Hidden Deeds Revealed

Pastor John Ross: Hello friends. How about an amazing fact? On August 23, 1799, the American ship called Nancy was captured in the Caribbean by the English navy taken to Jamaica. At the time, Britain was at war with France, Spain, and Holland and the Royal Navy was active in preventing neutral countries from trading weapons with its enemies or their colonies.

The English claimed that the Nancy had been supplying weapons to a Dutch colony in the southern Caribbean and that the ship should be confiscated as a prize of war, but the court could not find any real evidence against the Nancy and was about to release the ship when an English lieutenant rushed into the courtroom. He had proof, he said, that the Nancy was guilty of smuggling arms to the Dutch. He held up several wet papers that had just been taken out of the stomach of a shark.

Yes, those papers did indeed prove the Nancy guilty. The captain of the Nancy had thrown them overboard when he realized that his ship was about to be captured, but a passing shark had swallowed the papers and the evidence was found when the big fish was caught and cut open.

Did you know friends that the Bible speaks of a time when the hidden deeds of man and woman will be open for the investigation of the entire universe? Stay tuned for more as amazing facts brings you this addition of Bible Answers Live.

Voiceover: Welcome to Bible Answers Live where you'll get honest answers to your Bible questions. Let’s face it, it's not easy to understand everything you read in the Bible. With 66 books and more than 700,000 words, the Bible can generate a lot of questions. If you'd like answers to your Bible questions, you’ve come to the right place. Now, here is your host, Pastor John Ross, vice president of evangelism for amazing facts.

Pastor John: Hello friends. Pastor Doug is out this evening, but this is Bible Answers Live. If you have a Bible-related question, we would love to hear from you this evening. We do have some phone lines that are now open, so this a good time to pick up your phone and give us a call. Our phone number here to the studio is 800-463-7297. That number again is 800-463-7297. All right, one more time now you that you have got your pen in hand, 800-463-7297. That will bring you right to the studio with your Bible question.

Before we go to the phone lines, I opened the program talking the ship, Nancy, back in 1799 that was accused, at least the crew, they were accused of smuggling arms during a time of war between Britain and France, Spain, and Holland. Well, they couldn't find any true evidence that the ship was guilty of that until they found some papers that have been swallowed by a shark.

The Bible speaks about day of judgment when the hidden things of mankind will be brought to view. Actually, Jesus, in Luke chapter 8:17 said this, he said, "For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be made known or come to light." In 2 Corinthians chapter 5:10, we read, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether it be good or whether it be bad." In Revelation chapter 20:12, John says, "and I saw the dead small and great standing before God, and the books were opened. And another book was opened which is the book of life, and the dead would judge according to their works by the things that were written in the books."

Yes, the Bible is very clear that there will be a day of judgment, but the question I think all of us need to ask is how we’re going to fare when that day of judgment comes when all the hidden things of man and life will be revealed. For the Christian, the judgment is really good news, because we are told if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Really, it's the blood of Christ that blots sat our sins. In that judgment, if we’re trusting in Jesus, if we have committed our lives to him, we have nothing to fear for if our name gets brought up in the judgment, Jesus, our advocate steps forward and he pleads his sacrifice as an atonement for our sins and we are justified because of what Jesus has done for us.

Yes, even though the judgment message of the Bible is a sobering message, it does bring us hope to know that if we’re trusting in Jesus and surrender our lives to him, we have nothing to fear for the judgment for the judge is on our side, and we have Jesus as our advocate before the Father.

We have a study guide that really tells you more about this heavenly judgment and, more importantly, how we can be ready for that day of judgment. We'll be happy to send this to anybody who calls and asks. All you need to do is just call our resource phone number. The number to our resource is 800-835-6747, and you can ask for the study guide entitled Case Closed. That number again is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the study guide called Case Closed. It’s about this heavenly judgment that we have been talking about.

If you have a Bible question, the phone line here to the studio is 800-463-7297, 800-463-7297. We’re going to go to our first caller this evening. We have Susan listening in Fergus Falls. Susan, welcome to the program.

Susan: Hello, good night.

Pastor John: Hi Susan, yes. Welcome.

Susan: My question is how should we deal with antitrinitarians or people who have different disruptive views who are trying to break up the church? Is it considered unchristian to avoid them or to bar them from social gathering? We have already taken a particular person out of leadership roles? Is there more we can do?

Pastor John: That's a good question. Firstly, on the subject of at the godhead or the trinity, often the question is asked, “Is the Godhead biblical? Does the Bible speak of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and do they all share the characteristics of deity?”

The answer is yes, the Bible does talk about the Godhead, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matter of fact, at the baptism of Jesus, we recall Jesus was in the water and he came up out of the water and the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove, and there was a voice from heaven, God the Father speaking “This is my beloved Son.”

There are number of other scriptures that help us understand this idea of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They all share the characteristics of deity. The y are one in their purpose to save mankind, and yet they are distinct individuals. They are separate beings.

We do have a book about this subject of the Trinity. For anyone that might be wondering about them-- we’re going to get to your question here in just a minute, Susan-- anyone wondering about the idea of the Trinity is it biblical, just call and ask for the book. The book is called The Trinity: Is It Biblical? We'll be happy to send that to you. Our resource number 800-835-6747.

Now, more specifically, what about somebody who is bringing in some teaching or doctrine within the church that is causing controversy? Well, I think the first thing we need to do is if we’re aware that somebody is, maybe, presenting or teaching or sharing something that is out of harmony with the Bible, we want to talk to them individually. Follow the biblical model. We’ll go to them one by one and share with them, "Brother, sister, we have a concern about this particular teaching that you have," and try and share with them what the Bible has to say.

Now, if they refuse to listen to you, it's advisable to go to a leader in the church, and hopefully, the leader will go with you, then, to try and address this concern. If for some reason the person refuses to listen to the leader of the church, then it is appropriate to bring it before the church. In that type of a setting, again, the idea is try and be redemptive and try and bring somebody to a correct understanding of Bible truth. But, if a person flatly refuses, and they just keep pushing a particular idea, then I think it is appropriate that the church membership, as a whole, understand the issue and let each person make their own decision.

Having said that, there are many different particular views that a person might have on some particular doctrine. We’re not going to be the doctrine police to try and catch everybody or try and find someone who that might not see things the way we see things, but there is a concern if there is a particular member in the church that is stirring up controversy or trying to bring division in the church over a point of doctrine that is controversial. I think that is the big issue that needs to be dealt with by the church.

Susan: Okay. Is it appropriate to not invite her to social gatherings that-- like church socials or things like that, or is that considered mean?

Pastor John: No, I think what one would want to do is talk to the person if possible and say, “We don't agree with your position on this. We've studied it out, we've looked at it, and we disagree. If you're going to keep pushing this idea and sharing literature with other church members, we don't want this disruption in the church. It distracts us from our mission in sharing the gospel to the world.”

There might be times where, if somebody refuses to keep their own views to themself but wants to share with others that the church might need to ask them, “It’s probably not a good idea for you to be worshipping with us or fellowshipping with us if that's your goal, to try and bring dissension.

Susan: Perfect. That’s what we were wondering. Very good. Thank you, John.

Pastor John: All right, you’re welcome. Thank you for calling.

Susan: Can I get this template The Sign of Jonah?

Pastor John: Yes, absolutely. Give us a call on the resource phone number, and you can just ask. It’s a book called The Sign of Jonah, and we’ll send that to you.

Susan: Is it also on the website?

Pastor John: It is. If you go the Amazing Facts website--

Susan: I think I’ll read it there, then.

Pastor John: Yes. It’s in a pdf format. Just amazingfacts.org.

Susan: Thank you, thank you, John.

Pastor John: Thank you, Susan.

Susan: Have a good night.

Pastor John: Thank you. If you have a bible question, the phone line here to the studio is 800-463-7297. Again, that’s 800-463-7297. Next call is David listening in Sacramento. David, welcome to the program. Hi David, you’re on the air.

David: My question is what does the bible verse “Absent from the body, present with the Lord” mean?

Pastor John: All right, good question. That’s the Apostle Paul, and he is referring to a person who dies. He says, “Absent from the body” meaning death, “Present with the Lord.” Of course, the question does come, does that mean when the person dies does he go immediately into heaven? Because. that would contradict what the rest of the bible says when it talks about the dead and then the resurrection. and then the judgment. If someone were to die and go immediately to heaven or go to hell, why do you need a resurrection and why do you need a judgment after the resurrection?

We need to look at this verse in its context. According to the Bible, for example, in Ecclesiastics chapter 9 : 5, the Bible says, “For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything.” When a person closes his eyes in death and he breathes out his last breath, he's unaware of his surroundings. He doesn't go anywhere. He's simply ceases to be until the resurrection. The very next conscious thought that he has, Jesus is coming. When Paul says absent from the body, meaning a person dies, the very next thing they know, they’re present with the Lord, meaning Jesus is coming and they've been resurrected from the dead and they have the immortal body. They don't have this present mortal body, but an immortal body.

It's like a person-- the Bible likens death to a sleep. It’s like a person who's worked hard all day. You go to bed. You’re exhausted. You close your eyes and sleep. You don’t realize that eight hours has passed. The very next thing you know, your alarm rings and it's time to get up. So it is when the person that dies, they close the eyes in death and the very next conscious thought they have, they’re present with the Lord meaning Jesus has come, the resurrection is taking place, and if they love the Lord, they’re with the Lord and they'll be with Him forever.

Pastor John: Does that help, David?

David: Yes.

Pastor John: We do have a study guide that deals with this, and some other verses as well. It's called, Are the Dead really Dead? We’ll be happy to send that to you or anybody who wants to study the subject further. The number for our resource phone number line is 800-835-6747. Again, just ask for the study guide called, Are the Dead really Dead? We’ll be happy to send that to you.

By the way, you can also read that online by just going to the Amazing Facts website. One more thing, we have an amazing facts website dedicated to the subject of what happens when a person dies. It's called deathtruth.com. There are videos. There's bible studies, some excellent reference material. Just take a look to that, just simply deathtruth.com.

If you have a Bible question, the phone line here at the studio is 800-463-7297. Next call is Lorie listening from Miami, Florida. Lorie, welcome to the program.

Lorie: Hello.

Pastor John: Hi Lorie, you’re on the air.

Lorie: Okay.

Pastor John: Your question?

Lorie: I’d ask already about Mark. I want to ask about Daniel.

Pastor John: Okay.

Lorie: Daniel 9, 10, and 11. Can I read it, or do you want me not?

Pastor John: Go right ahead.

Lorie: Daniel 9 and 10. “We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, our God to walk in His laws which He set before us by His servants, the prophets.” 11 is, “Yes all Israel has transgressed Your law and has departed so as not to obey Your voice, therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out on us because we have sinned against Him.” Is this making a distinction between the law of God which is The Ten Commandments, and the Law of Moses?

Pastor John: Yes, both are addressed. You have the Law of God, the Ten Commandments, but then you also have the Law of Moses. Let me explain the difference. When we talk about the Law of Moses, we’re actually talking about the law that came from God that was given to Moses and Moses wrote it down and gave it to the people. Then, you have the Ten Commandments which God wrote down on tables of stone with His own finger. The Ten Commandments, that’s the Law of God. The Law of Moses, it’s the laws that God gave to the nation of Israel.

Now, including in those laws written by the hand of Moses, it had to do with the sacrificial system, it had to do with the sanctuaries and its services. It also had to do with the running of the nation of Israel as a whole. Certain civil laws were also connected with that.

Now, one of the things written in the Law of Moses was that if the children of Israel would depart from the true God and worship the idols of the nations surrounding them, that a judgment would come upon them and they would be taken away from their land and they would go into captivity. When Daniel said these things, Israel was in captivity. They were actually in Babylonian captivity, and he is referring to the fact that because of their disobedience to God's commandments and to the law that have been given by God through Moses, that they were now captives in Babylon.

Actually, it's a beautiful verse. He’s talking about repentance. As a result of this prayer of Daniel, and you'll we’ll read later on, there was a decree eventually given that allowed the Jews to go back and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Does that help?

Lorie: May I ask one more question?

Pastor John: Sure, yes, and that question is?

Lorie: In my personal view of the Bible, it has a reference to verse 11 which is the Law of Moses, which is supposed to be, from what I understand that you said, those ordinances and the stuff related to the sacrificial laws. The reference is to Leviticus 26:14 which Leviticus 26:14 is, “But if you do not obey me and do not observe all these commandments.” I think 26, from what I was reading, it was talking about the first three commandments?

Pastor John: Yes.

Lorie: To me, it sounds it’s talking about three commandments here. The reference sounds like it’s referring to the Ten Commandments as opposed to just the Law of Moses.

Pastor John: Yes, absolutely. Of course, they did break the Ten Commandments in addition to the Commandments that were given through Moses. All of the Law came from God. The Ten Commandments, they broke in worshipping the idols because the second commandment says, “You’re not to bow down to any graven image” and so they were doing that. In addition to that, they were also setting aside the laws that God had given through Moses. Really, Israel was guilty of breaking both the Ten Commandments and these laws given through Moses, and that's why they went into captivity for seventy years.

Lorie: The verse, then, in Daniel 11 is not referring-- it's not making the Law of Moses equal with the Law of God. It’s just that the references, I guess, is--

Pastor John: Yes, it’s referring to both. That was the great sin of Israel. Both breaking God’s Ten Commandments and, of course, the Laws of Moses which really came from God, and they were for the nation of Israel. All right, thank you for your call, Lorie. I appreciate that. I'm trying to think if we have a book specifically on that.

We do have something, Feast Days and Sabbaths, that might-- deals a little bit with the Law of Moses. You might find that interesting. If you’d like to get that, just called our resource phone number. It's 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book called Feast Days and Sabbaths, and we'll be happy to send that out to you. You can also read that for free online at the Amazing Facts website.

If you have a Bible question, the phone line here into the studio is 800-463-7297, 800-463-7297. Our next call is Christopher listening from Carmichael, California not too far away. Hi, Christopher.

Christopher: Good evening Pastor Ross. Quite a while back I heard, Pastor Doug talk about the land of milk and honey. Rather the meaning actually milk and honey, he said it had to do something with dates. I was wondering if you could explain that.

Pastor John: The phrase ‘the land of milk and honey’ is a reference to a land of abundance. It's a fertile land. The land where there is plenty of grazing. In order for a person to have an abundance of milk, you need to have abundance of pasture. The land, actually-- If you go to Israel now, if you go out to the northern part by the Sea of Galilee, there are some well-watered pasture areas, but it was far more that way back in the times of Moses and Joshua during the time of the exodus. It was a lot more lush.

When it talks about the land of milk, it’s referring to pasture land. When it's talking about honey-- Honey is the result of the bees, and in order to have bees with a lot honey, you need to have a lot of flowers. When you have a lot of flowers, that means it's going to be a place lush and be fertile, and it's going to be wet. It's going to have rain and springs.

That was the description that was given of the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Not that it literally have milk bubbling up from the ground, but it was great pasture land for cattle, and plenty of flowers, fruit trees, and vineyards, and the like symbolized by the honey.

Christopher: Did they have a lot of bees before?

Pastor John: Yes, absolutely. If it was fertile, there would be a lot of fruit-bearing trees, there would be vineyards. You'd have to have the bees to help pollinate. You would have bees, you would have honey ,and you'd have lots of green pasture land.

Christopher: He had mentioned something about the dates, the sweet dates.

Pastor John: Yes. Of course, there were dates. Not only in Israel or in Palestine, but the whole Middle East was well-known and famous for its dates. It seemed like in the area during the time of Israel, in the area close to what's now the Dead Sea, there were a number of these palm trees that were growing. They had the date palms. It was one of the staples.

Apparently, people say dates are very healthy for you. Even though they're sweet, they're actually very healthy along with honey, which is also healthy.

Christopher: Thank you very much, Pastor Ross.

Pastor John: All right. Thank you for your call, Christopher. If you have a Bible question, the phone line here to the studio is 800-463-7297. We do have a study guide. After talking to Christopher on health, we have a study guide called God's Free Health Plan, and it talks about the ideal diet that God created for mankind.

Anybody who wants to find out what God's plan for health is, call and ask for that study guide. It's called God's Free Health Plan. The number to call is 800-835-6747. Again, you can ask for that study guide. It's called God's Free Health Plan. We'll be happy to send it to anybody who calls and asks.

Our phone line here to the studio, if you have a Bible question, is 800-463-7297. We have two lines that are now open. If you don't get through immediately, just hold on. We'll get you on the air. Our next caller is Billy listening from South Carolina. Billy, welcome to the program.

Billy: How are you, Pastor Ross?

Pastor John: I'm doing well. How are you?

Billy: I'm doing good. My question is on Job 1:6. Who is being referred to here when it says, "when the Sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan"?

Pastor John: Good question. Let me read the verse for those who might not have access to the Bible, and some folks who might be driving. Job Chapter 1:6 says, "Now there was a day when the Sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came also amongst them." Let me just read verse 7, "And the Lord said unto Satan, 'Where did you come from?' and Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘From going to and fro in the Earth, and from walking up and down on it.’"

Apparently, there's this meeting that's taking place somewhere, possibly in heaven. It's not on the earth because Satan came from the earth. There is this gathering in heaven, and there are the Sons of God, and then Satan comes as the representative of the earth. That's why God said, "Where did you come from?" and Satan said, "From walking up and down on the Earth."

He claimed to be the king of the Earth. He was saying, "I was walking up and down in my kingdom." God said, well, have you considered my servant Job? You think everybody on the earth is part of your kingdom but there's somebody on the earth that is actually part of my kingdom. You have the whole controversy play out between Job and Satan and you have the whole book of Job.

It appears, from this context-- and actually, there's another meeting a little later on that also talks about the Sons of God-- it seems that these Sons of God are representatives of unfallen worlds in the universe. Hebrews speaks about God through Christ creating the world. This is Hebrews Chapter 1. It used the word plural for worlds. We know we have angels. The Bible speaks of angels. We have the good angels, we have the bad angels. We have seraphim and cherubim, which is like angels that the Bible describes in heaven.

It's quite possible that earth is not the only inhabited planet in this vast universe with intelligible life. God has other worlds. He has other created beings. It appears as though our earth is the only one that's sinned and that's why Satan claims that the earth as his.

The Sons of God have been suggested as similar to the elders that you read about, the 24 elders in Revelation chapter four and five. They're really the representatives of these unfallen worlds. That’s about all we know about them.

I'm sure one day when Jesus comes and we're redeemed, get to go to heaven, we'll find out more about these unfallen worlds. But, Satan claimed to be the representative of earth. That's why he came to that meeting.

Billy: Amen. I really appreciate that.

Pastor John: Absolutely. That's a good question. Thanks for calling, Billy. I'm trying to think if we have a--

Billy: Yes, sir. Have a good night.

Pastor John: You too. I'm trying to think if we have a study guide dealing with that. We do have a book called Who Are the Sons of God? I think it's going to answer this very question. We'll be happy to send that to you. All you got to do is just give us a call on our resource phone number. The number is 800-835-6747. Ask for the book called Who Are the Sons of God? We'll be happy to send that to you, Billy, or anybody who calls and asks. By the way, you can actually go to Amazing Facts website. You can also read that book for free right there online.

If you have a Bible question, phone line here at the studio is 800-463-7297. I'm just looking at our radio engineer and he says we're coming up on a break. We're not going to be gone for long, but we do have some important announcements to bring to your attention. This is a good time to pick up your phone and give us a call. Again, that number is 800-463-7297. That'll get you on tonight's program.

While we wait for the break to come, I want to tell you about the Amazing Facts website. If you haven't visited the Amazing Facts website, you're in for a treat. Just recently, we updated the website and added some additional content there that I think you'd find very helpful to your own personal Bible study. There are all of our archived programs of Bible Answers Live right there. You can listen to the program.

We also have a TV program called Amazing Facts Presents that is also available at the Amazing Facts website. All of the free resources that we announce each Sunday evening on Bible Answers Live is also available for download for free. You can read the various pocket books and articles that we suggest.

Again, take a look at it. Just simply amazingfacts.org, just a host of information. There's also some other websites that Amazing Facts has that also deals with more specific subjects. Probably the latest one is rapturetruth.com. Again, rapturetruth.com deals with the subject of the second coming of Jesus. There's also some great material there as well as video if you want to know more about the second coming of Christ. How will Jesus come? What are the signs of his near coming? It's all there, rapturetruth.com, and of course our flagship website amazingfacts.org. Friends, we'll be right back after the break.

Voiceover: Stay tuned. Bible Answers Live will return in a moment.

Voiceover: In six days, God created the heavens and the Earth. For thousands of years, man has worshipped God on the seventh day of the week. Now, each week, millions of people worship on the first day. What happened? Why did God create a day of rest? Does it really matter what day we worship? Who is behind this great shift? Discover the truth behind God's law and how it was changed. Visit sabbathtruth.com.

Deep within the pages of the Bible, stories of great heroes, heroes of great deeds, great love, and great sacrifice, but behind them is another hero hidden in plain sight amid the shadows. He was there from the beginning and he'll be there until the end.

Discover the golden thread of a savior woven throughout the entire Bible tapestry. Shadows of Light: Seeing Jesus in all the Bible, a new book by Doug Batchelor. Get your copy today by calling 800-538-7275 or visit afbookstore.com. Once again, to purchase your copy of Shadows of Light, call 800-538-7275.

Voiceover: Every Bible question you have answered moves you one step closer to the fullness of God's will for your life. What are you waiting for? Get the answers you need for a fuller, richer, more confident life. You’re listening to Bible Answers Live. We still have a few phone lines open. If you have a Bible-related question, call us at 1800-God-says. That’s 1800-462-7297. Now, let's join Pastor John Ross for more Bible Answers Live.

Pastor John: Hello friends, this is Bible Answers Live and we are halfway through our study together. If you have Bible question, we’d would love to hear from you this evening. We have two lines open. Give us a call. The phone number here to the studio is 800-463-7297. Again, that’s 800-463-7297. Thank you for your patience. If you don't get through right away, just stay on the phone. One more time 800-463-7297.

We’re going to go straight to our next caller. We have Hazel listening from New York, New York. Hazel, welcome to the program. Hazel, you're on the air, listening at WMCA. Hazel, New York. Going once, going twice. Hazel, are you there? All right we might come back--

Hazel: Are you there?

Pastor John: Yes, just in time.[laughs] All right, Hazel, you're on the air.

Hazel: Okay, good night. Can I read from Acts 15:29?

Pastor John: Sure.

Hazel: Okay. It reads to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourself from these things, you will prosper, that are held to you.” Now, that word, abstaining, I need to find out, what was the original Greek word that was used for abstaining? According to scriptures, does this mean that you cannot take blood transfusion?

Pastor John: No, that's not what it means. When it talks about abstaining from meat offered to idols and from blood, it's not talking about blood through your veins because you're losing blood and you need blood otherwise you will die. It's talking about eating blood as food. Now, that's one of the principles that God gave his people when he led them out of Egypt, and that is a principle that is reaffirmed in the New Testament. It's not God’s will for any of his people to consume blood.

Modern science tells us that blood is not the thing that a person wants to drink. All the toxins of the body float around in the blood. If there is disease in the animal, it's in the blood. It's very important health principle that somebody is not to consume blood.

There were very strict ways-- may be you've heard about kosha-- certain ways in which the Jews were to slaughter the animals, and it allowed for the blood to drain out so that the people were not eating blood or fat. Those, we know both blood and fat is, of course, not healthy for a person. It's not talking about a blood transfusion, it is talking about eating blood.

Also, one of the important principle is the pagan nations surrounding Israel would often drink blood as part of their ceremonies of worship. Even today, there are some remote tribes in Africa that drink a lot of blood, and it's not healthy. That's the principle.

Hazel: Do you know what was the original Greek word that was used there for abstaining?

Pastor John: The original Greek word, it’s well-translated, can be abstain or stay away from, or reject. There's multiple words that could be used for translation of the Greek word, but the word abstain meaning to stay away from is an appropriate word. It's the right word to use. Different translations might use just a little bit of a different word, but the idea there is that, as Christians, we want to abstain from blood. We don't want to eat blood. It’s not talking about blood transfusion. It's talking about consuming it. Of course, when someone eats blood, the body deals with it quite differently than when it's put in the vein because somebody needs blood so it's a different thing. Does that help, Hazel?

Hazel: It helps very much. As a matter of fact, I think it was two weeks ago, Pastor Douglas just absolutely blew my mind because, for 13 years, I have been struggling with this. He put a new perspective onto this, and now you just reiterate and then confirming what he had said and what I have believed for 13 years and was often criticized, or even condemned.

Pastor John: Well, I'm glad that we’re able to help shed some light on that because that is the principle that we find in the Bible. The last thing that God would want a person to do is not to receive a blood transfusion because for some reasons they think they are violating a law given by God when God is really speaking about consuming blood as far as eating it. We don’t want anybody to get-- [crosstalk]

Hazel: I am so grateful. For the short period of time that I've been listening to you, which is just when you came on, this is my first, I have learned so much from you just from answering this questions.

Pastor John: Excellent.

Hazel: I am so grateful.

Pastor John: Thank you for calling Hazel. I'm glad we have been able to be of help. You might like that study guide that I mentioned just a little earlier. It's called God’s Free Health Plan. It will talk a little bit about the principle of not consuming blood and some of the other practical principles that the Bible gives for how we can live a healthy life.

The number to call is 800-835-6747. That is our resource phone number, and you can ask for the study guide called God’s Free Health Plan. We’ll be happy to send it to you for free. Again, the number is 800-835-6747. If you have a Bible question, our phone line here to the studio is 800-463-7297. That’s 800-God-says, 800-462-7297.

Our next caller is-- let's see. We have Ray listening in Michigan. Ray, welcome to the program.

Ray: Thank you, Sir.

Pastor John: Hi, and your Bible question?

Ray: My Bible question is in Revelation it talks about the antichrist getting a head wound, and then that’s Satan, and draws him to make him look like he’s resurrected as resurrected Jesus. I know that there's a doctrine ‘thou shall not kill’, and then when you're defending yourself, or even in the military. I know it's prophesized that he would-- head wound.

Of course, we don’t know how he gets the head wound, but the person-- Let’s say the person that, say a shooter with a sniper rifle, he's prophesized. Would he be-- it say ‘thou shall not kill’. Would he be killing him, points of a --?

Pastor John: That's a good question, Ray. First of all, just to back up a little bit, when we’re talking about the beast, and it says the beast receives the deadly wound, and you are correct, the beast is also identified as the antichrist. A beast, in Bible prophecy, Revelation is a symbolic book and we have a number of some books that are used. It talks about the beasts. It talks about beasts coming from the sea, beasts coming from the earth. It talks about four living creatures. it talks about horses galloping from the sky. It’s very figurative and it's symbolic.

A beast in Bible prophecy represents something. If you go to the book of Daniel-- you got to let the Bible explain itself. Another prophetic book is the book of Daniel. Daniel also talks about beast. There is a lion with the eagle's wings. There's a bear that has three ribs in his mouth, the leopard with four heads, and it's sort of like a dragon like a beast. Daniel identifies these beasts as being kingdoms or political powers. A beast in Bible prophecy represents a political power.

Now, what's unique about this beast spoken of in Revelation chapter 13 that receives its deadly wound, it's not only a political power, but it is also a religious power. If you read down the chapter, it talks about forcing all the world to worship. It’s a religious political power. It also says it's going to rule 42 months, and that's prophetic time.

When it talks about a deadly wound, we’re not talking about just one person getting a deadly wound, but we’re talking about a system. We’re talking about a political power, but also religious power that receives a deadly wound. Meaning, it loses its authority and its influence, but then miraculously it seems to regain its influence and its power.

If you look in history, there is a religious political power that ruled for over a thousand years. This political religious power receives a deadly wound in 1798, and it goes into captivity in France. But then miraculously, it seems to regain its former of glory and its former power, and rises to important status in the last days.

We do we a study guide that is called Who Is The Antichrist? It gets right to the very heart of who these beast powers, how it receives the deadly wound, and how this deadly wound is to be healed. Having said all of that, could it involve an individual that receives the deadly wound? Well, the person who, in scripture, receives the deadly wound and his deadly wound is healed is Jesus. Jesus received the deadly wound when he died on the cross, and then he rose from the dead, the deadly wound was healed.

This antichrist power tries to usurp the position and the place of Jesus, and he sets up a counterfeit system of worship. It’s interesting that he receives the deadly wound and his deadly wound is healed.

There’s a number of parallels between Christ and this counterfeit power that I don’t have time to get into, but I would like to encourage you to take a look at that study guide called Who Is The Antichrist? It gets in right in there. It doesn’t bit around the bush. Give us a call and ask for that.

The number to call 800-835-6747 and ask for a study guide called Who Is The Antichrist? Again, 800-835-6747. For anybody who wanted to study this important prophetic truth, just call and ask.One more time the number for our resource phone number is 800-835-6747, and you can ask for the study guide called Who Is The Antichrist?

If you have a Bible question, our phone line here at the studio is 800-463-7297. Let’s see. Our next call is going to be Florence listening in San Diego. Florence, welcome to the program.

Florence: Hi, good evening, Pastor Ross. I have just a very quick question.

Pastor John: Sure.

Florence: Somebody just approached me in the mall, and then she said if I am interested to study the female image of God, it's prophesied. I’m not sure how to respond to that, or how to approach with this kind of topic.

I mentioned that I read the Bible and I didn’t find that in the Bible and, “If you are willing to study with me, I will share also my theology with you.” She said, “Okay, I’ll keep in touch.” I’m not sure if she’ll keep in touch with me or not, but I just want to be prepared.

Pastor John: Very good. Without a doubt, God is portrayed in scripture as having both characteristics of a father, but he is also portrayed as having characteristics of a nurturing mother. It says, “God created man and woman in his image.” For a complete reflection of God’s character, you need to consider the characteristics, the good characteristics in man, and also, the good characteristics in woman.

When we think of the mother, we think of the nurturing side. We think of the father we think of the one that protects and sustains. Both of those sets of characteristics are found in God. For that reason, it required the man and woman to be created in his image to reflect his character.

In the Bible, God’s Church is often liken unto a woman, and Christ, the bridegroom, and the Church the bride. The idea of Christ nurturing and protecting his Church, and providing for the Church is portrayed in that of a husband taking care of his wife.

There are a number of similarities. Paul even likens marriage to Christ and the Church. Matter of fact, Revelation chapter 12 talks about God’s Church and it’s described as woman standing upon the moon, clothed with the sun with the crown of 12 stars. That imagery is seen throughout the Bible.

Florence: She mentioned that if we want to see it very closely, we will-- we won’t be saved because we have to focus on the female image of God, something like that. How should I--?

Pastor John: Well, I would try to present what the Bible presents about God. it present both those positive male characteristics, and it also presents the positive female characteristics, both the nurturing-- There are many verses where it talks about how God brought Israel up out of Egypt and he nurtured, and he provided for them, and he took care of them. Of course, God is the source of life just as a mother is the source of life for her children and nurtures them and takes care of them.

Both characteristics are very much seen throughout scripture, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. I think it would be wrong for a person just to focus on those characteristics that you would see, maybe, in a woman, or those characteristics you see in a man. You won’t get the full picture of God’s character.

I’m not talking about the bad characteristics. I’m talking about the good characteristics that you find in man and woman.

Florence: Thank you, Pastor Ross.

Pastor John: All right, you are welcome. Thank you. Good question. If you have a Bible question, the phone line here to the studio is 800-463-7297 with your Bible question, 800-463-7297. Our next caller is Pat, he's listening in Michigan. Pat, welcome to the program. Pat, are you there?

Pat: Yes, I am here.

Pastor John: All right, you're on the air.

Pat: I have a question regarding marriage and divorce. I know in Matthew talks about a man shouldn’t give a wife a divorce, or if they do-- if he divorces her and she remarries, he causes her to commit adultery. I know it talks about it in Matthew, and Mark, and Luke pretty much the same thing. What's your take on-- your knowledge on that?

Pastor John: Well absolutely, the Bible is pretty clear that God created marriage in the beginning, and God created marriage to be a lifelong commitment. Marriage in the Bible does represent Christ’s relationship with his church. There is a unity. There is a binding and that is Gods intention right from the very beginning that marriage be for life.

God also realizes that we have our struggles and we make mistakes, and sometimes we’re not the easiest people to live with, and there’s arguments that occur in any marriage, and there’s things that have to be worked through. We don’t want to just give up on our marriage because the going gets tough.

With God’s help and praying for his guidance and leading-- “All things are possible,” the Bible says. A person wants to take their marriage commitment very seriously. It seems our society has set that aside where people are getting married and getting divorced, and getting married and getting divorced over and over again. That’s not God’s ideal. That’s not the way the Bible gives it.

Now, there are some circumstances, and Jesus highlights one in particular here in verse 32, where if somebody leaves their spouse, commits adultery, and the marriage cannot be saved, in other words there is no repentance or there is no ability recommit, or trust has been so destroyed that the relationship can’t go forward, there are cases where divorce is permissible.

If somebody is in a relationship where they're physically being abused, it is only appropriate for the person suffering to withdraw from that relationship. You don’t want anybody to stay in harms way.

Pat: Sure.

Pastor John: Marriage also needs to a serious lifelong commitment. That’s what the Bible says.

Pat: Can I tell you why I asked?

Pastor John: Sure.

Pat: I’m a divorced man of over 20 years, and I have been dating a woman who is been divorced like over three. We’re looking at these verses, and it seems like it’s not biblically-

Pastor John: Can you get married again?

Pat: -appropriate for us to remarry.

Pastor John: Let me also go this way. Yes, divorce is not a good thing, but God is also a God of mercy and forgiveness. Now, in the situation that you just explained, you guys can’t go back to your former spouse, especially if time has gone on they might have remarried. What do you do? Does that mean you have stay single the rest of your life? No.

I think what one can do is prayerfully ask for the Lord’s leading in that relationship and say, “We want to make sure, Lord, that we’re doing things according to your plan, that we-- marriage, if it’s your will that we to get married, that we do it according to purpose and your plan.”

God can bless that relationship especially if somebody wasn’t really walking with the Lord and they got a divorce, and now they came to a deeper understanding of God’s will for their life and they recommitted their life or became Christian, the past is gone. In Christ, we’re a new creature and we move forward from this point onwards. We can’t go back and fix the mistakes of the past, but we can ask God to lead us as we move forward into the future.

I think if both of you are believers, and you're Christians, and you pray, and you ask the Lord to guide you, and you seek some good Christian counsel, I think you can move forward with confidence that the Lord is going to lead you and reveal his will for your lives.

Pat: Very good.

Pastor John: All right?

Pat: I appreciate your knowledge and your guidance on this. thank you.

Pastor John: Absolutely, Pat. We do have a book called Divorce and Remarriage and we’ll be happy to send that to you if just call and ask. It was written by Pastor Dough Batchelor. We get quite a few questions dealing with the subject of marriage. It's an important question, so we want to give this to anybody who calls and asks.

The number is 800-835-6747, and you can ask for the book the Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage, and we’ll be happy to send that to anybody for free who calls and asks. You can also read it online, just go to the Amazing Facts website, amazingfacts.org.

Our next caller is Trevor, and he’s listening from Toronto, Canada. Hi Trevor, you’re on the air.

Trevor: Hello.

Pastor John: Are you there?

Trevor: Hi there.

Pastor John: Hi, and your question this evening?

Trevor: We actually have two questions. I’m here with my mother, and we talk every day about the Bible. We often talked about when the Sabbath actually is, and what is the significance of the Sabbath, especially in the way that Jesus saw it.

Pastor John: Okay.

Trevor: The actual day of the Sabbath, and then how--

Pastor John: How we're supposed keep the Sabbath.

Trevor: -how Jesus [crosstalk]--

Pastor John: Yes, absolutely. Your question on that?

Trevor: When is the Sabbath?

Pastor John: Okay, when is the Sabbath. We’ll take them one at a time. Well, if you look at what the Bible says, because it’s right in the fourth commandment, it says, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord Thy God.” Now the questions is asked, “Well, what day of the week is the seventh day?”

Well, if you look just starting with the calendar and you count them off, Sunday is the first day and you count along and you'll come to the seventh day ,and that’s actually Saturday. That’s the seventh day of the week. Somebody might say, “Well, how do we know the calendar is accurate?”

For 2,000 years, we have the Jewish nation that has been keeping the Sabbath from the time of Jesus through to now. What day of the week do the Jews consider the Sabbath? Well, that’s the seventh day of the week. That would be Saturday. If you want to go with what the Bible says with reference to which day of the week is the Sabbath, it is the seventh day, which is Saturday. Sunday is the first day of the week, not the seventh day of the week. Does that make sense Trevor?

Trevor: Yes.

Pastor John: Now, the second part of your question was--

Trevor: You would say that’s on the seventh day, it would have been Saturday?

Pastor John: Correct. The seventh day of the week is Saturday.

Trevor: Okay. The way that Jesus saw the Sabbath, in terms of the significance of it?

Pastor John: Yes. Jesus kept the Sabbath because Jesus said, “I’ve kept all of my Father’s commandments.” Of course, the fourth commandment talks about the Sabbath. Jesus kept the Sabbath. The religious leaders were upset with Jesus not because He didn’t keep the Sabbath, but because He didn’t follow their man-made traditions concerning the Sabbath, but Jesus did keep the Sabbath according to the commandment.

After Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, it was still His will that His disciples keep the Sabbath because in Matthew 24 when Jesus was talking about the destruction of Jerusalem that occurred in 70 AD by the Romans, He said, “Pray that your flight be not in winter neither on the Sabbath day.” We find Jesus wanting His disciples to keep the Sabbath, even after the resurrection.

The last book in the New Testament is the book of Revelation written by John somewhere around 90 AD, and he speaks about being in despair in the Lord’s day. If you take a look at what the Bible says about which day of the week is the Lord’s day, the Sabbath is the Lord’s day for it’s the Sabbath of the Lord Thy God. If you just do a good biblical search or study on what day of the week is indeed the Sabbath, it does come to light.

Matter of fact, we do have a study guide, Trevor, that you might want to take a look at. It’s called Lost Day of History. It’s about the Sabbath. It talks about how Sunday became the popular day of worship, and it’ll give you a little bit of the history and when that happened.

If you’d call our resource phone number, it’s 800-835-6747, you can ask for that study guide dealing with the Sabbath called The Lost Day of History. Friends, we also have website called sabbathtruth.com, which has got lots of video, lots of study, lots of references. If you want to study more about what the Bible says about the Sabbath, is it still of relevance today, how are we to keep the Sabbath, and what are the blessings with keeping the Sabbath. It’s all there. Just take a look at it. It’s called sabbathtruth.com. I think you’ll find it very helpful.

Friends, if we didn’t get to your Bible question this week, give us a call next week as we meet again for another fresh installment of Bible Answer Live.

Voiceover: Thank you for listening to today’s broadcast. We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. Bible Answers Live is produced by Amazing Facts, a faith-based ministry located in Sacramento, California.

Voiceover: Did you know that Noah was present at the birth of Abraham? [chuckles] Okay, maybe he wasn’t in the room, but he was alive and probably telling stories about his floating zoo.

From the creation of the world to the last day events revelation, biblehistory.com is a free resource where you can explore major Bible events and characters. Enhance your knowledge of the Bible, and draw closer to God’s word. Go deeper. Visit the amazing Bible timeline at biblehistory.com.

Voiceover: If you'd like to enhance your study of God’s word, visit our website at www.amazingfacts.org and sign up for our free Bible study course. Make sure to check out our online bookstore at Afbookstore.com, which offers thousands of inspiring books, DVDs and more, to help you get the most out of God’s word.

To take advantage of the offers you’ve heard on this broadcast, call us at 800-835-6747, or visit our website at amazingfacts.org. Did you enjoy this program? Make sure to tell your family and friends. Tune in next time for more Bible Answers Live, honest and accurate answers to your Bible questions.

Male Speaker: I grew up in a churchgoing family. We were at every meeting. I sang in four of the choirs there. I directed three. Very involved, very active. It almost seemed like busy work sometimes. I went to Sunday school. I knew about God. I knew about Jesus, but I didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

My senior year in high school, I got the news that my father had been murdered. I played it off well. No one really saw that I was struggling with it. It just really felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. I tried to fill it with drugs, with alcohol, with partying. After college, I just stopped going to church altogether.

One day, on a Sunday, because I didn’t feel like going to church with my mom, I thought I should get a little bit of work. She had the satellite system hooked up and I'm flipping through channels, and then the logo pops across, Amazing Facts Presents. I’ve listened to a lot of different ministries, but this was the first time that he’s actually saying something where I had to grab my Bible, actually pick it up. I’ve never heard this before. Let me look through and find this.

I went through all the historicals. I went through all the study guides and I just can’t get enough. Then the Sabbath came up. He’s going through the appeal when I’m just going, “Lord, I hear you. I have to go to the church.”

I show up. It was funny, I didn’t feel like I was going to be judged, anything judgmental, anything. I walked in a door and I just felt at home. But there’s still a problem. I’m still [chuckles] partying. I was still going out to the bars. At this time, I was selling cocaine to pay my rent.

Sixteen days later, I find myself in a life or death situation. I had just came back from a liquor store and I grabbed the bottle of vodka. There I am, high off cocaine, with my Bible in hand, trying to do a Bible study. I heard an audible voice, “Just look at yourself.” I did and I was like, “What am I doing?”

I got on my knees and I said, “Lord, if you do not take this away from me now, I’m going to kill myself. I was going to continue this lifestyle. I was going to end up overdosing, having a heart attack, whatever it was. You have to take this away. All of it.” That day, He lifted all of it away from me. It was all gone. When God does something in your life, He does it complete.

Voiceover: For over 50 years, Amazing Facts has shared the wonderful news of salvation and provided millions of Bible resources to people all over the world. We’ve built churches in India, proclaimed God’s word in China, and have sent free Bible studies around the globe.

Today’s program and free resources were made possible by our ministry partners, caring individuals like you. If you’ve been blessed by Amazing Facts, would you please consider partnering with us to reach others with the Bible truth? Your financial support today will help keep programs like this on the air, so the blessings you’ve received can be shared with others. To find out more about becoming a ministry partner, please visit our website at amazingfacts.org.