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Series Code: AFBA
Program Code: AFBA202506S
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00:03 male announcer: It is the best selling book in history.
00:05 No volume ever written has been more loved and quoted, and it's 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: Welcome once again, friends, to "Bible 00:51 Answers Live," and if you are tuning in for the first time, 00:55 this is a live international Bible study. 00:58 And we're going to share with you an amazing fact. 01:02 Shortly after the first European settlers arrived in North 01:05 America, they were stunned by the immense flocks of a unique 01:09 type of pigeon found only in the New World. 01:12 They were called passenger pigeons. 01:14 And at one time, they were certainly the most abundant bird 01:17 in North America and possibly the most numerous birds in 01:20 the world. 01:22 They flourished across most of North America east of the 01:24 Rocky Mountains. 01:26 A very fast flyer, the passenger pigeon could reach speeds 01:29 of 62 miles an hour. 01:30 As they traveled in great flocks, they darkened the skies 01:34 for hours. 01:36 Estimates placed them numbering up to 5 billion. 01:40 But when they descended to perch in a tree, so many of them 01:44 landed, it was common for branches to break from 01:46 their weight. 01:47 The birds fed mainly on fruits and seeds and insects, and they 01:51 could live up to 30 years. 01:53 Yet, incredibly, these colossal flocks of birds disappeared in 01:58 150 years, and passenger pigeons were soon extinct. 02:03 The main reason for their extinction of the species was 02:06 the massive scale of unrestrained hunting. 02:09 Businessmen saw them as a tremendous food source, so they 02:12 killed them by the thousands and shipped them to the cities. 02:16 Also, the rapid loss of habitat as forests were cut for farming 02:20 and timber contributed to their demise. 02:23 By the time word got out that the passenger pigeons were 02:26 facing extermination, it was too late. 02:29 The last known passenger pigeon, Martha, died on September 1, 02:34 1914 at the Cincinnati Zoo. 02:37 Can you imagine that? 02:38 Going from billions, in a little more than a century, to none. 02:44 And it's just people thought, "Oh, well we can just wait, you 02:47 know, we'll do something later. 02:49 They'll recover." 02:50 Jëan Ross: We mentioned another animal in North America that was 02:53 very prevalent and almost went extinct. 02:56 Of course, that's the American buffalo, and they were able to 02:58 catch it in time. 03:00 But just like the buffalo that would take, you know, almost a 03:03 whole day to cross over the path in front of you, these pigeons 03:07 would darken the sky for hours as they came over. 03:10 Doug: Yeah, Audubon, the famous naturalist, he said that he saw 03:14 one flock that was a mile wide that it took several days to 03:17 pass over. 03:19 In other words, you'd wake up and they'd continue just 03:20 migrating and it was dark in the skies. 03:23 But, yeah. 03:25 They--farmers didn't like them very much 'cause they ate 03:27 seeds, but they flew so low, a farmer with a long stick could 03:31 kill, you know, dozens of them just by swinging a stick. 03:34 And then, of course, they used nets and they use guns, and they 03:37 use sulfur gas, and they said they tasted like chickens, so 03:41 they just killed them all off until pretty soon there were a 03:44 few in the zoos, and they, you know, they were not used 03:47 to captivity. 03:48 They died in captivity, and except Martha was the last one. 03:52 And they got several stuffed in the museums, but that's the only 03:54 place you can see one because they waited too long to do 03:59 something about it. 04:00 And, you know, it makes me think that there's a lot of people 04:03 that they know they can't keep living a life of sin and be 04:06 saved, and they think, "Well, one of these days 04:08 I'm going to repent. 04:10 But they wait until it's too late. 04:13 And that's the most dangerous thing you can do, friend, is to 04:15 play Russian roulette with eternity. 04:18 If you know what God's will is for you, then the best time to 04:22 listen to his voice is when you're hearing God's voice. 04:25 What is it that Paul says in Hebrews, "Today, if you hear his 04:29 voice, don't harden your heart." 04:31 Make a decision to follow the Lord and then stick to it. 04:35 We got a free offer talks about that. 04:36 Jëan: We do, we have one of our Amazing Facts 04:37 study guides, and it's talking about the subject. 04:39 It's called "No Turning Back." 04:41 It's making that firm commitment, and that is so 04:44 important for the Christian. 04:46 We'll be happy to send you one of our-- 04:47 we'll send you the study guide. 04:48 All you need to do is call and ask. 04:50 The number is 800-835-6747. 04:53 You can ask for the study guide by name. 04:55 It's called "No Turning Back." 04:56 You can also dial #250 on your smartphone and say, "Bible 05:00 answers live," and you can ask for it that way as well. 05:04 Doug: You know, there's a scripture that comes to mind 05:06 when we're talking about how important it is for people to 05:10 make a decision. 05:11 It tells us there in Hebrews 10, verse 26, and it's also in 05:15 verse 27, "For if we sin willfully after we've received 05:19 the knowledge of the truth, there remains no sacrifice for 05:23 sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and 05:27 fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries." 05:31 And that doesn't mean that if you make a mistake after you've 05:33 learned the truth, it means if you continue to live a life of 05:36 sin after you know what God's will is, then, you know, what 05:40 else can God do? 05:41 So it's just very dangerous, you know, sometimes we're talking to 05:44 people out there that have never made a decision, but now we're 05:47 talking to people that have known the truth, that are 05:50 postponing the decision. 05:52 And we're pleading with you. Don't do that. 05:54 Now, if you have any questions about that or other Bible 05:56 subjects, we're going to have prayer, then give us a call. 05:58 We'll do our best to answer your questions. 06:00 Jëan: Before we go to the phone lines, let's start with the word 06:02 of prayer. 06:04 Dear Father, we thank you that you are a God of mercy and a God 06:06 of forgiveness, and thank you, Lord, that we have this 06:08 opportunity to study Your Word, and we do pray that you would 06:10 guide, be with those who are listening, wherever they 06:12 might be. 06:14 And lead us to a clear understanding of the Bible, for 06:16 we ask this in Jesus's name, amen. 06:18 Doug: Amen. 06:19 Jëan: And if you have a Bible question, our phone line here to 06:21 the studio is 800-463-7297. 06:25 Again, that's 800-463-7297. 06:30 And we have Wynelle listening from Georgia. 06:33 Wynelle, welcome to the program. 06:35 Wynelle: Hi. 06:37 Thank you, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross, for taking my call. 06:41 I appreciate it very much. 06:43 Doug: Thanks for calling. 06:44 Wynelle: My question is how would a person know if the Holy 06:49 Spirit has left them? 06:52 Doug: All right. 06:53 Well, first of all, most people that worry that the Holy Spirit 06:56 has left them, it's because they're not feeling any, maybe 06:59 peace or they're not feeling any promptings of the Spirit, and 07:03 they're thinking things have gone quiet. 07:05 Does that mean that God has left me? 07:07 Well, if you've made a decision to be a Christian, you're not 07:10 going to always hear the Lord speaking to you directly. 07:14 You may also--the voice can go quiet because God has given you 07:21 some responsibility or some command, and you're 07:24 ignoring that. 07:26 And so, the volume can go down in your communications with God. 07:30 And in a case like that, I think, first of all, anyone 07:33 asking this question, the Holy Spirit's prompting them to think 07:36 about it, so that's a good sign. 07:38 But I'd say that if you're having doubts, and if it seems 07:41 like you're wondering if you're separating from the Lord, then 07:45 just humble yourself and say--claim the promise, say, 07:48 "Lord, you've promised if I confess my sins you'll 07:51 forgive me. 07:52 If I draw near to you like the prodigal son, when he started 07:56 coming home, the father, as soon as he saw him, he ran to 07:59 meet him." 08:01 The Lord will draw near to you if you draw near to Him. 08:03 So, draw near to God through 08:04 prayer, through reading His Word. 08:06 Say, "Lord, speak to me," and if there's any unconfessed 08:10 sin, then present that to the Lord. 08:12 He promises to forgive. 08:14 He wants to save you. I believe He will. 08:16 Jëan: You know, Pastor Doug, we have a book. 08:17 We don't always offer it, but it's a great 08:19 study, and it deals with the subject. 08:20 It's called, "Is it Easy To Be Saved or To Be Lost?" 08:24 Sometimes people wonder, you know, "What do I have to do to 08:26 be saved?" 08:27 And, "Am I heading down the right path?" 08:29 So, call and ask for that. 08:30 The number is 800-835-6747. 08:33 You can ask for the book. 08:34 It's called, "Is It Easier To Be Saved or To Be Lost?" 08:37 And you will enjoy reading that. 08:38 A lot of good scripture there. 08:40 Thank you, next caller that we have is Chris in Minnesota. 08:43 Chris, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 08:46 Chris: How are you doing? 08:47 Doug: Doing well, thanks for calling, Chris. 08:50 Chris: Yeah, thank you. 08:51 Quick question here. 08:52 Is there any significance to President Trump bringing up 1798 08:56 on a somewhat regular basis here lately, including up to his 09:00 election time? 09:01 Doug: Well, you know, I would have to confess that I had not 09:05 heard it. 09:07 I haven't heard him bring up 1798. 09:09 Have you heard that? 09:10 Jëan: No, I haven't, but I haven't caught all of 09:12 his speeches. 09:14 Doug: So, probably we are not experts. 09:17 We can't give you an answer to that. 09:20 I'd have to say, well, let me hear it and hear what the 09:22 context is, and then I might find out if there's some Bible 09:25 prophetic relevance to that. 09:28 Of course, that is a--the date 1798, for our friends that are 09:32 listening, is a prophetically relevant date in that it marks 09:36 the end of this people persecution that lasted 09:40 1260 years. 09:42 Started in 538 and it went 1260 years. 09:46 And when Napoleon arrested-- through his general Berthier-- 09:50 when Napoleon arrested the Pope, the Catholic church sort of lost 09:54 its uninterrupted power over Europe that it had for 09:57 1260 years. 09:59 And so, that's a significant date. 10:00 I had not heard anyone mention that in a campaign, so I'll have 10:04 to plead ignorance to that one. 10:06 Jëan: You know, we do have a study guide that talks about 10:08 these different time prophecies that you read about in the book 10:10 Revelation and in Daniel. 10:12 It's called "Right On Time," and I think it refers to that 1260 10:16 year time period. 10:17 We'll be able to send it to anyone who calls and asks. 10:19 The number is 800-835-6747. 10:22 You can ask for that study guide. 10:24 It's called "Right On Time." 10:26 And you'll enjoy reading that. 10:28 Nadia is in Georgia. 10:30 Nadia, welcome to the program. 10:32 Nadia: Hi, good evening. 10:33 Doug: Good evening. 10:34 Nadia: I was reading a text and I had a couple questions. 10:37 I'll just read part of it. 10:39 "Between the portico and the altar, were about 10:42 twenty-five men. 10:43 With their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces 10:46 toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in 10:49 the east." 10:50 I was wondering, could this text refer to Sunday keepers as 10:54 idolaters worshiping the sun? 10:57 And my second question is, do you think that worshiping on 11:00 Sunday is a form of sun worship in God's eyes? 11:04 Doug: All right, well you're quoting from a prophecy 11:07 in Ezekiel. 11:09 Now, Ezekiel is, I don't think he's looking ahead to the time 11:12 beyond Christ. 11:14 I think he's looking at what was happening in Israel. 11:16 One reason the judgment that Ezekiel wrote from Babylon in 11:21 the Persian area. 11:22 And he was living, he's a contemporary of Daniel. 11:26 The Israelites had been carried off captive because of 11:29 their infidelity. 11:30 And while they were going through the outward forms of the 11:33 sanctuary, Ezekiel said that they're still involved in sun 11:36 worship, which was common among the Baal worshipers. 11:40 So, he's referring to something that had happened and that was 11:43 happening where they were engaging in, like, 11:47 duplicitous worship. 11:48 We're saying we worship the Lord but also secretly praying 11:51 towards the sun, which is sun worship. 11:53 Now, you're asking is that--are people who go to church on 11:55 Sunday, are they involved in sun worship? 11:58 Well, it is true the name Sunday is derived from sun worship, and 12:04 a lot of ancient civilizations worshiped the sun, even in the 12:07 Americas, the Egyptians, the Babylonians. 12:12 The sun, I think even among the Romans, was it Apollo? 12:15 Was he the chief sun god? 12:17 And so, that's not unusual. 12:21 When the average person goes to church on Sunday, I wouldn't 12:24 call them sun worshipers. 12:25 I think that, you know, they believe that they're worshiping 12:29 on the Sabbath day, they've just got the days wrong according to 12:32 the Bible. 12:34 They think that--most of them think, well because Jesus rose 12:36 the first day, that the commandment was changed from the 12:39 seventh day to the first day. 12:40 And of course, there is no command in the Bible to worship 12:44 on the first day as a holy day. 12:47 We're supposed to worship God seven days a week, but there's 12:49 no command to rest the first day and keep it as a new Sabbath. 12:53 That's where I think they err, but I don't think any of them 12:57 are praying to the sunrise. 12:59 Jëan: You know, part of the interesting passage there in 13:01 Ezekiel, the prophecy, God told--when the children of 13:04 Israel were to build the temple, the temple was to be laid out a 13:07 certain way and it was from the plans of the one that was built 13:09 in the wilderness. 13:11 The door to the temple, when you came to the door to the temple, 13:13 the east was to be to your back. 13:15 In other words, you were facing west. 13:17 The reason for that is much of the sacrifice was done early in 13:20 the morning and the tendency amongst the pagans as the sun 13:23 was rising, they would bow towards the east and worship 13:26 the sun. 13:27 God didn't want that temptation for His people. 13:29 He said, "The sun needs to be behind you." 13:31 But here are people inside the temple in the courtyard area, 13:35 and their backs are turned. 13:37 Are rather towards the most holy place of the sanctuary, and they 13:40 are facing towards the east and they are worshiping the 13:42 rising sun. 13:43 And that was what was being condemned at that point in time. 13:46 Doug: Yeah, they basically--they're turning their 13:47 back on the worship of God towards pagan worship. 13:51 Good question, Nadia. Thank you so much. 13:53 Jëan: We've got Lee listening in Texas. 13:54 Lee, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 13:58 Lee: Yes, thank you for taking my call tonight. 14:00 My question is, does the mark of the beast come out before or 14:05 during church and state union? 14:08 Doug: All right, great. 14:10 The Bible tells us in the last days in Revelation 13 that the 14:13 beast power is there--there's two beasts in Revelation 13. 14:18 The first beast is the papacy based in Europe with the 14:23 Orthodox, the Catholic church, and the other Orthodox churches. 14:25 They're going to unite with Protestants and Evangelicals in 14:29 the Americas, North America principally. 14:32 That they're going to form a confederacy with church and 14:35 state that is going to compel worship. 14:37 Now, this is not saying there's going to be a one world 14:40 government, because Daniel says there never will be. 14:43 They're not going to cleave together. 14:44 They'll never be a one world government, but there'll be a 14:47 confederacy of church and state around the world where this 14:51 religion is going to be compelled, and it probably is 14:54 going to happen gradually, where first they're going to say, you 14:57 know, "The world's going to Hades in a handbasket," and it's 15:03 because we're not, you know, worshiping God, and not taking 15:06 care of the environment might be included. 15:08 And we need to, you know, start mandating laws that everybody's 15:12 got to get back to church. 15:14 And there's going to be laws that are going to go against the 15:17 law of God. 15:18 So, I think it's going to sort of happen. 15:20 First, you're going to see the union and the union is going to 15:23 then forge around worshiping the beast in his image and a mark of 15:27 the beast. 15:29 Jëan: We do have a study guide. 15:30 It's called the "Mark Of The Beast." 15:31 And of course, Revelation chapter 14, you have three 15:34 angels's messages, and the third angel warns about the beast and 15:38 about his image and worshiping the image and having the mark of 15:41 the beast, so a very important study. 15:43 We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. 15:45 The number is 800-835-6747. 15:49 That is our resource phone line. 15:51 If you have a Bible question, the number to call 15:53 is 800-463-7297. 15:57 Again, that number is 800-463-7297. 16:00 That'll bring you here into the studio. 16:02 And we mentioned different free offers. 16:04 You can also get the free offer by simply dialing #250 on 16:07 your smartphone. 16:09 And as for that, it's called the "Mark Of The Beast." 16:11 We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. 16:14 We got Anthony in New York. 16:16 Anthony, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 16:18 Anthony: Yes, good evening, pastors. 16:20 Doug: Evening. 16:21 Anthony: So, as I was waiting, I actually think the Holy Spirit 16:23 told me to look up this--the question I had, and I saw it on 16:26 your website, Amazing Facts, that my question was actually 16:30 about the book of Jasher in Joshua chapter 10, verse 13, but 16:34 I saw that it says on your website that no one really knows 16:38 about this book, so I don't know. 16:40 I don't know if there's anything else you want to say about the 16:42 question, but I did already get my answer. 16:44 Doug: Well, no. 16:45 It's a good question, and, you know, sometimes we give an 16:47 answer, we give an abbreviated answer because of the time. 16:50 I'll say a little more about that. 16:52 There are references in the Old Testament, and I think one or 16:56 two in the New, to books that are not books of the Bible. 17:00 You not only have the book of Jasher--by the way, the book of 17:02 Jasher is mentioned in the book of Joshua, and the book of 17:05 Jasher is mentioned in 2 Samuel in chapter 1, verse 18. 17:11 It says, "He told them to teach the children of Judah the song 17:14 of the bow; Indeed it is written in the book of Jasher." 17:18 And so, Jasher may have been a prophet and he had written some 17:22 inspired things, but for whatever reason, God did not see 17:26 that it needed to be preserved for posterity. 17:29 And so, it's not there. 17:30 I think it talks about the book of Gad, the seer also. 17:34 There's one other I can't remember. 17:35 But one place is the book of Nathan. 17:37 Now they may be referring to 2 Samuel, which is written after 17:42 Samuel dies, so he didn't write. 17:44 It may have been Nathan the prophet that helped write that. 17:46 So, of course, he was--he may have been dead then too. 17:48 So, well, I don't know. 17:50 Anyway, those three books in the Old Testament are referred to. 17:55 Not every prophet wrote a book. 17:57 John the Baptist was the greatest prophet, and he didn't 18:00 write a book. 18:01 And not every prophetic book was part of the holy canon. 18:05 So, they had some books that they believe were inspired, but 18:10 not necessarily part of the Bible. 18:12 I think "Pilgrim's Progress" is somewhat inspired. 18:15 It's not part of the Bible, though. 18:16 Jëan: Yeah, something else about the book. 18:18 I'm just looking at it, a little commentary on it. 18:21 It's also referred to as the Book of Praises or the Book 18:24 of Hymns. 18:25 So, it seemed as though it was also a collection similar to 18:27 what the Psalms are, collection of sacred songs that was 18:31 possibly used in worship as well. 18:34 Doug: Yeah, the two references actually are poetic references. 18:37 Jëan: Yeah, something related to that. 18:39 Good, great question. 18:40 All right, next caller that we have is Adriene from Tennessee. 18:44 Is that right, Adriene? 18:47 Adriene: That's correct. 18:48 Jëan: Welcome. 18:49 Adriene: Thank you, thank you, Pastor Ross and Pastor Doug. 18:52 I am calling because I'm stumped on Deuteronomy chapter 12, 18:56 verse 22. 18:58 My husband and I are reading from the beginning to the end of 19:00 the Bible, and of course, this is an area where God has 19:04 made--He's made it very clear what types of meats we are to 19:07 eat and what meats we shouldn't eat. 19:09 And in this particular text, it talks about in an instance where 19:13 you can't get to a certain facility in time for whatever 19:19 reason, then you can have unclean or clean meats. 19:22 So, could you--I'm perplexed by that, hoping you can answer it. 19:26 Doug: Yeah, let me read this for our friends that are listening. 19:29 It's talking about these annual feasts that the Jews would 19:32 attend, and we're in Deuteronomy chapter 12 here. 19:36 And it's--let me just read it. 19:37 It says in verse 20, I'll start there, "When the Lord your God 19:40 enlarges your border as he's promised you, and you say, 'Let 19:43 me eat meat,' because you long to eat meat, that you may eat as 19:47 much as your heart desires. 19:48 If the place where the Lord God chooses to put His name," it 19:51 ends up being Jerusalem, "is too far from you," where they would 19:54 go and eat the sacrificial meats, okay? 19:58 "If the place is too far from you, then you might slaughter 20:01 from your herd and your flock which the Lord has given you, 20:03 just as I've commanded you." 20:05 Now--so he's referring them back to something he's 20:07 commanded earlier. 20:08 That would be the clean and unclean animals. 20:11 "Just as I've commanded you, you may eat within your gates as 20:13 much as your heart desires. 20:15 Just as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you may eat them; 20:18 the clean and the unclean alike may eat them." 20:21 Now, what it's not saying is the clean and the unclean meats you 20:26 can eat. 20:27 It's saying, people who are ceremonially clean or unclean, 20:32 they're all allowed to eat of this annual feast sacrifice. 20:37 So, some people, because of the, you know, they had some issue 20:42 or, you know, a woman during a certain time of the month, or if 20:46 you had, you know, any kind of a 20:48 rash, or there's a bunch of things. 20:49 If you had touched a dead body because you had a burial in the 20:51 family, you were spiritually unclean. 20:55 Some people thought, "Well, if you're unclean, then you can't 20:57 participate in this annual feast of food." 21:03 And God is saying, yes, the clean and the unclean people are 21:07 free to eat of those sacrifices. 21:10 It's not saying you can eat of any animal during the feast 21:13 because he made it really clear that the other things were 21:16 an abomination. 21:17 Why would he turn that around? 21:19 Jëan: We do have a study guide that talks about that. 21:21 It's called "God's Free Health Plan" and gives some good 21:23 biblical principles for living a healthy life. 21:26 If you'd like to receive that, the number to call 21:28 is 800-835-6747. 21:31 That is our resource phone line. 21:33 You can ask for that. 21:35 It's called "God's Free Health Plan." 21:36 You can also dial #250 on your smartphone and just say Bible 21:39 answers live and then ask for it by name, "God's Free 21:42 Health Plan." 21:44 We'll be able to send you a digital copy of that 21:46 study guide. 21:47 Of course, if you have a Bible question, the number 21:49 is 800-463-7297. 21:53 You'll probably see that on the screen if you're 21:54 watching, 800-463-7297. 21:58 It's a good time to call. 22:00 We've got Ely in Kansas. 22:02 Ely, welcome to the program. 22:04 Doug: Ellie. 22:05 Jëan: Or is it Ellie? 22:07 Sorry, Ellie. 22:08 Ely: Oh, it's Ely. 22:09 Doug: Ely. 22:11 Jëan: We got the first, okay. 22:12 Ely: Yeah, yeah, it's Ely. 22:13 It's always Ely. 22:15 Yeah, my question for tonight is why do innocent people suffer? 22:18 Because, you know, I don't understand why people are born 22:24 and they are going to die, and God knows that they're going 22:28 to die. 22:30 But why does that happen? 22:31 Like, why do they suffer if they don't have, like, a blame or 22:36 something like that? 22:37 Doug: Yeah, no, there's a book in the Bible called the book of 22:41 Job, and the very beginning of the book, it says, "Job is a 22:44 perfect and an upright man, he's a good man, honest man, he 22:49 follows the commandments of the Lord." 22:51 And all of a sudden, he gets attacked by the devil. 22:56 And first he gets attacked where he loses his finances, then he 23:01 loses his family, then he loses his physical health. 23:05 It's just one thing after another. 23:08 And the Bible in this story, it pulls back the veil, and we see 23:12 that the devil is the one that's bringing this. 23:15 And you might be thinking, "Well, isn't God more powerful 23:18 than the devil? 23:19 Why does God allow suffering?" 23:21 This is a question so many people don't understand is that 23:25 our planet has been hijacked by a very powerful evil fiend-- 23:31 he was the most powerful of God's created beings--called 23:36 Lucifer, turned to Satan and the devil, and he has accused God of 23:41 all kinds of malicious accusations. 23:44 God had to--God could have destroyed Lucifer by the blink 23:47 of an eye because he's the all powerful Creator. 23:51 But he had to let Lucifer demonstrate what his--what were 23:57 the results of his government. 23:59 He had to give other creatures the freedom to choose whether to 24:03 listen to the Word of God or the word of the devil. 24:06 In the beginning, our first parents chose to listen to the 24:09 word of the devil instead of the Word of God. 24:12 God said, "Do not eat the forbidden fruit. 24:14 If you eat the forbidden fruit then, you know, the devil's 24:17 going to move into this world, and you'll die." 24:21 And the devil said, "Don't believe God. 24:23 If you eat this fruit, you'll be like God, and God's afraid 24:25 you're going to be like Him." 24:27 See, the devil wanted to be God, so he planted his own desires in 24:30 the hearts of Eve and Adam. 24:33 And when our first parents chose to listen to the enemy, the 24:37 devil set up his headquarters in this world, and all the misery 24:40 you see in the world, instead of pointing to God and say, "Why is 24:44 God doing this?" 24:45 No, instead of saying, "Why do bad things happen?" 24:47 We should say, "Why are we still alive?" 24:50 The penalty for sin is death, but we don't die right away 24:54 because Jesus said, "I'll come to the world. 24:56 I'll become a human. 24:57 I'll live as an example for them. 25:00 I'll show them what God is really like, that He's love. 25:03 He's not what the devil says, and then I'll die for 25:06 their sins." 25:07 He also died to buy time for each person to make 25:10 that decision. 25:12 So, once people understand the cosmic conflict that's going on 25:16 in the background, they can understand that good and bad 25:20 happens to everybody. 25:21 Even Jesus said, "Rain and sunshine falls on everybody in 25:24 this world because there's a battle between good and evil." 25:27 And God is going to win in the end. 25:29 We know that. 25:30 That's why we have prophecy, but we need to try and reach as many 25:34 as we can to believe in God before it's too late. 25:37 Jëan: You know, we have a study guide and it deals with the 25:39 subject of why do bad things happen to good people? 25:41 It's called "Did God Create The Devil." 25:44 We know the Bible speaks of the Devil. 25:45 The Devil is alive and well, and he's doing his evil and bringing 25:49 pain and suffering to people, but where did he come from? 25:52 Well this study guide will give you the answer. 25:54 All you need to do is call and ask for it. 25:56 The number is 800-835-6747. 25:59 And you can ask for that study guide. 26:01 It's called, "Did God Create The Devil?" 26:03 And just a lot of good Bible verses in there. 26:06 Doug: Very good, we got--well let's see 26:08 if we can do a quick one here. 26:09 Jëan: All right. It's James in California. 26:10 James, welcome to "Bible answers Live." 26:12 James: Hey, good evening, pastors. 26:14 So, my question is, where do we see the Trinity, the Father, 26:17 Son, and Holy Spirit in Genesis chapter 1 in the 26:20 creation story? 26:21 Doug: All right, well first of all, you're not going to find 26:23 the word Trinity. 26:25 Even though you're not going to find the word ascension in the 26:28 Bible, we know that it's a teaching Jesus ascended 26:30 to heaven. 26:31 You're not going to find the word millennium in the Bible, 26:33 but we know Revelation 20 talks about the millennium, the 26:36 1000 years. 26:38 The Trinity is the three persons of the Godhead. 26:40 When God says in Genesis, "Let us make man in Our image." 26:45 And God says that the man and the woman, there's two of them, 26:49 they get married, they become one. 26:51 We learn right there in Genesis that one does not always mean 26:55 numerical quantity. 26:56 It can mean unity. 26:58 Jesus prayed the 12 disciples would be one. 27:02 "Father," he said, "even as you and I are one." 27:04 And so, God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one. 27:08 It does say, "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of 27:11 the waters." 27:12 So you've got the Holy Spirit there. 27:14 You've got God saying, "Let us make man in Our image." 27:17 God the Father and Son, it tells us how to form. 27:20 Well, we could say more. 27:21 We have a book on that called "Understanding the 27:23 Trinity, One God or Three." 27:24 Ask for a copy. Don't go away, friends. 27:26 We're coming back after these important announcements to take 27:29 more of your questions, so give us a call. 27:35 male announcer: Stay tuned. 27:36 "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly. 27:43 male announcer: Would you like to know God's plan for our 27:45 troubled world and solutions for your life's challenges? 27:48 Beautifully redesigned and updated, Amazing Facts's 27 27:51 Bible study guides provide straightforward Bible-based 27:54 answers that are enlightening, encouraging, and easy to 27:57 understand, giving you real relevant Bible answers to 28:00 questions like, "How can I have healthier relationships? 28:03 When will Jesus come?" 28:04 and much more. 28:05 Order yours today by visiting afbookstore.com or by 28:09 calling 800.538.7275. 28:13 female announcer: Did you know Amazing Facts has a free Bible 28:15 school that you can do from the comfort of your own home? 28:18 It includes 27 beautifully illustrated study lessons to aid 28:22 in your study of God's Word. 28:24 Sign up today for this free Bible study course by 28:26 calling 1-844-215-7000. 28:29 That's 1-844-215-7000. 28:36 male announcer: Jerusalem, the city of peace, has been a place 28:39 of unending conflict for centuries. 28:41 Many now believe that Jerusalem will soon take center stage 28:45 again, but what does the Bible say? 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30:19 Get practical answers about the good book for a better 30:22 life today. 30:26 This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. 30:29 If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the 30:31 air, please call us next Sunday between 7 p.m. 30:35 and 8 p.m. Pacific time. 30:38 To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this 30:40 evening's program, call 800-835-6747. 30:45 Once again, that's 800-835-6747. 30:51 Now, let's rejoin our hosts for more "Bible Answers live." 30:56 Doug: Welcome back, listening friends, to "Bible Answers 30:59 Live," and this is, as the title suggests, a live international 31:03 Bible study. 31:05 If you're hearing the program for the first time, then we 31:07 encourage you to call in with your Bible questions. 31:09 It is, of course, a free phone call. 31:11 That number, if you want to hear the acronym, it's 31:13 1-800-God says. 31:15 That translates to 1-800-463-7297. 31:20 We have lines open. 31:21 Give us a call, for the next half an hour, 31:24 Pastor Ross and I will answer your questions as well as 31:26 we can. 31:28 We got our Bibles open before us. 31:29 My name is Doug Batchelor. 31:30 Jëan: My name is Jëan Ross, and Pastor, we have some folks who 31:33 emailed their Bible questions to us, and we're going to take one 31:35 of these questions right now. 31:37 And this question is, "In Romans chapter 6, verse 23, it says 31:41 that, 'The wages of sin is death,' but in 1 John chapter 31:44 5:17, it says, 'There that not every sin leads to death.' 31:48 Can you explain this?" 31:50 Doug: Yeah, well the penalty for all sin is death, but not every 31:53 sin leads to the second death, meaning there's no forgiveness. 31:58 But the unpardonable sin leads to the second death. 32:01 There's no forgiveness for the unpardonable sin. 32:04 And so, yeah, "All manner of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven," 32:07 Jesus said, and this is in Matthew 12, except blasphemy 32:11 against the Holy Spirit. 32:12 We had a caller earlier in the program was asking, you know, "I 32:15 wonder if I've grieved away the spirit?" 32:17 We actually have a book that's dealing with what is the 32:20 unpardonable sin. 32:22 And if people want to know more about that, they can call the 32:25 number and we'll send them a free copy. 32:27 Jëan: All right? 32:29 And maybe one more question that was emailed to us. 32:30 By the way, if you want to send us a question, it's just 32:32 simply balquestions@amazingfacts.org. 32:36 That's the email address. 32:37 "In Exodus chapter 24, verse 11," the question is, "did the 32:41 elders who went up with Moses on the mount, did they see God's 32:44 glory or did they see the glory of Jesus?" 32:48 Doug: Yeah, good question. 32:49 It actually says that, you know, the elders went up, not to the 32:53 top of the mountain, but they went to the base of the 32:55 mountain, which no one else was allowed to do. 32:57 And it says, "They saw God and they ate and drank." 33:00 Now, that doesn't mean they saw God's face because God told 33:04 Moses, "No man will see my face and live." 33:07 Moses saw God from behind. 33:10 The elders probably saw God's glory. 33:12 I don't think that they looked directly into the unveiled face 33:17 of the Almighty. 33:18 But you know, even Jacob, when he wrestled with the angel, he 33:21 said, "I saw God." 33:23 And sometimes people see a manifestation of God or see the 33:27 glory of God, and they'll say, "I saw God," or "God spoke 33:29 to me." 33:31 So, I don't believe they saw the unveiled glory of God. 33:35 That's why Jesus came. 33:37 The glory of God was veiled in humanity. 33:40 Jëan: All right, we're going to go to the phone lines then. 33:42 We got Gail in Michigan. 33:43 Gail, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 33:45 You're on the air. 33:46 Gail: Hello. 33:48 Thank you for taking my call and thanks for--thank you for all 33:50 you do. 33:52 It literally saved my life. 33:54 Doug: Praise the Lord. 33:55 And your question tonight, Gail? 33:57 Gail: My question is, is being filled with the Holy Spirit and 34:02 speaking in tongues the same thing? 34:05 Doug: No, not necessarily. 34:06 You do have an example in the Bible, or a couple of them, 34:10 where they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke 34:12 in tongues in Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 10, and then 34:17 Acts 19. 34:19 But a lot of times--you can read in Acts chapter 4--they were 34:21 filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the Word of God. 34:24 You can read where the--and the Holy Spirit came upon 34:27 David and the Holy Spirit came upon Samson. 34:31 And when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will manifest a 34:35 variety of different gifts of the Spirit. 34:38 For Samson, it was a gift of physical strength when the 34:40 Spirit of the Lord came on him. 34:42 Holy Spirit came on David, and it gave him 34:44 administrative ability. 34:46 The Spirit came on him, and he wrote these Spirit-filled 34:49 psalms, gift of music, you might say. 34:53 And so, you can read a list of the gifts of the Spirit you're 34:57 going to find in--well, those are the fruits of the Spirit, 34:59 you'll find in Galatians chapter 5, but different gifts of the 35:02 Spirit you find in, I think it's 1 Corinthians 12, where it talks 35:06 about, you know, some are teachers, some administrators, 35:08 workers of miracles, some are apostles, some are prophets. 35:12 There's a broad variety. 35:15 And the lists in the Bible are probably not listing everything 35:18 that God's Spirit may empower you to do. 35:21 The gift of tongues is one of many of the gifts of the Spirit, 35:25 but whenever you're filled with the Spirit, you don't always 35:28 speak in tongues. 35:29 Jëan: And of course, you need to understand what the Bible means 35:31 when it talks about the gift of tongues. 35:33 It's a little different than what some people claim is 35:36 the gift of tongues today. 35:38 So, we do have a book. 35:39 It's called "Understanding Tongues," and we'll be happy to 35:42 send it to anyone who calls and asks. 35:43 The number is 800-835-6747. 35:47 That is the resource phone line. 35:48 And you can ask for the book. 35:50 It's called "Understanding Tongues." 35:51 And when people receive the gift of tongues, and you read about 35:54 in the book of Acts, they were able to preach or teach the 35:56 gospel in languages that they hadn't learned. 35:59 So, it's for the communication of the gospel. 36:03 All right, thank you, Gail. 36:04 We've got Glenn and Linda in Ohio. 36:06 Glenn, Linda, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 36:08 Glenn: Thank you. 36:09 Good afternoon or evening and thank you for taking my call. 36:13 Doug: Yes, thank you. 36:14 Glenn: It's at some point in eternity, the eternal Yahweh 36:19 started a time capsule with when he created the logos or 36:24 the Word. 36:26 And they created it together. 36:28 They created everything that has been created according to the 36:32 book of John chapter 1. 36:34 Someplace 4000 years down the road, there's a connection 36:39 between the logos and the incarnate Yeshua. 36:45 Doug: So, how would you like to frame that into a question? 36:48 Glenn: He refers to himself as being created in the chapter 36:53 3:14 of Revelation, 36:56 and also the Alpha and Omega. 36:59 And the question is, the Alpha, I understand that. 37:03 It is easy to understand. 37:05 But what does it mean that Yeshua is the Omega, the end? 37:08 What does he mean by that? 37:10 Doug: All right, well, first thing when it talks about 37:12 Jesus being the beginning of the creation of God that you 37:15 read in Revelation 14, I'm sorry, Revelation, I think 37:18 it's 3:14, yeah. 37:20 That doesn't mean that Christ was created. 37:23 It says, "All things that were made were made by him." 37:26 Well, if he was created before that, it would, He would say, 37:29 "All things except Myself." 37:32 And the Bible tells us God is love. 37:34 If God the Father existed at some point in eternity before 37:38 Jesus, then who did He love? 37:40 You can't have love for only yourself. 37:43 It's that love must be expressed. 37:45 So, "Jesus is," the Bible says, "from everlasting 37:48 to everlasting." 37:49 Now, the reason he uses the phrase--he says, "I am the Alpha 37:51 and Omega," He's called the Word of God, and every word in the 37:56 Greek alphabet, it started with alpha and the last letter 37:59 was omega. 38:01 Like we would say, "He is the A to Z in the Word of God." 38:04 He encompasses--every Word of God is composed in Him. 38:08 He's the embodiment. 38:09 It doesn't mean that when you got to the word omega, that now 38:13 you've got to the end of the alphabet and that Jesus is going 38:15 to end. 38:16 And the word alpha did not mean that he had a beginning. 38:19 So, Christ is without beginning. 38:21 He is from everlasting to everlasting. 38:24 He is eternal God. 38:26 He's self-existent. 38:27 He's the Creator of all things. 38:29 And yeah, hope that we had that in our book, "The Trinity" talks 38:33 about that, "One God or Three?" 38:36 We can send you, Glenn, a free copy of that. 38:39 Jëan: The number to call is 800-835-6747. 38:42 And again, you can ask for the book on the "Trinity: One God or 38:45 Three?" and we'll send that to you. 38:47 You can dial #250 on your smartphone and say, "Bible 38:51 Answers Live," and then ask for the book that way. 38:54 Thank you for calling. 38:55 Next caller we have is Kate in California. 38:57 Kate, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 38:59 Kate: Thank you. 39:01 Would you please comment on Daniel 11:45, the meaning of 39:08 that text? 39:10 Doug: All right, thanks a lot. 39:11 You gave us a really difficult passage, but we'll do our best. 39:15 Now, it's talking about this battle. 39:17 When you begin Daniel, where does it start? 39:20 Daniel 10, where it talks about the North and the South, or 11? 39:22 Jëan: 11, it starts there. 39:24 Doug: Daniel 11 it starts. 39:25 Pastor Ross just wrote a series of lessons on Daniel. 39:28 And Daniel 11 talks about this ongoing battle between the king 39:31 of the North and the South. 39:33 And this starts with the generals of Alexander. 39:36 Alexander's kingdom divides among four generals, and finally 39:39 it melts down to two that are at war. 39:42 Israel was surrounded by an ocean on the west and a great 39:47 desert on the east. 39:49 So, all of their invading forces came from the north of 39:51 the south. 39:53 Even Nebuchadnezzar was technically northeast. 39:55 He came from the north. 39:56 He was called a king of the north, or they'd come from Egypt 39:59 or Ethiopia, they'd come from the south. 40:02 And it goes back and forth between the king of the north 40:05 and south. 40:06 Eventually, it tells us that this king of the north, the 40:10 Greeks are overcome by the Romans, and the king of the 40:12 north is being run by the Roman Caesars, what we would call 40:16 pagan Rome. 40:17 I think in Daniel 11, it even references Augustus Caesar, a 40:21 collector of taxes. 40:22 Is that right? 40:23 And then it goes on and it talks about it transitioning to 40:27 papal Rome. 40:29 So, papal Rome is the king of the north. 40:32 So, now let me go to your verse in verse 45. 40:34 It says, "He'll plant the tent," or the tabernacle, "of his 40:37 palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; and yet 40:42 he will come to his end, and no one will help him." 40:46 Well, it talks about the holy mountain between the seas. 40:50 Jerusalem was thought of as being between Galilee, the Dead 40:54 Sea, and the Mediterranean, that high ground there. 40:57 And waters biblically represent people. 41:00 And, stop me, you may have a little different view on this, 41:03 so I'll be happy to entertain that. 41:05 And so, it's talking about this counterfeit power that is 41:09 wanting worship. 41:10 You read in 1 Thessalonians that he sits in the temple of God, 41:14 showing himself that he is God, wanting worship, and it's 41:17 talking about planting his tabernacle there, putting 41:20 himself in the place of God. 41:22 And yet finally, he will come to his end. 41:24 Jëan: Yeah, absolutely, pastor. 41:26 And of course, from verse 40 onwards, it talks about the time 41:29 of the end and the king of the North and the South, and they'll 41:31 go back and forth. 41:33 We understand from verse 40 through to verse 45 has yet a 41:36 future application. 41:38 It hasn't met it's fulfillment, it's prophetic fulfillment 41:41 because when you get to chapter 12, verse 1, you have the close 41:44 of probation. 41:45 That's when Michael stands up. 41:46 So, yes, there is some discussion. 41:48 It does appear from those verses that there's some kind of a 41:51 showdown that takes place. 41:53 Some have seen the king of the North, as you mentioned, 41:56 representing the papal power, but the papal power with the 41:58 backing of the Western nations or the Christian nations, the 42:03 military of which, like NATO, for example, the king of the 42:06 South, representing on a spiritual level, representing 42:11 Islam as being the main religion with the backing of the 42:14 so-called atheistic nations like China and Russia. 42:18 And yet we are talking about something yet in the future, but 42:21 it brings you right up till the very close of probation when 42:24 Michael stands up and Jesus said, "He that is holy, let him 42:27 be holy still." 42:28 So, I think we'll have a clear understanding of these verses as 42:31 we get closer to the fulfillment of what's been described. 42:34 But it does appear that there will be some kind of law or 42:37 legislation passed that brings the whole world together in a 42:41 certain form of worship. 42:43 It talks about tidings from the east and the west 42:46 trouble him. 42:47 So, it's a big study, but there's a number of aspects 42:50 connected with that. 42:51 But I think the bulk of this is yet future in its application. 42:53 Doug: Yeah, but it's exciting to think that we're living probably 42:56 between verse 42 and chapter 12. 42:59 Jëan: Yeah, we're getting right there. 43:01 Doug: We are living right near the end. 43:02 That's exciting. 43:04 All right, well, thank you so much. 43:05 Hope that makes sense. 43:07 And your lessons are going to come out fairly soon, I think, 43:08 on Daniel. 43:10 Jëan: Yeah, they can check them out at Amazing Facts. 43:11 I think in the next couple of months they should have 43:13 them done. 43:15 Elizabeth in Arizona. 43:16 Elizabeth, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 43:17 Elizabeth: Hi, thank you. 43:20 I listen to you guys all the time. 43:22 Doug: Thanks so much. 43:23 My question is, my former pastor says that when he preaches on 43:28 Sundays, that's not a day of rest for him at all, and I've 43:32 always been curious as to how you personally, you guys 43:36 personally reconcile that. 43:37 I feel for you and I appreciate the service any pastor does on 43:42 the day of the--what they, you know, how do you get a Sabbath 43:48 when you work so hard? 43:50 Doug: That's a fair question. 43:51 You know, Jesus addresses that too. 43:53 Jesus would heal people on the Sabbath, and he'd teach on the 43:56 Sabbath, and they accused him of breaking the Sabbath. 43:58 He said it's okay to do good on the Sabbath. 44:01 And then Christ says something that is interesting. 44:04 He said, "The priests profane the Sabbath and are guiltless." 44:09 Now, what he meant by that was on the Sabbath day in the 44:12 temple, one of the things they did is they offered a sacrifice. 44:16 Well, to have the sacrifice, the priest would sacrifice 44:19 a victim. 44:21 They would then butcher the victim. 44:22 They had to have the fire going to put the victim on the fire, 44:25 so they were hauling and stoking the fire with wood. 44:28 So, the priests had busy activities on the Sabbath, but 44:31 Jesus said, "They're doing what was necessary to do that the 44:35 greater group may worship." 44:37 And that they profane, in other words, they're working on the 44:40 Sabbath, but they are guiltless. 44:42 So, there's some work that is required on the Sabbath. 44:45 You know, in our church, sometimes we have several 44:47 different services, and our deacons--bless their hearts-- 44:50 they have to pick up chairs and put chairs down between services 44:53 for different--move them to different rooms. 44:54 We just don't have enough chairs, 44:56 and they're not breaking the Sabbath. 44:57 They're doing some of the Levitical work, you might say, 45:00 on the Sabbath day. 45:02 And we're doing what we have to do that the greater group 45:04 might worship. 45:05 Now, after, you know, church yesterday and you preach and you 45:10 teach and I gave a Bible study. 45:13 I go home and I eat and I take a nap. 45:15 Then I came back for doing worship for the family night. 45:18 And so, you know, you get rest, and-- 45:23 Jëan: But it is a busy day. 45:24 Doug: It is a busy day, yeah. 45:26 But we'll take a little more time off on a Monday 45:28 or something. 45:29 So, you'll get your other projects done. 45:31 Jëan: It's good to have time with the family and you can rest 45:34 and do different things. 45:36 But yes, being a pastor, your main priority, probably your 45:38 busiest day, is on the Sabbath when you're involved in worship. 45:43 All right, thank you, Elizabeth. 45:45 We've got James in Arizona. 45:46 James, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 45:48 James: Hey, I've got a question for you guys, and I can 45:52 clarify this a little bit if you need me to, but it seems like 45:56 there's a bunch, with even within people who call 46:00 themselves Christian, there's a bunch of different versions like 46:03 one Jesus, you have to be baptized and take sacraments, 46:06 and another one, you just say a prayer, and then one turns you 46:11 into a god through theosis, like, and the other one is like 46:14 washing you in blood and kind of, like, making a deal with the 46:19 Father to get you into heaven. 46:21 Like, how do you know which interpretation is correct 46:24 because they're mutually exclusive. 46:26 Doug: Yeah, well, that's all the more reason to find out--well, 46:29 let me back up and say, what do you think would be the criteria 46:33 that we would use to find the answer? 46:36 Would it be Pastor Doug on the radio? 46:38 Would it be a preacher in the pulpit? 46:40 Or would it be the Bible? 46:44 James: Well, since they all appeal to the Bible, we can't 46:48 use the Bible because I'm asking about how we interpret the 46:51 Bible, right? 46:53 So, it's--since even Muslims believe that Christ is the 46:56 Messiah, and they interpret the Bible differently. 46:59 Doug: Well, they're not using the Bible to--if you use the 47:02 Bible as your final authority, then the answers 47:05 become very clear. 47:07 And--but if you try to, and, you know, I used to do this before I 47:10 was a Christian, I would try and co mingle all the holy books and 47:13 it just creates chaos. 47:14 You try and get the Bhagavad Gita and the Quran and the Bible 47:20 and you try and make sense of it all and it's just--it's going to 47:23 leave you in confusion. 47:24 But if you look at the simple teachings of Jesus by yourself, 47:28 you open up your Bible and you go to Matthew chapter 1. 47:32 Read the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus gives about loving 47:35 your enemy. 47:36 It's not complicated. 47:38 It's not the mysteries in the Bible that is going to cause 47:43 the confusion. 47:45 It's the good we know we should do that we ignore. 47:48 So, it's not that complicated 47:50 when you just read it for yourself. 47:51 Jëan: And, you know, I was just reading the Gospel of John, and 47:53 some of the clearest statements about Christ, His mission, His 47:57 life, His death, how to be saved, it's so clearly given in 48:01 the Gospel of John. 48:02 Even Jesus, speaking to the religious leaders of His time, 48:05 and He's putting His position, His relationship to His 48:08 Father clearly. 48:10 He's presenting it to the religious leaders, 48:11 "I and My Father one. 48:13 Just I'm very powerful if--unless you believe in me, 48:16 you can have life." 48:17 So, we've got to let the Bible interpret itself. 48:18 I think part of the problem is people listen to a lot of other 48:21 people give their interpretation of the Bible instead of going to 48:25 the Word itself and reading Scripture and allowing the 48:28 Scripture to explain itself. 48:29 You read one verse, and if you don't understand it, then look 48:32 up other verses on the same topic, and it'll bring it 48:34 to light. 48:36 Doug: Yeah, and you know, the bottom line is, what does the 48:38 Bible say? 48:39 Jesus said in John 17:17, you were just quoting the book of 48:42 John, "Sanctify them by thy truth. 48:46 Your word is truth." 48:48 Ten percent of everything Jesus said, He's quoting from the 48:50 Old Testament. 48:52 He's quoting from the Bible. 48:53 And then He tells us that His words are truth. 48:58 The apostles said that it's--the Bible's not just normal words. 49:04 Holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and 49:06 this book has been preserved in a special way. 49:09 If you read it for yourself, you will understand. 49:12 I was living in a cave 17 years old, all confused by the, you 49:16 know, who was God and the different religions. 49:19 Someone had left a Bible up in the cave, along with some other 49:22 camping gear. 49:23 And I started reading the Bible so I could argue with 49:26 Christians, and that's what changed my life. 49:28 So, the power is in the Word by itself. 49:31 All right, thank you for your call, James. 49:33 Great question. 49:34 We've got Michaelyn in New Jersey. 49:37 Michaelyn, welcome to the program. 49:38 Michaelyn: Hi. 49:40 I want to know, was Job Jewish or Gentile? 49:45 Doug: Okay, good question. 49:47 Sort of in between. 49:49 He was not a Jew in that he was not from the tribe of Judah, but 49:52 when you look at the other characters in the book of Job, 49:56 they are descendants of Esau, which was a child of Abraham. 50:01 You know, Abraham, of course, had Isaac, and Isaac had Jacob 50:04 and Esau, and the descendants of Esau went to Edom, and near Edom 50:08 was the land of Uz where Job lived. 50:11 And matter of fact, in the genealogies of Esau, it talks 50:14 about someone named Jobab and the wondering was that Job, and 50:20 it talks about his friends are mentioned in that 50:22 same genealogy. 50:23 So, he was a child, a descendant of Abraham and Isaac, but he was 50:29 not from the tribe of Judah or a descendant of Israel. 50:32 Thanks, great question. 50:34 Hope that helps a little bit, Michaelyn. 50:35 Jëan: We've got Joseph in Florida. 50:37 Joseph, welcome to "Bible Answer Life." 50:39 Joseph: Hello. 50:40 How are you, pastors? 50:42 Doug: We're doing great. 50:43 Thanks for calling. 50:44 Joseph: Thank you. 50:46 My question is, at the Second Coming, when Christ comes back, 50:50 He's coming in all the glory of the Father, the Holy Spirit, and 50:53 the angels. 50:54 And it says, "And when He had opened the seventh seal, there 50:58 was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." 51:02 Does that mean that Enoch, Elijah, and Moses will also be 51:07 at the Second Coming since Moses and Elijah were at 51:10 the transfiguration? 51:12 Doug: Well, it's a good question. 51:13 I had not thought of that, but if I was Enoch, Moses, and 51:17 Elijah, who are in heaven now, and I knew Jesus was coming 51:21 back, if there was an empty seat on the plane, I'd ask if I could 51:24 get a ticket. 51:26 I'd sure like to be there and see that. 51:27 So, I would expect, you know, Moses was extremely interested 51:30 in the children of Israel making it to the Promised Land. 51:33 He's probably going to want a front row seat for that. 51:37 So, my guess is, yes. 51:39 You want to comment on that? 51:40 What's the silence in heaven? 51:41 Jëan: Yeah, the reason there's silence in heaven is because 51:43 Christ and all the angels and, quite possibly, Enoch, Elijah, 51:47 and Moses, they've all left. 51:49 And if anyone is still in heaven--God the Father is in 51:51 heaven, and of course, He can witness what's happening-- 51:54 the focus is going to be on Christ and his journey to the 51:56 earth to gather up the saints and take them back to the 51:59 Father's house. 52:00 So, that seems to be the focus. 52:02 Silence in heaven for about the space of half an hour works out 52:04 to about seven days of time. 52:07 So, it's not that it's three and a half days for Jesus to come 52:10 from heaven to earth and then three and a half days to 52:12 go back. 52:13 Christ can come very quickly, but it seems as though He takes 52:16 the longer route back home. 52:17 Maybe there's some things He wants to teach us. 52:20 Doug: How do you get seven days out of half an hour? 52:23 Jëan: Well the reason being is because you have one prophetic 52:26 day is equal to 1 literal year, and they have 360 Hebrew days in 52:30 a year, and there's 24 hours in the day, and one hour works out 52:35 to about 15 days, and a half an hour would be half of that. 52:39 So, you make up the week. Did I say-- 52:42 Doug: Yeah, I want you to explain that for people. 52:44 Jëan: Yeah, hopefully they can get that seven days. 52:46 Doug: That made sense. 52:48 All right, what's next? 52:49 Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is Dawn 52:50 in California. 52:52 Dawn, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." 52:53 Dawn: Hi, pastors, how are you tonight? 52:56 Doug: Better than we deserve. 52:58 Dawn: I have a question on when, let's see, it was John 8, 53:04 verses 1 through 11 were added to the manuscripts because the 53:08 earliest manuscripts I read, it was not in there. 53:11 Doug: Yeah, that's--I would just say, don't believe 53:14 those commentaries. 53:17 The reason they say that, and it's not just John 8, they'll 53:19 also say the last few verses in Mark chapter 16, they say, "Well 53:23 that's not in some manuscripts." 53:24 And so, some of the modern translations just leave 53:27 that out. 53:28 That's very unfortunate because one of the most incredible 53:31 stories in the Bible is John chapter 8, the first few verses. 53:35 This woman is caught in the act of adultery. 53:38 And Jesus said, "He that is without sin, let him cast the 53:41 first stone." 53:43 It's believed that some of the Austere church leaders, when 53:49 they read that hundreds of years after Christ, it was in the 53:51 Scriptures, they said, "Wow, that sounds like Jesus is 53:54 forgiving adultery," and they just said, "Let's expunge that. 53:59 Let's lose that first few verses there. 54:01 We don't want it to make it sound like he said, I'm not 54:03 going to condemn you for adultery." 54:05 And so, some of the church fathers thought, "Well, let's 54:08 just take that out of some of the Vaticanus or some of the 54:10 other translations." 54:12 But it was in the earliest. 54:14 Jëan: There's two groups of manuscripts. 54:15 You have what's called the Byzantine family, which was more 54:18 in modern day Turkey. 54:19 And then you have the Alexandrian text, which is 54:22 much smaller. 54:23 There's much fewer manuscripts in Alexandria in Egypt. 54:26 However, the oldest manuscripts are from the Alexandria because 54:30 the temperature was dry and desert-like. 54:32 But there were some questions related to those manuscripts. 54:35 So, that's maybe one of the reasons people say, "Well the 54:38 oldest manuscripts don't know this passage." 54:39 Well there are so many other manuscripts, part of the 54:42 Byzantine family, that do have this passage, that it's pretty 54:45 evident that it was in the original. 54:47 Doug: Yeah, and there are some slightly newer manuscripts that 54:50 were copied from originals. 54:53 So, they're actually more accurate. 54:55 And--but yeah, the story, it bleeds Jesus. 55:01 And so, yeah, I believe it is, 55:03 it's very much like what He said. 55:05 He actually says to other people, "Go and sin no more." 55:08 You "know, He said, Lest the the worst thing to come upon you." 55:10 So, it all fits with the narrative of Christ. 55:14 Jëan: You know, we do have a book that talks about the Bible. 55:15 It's called "The Ultimate Resource," and it talks about 55:18 different Bible translations and manuscripts and answers a lot of 55:21 these questions. 55:22 If you'd like to receive it, the number to call is 800-835-6747. 55:26 This is for anyone. 55:27 It's just a great study. 55:29 800-835-6747. 55:30 You can ask for that book. 55:32 It's called "The Ultimate Resource," or you can dial #250 55:35 on your smartphone and say, "Bible answers live," and then 55:39 ask for that manuscript or that book by name, and you'll learn 55:42 about the manuscripts that the Bible is copied from. 55:47 Doug: Very good. 55:48 You know, I wrote a book. 55:50 One reason I'm also passionate about that question is I wrote a 55:53 book years ago that just was near and dear to my heart, and 55:56 it's talking about at Jesus's feet, the Gospel According to 56:00 Mary Magdalene. 56:01 And I put forth a hypothesis in that book that Mary of Bethany, 56:06 Mary Magdalen were the same Mary, and that woman caught in 56:11 the act of adultery could have been Mary Magdalene. 56:15 And they didn't say her name because, well, that would 56:17 obviously be an embarrassing circumstance. 56:20 And so, yeah. 56:22 I did a lot of research on that particular story and its origin. 56:26 And I do believe that you don't have to question whether John 56:30 chapter 8, verses 1 through 11 or Mark 16, I think they are. 56:33 King James had it right. 56:35 They were all part of the Scriptures. 56:36 Jëan: All right, Pastor Doug, we've got another 56:37 email question. 56:39 And this one's got two parts. 56:41 So, maybe you can take them one by one. 56:42 The first question is, "Does every person have a 56:45 guardian angel?" 56:46 And, "What Bible verse might be used?" 56:48 And then the next question would be, "What do these angels do?" 56:52 They guard us, but is there anything else that they do? 56:55 Doug: Yeah, well I believe that everyone does have a 56:58 guardian angel. 56:59 You can read that it says in Psalm 91, "The angel of the Lord 57:03 encamps round about him that fears Him." 57:06 And then Jesus, speaking of the children, He says, "Their 57:09 angels," making it sound like every child's got an angel. 57:13 "Their angels do behold the face of My Father which is 57:15 in heaven." 57:17 And there's so many times when someone's eyes were opened and 57:20 then they see angels that are there. 57:24 It was, I believe, angels that were guiding the wise men when 57:28 they saw that star. 57:29 This moving star was not a comet or something. 57:33 Astronomers trying to say, "Oh well, I wonder what comet 57:35 happened that year." 57:36 I think it was a band of angels that they saw. 57:39 So, when Elisha said, "Open his eyes," his servant. 57:44 He was so worried about the Syrian army, and God opened the 57:47 eyes of Elisha's servant. 57:49 He saw the hills and the mountains were filled with 57:51 chariots and horses of fire. 57:53 They were surrounded by angels. 57:54 So, a lot more angels out there. 57:57 Good thing there's twice as many good angels as bad ones. 57:59 So, you don't have to be afraid, friends. 58:01 God willing, we'll talk about it again next week. 58:06 male announcer: Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. 58:08 We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. 58:12 "Bible Answers Live" is produced by Amazing Facts 58:15 International, a faith-based ministry located in Granite 58:19 Bay, California. 58:21 ♪♪♪ |
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