Pastor Doug: Hello friends. This is Doug Batchelor. How about an amazing fact? According to Forbes magazine, the 27-story sky scraper now being built in Mumbai India, could soon be the world's largest and costliest home. Mukesh Ambani, ranked by Forbes with a net worth of 43 billion dollars, is now building an eye-popping home that when finished will be 550 ft. high with 4 million square ft. of interior space.
The Ambani's home called the Antilia will have no two floors alike in either plans or materials. The first 6 stories will be dedicated to parking lots with a hundred and 86 parking spaces to pamper the many imported cars of family and guests along with space for 600 servants and workers. Of course, on the days when traffic is bad, they can use a helicopter pad on the roof. The Antilia's living quarters will begin at the lobby with 9 elevators to access the 20 palatial floors above. Ambani's plans to occasionally use the residence for corporate entertainment. So they have one floor with a formal ballroom complete with crystal chandeliers covering 80% of the ceiling and a silver stair case.
Another floor holds the wine room and theater. Another floor also features an ice room where residents and guest can escape the tropical heat to a small cool chamber dusted by manmade snow flurries. For more temperate days, the family will enjoy a four story open garden with a swimming pool surrounded by flowers, trees and lawns with hanging hydroponic plants. The four floors at the top will of course house the luxurious living quarters for the family that will provide a panoramic view of the Arabian Sea and the city skyline. Oh, yes, the price tag for this humble abode? Nearly 2 billion dollars but this is nothing compared to the mansions Jesus has prepared for you.
Stay with us friends, we're going to learn more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Pastor Doug: We are carbonated, shaken up and ready to go for another Bible Answers Live program, friends. If you'd like to ask your Bible questions, we have lines open. Right now, if you pick up your phone and dial that toll free number, good chance of getting your question on tonight's broadcast. Once again, it's 1-800-GOD-SAYS. The Bible is our constitution for this program, 1-800-463-7297. And my name is Doug Batchelor.
Jean Ross: My name is Jean Ross. Good evening listening friends and welcome again. Pastor Doug, let's start with a prayer.
Dear Father, we thank You again for this opportunity to study Your word and we ask Your blessing upon those who are listening, be with us here in the studio. And we ask that you give wisdom. We recognize that the Bible is Your Book and we need the Spirit to guide us. So we ask that You'd be with us and be with this program in Jesus name. Amen.
Pastor Doug: Amen.
Jean Ross: You opened the program by talking about just a house that has got everything including snow blowing around in the middle of summer in India. [Pastors laugh]
Pastor Doug: You know in California, it's not uncommon to run into a million dollar home or even a multimillion dollar home but I've never heard yet of a multibillion dollar home. And that's what being built right now. And we checked it out. It's supposed to be done by November. And I didn't even go into, you know, all the different amenities on the various floors of this incredible skyscraper palace home all wrapped into one. But it made me think that there's nothing we can really build on or that would compare with what Jesus said He is preparing for those that love Him.
Let me read it to you, friends. You've probably heard this before John chapter 14 verse 1. "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house there are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also." And the Lord had said he's gone to prepare these mansions for us. And Jesus uses the language here in this verse of a groom going to prepare a honeymoon home for his bride. The church is the bride of Christ. And, obviously, if a groom is going to prepare a home for his bride, he's not gonna forget his bride.
Jesus is coming back. And friends these places, paradise, that the Bible speaks about is not a fantasy or a fable. It is very real. And God had this city and space, so to speak, that is gonna come down to earth. Heaven is real. And that’s one thing you find in just about every major world religion is the revelations from God say that there is a better world. And everyone wonders why is there... If God is good, if God is love, why is there so much suffering and death and pain and disease in this world? And God promises if we endure to the end, we'll be saved. And He has something better that we can even imagine. Paul tells us, “We can’t even imagine what God has prepared for those that love him.” So if you'd like to know more, friends, about this very real place called heaven and those mansions that God has prepare, we're prepared to give you a free book that talks about paradise and the home of the saved.
Jean Ross: The Book is entitled "Heaven, Is It For Real?" and all you need to do is call our resource line 1-800-835-6747. 1-800-835-6747 and ask for the book "Heaven, Is It For Real?" and we'll be happy to send that out to you. Well, Pastor Doug, should we go to the phone lines?
Pastor Doug: I'm ready.
Jean Ross: The first caller is Jim calling from Ohio. Jim, welcome to the program.
Jim: Brother Ross, Brother Doug, it's a pleasure to talk to you guys again.
Pastor Doug: Yes, sir.
Jim: I have a quick question and a quick comment. I was talking with somebody. I'm not sure if I got your meaning right. It’s something about angels or evil angels that have mated with humans.
Pastor Doug: Yes. Yes, not that it happens but, yes, I know what you're talking about. Would you like me to tell you the Scripture where they get that?
Jim: Yes, Sir.
Pastor Doug: It's a terrible misunderstanding of a verse that you find in a verse in Genesis chapter 6 verse 1. We probably have someone asked us about this. All right. I guess almost once a month, Pastor Ross, this question comes in and we're happy to answer it because we don’t want people confused. It says here in Genesis 6:1, "And it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters we're born to them but the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair and they took them wives of all they chose." Now, some are assuming here that the sons of God are somehow angels but since they're marrying humans, they must be fallen angels and nothing could be further from the truth. After Cain killed his brother, Abel, the humans in the world split in to two groups. The descendants of Cain that had rejected God were called the children of men. They were mortal. Adam was called the son of God his descendants that still worship God, the descendants of Seth--because of course Abel was killed--were called the sons of God.
You can look in John chapter 3, when it says "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us that we should be called sons of God." So some think that this must mean that these were fallen angels or demons or I've even heard people say they were aliens that had intimate relations with humans. Now, one reason they get that is you read a little further down, it says in verse four, chapter 6 verse 4, there were giants in the earth in those days after the sons of God came in to the daughters of men. They said "Well, the very fact these children were giants proves that there must have been some kind of supernatural creatures." Well, no, it's just not at all. It's common today when people from different races cross-marry, the children are often taller. It's called genetic vitality. And as a matter of fact, they’ve got corn that is 20 ft. tall and they got it by cross-pollinating highbred of strong varieties gives you an even stronger variety. And so it's just very common science in genetics called genetic vitality. You can cross a lion and a tiger and you get something called a 'liger.' Friends can look that up if you don't believe me and you'll see pictures.
Jim: I've heard you talk about that before.
Pastor Doug: Yeah it's the tallest... It's the biggest cat in the world, is the cross between the lion and the tiger. Well, they're both cats. And if you go back far enough, I'm sure they're related. And that's genetic vitality right there. So it doesn't mean that aliens or fallen angels mated with humans. Angels do not marry Jesus said. They don’t procreate.
Jim: You know it's just amazing that some of the people that I've met lately--and I always you know pick my opportunities to talk about you know what Jesus said and my salvation and everything--but it’s just amazing when people find out (why?) I go to church, I get accused of works because of a certain commandment and it just seems like there's certain people I've been talking to and you know sometime you find yourself on the defensive. The comment that I want to make is I’m just done reading your book “To See the King--Seven Steps to Salvation."
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Jim: Excellent Book and the fact that I did a sermon on it, uses a lot of stuff from your book and when I told your story about the (shoeshine?) machine and the marks on the wall and everything when you were younger, I got a big chuckle from the story and everything.
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Jim: I enjoy your stuff and it's very helpful especially where the Bible says compare Scripture with Scripture. And I enjoy your ministry.
Pastor Doug: I appreciate that Jim. You keep us in your prayers. And hopefully that answer makes sense. The sons of God and the daughters of men, they're not aliens or fallen angels, just people, the descendants of Cain marrying the descendants of Seth. And you know further evidence of that is it says here "After they began to inter-marry the godly distinction was lost and then the thoughts of men's hearts were only evil continually." Appreciate it Jim. And we're gonna keep going here.
Jean Ross: All right. Glenn is listening online from Lodi, California. Glenn, you're on the air.
Glenn: Hi. Good evening.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Glenn: Hi. My question has something to do... I don’t think we've really touch on very much and it has to do with the end times when we talk about when probation ends.
Pastor Doug: Right.
Glenn: And my question was when that time comes, which is pretty soon, is the (inaudible 12:00) going to happen you think right after that or just before that?
Pastor Doug: Well just let me state for our friends, Glenn. A lot of folks wonder what we mean when we say probation closing.
Glenn: Right.
Pastor Doug: Biblically, the Second Coming is compared to the time of Noah. When the flood came, there is a period of time when God shut the door of the ar. And even though life went on for awhile after the ark door was shut, the saved were saved the lost were lost. And there was no changing teams.
Glenn: Right.
Pastor Doug: Just before Jesus comes there will be a period of time when probation closes. Now, most scholars believed that that’s when the 7 last plagues fall after probation closes. Is that your understanding Pastor Ross? So once the 7 last plagues fall there’s that verse in Revelation, I think its 22 where Jesus said, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still. He that is filthy, let him be filthy still. He that is righteous, let him be righteous still. He that is holy, let him be holy still." I hesitated a little cause I'm trying to do that from memory but hear that verse of what that is. Is it...
Jean Ross: It is Revelation 22.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, It's Revelation 22 but anyway so probation closes, we believe, and then the 7 last plagues fall.
Glenn: Right.
Jean Ross: Just to add to that if you look in Daniel chapter 12 verse 1, it says that "At that time shall Michael shall stand up, the great prince stands for the children of thy people" and then it says "and there will be a time of trouble such us never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time, thy people shall be delivered, every one found written in the book." So when Michael stands up, the words are pronounced, "He that is holy, let him be holy still. He that is filthy, let him be filthy still." And then it says there is this time of trouble that will be worse than anything the world has ever seen. Well that is because of the 7 last plagues that had been poured out.
Pastor Doug: Now, when Michael stands up, that's indicating that judgment is over. The savior saved the lost he lost, cases aren’t being heard anymore and people's destinies and eternally sealed. Then the time of trouble comes. That’s a good point. Hope that helps a little, Glenn. Does that makes sense? Are you there?
Glenn: Yes.
Pastor Doug: Okay. Hey I appreciate your question. And we do have a book we can send you a copy that’s called "Anything But Secret." It talks about not only the Second Coming but it talks about the Millennium and the Second Coming in relation to the plagues and the close of probation so I think you'll find that in there.
Jean Ross: The book again is "Anything But Secret." And to receive the free copy of the Book, call 1-800-835-6747. And we'll be happy to send that to you. Our next caller is Yolanda and she's listening on the internet from Granite Bay, California. Yolanda, welcome to the program.
Yolanda: Hey. Hey, Pastor Doug, how are you?
Pastor Doug: Very well. How are you doing'?
Yolanda: Doing Good. Okay. I have a quick question. It's about original sin. I was in a Bible study recently and someone brought up a question that are we... Because Adam and Eve sins, are we automatically sinners because of their sin or are we just... Do we just automatically have a sinful nature and we're not actually sinners until we actually choose sin? It doesn’t makes sense there.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, I know. I think it does makes sense. The typical doctrine of original sin the Augustinian teaching is that we're all born with guilt. Now that is not true. We are born with selfish tendencies but its one thing to be born culpable? Or responsible and guilty. It’s another thing to be born with selfish tendencies. There are several verses in the Bible that talks about the father not being responsible for the sins of the son and the son not being responsible for the sins of the father. I think you've got that one pastor Ross.
Jean Ross: Ezekiel 18 verse 20 says, "The soul that sins, it shall die. The sons shall not bear the guilt of the father nor the father bear the guilt of the son," Ezekiel 18 verse 20.
Pastor Doug: Right, you found another one there. It's in Deuteronomy.
Jean Ross: Deuteronomy.
Pastor Doug: It's basically the same thing. So it is true that we born with these selfish natures but we don’t have guilt for which we're punished until we actually choose to commit sin. We must make a conscious choice to have that guilt. So the typical understanding of original sin is not biblical.
Yolanda: Oh, I see. Okay, that makes sense.
Pastor Doug: All right. Thank you. Good question.
Yolanda: Okay, bye-bye.
Pastor Doug: Appreciate it.
Jean Ross: Nathan is listening on the internet from Texas. Nathan welcome to the program.
Nathan: Oh, thank you very much for taking my call. I wanted to ask this question because well, I came back last Sunday from a missionary trip in Mexico. We were there for a month. And we had difficulties but everything worked out great. And you know God blessed us. The Holy Spirit helped us but before I left, I was talking to some friends of mine. And we were talking about you know God's nature, you know his love.
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Nathan: And they were pretty much see God like they believe in God but you know they see Him as a God that you know just creates, he creates but then He would just leaves His creation alone.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, that's called diesm basically but I know what you're saying.
Nathan: Yeah and you know they believe in their mind, they kind of see him like humanity, the human race, is like a mistake from God you know we chose to sin and they see that as a mistake but you know I try to explain them that you know God is love.
Pastor Doug: Right.
Nathan: He gives us them a choice but my question is what's the best way to show or teach someone that God is not a tyrant or a bully or you know like a (inaudible 18:06) God who just leaves us alone? How do we show someone that God is love and He does care about us?
Pastor Doug: Well, I think the best way is when we teach them and show them from the word the life of Jesus. Jesus is God. He's God the son. He says "If you've seen me, you've seen God the Father." And Jesus was very much interested and engaged and involved in people's lives. And everywhere He went, He spread the love of God. He was healing people and feeding people and teaching people. I mean He just poured His life out in loving people. And so when they say you know, "We're not sure God's interested. He’s detached. He created things and left." Say, "Well, He's so involved that He sent His son," and you don’t get more invested than when you sacrifice a child.
Jean Ross: And, of course, the greatest revelation of God's love in Jesus is the cross. (Inaudible 18:58) reveals to us how much God loves us. That’s why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God."
Pastor Doug: That's right.
Jean Ross: So people look at that, "Well, that doesn't make sense," but to those who received Christ salvation, it's life.
Nathan: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: Amen.
Nathan: Well, just (that?) helps I just you know I pray for you know when they find the truth and...
Pastor Doug: They'll understand.
Nathan: Because some people find it difficult to you know accept the truth and I guess they don’t wanna change.
Pastor Doug: You know there's a Book that we can share with you and it's called "Riches of His Grace." and it talks about the sacrifice and the love of God. And it'd be good for you to read that through and you know when you encounter these folks again, hopefully, Nathan, it will just give you some added information to enhance your presentation.
Jean Ross: The book is "Riches of His Grace" and the number is 1-800-835-6747. Hudson is listening on WMCA from New York. Hudson, welcome to the program.
Hudson: Thank you for taking my call. My question is this: I really do not believe in prosperity doctrine preaching up prosperity you know...
Pastor Doug: Right.
Hudson: You just... I, my sister and I, we always knock heads, so to speak, from this topic. She's basically saying that you know "God bless us and you know we should be happy that we (inaudible 20:39).” I said "Yes but we should pass on the definition regarding these things." And I use a couple of examples as some of the televangelist (inaudible 20:50) you know a (person?) a day he had (sent us?) I mean you hoard, I don't believe in hoarding different cars: Mercedes, BMW, yacht, private jets and you know--
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Hudson: I believe that if your blessed you should pass on to blessings. So I want to point to her (inaudible 21:05) some biblical standpoint. Do you have anything I could say or let her understand that you know prosperity teachings is not of God?
Pastor Doug: Well a couple things come to mind. We’ve got a booklet called "Thieves in the Church." “Thieves in the church." We'll be happy to send you a free copy of that but while we're on the subject, you've raised a very important issue, Hudson. There are many dear people out there that have been deceived because some clever pastors have taken a few statements in the Bible where God talks about wanting to bless His people. They’re there. I mean you know he does bless his people. You can look at the examples of Abraham and Job and others that were blessed but they were blessed through faithfulness and they gave generously. They did not hoard wealth and you know live these opulent lives even though Abraham had hundreds of servants. When visitors came, he and his wife personally ministered to the servants.
Hudson: Right
Pastor Doug: So they were not above working for people and serving but the idea that everyone has enough faith is always going to be healthy and wealthy is not biblical. The, you know, Jesus told the disciples when they went out preaching they said "Don’t even take your purse. Depend on hospitality of others. Don’t take extra shoes with you." They live from hand to mouth by faith when they went out sharing Christ. So in that the Christian life is one of self-denial right pastor Ross?
Jean Ross: Yeah, just to talk about that you brought up Abraham, Pastor Doug. Yes, the Lord blessed him but he lived in a tent. He didn't build himself a mansion.
Pastor Doug: And he put everything on the altar with his son.
Jean Ross: That's right.
Pastor Doug: If these people are willing to put their kids on the altar then you know that they loved God first.
Jean Ross: You know in reference to that explains in Hebrew 11 talking of Abraham, it says he looked for a city which had foundations is build or (makers?) of God. He’s hope is in the world to come. He's hope was in heaven. Not in the things of this earth.
Pastor Doug: That's right. Yeah, in the Bible you'll find that the ones that God blessed with prosperity that are willing to let it go, He could trust them with it. The ones who hoarded it like Solomon, he lost his faith because of it. And you know many times in the Bible, people who gotten too much, they began to trust it and they lose their faith. So I think we all know that there are some pastors, Hudson, who have exploited people's simple faith and they use this doctrine basically to pad their own bank rolls.
Hudson: Right. But of course, if the Christian life is one of faith, then you mentioned the key word here the Christian life is one of faith and walk of faith. And you know you should be willing to (hoard?) because you pass it on because you're living life of faith. You don’t worry about (inaudible 23:58) coming from because you're living a life of faith. You will get it as long as your faith is there.
Pastor Doug: That's right. Yeah, God will take care of us but He promises us enough, He doesn't promise everybody wealth because not everyone can handle it. Wealth is not always a blessing, sometimes it's a curse.
Hudson: Right.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, I appreciate that. And we'll send you that Book, "Thieves in the Church" if you ask for it.
Jean Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747 asks for the book "Thieves in the Church" and we'll be happy to send that to you. I think we've got time for one more before we take our break.
Pastor Doug: All right.
Jean Ross: Jean is listening on the internet from Houston, Texas. Jean welcome to the program.
Jean: Hello.
Jean Ross: Hi.
Pastor Doug: Hey, Jean, you're on the air.
Jean: I wanted to know 'coz I know that in the Bible it says that your young man will see visions and your old men will dream dreams. I wanted to know you know those some people say that they see like cloud on top of you or like coming from behind you so you need to pray. Does that mean that… Can they really see stuff like that?
Pastor Doug: Well you know I do believe that there are people who have spiritual discernment. And doesn't necessarily mean they're prophets or they're psychics but I think some people have they're close to the Lord and they have spiritual discernment. And they can sense somebody that has the spirit of God and likewise they can sense somebody that has the spirit of the enemy or you can say one is light and one is darkness. You know that sometimes is manifested in different ways. Some people might say that there's just this you know shadow about a person. When Judas finally betrayed Jesus, the Bible says that he went out and it was night. I always thought that was interesting. He left the Holy Spirit left him, the devil entered him. He went out and it was night. It's like he went out in to the darkness. So but you know I’m suspicious of folks who say "Ohhh! I see a dark cloud behind this person. I see a light cloud behind this person." You know that to me sounds a little bit new (age-y?).
Jean: Uhum.
Pastor Doug: You know what I mean? So I'm not discounting that some people have spiritual discernment but folks had go around and say you know "i can. I've got these special glasses and I can see you know who's got light, who’s got darkness." Usually people with discernment don’t advertise that.
Jean Ross: You know the Bible does tells us the signs of a true prophet, someone who has the gift of prophecy, and it’s not been able to discern a dark halo or a light halo.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, then devil can appear of an angel.
Jean Ross: Uhum.
Pastor Doug: The devil can appear an angel of light. It’s by their fruits. That’s right. So I hope that helps a little bit, Jean. And we do have a lesson we'll send you about "does God inspire psychics and astrologers."
Jean Ross: Yup great study. 1-800-835-6747, "Does God Inspire Psychic and Astrology--Astrologist," great study. All right. Well, do we have time for one more before our break?
Pastor Doug: Let me look at the engineer. He’s kind of not so sure. He’s shrugging. Now we don’t want to do that to anybody. We have lots we could talk about for just a minute. And then right after the break, we'll go right back to the calls. By the way, there's still phone lines open. And if you just pick up your phone, if you wanna get your question in tonight, call 800-GOD-SAYS that's 463-7297 with your Bible questions. We just want to mention again this is brought to you by Amazing Facts. We give quick answers on the air because we're hoping that you'll take advantage of the website for deeper ongoing study. And that address is amazingfacts.com or amazingfacts.org. There you'll find a whole library of material. A lot of it is free. You can read online you can download. We also have a Bible study course that you can take "the historical of Prophecy," especially those of you who are interested in advance Bible study understanding some of the themes of last day prophecy. You’ll really enjoy this and it will all become clear.
It doesn’t need to be confusing. And if you enjoy on what you're hearing now, you can watch Amazing Facts programs. We now have a 24 hour website with television. It’s called amazingfacts.tv. There's always something playing, some evangelistic program and (cluster?) and archives of other programs which reminds me since I said the word archive, we've got broad library of archives, some of the most popular questions that come into this program. And once again, you just go back to amazingfacts.org and click on the media and then go to Bible Answers Live in the library you'll see a lot of those questions there. Well, what shall I more say? If we're gonna take a break here in a moment with some other important announcements but don’t go away, more Bible questions coming your way.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Pastor Doug: that would be me, friends. You are listening to Bible Answers Live. And if you have joined us in the recent time that has transpired and you didn't know, you're listening to a live international interactive Bible study. And you can participate by calling in with your Bible questions still have a couple lines open, 800 and that's 463-7297. Of course, it's a free phone call with your Bible questions. And I'm Doug Batchelor still.
Jean Ross: My name is Jean Ross still. Pastor Doug, you're speaking with some websites just before we took our break. You spoke about the Amazing Facts website amazingfacts.tv website. What are some of the other websites that we have?
Pastor Doug: Well, you know, I especially like to encourage people to check out some of the prophecy websites that we have. They can go to prophecycode.com. As a matter of fact, there’s a whole series there that they can watch the video they can listen to the programs. If they go to "most amazing prophecies," that's another website, that has a whole series of prophecy studies dealing with some of the primary teachings of prophecy theologies, the foundation of teachings of theology: mostamazingprophecies.com. So it goes on and on. If people, well, we get a lot of questions, people asking about the subject of the Sabbath. And there's a website that's very popular. It's called sabbathtruth.com. People have questions about Mary Magdalene especially in light of that Book called the Da Vinci Code and there's a website called marytruth.com. The truth about Mary Magdalene right there so just a lot of common questions. We dedicated some studies, some websites that just have layers of studies on these very important doctrines we get a lot of questions on. We're developing new ones all the time.
Jean Ross: All right well lets go to the phone lines. Andrew is listening on WMCA from Plymouth, Connecticut. Andrew, welcome to the program.
Andrew: Thank you. Thank you for taking my call.
Pastor Doug: Yes, sir.
Andrew: I have some questions. My question is what do you guys believe is the correct way to baptize. I know in the Book of Matthew, the Lord says to the disciples to baptize the nation in the name of the father, son, and the Holy Ghost. and then in the Books of Acts, Acts 2:38, Peter who was keys to the kingdom says you know to repent everyone of you and be baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall receive the gift of the holy ghost.
Pastor Doug: So when you ask about baptism, are you wondering more about what the declaration is or what the method? Because the method of baptism biblically is immersion but it doesn't sound like you're asking that.
Andrew: No, I'm asking 'coz you know some people use titles, some people use the name of the Lord of Jesus Christ which is the correct way?
Pastor Doug: Well certainly if Jesus himself says "Go ye therefore and baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit," there's nothing wrong with that. when you read in Acts, there are three different examples that are given in Acts: well Acts chapter 2:38 where Jesus says baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ in Acts 18 verse 16, it says baptize in the name of the Lord, Jesus and that’s in Acts chapter 10 verse 48, it says simply baptizing in the name of the Lord. And so it's like almost every time a little bit different. The emphasis was not so much on the exact wording or utterance as they were to be baptized in the name of the God of the Bible, God the father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the God of truth as opposed to some ritualistic baptism that the pagans had. And you know cause many pagan religions had these ritualistic washings and so you know Jesus here is just saying you're committing your life through... It's like a marriage to God. It's a cleansing from sin and you're committing your life to Jesus. So I don’t believe God discounts a person baptism if they say Jesus Christ instead Lord Jesus. You see what I’m saying?
Andrew: Yeah, kind of.
Pastor Doug: You know it's the commitment, the vow that you're making as long as you understand and God understand that this commitment is being made to the God of the Bible or the God of the gospel, then there's no conflict.
Jean Ross: And of course the point there, Paul is emphasizing here in Acts when he talks about the baptizing in the name of the Lord, in the name of Jesus to the Jewish audience, they understood the significance being baptize in the name of God the Father.
Pastor Doug: They especially need to hear about Jesus.
Jean Ross: That's right. That was the stumbling block in particular so in this sense the baptism that was given for the Christians was different from the baptism that John had which was repentance from sin.
Pastor Doug: That's right.
Jean Ross: So that's why that particular area had been highlighted as being baptized in the name of Jesus.
Pastor Doug: Good point. I just wrote a book on that. I wish I had thought of that. What’s that now?
Andrew: Why would Jesus tell his disciples to baptize the nation in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost and then in the Book of Acts, they don't do it?
Pastor Doug: Well, but they are doing it. You're debating though is the wording. They’re baptizing. They understood. Now, if anybody understood what Jesus meant, it would have been the 12 apostles because there’s nothing in the Bible that debates, there's no debate anywhere in the Bible about the utterance of baptism. There’s no argument about what they said when they baptize somebody anywhere in the Bible. Evidently, they were doing it right cause it's never contended.
Andrew: Right.
Pastor Doug: So I hear today people sometimes struggle with the right utterance and yet there was no conflict. There’s no tension in the Bible, writers about someone baptizing in the wrong name not saying it correctly.
Andrew: Okay.
Pastor Doug: All right. And I hope that helps a little bit. There is one example in Acts chapter 12 where Paul re-baptized some people that had been baptized by John the Baptist--but of course, they had not heard about Jesus, the (out poring?) of the Holy Spirit--so they were re-baptized in the name of the Lord. And that was one more of the four examples that I gave.
Jean Ross: All right. Next caller is--
Pastor Doug: By the way, Andrew is still listening. We have a Book that's just coming off the press of Amazing Facts and it's called "The Name of the Lord." And it deals more with this baptism question also.
Jean Ross: Our next caller is Bryant listening on the internet from Hobbs, New Mexico. Bryant, welcome to the program.
Bryant: Good afternoon. My question today is regarding Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word because there's no light in them.” I know that the law is, of course, the first five Books of Moses which is the Torah but what is the testimony? And does this verse have to say prudence (inaudible 37:29)?
Pastor Doug: All right. Well there's a couple of places that we could go. If you go to Revelation chapter 12 in verse 17, there the Bible says, “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and he goes to make war with the remnant of her seed, that keep the commandments of God,” that's the law, “and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” When you go then to Revelation 19, the angels says to John, I think that's verse 10, "Fear God for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” So you got the law and the spirit of prophecy or the law in the prophets. Now, you probably heard that before in the Bible, the law and the prophets.
Bryant: Yes sir.
Pastor Doug: The last utterance, the last prophecy in the Old Testament, God says in Malachi chapter 4, "I remember the law of Moses, behold, I send you Elijah the prophet," the law and the prophets. Then two individuals appeared to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. Do you know who they were? Moses and Elijah in Mark chapter 9, they appeared to Jesus on this mountain. Moses represents the law. Elijah represents the prophets. And so this is a symbol of the word of God. So in Isaiah chapter 8 verse 20, when he says "According to the law and the testimony,” it's really dealing with the word of God. And I believe… One more thing here, if you go to verse 16 in the same chapter Isaiah 8:16, "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." so you have it again, the law and the testimony. And Pastor Ross…
Jean Ross: Yeah the Old Testament is divided up in to those two segments, the law--often referred to the first five books the Books of Moses--and then the testimony as being up which is written by the prophets. So there was the two divisions which basically means the whole word.
Pastor Doug: And in Psalms, King David was a prophet. Psalms was also part of the prophets. As a matter of fact one time.
Bryant: And also--
Pastor Doug: Excuse me.
Bryant: I'm sorry. Is that also an argument for Sola Scripture and saying that the New Testament is involved in it. I know that the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old Testament so then that's why the New Testament is essential in having complete word of God, right?
Pastor Doug: All of it of course is essential cause the only Bible that the early church had to preach from was the Old Testament. They didn't even have the New Testament until… It wasn't written down until 30 to 40 years after Christ, the Books began to compile. You know there's a book that I wrote especially on these verse that I think you'll enjoy. I'll send you a free copy. It's called the "Two Witnesses" and it deals with the law and the prophets and these very verses, "The Two Witnesses."
Bryant: Hang on just a second before you… Okay, ‘coz I don’t think I’m finished because I’m still kind of shaky on it. I know that there was some contending on which books of the Bible work were inspired, which books were prophecy. I remember I think everyone was one of them that they were contending over as well as the apocryphal books. So how would we respond if you know if this is an argument for Sola Scripture, how would we respond to those Books that aren't in the Bible say for example the apocryphal books?
Pastor Doug: The apocryphal books. Right. Well, what the translators did when they decide what books to include in the… It's typically the protestant Bible. Martin Luther had a lot to do with that. And you may notice that there were certain books that had a questionable origin that were not reference… No other Old Testament writers referred to them because they just seem to pop out of nowhere, they became suspicious. And so the books that were endorsed by Jesus, Jesus quoted from, 10% of everything Jesus said, he was quoting Old Testament. Did you know that?
Bryant: Yes, sir.
Pastor Doug: So it was very easy for Jesus to when Jesus says, as you read in Daniel, “The propheter, I’ve spoken by the prophet Jeremiah.” Well, there's no question about Daniel, Isaiah and Jeremiah--Jesus quotes them and names them. So some of the books were had no references historically, no quoting. They appeared out of nowhere of doubtful origin. And so that's one reason they were left out. You know there's two books that I'd like to send you, Bryant. And it goes in to more in what you're saying. One is called "The Ultimate Resource." It’s a little history on the Bible and the sacredness of Scripture "The Ultimate Resource." And then the book I mentioned called “The Two Witnesses." You call the resource number. We’ll send you a copy of each.
Jean Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747, asks for the books: "The Ultimate Resource” and “The Two Witnesses." We'll be happy to send that to you. Robert is listening on WMCA from Bloomfield, New Jersey. Robert, welcome to the program.
Robert: Good evening.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Robert: Good evening Pastor Ross and Pastor Doug. My question is concerning the mark of the beast in Sunday worship. Where, if that's from what I've read from different sources I've got the mark of the beast is really in Sunday worship and the mark of God is the Sabbath, where does it indicate that anywhere in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
Pastor Doug: It's interesting you would ask this question, Robert. This morning I was in Portland this weekend I did a... I was at a Christian camp actually for the last week. last night, I was in my car with a leader of another Christian ministry and he showed me a quote from the 1600's written by founders of the seventh Day Baptist movement that were basically saying that Sunday is the mark of the beast. Now... Let me explain this my friends. You might be thinking "What in the world is Pastor Doug talking about?" Friends, we're not saying that people that go to church on Sunday have the mark of the beast. What we're saying is origin of Sunday worship, the first day of the week as opposed to the 7th day worship which is the Sabbath of the Bible, is an identifying characteristic of the beast in Revelation. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about, Robert.
In Daniel chapter 3, the King of Babylon makes a law that everybody has to pray to these graven image. God's children don't want to do it. Why? Because one of the Ten Commandments says that's idolatry. And they're willing to die rather than pray to that idle. So God blesses them for their faithfulness. And then you get to Daniel chapter 6 and the King of Metapersian makes a law that says everybody must worship the king as a God and just pray to him for 30 days. Well, Daniel won't do that. Why? Because the first commandment says don't have other Gods. Down at the end of time, it says that the beast power is gonna make a law that conflicts with the law of God. And he's gonna tell everybody how to worship. There’s only one commandment that talks about the time of worship and that's the fourth commandment or the Sabbath. There’s only one commandment that it has the word ‘holy’ in it and that's the fourth commandment. There’s only one commandment that begins with the word --
Bryant: Couldn’t anything else (involves?) as you know the mark of the beast also?
Pastor Doug: Well, then there's nothing else that identifies an attempt... Well, let me see. Daniel chapter 7 verse 25 speaking of the beast power, it says he will think to change times and laws. And there's only one commandment that is both a time and a law. You know you're asking a big question. I'm giving an answer and some people are gonna think what the world's he's talking about. Without the background, it's not gonna make sense. Will you please let me send you there's a Bible study that we've got and it's called “The Mark of the Beast.” And it goes into a more detail about what it is, what's the history of it is. And people really owe it to themselves to understand this. It is not a tattoo in the forehead. It’s not a credit card. It’s not the barcode on your box of pampers that’s the mark of the beast. Pastor Ross…
Jean Ross: You know the big issue at the end of time has to do with worship. The Bible tells us in Revelation, there's two groups of people: those who worship the beast those who worship God. And you know the mark of the beast has to do allegiance who we gonna serve, who're we gonna follow, who're we gonna obey. And then it has to do with whose commandments are we gonna follow. So that's where it kind of ties in with this but that study guide you mentioned "The Mark of the Beast" would be a great resource for anyone who has question on this. Call 1-800-835-6747, 1-800-835-6747. And ask for the study guide “The Mark of the Beast” and we'll be happy to send that out to you.
Our next caller is Drew and he is calling from Virginia. Drew, welcome to the program.
Drew: Hey. How you all doing?
Pastor Doug: Good.
Drew: I have a pretty good question here. Now I’m sure you're familiar with unorthodox teaching of saying you know the 7 years of tribulation, the whole year is gonna be taken out.
Pastor Doug: Right. Yes.
Drew: Well, that was always in reference to a passage in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 7. I'm sure you're familiar with that.
Pastor Doug: “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”
Drew: Right. And I have a doubt that the Holy Spirit’s gonna be taken out ‘coz I know when Jesus is coming back and that’s at the very end. No second chance but what is this he who’s gonna be taken out of the way?
Pastor Doug: Well it says, you gotta go back a couple of verses in verse 4, it speaks to this, I believe it's the beast power we just talked about with our previous caller.
Drew: Right.
Pastor Doug: “Who opposes and exhausts himself above all that is called God whether it is worshipped so that he as God sits in the temple of God showing Himself that He is God.” Ultimately, it’s the devil. Now what I mean by that is Jesus is the power behind this church. The devil is the power behind this man of sin that it speaks of in Daniel, that you find here, “putting himself in the temple of God.” Now God’s temple today--there's no temple in Jerusalem--God's temple today is people. Jesus said that you know if we're his church that his body is the temple. And the church is the temple of God. You know we're living stones built up to a spiritual house. When the beast power puts himself over God’s people saying you must worship me that's a fulfillment of that. And God will you know God is holding back the winds of strife right now that someday He's gonna release them and things gonna hit the world broad sight, probably not far away. So yeah. I don’t know if I’m answering specifically what you're asking, Drew. And I don’t hear the tone of a happy customer, yet.
Drew: You're saying the wind of strife was gonna be taking out of the way?
Pastor Doug: No, Pastor Ross.
Jean Ross: Just to add to that in a historical context, we know that this power described here is the beast power would only arise and have dominance in the Christian church when pagan Rome was taken out of the way or made way for the establishment of the medieval church. And you know that had an historical application but then we find ourselves today where that is repeated, where there's certain laws that give religious freedom but a time will come when we won’t have religious freedom. And the freedom that we have will be taken away which will help us establish this anti-Christ power once again.
Pastor Doug: And then the winds of strife--
Jean Ross: will be released.
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Drew: Oh, okay so that's pretty much what you were talking about.
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Drew: Could you also point me out to a book [clears throat] that deals with which seal and which trumpet have already come to past because to my understanding the first 6 and the first 6 on both have, I don’t know if that’s accurate but…
Pastor Doug: Oh, Pastor Ross, what do we have on the 7 trumpets and the 7 seals? We've got some studies on this but they go with a series and we can’t send those out because they're part of a set. You know...
Drew: I have 27 study guides.
Pastor Doug: Do you have the book called “The Beast, the Dragon and the Woman"?
Drew: No, I don't.
Pastor Doug: Well, that's something that will certainly help with your first question but it doesn’t get as much into the seals but we'll be happy to send you "The Beast, the Dragon and the Woman" Pastor Ross...
Jean Ross: Yeah, and if you have access--we don’t have this as Amazing Facts, we might have carried it in our store--and it's series on a Book of Daniel and Revelation written by Maxwell which is just a classic on...
Pastor Doug: It gets into the seals.
Jean Ross: It gets through the seals. As a matter of fact, it sort of a commentary on the books.
Drew: Are you familiar with the website called revelationandbibleprophecy.org?
Pastor Doug: It sounds familiar but I can’t say.
Drew: I think it's got Amazing Facts listed as a link, that’s why...
Pastor Doug: Oh, bless their hearts. Well you know, they may have studies there that cover the seals.
Drew: But you don’t know like a specific…
Pastor Doug: Well you know, there's another website. There’s a website a friend operates called Bible Light, Bible Light, I think .org or .net. I think its biblelight.net actually. And it's got a lot of materials. And I think they've got some information on the 7 seals that will give you more on that.
Drew: I'll check that out but the reason I asked you about the book was because I would like to share this with others. And you know internet access is not always easy to come by.
Pastor Doug: Right. Yeah, we're getting a good Book on the 7 seals is one of the deepest subject in the Bible. You know i just tell my friends real quick. There are 3 primary visions in Revelation that hav a lot of sub visions in them. You got this 7 churches, the 7 seals and you got the 7 trumpets. One covers the religious history of the church between the First and the Second Coming. The 7 seals is more of a political history of the church between the First and the Second Coming. The 7 trumpets covers a military history between the First and the Second Coming. So that giving that this is a context, it also helps to understand that big book.
Jean Ross: All right. Well... Our next caller is David listening on WMCA New York. New York. David, welcome to the program.
David: Hi, Pastor Doug. How are you doing tonight?
Pastor Doug: Good. How are you?
David: Good I'm fine. God bless your program.
Pastor Doug: Thank you.
David: I have a question that's been really on my mind for a long time. Do you believe that it is wrong in the eyes of God and Christ for me as a believer to study and try to understand other religions around the world?
Pastor Doug: Well, if your roots are deeply seated in your faith, then I think it's helpful sometimes to try and reach different people to have a little background in what they believe. Now I personally would not find it interesting or even necessarily to delve deeply. I mean sometimes all you need is a cursory? view of the other religions and you can see you know that some of the things are pretty bizarre but sometimes it’s important to become acquainted with the basics so that you can related to them and witness to them. I’ve got a copy of the Koran. I've read exhorts of the Koran. I understand some of the basics of Islam because I have friends that I study with. I know Pastor Ross was in a Bible study not too long ago there were some Islamic friends and it's good to have a little perspective of where they're coming from but you know I don’t know that it's necessary to spend weeks and years going into the depth. There’s so little time we have in our lives to become better acquainted with the truth. You don’t want to spend all your time studying counterfeits.
David: Of course. So you wouldn't think that it is a
Pastor Doug: A sin?
David: A sin.
Pastor Doug: No you know there are some religions that teach if you read or look at anything another religions produces or false religion produces that you know you're gonna be cursed. I think the truth can stand up under investigation if Christians have to go through their experience with blinders on like a horse you know not looking at anything anyone else believes then our religion is suspicious that we're afraid that the truth is going to be a treat. Christianity I think is a very solid religion and it bares scrutiny. You know what I'm saying? we don't have to be afraid. I just don’t want to waste a lot of time studying false teachings.
David: Right.
Pastor Doug: So that I'm not becoming better acquainted with the truth.
David: I had my hands full with Scriptures.
Pastor Doug: Right.
David: Which is a lifelong endeavor so... I do have other you know curiosities in terms of what these other religions some time say and you know how they believe in and anything else.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. One of the many things about the internet today is even if you can get on it, you can usually get sort of a... Go to some of the websites that have the highlight of a religions and you can get a quick crash course in what the basics are in what they believe. Hope that helps a little bit, David. I appreciate your question.
Jean Ross: Our next caller is Teemo, listening on KTIA from Victorville, California. Teemo welcome to the program.
Teemo: Thank you, Doug. Thanks for having me.
Pastor Doug: How can we help you?
Teemo: You hear me?
Pastor Doug: Yeah, loud and clear.
Teemo: Yes, I have a question. You know that I have about and I believe that the devil himself had that he can actually always (inaudible 54:46) the Lord in heaven and obviously he failed but if we passover to heaven, are we capable of having those types of emotions in heaven?
Pastor Doug: Well once we get to heaven, first of all, everybody that's saved is gonna be ultimately be filled with the spirit of God. So right now with the devil in the world, the devil places all kinds of ridiculous thoughts in our mind and rebellious thoughts in our mind but when our heart's… We're given new hearts and we're in the kingdom, we're not even gonna have those thoughts come to us. You can read that passage in Isaiah where it says, “The former things will not be remembered neither will they come in to mind." And I forget where that verse is but I’m pretty sure I quoted it closely. It’s on Isaiah. So I don’t think you'll need to worry about that in the kingdom.
Teemo: But who is there to give the devil those thoughts?
Pastor Doug: You know that's what the Bible calls the mystery iniquity: How the devil first conjured up these proud selfish thoughts? They were just, they spring up within his own heart. It’s like you know people say “Where did AIDS come from? How did these new viruses developed?” Sometimes it's hard to explain sin and I guess if you could explain it, you could make an excuse for it but it's unexplainable.
Jean Ross: We do know that God created Lucifer perfect.
Pastor Doug: And free.
Jean Ross: And free. And yet he chose to exercise his freedom of choice contrary to the will of God.
Pastor Doug: He began to love himself more than God and then it just went downhill from that.
Jean Ross: Just another thought on that, Pastor Doug. The only thing that will remain when all things are made new--I’m talking about the new earth in heaven--are the scars in the hands of Jesus a reminder of his love and the price that was paid for our salvation. I think that says there’s a safe God for the entire universe so that this rebellion will never occur again. We are continually reminded of God’s love and what happen is resolved to sin.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, that's the promises sin will not rise up again the second time in the Book of Nahum because of the scars of Christ. Well friends, oh, if we didn’t get your call tonight, please forgive us and give us another chance. God willing we'll be back again next Sunday evening or whenever you may hear the rebroadcast of this program. Don’t forget the program can go on right now if you just go to the amazingfacts.org website. There you can listen to archives of past programs, some of the TV programs, other radio programs, read the literature. We want to keep you studying the word. We’re trying to reach the world with the truth of Jesus because His message is our mission. Go to the website also and help us just to get to know you. Send us a little note and say I listen from here or there and we appreciate that. Till next week. God bless you.
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