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Series Code: AFBA
Program Code: AFBA022240S
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00:00 (triumphant orchestral music)
00:03 - [Announcer] - It is the best-selling book in history. 00:05 No volume ever written has been more loved and quoted, 00:09 and its words, sometimes simple and sometimes 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, providing accurate 00:23 and practical 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 00:34 in this broadcast, call 800-835-6747. 00:39 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 00:45 Now, here's your host from Amazing Facts International, 00:48 Pastor Doug Batchelor. 00:50 - Hello, friends! 00:51 Would you like to hear an amazing fact? 00:54 In 2019, contractors in North Yorkshire, England 00:58 were renovating someone's kitchen. 01:01 After prying up the old wooden floorboards 01:03 and breaking through six inches of concrete, 01:05 they unearthed a glazed cup similar in size to a soda can. 01:10 In and around the cup, they found 260 gold coins, 01:15 dating between 1610 and 1727. 01:18 The coins were likely hidden there 01:20 by Joseph and Sarah Fernley-Maisters, a wealthy 01:23 merchant couple that once lived in the house and evidently 01:26 didn't have much faith in the local banks of their day. 01:30 The estimated value of the treasure is more than $290,000, 01:35 which would help pay for the remodeled kitchen. 01:38 I don't know what you think, Pastor Ross. 01:40 Maybe they'll have some left over to bury under the floor. 01:42 - That's right, maybe for the next person 01:43 who buys the house. (Jean laughs) 01:45 But you think of all of the hard work that they put 01:47 into trying to gather this treasure, and then they bury it, 01:50 and evidently, they didn't pass it on to their children, 01:53 or they died tragically, they forgot about it. 01:56 And here many years later, somebody uncovers it 01:59 while they're remodeling the kitchen. 02:00 It almost seems a waste. 02:02 They could have used it 02:03 for the benefit of others at their time. 02:06 Wouldn't that have been better than just burying it? 02:08 - Yeah, it's sad when people, they hoard money. 02:14 I mean, they could at least pass it onto their heirs 02:16 or something, give it to a foundation, but this got buried 02:20 and discovered centuries later by strangers. 02:25 I think there's actually a proverb that talks about that. 02:28 Jesus tells us in Luke chapter 12 verse 16, 02:31 "He spoke this parable to them, saying, 02:34 "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully, 02:37 "and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, 02:39 "since I have no room to store all my crops?" 02:42 He thought a little bit, 02:43 and then he said, "This is what I'll do. 02:45 "I'll pull down my barns and I'll build greater, 02:48 "and there I'll store all my crops and my goods. 02:50 "I'll say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods 02:53 "laid up for many years; take your ease. 02:56 "Eat, drink, and be merry. 02:58 "But God said to him, Fool, this night your soul 03:02 "will be required of you; then whose will those things be 03:06 "for which you have provided? 03:08 "So is he who lays up treasure for himself 03:11 "and is not rich towards God." 03:14 - Yeah, it's an amazing parable. 03:15 Here you have this person who's been blessed, 03:17 and they think, "Well, I'm gonna hoard 03:18 all of these blessings to myself," 03:20 but in reality, it would have been better 03:22 if he used it to build up the kingdom of heaven. 03:24 I'm reminded of the other verse, Pastor Doug, 03:26 that says, "Lay up for yourselves not treasure on earth, 03:29 "but rather in heaven, and where your treasure is, 03:32 "that's where your heart will be also." 03:34 So the principle that we find in the Bible is that 03:37 there is an investment that believers can be involved in 03:40 that actually earns dividends throughout eternity. 03:44 We can lay up treasure in heaven. 03:45 - And you know, it is true, 03:47 and I don't wanna sound like a prosperity preacher, 03:48 but there is some truth to the scripture, the principle that 03:53 with what measure you mete, it'll be measured to you. 03:56 Jesus tells us that if we're generous, 03:58 that men will heap into your bosom. 04:01 People will be generous with you. 04:03 God says if you prove Him, 04:04 test Him when it comes to tithe and offering, 04:06 He says "See if I don't open for you the windows of heaven." 04:09 So even in this life, 04:11 it's more blessed to give than receive, 04:12 'cause it seems like blessings ricochet. 04:15 They come back. - Absolutely. 04:16 You know, a lot of people are wondering, 04:17 what are the biblical principles for money? 04:19 As you mentioned, Pastor Doug, there's some confusion, 04:21 even in the Christian world, 04:22 as to how we ought to use our resources. 04:24 Amazing Facts has a study guide. 04:26 It's called In God We Trust, 04:27 and it deals with the subject of money. 04:29 You'll be surprised, Jesus said quite a bit 04:31 about finances and how we ought to use money. 04:34 We'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks. 04:36 The number is 800-835-6747. 04:40 That is our resource phone line. 04:42 You can ask for offer number 135, 04:44 or you can ask for the study guide by name. 04:46 It's called In God We Trust. 04:48 We'll send that to anyone in North America. 04:50 If you're listening outside of North America, 04:52 we encourage you to go to our Amazing Facts website, 04:54 just amazingfacts.org, and you'll be able 04:57 to read the study guide right there online. 05:00 Of course, maybe that's a good time, Pastor Doug, 05:02 for us to welcome those who are listening 05:04 across the country and around the world. 05:06 For those of you who might not know, 05:07 this is a radio program. 05:09 We're broadcasting on a number of land-based stations, 05:11 also on satellite radio. 05:13 But we're also a TV program now, 05:16 and we are broadcasting live at Amazing Facts TV. 05:19 We're also streaming this live on the internet, 05:21 the Doug Batchelor Facebook page, 05:23 the Amazing Facts Facebook page, so we wanna welcome 05:26 all of those who are tuned in and part of our program. 05:29 If you have a Bible-related question, 05:31 the phone line to call is 800-463-7297. 05:36 That's 800-463-7297. 05:40 And if you're watching this on the internet 05:42 or you're watching it on one of the networks, 05:44 I think we're re-broadcasting, Pastor Doug, 05:46 on some other networks, 3BM and Hope TV, 05:49 so we wanna greet those. - I saw the re-broadcast 05:51 from last week this week on AFTV, 05:54 so they're keeping up with it. 05:55 - It's also going out. - And out here, 05:57 it's going out on Hope Channel as well, 05:59 so we're excited. - Yeah, absolutely. 06:01 All right, if you have a question again, 800-463-7297. 06:05 Before we go to the phone lines, 06:06 let's start with a word of prayer. 06:08 Dear Father, once again, we are grateful 06:10 for this opportunity to be able to open Your Word and study. 06:13 Lord, there is power in Your Word. 06:15 So we're gonna ask Your blessing 06:16 upon the program this evening. 06:18 Be with us here in the studio, and we ask a special blessing 06:21 also on those who are listening, wherever they might be. 06:23 We ask this in Jesus's name, amen. 06:26 - Amen. - All right, 06:28 I think we're ready for our first caller this evening! 06:29 We've got Patrick, and he's calling from Canada. 06:32 Patrick, you're on the air. 06:35 - [Patrick] Good evening, pastors. 06:36 - Evening! 06:38 - [Patrick] Thank you, I have a question 06:40 in regards to Ezekiel chapter four verse nine. 06:44 I'd like to find out if that has any relation 06:48 to the Ezekiel bread that is sold today, and verse 12, 06:56 if that has any relationship to do with verse nine. 07:01 - Yeah, well, some people have taken 07:03 the verses here in Ezekiel four, 07:05 and lemme read it for our friends that are listening. 07:08 We just wanna remember that 07:09 90% of the people listening to the program, 07:12 they can't maybe look it up right at the moment. 07:15 But it says here in Ezekiel verse nine, this is a prophecy 07:18 that came to the prophet Ezekiel from the Lord. 07:20 "Also take for yourself wheat, barley, 07:23 "beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. 07:25 "Put them in one vessel and make bread of them for yourself. 07:28 "During the number of days that you lie on your side, 07:31 "390 days, you shall eat it, and it shall be your food. 07:35 "You shall eat by weight 20 shekels a day 07:37 "from the time that you shall eat it. 07:39 "You shall also drink water by measure, 1/6 of a hin, 07:42 "from the time you shall drink. 07:44 "And you'll eat it as barley cakes 07:46 "and bake it using the fuel of human waste in their sight." 07:50 Now, that certainly would not be a good recipe 07:52 for health-conscious people to follow. 07:56 I think God is telling Ezekiel, by living out this parable, 08:00 he was describing the period of time 08:03 that the people in Israel and Judea that remained behind 08:06 were gonna be experiencing some famine. 08:09 And they were taking everything they could find 08:13 and putting it in their bread. 08:15 Now, people have made, I've eaten Ezekiel bread before. 08:17 They made some good-tasting bread 08:18 by combining these different elements. 08:23 When Ezekiel protests, he says, "Lord, 08:25 "I can't bake this over human waste, that's unclean! 08:28 "I'm a priest! 08:29 "I've never done anything unclean!" 08:30 God says, "Well, I'm gonna let you use cow dung instead." 08:34 And for ages, people have actually cooked on buffalo chips 08:38 and animal dung. (Doug laughs) 08:40 You've probably seen it in Africa. 08:41 So that was not that uncommon. 08:44 But this is a parable that Ezekiel was living out 08:47 talking about the hardship 08:48 that God's people were gonna go through. 08:50 It's not necessarily a recipe for health bread. 08:53 - That's right, and the context that you mentioned there, 08:56 Pastor Doug, they were making bread 08:58 out of whatever they could find. 08:59 Typically in the Bible, 09:01 the best kind of bread was bread made from wheat, 09:04 but here in this situation, wheat was hard to come by, 09:06 and so they were using some wheat, 09:08 but they were mixing whatever they could find. 09:10 - Barley was usually for the animals. 09:12 That's a prophecy in Revelation that says, 09:15 what is it, a measure of barley for a penny? 09:16 It's talking about a time of famine. 09:18 - That's right, yeah, shortness. 09:20 Well, thank you for your call, Patrick! 09:21 We hope that helped, and there is, as mentioned, 09:24 there is a bread that's called Ezekiel bread, 09:26 and I don't know if they use every single one of these items 09:29 listed here, but it is pretty good. 09:32 Thomas listening in Minnesota. 09:34 Thomas, welcome to the program, you're on the air. 09:36 - [Thomas] Yeah, I'm having trouble explaining myself. 09:37 Let me explain. 09:39 Basically speaking, I ran across something, let's see. 09:42 We have something in my Roku network 09:45 called Special Projects: Prophecy Alert. 09:48 Let me explain. 09:50 They explain some activity on Pope Francis, 09:53 one of which was of course trying to unify 09:56 all the Christians together and have a one-world religion. 09:59 Secondly, we had him go to the Temple Mount 10:03 and try to negotiate peace with the Palestinians. 10:05 Now, according to this thing, now, 10:07 the reference I'm making here, the Prophecy Alert is called 10:12 Special Projects: Prophecy Alert Three of Eight. 10:17 So, at least the article said that was very significant, 10:22 and in fact, the events that were occurring were actually, 10:28 they cited II Thessalonians chapter four, one to four. 10:31 So any significance to that? - Oh, okay, thank you. 10:34 Let's go to the verse that you mentioned, II Thessalonians 10:37 chapter two, verses one through four, yeah, yeah. 10:39 "Now brethren, concerning the coming 10:40 "of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, 10:43 "we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, 10:47 "either by spirit or by word or by letter from us, 10:50 "as though the day of the Lord had come." 10:52 Paul is telling the Thessalonians, he says, 10:55 there was a lot of excitement that the day of the Lord 10:57 had already come, and he said, "Let no one deceive you 10:59 "by any means, for that day will not come 11:02 "unless there is a falling away that comes first, 11:05 "and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 11:09 "who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God 11:12 "or worshiped so that he sits as God 11:15 "in the temple of God showing himself that he is God." 11:18 So let's talk about that verse. 11:20 It's hard for me to comment 11:21 on what you may have seen at a website somewhere, 11:25 but most Protestants, I mean, like Luther and Spurgeon 11:30 and Wesley and many others, Calvin and John Knox, 11:36 they identified this verse, 11:37 the man of sin they believed was the pope. 11:39 They believed it was a religious leader 11:41 that was putting himself in a place to be worshiped, 11:44 putting himself over the temple of God. 11:46 Now, keep in mind, one of the terms for the church 11:49 as the body of Christ, Jesus said we are living stones. 11:54 Christ said, "Destroy this temple made with hands. 11:56 "In three days, I will make one without hands." 11:58 He's talking about His body, which is the Church. 12:02 So Paul says, "What, don't you know that ye are the temple 12:04 "of God," meaning collectively, we are the temple. 12:07 So they understood that for the pope to say, 12:09 "I am in charge of the Church," where Jesus really never 12:12 assigned any one pastor or apostle to be over everything; 12:16 you see it bouncing between Paul and Peter 12:19 and James in the New Testament; 12:22 they said that was Antichrist behavior. 12:26 And it's interesting to know that the first person 12:29 who called the office of pope "Antichrist" was a pope. 12:34 - That's right. (Jean laughs) 12:35 - It's Pope Gregory. (both laughing) 12:37 - There was quite a fight that went on between, 12:39 well, two individuals claimed to be pope, 12:42 and they went back and forth, accusing one another 12:44 of being the Antichrist. - That's right. 12:46 That was during the time of Marco Polo. 12:48 - Yes, absolutely. - He was trying to get 12:50 missionaries, and they were fighting among themselves, 12:51 calling each other antichrists. 12:53 - That's right, and then it occurred later on 12:54 during the time of the Reformation, 12:56 where the Reformers even pointed that out. 12:57 So it's happened more than once, 12:59 where there was different individuals vying for power. 13:02 - So what's happening now, and based on the question 13:04 that Josiah, or Thomas, rather, is asking, is that, 13:09 since the Protestant churches all came 13:11 out of the Catholic church, in succeeding generations, 13:14 that animosity has dissipated, 13:16 and the Pope is calling Protestants to reunite again, 13:20 and we are seeing a big movement towards that. 13:22 Pope Francis has reached out to the Russian Orthodox 13:26 and the Greek Orthodox and the Coptic Church leaders, 13:29 and Charismatics in North America 13:31 have gone to meet with the Pope. 13:33 He's saying, "Look, the most important thing is, 13:35 "let's just be one," and that sounds beautiful, 13:38 but it doesn't mean you sacrifice 13:40 doctrinal truth for the sake of unity. 13:43 And so, that's the thing we need to be careful about. 13:45 - All right, thanks for your call, Thomas. 13:47 We've got Josiah listening as well. 13:49 Josiah listening from New York, welcome to the program. 13:52 - [Josiah] Good evening. 13:55 Just to add to what you just said with the previous caller, 14:00 so aren't you guys all Protestant? 14:03 Don't you all go back to the Catholic Church, like you say? 14:08 - Yeah, well, most Protestants, 14:10 most Protestant denominations, were kind of drawn 14:14 out of the Catholic Church, and they retained 14:16 maybe even some of the theology in their doctrines. 14:20 - Some of the traditions of the church, too. 14:22 - Now, there have been people since then, 14:24 since the Protestant Reformation, 14:25 that came from total paganism; I'm one of 'em. 14:28 I didn't really come from a Christian church. 14:30 I read the Bible, and just said, I'm gonna go by the Bible. 14:32 So there's a lot of people 14:35 that have just kind of come into the truth 14:37 or come to the Lord directly from the Word. 14:40 But several denominations either broke away 14:44 from the Catholic church, or they broke away 14:46 from break-always, which is why you've got 14:48 so many divisions of Methodists and Presbyterians 14:50 and Baptists and Christians in the world today. 14:54 But am I answering your question, Jerry? 14:57 - [Josiah] Oh, that's not the question. 14:59 I just wanted to add to what he was asking. 15:01 But I'm dealing with the same chapter though 15:05 in II Thessalonians. 15:10 You read one through four. 15:12 Can you continue reading to eight, please? 15:17 - All right, lemme start with verse five. 15:19 "Do you not remember that when I was still with you, 15:21 "I told you these things? 15:23 "And now you know what is restraining, 15:25 that he may be revealed in his own time. 15:27 "For the mystery of lawlessness," called in the King James 15:31 "the mystery of iniquity," "is already at work. 15:34 "Only he who now restrains 15:35 "will do so until he is taken out of the way. 15:38 "Then that lawless one will be revealed 15:40 "whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth 15:42 "and destroy with the brightness of his coming." 15:45 So that's the verse I think you're talking about, right? 15:49 - [Josiah] Yeah, it's what I'm talking about. 15:50 It's verse eight and verse three. 15:54 Verse three says, "Let no man deceive you by any means, 15:58 "for that day shall not come 16:00 "except there come a falling away first and that man of sin 16:07 "be revealed, the son of perdition," 16:08 but when you go to verse eight, then it says, 16:11 "And then shall the wicked be revealed, 16:13 "whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth." 16:19 So who is that wicked? 16:21 Where can you go in the Bible, 16:23 'cause I've done some research. 16:29 Who does the Bible say is "the wicked"? 16:34 - Well, first of all, the ultimate wicked one is the devil. 16:36 I mean, you don't find anybody 16:39 that is supervising the devil in wickedness. 16:42 So he would be the supreme power behind the other powers. 16:46 But the devil has been manipulating 16:48 what is called "the beast power" through history. 16:51 It receives a deadly wound, and the deadly wound is healed, 16:55 and like I said, the Protestants understand 16:58 that that was the papacy that became a persecuting power 17:02 during the time of the Inquisition, 17:04 and it's kinda coming back in on the stage now. 17:07 They've got a seat in the United Nations. 17:09 No other church does. - That's right. 17:11 And different named are used. 17:13 Here in the New King James that I have, 17:15 it refers to "the lawless one," and then it goes on 17:18 and it talks about "the son of perdition." 17:21 It's talking about this one who is doing 17:23 "with all unrighteous deception amongst those who perish." 17:28 So it's the same power that's being referred to, 17:29 and we're not talking specifically about one individual. 17:31 We're talking about a position 17:33 and an office. - An office. 17:34 - 'Cause the papal position 17:36 has lasted for almost 2,000 years. 17:38 So it's talking about that system or that power, 17:41 and it's got different names. 17:43 Lawless is interesting, that he's setting aside 17:45 the law of God for manmade law or human tradition. 17:49 - Exactly. 17:50 - So it's one of the identifying marks. 17:51 - You know, for the last two people who've called in, 17:53 we have a study guide that's called Who Is the Antichrist, 17:55 and we encourage them to request that. 17:57 We'll send it to them or anyone listening for free. 18:00 - The free offer numbers is 800-835-6747, 18:04 and you can ask for that study guide. 18:05 It's simply called Who Is the Antichrist. 18:08 It'll get into all of the various Bible verses, 18:10 both here in II Thessalonians, 18:12 but also some of the prophecies in Revelation and Daniel. 18:16 The number again is 800-835-6747. 18:19 You can ask for the study guide Who Is the Antichrist. 18:22 Next caller that we have 18:23 is Liola listening from Massachusetts. 18:27 Liola, welcome to the program! 18:29 - [Liola] Good evening, how are you? 18:31 - Fine, thanks for calling, and your question? 18:35 - [Liola] My question is more for my son. 18:39 What does the Bible say 18:40 about attending prom or school dances? 18:44 Is it allowed? 18:46 - Yeah, well, that would of course depend upon the nature 18:50 of that particular school and what they're doing. 18:52 There are some Christian schools 18:54 that will have graduation galas that are probably 18:58 innocent enough, and a lot of young people 19:01 revel in the idea of dressing up a little bit 19:04 and getting together with classmates, 19:06 and I think the social interaction's important for kids 19:09 during that time in their life. 19:11 Then you could have some schools that are pretty pagan 19:14 where those things turn into a pretty serious rock concert 19:21 where things get out of hand, and the folks are spiking 19:23 the punch, and the dancing is pretty sexually suggestive. 19:29 So it would really depend, Liola. 19:32 You would have to evaluate the school on what their 19:33 standards are and how well things are chaperoned. 19:37 The typical worldly dancing 19:39 is not something I picture Jesus doing. 19:42 But I've actually seen some Christian socials 19:47 where they had these galas where the kids got together, 19:49 and they dressed up, and it was all well-supervised, 19:51 and they had a special meal, 19:53 and it was a memorable occasion for the kids. 19:55 They all took pictures, and they look at them for years 19:58 and see how funny they dressed back then. 20:00 - That's right. (Jean laughs) 20:01 All right, well, thanks for your call. 20:03 We've got Jerry listening in Texas. 20:04 Jerry, welcome to the program! 20:06 - [Jerry] Hey, pastors, hi. 20:09 I had just one additional note, I've been to Doug's church 20:12 in Shiprock. - Oh, good! 20:14 - [Jerry] Anyway, my question, 20:15 (Jerry laughs) it was good. 20:16 We remember them. 20:18 My question, I want to refer to Revelation 8:17, 20:24 where it says there is silence in heaven for one-half hour. 20:28 - Now, there is no verse 17 in Revelation eight. 20:33 - [Jerry] 8:17, I thought. 20:35 I thought it was 8:17. - Eight, verse one, 20:37 "silence in heaven about the space of," yep. 20:38 - [Jerry] Oh, eight verse one, okay. 20:40 - All right, so that's what you wanna know about? 20:44 - [Jerry] The Holy Spirit and our guardian angels 20:46 don't leave us until they appear in the Second Coming 20:48 and they join Jesus, 'cause the guardian angels 20:52 are still with us during the time of probation. 20:55 - Right, well, it is true that God has angels on the earth 20:59 watching over His people; there's no doubt about that. 21:01 If they left us for a minute, we'd be in a lot of trouble. 21:05 But Revelation's talking about things going quiet in heaven, 21:09 and we believe that's because heaven has been vacated. 21:13 Michael has stood up, judgment is over, probation is closed, 21:17 and Christ and his angels come to the earth. 21:21 The Bible says when Jesus comes, all the holy angels 21:23 are with Him, and that would include our guardian angels. 21:25 But that's here on earth. 21:26 Heaven is now quiet because it's been vacated 21:30 as they come to resurrect and to retrieve the redeemed. 21:36 - And anyone who might remain in heaven, 21:38 God the Father, or any of the other angelic beings, 21:41 their focus is gonna be what's happening 21:43 here on the earth, 'cause Christ is coming. 21:45 All the angels are coming with Him. 21:46 So when we read about this half an hour, it's interesting, 21:49 Pastor Doug, what is the half an hour? 21:52 I know we're talking about prophetic time here. 21:54 - Yeah, well, you know, in Bible prophecy, most scholars 21:58 agree that you apply a principle where a day equals a year. 22:02 For instance, when God told the children of Israel, 22:06 for every day that the spies looked at the Promised Land, 22:09 they will wander a year for each day, 22:11 and it turned from 40 days to 40 years. 22:14 It also says that in Ezekiel 4:6. 22:17 Jesus said, "Tell Herod that I will teach and do cures 22:21 "and cast out devils today, tomorrow, 22:24 "and the third day, I will be perfected." 22:26 Jesus did not minister for three more days; 22:29 He ministered for three more years. 22:30 So even Jesus used that principle in a prophecy. 22:33 So if a day equals a year in prophecy, and an hour 22:38 is 1/24 of a day, then one hour, using a day for a year, 22:44 is 15 days, and half an hour would be half of 15, 22:50 which is seven, because it says about the space 22:51 of half an hour. (Doug laughs) 22:53 So of course, that's a great Bible number 22:54 you find all through Revelation. 22:56 There's more sevens than any other number. 22:58 This is the period of time that passes 23:00 when there's silence when Christ comes. 23:02 We don't know how much time He spends coming 23:04 and how much time He spends going back, 23:06 but at least they're gone during that procession. 23:09 - Okay, you know, we do have a study guide 23:10 that talks about the Second Coming of Christ, 23:13 and it's called Ultimate Deliverance. 23:15 We'll by happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks. 23:17 The number to call is 800-835-6747. 23:21 Just ask for the study guide. 23:22 It's all about the Second Coming. 23:24 It's called Ultimate Deliverance, and we'll be happy 23:26 to send that to anyone here in North America. 23:29 We have Masine listening in California. 23:31 Masine, welcome to the program. 23:34 - [Masine] Hello! 23:35 - Hi, thanks for calling. 23:38 - [Masine] Hi, I'm a new Christian. 23:41 My question is, how do I devote myself every morning, 23:47 put on the whole armor of God, and ask for the Holy Spirit 23:52 to be with me throughout my day? 23:53 How do I do that? 23:55 - Great question, one of the most important. 23:57 It's one thing when we come to the Lord, 24:00 and anybody can do that by turning to God and asking Him 24:04 to come into their lives, repenting of their sins 24:06 and saying, "Lord, I'm willing to follow You. 24:09 "I'll take up my cross and I'll follow You." 24:10 But what does it mean 24:12 when it says to die daily, to deny yourself? 24:16 Basically in your devotions, there's three things 24:20 you do to stay healthy as a Christian. 24:24 You breathe, you eat, and you exercise, 24:27 and then of course, you do those things consistently. 24:30 In the holy place of the temple, 24:32 there were three articles of furniture. 24:34 You've got the Holy of holies. 24:35 There's one thing in there; that's the Ark of the Covenant. 24:37 The holy place had the light, it had the table of bread, 24:42 it had the altar of incense. 24:44 The incense represents prayer. 24:46 The Bible says that in Revelation, 24:49 the incense is the prayers of the saints. 24:51 The bread represented the Word of God. 24:53 "Man doesn't live by bread alone," 24:55 Jesus said, "but by every word." 24:58 Then the light represents witnessing. 25:04 Jesus said, "Let your light so shine 25:05 "that men may see your good works and glorify God." 25:08 We wanna let our light shine. 25:10 And so, every day, we should spend time, I do every morning, 25:13 I read my Bible, I get on my knees, I pray. 25:16 Of course you pray all through the day, but formally, 25:18 talk to the Lord, commit your way to the Lord, 25:21 and then look for opportunities to be His witness. 25:25 Through the ups and downs of live every day, 25:28 you have opportunities to witness for the Lord. 25:31 If you ask Him, the Holy Spirit 25:32 will give you those opportunities. 25:34 You'll be tempted. 25:35 You'll have lots of opportunity to deny yourself. 25:37 The Holy Spirit'll say, "Don't say that," 25:40 (Doug laughs) or "You should say this," 25:43 or "Don't look at that," or "You should look at this." 25:47 All through the day, you've got, "Don't eat that," 25:49 or "Don't eat it yet." (Doug laughs) 25:51 So you've always got the Holy Spirit guiding you. 25:54 And as you listen to that and you're controlled 25:57 by the Spirit and not by the flesh, you become 25:59 more like Christ, and that's what it means to walk with God. 26:04 So that's a quick overview, Masine. 26:06 I hope that helps a little bit. 26:09 You know, we have a study guide I think you'd enjoy. 26:11 It's the first in the series 26:13 of the Amazing Facts Bible study guides, 26:15 Is There Anything Left You Can Trust? 26:18 I think you'd appreciate that. 26:19 - I also thought of another offer that Masine might enjoy. 26:23 It's called The Armor of God. 26:24 It's a little book talking about the armor of God. 26:27 How do we put on the armor of God? 26:28 So two free offers for anyone who calls and asks. 26:31 You can ask for the book called The Armor of God, 26:34 and then also ask for Anything Left You Can Trust. 26:37 It's number one in our Bible study series. 26:40 We'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls and asks. 26:42 The number again is 800-835-6747. 26:46 - Now, friends, you hear the music. 26:48 We're not done; we're just taking a break. 26:49 Gonna get a drink of water, 26:51 and you can then text your friends, tell 'em to tune in 26:53 for the second half of Bible Answers Live. 26:55 We'll be back. 26:57 (triumphant orchestral music) 27:00 - [Announcer] Stay tuned. 27:01 Bible Answers Live will return shortly. 27:04 (triumphant orchestral music) 27:08 - [Announcer] Do you feel as though your world 27:10 is spiraling out of control? 27:12 Are economic uncertainty and an unknown future 27:15 leaving you with unsettled feelings about the future? 27:19 Or perhaps new life challenges 27:21 are frightening you more than they should. 27:23 Are you sinking while you're thinking? 27:26 Excessive worry can consume you, 27:28 eating you from the inside out, 27:30 resulting in sickness, insomnia, and paralyzing fear. 27:34 It can also damage relationships, ruin opportunities, 27:37 and yes, diminish your witness for the Gospel. 27:40 But problems are an everyday part of life. 27:43 So how can we better manage the worry that comes with them? 27:47 - Worry affects everybody differently, 27:50 but it's all driven by fear. 27:52 So how can you overcome 27:53 a world full of reasons to be anxious? 27:56 I'd like to recommend for you my new book, 27:59 Finding Peace in a World of Worry. 28:01 It's packed with inspiring information and useful solutions 28:05 to not only liberate you from stress, but also 28:08 to prevent stress from building up in the first place. 28:11 Best of all, these principles 28:13 all come directly from the Word of God. 28:16 You'll discover a lifeline to victory, 28:19 a place where you can cast your cares upon Christ 28:22 and experience a serenity 28:24 that isn't subject to your circumstances. 28:26 - [Announcer] Get your copy of Pastor Doug's 28:28 Finding Peace in a World of Worry today. 28:31 Call 800-538-7275, or visit afbookstore.com. 28:38 (triumphant orchestral music) 28:41 - [Announcer] You're listening to Bible Answers Live, 28:43 where every question answered provides 28:45 a clearer picture of God and His plan to save you. 28:49 So what are you waiting for? 28:51 Get practical answers about the 'Good Book' 28:53 for a better life today. 28:55 (triumphant orchestral music) 28:58 This broadcast is a previously-recorded episode. 29:01 If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions 29:03 on the air, please call us next Sunday 29:06 between seven p.m. and eight p.m. Pacific Time. 29:10 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned 29:12 in this evening's program, call 800-835-6747. 29:18 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 29:24 Now, let's rejoin our hosts for more Bible Answers Live. 29:29 - Welcome back, listening friends, to Bible Answers Live. 29:32 Some have been with us along the way, 29:33 and others are joining us. 29:35 This is a live international Bible study program. 29:38 You can join us by calling in with your Bible questions, 29:41 and the numbers is 800-463-7297. 29:45 That's 800-GOD-SAYS. 29:48 We're streaming on Facebook, it's on the Amazing Facts 29:51 Facebook page, it's on the Doug Batchelor Facebook page, 29:55 I think it's on YouTube, and a number of outlets. 29:58 We'd love to hear your Bible questions. 30:01 My name is Doug Batchelor. 30:02 - My name is Jean Ross, 30:03 and we're got Rita listening from Indiana. 30:06 Rita, welcome to the program. 30:08 - [Rita] Thank you, thank you for taking my call. 30:12 What I wanna know is, it seems like, 30:15 I think it's in John eight, there's a couple of times 30:18 where Jesus was going to be stoned, 30:21 and He managed to slip away from the crowd. 30:26 Then when He walked on water to see the disciples, 30:30 they didn't recognize Him at first. 30:33 They didn't recognize Him 30:35 until He told Peter to come out and come to Him. 30:39 And then when He was at Gethsemane, Judas had arranged 30:45 a signal with the people that were coming to arrest Jesus 30:49 so they would know who Jesus was. 30:52 Now, I don't understand 30:54 why no one could figure out who He was or where He was. 30:58 If there was a crowd of people that were gonna stone Him, 31:01 wouldn't you think several of them would see Him 31:03 and say, "There He is, let's get Him," or wouldn't you think 31:06 the disciples would know Him on the water? 31:09 Wouldn't the people that were gonna arrest Him, 31:12 I mean, everybody knew who Jesus was by then. 31:15 But they had to have a signal from Judas. 31:18 So I'm wondering, do we all see Jesus in a different way? 31:22 Are you seeing a blonde, blue-eyed Jesus, 31:25 and I'm seeing a brown-haired, brown-eyed Jesus, 31:29 and we don't all recognize Him, 31:31 and that's why He can slip away? 31:33 - All right, lemme jump in there. 31:35 (Doug laughs) 31:36 That's an interesting assortment of stories you have there. 31:39 Now, when they were gonna stone Jesus and he passed through 31:42 their midst, there's times in the Bible 31:44 where Elisha blinded an army so they could not see him. 31:47 So I think that God's angels 31:49 blinded the ones who were going to stone Him. 31:53 So that's what happened, I believe, in that case, 31:55 is that God just protected Him. 31:57 When the disciples did not recognize Him on the water, 32:00 when He's walking on the water, that's at night 32:02 during a storm, and maybe in the flash of lightning, 32:05 they see this figure walking towards them. 32:08 They didn't know who it was at first. 32:10 Then He calls out through the rain and the waves and says, 32:13 "It's Me," and Peter says, 32:14 "Lord, if it's you, let me come to You." 32:16 That was just the obscurity of the rain 32:18 and the storm and the darkness, I think. 32:21 When He rose, or when Judas went to arrest Him, 32:24 you're talking about deep into the night. 32:27 They're in this garden. 32:28 They're coming with torches. 32:30 It is true, they had no photographs back then, 32:32 and so, when they said Jesus, wanted dead or alive, 32:36 they didn't have His picture 32:37 on telephone poles, on a poster anywhere. 32:41 He looked like a normal person, 32:43 and that's why they said, "Judas, you do recognize Him. 32:45 "You know what He looks like. 32:47 "You go up and kiss Him on the cheek 32:49 "so we'll know which one to arrest," 32:51 because Christ often traveled with His apostles, 32:53 and sometimes additional disciples. 32:55 It says there was the apostles and the women 32:57 that followed Him, so Judas clearly knew who He was. 33:01 So I think that Jesus did have a real form, 33:03 and everybody knew what He looked like, 33:05 the ones who knew Him, but not having photographs, 33:08 so much of what they knew about Jesus 33:10 was through the stories others were hearing. 33:14 Even Herod heard about Him, and he said, "I wanna see Him." 33:16 So they didn't know what He looked like. 33:18 - Perhaps another reason why they had Judas lead them 33:20 to Jesus is Judas knew where Jesus liked to go. 33:24 Of course, it was night. 33:25 Judas knew that Jesus would go 33:26 to the Garden of Gethsemane up on the Mount of Olives, 33:29 and so he directed them to where Jesus was. 33:31 - Yeah, and he said, "It's the one that I kiss," 33:33 because it's dark. 33:35 - There were other disciples around. 33:37 - Yeah, and they had beards. - That too. 33:39 - They all start looking alike after a while. 33:40 (both laughing) 33:42 - All right, well, thanks for your call, Rita. 33:43 We've never heard that question before. 33:45 Isabel, listening from Arkansas. 33:47 Isabel, welcome to the program! 33:50 - [Isabel] My name is Isabel, and my question is, 33:55 how do you know when Jesus is speaking to you? 33:59 - Good question, Isabel! 34:00 Thank you for calling. 34:02 Well, Jesus does speak to us when we read the Bible, 34:08 and some Bibles have got red letters wherever Jesus speaks. 34:11 They call them red-letter editions. 34:13 When you read the words of Jesus, 34:14 that's the words of Jesus speaking to you. 34:17 Sometimes God speaks to you through His Holy Spirit. 34:21 You might be tempted to say something you shouldn't say 34:25 or get angry or to disobey your parents. 34:28 Well, that's the devil telling you to do the wrong thing, 34:30 and then Jesus and the Holy Spirit will say, 34:33 "No, I want you to do the good thing. 34:34 "I want you to do the right thing." 34:36 That would be the Lord speaking to you through His Spirit. 34:39 Sometimes God even speaks to you through pastors. 34:42 When you go to church and they're preaching a sermon, 34:45 you'll hear the Holy Spirit speak to you 34:47 through the words that they share. 34:49 And so, very rarely, Jesus does talk to a person audibly, 34:56 personally, like He did with Moses and Abraham and Jacob. 35:03 - Samuel. - Samuel, that's right. 35:05 So yeah, when Samuel was just a little boy, 35:07 He said, "Samuel, Samuel," He spoke to him. 35:12 But God's voice will always follow the Bible. 35:15 That's one thing you can be sure of. 35:16 Thank you, Isabel, good question. 35:18 - The next caller that we have 35:19 is Henry listening from New York. 35:21 Henry, you're on the air. 35:26 - Henry, are you there? 35:26 You might have your phone muted. 35:29 - [Henry] Hello? 35:30 - Hi, and your question? 35:34 - [Henry] Yeah, my question is, Moses and Abraham, 35:38 is there anybody living today who is related to them? 35:46 - Is there anyone living today related to Moses or Abraham? 35:48 Good question. 35:50 You know, the genealogy of Moses 35:53 is not as clear as the genealogy of Abraham, 35:56 who of course is an ancestor of Moses. 35:59 Moses had two sons. 36:01 They don't ever seem to rise to prominence. 36:04 They were from the tribe of Levi. 36:06 It was not Moses's sons, but the sons of Aaron, 36:09 his brother, that ended up being the high priest. 36:12 So the sons of Moses, some of 'em worked in the temple 36:14 with the other Levites, but they're not mentioned, 36:16 and it's hard to track the family tree of Moses. 36:19 Abraham, on the other hand, you can see the descendants 36:22 of Abraham around the world, not only in the nation of Jews, 36:28 but you can see in the children of Ishmael. 36:31 Many of them became what you call 36:34 your Semitic peoples and Arabs. 36:37 Of course, not all Muslims are Arabs. 36:39 I think the largest group of Muslims in the world 36:41 are Indonesia, 'cause Islam is a religion. 36:44 But most Arabs can trace their genealogy 36:47 back to Abraham also. 36:49 Thank you, appreciate your question, Henry! 36:51 - We've got Thomas listening in Oklahoma. 36:53 Thomas, you're on the air! 36:54 Welcome to Bible Answers Live. 36:57 - [Thomas] Yeah, I got a question for Revelation 14:12, 37:02 and specifically in the last sentence of the verse, 37:07 "and the faith of Jesus." 37:10 So what's it mean, those? 37:14 - All right, lemme read this for our friends. 37:15 It says here, speaking in Revelation 14:12, 37:19 "Here is the patience of the saints; 37:20 "here are those that keep 37:21 "the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." 37:25 Now, it's not saying "faith in Jesus" here. 37:27 It's saying the "faith of Jesus." 37:30 And so, they are modeling in their lives 37:33 the faith that Jesus demonstrated when he was on earth. 37:37 So Jesus said, "I live by the Father." 37:39 Well, we follow His example, and we live by faith in Christ 37:43 as He lived by faith in the Father. 37:45 So they have the same kind of faith as Jesus. 37:47 Is that your understanding? - Yeah, absolutely. 37:49 You know, I heard somebody once put it this way. 37:50 They said, "Faith in Jesus saves you, 37:53 "but the faith of Jesus sustains you. 37:56 "It gives you strength to overcome, 37:57 "to live a victorious life." 37:59 And of course, the context here in Revelation chapter 14, 38:02 it's talking about God's people in the last days. 38:04 They need to have the faith of Jesus. 38:06 - And they're being contrasted with counterfeit Christians. 38:09 So the faith of Jesus not only sustains; it identifies. 38:14 You got the kind of faith Jesus had. 38:16 - Yeah, very good. 38:17 All right, thank you for your call, Thomas. 38:18 We've got Alex listening in Georgia. 38:20 Alex, welcome to the program. 38:23 - [Alex] Hey, how are you? 38:24 Thank you, pastors, for taking my call. 38:26 - Yes, thanks for calling. 38:28 - [Alex] My question is, when Adam and Eve 38:31 were in the garden, which commandments did they break? 38:35 - Yeah, well, the Lord gave a specific commandment 38:38 earlier in Genesis chapter two. 38:41 He told them that they were free to eat 38:43 from any of the trees, any and all of the trees 38:46 in the garden, with one exception. 38:49 There was one tree that would be a test of loyalty. 38:51 He said, "Do not eat from the tree 38:53 "in the middle of the garden of good and evil. 38:55 "I don't want you to experience evil." 38:57 They were to eat from the tree of life 38:59 and every other pleasant thing in the garden. 39:01 And so, when the serpent, 39:04 the devil kinda took possession of the serpent, 39:07 and the devil said through the serpent, 39:09 "Oh, you can't really trust God. 39:11 "He's trying to keep something from you. 39:13 "If you'd eat from this forbidden tree, 39:15 "you'd have special powers. 39:16 "You'd be like gods. 39:17 "Look at me! 39:19 "I was a serpent, and now I can talk." 39:20 I'm paraphrasing. 39:21 And he cast doubt on God, 39:25 and they chose to listen to the devil instead of God. 39:27 They broke the commandment where God said, 39:30 "Do not eat from the forbidden tree." 39:32 They did; God said the penalty was death for disobedience. 39:36 - And even if you wanna get a little more specific, 39:39 looking at the Ten Commandments, 39:40 the 10th commandment says "Thou shall not covet." 39:43 The Bible says, "Eve looked at the tree. 39:45 "She desired the fruit to make one wise. 39:48 "She took of it." 39:49 So the first commandment that she broke 39:51 was the coveting one. 39:53 She wanted something that God had said, "It's not yours." 39:55 She took something that was not hers. 39:57 - That's stealing, too. - Thou shall not steal. 39:58 She gave it to her husband, thou shall not kill. 40:01 (both laughing) 40:02 You could probably, you know, you don't want 40:04 any other gods ahead of you, and she chose to put 40:06 what the serpent was saying ahead of what God was saying. 40:08 So if you look at it like the Bible says, if you break 40:11 one commandment, you're guilty of breaking all of them, 40:14 at least the spirit of all the commandments, 40:17 so yes, the Ten Commandments were broken in the garden. 40:19 - Yep, good question, Alex. 40:20 Hey, thank you so much for your call, 40:22 and we hope you call back. 40:23 - We've got Michael listening in Michigan. 40:24 Michael, welcome to the program. 40:27 - [Michael] Good evening, pastors. 40:29 - Evening. 40:30 - [Michael] I got a question. 40:31 My wife and I are studying Revelations 12:1. 40:34 It's the woman clothed with the sun, 40:38 and the moon is under her feet. 40:40 What is the garland of 12 stars? 40:43 - Great, I like that. 40:45 We've had several Revelation questions tonight, 40:46 and we love it. 40:48 In Revelation 12, you've got a picture. 40:50 First, let's figure out, who is this woman, 40:52 and then it helps everything else become clear. 40:54 The Bible tells us in Bible symbols 40:56 that a woman represents a church. 41:00 Revelation has two women. 41:01 One is clothed with light. 41:03 The sun, moon, and stars are lights that God made. 41:05 The other is clothed with kind of artificial adornment, 41:08 gold and pearls and purple and scarlet and costly array. 41:12 But one is a true, faithful bride of Christ. 41:17 The Bible says, "Husbands, 41:18 "love your wives as Christ loved the church." 41:21 God says, "I've likened the daughter of Zion 41:24 "to a delicate and comely woman." 41:26 Zion was a word for God's Church. 41:27 "I've likened the Church to a woman." 41:29 In Hosea, He says the Church is like His bride. 41:32 So this is a picture of God's pure, true church 41:35 standing on the sun, and Jesus is the sun of righteousness 41:40 that arises with healing in His wings, 41:42 you find in Malachi chapter four. 41:44 Clothed with the moon. 41:45 She's standing on the promises and prophecies 41:47 of the Old Testament as the foundation 41:49 for the New Testament, but she's clothed, 41:51 shining, with the light of Christ's righteousness 41:54 in the New Testament. 41:56 12 stars above the head: above the head 41:57 represents authority, and you've got the 12 tribes 42:01 and 12 judges in the Old Testament, 12 apostles. 42:05 That's talking about the leadership. 42:07 Revelation chapter, is it one, he talked about, the stars 42:10 represent the angels. - Of the seven churches. 42:13 - Yeah, they're the spokesmen, the leaders. 42:15 And so, you've got the 12 above her head 42:17 represents the leadership of the church. 42:20 But more than anything, it's the light of truth. 42:23 The sun, the moon, and the stars, you know, 42:25 the Word is a lamp to my feet and a light. 42:27 It's saying this woman is clothed with light. 42:30 So yeah, it's just a picture of the glory of God's Church. 42:35 - You know, we've got a study guide that's called 42:36 The Bride of Christ. - Oh, perfect. 42:37 - And I think it actually deals with Revelation chapter 12. 42:40 We'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks. 42:42 The number again is 800-835-6747. 42:46 That is our free resource line, 42:49 and just ask for the study guide. 42:50 It's called The Bride of Christ, and we'll be happy 42:52 to send that to anyone who calls and asks. 42:55 Next caller that we have is Kereace 42:57 listening from Washington. 42:59 Kereace, welcome to the program. 43:01 - [Kereace] Hello, good night, thank you for taking my call. 43:03 I just got a with from I John chapter five verse 16. 43:09 Could you please explain that passage for me? 43:12 - Yeah, well, lemme read it for everybody. 43:14 It says, and this is I John five verse 16, 43:17 "If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin 43:20 "that does not lead to death, he will ask, 43:22 "and he will this verse him life for those 43:24 "who commit sin not leading to death." 43:26 Right there, it's telling us of course 43:27 that we can intercede and pray for people. 43:30 But then he goes on and he says, "There is a sin leading 43:33 "to death, and I do not say he should pray about that." 43:37 Now, you would think, well, shouldn't we pray for everybody? 43:40 Well, you know, intercessory prayer in this respect 43:44 is more effective for people that are willing. 43:47 You've got a sin that leads to death 43:49 that prayer won't even help, and that would be 43:51 the sin against the Holy Spirit, an unpardonable sin. 43:54 - I think also when it talks about a sin 43:56 not leading to death, I think it's also talking about 43:58 praying for those who might be sinning ignorantly. 44:01 So Jesus prayed on the cross, "Father, forgive them, 44:04 "for they do not know what they are doing." 44:06 That's referring to the Roman soldiers. 44:08 They're probably just carrying out their orders. 44:10 And so, they are people that have never heard the truth, 44:12 and they might not be doing what is right, 44:14 but maybe they don't know. 44:15 Maybe they are sinning in ignorance. 44:17 But there are those who have hardened their heart, 44:20 as you said, that sin that cannot be forgiven, 44:22 which is the unpardonable sin, 44:25 and they are sinning willfully. 44:28 We wanna pray for everyone, but there is a difference. 44:31 There is sins of ignorance, and then there's deliberate, 44:34 high-handed rebellion against God. 44:37 - That's right. 44:38 So I hope that helps a little bit, Kereace, yes. 44:41 - All right, thanks for your call! 44:42 We've got Anastasia listening in Canada. 44:46 Anastasia, welcome to the program! 44:48 - [Anastasia] Hello! 44:50 - Hi, how can we help you tonight? 44:51 - [Anastasia] Hi Pastor Doug, hi Pastor Ross. 44:54 I actually had two very quick questions, 44:55 if you can answer them both. 44:57 So, my first one is, in the Bible, 45:01 it says that love casts out all fear, right? 45:04 But if you're a person living with OCD, 45:07 and let's just say, for me, I would have to wash my hands 45:11 and everything like that because I'm scared of germs, 45:14 am I not going with God's law by doing that? 45:18 - No, well, lemme answer you 45:21 with something more than just a yes or a no. 45:25 I empathize with you a little bit, 45:27 because I am a little OCD. 45:30 Now, I don't wanna trivialize what you're going through, 45:32 because some people are just obsessively 45:34 washing their hands. 45:35 But if you ask my wife, I'm a little compulsive that way, 45:40 where yeah, I go around through the day washing my hands 45:42 probably 20 times a day. (Doug laughs) 45:45 It's not that I'm afraid of germs. 45:46 I mean, you know me, Pastor Ross. 45:48 I'm not obsessed with germs. 45:52 - Pastor Doug likes clean. - Yeah, I am a clean guy. 45:53 - If you drive in his car, 45:55 it's always clean. (Jean laughs) 45:57 - I am a little that way, yes, so I get a little bit 46:00 agitated if things aren't in the right place. 46:05 But you're asking a bigger question 46:06 about anxiety and fear, am I right, Anastasia? 46:11 - [Anastasia] Yeah. 46:13 - And you're just wondering, does it mean I have 46:14 a lack of faith, that I'm worrying about these things? 46:17 Well, no, because I think that 46:19 you're addressing something that you can't control. 46:22 You're trying not to feel that way, right? 46:25 - [Anastasia] Right, yes, yeah. 46:26 - Yeah, so you know, I expect you're trying 46:30 to maybe get some Christian counsel on the subject 46:33 so that you can get some relief. 46:37 I wrote a book that you might find some comfort in. 46:41 It's called Finding Peace in a World of Worry. 46:45 I partly wrote this because I can sometimes have 46:47 a tendency to worry, and I know a lot of people 46:49 that are just sick with worry. 46:51 And I found a lot of comfort in just writing the book 46:53 and looking at all the scriptures 46:54 and the promises about worry. 46:58 - We live in a world, Pastor Doug, that is just a mess. 47:00 Just look at the news, and yeah, it causes alarm and worry. 47:04 - And with the news in the last two years about germs 47:06 and COVID everywhere, that could make some people 47:08 a little bit apprehensive. - Absolutely. 47:10 - And just wash your hands all the time. 47:12 So I wouldn't call it a sin. 47:14 I'd pray that God would just give you 47:15 some peace and balance. 47:18 You know, I think God wants us to be clean, 47:19 but He doesn't want us to be obsessive 47:21 so that you just can't live your life, 47:22 'cause you're always having to run for sanitizer. 47:27 It's amazing any of us survived childhood, 47:29 eating six pounds of dirt every year. 47:31 (Jean laughs) 47:33 But anyway, so you might enjoy that book. 47:34 You can call and ask for Finding Peace in a World of Worry, 47:37 and I'll bet they'll send you a copy for free. 47:40 - The number to call is 800-835-6747, and again, 47:43 the book's called Finding Peace in a World of Worry. 47:46 We've got Chris listening in North Carolina. 47:48 Chris, welcome to the program! 47:51 - [Chris] Good evening, pastors, how are you? 47:53 - Doing great. - Good. 47:55 - [Chris] Wonderful, I was just a real quick question. 47:58 I know during creation, during the time of Adam and Eve, 48:03 that there was a war that broke out 48:04 in heaven between Lucifer and Michael. 48:07 But how long, or what period of time 48:10 was Satan on earth during that time? 48:15 - Well, we don't believe that Satan came to earth 48:17 until of course after the creation of Adam and Eve, 48:19 which happened after the rebellion. 48:22 We believe, you're not gonna find 48:25 a lot of explicit scriptures on the time table for this, 48:28 but we did a lot of study on the subject 48:30 before we did a special documentary 48:33 called Cosmic Conflict: The Origin of Sin. 48:36 And by the way, that documentary, 48:38 you can just see it on YouTube now, called Cosmic Conflict. 48:42 We understand that one of the reasons God made our world 48:45 and humanity is to help replace the vacuum 48:48 from Satan and his angels being cast out 48:50 following their rebellion and that war. 48:53 You read about the war there in Revelation 12. 48:56 Revelation 12 of course is looking back in time 48:59 to the war between Michael and Satan, the devil. 49:02 So am I answering your question, Chris? 49:06 - [Chris] Yes, kind of, yes. 49:07 I just was wondering how long he was, when he was cast 49:10 down to earth, what period of time he was down here for, 49:14 because we know after Adam and Eve were created, 49:18 that the devil was cast to earth. 49:20 - Yeah, and he's still here. 49:22 Yeah, he's alive and well, as they say. 49:26 - You know, just to add to that a little bit, Pastor Doug, 49:29 in chapter 12 it talks about this war in heaven, 49:31 Michael and his angels are cast out. 49:33 So you have a casting out, 49:35 no, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, 49:37 and the dragon and his angels were cast out. 49:39 So before the creation of the earth, 49:41 there's this war in heaven. 49:42 The devil and his angels rebel, 49:43 and of course they are cast out of heaven. 49:45 But you read a little further in Revelation chapter 12, 49:48 and it says at some point, the devil was cast to the earth. 49:52 - He was cast down then. - Yeah, 49:54 so there's a casting out, and then there's a casting down. 49:57 So the casting out and casting down 49:59 didn't happen at the same time, 50:00 but when Christ died on the cross, Satan's doom was fixed, 50:04 and Jesus became the representative of the earth. 50:06 He is the Second Adam. 50:08 So the Bible says the devil has but a short time. 50:11 He's going around like a roaring lion. 50:12 So he is sort of bound to this earth. 50:15 He doesn't have freedom to roam the universe. 50:17 Then after the 1,000, or doing the 1,000 years, 50:20 it's just him and his angels on the earth. 50:22 They've got nobody to tempt, so. 50:24 - And Jesus said, "I beheld Satan cast down as lightning." 50:27 - Yeah, falling as lightning from heaven. 50:29 - So he helped effect that. 50:31 - Next caller that we have is Dalton listening in Texas. 50:33 Dalton, welcome to the program. 50:36 - [Dalton] Well, hello, and thank you all 50:38 for having such a good program. 50:40 - Well, it's a pleasure, thank you. 50:42 - [Dalton] Yes, my question is, and I hate to ask it, 50:45 it's about the Book of Enoch. 50:51 Why don't we use it, or why don't we reference it? 50:54 - That's a fair question, because in the Book of Jude, 50:56 which is in the Bible, Jude quotes 51:00 from the Book of Enoch, which is not in the Bible. 51:03 And because a Bible writer quotes from a book 51:08 does not mean that everything in the book 51:10 they quoted from is original or inspired. 51:13 For example, Paul quotes from some of the Greek poets. 51:19 They said some things that were true, 51:20 and he quotes from those excerpts. 51:22 Well, there was a book 51:24 called the Book of Enoch that was probably written 51:25 during the Babylonian captivity by some of the Jews, 51:28 and it's what they call an apocryphal book. 51:30 It had some statements in it that were inspired statements, 51:34 but the whole book wasn't necessarily inspired. 51:38 Many times, pastors, I do it, I'm sure you do it, 51:41 I might quote Martin Luther, 51:43 quote Spurgeon or Wesley or other great preachers. 51:46 There's certain things they said that are very profound, 51:49 maybe even inspired, but there's some things Luther said 51:53 I know were not inspired. (Doug laughs) 51:55 I mean, Luther said some pretty harsh things 51:57 about the Jewish people, and I think most Christians 52:01 disavow themselves of those things that he said. 52:05 So, but that wouldn't undermine or take away from 52:09 the inspired things that he did say and how God used him. 52:13 And so, same thing with the Book of Enoch. 52:15 Anyone can download a copy of the Book of Enoch. 52:17 You can read it, and you'll see there's some stuff in there 52:19 that's obviously not scriptural. 52:22 But it was probably written by a Jew or a couple of Jews 52:25 during the Babylonian captivity. 52:26 It did not come with Noah across the flood from Enoch. 52:30 It's never mentioned anywhere in history 52:33 prior to the time after the Babylonian captivity. 52:37 - All right, great, I think our next caller is Hector, 52:40 listening from Florida. 52:41 Hector, welcome to the program! 52:43 - [Hector] Yes, thank you, good evening, everyone. 52:46 - How did you survive the hurricane? 52:49 (Hector laughs) 52:50 Are you in southern Florida? 52:51 - [Hector] No, I'm in a different area, 52:54 so we didn't have too much. 52:57 - Okay, Praise the Lord. 52:59 - [Hector] We just had some gusty winds and that's it. 53:04 I have a question on chapter 22 of Revelation, 53:11 specifically in verse two and 15. 53:16 - Okay, lemme read this. 53:18 It says, Revelation 22 verse two, 53:21 "In the middle of the street and on either side of the river 53:24 "was the tree of life that had 12 different kinds of fruit, 53:27 "each tree yielding its fruit every month, and the leaves 53:30 "of the tree are for the healing of the nations." 53:32 So you wanna do that first? 53:36 - [Hector] Right, let's do that. 53:38 My question specifically is in the last sentence, 53:42 and it says, "The leaves of the tree 53:46 "are well for the healing of the nation." 53:49 And when you know the kingdom of God won't have pain 53:54 and sickness and disease and stuff, okay, that, 53:57 and also, everybody will be one nation, 54:01 but now in this verse, it mentions nations, in plural. 54:06 We'll be multiple nations, you know? 54:09 - All right, well, we're gonna run out of time, 54:10 so lemme answer that real quick. 54:13 You notice, it's not talking about the healing of diseases. 54:17 It's the healing of nations. 54:19 We are divided now in the world by political parties 54:23 and nations and cultures and geography. 54:25 In the kingdom, all those divisions will be healed. 54:28 As we gather under the shimmering leaves 54:30 of the tree of life, we will all be part of one people 54:33 and won't have to worry. 54:35 Hey, I'm sorry I can't give you 54:36 more of an answer than that, Dalton. 54:38 We need to let our listening friends know, 54:40 we sign off from Bible Answers Live sort of in two stages. 54:44 Because of the time schedules with satellite radio, 54:46 first we sign off with our listeners 54:48 that are listening on SiriusXM, 54:52 and then our land-based stations, so we wanna bid farewell 54:56 to the people listening on satellite. 54:58 Those of you who are on the land-based stations, 55:00 you stay tuned, 'cause this is when we take 55:01 our email questions that come in. 55:04 We'll be back and do some rapid-fire email. 55:08 (triumphant orchestral music) 55:11 - [Announcer] Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. 55:14 We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. 55:17 Bible Answers Live is produced 55:19 by Amazing Facts International, 55:21 a faith-based ministry located in Granite Bay, California. 55:26 (triumphant orchestral music) 55:28 - Hello, friends, welcome back to Bible Answers Live, 55:30 for those of you who've been able to stay by, 55:32 those watching on the internet, 55:33 listening on land-based radio stations. 55:36 If you have a Bible question and you wanna email it to us, 55:39 the email address is just balquestions@amazingfacts.org. 55:45 Pastor Doug, we're gonna see how many of these questions 55:47 we can get in the next two minutes. 55:48 So here's the first question: 55:50 when the body dies, where does the spirit go? 55:53 - Well, the Bible tells us that what we call the spirit 55:57 or sometimes refer to as the soul, 55:59 it's the combination of that breath of life, 56:02 which is the word spirit, and the body. 56:05 The word spirit in Greek is the word pneuma. 56:09 It's where you get the word pneumonia. 56:10 It means a wind. 56:11 So the idea that you've got a ghost that flies out of you 56:13 when you die is not what the Bible teaches. 56:16 You cease being a soul until the resurrection, 56:19 when the breath of life is united again 56:22 with the new creation, the new body. 56:24 - Okay, next question that we have, 56:25 how do we know if we are walking in the Spirit? 56:29 Well, Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits." 56:33 So we can examine ourselves, 56:36 I believe it's in II Corinthians chapter 13. 56:38 There, the apostle Paul said, 56:40 "Let us examine ourselves whether we be in the faith," 56:44 and we use the criteria of Christ, His example, 56:46 His teachings, and say, Lord, am I walking in the Spirit? 56:50 Do I have that peace that He offers? 56:53 Am I living in communion with God? 56:55 And you'll have the fruit of the Spirit. 56:58 - Okay, another question, Revelation chapter 21 four 57:02 says that God'll wipe away every tear from their eyes. 57:04 When does this occur? 57:07 - People sometimes think that as soon as you go to heaven, 57:09 there could possibly be no more tears in heaven, 57:11 but it really doesn't say that God wipes away all the tears 57:15 until after the millennium, 57:17 because at the end of the millennium, 57:18 there is a great white throne judgment. 57:20 Many are found lost in that judgment, 57:24 and people might have friends or family that are not there. 57:30 God is sad. 57:32 If angels rejoice when someone's saved, 57:35 then presumably, there's sadness when someone's lost. 57:37 If they have those emotions, then we have those emotions. 57:41 But after God makes the earth new following the 1,000 years, 57:45 that's when it says he wipes away 57:46 all the tears from our eyes. 57:48 - All right, Pastor Doug, a quick question here. 57:49 What type of locust did John the Baptist eat? 57:52 - Yeah, was it locust bean? 57:54 The same word is used for the locust pod, 57:56 something like a carob pod, or was it the grasshoppers? 58:00 We don't know. 58:01 We're hoping it was the locust bean, because we hate 58:03 to picture the prophet with grasshopper legs in his teeth. 58:06 Hey, listening friends, we hope that you will tune in 58:08 and join us again next week. 58:10 Send us your Bible questions, keep the ministry in prayer, 58:13 and support us to keep doing what we're doing. 58:15 (triumphant orchestral music) 58:17 - [Announcer] Bible Answers Live, 58:19 honest and accurate answers to your Bible questions. 58:23 (triumphant orchestral music) |
Revised 2023-01-10