Participants:
Series Code: AFBA
Program Code: AFBA202501S
|
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. 00:39 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 00:44 Now, here's your host from Amazing Facts International, 00:48 Pastor Doug Batchelor. 00:50 Doug Batchelor: Hello, friends. 00:51 You want to hear an amazing fact? 00:54 A conservation park in South Africa has a special resident. 00:58 It's a crocodile named Henry that has the distinction of 01:02 being the oldest-known crocodile in the world. 01:05 Born in 1900, Henry turned 124 in December 2024. 01:11 He was first captured in the Okavango Delta, Botswana back in 01:14 1985 after reportedly preying on both livestock and children. 01:20 His ferocity had earned him infamy among the locals, but 01:24 you'd never know it now. 01:25 Since he settled at Crocworld, he began receiving 01:28 regular meals. 01:29 He developed a very calm demeanor in captivity. 01:32 Henry seems to be thriving. 01:34 He weighs 1,543 pounds and he's 16.4 feet long and 01:40 still growing. 01:41 Henry is not alone in the conservation park. 01:44 There are several other female crocodiles, and since his 01:47 captivity it's believed that Henry has fathered over 01:50 10,000 offspring. 01:53 No one's quite sure how long a crocodile might live like this 01:56 under ideal conditions. 01:58 Pretty amazing, huh, Pastor Ross? 01:59 Jëan Ross: That's right. 02:01 You hear of giant turtles or tortoises, I should say, that 02:03 live over 100 years. 02:04 But a crocodile; wow, that's news to me. 02:07 Doug: Yeah, and I heard he's not the heaviest. 02:09 The heaviest crocodile was one named Lolong, and it weighed 02:13 over 2,000 pounds and was 20 feet .8 inches long. 02:18 Can you imagine that? 02:19 And you've probably seen when the wildebeest and zebra are 02:23 trying to cross the rivers, there are crocodiles that take 02:26 down these huge animals. 02:28 Well, here's one 124 years old, and it makes me think about a 02:34 prophecy in the Bible that says there's another very old reptile 02:38 that's not so docile and gentle. 02:40 Jëan: That's right. 02:42 Also scales. 02:43 Doug: Yeah, you can read about that in Revelation chapter 12, 02:46 verse 9. 02:47 Talks about a war in heaven, and it says, "So the 02:50 great dragon was cast out. 02:53 The serpent of old," this old serpent, "called the devil and 02:57 Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, 03:01 and his angels were cast out with him." 03:04 And here, of course, it's giving us a clue in this verse. 03:06 It says Satan is also called the devil and the serpent and 03:10 the dragon. 03:12 It's all the same character. 03:13 And it says that there are angels that are cast out 03:15 with him. 03:17 I think another place, it tells us in Revelation about this 03:19 dragon drew a third of the stars of heaven in his tail. 03:24 Those are the angels that--the evil angels that were cast out 03:28 of heaven along with the devil. 03:30 Now, I heard a sermon online this week that helped inspire 03:35 this question, and the pastor is basically saying, yeah, God made 03:38 the devil to test us. 03:40 And I thought, "Oh, no, please." 03:43 The Bible says everything God makes is good and that God 03:47 doesn't tempt anyone, and the Lord is not willing that anyone 03:51 would sin. 03:53 Why would he make someone that would tempt us to sin? 03:56 The Bible tells us that God made a beautiful angel, who was free, 04:01 that chose to be an enemy of God in his freedom. 04:05 And folks misunderstand why is there evil in the world, and 04:08 once they understand this question about how did evil 04:12 come--if God is all-powerful, if God is good, then why is there 04:15 a devil? 04:16 Didn't He see this coming? 04:18 This lesson that we're going to offer answers those questions, 04:21 and we hope you not only read it but then share it with a friend. 04:24 Jëan: The study guide is called "Did God Create the Devil?" 04:27 That is the one that answers this very important question. 04:30 If God is love, where did sin and sorrow come from? 04:33 If you'd like to receive that, just call and ask. 04:35 The number is 800-835-6747. 04:38 That is our resource phone line, and you can ask for the study 04:40 guide "Did God Create the Devil?" 04:42 You can dial #250 on your smartphone, say "Bible answers 04:46 live," and then ask for that study guide "Did God Create 04:49 the Devil?" 04:50 Some very important information. 04:52 It'll answer a lot of questions. 04:54 Well, talking about questions, we've got people standing by 04:56 with their Bible questions, but before we go to the phone lines, 04:58 let's start with a word of prayer. 05:00 Dear Father, we are so grateful that we have this time where we 05:03 can just turn our attention to Your Word. 05:05 Lord, we ask Your blessing upon this 05:07 program as we search the Scriptures. 05:08 Be with those who are listening, whether they are in their car or 05:11 at home, and just, Lord--lead us, guide us into a 05:13 clearer understanding of Bible truth for we ask this in 05:16 Jesus's name, amen. 05:18 Doug: Amen. 05:20 Jëan: Our first caller this evening, we've got Glenn and 05:22 Linda from Ohio. 05:24 Glenn and Linda, welcome to the program. 05:27 Glenn: Good evening, and welcome to Ohio. 05:29 Thank you for taking my call. 05:32 My Scripture is Isaiah chapter 60, verse 2. 05:38 But in verse 1-- 05:40 a beautiful accolade about the city of peace, Jerusalem. 05:44 But instantaneously when we go to verse 2, there is a sudden 05:48 darkness over this land and the people. 05:52 My question is, what is that darkness? 05:55 Doug: All right, very good. 05:56 And let me read this for our friends, Glenn and Linda. 05:59 It says in Isaiah 60, verse 1 and 2, "Arise, shine; for your 06:04 light has come. 06:05 And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 06:08 For behold, darkness--the darkness shall cover the land, 06:11 and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over 06:15 you, and His glory will be seen upon you, and the Gentiles will 06:20 come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising." 06:24 Now, this is partly a Messianic prophecy because when Christ 06:29 came as the Messiah, the Gentiles--you've got the wise 06:33 men that--you know, they say, "We three kings." 06:35 You sing that song. 06:37 They came following a star that was showing the Messiah, but 06:40 that's an allegory for Jesus being the light of the world and 06:44 the Gentiles came to that light. 06:46 And I understand that within 100 years of Christ dying on the 06:51 cross, there were now more Gentile Christians than 06:54 Jewish Christians. 06:55 So the Gentiles had come to the light. 06:58 And so this was a light that Israel had looked forward to 07:02 and--what is that prophecy of Balaam? 07:04 Says, "A star will arise out of Jacob." 07:07 And there's several prophecies that talk about this light. 07:10 The darkness that it's speaking of there is--well, when a person 07:13 doesn't have truth, they're in darkness. 07:15 Jesus says they're the blind leading the blind. 07:18 It's talking about the light of truth. 07:20 Jëan: I think we can also apply this, Pastor Doug, to a future 07:23 prophecy when the Bible tells us--in Revelation chapter 18, it 07:28 describes an angel coming down from heaven and the earth 07:30 is illuminated with his glory and he cries with a loud voice, 07:33 "Babylon is fallen." 07:34 It's at a time when spiritual darkness covers the earth and 07:38 God has a people in the last days that are proclaiming His 07:41 truths and revealing His character, His glory so--talking 07:45 about the earth being lighted up with the glory of God. 07:48 Doug: That's right. 07:49 Jesus is the light, and then he says to the church, "You are the 07:52 light of the world." 07:53 We're to reflect that light. 07:54 Good question, Glenn and Linda, thank you. 07:56 Jëan: Next caller that we have is Brittany in California. 07:59 Brittany, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 08:03 Doug: Hi, thanks for calling. 08:05 Brittany: Yeah, my question is, how should a Christian defend 08:08 their faith while this world is so evil with the latest problems 08:15 and just, you know, constant issues? 08:18 Doug: Yeah, good question, and that actually segues well with 08:22 the former question talking about--says the Gentiles will 08:26 come to the light--your light. 08:29 Jesus said we're to let our light shine. 08:31 Now, how do we witness in a world that is in many ways given 08:35 over to evil? 08:36 And Christ said in the last days it's going to get worse. 08:39 He said the love of many will grow cold, and Paul said in the 08:42 last days evil men will arise and wickedness will get worse 08:46 and worse. 08:48 And so we're seeing that compounded darkness, but 08:50 fortunately, where sin abounds grace abounds more. 08:54 God is going to compensate by giving His people more grace and 08:57 more light to let it shine. 08:59 Three things you can do if you want to witness for someone: 09:03 one, be a good example. 09:06 There's technically four things. 09:07 One is be a good example. 09:09 In your life, try to live out the teachings of Christ and 09:12 display Christlike character. 09:14 People will watch that. 09:16 So every day your life is a sermon. 09:18 Two, if people are willing to listen, share information 09:22 with them. 09:24 Now, you can't force a person, but if they're willing to listen 09:26 you can give them Bible studies, share Amazing Facts study 09:29 guides with them, give them links that they can look up on 09:31 the internet. 09:33 You can sit down and visit with them and share your faith. 09:36 The Bible says we should be ready to give an answer. 09:39 The third thing is you pray for them. 09:42 Pray that you can be a good witness and then pray for those 09:44 you're witnessing to. 09:45 Fourth thing is continue to do the first three patiently. 09:50 Be consistent. 09:51 "He that endures to the end will be saved." 09:53 So we need to pray that God helps us have consistently. 09:57 I remember when King Darius threw Daniel in the lions' den. 10:00 He said, "Your God, who you serve continually, He will 10:04 deliver you." 10:05 God is looking for consistency. 10:06 So there's some very important tips, I think, Brittany. 10:09 You follow that and you can be a witness even in a wicked world. 10:13 Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is Martha 10:15 in California. 10:16 Martha, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 10:18 Martha: Thank you, pastors, for being available to take 10:21 our calls. 10:22 I appreciate it. 10:23 And my question tonight stems from Ecclesiastes 12:7 but also 10:32 Genesis 2:7. 10:35 Ecclesiastes 12:7, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as 10:40 it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." 10:46 Now--and then in Genesis 2:7 it talks about when God is creating 10:52 Adam and He breathes the breath of life into his nostrils and 10:58 then Adam becomes a living soul. 11:01 So this--it's kind of my understanding that once a person 11:07 dies and the breath of life is gone, the soul literally ceases 11:13 to exist. 11:14 Is that correct? 11:16 Doug: Yeah, and it's not that you cease to exist. 11:19 When we say the soul ceases to exist, people think, "Oh no, 11:21 what about my eternal life?" 11:23 What the Bible teaches is that you stop being a soul. 11:27 Soul is not the right word. 11:29 When a person dies, God has who you are backed up on a hard 11:32 drive in His mind or wherever. 11:34 So it's not like you stop being. 11:37 But you're not a conscious soul that's floating around 11:39 disembodied, you're unconscious until the Resurrection. 11:43 Now, for a saved person--well, let me back up before I 11:46 say that. 11:47 The word there that's used in Hebrew, both in Genesis and in 11:52 Ecclesiastes, is the word ruach, and it means breath, the breath 11:56 of life. 11:58 God breathed into his nostrils and he became a living soul. 12:00 In Ecclesiastes, Solomon says when a person dies, you sort of 12:04 have creation in reverse. 12:06 When you separate the body from the breath of life, they 12:09 cease to exist. 12:11 They die, and the breath of life goes back to God who gave it. 12:15 Now, that breath of life that God gives all of His creatures, 12:18 not just humans, is the power of life. 12:21 Here's an example. 12:23 Job 27:3, "As long as my breath is still within me and the 12:27 Spirit of God is in my nostrils--" well, who would ever 12:31 think of the Holy Spirit being in your nose? 12:33 It's talking about the breath of life that all these 12:36 creatures breathe. 12:37 So when a person dies, if they die in a saved condition--you 12:41 read in the Bible absent from the body, present with the Lord. 12:45 The next conscious thought of a saved person when they die is 12:49 the Resurrection, but that doesn't happen till the 12:52 Second Coming. 12:54 They're sleeping. 12:55 Jesus said, "My friend Lazarus is asleep." 12:58 That's John chapter 11. 13:00 So there's a lot more verses I can 13:02 share, but you're on the right track. 13:03 We have a study on that. 13:05 Jëan: We do, it's called "Are the Dead Really Dead?" 13:07 And it deals with the subject of what happens when a person dies. 13:10 We'll send it to anyone for free. 13:12 All you have to do is call and ask. 13:13 The number is 800-835-6747. 13:17 That is our resource phone line. 13:18 You can also dial #250 on your smartphone 13:21 and then ask for the study guide. 13:23 It's called "Are the Dead Really Dead?" 13:25 And we'll send it to you. 13:26 You can read it and share it with somebody else. 13:29 Thank you, Martha. 13:30 Next caller is Ronald in Oregon. 13:31 Ronald, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 13:34 Ronald: Thank you, Pastors Ross and Batchelor. 13:36 You can't imagine what--how much you mean to me. 13:39 Doug: Oh, well, thanks so much for calling. 13:41 Ronald: My question, I have trouble complying probably a 13:46 little bit with Matthew 5:43 and 44 versus Matthew 7:6 and kind 13:53 of like to get a--maybe a little inside information on that. 13:58 Doug: All right, it--well, let me read this for our friends. 14:00 In Matthew chapter 5:43, "You've heard it said that you should 14:04 love your neighbor and hate your enemies, but I say to you, 'Love 14:08 your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those that 14:11 hate you, pray for those who despitefully use you and 14:13 persecute you, that you might be the sons of 14:16 your Father in heaven.'" 14:17 And then you said you want to put that up against Matthew 7. 14:20 What was the verse? 14:21 Jëan: Matthew chapter 7, verse 6. I got it right here, 14:23 Pastor Doug. 14:24 "Do not give that which is holy to dogs; nor cast your pearls 14:28 before swine, lest they trample them underfoot and turn again 14:31 and tear you to pieces." 14:32 Doug: Oh, yeah, okay. 14:34 Yeah, I don't think there's a conflict there. 14:36 When it says love your enemies, the Lord wants us to love 14:40 everybody that he died for. 14:42 But because you love a person doesn't mean that you throw away 14:45 something precious that would be appreciated by someone else. 14:49 In other words, your life is made of time. 14:52 Time is the stuff life is made of. 14:53 If we don't have time, we don't have anything. 14:56 And you can love everybody, but there are some people that will 15:00 continue to take your time and your energies and they will not 15:03 bear any fruit. 15:05 They're just--they're doing it for the wrong motive. 15:07 You can still love them, but don't waste your time on them. 15:10 Work with people who are going to respond. 15:13 And so that would be one example of not casting your pearls 15:16 before swine. 15:17 Even if you were to say you're talking about money, if you're 15:21 going to donate to a ministry just because they're asking and 15:24 you're supposed to love everybody and you know that one 15:26 ministry is unproductive, they're not really doing 15:30 anything good, and there's another ministry that is winning 15:32 souls, who would want to invest in that which is unproductive 15:36 when you can invest in that which is productive? 15:38 So don't cast your pearls before swine 15:41 or give that which is holy to the dogs. 15:42 Sometimes I've seen Christian ministers waste their time 15:45 arguing with people that just like to argue 15:47 for the sake of arguing. 15:48 You're wasting your time. 15:50 You're casting your pearls of truth before swine. 15:52 You can love those people, you can pray for them, but, you 15:56 know, if you've given them a chance and you just--you see 15:59 that they're just gobbling up your time, the devil's using 16:01 them to distract you, don't let it happen. 16:05 Jëan: You know, I think it's a good point, Pastor Doug. 16:06 We want to be as prayerful in our witness as possible. 16:10 We always want to pray for people and we always want to be 16:12 a witness if they're open to it, but we also want to be where the 16:15 Spirit is working. 16:16 So one of the things we teach people in evangelism is as 16:19 you're doing Bible studies, as you're reaching out and 16:21 connecting with people, you want to be looking to see whose 16:24 hearts are open to the moving of the Holy Spirit. 16:26 Doug: You know, an example of that the--good point. 16:28 And an example of that would be, why did Jesus say nothing to 16:32 Herod but he did speak to Pilate? 16:35 Herod heard the preaching of John the Baptist. 16:38 Herod rejected the preaching of John the Baptist. 16:40 Jesus had nothing to say to Herod, but he did talk to Pilate 16:45 about what truth was and who he was and he answered 16:48 many questions. 16:49 So Christ would not cast his pearls before the swine of Herod 16:52 when Herod had killed John the Baptist and didn't listen 16:54 to him. 16:56 Jëan: Okay, great question. 16:57 Next caller that we have is Jacob in Washington. 16:59 Jacob, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 17:01 Jacob: Hi, Doug Batchelor. 17:04 Doug: Hi, Jacob. 17:05 Jacob: My question is, why did--why did God throw Satan 17:11 down here instead of somewhere else? 17:13 Doug: All right, that's a great question. 17:15 Why did God--it says in Revelation Satan--when there's 17:18 this battle between Michael and the dragon, that the devil was 17:22 cast out and he was cast down to the earth. 17:25 Why didn't He put him in a garbage 17:27 dump of the universe somewhere else? 17:28 Why to the earth? 17:30 The reason is because when the devil came down to earth and he 17:34 tempted Adam and Eve and Adam and Eve listened to the 17:37 devil--the Bible tells us in Romans chapter 6 that whoever 17:42 you obey--you are the servants to the one you obey. 17:45 And God gave the dominion, the leadership of this world to Adam 17:48 and Eve. 17:50 And when they sinned, they basically handed the keys of the 17:52 world to the devil. 17:53 So God restricted the devil to this world, and that's why we 17:57 have all these problems in the world, is because our first 18:00 parents decided to listen to the devil instead of God, and now 18:04 you can see the results of that. 18:06 Great question. 18:07 You would enjoy our "Cosmic Conflict" DVD. 18:10 Your parents can probably let you watch it on YouTube. 18:13 It's free there. 18:14 Jëan: That's right, you can also call and ask for 18:16 the study guide that we mentioned a little earlier. 18:18 It's "Did God Create the Devil?" 18:20 And it talks about the subject. 18:21 The number to call is 800-835-6747, 800-835-6747 or 18:28 dial #250 in you--if you're in North America and you can ask 18:33 for that study guide, "Did God Create a Devil?" 18:35 And we'll be happy to send it out to anyone who calls 18:38 and asks. 18:40 Thank you, Jacob. 18:41 Next caller that we have is Juan in Ohio. 18:43 Juan, welcome to the program. 18:45 Juan: Okay, so my question is based on Genesis 1, I think it's 18:50 verse 6 and 7. 18:52 This is going to be a funny question, man. 18:55 Is space water? 18:57 Is it space--like it says, water above and water below so that we 19:02 have water and space. 19:03 Doug: Yeah, that is a great question. 19:05 It says that God separates the waters below from the waters 19:07 above, and I--and you've got this firmament. 19:12 Now, you can have water in space if it's vaporized. 19:17 Water is an interesting substance in that it can be 19:19 solid, liquid, or gas. 19:21 And in its gas form, you can have air that looks like space 19:26 that has a certain humidity level. 19:28 But what the Bible is really talking about here is it seems 19:31 like there were--was like an envelope of water above the 19:34 earth and a lot of creation scientists believe that because 19:39 it appears, and even paleontologists see it, that at 19:43 one time the temperature of the earth was more uniform all 19:46 around the planet because the rays of the sun were polarized. 19:49 It's like when you've got cloud cover it doesn't get quite as 19:51 cold as when the clouds dissipate. 19:54 And God separated the waters above from the waters below, 19:58 meaning the sea and the lakes, so forth, and the area 20:02 between was called the firmament or the heavens. 20:05 It's not space like outer space, it's more like the atmosphere 20:09 around the planet. 20:11 It's interesting. 20:12 If you look at earth from the space shuttle or even from the 20:15 moon, you can see that there is this veil that surrounds the 20:19 earth of blue air. 20:21 It's got an envelope around it. 20:23 Jëan: Now, of course some folks feel--and you're right, 20:25 Pastor Doug, I think there's something to it, 20:27 that maybe there was sort of an ice shield, a water shield 20:30 around the atmosphere. 20:32 Some folks feel, "Well then, how can we send rockets to space?" 20:35 Well, quite possibly that's where a lot of the water came 20:38 from at the time of the flood. 20:40 Talks about the windows of heaven being opened and you had 20:42 all of this water that fell and the ice turned to water and you 20:46 had the rain coming down and then the water from beneath the 20:49 fountains of the great deep. 20:50 So we don't have that protecting layer anymore and we've got 20:54 extremes in temperature. 20:56 You find ferns growing and tropical plants in some very 21:00 cold areas today. 21:03 At least going back, you know, fossilized remains of tropical 21:06 plants in cold areas. 21:08 So there was a time when the earth was a lot more warmer 21:11 all around. 21:12 Doug: And the reason you would have those enormous coal beds, 21:15 even in like Siberia, is there must have been a lot of 21:18 vegetation to produce that that got buried suddenly. 21:21 So good question, Juan. 21:23 I hope that helps a little bit. 21:24 Jëan: Next caller that we have is April in Florida. 21:26 April, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 21:28 You're on the air. 21:29 April: Good evening, Pastor Doug. 21:30 Good evening, Pastor Jean. 21:32 In the book of Genesis during Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham was 21:37 speaking to the Lord and the--Abraham was testing the 21:43 Lord, "50--with 50 righteous people, 40 righteous people, 30, 21:48 will you still destroy the city?" 21:52 So then Abraham realized he was testing the Lord. 21:55 On the same token, Samuel told Saul, "You cannot test the Lord 22:01 of Israel." 22:02 So I'm wondering about those two Scriptures. 22:04 Doug: It seems like Abraham's testing the Lord. 22:06 For one thing, God is not asking him to. 22:09 I think God was glad that Abraham was interceding in Lot's 22:13 behalf, but, you know, we're not supposed to tempt the Lord. 22:19 And I think Abraham was praying, and he kept taking his prayer a 22:22 little further, saying, "Oh Lord, you know, could You--would 22:25 You spare the city? 22:27 What would it take for You to spare the city? 22:28 What--if there were 50 righteous, would You spare the 22:30 city that they might still be salt and light and witness?" 22:34 God said, "Yeah." 22:35 "What about 45? 22:36 What about 30?" 22:38 I think it goes down to, I think, ten finally. 22:40 So he's basically--Abraham is interceding. 22:44 It testifies there must not have been ten righteous in the city 22:48 because the angels went to Lot and said, "You need to get out 22:52 of dodge because God's going to destroy this place." 22:57 Jëan: All right, very good. Thank you, April. 22:59 We've got Andrew in California. 23:01 Andrew, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 23:03 Andrew: Oh, yeah, we've been listening to you 23:05 for so many years now. 23:06 First time calling, but--my question is on Hebrews 10:14 23:10 where it says that through one sacrifice we've been perfected 23:14 and being made holy. 23:17 So like I was talking--or hearing someone talk about it 23:20 saying that since Jesus already sacrificed for us and all our 23:25 sins are forgiven and that's forever, do we still keep asking 23:30 Jesus to forgive us when we make a mistake or do we just trust 23:34 that the Spirit changes us and then we just try to keep the law 23:38 because we love God? 23:40 Doug: Well, we should always try and keep the 23:42 law because we love God. 23:43 Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." 23:46 But the Bible also says--John tells us that if any man 23:49 sins--and he's speaking to believers. 23:52 If any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father. 23:55 That means someone who will defend us. 23:57 But Solomon says whoever confesses and forsakes his sin, 24:03 and John the Baptist began preaching. 24:05 Again, he's talking to God's people. 24:06 He says, "Repent." 24:08 Jesus began preaching. 24:09 He said, "Repent." 24:10 Peter said, "Repent." 24:12 And so when we sin, we should repent. 24:15 David was a believer, Spirit-filled. 24:17 He sinned with Bathsheba. 24:18 He laid on his face for 7 days. 24:20 Of course, it was a pretty grievous sin, but--yeah, there 24:23 should--repentance should go ahead of, you know, forgiveness. 24:30 And, you know, once we come to the Lord, 24:32 He forgives us, He accepts us. 24:34 We're His child. We're adopted. 24:36 But in our ongoing relationship, I don't ever doubt Karen's love 24:40 for me, and I hope she feels the same way. 24:43 She might even be listening right now. 24:45 But though we professed our love to each other in the beginning, 24:49 I've had to apologize several times and she forgives me, and 24:54 vice versa. 24:55 So in any ongoing love relationship, 24:58 you want to nurture that. 24:59 If there's an offense, you apologize, you repent. 25:02 Jëan: You know, there's a verse in the Bible that tells us, 1 25:04 John 1, verse 9, it's a very well-known verse, "If we confess 25:09 our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us, to cleanse us 25:12 from all unrighteousness." 25:13 So there is a work for us to do. 25:15 When Peter got up, filled with the Holy Spirit the day of 25:17 Pentecost, the people said, "What shall we do to be saved?" 25:20 He said, "Repent and be baptized." 25:22 So there is a work. 25:23 In order to receive that sacrifice that has already been 25:27 made, we have a work to do and that is to repent and to confess 25:30 our sins. 25:31 Doug: Yeah, now the verse there in Hebrews has been sometimes 25:33 misapplied where it says Christ died for us once, and they take 25:37 that to mean that there's nothing more that is to happen 25:41 in the plan of salvation, but this--the battle between good 25:44 and evil is still going on. 25:46 Jesus is our high priest. 25:48 He is in heaven before the Father, interceding--Paul--it 25:51 says in Hebrews, same book, he ever lives to make intercession 25:54 for us. 25:55 And so as we're repenting and turning to God, he continues 26:00 to intercede. 26:02 Jëan: You know, we do have a book, Pastor Doug, that might be 26:04 interesting on the subject. 26:05 It's called "Three Steps to Heaven," and it talks about what 26:07 we need to do in order to receive that grace that God 26:09 wants to give us. 26:11 It's free, but we need to receive it by faith. 26:13 If you'd like to get the book, the number is 800-835-6747 and 26:18 you can just ask for it. 26:19 It's called "Three Steps to Heaven." 26:21 Doug: Program's not over. 26:22 We've got the best half yet to come. 26:24 Tell your friends to call in. 26:26 "Bible Answers Live" in just a moment. 26:33 announcer: Stay tuned. 26:34 "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly. 26:44 Victoria: I grew up with my mother and father and my 26:46 four sisters. 26:47 We grew up poor, but it didn't feel like it 'cause, you know, 26:51 we had each other. 26:52 The family was Catholic. 26:54 My parents didn't practice, so we did not go to church 26:57 every Sunday. 26:59 I didn't have an understanding of God as a child, but I 27:02 remember someone telling me because I did something bad 27:05 that, "You better behave or God's going to get you." 27:08 That was my first introduction of God. 27:10 I didn't know who He was, so I didn't like it. 27:14 When I was 16, me and my mother had a disagreement and I was 27:18 told to leave the home. 27:20 I lived at friends' houses, relatives' houses, just who 27:23 would take me in at that time. 27:25 To me it was like an adventure. 27:28 "Where am I going to go next?" 27:30 Between the age of 16 and 23 or 24, I was homeless, but after a 27:36 while, I had to find a place to live. 27:40 There was a pantry store. 27:42 Someone had told me to go there and ask the lady there. 27:46 So the conditions were--to live there was you had to do chores, 27:50 which I was fine with, but you had to go to church, and my 27:54 thought was, "Well, church hasn't killed anybody yet." 27:57 Going to church was very slow. 27:59 I would fall asleep, lot of the speakers were very monotoned, 28:03 but after a while, I started to listen in church and started 28:07 following along, asking questions. 28:10 I was going to that church, I believe it was about 10 years. 28:12 So that whole time, I knew Jesus loved me, but I did--really 28:15 didn't attain anything else. 28:18 That's when I came across Amazing Facts and it was Doug 28:21 Batchelor preaching, and I learned so much. 28:25 In just that one session and learning about the Sabbath, 28:29 Pastor Doug delivered it with so much Scriptures. 28:34 I learned more in that than the whole 10 years up to that time I 28:37 learned in the nondenominational church. 28:40 Pastor Doug mentioned that if you go to this website, that you 28:43 can find a church locator and find the church nearest to you. 28:46 I had a friend who just opened up a restaurant. 28:50 We knew each other for 4 years and we never had a 28:54 religious conversation. 28:56 And I saw my friend walking up the steps of this church. 28:59 So the next time I came into town, I came into the 29:02 restaurant, and without even saying hi I just said, 29:05 "What church do you go to? 29:06 What time is service? 29:07 I know it's on Sabbath. What time is service?" 29:09 She was like, "It's at 10. Why?" 29:12 I was like, "Okay, I'll be there." 29:15 And I showed up the next Sabbath, and 29:17 she met me at the door. 29:18 The same time Amazing Facts was teaching me, God had prepared a 29:22 friend for me, someone I can go to church with. 29:25 What God has done for me is show me the truth. 29:29 ♪♪♪ 29:40 Doug: I grew up mostly in New York City. 29:42 I was sent to many different boarding schools. 29:45 Most of these schools told me that there was no purpose 29:47 in life. 29:49 And I saw in my home people were not very happy, and I would 29:53 think about suicide. 29:54 Doug: Sharing a personal testimony can be one of the most 29:57 powerful ways to win souls to Christ. 29:59 That's why I'd like to invite you to discover and share a new 30:03 presentation of my "Richest Caveman" testimony. 30:06 It's now available on a special DVD from Amazing Facts. 30:09 We've even included the award-winning "Kingdoms in Time" 30:13 documentary that recently aired on the History channel. 30:15 To get your copy of "The Richest Caveman," visit afbookstore.com 30:20 or call 800-538-7275. 30:28 announcer: You're listening to "Bible Answers Live," where 30:31 every question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His 30:35 plan to save you. 30:36 So what are you waiting for? 30:38 Get practical answers about the good book for a better 30:41 life today. 30:45 This broadcast is a previously-recorded episode. 30:48 If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the 30:51 air, please call us next Sunday between 7 p.m. 30:55 and 8 p.m. Pacific time. 30:57 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this 31:00 evening's program, call 800-835-6747. 31:05 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 31:10 Now, let's rejoin our hosts for more "Bible Answers Live." 31:16 Doug: We are back and we are live, and you're welcome to call 31:19 in with your Bible questions. 31:20 We have a couple of lines open. 31:22 Good chance you'll get your question into the best--second 31:24 half of the program. 31:26 That number, again, is 800-GOD-SAYS. 31:28 That is 800-463-7297. 31:33 This is "Bible Answers Live," a live interaction--interactive 31:36 Bible study. 31:37 My name is Doug Batchelor. 31:39 Jëan: My name is Jëan Ross, and we've got 31:40 Jett listening in Florida. 31:42 Jett, welcome to the program. You're on the air. 31:45 Jett: Hello, my question is, how did Noah survive 31:49 on the ark without air or, like, how did--where 31:53 did the air come from? 31:55 Doug: That's a good question because if you read it--and 31:57 Pastor Ross might look up the reference where it says the 31:59 window was 1 cubit. 32:01 When you read about the construction, it tells about 32:04 Noah making a window that was a cubit. 32:06 And a cubit's only about 18 inches, but--and it may be more 32:10 than a cubit, I don't remember, but it wasn't very big. 32:12 But it's basically talking about either a series of windows all 32:16 around the ark that size for ventilation and that--it also 32:20 needed to provide some light. 32:22 I'm sure they maybe had some artificial light, maybe oil 32:24 lamps or whatever in there as well. 32:26 But with all those animals in there, there's a lot of 32:29 breathing creatures. 32:30 You'd need to have--have to have a good convection. 32:33 So we believe that this was a series of windows that went 32:36 around the top that provided light--some light and some air 32:41 and yet still shielded from the rain as you would have with a 32:43 window where--with an eave. 32:45 Jëan: You know, it almost sounds like it when you read it. 32:47 I'm looking at--this is New King James Version. 32:49 Genesis chapter 6, verse 16, it says, "You shall make a window 32:51 in the ark, and you shall finish it a cubit from above." 32:56 So it talks about the height from the top, but it doesn't say 32:59 how wide it is. 33:00 Almost seems like the grounds--from the top. 33:02 So around all the way. 33:04 Yeah, it would seem to be something like that, and that's 33:06 all it says. 33:08 And then it goes on to talk about the door. 33:09 That's Genesis chapter 6, verse 16. 33:11 Doug: Yup, good question. 33:12 So, you know, there--there's actually a museum. 33:15 I think you were there with me, at the ark museum in Kentucky? 33:19 Is it Kentucky? 33:21 Jëan: The Ark Encounter. 33:22 Doug: And they've actually got kind of a live life-size model 33:26 of the ark, and it all makes sense when you go there and look 33:30 at it. 33:31 Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is Uni 33:33 from California. 33:34 Uni, welcome to the program. 33:36 Uni: Hello, Pastor Batchelor and Pastor Jëan Ross, and thank you 33:39 for taking my call. 33:41 Doug: Well, thanks for calling. 33:44 Uni: So before I ask my question, I just want to say 33:46 I've been watching your Q&As for, like, the past year. 33:49 And the two questions that really came into my mind was one 33:53 person asked if they sell their soul or they make a deal with 33:56 the devil, can they repent, and your answer was yes; and another 34:00 person asked can an ordinary person be delivered from unclean 34:05 spirits, and your answers was yes. 34:07 So I was just wondering and also suggesting, what does the Bible 34:12 say about conversion from paganism to God? 34:15 And was wondering if you can do a sermon on--of all the people 34:19 in the Bible who worshiped pagan gods that converted to God, even 34:23 to those who didn't, like Jezebel. 34:26 Doug: Yeah, well, you have--of course, in the New Testament 34:28 you've got a lot of examples of people. 34:31 Paul went through Asia and, I think, it was in Ephesus they 34:35 were burning their pagan books and witchcraft, and that's about 34:38 as pagan as you get. 34:39 And he was preaching and people that were worshiping the 34:42 goddess Diana. 34:44 He and Silas, I think, got thrown in jail over that one. 34:48 And so you see a lot of pagans that were converting to belief. 34:55 And then in the Bible you get people like Naaman who was--you 34:59 know, he was from the Syrians up there in Damascus, and yet he 35:04 converted and became a worshiper of the true God. 35:07 Now, people ask that question. 35:10 They say you're not supposed to lie. 35:12 Of course, not. 35:13 But what if you make a vow--and you shouldn't break your 35:15 promises--but what if you make a vow to give your soul to 35:17 the devil? 35:18 Well, I think when you give yourself to Christ, that old 35:21 person dies spiritually and you are born again. 35:24 You become a new person and, you know, that promise, making the 35:29 decision--you know, there's actually a place in the Bible 35:32 where if someone made a vow and the father felt that it was a 35:37 foolish vow, he could overrule the vow and say, "You know, 35:41 they're too young." 35:43 Or even a man for his wife, he could overrule it. 35:47 And I think that if we make a foolish vow, in His love, God 35:51 can overrule that. 35:53 And I know a lot of young kids in their youth, they're 35:57 listening to rock records and sold their souls to the devil 36:00 and then later they learn about Jesus and they repent and they 36:03 become productive Christians. 36:05 So I think God forgives us for saying dumb things. 36:08 Jëan: All right, well, thank you, Uni. 36:10 Next caller that we have is Joshua in California. 36:12 Joshua, welcome to the program. 36:14 Joshua: All right, so I want to be as charitable as possible 36:17 with this question 'cause you always say, Pastor Doug, not to 36:20 build doctrine off of just one Scripture. 36:24 And so here we are. 36:25 John 20, verses 21 through 23. 36:28 And my question about it is, did Jesus give humanity the ability 36:32 to forgive sins? 36:34 Doug: All right, let me read this for our friends. 36:36 John chapter 20, verse 21, and let me--I know what verse you're 36:41 talking about--oh, here it is. 36:42 Says, "When he said this, he showed 36:44 them his hands and his side. 36:45 Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 36:47 So Jesus said to them, 'Peace be to you. 36:49 As the Father sent me, so I send you.' 36:52 And when he said this, he breathed on them, and said, 36:54 'Receive the Holy Spirit. 36:55 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain 36:59 the sins of any, they are retained.'" 37:01 Now, does that sound like God is giving humans the ability to 37:05 forgive sin in general? 37:08 No, I think that what Christ is saying is, as the Father sent 37:11 Jesus, we point people to Christ who forgives. 37:16 In accepting Christ, they accept that forgiveness. 37:19 In rejecting Christ, they reject that forgiveness and they are 37:23 not forgiven. 37:25 And so it's not that you and I get to go, "Eeny, meeny, miny, 37:28 moe, you're saved, you're forgiven, you're lost, your sins 37:30 are retained." 37:32 No, God would not want that 'cause God's not willing for 37:34 anyone to perish, the Bible says. 37:36 Jëan: Also, the context here, Jesus is not talking specific 37:39 to individuals. 37:40 He's speaking to the church and he's giving the church--and, of 37:42 course, the disciples at the time, they are the church and 37:44 the church was to grow. 37:46 He was giving the church as a whole certain authority. 37:48 Not an individual, not Peter alone or one of the apostles, 37:51 but as a church. 37:53 The church is to represent Christ in the proclamation of 37:55 the message, and there are times when the church needs to 37:58 discipline a member. 37:59 Maybe somebody is living a life that is contrary to the gospel, 38:02 and in order to reach that soul, the church would bring them 38:06 before the church and warn them and ask them to come to a point 38:09 of repentance. 38:10 If they receive that warning, they can be reconciled. 38:13 Sometimes the church needs to disfellowship them and no longer 38:17 are they part of the church. 38:18 And so this verse is definitely referring to also the 38:21 responsibility, the authority that God has given to the 38:24 church, again, for the purpose of redeeming people, not 38:27 arbitrary choosing who's saved and who's lost. 38:30 Doug: An example of what you're talking about is a difficult 38:32 verse in 1 Corinthians 5:5 where there was someone in the 38:36 Corinthian church that was--actually, he was sleeping 38:38 with his stepmother, and the church said, "Look, you're 38:41 supposed to be a believer. 38:43 You've got to dismiss him from the church. 38:45 It's a terrible witness." 38:46 And he wasn't repenting evidently. 38:48 And it says to deliver him to the devil. 38:51 Well, the church together made a decision to say, "Your sins are 38:54 not being forgiven until you repent." 38:56 And they put him out of the church. 38:58 So in that sense, absolutely right. 39:00 He's speaking to the church as a whole. 39:03 Jëan: Right, thank you, Joshua. 39:04 Next caller that we have is Jerry in North Carolina. 39:07 Jerry, welcome to the program. 39:08 Jerry: Hello, pastors, and thank you for your ministry. 39:11 Doug: Yes, thank you. 39:13 Jerry: My question is in the Gospels, Jesus is tempted by 39:18 Satan for 40 days and 40 nights before he starts his ministry. 39:22 Then we don't really see him in the rest of New Testament until 39:26 Revelations 12--chapter 12 where he's fighting in heaven and he's 39:32 thrown to the earth. 39:33 Where is he now, or where was he then? 39:36 Doug: Yeah, well, if you look--I'm sorry. 39:38 That's a good question. 39:39 You know, does the devil have a headquarters? 39:41 People wonder, you know, is he down in some cavern? 39:45 A lot of medieval literature seems to imply the devil's down 39:49 there in Hades, and they get that from Greek mythology. 39:53 But you read in the book of Job, and in chapter 1, verse 6, it 39:57 says, "There was a day when the sons of God came to present 39:59 themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 40:04 And the Lord said to Satan, 'From where do you come?' 40:06 And he said, 'From going to and fro on the earth, from walking 40:11 back and forth on it.'" 40:12 Not in it. 40:14 Satan roams the world like a roaring lion, Peter says. 40:17 So he's--he left Christ. 40:19 He didn't give Jesus his direct attention at that point. 40:22 And who knows if there is a physical place devils gather, 40:26 but evidently the devil lives on the earth somewhere. 40:31 Jëan: All right, thank you for your call. 40:33 Next caller that we have is, let's see, Hector. 40:37 Hector, welcome to the program. 40:40 Hector: All right, I have a remark on two different verses, 40:44 which is Genesis 2, verse 7 40:53 and 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 23. 40:59 They--each of them say different things. 41:02 Doug: Genesis 2, verse 7, "So the Lord God formed man from the 41:05 dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of 41:08 life; and man became a living soul." 41:10 Now, what was the other verse you wondered about? 41:12 Hector: And 1 Thessalonians 5:23. 41:15 Doug: And so are you wondering if they--these two verses 41:19 conflict with each other? 41:20 Hector: Exactly. 41:21 Jëan: Let me read the verse. Doug: Go ahead. 41:23 Jëan: "Now may the God appease Himself, sanctify you 41:25 completely; that He--that--and may your whole spirit, soul, and 41:29 body be preserved blameless until the coming of the Lord." 41:34 Hector: Exactly. 41:35 See, in Genesis you see that human being possess like two 41:40 parts, two elements, which is the breath and the body, and 41:44 then now in 1 Thessalonians you see three parts. 41:48 Jëan: Okay. 41:50 Doug: Yeah, well, here you've got spirit. 41:52 It's talking about the--your life and who you are. 41:57 The word is you--keep in mind Genesis, you're using Greek-- 42:02 I'm sorry, Genesis, you're using Hebrew. 42:04 Here in the New Testament, you're using Greek. 42:06 So for one thing you got two different languages. 42:08 I believe the word here is--and I might have to look it up. 42:10 I think it's pneuma, which is going to be--yeah, it is. 42:14 It's pneuma, which means wind. 42:17 And so it's talking about, you know, your inner being, who you 42:21 are, your soul, your life, your body. 42:24 Be preserved, blameless at the coming of the Lord. 42:27 Paul is the--he's speaking to people who are coming from a 42:32 non-Christian background where they talked about the spirit of 42:35 man and the body and the mind and they had all these things, 42:39 and Paul is saying, "Whatever it is, all of it, let it be found 42:42 blameless at the coming of the Lord." 42:44 So he was removing all doubt by disencompassing everything they 42:47 understood to be your essence. 42:49 Jëan: I think also part of the reason is there was a teaching 42:51 that was prevalent in the early days of Christianity that kind 42:54 of came from paganism. 42:56 The idea is that there was this separation between the soul and 42:58 the body, meaning that you could worship God in your soul or your 43:02 spirit, that sometime referred to soul, spirit, but you were 43:05 free to kind of do what you wanted to do in the body. 43:07 So you could live sinfully, that's your body, that's the 43:11 flesh, that doesn't count, as long as you're 43:12 worshiping God in your soul. 43:14 Here, Paul is very clear that it's not only your soul or your 43:18 spirit but your body belongs--your body is the temple 43:22 of the Holy Spirit. 43:23 You want to glorify God in your body. 43:24 And so he's really making that connection that it's not just 43:27 this soul type thing, the spirit type thing that worships God, 43:31 but it's your entire being. 43:33 Doug: Yeah, matter of fact, that was probably the doctrine of the 43:35 Nicolaitans, this idea that you can separate the two things. 43:40 So hope that helps a little, Hector. 43:41 Good question. Thank you. 43:43 Jëan: We got Chad in Pennsylvania. 43:44 Chad, welcome to the program. 43:47 Chad: Yes, hi, guys. 43:48 Wow, thanks for having this program and thanks for taking 43:52 my call. 43:54 So my original question was, does God need to be praised? 43:59 I'm not sure if I've phrased that correctly. 44:01 I think the better question is, why does God need to be praised 44:07 since God doesn't actually need anything? 44:10 But why does God need to be praised? 44:13 If He's omniscient, all-powerful, all-knowing, why 44:18 would us mere mortals or humans need to remind Him of that? 44:25 And I'll hang up and listen to your answer. 44:27 Doug: All right, good. Hey, thanks so much, Chad. 44:29 Yeah, you would think, "Well, is God creating an audience to 44:34 applaud Him? 44:35 Is He so vain that He needs to make these creatures that say, 44:38 'Well, you know, just continue to bow and applaud and 44:41 praise Me?'" 44:42 No, I think that it's actually the other way around. 44:45 God makes creatures that He knows their only fulfillment 44:50 will come in giving. 44:52 And what's the highest object that anyone could give to? 44:56 It would be praise and glory and thanks to the Creator. 45:00 And we're just designed where we do not find our fulfillment. 45:03 See, God wants us to be blessed, and Jesus said it is more 45:07 blessed to give than receive, and we find our greatest 45:11 blessing--when we're saved, we'll find our greatest blessing 45:13 in giving praise and thanks and glory to God. 45:17 It--it'll--we'll find fulfillment in that. 45:19 God does not start to blush when we praise Him and say, "I need a 45:23 little more of that." 45:24 He knows that we--until we find our happiness in that, we're not 45:29 going to understand who He is and we're not going to 45:31 be fulfilled. 45:33 Jëan: Yeah, the Bible says that God is love. 45:35 We're created in the image of God. 45:37 And love is manifest in giving, in recognizing that. 45:41 And so our love is demonstrated in our praise and worship of God 45:46 and our greatest joy is found in loving God, in worshiping Him. 45:50 So does God need our praise? No. 45:52 Do we need to praise God? Yes. 45:54 If we want to live and be everything that God has purposed 45:57 for us to be, we need to express our love to Him, and we do that 46:02 through praise. 46:03 So it's really for our benefit. 46:05 Doug: I know I heard a--I was actually in a college class and 46:07 the professor was talking about the commandment where God 46:10 commands us to love Him and, you know, he painted this picture of 46:14 some, you know, great, big, Hulk-like monster that has a 46:17 club and He says, "Love Me," you know. 46:21 Well, it'd be impossible to love somebody that it's going to, 46:25 "Love Me or I'm going to throw you in hell." 46:28 And so when God commands us to love Him, it's not because He is 46:31 a thug saying, "If you don't love Me and keep My 46:33 commandments, I'm going to destroy you." 46:35 He's pleading with us from His heart and saying, "You will not 46:39 be happy, you will not be satisfied until you love Me." 46:42 'Cause we are created to love. 46:44 And until we do that, we're going to be unsatisfied. 46:48 Jëan: Right, next caller that we have, Alla in California. 46:50 Alla, welcome to the program. 46:53 Alla: Hi, first of all, thank you so much for your 46:56 wonderful ministry, and I give your website address and 47:00 your information whatever I see person ready to come to God. 47:07 My question, 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 10, 11 and it talk about 47:16 spirit of Christ was in prophets. 47:20 And my question, is spirit of Christ the same that Holy 47:24 Spirit or it is different spirit, or what is it? 47:28 Doug: Yeah, it has to be the Holy Spirit because you can read 47:31 where Jesus said, and he's quoting from Isaiah 61, "The 47:35 Spirit of the Lord is upon me." 47:39 And so when Christ was anointed, he was anointed with the Spirit 47:43 of God. 47:44 That's what the word Christ means, the anointed. 47:46 The word Messiah is the Jewish word for the anointed. 47:49 So when it says the spirit of Christ, talking about the Spirit 47:53 of God that had come upon Christ, be in you, it's God 47:56 the Spirit. 47:57 Jëan: And Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come as 47:59 his representative. 48:01 And so when you have the Holy Spirit, Christ said, "I will be 48:04 with you always." 48:05 Well, he was there through the Holy Spirit. 48:06 And so the Spirit brought the presence of Christ. 48:09 So it's hard to separate and say, you know, no, the Holy 48:12 Spirit's not representing Jesus because he is. 48:15 And they connected, and yet they are distinct beings, the Father, 48:18 Son, and Holy Spirit. 48:20 Again, we talking about the Godhead, and this is a 48:21 deep subject. 48:23 We only have what the Bible is revealed, but-- 48:25 Doug: We do have that book we can offer that's called "The 48:27 Trinity: One God or Three." 48:29 Jëan: That's right. That's a great book. 48:30 We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. 48:33 The number is 800-835-6747. 48:36 You can ask for the book. 48:37 It's called "The Trinity: One God or Three." 48:40 And you'll be blessed by reading that. 48:41 You can dial #250 on your smartphone and ask for the book 48:45 that way as well. 48:47 Darla in Idaho. 48:48 Darla, welcome to the program. 48:50 Darla: Thank you for taking my call, and thank you for 48:53 your ministry. 48:55 I appreciate it so much. 48:56 Both you pastors are wonderful. 48:59 So my question is this. 49:02 I don't remember the Scripture, but I just read it a few days 49:06 ago and it said that there's silence in heaven for half 49:09 an hour. 49:11 Jëan: Revelation 8, verse 1. 49:13 Darla: Revelation 8, verse 1. 49:15 Okay, so now, does that mean that when Jesus leaves heaven to 49:20 come and get his loved ones and then back again, does that take 49:25 an hour--or half hour? 49:27 Doug: Good question. What does that mean? 49:29 Why half an hour? It seems like an odd time. 49:32 In Bible timekeeping, if you use prophetic time where a day is a 49:37 year, then--and that's--you can see several 49:41 examples of that in the Bible. 49:42 It says, "I've appointed you a day for a year." 49:47 If that's the case, then an hour is going to be about 15 days. 49:53 So there's 360 days in a Jewish year. 49:56 So you've got to use the Jewish year. 49:58 You find these times given several times in Revelation. 50:02 For one time it says 42 months, another time it says 1,260 days, 50:08 and another time it says a time, a times, and the dividing 50:11 of time. 50:13 They all add up to 1,260, which would--only way you get 3 1/2 50:17 years is if it's a 360-day year. 50:21 So I'm not trying to get too deep here, but if the Jewish 50:24 year is 360 days, a lunar calendar, then 1 hour is 15 50:28 days exactly. 50:30 Half an hour would be about seven. 50:32 That's why it says silence for about half an hour. 50:36 So this is talking about, like, a 7-day period. 50:40 And some have wondered, is there silence in heaven because--a 50:43 couple of things. 50:44 One, is Christ now coming to redeem the saints and there's no 50:49 angels in heaven 'cause he's coming with all the holy angels? 50:52 And is there also silence because there's a great judgment 50:55 that's about to come upon the wicked? 50:57 And so, Pastor Ross? 51:00 Jëan: Yeah, I don't think that it's 3 1/2-day journey for Jesus 51:03 to come to the earth and then another 3 1/2-day journey to get 51:06 back to heaven. 51:08 You know, we think of it in that way because if we take a trip 51:10 it's going to be the same amount of time coming back. 51:13 But Jesus can come in a flash. 51:14 Angels can travel between earth and heaven in an instant. 51:18 It almost seems that Christ comes quickly and then he takes 51:21 the scenic route back, a 7-day journey back to heaven. 51:24 Not that it's because it's so far away, but maybe God is 51:27 teaching us some things or we experiencing something special 51:30 during that 7-day journey. 51:32 Maybe it's our anticipation is growing because we heading to 51:35 our heavenly home. 51:36 So yes, about a 7-day journey back to heaven after 51:39 Jesus comes. 51:41 Doug: Well, good, appreciate that, Darla, thanks so much. 51:43 Jëan: Lupe is in Washington. Lupe, welcome to the program. 51:47 Lupe: Oh, hello. Thank you for taking my call. 51:49 My question is, since I don't belong to a church--or my family 51:55 we don't go to a church, but can I still take Communion at home 51:59 with my family even though I don't belong to a church? 52:02 Doug: Oh, Lupe, can I ask you, are you--do you not belong to a 52:06 church because there's no church within traveling distance, or 52:09 what prevents you from going to a church? 52:12 Lupe: Or--well, I mean, there is a few churches around here, 52:15 but we just--as far as being religious, we're just really 52:19 getting--trying to get, you know, with my family reading the 52:23 Bible and coming together and getting to know Christ and-- 52:27 Doug: Well, that--that's wonderful that you're 52:28 doing that. 52:29 And I don't want to discourage that, but the next step, of 52:33 course, is to be in fellowship with other people that are doing 52:37 the same things, studying the Bible, trying to draw closer 52:39 to Christ. 52:40 And assuming--unless you're, you know, in a very remote area. 52:43 And we meet people sometimes that there's just, you know, no 52:47 people around. 52:49 But if you've got other believers around, you're going 52:53 to find strength in meeting them and fellowshipping. 52:57 And you can even contact Amazing Facts, and we can--depends on 53:00 where you are, we can sometimes recommend good 53:02 churches in the area. 53:04 So you're asking about taking Communion by yourself. 53:06 I've heard of missionaries that were, you know, isolated and 53:10 they were the only believers, was the husband, wife, and the 53:12 family, and they would do Communion on their own, but it's 53:17 preferable that you celebrate Communion with people. 53:19 You know, Jesus, part of the Last Supper was he washed the 53:23 disciples' feet. 53:24 So, you know--and in our church, we had a Communion yesterday and 53:30 we have--you know, women will pair off. 53:32 They'll actually wash the feet, and then we have the bread and 53:36 the grape juice. 53:38 And then sometimes couples will wash one another's feet and 53:41 they'll pray together, and we do--we actually go through what 53:44 you call a full communion where we do foot-washing and the 53:47 Lord's Supper. 53:49 So theoretically you could probably eke that out at home. 53:53 I think you'll be missing something if you 53:55 don't fellowship. 53:58 Hebrews chapter 10, "Do not forsake the assembling of 54:01 ourselves together, and all the more as you see the 54:03 day approaching." 54:05 Jëan: You know, we do have a book, Pastor Doug. 54:06 It's called "The Search for the True Church." 54:07 And, Lupe, you might enjoy reading this. 54:10 Gives biblical principles. 54:12 When one is looking for a church, you want to find a 54:14 church that teaches the Bible. 54:16 And you'll enjoy those biblical principles found in the book. 54:19 Just ask for it. 54:20 It's called "The Search for the True Church." 54:21 The number to call is 800-835-6747. 54:25 That's 800-835-6747. 54:27 You can dial #250 on your smartphone and just ask for it 54:32 by name, "The Search for the True Church." 54:34 We've got Jeremy in Trinidad and Tobago. 54:36 Jeremy, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 54:38 Jeremy: Right, hi, Good night, everyone, 54:42 good night, Pastor Doug. 54:43 So my question is just a follow-up of the 1/2-hour time 54:49 silence in heaven. 54:51 Even when, you know, this Jesus, you know, told us to pray that 54:57 our flight may not be during the winter or during the Sabbath. 55:02 So my question is, why did Jesus, you know, told us to pray 55:07 that our flight may not be on those times? 55:09 Doug: Yeah, so Christ when he described the events 55:12 connected with the end of the world, among the many things 55:15 that he said to the disciples, and you'll find this in Matthew 55:17 chapter 24, verse 20, and he said, "Pray that your flight be 55:22 not in the winter or on the Sabbath." 55:24 And here he says why. 55:25 "For then will be great tribulation, such as has not 55:29 been since the beginning of the world until that time or ever 55:33 shall be." 55:35 He says that those that are in Judea flee into the mountains. 55:39 And so if you've got God's people that are fleeing 55:43 persecution and they're in the mountains; well, in the winter 55:46 time there's no food in the fields. 55:48 It's going to be a lot more difficult just to survive 55:52 the elements. 55:53 And obviously, you wouldn't want to be taking God's holy day of 55:58 rest to flee for your life, that--this is also, I think, one 56:02 more verse in the Bible, Pastor Ross, that reminds us the idea 56:06 that Jesus came to do away with one of the commandments. 56:09 He was thinking about his people still keeping the Sabbath even 56:12 down at the end of time because he said they should pray not 56:15 only that they don't have to flee in the winter but not on 56:19 the Sabbath day. 56:20 And some say, well, that's because the Jews would shut the 56:23 gates on the Sabbath, you couldn't get out. 56:25 Well, that's not true, not during the Roman time. 56:28 The gates of Jerusalem were still opened and--but a very 56:31 good question. 56:33 And yeah, God wants us to be thinking now about what's going 56:37 to be coming in the very near future and preparing now in 56:40 our faith. 56:41 Jëan: Our next caller that we have is Jamie in Idaho. 56:43 Jamie, welcome to the program. 56:44 We got about a minute. 56:46 Jamie: Hey. 56:48 My question--good to talk to you guys. 56:51 I know there's no having children in the Resurrection, 56:54 but why not on the new heavens and the new earth once 56:57 everything comes back to heaven and earth that it's restored as 57:00 it was in Eden? 57:02 Doug: Yeah. Well, good question. 57:04 You know, God created marriage. 57:06 That was part of His original plan. 57:08 But with Adam and Eve, He said, "Be fruitful and fill 57:12 the earth." 57:14 Some people have been confused 'cause they read in the King 57:16 James Version, it says replenish. 57:18 And we think of replenish, meaning replace something that 57:21 was once there before. 57:22 But it just means fill. 57:24 Be fruitful and fill the earth. 57:25 Well, in the Resurrection, there's going to be millions 57:28 of people. 57:30 And so the earth is now going to be populated with the redeemed. 57:33 Now, some people who are so used to marriage and those 57:35 relationships were saying, "Well, when we get to heaven, if 57:38 you've had a wife that you love or a husband that you love, does 57:41 God give you divorce papers?" 57:43 No, you can be with whoever you love in heaven, but 57:46 there--there's not going to be marriage as we 57:48 know it down here. 57:49 Don't think God's leaving something out. 57:51 Friends, I promise you. You just get there. 57:53 I guarantee it will be an upgrade. 57:55 No one will be disappointed. 57:57 If you are, I'll give you your money back. 57:59 God bless, friends. 58:00 Hey, thanks so much for staying with us. 58:02 Check out everything we offer at amazingfacts.org, and we'll 58:06 study together again next week. 58:10 announcer: Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. 58:13 We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. 58:17 "Bible Answers Live" is produced by Amazing Facts International, 58:21 a faith-based ministry located in Granite Bay, California. |
Revised 2025-04-02