Participants:
Series Code: TDYQA
Program Code: TDYQA210031A
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00:01 As you're well aware,
00:02 we're living in unprecedented times. 00:05 Join us now for Today special program. 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Mending broken people 00:23 I want to spend my life 00:29 Removing pain 00:34 Lord, let my words 00:39 Heal a heart that hurts 00:44 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 00:55 I want to spend my life 01:00 Mending broken people 01:15 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today Bible Q and A. 01:18 I'm Jason Bradley, and I'm so glad 01:20 that you've decided to study the Word of God with us 01:24 and get some questions answered that perhaps you submitted, 01:28 but definitely people like you submitted. 01:30 And you're... 01:32 If you didn't submit your questions, 01:33 well, let me tell you how you can do that. 01:35 You can send them to 618... 01:37 Text them to (618) 228-3975, 01:41 or you may email your questions 01:43 to BibleQA@3abn.tv 01:49 Or if you have Instagram, 01:51 you can go on Instagram@3abn_official 01:56 and send your questions that way as well. 01:59 I want to share this verse with you. 02:01 It's found in Psalm 119:105. 02:04 And it says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet 02:08 and a light to my path." 02:10 With that, there's no reason to be walking in darkness. 02:13 Let me introduce you 02:15 to our wonderful students of the Word. 02:17 We have here, Shelley Quinn. 02:19 It's a joy to be here. 02:20 Oh, it's great to have you here. 02:22 And I'm looking forward to hearing the answers 02:24 that you provide from the Word of God. 02:26 Got some difficult questions this time. 02:28 Yes. 02:29 We've got Pastor Ryan Day. 02:31 It's great to have you here. 02:32 Man, I'm blessed to be here. 02:34 I love the Word of God, 02:35 and I love giving truthful answers from His Word. 02:37 Amen. Amen. 02:38 And Pastor James Rafferty, 02:40 Mr. 112 episodes of Salvation in Symbols and Signs. 02:44 It's great to have you here. 02:46 I thought he was going to say Mr. 112. 02:50 That'd be cool. 02:52 It's good to be here, Jason. 02:53 Good to be here with the team. 02:54 Good, good. 02:56 All right. 02:57 Well, before we dive into the Word of God, 02:58 I'd like to ask that we have a word of prayer. 03:02 And, Shelley, would you pray for us? 03:03 Absolutely. 03:05 Our loving heavenly Father, we come before You right now. 03:08 And, Lord, how grateful we are for Savior Jesus Christ, 03:13 for Your Holy Spirit, and Your Word. 03:15 And we ask now, Lord, that You would lead us, 03:18 guide us, send Your Holy Spirit 03:21 to be our teacher and help us to point out correct answers, 03:25 truthful answers from Your Word. 03:28 We pray for Your blessing over all of our viewers. 03:31 Thank you so much, Lord. 03:32 We get the privilege of doing this for Your glory. 03:36 In Jesus' name, amen. 03:38 Amen. Amen. 03:40 Shelley, I'm going to go to you first 03:42 with the first question. 03:44 "My question is about 2 Samuel 11:4. 03:48 How can Bathsheba be purified from her uncleanness 03:52 if she slept with David?" 03:54 This is from Tanya 03:56 out of Greensboro, North Carolina. 03:57 Okay, Tanya. 03:58 Let me tell a little of the backstory here. 04:01 2 Samuel 11, before this, God had selected David as king 04:06 because he said David was a man after His own heart. 04:10 And, boy, David had honors after honors 04:12 and successes after successes 04:15 right up till this time in 2 Samuel Chapter 11. 04:19 What happened? 04:20 He sent his men off to the battlefield. 04:23 He decided he was going to stay at ease in Jerusalem. 04:27 And so one night he's out... 04:29 Or at late afternoon, he's walking on his roof 04:32 and he glances over 04:33 and he sees a beautiful woman bathing. 04:36 And instead of turning his lustful eyes away, 04:40 he feasts on Bathsheba's naked body. 04:44 And he knew she was the wife of one of his noble soldiers. 04:50 But he stooped to a low that he had of degradation 04:55 and shame he never had before. 04:57 And here's what happened. 04:59 2 Samuel 11:4, 05:01 "Then David sent messengers and took her. 05:05 The messengers took Bathsheba and she came to him. 05:10 And he lay with her, 05:12 for she was cleansed from her impurity. 05:18 And she returned to her house." 05:21 She was cleansed before he laid with her. 05:24 What is it talking about? 05:25 In Leviticus 15:19-30, 05:29 it talks about the ceremonial ritual cleansing 05:33 that a woman went through after her menstrual cycle. 05:37 I think the reason 05:38 this is added in the story here, 05:40 she had been through... 05:42 Bathsheba had been through this ritual, 05:44 but this proves to us it wasn't Uriah's baby. 05:49 We know that when she laid with David, 05:52 it was his child. 05:55 And, you know, the rest of the story is this. 05:59 So your answer to your question, 06:01 she was purified before. 06:02 But the rest of the story is David repented, 06:05 God forgave him. 06:07 But the consequences were horrible. 06:09 God said that the sword shall never depart 06:12 from your house 06:13 and David's house had a lot of misery scandals. 06:17 It was awful. 06:19 Amen. 06:21 Thank God for His forgiveness, though. 06:22 Amen. Amen. 06:24 Thank God for His forgiveness. 06:25 Pastor Day, we're going to come to you next. 06:26 All right. All right. 06:28 "If we all come from Adam and Eve, 06:31 how do we get all the races in the world?" 06:35 You know, that's a really good question. 06:37 And I'll just be honest with you. 06:38 The Bible does not explicitly tell us 06:40 how we get all of these different skin tones 06:42 and the different races and whatnot, 06:44 but there are a few texts 06:45 that we can pull together to try to make sense of this. 06:48 Obviously, people try to use this question to try to, 06:51 you know, question the validity of Scripture. 06:53 You know, if all of us came from Adam and Eve... 06:55 In this case, we know we all came 06:56 from the family of Noah, right? 06:57 So where do all these different skin tones come from? 06:59 Well, the Bible must not be true, right? 07:01 Not necessarily. 07:02 When we get to Genesis Chapter 11, 07:04 which is not too long after the flood 07:06 and after Noah's time, 07:08 you get there to the Tower of Babel. 07:10 And we see there that they built this tower 07:11 to reach into the heavens. 07:13 Basically, it was Nimrod's project 07:15 shaking the fist at God, 07:16 because he did not like God for what He had done, 07:18 you know, with the flood and destroying, 07:20 you know, all of the people. 07:21 And so as a way to, you know, worship their false pagan gods 07:24 and also try to get one over on God. 07:26 But yet we know 07:27 that the Bible says in Genesis 11, 07:29 and I'm going to start reading in verse 7 here. 07:30 It says, "Come." 07:31 This is God speaking, the Godhead. 07:33 And it says here, "Come, let Us go down there 07:35 and confuse their language, 07:37 that they must not understand one another's speech." 07:39 So the Lord scattered them abroad 07:41 from there over the face of all the earth, 07:44 and they ceased building the city. 07:46 And therefore, after these different tribe, 07:49 after these different people 07:50 scattered all over to the different regions 07:51 of the earth, 07:53 they would have broken up into different tribes, 07:55 different clans. 07:56 You know, different... 07:58 And scattered into different nations 07:59 and broken open up amongst themselves. 08:01 And, of course, you know, this brought about 08:03 the intermarrying and intermingling, 08:05 which brought about different genetic forms 08:08 and different genetic traits 08:11 that became more predominant than others 08:12 in certain regions and certain ethnic groups 08:14 that we find today spring from that. 08:17 Now is there an explicit text that tells us all of this? 08:20 We have to kind of look back at the history. 08:22 We have to study it in accordance 08:23 with what the Scripture says. 08:25 How these different skin tones came about? 08:27 You know, there's again, 08:28 not an explicit text that tells us, 08:30 but you know, I believe 08:31 the Bible makes it clear that God... 08:32 And if you read this in Psalm 139:13, 08:35 God knits us in our womb, in our mother's womb. 08:38 And we see traits and things 08:39 that babies are born with today and it's like, 08:41 how in the world he didn't get that from his mom. 08:42 He didn't get that from his dad. 08:44 She didn't get that from, you know, their parents. 08:45 But nonetheless, 08:46 God knits us together in a womb. 08:48 And there's going to be one day we're going to get to heaven 08:49 and God is going to give us the answer to this question. 08:52 But I believe it springs from the nations 08:55 being scattered to these different regions. 08:57 And therefore, we get the different 08:58 predominant traits, 08:59 genetic traits, so forth and so on. 09:01 Yeah. 09:02 What a day that's going to be when we get to heaven 09:04 and we get to ask all of these questions. 09:06 We'll take our Bible Q and A up there. 09:08 Absolutely. Absolutely. 09:09 I love it. 09:11 Pastor Rafferty... 09:12 I like that. 09:14 "Kindly indicate 09:15 the biblical counsel given to assist 09:17 Seventh-day Adventist Christians 09:19 in selecting a spouse. 09:21 Also, please advice if a Christian has to consider 09:25 horoscope or Zodiac sign compatibility 09:28 of his or her potential spouse, 09:32 and if this is part of the biblical guidance 09:34 given by God." 09:36 This is from Brother Hale. 09:38 All right, Brother Hale. 09:39 Well, if we go to the Bible, 09:40 we're going to find in Genesis Chapter 2 09:42 that God says 09:44 that it is not good for man to be alone. 09:46 I will make a helpmeet for him. 09:49 And, of course, later on in that section, 09:51 we realize that God put Adam to sleep, 09:53 took a rib out of his side, 09:54 took that rib right out of his side and then, 09:56 of course, gave him his helpmeet. 09:57 So if you're a believer in the all powerful, 10:00 all knowing God, 10:01 you don't need to go to a horoscope. 10:03 You don't need to go to a Zodiac sign, you know? 10:05 We... 10:06 God doesn't want us to be alone, 10:08 so God is going to provide for us. 10:09 It's not a horoscope that provides for us, 10:11 it's not luck that provides for us, 10:12 it's not chance that provides for us, 10:14 it's God that provides for us according to Genesis. 10:16 And then what we need to realize is, 10:19 the Bible says in Proverbs 19:14, 10:22 "A prudent wife is from the Lord." 10:24 So the first step... 10:26 You wanted an outline, Brother Hale. 10:27 The first step in finding a wife 10:29 is to go to the Lord, 10:30 'cause a prudent wife is from the Lord. 10:32 So the wife is going to be with the Lord, 10:34 you need to go to the Lord. 10:35 You guys both connect to the Lord. 10:36 Give your heart to the Lord 10:38 and he's going to take you and put you together. 10:41 Number two, the Bible says, "Ask and it shall be given. 10:44 You seek and you shall find. 10:46 Knock and the door shall be open to you." 10:47 So in Matthew 7:7, we need to pray. 10:49 We need to pray and ask God. 10:51 That's what I did when I was looking for a wife, 10:53 and God gave me my wife, Rise. 10:55 We've been married now for 32 years. 10:57 We spent a lot of time praying for God's leading, 11:00 surrendering our hearts to the Lord. 11:02 And then I didn't just wait around 11:03 for a wife to pop up. 11:05 You know, I didn't just go to sleep 11:06 and wake up like Adam and expect, 11:07 oh, there's a wife going to be there. 11:09 I prepared myself to be able to take care of a wife. 11:12 I made sure I had an education. 11:14 I made sure I had practical skills, 11:15 vocational skills. 11:16 I was able to have a job, to work, to support a wife. 11:20 And that's really important. 11:21 And, of course, I also got counsel, you know? 11:23 It says in a multitude of counselors, 11:25 there is wisdom. 11:26 And if you don't get counsel, you fall in love. 11:29 And we don't want to fall into love, 11:30 we want to step into love. 11:32 So it's very important to get counsel, 11:33 to get preparation, to go to the Lord to pray, 11:37 and let God lead you and guide you and He will. 11:41 Wow. 11:43 I like that. 11:44 We don't want to fall in love, we want to step into love. 11:47 You were listening. 11:48 Yeah, I'm taking notes. 11:50 All right. 11:51 Maybe you're Brother Hale. 11:52 What, what, what. 11:54 Well, you never know. You never know. 11:55 All right. All right. 11:58 Shelley, you're going to have a little bit longer 12:00 to answer this question. 12:02 "Did the martyrs that died suffer? 12:06 I ask this because some were singing and smiling 12:09 as they were dying." 12:10 This is from Joel out of South Carolina. 12:12 Oh, Joel. 12:13 I've thought this... 12:15 I've asked this question myself. 12:16 Martyr in the Greek means to witness. 12:19 And the Christian use of the term martyr 12:21 came to be used of people 12:24 who witnessed their faith for the Lord. 12:26 I mean, of their faith for the Lord, 12:28 and then they would be put to death because of that. 12:31 And we know the first spirit filled deacon 12:35 of the church, Stephen, 12:37 was one of the first seven and he was martyred. 12:40 He was the first Christian martyr. 12:43 And as he's being stoned to death in Acts 7:16, 12:47 it's brought dying breath. 12:49 He just says, "Lord, don't charge this sin to them." 12:54 Boy, that's an amazing thought. 12:57 In AD 98 to 305, 12:59 thousands upon thousands were slain. 13:03 They were martyred by Rome. 13:05 And then we know that in the inquisition 13:08 of the Middle Ages, the Dark Ages, 13:11 we know that the mother church killed millions, 13:16 because they would not... 13:19 They killed them for the crime of heresy 13:24 because they would not agree 13:26 with the traditions of papalism, 13:29 but these people wanted to stay faithful to Christ 13:33 in the Word. 13:34 So it's interesting 13:35 because the persecution of these martyrs, 13:39 the effect on the church was that their blood 13:41 was like the seed for the church. 13:43 All these martyrs became overcomers and conquerors. 13:47 In Revelation 12:11, it says, "They overcame him, 13:52 the accuser of the brethren. 13:54 They overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb 13:57 and by the word of their testimony, 14:01 and they did not love their lives unto the death." 14:06 So he's saying they overcame for these three reasons. 14:10 They've got the blood of the Lamb 14:11 that justifies them before the Lord, 14:14 they've got the word of their testimony, 14:17 they're faithful witnesses to God's working act, 14:20 and they'd rather die than deny Jesus 14:23 'cause they didn't love their lives 14:25 to the death. 14:26 Now literary tradition does hold 14:32 that many of the martyrs sang 14:34 as they were burned at the stake. 14:36 I remember John Huss, 14:37 reading the story of him being in his prison, 14:40 trying to take a candle, 14:41 and he knew he was going to be burned at the stake. 14:43 And he tried to put his hand over it 14:45 and he just couldn't. 14:47 And so he was like, oh. 14:48 But then they sang, he sang. 14:50 Did they experience pain? 14:54 Did Jesus experience pain? 14:57 You know, you'd have to say 14:59 that they didn't have a natural response to pain. 15:04 So here's what I believe. 15:06 In 1 Kings 8:59, Solomon is speaking of God. 15:12 And he says that God maintains the cause of his servant 15:18 and the cause of His people Israel, 15:20 as each day requires. 15:23 So when Jesus said to Paul, 15:26 "My grace is sufficient for you." 15:28 When Paul was in prison 15:30 and he's singing and praising the Lord. 15:32 So I believe that God will give us 15:35 grace to meet need. 15:38 That's right. Absolutely. 15:40 Amen. 15:41 Thank you for that answer, Shelley. 15:42 Pastor Day, we're going to go to you on this question. 15:45 It's like a three minute question for you, 15:47 so you have a little bit longer. 15:49 It's like a longer question. 15:50 That's right. That's right. 15:51 "Can you explain Roman 14:2, 15:54 "Only the weak eat vegetables." 15:56 All right. All right. 15:58 So this is one of those questions that, again, 16:00 even many vegetarians, they read this and they think, 16:02 "What are you saying, Paul? 16:04 Are you calling me weak? Are you saying I'm weak?" 16:05 That's not technically what Paul is saying here. 16:08 To understand this verse 2, 16:10 we first need to back up to verse 1. 16:11 So let's read verse 1 and go on to verse 2 and 3. 16:14 So verse 1 says, "Receive..." 16:15 This is Romans 14:1, 16:17 "Receive one who is weak in the faith." 16:20 Okay, that's the key right there. 16:21 "One who is weak in the faith, 16:22 but not to dispute over doubtful things. 16:25 For one believes he may eat all things, 16:27 but he who is weak only eats vegetables." 16:30 And then verse 3, "Let him who eats despise him 16:33 who does not eat." 16:34 Not despise him. 16:35 Excuse me, "Not despise him who does not eat. 16:38 And let not him who does not eat judge him 16:41 who eats." 16:42 It's intricate 'cause it goes on to say, 16:43 "For God has received him." 16:45 This is important to understand, 16:46 this whole chapter. 16:48 Many people get confused on Romans 14. 16:49 And I'm sure we'll get many, many more questions 16:51 about Romans 14. 16:52 But this whole chapter actually has nothing to do 16:56 really with the preference of diet and foods. 16:59 This is not the central issue or thing 17:01 that Paul is addressing. 17:02 This whole entire chapter 17:04 actually is him writing as a part of his letter 17:05 to address some of the issues 17:07 that was going on in the church of Rome, 17:09 much like what's happening in the church of Corinth, 17:11 because in this chapter, 17:13 it comes up over and over again words like, 17:15 you know, not to dispute, not to judge. 17:18 You know, not to show contempt against your brother, 17:20 you know, give account to yourself not to judge, 17:22 not causing a... 17:24 You know, being a stumbling block 17:25 for your brother. 17:27 You know, make peace, edify one another, 17:28 do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. 17:31 These types of words 17:32 keep coming up over, and over, and over. 17:33 Your brother stumbles and is offended 17:35 or is made weak. 17:36 What Paul is addressing is the issue 17:38 that today we have here in every church. 17:40 And this still is true today. 17:41 In every church, there's those who are spiritually strong. 17:45 And by the way, Paul identifies himself 17:47 as the spiritually strong in Romans 15:1, 17:49 the very next chapter. 17:51 And so these weak are not weak in the sense that they're, 17:53 you know, horrible Christians or that they're not, 17:56 you know, real Christians. 17:57 It's just, they are... 17:58 They're not as spiritually mature 18:00 as some of the other brethren. 18:01 And so that's what Paul is addressing here. 18:03 He's saying, "Look, 18:04 some of you aren't spiritually mature brethren," 18:05 allowing these contentions 18:07 and these divisional issues that are not really salvation. 18:10 It's not really big. 18:11 And some of these other weaker Christians, 18:13 these less spiritually mature brothers and sisters 18:16 are coming in as new believers into the church. 18:18 Maybe some of them had some, 18:20 you know, different aesthetic beliefs, 18:21 aestheticism, you know, preferences, 18:23 certain days that they ate 18:25 certain things here or certain things 18:26 they didn't eat over here. 18:27 And it was causing questions and divisions among the church. 18:29 So Paul is writing to the church and he's saying, 18:32 "Look, stop allowing these issues to divide, 18:35 you spiritually mature brothers. 18:36 They're strong. 18:38 You're going to end up causing the weak, 18:39 the spiritually immature, the less mature to stumble. 18:42 You're going to become a stumbling block for them, 18:44 and you're going to end up 18:45 pushing these brothers and sisters 18:47 out of the faith." 18:48 We kind of get an overall idea of this 18:49 when we get to Romans 15:1-6. 18:52 Notice what the Bible says. 18:53 This is the very next chapter. 18:55 And this is the response to the previous chapter. 18:57 He says, "We then who are strong 18:58 ought to bear the scruples of the weak, 19:01 and not to please ourselves. 19:02 Let each of us 19:03 please his neighbor for his good, 19:05 leading to edification. 19:07 For even Christ did not please himself. 19:09 But as it is written, 'The reproaches of those 19:12 who reproached You fell on Me.' 19:14 For whatever things were written down 19:16 were written in our learning, 19:17 that we through our patience and comfort and the scriptures 19:21 might have hope. 19:22 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be 19:26 like-minded towards one another, 19:28 according to Christ Jesus, 19:29 that you may notice with one mind and one mouth 19:32 glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." 19:36 We know he's not calling vegetarians weak. 19:38 Otherwise, that would make Daniel, 19:39 Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 19:41 you know, weak Christians, right? 19:43 Or secondhand Christians. 19:44 That's not the issue he's dealing with. 19:46 He's simply writing to address the issues 19:47 that was dividing the new brothers and sisters 19:50 coming into the faith 19:52 from those who had been in the church for a while. 19:53 He's saying, "Look, don't let these issues 19:54 divide you. 19:56 Come together, edify one another." 19:58 Amen. 19:59 Thank you for that answer, Pastor Day. 20:01 Pastor Rafferty, we're going to come to you on this one. 20:04 How do we study the Bible, understand it, 20:06 and connect scriptures 20:08 from different books of the Bible? 20:11 I know Googling is not ideal, 20:13 but I often Google to understand passages 20:16 and see other scriptures that explain the passage. 20:20 I have a simple New King James Version Bible. 20:23 It's not a study Bible 20:24 nor does it contain cross reference verses." 20:26 This is from Addie out of Washington. 20:28 All right, Addie. 20:30 Well, that is such a good question. 20:31 In fact, learning how to study the Bible changed my life. 20:35 So I just want to give you one simple thing 20:37 that you can do that will absolutely explode 20:40 the way you study the Bible. 20:42 And that is, get yourself 20:43 a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. 20:47 You can get it on an app. 20:48 I've got it on my phone. 20:49 You know, you can just download it, 20:51 you can get one for free. 20:52 I spent a little bit of money on mine 20:54 because it had some features, 20:55 some extra features that I really wanted to have. 20:56 And a Strong's Concordance 20:58 allows you to search the Bible, to search words, 21:03 word definitions in the Greek and Hebrew, 21:05 and then to connect those word searches 21:08 with other verses where that word is used. 21:10 It lets you go deep or shallow, 21:12 depending on what you want to do. 21:14 You just... 21:15 You might be looking up a word like 21:16 we just looked in Romans Chapter 14. 21:18 And it talks about, you know, meat there and vegetables. 21:21 And you could look up that word. 21:22 What does it mean? What's the original Greek word? 21:25 Where is it used in other passages 21:26 of the Scripture? 21:28 And that will really help you 21:29 to see how that word might be used somewhere else. 21:31 And it will bring out a little bit more 21:33 of the meaning there 21:34 when you look in those other verses 21:35 and compare the two. 21:37 Of course, when you transition 21:38 from the New Testament to the Old Testament, 21:40 you're going from Greek to Hebrew 21:41 and you won't necessarily 21:43 be able to cross reference those words in the Greek. 21:45 But you can sometimes cross reference them 21:48 when it's in the English, 21:49 because sometimes they'll use basically the same words 21:52 and have the same meaning. 21:54 So and then what you want to do is you want to get yourself... 21:58 I would encourage you to get yourself 22:01 as many different versions of the Bible as you can. 22:04 You might have an app that you can download them on. 22:07 I use every Bible that I can get my hands on. 22:10 I do have a King James 22:11 as my basic foundation study Bible, 22:13 and the New King James is great. 22:15 It comes from a different set of manuscripts. 22:17 And so there's some solidity there, 22:19 you're not going to find in some of the newer versions, 22:21 but there's a lot of the newer versions 22:23 that will help you with a text 22:24 that might be difficult to understand 22:26 in the King James or the New King James. 22:28 So I encourage you to study as many Bibles as possible. 22:30 Get yourself a Strong's app 22:32 or a Strong's Concordance, a hard copy. 22:34 I've got one of those. 22:35 And if you really need help with learning how to use it, 22:38 I've got some basic 22:39 how to study the Bible 101 lessons 22:41 that I can email you or send to you. 22:43 Just get a hold of us here at 3BAN. 22:44 I'd be glad to get those to you. 22:45 Amen. 22:47 Excellent answer, Pastor Rafferty. 22:48 I just want to take a moment to tell you how to reach out, 22:53 send in your questions because you have questions, 22:56 the Bible has answers, 22:57 and we want to answer them from the Word of God 23:00 and give you those answers. 23:01 You can text those questions to (618) 228-3975, 23:07 or you may email your questions 23:09 to BibleQA@3abn.tv 23:13 And if you have Instagram, 23:15 please go to @3abn_official 23:20 and send those questions in. 23:23 Time is moving along rather rapidly. 23:27 Shelley, we're going to go to you. 23:28 "The Bible says 23:30 that I should not covet the wife of my neighbor. 23:32 And yet God through the Holy Spirit 23:34 had Mary pregnant while she was with Joseph. 23:37 Did God violate His own law? 23:40 Were there no other women? 23:42 Why Mary? 23:44 This is from Anisio in Angola. 23:46 And I just have to say Anisio, 23:49 no, God did not violate His own law. 23:51 As a matter of fact, God's Ten Commandments 23:53 reflect His character of love and holiness. 23:59 In Exodus 20:17, the tenth commandment does say, 24:03 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house 24:06 or your neighbor's wife or anything 24:08 that is your neighbors." 24:10 But you've got to understand what the word covet means. 24:15 To covet is to have a wrongful desire. 24:20 This is a selfish heart, 24:24 that it's a greedy heart, 24:27 that it's the selfish heart 24:30 motive behind the outward act, you could say. 24:33 So people who covet 24:36 have an uncontrollable longing for more. 24:40 In James 1:13, Anisio, the Bible says, James 1:13, 24:45 "God cannot be tempted by evil 24:49 nor does he tempt anyone." 24:52 God cannot covet because He cannot sin. 24:56 Love does not sin. 24:59 So when in Luke 12:15 Jesus said, 25:03 "Take heed and beware of covetousness." 25:07 He's not going to warn us and then turn around 25:10 and do something himself. 25:12 For one's life does not consist 25:14 in the abundance of the things he possesses. 25:18 So you asked why Mary? 25:20 God had to have a virgin woman 25:25 for the mother. 25:27 When he came down to be incarnated, 25:29 the virgin woman had to... 25:32 It was going to be the seed of a woman, 25:34 is where the Messiah would come from. 25:36 And the seed of God 25:38 is the Holy Spirit overshadowed her. 25:40 The reason, I believe, 25:42 that God chose a woman who was betrothed, 25:45 is because he was making it easier for her 25:50 because she would have a husband to support her 25:54 and the Holy Child. 25:55 But God does not... 25:57 I mean, to me, the incarnation is the most unselfish act 26:02 of self-sacrificing love there is. 26:05 There's nothing selfish about it. 26:07 God did not covet. 26:10 Thank you, Shelley. 26:11 Thank you. 26:12 "Pastor Day, is it biblical, Sola scriptura, 26:15 to have national flags displayed 26:18 in the house of God? 26:20 What is its significance? 26:21 What purpose does this practice serve 26:24 in the worship of the Almighty in His sanctuary? 26:27 How did this practice evolve? 26:29 Why is no one in the SDA Church 26:32 taking a stand against this practice 26:35 if it is not biblical?" 26:36 And I'm just going to add this part. 26:38 How are you going to answer this in two minutes? 26:41 Well, there's no possible way I can answer 26:43 all of those questions in two minutes. 26:44 I want to address the central, 26:46 I guess, theme among all of those questions, 26:47 which is, you know, placing flags or in this case, 26:50 national flags in God's house. 26:53 You know, the simple answer is that the Bible says 26:55 absolutely nothing about placing flags, 26:59 national flags in God's house. 27:02 And so we can't simply go to the Bible and say 27:04 that it's wrong or that it's right. 27:06 We have to go by principle, right? 27:08 Just because the Bible doesn't specifically address 27:11 it does not mean that we can't follow certain principles 27:13 as found in there. 27:14 Now let me... 27:16 Before I get straight 27:17 into the particular scripture here, let me just make mention. 27:18 You know, I know I can speak from my country's perspective 27:21 as an American citizen 27:22 and as a patriot of this nation. 27:24 I had been to churches all my life 27:25 where I've seen flags, 27:27 the American flag displayed somewhere in the church, 27:29 and I've never once myself or seen anybody else 27:32 bow down and worship that flag. 27:34 I've never seen that. 27:36 Never have I witnessed that. 27:38 You know, the truth of the matter is, 27:40 many people think that it's an issue 27:41 because they think it's somehow a violation 27:43 of maybe the first or second commandment, 27:45 where it talks about worshiping other gods, or in this case, 27:48 bowing down to graven images 27:49 and worshiping idols of some such. 27:51 But I would say that, you know, in this case, 27:53 we have to apply principle. 27:55 And the truth of the matter is, to many people, 27:57 the American flag, for example, is a symbol of freedom. 28:00 It's a symbol of the freedoms 28:01 that they have to worship in that nation. 28:03 So when I used to look at that flag, 28:05 I don't worship it as a God or as an idol. 28:06 But you know what? 28:08 When I look at that American flag, 28:09 it reminds me that I'm in a church worshiping God 28:11 because that nation allows me 28:14 and grants me the freedom to be able to do so. 28:16 And so again, I think we have to check ourselves 28:18 in that manner. 28:20 Biblically speaking, yes. 28:21 If we're worshiping it or we're idoling it 28:23 in an unhealthy spiritual state, 28:25 then absolutely we need to be careful in that case. 28:28 You know, Jesus even also goes on... 28:29 Just to be balanced here, 28:31 Jesus does talk about rendering unto Caesar 28:32 what is Caesar and unto God what is God, 28:34 making sure that we have a safe separation 28:37 of church and state in this particular situation. 28:41 But at the end of the day, my friends, 28:43 I think we have to also apply the principles 28:45 found in Romans 14, 28:46 that if it's something 28:48 that's going to cause your brother 28:49 to stumble or to be made weak... 28:50 And for instance, I'm reading Romans 14:19 here. 28:53 It says, "Let us pursue the things 28:54 which make for peace and the things 28:56 by which one may edify another." 28:58 Verse 21, it goes on to say, 28:59 "Nor do anything by which your brother stumbles 29:01 or is offended or is made weak." 29:03 And, of course, in the last few verses, 29:04 he says, "Do you have faith?" 29:06 Right? 29:07 And in the last verse, he actually goes on to say, 29:09 "Whatever is not a faith is of sin." 29:10 So if this is something that bothers you, 29:12 bring it to the attention of your pastor. 29:14 Let your community, your church 29:15 make that decision based off the conviction 29:17 that the body of people have. 29:19 But at the end of the day, 29:21 we have to go back to the principles of scripture. 29:23 The commandments are not being violated 29:25 if someone is not worshiping, 29:27 or bowing down, or idoling that image. 29:30 It does represent freedom. 29:31 It does represent, you know, 29:33 the freedoms that we have to worship in this country. 29:35 And as long as there's not any worshiping, 29:37 we should be safe. 29:38 Good answer. 29:40 Good answer. 29:41 "Pastor Rafferty, historicism has the past record 29:44 that our Savior was crucified in the week of two Sabbaths. 29:48 Jesus uses the sign of Jonah 29:50 to describe a sign of his time in the earth. 29:53 I know Jesus was not born 29:54 on the literal Christmas day of the year. 29:57 Is the Good Friday wrongfully claiming His day 30:00 on the cross, like His birthday? 30:02 It confuses those who challenged me 30:04 about the authenticity of the Word." 30:07 This comes from Reggie. 30:08 Well, Reggie, actually, you've got it right. 30:12 Good Friday, which is what the Catholics call... 30:14 I was raised Catholic. 30:16 Good Friday was the day that Christ died. 30:17 And we find that in Luke Chapter 23. 30:20 If we just want to look there in Luke Chapter 23, 30:22 we're going to start in verse 52. 30:26 "This man went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. 30:28 And he took it down and wrapped it in linen." 30:30 Verse 53, 30:31 "Laid it in a sepulcher that was hewn in stone, 30:33 wherein never a man was laid before was laid. 30:36 And that day was the preparation, 30:38 and the Sabbath drew on." 30:39 So the preparation is Friday. 30:40 Sabbath, of course, is Saturday. 30:42 And then it goes on to say, "The women also, 30:45 which came with him from Galilee, 30:47 followed after, beheld the sepulcher, 30:48 how his body was laid. 30:50 They returned to prepare spices and ointments, 30:52 and they rested on the Sabbath day, 30:53 according to the commandment." 30:54 So the Sabbath was drawing near 30:56 when Christ was taken off the cross. 30:58 That was preparation day. That was Friday. 31:01 The Sabbath was a high Sabbath. 31:02 That means that the Passover fell or another ceremony. 31:07 Normally, it was the Passover this time 31:08 fell on that same seventh day Sabbath day. 31:11 That's what made it a high Sabbath. 31:12 And then it says in verse 1 of Chapter 24, 31:15 "Now upon the first day of the week 31:16 very early in the morning, they came to the sepulcher, 31:18 bringing spices, which they prepared 31:20 and certain others, and they found 31:22 the stone rolled away and Christ, 31:23 of course, had resurrected. 31:24 That was Sunday. 31:26 So you've got Friday that He died, 31:27 Sabbath He rested in the tomb, just like He did at creation. 31:29 You know, He finished His work in creation. 31:31 He finished His work of redemption, 31:33 rested in the tomb on Sabbath, was raised on Saturday. 31:35 Now you might ask, "Well, 31:37 I thought He was going to be in the belly 31:38 of the whale, or like in the belly 31:40 of the earth like Jonah was in the whale's belly 31:42 for three days and three nights." 31:43 That began on Thursday night. 31:45 When he was at the last supper, 31:47 Judas was getting ready to betray Him. 31:49 He went out after dipping the sop with Christ 31:52 and it was night. 31:54 And that night, Jesus went to Gethsemane, 31:56 and that's when He first started feeling 31:57 the separation from God. 31:59 He first underwent that wrath experience 32:02 of being separated from God. 32:04 In fact, He almost died in Gethsemane. 32:05 So you've got Thursday night, Friday, Friday night, 32:07 Saturday, Saturday night. 32:09 There's the three days and the three nights. 32:10 Sunday morning He resurrects. Amen. 32:13 Thank you for unpacking that. Wonderful. 32:15 "Shelley, how does someone truly develop 32:19 a continuous attitude to rejoice in the Lord always, 32:23 Philippians 4:4, 32:25 especially during difficult and challenging times? 32:29 James 1:2." 32:31 And this comes... 32:33 The question comes from June. 32:34 And I just have to say, my sister June, I really... 32:37 God's been showing me 32:39 how to do this over the last couple of years. 32:40 There's been a lot of surgeries, 32:43 a lot of physical pain. 32:44 But Philippians 4:4, let's read that and look at. 32:48 It says, "Rejoice." 32:50 Now the Greek word, rejoice, 32:51 means to be in a state of wellbeing, 32:55 to experience joy. 32:57 But look what it says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. 33:03 And again I say, rejoice." 33:05 So how do you have joy? 33:08 The source of joy is your relationship with the Lord. 33:13 And it doesn't matter. 33:15 You know, actually, tradition says that Paul wrote 33:17 this during his first imprisonment in Rome. 33:20 So here he is in prison 33:22 and he's exhorting other people, rejoice! 33:26 As a matter of fact, the keynote of the whole book 33:29 of Philippians is joy. 33:31 He mentions joy, rejoice 12 different times. 33:35 Joy is a result of being at peace with God. 33:38 Romans 5:1-2 says, 33:40 "Therefore, having been justified by faith, 33:42 we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 33:45 through whom also we have access by faith 33:48 into this grace in which we stand, 33:51 and rejoice in the glory of God." 33:55 "Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit," 33:57 Galatians 5:22. 34:01 "We can have joy, 34:02 rejoice that God's mercies are new every morning," 34:05 Lamentations 3:22-23. 34:09 Nehemiah 8:10 says, 34:11 "The joy of the Lord is our strength." 34:13 And when you think about God and what He does, 34:18 we can have joy. 34:20 Joy is not the absence of sorrow. 34:22 But even in the midst of our sorrow, 34:24 we can let joy be ushered in on the wings 34:28 of thanksgiving, 34:30 the wings of practicing God's presence. 34:34 And you can rejoice that your sins are forgiven, 34:37 rejoice that God never leaves you or forsake you, 34:40 rejoice the mission goes forward, 34:42 the gospel's being preached, 34:44 rejoice that this is not our home, 34:46 we're just passing through, 34:47 and rejoice that God has laid up 34:50 an eternal reward for you in heaven. 34:54 Amen. Praise God. 34:55 Praise God for joy. 34:58 "Pastor Day, is it wrong to play bingo, 35:01 half and half, or lottery ticket? 35:03 Where is the scripture?" 35:05 This is from someone in Illinois. 35:07 All right. That's actually a great question. 35:09 You know, I had to look up this half 35:10 and half and I wasn't able to find it. 35:12 Have anybody even heard of this half and half? 35:13 I've never heard of this game. So if it's... 35:15 Maybe it's a typo or maybe 35:16 the person has a game called half and half. 35:18 I don't know what it is, but I can address bingo. 35:20 Bingo is... 35:22 I don't think it is an issue. 35:23 I don't think it is a sin if someone plays the bingo, 35:26 because especially if you're not, 35:28 you know, gambling with it or, 35:29 you know, misusing 35:32 and abusing God's resources that He's blessed with you. 35:34 It's a simple game and many people play it, 35:37 you know, just to pass time or to have, 35:38 you know, a social interaction with other people. 35:41 But the last part of that question dealing with, 35:43 you said... 35:44 Lottery ticket. Lottery tickets, now that. 35:46 All right, so this is an issue. It's actually interesting. 35:49 I never, I've never dealt with this. 35:50 I've never had this issue, problem with gambling. 35:52 When I was doing some research on this, 35:53 it's interesting that the Bible does not explicitly address, 35:57 you know, the issue of gambling. 35:58 So in this case, just because it doesn't directly 36:01 address it does not mean that there's not 36:03 principles to build off of. 36:04 You know, the Bible also doesn't tell us 36:06 anything about smoking pot, or snorting crack, 36:08 or anything like that. 36:09 But we take the principle, 36:10 obviously, that our bodies are the temple 36:12 of the Holy Spirit and we don't want to put 36:13 anything in it that's going to damage it. 36:15 Right? We have to look at principle here. 36:16 In this case, there's a bunch of texts 36:18 that we can glean from. 36:19 I want to start with Proverbs 28:20. 36:21 It says, "A faithful man will abound with blessings, 36:24 but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished." 36:28 You know, a lot of people with gambling and issue 36:31 of lottery tickets and, 36:32 you know, putting in a little money here 36:33 so that you can somehow play the game 36:35 of chance to try to get something else. 36:37 You know, a lot of times this comes, 36:39 this turns into an addiction for some people 36:41 and it destroys families. 36:42 It destroys lives. 36:43 And so this is what this principle is talking about. 36:45 Also 1 Timothy 6:10 36:48 reminds us that the love or the desire for money, 36:51 the abundance of money is the root of all evil. 36:54 And so again, this is an issue that can turn 36:56 into something much, much greater 36:58 if not kept in check. 37:00 Hebrews 13:5 says, 37:01 "Let your conduct be without covetousness. 37:04 Be content with such things 37:06 as you have, for he himself has said, 37:08 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" 37:09 God has given you what you need. 37:11 But a lot of times in the world we live in, 37:12 we say, "We need more, we need more, 37:14 we need an abundance of more." 37:15 And it turns into a covetous heart, 37:17 wanting more, and more, and more and desiring more. 37:19 And it turns into sometimes, in this case, 37:22 playing the lottery, gambling away your resources 37:24 that leads to something horrible. 37:26 Proverbs 13:11, 37:28 "Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, 37:30 but he who gathers by labor will increase doing it." 37:34 Honestly, God, you know, He pride... 37:36 He takes pride in that, 37:38 in the sense that we work hard for what it is that we get. 37:41 You know, your treasure, the Bible says is, 37:42 you know, "Where your treasure is, 37:44 there your heart will be also." 37:45 Matthew 6:21. 37:47 And, of course, Matthew 6:24, 37:48 Jesus also says, "No man can serve two masters." 37:51 You can't serve God and mammon, 37:52 or God and money. 37:53 And so in this case, we apply these principles 37:56 and make sure that we're following 37:57 the biblical principles God gave us. 37:59 You know, the principle of tithing. 38:01 You know, giving back to God what's already His. 38:03 The money, it's not yours. It's not yours. 38:05 Your resources is not yours. It's all His. 38:08 And we want to make sure as good stewards, 38:10 that we're not just throwing this away by chance. 38:12 So gambling, playing the lottery, 38:14 stay away from it because it's God's money, 38:16 it's God's resources. 38:17 And we want to protect that and be honest 38:19 with His resources. 38:20 Amen. Amen. 38:22 Pastor Rafferty, 38:23 you will have more time for this question here. 38:26 Five minutes? Yeah. 38:27 No, not five. 38:29 We'll, subtract two from that. I tried. 38:31 There you go. Three minutes here. 38:33 "Please explain Isaiah 66:24 about dead bodies burning 38:39 after the third coming. 38:41 I thought they with Satan were destroyed alive 38:44 when they tried to gain entrance to heaven by force." 38:48 This comes from Ken. 38:49 All right, Ken, this is a really good question, 38:51 Isaiah 66:24. 38:53 It's in the context of the new heaven and the new earth. 38:55 Verse 23 says, 38:56 "'It'll come to pass that from one new moon to another, 38:59 for one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come 39:01 the worship before me,' says the Lord.'" 39:03 And in verse 22, the new heavens and the new earth. 39:05 And then in verse 24, all of a sudden, 39:06 we have this ugly picture. 39:08 "And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses 39:10 of the men that have transgressed against Me. 39:12 For their worm shall not die, 39:13 neither shall their fire be quenched. 39:16 And they shall be an abhorrent unto all flesh." 39:19 So the answer to this question 39:20 is actually found in the context 39:21 of the Book of Isaiah. 39:23 You go back to Isaiah Chapter 28. 39:24 That's where we find a special resurrection 39:26 of those who have really been working against God 39:30 and thinking that this life is all we have, 39:32 and there's not going to be any resurrection. 39:33 And God says there's going to be a resurrection, 39:35 there's going to be a judgment. 39:36 "And you're going to be brought 39:37 forth from the grave to give an account before me," 39:40 thus says the Lord, therefore says the Lord. 39:42 Verse 16 of Isaiah 28, 39:45 "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief for a foundation stone, 39:50 a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. 39:52 He that believes shall not make haste." 39:54 That's talking about Jesus. And that word meant... 39:57 That phrase make haste is actually talking about 39:59 being anxious or stressed, being troubled. 40:03 And then in verse 17, 40:04 "Judgment also will I lay to the line, 40:05 and righteousness to the plummet. 40:07 Hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies 40:09 and waters shall overflow the hiding place, 40:11 for your covenant with death shall be disannulled. 40:14 Your agreement with hell shall not stand 40:16 when the overflowing scourge passes through, 40:19 then shall you be trodden down from it." 40:20 In other words, God's going to have a resurrection. 40:22 Nobody is getting away 40:24 with anything in relationship to God. 40:26 We're going to reap what we sow. 40:27 And the rest of this chapter, it's really interesting. 40:31 It talks about that specific work of executive judgment. 40:35 It talks about how God is going to resurrect 40:37 all of the wicked and bring them into an account. 40:40 And in Romans Chapter 2, it talks about 40:42 how that when we reject God's goodness, 40:44 we store up wrath against the day of wrath 40:46 of the righteous revelation 40:47 of God in relationship to this day. 40:50 It also describes it as His strange work. 40:53 God does not want anyone to be destroyed. 40:55 He doesn't want anyone to be lost. 40:57 But God is a God of love. 40:59 And love is both merciful and just. 41:02 Nobody who has committed anything horrific against 41:05 any other human being is going to be let off 41:07 the hook unless they put their faith in Jesus Christ. 41:10 So we asked the question, well, 41:11 how does this relate to the question about 41:13 the thousand years? 41:15 Well, this is how it works. 41:16 When the New Jerusalem comes down 41:18 and the resurrection takes place, 41:19 we're into the post a thousand years. 41:22 We're post thousand years. 41:24 New Jerusalem is on this earth, 41:26 the wicked come around the city. 41:27 So we're in that time when we're all worshiping God. 41:29 We're in that time when from one new moon 41:30 to another, one Sabbath to another, 41:32 we're all going to worship God. 41:33 That's the timeframe we're in. 41:35 But before we get to that time, 41:36 we're going to see the executive judgment. 41:40 And it says here, and this is just one verse 41:41 I want you to look at. 41:42 It says here that in verse 19, 41:45 "From that time that it goes forth, it will take you. 41:47 For by morning by morning shall it pass over, and day... 41:51 By day and by night, 41:53 it shall be a vexation to understand the report." 41:55 In other words, the destruction of the wicked 41:56 doesn't take place in 24 hours. 41:59 It doesn't even take place in 48 hours. 42:01 It takes time. 42:03 And that's what Isaiah 66 is talking about. 42:05 In that context, 42:07 there's going to be a time, a period of time. 42:09 I don't know if it's going to be a week, 42:10 or 10 days, or a month. 42:12 I don't know how much time it's going to be. 42:13 I do know this, 42:15 Satan is going to suffer 42:16 the longest because we're going to see 42:17 the whole history. 42:19 God is going to give us a whole video of the history, 42:20 and everyone's going to see their place. 42:22 And they're going to feel that wrath, 42:24 that rejection of God's goodness because 42:25 of the decisions they've made in relationship 42:29 to their rejection of God. 42:30 It's going to be a mental vexation, 42:32 and Satan's going to suffer the longest. 42:34 But like you said, it is going to be over. 42:35 It's going to end and the wicked are going to be ashes. 42:37 They're not going to be tormented for all 42:39 eternity forever and ever. 42:41 It's a certain amount of time and then it's over. 42:44 Amen. Amen. 42:46 "Shelley Quinn, 42:47 please explain Luke 16:19-31 in light of verses 42:52 like Ecclesiastes 9:10." 42:55 This comes from Joe out of Ontario. 42:58 Uh, Joe, this is a great one. 43:00 Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, 43:03 "There is no work, or device, or knowledge, 43:05 or wisdom in the grave where you are going." 43:09 So the dead know nothing. 43:11 That's what the Bible tells us, right? 43:13 They're asleep. 43:14 But now you come to Luke 16:19-31. 43:19 This is a parable of a certain rich man 43:23 and a certain beggar named Lazarus. 43:26 This isn't Lazarus, Mary and Martha's brother. 43:31 And Luke 16 is not talking about 43:36 what happens after death. 43:38 A parable is a short teaching 43:42 to bring about some kind of a moral teaching. 43:46 And what the moral teaching... 43:48 That if we follow this closely, 43:50 Jesus is saying to the Pharisees, 43:54 "Your money won't save you." 43:56 So let's look just a little bit in Luke 15. 44:01 Jesus used consistent parable language. 44:04 Luke 15:11, 44:06 the parable of the prodigal son. 44:07 He said, "A certain man had two sons." 44:12 In Luke 16:1, 44:13 the parable of the unjust steward. 44:16 There was a certain rich man 44:19 who had a steward. 44:21 So you see this is parabolic language. 44:23 Luke 16:19-20, there was a certain rich man 44:29 and a certain beggar named Lazarus. 44:33 So what happened 44:35 just before Jesus told this Pharisee this parable? 44:39 In Luke 16:13-14, 44:42 Jesus had told the Pharisees, 44:43 "You can't serve God and money." 44:48 And the Pharisees scoffed at Him. 44:52 You know, Pharisees believed that riches showed 44:56 the blessing of God. 44:57 They also believed... 44:59 They had a common parable that they told, 45:03 that there's kind of a Hellenistic influence 45:06 that had penetrated their belief system. 45:09 And they told this parable about the rich would die 45:14 and go to the bosom of Abraham to paradise. 45:17 You find that in the Talmud. 45:19 And that the poor, 45:21 oh, they were destined to go to the other place. 45:24 But here's how Jesus turns it around on them. 45:28 He reverses the role. 45:30 And in Luke 16:19-20, 45:33 he tells the parable saying that the rich man 45:36 who did not use his resources for good reasons. 45:40 I mean, the rich man's dining sumptuously, 45:43 and this certain beggar is lying at his gates. 45:48 And he's hoping 45:50 and praying for a few crumbs from the rich man's table. 45:53 And the dogs are licking his wounds. 45:55 Oh, my goodness, these Pharisees. 45:57 This would have made this man absolutely repulsive to them, 46:01 but Jesus has the beggar up in heaven 46:07 reclining next to Abraham. 46:08 He's got the poor... 46:11 The rich man down in Hades saying, 46:14 "Oh, send me someone to touch my finger with some water, 46:19 touch my tongue with some water and cool my tongue." 46:22 And he's simply... 46:24 He's not teaching what happens after death 46:27 because Jesus in John Chapter 11 46:29 teaches that death is a sleep. 46:33 But in Luke 16, when the young man says, 46:37 "Oh, Father Abraham, 46:38 send someone to my brothers that is... 46:42 So that they will repent." 46:43 'Cause if somebody rises from the dead and they repent, 46:46 all right. 46:47 And you know what he says? Nope. 46:49 If they don't... Abraham... 46:52 Father Abraham says back to him, "If they... 46:54 They've got the Word, they don't believe Moses, 46:57 they don't believe the Word, 46:59 then nobody's going to convince them." 47:02 Amen. Thank you, Shelley. 47:03 Pastor Day, we're going to go to you. 47:05 Time is running out here. 47:07 "I have met a young woman 47:09 who states she is a card reader. 47:10 Please give scriptures 47:12 I could share and hopefully lead her away from this. 47:14 I would love to have her friendship." 47:16 This is from Judy out of Texas. Yeah. 47:19 You know, card reading is absolutely a false practice. 47:23 These people that do this, they're crooks, 47:25 they're false, they can't tell the future. 47:27 But yet they're certainly not being led by the Spirit 47:29 of God, they're led by another spirit. 47:31 And so that being said, you know, 47:32 the Bible refers to words like, you know, 47:34 practicing divination, soothsaying. 47:36 This is what these type of card readers are. 47:38 You know, conducting or communicating with mediums, 47:40 familiar spirits, sorcery. 47:43 And so in this case, you know, 47:44 when you go to these card readers and they turn over 47:46 the cards and you see the symbols 47:47 and the different images and stuff, 47:49 and then they want to try to tell you, oh, you know, 47:51 I see in your future that you're going to do... 47:54 You know, something horrible is going to happen to you 47:56 or something bad is going to happen. 47:57 Ooh, something great is going to happen in your future. 48:00 And people buy into this stuff. 48:01 And really what it is, 48:03 is it's a spiritualistic practice. 48:05 It's... And the Bible forbids it. 48:06 Let me give you some scriptures here. 48:08 Leviticus Chapter 19, this is a big one. 48:10 Leviticus 19:26 and 31. This is God speaking. 48:14 He says, "You shall not eat anything with blood, 48:16 nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. 48:20 Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits, 48:24 nor do not seek after them to be defiled by them. 48:27 I am the Lord your God." Right? 48:29 Leviticus Chapter 20, very next chapter, 48:32 he repeats it again. 48:33 Similarly, he says, "And the person 48:34 who turns to mediums 48:36 and familiar spirits to prostitute himself 48:38 with them, I will set my face against that person 48:41 and cut him off from his people." 48:43 And then verse 27 of Luke. 48:44 Excuse me, Leviticus 27 or 20. Luke 20:27. 48:49 It says, "A man or a woman who is a medium, 48:51 or who has a familiar spirit or has a familiar spirit 48:55 shall surely be put to death." 48:56 So this is how... 48:58 This is God's attitude towards it. 48:59 He doesn't want you communicating with these people 49:00 because who are they communicating with? 49:02 Not Him. 49:03 And if they're not communicating with Him, 49:05 who are they potentially communicating with? 49:07 The devil himself or demons. 49:09 And even Revelation Chapter 21 49:11 and 22 makes it very, very clear. 49:14 In fact, it says in Revelation 22:14-15, 49:17 it says, "Blessed are those who do his commandments 49:18 that they may have a right to the tree of life 49:20 and may enter through the gates into the city." 49:22 But then verse 15 says, 49:23 "But outside that city are dogs, 49:26 and sorcerers, and sexually immoral, 49:29 and murderers, and idolaters, 49:31 and whoever loves and practices a lie." 49:34 So do not, whoever you are, 49:36 don't go to these card readers. 49:37 They practice a lie, it is sorcery, 49:40 and it's not of God. 49:41 Thank you, Pastor Day. 49:42 Pastor Rafferty, this comes to us out of Florida. 49:46 It says, "I was watching the recording 49:48 of Pastor Rafferty mark or a mask of the beast. 49:52 My question is, among all the evidence 49:55 of the mark, why is nothing mentioned 49:58 about the number of the beast, the 666." 50:00 Yeah, that's a really good question. 50:03 Who is that? Mark out of Florida? 50:05 No, it's somebody else. It's out of Florida. 50:06 Okay. That's a really good question. 50:08 And I think sometimes we just run out of time. 50:10 You know, there are a number of characteristics 50:13 of the beast power in Revelation 13. 50:15 And there's also a number of characteristics 50:17 of the beast power identified in Revelation 50:19 or Daniel Chapter 7. 50:21 In Daniel 7, it's the little horn, 50:22 in Revelation 13, it's the beast out of the sea. 50:25 And one of those characteristics 50:27 is he has the number of a man, and his number is 666, 50:32 three sixes, 666. 50:33 You know, when I was... 50:35 Before I was really a devoted Christian, 50:36 I remember thinking about the mark of the beast, 666. 50:39 And I was curious about it. I want to study Revelation. 50:41 What does this mean? What does 666... 50:42 I used to watch movies, 666, 50:44 you know, what is it? 50:45 Well, it's simply the number of a man. 50:46 And what we do in Bible prophecies, 50:49 we let the Bible kind of interpret itself. 50:51 We look at all the characteristics. 50:53 This is one of them. 50:54 And this characteristic 50:56 is basically the title of the man of sin, 50:59 which is Filii Dei. 51:03 Excuse me. Felirious Dei... 51:06 Felirious Dei... Vicarius... 51:08 Vicarius Filii Dei. There we go. 51:10 I'm going to get there one day. Yes. 51:12 And that is the title of the papal, 51:16 the Pope, the head of the papacy. 51:18 And that is one of the many characteristics of the papacy. 51:21 I'm sorry for that. 51:23 I should have had this ready in my notes here. 51:25 I have it in my notes, Vicarius Filii Dei. 51:28 And when you calculate the numerical equivalent 51:31 of that name, every letter has a numerical equivalent. 51:34 You can do it in the Roman, you can do it in the Latin, 51:37 you can do it in the Greek. 51:38 Every row... 51:39 Every numerical equivalent, each one, 51:42 and you put it all together, it comes to 666. 51:46 Now we do not place the entire interpretation 51:51 of the man of sin on this one characteristic. 51:53 This is one of many characteristics. 51:56 And so if this one characteristic 51:57 is the only one that meets up with the papacy, with the Pope, 52:02 then that's not good enough for us. 52:03 So this is just one in a number of them. 52:06 We usually emphasize all of them. 52:07 Sometimes you don't have time for this one, 52:09 sometimes you don't remember how to say the title correctly, 52:12 but this is exactly what we understand it to mean. 52:14 Amen. 52:16 Wow, excellent, excellent breakdown of that. 52:20 We are just about to go to our break here. 52:24 I want to show you 52:25 how you can send in your questions, 52:27 and we'll take a short break and we will be right back. 52:30 So don't go anywhere, stick around for more answers. 52:34 If you're enjoying our 3ABN Bible Q and A, 52:37 then tell your friends, 52:39 each Monday we'll bring you a fresh program, 52:41 answering the Bible questions you send us, 52:44 using God's Holy Word 52:45 to shed light on those texts that seem difficult 52:48 to understand. 52:49 To have your questions answered on a future program, 52:52 just email them to us at BibleQA@3abn.tv 52:57 That's BibleQA@3abn.tv 53:01 You may also text your questions 53:03 to (618) 228-3975. 53:07 That's (618) 228-3975. 53:10 Be sure to include your name 53:12 and where you live, 53:13 and then watch 3ABN 53:14 Bible Q and A for answers from God's Word. |
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