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Series Code: AFBA
Program Code: AFBA202408S
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00:03 male announcer: It is the best selling book in history, no
00:06 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: Hi friends. 00:51 Would you like to hear an amazing fact? 00:53 Antibiotics like penicillin are chemicals effective at killing 00:57 or stopping the growth of a microscopic disease 01:00 causing bacteria. 01:02 Ironically, history's greatest miracle drug was discovered 01:06 quite by accident. 01:08 In 1928, Alexander Fleming, Scottish physician and 01:11 microbiologist, returned from vacation to his messy laboratory 01:15 at St. Mary's Hospital in London and he noticed something odd. 01:19 He left some plates with bacteria cultures on a bench in 01:23 the corner. 01:24 On examination, he noticed one of them was growing mold. 01:28 Fleming observed that the bacteria nearest to the mold 01:31 growing was dying. 01:33 Something in the mold was killing the bacteria. 01:37 Fleming discovered the mold was penicillium, one of the top 01:40 three most common airborne fungi. 01:43 It took years before his discovery was refined by others, 01:46 tested, and manufactured on a mass scale. 01:49 Before penicillin, the number one killers in the world were 01:53 things like tuberculosis, pneumonia, diarrhea, scarlet 01:56 fever, meningitis, infections from wounds or even surgery. 02:01 Penicillin's ability to cure people of what were once fatal 02:04 bacterial infections has saved over 200 million lives. 02:09 It's easy to understand why it's called a miracle drug. 02:13 You know, it tells us, Pastor Ross, in the Bible that there is 02:16 a substance infinitely more powerful than the 02:19 strongest antibiotics. 02:21 Jëan Ross: That's correct, Pastor Doug. 02:23 It is something that can not only cure sickness, but more 02:26 importantly, the sickness of sin and to eternal death. 02:31 And of course, we're talking about the blood of Christ, 02:33 the cross. 02:35 Doug: Amen. 02:36 You can read a couple of scriptures here. 02:37 Hebrews 9, verse 14. 02:39 "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the 02:42 eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse 02:46 your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" 02:50 And then there's another powerful verse in Ephesians 1:7. 02:53 "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the 02:57 forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." 03:02 I remember, Pastor Ross, when I first started looking into the 03:05 Christian religion. 03:06 I thought, it's kind of gory. 03:08 They talked about power in the blood and saved by the blood and 03:11 washed by the blood. 03:13 And I thought, this is a bloody religion. 03:15 And--but then I came to understand that, you know, the 03:18 Bible says the life is in the blood and Christ, in giving His 03:21 blood, He gave his life, and we are washed by His life and we 03:26 are healed and empowered by His life and His sacrifice of 03:29 His life. 03:30 And so, in a sense, He gives us a transfusion of His purity to 03:37 heal us from our disease. 03:38 So, in that sense, the blood of Christ washes away our sin. 03:43 And maybe there's some people listening out there that think, 03:46 I need healing, I need salvation and forgiveness for my sins, and 03:52 I think I could use a dose of that cure. 03:55 We have a free offer that talks about that. 03:57 Jëan: We do. 03:58 The book is entitled, "The High Cost of the Cross," and we'll be 04:00 happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks. 04:02 That's our free offer this evening, so take advantage 04:04 of it. 04:06 All you need to do is just call the number 800-835-6747, you can 04:10 ask for offer number 156 or just ask for it by name, "The High 04:14 Cost of the Cross." 04:15 It explains the gospel and shares good news. 04:18 If you'd like to get a digital version of the book, just dial 04:21 pound 250 with your smartphone. 04:24 Again, just say, "Bible Answers Live," and then say, "High Cost 04:27 of the Cross." 04:28 That's pound 250 with your phone and ask for that free gift. 04:32 You know, Pastor Doug, probably one of the most important truths 04:35 that we find in scripture centers on the cross, centers on 04:39 that sacrificial death of Jesus and, just, such an 04:42 important truth. 04:43 Well, before we go to the phone lines, we always like to start 04:45 with prayer, and so let's do that now. 04:47 Dear Lord, we thank You for this time once again when we can open 04:50 up the Bible and study together. 04:51 This is Your book. 04:52 Lord, we pray for the Holy Spirit to come and guide us, 04:54 that same Spirit that inspired the prophets many years ago, we 04:58 ask that that Spirit would guide our hearts and our minds, be 05:01 with those who are listening wherever they might be, in 05:03 Jesus's name, amen. 05:05 Doug: Amen. 05:06 Jëan: Well, our first caller this evening, we've got Jerry 05:08 listening in Texas. 05:09 Jerry, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 05:12 Jerry: Good evening, gentlemen. 05:14 I have a question in my Bible readings this morning and refers 05:19 to Numbers 24 and the interactions between Balak 05:24 and Balaam. 05:25 I don't know if it was in a--maybe an insert from an 05:29 inspired writer, but I thought--I understood that Balak 05:34 used sorcery in a couple of his attempts. 05:38 Can you explain that to me? 05:40 Doug: Yeah, well, you have two characters that are mentioned 05:42 here in the book of Numbers 24 and Balaam was a prophet of God. 05:48 Now, keep in mind, there were some Old Testament prophets. 05:52 They knew the Lord and the Lord spoke to them and they weren't 05:54 necessarily Jews. 05:56 You know, Noah is technically a prophet and he was not a Jew. 06:00 So, in Mesopotamia there was someone who worshiped the true 06:02 God, his name was Balaam, but while he started out good, he 06:07 ended up going bad. 06:09 Well, he was known to the other kings as a man that God 06:12 spoke through. 06:13 And so, Balak, knowing that God was with Israel--Balak was the 06:16 king of the Moabites. 06:18 He thought, look, if I can't defeat them with natural means, 06:22 I'm going to fight fire with fire. 06:24 They've got God with them and maybe I can get a prophet of God 06:28 to curse them. 06:29 That was his reasoning. 06:30 And so, he--you know, they were used to, back then, paying 06:33 psychics and sorcerers to try to cast spells, and they told 06:38 Balaam, "Will you come cast a spell or curse Israel?" 06:41 And he said, "No, God's blessed them, I can't." 06:43 They kept offering him more and more money and he got tempted. 06:46 He wanted the honor and the money they were offering. 06:49 So, he said, "Well, I have to see what the Lord says, but I'll 06:51 go if you, you know, if you insist." 06:53 And so, every time he opens his mouth to try to curse Israel, 06:58 blessings come out. 06:59 In fact, one of the blessings of Balaam is where it said, "A star 07:04 will rise out of Jacob," and it's probably the wise men in 07:06 Mesopotamia where Balaam was from that were reading that when 07:10 they came searching for the Christ child. 07:13 So--but Balaam was not using sorcery. 07:15 Balak, the king of the Moabites, was hoping that he would use 07:19 some kind of witchcraft or sorcery to curse them. 07:22 So, hopefully, that helps a little bit, Jerry. 07:24 It's a very interesting story where the donkey ends up talking 07:27 to the prophet. 07:29 Jëan: All right, thank you. 07:31 The next caller that we have is Isaiah listening in Texas. 07:33 Isaiah, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 07:35 Isaiah: Yes, hello. 07:36 Thank you, pastors, for both taking my call. 07:38 I appreciate it. 07:40 Doug: And your question. 07:42 Isaiah: Yes. 07:43 Yes, sir. 07:45 My question is referring to Acts 26:24. 07:48 It's referring over to when Paul was feeling beside himself. 07:54 And I guess with all the learning, it was driving 07:58 him insane. 07:59 Could you please elaborate on that? 08:01 Doug: Paul is making his defense before Festus, who is one of the 08:07 Roman rulers that is going to decide whether or not to set him 08:10 free or to punish him or to send him to Rome. 08:13 And as Paul is talking to him about Jesus and the Resurrection 08:18 Festus says, "Paul, you're beside yourself!" 08:20 Beside yourself is a term that's used to mean you've lost 08:23 your mind. 08:25 And he's saying, "You're beside yourself! 08:27 Much learning has driven you mad!" 08:29 Paul was very educated and he said, "You spend too much time 08:31 reading the prophecies and you're getting caught up in it 08:34 and you're not balanced. 08:36 You've gone mad." 08:37 So, while Paul was not beside himself and he was not crazy, 08:41 and though he was very wise, and so he goes on to say in verse 08:46 25, "I am not mad, most noble Festus, but I'm speaking the 08:51 words of truth and reason. 08:53 For the king, before whom I also speak," and he's talking there 08:57 to Agrippa. 08:58 He said, "He knows the words that I say are true." 09:01 So, there's a couple of rulers that are listening to him and 09:06 one of--when he talks about the Resurrection, he says, 09:08 "You're crazy." 09:09 Jëan: You know, if you look at that same passage, there is a 09:11 cross reference where, Paul now, in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, 09:14 verse 21, speaking of Christ and Him crucified, he said, "To the 09:18 Jew, it's a stumbling block and to the Greeks it's foolishness." 09:22 So, you can understand how here you have this Roman governor who 09:26 talks about, or hears about, the Resurrection, he says, 09:28 "That's craziness. 09:30 You're out of your mind." 09:31 Paul said, "Well, to the unbeliever it's foolishness, but 09:33 to those of us who are saved, it's eternal life," you know, 09:36 "it's wonderful promise." 09:38 Doug: Good point. 09:39 Jëan: So, okay, thank you, Isaiah. 09:40 We've got Joan listening in Australia. 09:42 Joan, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 09:45 Joan: Hello, thank you for taking my call. 09:47 My question tonight is where in the Bible does it say we screen 09:54 or vote people to be members in or out of the church? 09:57 Doug: Well, I don't think you'll find the word vote. 10:02 The teaching that people need to be clear before they're added, 10:08 you know, before baptism, Philip asked--I'm sorry, the Ethiopian 10:12 treasurer asked Philip, and I think this is Acts chapter 8, he 10:15 said, "What prevents me from being baptized?" 10:18 And he said, "Well, if you believe with all your heart," 10:20 that's the one thing, is you got to believe to be part of 10:22 the church. 10:24 You need to be willing to obey God's commandments. 10:27 In Matthew chapter 28 Jesus said, "Go therefore, teach all 10:30 nations," or certain teaching. 10:32 Teaching what? 10:34 He says, "Teaching them to observe all things that I've 10:35 commanded you." 10:36 So, a person should not be part of the church or be baptized if 10:39 they don't believe the commandments of God. 10:41 And then Paul later says that if someone, and Jesus says it also 10:45 in Matthew 18, if someone will not listen to the authority of 10:49 the church, then they should be put out and treated like 10:52 an infidel. 10:54 I think he says a "publican." 10:55 Paul talks in 1 Corinthians 7 about a man that was sleeping 10:58 with his stepmother and he said, "You need to put that man out." 11:01 He was, you know, clearly bringing shame on the cause. 11:05 And so, there's a criteria. 11:07 And then when they were baptized in Acts chapter 2, it says, 11:10 "They were added to the church," and the term they're added 11:13 means, like, brought within the fold, they're becoming part 11:16 of something. 11:17 So you see, there's a criteria for coming in and for going out 11:22 and it's believing the teachings of Jesus. 11:25 Does that make sense, Joan? 11:27 Joan: Thank you. 11:29 Doug: All right, thanks so much. 11:30 Appreciate your question. 11:32 Jëan: All right, we've got Britney listening in California. 11:33 Britney, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 11:35 Britney: Hey, hey. 11:37 Doug: Hi, how are you doing, Britney? 11:40 Britney: Oh, pretty good. 11:42 Doug: And what's your question tonight? 11:45 Britney: Yeah, my question is, should a Christian celebrate 11:49 Cesar Chavez Day? 11:51 Doug: Well, you know, there's--there are some people 11:55 that are notable in society, you know, there's Martin Luther 11:59 King's Day, they've got President's Day, that is 12:02 actually honoring both Washington and Lincoln. 12:05 So, when you say celebrate, you know, there's no religious 12:09 celebration going on on any of those days. 12:13 People might want to, you know, enjoy and commemorate their 12:17 achievements, but, you know, there's no mandate in the Bible 12:24 to celebrate, I guess, anybody but Jesus. 12:27 Matter of fact, we don't even really have a command to 12:29 remember Christmas. 12:31 That's more of a tradition than a command. 12:33 So, yeah, nothing in the Bible says to celebrate Cesar 12:38 Chavez Day. 12:39 So, hey, thanks Britney. 12:41 I hope that helps. 12:42 Jëan: We've got Deborah in Canada, Deborah, welcome to 12:43 "Bible Answers Live." 12:45 Deborah: Hi, pastors. 12:46 How are you doing? 12:48 Doug: Great. 12:49 Thanks for calling. 12:50 Deborah: Good. 12:52 I have a question about the raven. 12:53 The bird, the raven. 12:54 I know Noah, in Genesis 8:7, let it out of the ark. 12:59 It was the first bird to be let out. 13:01 And in Kings--1 Kings, the raven was--the ravens were used to 13:07 feed Elijah. 13:08 I was just wondering if there was any significance as to why 13:13 God would choose, what we know in the Mosaic Law, as an 13:17 unclean bird. 13:18 Doug: Yeah, that is interesting. 13:19 I think that the reason that the Lord chose the raven is, first 13:25 of all, Elijah and Noah were not told to eat ravens. 13:29 The ravens are probably--they're in the corvid family and they're 13:33 the smartest--one of the smartest birds. 13:36 I think their intelligence is, they say, even above a dog. 13:39 They know how to use tools. 13:41 They live a long time. 13:43 They grieve when another raven dies. 13:46 And they can actually--some ravens can learn to mimic 13:49 certain sounds like, you know, parrots do. 13:53 So, they're extremely bright birds and I think God guided 13:58 them into the palace of Ahab to take food from Ahab and bring it 14:02 to Elijah. 14:03 I can't prove that, but it's fun to think. 14:06 So, yeah. 14:08 And they're--what do you call it? 14:09 Ravens are kind of omnivores, so they could bring 14:11 almost anything. 14:13 Yeah, it's not like a hummingbird, it's just going to 14:15 get nectar. 14:16 Jëan: And it's a big bird, so it can carry. 14:17 Doug: Yeah, that's true. 14:19 Jëan: All right, thank you, Deborah. 14:21 Good point. 14:22 We've got Gary in Illinois. 14:23 Gary, welcome to the program. 14:25 Gary: Thank you. 14:26 Are we entering the first trumpet judgment, you know, 14:28 considering the recent extreme weather like wildfires in Texas 14:33 and hail storms? 14:34 I get this from Revelation 8:7. 14:37 Doug: Yeah, I don't know, Pastor Ross, you want to--? 14:40 Jëan: I can read the verse. 14:41 It says, "And the first angel sounded: and there was hail, 14:42 followed with--mingled with blood," and it says, "they were 14:45 thrown to the earth, and a third of the trees were burnt up, and 14:48 the green grass was burnt up." 14:50 Of course, the book of Revelation is a prophetic book 14:53 and it's filled with symbols, right, from the very beginning 14:55 of the book all the way to the end. 14:57 You talk about horses galloping across the sky and you've got a 15:00 red horse and a white horse and a black horse and a pale horse 15:03 and a lot of symbolisms that you find in the book--. 15:06 Doug: Dragon with seven heads, you don't see that every day. 15:08 Jëan: Yeah, that's right, and beasts coming up from the sea 15:09 and the earth and--so, yeah, this is part of the trumpets and 15:12 the trumpets kind of go through the history from the time of 15:16 Christ all the way through until our time. 15:18 And the fifth trumpet, it's got--talking about trees being 15:21 burnt up and green grass being burnt up. 15:23 In the Bible, trees are often associated with people and green 15:26 grass would be a symbol for people, once again, or large 15:30 groups of people. 15:32 It's really talking about a judgment that was to come upon 15:34 those part of the Roman Empire that had persecuted 15:38 the Christians. 15:40 There was attacks from the various barbarian tribes that 15:42 entered the land. 15:44 You also have the Muslim tribes, or the Muslim movement, under 15:47 the Ottoman Empire and the Turks that were coming in, entering 15:50 into Europe. 15:52 So, that had a broader historical application with 15:55 reference to this fifth trumpet, not so much a 15:57 literal application. 15:59 Although, you know, the Bible does speak about the earth 16:01 getting old like a garment and it talks about the sea and the 16:04 waves roaring as signs connected with the coming of Christ or 16:07 close to the coming of Christ. 16:08 And yes, there are changes in our environment and I think 16:12 there are signs. 16:13 Bible speaks of earthquakes in divers places, so there are 16:16 things happening in the natural world that are warning signs as 16:19 to the imminent coming of Christ. 16:22 Doug: Yeah, and, of course, it tells us in Revelation that God 16:26 will destroy those that destroy the earth. 16:29 And you can just see that the fires and everything that's 16:34 happening, a lot of them are man made. 16:35 Jëan: And of course, things are a little different nowadays. 16:37 You know, back 100, 200 years ago, these forest fires would 16:41 burn almost all summer long in the mountains here in California 16:45 and they would burn out a lot of the underbrush. 16:47 Whereas, you know--. 16:48 Doug: The trees were big and they'd survive. 16:50 Jëan: Yeah, we're putting fires out and so it's only increasing 16:52 the vegetation that can burn. 16:54 It's dry, and so, yeah, things have changed. 16:57 The environment has changed. 16:58 Doug: All right, well, thank you. 17:00 Appreciate that, Gary. 17:01 Jëan: We've got Glenn listening in Ohio. 17:02 Glenn, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 17:04 Glenn: Thanks again for taking my call. 17:07 You know, when God spoke to Noah in the 11th chapter of Genesis, 17:11 He told him to get busy and replenish the earth. 17:15 And all translations agree with that replenishing of the earth, 17:19 but when you go to Genesis 1:28 where Yahweh is speaking to Adam 17:24 and Eve, He tells them also, according to the King James 17:28 translation, to replenish the earth. 17:31 I see that as either a blemish in the King James Version of the 17:34 Bible or something else that needs to be talked about. 17:37 Can you help me? 17:38 Doug: Yeah, well, when God tells him to fill the--the word I've 17:42 got, and I'm reading the New King James, He said that "they 17:46 should fill the earth." 17:48 And you know, God told Adam and Eve, "I want you to populate 17:52 the earth." 17:53 Originally, they were in the garden, after sin they were 17:55 evicted from the garden. 17:57 Are you thinking that there was maybe a population before Adam 18:01 and Eve that needed to be replaced? 18:04 Glenn: I think that might be worth the consideration because 18:07 it's the only translation that talks about Adam and Eve, the 18:11 replenishing the earth. 18:14 Doug: Yeah, well, I think, like I said, this translation--and by 18:19 the way, there--the King James translation, while it is 18:22 wonderful, is not perfect. 18:25 It was done by men. 18:26 They were not angels that translated the King James Bible. 18:30 And there are a couple of places where they maybe didn't have the 18:32 best choice of words or there's some inconsistency. 18:35 This is a place where I think that the word "be fruitful and 18:38 fill the earth" is more appropriate because there's 18:40 nothing in the Genesis record that says that there was a 18:44 civilization before Adam and Eve that needed to be replaced. 18:47 It's--goes sequentially from the days of Creation to Adam's 18:51 creation to Eve to the Fall. 18:54 There's no other scenario of some other race that was wiped 18:59 out that needed to be replaced, that you can squeeze in there. 19:02 Jëan: Sin, the consequence of sin, is death and we know, 19:05 according to the Bible, that sin started with Adam and Eve. 19:09 Doug: There's no death before that. 19:10 Jëan: Yeah, if they were the ones to replenish the earth, 19:12 meaning they were to replace a population beforehand that had 19:14 died, how would they have died if there had been no sin? 19:18 So. 19:19 Doug: Good point. 19:20 Jëan: And if you look at the other translations, it says, "Be 19:22 fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it." 19:25 So, I think that's a better translation there. 19:27 Next caller that we have is Henry, listening in New York. 19:29 Henry, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 19:31 My question is, if you go to heaven and your name is written 19:35 in the book of life, do you have to take communion before you get 19:39 into heaven? 19:40 Doug: Well, it--you know, Jesus does say in the, I think it's 19:43 both the Gospel of Matthew, it's repeated in 2 Corinthians, that 19:48 the Lord's Supper, celebrating the--and the Lord's Supper was 19:53 like an extension of the Passover. 19:54 The Passover was, you know, this angel of judgment passes over 19:58 because of the blood of the Lamb. 19:59 Well, when Jesus comes, He knows He is the Passover Lamb, and He 20:03 said, "Except you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no 20:06 life in you," John chapter 6-- So, that's talking about--it's a 20:11 symbol for accepting the life of Jesus and that His blood would 20:15 cleanse us from sin and the teachings of the New Testament, 20:18 the new covenant, that's what the grape juice is a symbol of. 20:22 So, a believer should want to participate, first of all, in 20:27 being part of a church family and communion. 20:29 Now, in our church sometimes we've got some seniors 20:32 that--well, I guess every church you have some people that are 20:34 shut ins, they can't make it. 20:36 And when we have communion, we have elders and pastors that'll 20:38 go and take it to their home and--so that they 20:41 can participate. 20:43 But it--there's only a couple of sacred ordinances that Jesus 20:45 left the church and one of them is baptism. 20:49 Of course, you got marriage, baptism, and you've got the 20:52 communion service. 20:54 So, it's certainly--it's a ratification of our faith that 21:00 should be repeated whenever the church comes together in 21:03 that capacity. 21:05 Jëan: Okay, thank you. 21:06 Doug: Do you have to know it? 21:07 Do you have to do that to go to heaven? 21:09 There'll be people in heaven that maybe didn't have an 21:10 opportunity, for sure. 21:12 But why a believer would not want to is a concern. 21:16 Jëan: Okay, all right. 21:17 We got Lloyd in Arkansas. 21:18 Lloyd, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 21:20 Lloyd: Hello, thank you for having me on and to answer 21:24 my question. 21:26 My question is, is God protecting Satan? 21:30 And if so, what is He protecting him from? 21:34 Doug: Well, when you say is God protecting Satan, Satan is 21:37 living under an impending judgment and Satan is also--he 21:43 is restricted in what he can access. 21:45 The Bible tells us in Revelation 12 that Satan was cast down to 21:50 the earth. 21:51 So, the devil's rebellion against God has been limited to 21:54 our planet. 21:55 And so, as far as God protecting him, well, God gives all of His 22:00 creatures life and people that choose to turn away from God, 22:05 their initial life comes from God. 22:07 He doesn't--God does not exterminate somebody as soon as 22:10 they say, "I don't love You anymore." 22:12 Otherwise, we'd see half the--more than half the 22:15 population would expire right away. 22:17 So, people are sustained by God, He's the one who gives grace to 22:21 the people that even curse Him. 22:24 They couldn't live or take another breath or have another 22:26 heartbeat without God. 22:27 So, in that sense, the devil is still sustained by the initial 22:30 life God gave him, but the devil is not being protected by God. 22:34 I don't think he needs much protection as far as--he's the 22:38 highest of the angels. 22:39 There's no other angel that's harassing him in that way. 22:43 So, I don't know. 22:45 Hopefully I'm answering your question, Lloyd. 22:47 Lloyd: Pastor, thank you very much. 22:48 Doug: All right, thanks so much. 22:50 You take care. 22:51 Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is Efrank in 22:53 New York. 22:55 Efrank, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 22:56 Efrank: Good evening, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross. 22:59 I have a question in regards to the Bible about an issue that 23:05 has to do with how you believe in Jesus on certain occasions. 23:12 There's this South African woman who told me that the way Jesus 23:17 revealed Himself during the persecution of Herod in Africa, 23:22 that she has the right to celebrate and display a 23:25 understanding of her symbolic adherence to what Jesus did 23:32 in Namur. 23:33 Now, I have always believed in the--what Jesus preached 23:37 in Galilee. 23:39 And I just want to know, Pastor Doug, in the Bible, does it say 23:43 that we have to wear any type of apparel or indicative symbols 23:50 indicating that we're Christians and we believe in God and the 23:54 Bible that way? 23:55 Because in the Bible it says that it's harder for a rich man 23:58 to enter the kingdom of God than someone who is poor. 24:02 Doug: Yeah. 24:04 All right, so is there any criteria on what we should or 24:06 shouldn't wear given in the Bible? 24:08 You know, God does not order us to wear a particular costume. 24:12 Now, when the priests--in the Old Testament, there was a 24:15 certain apparel that the priests would wear. 24:17 Of course, the purpose of the Old Testament temple has 24:20 been fulfilled. 24:22 When Christ died on the cross, the veil was rent, Jesus said, 24:25 "Your house has left you desolate," and so the Aaronic 24:30 priesthood right now does not exist in that they're not 24:33 sacrificing lambs. 24:34 So, there's no uniform. 24:36 There are principles that God gives in His Word for every 24:38 believer and those principles have to do with 24:41 neatness, modesty. 24:45 The Bible tells us that, you know, we should not be wearing, 24:48 and this is men and women, should not be adorned with the 24:51 outward adorning of gold and apparel and costly ra--. 24:56 And Paul talks about, you know, women wearing pearls and having 25:00 elaborate hairdos. 25:02 You know, God's people shouldn't dress so frumpy that we attract 25:07 attentions because of our being out of date, but we also 25:11 shouldn't try and be impressing people with our money by the 25:14 clothes we wear. 25:15 There should be humility in that. 25:18 Neat, clean, modest, those are the principles that God shares. 25:21 We got a book on that, by the way, on--"Jewelry: How Much is 25:25 Too Much?" 25:26 A person can get when they call the resource line. 25:29 Jëan: The number to call is 800-835-6747. 25:32 You can ask for that book. 25:33 It's called, "Jewelry: How Much is Too Much?" 25:36 And we'll be happy to send it to anyone in Canada or the US. 25:39 So, call and ask. 25:40 Doug: All right, friends. 25:41 We're getting ready for our half time break, so we want to 25:45 encourage you to pay attention to these important messages that 25:48 are coming. 25:49 We'll be back taking more Bible questions in just a few moments. 25:55 male announcer: Stay tuned. 25:57 "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly. 26:03 Diamond Garcia: Hi, my name is Diamond Garcia and I'm from the 26:05 beautiful islands of Hawaii. 26:07 I was raised in a very dysfunctional family, like 26:11 most families. 26:12 Being in that environment, I would lie, cheat, steal, rob 26:16 houses, cheat in school and tests, and lying to teachers and 26:21 getting into fights and all kinds of stuff. 26:24 One day, I was asked to take this little box of something and 26:28 I had to walk down the road and give it to someone and they 26:31 would give me money and I would walk back home, and I later 26:33 realized I was dealing drugs. 26:37 Growing up in that environment, I thought that, you know, being 26:40 an adult was a life of drinking and smoking and partying, and 26:43 that's just what adults did. 26:47 When I looked at my family and saw the road that they were 26:49 going down, getting arrested, getting beaten up, coming home 26:53 drunk and puking all over the floor, I just didn't want that 26:57 for myself. 26:59 Growing up, I had a grandma who was baptized as a Christian in 27:03 her 20s, but then she wasn't a real practicing Christian. 27:06 And so, one day I was at her house and there was a box of 27:09 various books and I went to the bottom of that box and found a 27:12 book called, "The Great Controversy." 27:15 And I picked it up and I said, "This is interesting," and I 27:17 opened to the first page of that book and it said, "If thou hadst 27:21 known," I had no clue what it meant. 27:24 And so I said, "You know what, forget this." 27:27 I put the book down, I just walked away, did my thing. 27:29 But then something told me, "You know, Diamond, go back to 27:32 that book." 27:33 And so I went back to the book, picked it up, went to the last 27:36 two chapters and I read it. 27:39 And I said to my grandmother, I said, "What church is this from? 27:42 I want to go to that church." 27:44 So, she brought me down to the local church and then I walk in 27:47 from the back door and the piano is off key, people are off key. 27:51 It's like, man, this is really, kind of, I don't want to 27:54 be here. 27:56 And I got to the front of the church and I sat down, I was 27:58 listening to the sermon, and the whole service, it was so boring 28:01 to me. 28:02 But then someone gives me this set of DVDs and it was called, 28:06 "The Prophecy Code." 28:09 It was through watching Doug Batchelor explain the truths 28:12 found in the Bible that really brought me to Christ and brought 28:15 me to realize that you know what, there is a life better 28:18 than my family's life. 28:21 My second week at church on Sabbath there was one 28:24 person there. 28:25 He basically told me, "Hey, Diamond, do you want to make 28:27 some money?" 28:29 And I said, "Sure." 28:30 I said, "What do you do?" 28:31 He says, "Well, I'm a call porter. 28:33 We go door to door and we sell Christian books." 28:35 I said, "Oh, okay. 28:36 Well, that sounds interesting. 28:38 I do want to make some money, too." 28:39 And so he said, "Okay, well, why don't you come with me?" 28:42 We drove out to the neighborhood, parked the car, 28:45 and that night was just raining, it was pouring and pouring. 28:48 It could not stop raining. 28:50 He prayed, he said, "God, this is Diamond's first night. 28:53 If it's Your will, stop the rain so we can go knocking on doors." 28:56 And as soon as he said, "Amen," the rain just stopped. 28:59 I was just thinking in my head, is this guy a prophet or what? 29:03 I mean, he just prayed and asked God and it happened. 29:07 And so, I was so happy, I grabbed the books and I went to 29:10 the first door, and the first door I went to the person gave 29:12 me $50. 29:14 That night was actually a big night for me because it was 29:16 where I saw God's power work in stopping the rain and people 29:21 actually giving me lots of money. 29:23 I then became a call porter, or a canvasser, and I saved money 29:26 to pay for my way through academy. 29:28 And when my church began to see how God was using me, they 29:32 immediately recognized that it was God's Spirit moving, and 29:35 they put me, you know, preaching and teaching and sharing 29:37 my faith. 29:39 And I've been engaged in ministry for the past six to 29:41 seven years now and God has taken me all over the world on 29:43 multiple continents, sharing my testimony, how God has brought 29:46 me out of darkness into His marvelous light. 29:50 It's a total contrast as to how it was before. 29:52 And now, you know, it's a total contrast. 29:56 My name is Diamond and Amazing Facts has helped to change 29:59 my life. 30:01 ♪♪♪ 30:08 male announcer: You're listening to "Bible Answers Live" where 30:11 every question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His 30:15 plan to save you. 30:16 So, what are you waiting for? 30:18 Get practical answers about The Good Book for a better 30:21 life today. 30:25 This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. 30:28 If you'd like answers to your Bible related questions on the 30:31 air, please call us next Sunday between 7 p.m. 30:35 and 8 p.m. 30:36 Pacific Time. 30:37 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this 30:40 evening's program call, 800-835-6747. 30:45 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 30:50 Now, let's rejoin our hosts for more "Bible Answers Live." 30:56 Doug: Welcome back, listening friends, to "Bible 30:58 Answers Live." 30:59 And if you have tuned in somewhere along the way, this is 31:02 as the title hints, a live international Interactive 31:06 Bible study. 31:07 You can give us a call. 31:08 Call if you have a Bible question, the number 31:10 is 800-GODSAYS. 31:12 That's 800-463-7297 with your Bible questions. 31:17 My name is Doug Batchelor. 31:20 Jëan: My name is Jëan Ross and we have a number of folks who 31:22 are standing by with their Bible question. 31:24 But, Pastor Doug, before we go to the phone lines, we want to 31:26 remind you of our free offer for--that we have, talks about 31:29 the cross. 31:30 It's called, "The High Cost of the Cross," and we want to send 31:32 that to anyone who calls and asks. 31:33 The number is 800-835-6747. 31:37 You can ask for, "The High Cost of the Cross," just offer 31:39 number 156. 31:41 You can also receive a digital download of that book by simply 31:44 dialing pound 250 on your smartphone. 31:47 Say, "Bible Answers Live," and then ask for, "The High Cost of 31:50 the Cross," and we'll be able to send you a digital copy of 31:52 the book. 31:54 You can read it, you can share it with somebody else. 31:56 We're going to go back to the phone lines. 31:57 We've got Preston listening in Texas and he's got a question 32:00 about watching Christian programs. 32:02 Preston, welcome to the program. 32:04 Preston: Hello. 32:06 Doug: Hi, thanks for calling. 32:08 Preston: Yes, so my question was, is it wrong for Christians 32:12 to watch Christian programs like "The Chosen," the TV show, 32:16 "The Chosen?" 32:18 Doug: All right, well, I'm a little biased if you ask about 32:21 watching Christian programs because we're producing one at 32:24 this very moment. 32:26 So, there's no sin in taking in spiritual material, whether 32:31 you're reading or whether you're watching or listening. 32:34 TV is just one of the mediums that communicates. 32:37 And so, that's a very powerful medium. 32:40 At the same time, you want to, you know, have a filter about 32:43 what you do and don't watch. 32:45 There are some Christian programs out there that I don't 32:48 watch they're, you know, these pastors, quite frankly, that 32:51 they--they're doing this prosperity gospel. 32:53 I think it's extortion of a type, spiritual extortion. 32:57 And--you notice, we don't spend a lot of time begging for money 33:01 on this program and promising people fame and fortune and 33:04 health and wealth if they do. 33:05 So, I--there's some things I won't watch because I just think 33:08 they're so unbiblical. 33:09 There's some good ministries and ministers out there. 33:11 I don't expect them to agree with me in every point. 33:14 And they, they've got a lot of great material and so you kind 33:18 of eat the melon and you spit out the seeds. 33:20 And they probably feel that way about me. 33:23 Now, when you're talking about The Chosen--and I've only seen 33:26 it, to be honest, a few excerpts. 33:28 I've found, in my own experience, Pastor Ross may have 33:31 some thoughts on this, that when Hollywood tries to recreate 33:35 Jesus or biblical stories, they almost never can get close to 33:40 the real thing or it's always distorted in one way or 33:43 the other. 33:45 I have some good things come out of that. 33:46 Well, I'm sure there are people that haven't thought about the 33:48 life and teachings of Jesus that watch this and you could point 33:51 to some good things. 33:54 I--but personally, I think that there's a danger when we start 33:59 getting our information about Christ and His ministry, from 34:02 what I've known, someone told me I should watch it. 34:04 I watched a little bit and I saw right away they were 34:08 embellishing the story with things that were not in the 34:11 Bible, which is always suspect. 34:14 But, you know, I'm not here to condemn. 34:17 I commend people that are trying to communicate the gospel. 34:21 I don't know, that's a rambling answer, but--any thoughts? 34:24 You want to ramble? 34:26 Jëan: You know, Pastor Doug, it, you know, it's--. 34:27 Doug: You'll go out on a limb with me? 34:28 Jëan: Well, I think they actually say that they're not 34:31 trying to be perfectly faithful to, you know, what the 34:34 Bible says. 34:36 They do take liberties to kind of add in and, you know, there's 34:40 some extra stories added, extra personalities added, that's not 34:44 in the gospel account and--on the one hand, you got to be 34:48 careful because, you know, the Bible talks about a really true 34:52 story, something that really happened. 34:53 When you read about the gospel, you read about Christ, you read 34:55 about the apostles. 34:57 That's history, that's real. 34:59 You don't want to create the scene where that almost becomes 35:03 more of a novel type scenario. 35:05 So, yeah. 35:06 I agree, Pastor, we got to be careful. 35:08 Doug: You start embellishing on the truth and people can get 35:11 distracted by the embellishment and miss the main point, so. 35:16 Jëan: All right, thank you, Preston. 35:17 Doug: A verse in the Bible, Philippians 4, verse 8. 35:19 "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true," and he goes on 35:22 to say, "dwell on these things," yeah. 35:25 Doug: Okay, next caller that we have is Sandra listening in 35:27 Pennsylvania and she's got a question about Joshua and the 35:31 angel that you read about in Zachariah 3, Sandra, welcome to 35:34 the program. 35:36 Sandra: Hi, good evening. 35:37 Thank you for taking my call. 35:39 Doug: Evening. 35:40 Sandra: Hi there. 35:41 So, the other day--recently, I heard a sermon in regards to 35:45 Zechariah chapter 3--Wonderful sermon and--but I was a little 35:50 confused as to who Joshua is and who the angel of the Lord is 35:57 because I always thought that Joshua represents Christ and 36:01 that also the angel of the Lord also represents 36:04 Christ pre-incarnate. 36:07 So, I was just trying to figure out, you know, who's represented 36:11 in that chapter. 36:12 Doug: All right, good. 36:14 Well, in Zechariah chapter 3, there's a vision that says, "He 36:16 showed me Joshua," this is verse 1, "the high priest standing 36:20 before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right 36:23 hand to oppose," or that word is to accuse, "him." 36:26 You go to Revelation chapter 12, it calls Satan the accuser of 36:29 the brethren. 36:30 And in the book of Job, there's the devil accusing Job 36:33 before God. 36:34 And the devil is our accuser and Christ is our defense attorney. 36:38 So, the angel of the Lord is the one that rebukes the devil 36:41 in Zechariah. 36:43 Now, there really was a high priest in Israel during 36:45 Zachariah's time and his name was Joshua. 36:48 It's interesting, the name Joshua is the name Jesus 36:51 in Hebrew. 36:52 It's actually Yeshua. 36:53 And you've got Joshua who led the children of Israel into the 36:56 Promised Land, he's like our general and our judge. 37:02 And then you got Joshua the high priest that led the children of 37:05 Israel from Babylon back to the Promised Land. 37:07 So, they're both types of Christ and the priest would bear the 37:10 sins of the people. 37:12 So, Joshua's got these dirty clothes because of the sins of 37:14 the people and the devil's accusing. 37:16 And in the story, his filthy clothes are taken away by the 37:20 angel of the Lord and he's given clean garments, and it's a 37:24 symbol of the cleansing from sin. 37:26 So, you're pretty close from what you said, Sandra, to having 37:30 the right interpretation. 37:32 I'm not sure what you may have heard someone else say, but 37:35 yeah, this is a story about the plan of salvation and tells us 37:39 that the angel of the Lord stood by and he said, "Now," you can 37:43 read in verse 6, "Now, if you'll walk in my ways," this is after 37:46 his filthy garments were taken away, "if you'll walk in my 37:49 ways, and if you will keep my command, then you will judge my 37:52 house, likewise have charge of my courts; and I will give you 37:55 places to walk among those who stand here." 37:58 In other words, you'll be here in heaven. 38:00 So, it's a wonderful promise. 38:02 Jëan: So, in this parable, or in this chapter, in this vision, 38:05 Joshua would represent the people and the angel of the Lord 38:07 would represent Christ. 38:09 But like you said, there's almost a dual application 38:11 because, yes, our High Priest is Jesus, but in this context, 38:15 Joshua represents the people. 38:17 Okay, very good, thank you. 38:18 Good question, Sandra. 38:19 We got Charlie listening in Arizona and he has a question 38:22 about Exodus chapter 20, verse 10. 38:25 Charlie, welcome to the program. 38:26 Charlie: Hi guys, how are you this evening? 38:28 Doug: Good. 38:30 How can we help you? 38:31 Charlie: Exodus 20, verse 10. 38:34 It says that God created everything in six days and you 38:41 have to rest on the Sabbath. 38:43 And He starts listing, "You, your son, your daughter, your 38:47 man servant, your female servant, your cattle, 38:50 everything," but there's no mention of a wife. 38:53 Doug: Well, yeah, I think that husbands and wives are included 38:57 in the admonition. 38:59 When God gives the Ten Commandments, it tells us that 39:02 the men and women washed their clothes, husbands and wives, and 39:05 they came before the Lord and they heard the Lord saying these 39:08 words audibly. 39:09 So, the command is not just given to the man. 39:11 The commandment is given to the parents. 39:14 That's why later it says, "Honor your father and your mother." 39:17 And so, I think it's understood that, yeah, people are to rest 39:23 from their regular labor. 39:24 There is a verse earlier where it says, "Bake what you're going 39:28 to bake and boil what you're going to boil," and ostensibly, 39:31 you know, the women were doing a lot of the cooking back then and 39:34 they were to be resting. 39:36 They were to get that work done ahead of time. 39:37 So, the command's all encompassing, I think, for 39:39 the family. 39:41 The stranger, the cattle, everybody was to rest. 39:43 Jëan: And it does appear that, you know, when it specifically 39:46 mentions the list, like you say, your son, your daughter, your 39:49 servants, a male servant, female servant, your cattle, the 39:53 strangers within your gates. 39:54 It's people under your control, those who you can direct, and 40:01 definitely that would include all of the members of 40:03 the family. 40:04 Doug: Well, he's got a point. 40:05 It's hard to direct your wife, though. 40:07 Jëan: Well, yeah, maybe--. 40:09 Doug: I retract that last statement. 40:12 Jëan: But it would include everyone in your household is 40:15 the idea behind that. 40:16 All right, thank you, Charlie. 40:17 We've got Giovanni listening from Idaho and he's got a 40:21 question from Deuteronomy 3:3. 40:24 Giovanni, welcome to the program. 40:26 Giovanni: Hi there pastors. 40:27 How are you this evening? 40:28 Doug: Hey. 40:30 Great, thank you. 40:31 Giovanni: Awesome, so my question is actually in regards 40:34 to Deuteronomy 23:3 and it's about David and how he is king, 40:43 and I was just kind of wondering how he's king when Ruth is 40:46 a Moabite? 40:48 Doug: Right. 40:49 Let me read this for our friends that are listening. 40:50 The Moabites had attacked the Israelites and gave them a 40:53 hard time. 40:54 And so, there was a curse pronounced on them, and you can 40:57 read in Deuteronomy 23:3, "An Ammonite or a Moabites shall not 41:02 enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation 41:05 none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord 41:08 forever because they did not meet you with bread or water on 41:11 the road when you came out of Egypt, because they hired 41:14 against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, 41:17 to curse you." 41:19 And yet, Ruth, and it has not been ten generations from when 41:23 this was given, no, I don't think it had been. 41:26 Yeah, I can almost trace the genealogy from--Boaz was the son 41:31 of Salmon who the--maybe one of the spies of Joshua. 41:35 So, yeah, it wasn't ten generations yet. 41:37 And yes, she was a Moabite and then she is the grandmother, or 41:42 the great-grandmother, of David. 41:45 So--and she was allowed into the congregation. 41:49 The command does not eclipse an earlier command that if someone 41:54 converted to the God of the Israelites that they 41:59 were welcome. 42:00 And so, Ruth, she said, "Your God is my God." 42:03 So, she converted and they had that law that is saying you 42:08 could be friends with the Moabites, up until they did 42:10 this, they could have stayed Moabites but--and you could do 42:14 business with them, but after they tried to curse Israel, 42:17 there was a curse pronounced for ten generations. 42:20 How long would that be, 40 times 10, 400 years? 42:24 Jëan: Okay, thank you. 42:25 Good question. 42:27 Let's see. 42:28 We've got Regina listening in Oregon. 42:30 Regina, welcome to the program. 42:33 Regina: Hi. Thank you. 42:35 Doug: Thank you. 42:37 Regina: I--So, I do have a question. 42:38 Actually, I've been asking this question myself, but I did not 42:41 know how to answer. 42:43 And someone asking me, in Genesa--when God create 42:49 Lucifer, because He did create the Lucifer, when Lucifer choose 42:53 to do the wrong, where did he know the--that wrong? 42:56 Where is the wrong coming from, you know? 42:59 How do--because God create only the right things, love 43:02 and everything. 43:04 Everything was perfect. 43:05 Where--how would you--okay, I'm sorry. 43:08 How did he know to pick the wrong? 43:10 You know what I mean? 43:12 Doug: Yeah, I think I know what you mean, Regina. 43:13 Yeah, of course, God made everything good. 43:16 The Bible tells us in James, "Every good and perfect gift 43:19 comes from God." 43:20 And Jesus said, "God is good and God does not tempt, neither is 43:25 He tempted." 43:26 God cannot do anything bad because He is perfect and 43:30 He's good. 43:32 So, God made good creatures, but He made them with--they're built 43:36 with a risky freedom and that freedom to love is given to all 43:41 of His intelligent creatures. 43:42 And Lucifer was given the same freedom to love, but in order to 43:46 love, you've got to have the ability to choose to not love. 43:49 God can't make you with forced love built in. 43:52 It ceases to be love if you can't choose it. 43:54 You become a robot. 43:56 So, Lucifer was given this. 43:58 He chose to love himself more than God and it's--he just kept 44:03 nurturing that and it probably went from an early inclination, 44:06 he knew something was wrong, but he kept cherishing this 44:09 self-love until he, pretty soon, he put himself on the throne and 44:13 he wanted to destroy God and he became ruled by selfishness. 44:18 God is love. 44:20 Satan, in a word, is selfish and it's all about his pride and 44:25 his selfishness. 44:26 So, yeah, God made him perfect. 44:29 He made him free. 44:30 He chose to love himself more and he became corrupt 44:33 through it. 44:35 Jëan: And we got a study guide. 44:36 It's called, "Did God Create the Devil?" 44:37 and it answers all of these questions. 44:39 It's a good, great study and we want to encourage anyone who 44:42 wants to learn more about this, just call and ask. 44:44 The number is 800-835-6747. 44:47 You can ask for the study guide, it's called, "Did God Create 44:49 the Devil?" 44:51 You can also dial pound 250 on your smartphone and say, "Bible 44:54 Answers Live," and then ask for that study guide, "Did God 44:57 Create the Devil?" 44:58 We'll send it to you. 45:00 Study it and you'll be blessed. 45:01 Next caller that we have is Eric and he's listening in Colorado 45:03 and he has a question about spirits. 45:05 Eric, welcome to the program. 45:07 Eric: Hi, thank you for taking my call. 45:09 Doug: Yes. 45:11 Eric: I see and hear spirits. 45:12 Does this mean that I'm lost? 45:15 Doug: You hear and see spirits? 45:18 Well, it means the devil is probably trying to get you. 45:21 Of course, he's trying to get everybody, but, you know, I 45:25 think there are some godly people in the Bible that they 45:29 saw spirits, that the devil was trying to spook them. 45:33 And so, because the devil's trying to harass you or frighten 45:35 you does not automatically mean you're lost. 45:39 It means that the devil's trying to distract you or confuse you 45:42 or frighten you. 45:45 Whether you are saved or lost is something that you and the Lord 45:48 only know. 45:49 If you've come to Jesus and surrendered your life to Jesus, 45:53 then keep your eyes fixed on Him. 45:56 If the devil comes around, in the name of the Lord rebuke the 45:59 devil, do not give him ground. 46:01 If there's something in your life that's opening the door to 46:04 the devil--you know, I've got a friend that was seeing all kinds 46:07 of spooks and demons and they spend all their time watching 46:09 scary movies, these diabolical movies. 46:12 And I thought, well, no wonder. 46:13 You're watching ghost movies and you're kind of opening the door 46:17 to the devil. 46:18 So, close any avenues in your life where you're creating a 46:22 bridge for the devil to come in and haunt or tempt or frighten 46:26 you, and reconsecrate your life to the Lord every day. 46:31 Paul said, "I die daily." 46:33 That means you got to be born again every day. 46:35 Jëan: Okay, great, thank you. 46:37 We've got Corette listening from Connecticut and Corette has a 46:41 question about working on Sabbath. 46:43 Corette: Yes. 46:45 Jëan: Corette, welcome to the program. 46:46 Corette: Good evening, pastors. 46:47 Doug: Evening. 46:49 Corette: Yes, I was asking, when is it okay to work on 46:51 the Sabbath? 46:52 Doug: Well, there are obviously Christian hospitals that have 46:58 people they care for, you know. 46:59 Jesus said, "It's better to do good on the Sabbath day." 47:02 And so, if you're ministering to somebody who's struggling with 47:05 some dire sickness, then that's appropriate. 47:08 You know, I know Dentists that they love the Lord, but they'll 47:11 get a call from someone that's in agony from a toothache, 47:14 they'll--on the Sabbath day, they'll open their shop, usually 47:17 free of charge, and they'll go and either help them right then 47:20 or at least help them with some temporary relief where they can 47:22 do major surgery or whatever they need later. 47:25 I don't know of any dentist that will say, "Let me adjust your 47:28 braces," because that's kind of an elective thing that you can 47:31 schedule another day. 47:32 But when someone's in pain or suffering, if someone's in the 47:34 hospital, they need doctors, nurses, and people to care 47:37 for them. 47:39 My wife is a physical therapist and she hasn't worked in a 47:43 hospital for years, but when she did, some people had surgery on 47:47 Friday and they needed to have physical therapy immediately the 47:50 next day. 47:51 And so, she would work and she would not keep that pay. 47:53 She just donated to the Lord. 47:56 So, there are emergency situations, you know. 47:58 If you're a fireman, you should try to schedule your 48:01 Sabbath free. 48:03 Let someone else be on duty then so you can rest, but if there's 48:06 a forest fire, you hop in your truck and you go save people. 48:09 So, even the Jews, when they're attacked on their Sabbath day, 48:14 the soldiers can't say, "Well, we'll start defending the 48:16 country when the sun goes down." 48:18 So, there are emergency situations, but they should be 48:21 the rare exception and not the rule. 48:24 Does that make sense, Corette? 48:26 Corette: Yes, it does. 48:27 Doug: All right, thank you so much. 48:29 Appreciate it. 48:30 Thanks for your question. 48:31 Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is Larry listening 48:33 in Michigan. 48:34 Larry, welcome to the program. 48:36 Larry: Hi. 48:38 Doug: Hi, Larry. 48:39 Thanks for calling. 48:40 Larry: Yeah, I got a question. 48:43 How does a person know--because I know in Matthew Jesus was 48:47 talking about those who speak against the Spirit, you know, 48:51 the unpardonable sin, but how does the person really know if 48:54 they committed it? 48:56 Because sometimes I wonder, but yet I feel guilty about a lot of 49:01 things, so I'm a little confused. 49:04 And when I ask for forgiveness, I sometimes, like, is that real? 49:10 I got questions about that. 49:13 So, I'd just like to know about the--I just hope I didn't, like, 49:19 push the Holy Spirit away for that, you know. 49:22 Doug: Well, you know, every time we sin we may grieve the Holy 49:25 Spirit, but that does not mean you grieved it away where 49:28 it's unforgivable. 49:30 So, the very fact you're calling means the Holy Spirit is 49:34 striving in your heart. 49:36 So, I would not be worried that you've committed the 49:38 unpardonable sin. 49:40 I would be concerned--God wants you to have peace and the Lord 49:43 wants you to believe that He will forgive your sins and that 49:46 He'll give you power to live a new life. 49:49 You know, Christ doesn't ask us to do anything without giving us 49:51 the power to do it. 49:53 When God says, "Repent, come to Me, I'll give you a rest," you 49:57 turn from your sins, you confess your sins and He says, "I'll 50:00 give you peace and rest and victory and a new life." 50:03 You believe that and you're going to have peace and you'll 50:07 have evidence in your life that God is working in your life and 50:09 that will confirm the promises of God, also. 50:12 Jëan: You know, we have a book, Pastor Doug, it's called, "What 50:14 Is the Unpardonable Sin?" 50:16 And we encourage you to take a look at that. 50:18 I think you'll enjoy it. 50:19 The number to call is 800-835-6747 and just ask 50:24 for it. 50:25 It's called, "What Is the Unpardonable Sin?" 50:27 We'll mail it to you or you can just dial pound 250 on your cell 50:30 phone, say, "Bible Answers Live," and then ask for the book 50:33 by name, "What Is the Unpardonable Sin?" 50:35 We got Joyce in Florida. 50:37 Joyce, welcome to the program. 50:39 We have just a few moments, but you have a question about the 50:42 punishment of the wicked. 50:44 Joyce: Yes, praise the Lord. 50:45 I love your program. 50:48 Yes, I would like to know, will there be degrees of punishment 50:55 in hell? 50:56 And if so, where is that located in the Bible? 51:00 Doug: Well, I'm looking it up for you right now. 51:02 Yes, there will be differences. 51:05 S-T-R-I-P--oh, I added an extra letter in there. 51:07 Hang on here. 51:08 I'm typing something in my computer. 51:11 I just can't spell. 51:12 Jëan: Luke 12:48? 51:13 Doug: You found it. 51:15 Jëan: Is that the one? 51:16 Doug: You beat me well. 51:17 No, I'm looking at Luke 12--yeah, 47:48. 51:19 It says, "That servant who knew his master's will, and did not 51:21 prepare himself or do according to his will, he will beaten 51:24 with--be beaten with many stripes," and then it also says 51:28 that, "those that did not know their master's will are beaten 51:31 with few stripes." 51:32 So, stripes are when they used to whip a person, that would 51:35 leave stripes on their back, and that was whipping, really. 51:38 And so, Jesus is basically saying those who were guilty for 51:42 much suffer more than those who were less accountable and did 51:46 not know. 51:48 So, yes, there are varying degrees of reward, and so there 51:54 are varying degrees of punishment. 51:57 Jesus says in one of the last verses in the Bible, "Behold, I 52:00 come; my reward is with me, to give to every man according to 52:03 his works." 52:04 So, Adolf Hitler is going to suffer more than people of 52:09 lesser crimes. 52:11 So, hopefully that helps. 52:13 Are you with us, Joyce? 52:15 Does that make sense? 52:16 Joyce: Keep up the enlightenment. 52:17 Doug: All right, you're welcome. 52:19 God bless and we thank you for your call. 52:22 Pastor Ross, we have time for one more quick one? 52:24 Jëan: All right, we've got Ron listening in, let's 52:27 see, Alabama. 52:28 Ron, welcome to the program. 52:30 Ron: Yes, good evening. 52:32 Thank you for taking my call. 52:33 My question has to do with Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and 52:38 Leah, mentioned in Genesis 34. 52:40 Could she somehow represent the church? 52:43 You know how you have literal Israel and the tribe, the 52:47 children of Israel? 52:48 Then you have spiritual Israel. 52:51 Could Dinah represent the spiritual body of the church, 52:56 being one of Jacob's, you know, descendants? 52:59 Doug: Yeah, I think you're on to something. 53:01 And the story that Ron is referring to is found there in 53:04 Genesis 34 where Dinah, the only daughter listed of Jacob's 53:08 children, everyone else was a son, that when they were living 53:11 near Shechem, she went out to visit the other ladies of the 53:14 land and maybe do some shopping, and young man took her and, I 53:19 don't think he raped her, but he took advantage of her and he 53:23 said he wanted to marry her, he loved her. 53:25 But that's kind of what the pagans had done to 53:29 the Israelites. 53:31 Through intermarriage they kind of lost their purity. 53:33 And so, there is an analogy there. 53:35 Very perceptive, Ron. 53:37 I've never actually preached on that, but just as I was 53:39 listening to you talk, I think there's more there under 53:41 the surface. 53:43 And you never hear that Dinah got married again and it doesn't 53:46 really tell about her having a family after that. 53:48 So, it changed the course of her life. 53:52 Listening friends, you know, in just a moment, we're going to 53:54 sign off and say farewell to those listening on 53:56 satellite radio. 53:58 And then, those of you who are listening on land based 54:01 stations, we always stay on for a few more minutes to do rapid 54:05 fire Bible questions that come in via the internet. 54:09 So, you can email us questions. 54:10 Some people have questions but they say, "Oh, I'm afraid to get 54:13 on the air." 54:15 Well, you can email your questions, we'll take a few of 54:16 them at the end of each program, and you'll see the number there 54:19 on the screen. 54:20 The email address is BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. 54:26 But before we say farewell to the audience at large, you know, 54:29 we do these programs because we want to share the good news. 54:33 And that good news is that God sent His son into the world to 54:38 take the punishment for all the sins of the world and He wants 54:41 you to be in His kingdom. 54:43 He desperately wants you to be saved. 54:45 But we need to make a decision to say, "Lord, I'm not doing a 54:49 very good job running my life. 54:50 I'm willing to surrender my life to You. 54:53 I believe You have a plan for me. 54:54 I would like to be forgiven of my sins." 54:57 It's our prayer that everybody listening will do that even 55:00 right now. 55:02 Make that decision then go and sign up for the "Amazing Facts" 55:04 Bible study course at amazingfacts.org. 55:08 We'll be back for the others. 55:12 male announcer: Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. 55:14 We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. 55:18 "Bible Answers Live" is produced by Amazing Facts International, 55:22 a faith based ministry located in Granite Bay, California. 55:28 Jëan: Hello, friends, and welcome back again to our email 55:31 Bible questions. 55:33 Pastor Doug, we've got a few great questions this evening. 55:35 And of course, if you'd like to send us an email Bible question, 55:38 it's BALquestions@amazing facts.org. 55:42 "Genesis chapter 6, verse 6 says that God repented, but Numbers 55:45 23:19 says that God does not repent. 55:48 How do we explain this?" 55:51 Doug: Yeah, well, I think that different things are being 55:53 meant here. 55:55 When it says in Genesis 6 that God repented, it's talking about 55:57 when sin was in the world, it grieved God in His heart and He 56:02 was sorry, not sorry because He had sinned, but He was sorry 56:06 that He'd made man--His plan for the paradise and man to have 56:10 this happiness and man made in His creatures, sin. 56:14 And the devil had totally interrupted that and there was 56:17 just misery on the planet and violence. 56:19 And so, that grieved God at His heart. 56:20 That's different from God saying, "Oops, I made a 56:24 mistake," and repenting in that respect. 56:28 God knows everything, nothing surprises Him, and God doesn't 56:33 repent for sin because He does not sin. 56:35 He's pure and perfect. 56:37 Jëan: Okay, next question that we have is, "I believe 56:39 Christians are discouraged to drink alcohol, but why does God 56:42 ask for an alcoholic beverage in Numbers 28, verse 7 as part of 56:47 the sacrifices?" 56:48 Doug: Yeah, when it talks about the drink offering, it's not 56:50 talking about an alcoholic drink. 56:52 They would offer grape juice. 56:54 And even Christ at the Last Supper, He made it clear that 56:58 the grape juice that He was offering the disciples was 57:01 not fermented. 57:02 He said, "In the kingdom you'll drink this with Me new," and 57:07 that's in Matthew 26, I believe. 57:10 So, we also have a book called, "Alcohol and the Christian," 57:13 that'll answer that question if you want a free copy. 57:15 Jëan: Again, that number is 800-835-6747. 57:19 Just ask for it, it's called, "Alcohol and the Christian." 57:21 All right, next question. 57:23 "Why is it that Jesus lost His ability to be omnipresent, 57:26 although He still is omnipotent and omniscient now that He's 57:30 in heaven?" 57:32 Doug: Yeah, well, Jesus is omnipresent in the sense that He 57:35 said wherever the Holy Spirit is, He is. 57:37 He said--everybody listening right now, when we accept Him, 57:40 He says, "I am with you always, even to the end of the world." 57:43 So, while Christ took on human form in His body, through His 57:47 omniscience, His all knowing, He can be everywhere all at 57:51 one time. 57:52 But you just think about the incredible sacrifice that He 57:54 made in that He will forever be married to the human family 57:58 because of His love for us and the sacrifice that He made. 58:02 So, that's a wonderful thing to consider. 58:04 And friends, we look forward to studying with you more in the 58:09 coming weeks. 58:10 So, just make sure and go to AmazingFacts.org and study and 58:15 continue to listen to "Bible Answers Live." 58:19 male announcer: "Bible Answers Live." 58:20 Honest and accurate answers 58:22 to your Bible questions. |
Revised 2024-06-18