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Series Code: AFBA
Program Code: AFBA202407S
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00:03 male announcer: It is the best-selling book in history. 00:05 No volume ever written has been more loved and quoted; and its 00:10 words, sometimes simple and sometimes mysterious, should 00:14 always be studied carefully. 00:16 It is the Bible, the Word of God. 00:19 Welcome to "Bible Answers Live," providing accurate and practical 00:24 answers to all your Bible questions. 00:28 This broadcast is a previously-recorded episode. 00:31 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this 00:34 broadcast, call 800-835-6747. 00:38 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 00:43 Now, here's your host from Amazing Facts International, 00:47 Pastor Doug Batchelor. 00:49 Doug Batchelor: Hello, friends. 00:51 Welcome to Amazing Facts "Bible Answers Live." 00:54 Would you like to hear an amazing fact? 00:56 Saddam Hussein, the infamous former dictator of Iraq, became 01:01 obsessed with the ancient Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar 01:04 who had conquered Israel in current-day Iran. 01:08 Saddam saw himself as a modern reincarnation of Nebuchadnezzar 01:12 who would unite the Arab world and restore the ancient empire 01:16 of Babylon, but a Hebrew prophecy in Isaiah 13 clearly 01:21 states ancient Babylon would never be rebuilt. 01:25 Seeking to prove the Jewish prediction wrong, in 1986, 01:29 Saddam spent millions to reconstruct the old site 01:31 of Babylon. 01:33 His delusions came to an end with his capture following the 01:36 Gulf War and eventual execution in 2006. 01:40 Now, the ghostly shell of his immense palace on a hill above 01:44 the ruins of Babylon and the abandoned construction projects 01:48 stand as a ghostly reminder that God's prophecies never fail. 01:54 Well, you and I have heard some stories, Pastor Ross, about the 01:57 great lengths he went to to try to re-establish himself as the 02:03 ancient ruler of Babylon. 02:05 He had pictures of him and Nebuchadnezzar everywhere, and 02:07 he was riding in an imitation charade of Nebuchadnezzar and 02:12 tried to portray himself. 02:14 In reincarnation it wouldn't have made sense with the Islam 02:17 theology, but he was kind of fantasizing. 02:22 And he hated Israel so much that he thought, "I can disprove 02:26 the prophecy. 02:27 I'll rebuild the ancient city." 02:29 Construction stopped twice during the two Gulf wars and 02:33 then ultimately came to an end. 02:35 And I've heard that--it either just happened or will happen 02:40 soon; that UNESCO is going to declare the ruins of Babylon 02:45 a historic site so it can never be rebuilt, just going to show 02:49 that God's prophecy in Isaiah 13 it'll never be rebuilt. 02:53 It'll never be inhabited. 02:55 It could not be overthrown. 02:57 Jëan Ross: You know, it seems, Pastor Doug, when you look at 02:59 the Bible, you--sometimes the Old Testament is being described 03:02 as the story of two cities. 03:04 On the one hand you have Jerusalem representing, you 03:06 know, God's dwelling place and the truth and way of salvation, 03:11 then you got the opposite of that being Babylon. 03:13 And of course historically you had the Babylonians that 03:16 conquered and destroyed Jerusalem and took the Jews 03:18 captive, but then God's people came out of Babylon and rebuilt 03:23 the temple in Jerusalem. 03:24 So that same theme of Babylon and Jerusalem kind of follows 03:29 all the way not only in the Old Testament, but we even see some 03:32 of that in the New Testament. 03:33 In the New Testament you have got a whole chapter talking 03:36 about a woman this time, and her name is Babylon. 03:39 Doug: Yeah, Babylon is actually mentioned, I think, six times in 03:43 the book of Revelation, and chapter 17 pretty clearly 03:49 identifies who Babylon is. 03:50 It's interesting that even in the New Testament times the 03:53 apostles use the word "Babylon" to kind of refer to Rome because 03:57 the Romans were occupying Israel like the Babylonians had once 04:00 done, and--I better not say too much 'cause we've got a free 04:04 offer that's going to tell people about who is Babylon in 04:08 the book of Revelation. 04:10 Jëan: That's right. 04:11 We've got a book called "The Scarlet Woman." 04:13 And the reason we have that title it's because you read the 04:15 description in Revelation 17, this woman Babylon she's dressed 04:19 in scarlet. 04:20 And we'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls and asks. 04:22 That is the free offer for this evening called "The 04:25 Scarlet Woman." 04:26 The number to call is 800-835-6747. 04:30 You can ask for that by name, "The Scarlet Woman." 04:32 Or dial #250, say "Bible answers live," and then ask for that 04:37 free offer and we'll send you a digital download. 04:40 So two ways that you're going to be able to receive that offer, 04:43 and I hope you take advantage of it. 04:44 It's a great read. 04:46 It's an important study because part of the three angels' 04:48 messages, God's last-warning message, talks about Babylon 04:51 being fallen, being fallen. 04:53 So understanding who Babylon is, what it represents, that's 04:56 an important truth. 04:58 Doug: And yeah, it's amazing that I still run into some 05:00 Christian pastors that say, "Oh yeah, ancient Babylon is going 05:02 to be rebuilt." 05:04 They're totally missing not only the prophecy in Isaiah that said 05:06 it would not be but what Revelation is really 05:09 talking about. 05:10 So you owe it to yourself, friends, to pick up this 05:12 study guide. 05:13 You'll be blessed. 05:15 Jëan: All right, well, before we go to the phone lines, as we 05:17 always do let's start with prayer. 05:19 Dear Father, we thank You once again that we have this time to 05:21 open up Your Word and study. 05:23 And, Father, we always want to ask Your blessing upon 05:25 this program. 05:26 Wherever the people might be who are listening, we just pray, 05:28 Lord, that You'll guide them and be with us here in the studio as 05:30 we search the Scriptures to find a clearer understanding of 05:33 Bible truth. 05:35 For we ask this in Jesus's name, amen. 05:37 Doug: Amen. 05:39 Jëan: We're going to go to the phone lines. 05:40 We've got Elijah listening in Arizona, and he has a question 05:43 about the judgment. 05:45 Elijah, welcome to the program. 05:47 Elijah: Yes. 05:48 My question was at the time when--if you do something and 05:53 you repent, you never do it again and ask God for 05:57 forgiveness, at the time of judgment will God show it 06:01 to everyone? 06:03 Doug: No. 06:05 If you've repented of your sins and you've asked God to forgive 06:08 you, the Bible tells us that He takes our sins and He casts them 06:12 into the depths of the sea. 06:13 I'm trying to remember that verse. 06:15 I used to know it by heart. 06:16 But if they're not repented of, you can read in Luke 12:3, 06:21 "Wherefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard 06:24 in the light, and what you've spoken in the ear in inner rooms 06:27 will be proclaimed from the housetops." 06:30 So the Lord basically says, you know, everything's going to be 06:32 made manifest and open to the eyes of whom we have to do. 06:37 But if our sins are forgiven, they're under the blood. 06:39 He buries in the depths of the sea and He doesn't remember 06:43 them anymore. 06:44 He forgives and forgets our sins, so to speak. 06:46 Jëan: Yeah, Micah chapter 7, verse 19 is 06:48 the verse you were referring to there. 06:50 All right. Thank you. 06:51 Next caller that we have is Gary, and he's got a question 06:53 related to Revelation. 06:55 Gary, welcome to the program. 06:57 Gary: Thank you. 06:59 In Revelation 8:7 it says the world went by fire and hail. 07:02 So we're seeing a lot of weather events that--have that 07:06 come true? 07:07 Are we in the--in tribulation or are we just in perilous times? 07:12 Doug: Yeah. 07:14 Well, I certainly do believe, Gary, that we are seeing 07:17 an acceleration of natural disasters. 07:19 I've actually got a chart where insurance companies--of course, 07:23 they make their money and--insuring against disasters. 07:26 There--they show that all different kinds of disasters 07:29 seem to be on the increase. 07:31 Now of course, you know, they're blaming global warming for that 07:35 and other things. 07:36 But I don't think we're in the great time of trouble 'cause 07:39 that's when the seven last plagues fall. 07:41 I think we're in a time that's leading up to what you call the 07:44 small time of trouble. 07:45 You know, Jesus said there's going to be wars, rumors of 07:47 wars, earthquakes in different places, but the end isn't yet. 07:52 And so these things accelerate like labor pains get 07:55 closer together. 07:57 Before a woman has a baby, you see greater frequency, 08:00 greater intensity. 08:02 That's where we're at now. 08:03 Jëan: You know, Luke chapter 21, verse 25, Jesus talking about 08:06 end-time events he says there'll be signs in the sun and the moon 08:09 and the stars and on the earth distress of nations 08:12 with perplexity. 08:13 And then it adds this: the sea and the waves roaring. 08:17 Kind of gives the idea of an increase of storms or increase 08:19 of, you know, weather issues. 08:21 And, yeah, as we get close to the end, it seems that we see 08:24 more of that. 08:25 All right. 08:27 Thank you, Gary. 08:28 We've got Karen in Nebraska, and she's got a question 08:29 about Melchizedek. 08:31 Karen, welcome to the program. 08:33 Karen: Hi. Thank you. 08:36 I'm studying Hebrews and I'm having a hard time 08:38 with chapter 7. 08:40 Okay, I understand it's about the priesthood and it's talking 08:44 about the order of Melchizedek and the order of Aaron and the 08:47 law and the covenant, but I thought we didn't know--even 08:50 know who Melchizedek is. 08:52 How does that fit in here in chapter 7? 08:55 Doug: I think--Paul, we believe, wrote Hebrews. 08:58 Paul is showing that he--Melchizedek, who appears in 09:03 the Old Testament, is an allegory of Christ. 09:09 You know, most of the priests came from the tribe of Aaron, 09:12 but Paul is saying there were some priests of God that didn't 09:15 come from Israel at all such as Melchizedek. 09:19 When you look in the Old Testament, it says four or five 09:21 interesting things about Melchizedek. 09:22 First of all, it doesn't say where he came from. 09:25 We know he was the king of Salem that later became known as 09:28 Jerusalem which means city of peace, and Jesus is our king of 09:34 peace of the New Jerusalem. 09:36 It says he--the word Melchizedek means king of righteousness. 09:40 Jesus is our king of righteousness. 09:42 He brought Abraham bread and wine, and Jesus made the 09:46 covenant with the bread and the wine with the disciples. 09:49 And so there's a lot of analogies of Melchizedek, who is 09:53 a king and a priest. 09:54 Jesus is our high priest and our king. 09:56 So Paul is showing that he was a type of Christ who is without 10:01 beginning or end. 10:02 There--we don't know what happened to Melchizedek. 10:04 He appears and disappears in the Bible. 10:06 We don't know his genealogy. 10:07 So that's why Paul is saying all that. 10:09 Jëan: He's also laying the foundation that Christ's 10:12 priesthood, his heavenly ministry is superior to that of 10:15 the Levitical priesthood because obviously Jesus didn't come 10:18 through the tribe of Levi. 10:19 He came through the tribe of Judah. 10:21 So someone said, "Well, how can he be a priest if he's not part 10:24 of the tribe of Levi?" 10:25 Paul is making the argument in Hebrews saying, well, he's 10:27 actually part or a symbol--Melchizedek is a symbol 10:30 or a type of Christ priesthood, which is even greater than that 10:34 of the Levitical priesthood because Abraham gave a tithe 10:37 to Melchizedek. 10:38 So that's his argument. 10:40 He's kind of portraying this high-priestly ministry of Jesus 10:42 far superior to that of the Hebrew or the 10:46 Levitical priesthood. 10:47 Doug: You got a good series on Hebrews. 10:48 I should have let you answer that. 10:50 Jëan: No, no, it's a good--you gave a good answer. 10:51 That's a great study. It really is. 10:54 All right. Thank you, Karen. 10:57 We got Glenn listening in Ohio, question about Acts chapter 2. 11:00 Glenn, welcome to the program. 11:03 Glenn: Good evening. 11:04 Thank you very much for taking my call. 11:07 Doug: Yeah. 11:08 Glenn: Now, historically Christianity is not a religion 11:09 that was practiced till about 4 centuries after the apostles. 11:15 If that's the case, what doctrine did the apostles adhere 11:18 to in Acts 2:42? 11:21 Then if the statement about the history of Christianity is not 11:25 true, when did Christianity come on the scene and where did the 11:29 name come from? 11:31 Doug: Well, it tells us they first called them Christians. 11:34 It's right in the Bible. 11:35 It--in the book of Acts, it says they first called them 11:37 Christians in Antioch. 11:39 So that's back in the days of the apostles. 11:41 So I'm not sure where you heard that the religion of 11:44 Christianity did not begin until 4 centuries after Christ. 11:48 The organized Catholic Church may not have begun until that 11:53 point, but Christianity began in the Old Testament. 11:57 Jëan: And that verse you're talking about, Pastor Doug, Acts 11:59 chapter 11, verse 26 where it says, as you mentioned, in 12:02 Antioch the believers were called Christians. 12:05 So that's kind of the origin of the name. 12:07 And of course the early church for the first 100 years, they 12:10 were taught by the apostles who were taught by Christ directly. 12:13 So the church was growing. 12:15 It was evangelistic. 12:16 They were faithful to the Word, and they--yeah, it wasn't until 12:20 the legalization of Christianity in 313 and the rise of the 12:24 papal power or Catholic Church that we begin to see some 12:28 compromise taking place where the church began to wander away 12:32 from the simple truths of the Bible. 12:33 Doug: Church was organized. 12:35 Even in Acts chapter 6, they're appointing deacons and then 12:38 they're having--Paul is appointing elders. 12:40 Jëan: And they had a council in Jerusalem. 12:42 Doug: Yeah. 12:43 So they were--they didn't maybe have a big Vatican, but they 12:46 certainly were an organized religion at that point. 12:49 Thank you. 12:50 Good question, Glenn. 12:51 Jëan: We've got Nicole listening in Michigan, and she's asking 12:53 about the Day of Atonement. 12:55 Nicole, welcome to the program. 12:58 Nicole: Hi, good evening. How are you? 13:01 Doug: Good. How are you? 13:02 Nicole: Good. 13:04 My question is, when Babylon came and destroyed Jerusalem--I 13:07 mean, the sanctuary, the ark was taken and hidden. 13:12 So when Nehemiah and Ezra went back to rebuild the city and 13:17 they started to perform the various ceremonies, mainly the 13:20 Day of Atonement, how are they keeping the Day of Atonement if 13:24 the Ark of the Covenant was not in the most holy place? 13:27 Doug: Good question. 13:29 And, you know, there's all--all I have on that is speculation 13:33 and I've never read anything definitive, but you're right. 13:37 The real ark, the original ark that was made during the time of 13:40 Moses, captured once by the Philistines, recovered--then 13:43 when Nebuchadnezzar came and besieged the city, it was hidden 13:47 somewhere and it's probably still hidden there. 13:50 No, Solomon did not give it to the Queen of Sheba as our 13:54 Ethiopian friends say 'cause it appears again later during the 13:58 time of King Josiah. 13:59 But as near as we can tell, when they rebuilt the temple they put 14:02 some facsimile of the ark in there so that the priest could 14:07 put blood on it during the Day of Atonement. 14:10 But they were hoping that God would restore to them the place 14:14 of the original ark. 14:15 So I don't think they ever made a copy of it. 14:17 At least I don't see any record of that. 14:20 But they had--they put, I think, some kind of facsimile of it 14:22 with a golden horn so they could put the blood on it. 14:24 Jëan: Right, of course, what made the Ark of the Covenant so 14:26 special was the law written by the finger of God on the tables 14:30 of stone inside the ark. 14:31 That could never be reproduced. 14:33 So they had, like you say, maybe a box of some kind or something 14:37 to kind of represent where it stood in the most holy place. 14:41 Okay, thanks, Nicole. Good question. 14:43 We got Dana listening in New York, and she's calling about 14:47 what does the Bible say about praise dancing. 14:50 Dana, welcome to the program. 14:52 Dana: Yes, hi. How are you all doing? 14:54 Doug: Doing very well. Thank you. 14:56 Dana: All right. God bless you both. 14:58 So my question is, what do you think about modern praise 15:03 dancing where some churches may have an individual or group, 15:05 mostly females dressed in a long dress of some sort, and then 15:09 they perform different bodily movements to a gospel song? 15:13 What do you think about that form of worship, and is 15:15 it biblical? 15:17 Doug: Well, you're asking, is it biblical? 15:19 There's only three or four examples of dancing. 15:23 Now, the word dance is mentioned more than three or four times, 15:25 but you've got, of course, where David danced before the ark. 15:28 That was not in the temple or on the Sabbath day. 15:30 He's bringing the ark up to the house of God. 15:33 Then you have when the women came out following a victory. 15:38 Like when David and Saul beat the Philistines the women came 15:40 out and sang songs, and that was customary that they'd go out and 15:44 greet and celebrate a victory. 15:47 When Miriam led the women after crossing the Red Sea, because of 15:50 the victory over the Egyptians they would sing. 15:52 The women only danced with women. 15:54 This is not happening in the sanctuary. 15:57 The ones who led out in praise and music in the sanctuary were 16:00 typically the Levites and the sons of Asaph, which were, 16:04 I think, Levites if I'm not mistaken. 16:06 They were the musicians. 16:08 I was reading about that this week in 1 Chronicles, 16:10 I think, 25. 16:13 But I don't see any example of women dancing or recreating 16:17 songs in the temple on the Sabbath. 16:20 Jëan: And the type of dancing, as you mentioned, Pastor Doug, 16:22 is very different even from what we see today in some churches. 16:26 Even today if you go to Israel and you go to the Wailing Wall 16:29 even on Friday evening or on the Sabbath, you'll have two groups. 16:32 You have the men on the one side. 16:34 You have the women on the other side. 16:35 And they usually form a circle and they'll sing and they'll 16:37 move around in a circle. 16:39 That's a little different than having four or five people 16:41 standing on the stage, you know, waving a banner or moving around 16:45 to music with a scarf or something. 16:47 It's total--it was a totally different type of celebration. 16:51 Doug: Yeah. Yeah. 16:53 The focus in Israel at the Wailing Wall--of course, 16:54 that's not even in the temple. 16:55 That's in the wall outside. 16:57 The focus there was really just to welcome the Sabbath, and they 17:00 usually were singing a--some kind of a biblical song. 17:04 It was a--usually repeating some biblical promise or song. 17:08 Yeah, yeah. I've seen this before. 17:10 I know just what you're talking about, and it kind of it--I just 17:14 couldn't picture that happening in the synagogue of Jesus. 17:19 Anyway, thanks. 17:21 I appreciate your question. 17:22 Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is Junith listening 17:25 in Nevada, and she's asking about Hagar. 17:27 Junith, welcome to the program. 17:28 Junith: Hi. Hello. 17:31 Hello, and good evening to both of you. 17:33 Thanks for taking my call. 17:34 My question is, what could have happened that Hagar and Abraham 17:41 did not have Ishmael? 17:43 Doug: Okay, well, if Ishmael was not in the picture, of course-- 17:48 well, of course, if Sarah did not encourage Abraham to use 17:52 Hagar as a surrogate, I guess it was more than a surrogate, a 17:56 concubine, well then Isaac would have been born and a lot of the 18:01 problems that are in the world today between the descendants of 18:05 Ishmael and the descendants of Isaac would probably not 18:09 be happening. 18:10 If you're asking what if Hagar did not have a child, well then 18:16 again it would probably be a non-event. 18:18 Eventually, Sarah would have. 18:19 So whenever you say what if you start to speculate, and you can 18:23 go wild trying to speculate how God would have orchestrated 18:26 things because you really don't know. 18:30 People say, "What would have happened if Eve ate the fruit 18:32 and Adam didn't?" 18:34 Have you ever heard that one? 18:36 So I don't even try to answer that 'cause you'll lose 18:40 every time. 18:42 Jëan: All right. Well, thank you, Junith. 18:44 We've got Julie in South Dakota. 18:45 She's got a question about the close of probation. 18:47 Julie, welcome to the program. 18:49 Julie: Well, thank you. 18:51 I appreciate you taking my call. 18:53 I was wondering if there's a correlation between the closing 18:56 of probation with God shutting the door to Noah's ark seven 19:02 days prior to the rain. 19:03 'Cause I was thinking maybe like seven years prior to Jesus 19:08 returning that God would, you know, close the door to 19:11 salvation and we can no longer be saved during 19:14 those seven years. 19:15 Doug: Well, is there a correlation? 19:17 There is in the sense that life went on outside the ark for 19:22 a period of time even after their destiny was sealed. 19:27 I don't think the seven days of Noah re--'cause it's not 19:31 a prophecy--are representing seven years. 19:34 For one thing, can you imagine what the world would look like 19:37 after one year of the oceans and fresh water being blood and men 19:42 being scorched with great heat and people suffering with 19:45 a noisome sore? 19:46 I think the time for the seven plagues is going to be more like 19:49 the time of the ten plagues that fell on Egypt. 19:52 When you track that, it probably happened within a period of 19:55 about a month, a month and a half. 19:58 It came in quick order. 19:59 Like the plagues that fell on Job, it seemed like they came 20:02 rather quickly, lasted a few weeks, and--so I don't see the 20:06 seven last plagues when probation closes. 20:09 There's really no purpose in God allowing the world to suffer for 20:13 7 years with the righteous still here surrounded with 20:17 that misery. 20:18 There's no--they can't be lost. 20:20 There's no benefit. 20:21 No one's being converted. 20:23 Jëan: Yeah, we do have a verse on that also: Revelation 20:25 chapter 18, verse 8. 20:26 Easy verse to remember. 20:27 It's talking about the plagues. 20:29 So then we know the plagues come after probation closes. 20:31 It says, "Therefore her plagues," speaking of Babylon, 20:33 "will come in one day--death and mourning and famine. 20:37 And she shall be utterly burned with fire." 20:39 So the Bible seems to indicate that; yes, once probation closes 20:43 and the plagues begin to fall, once the plagues start falling, 20:47 it's about the period of a year. 20:49 And if you look at the makeup of the plagues, like you say, the 20:53 earth probably can't keep going much longer if all of this--you 20:57 know, the plagues are falling and, like you say, the sea is 20:59 turning to blood, the fresh water is turning to blood. 21:01 There's famine, the--intense heat, fires. 21:04 So--all right. Hopefully that helps. 21:05 Doug: Thank you. 21:07 Jëan: Next caller that we have is Wade in Minnesota. 21:09 Wade, welcome to the program. 21:11 You have a question about 2 Thessalonians. 21:14 Wade: Yeah. Thank you. 21:16 Yeah, I'm trying to figure out who the he is in 2 Thessalonians 21:21 2:7 and when that verse will be fulfilled. 21:25 Doug: Yeah, let's read this for our friends that are listening. 21:28 Speaking of, we believe, the Antichrist power, it says, "For 21:32 the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. 21:35 He who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of 21:39 the way." 21:40 So the he is capital H, the Holy Spirit is going to restrain 21:45 the work of the devil, the lawless one. 21:49 So you're wondering about the he there who does the restraining. 21:53 I believe that's the Spirit. 21:54 Is that your understanding? 21:55 Wade: Yes. Doug: Yeah. 21:57 Jëan: Yeah. 21:58 Doug: Yeah, so the Holy Spirit is restraining. 22:00 And you can read in the days of Noah, when wickedness increased 22:05 in the earth God's Spirit was restraining. 22:08 It says, "My Spirit will not always strive with men." 22:11 There'll come a day when once again the Spirit will be 22:14 withdrawn and no longer strive with people and then kind of 22:18 demons have free reign at that point, and it's going to get 22:21 pretty hairy scary on the world at that time. 22:26 Jëan: All right. Doug: Thank you. 22:28 Jëan: Next caller that we have is Ryan in New Mexico. 22:30 Ryan, welcome to the program. 22:32 Ryan: Hello. How are y'all doing today? 22:34 Doug: Doing good. Thank you for calling. 22:36 Ryan: My question is, isn't the 7-day cycle have Babylonian 22:40 roots that started from--it would be sun worship. 22:44 Doug: All right. Well, let's talk about that. 22:46 It is true the Babylonians also recognize a 7-day week. 22:49 Most of the world--well, everyone in the world recognizes 22:52 a 7-day week now. 22:54 The Babylonians, they worshiped the sun on the first day of the 22:58 week, and then Egypt also the sun was the principal god 23:03 of worship. 23:05 With the Greeks and the Romans, it was Apollo, Jupiter. 23:08 So--and that's where you get the word Sunday. 23:12 So in that sense, the Sunday part of the Babylonian worship 23:16 trickled down through other empires. 23:19 And when we were talking about Babylon earlier, not only was 23:21 there a war between Israel and Babylon but you go back to the 23:24 Tower of Babel and, you know, it--you can see two camps 23:29 actually split way back then. 23:31 But the weekly cycle begins in Genesis where God creates the 23:36 world in six days and then He creates another day as a day of 23:39 rest that we call the seventh day and the Sabbath. 23:43 That didn't come from the Babylonians, that--the Bible 23:45 tells us that goes all the way back to the beginning. 23:48 Jëan: And it's not just the sun god that was worshiped, 23:51 you know, for one day during the week. 23:53 Of course, you have Monday, which is connected with the 23:55 moon god. 23:57 And so, you know, all of these pagan traditions and cultures, 24:00 they would look to the heavens and they'd see these different 24:02 planets and they would name them a god and they would worship 24:04 them on a specific day. 24:06 But what's amazing is that they also followed a 7-day week, a 24:10 7-day cycle and there's nothing in the natural realm--you know, 24:13 it's not because the earth is spinning on its, you know, axis 24:16 or it's going around the sun or the moon. 24:18 All of--you know, you talk about years and you've got months 24:21 and you've got days. 24:23 We all--we can see something in nature, but when it comes to the 24:25 7-day week the only evidence for that or the only reason for that 24:29 is back in Genesis chapter 1. 24:31 Doug: Yeah. Absolutely. 24:33 Well, thank you. Appreciate that. 24:35 Maybe we have time for another call before our break. 24:37 Jëan: All right. 24:39 We've got James listening in Texas. 24:41 James, welcome to the program. 24:43 James: Yes, sir. Hi. 24:44 Thank you for taking my call tonight. 24:47 My question is, does God have a sin? 24:51 Like in--I've heard in Exodus chapter 20, verses 3 through 5 24:55 where it does say--or even God com--says Himself that He is 25:00 a jealous God. 25:02 But ain't jealousy a sin? 25:04 Doug: Good. Good question. 25:06 Yeah. God says, "I'm a jealous God." 25:10 And this is an emotion that is appropriate. 25:12 If a man is married, he loves his wife and he feels no 25:16 protection or possessiveness if someone is infringing on their 25:20 relationship, that is unnatural. 25:22 When God says He's a jealous God, it means He loves us and 25:25 He's not willing to share that love with another god 25:27 or an idol. 25:29 That is normal. That is healthy. 25:31 And so some people are obsessed with inappropriate jealousy. 25:35 They're just not trusting their spouse when there's no reason 25:38 for distrust. 25:39 That's inappropriate. 25:40 So we think about a person who's, you know, jealous that 25:42 someone else is prospering. 25:44 That's inappropriate. 25:45 But biblical jealousy that you would have in a love 25:49 relationship is normal and acceptable. 25:51 This is what God is talking about. 25:53 Jëan: Okay. Very good. 25:54 Well, I'm looking at the clock, Pastor Doug. 25:56 We've got 20 seconds before we're going to take a break. 25:57 Of course, the program's not over. 26:00 We just halfway through. 26:01 Doug: The best is yet to come. 26:03 Jëan: That's right. So when--stand by. 26:05 We'll be--call your friends. Tell them. 26:07 You know, we still got a half an hour to answer your Bible 26:08 questions, and we will be back in just a few moments. 26:11 We'll take a break and then answer more Bible questions. 26:17 announcer: Stay tuned. 26:19 "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly. 26:27 announcer: Have you always wanted to be a Bible expert but 26:30 never knew where to start? 26:31 Are you searching for answers that will bring you joy, peace, 26:35 and fulfillment? 26:36 Then you'll love the Amazing Facts "Storacles of Prophecy" 26:40 Bible study experience now available in 18 languages. 26:44 Featuring 24 easy-to-read lessons, the storacles are 26:48 packed with Scripture and step-by-step guidance that will 26:51 give you absolute confidence about what the Bible actually 26:54 says about the Second Coming, the Rapture, the Antichrist, and 26:58 the mark of the beast. 27:00 You'll also get the truth about hell and the afterlife and 27:03 practical insight about grace, salvation, and how to truly live 27:08 like Jesus. 27:09 Even better, it's absolutely free at storacles.org. 27:14 So don't miss out. 27:15 Get started on your Bible study adventure today 27:19 at storacles.org. 27:26 announcer: Can't get enough Amazing Facts Bible study? 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29:00 "The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem" presents the vital history you 29:04 need to know about Jerusalem and its role in end-time 29:07 Bible prophecy. 29:08 This Amazing Facts edition of the classic volume "The Great 29:11 Controversy" is the perfect sharing book. 29:14 Get your copy at afbookstore.com. 29:21 announcer: You're listening to "Bible Answers Live" where every 29:24 question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His 29:28 plan to save you. 29:29 So what are you waiting for? 29:31 Get practical answers about the good book for a better 29:34 life today. 29:38 This broadcast is a previously-recorded episode. 29:41 If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the 29:44 air, please call us next Sunday between 7 p.m. 29:48 and 8 p.m. Pacific time. 29:50 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this 29:53 evening's program, call 800-835-6747. 29:58 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 30:03 Now, let's rejoin our hosts for more "Bible Answers Live." 30:09 Doug: We are back. 30:10 Welcome, friends, again to "Bible Answers Live." 30:12 If you're tuning in along the way, we are a live, 30:15 international, interactive Bible study. 30:17 We're not only on radio stations, satellite, land-based. 30:20 We are streaming on the Amazing Facts Facebook page, the Doug 30:24 Batchelor Facebook, YouTube channel, and a number of 30:28 other outlets. 30:29 And we're just so thankful that we could be studying the Word 30:32 with you. 30:33 My name is Doug Batchelor. 30:34 Jëan: My name is Jëan Ross, and we've got Jay in Canada that 30:37 he's standing by with a question about 1 Timothy chapter 2. 30:41 Jay, welcome to the program. 30:43 Jay: Yeah. 30:44 So my question is for that verse that says, "I do not permit a 30:48 woman to teach or to have authority for--over a man. 30:52 She must remain silent." 30:54 My question is, is that just for the culture of the day or is 30:59 that still applied today maybe only in the church or just 31:02 applied today in general? 31:05 Doug: No. 31:06 I think that generally speaking in spiritual matters Paul's not 31:08 saying that, you know, in a marriage there are areas in 31:12 domestic life where women are in charge. 31:14 You know, Karen and I have a good working relationship. 31:18 There are certain things that she does and certain things that 31:21 I do, and she is the chief of certain areas. 31:25 But when it comes to being the priest of the family, spiritual 31:28 leader--and the church is an extension. 31:30 Church is a combination of families. 31:32 Men are to be--are supposed to be the spiritual leaders in 31:36 their households. 31:38 Now, in the case where a woman becomes a believer and she's 31:40 married to an unbeliever, she will need to take the lead on 31:43 teaching the children the Word. 31:45 But in a regular Christian family the man should be taking 31:50 the lead, and you only see men offering sacrifice and 31:55 fulfilling the priestly functions in the Bible. 31:58 So there is a distinction in roles. 32:00 But does that mean a woman can never speak in the church? 32:03 No. 32:05 Because we have examples in the Bible where women did speak. 32:07 But it's talking about having--teaching of 32:09 the authority. 32:10 The final authority was to rest with the men. 32:12 Jëan: Also, if you read on a little further in the chapter, 32:14 Paul talks about having all things done decently and 32:16 in order. 32:18 It appears that there were some issues that were being 32:20 addressed, especially in the church of Corinth where there 32:22 was a little bit of chaos from time to time, it seems, in the 32:25 church where people were talking over other people and there was 32:28 too much noise and perhaps the woman in the group in the church 32:32 were calling down to their men who was sitting in 32:34 a different area. 32:35 And Paul is saying, "No, let's keep reverend. 32:38 Let's do everything decent and in order. 32:40 And, you know, this is not the time to talk back and forth 32:43 during the service." 32:45 Doug: I know it probably surprises people. 32:46 You and I have traveled a lot. 32:47 We've been in churches where--in the Middle East and India the 32:51 men and women do not sit together, and the object 32:55 the--they're figuring, you know, keep your mind pure, so they 32:58 separate them. 32:59 And women in Corinth were maybe calling across the aisle, so to 33:02 speak, or up to the balcony and--asking their husbands 33:06 questions, kind of embarrassing their husbands. 33:09 And Paul said, "Talk at home. 33:10 Don't do that here." 33:12 Jëan: In other words, they were calling down to their husband. 33:14 "Did you hear that? 33:16 Are you listening? 33:17 Pay attention." 33:18 All right, next caller that we have is Amanda in Nebraska. 33:21 Amanda, welcome to the program. 33:23 Amanda: Hello. 33:25 Doug: Hi. Thanks for calling. 33:27 Amanda: Yeah, I just had a question on Leviticus 19:23 33:28 through 25. 33:30 Do you have any idea what that significance could be? 33:31 Doug: Yeah, let me read that for our friends. 33:33 "When you come into the land and you've planted all kinds of 33:36 trees for food, then you shall count their fruit 33:38 as uncircumcised. 33:39 Three years it shall be uncircumcised to you. 33:41 It shall not be eaten. 33:42 But in the fourth year all the fruit shall be holy, 33:45 a praise to the Lord. 33:46 In the fifth year you may eat its fruit and it may yield to 33:48 you its increase. 33:50 I am the Lord Your God." 33:51 That in particular or are you talking about the--I think 33:54 that's the main one you're talking about. 33:55 Is that right, Amanda? 33:57 Amanda: Yeah. 33:58 Doug: Yeah, the--I know that so--yeah, I know that may seem a 34:02 little odd, but they're actually trees that start bearing fruit. 34:08 They--just like a lot of creatures, they have a maturity 34:12 where the fruit will be, I think, the best after a few 34:16 years of bearing. 34:18 If you strip a tree too much when it's young, it also 34:21 can't--might not survive. 34:23 It's almost like it needs to grow a little bit and then 34:29 you're going to have the best fruit. 34:30 There may be a spiritual analogy to that. 34:33 Often, the first fruits belonged to the Lord when it came to 34:36 animals giving birth. 34:37 And so this may have been something where they said, you 34:40 know, "Take the fruit. 34:42 Give it to the creatures." 34:43 But it belongs to the Lord for--the first few years. 34:45 Jëan: And then actually the promise is that it'll produce 34:47 even more fruit. 34:48 And we know that if the plant has a chance to kind of--you 34:50 know, those first few years it's important. 34:53 So there's practical reasons, but also it's a recognition that 34:55 everything comes from God. 34:56 He provides food for us. 34:58 He sustains us. 34:59 So it's dual application, I think. 35:00 Dual meaning there. 35:02 Thank you, Amanda. 35:03 We've got Ellen listening in North Carolina, and she's got 35:05 a question about the second commandment. 35:07 Ellen, welcome to the program. 35:09 Ellen: Oh, hi. 35:10 Thank you so much, pastors, for taking my call. 35:12 I just have to thank you. 35:14 We--my family has learned so much from this program. 35:16 Thank you for this ministry. 35:17 The second commandment, pretty basic and I'm having trouble. 35:21 I know Jesus said, you know, "Remember me." 35:23 And he was a man. 35:25 So--and also with, you know, different teachings and even in 35:30 Sunday school for the children--or Saturday school for 35:33 the children with kids stories and pictures of Jesus, movies of 35:37 Jesus, the Ten Commandments. 35:38 Could you speak about that please in terms of what it says 35:41 in Deuteronomy and the second commandment? 35:43 Doug: Yes, it's in both Deuteronomy and in Exodus where 35:46 you find the Ten Commandments. 35:47 Let me just read it for our friends. 35:49 "You'll not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of 35:52 anything in the heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, 35:55 or that is in the water under the earth. 35:56 You shall not bow down yourself to them nor serve them. 36:00 For I, the Lord Your God, am a jealous God, visiting the 36:03 iniquity of the fathers on the children unto the third and 36:05 fourth generations of those that hate Me, but showing mercy and 36:08 to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments." 36:12 God did not want us making images of anything and 36:17 worshiping it. 36:19 This is not a complete or a comprehensive prohibition about 36:23 making any kind of a likeness of anything by itself. 36:27 It said do not make a likeness and bow down to it. 36:31 Proof for that would be a little later you see in the Bible where 36:35 God instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent of all things. 36:39 Jesus even refers to that. 36:40 They looked at it and they would live. 36:43 They were healed from the venom. 36:45 When Solomon built the temple, he put this great big bronze 36:48 bathtub that held the water for the priest to wash. 36:52 It wasn't for their--them to climb in. 36:55 It was on 12 oxen. 36:57 Now, they weren't to pray to the oxen, and they all knew that. 36:59 It was just ornamental. 37:01 In the sanctuary, God told them that they were to engrave angels 37:05 on the walls of the holy place and in the veil. 37:08 So God wouldn't say, "Don't do this. 37:11 Don't make any kind of a likeness of anything or you'll 37:15 be killed." 37:16 And then say, "Now don't forget to make images of cherubim on 37:20 top of the ark." 37:21 There are two angels on top of the ark. 37:23 The key is we shouldn't pray to these things. 37:25 Now, there is a risk. 37:27 You know, I think whenever we start making representations or 37:31 facsimiles or paintings or statues of Jesus some people 37:35 are, you know, like inclined to pray to those things. 37:39 They think there's some kind of a sacred relic. 37:41 During the time of Hezekiah when the people started burning 37:44 incense to the bronze serpent that somehow had survived all 37:47 those years, he said that's just a piece of brass and he crushed 37:51 it and threw it away just like Moses crushed the golden calf 37:55 and said, "Drink the water. 37:56 Don't worship these things." 37:58 So I don't know if that helps a little bit; but yeah, it's not 38:05 a sin to make a representation of something. 38:08 We need to be careful if people are--I know I'm kind of hemming 38:16 and hawing here because I sure don't want to lead anyone wrong. 38:19 I was with Karen in Russia. 38:21 It's interesting. 38:22 The Catholic Church prays to statues, but in the Orthodox 38:24 Church they pray to paintings. 38:27 And we brought as gifts to Russia paintings from the book 38:31 of Revelation 'cause we were doing a Revelation seminar. 38:34 When the pastors saw that, they kind of rolled their eyes 38:37 thinking, "What's happened to the American church?" 38:40 Because they tell their people--he said, "These folks 38:42 are going to pin that up on the wall and put a candle in front 38:45 of it and they're going to pray to this picture that you've got 38:48 from the book of Revelation." 38:49 And I thought, "Oh, man, I don't want to do anything 38:51 to make anyone stumble." 38:52 So you got to keep that in mind as well. 38:54 You know, a lot of good Christian people might have 38:56 a picture of Jesus at the Last Supper on the wall and they 38:59 don't pray to it, and it--it's not any kind of a relic, it's 39:03 a piece of art. 39:04 So there's a balance there. 39:06 But if you have any doubts, do the safe thing. 39:08 Jëan: Okay, thank you very much. 39:10 Next caller that we have is Paul in Australia, and he has 39:13 a question about John chapter 8, verse 56. 39:15 Paul, welcome to the program. 39:17 Thank you. 39:18 Thank you so much for answering my call. 39:20 My question is John chapter 8, verse 56. 39:27 Jesus said to the Jews, that is Abraham, "Your father Abraham 39:31 will see my day and rejoice." 39:34 So which mean that is Abraham in the heaven or he's not in 39:38 the heaven? 39:39 If in the heaven, why the Bible is not record it? 39:41 And if it's not in the heaven, why did Jesus say that? 39:45 Doug: Yeah, when Jesus said, "Abraham saw my day and he 39:49 rejoiced," your father Abraham rejoiced to see, that means 39:52 he rejoiced looking forward to his day. 39:54 When Abraham took his son up on the mountain and offered his 39:58 only begotten son--he didn't quite complete the offering 40:01 'cause an angel stopped him. 40:03 God, I think, revealed to Abraham, "I am going to give 40:06 My Son." 40:08 And Abraham understood that God so loved the world He would give 40:12 His Son. 40:13 He saw--Abraham then saw on Mount Moriah the day of 40:18 Christ coming. 40:19 He understood what the mission of Christ was and he rejoiced. 40:22 It doesn't mean Abraham was up in heaven looking down and 40:25 rejoicing 'cause Abraham's dead. 40:28 He's sleeping until the Resurrection. 40:31 So it says Abraham slept. 40:34 Jëan: So one might say that Abraham saw it in 40:36 vision perhaps. 40:38 God revealed to him what was yet to come. 40:41 Okay, very good. Well, thank you. 40:42 Thanks, Paul. Hopefully that helps. 40:43 We got Joseph in Florida, and Joseph is asking a question 40:47 about Matthew chapter 18. 40:49 Joseph, welcome to the program. 40:52 Joseph: Hi. Thank you for taking my call. 40:54 The question I had was when Peter had asked Jesus, "How 40:58 many times should I forgive my brother?" 41:02 and he said up to seven times thinking that that was, you 41:05 know, the limit or the ultimate, and Jesus referred no, 41:11 7 times 70. 41:13 That--was he reflecting to the 70-week prophecy, the 490-day 41:18 year prophecy of Daniel 9:24 that God had allotted to the 41:22 Jewish nation to repent? 41:25 Doug: You know, that's very perceptive because Daniel in 41:28 chapter 9 is praying, and God had been so merciful with 41:31 the nation. 41:32 He's wondering, "How long, you know, will You bear with 41:35 Your people?" 41:37 Because he--God answers and says 70 weeks are cut off for 41:40 the nation. 41:42 There would be 70 times 7, 490 years of mercy now. 41:48 And you find seven is often associated with forgiveness. 41:51 It says God cast seven devils out of Mary Magdalene. 41:55 A righteous man falls seven times and rises again. 41:59 Job says, "He will deliver me in six times. 42:02 Yes, seven. No evil will befall me." 42:04 So the number seven is often associated with perfect 42:07 forgiveness, which is probably why Peter said seven times. 42:11 But Jesus said, "No, 70 times 7." 42:14 Now, God is not in heaven with a ledger that is counting how many 42:17 times you sin because all of us listening probably would have 42:21 used up our 490 times a long time ago. 42:24 He's basically saying that as long as we're willing to 42:27 genuinely repent He will forgive. 42:31 So, yeah, beautiful thought. 42:33 But I do think there's kind of an illusion there he's making. 42:36 Jëan: That's right. 42:37 Sort of there is a probationary time coming. 42:39 Forgiveness does end at some point. 42:41 All right, thank you. 42:43 We've got Chelsea in Florida. 42:44 Chelsea, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 42:48 Chelsea: Hi, good evening. How are you both? 42:50 Doug: Good. 42:52 Chelsea: So my question is, how do I explain to other Christians 42:55 of different denominational backgrounds basically the 42:58 importance of studying biblical doctrines, like the truth about 43:01 hell, the Second Coming? 43:04 And also, if they've never been exposed to like the three-angels 43:07 message and the truth and revelation--like, for example, 43:11 I guess we're setting the truth about hell fire and then like 43:15 maybe if someone says, "Well, these details don't 43:18 really matter. 43:19 It just matters if we all believe in Jesus Christ and that 43:23 he's our Savior and that's it. 43:24 We don't have to really study the details." 43:27 So how do I explain the importance of these doctrines 43:30 to them? 43:31 Doug: Well, that's a great question. 43:33 And I was exercising my mind about that just last week in 43:38 visiting with some friends. 43:41 And yeah, a lot of Christians will say, "Well, as long as we 43:45 love the Lord--" And it is true that love for God is premier, 43:48 and there are going to be Christians from many faiths 43:51 in heaven. 43:52 But understanding doctrine affects our picture of God. 43:55 For example, the unbiblical teaching that the wicked burn 44:01 through ceaseless ages for the sins of one lifetime it distorts 44:05 the picture of God and makes Him look like He's unjust and He 44:08 enjoys watching His creatures suffer. 44:10 There is a hell and there is a punishment. 44:12 People need to understand that. 44:14 But the idea that zillions of years go by and they've never 44:17 even begun burning is just a horrific thought when you think 44:21 about it, and the Bible doesn't teach that. 44:24 So understanding the truth about that doctrine actually sets 44:28 you free. 44:30 Jesus said the truth will set you free. 44:31 So I would tell people that misunderstanding the particulars 44:37 changes their ability to love God. 44:40 They can love Him more when they understand the truth. 44:43 Jëan: And then also I think it's important for us to realize that 44:46 as we near the end of time the truths that have been revealed 44:50 in Scripture and especially in prophecy are extremely important 44:53 to help us so we are not deceived. 44:56 Because the Jesus said in the last days there will be many 44:59 false prophets and many false christs and they deceive many. 45:03 So we need to test everything by the Word of God. 45:05 And so understanding these important truths will be 45:07 a safeguard to help us in the last days in particular. 45:11 For example, before Jesus came the first time, people had 45:14 different ideas. 45:15 But if you didn't understand the nature of Christ's first coming, 45:19 meaning that he was going to come as a Savior and you thought 45:21 he was going to come as a conquering king; if you 45:23 misunderstood how Christ was going to come, you very likely 45:28 would reject him. 45:29 So at the last days, you know, understanding how Jesus will 45:33 come and the scenes connected with that becomes very important 45:36 because we don't want to be set up by the devil impersonating 45:41 the Second Coming of Jesus. 45:42 Doug: Good point. Yeah. 45:43 The person of not knowing the truth about that doctrine 45:45 can set them up for a major deception. 45:48 Hope that helps. 45:49 Thank you, Chelsea. A good, good point. 45:51 Jëan: All right. We've got Jordan in Georgia. 45:54 Jordan, welcome to the program. 45:56 Jordan: I just had a question on how do I study the Bible and, 46:00 like, take notes and stuff like that. 46:02 Doug: That's--well, that's a good question. 46:04 Everyone does it a little different. 46:07 I know Karen when she's listening to a sermon she's got 46:09 a separate pad. 46:11 She takes notes and she sticks them in her Bible and her Bible 46:13 ends up being twice its original size 'cause she's inserting 46:16 papers all the time. 46:18 Some people when they're studying the Bible--I have 46:21 a color-coded--it's like a pencil that's got three or four 46:25 different colored crayons in it that I can click down and I 46:29 underline, and the different colors mean different things. 46:31 So as I'm preaching it helps me highlight. 46:34 And then I take a pencil and I write in the margin a few words. 46:38 So that helps me in my Bible study. 46:40 We use Bible software. 46:42 I use a program called Logos where I can actually make notes 46:46 in the software that will reappear later. 46:49 So I save my notes, and you can copy them and back them up so 46:52 you don't ever lose them. 46:53 And--so some people now are transferring a lot of their 46:56 study to digital notes in Bible study, and that's 47:01 actually--computers have accelerated my study ability 100 47:04 times from when I started. 47:06 Jëan: You know, I've got a whole bunch of stuff on my computer, 47:08 but the most important file that I've got on my computer are all 47:12 of the sermon notes and the study notes over the years. 47:15 I'll make sure I backed that up on the cloud because I don't 47:17 want to lose that. 47:18 I like to study, and I like to do cross reference. 47:21 I like to read commentaries on the different verses and then 47:23 kind of condense it down to central thought of what's the 47:27 takeaway from that verse, so to speak. 47:29 And then I like to keep that together. 47:30 So find something that works and it'll enhance your Bible study. 47:35 Doug: Yeah. Some people take more notes. 47:37 Some people actually use a recorder. 47:39 When I'm driving down the road I have a tape recorder, 47:42 an old-fashioned little handheld tape recorder, and I record 47:46 thoughts that come to me because I know I'll forget by the time 47:49 I get home. 47:51 Jëan: All right. Thank you. 47:52 Next caller that we have is Cindy, and she is listening 47:55 in Florida. 47:56 Cindy, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 47:58 Cindy: Thank you, pastors. 48:00 I appreciate your ministry. 48:01 I've been watching Pastor Ross on my YouTube on "Sabbath 48:07 School" on Daniel and "Pinnacles of Prophecy." 48:09 I watched doctor--doctor--Pastor Batchelor. 48:14 So my question in general is regarding Daniel and Revelation. 48:20 Why did Christ in prophecy use like animals, the rams, the 48:27 goats, the bear, the earth water, all those? 48:33 Doug: Right, the different symbols. 48:34 Well, two things. 48:36 One, he uses the symbols because most of the apocalyptic 48:40 prophecies were written while God's people were captive 48:43 with--under another nation. 48:45 You had--for instance, Babylon had occupied the Jews when 48:51 Daniel had his prophecies, and some of the prophecies talk 48:53 about the fall of Babylon. 48:55 So those sym--those things are couched in symbols. 48:58 Babylon's a lion, for example. 49:00 By the way, when they excavated Babylon, they found lions with 49:03 wings on the walls, which is what they saw in vision. 49:07 Then another thing to keep in mind is the Israelites 49:10 were shepherds. 49:12 It was a nation of shepherds to begin with. 49:15 So when it's talking about the sheep and the goat that are 49:19 fighting, those are clean animals. 49:21 Then you get to the bear, the leopard, the lion, those are 49:24 unclean animals. 49:25 There's actually meaning there as well. 49:27 So, you know, these common animals were used as symbols 49:34 and--you know, in the Bible, a lamb, of course a type 49:38 of Christ. 49:39 Water represented a multitude of people. 49:41 Stormy waters represented times of trouble. 49:44 These symbols are given other places. 49:47 Jesus said that, "I speak to you in parables that though the wise 49:50 will understand." 49:52 He wants us to dig a little bit. 49:53 Jëan: And of course some of the things that are revealed in 49:55 prophecy really have to do with kingdoms that were in power at 49:58 the time. 49:59 So, for example, if you go to the 1st century early Christian 50:03 church, there are things revealed in Bible prophecy that 50:07 probably those who were in power had they clearly understood it 50:11 it might have brought even more persecution. 50:14 So it was couched in symbolism that the wise would understand 50:17 it, those who are studying. 50:19 But those who shouldn't know about it didn't understand it, 50:22 and that was true all through the middle ages to the 50:24 dark ages. 50:26 Doug: Okay. Hope that helps a little. 50:29 Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is--let's see. 50:30 We've got Janet in California. Janet, welcome to the program. 50:34 Janet: Hi, yeah, my question is, 50:36 so, if you're saved and when you die you go to 50:40 heaven and--when people die, a lot of people say that, "Okay, 50:43 they're in heaven now and they're with other loved ones 50:46 or friends," or whatever. 50:47 And in the Bible when it talks about Jesus going back for his 50:50 people, it says how the dead will go and then the living. 50:55 So where are you really when you're dead? 50:57 Doug: Yeah. Well, you're very perceptive. 51:00 It's--a lot of misunderstandings about this. 51:02 You know, you read that passage in 2 Corinthians where it says 51:04 "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." 51:07 And for a believer, your next conscious thought when you die 51:12 is the Resurrection, but it hasn't happened yet. 51:15 So the dead are not up there now roaming around looking 51:17 down on us. 51:19 The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes chapter 9, 51:22 the living know they'll die. 51:23 The dead don't know anything. 51:25 David says in Psalms the dead do not praise the Lord. 51:29 Hezekiah repeats something similar. 51:31 The--Jesus said, "Our friend Lazarus is asleep." 51:35 So when a person dies, they are sleeping a dreamless sleep with 51:39 no consciousness of time. 51:41 So for them the next conscious thought if they're saved is the 51:45 Second Coming. 51:47 The trumpet blows. They come out of the graves. 51:49 Right now they are resting in peace. 51:51 That's why you get that on the tombstones that used to say 51:54 R-I-P, RIP, resting in peace. 51:56 So until the Resurrection, the Judgment hasn't happened yet. 52:00 So for the Lord to take people and put them in heaven or hell 52:03 before the Resurrection and before the Judgment and then 52:06 pull them out again to judge them wouldn't make any sense. 52:09 What confuses people is they forget that God lives outside 52:13 of time. 52:14 For us in this world, the Resurrection hasn't happened. 52:17 People are asleep. 52:18 The Bible says those that are in their graves will hear his voice 52:22 and come forth. 52:23 Where are they? 52:25 They're in their graves until the Resurrection. 52:27 So we have a study guide. 52:28 We can send a free copy of that to Janet and anyone who wants to 52:32 know about that subject. 52:33 Jëan: Yeah, just call the number 800-835-6747 and you can ask for 52:38 the study guide. 52:40 It's called "Are the Dead Really Dead?" 52:41 We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. 52:44 That's 800-835-6747. 52:47 You can also dial #250 on your smartphone, say Bible answers 52:50 live, ask for the study guide "Are the Dead Really Dead?" 52:53 And we can send it to you digitally. 52:56 So you'll be able to read it right along. 52:58 We also have a website called deathtruth.com that's filled 53:01 with a lot of great studies and resources and sermons. 53:04 So take a look at that. 53:06 All right. Thank you. 53:07 Do we have Patty on the line, Patty in Idaho? 53:12 Patty: Hi. Hi, pastors. 53:15 Doug: Hi. How are you? 53:17 Patty: Good. Good. 53:19 I have a question. 53:20 I think I'm really trying to gain some better understanding 53:21 of God's character, my question. 53:24 But Revelation 7--or 1:7 says, "He is coming with the clouds. 53:28 Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him." 53:32 And so my question is, is it--I guess I operate under the idea 53:36 that those who pierced him are not saved. 53:38 So they should be a part of the second resurrection after 53:41 the Millennium. 53:42 But he does a special--or what seems to me a special 53:45 resurrection for those. 53:47 Which I know God's character is perfect, but me as a human when 53:51 I read this I can't help but think it's boastful. 53:55 Doug: Yeah. 53:56 Well, I do believe that when the Lord comes there is 54:00 a special resurrection. 54:01 Jesus said at his trial to the high priest, "Hereafter, you 54:05 will see the Son of man coming in the clouds of glory on the 54:07 right hand of power." 54:09 So there will be some who are raised that actually see that, 54:13 and it's like a special resurrection. 54:15 It's an exception. 54:17 Jëan: But it's also just in response to the demand. 54:19 They wanted evidence. 54:20 They said, "Are you the Christ?" 54:22 And they kept pushing him. 54:23 And finally Jesus said, "Well, if you want evidence, 54:25 you'll get it. 54:26 You'll see me coming in the clouds of glory." 54:27 Doug: Yes. Absolutely. 54:31 You know, Pastor Ross, we don't have time to run another 54:33 question before we take our break. 54:35 Some people may not know that we take the break in 54:38 two sections here. 54:39 We have some who are listening on satellite radio and they sign 54:43 off on a different clock than those who are on 54:44 land-based stations. 54:46 For those who are on the land-based stations, if you stay 54:49 by we're going to take a few moments and go through some 54:51 rapid fire Bible questions that come in on the internet. 54:55 And if you have those questions, we're going to tell you how to 54:58 send them in in just a moment. 55:00 For the rest of you, God bless. 55:02 If you've not made your decision to make Jesus Lord of your life, 55:05 do that now. 55:06 We'll be back. 55:11 announcer: Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. 55:13 We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. 55:17 "Bible Answers Live" is produced by Amazing Facts International, 55:21 a faith-based ministry located in Granite Bay, California. 55:27 Jëan: Hello, friends. 55:28 Welcome back to "Bible Answers Live," those of you who are able 55:30 to stay by for our email questions. 55:32 If you'd like to send us a question via email, the email 55:35 address is just simply 55:37 BALquestions@amazingfacts.org, BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. 55:43 Pastor Doug, first question tonight, "Why do we wear shoes 55:46 in church if being in the presence of God is on 55:49 holy ground?" 55:50 Doug: Well, there are a few exceptions in the Bible when it 55:53 tells us that God told Joshua and He told Moses, "Take your 55:57 shoes off. 55:59 You're on holy ground." 56:00 They were in the physical presence of the Christ and God's 56:05 glory at that time. 56:08 It doesn't tell us that the Levites were to take their shoes 56:11 off when they went into the temple, and, you know, they were 56:14 ministering for the Lord. 56:15 So the high priest may have done that when he went in on the 56:18 holy days, on the--what do you call it? 56:20 The Day of Atonement. 56:21 But I think on day to day they were, you know, busy butchering 56:25 animals and stuff. 56:26 Some countries do. 56:27 If that's the custom for respect, I'd say do whatever 56:30 they do. 56:31 You and I were at a church in India that had over 100,000 56:35 members and several services. 56:37 They all took off their shoes before they came in. 56:40 It was really--and they managed--most of them got their 56:41 shoes back after the service. 56:44 So I'd say whatever--do whatever is respectful. 56:46 Jëan: Okay, another question that we have, "Can you explain 56:49 the rapture of the church?" 56:51 Doug: Yeah, well, the--God is not going to rapture the church 56:55 separately from when He raptures the saints. 56:58 Some people think that from Revelation chapter 4 on is--the 57:03 church goes to heaven when it says, "I saw a door open 57:05 in heaven." 57:07 I respectfully disagree. 57:08 I don't think that's what is happening there in Revelation 57:10 chapter 4. 57:11 Several things in Revelation, after chapter 4, 57:13 describe the church in the world. 57:15 It's not just talking about Israel. 57:17 And so the idea that the church is going to be raptured and 57:21 saved from tribulation, that's a pleasant thought. 57:24 But my Bible says he that endures to the end will be saved 57:28 and that God's people are going to be saved through tribulation, 57:32 not from tribulation. 57:34 And I think we even have a book on that. 57:35 If they read "Anything But Secret." 57:37 You can ask for a free copy of "Anything But Secret," and that 57:41 will explain that subject. 57:42 Jëan: All right, last question. 57:44 "Do you think Judas Iscariot would have been forgiven if he 57:46 repented after the Resurrection?" 57:49 Doug: Well, of course he killed himself before the Resurrection. 57:51 But I think if he had sincerely repented, Jesus would have 57:55 forgived him. 57:56 But he had grieved away the Holy Spirit 57:58 there in the Upper Room. 57:59 He kind of had his last chance when Jesus offered to wash his 58:02 feet, and the Bible says that Satan entered him. 58:05 He went out, and it was night. 58:07 Friends, don't let that happen to you. 58:09 And God willing we're going to be studying His Word 58:11 again next week. 58:12 Keep Jesus first in your life, and we'll get together. 58:15 And go to amazingfacts.org. 58:19 announcer: "Bible Answers Live," honest and accurate answers 58:23 to your Bible questions. |
Revised 2024-06-12