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Series Code: AFBA
Program Code: AFBA022231S
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00:02 - [Narrator] 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 mysterious, 00:13 should always be studied carefully. 00:16 It is the Bible. The Word of God. 00:19 Welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 00:22 Providing accurate and practical answers to all your 00:25 Bible questions. 00:28 This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. 00:30 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned 00:33 in this broadcast, 00:34 call 800-835-6747. 00:38 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 00:45 Now here's your host from Amazing Facts International, 00:47 pastor Doug Bachelor. 00:49 - Hello, listening friends. 00:51 Would you like to hear an amazing fact? 00:55 A young boy in Ontario, Canada, Riel Ginion, 00:58 was camping with his parents and he decided to stay on land 01:02 while they rode out into the lake for little fishing. 01:05 Tragically, their boat tipped over in the water 01:08 far from shore, and the boy watched as his parents drowned. 01:12 Sobbing, he tried walking towards a town several miles away, 01:16 but as darkness fell, he knew that he'd have to spend 01:19 the night on the cold, damp ground. 01:21 As the temperatures had dipped below freezing 01:23 during the night, he lay their shivering and crying. 01:26 He felt a warm fury body snuggle up to his back in the dark. 01:31 Delirious from his ordeal and thinking the creature 01:33 must be a dog, he fell asleep. 01:36 When he stiffly woke in the morning, he discovered that 01:39 these three beavers had curled up around him and kept him 01:43 from freezing to death. 01:45 As he sat up, they calmly waddled away. 01:48 Pastor Ross, that makes me think about a number of stories 01:52 in the Bible, a few come to mind, how God has used animals 01:56 to keep people safe. 01:58 - That's right, Pastor Doug, we were just talking about this 02:00 before we went on the air. 02:01 There's a number of Bible examples. 02:03 For example, you have the donkey in the case of Balaam, 02:08 or Balak, yeah, Balaam's donkey that actually protected him 02:11 from an angel with the sword. 02:13 And you have the whale that swallowed Jonah. 02:15 And we did an amazing fact- 02:17 - And of course, didn't just swallow him, 02:18 he put him back on dry land. 02:20 - Yeah. Three day journey. 02:22 And then we did an amazing facts I thought of as well 02:24 of a, I think it was a woman that fell overboard 02:27 as she was swimming, she was surrounded by sharks 02:30 and some dolphins came and they actually scared away 02:35 the sharks or butted away the sharks 02:37 and then they protected her. 02:41 - They buoyed her up when she was sinking. 02:43 You think in the Bible about Elijah, 02:46 how he was sustained by the ravens. 02:49 I guess you could make an argument that 02:51 Isaac was going to be sacrificed, but they found a ram 02:54 to take his place. 02:57 It just reminds us that God created these animals. 03:03 In many ways, sometimes animals seem to be more in tune 03:05 with the leading of the Spirit and God than humans do. 03:10 There's an interesting passage in the book of Job, 03:12 I've been reading through Job lately and it's just 03:14 a fantastic book. 03:17 And it says in Job 12 verse seven, 03:19 "But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; 03:22 and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; 03:25 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; 03:27 and the fish of the sea will explain to you 03:30 who among all of these does not know that the hand 03:33 of the Lord has done this." 03:36 You can see the fingerprints of the Lord on all of creation 03:40 and we can even learn something about God and His love 03:43 through the creatures that He's made. 03:46 - We do have a book that talks about the wonders 03:48 of creation. 03:49 And this is our free gift. 03:51 We don't always offer this book, Pastor Doug, 03:53 but it is a great book, and we'll be happy to send this 03:56 to anyone who calls and asks. 03:58 The number for the book 800-835-6747. 04:02 And you can ask for the book, it's called 04:03 "Amazing Wonders of Creation." 04:05 We'll get that in the mail, we'll send it to anyone 04:08 in North America. 04:09 If you're outside of North America, you can just go to the 04:12 Amazing Facts website, AmazingFacts.org 04:15 and you click on the free library and you'll be able to read 04:18 the book right there online. 04:19 Well, we've got questions lined up. 04:21 If you have a question, friend, the number to call is 04:23 800-463-7297. 04:26 That is our phone line here to the studio. 04:28 800-463-7297. 04:31 It's a good time to pick up your phone, give us a call. 04:35 But before we go to the phone lines, 04:37 we always like to start with a word of prayer. 04:39 So let's do that. 04:40 Dear Father in heaven, again, we thank you for Your 04:42 many blessings. 04:43 Thank you for life and strength and the ability 04:45 to study Your word. 04:46 Thank you for the freedom that You have given us here 04:48 in this country. 04:50 And so we ask Your blessing upon the program, 04:51 be with us as we search the scriptures and be with those 04:54 who are listening wherever they might be. 04:56 And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 04:58 - Amen. 05:00 - Okay, we're ready to go to our first caller this evening. 05:02 We've got Anthony listening in Michigan. 05:04 Anthony, welcome to the program. 05:06 - [Anthony] Hello, Pastor Doug. 05:07 - Hi, Anthony, thank you for calling. 05:08 - [Anthony] Great to be here again. 05:12 My question, 05:13 I'm going to try to be as quick with my wording as I can 05:18 about this. 05:19 My sister, 05:22 I mean, I don't think she had as many reasons 05:25 as somebody say Job, but 05:28 I don't think she was 05:31 too far from getting there at the same time. 05:37 And as far as I know, I've never once heard her, 05:42 she didn't 05:46 see God as her Savior. 05:48 I never once 05:49 even saw her actually give up just out of frustration, 05:53 which I've done myself. 05:56 And all this time I actually thought she had a way stronger 06:00 will than me 06:01 and what's ironic is when she died at the age that she did 06:07 a few years before that, I picked a random number 06:10 that I'd be okay with dying and it was that one. 06:14 And then I just felt bad for saying 06:16 I'd be okay with dying at this age. 06:20 - And so your sister took her life. 06:23 - [Anthony] Yeah. 06:25 There was a bunch of times where my dad held her accountable 06:28 for things that weren't her fault. 06:30 He made her work off an ambulance bill for the first time 06:32 she had an asthma attack. 06:35 - Well, all right. 06:36 Yeah, God knows the circumstance. 06:37 So is your concern, you're wondering, what does the Bible 06:40 say and does this mean is there hope of salvation 06:44 or does this mean she's destined to be lost? 06:46 Is that what you're kind of wondering? 06:50 - [Anthony] I'm kind of hoping that there's some chance that 06:53 she won't be in the great lake of fire, but 06:58 that I will see her. 07:01 - All right, that's a tough, tough experience. 07:04 And as pastors, Pastor Ross and I have dealt with families 07:08 that have experienced suicide and yes, it even happens 07:12 in Christian families. 07:14 The first thing I would say is just keep in mind 07:16 that God loves our friends and family loved ones 07:20 infinitely more than we do. 07:22 Infinitely more. 07:24 He's desperate to save as many as He can. 07:26 God is not willing that any should perish. 07:29 Now, obviously some will be saved and some will not. 07:33 And you just really can't spend time in this life wondering. 07:37 Now there will be examples, I'm sure, in heaven, 07:40 of people that took their own lives. 07:41 We don't know the circumstances. 07:43 They encountered some struggles, they had faith in God, 07:48 but something happened, it could have been 07:50 physical pain or chemical imbalance. 07:53 God will have to judge these things. 07:54 So I would never say that that's a hopeless situation. 07:57 It's usually very concerning because often when a person 08:00 takes their life, it means they've lost faith, 08:03 they've lost hope. 08:05 And those are usually not a good barometer of a person's 08:07 spiritual life. 08:09 But I would just say put this in the hands of Lord 08:11 and do not worry. 08:13 When Jesus comes, the Bible says He will wipe away all tears 08:17 from our eyes. 08:18 And I think we're going to be very surprised when we get 08:20 to heaven; we're going to see people there we never dreamed 08:22 would be there and we'll see some people missing 08:24 we might thought would be there. 08:25 So don't worry about it now. 08:27 Trust God's goodness and His justice, 08:30 and He's got plans for your life, 08:33 so you live to the fullest. 08:35 - Absolutely. 08:37 And yeah, our heart goes out to you, Anthony. 08:40 As Pastor Doug mentions, we work with families from 08:42 time to time who've gone through this loss and 08:46 the Bible says we can cast all of our cares upon the Lord, 08:48 for He cares for us. 08:49 Yeah, some of these are difficult experiences, 08:52 but God knows and understands and we can trust in Him. 08:55 - Yep. 08:56 - Well, thank you for your call. 08:57 - I do have an article you'll find on the Amazing Facts 09:00 website, you just type in, Doug Bachelor answers on suicide 09:04 and I give more scriptures and I go to greater length 09:07 in explaining that and you can look that up, Anthony, 09:09 and we'll keep you in prayer. 09:10 That's a tough experience. 09:12 - Our next caller that we have is Randy listening in Ohio. 09:15 Randy, welcome to the program. 09:18 - [Randy] Thank you, Pastor Ross, Pastor Doug. 09:21 My question is could you please explain Daniel. 09:25 In particular where it talks about the God of forces 09:29 and the God whom his fathers knew not? 09:31 My main part is could this God of forces possibly refer 09:35 to the US? 09:36 - Okay. Thank you. 09:38 Your phone cutoff for a second, you're asking us to explain 09:41 Daniel 11:38 if I'm not mistaken. 09:44 - [Randy] Yes. - All right. 09:47 I'm sorry, go ahead, I was just going to spell this out 09:49 for some of our listeners. 09:52 - [Randy] Excuse me, in particular where it talks about 09:54 the God of forces and the God whom his fathers knew not. 09:58 That this could be the USA. 10:00 - All right, my initial answer will be no, I don't believe 10:04 this is speaking of the USA. 10:06 I believe, in Daniel 11, it's talking about a power 10:11 that's also presented in Revelation chapter 17 10:14 and Revelation 13. 10:15 It's this beast power that is the co-mingling of religion 10:20 and Christianity and 10:23 spiritualism and government. 10:25 And what most Protestant theologians identify that 10:29 with the papacy. 10:31 I know Martin Luther and John Wesley, 10:35 founders of the Methodist, Calvin, the Presbyterians, 10:38 the Lutherans, Charles Spurgeon, 10:41 this is what they all believe when they read 10:42 those prophecies. 10:44 What it's saying here in Daniel 11:38, it says, 10:47 "He'll not regard the God of his fathers or the desire 10:49 of women," and some have interpreted that to mean 10:52 the priests do not marry. 10:56 And then it says, "But in his estate he'll honor the God 10:59 of forces," and that word forces or fortresses, 11:01 it comes from the Hebrew word (speaking Hebrew) 11:04 which means basically 11:08 the gods of saints, the departed. 11:10 And what you see happening in the Catholicism 11:12 is they surround themselves with images and saints 11:16 and they pray to these saints and they deify the dead 11:19 and they make kind of mini gods out of them. 11:22 And that's the way I think many of the reformers 11:25 understood this passage. 11:27 So no, I don't think it's talking about the United States. 11:30 - Although the Bible let's talk about the US in prophesy. 11:31 - Yeah, there's another prophecy on that. 11:33 - That's right. The second beast of Revelation 13. 11:35 We do have a study guide that talks about the United States 11:38 in prophecy, and you might find this interesting, Randy, 11:40 or anyone willing to learn more about it. 11:42 You can just call and ask. 11:43 The study guide's called "The USA in Bible Prophecy." 11:46 And the number for that is 800-835-6747. 11:51 And we'll be happy to send that to anyone in North America. 11:53 That's 800-835-6747. 11:57 We've got Ken listening from New York. 11:59 Ken, you're on "Bible Answers Live." 12:03 - [Ken] Good evening, gentlemen. 12:04 - Evening. Thanks for calling. 12:07 - [Ken] Thank you for having me. 12:08 My question is 12:10 taken from Romans chapter 16 and one. 12:14 In that passage, Phoebe is referred to as a deacon 12:18 or a deaconess I guess. 12:20 And I was just trying to reconcile that because I've always 12:22 heard that the deacon must be the husband of one wife. 12:27 I wonder if you could shed some light on that for me. 12:29 - Yeah, well, the word deacon is used in a general sense. 12:33 You find the word servant all through the New Testament. 12:39 For our friends that are listening, 12:40 the verse that we're considering is Roman 16:1. 12:42 Let me read it quickly. 12:44 Paul says, "I commend to you, Phoebe," 12:47 we once had a pet poodle named Phoebe, 12:48 my mom liked the name. 12:49 Sorry. 12:50 "I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, 12:52 who is a servant in the church of Cenchrea, 12:55 that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner 12:57 worthy of saints and a sister in whatever business she has 13:01 need of you; for indeed she has been a helper," 13:03 and there you've got definition of servant. 13:06 "She has been a helper of many and myself also." 13:08 So there is this dear sister in the church, 13:11 and she's traveling for some reason 13:13 from one church to another. 13:15 Evidently she's going 13:18 from Cenchrea maybe to Rome, 13:20 and Paul is saying treat her well, 13:24 she's got our endorsement, she's been a servant. 13:27 Now keep in mind, Paul even says that the widows who were 13:31 to receive sustenance from the church 13:34 must be genuine widows, 13:35 they must be willing to be of service in the church, 13:38 he even says if they've washed the apostles' feet 13:41 or disciples feet. 13:43 So the word service here doesn't necessarily mean 13:45 a church office, it means to be a servant. 13:49 - And the original word there in the Greek is also used, 13:52 can be translated as deacon or deaconess. 13:55 However, in this verse, it's interesting, 13:57 it's in the feminine form. 13:59 So more accurate, if you want to translate it into English, 14:01 it would be a deaconess, which is a little different 14:04 than the criteria that we find given 14:06 for a deacon, which is in the masculine sense. 14:10 So we recognize in our church, we have different positions, 14:13 different responsibilities. 14:14 We have deacons, we have deaconesses, 14:17 and deaconesses do serve a very important role 14:19 in the church, especially in the area of ministering 14:21 to the needs of some of the folks in the church, 14:24 they're involved in the communion, 14:26 the preparation for communion, the visitation of the sick, 14:29 working with the children, so there's many important roles 14:32 that are fulfilled by the deaconesses. 14:34 And apparently in the early Christian Church, 14:36 we find this structure was already in place. 14:38 And Phoebe was very much involved, maybe as a leader, 14:41 amongst the deaconesses in that capacity. 14:44 - Which is a different definition than when Paul says 14:46 the deacon must be a husband of one wife. 14:48 - Right. Different responsibilities. 14:50 - That was the masculine. 14:52 So I hope that helps, Ken. 14:53 Does that make sense? 14:55 - [Ken] Yes, it does. I appreciate you guys. 14:57 - All right. Thank you so much. Appreciate your call. 14:59 - Next caller that we have is Ian listening in Canada. 15:02 Ian, welcome to the program. 15:03 You're on the air. 15:06 - [Ian] Thank you so much, Pastor Ross and Pastor Doug. 15:08 And just wanted to thank you really quick because 15:10 your programs are a huge blessing in my life 15:12 and I love watching them. 15:13 - Oh, thank you. 15:16 - [Ian] My question is this: 15:18 in watching one of your programs, I thought I heard you, 15:22 Pastor Doug, mention something about in the last times 15:25 that many would be called up in the spirit of Elijah. 15:28 So I just wanted to clarify if I heard that correctly 15:31 and if there's maybe some Bible verses that support that, 15:35 or just generally 15:38 what it came from if I did hear that correctly. 15:41 - Yeah, well, first of all, you find in the 15:44 last chapter of the Old Testament, Malachi chapter four. 15:47 Some of the last verses 15:49 Jesus said "Remember the law of Moses, my servant, 15:52 which I gave him in Mount Horeb for all Israel 15:55 with its statutes and judgements 15:57 and behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the great 16:00 and terrible day of the Lord come." 16:02 So we know that that John the Baptist came in the spirit 16:06 and power of Elijah, but that was not before the great 16:08 and terrible day of the Lord. 16:10 And Jesus, speaking of John the Baptist, 16:12 he said, Elijah has come, speaking of John, 16:15 he said Elijah will come. 16:17 So in the same way that John the Baptist came 16:20 to prepare the children of Israel for the first coming 16:22 of Jesus, Jesus seemed to imply that 16:26 that same spirit of John the Baptist, one calling people 16:29 to revival, that will say prepare the way of the Lord, 16:32 make way for the Lord in the wilderness, 16:37 will come again before the second coming of Jesus. 16:39 And so that's an example of two of those verses. 16:42 I think one is in Matthew 11 and the other I just read 16:45 is Malachi chapter four. 16:48 And of course the angel said to Zachariah 16:51 that John the Baptist would go in the spirit and power 16:53 of Elijah. 16:55 And that's in the gospel of Luke, 16:58 first chapter, I believe. 17:01 Does that make sense or help a little? 17:03 - [Ian] Yeah. Yeah. 17:06 After I heard it on the program, I tried to 17:08 do some digging on my own and failed, so 17:10 you gave me a great shortcut just now, thank you. 17:13 - All right. Hey, thank you so much. 17:14 And let's all pray we can have that Spirit. 17:18 - [Ian] That's the plan. God bless you both. 17:19 - God bless. 17:21 - Next caller that we have is Byron listening from Canada. 17:24 Byron, welcome to the program. 17:27 - [Byron] Hello, Pastor Ross and Pastor Doug. 17:30 Bless your ministry, I really enjoy watching you guys 17:32 and everything that you do. 17:34 - Thank you. 17:35 - [Byron] My question is 17:38 what is on Daniel 12, verse 12, 17:41 he's talking about blessed 17:44 are those who wait 17:45 to count for the 1,335 days. 17:49 What is the 1,335 days represent? 17:53 - All right, to understand that, I'm going to ask 17:55 Pastor Ross to answer it, but let me just set it up. 17:57 To understand that there are three time periods 18:00 given in Daniel chapter 12. 18:02 And so, before you can cut off the 1,335, 18:05 you've got to know about the 1,260 and the 1,290. 18:08 So this is a complicated prophecy. 18:11 We try to budget about three minutes for an answer. 18:13 It's kind of hard to fit this all into a 18:15 three minute answer. 18:17 - Right. 18:18 You've got the 1,260 year time period, 18:19 which is a very significant time period. 18:21 That represents the reign of the papal power 18:24 during the dark ages from 538 until 1798. 18:27 So that's 1,260 years. 18:29 Then you have the 1,290 years, 18:32 which is when Clovis, king of the Franks, 18:36 was converted to Christianity. 18:37 And that opened up the way for papal power in 605. 18:41 No? - 508. 18:42 - 508, sorry. The other one. 18:43 508. 18:45 Kind of opened up the way for papal supremacy in Europe. 18:48 And then the 1,335, if you start with that same date, 18:51 508 and you go forward in time, you end on the date 1843. 18:56 Now you might be wondering what happened in 1843? 18:58 Well, there was a great revival, 19:00 especially in the prophecies of Daniel 19:03 that occurred around 1843, 1844. 19:06 And so the verse says, "Blessed to see who waits 19:08 till that time period." 19:10 There was a special manifestation of the Spirit. 19:12 There was revival, not only North America, 19:15 but it spread to Europe and even as far away as 19:17 South American missionary outposts around the world; 19:19 there was a great interest in the prophecies of Daniel 19:22 in particular. 19:24 And so this verse is a reference to that revival 19:26 that occurred around 1843. 19:29 It's a very interesting time prophecy and it parallels 19:30 or ties in with Revelation chapter 10, 19:33 which also talks about that same experience around 1844. 19:38 - So I know that's a lot to take in, but we need to get 19:41 something in writing on that, Pastor Ross. 19:43 Hope that helps a little, Byron. 19:45 - We do have a study guide that's called 19:47 "Right on Time." 19:49 And I don't think it gets into the specifics here 19:50 of the 1,335 and the 1,290, 19:52 but it does talk about the 1,260. 19:54 And give you the historical evidence for the start 19:56 of that time period. 19:58 So that might be of interest, and we'll be happy to send 20:00 that to anyone who calls and asks. 20:02 Number is 1-800-835-6747. 20:06 You can ask for the study guide, it's called 20:08 "Right on Time." 20:09 Next caller that we have is Joel listening 20:11 in North Carolina. 20:12 Joel, welcome to the program. 20:15 - [Joel] Hi, pastor Doug and Pastor Ross. 20:17 - Hi. 20:18 And your question? 20:20 - [Joel] My question is about Ezekiel chapter 1:26-28. 20:26 Is this talking about God, the Father or God the Son? 20:30 - All right, let me read this for our listeners. 20:32 We always try to be mindful that a lot of the folks 20:35 listening are driving 20:36 and they can't just stop and look it up. 20:39 "And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness 20:42 of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; 20:45 and on the likeness of the throne was the likeness 20:48 with the appearance of a man high above it. 20:50 Also from the appearances of his waist upward I saw, 20:53 as it were, the color of amber with the appearance 20:55 of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of his 20:59 waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire 21:01 with brightness all around it. 21:03 Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, 21:06 so was the appearance of brightness all around it. 21:09 This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory 21:11 of the Lord." 21:13 Well, I think most people reading this, or scholars anyway, 21:16 they see a similarity between this passage and what you find 21:20 in Revelation one where Jesus appears to John. 21:23 And so we believe this would be God the Son in His glory. 21:28 And keep in mind, that Bible says, 21:30 "No man has seen the Father." 21:32 So if Ezekiel saw this vision, 21:35 he's probably seeing God the Son. 21:37 - It's also interesting you had a parallel with Revelation 21:39 chapter four where it describes the heavenly throne room 21:42 and some of the similarities. 21:44 It's a sea. Here, it's talking about the blue, 21:47 the color of the stone. 21:49 It's talking about a rainbow surrounding the throne. 21:51 A lot of parallels between Revelation four and what we see 21:53 over here in Ezekiel. 21:55 - That's right. 21:56 - All right, thank you for your call. 21:58 Next caller that we have is John listening in Washington. 22:00 John, welcome to the program. 22:02 - [John] Yes, thank you for taking my call. 22:06 My question is regarding use of a phrase 22:12 in funerals of ashes to ashes, dust to dust. 22:18 And if that comes from a scripture, 22:19 I'd like to know what it is. 22:21 And also any scripture that would pertain to cremation. 22:27 - Okay. 22:29 The scripture and the word ashes and dust is synonymous 22:32 in, I think in Hebrew. 22:33 And when God said to Adam , and I believe Pastor Ross, 22:36 that's Genesis three, He said, 22:38 "Dust you are and to dust you will return." 22:42 And then when you you're inquiring about cremation, 22:45 what does the Bible say about this? 22:47 It's a good question, cause something everyone deals with 22:49 at some point. 22:50 And I'll give you a little shameless plug here 22:54 is I did a video on that, cause we received that question 22:57 too much and it's called "To Bury or to Burn." 23:00 If you go to YouTube, you can see it for free. 23:03 And I take a lot of scripture or take more time there 23:05 than I would have here. 23:07 But in a quick answer, I would say 23:10 predominantly in the Bible, the example you see is 23:13 for burial. 23:15 I don't think this is a salvation issue where if a person 23:18 is cremated instead of buried they can't be saved. 23:21 Cause many Christians were burnt at the stake. 23:24 There are two examples of people we know that were 23:27 cremated in the Bible. 23:29 You've got Jonathan, who is the son of King Saul, 23:33 dear friend of David. 23:34 And he was cremated and we fully expect to see him 23:38 in the resurrection. 23:39 His was not a martyr's death, he wasn't cremated 23:42 by the enemy, but his own people, when his body had been 23:45 mutilated in a battle, 23:47 they took his remains and cremated him. 23:51 And of course, well, his father, king Saul, 23:52 but he's not going to make it as far as we can tell. 23:55 Anyway, but I thought there was one other example. 24:00 Typically in the Bible I can understand the practicality 24:03 of it, I think in Tokyo right now, 24:05 virtually everybody's cremated cause they just don't have 24:07 space for graveyards. 24:10 And in America now all the graveyard space is being 24:13 taken up by golf courses, so they have very little space 24:16 left for graveyards in North America. 24:19 So more people are turning to cremation. 24:21 - And I think somebody said- 24:22 - It's certainly cheaper. 24:23 - It is cheaper. 24:25 Cremation's almost speeding up the process of burial. 24:28 If somebody's buried long enough, 24:30 maybe all that's left is bones, you might say, but 24:33 cremation speeds up- 24:35 - Accelerates the decomposition process. 24:38 - All right we've got Scott listening in Florida. 24:41 Scott, we got about a minute and a half before the break. 24:46 - [Scott] Hi, how are you? 24:48 - Good. 24:48 How can we help you today? 24:50 - [Scott] Pastor Bachelor, you'll be in my neighborhood 24:53 this week, coming up. 24:55 My question's not a good one minute question, 24:57 but it was about the two witnesses and I've been studying 25:01 really hard on it, 25:02 and I've up with the 25:06 two that I think they are and I have pretty good 25:10 feelings about it praying with the Holy Spirit, 25:13 it's the Jews and the Gentiles that represent 25:17 the two witnesses. 25:18 What do you think? 25:20 - All right. Yeah, I appreciate that. 25:22 I would say that when I read it, 25:24 these two witnesses that are by the throne of God 25:27 is a parallel for what you find in Zachariah. 25:29 It talks about the two witnesses by the throne, 25:32 the candlesticks, typically they're understood to be 25:35 the law and the prophets or the Word of God 25:39 Jesus said, "In the mouth of two witnesses, 25:42 Christ rose from the dead," and says, 25:44 "speaking from the law and the prophets, 25:46 He taught them that He was the Messiah." 25:48 You might say Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus 25:51 on the mountain. 25:52 Moses represents the law. 25:53 Elijah represents the prophets. 25:55 And I think, Pastor Ross, we even have a book on this 25:57 that we could send to 26:00 Scott for free. 26:03 He can actually read it online. 26:04 Talks about "The Glorious Mount" who are the two witnesses. 26:08 - The number to call for that is 800-835-6747. 26:11 You can just simply call and ask for the book 26:13 on the two witnesses called "The Glorious Mount." 26:16 We'll be happy to send it to anyone in North America. 26:20 - Yeah. Sorry to cut that question short, Scott, 26:22 take a look at the book and let us know if that helps 26:24 a little bit and you keep studying. 26:26 Listening friends, we're not done, 26:27 we're just taking a brief break. 26:29 We're going to come back with more questions. 26:31 (driving music) 26:35 - [Narrator] Stay tuned. 26:36 "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly. 26:43 - Millions of people believe that planet earth 26:45 is on the verge of some apocalypse that will plunge 26:48 the world's cities into chaos. 26:51 In response, thinking people everywhere are wondering 26:54 if it might be a good time to locate their families 26:57 outside of the congested metropolitan areas. 27:00 In my new book, "Heading for the Hill? 27:03 A Beginner's Guide to Country Living," 27:05 I do my best to provide a biblical balance. 27:08 I'd like to share with you some of the crucial things 27:11 you'll need to know before you head up for the hills. 27:14 I'd also like to identify some of the practical things 27:17 you look for in buying a piece of country land, 27:20 how to develop water, power and a garden 27:22 all while still seeking to save the lost. 27:26 This book has some very valuable information for anybody 27:29 that's ever considering country living. 27:31 - [Narrator] Order your copy of "Heading for the Hills?" 27:33 Call 800-538-7275 27:37 or visit AFBookstore.com. 27:42 (soft piano music) 27:55 What if you could know the future? 27:59 What would you do? 28:01 What would you change? 28:04 To see the future, you must understand the past. 28:08 - [Man 1] Alexander the Great becomes king when he is only 28:10 18, but he's a military prodigy. 28:14 - [Man 2] 150 Years in advance, Cyrus had been named. 28:19 Rome was violent. 28:21 They were ruthless. 28:22 They were determined. 28:24 - [Narrator] This intriguing documentary, 28:26 hosted by Pastor Doug Bachelor, 28:28 explores the most striking Bible prophecies 28:31 that have been dramatically fulfilled throughout history. 28:34 "Kingdoms in Time." 28:37 Are you ready? 28:42 (driving music) 28:45 You're listening to "Bible Answers Live" 28:48 where every question answered provides a clearer picture 28:51 of God and His plan to save you. 28:54 So what are you waiting for? 28:55 Get practical answers about the good book 28:58 for a better life today. 29:02 This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. 29:05 If you'd like answers to your Bible related questions 29:08 on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7:00 PM 29:12 and 8:00 PM Pacific time. 29:14 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned 29:17 in this evening's program, call 800-835-6747. 29:23 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 29:28 Now let's rejoin our hosts for more "Bible Answers Live." 29:34 - Welcome back listening friends to "Bible Answers Live" 29:36 and some have tuned in along the way. 29:38 This is a live international, interactive Bible study. 29:41 You interact by calling in with your Bible questions. 29:44 The number is 800-GodSays. 29:47 That's 800-463-7297. 29:50 And I am Doug Bachelor. 29:52 - My name is Jean Ross and we have a number of folks 29:54 who have called in and they're ready with their 29:56 Bible questions. 29:57 So we'll go to Bonita. 29:59 And Bonita listening in North Carolina. 30:01 Bonita, you there? 30:04 - [Bonita] I am. 30:05 - Hi, you're on the air. 30:08 - [Bonita] Thank you. 30:10 Ever since I was probably four, I came to understand that 30:14 God can read our minds and knows what our thoughts are, 30:18 but the devil cannot. 30:21 And so I've always 30:23 had a much better comfortability 30:26 with praying 30:28 through thought rather than verbally. 30:31 Unless it's in a public setting. 30:33 Is there anything wrong with that? 30:36 - No. There's examples in the Bible. 30:38 I know in the book of Nehemiah, it tells us that 30:41 Nehemiah, obviously he prayed in his heart, 30:43 he was about to answer the king and wasn't sure what to say 30:46 and he's standing there, so he prays in his heart. 30:50 God tells us He knows what things we have need of 30:52 before we even ask. 30:54 And the Bible tells us in 1 Kings chapter eight, 30:57 I think it's verse 39, that God and God only knows 31:00 the thoughts of men's heart. 31:02 So the devil can't read our minds. Only God can do that. 31:05 People can guess what a someone else is thinking 31:07 and the devil is probably very good at that 31:09 looking at body language, 31:11 but only God really knows the heart. 31:13 But there's nothing wrong with praying out loud. 31:15 I think there's power sometimes in praying out loud. 31:19 We have some wonderful prayers in the Bible 31:21 that are recorded 31:22 from Jesus and Daniel and Mary and Abraham and others. 31:26 Because they prayed out loud, they're recorded. 31:30 When you pray out loud, I think angels surround you. 31:32 When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, He prayed 31:35 not My will, Thy will be done. 31:37 And then you've got that beautiful prayer in John 17 31:39 that's recorded because obviously the Lord prayed out loud. 31:43 So don't be afraid to do that, I think the devil trembles 31:46 when you pray out loud, but there's certainly nothing wrong 31:48 with praying in your heart. 31:49 I probably do most of my praying that way 31:52 because you walk and talk to the Lord 31:54 when you're praying in your heart. 31:56 - We got a book it's called, "Teach Us to Pray," 31:58 and it lays out some of these biblical principles 32:00 that talk about prayer. 32:02 We'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks. 32:04 The number is 800-835-6747. 32:08 And again, just ask for the book it's called 32:09 "Teach Us to Pray" and we'll send it to anyone 32:11 in North America. 32:13 Thank you for your call, Bonita. 32:14 We've got Yolanda in Arizona. 32:17 Yolanda, welcome to the program. 32:19 - [Yolanda] Hello. 32:20 - Hi. Thanks for calling. 32:23 - Hi, thank you for taking my call. 32:26 My family and I have been studying the last day events, 32:29 and so I have a question; in the last day events, 32:32 when Satan appears as the false Christ, 32:35 will that be before or after the of close of probation? 32:39 - Ah, good question. 32:40 Well, first of all, once probation closes 32:44 the saved are saved and the lost are lost, right? 32:47 We understand that? 32:49 - [Yolanda] Right. 32:50 - I can't understand why the devil would save his 32:53 masterpiece of deception for a time when it was too late 32:57 to make any difference. 32:59 So I think it's immediately prior to the close of probation 33:02 that he pulls out his best game plan 33:05 and tries to impersonate Christ. 33:10 That's why Jesus warns His disciples there will be false 33:13 Christs and false prophets. 33:16 If their salvation is all secure before they come, 33:19 then they wouldn't really need to worry about that. 33:23 Of course there's been false Christs through history 33:25 for that matter, but yeah, I'm talking about the ultimate 33:28 deception of Satan where he impersonates Christ 33:30 I think is just before the close of probation 33:33 when he's hoping to accomplish the most damage. 33:38 - [Yolanda] I can see it go both ways. 33:42 So you're saying it's after or before? 33:44 - I'm thinking that, and I could be wrong on this, 33:47 but my understanding is that Satan is going to reserve that 33:51 masterpiece of deception 33:53 for a time when it's going to still have an impact. 33:58 And that's why Jesus warns do not go forth 34:01 if someone says here is Christ or there. 34:04 So the church is being warned against that deception. 34:07 If all the saved are saved and the lost are lost 34:10 and probation is closed, then there's really no risk 34:13 of anybody being deceived by that. 34:15 - [Yolanda] So you're saying before. 34:18 - Yeah, I think shortly before. 34:21 - [Yolanda] Because you would think if it's after 34:22 that he would still try one more time cause it says that 34:25 no one will know the hour, the day or the hour 34:29 when he comes, but also too, he doesn't know when the close, 34:31 and I'm talking about Satan, he doesn't know 34:35 the moment when probation closes, 34:38 so you would think at the end, after probation closes, 34:43 that he would try and attempt 34:47 God's people. 34:48 - Well, you see, once probation closes, 34:51 I'm actually doing this study on this tomorrow morning, 34:54 once probation closes, you've got the Great Tribulation, 34:56 the seven last plagues are falling. 34:59 And I think people are going to be so distracted 35:01 by the plagues, they're going to just be cursing God. 35:05 Now Jesus says that the deception in the last days 35:08 will be so effective that if it were possible, 35:11 even the very elect would be deceived. 35:13 So God preserves the elect from being deceived. 35:17 But I think the door's probably still open, 35:20 that's why the Lord is warning about that. 35:23 But anyway, again, I'm speculating a little bit, 35:25 cause there's no, as far as I know, there's no, 35:28 what do you call it? 35:29 Decisive comment on that in the Bible. 35:31 You just kind of have to do some detective work and 35:34 make an educated guess. 35:36 - [Yolanda] Right. Okay. 35:38 I thought I heard you mention that you're doing this 35:41 tomorrow? 35:42 - Yeah. We're recording tomorrow. 35:44 It'll actually be on YouTube. 35:46 So I'm doing a three part series on 35:49 kind of the three phases of the tribulation, 35:51 the Great Tribulation, that are spoken of in 35:55 what do you call it, Matthew 24. 35:56 So yeah, watch for that. 35:57 It'll be on the YouTube, Doug bachelor, 35:59 Amazing Facts channel. 36:01 - [Yolanda] Okay. Sounds good. Thank you so much. 36:02 - All right. Thank you. 36:04 - All right, next caller that we have is, 36:06 we'll try Rich again in Michigan. 36:08 Rich, welcome to the program. - [Rich] Can you hear me? 36:10 - Yes. 36:13 - [Rich] You can hear me now? 36:14 - You're on. - [Rich] All right. Yes. Yes. 36:16 Hi. I've been listening to you guys for a while now. 36:19 But the other day something struck me, 36:20 I was listening to, I don't know if it was you guys 36:22 or somebody else, but they said that when we die, 36:25 we're sleeping. 36:28 If we died in Christ, we're sleeping in Christ 36:30 and we don't know the time or anything until He comes back 36:33 the second time to collect us. 36:37 But then in the Bible, it says that the rich man 36:43 and Lazarus, he was at the gate begging, 36:46 and they both died and Lazarus was in Abraham's bosom, 36:52 but the rich man went to hell or whatever. 36:53 - Goes to Hades, yeah. 36:55 - [Randy] Hades. 36:57 Let him put a drop of water on my finger and God says, no, 37:00 the thing is too wide, you had your chance and blew it. 37:03 Now that says right there 37:06 that we didn't just go in our grave and waiting for Him 37:10 to come, we're alive and going somewhere else. 37:14 - All right, let's talk about. 37:16 - [Rich] You see, I'm kind of confused on that one. 37:16 - Yeah, yeah, no problem. 37:18 So when we're talking about the rich man and Lazarus, 37:20 this is a passage you find in Luke chapter, I think it's 16 37:24 verse 19, and it's a parable. 37:26 And you've got parables around it. 37:28 And one reason we know it's a parable is there's nowhere 37:31 else in the Bible that says all of those that die 37:33 go to Abraham's bosom. 37:35 So here's what Jesus is teaching in that parable. 37:38 He's warning the Jewish nation that was rich in truth 37:42 and feasting on the Word of God, 37:44 they were not loving or caring about the Gentiles 37:47 begging for the crumbs that fell from their table. 37:49 The Gentiles, their place of punishment was called Hades. 37:53 The Jews, their place of reward was to be with Abraham. 37:57 And so what Jesus does is He tells this parable 37:59 and he switches places. 38:02 He's got the rich man going to the Gentile place of torment 38:06 and He's got the poor Gentile beggar, Lazarus, 38:08 he's going to the Jewish place of reward. 38:12 And Christ is saying that if you do not believe Moses 38:15 and the prophets, you wouldn't be persuaded that one 38:17 should rise from the dead. 38:19 Of course, Jesus did rise from the dead. 38:21 The religious leaders did not believe He even rose 38:24 someone from the dead by the name of Lazarus. 38:27 And they did not believe. 38:28 So this is a parable, it's not talking about the state 38:31 of men and death, because think about it, 38:33 will the people in heaven be able to talk to the people 38:36 burning in hell? 38:37 - [Rich] No. 38:38 - Let's hope not. 38:39 So you can't take that literally. 38:41 Well would one drop of water really cool them? 38:44 - [Randy] No, not at all. 38:45 - Well, it's a metaphor. 38:46 Yeah, so the it's full of metaphors. 38:48 - [Rich] What about the guy on the cross that says 38:50 you'll be in paradise with me today? 38:52 - Yeah, actually, if you look at that, 38:54 there's no punctuation in the original. 38:56 What Jesus said is, "Verily I say to you today, 38:59 you will be with me in paradise." 39:02 Christ could not have been with the thief in paradise 39:05 that day, because you read in John chapter 20, 39:08 when Christ rises from the dead, 39:10 he tells Mary Magdalene, "Do not cling to me," 39:12 do not touch me, "I have not yet ascended to my father." 39:16 So Christ is telling Mary Sunday morning, 39:18 He still hasn't ascended to the Father, 39:20 how could He be with the thief in paradise Friday afternoon? 39:23 - [Randy] Right, that's what I'm having trouble with. 39:27 - So we've we got a lesson on that you'd really appreciate. 39:30 - The thief, talking about the thief, 39:31 he wasn't expecting to go to paradise that day 39:33 cause he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when you 39:35 come in your kingdom." 39:37 So he was looking forward to the second coming of Christ 39:39 and saying, "Lord, remember me." 39:41 And so Christ assured him that day that he would be, 39:44 in the future, with Him in paradise, 39:47 and that's the assurance that we can have right away 39:50 when we receive Jesus. 39:51 - [Rich] So we do go to sleep then, 39:55 we're just asleep there until He does come. 39:57 We don't know the time passes or anything? 39:59 - For a believer, 40:01 it says to be absent from the body is to be present 40:04 with the Lord. 40:05 If you're saved and you die, your next conscious thought 40:07 is the resurrection. 40:09 So there's no consciousness of time for you. 40:11 - [Randy] Right. Oh, I see what you're saying, 40:12 cause we're asleep anyway, when we're asleep, 40:14 we're unconscious. 40:15 - It's a totally dreamless sleep. 40:18 It's not like you sleep where you roll over 40:21 during the night. 40:21 You have no awareness of time. 40:23 Let me give you more proof of that. 40:25 King David died 3,000 years ago. 40:28 The Bible says David slept with his fathers. 40:30 Acts chapter two, 1,000 years later, Peter says, 40:33 "David is dead and buried and not ascended to heaven. 40:37 His tomb is with us to this day." 40:39 He couldn't be any more clear. He's dead. He's in the grave. 40:42 He's not yet ascended to heaven. 40:43 This is after the resurrection. 40:46 But for David who died, his next conscious thought 40:49 is the presence of the Lord. 40:51 The resurrection. 40:53 You look in 1 Thessalonians chapter four, 40:56 says, "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven 40:57 with a shout; then the dead in Christ will rise first." 41:01 So when does that happen? 41:02 When the Lord descends from heaven with a shout. 41:05 - You know, Rich, we got a study guide that, 41:08 if you haven't seen, it's just packed with scripture, 41:11 it's a great study. 41:12 It's called "Are the Dead Really Dead?" 41:14 And we'll be happy to send this to you or anyone who calls 41:16 and asks. 41:17 The number is 800-835-6747. 41:20 Just call and ask. 41:22 "Are the Dead Really Dead?" We'll send it to you. 41:24 Again, it's 800-835-6747. 41:28 And if you want to learn more about it, 41:29 you can just go to the Amazing Facts website as well 41:32 and we have a number of articles. 41:33 Actually, Pastor Doug, we got a website that Amazing Facts 41:37 has sponsored called DeathTruth.com. 41:40 - That's right. 41:41 - And it's got a lot of scriptures there 41:42 and I think that study even available online 41:44 for people to read, so take a look at DeathTruth.com 41:48 There's actually some videos of sermons there 41:50 and I think you'll be blessed by that. 41:52 Thank you for your call, Rich. 41:53 We've got Hector listening in Florida. 41:55 Hector, welcome to the program. 41:59 - [Hector] Thank you for taking my call. 42:02 I would love to know something about 42:06 Revelation 12, verse 9-13. 42:10 My concern about this is 42:16 how the title of Lucifer has been changed from Lucifer 42:21 to Satan or devil 42:23 or ancient serpent where he didn't even reach to the earth 42:30 as yet to persecute the people on earth. 42:34 And also the second question that I have in that reference, 42:40 how could he get cast out directly to the earth? 42:44 - All right, let's talk about that. 42:46 And the question is here in Revelation chapter 12, 42:48 I think you said versus nine throgh at least 11. 42:55 And it says, "So that great dragon was cast out, 42:57 that serpent of old called the devil and Satan." 42:59 So right there is a very interesting passage 43:02 cause it identifies the dragon, the serpent, the devil 43:05 and Satan. 43:07 That's all talking about the same person. 43:08 And then you also mentioned before his fall, 43:11 he was called Lucifer, which is light bearer. 43:14 He was the shining one of God before this. 43:18 And it says he's cast out to the earth. 43:20 So it starts out that he rebels and he's cast out of heaven. 43:23 Ultimately he's cast of the earth. 43:25 The reason he's cast to the earth and restricted here, 43:28 and you can read in the book of Job, Satan says, 43:29 "I've come from the earth. 43:31 From walking to and fro and up and down in it." 43:34 And so here on the earth, Satan found creatures, 43:40 intelligent creatures made in God's image; 43:42 a world where they were willing to listen to him 43:45 instead of God,. 43:46 Whoever you obey, Romans chapter six, 43:48 that's who servant you are. 43:50 And when Adam and Eve decided to listen to the devil, 43:53 when God said, "Do not eat the fruit," the devil said, 43:55 "Go ahead, eat it." 43:56 They listened to the devil. 43:58 They basically surrendered dominion of this planet 44:00 to the enemy. 44:02 So he was cast out and restricted to this planet. 44:05 And this world, with all its misery and suffering, 44:08 is because it has been a beach head for the devil's campaign 44:11 against God and the whole universe is seen 44:15 and the unfallen angels what the result of Satan's 44:19 government is and all the misery and the suffering 44:22 in this world is a result of that. 44:24 Now we have a DVD called "Cosmic Conflict" 44:27 that outlines this whole battle. 44:30 - I think the DVD's available on YouTube actually. 44:32 I think somebody's put it up there and it gets into this. 44:36 Just two quick things I want to add to that, Pastor Doug, 44:37 if you look in verse nine, it says, 44:41 "So the great dragon was cast out." 44:45 And then you look a little further in verse 10 says, 44:48 "He was cast down to the earth." 44:51 So there's two things there's casting out 44:54 and there's casting down. 44:55 He's cast out of heaven. 44:57 Well, that occurred before the creation of the earth. 44:59 But after Adam and Eve sinned, 45:02 he claimed dominion of the earth. 45:04 But in a special way, he was cast down at the cross 45:07 when Jesus was victorious and overcame. 45:09 It was very evident that he had lost the battle. 45:11 He's going around like a roaring lion 45:13 seeking whom he can devour, he knows he has a short time. 45:16 So there's the casting out of heaven, 45:17 then there's the casting down to the earth 45:20 when Adam and Eve chose him above God. 45:23 And then in a secondary sense, at the cross, 45:25 Christ overcame him one more time. 45:27 So there's two words that's interesting to note. 45:30 - And Jesus said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning 45:33 from heaven." 45:36 It's no question he's been cast down. 45:38 - Yep. Great question, Hector. Thank you for your call. 45:41 Next caller that we have is Jeanie listening in Kansas. 45:44 Jeanie, welcome to the program. 45:47 - [Jeanie] Hi. 45:48 - Hi. 45:51 - [Jeanie] I don't know if you'd call it a question 45:53 or a comment, but, Pastor Ross, I'm not trying to 45:58 leave you out, but I'm going to ignore you cause I want to 46:00 talk to Pastor Doug. 46:01 - That's fine. 46:06 - [Jeanie] I don't know, maybe three or four 46:08 of your programs, Pastor Doug, you commented 46:13 naturally people wonder about the Ark of the Covenant 46:15 and you've speculated, 46:19 you think that they hid it in one of the many tombs 46:22 around Jerusalem. 46:24 But I was just wondering; 46:30 I know it doesn't say anything in the Bible about it, 46:32 so I was just wondering if you had read "Early Writings" 46:36 page 32? 46:39 - Yeah, about the law of God being exalted? 46:43 You're talking about where the law of God is exalted. 46:48 Some people are wondering if 46:51 the Ark is going to be discovered. 46:54 There's that verse in Revelation where it's 46:56 I saw heaven open. 46:59 Is that Revelation 11? 47:01 - Revelation 11. Yes. 47:02 The sounding of the seventh trumpet. 47:04 - Yeah. 47:06 Does that mean that the Ark's going to be discovered? 47:09 I think it's saying that the law of God 47:11 is going to be exalted. 47:12 I don't know what you think about that, pastor Ross. 47:14 Well, first, let me back up before you answer that. 47:17 So she's asking why do you think it might be in a cave 47:19 around Jerusalem? 47:21 Well, the reason is the Ark is still in the temple. 47:26 The 10 Commandments are still in the Ark and the Ark 47:29 is still in the temple prior to the destruction of Jerusalem 47:32 by Nebuchadnezzar. 47:33 That's recorded. 47:35 And it says nothing was in the Ark, but the tables of stone, 47:39 something had happened to the pint of manna and Aaron's rod. 47:45 And it never appears as one of the articles 47:48 that is carried off by Nebuchadnezzar. 47:50 And it never appears when Ezra brings back the articles. 47:54 It's disappeared from history. 47:56 The only thing that can happen is Jeremiah who foretold 47:59 the destruction of Jerusalem, 48:01 he with some other priest, 48:03 or he directed some priests, 48:04 they hid it so that the Babylonians would not get their 48:07 hands on it when they conquered the city. 48:09 And it's never been recorded since then. 48:12 And you are going to say, now what does it mean there in 48:15 Revelation 11 where it talks about the Ark? 48:17 - Yeah. Here's the verse, Revelation 11, verse 19. 48:19 It says, "The temple of God is opening heaven, 48:20 and the Ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. 48:23 And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, earthquake 48:26 and great hail." 48:27 It's the elevation of God's law. 48:29 That's what's so important about the Ark of the Covenant. 48:32 And of course the great original of the law is in heaven, 48:36 in the heavenly sanctuary, and the copy that Moses had made, 48:39 or God wrote, and Moses put in the golden box and is hidden 48:44 somewhere near Jerusalem, Pastor Doug, I hope, 48:47 I don't know for sure, but I sure hope they do find that 48:50 before Jesus comes, it would be the greatest 48:53 archeological find. 48:54 Could you imagine? - That or Noah's Ark. 48:55 Either Ark would be great. 48:56 - That would be great. 48:57 - But the 10 commandments, to open it and look inside 49:00 and see where God wrote with His own hand. 49:03 Of course movies have been made about that, 49:05 but to actually see the golden box would be 49:08 a glorious thing. 49:09 It's quite possible it's there. 49:11 We know it's there. 49:12 It's hidden somewhere and maybe will be found. 49:15 Some even claim they have found it. 49:17 - Yeah, that's been kind of shabby evidence. 49:19 - Yeah. (Jean chuckles) 49:20 Anyway, yes, great question, thank you. 49:22 Thank you, Jeanie. - Thank you, Jeanie. 49:23 - The next caller that we have is Mary listening in Oregon. 49:26 Mary, welcome to the program. 49:29 - [Mary] Thank you for taking my call 49:31 and thank you so much for all the work you do for Jesus. 49:34 - Thank you. 49:35 - [Mary] My question is 49:38 about idolatry. 49:41 My friend was telling me that 49:45 having a picture of Jesus in the sanctuary 49:49 is idolatry. 49:51 And she directed me to Isaiah 44, 49:56 9-19. 49:59 And it does say idolatry is foolishness. 50:02 So I was wondering 50:07 what is it really saying? 50:10 Is really having a picture of Jesus, 50:12 is it idolatry? 50:14 - Well, it could be. 50:16 Whether it's a picture which is one dimensional 50:18 or a statue, which is three dimensional, 50:20 you can worship either. 50:22 Now folks might be shocked to hear me say 50:25 the 10 commandments, the second commandment does not forbid 50:29 the making of a facsimile or an image, a likeness. 50:33 It says you shall not make a likeness and bow down to it. 50:38 An example of that would be when the children of Israel 50:41 were bitten by snakes in the book of Numbers, 50:43 Moses was instructed to make a bronze serpent. 50:46 Well, that would be an image. 50:49 But years later, when the people were praying to it, 50:51 Hezekiah ground it to powder. 50:54 God told Solomon and Moses in the temple, 50:58 they had angels on the Ark. 51:00 Well, you could say that angel's an idol. 51:03 Well, it was to represent the angels of God in heaven. 51:05 Nobody was praying to the angels. 51:07 But if someone should start praying to a statue 51:09 or a painting of an angel or a statue or painting of Jesus 51:13 or Mary, that becomes idolatry. 51:16 There's one church that says 51:19 you're not even supposed to have a photograph of your family 51:21 on the coffee table or the wall because that's an idol. 51:25 Well, hopefully nobody's praying to that. 51:28 So idolatry is making an image and praying to it. 51:32 When you read in the Bible, "Solomon, 51:35 filled with the Holy Spirit, built the temple in Jerusalem." 51:39 There were 12 calves that held up the altar of water 51:43 the laver, and they called it the sea cause it was such 51:46 a big compartment. 51:49 Well, there's nothing wrong with that. 51:51 Nobody prayed to them. 51:53 So having a likeness of something, whether it's a fig 51:57 or a pomegranate or a 52:00 calf as they had there, 52:02 as long as they weren't praying to it, 52:04 it wasn't technically wrong. 52:06 So hopefully that helps. 52:08 And Isaiah of course, he's highlighting how foolish it is 52:10 to make an idol and pray to it. 52:12 We should not pray to or worship representations. 52:16 If it's going to make somebody stumble, 52:17 don't put a picture of Jesus in your house. 52:20 Or a statue. 52:21 - That's right. 52:22 All right, well thank you for your call, Mary. 52:24 We going to go to Jose in Tennessee. 52:26 Jose, welcome with the program. 52:29 - [Jose] Hey, how's it going, pastor Doug and Ross? 52:32 I just want to say thank you so much for your program. 52:35 It's really helped me during some very difficult times. 52:39 And yeah, my question is on 1 Timothy chapter four 52:43 and verse three. 52:45 Says, "Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain 52:47 from meat which God has created to be received 52:50 with Thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth." 52:55 I know that in paradise 52:59 and in the garden that nothing was created to be eaten 53:03 except for the fruits or the trees and things like that, 53:08 so I'm kind of confused on what Paul is talking about here. 53:11 I also know that the background is a little bit on 53:14 gnosticism and that we're restricting people from eating 53:18 certain things, so can you kind of clear that up for me? 53:20 - Yeah. Well, I think that what Paul is specifically 53:23 talking about here is in the early church, 53:26 the Jewish Christians were telling the Gentile converts 53:30 to Christianity, they could not eat any of the meats, 53:33 and they're talking about clean meats, 53:35 that were sold in the Roman or Greek marketplaces 53:38 because they used to always sacrifice them before 53:41 some idle or altar. 53:42 It was just typical in the butcher shops. 53:44 And they said, oh, this has been sacrificed to a god. 53:47 And Paul said, whatever you buy in the flea market, 53:50 in the meat market, eat it, don't ask any questions 53:52 for conscience sake. 53:53 He says the idol is nothing. 53:56 But if it bothers your conscience, don't eat it. 53:59 And he says that there will be some in the last days 54:02 that will be departing from the faith saying you cannot 54:05 eat certain meats, which are sanctified by the Word of God. 54:08 Now the Bible says there are certain clean meats 54:10 you can eat. 54:11 There's some churches that say you can and can't eat fish 54:13 on certain days of the week. 54:15 I think you know what I'm talking about. 54:19 Clearly, the ideal diet for man in the beginning 54:23 in heaven, and even in this life, 54:25 is the diet that God gave Adam and Eve. 54:28 And we've got a lesson that talks about that called- 54:30 - "God's Free Health Plan." 54:33 Yes, and if you'd like to receive that, the number to call 54:35 is 800-835-6747. 54:38 You can ask for the study guide, it's called 54:40 "God's Free Health Plan. 54:41 Of course, we'll be happy to send it to anyone here 54:43 in North America. 54:45 If you're outside of North America, you can just go to the 54:47 Amazing Facts website, just AmazingFacts.org 54:51 and you'll be able to read the study guide there as well. 54:54 Pastor Doug, looking at the clock, we've got a special 54:58 session following; we say goodbye to our satellite radios 55:01 here in just a minute. 55:02 But stay around, friends, we're going to take some of your 55:04 internet questions that you have emailed to us. 55:07 We call it our rapid fire Bible question section, so 55:10 we'll be back in just a moment. 55:12 (driving music) 55:15 - [Narrator] Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. 55:18 We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. 55:21 "Bible Answers Live" is produced by 55:23 Amazing Facts International, a faith based ministry 55:27 located in Granite Bay, California. 55:31 - Hello friends, welcome back to our special segment 55:33 where we take your internet questions, your email questions, 55:36 and we try to answer as many as we can 55:39 in the time that's allotted. 55:40 If you'd like to email a Bible question 55:42 to "Bible Answers Live," it's just simply 55:45 BALquestions@AmazingFacts.org. 55:49 That's BALquestions@AmazingFacts.org. 55:53 All right, pastor Doug, here's the first question 55:54 that we have. 55:56 Somebody's asking, "How do I convince my family members 55:58 that their dead loved ones cannot talk to them?" 56:02 And then as part two of that question, "Are psychics bad?" 56:07 - If you look in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter nine, 56:12 and oh, you can go to verse five, 56:14 it says, "For the living know that they will die, 56:17 but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward 56:21 for the memory of them is forgotten. 56:23 Their love, their hatred, their envy is now perished; 56:27 nevermore will they have a share in anything done 56:29 under the sun," that means in this life. 56:32 When people die, they never come back. 56:34 The Bible never says anything about living 56:37 who die and come back to haunt. 56:40 Job says, I think it's chapter 14, man dies, 56:43 his sons come to honor and he does not know it. 56:47 Psalm 146, "Put not your trust in princes or in the 56:49 son of man in whom there is no help. 56:51 His breath goes forth, he returns to the earth, 56:55 and that very day his thoughts perish." 56:57 They're not thinking anything. 56:58 You need a brain to think and the brain decomposes, 57:00 you don't think. 57:02 And so until you get your glorified body, 57:04 you're not haunting anybody, and that's at the resurrection, 57:06 the second coming. 57:07 So no. 57:09 And psychics, if people are consulting with the dead, 57:11 the Bible tells us very clearly, New and Old Testament, 57:15 among the people in the lake of fire are the spiritualists. 57:18 And Moses is pretty clear, have nothing to do 57:21 with a medium that's communicating with the dead, 57:23 it's usually satanic. 57:25 - All right, here is a question that we are hearing 57:27 a lot about in the news today. 57:29 And the question simply is, "Is the Bible pro-life 57:32 or pro-choice?" 57:35 - Well, people like the slogans. 57:38 Of course you would think God wants people to have life 57:41 and of course you would think God wants people 57:42 to have choice, so let's set aside the labels that are used 57:46 to define these two categories. 57:48 The real question is when does life begin 57:51 and is human life sacred? 57:53 The only place that you can say when life begins, 57:56 human life, is at conception. 57:58 That's why they call it conception. 58:00 And in the Bible, when the Holy Spirit came on Mary, 58:04 she conceived, and it says that Holy One, 58:07 that is within you. 58:08 So human life begins at conception. 58:10 It is sacred and should be treated and protected as such. 58:14 Now we're really out of time. 58:17 God bless, friends. Till next week. 58:20 - [Narrator] "Bible Answers Live." 58:21 Honest and accurate answers to your Bible questions. |
Revised 2022-12-01