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Series Code: AFBA
Program Code: AFBA022243S
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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, 00:22 providing accurate and practical answers 00:25 to all your Bible questions. 00:28 This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. 00:31 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned 00:33 in this broadcast, call 800-835-6747, once again, 00:39 that's 800-835-6747. 00:44 Now, here's your host from Amazing Facts International, 00:48 Pastor Doug Bachelor. 00:50 - Hello friends, how are you doing? 00:51 Would you like to hear an amazing fact? 00:55 In our world, death is a universal fact of life, 00:58 unless you're a jellyfish, 01:00 this has been revealed in a new study by researchers 01:03 at the University of Ovadias in Spain, 01:07 The jellyfish Turritopsis Dohrnii is the only known species 01:13 that appears to be able to rejuvenate repeatedly 01:14 after reproduction, becoming biologically immortal. 01:19 Scientists are hoping its DNA might hold the answer 01:22 to the secret of eternal life. 01:24 Most creatures age because their DNA degrades over time, 01:28 but the T. Dohrnii pulls off an amazing biological feat 01:32 to cheat death. 01:33 Every member of the species is an identical clone, 01:37 and it starts life as a polyp that then matures 01:40 to an organism called a medusa, 01:42 this isn't particularly unique, 01:44 but what's amazing about the T. Dohrnii 01:46 is that if the medusas get injured, sick, or old, 01:50 they become a cyst that turns back into a polyp 01:53 and restarts the whole process, churning out more clones, 01:58 scientists call it lifecycle reversal. 02:01 It'd be something like if a person got old 02:03 and turned back into a fetus, 02:04 or a chicken turned back into an egg. 02:07 Christian scientists have often wondered, 02:09 how can we have eternal bodies in heaven 02:13 like this immortal jellyfish, seems to have been giving us 02:16 some valuable insights on how DNA can repair itself, 02:20 and I think this is fascinating, Pastor Ross, 02:23 I've always wondered, you know, 02:25 doesn't everything grow old? 02:26 And how do we have eternal, glorified bodies, 02:30 bodies that are doing real things? 02:32 Well, this gives us a little insight that, well, 02:34 there's at least one creature down here 02:36 that seems to have DNA that doesn't degrade. 02:38 - It's really remarkable when you think about it. 02:40 So this octopus gets old, or jellyfish gets old, 02:45 and then it figures, "Well, my life's coming to an end, 02:48 so I'm gonna grow this little nodule," 02:49 and from that eventually develops into another octopus 02:53 and has the same DNA, so it's not exactly the same octopus 02:56 that, you know- - The jellyfish. 02:58 - Oh, jellyfish, 02:59 not the exact same one, but nevertheless, 03:01 it's coming from the jellyfish, so it just continues. 03:05 - Yeah. - It's rather interesting. 03:07 - So yeah, I was researching a little bit today 03:09 on what causes aging and the scientists have sort of agreed 03:12 there is no one silver bullet. 03:14 Aging seems to happen because a lot of things 03:17 start to happen at the same time. 03:19 So even if you found a solution for the DNA, 03:21 there's other things and it's like a perfect storm 03:24 as you get older, and I suppose whatever God had 03:29 in that tree of life would have the enzymes 03:32 or whatever it is that we're missing now, 03:35 but we'll have that in heaven, DNA won't grow old 03:37 and we won't grow old. 03:39 You know, there's that promise in Revelation 21:4, 03:42 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, 03:45 and there'll be no more death nor sorrow nor crying, 03:49 neither shall there be any more pain, 03:51 for the former things have passed away," 03:53 a world with no more death. 03:56 - You know, sometimes people hear about heaven 03:58 and they think, "Wow, this place where you live forever 04:00 and everything's perfect, could it really be real?" 04:03 Well, the Bible says it's real, 04:04 it's the home of the redeemed, and we have a book, 04:07 it's called "Heaven, Is It For Real?" 04:08 And this is the free offer, we're happy to send it to anyone 04:11 who would call and ask. 04:12 The number to call is 800-835-6747, 04:16 and you can ask for the study guide. 04:17 It's actually one of our books, not just the study guide, 04:20 it's an actual book, it's called "Heaven, Is It For Real?" 04:23 We'll be happy to send that out to anyone 04:25 who calls and asks. 04:26 Now, we do have listeners that are outside of North America, 04:28 and if you'd like to read the book, 04:29 we encourage you to go to the website, 04:31 just amazingfacts.org, you'll be able to read it there 04:35 on our library at the website. 04:37 - Amen. - Well, pastor, 04:39 we have a number of callers who are lined up, 04:40 so before we get to it though, 04:42 let's start with a word of prayer. 04:44 Dear Father, we want to thank You for the opportunity 04:46 to be able to open Your Word and study. 04:48 Indeed, Lord, Your Word is a lamp to our feet 04:50 and a light to our path, and for us to come to a knowledge 04:53 of the truth is life. 04:54 So we do ask Your blessing upon our time, 04:56 be with those who are listening, wherever they might be, 04:59 in Jesus' name, amen. 05:01 - Amen. 05:02 - Well, we've got a number of callers who are lined up here, 05:04 and so we're gonna go to our first caller this evening. 05:06 We've got Martha listening in California. 05:09 Martha, welcome to the program. 05:11 - [Martha] Hi, thank you, pastors. 05:15 My question tonight, it's only come up a couple times, 05:18 but it was always in a professional situation 05:22 and wasn't an appropriate discussion for the time, 05:26 but I've had the comment made to me more than once 05:30 that Jonathan and David were homosexual lovers. 05:37 Now, I know they loved each other a lot, but you know, 05:39 the way God spoke of them, I know that's not true, 05:43 I just wanna know how to handle it scripturally. 05:47 - Yeah, I would actually say 05:48 that the question really begs the evidence, 05:53 what would lead a person to say that? 05:56 They're assuming because it says that David loved Jonathan, 05:59 it actually says, when Jonathan died, David says, 06:02 "I loved you more than the love of a man for a woman." 06:05 Well, that is not homosexuality, 06:08 that's saying it's different, 06:10 and clearly Jonathan was married and had children, 06:13 he had a son named Mephiboshet, David had at least 10 wives, 06:19 and I think it's just kind of part of our sick society, 06:23 they're assuming that if a man loves a friend, 06:25 it must be sexual, but there's nothing in the text to hint 06:32 that the love of David and Jonathan was anything other 06:34 than a profound love of two friends that were of one heart. 06:39 Yeah. 06:40 So it's hard to persuade people 06:42 that have their minds made up to read something into it 06:44 that's not in there. 06:46 - Mm-hmm, absolutely. 06:47 All right, well, thank you, Martha. 06:49 We've got Brittany listening also from California. 06:51 Brittany, welcome to the program. 06:54 - [Brittany] Hey. (laughs) 06:56 - Hi, and your question. 07:00 - [Brittany] Well, my question is, who is the Antichrist? 07:04 - Ooh, big question. 07:07 Well, in a nutshell, and the word Antichrist, you know, 07:11 it means against, Antichrist is something or power 07:14 that is against Christ. 07:16 Historically, the Protestant church felt like the church 07:23 that had developed in Rome fulfilled that definition 07:26 of the Mother of Harlots, you know, 07:28 the church is compared to a bride, 07:31 and they had believed, 07:33 the Protestant reformers like Luther and Calvin 07:35 and everyone from Spurgeon to Wesley, 07:37 they saw what happened with the church 07:39 becoming a political power in Rome, 07:42 that it had become Antichrist in its teachings, 07:46 that didn't mean that all the Roman Catholics were lost, 07:49 it meant that its organization, 07:51 its structure began to teach things 07:53 that were contrary to Christ. 07:55 You know, things, for one thing, 07:56 they got involved in idolatry. 07:58 I think everyone can see that 07:59 that's one of the commandments 08:01 and the regal way that the priests and the popes 08:04 were treated when Jesus was, you know, 08:07 He didn't have a place to lie His head, 08:10 and they're the representatives or the "vicars of Christ". 08:14 Typically, the Protestants identified the papacy 08:18 as the Antichrist, 08:20 more specifically the office of the Pope. 08:22 - And the Antichrist, as you said, 08:23 is one who is opposed to Christ, 08:26 but it also has an added definition, 08:29 and that is to put oneself- 08:30 - [Both] In the place of Christ, 08:31 - Receiving worship or homage, 08:33 and of course we know that, from the medieval church, 08:35 that crept into Christianity. 08:37 - [Doug] Now, we have a lesson. 08:38 - We do, it's called "Who is the Antichrist," 08:40 we'll be happy to send that to you, Brittany, 08:42 or anyone who calls and asks. 08:43 The number to call is 800-835-6747 and you can ask 08:47 for the study guide, it's called "Who Is The Antichrist?" 08:50 and we'll send it to you, 08:51 it's part of the Amazing Facts Study Guides, 08:53 it's a whole series of lessons, 08:55 they get into a number of very important topics 08:57 in the Bible, and we encourage you, 08:59 if you have not gone through those lessons, 09:01 you need to do so, just also ask. 09:02 When you call, say, 09:04 "I'd like to enroll in the free Amazing Facts Bible course," 09:06 and I'll be happy to do that. 09:08 We've got Anthony listening in New York. 09:10 Anthony, welcome to the program. 09:14 - [Anthony] Hello, good evening, Pastors. 09:16 - Evening. - My question, 09:19 it has to do with two verses, Matthew 24, verse. 09:26 - I think we lost you. 09:27 Can you press Anthony again there? 09:30 - [Anthony] Sorry, yes, Matthew 24:29 09:33 and Revelation 6:13-14, and I wanna know 09:37 how to reconcile the two because I've always learned that, 09:40 you know, they said some of the moon turning to blood, 09:45 and the sun darkening, and the stars falling 09:47 has already happened in the past. 09:49 I've heard that in, you know, Revelation seminars, 09:51 they said these things have happened already, 09:53 but then in Matthew 24:29 09:56 it appears to say that it's gonna happen 09:59 after the great tribulation. 10:01 - [Doug] Yep. 10:02 - [Anthony] So I'm just trying to figure out 10:03 how to reconcile those two. 10:04 - No, that's a good, that's a good, legitimate question. 10:07 There are some of the prophecies that Jesus gives, 10:09 especially in Matthew 24, where you've actually got 10:14 the prophecies repeat themselves, 10:15 you might call it a dual application. 10:18 An example will be the disciples are asking three questions 10:22 in Matthew 24, they say, "When will these things be?" 10:25 He had just said Jerusalem would be destroyed, 10:27 there would not be left one stone upon another 10:29 at the temple, 10:31 so they're asking about the destruction of Jerusalem, 10:33 then they said, "Now, what is the sign of your coming?" 10:35 So they're asking about signs in the end of the world, 10:39 so He gives them signs through history, 10:40 He talks about the destruction of Jerusalem, 10:42 and He gives 'em more specific things about His return 10:46 and the end of the world. 10:48 So the things that happened with the sun turning dark 10:52 and the moon turning to blood 10:53 and the stars falling from heaven, 10:56 there have been, historically, some, and a great earthquake, 11:00 there have historically been some great cases 11:03 of these things that happened after the time periods 11:07 given in the prophecy, but they will happen again 11:10 in quick succession at the return of Christ. 11:14 So I guess the easy answer is to say 11:17 they happen more than once, 11:19 it's what you would call a dual application of prophecy. 11:21 - Yes, there's also two tribulations 11:23 that's spoken of both in Matthew 24 and also in Revelation. 11:27 You have the 1,260 years of papal supremacy 11:31 from 538 until 1798, that was a time of trouble, 11:35 there was a tribulation for Bible-believing Christians, 11:38 many of them were persecuted. 11:39 Yeah, the Protestant Reformation, 11:42 that's one time of trouble, 11:43 but then you have another time of trouble 11:45 according to Daniel 10. 11:47 Oh, Daniel chapter, where is it? 11:49 12 verse one, where Michael stands up 11:51 and there is a great time of trouble, 11:53 worse than the world has ever seen, 11:54 that hasn't yet happened, that's in the future, 11:57 so there are two times of trouble. 11:58 So immediately after the tribulation- 12:00 - I would argue- 12:01 - Those days. - There were three times 12:01 of trouble. 12:02 I think that you- - Oh, you mean Jerusalem 12:03 as well? - Yeah, absolutely. 12:04 - Yeah. - Yeah, he's also 12:05 talking about the fall of Jerusalem, 12:06 so that that would be one. - Yeah. 12:07 And then of course, 12:10 Jesus said immediately after the tribulation of those days, 12:12 then there'll be, you know, a great earthquake, 12:14 the sun will turn dark, and so on, 12:16 and we have the Lisbon earthquake in 1755 12:18 all the way up to the falling of the stars in 1833. 12:21 - Yep. - So we have succession 12:23 of the dark day and the blood moon. 12:24 - And the concentrated places of Christianity on the planet 12:28 saw these things, and so they even took them as signs 12:31 in the day they were happening. 12:33 - All right, well, 12:34 thank you, Nicole. - Thanks, friend, 12:34 good question. 12:35 - We got E. Frank listening from New York. 12:36 E. Frank, welcome to the program. 12:39 - [E. Frank] Yes, good evening, Pastor Doug- 12:42 - Evening. - And Pastor Ross, 12:44 I have a question that's been bothering me, 12:47 my person, for many, many years now, 12:49 it's in regards to the Quaker faith. 12:53 I have a story that has to do with a girl 13:00 that was in my second grade class, 13:02 she would always be attached to me and offer me membership 13:05 in the friends meeting, Quaker society, 13:09 and I asked her at that time 13:11 if Quaker's believe in holy scripture, 13:15 and she said, "No, not, we don't believe in scripture, 13:18 we believe that God works within us 13:20 and that God works 13:22 through every single human being on earth, 13:24 we don't believe in discriminating against anyone, 13:27 and we certainly we apply the teachings of Jesus 13:31 most of the time to our beliefs," 13:34 and I am very confused because they do say 13:37 that they believe in Christ, they believe in the Bible, 13:40 but they profess to have a belief in humanism, 13:47 in other words, so could you rectify that, Pastor Doug? 13:50 - Well, I'll do my best, of course, the Quaker religion, 13:52 as with a number of denominations, you know, 13:55 the Lutherans today are different from the Lutherans 13:58 in the days of Martin Luther. 14:00 Methodists today, Calvinists are different 14:03 than they were in the days of John Wesley or John Calvin, 14:07 the Quakers today, their beliefs, you know, 14:10 originally they were trying to base their beliefs 14:12 off the Bible, 14:14 but over time they began to put more and more emphasis 14:16 on the inner feeling and the spirit, 14:18 so pretty soon they got where the feelings 14:21 and the spirit, and the experience began to trump scripture, 14:27 and it was more important. 14:29 I remember growing up eating a lot of Quaker oatmeal 14:32 with the, you know, 14:33 the picture of the Puritan-looking Quaker with a hat 14:35 and so forth, but they've changed quite a bit 14:38 over the years, and it's more like a society now, 14:42 because if you wanna argue with them from scripture, 14:46 you probably won't get very far. 14:48 They use some scripture, you know, they believe 14:49 in loving their brothers and they're a nonviolent 14:53 when it comes to war, 14:55 but in a number of other doctrinal areas, 14:59 it's pretty, diverges pretty far from scripture, 15:03 so I hope that helps a little, E. Frank, 15:04 thank you for your question. 15:06 - Next caller we have is Derek, listening in Minnesota. 15:08 Derek, welcome to the program. 15:11 - [Derek] Well, hi, Pastor Doug. 15:12 Hi, Pastor Ross. 15:13 - Hi. 15:14 - I have a quick question, 15:16 I brought this out in my Sabbath school 15:18 and the elder gave me a really weird look 15:20 like it was blasphemous, but I thought you, 15:22 I've heard you mention sort of that Jesus 15:24 had Joseph's DNA somehow, 15:27 and I'm not really sure how you explained it, 15:29 but I mentioned it and they looked at me like I was crazy, 15:32 so I wasn't sure what you think. 15:35 - Well, let me be clear, 15:36 and I think when I did make that statement, 15:38 I've tried to also be clear that, you know, 15:39 we don't have a DNA sample of Jesus 15:41 to measure with a DNA sample of Joseph. 15:44 To give you an answer on that, 15:46 the Bible says that Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit, 15:50 and I've talked to Jewish scholars before that said 15:55 that, these are Jewish Christians, 15:57 they said that it's entirely possible for God 16:01 to inseminate Mary with the Holy Spirit 16:05 and something divine, and still have attributes of Joseph, 16:08 is certainly not hard for the Lord, 16:11 and one of their arguments for that 16:12 is that the genealogy of Jesus, the one given in Matthew, 16:18 follows the line of Joseph to David, 16:22 and if there's no blood relation to Joseph, 16:24 why does that happen? 16:25 Well, you know, that's one argument, 16:28 and then of course the genealogy in Luke, 16:31 I think is tracing through Joseph's father-in-law, 16:35 which would be Mary's father, so, you know, we don't know, 16:39 but it's entirely possible that God took something 16:46 of Joseph also and had that in Mary, 16:53 it certainly was a miraculous event, 16:57 but I would not die on that mountain, it was just a theory. 17:01 - All right, well, thank you, Derek, 17:02 and of course, just to clarify, 17:03 you fully agreed that, you know, Christ was miraculously, 17:08 Mary was a virgin 17:09 when she gave birth- 17:10 - Yes. - To Jesus. 17:11 - Yeah, yeah, yeah, no. 17:12 - There's no question 17:13 about that- - when it says, 17:14 "Conceived by the Holy Spirit, 17:15 I was just saying that whatever that sperm is 17:18 that God used to inseminate Mary, 17:21 it would not have been beyond the Lord 17:23 to have some attributes of Joseph. 17:25 I don't know, you know? 17:26 - Right. - So, yeah. 17:29 - Okay, that was that. - If that happens, 17:30 that solves a problem of why the two genealogies. 17:32 - Right, right. 17:34 All right, thank you. 17:35 Julie is listening in South Dakota. 17:37 Julie, welcome to the program. 17:39 - [Julie] Oh, well thank you very much, pastors. 17:42 I was wondering, 17:43 I believe that Jesus is going to return very soon 17:46 and so what can a person do to make sure they're saved 17:49 before He returns? 17:52 - Well, first of all, 17:54 I wouldn't let the return of Christ be the only motive, 17:56 I think every one of us is blessed 17:59 to have another day of life and another breath or heartbeat, 18:02 and so we wanna know immediately. 18:06 Say, "Lord, is my life in Your hands?" 18:09 And to follow the simple criteria that God gives, 18:12 to come humbly, sincerely, confess that we are sinners, 18:18 confess our sins to God, repent of our sins 18:20 and say you accept the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross 18:25 and His shed blood in your behalf, 18:28 that you might be forgiven and given a new birth, 18:31 a new heart, and a new life, 18:34 and I'd say you might need to do that more than once. 18:37 In other words, Paul said, "I die daily," 18:39 means he died to himself every day. 18:42 Experienced a new birth each day 18:45 and just keep your relationship with the Lord 18:49 fresh and growing, and we've got a book 18:52 on three steps to heaven. - That's right, 18:54 that's what I was thinking about, it's a great resource, 18:56 kind of help encourage anyone how you can have 18:58 that daily connection with Christ, 19:00 it's called "Three Steps to Heaven," 19:02 we'll be happy to send the book to anyone 19:03 who calls and asks. 19:05 The number again is 800-835-6747, just ask for the book, 19:09 it's called "Three Steps to Heaven," 19:11 we'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. 19:14 We've got Gina listening in California. 19:16 Gina, welcome to the program. 19:18 - [Gina] Thank you so much, hello, pastors. 19:21 Please, my question is about being meek, 19:25 meekness from the Bible, 19:27 because that does not mean weak, 19:30 and we're called to be soldiers for Christ, and so please, 19:33 could you give a better definition or some examples? 19:38 - Yeah, you know, well, for one thing, 19:39 the Bible talks about Moses as being one of the meekest mans 19:43 in all of the earth. 19:44 Moses was very strong leader in the way 19:47 that he boldly went before Pharaoh and said, 19:49 "Let my people go." 19:50 Jesus was incredibly strong and courageous and brave, 19:55 but He was also very humble 19:58 in that He would not claim His rights. 20:00 He, you know, took children up in His arms, 20:02 He was, the Bible says He was gentle and lowly. 20:06 Now people confuse meekness with weakness, 20:09 and they really are completely different things. 20:12 You could have a very brave, courageous, 20:15 strong man who's also meek and humble, 20:19 and so there, one is, you know, an attitude of humility, 20:24 it's not a trait of weakness. 20:27 - All right, well, thank you, Gina. 20:29 Next call is Perlita listening in New York. 20:32 Perlita, welcome to the program. 20:35 - [Perlita] Yes, sir. 20:36 I want to ask to our pastor about Matthew 20:30 20:43 It says here, "At that time, the sign of the son of man 20:48 will appear in the sky 20:50 and all the nations of the earth will mourn, 20:53 they will see the son of man 20:55 coming on the clouds of the sky 20:58 with power and glory." 21:01 Is this the rapture of the church, pastor? 21:05 - Well, when they see the Lord coming, 21:08 this is a visible coming of the Lord. 21:11 This is connected with 1 Thessalonians 4 21:14 where it says that the Lord Himself will descend from heaven 21:18 "with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 21:20 the trump of God, the dead in Christ will rise, 21:23 then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together 21:26 with them in the clouds, so shall we ever be with the Lord." 21:29 So when we are caught up after our bodies are transformed, 21:33 that is a rapture, it's just not a secret 21:36 because you got a trumpet the glory of the Lord 21:38 coming with the angels, 21:40 so we would respectfully disagree with those who say 21:43 that the people are gonna disappear secretly, 21:47 we think it's a very visible rapture that takes place, 21:50 that's what the word rapture means, to be caught up. 21:53 - So the Bible teaches that when Jesus comes, 21:55 life's not gonna continue on earth normally, 21:58 the dead are gonna be destroyed 21:59 by the brightness of His coming, 22:00 the righteous are gonna be caught up 22:02 into the air with Jesus. 22:04 So yes, nothing secret about the second coming of Christ. 22:07 - People will take the verse where it says, 22:08 "But He's coming as a thief," 22:10 and they think that means secretly, 22:11 but they've gotta read that whole verse 22:13 in 2 Peter 3, and I think it starts with verse eight. 22:17 It says, "The day of the Lord will come as a thief 22:19 in the night, in which the heavens pass away 22:22 with a great noise and the elements melt with fervent heat, 22:25 and the earth and the things in it are burned up." 22:28 So as Pastor Ross said, when the Lord comes as a thief, 22:31 life doesn't go on for seven more years. 22:33 - You know, got a book talking about this 22:35 called "Anything But Secret," and again, we'll send this 22:38 to anyone who calls and asks, 22:39 the number is 800-835-6747. 22:42 You can ask for the book, it's called "Anything But Secret," 22:45 it's all about the second coming of Christ 22:47 and the rapture of the saints. 22:48 When we are caught up to meet Jesus in the air, 22:51 what happens to the wicked? 22:52 Thank you for your call. 22:53 Next caller that we have is, 22:55 we got Moby, listening in Canada. 22:58 Moby, welcome. 23:02 Moby in Canada. - Hello. 23:03 - Yes, you're on the air. 23:05 - [Moby] Good evening. 23:07 - Evening! 23:09 And your question. 23:11 - [Moby] Yes, I have a question regarding, you know, 23:15 I'm a first year student, 23:17 I'm doing computer science in a STEM course. 23:22 We're in, I mean, like, I'm in the academic world, you know, 23:26 it's just, I'm just infiltrated with, you know, 23:29 teaching of evolution and, you know, 23:32 I just doubt, you know, creation and, 23:35 you know, what the purpose of human life is, 23:37 I've been really doubting it, 23:41 can you show me verses to, you know, 23:44 help me to encourage my faith? 23:47 - Yeah, well, as far as verses, 23:48 there's no question if you believe the Bible, 23:51 it tells us that God created the world in six literal days, 23:54 you'll find that in Genesis 1 and 2, 23:57 and several times through the Bible, 24:00 Jesus reiterates that God created everything. 24:03 John says God made all things through Christ, 24:07 and so the divine creation is from cover to cover, 24:10 even in, you know, Revelation 14, 24:12 "Worship Him that made the heaven, and the earth, 24:15 and the sea, and the fountains of water." 24:16 So there's lots of scripture, 24:18 but I used to be an evolutionist, 24:20 and the more I thought about it, 24:22 the more I realized that evolution is extremely illogical, 24:27 and for me the most powerful argument 24:28 is that you have no example anywhere 24:31 in the observable universe 24:34 where you get inner working systems, 24:36 and complicated organized design, 24:38 and all these symbiotic relationships, and just complicated, 24:45 incredibly exquisite design, by chance, you know, 24:51 a human body and the way that our eyes, and our ears, 24:54 and our brains work is so sophisticated, 24:57 the idea that that happened by accident through, you know, 25:01 biologic processes and that we have no purpose, 25:04 we're all just these biological algae on the planet, 25:09 that is so hard to comprehend. 25:13 For example, if you're walking through the desert 25:18 and you see a motorcycle up on a kickstand 25:20 out in the middle of the desert, 25:22 and you know something about motorcycles, and you hop on, 25:25 you kick it, and it starts and you ride off. 25:28 Would you ever, ever believe that that motorcycle 25:30 came out of the sand? 25:33 No, it came from a motorcycle factory where engineers 25:35 worked a long time on developing that motorcycle 25:37 and very, an international process of assembling the parts 25:42 of materials to make that motorcycle. 25:44 You know, and it'd accept that it's extremely complicated, 25:48 we are much more complicated than a car or a motorcycle, 25:53 and to think that these inner working systems 25:55 happen by accident, to me is a powerful proof 25:59 that there has to be an intelligent God 26:02 for the complexity of life we have on our planet. 26:04 - You know, we got a book, 26:06 it's called "How Evolution Flunked the Science Test," 26:08 and it talks about these dilemmas that, well, 26:12 science can't explain, and we'll be happy to send this 26:14 to anyone who calls and asks, 26:15 The number is 800-835-6747, 26:19 and ask for the book 26:20 "How Evolution Flunked the Science Test," 26:22 and we'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. 26:26 Well Pastor Doug, I'm looking at the clock, 26:28 we don't have enough time to take another call 26:30 before we have our break. 26:31 So friends, we still have another half an hour or so 26:33 of Bible questions, and we see a number of folks 26:36 who are lined up with your Bible questions, 26:39 so we're gonna take a quick break, 26:40 and give some important announcements, 26:42 and then we'll be back with more Bible questions. 26:44 - Absolutely, and in the meantime, 26:46 don't forget to just write down amazingfacts.org 26:50 so you can heck things out through the week. 26:51 We'll be back with more questions in just a moment. 26:54 (inspiring music) 26:57 - [Announcer] Stay tuned, Bible Answers Live 27:00 will return shortly. 27:01 (inspiring music) 27:05 - [Announcer] In six days, 27:06 God created the heavens and the earth. 27:09 For thousands of years, 27:11 man has worshiped God on the seventh day of the week. 27:14 Now, each week, millions of people worship 27:17 on the first day, what happened? 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28:48 Get practical answers about the 'Good Book' 28:51 for a better life today. 28:53 (inspiring music) 28:55 This broadcast is a previously recorded episode, 28:58 if you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions 29:01 on the air, please call us next Sunday 29:03 between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time. 29:07 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned 29:10 in this evening's program, call 800-835-6747, 29:15 once again, that's 800-835-6747. 29:21 Now let's rejoin our hosts for more Bible Answers Live. 29:26 - Welcome back, listening friends, 29:28 to Bible Answers Live, 29:29 and for any of you who tuned in along the way, 29:31 this is a live international interactive Bible study 29:35 and we're just so thankful that you're joining us. 29:37 My name is Doug Bachelor. 29:39 - My name is John Ross, 29:40 and we have Anastasia who is listening in Canada. 29:44 Anastasia, welcome to the program. 29:46 - [Anastasia] Hey, hello. 29:47 - Hi. 29:49 - [Anastasia] Hi, I just had a question about, 29:51 I think it's Proverbs 13 when it talks about, 29:54 "Don't spare the rod and spoil the child," 29:59 so to me I think that's like a metaphor for discipline, 30:02 but, like, I know some people might think 30:06 that literally means, like, if your kid's doing bad things, 30:09 like, hit them. 30:10 Like, I've heard people say that before 30:11 and I'm not too sure, 30:14 I'm pretty sure, like, Jesus doesn't hit us 30:16 when we do things wrong, 30:18 so I just want to know your take on that. 30:21 - Yeah, well, the Lord is, of course, a loving God, 30:23 but I think the Bible does teach that God disciplines us, 30:29 and it doesn't mean that He smacks us down with a rod 30:32 every time we do something wrong, 30:33 there's a a broad spectrum of ways 30:36 that you might discipline your child, 30:39 it might be quiet time, 30:41 it might be taking away some privilege, 30:43 but the Bible also says that the Lord chastens every son 30:46 who he loves, I think it's in Hebrews 30:48 as well as in Proverbs, 30:51 and sometimes that might mean doing something 30:55 where you inflict appropriate pain 31:00 it might be on the posterior, 31:01 and now I've got six kids and you know, 31:05 sometimes because I love them and I don't want them to die, 31:10 when they kept meandering off into the street 31:14 after I'd say, "Do not go on the street, 31:16 do not go on the street," 31:18 and they wouldn't listen, out of love for them, 31:22 I might give them a little bit of pain so that, 31:26 you know, spank 'em. 31:28 I know, there I said the word, that they might go, 31:32 "Ooh, that hurts, I don't wanna do that again." 31:35 The fact is that everybody remembers 31:42 the way we learn is through pain. 31:44 You know, the reason I don't keep grabbing things 31:46 off the stove without a pot holder is 'cause I've done it 31:49 without a pot holder, and that just, 31:50 you only have to do it once or twice and then you learn. 31:53 It's interesting. 31:55 Real quick, a couple weeks ago I was cutting wood 31:58 in the hills and I tossed a piece of wood 32:01 on a yellow jacket nest and they came swarming out 32:04 like a bit twice, I will never drive by that spot again, 32:09 even though they'll be gone soon, 32:11 I'll never drive by that spot again 32:13 and forget that experience, I'll always know. 32:17 And so if something about pain helps us survive, 32:20 and so sometimes you might paddle a child if- 32:24 - Yeah, especially if the child is young now, you know, 32:26 obviously when they're old enough to make decisions and you- 32:29 - Like 21, 32:30 you start stopping- - You've gotta try 32:30 some creative things, 32:31 when they get a little older. 32:33 But when a child is young, 32:34 sometimes you need to kind of slap them on the hand and say, 32:37 "That's hot, don't touch it." 32:38 - Yeah. - Because you don't 32:39 want them to hurt themselves. 32:40 So the verse you're referring to, 32:41 you've got, of course, Proverbs 3:12, 32:43 but then also Hebrews 12:6, it says, 32:45 "For whom the Lord loves, He chastens, 32:48 and scourges every son whom He receives." 32:51 So there we have the idea of God does bring discipline 32:55 to guide us and lead us. 32:57 All right, thank you, Anastasia. 32:58 We got Terrence listening from North Carolina. 33:01 Terrence, welcome to the program. 33:03 - [Terrence] Hey, thanks for taking my call. 33:05 I got a question for you as in reference to, 33:09 according to our rewarded, according to our works, 33:11 and Romans 2:6, 33:14 there's a dozen of verses for this, 33:17 and I guess it would be a little humorous 33:21 for Pastor Doug here. 33:23 Would Pastor Doug be in a mansion and I would have a tent? 33:25 I mean, what does it mean by, "According to our works?" 33:28 - Oh, well, you know, 33:31 I think that there are varying degrees 33:33 of reward and punishment according to the Bible. 33:36 First, let's talk about punishment. 33:39 Jesus said he that knew his masters well 33:42 and did not do it will be beaten with many stripes 33:44 because he knew what God wanted, he that did not know 33:47 and did not do it will be beaten with few stripes. 33:50 Just notice they're both gonna be punished but differently, 33:55 one many, one few, so there's varying degrees of punishment. 33:58 Obviously the duration and intensity of pain 34:02 that Adolph Hitler will experience in the lake of fire 34:05 would be more severe than some lost, you know, 34:09 18-year-old that committed suicide, 34:12 sadly though they may be lost, 34:14 they're not gonna experience the same degree of punishment 34:16 as Adolph Hitler. 34:18 Same thing with rewards, 34:20 there are those who have given more, 34:22 and sacrificed more, and loved the Lord, and had, you know, 34:26 more good works and more self-denial, 34:28 they may surprise everybody and people that we even know 34:32 nothing about could be leading the parade in heaven 34:35 and they'll have greater rewards, 34:37 whether that means a bigger mansion, I don't know, 34:39 some people (indistinct) anything, 34:42 but whatever the rewards are, 34:43 they're gonna be honored somehow more in the kingdom. 34:46 - You know, you think of some people 34:48 who actually gave their life 34:49 as a martyr. - Yeah. 34:50 - You got Stephen, for example, 34:53 and God rewards each person according to their works 34:55 and how faithful they were in difficult situations. 34:57 - They gave everything for the Lord, yeah. 34:59 - You know, 35:00 the verse you're referring to 35:01 about the punishment of the wicked is Luke 12:48 that says, 35:04 "He who knew the will of his master and did not do it 35:06 shall be beaten with many stripes, 35:08 whereas the one who didn't, few stripes." 35:10 So there's the verse, Luke 12:48. 35:13 Next caller that we have is Evan, listening from Mexico. 35:16 Evan, welcome to the program. 35:20 - [Evan] Good evening, pastors. 35:21 I have a question for you, guys, in regards to this verse. 35:25 (sighs) I got the wrong verse. 35:27 - Oh, sorry. 35:29 - I wanted the one, clarity on where Jesus, 35:33 where it says in the scriptures where Jesus went down 35:36 to the heart of the earth and freed the captives, 35:39 or something like that. - You're talking, I think, 35:40 is it 1 Peter 2, Pastor Ross, where it says 35:45 he preached to the spirits in prison? 35:48 - Yeah, that's it, that's it. 35:50 - Yeah. 35:51 And I think it might be, let me see. 35:52 1 Peter 2, I'm just, I'm going for memory now. 35:56 No. - 1 Peter 3. 35:58 - Three. - Verse 19. 35:59 - There it is, yeah. 36:01 - 18-19. - Yeah, "For Christ 36:03 also suffered once for sins, 36:04 the just for the unjust, 36:06 that He might bring us to God, 36:07 being put to death in the flesh, but made alive 36:10 in the Spirit." 36:11 Now, the emphasis here is the Spirit by whom, 36:15 through the Spirit, He went and preached 36:17 to the spirits in prison, in other words, 36:19 spirits here is small S, 36:21 it's basically saying that it was the same Spirit, 36:24 the Holy Spirit that rose Christ, 36:27 that Spirit strove with people 36:30 who formerly were disobedient, 36:32 "When once the divine longsuffering waited 36:35 in the days of Noah," God was longsuffering, 36:38 that's when God says, 36:39 and Peter is quoting from Genesis 6:3. 36:43 where He says, "My Spirit will not always strive with man, 36:46 his days will be 120 years." 36:49 Well, that's pretty longsuffering, 36:50 to give a person 120 years. 36:52 So Peter just saying the same Spirit that strove 36:55 with the lost, people imprisoned by the devil, 36:58 imprisoned by sin, the Bible says that, you know, 37:01 people are held captive by their sins. 37:03 That same Spirit is the Spirit that rose Jesus. 37:06 Jesus did not go from the cross down to some cavern of hell 37:12 and preach to give lost people a second chance, 37:15 that would go against everything else the Bible says, 37:17 where it tells us, "It's appointed unto man once to die, 37:20 after that, the judgment," 37:21 it's not, "Die, second chance, then judgment," 37:25 so this is an often misunderstood verse. 37:29 - All right, does that help, Evan? 37:32 - [Evan] Well, yeah, I was just wondering, 37:33 well, who are the captives that He freed? 37:36 - Well, it's talking about that 37:39 when Noah preached in the days before the flood, 37:42 God preached to those that were in prison 37:45 and the Lord, through the same Spirit, He strove with them. 37:49 Some of the people during that 120 years were saved 37:53 before the flood, for one thing, Enoch was saved, 37:56 Methuselah was saved, they all died before the flood. 37:59 Unfortunately, as far as the flood, 38:02 just Noah and his family, 38:03 there were eight souls that were saved, 38:05 and Peter mentions that later on also. 38:09 - All right, well, thanks for your call. 38:10 We've got Carol listening in Oregon. 38:12 Carol, welcome to the program. 38:14 - [Carol] Good evening, gentlemen. 38:15 Thank you for taking my call. 38:18 It's about the new moon. 38:19 I understand it was a holiday or Sabbath 38:23 or something observed in the Old Testament, 38:26 but I must confess a degree of ignorance. 38:30 I've seen it mentioned now and again in the Bible, 38:34 in the same sentence along with the weekly Sabbath, 38:37 like in Isaiah where he says, "One new moon to the next 38:42 and one Sabbath to the next, all flesh 38:44 will come to worship," 38:45 and I believe in the New Testament too. 38:47 I thought it was Colossians, 38:49 I think St. Paul also mentioned the two 38:52 in the same sentence as though 38:54 there were some link between them, 38:56 but I don't know enough about the new moon to really tell, 39:00 so I was hoping you could fill in the picture. 39:03 - Well, yeah, well, I'll do my best. 39:05 The Jewish calendar was a lunar calendar, 39:07 it was governed by the months and the word month we get 39:10 from the word moon, they're related, 39:12 and so they had the division of time. 39:15 There was the week, which was, of course, every Sabbath, 39:19 new week began, you had the seventh day, 39:21 then you followed that at first, the month, 39:23 they had a 27-day calendar, followed the lunar cycle. 39:28 The Jews would correct, they'd correlate the solar year 39:34 with the lunar year by adding a month, 39:36 I think it was every 13 years, 39:37 they would add a month to compensate, 39:39 and so they actually had a very accurate calendar, 39:42 and when it says in heaven, "From one new moon to another, 39:46 from one sabbath to another, 39:47 all flesh will come and worship before Me." 39:50 Now, I understand that you realize that there are four weeks 39:57 in a month, approximately, I think in heaven, 40:01 that the months are gonna have 28 days exactly, 40:04 so every fourth Sabbath is going to be a new month, 40:09 but it's also a Sabbath, 40:11 and so it's just saying, "From week to week 40:14 and month to month, all flesh will come 40:16 and worship before Me," 40:19 but the new moons were not part of the original law 40:21 or the Ten Commandments, 40:23 they were more connected with the ceremonial services. 40:26 So I know that's sort of a long meandering answer, 40:28 but appreciate your openness, Carol. 40:30 Hope that made sense. 40:32 - And of course, the new moon could fall on any day 40:34 of the week, whereas the seventh day, Sabbath, 40:36 was always on the seventh day of the week, right? 40:37 It didn't change. 40:38 - Now, we have a book I think that talks 40:40 about feast days and Sabbaths. 40:41 - We do, and we'll be happy to send that to anyone 40:43 who calls and asks. 40:45 Want to learn more about the Old Testament feasts? 40:46 The number to call is 800-835-6747. 40:49 And you can ask for the book "New Moons and Sabbaths," 40:52 how much of those ceremonial laws are binding today, if any, 40:56 Well, you'll be surprised at what the Bible has to say. 40:59 - Yep. - Next caller 41:00 that we have is Heather, listening from California. 41:02 Heather, welcome to the program. 41:04 - [Heather] Thank you for taking my call. 41:08 So I have a question, is it ungodly and a sin 41:12 to get surgery to remove cancer? 41:14 - Why would you think it might be? 41:16 I mean, something generates your question. 41:19 Are you concerned it's a lack of faith or something? 41:23 - [Heather] It was a life or death thing for me 41:26 'cause I had a uterine cancer and some family members 41:30 were telling me, saying, like, 41:31 if I have the doctors remove my uterus 41:34 due to uncontrolled bleeding, then I'm letting Satan win. 41:41 - No, sorry, I'd respectfully disagree. 41:44 I think that I know too many people 41:46 that have their lives saved and lengthened by having, 41:51 you know, practical surgery. 41:53 You know, you don't wanna go to any quack, 41:55 but if you're following the best medical practices 42:00 and you combine faith with good living practices, 42:04 take care of your health, 42:06 but if there's a medical procedure 42:08 and it's gonna help remove cancer, by all means. 42:12 I mean, even in the Bible when Hezekiah was healed, 42:15 God told Isaiah to have him place a pulpis of figs on his 42:19 boil to use some medical procedure, 42:23 and the Bible tells us in Ezekiel, 42:24 "The leaves of the tree are for medicine." 42:27 So using some medical procedure, Luke, 42:30 the one who wrote the Book of Acts, 42:31 the Gospel of Luke, was a physician. 42:33 There's no Bible mandate that we should not use doctors 42:37 and surgery or medical procedures. 42:39 - And you know, God has given certain gifts 42:40 to certain individuals where they have a keen mind, 42:43 they're able to discern what symptoms might be, 42:46 they're able to address the disease. 42:48 Now, ultimately recognize that all healing 42:50 really comes from God, but God can choose to use doctors, 42:54 and nurses, and medicine, and surgery, and we want our faith 43:00 but also utilize the resources He provided. 43:01 - I thank God for good doctors. 43:03 - Absolutely, thank you for your call. 43:05 We've got, let's see, Iran listening from, or Aaron rather, 43:09 Aaron listening from New York. 43:10 Aaron, welcome to the program. 43:13 - Greeting, Pastors. - Yeah. 43:15 - In the first part of Luke 18, 43:17 Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow, 43:20 teaching His followers to keep praying for something 43:23 and not to give up, 43:24 but in Matthew 6:7 43:28 Jesus said to His followers, 43:30 "Do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do, 43:33 for they think that they will be heard 43:35 for their many words." 43:37 My question is, 43:38 how can we pray persistently without using vain repetitions? 43:43 - Yeah, good question, that's a good question, 43:46 and I needed that answered myself 43:49 when I first read those verses. 43:51 Jesus, when He says, "Do not pray in vain repetition 43:54 as the heathen do," you know there are a lot 43:58 of heathen religions that will, 44:00 they'll count a bead and say, every time they say a bead, 44:02 they repeat a prayer. 44:04 They'll just keep saying the same thing over and over again 44:07 as if God is deaf. 44:09 Now, when Elijah prayed for rain, 44:12 he prayed seven times in one day, "Lord, send the rain," 44:15 his prayer may have sounded a little different each time, 44:17 but he kept praying for rain. 44:19 If you're praying for a loved one 44:20 or you're praying about a separate issue, 44:23 there's nothing wrong with repeating that prayer. 44:25 Paul says that he prayed three times about a medical problem 44:29 that he had and then God finally said, "No, Paul, 44:32 stop praying about that because the answer's no." 44:35 (Doug chuckles) 44:36 So you know, but if you're praying for something good, 44:41 the children of Israel, 44:42 they prayed for deliverance from their enemies 44:45 for years sometimes. 44:47 So nothing wrong with praying persistently for a good thing, 44:50 you just don't wanna sit there and go, 44:53 "Lord, feed me now, Lord, feed me now, Lord, feed me now," 44:56 and I've heard heathen prayers that sound like that. 44:58 I would respectfully disagree with the priests 45:02 that tell people that if you wanna be forgiven 45:05 you must repeat the Hail Mary or the Our Father 15 times 45:10 in a row, that's praying in vain repetition, 45:13 but to say, "I'm gonna continue to pray 45:15 for the salvation of a loved one for years," 45:19 that's a different issue, 45:20 there's examples of that in the Bible. 45:23 - Okay, next one that we have is Robert, 45:25 listening in New Jersey. 45:26 Robert, welcome to the program. 45:29 - [Robert] Good evening. Pastors, Doug, and Pastors John. 45:32 - Evening. 45:33 - My question is (indistinct) 45:36 I found a little curious in the the Bible, 45:38 The Bible states that God is not a God of confusion. 45:43 Yet in two instances He seems to have caused that, 45:47 like for example in Genesis 11:7, 45:51 He caused confusion at the Tower of Babel, 45:55 to disrupt the languages 45:57 and then have the people scattered throughout the earth. 46:01 And another instance was the Ammonites who were, like, 46:07 sworn foes of Israel. 46:09 It says that, in the history of Israel, 46:13 Ammonites were among the army, 46:15 allied against King Jehoshaphat 46:18 and God caused confusion among them, 46:20 and they destroyed themselves 46:22 and that's 2 Chronicles 20:1-23. 46:25 - Yep. - So how do we... 46:28 - How do you 46:30 reconcile the two? - How do we make of this? 46:31 - Yeah, God is not the author of confusion. 46:33 I think that's 1 Corinthians 14. 46:36 He says, "Let all things be done decently." 46:38 God, of course, is talking about His people, 46:40 and God was extremely precise 46:45 in telling the children of Israel to be fastidious, clean, 46:48 orderly in what they did in the camp, in the services, 46:53 and Paul repeats that in the church, 46:56 that we should be orderly. 46:57 Order is a blessing of God, 47:00 disorder and chaos is a curse that He often sent 47:03 to the enemies because the people of Babylon 47:07 were rebelling against God, 47:10 He sent them chaos and confusion. 47:13 Many times in the Bible God will confound, 47:16 is one of the words that's used, the enemies, 47:19 and confuse and frustrate their plans. 47:22 He did it to the Amalekites and probably several others. 47:24 I think at one point during the Battle of Gideon, 47:26 they all turned on each other in the chaos, 47:29 and so you'll see that order and organization 47:35 are a blessing that God wants among His people, 47:38 He wants us to strive for that. 47:40 When we reject God and we embrace the devil, 47:44 then you're gonna have disorder and chaos. 47:46 - You know the verse you're referring to? 47:48 You mentioned in passage 1 Corinthians 14, 47:50 there's two parts of the verse that says, 47:52 "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace." 47:55 The next part of the verse says, 47:56 "As in all of the churches of the saints," 47:59 so specifically Paul is speaking about, 48:01 when it comes to worship and it comes to activities 48:03 within the church, there needs to be order, 48:06 things need to be done decently, 48:08 you don't wanna have confusion in the church, 48:10 especially when it comes to worship, 48:12 that's quite different than when God brought a judgment 48:14 upon the Tower of Babel or upon the enemies of God's people. 48:19 Okay, good question- - Good question, yeah. 48:19 - Thank you. 48:20 We've got, let's see, Dave, 48:21 he is listening from Alaska. 48:23 Dave, welcome to the program. 48:26 - [Dave] Thank you, gentlemen, and I appreciate your time. 48:29 I'm gonna try and make this quick and concise. 48:32 Basically I've got a history of mental illness 48:35 and I feel like I've always had this impression 48:38 that someone wants me to be a missionary 48:41 in order to be saved, 48:42 but I can't live without my meds. 48:44 Is Satan capable of impersonating God in order to tell them 48:48 to do something to their own destruction? 48:51 - Okay, good question. 48:53 Is Satan able to impersonate God? 48:57 Well, yes and no. 48:59 In other words, Satan can never be God, 49:02 does he try to deceive people into thinking 49:04 that God is speaking to them? 49:07 Oh yeah. 49:08 There's a lot of religions in the world that are false 49:10 and they're sure God is guiding them, 49:13 and so Satan is impersonating God and he's deceiving. 49:17 So how do we know whether it's God or, you know, 49:21 the devil impersonating God? 49:22 For one thing, we follow His Word, 49:25 we listen to Christian counsel, 49:27 we obey the promptings of His Spirit as in harmony 49:31 with His Word, look for providential openings. 49:35 In fact, you might be blessed by a book I wrote, 49:40 Dave, and it's called "How to Know The Will of God." 49:44 So one of the things that book will do is it'll try 49:46 and give you some tools so you can know, 49:49 is this an impression from the Lord? 49:51 Is God guiding me to be a missionary? 49:53 As you say, or whatever, 49:54 or is this just the devil messing with my head, 49:56 thinking I can't be saved unless I'm a missionary? 49:59 First of all, I don't think God calls everybody 50:00 to be missionaries, 50:02 there are different gifts that are given 50:04 to different people. 50:05 I think that you're looking, 50:07 1 Corinthians 12 and chapter 14 talks about 50:11 different gifts of the Spirit. 50:12 Not everyone's a pastor or a teacher. 50:15 - If you'd like to receive the book, 50:16 I think it's called "Determining the Will of God," 50:17 we'll be happy to send it to you, Dave, 50:19 or anyone who calls and ask. 50:21 The number is 800-835-6747. 50:24 And again, the book is called "Determining the Will of God" 50:26 and we'll be happy to get it in the mail and send it to you. 50:29 We've got Eric listening in New Jersey. 50:31 Eric, welcome to the program. 50:34 - [Eric] Hi, good night, God bless you, guys. 50:37 - Thank you. - I have a question 50:38 in Matthew 4:5, say that, 50:46 I hope you understand me, 50:48 that, "Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, 50:54 taking Him to the pinnacle of the temple." 50:57 - [Doug] Yes. 50:58 - My question is how the devil, 51:02 the devil took Jesus, because Jesus was a man. 51:06 - Yes. 51:08 Well, that tells us something about the power of the devil. 51:11 Now, whether the devil physically put Him there, 51:15 I'm inclined to think he did because he wanted Him to jump 51:18 and physically die, but that tells you something 51:22 about the devil, 51:23 to actually transport three-dimensional objects, 51:26 or people, or creatures, 51:29 so it says he took 'em up to the temple, 51:31 it probably wasn't just a vision of the temple, 51:35 and said, "Throw yourself down." 51:38 By the way, I was reading this week that the, is it Josephus 51:43 tells us, I believe, that James, 51:46 the brother of Jesus, so angered the scribes, 51:49 they ultimately took him to the top of the temple 51:51 and threw him off, same place where the devil 51:53 took Jesus, the brother of James, 51:55 the brother of Jesus or half-brother, 51:57 was tossed off the temple. 52:00 So I think, yeah, the devil took Him up there. 52:03 What do you think? - Yeah, absolutely. 52:05 And of course the devil does have power to move things. 52:08 I mean, there are those who are involved 52:11 in a different seance or cults, 52:13 and they'll testify that things do move, 52:16 tables move, people move, 52:17 so the devil does the power to move things. 52:19 - Yeah. - And move people. 52:20 - It happens on Star Trek, 52:22 it must be true. (both laugh) 52:24 - Must be true, huh? (laughs) 52:25 - Yeah. 52:26 - All right. - Sorry, folks, 52:27 forgive me for that. 52:28 - Thank you, thank you, Eric, for your call. 52:30 We've got Brian listening in Washington. 52:32 Brian, welcome to the program. 52:35 - [Brian] Hi Doug, hi Ross. 52:37 - Hi. - I've got a question 52:39 on Genesis 32:22-32. - Yeah. 52:46 - Can you explain the purpose of Jacob's wrestling with God 52:49 and why his hip was permanently displaced? 52:53 - Okay, yeah, I'll do my best. 52:56 Of course, Jacob had deceived his parents and his brother, 53:03 and through the, he tried to steal his birthright. 53:07 Now he's coming back into the promised land 53:09 and he's wanting to know that God forgave him. 53:13 I think Jacob wrestling with the angel, 53:14 of course, you can't wrestle with God, 53:16 God can pin you in a fraction of a second, 53:18 God can toss you out of the ring, 53:20 so how do you wrestle with God? 53:22 That is, I think, God allowed that 53:25 to show that sometimes we wrestle with God in prayer. 53:27 Jacob went off by himself to pray and then the man appears, 53:32 and he thought that maybe there was some vandal or robber, 53:35 and Jacob instinctively, you know, 53:38 goes to defend himself and one hold after another 53:41 doesn't seem to work, and they wrestled for quite a while 53:46 and I think it's there to depict prayer, 53:49 and it actually talks about the time of Jacob's trouble 53:53 in the prophecies, and I forget, is it Jeremiah? 53:58 Is it time of Jacob's trouble? 53:59 And it depicts this wrestling. 54:02 So finally Jacob, the angel touches him 54:05 and it puts his hip outta joint, 54:09 he really had to be humbled but he would not let go, 54:11 even though he is in intense pain, 54:12 he would not let go of God, and he said, 54:14 "I will not let You go unless You bless me. 54:16 This is where Jacob gets his name changed to Israel, 54:19 "One who triumphs as a prince with God," 54:23 and when we hang on to God's promises, we triumph, 54:26 we get a new name. 54:27 There's just a whole scenario in that, 54:29 in the context of wrestling in prayer. 54:32 - I think the verse you're referring to, 54:33 pastor, Jeremiah 30:7 talks about Jacob's wrestling, 54:38 Jacob's time of trouble, and of course 54:40 that's the type of God's people in the last days, 54:42 their faith will be tried and they will have 54:44 to claim those promises and hold on to them. 54:46 In essence, they go through a Jacob's time of trouble. 54:49 - Yes, that's true. 54:50 Now, listening friends, we are gonna be wrapping up. 54:52 We sort of do this in two stages. 54:54 For our friends listening on satellite radio, 54:56 we're gonna say, God bless, until next week, 54:59 the rest of you, stay tuned, 55:01 we're gonna be doing some rapid fire internet questions 55:04 that have come in in just a moment. 55:07 (inspiring music) 55:09 - [Announcer] Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. 55:12 We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. 55:16 Bible Answers Live is produced 55:17 by Amazing Facts International, 55:20 a faith-based ministry located in Granite Bay, California. 55:25 - Hello friends, welcome back to Bible Answers Live, 55:27 and we are gonna be taking some of your email 55:30 and internet questions that have come in, 55:32 and if you have a Bible question that you'd like 55:34 to email to us, 55:35 the email address is balquestions@amazingfacts.org, 55:40 balquestions@amazingfacts.org. 55:43 Right, Pastor Doug, we have Charlene from England 55:45 and she'd like to know where did Cain find his wife? 55:49 - Yeah, that's a a common question 55:51 because people begin reading the Bible 55:54 and then after Cain kills his brother 55:56 and he's sort of evicted to the land of Nod, 56:00 God places the mark on Cain, 56:01 it says Cain took his wife and you go, "Wait a second here, 56:06 there was Cain and Abel, he kills his brother, 56:08 there's only Adam and Eve, where's the wife come from?" 56:11 Well, when you get to Genesis 5, 56:13 we realize that it only mentions the firstborn boys, 56:17 typically in this patriarchal society, 56:20 it says Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters, 56:24 and so Cain, and Seth, and the other patriarchs, 56:30 they often married their sisters, 56:31 they had to marry their sisters. 56:33 If you think about it, Adam sort of married his sister. 56:36 I mean, they both were created by the same parent 56:40 you might say, and you go further down in the Bible, 56:43 Abraham married his half-sister, 56:46 Jacob married his first cousin. 56:48 It was not, there was no genetic problems 56:50 when they married their sisters back in the beginning 56:52 'cause people's genes were perfectly robust. 56:57 - Okay, another question that we have, Linda's asking, 56:58 "Did Jesus take the Nazarite vow?" 57:02 - Yeah, good question. 57:03 It doesn't specifically say it, 57:04 but it is possible that Jesus took the Nazarite vow 57:07 or that Mary and Joseph had Jesus follow that vow 57:10 up until His baptism. 57:12 A person might take the vow for a limited period of time, 57:15 or a person might take the vow until, 57:17 you know, a certain age, 57:19 and certainly when Christ was baptized it says, 57:22 then He was, you know, drinking grape juice, 57:24 which a Nazarite was not supposed to do, 57:26 that's why so many artists depict Jesus with longer hair 57:30 'cause the Nazarites were not supposed 57:32 to cut their hair like Samson. 57:34 Samuel had taken the Nazarite vow, 57:37 and, but he probably took it for life. 57:39 So we don't know, 57:41 but it is possible He took it up until His baptism. 57:44 - Okay, we have another question. 57:45 How do we know if we have true faith 57:47 without being presumptuous? 57:50 - Yeah, how do you know if you, 57:52 the Bible says you don't wanna tempt the Lord, 57:54 you don't say, "Lord, I've got faith 57:55 that I can jump off the temple," 57:57 'cause that is tempting the Lord, 57:59 but if there's something in God's Word 58:02 where He is giving us some direction, 58:04 we can follow that with confidence, 58:07 and other examples in the Bible we know are safe. 58:10 That uses up all our question times for this program. 58:12 Friends, God willing, we'll be studying His Word together 58:14 with you again next week. 58:16 (inspiring music) 58:18 - [Announcer] Bible answers live, 58:19 honest and accurate answers to your Bible questions. 58:23 (inspiring music) |
Revised 2023-03-02