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Series Code: AFBA
Program Code: AFBA202505S
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00:03 male announcer: It is the bestselling 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, listening friends. 00:51 Welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 00:53 And we always like to start with an amazing fact. 00:57 The James Webb Space Telescope is by far the world's most 01:01 powerful telescope and the largest ever sent into space. 01:06 This highly sophisticated instrument took over 24 years to 01:09 complete and cost NASA around $10 billion to build. 01:14 Launched on Christmas day 2021 from French Guiana, the 01:18 telescope is a hundred times more powerful than the Hubble 01:21 Space Telescope. 01:23 If it was on earth, it could detect the heat of a bumblebee 01:27 from the moon. 01:29 Webb's infrared cameras are so sensitive they need to block all 01:32 light from the sun, earth, and moon. 01:35 The five-layer sunshield is like having sunblock of SPF 01:39 1 million. 01:41 Not to mention it's as big as a tennis court and they had to 01:44 engineer this so it could fold up into a little rocket and then 01:48 unfold 1 million miles from earth with no errors. 01:52 Since it began transmitting its first images in July 2021, the 01:57 scientific world has been stunned by the spectacular new, 02:00 ultra deep pictures of the cosmos. 02:03 One of the goals of the extraordinary telescope was to 02:06 see if they could discover something about the origin of 02:09 the universe. 02:11 Scientists were hoping the JWST would see the outer edge of the 02:15 expanding universe. 02:17 Instead what they found is an infinite ocean of galaxies 02:22 containing billions of stars that continue to stretch as far 02:26 as the telescope can see in every direction. 02:30 You know, Pastor Ross, we were just talking before the program. 02:33 I still wonder if I could be fired in a rocket ship a 02:37 thousand times the speed of light in any one direction, 02:40 would you ever reach the end of space, of, you know, galaxies 02:46 and stars and stuff? 02:48 And if you hit a wall, you'd have to say, "But what's on the 02:51 other side?" 02:53 And the idea of the immensity and infinity of space is just 02:59 mind-boggling, and yet God's aware of every detail. 03:03 Jëan Ross: And He made it all. 03:04 He made all the stars. 03:05 Matter of fact, the Bible tells us not only is He the creator of 03:07 all things but He knows the number of the stars. 03:11 Here you find in Psalms 147, verse 4 and 5, speaking of God, 03:17 "He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all 03:20 by name. 03:21 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding 03:25 is infinite." 03:26 So there it is. 03:28 God counts the stars and He has a name for them. 03:30 Doug: Yeah. 03:31 You know, I think probably if you go back even just a couple 03:34 of 100 years, when astronomers looked up into space, you know, 03:38 they saw a lot of twinkling white stars. 03:41 Some had a little bit of the red hue maybe. 03:43 They might have seen the rings of Saturn. 03:47 But now when we get these images coming back from both the Hubble 03:50 and the James Webb Telescope, these colors and shapes and 03:54 forms, and these nebula, and these gas clouds, supernovas, 03:58 and quasars. 04:00 And there's so much out there, and we don't see any of it 04:03 up close. 04:05 So now when we talk about God having a place in heaven, it 04:10 actually sounds more scientifically plausible. 04:13 We used to wonder in the Bible, how could God have a new 04:16 Jerusalem come down from heaven, a city come down from space? 04:20 Well, man has built an international space station. 04:23 If man can do that, why would people doubt that God has this 04:27 paradise that the Bible speaks of? 04:30 One more thought before--I know you're going to go to the 04:31 free offer. 04:33 I think it was C.S. Lewis that said, 04:35 and it's a great practical argument in philosophy, 04:39 that every desire that God gives humans, there is 04:43 some mechanism to fulfill that desire, whether it's food or 04:47 procreation or social interaction. 04:51 Or it seems whenever we have a desire, there must be some way 04:54 to satisfy that. 04:56 The Bible says God has placed eternity in our hearts. 05:00 There must be a way to satisfy that, or we wouldn't have it. 05:04 And we have an offer. 05:06 If people don't think there's a heaven, I think that you need to 05:09 think again. 05:10 Jëan: We have a book. 05:12 It's called "Heaven: Is It For Real?" 05:14 That is our free offer. 05:15 We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. 05:17 The number is 800-835-6747. 05:20 And you can ask for the book. 05:22 It's called "Heaven: Is It For Real?" 05:23 You can also dial #250 on your smartphone and just say, "I like 05:28 that book 'Heaven: Is It For Real?'" 05:30 And we'll be happy to send you a digital copy of the book. 05:34 Well, Pastor Doug, before we go to the phone lines, we always 05:36 like to start this program with prayer. 05:39 So let's do that now. 05:40 Dear Father, we are grateful once again that we have this 05:42 time to open up Your Word and study. 05:44 And as we look up into the heavens, we see Your glory, Your 05:47 power, but when we look into Your Word, we also see Your 05:50 power and glory and Your love manifest in the plan 05:53 of redemption. 05:55 So please be with us as we study together this evening, and we 05:57 thank You. 05:59 In Jesus's name, amen. 06:01 Well, friends, again, we are so delighted that you are part of 06:04 "Bible Answers Live." 06:05 And we do have a number of folks who are standing by with their 06:09 Bible questions. 06:10 And, oh, by the way, if you do have a Bible question, you can 06:13 just call our studio here, and the number for that 06:15 is 800-463-7297. 06:19 Again, that number, if you have a Bible question, 06:21 is 800-463-7297. 06:26 Our first caller this evening is Elizabeth listening in Arizona. 06:30 Elizabeth, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 06:32 Elizabeth: Hi. 06:33 Thank you, pastors, for taking my call. 06:35 Doug: Yeah. 06:37 Elizabeth: I tried to ask this question last week. 06:39 I'm asking about the same passage in Malachi. 06:44 Doug: That's okay. 06:45 If we didn't scratch where you're itching, we want to try 06:48 to answer the right part of the question. 06:50 Elizabeth: I appreciate you. 06:52 It's perplexing my brain. 06:54 Why is there the possibility that Elijah would fail? 06:58 Isn't the earth going to go through a great deal of 07:01 trouble anyway? 07:03 I mean, could this get worse? 07:04 How could Elijah possibly let the Lord down? 07:07 Doug: Let me see if I can do a better job. 07:09 And, first of all, for our friends that are listening, 07:11 Elizabeth's asking about this prophecy at the end of the Old 07:14 Testament, and it says, "Behold," verse--this is chapter 07:18 4 Malachi, verse 5 and 6. 07:21 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming 07:25 of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 07:27 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and 07:30 the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and 07:33 strike the earth with a curse." 07:35 Now, there's two senses in which Elijah comes. 07:38 One, Jesus said, and this is in Matthew 11, that John the 07:43 Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah. 07:47 He brought a message of revival. 07:49 Many were revived. 07:50 To some extent, John prepared the way of the Lord, and many 07:55 accepted Jesus, and there was a great Pentecost and a revival, 07:58 but the nation rejected him and a curse came on them. 08:02 They were destroyed in 70 A.D. 08:04 In the end of time, there's going to be another 08:07 Elijah message. 08:08 God is going to have a great message of returning to the 08:10 Lord, repentance, revival. 08:13 And some will respond, but not everyone. 08:16 And you've got the seven last plagues that will ultimately 08:19 fall upon those that reject that message of revival. 08:22 Jëan: And even during the time of Elijah, the historic Elijah, 08:25 when he prophesied to Ahab the king, Israel was not spared 08:29 of judgment. 08:30 Eventually the northern kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians 08:32 and dispersed. 08:34 And yet there were individuals who received the Elijah message. 08:37 The Bible speaks of 7,000 that didn't bow their knee to Baal. 08:40 And so a remnant was saved from that group. 08:43 Likewise in the time of John the Baptist and at the end of time. 08:47 God will have a remnant who'll respond to the Elijah message. 08:50 They'll be protected, and eventually they'll be taken to 08:53 heaven, the second coming. 08:55 Doug: Yeah, hopefully. 08:56 Does that make sense, Elizabeth? 08:58 Elizabeth: Yes, sir. 08:59 I appreciate you taking my call once again. 09:02 Doug: All right. 09:03 Hey, thanks so much, we appreciate your calling. 09:05 Jëan: Next caller that we have is Brittany in California. 09:07 Evening, Brittany. 09:09 Brittany: Hey, hey, hey. 09:10 Doug: Hi, thanks for calling. 09:11 And your question. 09:14 Brittany: Yeah, my question is, why do so many people go through 09:19 bad things in this world? 09:21 Doug: Why do so many people go through bad things? 09:22 You know, that is a big question. 09:24 A lot of people turn from God because they say, "If God is all 09:27 powerful and He's loving, then why does He allow so 09:30 much suffering? 09:31 Why does He allow bad things to happen to good people?" 09:34 And probably the oldest book in the Bible is the book of Job and 09:37 it deals with that question. 09:39 Here you've got a good man who is suffering terrible plagues. 09:44 And you look behind the veil in the story of Job, we see that 09:47 God is not doing it. 09:49 There is an evil power that has hijacked this planet. 09:54 The Lord has come to redeem the planet for those that will turn 09:57 to Him, but it doesn't mean it's without a struggle. 10:00 So there's a battle between good and evil. 10:03 Not everything that happens in the world is God's will. 10:06 That's why the Bible says we are to pray His will be done on 10:09 earth as it is in heaven, because this world--Jesus says 10:12 the devil is the prince of this world. 10:14 Our first parents, when they listened to the devil instead of 10:17 God, they sort of handed the keys and the deed of the planet. 10:22 They gave their dominion to the enemy. 10:24 Jesus came to redeem or buy back, to ransom this world. 10:29 So soon it'll be over. 10:31 Satan's been defeated, but he's going to go down fighting 10:35 according to Revelation 12. 10:37 Jëan: You know, we do have a book. 10:38 It's called "When the Brook Dried Up: Why Do 10:40 Christians Suffer?" 10:41 And we'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks. 10:43 You know, the good news, Pastor Doug, is that the suffering is 10:45 not going to last forever. 10:47 The Bible is very clear that there is an end. 10:49 And Jesus comes and puts an end to sin and sorrow and suffering 10:53 and He makes all things new. 10:55 If you'd like to learn more about that, call and ask for 10:57 the book. 10:58 It's called "When the Brook Dried Up." 10:59 The number to call is 800-835-6747. 11:03 And you can call and ask. 11:05 You can dial #250 on your smartphone and you can ask for 11:08 it by name. 11:09 "When the Book--" Sorry. 11:11 "When the Brook Dried Up." 11:12 And it's kind of bringing the story from Elijah when the brook 11:16 dried up and he was facing trials and difficulties. 11:19 Next caller that we have is Glenn and Linda from Ohio. 11:22 Glenn, Linda, welcome to "Bible Answers Life." 11:25 Glenn: Good evening, pastors. 11:26 Thank you for taking my call, and welcome from Bethel, Ohio. 11:31 Doug: Thank you. 11:32 Glenn: I have a correction. 11:34 My Scripture this evening is Isaiah 60, not 66. 11:38 Doug: Okay. 11:39 Glenn: So get that in the book right there. 11:42 And where it begins is the 2nd verse of Isaiah 60 where it 11:49 talks about a great darkness over the land. 11:52 And its in conjunction with a massive move by the Gentile 11:56 population around the world bringing their wealth and coming 12:00 to Jerusalem under that darkness that existed at that time. 12:06 Question number one is I wondered is that historic or is 12:10 it prophetic? 12:11 And the second question is, what was it all about? 12:15 Doug: Good, great question. 12:16 Thanks, Glenn. 12:17 Let me read this for our friends that are listening. 12:19 We know people are often driving. 12:22 And so I'd like to just read the reference that Glenn is 12:23 talking about. 12:25 And it begins with verse 1. "Arise, shine; for your light 12:29 has come. 12:30 And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 12:32 For behold, darkness will cover the land, and deep darkness the 12:35 people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be 12:39 seen upon you. 12:40 And the Gentiles will come to your light, and kings to the 12:44 brightness of your rising." 12:46 So what is this light, this rising? 12:49 Well, you read in Malachi, it says the Son of righteousness 12:52 will arise with healing in His wings. 12:56 And Jesus said, "I Am the light of the world." 12:59 And because of Christ, the Gentile world was converted 13:04 to--or much of the Gentile world I should say, was converted to 13:08 the God of the Bible, the God of the Jews, Jehovah. 13:12 And so this is a prophecy. 13:14 Now, it had happened in the Old Testament during the time of 13:16 Solomon where the Gentiles, like the Queen of Sheba, they came to 13:20 the light, the wisdom of Solomon who was the son of David. 13:24 Well, Jesus is the son of David. 13:26 He's the king of kings. 13:27 And a lot of people around the world, Gentiles, are turning to 13:33 the God of the Bible. 13:36 Jëan: And in Revelation chapter 18, it's interesting you've got 13:38 this mighty angel coming down from heaven. 13:41 Says the earth was illuminated with his glory, and he cries 13:45 with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen." 13:47 Of course, what we refer to here is this fourth angel. 13:50 Also is reflective of the three angels' messages in Revelation 13:54 14, in particular the second angel. 13:57 So here we see a great revival that is to take place just 14:00 before Jesus comes, where the earth is filled with the glory 14:03 or the light of the gospel, this proclamation of God's last 14:07 warning message, calling people to come out of religious 14:09 confusion and to make their stand on Bible truth. 14:13 You know, Pastor Doug, I'm looking for a book that goes 14:15 along with this. 14:16 And we do have one that speaks about this great plan of 14:19 redemption, the gospel, the good news. 14:21 It's called "Three Steps to Heaven." 14:23 And, friends, if you want to be ready when that time comes so 14:26 that you can be amongst those who are shining forth the glory, 14:30 you want to learn what the gospel is, we'll be happy to 14:32 send you the book. 14:34 It's called "Three Steps to Heaven" and it's 14:35 about salvation. 14:36 How do you obtain that gift? 14:38 The number to call is 800-835-6747. 14:41 You can ask for the book by name, "Three Steps to Heaven." 14:44 You can dial #250 on your smartphone and ask for the book 14:48 that way as well. 14:49 Anna in Oregon, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 14:52 Anna: Evening, pastors. 14:54 Doug: Evening, thanks for calling. 14:55 Anna: Thank you. 14:57 I was reading through Genesis. 14:58 And in Genesis 12, Abram and Sarai, I think that's how you 15:03 pronounce it, they go to Egypt, and he tells his wife to say 15:09 that she's his sister. 15:11 And, of course, they lied. 15:13 And then Pharaoh gets punished for it and Abram gets blessed 15:19 for it. 15:21 Doug: Yeah, he goes out of Egypt with great wealth. 15:22 But the Pharaoh did sort of rebuke him also, says, "You 15:25 know, I could have lightly have lain with your wife. 15:28 You--why did you--why'd you lie to me?" 15:31 Anna: Yeah, yeah. 15:33 So, I mean, I guess my question is, is it okay to lie in 15:38 certain situation? 15:39 Doug: Yeah. 15:41 No, it's not a dumb question 'cause there are a lot of people 15:43 that have thought, "Well, you know, what do you do with the 15:45 story in the Bible where Joshua pretended that he was 15:50 being defeated? 15:52 It's, you know, deception in battle so he could draw the 15:54 enemy out of the city." 15:55 So deception is, you know, dishonesty in some form. 15:58 David pretended he was crazy before Abimelech so that he 16:04 wouldn't be killed. 16:07 You've got Rahab where she lied and said, "Oh, yeah, the spies, 16:11 they left. 16:12 If you hurry after them, you'll catch them." 16:13 So you've got examples in the Bible where people lied, but 16:15 never does it mean God endorses it. 16:17 The Bible is a faithful history book. 16:20 Now, there are times of ignorance that God winks at. 16:22 It doesn't mean it's okay. 16:24 Means in times of war. 16:26 Abraham shouldn't have been deceptive. 16:28 Technically, he was thinking, "Well, Sarah is actually my 16:31 half sister." 16:33 And he was really scared. 16:34 And not only did he do it, it set a bad example for Isaac. 16:36 Isaac did it with Rebecca later with the Philistines. 16:39 Said, "Oh, just say you're my sister." 16:41 She wasn't his sister, she was his first cousin. 16:43 But anyway, there's never a good reason to lie. 16:48 And, you know, I think about a story in the book 16:51 "The Hiding Place." 16:53 That's not in the Bible, but it's a great example, where 16:57 these German soldiers were rampaging up the street, taking 17:00 young men out of the Dutch houses to--and forcing them 17:04 into--pressing them into service. 17:05 And this young lady was a Christian, devout Christian, and 17:09 her brothers were hiding under the table. 17:11 And they came in and they kept pressing, "Are there any young 17:14 men here?" 17:16 And she didn't want to lie and she just was about to have 17:18 a meltdown. 17:19 Finally, she said, "They're under the table." 17:22 And because she'd never lied. 17:24 She just been taught, "Don't ever lie." 17:26 Well, the Germans lifted up the tablecloth, they didn't think to 17:29 look under the table and they thought that she was mocking and 17:34 they marched out. 17:35 Well, she told the truth, and God still spared them. 17:38 So I think you better off saying nothing. 17:42 Sometimes you shouldn't say anything. 17:44 Jesus said to the disciples, "There's many things I have to 17:47 say to you now, but you can't bear it." 17:49 So sometimes you might say nothing, but you should 17:50 never lie. 17:52 Jëan: You know, another story that comes to mind, Pastor Doug, 17:54 of modern times is Andrew. 17:57 He's referred to as Brother Andrew, who was committed to 18:00 taking Bibles into the Soviet Union, and he said he wasn't 18:03 going to lie. 18:05 And he had these amazing stories of how he was stopped, and 18:07 people would say, "What you carrying?" 18:09 And he says, "Bibles." 18:10 And as if they didn't hear him or they would look in the trunk 18:12 of the car and they wouldn't see the Bibles there. 18:14 So God just worked in miraculous ways because he was committed to 18:18 being honest and trusting in the Lord. 18:21 Doug: Exactly, exactly, great stories. 18:22 Jëan: All right, thank you, Anna. 18:24 We've got Noah listening in Kansas. 18:26 Noah, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 18:29 Noah: Right. 18:31 My Bible question is, why did God make us? 18:35 Doug: Okay, good question, Noah. 18:37 Why did God make us? 18:39 Well, you sound like a young person. 18:43 Why does a mom and a dad have children? 18:46 Because they want to love them and they want the children to 18:48 love them back. 18:50 God is love and He--you know, you can't love anybody if you 18:54 don't have anybody, and love is something that must be expressed 18:58 or shown. 18:59 And so God wanted to show His love and make children. 19:04 So He made us to show His love and so we could experience life 19:07 and joy. 19:08 Good question. 19:09 Thanks so much. 19:11 Jëan: All right, thank you, Noah. 19:12 We've got Larry in Oregon. 19:13 Larry, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 19:15 Larry: Good evening, gentlemen. 19:17 Doug: Good evening. 19:19 Larry: I have recently heard some interpretations 19:23 of Isaiah 4:1 that just don't-- 19:30 Doug: Well, let me try and answer. 19:31 I don't know if you're offline, but, Larry, hopefully you can 19:33 hear us. 19:34 Isaiah 4:1, let me read it for our friends. 19:36 "And in that day seven women will take hold of one man, 19:39 saying, 'We will eat our own food, wear our own apparel; only 19:44 let us be called by your name, to take away our reproach.'" 19:47 This is an example, there's several in Isaiah, of what you 19:50 might call a dual prophecy. 19:52 Often after a terrible battle--you know, typically the 19:55 men went to war, and if the armies were decimated, there was 20:00 a shortage of husbands. 20:02 Now, I understand in China because of the one child policy 20:05 and they were doing selective abortions, they had a shortage 20:08 of wives. 20:09 They still do. 20:11 They got a terrible shortage of wives. 20:12 Well, after wars, there was a terrible shortage of husbands. 20:15 And back then they had no social security. 20:18 If you had no children to take care of you in your old age, if 20:21 you--you had no place in the community if you had no 20:23 children, and so the women were so desperate to have families. 20:26 They--but they knew that the men were thinking, "I can't support 20:29 all these wives." 20:30 Says, "Don't worry about it." 20:31 Seven women would take hold of one man and say, "We'll eat our 20:34 own food. 20:36 We'll get our own food, we'll get our own clothes, but let us 20:39 have your name to take away our reproach of being childless." 20:43 So it was telling about a terrible judgment that would 20:45 come, that did come with the Babylonian captivity, but it's 20:50 also talking about the spiritual significance. 20:53 A woman in prophecy is a church. 20:56 And in the last days you have many churches that claim to be 20:59 Christian and they have their own bread, their own 21:03 interpretation of the Bible, they've got their own apparel, a 21:06 robe of righteousness, their own idea of what's righteousness, 21:09 but they want to call themselves Christian because it's the only 21:12 name whereby men must be saved. 21:15 So that would be the spiritual application. 21:16 So hopefully you heard that, Larry. 21:18 And I don't know if that fits in with what you were going to ask, 21:20 but we didn't want to leave you hanging. 21:22 Thanks. 21:23 Jëan: All right. 21:25 Next caller that we have is David in California. 21:26 Hi, David. 21:28 Welcome to the program. 21:29 David: Hello. 21:30 Is it okay for us to listen to jazz music? 21:32 Doug: Is it okay--yeah, so you're wondering, is it okay for 21:35 a Christian to listen to jazz music? 21:39 You know, jazz is a genre that is fairly broad. 21:44 I've got a neighbor that is an extremely talented pianist and 21:49 he plays Christian jazz. 21:53 Now, I--you know, right or wrong, I'm just telling you it's 21:55 what he does. 21:57 And just amazing what he does with a keyboard, but he'll take, 21:59 you know, "Great is Your Faithfulness" and he does a 22:02 whole different arrangement of it. 22:04 I would stop short of saying that, you know, this is all 22:06 a sin. 22:08 You know, a lot of jazz music that would be associated with, 22:11 like, a jazz bar and the dancing, I don't think you'd see 22:15 Jesus listening to and going there. 22:18 So when you're in doubt, first of all, if you get the Holy 22:21 Spirit guiding you, you just have an inner voice that'll tell 22:23 you, "This is not right. 22:25 I can't picture My Lord listening to this music or being 22:28 in the environment this music creates." 22:31 And so the Spirit will guide you. 22:33 Sometimes that change in tastes of music--with me it happened 22:37 gradually after I became a Christian. 22:39 Things I once loved, I now hate, and things I once hated, I 22:42 now love. 22:43 So yeah. 22:45 You know, I have a book, and I think we could probably give 22:47 it away. 22:49 It's a small book, bigger than our normal sharing sermons, and 22:52 it's called "The Christian and Music." 22:54 And if you'd like, David, we'll send that to you. 22:56 It's got the principles of Christian music. 22:58 And I think you'll be in--you'll be blessed by that. 23:01 Jëan: The number to call for that is 800-835-6747. 23:04 You can ask for this book. 23:05 As Pastor Doug mentioned, it's called "The Christian 23:08 and Music." 23:09 We don't always offer that, so take advantage of it. 23:11 Call and ask. 23:13 You can dial #250 on your smartphone and ask for the book 23:16 "The Christian and Music." 23:18 We've got Scott in California. 23:20 Scott, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 23:22 You're on the air. 23:24 Scott: Hey, how are you guys? 23:26 Doug: Doing good. 23:27 Thank you for calling us. 23:28 Scott: So I have kind of a convoluted question. 23:31 But it's more on the lines of you know in the Bible where 23:37 angels guided people's hands to write the Bible? 23:44 How do you know if you're really being--like, I wrote this 23:48 question, and to be honest with you it says, is John in the four 23:53 gospels the same as the John that wrote the 3 John chapter 1, 24:00 verse 2, and how is these Johns associated with the John 24:07 the revelator? 24:08 Are any of these Johns related? 24:11 What about John the Baptist and Isaiah? 24:14 John's head was cut off, and Isaiah was cut in half. 24:18 How do you know if the Holy Spirit is leading you? 24:21 Doug: All right. 24:23 Well, let's take it one que--you got a lot of good questions 24:24 there, but, first of all, you have the name John is a common 24:29 name in the Bible. 24:30 I don't know, there must be six or eight of them that you can 24:33 think of. 24:34 You got John Mark, John the Baptist, John the apostle. 24:39 The John who is the apostle is also the author of 1, 2, and 24:45 3 John. 24:46 They're short letters that you'll find at the end of the 24:48 New Testament. 24:50 He's also the one who had the revelation of St. John. 24:54 And all the early church historians agree with the 24:58 authorship of the gospel of John, 1, 2, 3 John, and 25:03 Revelation written by this apostle. 25:05 He was the youngest of the 12 apostles. 25:08 So you do a little research and you can find out that it's 25:11 always been understood and accepted that he's the author. 25:14 People don't argue about who wrote "Pilgrim's Progress." 25:16 We all know it was written by John Bunyan. 25:19 Another John. 25:21 But John the Baptist, he was different. 25:24 He was probably a cousin of Jesus and he was the one who was 25:30 filled with the Spirit from his mother's womb that announced the 25:33 coming of Jesus. 25:34 Then you get young John Mark in the Bible, and he was probably a 25:40 relative of the apostles somehow because he was there in the 25:44 Garden of Gethsemane when they were--arrested Jesus. 25:47 So do a little research and you'll see. 25:50 You know, look at some Bible dictionaries or Bible 25:52 commentaries, Scott, and it'll help you to designate who these 25:56 people are. 25:57 I know one thing. 25:59 John, the gospel of John, the letters of John, Revelation, the 26:03 last book in the Bible, they are all inspired, and holy men spoke 26:08 as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 26:11 If there is any trustworthy document anywhere in the world, 26:15 the most trustworthy document is the Word of God, the Bible. 26:18 It has stood the test of time. 26:20 Someone once said the Bible is an anvil that has worn out 26:23 many hammers. 26:25 So you can trust it. 26:26 We're going to talk more about that blessed book in just a 26:28 few minutes. 26:29 You can hear we're getting our halftime music break. 26:31 Have some important announcements for you. 26:33 But don't go away. 26:34 Best questions are yet to come. 26:36 ♪♪♪ 26:39 announcer: Stay tuned. 26:40 "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly. 26:43 ♪♪♪ 26:49 José: So I grew up in a somewhat Christian family. 26:52 Not really devout or anything like that. 26:55 No, we weren't going to church all the time. 26:57 There was a lot of drugs in the household. 26:59 Every weekend, you know, was partying and drinking, and 27:02 sometimes in the midnight police would come. 27:05 I would say it was a dysfunctional home. 27:07 And my grandmother was the one who really raised me, taught me 27:10 about God and about Jesus and she was always there for me. 27:14 Going to school, you know, 2nd, 3rd grade, 1st grade, those 27:18 years I was pretty rebellious. 27:20 Around, like, 12 years old I started to get more of a 27:22 friend group. 27:24 We started skateboarding, and that was, like, the new thing. 27:26 I smoked weed for the first time and drank for the first time, 27:29 and music became my obsession. 27:32 You know, at 10 years old is when I started and I was 27:34 obsessed with getting into Hollywood, being famous. 27:37 You know, I went into college and I was studying music 27:39 business and I end up dropping out, kind of lost in the club 27:43 lifestyle and the party lifestyle, you know, just trying 27:47 to get a foothold on a music career. 27:50 I started to feel bad drinking and I started to feel bad 27:54 smoking and I wasn't finding any real fulfillment. 27:58 And so I was trying to find something that was better than 28:03 what I had. 28:04 And so at 21 years old I had a lot of interactions with people 28:09 who were involved in the occult and I got introduced into 28:12 eastern meditation and getting into meditative stances and 28:16 going into trances. 28:18 You know, I would wake up in the middle of the night 28:19 hearing knocks on my windows, hearing chants. 28:22 I would wake up in the middle of the night, like, if my house was 28:25 being surrounded. 28:26 So I walked out of my household and just left everything behind. 28:30 I just kept on walking for at least 3 days. 28:33 And then I end up falling asleep out in the wilderness and end up 28:37 getting picked up by police officers, and they ended up 28:40 taking me to a hospital and force-feeding me drugs. 28:43 Something told me that if I continue this way that I was 28:46 going to lose my life, and I believe there was a voice 28:48 of Christ. 28:50 I kneeled down and asked God to deliver me from the side effects 28:53 of the drugs 'cause the side effects were really, really bad. 28:56 And so I went to the church looking for help. 28:58 They had introduced me into Amazing Facts. 29:01 So I watched "Mountain Moving Faith" from Doug Batchelor. 29:04 And I remember hearing Doug say, "Have you ever seen a mountain 29:07 move in one second? 29:09 Sometimes it may take a moment, but once it moves, then it'll be 29:13 like it was an instant." 29:14 And so I end up falling to my knees. 29:16 Every time I get the side effects of the drugs, I would 29:19 pray and I would find peace and comfort. 29:22 And where I would spend a lot of my time would be in the Bible, 29:25 and I started to change. 29:26 One week passed by and the side effects weren't so bad. 29:29 Two weeks passed by, I was almost back to normal. 29:32 Every Sabbath I would put on, you know, a sermon, I listen to 29:35 "Bible Answers Live." 29:37 Also "Storacles of Prophecy" was another thing that was helping 29:39 me through. 29:41 When I was hearing the words of God, you know, when I was 29:43 hearing the words of truth, when I was hearing the Bible, I had 29:47 peace, you know. 29:48 And even despite whatever, you know, trials might come my way, 29:51 I still have joy. 29:53 My name is José. 29:55 Thank you for changing my life. 29:57 ♪♪♪ 30:06 ♪♪♪ 30:10 announcer: You're listening to "Bible Answers Live" where every 30:13 question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His 30:17 plan to save you. 30:18 So what are you waiting for? 30:20 Get practical answers about the good book for a better 30:23 life today. 30:27 This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. 30:30 If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the 30:33 air, please call us next Sunday between 7 p.m. 30:36 and 8 p.m. Pacific Time. 30:39 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this 30:42 evening's program, call 800-835-6747. 30:47 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 30:52 Now, let's rejoin our hosts for more "Bible Answers Live." 30:58 Doug: Welcome back, listening friends, to "Bible 31:00 Answers Live." 31:01 This is a live international interactive Bible study. 31:06 We take questions from live callers. 31:08 And we invite you to call in with a question that deals with 31:11 the Bible, the Word of God or living the Christian life. 31:14 We'll do our best to find Bible answers, but it's all about 31:17 the book. 31:18 And my name is Doug Batchelor. 31:20 Jëan: My name is Jëan Ross. 31:21 And we've got Steve, that he's listening in Oregon. 31:24 So, Steve, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 31:27 You're on the air. 31:28 Steve: Yes. 31:29 For decades I've struggled with the subject of what is the 31:34 abomination of desolation. 31:37 Multiple descriptions of the abomination of desolation is, 31:43 like, at different times and locations throughout history. 31:48 For instance, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the slaughter of a 31:52 pig by pagans in the sanctuary. 31:56 I have never heard an explanation that applies to the 32:01 end times, that being today. 32:03 Could not destruct--construction of a mosque at the location of 32:10 the original Temple Mount in Jerusalem and the daily prayers 32:16 to Allah from that Temple Mount, especially considering the 32:22 prayers of Christians is only allowed from the Wailing Wall. 32:29 Doug: Yeah, well, if you ask Orthodox Jews, I'm sure they 32:32 will look upon having a Muslim mosque at the site of the 32:37 ancient temple as an abomination. 32:40 A desolation means something that is also destroyed, so it's 32:43 a combination of things. 32:47 You're not too far off because in Matthew 24--now, John might 32:51 be looking at the verses in Daniel. 32:53 I don't know. 32:54 We--several different places we can go here. 32:57 In Matthew 24 when describing the end of the world, He said 33:01 there would not be left one stone upon another at the temple 33:03 that would not be thrown down. 33:05 And He said when you see the abomination of dan--of 33:09 desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy 33:12 place, let those that be in Judea flee into the mountains. 33:15 Now, the key to understanding that is you go to Luke. 33:18 And when Luke mentions that--is that chapter 17 or 21? 33:22 Jëan: 21, 21:20. 33:24 Doug: Verse 20 says when you see the abomination of 33:26 desolation--when you see Jerusalem 33:29 encompassed with arms-- 33:30 Jëan: Surrounded with armies. 33:31 Doug: Let those that be in Judea flee in the mountains. 33:33 So we know right there that the Roman army surrounding and 33:37 preparing to desolate the holy place was at least one 33:42 fulfillment of that. 33:44 Now, there's going to be a last day of fulfillment when God's 33:48 city, His spiritual city, His people are going to be 33:51 surrounded with laws. 33:54 And a spiritual Rome is going to be connected with that that's 33:58 going to hedge people in with laws, and they're going to have 34:00 to flee again. 34:02 You know, Jesus said, "Pray our flight is not in the winter or 34:05 on the Sabbath day." 34:06 I think we actually have a book called "The Abomination of 34:09 Desolation" by Gary Gibbs that we could send. 34:11 But you had some other thoughts. 34:13 Jëan: Yeah, just to add to that. 34:14 So there's--as you mentioned, Pastor Doug, you've got the 34:15 abomination of desolation in one sense, if you look at Matthew 24 34:19 and Luke 21. 34:20 It's clearly referring to pagan Rome and the destruction of 34:24 Jerusalem in 70 A.D. 34:25 But when you go to the book of Daniel, not only is it referring 34:28 to pagan Rome but you also have papal Rome, which did persecute 34:32 God's people during the 12 around 60 years of papal 34:35 supremacy, and then there is sort of a revival of this. 34:38 There is a persecution that takes place just near the end, 34:42 just before Jesus comes. 34:44 And once again, God's people are going to have to find safety 34:47 outside of the big cities. 34:49 I kind of like what Jesus said. 34:51 "You need to flee to the mountains." 34:52 There'll be a similar type of experience just near the end. 34:56 So dual application for that abomination of desolation. 35:00 Doug: Yeah. 35:01 And we'll be happy, Steve, to send you that book for free. 35:04 Anyone, if you want to understand this very important 35:06 subject, what is the abomination of desolation? 35:09 Jesus foretold it's not only in the past. 35:11 You need to understand it 'cause there's another one in 35:13 the future. 35:15 It's free. 35:16 You owe it to yourself to call and get this free book. 35:18 Jëan: The number to call is 800-835-6747. 35:21 That is the resource phone line. 35:22 You'll see it on your screen. 35:24 As for the book, it's called "The Abomination of Desolation." 35:27 And you can dial #250 on your smartphone and ask for the book, 35:31 and we'll be able to send you a digital copy and also send you a 35:34 hard copy in the mail. 35:36 Thank you, Steve. 35:37 We've got Josh in Iowa. 35:39 Josh, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 35:41 Josh: Hi. 35:42 Can you guys hear me clear? 35:44 Doug: Loud and clear. 35:45 Thanks, Josh. 35:46 Josh: Thanks, Doug. 35:48 My question is about why God allows Satan to tempt us 35:52 into sin? 35:53 And just to let me set it up for you, reason I'm asking is 'cause 35:57 if God destroyed Satan, right, but left us here, we would still 36:00 have our free will, but we could still choose to sin or not 36:04 to sin. 36:05 But Him allowing, you know, Satan and the demons and 36:08 everything to tempt us into sin all the time, it kind of feels 36:11 like--it's kind of like telling an alcoholic that he's not 36:15 allowed to drink anymore, but then forcing him to live across 36:18 the street from a liquor store. 36:19 You see what I'm saying? 36:20 Doug: Mm-hmm. 36:22 Josh: So I'm just not sure, like, what God gets out of 36:25 allowing Satan to tempt us when we could still have our free 36:28 will with our human existence. 36:31 Doug: Yeah, well, God is not allowing Satan to tempt us to 36:34 prove we have a free will. 36:36 There's--Satan has accused God not just before the earth but 36:40 before the universe. 36:42 There was a rebellion, a war in heaven between Satan and his 36:45 angels and God and His angels. 36:48 And two-thirds of the angels followed Lucifer. 36:51 Now, Lucifer was the highest, most powerful of God's 36:54 creations, and he was saying that God's government is not 36:56 just and that if he was in charge, everyone would have more 37:00 freedom and happiness. 37:01 And he went through the universe, and eventually at our 37:04 world he tempted Adam and Eve to not trust the Word of God but to 37:08 trust his word, and he basically hijacked the planet, and as we 37:12 mentioned earlier. 37:13 And this controversy between good and evil has been--this war 37:18 has been--being acted out. 37:20 Paul says our world is a theater to the universe. 37:23 They're all watching this battle between good and evil. 37:26 At the cross you see Satan's intense love for power and you 37:31 see Christ's power of love. 37:32 It's all at the cross, is the greatest demonstration of Christ 37:36 humbling Himself, Satan exalting himself. 37:39 He says, "Bow down to me. 37:41 I want to be God." 37:42 He wanted to be the Most High. 37:44 So we and all creatures, all intelligent creatures, have 37:48 a choice. 37:49 Now, I'm not denying the sovereignty of God, but I also 37:52 believe that we have freedom. 37:53 Because why does the Bible say choose you this day who you 37:57 will serve? 37:58 Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. 38:02 God is not willing that any should perish. 38:06 So we have this probationary time. 38:08 The penalty for sin is death. 38:10 Why aren't we dead yet? 38:11 Why don't--why doesn't everybody die immediately after they sin? 38:15 Christ through His sacrifice purchased time for people to 38:20 understand the issues, the probationary life, where we can 38:23 choose to trust God or to live the selfish existence of 38:26 the devil. 38:28 And there's so much more I can say 'cause you're asking the big 38:31 questions, Josh. 38:33 We have that Cosmic Conflict Magazine, the new Cosmic 38:36 Conflict Magazine, and there's the movie. 38:39 I think it's got, like, a million hits on YouTube, if you 38:42 type in "Cosmic Conflict." 38:44 Or you can request the magazine. 38:46 It's brand-new. 38:47 Jëan: The number to call is 800-835-6747. 38:50 You can ask for that magazine. 38:52 It's called the Cosmic Conflict. 38:54 We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. 38:56 You can dial #250 on your smartphone and you can and be 39:00 able to get it that way as well. 39:02 Thank you, Josh. 39:04 Minerva in Mexico. 39:06 Minerva, welcome to the program. 39:08 Minerva: Oh, hello, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross. 39:11 Thank you for taking my call. 39:13 Doug: We're glad you called. 39:14 Thank you, Minerva. 39:15 And your question tonight. 39:17 Minerva: Thank you. 39:18 Yeah, my question is, should deaconesses be ordained even if 39:23 the Bible doesn't mention it? 39:26 And if they're not supposed to, why do some churches do it? 39:30 Doug: Okay, that's a fair question. 39:33 You know, in the Bible, of course, we have in Acts-- 39:36 is it chapter 6 or 7? 39:38 Well, it's 7 I think where they ordain the deacons. 39:40 And they needed some people that were spirit-filled, some men 39:44 that could help to delegate and carry out some of the more 39:49 mundane business of the church, but very important, so the 39:52 apostles could give themselves more to preaching, to prayer, 39:55 teaching the Word. 39:56 And then we know the word deacon is connected with the Greek 39:59 word servant. 40:01 There were also women that served. 40:03 It doesn't give an example in the Bible of women being 40:06 ordained as deacons, but I don't see where there's any moral 40:10 dilemma with someone placing their hands on a woman and 40:15 blessing them and giving--praying that God will 40:18 give them the Spirit if they're appointed to serve in a 40:22 certain capacity. 40:23 There are areas in the Old Testament where the men, the 40:27 priests had particular ministry. 40:30 But there were also daughters of Aaron, they were the wives of 40:33 the Levites, and they had ministry in the tabernacle too. 40:37 Their ministry often had to do with the garments for 40:40 the priests. 40:42 I think were made by the wives of the Levites. 40:45 So there's ministry and service for both. 40:49 In our church we have deacons and deaconess. 40:53 So you're right, there is no biblical example of laying hands 40:56 on the women who ordained them or commissioned them, but 41:01 setting people aside with prayer, there's no moral problem 41:03 with that. 41:05 Jëan: You know, we have a book. 41:06 It's called "A Woman's Role in Ministry." 41:08 And we'll be happy to send it to anyone who wants to learn more 41:10 about that. 41:12 The number to call is 800-835-6747, and you can ask 41:15 for the book. 41:17 It's called "A Woman's Role in Ministry." 41:18 You can dial #250 on your smartphone and ask for it that 41:22 way as well. 41:23 Shanna in Utah. 41:24 Shanna, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 41:26 Shanna: Hello. 41:27 Hi, Jëan and Pastor Doug. 41:29 My husband and I love your show. 41:31 Thank you. 41:33 My question is related to the Holy Spirit. 41:36 In John chapter 14, chapter--or verse 16,17, you know, towards 41:42 the end it does say that, "You know Him, for He lives with you 41:45 and He will be in you." 41:47 So that--does that mean that the Holy Spirit is always with us or 41:51 is it appropriate to ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance in our 41:54 daily prayer? 41:56 Doug: Yeah, great question. 41:58 You know, I believe you can prove from the Bible that people 42:02 can have varying relationships with the Lord, and that would 42:06 include God the Spirit, and that God the Spirit comes into our 42:10 lives in varying degrees. 42:12 I believe the apostles had the Holy Spirit when they were 42:15 baptized and began following Jesus, but then at the upper 42:20 room, after the resurrection, it says Christ breathed on them and 42:23 said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." 42:25 But then at Pentecost 40 days later, they're baptized with 42:30 tongues of fire and great power and signs and wonders 42:34 and miracles. 42:35 There's different degrees. 42:36 You can even read in the Old Testament, says the Spirit of 42:38 the Lord came upon David, the Spirit of the Lord came 42:41 upon Samson. 42:43 And it's something I think we should pray for every day 'cause 42:46 you cannot live the Christian life without the 42:48 Christian spirit. 42:49 So Christ said, "If you being evil know how to give good gifts 42:52 to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give 42:56 the Holy Spirit to those that ask?" 42:59 He compares it to bread. 43:00 Bread's something you eat every day. 43:01 Asking for the Holy Spirit is something you would need 43:04 every day. 43:05 Jëan: You know, we have a book. 43:07 It's called "Life in the Spirit" and goes right along with 43:08 this question. 43:10 We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. 43:12 The number is 800-835-6747 or just dial #250 on 43:17 your smartphone. 43:19 Ask for the book by name. 43:20 It's called "Life in the Spirit." 43:22 Eva, 9 years old from New York. 43:25 Eva, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 43:28 Eva: Hello. 43:29 Doug: Hi, thanks for calling. 43:30 What are you doing up so late? 43:32 It's, like, 10 o'clock back there. 43:35 And your question tonight. 43:37 Eva: My question is, how do you stay Lord Jesus Christ and--how 43:44 do you stay close to the Lord Jesus Christ and keep on 43:46 following Him as a child? 43:49 Doug: That's a good question. 43:50 How do we stay close to the Lord as a child? 43:54 Well, you know, the way you stay strong as a child is you eat, 43:59 you breathe, and you exercise. 44:02 The way you stay strong as a Christian is you eat and you 44:06 breathe and you exercise. 44:08 We eat by eating the bread of life, which is the Bible. 44:12 Jesus said you don't live by bread alone but by every word. 44:15 So we ought to read some of the Scriptures every day. 44:20 We breathe by praying. 44:22 The Bible tells us you can just be aware of God. 44:24 Talk to Him all the time, not just when you wake up in 44:26 the morning. 44:28 I heard about a girl your age, Eva, that when she went to sleep 44:31 at night, she threw one of her shoes under her bed. 44:33 And her mother asked why she did that, she said, "I have to get 44:36 on my knees to get my shoe, and then I remember to pray." 44:40 So make sure and pray not only in the morning and when you go 44:43 to bed at night but through the day. 44:44 Just any time you need God's help, talk to Him as 44:47 your friend. 44:48 He's always there even though you don't see Him. 44:50 And then exercise. 44:52 Tell other people about the Lord, and resist the devil, be a 44:56 good example, and that's called exercising your faith, living 44:59 out the light. 45:01 You do those things, you'll stay closer to the Lord. 45:03 Jëan: All right, thank you for your call. 45:05 We've got Chris in California. 45:07 Chris, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 45:09 Chris: Thank you, pastors. 45:10 Thank you for taking my call. 45:13 In the Bible and as Christians, how should we feel about owning 45:17 a gun or having a gun in our home for self-protection and 45:22 just the use of guns in our life? 45:25 And also with that, the occupation and life of being a 45:30 police officer and having a gun as part of your job, that you 45:34 may take a life. 45:35 What does the Bible say? 45:37 Doug: All right, well, I'll try and give you a biblical answer. 45:40 Paul said--and I don't remember the verse, Pastor Ross, where it 45:43 says that the soldiers or Rome or the government does not bear 45:47 the sword in vain, meaning that, you know, there are authorities 45:51 in government that they have the power to punish sinners. 45:54 It uses the term sword there. 45:56 They had no guns back then. 45:59 So in the temple, God had guards actually that would guard. 46:05 It talks about that in 2 Kings chapter, is it 11, when King 46:12 Joash was being coronated. 46:14 They had guards around him in the temple. 46:16 And Solomon had shields in the temple. 46:18 And so, you know, in our day and age, a lot of churches realize 46:22 it's just a practical tool that you might want to, you know, 46:27 have some training in firearms for protection. 46:30 If someone does not feel comfortable with that, they 46:33 shouldn't do it because if anything is not of faith, 46:35 it's sin. 46:36 Now, coming from my perspective, Pastor Ross has been at our 46:40 place way up in the hills, I have firearms. 46:42 It's not a secret. 46:44 Everybody in the hills does because we got wild animals. 46:45 We got bears and we got, you know, rabbit, animals, 46:48 and rattlesnakes. 46:50 And, you know, it's a tool. 46:52 God forbid I would ever use it against a human. 46:54 I would never want to do that. 46:56 That would take some extreme circumstances of defending my 46:59 family to do something like that, but--and I don't even 47:02 think about it. 47:04 So, you know, I'd say that I would never want to bear arms in 47:08 a war to take another life. 47:11 And I'm very thankful for soldiers that protect our 47:14 country and I'm very thankful for police that protect our 47:18 community, but I think that Christians need to, you know, 47:22 pray about these things. 47:24 And one time the disciples--it's a big question. 47:27 It's a politically--potentially politically divisive question 47:31 too, so I want to be careful. 47:32 But the disciples one time--Jesus said, "And he 47:36 that--if you don't have a sword, sell your garment and get one." 47:39 And the disciples had said, "Look, we've got two swords." 47:41 And Jesus said, "Enough of this." 47:44 In other words, they didn't understand when He talked about 47:46 a sword, Christ said, "I came to send a sword," He meant His Word 47:50 is the sword. 47:51 So He's not telling Christians to arm themselves in 47:54 that statement. 47:56 We need to be armed with the Word of God. 47:57 That's Ephesians chapter 6. Maybe that's a good offer for 48:00 this, "The Armor of God." 48:02 Jëan: If you'd like to receive that, all you have to do is call 48:04 and ask. 48:06 The number is 800-835-6747. 48:08 As for the book, it's called "The Armor of God." 48:11 Dial #250 and you can ask for it by name. 48:15 Thank you, Chris. 48:16 We've got Terry in California. 48:17 Terry, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 48:20 Terry: Hi, yes, so, 48:22 somewhere in the Bible it talks about if you keep sinning 48:25 the same sin over and over again it will come to the point where 48:30 no--there'll be no more sacrifice left for the sin. 48:33 Doug: Hebrews chapter 10, verse 26. 48:36 Terry: And I also read that only overcomers will be in 48:39 the kingdom. 48:40 And for me I'm needing to give up chocolate for health reasons, 48:43 and I sincerely give it--like, repent the night before and the 48:46 next day. 48:48 Somewhere I'll eat it, and it's hurting my health. 48:50 And for me I feel it's sin and I'm just--I don't know what my 48:54 problem is, but I'm wondering also where God would draw 48:58 the line. 48:59 But I just want to overcome that, and I'm having issue. 49:03 Doug: Well, bless your heart. 49:05 You know, first of all, you're not alone. 49:09 Everybody--we're all kind of sinnerholics, all of us. 49:11 We just--it manifests different ways. 49:13 Chocolate's not my problem. 49:15 And some people it's alcohol or some people it's--they can be 49:19 kleptomaniacs or it might be pornography. 49:21 There's all kinds of addictions that people struggle with and 49:24 you struggle to give it up. 49:26 But I can promise you that God can give you the victory over 49:29 any temptation. 49:31 I have a sermon online and it's called "Cold Confession" and I 49:36 tell about my struggle with ice cream. 49:38 Now, it seems like a light thing. 49:40 And some people are probably laughing that you're talking 49:42 about struggling with chocolate, but it's a real struggle when 49:45 you're trying to get the victory over some eating habit. 49:48 And--but you can. 49:50 And we have a book that we'll give you. 49:53 And I see Pastor Ross is nodding. 49:56 "Tips for Resisting Temptation?" 49:58 Jëan: That's right. 50:00 Doug: Yeah. 50:01 That will give you a lot more information than I can 50:02 share in three minutes, but you can get the victory. 50:05 Now, Jesus does say in Revelation to him 50:07 that overcomes. 50:09 He wants us to learn to be overcomers. 50:10 Jesus came to set us free, and He can set us free from every 50:14 bad habit. 50:16 You just need to trust Him. 50:17 And He saved me from, you know, cursing, and stealing, and 50:21 living immorally, and alcohol, and cigarettes. 50:24 And He that has begun a good work in you will perform it. 50:28 He doesn't say it's going to be without a battle. 50:31 You might struggle and fall and take two steps forward, one step 50:36 back, but you can get the ultimate victory. 50:38 So don't get discouraged. 50:40 Jëan: To receive the book "Tips for Resisting Temptation," 50:43 call 800-835-6747. 50:46 You can dial #250 on your smartphone. 50:49 Just a great read. 50:51 I think every Christian needs to read this because if we want to 50:54 be a Christian, we going to face temptation. 50:57 How do we overcome? 50:59 So some great tips. 51:00 800-835-6747 or dial #250. 51:05 Doug: Yeah. 51:06 And I briefly mentioned that there's a sermon you can listen 51:08 to I did on YouTube. 51:10 If you just type in "Doug Batchelor Cold Confession." 51:13 I talk about my battle. 51:14 But it basically gives the principles of, what do you do 51:17 when you keep falling into the same temptation? 51:20 I struggled for years with an ice cream addiction. 51:24 I mean, it was an addiction. 51:25 It's--not that ice cream is a sin for you, friends, but it 51:29 turned into a sin for me. 51:30 So you can just look up "Cold Confession" on YouTube and 51:33 you'll see that as well. 51:34 Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is Robert 51:36 in Washington. 51:37 Robert, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 51:38 Robert: Thank you, Pastor Ross. 51:40 I was going to ask about the first question in your intro 51:44 tonight, who is Michael the archangel? 51:46 Some people say, you know, that he can't be Christ because he's 51:49 not an angel, you know, et cetera, et cetera. 51:51 Doug: Yeah, that's a good question. 51:53 And when we answer this question, I always want to 51:56 preface and say please listen very carefully 'cause, you know, 51:59 some churches teach that you've got this angel called Raphael 52:02 and there's another angel called Michael, and they're always 52:04 portrayed as these powerful cherubs. 52:09 It's a misunderstanding. 52:11 The word archangel means greatest messenger, and the word 52:17 Michael means who is as God, and the phrase Michael the archangel 52:23 is one of the titles of Jesus. 52:25 Jesus is not an angel. 52:27 Jesus is eternal God. 52:29 He's all powerful. 52:31 But it's one of the many titles that you find. 52:33 Now, let me give you some verses. 52:35 You have in Revelation 12 it says, "The dragon and his angels 52:40 fought against Michael, and Michael and his angels fought." 52:43 Well, the dragon is a symbolic name for the devil, Satan. 52:48 Michael is a symbolic name for Christ. 52:51 You read in 1 Thessalonians 4, "The Lord Himself will descend 52:55 from heaven with a shout, and the voice of the archangel." 52:59 The Lord Himself with the voice of the archangel. 53:03 You read in Jude verse 9 that it says Michael comes to 53:07 resurrect Moses. 53:09 Jesus is the resurrection and the life. 53:11 And you can read in Joshua, I forget it's chapter 5, where 53:18 Joshua meets the angel of the Lord. 53:21 And this angel is not like a normal angel. 53:23 This angel says, "Take your shoes off your feet, for this is 53:26 holy ground." 53:27 Well, Gabriel tells John in Revelation 19, "Do not bow down 53:31 and pray to an angel. 53:32 It's a sin. 53:34 Only worship God." 53:35 So who is this angelic warrior that you see in the book 53:40 of Joshua? 53:41 That's what you call a Christophany. 53:42 Michael the archangel. 53:44 Jesus appearing before His incarnation. 53:47 So I'm leaving out those verses also in Daniel and other places. 53:52 Michael will stand up, and there's a time of trouble such 53:54 as there never has been. 53:55 That's Daniel 12. 53:57 We got a book. 53:58 Jëan: We do. 54:00 Doug: I'm giving you the whole study, and we got a book. 54:01 So I'll stop talking. 54:02 Jëan: And it's just "Who is Michael the Archangel?" 54:04 A great study, and a lot of Scriptures in there. 54:07 If you'd like to get it, the number to call is 800-835-6747. 54:12 Dial #250 on your smartphone. 54:15 You can get it that way as well. 54:17 The book is called "Who is Michael the Archangel?" 54:19 And I'm sure, Pastor Doug, you have a sermon on YouTube dealing 54:23 with this subject. 54:24 And you could probably just look it up. 54:26 Pastor Doug Batchelor, "Who is Michael the Archangel." 54:28 You'll be able to see that sermon. 54:31 Next caller that we have is Rod in New Mexico. 54:33 Rod--or rather Ron. 54:35 Ron, welcome to the program. 54:36 Ron: Thank you, brothers. 54:38 Want to start off by saying Joe Crews would be very pleased with 54:42 what you folks have done with Amazing Facts. 54:44 Doug: Oh, praise God. 54:45 Well, thanks so much. 54:47 Of course, you and I both know God gets the glory, but we're 54:50 just praising Him for the way He's been blessing. 54:52 Ron: Amen. 54:53 Amen. 54:55 Hey, Paul was all about righteousness by faith, but in 54:58 Acts 21 he meets up with the Jains and the elders, and they 55:04 say, "Hey, people think you don't observe Jewish customs, so 55:08 go pay for these guys' purification rights." 55:10 And then in verse 24, "Then everyone will know the rumors 55:13 are all false and that you yourself observe the 55:16 Jewish laws." 55:18 What is up with that? 55:20 Doug: Yeah, you know, I don't know that this was Paul's 55:22 finest hour. 55:24 I think to some extent that Paul was--he was capitulating to the 55:29 leaders, trying to cooperate with them because he wanted to 55:34 stifle any idea--that there had been false rumors that Paul had 55:38 scuttled the teachings of Moses. 55:40 Paul did not give up the teachings of Moses, neither 55:43 did Jesus. 55:44 Jesus said, "Think not that I have come to destroy the law 55:47 of Moses. 55:49 I've not come to destroy, but to fulfill." 55:51 And Christ said, "Whoever therefore shall break one of the 55:55 least of these commandments and teach men so, he will be least 55:58 in the kingdom of heaven." 56:00 So when it came to the overreaching teachings of Moses 56:04 and what you find in the Old Testament, Paul was in 56:07 full agreement. 56:08 There were certain ceremonial laws that Christ fulfilled that 56:11 the Jewish Christians were trying to impose on the Gentile 56:14 Christians, and Paul said that's not necessary. 56:16 And the Jerusalem council eventually agreed with that in 56:19 Acts chapter 15. 56:21 So--but they wanted to appease the Jews in Jerusalem. 56:27 So they said, "You know, why don't you get out front and 56:29 do this?" 56:30 And it kind of backfired. 56:32 It turned into a riot, and Paul ended up going to jail, and God 56:37 turned it for good in the end. 56:38 Jëan: Well, friends, we do have some email questions, Pastor 56:41 Doug, in the last minute or so before the end of the program. 56:43 Let me ask you a couple of these email questions. 56:47 First question, will the universe and the other planets 56:50 be burnt up when God creates a new earth--a new heavens and a 56:55 new earth? 56:56 Doug: Yeah, that confuses people because they think, "Well, 56:59 what's wrong with the heavens that the heavens would be 57:01 dissolved with fervent heat in 2 Peter chapter 3?" 57:05 The word heavens there is one of the Jewish words for the 57:08 atmosphere around the world, which, you know, is getting 57:11 polluted over time. 57:13 So God is going to create a new, pure atmosphere. 57:16 There's nothing wrong with the stars and the galaxies, and 57:20 there'd be no advantages, no sin out there to be burned up. 57:24 It's talking about new atmosphere. 57:26 You know, in Genesis it says God separated the waters from above 57:29 the heavens, from the waters below the heavens. 57:31 It's the atmosphere around the world that we're talking about 57:34 that'll be made new. 57:35 Jëan: All right, Arlene is asking, "What does it mean when 57:37 it says--when you say somebody is resting in peace?" 57:41 Doug: Yeah, Jesus, when Lazarus died, he said, "Our friend 57:44 Lazarus sleepeth." 57:46 And when a person dies in the Lord, they are sleeping a 57:50 peaceful, dreamless sleep until the resurrection and they are 57:54 resting, and hopefully they're going to be woke up in the 57:58 first resurrection. 58:00 Hey, friends, you can tell we're out of time. 58:01 God bless. 58:03 We'll study His Word with you again together next week. 58:08 announcer: Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. 58:10 We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. 58:14 "Bible Answers Live" is produced by Amazing Facts International, 58:18 a faith-based ministry located in Granite Bay, California. 58:22 ♪♪♪ |
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