Hello friends, this is Doug Batchelor, how about an amazing fact? Throughout history sailors have told many remarkable stories of dolphins helping humans. One outstanding example is a dolphin New Zealand sailors’ called Pelorus Jack. For twenty-four years between 1888 and 1912, this selfless animal volunteered to guide ships through the French Pass, a dangerous channel through the Admiralty Bay of New Zealand. This treacherous channel full of rocks and extremely strong currents had been the site of hundreds of shipwrecks before the intervention of this dedicated dolphin. Pelorus Jack was very unique, he was a Risso dolphin, a species not commonly seen in New Zealand or anywhere near land for that matter. Yet his work was so reliable that all ships reaching the entrance would wait and watch for him to appear and guide them safely through the channel. He stayed with the ship as long as twenty minutes, the time it took to cross the bay, playfully swimming by the boats and surfing in their bow waves.
There’s no telling how many human lives Pelorus saved. Even well-known figures like Mark Twain saw and wrote of him. Then one day, a drunken passenger on a ship called the Penguin drew a gun and shot at Pelorus. When the furious crew saw the dolphin swimming away with blood pouring from its body, they came close to killing the witless man. After the shooting, Pelorus disappeared and ships had to negotiate through the deadly channel without his help. But fortunately a few weeks later the dolphin returned, apparently recovered from his wound and resumed his work guiding ships through the channel, every ship. That except the Penguin, which he stayed clear off. After this, people demanded that Pelorus Jack be protected by law. So on September 26, 1904, a government order declared the helpful dolphin a protected animal until he vanished eight years later. It’s believed this is the first sea creature in history protected by a country. Ironically the ship called the Penguin was later wrecked as it sailed through the French Pass unguided and large number of passengers and crew were drowned.
Friends, you know the Bible teaches us that we all need a guide to get us safely through life. Stay with us and we’re going to learn more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of “Bible Answers Live.”
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Pastor Doug: Welcome listening friends, we are back for a fresh installment of Bible Answers Live. And we are so thankful that you have tuned in. If you have any Bible questions, we have our lines open. Right now pick up your phone, call that toll free number and that number is 800-GOD-SAYS or you can do it this way: 800-463-7297. If you call now there’s a very good chance your question will be part of tonight’s broadcast and we’ll be using the Bible as our sourcebook. My name is Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Jëan Ross: My name is Jëan Ross. Good evening listening friends and welcome again to this program. Before we start, Pastor Doug, let’s have a word of prayer. Dear Father we recognized that the Bible is your book, and in order for us to correctly understand it we need the Holy Spirit to be our guide. And so we ask this evening that the Spirit will be with us, be with those who are listening, those who call in. For this we ask in Jesus’ name, amen.
Pastor Doug: Amen.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You opened the program with a fact about a dolphin. Now this is just one occurrence but there are many stories of how dolphins have saved the lives of people. You’ve probably heard, Pastor Doug, of dolphins coming to the rescue of someone that was about to be attacked by a shark.
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Dolphins came and, you know, scared off the shark or whatever they did and brought the person to safety. Dolphins are beautiful animals. I had an opportunity to swim with some dolphins once in the Bahamas.
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: It’s an unforgettable experience. But here is a dolphin that guided hundreds of people. You said that there is something that guides the Christian.
Pastor Doug: Yes, in John chapter 16; verse 13, Jesus is speaking here and He says, “However when he, the Spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth: for you will not speak on his own authority; but whatever he hears, he will speak and he will tell you of things to come.” You know, it makes me think about the children of Israel when they went through the Red Sea. God appeared to them in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, and that pillar, that smoke, it guided them. And that’s a symbol for the Spirit that guides us. Whenever the pillar of cloud directed the tribes of Israel, north or south, they followed where it went. And God’s Spirit, I mean, we don’t know what’s happening one minute from now, there’s a lot of treacherous rocks out there in life.
And, you know, we of course can follow the rules of God’s word but there are things below the surface we can’t see. But if we trust the Lord, His Spirit will guide us in those unseen areas. And even as you said that when you are praying, when we read the word, we should not even really open the Bible without asking for the Holy Spirit to give us guidance with what we read and give us understanding. Every program of Bible Answers Live, we kneel together here in the studio and we pray the Holy Spirit will take charge and God will take charge of this program and guide us, we don’t have all the answers but we know they’re in the Bible. And He’ll do that for each person listening friends, we have a special offer that we’ll send to you. Learn more about that guide and that friend in the Holy Spirit.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The book that we have this evening is called “Life in the Spirit.” We’ll be happy to send that to you. Call our resource number, it’s 1-800-835-6747 and ask the operator for “Life in the Spirit.” Well, Pastor Doug, we’re going to go to the phone lines this evening and our first caller is David listening in KDIA from Richmond, California. David, you’re on the air.
David: Hi Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Hi, how are you doing?
David: How are you guys doing?
Pastor Doug: Pretty good.
David: I want to ask you, what do we do when we get to heaven?
Pastor Doug: What do we do when we get to heaven? Well, there’s a lot of things going on in heaven. The Bible says that we will build houses and inhabit them; we will plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. If you want to understand heaven, you can really look back in the Garden of Eden. You see, God had an original plan when He made this world and sin and Satan frustrated or you might say detoured God’s original plan. But after the sin is dealt with and all the redeemed are brought to this new heaven and new earth, God is going to fulfill His original plan. His plan was for man to live in this paradise, to work in the garden and to just have, you know, these beautiful relationships with each other, with God, with the angels, with the animals. And I believe we’re even going to be able to leave the planet. See, right now this world is polluted by sin and I think we’ll be able to, like it says in that song “Rock of Ages,” there’s a verse that says, when we soar to worlds unknown, we won’t be quarantined because the world will no longer have the disease of sin, we’ll be able to go I believe through limitless space and visit unfallen places that God has made.
David: So you mean like different planet?
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
David: Oh, okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know, there’s a verse, Pastor Doug, that alludes to something like that. It speaks to God’s people, a group called the 144,000 in Revelations and it says, “They’d follow the lamb--that’s Jesus--wherever he goes.” So if Jesus travels to some distant galaxy, you’d expect these people to go with Him.
Pastor Doug: Yup, He can take His friends and representatives with Him. But there’s a lot in the Bible that talks about that not only we’ll be planting and building these beautiful country homes and talks about children, talks about the animals playing together harmlessly. There’s not going to be any death or destruction and it’s just going to be a paradise.
David: Oh.
Pastor Doug: Of course, Paul says, “The eye has not seen, the ear has not heard neither has entered into the mind of man, the heart of man, what God has prepared for those that love him. So it’s going to be better than anything you and I could ever imagine.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, we’ve got a study guide dealing with the subject of heaven and, David, I think you’d really enjoy it. It’s called the “Colossal City in Space.” And all you need to do is call our resource line 1-800-835-6747 and ask for the study guide, “A Colossal City in Space.” It talks about heaven, it talks about the new earth, it talks about what we’ll be doing.
Pastor Doug: We’ll have real body. Some people think we’re spirits up there.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sitting on a cloud?
Pastor Doug: Yup, playing harps and you can read in Philippians 3:21 that it says, “Who will change our vile body that it might be fashioned likened to his glorious body.” When Jesus rose from the dead, He had a real body. He ate in front the disciples, He said, “Touch me and see that I am real.” And so we’re going to have real bodies, doing real things. I appreciate your question, David, and please do ask that study guide talking about the city from space.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, next caller is Chris from Capitola, California. Chris, you’re on the air.
Chris: Hi.
Pastor Doug: Evening. How can we help you?
Chris: I was wondering how appropriate miracles biblically empower the Holy Spirit of [inaudible 10:38] Holy Spirit like healings and miracles biblically.
Pastor Doug: How do you appropriate them? In other words, well, not everybody...
Chris: Asking or wanting something and I know you got to wait sometimes.
Pastor Doug: Right. If you are praying for a specific miracle, you know, of course that’s God’s will. God often does perform miracles. Matter of fact, there is a verse, Pastor Ross, I believe it’s in 1st Corinthians 12 where it talks about the gifts of the Spirit. One of those lists of the gifts of the Spirit lists miracles as a gift and that would imply that not everybody has the same gifts. Some people have incredible faith and it seems like more miraculous occurrences follow them around. So, you know, God often intervenes through miracles and miracles seem to come in waves through biblical history.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That verse that you referred to is 1st Corinthians chapter 12; verse 9 and 10 where it says, “To another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another the prophesying of someone.”
Pastor Doug: So there you have it, Chris. These are some of the gifts of the Spirit. And I believe that God still uses these gifts and gives them to people but I was saying they do come in waves. I think about the story where the Lord appeared to Gideon in the Book of Judges, and Gideon asks the Lord, “Where are his miracles that we had heard about in former times.” And so you can see, here is a period in the history of God’s people where they hadn’t seen any miracles for many years. They wondered if all the age of miracles was over but of course, we laughed looking back at that because there were so many more waves of miracles that came after Gideon. I think before the Lord comes, we’re going to see more evidence of God’s power again, Chris.
Chris: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: Hey, I appreciate your question.
Chris: Yeah, I’m going to see you in July at the campground. I’m going to pray for me, for my stomach and all that.
Pastor Doug: You’re going to be up there in Redwood?
Chris: Yeah, I’ll see you and I hope you can pray for me, my stomach and nerves. Thanks.
Pastor Doug: I’ll be happy to do that, Chris. I look forward to seeing you there.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, next caller is Sharon, listening on KARM from California. Sharon, you’re on Bible Answers Live.
Sharon: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: Hi, Sharon. Welcome. Do you have a question?
Sharon: Yeah, I was wondering about the name “Jesus Christ.” I know that the angel told it, Jesus told Mary to name Him Jesus. But where does the surname come in?
Pastor Doug: The surname meaning like the name...
Sharon: Is “Christ” His surname or is that...
Pastor Doug: No, Christ is really a descriptive title. The word “Christ,” “Christos” is the Greek word for anointed. All through the Old Testament, the Jewish people were looking for the anointed to come. And, you know, you could anoint somebody with oil, some people were anointed with water, Mary anointed Jesus with the ointment. So when Christ was baptized, the Holy Spirit came down on Him like a dove, and he was known as the anointed they had been waiting for. Now in Hebrew, it’s the word for “Messiah,” so when you say Jesus Christ, you are really saying Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Messiah. Sometimes, He was called Jesus of Nazareth. Many countries, the reason we get last names that originated, that you’d name a person’s first name and that would then be followed by their family name or the trade or the town. Like you probably met people who have the last name Baker, well it means that someone in their ancestry, they were probably bakers. And you probably met people named Smith, someone in their ancestry were blacksmiths. And so forth, Millers, and so forth. Or it might be that their last name was a town. And like Jesus of Nazareth, they would say the first name where they’re from. But when we say Jesus Christ, it’s really a title, His office, Jesus the Messiah is what we are saying.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, in Matthew chapter 16, Jesus asked the disciples what people thought of Him. He said, “Who do people said that I am?” And the disciples answered and said, “Well, some said that you are Elijah or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus said, “Who do you think I am,” speaking directly to the disciples. And Peter said, “You are the Christ, the son of the Living God.” That’s very significant. Peter recognized Jesus to be the anointed, to be the Messiah, the gift from God. The other Jews acknowledged Jesus as a very good teacher, a prophet but they didn’t acknowledge Him as the Christ.
Pastor Doug: That’s right.
Sharon: Okay. That’s the question.
Pastor Doug: Appreciate that. Yeah. And we have an article or matter of fact we are turning this into a booklet and it’s called “The Name of God.” And if you go to the Amazing Facts website, that’s simply called amazingfacts.org is the name of the website, and there’s a place there where you can click on free stuff and it’s got a lot of free Bible studies and our online library. You click on the Online Library, matter of fact I’m there right now as we’re sitting here and you can go to Magazine Articles, there’s an article called “The Name of God.” It gives you a lot more information on the history of Jesus’ name. Appreciate your question, Sharon. And that frees up another line, Pastor Ross. We got quite a few lines open. If you have a question tonight friends, you’ll get a good chance of getting on tonight’s program pretty soon. Call 800-463-7297. We’ll be delighted to explore the word of God with you and answer your Bible questions.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, Maryann is listening on VOAR from Quebec. Maryann, welcome to the program.
Maryann: Thank you.
Pastor Doug: And your question?
Maryann: Yes, my question was about you’re talking about the Exploratory Bible a while ago, King James Version. And I was wondering because I sent for one last fall, a King James Exploratory Bible from a different ministry, I don’t know if I’m allowed to say the name of the ministry...
Pastor Doug: But what’s the question? Are you wondering where you’d get this?
Maryann: Is the Bible I got is really authentic? If it’s really a good Bible--
Pastor Doug: Okay, I see what you’re saying.
Maryann: …if it’s the King James’ version…
Pastor Doug: Go ahead.
Maryann: …the name of the Bible is The Exploratory Study Bible.
Pastor Doug: You know, I don’t know that I’m acquainted with that. There are literally hundreds of different Bibles out there, Maryann. Now the King James’ version, of course, is a masterpiece of English Bibles. It’s, you know, my favorite, no question. But what publishers do then is they insert study notes and study helps and commentary along with the Bible. Some are good, some are great, some are not so good and I think you might be talking about the Explorer’s Bible. I’m not sure but, you know, usually ninety percent or more of those commentaries and studies are very helpful and very accurate. Sometimes individual pastors insert some thoughts, some personal thoughts that get out of track a little bit. But, you know, most of them are fairly safe.
Maryann: Well, I know it has helped me a lot. Before I had the old, old version, 1934 version.
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Maryann: And it was hard to understand a lot of Scriptures in it, especially in the Old Testament.
Pastor Doug: Right.
Maryann: And with the commentaries that’s written in verses in red...
Pastor Doug: It makes it a lot easier.
Maryann: …oh, it is. And it’s in the language that we speak today, it’s large print.
Pastor Doug: Well, that sounds like could be a good Bible. And, you know, one thing that you would really enjoy, Maryann, is if you call our resource number, the first Amazing Facts study guide deals with the Bible, how to study the Bible, how to understand the Bible and that would go along perfectly with what it sounds like you’re doing right now in just becoming better acquainted with the Bible. And it’s called “Is There Anything Left You Can Trust?” “Is There Anything Left You Can Trust?”
Pastor Jëan Ross: And the number is 1-800-835-6747, and again Maryann, ask for the study guide, “Is There Anything Left You Can Trust?” Now that’s the number for the resource line. If you’d like to get your call in this evening, we do have looks like three lines are still open, the number to call is 1-800-463-7297. Beth is calling from Mount Vernon, Ohio. Beth, welcome to the program.
Beth: Good evening.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Beth: Well, I can’t believe I got through but the basketball game is on there in L.A., so maybe that’s what’s happening. I don’t know.
Pastor Doug: That’s probably what it is.
Beth: But, Pastor Doug, I do appreciate getting a chance to talk with you again. You know, I love walking to cemeteries and yesterday afternoon, I found myself curious again of finding different names. And I saw on a stone the name Asenath and I recall, I said, “That’s a Bible name.”
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Beth: And I kept racking my brain I’m like, “Okay, okay, where is it, where is it?” Well, it was Joseph’s wife.
Pastor Doug: Right.
Beth: And I was curious, you know, because I’ve looked in several concordances in my Bible and other resources, and I was wondering if you happen to know the meaning of that name. I mean, the Bible 1st Genesis 41-45 is just we know she’s the daughter of Potiphera, the wife of Joseph, and I’m just curious if you know her meaning.
Pastor Doug: Well, I just looked it up and I found what it says here and her name-- now this is the wife of Joseph that was given to him by the pharaoh when he became prime minister and she was the daughter of the priest. And her name is Asenath, and it means “belonging to Neith,” which was an Egyptian goddess. Is that what you have there, Pastor Ross? We’re looking at two different resources here and Pastor Ross has kind of held up his finger “I think I’ve found it.” And I found it too. I just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page, so to speak.
Beth: Belonging to...
Pastor Doug: Belonging to Neith, it’s in other words, Asenath was her name, it means “belonging to Neith,” which was an Egyptian goddess. And most of the Egyptian names were related, especially of priesthood, it’s understandable that a priest would name his daughter with a religious name. Just like Christians, you know, we name our kids after Bible characters.
Beth: Yes. That was interesting because it’s a beautiful name.
Pastor Doug: It is. It’s a pretty name.
Beth: Well, thank you so much and have a wonderful evening.
Pastor Doug: Alright, and God bless you. Appreciate your call.
Beth: Thank you, Pastor Doug, bye-bye.
Pastor Doug: Bye.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Talking of Joseph, our next caller is Joseph, listening on WMCA from Staten Island, New York. Joseph, you’re on the air.
Joseph: Yes, hello, Pastor.
Pastor Doug: Evening. How can we help you, Joseph?
Joseph: Okay, I had a question of what is the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Is the “old wine” and the “new wine” that Jesus talks about? Is that that’s referring to the Old Testament and the New Testament?
Pastor Doug: Well, there’s a connection there. You know, Christ was using His teaching as an illustration that it’s hard sometimes for people to accept something new. You know, when people are settled in their ways, it’s hard for them to receive something new and so He went rather to the established religious institutions. He went to the poor people who are more open. But the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament, not only is the time in which they’re written, Old Testament covers the time period from creation up until the prophets just before Jesus, the New Testament covers the time of Christ and the first century of the Christian era. The Old Testament of course discusses the covenant that God made with the children of Israel and it was the Law of God written on stone. The New Testament is talking about the same covenant but it’s emphasizing that we’re saved because it’s written on the heart. Now the first place that you’ll find the teaching of the New Testament is in the Old Testament. In other words, in the Old Testament is where Jeremiah--I think Jeremiah 31…
Pastor Jëan Ross: 31:31.
Pastor Doug: Right. He says, “I will make a New Covenant or New Testament with the children of Israel, I’ll write the law in their heart.”
Joseph: Right, I know that Scripture.
Pastor Doug: So that is the New Covenant. Nobody is actually saved by the Old Covenant. We’re all saved by the covenant of God’s law written in our hearts.
Joseph: Right. Okay, so that’s the difference.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. And of course, you get the time period when you think about the actual books. The Old Covenant or the Old Testament is three-quarters of the Bible. The New Testament is about twenty-five percent as long and it’s dealing with the teachings of Jesus, the history of the early church in the Book of Acts, the Letters of the Apostles, and then the one prophetic book is Revelation.
Joseph: Now, aren’t we supposed to be following the New Testament with Jesus?
Pastor Doug: We’re supposed to follow the whole Bible. The only thing in the Old Testament that we don’t observed are the symbols that are replaced by Jesus. In other words, we don’t sacrifice lambs anymore, Jesus is our lamb. And when the Bible speaks about the rite of circumcision and those laws, well the New Covenant says it’s the heart, it’s circumcision of the heart that God wants. Matter of fact, Moses even said that.
Joseph: Yeah, well Moses gave them all laws on eating and dietary laws, but we don’t do that now.
Pastor Doug: Well, I think that the health laws are still applicable today because the benefits of those laws-- you know, a lot of the health laws had to do with sanitation and eating things that were unhealthy.
Joseph: Right. We’re not allowed to eat pork; they have a lot of diseases from eating pork and a lot of bacteria, right?
Pastor Doug: Yeah, exactly. And, you know, I practiced a lifestyle where I don’t eat pork. I used to eat a lot of it. And when I read what the Bible said, I gave it up. I feel a lot better. People have a hard time believing I’m a hundred and twenty. I didn’t say I was. Yeah, you’ll live a lot more. Hey, I appreciate your question, Joseph. You know we’ve got a study guide that specifically deals with the Bible’s secrets for a longer, stronger life. And we’ll be happy to send that to you, it’s called “God’s Health Plan.” Pastor Ross will give you the number.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747 and asks for the study guide “God’s Free Health Plan.” We’ll be happy to send that out to you. You know, Pastor Doug, this question made me think about one point in reference to the Old and New Covenant. You know in the Old Testament we have a leader and it’s Jacob. And he has twelve sons. They become the heads of the twelve tribes. There’s a famine in Palestine but Jacob goes down in to Egypt…
Pastor Doug: Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: …to preserve his life and eventually his bones get carried back. And you look at the New Testament and you have a similarity. Christ, when He was born went down into Egypt because they tried to kill Him and then He came up. And then Jesus had twelve disciples and they preached and sort of started the Christian church.
Pastor Doug: Started a new nation, a tribe of Christians.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right. So there’s a parallel between the Old and the New, as it relates to Israel.
Pastor Doug: That’s right. You know, I’m not sure if we’re going to have time before our break for another question, Pastor Ross, but we’re going to take more questions immediately following our bottom of the hour break. In the meantime, give me just a moment, friends, as they would say lend me your ears and I want to encourage you--you know, this program’s one-hour-a-week, some stations replay it, some take the recorded part of this program and play it--but all week long people can be listening to Amazing Facts on our new website, that’s called amazingfacts.tv. And the number of people that are log in on and just leaving it on through the day and listening to the cycle of different fresh material, they can have these Bible study programs, the sermons, evangelistic, prophetic programs, there’s a plethora of good Bible study materials on amazingfacts.tv.
And of course, if you can go to the Amazing Facts website, there we’ve got our library, many of the study guides and the resources that we’re talking about here you can also dig in to those a little deeper there. That’s simply amazingfacts.org. Now there’s another website we haven’t mentioned lately and it’s called Bible Universe. Bible Universe. If you type in Bible Universe, there’s a Bible study series you can go through right there on the website. And I tell you, friends, that start at the first lesson in that Bible study series you can go through, they have a phenomenal grasp of the overview of the Bible and just everything starts making so much more sense. And so that website is simply bibleuniverse.com, what am I forgetting, Pastor Ross?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Oh, there’s many more, dealing with specific subjects like Sabbath truth, and truth about hell.
Pastor Doug: That’s right. We get a lot of questions about the subject of the Sabbath. And matter of fact, this is probably one of the most popular website, simply sabbaththruth.com. Well, take a look at that. We’ll be back after these announcements.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Pastor Doug: We are back, friends, and if you have joined us along the way and wondered what is it listening to, this is called Bible Answers Live. It’s a live international, interactive Bible study and you can participate. Call the toll free number, ask your Bible question, by the grace of God we’ll search the Bible resources we have in front us. I think between Pastor Ross and I am guessing we have twenty-five different translations of the Bible, that’s just English. And so we have a lot of Bible resources at our fingertips and we’ll search for the answers together. That number again is 800-463-7297. Keep a pencil handy because we also give out some great Bible study websites as well as number where there are free resources you can request. What am I forgetting? Oh, we’re going to talk about the kids meeting coming up. Oh friends, this is great. Hey, listen, everybody coming out there, if you work with children in a vacation Bible school, in a Sunday school class, in any kind of Christian outreach for children, a Sabbath school program, you’re going to want to make a note of this.
There’s a special school program that’s going to be on TV all over the world and it’s called “Amazing Adventure,” this is being produced by Amazing Facts, Pastor Ross and I will be in the Dallas, Texas area. We’re going to be up linking on satellite ten meetings from September 12th to the 20th, talking to young hearts. It’s made for children from ages eight to twelve is the target group, new set of lessons, called “Amazing Adventure.” You bring them to these series of programs, each presentation is just one hour, a lot of fun, exciting illustrations. Kids will love it, and most of all, we’re going to invite them to accept Jesus. If you like more information, where do they go?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Go to the amazingfactskids.org and you can register your site, whether it’s a home, whether it’s a church, and you can also sample one of the kids’ study guides that we are working on. And we’re almost finish with that, Pastor Doug, myself and a whole host of others are working together putting these really exciting study guides. We were just talking about this beforehand, Pastor Doug, how did the study guides will be used not only with the series but we believe it’s going to be used for many years to come.
Pastor Doug: That’s right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: It’s going to bless and encourage kids as they search for truth.
Pastor Doug: And there’s going to be a-- oh we have it, I think it’s posted there, the animated opener, the trailer opening for the series.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The commercial, yeah.
Pastor Doug: It’s kind of exciting. Tell your kids to just watch that, they’re going to want to participate in the series.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Oh absolutely.
Pastor Doug: Plan now, September 12 through 20, “Amazing Adventure.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: James is listening on 103.5 from Ohio. James, welcome to the program.
James: Hello, I listen usually every Saturday night when I’m on guard duty down here in Toledo. I got a question about losing your salvation because I don’t know where it says in the Bible. I know it says you can’t be plucked from Christ’s hands.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, Jesus said, “No man will pluck you from my hand.”
James: Well, after you’ve been saved, because I’ve got saved when I was fifteen, how would you lose your salvation? You know, because I’ve done some bad things, I’m not the kind of being a drug addict but where does it say in the Bible that you can get unplucked from His hands?
Pastor Doug: Well, first of all, James, I can relate to you. I used to be a security guard and I’d listened to talk radio, so I know just how you’re feeling and where you are. But, you know, some people have misunderstood that verse. When a person surrenders himself to Jesus and they placed their life in Jesus’ hands, nobody can snatch you away. The devil cannot force you out of Christ’s hand. But that doesn’t mean you’ll lose your freedom of choice. Jesus will never let go of you but He doesn’t force us to stay with Him if we choose to walk away. There’s a lot of Scriptures in the Bible that explain that the Lord loves us and He will never betray us. But it’s like a marriage, we still have our freedom. And so the idea that once you are saved, you can’t choose to walk away from the Lord, would imply that you’ve lost your freedom, even if you wanted to be lost.
And God doesn’t force anyone to love Him because you can’t force love. So there are a lot of verses in the Bible that explain we can have assurance of salvation but there are conditions to salvation. And Jesus said, “Whosoever believeth in me”--now to believe biblically doesn’t just mean that you acknowledge that God is real, it means to be live in Him, believe means “to be live,” that’s where you get the word. And so it means the willingness to follow Christ. So there’s a lot of, I think, misguided dear people out there, they went to church and they said a prayer and then they go out and they live for the devil and they think that, “Well, I was saved and so it doesn’t matter how I live anymore.” I think that’s a very dangerous assumption.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, Jesus said in Matthew 24; verse 13, “But he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved.” And again Jesus said, “Many would say to me ‘Lord, Lord, haven’t we prophesied in your name and that many wonderful works?’” And Jesus says “I never knew you.” So profession in Christ is not enough, we want it to endure.
Pastor Doug: That’s right. And then you’ve got the examples where it tells us very clearly in Ezekiel 18:24-- you’re still with us, James?
James: Yeah, I’m still here just listening away.
Pastor Doug: Okay, listen to what the prophet says here. “But when the righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits inequity and does according to all the abominations that a wicked man does, shall he lived? All his righteousness that he has done shall not be mentioned: in his sin that he has sinned, and in his trespass that he has trespassed, and then he shall die.”
James: That’s Ezekiel 18:24, right?
Pastor Doug: Yes. So, you know, when a person turns their back on God and goes in sins with the world, God does not force them to stay with Him. Jesus will never let go of us, but we are still free to turn our backs and run from Him. So matter of fact, the reason the world is lost, the world at large, is because Adam and Eve ran from God. He never ran from us. Remember in the Garden of Eden after they sinned, they heard His voice and they ran. But the good news is, like the prodigal son, if we come back to the Lord, He’ll runs to meet us with open arms and we can abide in the Father’s house. But, you know, being a Christian, Jesus says in John 15, “We must abide in Him.” It’s not you don’t come to him once and then leave, you abide. Yeah, so that’s crucial.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, we got a book on that very subject, it’s entitled “Can a Saved Man Choose to Be Lost?”
Pastor Doug: Yes, good book.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And we’d be happy to send that to you, James. All you’ll have to do is call our resource line, it’s 1-800-835-6747 and ask for the fantastic book “Can a Saved Man Choose to Be Lost?”
James: That’s 835-47...
Pastor Jëan Ross: 835-6747.
James: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright.
Pastor Doug: Appreciate your call.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for calling, Sean. Our next caller is-- no our next caller is Sean listening on WMUZ from Pontiac…
Pastor Doug: Michigan.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Michigan, yeah. Welcome, Sean.
Sean: Yeah. Hello. By the way, Pastor Doug Batchelor, I have a lot of respect for your ministry. I’m taking the Bible course through the mail right now.
Pastor Doug: Oh, wonderful.
Sean: Yeah, I’m very, very honored to be in the program. Thank you. My question is you were discussing on the program earlier about the Kingdom of Heaven and how it’s going to be similar, you know, to the mandate put on Adam and Eve in the garden. And I understand that when Jesus was asked, they were trying to trick Him by asking Him the question about the woman who was married successively to seven brothers and who should be married to in the kingdom.
Pastor Doug: Right.
Sean: And He said, “They are neither married nor given in marriage.” And based on some of your discussions earlier-- and there’s a lot of questions that are not appropriate for radio broadcast but is it going to be like-- I mean forgive me I’m not being wide but is it going to be like a commune where all we’re wearing white robes, we’re living in like bunk beds? You know, I guess I find it disturbing, you know, because I’m wondering if there’s going to be a recognition between my wife and I of a special understanding, or is it just we’re all going to be brothers and sisters? I mean I’ve got some…
Pastor Doug: Okay, that’s a good question. I think I hear where you’re coming from. First of all, it’s something I actually addressed a little while ago, God’s original plan when He made men and He made women--and men and women are different not just the plumbing, our minds are different--men are not completely complete without women, you know, men are very task-oriented; women are very relationship-oriented. And the two become one flesh and sort of balance each other out. But I believe Jesus is saying there will be no new marriages in heaven. Adam and Eve do not get to heaven and get divorce papers from God. You see what I am saying?
Sean: Right.
Pastor Doug: So Christ was simply answering the question, you know, if this woman married seven different brothers, who is she married to in heaven, well, Christ says, “Ultimately she’s going to be married to God,” you know, they’re not going to be marrying for procreation in heaven. See God told Adam and Eve, “Go forth be fruitful and fill the earth.” One purpose of marriage of course is to procreate, have children. The new earth is going to be populated with the redeemed. And so, you know, there’s not going to be a pressing need for procreation but the relationships on earth are still going to be even richer in heaven. Now if you’ve got, you know, rare occurrences where you’ve got someone like King David who has multiple wives, I doubt that he’s going to be, you know, cohabiting with any of his harem in heaven. Matter of fact, David, his best friend in heaven is probably going to be Jonathan. They couldn’t spend any time together here on earth. So, you know, it’s going to be different obviously.
Sean: Pastor, can I interrupt you? Is it kind of like the spirit, the spirit of the relationship will be retained? Is that kind of what I hear you’re saying?
Pastor Doug: Yeah, absolutely. You’ve read in 1st Corinthians chapter 13, it’s speaking of heaven, it says, “Then we will know even as we are known,” we are going to have a deeper relationship and knowledge with one another and with God in heaven. But, you know, some people, especially young people when I talk at colleges and academies says, “Oh, you know, if Jesus comes before I get married I’ll be disappointed because I want to experience marriage, I want to experience that intimacy.” And it’s almost as though, they are thinking they’re going to have a “downgrade” when they get to heaven because they haven’t gotten married on earth. And when you really think about that, that’s absurd, people are going to be infinitely happier in heaven.
Sean: I guess what I’m hearing you say is that what’s really valuable will be retained and amplified, that which is no longer necessary will fade away?
Pastor Doug: That’s well put. Yeah.
Sean: Okay. I feel a little more secure now that you’ve explained that. You know, I was wondering if you could send me one of your booklets, the New Jerusalem.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, the “City from Space,” we’ll be happy to send that to you. Talking about heaven, will be our honor.
Pastor Jëan Ross: All you have to do is call our resource line, Sean. It’s 1-800-835-6747 and ask for the study guide entitled, “A Colossal City in Space,” just ask for the study guide that talks about heaven. And we’ll be happy to send that to you. May is listening on WMCA from Chestnut Ridge, New York. May, welcome to the program.
May: Good evening. I have a question about 1st John…
Pastor Doug: Yes.
May: …chapter 4:2.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
May: “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.”
Pastor Doug: Alright.
May: When I thought of Mark chapter 5, you know, this is talking about testing the Spirit, we cannot trust every spirit.
Pastor Doug: Right. By the way, 1st John 4:2 is not the only test.
May: Okay.
Pastor Doug: I’ve heard some people say that, you know, any ministry that acknowledges that Jesus Christ is coming to flesh must be true. Well, there’s, you know, a lot of false ministries and even some false prophets and cult leaders have had said that. And so John is not saying here that this is the only litmus test if they can utter that they think Jesus came into flesh, they’re automatically genuine, but it is one of them. So I’m sorry, go ahead now.
May: That is the question that’s been bothering me for a couple of weeks now. I thought of Mark chapter 5, when the Bible talked about the demon-possessed man…
Pastor Doug: Yes.
May: …He saw Jesus, he ran to Him and, you know, he shouted...
Pastor Doug: “We know who you are.”
May: Right.
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
May: Right, like, you know, Jesus son of the Most High God, what do you want with me? So that demon definitely recognized Him.
Pastor Doug: Has come into flesh.
May: Yeah. And so I was very...
Pastor Doug: Yeah, John’s statement there in 1st John 4, he is addressing a heresy that had begun come into the church that was saying that, you know, Jesus did not really come into flesh. And another heresy was that when He rose it was just an apparition, He didn’t really rise, it was a Spirit. And John says, you know, “If there’s anyone out there that’s saying that Jesus was not real, then they’re not from God.” And so one of the first tests for the authenticity of a ministry or a pastor, or someone who is proclaiming themselves to be a prophet was, they needed to at least recognize that Jesus was real, He came into flesh, the incarnation and that He rose as a real person. But that’s not the only test because obviously the devil can counterfeit that and many false churches have claimed that. Pardon me, Pastor Ross. There’s a lesson that we have that deals with-- which one were you going to…
Pastor Jëan Ross: I was going to suggest that. “Does God Inspire Psychics?”
Pastor Doug: That’s what I was going to suggest. Go ahead.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yeah. It’s a study guide that actually lists the tests of the prophets with verses that go along with it. You’ll find it very interesting. Call the resource line. It’s 1-800-835-6747 and asks for the study guide, “Does God Inspire Astrologists and Psychics?” Just ask for the one dealing with prophets and they’ll be happy to send that out to you.
May: Does God Inspire...
Pastor Jëan Ross: The full name is “Does God Inspire Astrologists and Psychics?” But just ask for the one dealing with prophets.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, it gives a biblical list, a very valuable biblical list of how to determine if someone is an authentic or counterfeit ministry or prophet. And that’s the same stuff you’re talking about right now.
May: Okay. Alright.
Pastor Doug: Alright, God bless, May. And thanks for your question.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Maurice is listening on WMCA from Somerset, New Jersey. Maurice, welcome to the program.
Maurice: It’s a pleasure and thank you. Are you fathers, both of you pastors?
Pastor Doug: Yes, I believe we both are (laughing).
Maurice: Well, you should know that. I believe it.
Pastor Doug: I’m a grandfather.
Maurice: Happy Fathers’ Day and Happy Grandfather’s Day. And thank you very much first and foremost for delivering the word, giving uncompromised word of God.
Pastor Doug: Praise the Lord.
Maurice: [Inaudible 46:45] I thank God before you, especially in California. This liberal country we live in now, there’s a heresy problem from the body of Christ. They have other churches that are allowing antichrist to be in the pulpit that once belong to Jesus. I think about it’s written over a lot of churches now. Men of God, stay strong in the Lord, continue to profess and proclaim and pronounce the good news and do not compromise for anyone.
Pastor Doug: I will, by God’s grace. Do you have a question?
Maurice: The question is: Do you love Jesus?
Pastor Doug: Alright. Thank you, Maurice. I appreciate it. It sounds more like a statement. I appreciate that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Of course, love needs to be the motivation of anything a Christian does.
Pastor Doug: Yup.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Without love, we cannot please God. Our next caller is Cindy, calling from Miami, Florida. Cindy, welcome to the program.
Cindy: Hello?
Pastor Doug: Hi, you’re on the air, Cindy.
Cindy: Hello, Pastor Doug Batchelor. I wanted to ask you something in regard to... hello?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Pastor Doug: Yes, we’re here.
Cindy: I’m sorry. I (Unintelligible) a sermon once preach at my church and the pastor says that when you are praying, the name of God like Jehovah or Jehovah-jireh, you are not supposed to repeat His name twice. He said in a sermon that you’re not supposed to repeat His name twice. He was going over the history of the name and basically through the Bible how the names came about for example how Jehovah-jireh came from Abraham and I think Hagar when he was out in the dessert. I wanted to ask you that. Is that true?
Pastor Doug: No, it’s not true. Sorry. I mean I don’t know exactly what the pastor said of the context but there are multiple examples in the Bible where the prophets and the kings of God will pray and in their prayer or in their petition, they would call the Lord’s name multiple times. I have heard some preachers just say the name of Lord again and again and again, it’s like, you know, a chant, that’s disrespectful. But I’m looking right now at Daniel chapter 9 and the name of the Lord in different variations appears-- well, I haven’t even count it but you, know, scores of times, through this one prayer. So did you have?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yeah, you know, you mentioned that, Pastor Doug, where sometimes people pray and they would punctuate every sentence by saying, you know, “God” and repeating the name over and over again when it doesn’t really have meaning. But repeating God’s name more than once, no.
Pastor Doug: Let me give you an example. I just looked in Daniel chapter 9; verse 19, this is the verse I was searching for, he says, “Oh Lord hear, oh Lord forgive, oh Lord harkens and do no defer for thy own sake. Oh my God, for the city of Thy people called by Thy name.” That’s one verse. Now this must have been a good prayer because the angel Gabriel comes at the end of the prayer. So, you know, there’s certainly nothing wrong but he’s doing it reverently and, you know, he’s pouring out his heart. I mean when God calls Abraham, He says “Abraham, Abraham,” He calls Samuel three times. So, you know, sometimes God calls our names several times too because when someone is trying to appeal for God’s attention it’s not uncommon in their prayers to say His name more than once. But you don’t want to just it, you know, like a chant disrespectfully. Notice in Daniel 9; verse 19, every time he says the Lord’s name, he says something different, “Lord hear, Lord forgive, Lord harkens.” So it’s really very poetic the way he’s doing it.
Cindy: I wanted to ask you, so it’s okay for us to call out the different names for God when we’re praying more than once?
Pastor Doug: Yeah, I mean that’s why He gives us His names and all the different names of God used in the Bible tell us different characteristics and how He helped His people through different circumstances. For instances, if you’re needing provision, when Abraham, you know, had Isaac up on Mount Moriah there, God used a certain name. When He spoke to Moses in the wilderness, He used another name and so, you know, God reveals Himself through these different names.
Cindy: Okay, alright.
Pastor Doug: You would also appreciate that article, Cindy, that we have at the Amazing Facts website. We’re going to get that into a book. It’s called “The Name of God.” And I think that’ll be a blessing. You can find that at the amazingfacts.org website.
Pastor Jëan Ross: George is listening on WMCA from Brooklyn, New York. George, you’re on the air.
George: Good evening, Pastor Batchelor.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
George: How are you?
Pastor Doug: I would like to extend Happy Fathers’ Day to you.
Pastor Doug: Thank you. Don’t forget Pastor Ross (laughing).
George: Okay, good night, Pastor Ross, and Happy Father’s Day to you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Thank you and if you are a father, Happy Father’s Day to you.
George: Oh, thanks a lot. Actually, I have a friend who is getting some difficulty in understanding how Jesus became the Son of God, you know. And then it’s in the Bible obviously that He is the Son of Man. I don’t know if you can clarify that to people listening, you know?
Pastor Doug: Well, you know, a number of people struggle with that, that’s the mystery of the incarnation. How Jesus could be a hundred percent God and a hundred percent man, He felt and experienced everything that man experienced yet He never sinned and yet He veiled His divinity and humanity when He came to earth. So what it must have been like to be in the mind of Jesus is incomprehensible for us. You know, He made Himself of no reputation that He might reach us, but that’s one of the great beauties and mysteries in the Bible, when God’s Spirit came on Mary and that seed within her fertilized her egg and they call it this Holy Child. So, it’s unique.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, talking about the Son of God and the Son of man, if you look at the gospels, there are several occasions where Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of God but most times Jesus referred Himself as the Son of Man. He identified Himself with humanity.
Pastor Doug: That was His favorite term…
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right.
Pastor Doug: …to refer to Himself. Hope that helps a little bit, George. And we’re going to see if we can get one or two calls, Pastor Ross.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, let’s go to Karen listening on the internet from Canada. Karen, welcome to the program.
Karen: Hi, I hope you can hear me.
Pastor Doug: Loud and clear.
Karen: Oh, good. I want to thank you, Pastor Doug, for your ministry. I’ve been listening to or watching you on the internet on the amazingfacts.org channel.
Pastor Doug: Oh, the amazingfacts.tv channel, yes.
Karen: Yes, sorry.
Pastor Doug: It’s alright.
Karen: And I’m just amazed at all the information I’ve learned. I’ve learned so much and I want to thank you so much for your efforts. I’m sure you’re very, very busy. I do have a question. I’m studying the Bible, trying to learn to study the Bible, and I was wondering if you could explain-- hopefully it wouldn’t too hard to explain--but chapter 11 of Revelation, it’s hard for me to understand that chapter.
Pastor Doug: Alright. Well, I’m going to give you a quick explanation because time won’t permit for me to go through all the verses there. The two witnesses that you find--and I’m figuring that’s the main focus of your question--the two witnesses in Revelation are identified as-- well they’re synonymous with Moses and Elijah or the law and the prophets or the word of God or they’re all the same. It’s talking about the word of God, you might say the New and the Old Testament, the law and the prophets, the word of God is often portrayed in a dual format such as the “sword of the word is a double-edged sword.” And so the word of God goes through a great persecution as it’s fought against there, you find that identified in Revelation 11. You know, what I’m thinking, Pastor Ross, the perfect thing for Karen, I know we’re going to run out of time before we run out of question here, we have a booklet called “The Two Witnesses.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: I was just looking for that.
Pastor Doug: It’s a new book that we put out and we’ll be happy to send that to you, Karen. It’s a study that deals with not only the experience of the Mount of Transfiguration, when Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus, but it talks about them as the two witnesses, the word of God, those two olive trees, the two lampstands that you find mentioned in Revelation 11. So why don’t you call the resource number, Karen, and ask for “The Two Witnesses?”
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747 and asks for “The Two Witnesses,” we’ll be happy to send that out to you. Well, what do you think? Do we have time for one more, Pastor Doug?
Pastor Doug: Who do you think has got a quick question, Pastor Ross?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, let’s see if Wes can give us his question quickly. Wes, listening from Portland, Oregon, you’re on the air and you’ll have to tell us your question real fast.
Wes: Very good, pastors. Thank you very much. I have question about Revelation 9:4. I was wondering if it’s within the realm of possibility that God was saying recognizing this green movement when He says that, you know, “They can’t hurt the grass, the green things or any trees, only the man which don’t have the seal of God on their forehead.” Where it was impossible until rather recently to see people in organizations who tend to value green things more than human life.
Pastor Doug: You know, it is true, we’re living at the only time in the world’s history now where man had the ability to destroy the earth. You know, Wes, you go a few more verses in Revelation chapter 16, and it says “God will destroy those who destroy the earth.” Now this is a generation that has the potential and people are very sensitive about what’s green and what’s the state of the earth. Ooh, I’d like to take more time with your question but you can tell, the clock is relentless and we’re going to have to tie this off. Listening friends, if we did not get your questions tonight, we appreciate your calling in. You can find a lot of questions answered by going to the amazingfacts.org website and go to the Bible Answers Live archives, and a lot of resources there that will help you with other Bible study. We’d love to hear from you. While you’re at the website click on the button that says Contact Us, send us your comments, Bible questions and help us stay on the air. God bless until next week friends.
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