Hello friends, how about an amazing fact? The medieval knight was one of 3 types of fighting men during the middle ages, knights, foot soldiers, and archers. The knight was the equivalent of the modern tank. He was covered in multiple layers of armour and could plow through foot soldiers standing in his way.
No single foot soldier or archer could stand up to any one knight. Knights, also generally were the wealthiest of the 3 types of soldiers. This was for good reason. It was terribly expensive to be a knight. His horse, armour, shield, and weapons cost a fortune. A knight wore a linen shirt and a pair of pants that had wooden blocks sewn onto it, and was covered with a suit of chain-mail, made of over 200,000 tiny metal rings linked together.
Knights also covered their chest, back, arms, and legs with plates of metal. A bucket like helmet with a hinged metal visor protected the knight's face and head. A suit of armour weighed between 40 and 60 pounds. Some knights even protected their horses with armour. The knight's principle weapon were a sword and lance, or spear. The sword was about 32 pounds and was worn on the knight's left side in a case fastened around his waist. His lance was a long wooden pole that had a sharp metal end. It enabled him to engage the enemy while still on horseback.
He also had a shield made of either wood or metal. On average, it took about 5 years to make a coat of armour and about an hour for the knight to put it on, but once in his armour, the knight was almost impenetrable to his enemy. Did you know friends that Christians also need to wear a coat of armour? Stay tuned for more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hello friends, welcome to Bible Answer Live. My name is Jëan Ross Pastor Doug Batchelor is out this evening. If you have a Bible related question, we welcome your call. The number to call is 1-800-GOD-SAYS, that’s 1-800-463-7297. And this is a live national and international Bible study, but before we get to the phone lines and begin taking some of your questions, let’s have a word of prayer.
Father once again we recognize that the Bible is your book, and in order for us to correctly understand it, we ask for the Holy Spirit to guide us. Be with those who are listening, and those who call in, and we pray for wisdom as we search for the answers in your word this evening. For this we ask in Jesus name, amen.
I opened the program by talking about the medieval knight and his coat of armour. It was quite a deal for the knight to put on this armour, it took him over an hour, just to put on all of the various layers of the metal and the wooden blocks for protection, and of the rest that the knight had to put on. But did you know friends, the Bible talks about armour that Christians need to wear?
That’s right! Ephesians Chapter 6:13 says, “Therefore, take up the whole armour of God that you may be able to withstand the evil day, and having done all, to stand”. And then the Bible tells us, what is this spiritual armour? Ephesians 6:14 continues, “Stand therefor, having good at your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith with which you are able to quince all of the fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God”. In order for us to overcome our adversary, the devil, we need to be wearing this special spiritual armour, the Bible talks about.
The sword of the Spirit, the shield of faith, we need to have the truth of God’s word, a breastplate of righteousness, all of these important components, helmet of salvation. Well friends, if you’d like to learn more about this Spiritual armour, and more importantly, how you can put it on. We have a free offer called, “The Armour of God”, and it’s a book written by Pastor Doug Batchelor, it’s free, all you’ll need to do is call our resource line, that’s 1-800-835-6747, that’s 1-800-835-6747. The line here to the studio is 1-800-GOD-SAYS, that’s 1-800-463-7297, and we have some phone lines that are opened, so this would be a good time for you to call, to get your question on the air this evening. We’re going to go to our 1st caller then, and Jasmine is calling from North Carolina. Jasmine, welcome to the program.
Jasmine: Hi, how are you?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good, thank you.
Jasmine: I had a question on different translations of the Bible.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Jasmine: I heard that people should only read the King James Version, because other versions add and take away things. Is that true?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well there are 2 principle manuscripts that most modern Bibles are translated from. The King James is translated from the Textus Receptus. The New King James is translated from the Bazentin text, which is very similar to the Textus Receptus. Then there are another set of manuscripts called the NU text, that some of these other translations are translated from. Now, when it comes to studying the word of God, we need to recognize that the original scriptures were not written in English or Spanish, but the Old Testament, of course, was written in Hebrew, there’s a little bit of Aramaic in the Old Testament, in the book of Daniel, and then the New Testament was written in Greek. SO as we study the word of God, it’s a good idea to have a good concordance. Now we can look up, not only where English words are found in the Bible, but what the meaning of the original Greek words are. Now I believe that the translators, who wrote the King James Version, did an excellent job in translating from the original languages. I believe that’s also true with the New King James, and there are passages in the NIV that are translated very nicely from the NU text, but there are portions of the NU text that are not present, and for that reason, you’ll find there’s verses in the NIV for example, that you won’t find, that’s in the King James Version, or the New King James Version. And that’s simply because the translators of the NIV were using a different set of Greek manuscripts.
Jasmine: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: So, you know, I would say the King James is good, New King James is good. You want to compare scripture with scripture, that’s a good way to study the word of God. But then, get a good concordance and you’ll be able to look up the original meaning of the Greek and Hebrew words.
Jasmine: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, we have a study guide Jasmine, on the Bible, called, “Is There Anything Left You Can Trust?” And we’ll be happy to send that to you. It does talk a little bit about translations, and you can get more information on that. The number to call is 1-800-835-6747, that’s our resource line, 1-800-835-6747, and ask for the study guide, “Is There Anything Left You Can Trust That’s on the Bible?” it’ll give you more about that. The number here to the studio, is 1-800-GOD-SAYS, that’s 1-800-463-7297. Our next caller is John, and John is calling from Washington. John, welcome to the program.
John: Hello?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi John.
John: Hi, thank you for taking my call first of all.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sure.
John: My question is regarding John Chapter 5:2, talking about “The pool of Bethesda”, was it there were 5 porches at the pool? I’m wondering what the significance of the 5 porches are, if it’s just, that’s how many there were.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well there were 5 porches at the pool and either way it was built. They have actually uncovered the architectural digs there in the area of Jerusalem have uncovered what they believe to be the pool of Bethesda, and there are remains of these 5 porches. It appears as though, these 5 porches provided, to some degree, some protection for those who were there from the elements, from the rain, and from the heat, and they lay in these 5 porches. There was the idea, that when the water moved, the 1st person to step into the water was healed. And so these people were lying there, waiting for the moving of the water. Now the reason that’s mentioned, of course in John Chapter 5, is Jesus comes in and sees a man that had been there for a long time, and Jesus said to the man, “Do you want to be made well?” The man said, “I have no one to carry me and put me in the water when the water moves”. And Jesus of course told the man to “Get up, take up his bed, and walk”, and the man was healed completely. So I don’t know if there’s anything, you know, specifically significant about the 5 porches, but they were literally 5 porches surrounding this pool.
John: Okay. Alright, thank you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, thanks for your call John, appreciate it. Our number here in the studio is 1-800-GOD-SAYS, that’s 1-800-463-7297. Our next caller is Martin and he is calling from Brooklyn, New York. Martin, welcome to the program.
Martin: Hello, good evening.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good evening.
Martin: My question is coming from Leviticus 23:28.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Martin: I’m sorry, Leviticus 23:38.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay.
Martin: (inaudible 10:50) beside the Sabbath of the Lord. I wanted to know why that’s saying, “Beside the Sabbath with an F, and not beside the Sabbath without an F?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay, why is the word Sabbath in the plural form?
Martin: Yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. In Leviticus Chapter 23, we have a listing of not only the 7th day Sabbath that we find in the commandments, the 4th commandment, Exodus Chapter 20, but it’s also listing the various ceremonial Sabbaths that the Jews were to keep. For example, the Passover is one of them, or the Day of Atonement is another. Now these various ceremonial Sabbaths fell on different days of the week, because they came on a specific date in the calendar. You know, for example, the 4th of July, it can fall on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, can fall on any day of the week because it’s attached to a specific date in the calendar, not a day of the week. And so the ceremonial Sabbaths or these feast Sabbaths, they could come in any day of the week, and that’s what we find here in Leviticus 23:38, it talks about, “Besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, besides your gifts and so on”, they were to observe and keep the ceremonial Sabbaths, but they were also to remember to 7th day Sabbath. Now when a ceremonial Sabbath fell on the 7th day Sabbath, it was considered a “High Sabbath”. And in John, it talks about, “The day that Jesus was crucified, was the preparation day, and the Sabbath (inaudible 12:23), and that was a High Sabbath”. So that was the Passover that fell on the 7th day Sabbath.
Martin: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We’ve got a study guide dealing with the subject of the Sabbath, it’s called, “The Last Day in History, or Last Day of History”, and we’ll be happy to send that out to you, all you’ll need to do is call our resource line, that 1-800-835-6747, and ask for the study guide on the Sabbath, “The Last Day in History”, and we’ll be happy to send that to you.
Martin: Alright, thank you sir.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, thanks for your call Martin. The number here to the studio is 1-800-GOD-SAYS, that’s 1-800-463-7297. Our next caller is Joseph, listening on WMCA from New York, New York. Joseph, welcome to the program.
Joseph: Good evening Pastor Ross.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good evening.
Joseph: Pastor, you had mentioned previously, that Jesus said “There was none greater then John the Baptist”, and then you put Enoch, Noah, and Abraham in his category. Did you mean that, they were as great as John the Baptist?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well you know, when you think of John the Baptist, he didn’t write a book, he didn’t perform any miracle that we know of, he didn’t call fire down from heaven”
Joseph: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: he was a powerful preacher.
Joseph: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: But when you look at his life, and you look at some of the lives of some of the great prophets of the Old Testament, you got prophets that, you know, wrote powerful books, Isaiah, Jeremiah, you have Daniel that spent a night in the lion’s den. You’ve got some of these great men of the Old Testament. When Jesus said, that “There’s not a risen one greater than John the Baptist”, that would mean that John the Baptist was on par with these great men of the Old Testament.
Joseph: As great.
Pastor Jëan Ross: In other words, in the eyes of heaven, he did a very important work, a very important work,
Joseph: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: and Jesus was acknowledging that.
Joseph: But no greater than the others that you mentioned? As great.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes, I would say, not necessarily greater than the others, but as great.
Joseph: now, would you put David and Solomon in that category, or in a lesser category?
Pastor Jëan Ross: No, I think you can put them in that category, they had the gift of prophecy, they both wrote books in the Bible.
Joseph: Just one other, Melchizedek
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Joseph: one time I heard him mentioned as being a predecessor of Jesus. What category do you put him in pastor?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, the Bible doesn’t say a whole lot about Melchizedek, you can read about him in Genesis, and Melchizedek was a priest of the most high God, he was also a king of a place called Salam. Salam, eventually became Jerusalem
Joseph: Yes, it’s a continuation.
Pastor Jëan Ross: with the connection of the word. When Abraham returned from delivering Lot, and his family, and some of the inhabitants, they were taken captive, he gave a tenth, he gave a tithe of all that he had to Melchizedek. So Abraham acknowledged Melchizedek as being a priest of God.
Joseph: Would you say he was as great as John the Baptist, or greater?
Pastor Jëan Ross: No, I don’t think he was greater than John the Baptist, and we don’t know that much about him, other than what is recorded there in Genesis. And the in Hebrew, Paul refers to Melchizedek, and says, that, “He is a type of Christ”, because Jesus is a High priest, but He’s also a King.
Joseph: But he was a living person, wasn’t he, Melchizedek?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes, he was a living person.
Joseph: Because I think it said, “He has no beginnings”, and something like that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yeah, Hebrews talks about that, and that’s confused some people. We have no record of who his parents were, we have no record of his death, but it doesn’t mean to say that never happened.
Joseph: Thank you very much, thank you so much.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re welcome Joseph, thanks for your call.
Joseph: Good evening.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good evening. The number here in the studio is 1-800-GOD-SAYs, that 1-800-463-7297. Our next caller is Michael, and he is calling from New Jersey, listening on WMCA. Michael, welcome to the program.
Michael: Good evening, how are you? Praise Jesus.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good, thank you.
Michael: I have my questions in regards to Kings, 2nd Kings Chapter 4. And that’s just, kind of a multiple part question but I’ll make in quick for you. In the 35th Chapter, you have “Elijah healing a young boy who had died, and there’s a whole story behind it”, that you guys read in Chapter 4. When he lays on the boy’s body, he puts his hands on his lips on his lips, and his eyes on his eye, stretches out his body, he warms his body, and he gets up, and he walks around, and he does it again, and he kneels down before the boy, and then the boy sneezes 7 times before he’s brought back from death. What’s the significance of the boy sneezing 7 times?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay, the number 7 in the Bible, represents completeness, represents perfection. And in that sense, the boy was made completely whole, he was restored physically to completeness. You know, that would be the significance of the number 7. Now, there is an interesting part in this that you mentioned, where Elijah was to lay on the boy to warm him, and then he paced up and down and prayed. God could have healed that boy instantly. There were time when Jesus healed people, when He healed Lazarus, Jesus said, “Lazarus come forth”, and immediately, Lazarus was healed. But this to a large degree, was testing the faith of the prophet, because this is not something that was commonly done, you know, very few resurrections that we have recorded in the Old Testament, and yet the prophets believed that God could do this, and he fervently prayed, and God heard Elijah’s prayer, and the boy was healed. So in that sense, that’s why there was the delay, to test the faith of the prophet. The fact that the boy sneezed 7 times, represents completeness, he was healed completely, he was restored physically. Does that help Michael? Michael you there? We might have lost him. Again friends, if you like more information on that, I encourage you to read in 2nd Kings 4:34, you can read the whole story there, fascinating story about the prophet Elijah. Our next caller is Diane, and she’s listening on WMCA, from New York, New York. Diane, welcome to the program.
Diane: HI, thank you very much for taking my call. I’m calling if you could give some Bible verses stressing the sanctity of life, most especially, the intrinsic evil of abortion, or gay marriage, or euthanasia, given that our elections are coming up. I’m wondering if you could give Bible verse that stress that show the sanctity of life, and would demonstrate that such things as abortion would clearly be an intrinsic evil, or that’s
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay.
Diane: the one that’s most
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sure.
Diane: we’re facing, you know, on a grand scale in this country.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay, let me begin with abortion briefly, and then we can talk about marriage, I’ll give you a few verses on that.
Diane: Okay, and also of course, I would also put in that category euthanasia, or embryonic stem cell research, and the death penalty.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay, let me give you a few verses
Diane: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: with reference to abortion. The Bible tells in Jeremiah Chapter 1:5, God says, “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, and before thou commeth forth from the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee prophet unto the nations”. So God is acknowledging Jeremiah even before his birth, says God, “I knew thee when you were formed in the womb”, and God had purposed and planned that he would be a prophet. The Bible tells us in Exodus, in the commandments, Thou shall not kill”, and to take life especially of the innocent is contrary to God’s commandments, contrary to God’s will. There’s many examples in the Bible…
Diane: Can you give examples that would encourage listeners to… because it’s been so hard to over throw abortion in this country that is there any scriptural verses that would encourage people to vote in order to protect the sanctity of life, that they see this as their responsibility?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know, I hope that everyone who claims to be a Christian would study the word, to discover truth from the Bible on these important issues. You know, that brings to the next issue of, in California, there’s proposition 8, dealing with “Gay marriage”
Diane: Yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The Bible’s very clear on what marriage is.
Diane: Sanctity of marriage between a man and woman.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The Bible, that’s right, the Bible defines marriage as being a relationship that God has blessed, and it’s a commitment for life, between a man and a woman. Now of course, we can go right back to Genesis, where God created Adam, and then he created Eve, and Adam said, “This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh, and that two shall be one, for this reason shall a man leave his father and his mother, shall cleave unto his wife, and the two shall become one”, and Jesus spoke of that in the gospels, and said, “For this reason, a man shall leave his father, and his mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and the two shall become one”. So the Bible’s very clear on what marriage is. We have a book dealing with the subject of marriage, called, “Keys to a Happy Marriage”.
Diane: No, that right. My call was really to ask for verse that again, would stress the sanctity of life, and that would encourage your listeners to recognize that it’s
Pastor Jëan Ross: Right.
Diane: that it’s our duty.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well again,
Diane: to try to protect those who are most vulnerable in society, in regarding the shedding of innocent blood, these people, they’re unborn but they have rights just like we do, they have the right to life.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Right. Diane, as I said, “I hope Christians will study this out”, the Bibles very clear on the importance of protecting life. You know again, let me mention for anyone wondering about the subject of marriage, and what the Bible has to say about that. As for that free offer, 1-800-835-6747, and ask for the study guide, “Keys to a Happy Marriage”, we also have a book dealing with “homosexuality”, that you might also find interesting. It’s called, “Return to Sodom”, and you can ask for that book. Again, the number is 1-800-835-6747, that’s our resource line. Our next caller is Isabel, listening from New York, on WMCA. Isabel, welcome to the program.
Isabel: Hi, how are you?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good, thank you.
Isabel: I’m sorry, I have a bit of a sore throat. Can you hear me?
Pastor Jëan Ross: I can hear you.
Isabel: Okay. Well my question is kind of like 2 folds. 1st is, in the book of Revelation, I remember reading one time, that in heaven, you have people of all nations, all cultures. And the thing that was very different and I was, you know, really intrigued, was that the Jewish people would have a special song that only they could sing before the throne of God. Is this, do you… because I can’t find this now, I don’t know where it is.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay, let me maybe see if I can give you the verse. Revelation Chapter 15:3, talks about the “Song of Moses and the song of the lamb”.
Isabel: Okay, 15:3.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Isabel: Okay great. Now, what does it mean that only the Jewish people? Like say, “Okay, we’ve accepted Christ, we are adopted into God’s family, but only the Jewish people are allowed to sing this special song”.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay, alright. 1st of all, when you recognize, that in the New Testament, when Paul speaks of the Jew, he’s very clear to say, “Those who believe in Christ, they are adopted into Israel”, now we’re not talking about literally, it’s talking about spiritual Israel. And they’re for seen as descendants of Abraham and heirs according to the promise. So all of the promises that God made to ancient Israel, and to Abraham, to those who believe in Christ in the New Testament time, they are adopted into the family of Abraham, they are spiritual Jews. So this song, that Revelation 15 talks about, where they sing the song of Moses, and the song of the lamb. It’s a song that the redeemed will sing
Isabel: Everybody?
Pastor Jëan Ross: not just literal Jews. Yes, those who have come out of those final moments of verse history. Whoever experienced this dramatic deliverance with the enemies coming against them, but God delivers them, they are the ones who sing the song of Moses and the lamb, it’s not just limited to literal Jews.
Isabel: I put it wrong. Thanks so much. The other part of my question is in Reference to Genesis Chapter 12:1-3. Basically, it’s the promise that God makes to Abraham
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Isabel: While he was called Abram at that time. Could you read it pastor?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sure. “Now the Lord had said unto Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee, And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing”. Do you want me to keep going?
Isabel: Up to 3.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed”.
Isabel: Well, I thought that was very significant, especially in today’s time…
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well let me add a little bit more to that verse there, just to kind of build on that. The most important blessing that God gave to Abraham and to his descendants was the promise that through them, the Messiah would come. And that’s referred to here in verse 3, where he says, “And I will bless them that bless thee, curse them that curse thee”. And then it says, “And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed”. And it was through the line of Abraham, that of course Jesus came. And the greatest blessing that anyone can receive is to receive Jesus as his personal saviour, and he becomes a spiritual Jew, adopted into the family of Abraham.
Isabel: Well it’s certainly true, and my concern is though, that people are forgetting Israel, they’re not thinking of Israel the nation in great need at this time. And it’s just really sad because, you know, we’re very happy to accept Christ and know Him as our saviour, but then I think most Christians, a majority of them forget the nation of Israel, you know, how they’re suffering, and what’s happening to them, and you know, the surrounding nations that really want them off the face of the earth.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And you know, when we talk about Israel, I believe that God wants us to reach out to them with the gospel. I believe that there are many sincere Jews who have not been presented in a winsome manner, they never been shown the gospel, and how that Jesus does fulfil all of the prophecies of the Old Testament, that He is indeed their Messiah. And I believe that when that happens, there will be many Jews that’ll make their stand for Jesus.
Friends, I hear music playing in the background, we’re coming up on a half an hour break, and just some important announcement that I’d like to give you during the break. Don’t go away, this is Bible Answers Live, we still got another half an hour to go. You can go to the phone lines now, if you like, and you can call, the number to call to the studio is 1-800-GOD-SAYS, that’s 1-800-463-7297. We have, I think 2 or 3 lines opened still so this would be a good time for you to call. Also, in the break, if you’d like to get a pen or a pencil, we’re going to be giving you some free resources in the 2nd half of the program, and you might want to jolt down the name of those resources, and also our resource number, so that you can call, and receive those resources. So don’t go too far away, we’ll be back in just a few moments.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hello friends, welcome back, this is Pastor Jëan Ross, Pastor Doug is out today, but this is Bible Answers Live, and if you have a Bible related question, the number to call is 1-800-GOD-SAYS, that’s 1-800-463-7297. We’re going to go to the phone lines our next caller is Barrette, listening on KPRZ, from San Diego, California. Barrette, welcome to the program.
Barrette: Good evening Ross. On the eve of the elections, I think I’d like to add another scripture for the lady Diane, if I could.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Barrette: Maybe you could find it real quick if you have a computer. It’s the one where Jesus says, that “The conception is His very own flesh, as the church is the body of Christ”, because he says, “That which you do unto the least of these, you do unto me”. I don’t remember where that is in the Bible, but Diane can use that one as well.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right, it’s a good verse that Jesus was talking about, “If we do it unto the least of these”, and He’s talking about, “The least of society”,
Barrette: Yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: He says, “You’re doing it unto me”.
Barrette: He’s also speaking of, I’ve heard an interpreter, speaking of “Little children”. But anyway, what I wanted to ask you is, I’ve always wondered, you know, the rivers that are in the Garden of Eden, the tigress, the (inaudible 31:50), and I forget which ones they are now. Those rivers still exist, and yet the flood of Noah rearranged the single continent into the separate continents that we have now, and I understand that all the animals were able the get into the ark because there was only one continent. And now they broke up in the 40 days and 40 night, even (inaudible 32:19), they don’t believe the Bible, they understand that all the continents used to be connected.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Right.
Barrette: how was it that those rivers still exist?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay.
Barrette: And it was such (inaudible 32:30), geological, cataclysmic disruption.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good question. Now remember when Moses wrote Genesis,
Barrette: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That of course was after the flood. And in, under divine inspiration, he was giving us a location for where the flood, where the Garden of Eden was, prior to the flood, and he describes it as being a location related to these rivers. Now what happened during the flood, did God preserve those rivers after the flood, to keep their banks, or did God say to Moses, “This is the place where the Garden of Eden was, and these rivers will be indicators so that you can know where it is”? Either way
Barrette: Yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: we understand that the Garden of Eden was in the Middle East that was sort of the hub of civilization. And from there, you know, Noah’s ark rested, on Mount Ararat, and civilization spread out from there. So it’s quite possible that the Garden of Eden was located there in the Middle East.
Barrette: Okay, God bless thanks a lot.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for your call Barrette, appreciate it. Our next caller is Sulay, calling from Florida. Sulay, welcome to the program.
Sulay: Okay, God bless, thanks a lot.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sulay, you there? Our next caller is Sulay. Sulay, are you there?
Sulay: How you doing?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Can you hear me now?
Sulay: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi, and this is?
Sulay: This is Sulay from
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sulay.
Sulay: Miami, Florida.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, we found you, alright.
Sulay: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: What’s your question tonight?
Sulay: Yes, I can hear you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay.
Sulay: Yes. My question…
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sulay, do you have your radio on in the back ground?
Sulay: Yes, I lowered it.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay, could you turn that down? Alright, thank you.
Sulay: Yes, I turn it down.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, and your question?
Sulay: My question is concerning some statement of (inaudible 34:21) and Luke 9:59, “For the Son of man, if not come to destroy man’s life, but to save them”, it is completely omitted in NIV. The same sort of statement, is also left out in NIV, is version of Matthew 18:11. What do you say to that?
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, in the original manuscripts that was used for the translation of the NIV, the NU text. For some reason, this verse was missing. And so when the translators, translated the NIV, because there was no verse 56 in the manuscript that they were actually translating from, they just left it out.
Sulay: Okay, that comes to another question. Now do we have the 2 manuscripts?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Sulay: The Text Receptecus and the text Fanatucus.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Sulay: which is the Alexandra text. Now these text, there is one that is perverted, and there is one that is the original, that is preserved from that of the Antioch text, one from Antioch. So, which one do we believe, because there is one that is perverted, and from there, all of the versions is coming up, and to the extent that Jesus day 3, and the sound sleep of Jesus Christ has almost been omitted in all those text.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Sulay: I mean, look at, if we look at, is it Revelation…
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well Sulay, let me try and jump in here a little bit, and talk about these translations,
Sulay: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: you bring up a very good point.
Sulay: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, the verse, and I’m looking at it in the King James Versio, which is Luke 9:56, “For the Son of man has come, not to destroy man’s lives, but to save them”
Sulay: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s a beautiful verse, it’s a summary of the gospel, and it’s a real shame that, that’s not included in some of these other translations.
Sulay: Yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, that’s part of the debate, over these translations I’m very comfortable with the King James, the New King James, the text that they were used, the Textus Receptus, The Byzantine text, has stood the test of time, it’s been tested from all angles, it’s been proven true.
Sulay: Yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: So I… especially when it comes to studying the Bible in depth studying.
Sulay: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: I like to use the King James, the New King James Version.
Sulay: Yes. and I know that place is like a, Revelation 1:13, when John saw, in the midst of the (inaudible 37:05), John said in NIV, “Is it someone like Son of man, instead of one like unto the Son of man”, at the King James.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Sulay: So, you know, it’s like they are chipping away the dating of Christ.
Pastor Jëan Ross: It appears that way, doesn’t it? It absolutely does. You know, we’ve got a book dealing with Bible translations, that I think our listeners will find very interesting, it’s called, “The Faithful Witness”. And if you’d like to learn more about these different translations, the different original manuscripts that were used, call 1-800-835-6747, ask for the book, “The Faithful Witness”, dealing with the Bible, and we’ll be happy to send that out to you. Clifford is listening on WMCA, from New Jersey. Clifford, welcome to the program.
Clifford: How’s it going? I told the screener “the one thing about the nashing of teeth in Matthew”, but I wanted to change it. The four world views, the futuristic, and then I think there’s 3 other some that it talks about that one in Revelation.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Clifford: What is the deal with people having 4 world views? Is it just their background, because we can’t look God in the face, so if Christ is coming back, if there’s a scripture that says, “Like a thief in the night”, wouldn’t we just die? And then I don’t understand the thousand years, and then 7 years this, and Satan, like God gives it over to Satan, and then what does he do during then, I don’t understand that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay, good question. In case I forget, at the end, I’m going to hopefully remember this, but if I forget, we have a study guide dealing with this subject, it’s called, “A Thousand Years of Peace”, it’s free, you can call our resource line and just ask for that. Let me quickly mention a few things about that. There’s 3 main world views, at least, 3 ways of interpreting Bible prophecy. You have the futuristic interpretation, you got the pretorist interpretation, and then you have the historicist interpretation. The futurist interpretation place most of Revelation in the future. The pretorist view places most of the prophetic passages, Revelation, and Matthew 24, the things that Jesus spoke, in the past. Then you have the histories view that sort of traces prophecy and sees it’s fulfilment through history. Starting with the time of Babylon, all the way through the different world empires, all the way through the time of Christ, and then continuing all the way up to now, and Revelation deals with events, Revelation Chapter 13, event’s taking place in our world today, and so, you have these different views. The historicist view, was the view that was held by the protestant reformation, and based upon that form of Bible interpretation, they were identifying Catholicism at the time, as being part of the anti-Christ that Paul speaks about in the New Testament. So to move the focus of Catholicism, they were the 2 views that were introduced at that point in time. The pretorist view, which places everything in the past, and the futuristic view, that places everything in the future, and that came about, to move the spotlight away, from what the protestant reformers were saying. Now in reference to the 1000 years, how that works when Jesus comes? Revelation Chapter 1:7, speaking of “The 2nd coming of Christ”, says, “Behold He comes with clouds, and every eye will see him, and those also appears to Him”. So when Jesus comes with all of His holy angels, everybody will see Jesus when He comes, it won’t be a secret coming, everyone will see Jesus, they’ll hear Jesus, Jesus said, that “He’s coming would be as the lightning, shining from the East, even to the West, so also shall the coming of the Son of man be”. So if you want more information on that, I’d encourage you to take a look at that study guide called, “A Thousand Years of Peace”, we’ll be happy to send that to you, and that’s help give you some additional verses on that subject Clifford.
Clifford: Because I don’t know if I’m any of those views, I don’t know if I believe any of that. Would that mean I don’t believe those parts in the Bible?
Pastor Jëan Ross: No, I think what you need to do is study the Bible and find out which view actually harmonises with scripture the best. Now with my research, I found that the historicist view is in harmony with the prophetic interpretation of scripture. And you can look at Daniel, Daniel has a vision and then he explains the vision, and he has these different beasts and he says, “These different beasts represent these different kingdoms that come”. So based upon Daniels explanation of prophecy, we can see historicist application. And so, that’s the way we study the Bible, we must let the Bible interpret itself.
Clifford: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, good call, thank you for calling. Our next caller is Robert, and he’s calling from Oregon. Robert, welcome to the program.
Robert: Hello.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi.
Robert: My question is in Ephesians 2 Chapter 5-6, it says, “By grace you have been saved, and raised up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. And then, in Revelation 3, Chapter 21, it says, “To him overcomes will I grand sit with me on my throne”. And I understand His throne is in the heavens, so can you explain that to me?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. So in Ephesians, the verse that you’re referring to, it’s talking about those who believe in Christ, will receive Jesus as our personal saviour. Christ is our representative, appears before the Father on our behalf, and the promise to those who overcome in Revelation 3:21, “That we will be with Christ and sitting with Him on His throne”. So Ephesians is talking about Jesus as our High Priest, ministering on our behalf in our absence if you like. But finally, when Jesus comes again, the redeemed will be taken to heaven, and they will sit with Christ on His throne, which is the Father’s throne.
Robert: Okay. So they’re not contradicting one another?
Pastor Jëan Ross: No it’s not, Ephesians is emphasising Christ as our representative and our intercessor in the heavens, and Revelation Chapter 3:21 is talking about, “In reality, when we’re actually up there, and we’ll be sitting with God on His throne, with Christ. You know, we have a book dealing with heaven, talks a little bit more about God’s throne, it’s called, “Heaven, is it for Real?” And Robert, if you’d call our resource line, that’s 1-800-835-6747, and ask for the book, “Heaven, is it for Real?” We’ll be happy to send that to you. Cindy is listening on the internet, from Miami, Florida. Cindy, welcome to the program.
Cindy: Yes. Hello,
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi Cindy.
Cindy: Hi.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And your question?
Cindy: I’m sorry. Yes, hello? I apologize.
Pastor Jëan Ross: No problem, what’s your question this evening?
Cindy: My question is, what chapter or verse says, that, “Prophet Jeremiah and the high priest hid the ark of the covenant”?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well it doesn’t, there’s no verse in scripture that says that.
Cindy: No?
Pastor Jëan Ross: No.
Cindy: Because I remember Pastor Doug Batchelor mention it in one of his sermons.
Pastor Jëan Ross: It is very strongly believed that, that’s what’s happened, and here’s why Jeremiah does predict the 70 years of Babylonian captivity, and the prophet Jeremiah spoke about the even that was to come, he even gave the signs of the capture of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. Some time prior to that, the Ark of the Covenant was removed from the sanctuary, and it was hidden somewhere, we don’t know where. And so, many scholars, have concluded, that Saint Jeremiah was the one that actually spoke about the coming of the destruction of Jerusalem, he was probably involved in removing the Ark of the Covenant, and hiding it, because he knew that the destruction of the temple was near.
Cindy: So in other words, there is no chapter or verse that mentions that in the Bible?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Where Jeremiah himself went and hid the Ark? No.
Cindy: Yeah, with the high priest helping him.
Pastor Jëan Ross: No, not specifically.
Cindy: But that’s just a legend or…
Pastor Jëan Ross: No, I think it’s true, based upon the fact that Jeremiah does predict the 70 years of the Babylonian captivity,
Cindy: Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: and the fact that he knew it was coming, and the Ark was removed, we do know that, the Ark was removed from the temple and hidden somewhere, and we don’t know exactly where it is. Does that help?
Cindy: It helps a little. (Laughing)
Pastor Jëan Ross: (Laughing) Sorry I can’t give you more information on that, we don’t have a book dealing specifically with that subject, if we had, I’ll be happy to send it to you, but that’s about all that we have on the Ark being hidden. Our next caller is Rose, and she is calling from New Jersey. Rose, welcome to the program.
Rose: Hello?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi!
Rose: Hello Jëan, nice to hear you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes, thank you for your call.
Rose: My question is about Mary the mother of Jesus. I know she was at the cross when Jesus died, and I wanted to know, does the Bible mention her after that?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes it does, Acts 1:14. It says, “These all continued with one according in prayer and supplication, with the woman, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren”. And this is talking about they were in the upper room, when they gathered together and the Holy Spirit came upon them. So this is after Christ ascension to heaven.
Rose: How interesting, never read that verse. And also, what does bond servants mean?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Bondservants was a form of servants that we find in the Old Testament, which was actually more like slaves, then servants. So it was more like slaves back in Bible times.
Rose: So when God says it was bondservants that means…
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes, well Paul refers to that, he says, “We are God’s bondservants”. Now a bondservant was someone that was owned, it wasn’t a servant, it was actually a slave that was owned its master. And in that sense, Paul says, “We are owned by Christ, because we’ve been bought be His blood”.
Rose: Amen. And also, I have a verse for Diane, its Ecclesiastic 11:5.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Ecclesiastic 11:5
Rose: it talks about pregnant women and…
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay great, well thank you, appreciate that. Diane, if you’re listening,
Rose: Okay, thank you so much.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Ecclesiastic Chapter 5. Our next caller is Joseph, and he’s calling from New York. Joseph, welcome to the program.
Joseph: Yes, how’re you doing pastor?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good, thank you. And your question this evening?
Joseph: Okay, my question is, I’ve heard that once you are saved (inaudible 47:30), you are saved. Could you lose your faith, my question is, could you lose your faith and is that scriptural?
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, we do have a little book dealing with that as well, called, “Can a Saved Man be Lost?”
Joseph: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: and Joseph, you might want to call our number and ask for that, 1-800-835-6747. Let me tell you what that little book says. The answer is yes, you can lose your salvation. For example, Revelation Chapter 3:5, it says, “He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment and I will not blot his name out of the book of life”.
Joseph: Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Jesus says, “He that endures to the end, the same shall be saved”, in Matthew 24. So there is a certain degree of endurance that is needed for the Christian. Now that doesn’t mean to say that we can’t have confidence, that, you know, Christ has worked within us, that He will save us, but we also want to recognize that there is a possibility for us wondering away from Christ, or losing that 1st love experience.
Joseph: Right. I’ve made that because me and my self being a Christian, I found myself straying from people of God, I’ve had not fellowshipped with my own church in a while, and I believe, it’s because I’m more concerned with things of the world, issues (inaudible 49:00-49:02) really, that kind of led me away from my war, a phase, because what I’m going through is natural, and it’s effecting my spiritual…
Pastor Jëan Ross: Right.
Joseph: So that’s something that I’ve had a question about, my space, you know, am I still a child of God?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know, the good news is that even if we do wonder away, we can come home. Jesus told the parable about the prodigal son who was once in his father’s house, but then he left, and he wasted all the money that he had, that his father had given him, “And finally he came to his senses” the Bible says, and returned home to his father, and his father met him a long way of and embraced him, and he was busy apologizing, but the father was overjoyed that his son had returned. And there are times, when as Christians, we wonder away from God, and got to kneel down, and say, "Lord, please forgive me, help me to keep my focus on you”. And as long as we do that, that Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He’s faithful, and just to forgive us, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”, and we can claim that promise and hold on to that. Don’t feel that, you know, just because you’ve wondered away, that there’s no hope.
Joseph: Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Does that help Joseph?
Joseph: Yes, you answered my question, and I will call the resource line to get that book.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes, “Can a Saved Man be Lost?” It’s 1-800-835-6747. Our next caller is Ezekiel, and he is calling from Florida. Ezekiel, welcome to the program.
Ezekiel: Thank you very much, God bless.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And your question?
Ezekiel: Yes, I’m really big into the financial market as we see it today, everything’s going really, really bad, and I knew that, by September of this year, we were going to see the beginning signs of the collapse of the dollar, and the economy. The latest news on Leap 2020, is saying that, “By summer of 09”, they’re saying that the dollar, there’s going to be a new currency coming out. So my question is about Revelation Chapter 13, where it speaks about, “You will not be able to buy or sell”. I’m thinking, as we get closer to this new currency that’s basing to pop our here in the United States, and as the rest of the world. What’s your opinion on that, do you see it coming down this fast where they’re going to soon bring out… I know we have national I.D cards coming out soon, I’m just wondering, is all this playing out like so soon?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay, good question, let me read the verse here for those who are listening, this is Revelation Chapter 13, I’m going to begin with verse 16. It says, “And he that is the second beast”, described in Revelation 13, “And he causeth all, both small, and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark on their right hand, or in their foreheads: That no man might buy or sell, save he that has the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name”. And so we find that as… at the end of time, there is this, this united effort that
Ezekiel: Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: forces people to worship a certain way, and that’s brought about by an increase of natural disasters. There’s the threat of terrorism, you have economic challenges as we see right now. It creates the stage for this enforcing of a certain form of worship. Those who refuse to go along with this, the Bible tells us, that “there’s going to be economic restrictions placed upon them to the point where they can’t buy or sell”. Now what’s so fascinating to me about this verse? You know, a 150 years ago, it would be very difficult to enforce a decree, that no man could buy and sell. You know, people didn’t have credit cards, people didn’t have banking account, or the banking system that we have today.
Ezekiel: Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: it would have been very hard to enforce this type of command. But today, as we can see in the economy, things are so interlaced and interlinked, that it is possible for this command to be enforced, where those who refuse to go along with these certain laws, they won’t be able to buy and sell, whether it’s their banking account that it’s just frozen, whether they
Ezekiel: Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: can’t use a credit card, or whether it’s a national I.D, or whatever the case might be. The stage is set for the fulfilment of Revelation Chapter 13.
Ezekiel: Wow, I could really see it coming to pass now.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Absolutely, yup, the Bible will be fulfilled.
Ezekiel: Thank you so much brother, I appreciate that,
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay, for those…
Ezekiel: and God bless.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, thanks for your call. For those who are listening, for more information on Revelation Chapter 13, you want to know more about this “beast power”. We have a book called, “Who is the Anti-Christ”, and we’ll be happy to send that to you. The number is 1-800-835-6747. Our next caller is Jackie, Jackie welcome to the program, calling from Sacramento, California.
Jackie: Hi, thank you for taking my call.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sure.
Jackie: My neighbour’s dog just got hit by a car today and died, and you know, I was trying to comfort her, and had said, you know, that “she hoped, she’d see her in heaven”, and I just wondered if there was anything on that in the Bible, and anything else maybe, that I can help comfort her with, because for the baby Christian.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, it’s always difficult to lose a pet. I’ve had to bury several of our family pets and it’s… especially for children, it’s very difficult. We know that Jesus died for people, He died for us, and in that sense, He’s going to save human beings, but I don’t want to discourage someone who loves a pet. That specific pet might not be in heaven, but God is quite able to create a pet just like that pet in heaven, that has the same disposition, except it’s not the vicious, or selfish disposition that a lot of animals have now, but it’ll be a beautiful animal that’ll being comfort, and hope, and I think in heaven, there will be pets that resemble the pets that we have down here, and they’ll bring comfort and hope to us. Heaven is going to be a place of joy, it’s going to be a place of peace, but our specific animals down here, unfortunately, won’t be in heaven with us.
Jackie: Is there somewhere in the Bible where it, you can give me a verse where it talks about that?
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, there is a verse in the Bible specifically, that says, you know, “Our pets won’t go the heaven”, but the Bible does tell us in Isaiah, that “There will be animals in heaven”, talks about the lion laying down with the lamb, and a little child will lead them, that’s described in the new earth”, and it’s a beautiful, beautiful description. It’s Isaiah Chapter 11:6, and Isaiah 65:25.
Jackie: 65:25.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Jackie: Okay, great.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright! Well thank you for your call Jackie.
Jackie: Thank you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We appreciate it.
Jackie: Bye-bye.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Our next caller is Lionel, calling from Louisiana I hope I pronounce your name correctly. Lionel, are you there?
Lionel: Yes sir, Lionel.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes, hi Lionel, and your question?
Lionel: Yes sir, I have a question. I’m studying Bible prophecy in Revelations, and I have a clear understanding of the 7 spirits.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know Lionel we are running out of time, I hear the music playing in the background.
Lionel: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Give me your question real quick.
Lionel: I just want to know whether the 5th trumpet with the (inaudible 56:41), and the 6th trumpet, the angel from the (inaudible 56:43).
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. The 5th trumpet, talking about the locus have been identified as the wars during the time periods of the crusades, where Christians are fighting against the Muslims, that’s been identified as that. And also, the drying up of the river Euphrates is connected with the coming of the 2nd coming of Jesus, and the down fall of Babylon, which is described in Revelation Chapter 17. I’m sorry, that’s a very quick answer to a very, very deep subject, Revelation is filled with these deep themes. Well friends, thank you for joining us again for Bible Answers Live, we are glad that you’ve chosen to be with us. Please take a look at our website, Amazingfacts.org.
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