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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:36 Jean Ross: Good morning, friends. 00:38 Welcome again to "Sabbath School Study Hour," coming to you here 00:40 from the Amazing Facts offices in Sacramento, California. 00:42 I'd like to welcome all of those who are joining us across the 00:46 country and around the world. 00:48 We have our regular online members that tune in every week, 00:50 but joining them today is also our regular Sabbath School 00:54 members that actually come to our church every week. 00:57 But, of course, with the virus and the pandemic and the 01:00 lockdown, they're joining us online. 01:03 So we'd like to welcome all of our regular Sabbath School and 01:05 church members to our Sabbath School time today. 01:08 Well, to our lesson for today, we've been studying through a 01:11 series of studies dealing with the Scripture. 01:14 Our lesson quarterly is entitled "How to Interpret Scripture." 01:17 Today we find ourselves on lesson number six. 01:20 It's entitled "Why is Interpretation Needed?" 01:23 Very important study. 01:25 That will be what we're going to be looking at in just a minute. 01:28 We'd also like to tell you about our free offer for today, a book 01:30 entitled "The Rich Man and Lazarus," and this is actually a 01:33 passage that we're going to be talking about a little bit in 01:35 our study today. 01:36 If you'd like to receive this, just text the--or call the 01:40 number 866-788-3966 and you can ask for offer number 140, 140, 01:47 by calling the number 866-788-3966. 01:53 Or you can text the code "SH140" to the number 40544 and you'll 02:00 be able to get a digital download of the book, "The Rich 02:03 Man and Lazarus." 02:05 I think you'll be richly blessed. 02:08 Well, Pastor Doug, before we get to our study, let's begin with 02:10 the word of prayer. 02:12 Dear Father, we thank you for your Word. 02:13 We thank you for the opportunity that we have together to gather 02:15 to study a very important subject about how we ought to 02:18 interpret the Word of God, to interpret the Bible. 02:20 So bless our time here in the studio, and be with those 02:23 listening in their homes across the country and around the 02:26 world, in Jesus' name, amen. 02:29 Doug Batchelor: Amen, well, friends, our lesson today is 02:32 probably one of the most important that we can understand 02:34 as Christians because I think everyone knows that we've got 02:38 one Bible, one Jesus, one Holy Spirit. 02:41 There's one Lord, one faith, one truth, one baptism. 02:45 And 4,000 different denominations, they call 02:48 themselves Christian. 02:50 Why is that? 02:53 It could probably be boiled down to the word hermeneutics, and 02:55 that has to do with basically the study of--hermeneutics is 03:00 the skill and the art of carefully translating and 03:04 interpreting the texts in the Bible, and hermeneutics is the 03:09 theory or methodology of interpretation of the biblical 03:12 text, and the word--you know, there was a Greek god called 03:15 Hermes, and he was the messenger for the gods. 03:18 And so that's where the word is derived from. 03:21 But it's really saying, how do we understand the message 03:24 from God? 03:26 How do we compare Scripture with Scripture? 03:28 And so our lesson is based on how to interpret Scripture. 03:31 We have a memory verse, and the memory verse is Hebrews 11, 03:35 verse 6: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for 03:39 he that comes to God must believe that He is and He is a 03:43 rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." 03:46 And so this is a key to really--getting the right 03:49 interpretation is by going here a little, there a little, 03:53 comparing Scripture with Scripture, running to and fro 03:56 through the Bible, and using some principles to come to 03:59 conclusions of truth. 04:02 Jean: Now, just to add to that, Pastor Doug, before we actually 04:04 get into the details of the lesson, if you have a question 04:06 relating to the Bible, maybe a passage of Scripture that you've 04:10 been struggling with to try and understand, you can go ahead and 04:13 ask your question on Facebook if you're watching us live 04:16 on Facebook. 04:18 They can actually be emailing the questions to me, and we're 04:20 going to try and take those questions live. 04:22 So if you have a Bible question, feel free to do that. 04:24 Pastor Doug, talking about the Bible and the importance of the 04:27 interpretation of the Bible, there are a couple of principles 04:29 that we need to bear in mind. 04:32 For example, when studying a passage of Scripture, we need to 04:34 find out, is this a parable that Jesus is telling or is this a 04:37 historical event? 04:39 Is it a doctrinal truth that is being emphasized? 04:42 When you deal with prophetic passages of Scripture, you need 04:45 to ask yourself, what does the symbol represent? 04:48 What does it mean? 04:50 And you got to compare other passages. 04:52 Is this a historical narrative? 04:54 Is this a story that we read about in the Bible? 04:57 So any text can quickly lose its significance if it's taken out 05:03 of context. 05:05 You can manipulate or twist. 05:07 Somebody once said, "You can make the Bible say anything you 05:09 want it to say if you take things out of context." 05:11 Doug: Yeah, you can--yeah. 05:14 And I've seen it before, we all have, where a pastor will 05:16 torture a text to try to make it to say what he wants it to say. 05:20 But you don't arrive at truth like that. 05:24 It's the truth that sets us free. 05:25 So we want to know, what did the Lord really mean and what was 05:29 the intention of the writer in their texts? 05:31 And so there's several things to consider. 05:34 First of all, be aware that whenever we come to the 05:38 Bible--when we first look into the Bible, we're going to 05:40 probably bring our own personal experience, perspective, and 05:44 even some presuppositions. 05:46 That's the first section here. 05:48 One of the major presuppositions that was a problem for the 05:51 apostles is their concept. 05:54 They had been taught that when the Messiah came, that he was 05:58 going to sort of come galloping into Jerusalem on a white horse 06:01 and be leading an army against the Romans and overthrow the 06:06 Romans and once again he would sit on the throne of David. 06:09 And instead of having the territory of Israel, the whole 06:12 world would be subjugated to them. 06:16 So there was just this very glorious, untrue concept they 06:20 have of the first coming of the Messiah. 06:22 They've gotten some of the Scriptures about the second 06:24 coming, where Jesus comes as a king, mixed up with the first 06:27 coming where he comes as a lamb and a sacrifice. 06:30 And I'll just give you a couple of examples. 06:32 Pastor Ross might read one or two. 06:35 I'll read, for example, Matthew 16, verse 21. 06:39 This is right after Peter said, "You are the Christ, the son of 06:41 the living God." 06:43 But then it shows he misunderstood the mission 06:44 of Jesus. 06:46 "From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples he must go to 06:48 Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief 06:52 priests and the scribes, and be killed and be raised the 06:56 third day. 06:58 Then Peter took him aside," he has the audacity to chastise 07:00 Jesus, "and he began to rebuke him and say, 'Far be it from 07:04 you, Lord. 07:05 That's not going to happen to you. 07:07 That's not what--that's not what the Messiah does.' 07:10 But he turned and he said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan. 07:13 You're an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of 07:15 God but the things of men.'" 07:18 He had really misunderstood the first mission of the Messiah. 07:21 They didn't get it right away. 07:23 Jean: And even up till after the resurrection, they didn't quite 07:26 understand fully the first work that Jesus came. 07:29 Even after the resurrection, Pastor Doug, they asked Jesus, 07:31 said, "Is this the time you're going to restore the kingdom 07:34 back to Israel?" 07:36 And they didn't quite understand the establishment of a 07:37 spiritual kingdom. 07:39 We can read in Luke chapter 24, this is after the resurrection 07:41 when Jesus appeared to the disciples and he said to 07:44 them--Luke 24, verse 36 he said, "Peace be to you." 07:48 But they were terrified and they were frightened and they 07:50 supposed that they'd seen a spirit. 07:52 Then it goes on. 07:53 Jesus talked to them. 07:55 He ate in their presence. 07:57 And then verse 44 says, "Then he said to them, 'These are the 07:59 words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all 08:01 things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses 08:04 and in the prophets and the Psalms concerning me.' 08:08 And he opened their understanding that they might 08:10 comprehend the Scriptures." 08:12 So here we find even the disciples after the resurrection 08:14 did not fully or did not perfectly interpret Scripture. 08:18 Jesus had to help them understand. 08:20 Where did Jesus go? 08:21 He went to the Old Testament. 08:23 He went to the Law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms. 08:25 And so he went back to the Bible to provide a 08:27 correct interpretation. 08:30 Doug: You know, Pastor Ross, I hadn't thought of this and it 08:32 wasn't in our notes or discussion. 08:34 But what happened to the disciples, they experienced a 08:37 great disappointment because of a bad hermeneutic and they were 08:42 still God's people. 08:44 The Adventist movement had a great disappointment because 08:47 they assumed in Daniel 8:14 the sanctuary being cleansed--world 08:52 would be cleansed by fire. 08:54 Yeah, the world is a sanctuary, even though there was no 08:56 Scripture in the Bible that called the world the sanctuary. 08:59 And so, you know, they learned after that that it was based on 09:01 a bad hermeneutic. 09:03 So you can see why it's so important to compare Scripture 09:06 with Scripture. 09:08 Now today, for instance, if the average Christian reads 09:10 Revelation 1, verse 10 and John says, "I was in the spirit on 09:14 the Lord's Day." 09:16 What do you think people think the Lord's Day is--most people? 09:20 Jean: Immediately they say, "Well, that's the day Jesus rose 09:22 from the dead. 09:23 That must be Sunday, the first day of the week." 09:25 Doug: Yeah, where's the Scripture that says that? 09:27 There isn't any. 09:29 Matter of fact, in my Bible when I look up Revelation chapter 1, 09:31 verse 7, it's got--but when it says Lord's Day, it's got a 09:36 little sub note there and it takes you back to Acts 20. 09:39 It says that--it talks about they gathered on the first day 09:43 of the week and you're thinking, "How do they know the Lord's Day 09:48 is the first day of the week? 09:50 Where did they get that? 09:52 What hermeneutic is that based on?" 09:54 Because when you look in the Bible and you say, "All right, 09:56 what does the Bible say? 09:57 Let it speak for itself. 09:59 No presuppositions." 10:01 You know, I kind of came to Christianity with real--I had no 10:03 denominational preference. 10:05 I had no--I'm sure I had some presuppositions that I built, 10:07 but didn't matter to me. 10:09 I wanted to know, what's the Bible say? 10:12 Well, Exodus 20:10, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord." 10:16 Which day is the Lord's Day? 10:18 The Sabbath. 10:19 Isaiah 58:13, "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from 10:22 doing your pleasure on my holy day--" 10:25 What day is the Lord's Day? 10:27 The seventh day, the Sabbath. 10:29 Jesus said, "Therefore, the son of man is Lord also of 10:30 the Sabbath." 10:33 What day is the Lord's Day? 10:34 The Sabbath day. 10:36 Now, show me where the Bible it says the first day is the 10:38 Lord's Day. 10:39 That's based on a very severe presupposition that is popular. 10:42 Jean: People have built a whole theology over misunderstanding 10:44 one verse. 10:46 And, you know, interpretation is important. 10:48 In some cases, it is life-threatening or has an issue 10:52 of life and death. 10:53 I read this, Pastor Doug. 10:55 It was quite interesting. 10:57 We might look at this and say, "How could anybody 10:58 misunderstand this?" 11:00 But you read in Mark chapter 16, verse 17 Jesus says, "And these 11:02 signs shall follow those who believe. 11:05 In my name, they shall cast out demons, they'll speak with new 11:08 tongues, they will take up serpents; and if they drink 11:10 anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them. 11:13 They'll lay hands on the sick and they'll recover." 11:16 I was doing a little research on this. 11:19 Back in 2014, there was a news headline, February the 17th, 11:23 2014, that says, "Snake-handling pastor of a small Pentecostal 11:28 Church in Kentucky died after being bitten by a rattlesnake 11:31 during the weekend church service." 11:35 Kind of interesting. 11:36 This pastor's name was Jamie Coots, was bitten by this 11:40 rattlesnake 'cause they take these snakes and they handle 11:43 them during their church service. 11:45 And the people told him he needs to go to the doctor 'cause his 11:47 arm started swelling up and he started to look real sickly and 11:50 pale, but he said, "No. 11:53 The Bible says those who believe can take up serpents." 11:55 And he refused to get medical treatment. 11:58 A few hours later, he actually died. 12:00 All based upon a total misinterpretation of what Jesus 12:04 is talking about here in Mark chapter 16. 12:08 Jesus is not telling us to go look for snakes and carry 12:10 them around. 12:12 We do have an example in the Bible where Paul was bitten by 12:14 a serpent. 12:15 He didn't go looking for it, but he was not harmed. 12:18 Also, Pastor Doug, serpents in the Bible, there's a symbolic 12:21 meaning for that. 12:23 The devil is described as that old serpent of all called the 12:26 devil and Satan. 12:28 So here Jesus he says, "You'll cast out demons," meaning that 12:30 you'll have the power over the forces of darkness, over 12:34 the enemy. 12:35 Doug: Yeah, in Psalms, David says, "You'll tread on the lion 12:37 and the serpent." 12:39 And those are two symbols of the devil. 12:41 Yeah, it's an Acts chapter 27. 12:42 Paul is not looking to get bit. 12:44 He does get bit. 12:46 He takes up the serpent putting wood on a fire, and he shakes it 12:48 off and no harm comes to him. 12:51 But it's principally--I think there's a spiritual analogy 12:54 there that--you know, Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up 12:57 the serpent--" 13:00 That was a sign that the serpent had been defeated, and the blood 13:02 of Christ neutralizes the venom of the devil in our lives. 13:05 And so there's a much bigger meaning here when he said, 13:08 "You'll take up serpents." 13:10 And Jesus said, "Don't tempt the Lord. 13:11 Don't go looking for serpents and picking them up." 13:14 'Cause if you stumble, an angel might pick you up. 13:16 But if you jump off the temple, well, you're looking 13:19 for trouble. 13:21 So you've got to compare Scripture with Scripture. 13:23 Jean: You know, we have a question that's come in, and 13:25 thank you. 13:26 I see they're just really coming in now. 13:28 That's great. 13:30 We have Billy who's asking a question relating to the Bible. 13:32 He says, "When did the New Testament officially begin?" 13:34 Doug: Well, as soon as any book of the New Testament was 13:37 written, it was Scripture. 13:40 And so I think Gospel of Mark was written maybe 40 AD and--but 13:46 as soon as he was circulating it, they understood that this 13:48 was sacred writing, as with the other writings. 13:51 Some proof for that might be in 2 Peter chapter 3. 13:55 That's actually in our lesson later. 13:58 Paul--Peter refers to the writings of Paul as Scripture. 14:02 He knew that Paul had been called as an apostle of Jesus. 14:05 He was filled with the Holy Spirit. 14:08 Paul had raised the dead and did many miracles, and those letters 14:11 he wrote were Spirit-inspired letters. 14:14 And so Peter refers to the writings of Paul as Scripture. 14:17 Jean: You know, we have another question that's come in, 14:18 Pastor Doug. 14:19 It actually ties into our next section in our lesson that talks 14:21 about the importance of translation and interpretation. 14:25 Let me just mention this. 14:28 There are two different groups of Bibles that you can find. 14:31 You have the actual translations, which the 14:35 translators would go to the original languages and they'd 14:37 find the best English word to convey that thought or that idea 14:41 in the original language. 14:43 But then we have Bibles that we call paraphrase. 14:45 They're all--they're not all bad in and of themselves, but 14:48 basically what that is, is somebody might read the Bible in 14:51 English and then they'll try and rephrase the passage using their 14:56 own words and sometimes conveying some 14:59 devotional thoughts. 15:01 And I think paraphrases are useful and helpful if you're 15:03 doing more of a devotional study and you want to get some 15:06 different insights on how to apply that. 15:08 But when you're studying doctrine, it's always a good 15:11 thing to go to the original sources. 15:13 Try go to a translation that is as close to the original 15:15 as possible. 15:17 And the reason I even mentioned that is we have a question that 15:19 came in, Pastor Doug. 15:21 Cindy is asking, "Can you explain Genesis 6, verse 4?" 15:25 What are these nonhumans that's been referred to there? 15:28 Doug: Yes, that's a great--that's really a great 15:30 example of how you need to let the Bible interpret itself. 15:33 A number of people read this passage in Genesis chapter 6 15:36 where it says, "The sons of God saw the daughters of men, that 15:39 they were fair and took them wives." 15:42 And notice where it says here, "Now it came to pass--" 15:48 And I'll go to verse 1. 15:50 "It came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of 15:52 the earth--" 15:54 Now keep in mind there are two groups of men when that happens. 15:56 Cain took his sister wife. 15:59 They went off in a separate place. 16:01 They began to grow and marry and intermarry and multiply. 16:04 And Adam and Eve and their new son Seth and his family, they 16:09 began to grow. 16:11 But one group worshiped God. 16:13 They were called the sons of God. 16:15 And you say, "How do you know that, Pastor Doug?" 16:17 This is where you compare Scripture with Scripture. 16:20 "As many as follow him, they are the sons of God." 16:23 1 John chapter 3, "Behold what manner of love the Father's 16:26 bestowed on us, that we should be called sons of God." 16:29 Isaiah says, "We are the sons and daughters of God." 16:32 A lot of Scripture says believers are called the 16:34 children of God. 16:36 Jesus says that don't--those who don't believe you're the 16:38 children of your father, the devil. 16:40 And they were called the children of men. 16:42 They're mortal. 16:44 I think the word was enos that was being used there. 16:46 And it says, "When the sons of God saw the daughters of men, 16:48 that they were beautiful, they took wives for them of all whom 16:50 they chose." 16:52 As long as the distinction between the descendants of Seth, 16:54 Adam and Eve stayed separate from Cain and his posterity that 16:59 had turned from God, they had been faithful. 17:03 But when they began to intermarry, the result was--God 17:06 said, "My Spirit will not always strive with men. 17:08 The thoughts of man's heart were only wicked continually." 17:13 One of the main things God told His people all through the 17:16 wilderness, "Do not intermarry with the Canaanites, with 17:19 the unbelievers." 17:21 Samson got in trouble doing that. 17:23 Solomon got in trouble doing that. 17:25 And here the Bible starts out. 17:27 It was through those mixed marriages that the faith 17:30 was lost. 17:32 Jean: And talking about translations in paraphrase, 17:34 there's a fairly well-known paraphrase that actually 17:37 misinterprets that verse and says the angels took wives of, 17:40 you know, the daughters of men and as a result giants were born 17:44 unto them. 17:46 Well, that's not the translation. 17:48 That's a paraphrase. 17:50 You know, Pastor Doug, when we do our radio program in the 17:52 beginning of the year, we encourage people to read through 17:53 the Bible. 17:55 We almost always get somebody that asks about, who are these 17:57 angels that took human wives and as a result giants were born? 17:59 Well, that's actually a misunderstanding of what the 18:02 verse says. 18:04 Of course Jesus said, speaking of angels, they neither marry 18:06 nor give any marriage. 18:08 So couldn't have been angels that took human wives and as a 18:11 result giants were born. 18:13 That's just really a misunderstanding of what the 18:15 verse is actually saying. 18:17 Doug: Now there--it is true that when the descendants of Seth 18:19 intermarried with the descendants of Cain, says their 18:22 children were mighty ones. 18:24 But that's what you call genetic vitality, and that's just a 18:26 common fact of science. 18:30 You can cross a lion and a tiger, you get a liger, but 18:33 it'll be bigger than the two. 18:35 And so--yeah, donkey and a donkey, the mule--I'm sorry. 18:40 Donkey and a horse, you end up with a mule. 18:42 A mule is going to be a lot bigger than a donkey. 18:44 Jean: We have another question, Pastor Doug, if you have your 18:46 Bible there. 18:48 1 Corinthians 15:29. 18:50 Cindy's just asking, "Can you please explain this verse: 18:53 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 29?" 18:56 Doug: I'm looking in my notes here because I think--yeah, 18:57 I did, I put that in my notes. 18:59 She's got--the Lord designed that, Cindy. 19:02 Thanks for your calling. 19:04 Let me read it to you. 19:05 It says, "Otherwise--" 19:07 Now, the whole purpose of 1 Corinthians chapter 15, 19:09 talking about the resurrection. 19:10 Some of the Corinthians had lost faith in the resurrection. 19:13 And Paul says in verse 29, "Otherwise, what will they do, 19:16 who are baptized for the dead? 19:18 If the dead do not rise at all, why then are they baptized for 19:20 the dead?" 19:22 That is a very common misunderstanding. 19:24 First of all, you have to ask by comparing Scripture 19:26 with Scripture. 19:28 Don't ever build a doctrine on one Scripture. 19:30 There's at least one denomination that baptizes 19:33 living people in behalf of those who are dead. 19:35 There's a really big theological problem with that 'cause the 19:39 Bible says once you die your destiny is forever determined. 19:42 It's appointed unto men once to die. 19:44 After that, the judgment. 19:46 While you're alive, there is hope. 19:47 To all the living, there is hope. 19:49 After you die--it says that a living dog is better than a 19:51 dead lion. 19:53 There's no more hope for them. 19:54 Their destiny is sealed. 19:56 So you can't believe you can be baptized for the dead. 19:59 It's kind of like praying for the dead and burning candles for 20:01 the dead. 20:03 It's a very pagan teaching. 20:05 How do you translate this verse? 20:07 There was no punctuation in the original Greek. 20:10 And so when the translators were translating, they had to 20:14 punctuate the way they saw best. 20:17 Some of their presuppositions ended up getting into 20:19 the punctuation. 20:21 So this is the way it ought to read properly punctuated, and I 20:24 think there may be some translations out there that 20:26 do this. 20:28 1 Corinthians 15:59, "Otherwise, comma, what will they do who are 20:32 baptized, comma, for the dead, comma, if the dead don't rise at 20:36 all, comma, why are they baptized, question mark. 20:39 For the dead?" 20:41 So he's basically saying, "All those who have been baptized--if 20:44 you don't think there's a resurrection. 20:46 Otherwise, what are they doing? 20:48 If the dead don't rise at all, why get baptized? 20:50 For the dead?" 20:51 You're not doing it for their sake. 20:53 So it's what you call a rhetorical question. 20:55 And so once you understand that it's punctuated incorrectly, it 20:57 starts to make sense. 20:59 And another famous example of that is the thief on the cross. 21:03 Jean: You read in Luke where the thief said to Jesus, "Lord, 21:06 remember me when you come in your kingdom." 21:08 Now I just want to underline that. 21:10 The thief wasn't expecting to be remembered that day. 21:13 He said, "Lord, remember me when you come in your kingdom." 21:16 Jesus responded and said, "Verily I say unto you today, 21:19 you shall be with me in paradise." 21:22 Now as Pastor Doug said, there's no comma in the 21:23 original language. 21:25 You'll pretty much look at any Bible today and you've got the 21:28 presupposition where the translators put the comma before 21:32 the word today, meaning Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you," 21:36 comma, "today you will be with me in paradise." 21:39 Sounds like that day Jesus was going to be with the thief 21:42 in paradise. 21:44 But if you'll put the comma behind the word today, Jesus was 21:46 simply telling the thief that day--while he was on the cross, 21:50 he was promising the thief he would remember him when he came 21:53 in his kingdom. 21:55 "I'm telling you today, you will be with me in paradise." 21:58 So where you put the punctuation is rather significant. 22:00 You gave me an example just before the program of somebody 22:03 that put the comma in the wrong place. 22:05 Doug: I think it was Czar Nicholas. 22:09 Someone had offended him, and he wrote a note and he wanted to 22:12 send them to Siberia. 22:14 And the families pleaded, "Don't send them to Siberia." 22:16 And he wrote back on a note, "Pardon not possible. 22:19 To go to Siberia." 22:22 Well, his wife was more merciful. 22:24 She got his note. 22:27 And before it went off to the officer, she put the comma after 22:29 the word pardon. 22:31 It said, "Pardon, not possible to go to Siberia." 22:33 So he was freed. 22:35 But, you know, it's not just the punctuation. 22:37 Look at the other verses. 22:40 Did Jesus go to paradise that day? 22:42 John chapter 20 or 21, he says to Mary, "Do not cling to me for 22:44 I've not yet ascended to my Father." 22:47 And the thief--you know, days end and begin at sundown. 22:50 We don't even know if he died by sundown, which would have been 22:53 when that day ended. 22:55 And so there's no way he could have been with Jesus in paradise 22:58 that day. 23:00 That was not the emphasis of that phrase. 23:02 Jean: Of course you can't build a whole doctrine on one verse. 23:03 You got to look at what the rest of the Bible says when it says, 23:06 "The dead know not anything." 23:08 Jesus speaks of death as being as asleep. 23:10 So you got to put all of the verses together to reach a 23:12 correct understanding, especially on doctrinal issues. 23:15 You can't build it on just simply one verse. 23:17 Pastor Doug, that brings us to our next section there 23:19 on Tuesday. 23:21 It's entitled "The Bible and Culture." 23:23 And of course, the Bible wasn't written in western mindset or 23:26 western culture. 23:28 So it is helpful to have somewhat of a knowledge of some 23:30 of the cultures at the time of the writing of the Bible. 23:34 Now, for somebody that reads the Bible, they will actually learn 23:37 some of these cultures just by simply reading the Bible. 23:41 If you read the Old Testament, you get a feel for the culture. 23:43 A little bit different today. 23:45 But we do have some examples of where cultures is 23:47 rather important. 23:49 There's an interesting verse that you find in Genesis chapter 23:52 24, verse 2 where Abraham asks his servant Eliezer to put his 23:57 hand under his thigh, and he's making a promise he's going to 24:01 go get a wife for his son Isaac. 24:04 Now I've heard people read that verse and say, "What in the 24:06 world, put his hand under his thigh. 24:10 What does that mean?" 24:13 Doug: Yeah, today if you shake hands like that, you might 24:16 get slugged. 24:18 That's not how they make contracts. 24:20 But in the Bible, it meant that someone was resting on--they're 24:23 going to rest and trust on your promise. 24:26 And when Jesus comes, on his thigh he's got the words 24:28 written: King of kings, Lord of lords. 24:32 Yeah, so that was a custom back then that just meant, "I'm 24:35 resting on your promise. 24:38 We're making an oath. 24:39 We're making a covenant." 24:41 And they used to do it with salt. 24:43 There was different ways that they would ratify an oath or a 24:45 covenant, with a meal. 24:47 And that was just one of the customs. 24:49 Jean: And the reason they used the thigh is because it's the 24:51 biggest muscle in the body. 24:53 It's the biggest bone in the body. 24:55 So represents strength, a promise. 24:56 "Absolute, I'm going to stick with it." 24:58 They didn't sign a piece of paper the way we would do it 25:00 today in western culture. 25:02 But having a little bit of an understanding of the--of what 25:04 was taking place at that time kind of helps you. 25:06 You have another story in Luke chapter 7, verse 44 where a 25:09 woman comes into a feast at Simon's house and she begins to 25:14 wash the feet of Jesus with her tears, and Jesus--of course, 25:18 she's a sinner. 25:20 And Simon says, "If Jesus would have--if he was a prophet, he 25:22 would know what kind of woman this is." 25:24 Then Jesus turns to Simon and says, "I came into your house. 25:27 You didn't give me any water to wash my feet." 25:30 Now for us today, we might think-- 25:32 Doug: And he said, "You didn't kiss me also." 25:34 We don't typically do that. 25:36 Jean: That's right. 25:37 And we might think, "Well, that's kind of strange if you go 25:39 to somebody's house and they want to wash your feet." 25:41 But if you were walking in sandals back on dirt roads in 25:43 those days and you arrived at somebody's house, it was an act 25:46 of hospitality to wash the feet of your visitor. 25:52 Simon neglected that in the case of Jesus. 25:55 Doug: Today when you go to someone's house, before dinner 25:56 you might say, "Where's the restroom so I can wash 25:58 my hands?" 26:00 Back then, they shared the roads with the donkeys and all the 26:01 other animals and it was unthinkable that you'll go to 26:04 someone's house to eat with your feet smelling like you just came 26:08 from the barn. 26:10 And so Jesus said, "Here, she's humbling herself washing my feet 26:12 with her tears and drying them with her hair." 26:15 And like--as I said, Jesus said, "You didn't give me any kiss." 26:19 Well, it was common back then when men--you know, the prodigal 26:23 son comes home, they kissed him. 26:26 Jacob and Esau, they kissed each other. 26:28 Joseph--Jacob and then later Joseph, they kiss each other. 26:30 And the Bible says, "Greet the brethren with the holy kiss." 26:32 Now, don't do that during the pandemic. 26:35 But they were a little--I've gone to Russia and Argentina. 26:37 And in France, I got kissed a lot. 26:40 So it was a culture back then. 26:43 You have to know the culture. 26:45 Jean: I remember we had a visitor once come to our church, 26:47 and we had somebody that was doing the greeting that morning 26:51 and this person must have come from a French culture 26:53 or something. 26:54 And he was so excited to come visit our church that he grabbed 26:56 a hold of one of the deacons and gave them, you know, the kiss on 26:59 one side and kiss on the other. 27:02 Kind of surprised the deacon somewhat. 27:03 And afterwards, he walked up to me, says, "That guy just kissed 27:05 me on my shoulder." 27:07 I mean, that's not really something we do in our culture. 27:09 But, you know, that's a sign of greeting and just a warm 27:12 greeting there in some of the parts. 27:14 So culture is important. 27:16 We have a question that somebody sent in. 27:19 It has to do with Elijah, Enoch, and Moses. 27:22 And the question is, did they or were they taken to heaven by God 27:26 or did they die? 27:28 And I think the root of the question is in the 27:30 Old Testament. 27:32 We read about Moses dying. 27:34 We know Elijah was taken to heaven. 27:35 But how do we know they're in heaven? 27:37 Elijah, Enoch, and Moses. 27:39 Doug: Well, you can look in Mark chapter 9. 27:41 Matter of fact, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have the Mount of 27:43 Transfiguration vision where Moses and Elijah appear and talk 27:47 with Jesus, and it's really them. 27:49 It's not a vision because three humans see it at the same time. 27:52 It's not like, you know, three people ever have the same dream. 27:55 But--then you also--it tells us Moses was resurrected in Jude 28:01 verse 9. 28:03 Michael came, did not dispute with the devil about the body 28:05 of Moses. 28:07 Michael is the resurrection and the life. 28:09 And he didn't come for the body to relocate the body, he's come 28:13 to resurrect Moses. 28:15 Even a Jewish tradition--that's not the Bible, but it's called 28:18 the vision or the assumption of Moses. 28:20 They always said Moses was raised 3 days later so he could 28:24 see the people go into the Promised Land. 28:27 And then you have where Enoch--it says Enoch walked with 28:30 God and he was not for God took him. 28:32 That's both in Hebrews 11 and it's in Genesis. 28:36 So you have Scripture that they were exceptions. 28:39 Typically people die, they sleep until the resurrection when 28:43 Jesus comes, but God has a few exceptions and He 28:46 identifies them. 28:48 Jean: Pastor Doug, we've got a question that you going to like. 28:50 Here it is. 28:52 Octavia is asking, "The Bible says that Jesus was in the earth 28:54 for as long as Jonah was in the belly of the whale. 28:58 How do you get three days and three nights from Friday?" 29:01 Doug: Pastor Ross said I'm going to like it because one of my 29:04 favorite books is Jonah. 29:06 I wrote a little book on Jonah, and you'll find this answer in 29:08 more detail in that book. 29:10 It's downloaded for free. 29:12 It's a common misunderstanding. 29:14 The only one time in Matthew chapter 12 does Jesus say, "As 29:18 Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three 29:20 nights, so the son of man will be in the heart of the earth 29:24 three days and three nights." 29:26 Well, if Jesus died Friday afternoon, he spent Friday night 29:30 in the tomb, Saturday night in the tomb, and he rose Sunday 29:33 morning, that's parts of three days but only two nights no 29:36 matter how you cut it. 29:38 But the common misunderstanding is, they think that, heart of 29:41 the earth, as Jonah was in the belly of the whale, the son of 29:44 man will be in the heart of the earth," everyone automatically 29:46 thinks that must be the tomb. 29:49 Wouldn't you be in the heart of the earth if you're in a tomb? 29:51 Where else in the Bible does it say that the heart of the earth 29:54 is a tomb? 29:55 Let the Bible explain itself. 29:57 When we say the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done in earth as it 29:59 is in heaven," that doesn't mean in the tomb. 30:02 So the word heart there is kardia in the original. 30:05 It always helps--our lesson later talks about look at the 30:08 original words. 30:10 And the word for earth there is talking about the tear of 30:13 the world. 30:15 Jesus really became a captive of the world when God withdrew his 30:19 protection from him. 30:21 The devil is called the prince of this world. 30:24 Thursday night in the garden of Gethsemane is when he began to 30:27 suffer for our sins. 30:29 Right after the Lord's Supper, that covenant was sealed. 30:33 He prayed, "Father, if there's any other way--" 30:36 There was no other way. 30:38 He perspired blood. 30:40 He shed blood. 30:42 He began suffering for our sins when the mob arrested him. 30:44 The penalty for sin is suffering and death. 30:46 He began to suffer. 30:48 Thursday night, he was in the heart of the earth. 30:50 The devil was punishing him. 30:52 They were beating him Thursday night, Friday night, 30:56 Saturday night. 30:57 The heart of the earth really begins Thursday night. 30:59 Christ came to the disciples at that point. 31:01 In the garden he said, "Now is the hour." 31:04 And so you can start your stopwatch right then; Thursday 31:06 night, Friday night. 31:09 Three days, three nights, he was in the clutches of the devil, 31:11 paying for the penalty of sin. 31:13 In the heart of the earth, it's not talking just about the tomb. 31:15 Jean: All right. 31:17 Good answer, Pastor Doug. 31:19 Moving on with our lesson then--was anything else you 31:21 wanted to add Bible and culture or should we move on to our 31:23 next section? 31:25 I'm not sure if we covered everything we needed to. 31:27 Doug: Let me see. 31:30 You know, I think that it's important--when we're talking 31:32 about Bible and culture, sometimes we bring our ideas and 31:34 we need to be taught more thoroughly by those who 31:36 are grounded. 31:38 I was just looking, for example, of Paul. 31:41 When he goes into Athens, he's surrounded by idols and he is 31:44 brought off into the theater there and he's smart enough to 31:49 say, "I understand the culture of the Greeks." 31:52 Paul was born in Tarsus. 31:54 And he said, "If I'm going to reach these idolaters, I've got 31:56 to speak to them on their own terms." 31:59 And so he said, "I was noticing on your promenade you've got a 32:01 lot of idols dedicated--you got one idol with--you got one 32:04 pillar with nothing on it. 32:06 It says, 'To the unknown god.' Let me tell you about that God." 32:08 So that was a brilliant move on Paul's part to say, "I'm going 32:11 to use their culture to try to reach them." 32:14 So understanding culture when you're teaching the Bible helps 32:17 you reach people. 32:19 Jean: And I think that's especially true when you do 32:21 mission work. 32:23 We have a series of missionaries that work with Amazing Facts in 32:25 different places around the world, and one of the things 32:27 that they--we encourage them to do is to look at the culture 32:30 that they're working with and try and tailor-make the gospel 32:34 material that we're going to share with them, try and make it 32:37 applicable to them. 32:39 I remember a story about a missionary that was preaching 32:42 the gospel to some Eskimos and--of course, they have no 32:45 idea about what sheep and goats and lambs are. 32:48 And he was trying to illustrate the point of what the lamb of 32:52 God that took away the sins of the world. 32:54 To them, a lamb didn't mean anything. 32:56 They were surrounded by polar bears and seals. 32:59 And the missionary trying to illustrate the idea of a meek 33:02 and lowly animal, the lamb in that case became the seal to try 33:07 and help them understand the significance of an innocent 33:09 animal dying for the sins of somebody else. 33:13 So sometimes you got to try and tailor- make--at least use 33:16 language that people can understand. 33:18 Doug: Yep, absolutely. 33:21 And then it talks about that you've got some people that 33:23 are--they're dedicated, they're committed, they're God's 33:26 children, but they need deeper Bible studies. 33:28 So because a person maybe doesn't understand all the 33:32 Scripture doesn't mean God isn't working with them or in them. 33:34 You know, Jesus said to James and John, "Don't forbid them. 33:38 If he's not against us, he's with us." 33:40 And when Priscilla and Aquila ran into Apollos, he was mighty 33:44 in the Scriptures, preaching the baptism of John, but he didn't 33:47 know about the outpouring of the Spirit and understand 33:50 Jesus' ministry. 33:52 And by the way, that's Acts 18:24. 33:54 They sat him down. 33:56 They went through the Scriptures, using the Scriptures 33:58 and hermeneutics. 34:00 They proved from the Old Testament that Jesus was the 34:02 Messiah by comparing Scripture with Scripture, and he became 34:05 one of the most powerful New Testament preachers because he 34:08 did have his hermeneutics repaired, you might say. 34:11 Jean: Well, then that brings us to our next section 34:13 on Wednesday. 34:15 If you're following with your lesson, the title is "Our 34:17 Sinfulness and Fallen Nature," and how true this is. 34:19 There are too many times when Christians will try and justify 34:23 their behavior because of the unwillingness to make a change 34:27 or repent, and then they look for passages in the Bible to try 34:31 and justify their disobedience. 34:34 And, Pastor Doug, one of the areas that come to mind with 34:38 this is--I've had an opportunity to do a number of evangelistic 34:42 meetings and Bible studies with people, and one of the truths 34:44 that is so clear in the Bible is the truth of the 34:47 seventh-day Sabbath. 34:49 That is the day that God set aside and that's the day that 34:50 God blessed, and I've even gotten into discussions with 34:53 pastors who don't keep the Sabbath. 34:56 And I asked them, "What's the reason why you don't keep one of 34:59 the Ten Commandments?" 35:01 "Well, the Ten Commandments are nailed to the cross. 35:03 We don't have to keep the Ten Commandments." 35:04 Well, then just follow up and say, "Is it all right for 35:06 Christians to steal, to commit adultery, to lie, to 35:08 worship idols?" 35:10 They'll say, "No, no, no, no." 35:13 But yet they're saying the Ten Commandments are no longer 35:14 binding, and the reason they have to say that is because they 35:16 don't want to observe the fourth commandment that says the 35:19 importance of the Sabbath. 35:21 So we have to reinterpret Scripture to justify something 35:23 that we are unwilling to do, and that's really what the problem 35:26 with the Pharisees. 35:28 The scribes and the Pharisees in the days of Jesus, they refused 35:31 to acknowledge that they were in error in the interpretation of 35:33 the Bible. 35:35 And in order to justify their own ways, they ended up 35:37 rejecting and even persecuting Jesus. 35:40 Doug: And Jesus said over and over that it is lethal to put 35:43 aside the commandments of God in order to observe a tradition. 35:47 He said, "In vain they do worship me, teaching for 35:49 commandments the doctrines of men." 35:52 And you can't put popular tradition ahead of a thus saith 35:56 the Lord. 35:58 Jean: In John chapter 9, verse 39 we read these words: "And 36:01 Jesus said, 'For judgment I've come into the world that those 36:05 who do not see may see, and those who see may be 36:09 made blind.' 36:11 Then some of the Pharisees who were with him 36:12 heard these words and they said to him, 'Are we blind also?' 36:16 And Jesus said to them, 'If you are blind, you would have 36:19 no sin. 36:21 But now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.'" 36:24 So again, we have this misinterpretation of the 36:27 religious leaders. 36:29 They totally rejected the teachings of Jesus 'cause it 36:32 didn't fit into their mindset or their philosophical idea 36:34 or theology. 36:36 Doug: Yeah, and today, you know, one of the most common mistakes 36:39 I see is the idea that God's law has been done away with and 36:45 because the Bible does teach grace. 36:49 But what is that grace? 36:51 Is it grace--is grace a license that God gives us where you're 36:56 allowed to sin with no consequences or is grace power 37:03 that God gives us that not only forgives our sin, but empowers 37:07 us to live a different kind of life? 37:10 And so the same grace it can cover our sin, that grace can 37:12 empower us to be new creatures. 37:15 And people sometimes fail to emphasize that because of our 37:17 sinful and fallen natures. 37:20 Jean: We've got a question that's coming from Nicole, and 37:22 she says, "I've always been surprised--" 37:25 She says--let me read it. 37:27 "Can you please explain 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 2? 37:29 Being confused about this verse for quite a while." 37:32 So let me read it here, Pastor Doug. 37:35 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 2, Paul is writing and says, "I 37:38 know a man in Christ who 14 years ago whether in the body I 37:41 do not know or whether out of the body I do not know, God 37:45 knows such a one was caught up to the third heaven." 37:49 She's confused about what is Paul talking about. 37:52 Doug: Well, a lot of Bible scholars think Paul is talking 37:55 about a vision he had, and it was so real that he's saying, "I 38:00 knew a man." 38:02 And he's not going to say, "It's me." 38:04 Because he said he was actually tempted to be proud about the 38:06 abundance of visions that he had. 38:09 And he said, "This man who was caught up to the third 38:12 heaven--" 38:14 Now in the Bible when it says third heaven, there's three 38:17 words the Hebrews use for heaven. 38:19 The first heaven, they called the air around our planet. 38:21 We call the atmosphere; when God says in Genesis he made the 38:24 heavens and the earth. 38:27 Then you get the second heaven, which is where the sun, moon, 38:29 and stars hang and the heavenly bodies that we see from 38:31 our planet. 38:33 Third heaven was the dwelling place of God, paradise. 38:37 Paul says, "I was caught up to paradise." 38:40 And it's like when John in Revelation chapter 4 he says, "I 38:42 was caught up in the spirit." 38:44 It was so real he said, "I don't know if I was in the body 'cause 38:46 it felt 100% real. 38:48 It could have been in my mind and it just felt real. 38:50 I don't know. 38:51 But I heard and saw things it's not even lawful to utter." 38:54 And I think he said such a one because he didn't want everyone 38:58 to probe him for, "What did you hear? 39:00 What did you see?" 39:02 So is that your understanding of Paul? 39:04 Jean: Yeah, absolutely, yeah, talking about a vision. 39:05 A good question, moving on then with that topic-- 39:09 Doug: Does that mean there's seven heavens? 39:10 Jean: No, there's three. 39:13 You explained that, right? 39:14 The atmosphere, the stars-- 39:15 Doug: People always say, "I was in seventh heaven." 39:17 But there's no seventh heavens. 39:18 Jean: There's no seventh heaven. 39:20 The next section that we have is "Why Is It Important to 39:21 Interpret Scripture?" 39:23 And we need to take care when interpreting Scripture. 39:25 Nehemiah chapter 8, verse 8, this is when all the children of 39:28 Israel gather together. 39:30 It says, "So they read distinctly from the book and the 39:32 law of God and they gave the sense and help them to 39:35 understand the reading." 39:38 So is there a place for good preaching and teaching to help 39:41 explain the Scriptures? 39:43 Absolutely. 39:45 You know, you mentioned--I forget. 39:47 Maybe last week, Pastor Doug, you mentioned that, or maybe 39:49 last night, whenever somebody comes up with a teaching or an 39:51 idea that is somewhat unique to them and when you share that 39:56 idea with other Christians, they might look at you and say, 39:59 "Yeah, that's not correct." 40:01 Sometimes we have people who have particular ideas, but 40:04 because of pride of opinion and they don't want acknowledge that 40:07 they are wrong, they will stubbornly cling to error and 40:11 eventually they begin to propagate that and share that. 40:14 I know a person who was a good Christian, solid Christian, but 40:16 he came up with an idea about when Jesus is going to come. 40:21 And even though he said, you know, "The Bible doesn't say we 40:23 know the day or the hour." 40:25 But he kind of reached the conclusion and stubbornly held 40:27 on to that, and today he's pretty much given up his faith 40:29 in the Word of God because things didn't turn out the way 40:32 he had thought they would. 40:34 So recognizing that we can make mistakes in interpretation of 40:38 Scripture and allowing others to kind of give their input 40:41 is important. 40:43 Doug: Yeah, an example would be--you've got that parable in 40:45 Luke chapter 16, starts at verse 19, about the rich man and 40:50 Lazarus and people read this parable, and it must be properly 40:54 interpreted and understood. 40:56 And people sometimes have to be taught. 40:59 Don't build a doctrine on one parable. 41:01 The idea that punishment begins immediately after death before 41:04 the resurrection and before the judgment is--it doesn't go along 41:08 with any other Scripture. 41:10 But people read this one parable and they think it's literal. 41:13 And you've got, of course, this rich man who's clothed in purple 41:17 and he feast sumptuously every day, and at his gate lays a poor 41:20 beggar named Lazarus who desires the crumb--crumbs that fall from 41:24 his table and only the dogs comfort him by licking 41:27 his sores. 41:29 They both die. 41:31 The rich man, he goes to Hades, hell, and he's in torment. 41:34 The poor man, he goes to Abraham's bosom. 41:37 Now, where else in the Bible do you literally find 41:39 Abraham's bosom? 41:41 Does it say anywhere in the Bible that the dead are all 41:43 looking forward to going to Abraham's bosom? 41:45 This is a parable Jesus tells, warning the Jewish 41:48 religious leaders. 41:50 They think because they're children of Abraham they're 41:53 going to be saved, and they're neglecting to reach the Gentiles 41:57 around them that are dying for the crumbs of truth that fall 42:01 from the table of the Jewish people. 42:03 They had the truth and they're desiring the crumbs of truth, 42:06 and they said, "We're the chosen people. 42:09 It's too bad for you, folks." 42:12 And so the whole purpose of Jesus' parable is not to say 42:14 someone dies and goes right to heaven or hell. 42:16 He's using an incredible paradox. 42:18 Lazarus, this poor Gentile--he's a symbol of a Gentile, who's 42:22 outside of the rich man's house, outside of the fellowship 42:27 of Israel. 42:29 He ends up going to Abraham's bosom. 42:31 That's the place of reward for the Jews. 42:33 While the rich man represents the Jewish nation. 42:35 It's got the truth, the religious leaders. 42:37 He dies, he goes to the pagan place of torment, Hades. 42:39 And so Jesus is using just a great contrast here, a paradox 42:45 to try and teach this parable. 42:47 And people in heaven and hell aren't going to be able to talk 42:49 to each other. 42:51 And he says, "I'll send Lazarus with a drop of water." 42:53 A drop of water is not going to cool anybody's tongue. 42:56 So the message is usually in what you call the punch line. 43:01 The moral of the story is usually--if it's told well, it's 43:04 in the last phrase. 43:06 The rich man says, "Well, if he can't go back, if you'd send 43:09 Lazarus back from the dead, then they'll believe." 43:13 Now, Jesus literally raises a person by the name of Lazarus 43:16 and the religious leaders--not all, but many of them, they want 43:19 to kill Lazarus. 43:22 And Abraham says in the parable, "If they do not hear Moses and 43:25 the prophets, they will not be persuaded the one from--should 43:28 rise from the dead." 43:30 Jesus is saying that as you go through Moses and the prophets, 43:33 you will know that I am the Messiah. 43:35 That is the greatest evidence. 43:37 The hermeneutics is the evidence that Jesus is the Messiah. 43:40 So this parable is really a parable about, you must believe 43:43 Moses and the prophets. 43:45 It's not a parable that you die and go right to heaven and hell. 43:47 Compare Scripture with Scripture. 43:50 Jean: Pastor Doug, we got--just a couple questions has come in 43:52 and they're really good ones. 43:54 So we might want to try and give a quick answer in the time that 43:56 we have. 43:57 This question is, "Can you help me understand what happened to 43:59 Jephthah's daughter in Judges 11? 44:01 Doug: Yes, it says Jephthah makes a vow that if God gives 44:06 him victory over the--I think it's the people of Amman, that 44:10 whatever comes out of his gates when he comes home, he'll make a 44:13 burnt offering, a sacrifice and--he uses his word burnt 44:17 offering 'cause that's typically how they would sacrifice. 44:19 I used to have goats and I'd come home, they'd all run out to 44:22 meet you. 44:23 So he expected the family cow, the goat, the oxen, the sheep to 44:25 come out and meet him when he came to the ranch. 44:29 He comes back victorious. 44:31 His daughter comes out first singing. 44:33 He'd been watching carefully, "What will come out my gates? 44:35 I made a vow." 44:37 His daughter came out. 44:39 He says, "My daughter, you've brought me very low. 44:41 I've opened my mouth to the Lord. 44:42 I cannot go back." 44:44 She says, "Do unto me as you promised." 44:46 So it says he then did to her as he had promised. 44:48 Now, that doesn't mean he sacrificed her 'cause the Jews 44:50 knew you're never supposed to sacrifice a person. 44:52 The firstborn of every Jewish man was to be a sacrifice to the 44:57 Lord, but they never offered the person. 44:59 They are offered an animal. 45:02 And what happened in the case like this; as Hannah offered her 45:04 son to the temple to serve the Lord, as the Bible says Hannah 45:08 was dedicated in the New Testament to serving God in 45:12 the temple. 45:14 The daughter of Jephthah would never marry. 45:16 She was to be serving in the temple for the rest of her life. 45:20 That's why once a year the daughters in Israel would mourn 45:23 with the daughter of Jephthah, her virginity; just like Hannah 45:27 came up to the temple every year, brought a coat for 45:30 little Samuel. 45:32 So no, he did not burn his daughter. 45:34 God does not want human sacrifice. 45:36 But he had no offspring 'cause she never married. 45:38 Long answer. 45:40 Sorry. 45:41 Jean: Yeah, that's good. 45:43 In the last few minutes that we have, Pastor Doug, do you want 45:45 to just talk about the importance of correct 45:46 understanding or interpretation of the Bible leading to unity in 45:49 the church and a lack of correct understanding leading to 45:52 disunity in the church? 45:54 Doug: Yes, you know, Jesus says several times in his Word that 45:56 it's important that we abide in him and that we become one 46:00 in truth. 46:03 Jesus says there in John 17--three times he says, "I want 46:05 you to be one." 46:07 Look, for instance, in John--let me see. 46:12 John 17:17, "Sanctify them by your truth. 46:15 Your Word is truth. 46:17 As You sent me into the world, I've sent them into the world, 46:20 and for their sake I sanctify myself they might be sanctified 46:23 in the truth." 46:25 Notice truth, truth, truth. 46:27 And then he goes on and he says, "That they might be one." 46:32 Verse 21, "As You, Father, are in me and I in You, that they 46:35 may be one in us, that the world might believe that You sent me. 46:38 The glory that You have given me, I've given them that they 46:41 might be one as we are one." 46:43 Three times truth, four times one. 46:45 God is saying we should be one, but don't ever seek to be united 46:49 apart from the truth in the Bible. 46:52 That is critical 'cause in the last days the beast power is 46:55 going to say--they'll quote John 17, but they'll misquote it. 46:58 They'll say unity, unity, unity, but they'll be willing to 47:02 sacrifice doctrinal truth to achieve unity and that ends up 47:06 becoming a lie when you do that. 47:08 So we must be united in truth, in the Word of God through 47:11 proper hermeneutics. 47:13 Jean: Again, we want to thank you for all of the many 47:15 questions that are coming in. 47:17 Some really good questions. 47:19 We're going to take some more of these questions in our 47:21 next program. 47:22 It's going to be starting in about 10 minutes. 47:24 We want to remind you about the free offer today. 47:26 It is a book entitled "The Rich Man and Lazarus." 47:28 We'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and ask. 47:30 The number is 866-788-3966, and you can ask for offer 47:34 number 140. 47:37 We'll be happy to mail it to you. 47:39 Or you can receive a digital download of the book by texting 47:41 the code "SH140" to the number 40544. 47:49 announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 47:51 free resource. 47:53 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 47:55 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 47:57 mobile device. 47:59 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 48:01 the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 48:06 shown on your screen and be sure to select that digital download 48:10 option on the request page. 48:12 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 48:15 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, and most 48:18 important to share it with others. 48:26 announcer: Amazing Facts changed lives. 48:36 Justin: Growing up as a kid, my mother was on drugs and alcohol. 48:42 Lots of fighting in the home. 48:44 My mom would be abused mentally, verbally, physically. 48:48 Went from California to Oregon. 48:52 Spent some time in Oregon and it was just the same cycle of 48:55 drugs, alcohol, violence. 48:58 My mom's boyfriend would go to jail at times. 49:02 She would wait until he would, you know, get out of jail and it 49:06 was back to square one. 49:08 The drugs and alcohol escalated to a lot harder drugs: crystal 49:12 meth, cocaine, and lots and lots of alcohol. 49:17 So I started using the alcohol to--as a medication. 49:22 It was like a--to the misery and the fear that I had. 49:26 I wanted to drown all that misery. 49:28 Times I would just grab, you know, a bottle of beer and go 49:32 out into the desert and just drink until sometimes I just 49:36 pass out in the desert somewhere and wake up the next morning 49:40 and, you know--and I just couldn't find rest. 49:44 My stepdad had gotten me a motorcycle. 49:47 And so I started riding motorcycles. 49:50 I'd drink a lot of beer, get on the motorcycle, ride into the 49:53 desert, do donuts, and just throw out--you know, just ride 49:57 on private property. 50:00 People would chase me off, and I was just causing--stirring up 50:03 dust and rocks and just causing chaos. 50:07 And the adrenaline rush that I had was so exciting and the 50:11 feeling of it was so intense that I loved it and I forgot 50:16 about all my problems, you know, at the moment and I thought that 50:20 material things would make me feel so good, you know. 50:25 And so I started working, started making money, had 50:28 a responsibility. 50:30 But as time went by, I had more money. 50:34 So I would, you know, use my money that I made to buy drugs 50:39 and alcohol. 50:41 Got pulled over drinking and driving, ended up going to jail 50:45 for a couple of days. 50:48 I lost my job because I missed work for a few days. 50:52 Lost my girlfriend. 50:54 Lost all the money that I had. 50:57 So once again, I was empty. 51:00 No money, no drugs, no alcohol, and that was a turning point in 51:04 my life. 51:06 At this time, I was living with my grandfather. 51:08 And as I was flipping through the channels on the satellite 51:11 system, I found Amazing Facts. 51:14 Pastor Doug Batchelor was telling his--sharing his 51:18 testimony about how he was living in a cave, and he was--he 51:22 struggled the same struggles of alcohol and drugs. 51:25 And I continued to read the book, "The Richest Caveman," and 51:29 it really impacted my life and really related to the things he 51:33 was struggling with and all the events that took place in 51:37 his life. 51:39 And when I started reading the Bible, Philippians 4:13 says, "I 51:42 can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 51:45 I recognized that I had no strength. 51:47 I was weak and I was wretched, and I needed help. 51:51 So I just asked the Lord, I said, "Just help me, Lord." 51:54 And the Holy Spirit convicted me and I decided to be baptized and 52:01 to give my life to Jesus Christ. 52:04 A few years after the Lord took the temptation of drinking and 52:07 doing drugs, he gave me a beautiful wife. 52:11 I met her at church. 52:13 Now I have a beautiful baby boy, 2-year-old baby boy. 52:16 Just exciting to see, you know, what God is doing in my life and 52:19 in my family. 52:22 I met with some friends from my local church that I was 52:26 attending and they had told me about Amazing Facts Center of 52:31 Evangelism training seminar. 52:34 The AFCOE to-go program really inspired me and motivated me to 52:38 tell young people about, you know, the same struggles that I 52:44 was struggling with, to help these kids give their life to 52:47 Jesus Christ. 52:49 And there's nothing else that you could ask for. 52:52 I'm Justin and God used you to change my life. 52:56 ♪♪♪ 53:09 announcer: Amazing Facts changed lives. 53:18 male: I had a lot of pressure as a pastor's kid to perform. 53:23 They're not allowed to make the same mistakes as everyone else. 53:26 Not only are people looking at you, but they're judging your 53:30 father according to what they see in you. 53:34 After a while, you get tired of carrying that load as a child. 53:38 By the time it got time for me to leave home, I was pretty much 53:43 finished with all that. 53:45 I just--I wasn't good enough and I didn't belong in there. 53:49 So when I left home, I went to the world. 53:52 I had a dead run. 53:55 You know, I partied and went to work and, you know, was living 53:59 my life as the way I wanted to, and I just wanted to be 54:02 left alone. 54:04 One day I was driving my motorcycle with some buddies 54:07 of mine. 54:09 All of a sudden, I had oil running everywhere; all up and 54:11 down my arm and across my legs and rippling down the tank in 54:14 the wind. 54:16 And loaded it up on a trailer and sent it to the shop to have 54:19 it fixed. 54:21 So I went to pick it up and the mechanic came out. 54:23 He said--you know, he said, "We got your front end rebuilt." 54:26 He said, "That wasn't the bad part." 54:29 He said, "The bad part was the only thing holding the front 54:31 tire on was the weight of the motorcycle." 54:33 So all I would have had to have done was accelerate quickly and 54:37 the front tire would have came off. 54:40 And it got my attention. 54:42 It got me to thinking, you know, you hear a lot of people talking 54:44 about, you know, the relationship that they have with 54:47 Jesus and all that and I didn't even know what that was supposed 54:50 to look like. 54:52 It began to work on my mind. 54:54 I think God was beginning to speak to me. 54:57 I believe that you can say I might be a poster child for the 55:00 shepherd's lost sheep story because I wasn't looking 55:03 for God. 55:05 I didn't really care, but he cared about me and he came and 55:12 got me. 55:23 announcer: Together, we have spread the gospel much farther 55:25 than ever before. 55:28 Thank you for your support. 55:35 ♪♪♪ 55:45 Doug: I'm here in the beautiful island nation of Fiji that's 55:48 filled with exotic animals, beautiful vegetation, and 55:52 spectacular scenery. 55:54 The people here are some of the nicest in the world, but it 55:56 hasn't always been that way. 55:58 This was once known as the cannibal isles. 56:02 The Fijian warriors were some of the fiercest in the South 56:05 Pacific and greatly feared. 56:07 You can understand why. 56:09 This is one of the weapons that they used for breaking the neck 56:11 of their adversaries. 56:13 And long before they were killing and eating missionaries, 56:16 they were fighting with and killing and eating each other. 56:19 In fact, as you go to the different tourist locations on 56:21 the island, they'll sell you remakes of some of the forks 56:25 they used for eating human brains. 56:29 In fact, there was one cannibal chief, Ratu Udre Udre, during 56:33 the 1800s that is in the Guinness Book of World Records 56:36 for having killed and eaten the most victims. 56:39 He bragged that every time he killed someone, he set a 56:41 stone aside. 56:43 By the end of his life, he had a pretty big pile of stones. 56:46 It's estimated he ate somewhere in the neighborhood of 900 56:48 people, oh my. 56:53 You know, the Fijians were not the only ones that had a 56:55 monopoly on cannibalism. 56:57 In fact, the Bible says that we are all capable of 56:59 being cannibals. 57:01 Galatians 5:15 says, "If we bite and devour one another, we may 57:05 end up consuming one another." 57:07 That's talking about destroying people's reputation by 57:09 mean gossip. 57:11 One famous missionary named Paton, when he was preparing to 57:13 go to the cannibal isles, his friends and family begged him 57:16 not to go. 57:18 They said, "You'll be eaten." 57:20 He said, "It doesn't matter to me if I die and I'm eaten by 57:22 worms or if God wills that I'm eaten by cannibals, as long as 57:25 I'm doing the will of God." 57:27 Well, he went to the cannibal isles and brought many to 57:29 Christ, and died peacefully in his old age. 57:32 Some of the ancient cannibal cultures believe that when you 57:35 killed and when you devoured your enemy, you would somehow 57:37 take within you their spiritual strengths or powers, but that's 57:41 really absurd. 57:43 But there is a kind of cannibalism endorsed in 57:45 Scripture, that's right. 57:47 Jesus said in John chapter 6, verse 53, "Except you eat my 57:50 flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you." 57:54 And you don't need these tools to do it. 57:56 What you need is to read his Word and learn about his life. 58:00 Accept by faith his sacrifice in your place and you can have a 58:02 new heart and be a new creature. 58:05 You can even do it right now. 58:08 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2020-05-02