets of twins, I think, 36:19 one or two sets of triplets. 36:22 And Eve was probably perfectly fertile, 36:26 and they had lots of children. 36:28 It says they had sons and daughters, so it just mentions 36:30 the first three because they were the oldest boys, and they 36:33 sort of played into the story. 36:36 Jean: All right, very good. Thank you. 36:38 Next caller that we have, let's see, Ruth from Missouri. 36:40 Ruth, welcome to the program. 36:42 Ruth: Hi, good evening, pastors. 36:44 Doug: Yeah. 36:46 Ruth: According to Revelation 1:7, there is special 36:50 resurrection for the wicked. 36:52 Is there a special resurrection of the righteous, and would it 36:55 be at the same time as the special resurrection 36:58 of the wicked? 36:59 Doug: Well, there have been some righteous that have already 37:02 been specially resurrected. 37:04 Of course, the Lord performed a special resurrection for Moses. 37:10 And Moses was buried, and it says 37:13 that he evidently is in heaven. 37:15 He appears in Mark chapter 9, with Elijah. 37:19 We know Elijah wasn't raised. 37:20 He was translated as was Enoch. 37:23 And then, at the death of Christ, in Matthew 27, says, 37:26 "Many graves were opened following the earthquake when 37:29 Jesus died, and those people came out of the grave, many of 37:31 the saved around Jerusalem. 37:33 They appeared to people in the city, and they ascended to 37:35 heaven when Jesus ascended. 37:37 So that was a special resurrection for the righteous. 37:40 The rest of the righteous rise when the Lord comes. 37:43 I don't believe there's any special resurrection prior to 37:45 the Second Coming. 37:46 Some may get out of the graves a little bit prior so they can see 37:50 Him coming, but it's basically the day of His coming. 37:53 Jean: Mm-hmm. 37:54 Doug: So, and then, there's a special resurrection for the 37:57 wicked who were involved in condemning and torturing and 38:04 persecuting Jesus around the scenes of the cross. 38:07 That's what you referred to there in Revelation 1:7. 38:11 So, yeah, good question. 38:13 But the general resurrection, the dead in 38:15 the Christ rise first. 38:17 Thousand years later, all the rest of the dead, 38:20 the wicked are raised. 38:21 Jean: All right, next caller that we have, I believe, 38:23 is Giselle from Michigan. 38:26 Giselle: Thank you for taking my call. 38:27 I'm a little sick, so I hope I'm clear, but I have a question 38:31 regarding the Sabbath. 38:34 So is the Fourth Commandment, in Exodus chapter 20, regarding a 38:39 literal seven-day week, or is the Sabbath to be kept as a 38:42 Lunar Sabbath, like, on a lunar cycle, like it would--like 38:46 described in, like, Leviticus 23? 38:50 Doug: Yes, okay, a good question, and there's, you know, 38:54 there's some Sabbatarians out there that are convinced that 38:57 the Sabbath is just to be governed by the moon, but 39:01 historically, the Sabbath, it began at Creation on the seventh 39:05 day of the week, and there's a seven-day cycle that's totally 39:08 independent from the lunar cycle. 39:10 One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, the days of the 39:12 week, we still follow now, today. 39:15 It's interesting that the whole world follows the seven-day 39:17 week, and there's nothing in astronomy that would give us 39:20 that, that's, you know, reason the world has a moon was about 39:24 30 days is--a month with about 30 days is because of the moon, 39:28 and we all have a year with 365 days because of the earth's 39:31 orbit around the sun and a day with 24 hours because it rotates 39:35 in that time on its axis. 39:37 There's nothing in the sun, moon, earth, stars, that gives 39:40 us a seven-day week. 39:41 That purely comes from Creation, and the seventh-day Sabbath is 39:45 governed by just the weekly cycle 39:48 of a sequence of seven days. 39:50 Jean: And, I think, the Fourth Commandment itself makes 39:52 it very clear. 39:53 Says, "For in six days, the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the 39:56 sea, and He rested on the seventh day." 39:58 This is not talking about a monthly Sabbath, but it's 39:59 talking about a weekly Sabbath. 40:01 Doug: Yeah, and that seventh day was followed 40:02 by another first day. 40:04 Jean: That's right. 40:05 Doug: And it just kept going like that. 40:06 And you've got the Jewish nation that's kept it 40:08 that way for 3,000 years. 40:09 Jean: All right, we've got Gerald listening in Montana. 40:11 Gerald, welcome to the program. 40:14 Gerald: Good evening, Pastor. 40:16 Doug: Evening. 40:17 Gerald: I got a question. 40:19 You know, the Bible says we can eat the clean meats. 40:23 And you get into, I think, it's the 14th chapter of Samuel, and 40:28 it goes-- said that eating the blood is a sin. 40:33 Doug: Yes. 40:34 Gerald: Now, my question is this: If we consider the clean 40:38 meats today, most of it, I, myself, I grew up in a logging 40:45 camp for years, and the blood's still in the meat. 40:50 Doug: Right. 40:52 Gerald: How do we reconcile the two thoughts? 40:55 Doug: Well, you know, I can't account for what people may do. 40:59 All I can do is tell you what the Bible says, and the Bible 41:02 says, all the way from the beginning-- 41:04 this is not a Jewish law. 41:05 God even gave it to Noah. 41:06 And, everyone listening, if you didn't know this, we are all 41:09 brothers and sisters because we are all related to Noah. 41:12 And He said we're not to eat blood. 41:15 It's not only in the Old Testament. 41:16 If you look in Acts chapter 15, it says they were not, even the 41:20 Gentiles, not to eat blood. 41:22 And God clearly told people that, even when they eat the 41:26 clean animals, they were to butcher them, so they typically 41:29 cut the throat, and they would drain the blood out. 41:31 Now, that doesn't mean there would be no blood cells left in 41:34 the body because that's, you know, hard to do that, but they 41:37 were to principally drain out the blood. 41:39 Most of them, meat you buy, clean meats you buy in the 41:42 market, when they're butchered, they drain the blood out. 41:46 I don't know what happened in your logging camp, and I know 41:49 some people eat blood sausage where they don't drain the blood 41:52 out because they want it juicy but--yeah. 41:56 Disease can be transferred from animal to animal, and some 42:00 animals have disease in their blood, and by consuming that, we 42:04 can actually pick up disease from animals, 42:07 and God knew what He was saying. 42:09 He not only said that. 42:10 He said, "Don't eat the fat." 42:11 So, you know, so, I remember, as a kid, I ate a lot of steak, 42:14 and I liked that. 42:16 When people were done, I'd say, "Can I have your fat?" 42:19 I mean, it kind of grosses me out to even think about it now 42:22 but--because that's where all the toxins are stored, and God 42:26 said you shouldn't eat that. 42:27 Now people are pretty wise. 42:28 They understand cholesterol, and they say, "You know, God knew 42:30 what he was talking about. 42:31 We shouldn't be eating animal fat." 42:33 That's almost pure cholesterol. 42:34 Anyway, I hope that helps a little bit, but, yeah, try it. 42:38 You can buy meat that doesn't have the blood in it. 42:41 Clean meats, I mean. 42:42 Jean: You know, we have a study guide. 42:43 It's called "God's Free Health Plan." 42:45 Talks about what the Bible says about food 42:46 and clean and unclean meats. 42:48 The number to call for that is 800-835-6747. 42:52 And, again, just ask for the study guide. 42:53 It's called "God's Free Health Plan." 42:55 You can also dial "#250." 42:57 Say, "Bible Answers Live," and say, "I'd like the study guide 43:00 called "God's Free Health Plan," and we'll send it to you. 43:04 We've got Israel listening in California. 43:07 Israel, welcome to the program. 43:10 Israel: Hi, thanks for taking my call. 43:12 Doug: Yeah. 43:13 Israel: My question is--it's concerning June 7 and, in 43:18 particular, the very end of it where it talks about the 43:21 punishment of eternal fire. 43:24 I was raised to, you know, believe in a literal hell, and 43:28 I'm trying to get over that, and I, just, I wondered if maybe you 43:31 could explain the, you know, the translation here in Jude 7. 43:37 Doug: Yeah, let me read the whole verse. 43:39 And Jude is calling people to repentance, and in Jude, there's 43:42 only one chapter, so it's Jude, verse 7, and it says, "As Sodom 43:46 and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in similar manner to 43:49 those, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and 43:53 going after strange flesh--" so he's--first, he puts Sodom and 43:58 Gomorrah as an example, and he says, "are an example, suffering 44:03 the vengeance of eternal fire." 44:05 Well, if you read similar verse here in Peter, it says that 44:08 Sodom and Gomorrah were turned to ashes. 44:11 They're not still burning. 44:12 So eternal fire doesn't mean it burns eternally. 44:15 Eternal fire means that what the fire did lasts forever. 44:19 Sodom and Gomorrah were never rebuilt. 44:22 The results of the fire are forever. 44:23 The wicked are consumed with eternal fire. 44:26 The result of that fire is eternal. 44:29 Jean: "Wages of Sin," the Bible says, "is death," so the 44:32 fire destroys them, and they are dead forever. 44:35 Doug: All you have to do is go to the south end of the Dead 44:38 Sea, and you can see where Sodom and Gomorrah were, 44:40 and they are not there anymore. 44:42 They're burnt up. They're gone. 44:44 Hey, thank you. Appreciate your call. 44:46 Jean: We've got Shauna listening in Washington. 44:47 Shauna, welcome to the program. 44:49 Shauna: Good evening, pastors. 44:50 Thank you. 44:51 Doug: Evening. 44:53 Shauna: My question is in Joshua chapter 7, and 44:55 specifically verses 24 and 25. 44:59 Doug: Aren't you--would you like me to read that for folks? 45:03 Shauna: Sure. 45:04 Doug: Okay, Joshua 7:24, "And Joshua, and all Israel with him, 45:08 took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the garment and 45:12 the wedge of gold, his sons and his daughters, his oxen, his 45:15 donkey, his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had, and brought 45:18 them to the valley of Achor. 45:20 And Joshua said, 'Why have you troubled us? 45:22 The Lord will trouble you this day.' So all Israel stoned him 45:26 with stones and burned them with fire after 45:28 they had stoned him with stones." 45:30 And they raise a great heap of stones on them. 45:32 So are you wondering why did the whole family die 45:35 for the sin of Achan? 45:37 Shauna: Yes, I am. 45:39 Doug: Okay, now, yeah, that's a good question. 45:40 That's why I kind of preempted it. 45:42 Well, it's understood that he hid--it says in the text he hid 45:47 the stolen objects from Jericho in the tent 45:50 under a carpet, presumably. 45:52 Everybody in the family knew. 45:55 God gave them all a chance to repent and confess 45:57 what had happened. 45:59 They had been strictly told don't take any bounty or booty 46:02 from the city of Jericho when it was destroyed. 46:04 It was all to be consecrated to the Lord. 46:07 Well, they stole, and the family conspired with him, and so not 46:11 only was the family destroyed but all their possessions, yes, 46:14 including their livestock was destroyed. 46:17 It was sort of complete annihilation of the family, and 46:20 it is--it's kind of set forth as an example of what happens in 46:23 the last days to those that turn against the Lord 46:28 and with a covetous heart. 46:30 We are lost, and we take people with us. 46:33 Achan's sin affected his family. 46:36 So I know it sounds pretty severe, but because of the sin 46:39 of Achan, several soldiers died in battle when they went against 46:43 Ai, and so he and his family had the blood of many of the other 46:48 Israelites on their hands. 46:50 Jean: All right, thank you, Shauna. 46:51 We've got Bob listening in Washington. 46:53 Bob, welcome to the program. 46:55 Bob: Hey, brothers, thank you very much. 46:57 Doug: Thanks for calling. 47:00 Bob: My question is "How should a Christian think about 47:03 UFOs and these things people see in the sky? 47:07 Could there be a connection between those UFOs and Satan?" 47:13 Doug: Could be. 47:15 I've got a good friend--he's passed away now--named Joe 47:18 Maniscalco, who actually wrote a book, an illustrated book, on 47:22 he thought a lot of the UFO sightings were satanic to get 47:26 people distracted from God and angels, and they were sort of 47:30 creating a different worldview by this. 47:34 And I don't know that. 47:35 I know that, as a pilot, I've seen a few UFOs. 47:39 Now, UFO, keep in mind, just means an "unidentified flying 47:42 object," and my wife and I tracked down a UFO once, and we 47:45 found out that it was a large metallic red balloon. 47:50 I said, "Dear, what is that? 47:51 It's a UFO." 47:52 We flew towards it, which probably isn't wise 47:54 if you think it's an alien. 47:56 And we felt so silly. 47:58 We got over there, and it was just one of these balloons. 48:00 Someone had let a big balloon go from a party, and it was just 48:02 hovering in space. 48:04 Our government shot down a balloon not long ago. 48:07 One was dangerous, and one was not, heh, so a lot of the UFOs, 48:11 I'd say, 99% of the UFOs that you hear about, if they're not 48:16 manufactured in people's imaginations, I think a lot of 48:18 them can be explained with astronomy or with 48:22 just the reflections of light. 48:25 I've seen some strange things out there, flying. 48:28 I've seen clouds, and the sun hit them, and there was one 48:30 little cloud all by itself, and I thought, for sure, 48:32 it was a UFO. 48:34 One quick story of one of my UFO stories, real quick. 48:37 I lived on a sailboat in the Mediterranean. 48:39 I was on night watch with three friends--two friends. 48:42 Three of us. 48:44 And, one night, we saw--we looked out. 48:45 While we're keeping watch, we saw a UFO coming towards us. 48:49 This UFO was shining in the night sky, and it was coming 48:53 towards our boat, and I called them over. 48:55 They looked at it. 48:56 We wondered whether we should go wake up the captain. 48:58 And then, pretty soon, we realized it was the sun rising, 49:02 and just the way that it was coming up, it looked like 49:04 a flying saucer. 49:05 There was a little spot in the clouds, but it looked like it, 49:08 and it kept getting bigger and bigger. 49:09 We thought it was coming. 49:11 So, yeah, I feel really stupid now, but you've probably 49:13 all got a laugh. 49:15 Anyway, so, yeah, you know, there are some things--the devil 49:19 could create illusions. 49:21 It's hard to know which are which. 49:22 Jean: Right, absolutely. 49:24 All right, well, thank you. 49:25 Lauren, listening in Maryland. 49:27 Lauren, welcome to the program. 49:29 Lauren: Hey, good afternoon, Pastor. 49:31 Thanks for taking my call tonight. 49:33 Doug: Yeah. 49:34 Lauren: I've learned so much from you guys. 49:36 Doug: Thank you. 49:38 Lauren: But the question I have here is, like, Genesis 1, 49:44 of 1:1-2, "In the beginning God created the heaven and earth," 49:50 and, 2, "And the earth was without form," and I was 49:54 wondering, I read Isaiah 45:18, I think, and it said that God 50:02 creates everything to be good and everything that God creates 50:06 is good, and I was wondering how the earth became void and 50:13 formless and dark, if something happened between Genesis 1 and 50:18 2, and if that had to do with the fall of Lucifer 50:23 that caused that to happen? 50:25 Doug: Okay, I think I understand your question. 50:28 Well, you may be assuming that, because the earth was without 50:32 form and void, that it was bad. 50:35 Everything God does is good. 50:37 So, when God created the material for the earth, it 50:42 doesn't mean it was bad. 50:43 It's no worse than a lump of un-shapen clay before the artist 50:46 gets ahold of it. 50:48 It's nothing bad about the clay. 50:49 It's just not been modeled yet. 50:52 And so, the world, when God made it, it didn't have the waters 50:55 separated from the waters, and it didn't--it was kind of 50:58 shapeless, and God, you know, He rolled up His sleeves and said, 51:02 "Oh, I can't wait to get to work with my material." 51:04 So it was just saying that there is this raw material He was 51:07 going to create from was there. 51:09 It wasn't bad. 51:10 Everything God does is good and even the void, earth, 51:13 was good at that point. 51:15 Jean: There was no life on the earth, just to clarify, so 51:17 it's not like God created the earth and then somehow it was 51:20 destroyed, and then He had to re-create the earth. 51:23 That was all part of the process. 51:24 Doug: Yeah, it was a great big lump of clay, so to speak, 51:27 something for Him to work with, and He took those elements and 51:31 shaped them, and that's what He did with man. 51:33 Says He took the dust, made a man out of it. 51:35 The dust wasn't bad, and He created a human from the clay. 51:40 Jean: Okay, next caller that we have, Valerie in California. 51:43 Valeria, welcome to the program. 51:46 Valerie: Hi, how are you, pastors? 51:47 Doug: Doing good. 51:49 Thank you for calling. 51:50 Valerie: Oh, thank you for taking my call. 51:52 My question is, Pastor Doug, I've heard you preach before 51:55 regarding Jesus turning water to wine, and then, as I was doing 52:00 my daily devotional on Numbers, in the book of Numbers chapter 52:05 6, and I'm focusing on verse 3, because I've never really read 52:10 the word "grape juice" in the Bible before, and here, on this 52:14 Scripture 3, it talks about wine and other fermented drink, and 52:20 it also mentions grape juice. 52:22 So my question is why wouldn't the word "grape juice" be in the 52:28 other verse where he turns water into wine? 52:32 Because that's like one of the biggest conversations I have 52:35 with people who still drink. 52:37 They say, "Well, Jesus turned the water to wine." 52:40 So I was really surprised when I read that "grape juice" word. 52:43 Doug: Can I ask you, what version of the Bible 52:45 are you reading? 52:47 Valerie: I've read it in the New King James Version because 52:49 that's my main Bible, and also, I've seen the word "grape 52:51 juice" in the NIV. 52:53 Doug: I think you'll find, though, if you look at the 52:56 original word in both the King James, New King James, the Old 53:00 Testament word there is the word "wine." 53:03 The King James translators realized that it has definitely 53:06 got to be grape juice because it's anything from the grape at 53:09 any stage, and so it says you're not even 53:11 supposed to eat a raisin. 53:13 The Nazirite was not supposed to eat anything from the vine, and 53:16 so they put the word "grape juice" in there, 53:19 but it's not in the original. 53:21 It's the same word that you're going to find used for "wine," 53:23 and in the New Testament, there's only one word for wine. 53:25 I don't think you find the word "grape juice." 53:27 It's "oinos," "oinos," I think, if I'm pronouncing that right. 53:31 So, yeah, there's not a distinction made 53:34 in the original languages. 53:35 Some translators--and they did the right thing. 53:37 When they know it's grape juice, they put grape juice. 53:40 But, I think, if you get--is it Isaiah where it says, "As the 53:44 new wine is in the cluster"? 53:46 Valerie: Yeah, I remember that Scripture too. 53:48 Doug: Yeah, well, clearly, if it's still in the cluster, it's 53:50 not fermented yet so--but it uses the same word, "wine." 53:55 So that's why Jesus, when he said, "You don't put new wine--" 53:59 new wine is grape juice--in old wineskins," but it still uses 54:02 the same word for both. 54:04 So, hey, you know, I've got a book on alcohol. 54:06 We'll send you a free copy, and it's called 54:09 "The Christian and Alcohol." 54:10 Jean: The number to call for that is 800-835-6747. 54:13 You can ask for the book. 54:15 It's called "Alcohol and the Christian." 54:17 We'll be happy to send it to anyone in Canada or the U.S., or 54:20 you can just dial "#250," and say, "Bible Answers Live," and 54:24 ask for the book "Alcohol and the Christian." 54:27 We'll be happy to send that out to anyone who calls and asks. 54:30 You know, Pastor Doug, we might want to mention, and we probably 54:32 don't have enough time to take another call, but you can email 54:36 your Bible questions to Amazing Facts simply by just emailing 54:40 it to BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. 54:47 It's BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. 54:50 Doug: You're doing pretty good. 54:51 Pastor Ross was in Brazil two days ago. 54:53 Jean: I'm having a little jet lag here, hah-hah. 54:56 Doug: But he came in, a real trooper. 54:58 Hey, friends, we sign off in two stages. 55:00 For those that are listening on land-based stations, everyone 55:03 other than satellite, we're going to stay on and answer 55:06 rapid-fire a few Bible questions. 55:08 Don't go away. 55:09 For the rest of you, God bless till next week. 55:11 ♪♪♪ 55:14 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, welcome back to "Bible Answers Live." 55:32 We're going to take a few moments to take your email 55:34 questions that have come in. 55:35 Well, here we go. 55:37 First question, Pastor Doug, comes from Rapha, 55:39 ten years old, from Canada. 55:41 He says, "Why is the God of Genesis so mean? 55:45 And he's not the God that I hear about in church." 55:48 Doug: Heh-heh, well, it's the same God, and you're going to 55:51 see that there are times when He deals severely with sin, not 55:55 only in the Old Testament, like Genesis, but in the New 55:59 Testament were the seven last plagues. 56:02 God destroys the world during the flood in the Old Testament. 56:05 He destroys the world with a fire in the New Testament 56:08 at the Second Coming. 56:10 And God, in the Old Testament, is a God of love and mercy. 56:13 Says He loves us with an everlasting love, and in the New 56:16 Testament, Jesus tells us God is love. 56:18 So it's the same God. 56:20 You've got both sides. 56:22 Jean: Okay, we've got another question. 56:24 Manuel asks, "When somebody dies and the breath goes back to 56:27 God, is this the breath of everyone or just the ones that 56:30 are to be saved?" 56:32 Doug: Well, you find that in Ecclesiastes chapter 7. 56:36 It says the person dies, that the body goes back to the dust, 56:42 and the spirit to God, who gave it. 56:45 And it's not just for when people die, but it says whether 56:48 it's a man or whether it's a beast, that breath of life, that 56:52 spirit--and the word "spirit" there in Hebrew is "ruach." 56:55 It just means "the breath." 56:57 It returns to God. 56:58 And so every creature in which is the breath of life, when it 57:02 dies, that breath of life goes back to God. 57:06 It's not like a little ghost from all the butterflies and 57:08 dogs and fish goes back to God. 57:10 It's just the breath of life. 57:12 It's not a conscious being because it doesn't have a body 57:14 to think in anymore. 57:16 Jean: Okay, John asks, "In Revelation chapter 1, verse 7, 57:18 it says that every eye will see Jesus. 57:21 Is this talking about the Second Coming, or is this the end of 57:24 the 1,000 years?" 57:26 Doug: Well, at the end of the 1,000 years--I'm sorry. 57:29 At the Second Coming, everybody alive on the planet will see 57:32 Jesus when He comes. 57:34 All the wicked who are raised will also see Him come. 57:38 Some who died before the Second Coming, they're going to see Him 57:41 come at the end of the 1,000 years, at that Resurrection, 57:43 coming in the New Jerusalem. 57:45 So everybody who has ever lived will, at some point in their 57:48 life, with their eyes, see the Lord come, and if they were 57:51 blind, God will give them eyes to see Him coming. 57:54 Jean: So those who are alive see Jesus at the Second Coming, 57:57 and then the wicked, well, they're resurrected at the end 58:00 of the thousand years, and they'll see the New Jerusalem as 58:03 you find described in Revelation 20. 58:05 Doug: Yeah, Christ is coming in glory there 58:06 with the New Jerusalem. 58:07 Hey, friends, that's all we have time for now. 58:09 We thank you so much for your Bible questions. 58:11 We look forward to hearing from you again next week. 58:14 God bless, and send us your questions, or go to 58:16 AmazingFacts.org, to learn more about the ministry. 58:21 ♪♪♪ 58:22 announcer: "Bible Answers Live," honest and accurate answers 58:25 to your Bible questions. 58:28 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2023-05-24