Hello, friends this is Doug Batchelor! How about an amazing fact! On December 20
th 2007, Israeli scientists in Jerusalem announced that they had successfully inscribed the entire Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible on an area smaller than a pinhead. The nanotechnology experts at the Technion Institute in Haifa said the text surface measures less than one-hundredth of a square inch. They chose the Jewish Bible to highlight how vast quantities of information can be stored in a minimum amount of space. According to the Guinness World Records, the tiny Bible is now the world’s smallest.
The previous smallest copy of the Bible originated in Australia and measured about an inch squared and a quarter of an inch thick and it contained 1,514 pages. With this new Bible, it only took about an hour to etch the 3,000 words or so from the Old Testament onto a tiny silicone surface. The microscopic Nano-Bible was written using a scientific device called an FIB or Focused Ion Beam. With the aid of this device, it was possible to blast focused beams of tiny particles called Galium ions towards a specific object. When the particles hit the object, they caused the gold atoms placed in the silicone surface to bounce off, thus etching it.
This is similar to digging a shallow hole in the earth using jet water from a hose. They hope to use the technology in the future as way to store vast amounts of data on biomolecules and DNA. The next plan of the Technion Institute is to photograph the nano Bible using a scanning electric microscope with the goal of enlarging the photo 10,000 times and displaying it on a giant 23-foot wall in their physics facility – then it’ll be possible to read the entire Bible with the naked eye. But it does seem a bit strange to shrink the Bible down and then blow it back up. Stay with us friends, we’ll learn more as Amazing Facts bring you this edition of Bible Answers Live!
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Welcome, friends, to Bible Answers Live! If you are tuning in for the first time, this is, just like the title suggests, a live, international, interactive, Bible study. And we’re thankful that you decided to join us, if you have a Bible question and you’d like to call in, it is a toll free phone call and that number is 800-463-7297. We do have about half our lines open right now! So you got a good chance of calling in tonight and getting your Bible question on tonight’s broadcast.
Once again, that number is 800-463-7297. Please do keep a pencil or a pen or something handy because we give out another number during the program for the free offers and the other study helps. And if you haven’t written it down yet, you wanna jot down the Amazing Facts website where we have a plethora of other Bible study resources and it’s just like the title – amazingfacts.org. And fortunately you can type in amazingfacts.com or amazingfacts.tv and it’ll get you there. You type in Amazing Facts to Google, that’ll take you there too. And you’ll just find there’s a kaleidoscope of Bible study material there and some of that will be referenced tonight.
My name is Doug Batchelor and Pastor Jëan Ross is on vacation tonight but we’re gonna do our best with our team here in the studio to fill your questions. And as always we wanna begin with a word of prayer, so please join me.
Loving Lord, this is Your program; we dedicate it to Your cause – to lift up the truth. And Jesus is the truth. Lord, as we explore the Word we pray that the Holy Spirit will bring to our remembrance the things You have revealed – that You fill every person that’s calling in, asking questions, those who give answers, and everybody listening. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Well friends, during the opening of Amazing Facts, I think that you probably were amazed as I was that they could actually get a Bible – the whole Jewish Hebrew OId Testament and I checked this out I thought it was an urban myth, but it is true. It’s carried by the news agencies and the Associated Press that they managed using nanotechnology to blast the micro, microscopic lettering of the entire Hebrew Bible on an area that is, well, small enough to sit on the head of a pin, one one-hundredth of an inch and its mind boggling what they’re able to do. But then I thought it was an amazing paradox that they are going to then now use an electron microscope to photograph then blow it back up so it can be projected on a wall. And I thought; well if you really wanna just read the Bible, you don’t have to shrink it down then blow it up. You can just go to any Christian bookstore and buy one and read it.
It seems like man is preoccupied with sending the Bible out into space, and to making it microscopic then blowing it up, but how many people read it and really follow it?
You know, Jesus said that He didn’t come to shrink the Word of God but to magnify it.
One of the prophecies you find in the Old Testament about the Messiah is Isaiah 42:21 it says “The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness sake. He will magnify the law” that’s another term for the Word “and make it honorable”. An example of Jesus magnifying the law is when He gave the sermon on the mount. He said You have heard it said, you will not commit adultery. But I say unto you, if you look at a woman to lust after her in your heart, that adultery can begin with an attitude not just an action. So Jesus read the Word and then He expanded it, He magnified it. Of course He did that all through His ministry. And the Bible is where the power is, to change hearts. It is a miraculous book.
It is inexplicable how you can have this black ink on white paper, whether it’s on a computer screen or even on the head of a pin – there’s power in the Word of God and that changes hearts. If you’d like to know about this ultimate resource that can change your mind and life and heart as it did for me, we have a free book for tonight. The offer is called just that, The Ultimate Resource. It’s about the Bible and the power of the Bible and the dependability of the Bible and why it has been a best-seller for 3,500 years. If you like to know how to get this free offer tonight, call our resource number – that number is 800-835-6747. If you want to get your Bible question on tonight’s program then call 800-463-7297. And with that, I think we’re gonna skip over the internet questions tonight in the absence of Pastor Ross and I’m just gonna go right to the phones!
And so we’re gonna begin with Louvain, who’s calling from Ontario, Canada and has a question. Louvain, welcome to the program! You’re on the air.
Louvain: How long will the small time of trouble last?
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Good question. For our listening friends, in the last days the Bible speaks of this tribulation. The tribulation is really divided in two parts – you got what’s thought of as the small time of trouble where people cannot buy or sell. There’s gonna be a time of real testing there unless you get the mark of the beast. The great time of trouble is when the seven last plagues fall. And Louvain is asking, well how long will that small time of trouble be? You know, I don’t know that the Bible gives us an exact date. With the Lord’s permission I’ll speculate a little bit, try and author a sanctified Biblical speculation. You have parallels in the Bible, Louvain, where the children of Israel went through a period of a small time of trouble between the time that the decree was given that their workload should increase the Pharaoh began to try to get them to make bricks without straw and increase their persecution and their deliverance from Egypt.
During the time those 10 plagues fell, you probably got you know, a couple of months, 45 days I have estimated. When the plagues fell on Job, again, it was less than a year, probably more than a month – those two blitzkriegs of terrible trials came to Job. And so it’s believed that the small time of trouble, it may be a little longer. It could be more like the 3 ½ years that you find. The time of the plagues, the 7 last plagues will probably be less than a year like the time of the plagues in Egypt and the time of Job’s trouble. The small time of trouble on the other hand it may go longer. Like the 3 ½ years of famine during the time of Elijah. Or the 3 ½ years of Christ’s ministry. So those are some rough ideas that some scholars have thrown out there but there’s really no prophecy that says this is how long it’ll be. Okay?
Louvain: Okay.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Now many people are talking about the seven years of the tribulation. Now there really is no verse that speaks of seven years of tribulation. There was seven days that Noah was in the Ark before the rain fell. And it’s just a period of time of trouble; it’s a small time of trouble. But it might be longer than when the seven plagues fall out as far as the length of time…. By the way, Louvain, there is a booklet that we offer and it’s called Anything But Secret. In this book about the second coming, we have a section dealing with the tribulation in relationship to the second coming. And we’ll be happy to send it to you if you call the resource number – that’s 800-835-6747. Appreciate your call, Louvain.
We’re talking next to Robert, who’s calling from Frankfurt, Indiana. And you’re question, Robert, you’re on the air.
Robert: Good evening, Doug. God bless you.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: God bless you.
Robert: My question has to do with Revelation 17:5.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Okay.
Robert: It’s because of “her” a woman, a church, and Babylon the great.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Yeah.
Robert: And one description I’ve heard is the mother of harlots, you go back to 17:2 she has this relationship committing fornication. Well I’m not sure if fornication spiritually … their offspring. My question is, are these offspring, post reformation products of churches that later we’ll see in 17:12 will eventually come back to her and give the authority back to her.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: So okay, just, I know what you’re talking about but I wanna clarify your question if you don’t mind for a lot of our listeners. We’ve got folks that they are from 8 years old to 88 that are listening with varying amounts of Bible background.
Robert: Yes, sir.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: In Revelation 17 - friends, you’ve got this prophecy about this, this is called the harlot of Revelation, mystery Babylon. She is the mother of harlots and abominations in the earth. And most of the protestant reformers associate this woman – a woman is a symbol for the church and prophecy with what happened to the church in Rome when it began to compromise with Paganism, namely the Roman Church. And then the Protestant churches came out of her like daughters came out of a mother.
Robert: Exactly.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Even the Roman church refers to the Protestant church as separated daughters – they use that very language.
Robert: Yeah.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: And as far the dates you’re giving, I don’t know that you can use dates about it because every church is a little different. The bottom line is, are the churches faithful to the [???] church? Do they reflect the teachings of Jesus? Are they like the woman in Revelation 12 that keeps the commandments of God and has the testimony of Jesus? Or are they like the mother in Revelation 17 that has committed fornication that has sold out for political benefits to the kings of the earth?
And of course, during the dark ages the church in Rome had these liaisons where all of the politicians, it’s in a big religious and political institution. So now I don’t know if I ever did answer your question, I became enthralled with my own voice.
Robert: No, I think you answered it. But they are gonna come back to the mother aren’t they? The ones that will compromise the protestant churches will compromise and reach back to her.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: During the final shaking.
Robert: Shaking, yes.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Everybody is gonna be forced to really be part of one or two women, one or two churches. They’ll either take a stand for the Word of God, say it’s better to obey God than man and they’ll join that woman in Revelation 12. And the dragon is wrought with the woman, you read that Revelation 12:17. Or they will compromise Biblical truth for political advantage, they’ll become part of this beast power, and then they become daughters of Babylon.
You know it’s interesting, just a little footnote, for our friends listening, in case you would like we have a free offer – The Beast, The Dragon, and The Woman which is a very powerful, heavy best-selling sermon on, it’s a sermon booklet, dealing with the subject of Revelation 17 and it’s called The Beast, The Dragon, and The Woman. But Robert, I was just gonna say, it’s interesting that you have a story in the Old Testament, of Jezebel and her daughter, Athalia, that caused the children of Israel to turn from God to idolatry, that persecuted prophets like Elijah. You get the New Testament and you got a woman named Herodias and her daughter that persecuted John the Baptist and the prophets of God. And so then you go to prophecy, and you got Babylon and her daughters, and there’s a lot of parallels that you see there so it’s a great study. I appreciate your question Robert, and now we’re gonna move on and ask Max what his question is. Max is calling on the internet from Brooklyn, New York. Welcome, Max!
Max: Hi good evening, Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Evening, get real close to your phone. You’re in Brooklyn, I’m in California I can barely hear you.
Max: I’m sorry.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: It’s okay.
Max: My question is about tithing, do we pay out tithes from the gross or the net? And is there a Biblical preference to it?
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Good question. When the Bible talks about tithes – tithe is a word that means tenth. And giving a tenth of our increase for the purpose of support of the Lord’s work and ministry, is a precedent that goes back even before the children of Israel. You find it, Abraham gave tithe to Melchizedek. Jacob promised to return tithe if God will bring him safely back and of course it’s in the Old and the New Testament. I believe that you pay tithes on your gross, that when you say gross or net.
Keep in mind friends, what you net is after expenses are taken out like your taxes or maybe social securities or something like that. And you know, when it comes to paying taxes, it’s just one of the expenses like paying for gas or paying for your groceries. And if we only tithe on, what’s left over after we pay all our bills, you’re not really paying tithes. And so, my understanding is, you can’t out give God and Karen and I we pay tithes on our gross, and then if you get tax a return, praise the Lord! It’s … you’re home free. You know what I’m saying? And later when you collect social security you already paid tithe on it. Does that make sense?
Max: Oh definitely, I was just hoping [???] but I appreciate it. Thank you.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: By the way, there’s a study that we’d be happy to send you on this if you like it it’s called In God We Trust. If you go to the resource line there Max and ask for a copy of In God We Trust, call that number. Once again it’s 800-835-6747 we’ll send that to you. And that frees up another line as we now go to Patricia. Who’s calling on line 5 but you didn’t know you were on line 5, Patricia from New York City and listening on the internet, welcome to the program.
Patricia: Hi Pastor, how are you?
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Very well, how are you?
Patricia: I’m fine. Okay, my question is, shall we claim our tithes on our taxes?
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Now when you say claim our tithes, do you mean should we claim the tax deductible donations that we’ve made when we file our returns?
Patricia: Yes.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Oh I’d say absolutely. There’s no moral problem with that. It’s not like, some people have wondered, you know, Jesus said do not let your left hand know what your right hand does so you’re not bragging about giving. But reporting to the IRS that a certain amount of your income has been to a charitable organization so they don’t tax you on that, is a law that goes back a long way. The government was not supposed to tax back in the days when our country was formed.
There was a lot of religious people in government. And they decided, do not tax people for the income that they’re using to support non-profit organizations that do humanitarian work. And so it’s a benefit that is perfectly legitimate and you can hold your head up and say absolutely, I’m gonna claim my tax deductions, my donations that I’ve made to non-profit organizations such as churches or other charities on my tax return. It’s a right that you have that is a very moral right and no dilemma with that at all. It’s not like you’re bragging about what you’ve given.
Patricia: Alright, thank you.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Thank you, Patricia. And I think Patricia would also appreciate the same study guide we talked about, In God We Trust, dealing with the subject of tithe and we’d be happy to send that to you.
Okay, let’s see where we’re gonna go next here. And we have room for more calls here, I just realized several lines have freed up I don’t know if we’ve lost some. But if you’ve got a question call for a chance to get on tonight, you’re listening to Bible Answers Live. Talking next to Cliff who is calling from Colfax, California. Welcome to the program, Cliff.
Cliff: Hello good evening, Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Good evening.
Cliff: Hey, my question is on the Old Testament. I was reading recently in Deuteronomy and I was kind of concerned because it kind of raises a red flag in my mind about why would God, a loving God, have such harsh a punishment as stoning to death?
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Okay anywhere in particular? I mean I know there’s a number of instances of that, are you talking about in Deuteronomy where they broke the Sabbath and someone was stoned or which one?
Cliff: Like for adultery or if you disobey your parents.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Yeah, that’s also in Exodus 20 or Exodus 21 I think. But yeah, there were very severe penalties for certain laws that they violated. There is no record in the Bible of anybody being stoned for being a rebellious child. But there was a law, where God said if parents have a son, that was disrespectful, and a glutton, and a rebel, that they were to bring him before the leaders. Now that law as much as anything I think was placed there by God to impress upon children that honoring your father and mother is very important.
And I don’t know of any example in the Bible, I know there isn’t any example in the Bible or any parent ever said you know, we’re gonna take advantage of that law cause parents have a natural love for their children. But it was God’s way I think of emphasizing how vital it was among the people that they respect their elders and that children respect their parents. Now you ask another question more specifically about stoning. Keep in mind when God gave the 10 commandments. The form of government that they were living under, Cliff, was a theocracy. When God gave the 10 commandments, both in Exodus and Deuteronomy, the people could look out of their tent door, and see hovering above the tabernacle, a glowing cloud of the glory of God. God’s presence was right there in the midst of their camp. So to sin – these high-handed sins, with impunity in the face of God, well you know, to whom much is given, much is required.
The expectations of God for those people were higher when He was right there in their midst like that. But I think that God was also impressing them that the penalty for sin is death, not only in the Old Testament, but Jesus teaches this in the New Testament. Paul says if you live by the flesh, you will die. If you wanna live, you better live by the Spirit. And it’s Paul in the New Testament that says the penalty for sin is death and sin is the transgression of God’s Law. So it’s not like just an Old Testament or New Testament thing. It’s a consistent teaching through the Bible that sin is fatal. It’s like a germ that is terminal. And without the miraculous healing of Jesus – without a blood transfusion from Jesus, we’re dead in our sins. He who has the Son has life, without the Son, there’s no life.
Cliff: Yeah, I just wonder if we would act differently if we knew God was right there watching us.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: I think so. You know even on an elementary level, kids will behave a little more circumspectly in the presence of their parents than when they are in the backyard with their friends. My dad used to tell me, you know, don’t smoke. Well I went and started smoking anyway as a teenager but I never was tempted in front of my father to light up. So there is something about the presence of God that inspires, you know.
I’m a pastor of a church and I know when people are in the church they’re typically on their best behavior. But you know, a lot of these families like anywhere you know, theres struggles in the home. Husbands and wives usually don’t start yelling at each other in church but there are issues at home. Behavior I think in the presence of God is improved. Yet the idea, for real Christian victory I think is not to lose that sense of God’s presence. To practice the presence of God. And we’d all want to be more like Christ if we thought that way.
Cliff: Yes, you’ve got a point there.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Hey well I appreciate your question, Cliff. And by the way friends, that then will free up another line. So we got several lines open. I don’t know if it has anything to do with the super bowl pundit starting to do their after game commentary but we have several lines open tonight and if you’ve got a Bible question pick up the phone. Once again the number is 800-GOD-SAYS that’s an acronym for 800-463-7297 very easy so give us a call if you have a question.
I think we have time for one more before we go into the half time break. Sound like a football game, didn’t it? Talking next to George who’s calling in from Miami, Florida and listening on the internet as well. Welcome to the program, George.
George: Hi, how you doing Pastor?
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Very well.
George: My question is about the book of Galatians chapter 4.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Yes.
George: From the verse 21 to the verse 31.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Well I don’t know if I have time to explain all of that in just before a break. Galatian 4:21 where it says tell me then who you desire to be in the law, do you not hear the law, is that the part you’re talking about?
George: Yes, yes.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Well here, you know there are 2 kinds of laws in the Bible. You’ve got the moral law and the ceremonial law. He specifically talks here about Abraham. And Abraham of course, God gave the covenant of circumcision to Abraham. Circumcision with the death of Christ is passed away. It’s among the laws which were nailed to the cross. And the law now in the new covenant is the law of the 10 commandments which is sometimes called the moral law but it’s no longer on the outside written on stone but it’s written on the heart. And so, we never, nobody has ever been saved by keeping the law. Not even in the Old Testament are we saved by keeping the law. Everybody is saved by grace.
So Paul here is appealing to, in Galatians, Paul is specifically talking to Jewish believers in Jesus who were then going to the Gentile believers and saying, well if you want to be saved you need to be circumcised and you need to observe all of the Mosaic laws and Paul was saying the ceremonial laws were nailed to the cross, the laws regarding Passover and the Jewish holidays, and sacrificing of lambs, you don’t need to do that anymore. Jesus is our sacrifice. See Abraham, he practiced sacrificing of lambs and circumcision … that’s all fulfilled in Christ. Now, Jesus is our Lamb, it’s circumcision of the heart. So Paul was saying that if you were going to go to the old legal letter of the law, you’re just gonna be under bondage. We’ve been set free now by the reality, we don’t need the shadows of that old law anymore, it’s the reality of the Spirit of the law that we keep. Did that help a little bit?
George: Yeah, yeah that helps me a lot. Thank you so much.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Hey George, before you go, we have a study guide, that deals a lot on how do New Testament Christians relate to the law. How do they apply the law? It’s called Written in Stone. Written in Stone, if you’d like a free copy of that study guide, just call the resource number, that’s 800-835-6747 and we will be delighted to send that to you. Let me just check with our Engineer here. We got 1 minute left, ugh I hate to start a question with 1 minute. Don’t go away friends, I see some have called in, we still have a couple of lines open if you’d like to call in with your Bible question, we invite you to simply call 800-GOD-SAYS, that’s 800-463-7297 and the resource number if you are requesting any of the additional resources that we’ve mentioned tonight or the free offer that we mentioned on the top of the broadcast, its called The Ultimate Resource. Call this number, 800-835-6747, and we’ll be happy to send you a copy of The Ultimate Resource.
You can even read this book and most of the resources we talked about absolutely free on the internet. You can tell friends of the program it’s not about trying to beg for money, we’re trying to disseminate and distribute the truth. If you go to the website, it’s simply amazingfacts.org, that’s amazingfacts.org. And also, we have another website where you can enroll in a series of Bible studies. And just go through the Bible, the fundamental pillars of Christian faith, by going to Bibleuniverse.com. At Bibleuniverse.com you’ll get some in depth studies on prophecy. We’ll be right back with more Bible questions.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Welcome back friends, that’s me, Pastor Doug Batchelor. If you have a Bible question you can call the phone number, that’s 800-GOD-SAYS. We want to get back to our phones as soon as possible. Pastor Ross is on vacation tonight, and so with the help of our team here in the studio, I’m doing my best to man the phones and answer your questions. We’re going to talk next to Karen who is calling from Aurora, Nebraska listening on KIEZ. Welcome, Karen, your question?
Karen: I was wondering, did you hear about the jellyfish taking over the sea at Japan?
Pastor Doug Batchelor: You know, I faintly remember, I’ve got a fleeting memory of hearing something in the news about an infestation of jellyfishes is that what you’re talking about?
Karen: Yeah, and it was on a very popular cable station and I’ve been kind of wondering about it. We’re studying the last day events by Ellen White, and I was wondering, you know, does this have any, do you think it’s connected? Because they said that they can’t even fish in Japan because it’s all jelly fish. And they predicted it. The scientists predicted it that they’re taking over the ocean.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Well there’s no question, but I’ve seen a number of phenomenon in nature, they’re very frightening. Not only what you just described with the jellyfish proliferating but I was just talking with someone here in the studio about a number of honeybees. I forgot what the percentage is but a frightening number of honey bees, what was it, colony collapse disorder, around North America, like 1 out of 5 things you eat has been pollinated by a bee, and if the bees all start dying off, it can dramatically affect the food sources. So Jesus said except those days be shortened, no flesh will be saved, Karen. And I do think that there are a number of signs that we are going to see in nature, I was reading the National Geographic, one of the few secular periodicals I read, and while I don’t agree with their evolutionary timeline, I love the photography and the international perspective you get.
But they’re talking about how there has been a noticeable increase in wild weather in the last 10 years. Of course they attribute that to global warming but I think some of it has to do with the imminence of Jesus’ coming. So yeah, this jellyfish plague is one of many signs but I wouldn’t say that that’s the end of the world because there have been plagues of locusts that go all the way back to Egypt. There are plagues of frogs, I was driving across Nevada a couple of years ago and you couldn’t take a step without stepping on a grasshopper. I guess they’re called locusts. So these things happen periodically but an increase of these natural calamities … that is the sign I think of the nearness of Christ’s coming.
Karen: Thank you.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Alright, thank you very much Karen. Let’s see, talking next to Lucy calling from Bronx, New York. Welcome to the program, Lucy.
Lucy: Thank you, thank you. Good evening. I have a question in Isaiah 49:25-26.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Okay.
Lucy: First of all, is this a promise? And if it is, is it for us today?
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Yeah, I’m first going there as quick as I can. Isaiah 45:25 you said?
Lucy: 49.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Oh Isaiah 49.
Lucy: Verses 25 and 26.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: But thus says the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of terrible shall be delivered; For I will contend with him who contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children”. You know I do think that this is a promise in here that we can claim. That the Lord is going to intervene for the salvation of our children as we intercede with Him. Now this is not a blanket promise that God is making that all you got to do is join a church and He’ll automatically save your children because we’ve seen so much evidence that you know that’s not the way it works. But there are promises in the Bible. A matter of fact, there’s a promise given to women who are pregnant. That if they continue in holiness God will deliver them in child bearing. So as we seek the Lord and commit ourselves to the Lord and commit our way to the Lord, and we pray, you know the Lord talks about answering our prayer.
So praying for our children, praying them over to the Lord, surrendering to the Lord, this was made to the nation of Israel. As a nation, that if they returned to God with all of their heart and their soul, He will save their children. It’s also I think made to individuals that if we turn to the Lord with all our heart and soul, intercede for our children, He will save them. It might not happen the same day we pray, sometimes its years of praying. I think David prayed for Solomon, well we know he did because it’s recorded in the Bible. But Solomon drifted away for a few years and came back didn’t he. So you know, sometimes it’s like Solomon said train up a child in a way he should go and he will not depart from it. And they’ll return to their earlier training.
Karen: Right, well thank you so much.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Well thank you, God bless and good question. Talking next with, alright I’m gonna go ahead on line 5 and talk to Ben, I don’t think I’ve seen that question before. Ben, you’re listening in from WNEZ you’re on the air.
Ben: Hey, thanks Doug for taking my call.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Yeah, and your question.
Ben: Well, recently, we have a newer pastor who’s just finishing up seminary and doing a lot more speaking and we’ve actually kind of started a bit more of a debate today about you mentioned this thing about the disciples were probably late teens and they were probably raised during His ministry years. And the debate started on that, no they’re probably a little bit older than that, maybe late twenties or late thirties. Number one is that, is that even important? Is the ramification completely one way or another? And where can I search to get some better understanding of that?
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Well there is no, I don’t think there is any real moral value in determining how old they were. I sure wouldn’t wanna get the church in that and get into a long debate of what were the ages of the apostles or disciples. But there is evidence where we can get approximate ranges. Now here’s what’s typically believed by the scholars, the fact that it tell us that Peter and Andrew and James and John, that their dad was still alive and working with them, knowing what the lifespan was of people then, they were probably young men. When I say young men, John they believed was youngest among the apostles and the reason for that is he wrote Revelation right around 90 AD. When he would’ve been, you just wind the tape backwards there and based on history, he must’ve been in his late teens when he began following Jesus.
Of course, they walk with Jesus for 3 ½ years, they age just in time. But they wouldn’t have left home if they were too young because that would’ve been looked down upon by parents and people, that Jesus was trying to manipulate the young people before they even left their homes. It would’ve been disrespectful to their parents. So they must have been old enough to strike out on their own and become itinerate preachers. It’s believed typically that they ranged in age from 17 to who knows, one of them might have even been 40. It doesn’t say. But I think that the Lord, once the concrete is set it’s hard to learn something new and I think that He chose young men that would have open minds and hearts. But I don’t think they were so young that people would not respect them when He sent them out preaching. So they must have had enough age that listeners would still respect them as they went from town to town.
Ben: Right.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: So my guess is, 20 to 30. Anywhere from, like I said John is the youngest to twenties and thirties.
Ben: Yeah, the reason why I asked that, we were very involved with our youth and there’s some growing debate on how much are they, our youth are, maybe more immature in this generation and maybe they’re asked to push too quickly instead of really learning and growing or [???].
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Well you know, I think that the youth in this generation, in some ways they are much more mature than any other time in history with certain aspects of knowledge and exposure to things that kids just should not know. Just for example, the things that I saw as kid on TV growing up, it’s still left me pretty innocent and naïve compared to what kids are seeing now. So in that way, they are more mature. When it comes to the work ethic and responsibility, the average generation is much more immature because so much is more provided.
You know, there’s two ways you can look at that. And in the third thought is that Jesus, He began preaching at 30. In order for the disciples to respect Him, He may have been a little older them so that would be probably one of the other factors if we look into the age of Christ. That’s why scholars have picked that ball park for the age range. Alright, let’s see, we’re gonna talk to Andre listening on line 6. Takes me a minute here to both be the host and look at the phone lines. Andre you’re on the air listening on WNUZ from Michigan and your question tonight?
Andre: You’ve probably heard this many times but it’s about predestination.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Okay.
Andre: In Genesis it says, God says Jacob I love and Esau I hated.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: In where?
Andre: In Genesis.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: No, Genesis doesn’t say Jacob I love and Esau I hated. Now Jacob and Esau appear in Genesis but I think you must be talking about in Romans where Paul says that
Andre: Oh okay, yes, you’re right! Probably source of the Old Testament.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: And your question?
Andre: Somewhere in the Old Testament it says that before Jacob and Esau were born, that’s Jacob I love, and Esau I hated. And then in Revelation it says that He would be standing at the door of your heart knocking, and whoever answers the door, He will come in. I’m impressed that anyone has a chance but the verse from the Old Testament, implies that Esau didn’t have a chance.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Alright, actually, you’re correct about the verse Romans 9:13, as it is written, Jacob I loved but Esau I have hated.
Andre: Right.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: It’s not Genesis. Paul is quoting from Malachi 1:2. Jacob does not represent the person, Jacob represents a nation. And He says and now I’m reading to you, I have loved you says the Lord yet you say where have you loved us was not Esau, Jacob’s brother. Yet the Lord said I loved Jacob and I hated Esau and I laid his mountains and his heritage – meaning his people waste for the dragons meaning the lizards in the wilderness. Jacob was a name that was used for all the people of Israel. Esau was a name that used for all the people of the Edomites.
The Lord loved Jacob because they decided to follow the Lord. He hated Esau because Esau turned his back on the covenant that God made to Abraham. So it wasn’t that He hated or loved them before they were born, He was angry with their posterity for the decisions they made.
Andre: Before they made them or after they made them?
Pastor Doug Batchelor: After they made them. That’s why I’m saying it’s not Jacob and Esau. Jacob represents people and this is what it says in Malachi 1:2, he’s talking about the nations.
A matter of fact, verse 4, whereas Edom says we’re in poverty – the Edomites are descendants of Esau. So when Paul is quoting Malachi, he’s talking about God saying I loved Jacob and I hated Esau, because Jacob accepted the covenant he loved the birthright, Esau and his descendants rejected it.
Andre: Okay, that makes sense.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Alright?
Andre: Thank you very much.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: By the way, we do have a book if you call. Amazing Facts has a book that deals with the subject of predestination; we’ll send you a free copy of that Andre if you like. Thank you for your question. And we’re gonna talk next to Kevin, who’s calling from WMUZ also. We’re getting a lot of calls from Michigan. Welcome to the program, Kevin.
Kevin: How you doing, it’s good to be heard. I kind of got a serious question on my mind for a long time now. I’ve heard from a lot of different people you know, how to be baptized, and anytime they talk about it they go to Matthew 28:19. And they use that and say when you get baptized, you need to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost like Jesus said. But then I read in the book of Acts, you know, all you hear about is Jesus name baptism. And I’m kind of confused, I want to hear what you would have to say about that or if, do you even need to be baptized at all?
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Well absolutely you need to be baptized for the great commission of Jesus, He said go therefore and make disciples baptizing them. Not only Matthew 28 but Mark 16 says whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. And Peter said repent and be baptized. So there’s no question, that baptism is like getting married to the Lord and a public confession and a cleansing, it represents the ceremony by which we publicly accept Christ.
Kevin: I believe the exact same thing.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Alright well, the other second question is, in what name, when the service of baptism is administered, what name should be used? Well certainly there’s nothing wrong with using the words of Christ in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But then if you get to Acts chapter 2, now I’m gonna give you several verses here. Acts 2:38, Acts 8:16, Acts 10:48, it uses different wording.
Kevin: Acts 19 it also says in Jesus’ name too.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Right, but let me tell you why I picked the 3 I picked. If you look at Acts 2:38, it says I baptize you in the name of Jesus Christ. Then you go to Acts 8:16 and it says I baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then you go to Acts 10:48 it says baptized in the name of the Lord. Now, the one thing you notice right away is that they’re saying it a little differently but they’re saying baptized in the name of Jesus.
Kevin: And yeah, they’re all pointing to the same person.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: The reason that the apostles are emphasizing Jesus’ name, in the book of Acts, because virtually all the people they started baptizing to begin with were Jews who had then accepted Jesus. Jews believed in baptism before Jesus even came along. That’s why John the Baptist baptized, they knew what baptism was. Baptism goes all the way back to you know, before Christ was born.
Kevin: Okay, so now I’m hearing something kind of funny because it wouldn’t make sense because of the Holy Trinity and something like that, if Jesus wasn’t setting the tone in baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, it says name singular, you know, He doesn’t say, now every time I’ll just be, every time I heard other people baptize, they baptize in the name of the Father, and in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Yeah.
Kevin: That in the name of, and they say in the name of 3 times. As with Matthew 28:19, is referring to one name, and I looked up the Greek for that, and it says, Enoma or a-noma.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: But yeah, that’s true. That means their surname.
Kevin: Surname. A surname would be, and it seems to me, like you know, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, you know, that those are different titles you know, for the same name. And that’s why the disciples baptized in Jesus.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: So do you think Jesus, do you think that the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are all one Jesus?
Kevin: Well, I think that in Jesus is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Correct, but now at the baptism of Jesus, when God the Father speaks from heaven and Jesus is in the water, and then the Holy Spirit descends like a dove, how many entities do you have there?
Kevin: Well, we have a voice, we have a dove, and we have Jesus in the water.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Was Jesus being a ventriloquist or was the Father separate?
Kevin: Well if you read the 3rd chapter of John in the 13th verse it says no man had descended to heaven but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man, speaking of Himself; which is in heaven. So He said there that this person was talking to you right, I’m still in heaven.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: When you read in Mark chapter 9, that Jesus climbs up the mount of transfiguration, with Peter, James, and John, and God the Father speaks to Him and says this is My Beloved Son, hear Him, you clearly have at least 2 separate entities there.
Kevin: Well, what we have is the voice and we have flesh.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Well it seems to me, I just, Kevin, it seems to me your question is not really about baptizing in what name, it really sounds like your question is are God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit three separate individuals. And this is such a big study we frequently get questions on this. The Trinity has been a study in the Christian church for about 1900 years now. We have a book we’ll send you for free. I’d like you to read that, please call me and tell me what you think because it addresses some of the very verses you’re asking about., and it’s simply called, The Trinity, is it Biblical?
And call the toll free number, 800-835-6747. But we need to make room for other callers so I hope you understand. Kelly, calling from Highland, Michigan, again WMUZ, they’re getting a good signal there in Michigan tonight. Welcome to the program, Kelly.
Kelly: Hello.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: And your question.
Kelly: I’ve heard that taught before this … when Jesus was to die on the cross that His Spirit went to hell. I guess I want you to explain it to me to better explain it to me, because I’ve never heard in all my time in church before when I was younger, I never heard that and then recently I’ve heard many people, many protestant people actually say that and I just don’t understand it I guess.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: No, Jesus did not go wandering off anywhere. He died in the cross; He rested until the resurrection Sunday morning. Let me tell you the verse that people use to come to that conclusion. It is one verse that is misapplied. And I’ll tell what it does mean and what it doesn’t mean. It’s 1 Peter 3 and you got to start with verse 18 really to get the context here. Peter’s talking about the Holy Spirit and people accepting Christ. For Christ has also once suffered for the sins the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. By which, now he’s talking about the Spirit that quickens Jesus, by which He went and preached, unto Spirits in prison which were sometimes disobedient when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah.
Let me modernize what is archaic English here. Through the same Spirit, Jesus preached to those people who were in prison, meaning prisoned by sin back in the days of Noah. Now, to get a reference about what Peter is talking about, Peter is talking about the Bible. You don’t need to guess what he means. It’s in Genesis 6:3. God said, back in the days of Noah, My Spirit will not always strive with man. Jesus said the Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance what I said. Jesus said the Spirit, teaches the truth – He brings conviction. That was the Spirit of Christ preaching through Noah back in the days of the flood to those who were imprisoned by the devil. So He’s not talking about Jesus going around like some disembodied zombie after He died on the cross giving people a second chance who were lost because that contradicts everything else that the Bible teaches that once you die, after that, the judgment. This life is the time to make a decision for eternity. We don’t get to have Jesus or somebody come preach to us again after we’re dead to give us a second chance. If we don’t believe the preaching while we’re alive, there’s no preaching later that’s gonna change our hearts.
That’s a very dangerous idea. So this is the verse that people misapply, it’s just ignorance regarding the Scripture that makes them have that conclusion. I hope that helps a little bit, Kelly. You know we have a study guide that we’ll send you on this and it deals with this issue and it’s called Are the Dead Really Dead? We’ll be happy to send it to you. Are the Dead Really Dead? And I think we’ve even got another study guide called Spirits of the Dead, Spirits of the Dead. So you can read those both online or you can call the resource number 800-835-6747 and we’ll send you a copy of that. Oh we’re going to talk to Conrad who’s listening from New York calling from WMCA. Welcome, Conrad to the program!
Conrad: Yes, thank you. My question is on, I know someone about, I don’t know where it is in the Bible that I read but it came out of the remnant, I just wanna know has that happened or about to happen and that there will be a falling away. Has that happened or about to happen?
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Alright, that’s a good question Conrad. For our friends who are listening, all through history, God has saved a remnant or a remainder of the faithful because often, the people fail. In the days of Noah, you now God forgave the sons of Adam. But the people then began to intermarry, they lost their faith. Most of the world was destroyed. Even the descendants of Seth who had been godly were destroyed. But God saved a remnant, Noah’s family. But then they built the Tower of Babel and they started to get mixed up in that worship.
God saved a remnant from the people that had been saved from the flood that was Abraham’s family. But then Abraham, you know he married people he shouldn’t marry, had extra children, then God saved a remnant from Abraham namely Jacob and his descendants. Then you can just go through the history of Israel. They were punished because of their unfaithfulness ten tribes were carried away captive. Judah was carried to Babylon; God saved a remnant out of Babylon and brought them back to the promise land.
So all through history God has taken a pinch of yeast of the dough, a pinch of dough, and been able to use that to build up a whole new revival movement. In the last days that you read in Revelation 12:17, it says the dragon was wroth with the woman, and he goes to make war with the remnant of her seed. There’s a remainder of the remainder. The dragon is angry because why? They keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. And you would appreciate the study guide Conrad that we have named Clothed with Light. No, no, I’m sorry, The Bride of Christ. The Bride of Christ. And it talks about the remnant of the remnant. Would you like a free copy of that?
Conrad: Oh sure.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Alright, call this number, 800-835-4647. And say you’re listening to Bible Answers live and you’d like the study guide we offered called the Bride of Christ. Okay, we’re gonna talk to Christero. How much time do we got left? Oh 1 minute. We’re gonna make this real quick. Line number 9, Christero you’re on the air from Bakersville, California. Christero your question!
Christero: Hi Pastor Doug, how are you?
Pastor Doug Batchelor: We got about a minute.
Christero: I was listening to the program and this gentleman was talking about the end of the church age and he was saying that we’re not supposed to be going to church anymore because Satan is residing there.
Pastor Doug Batchelor: Well I’m not sure if that question is sincere but it’s absolutely categorically wrong. The Bible tells us that we are baptized in the body of Christ that is in chapter 2 and it’s the body of Christ and that the idea of that we’re not supposed to be part of the fold or the family of Christ in the last days is a doctrine of devils.
Jesus said there are other sheep not of this fold but they are going to hear My voice there will be one fold and one Shepherd when Jesus comes, the church is His fold. So the alternative to being part of an organized church is being part of a disorganized one. So Christero I hope that clarifies it there a little bit. You’d also enjoy the study called the The Bride of Christ, talks about the church. And listening friends, if we didn’t get your question, you all called in at the same time give us another chance, God willing next week.
And remember in closing, we are a totally faith based ministry; we are on the air because someone in your community is helping us stay on the air. We wish that you would be one of our friends to keep us going. Just go to our website and under contact us, you can send a little donation tell us hi and let us know what you think.
Till next time! Remember, Jesus is the truth that will set you free.
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