Dennis Tito - Space Traveler

Dennis started his career as a space scientist designing flight paths for three historic Mars Missions. He then worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California for five years. He left there to set up a private finance company, Wilshire Associates, where he made his fortune. But, Dennis never lost his love for the heavens. After years of negotiation and lots of red tape on April 28, 2001 Dennis Tito was chauffeured by two cosmonauts in their Soyuz-32 space craft to the International Space Station. Tito spent seven days, 22 hours and 4 minutes in space and orbited the earth 128 times making him the first private citizen to purchase a trip into space. I wonder if he booked his vacation on Orbitz website.

Tito paid a reported 20 million dollars for this trip becoming the world’s first space tourist. While in space Dennis performed several scientific experiments that he said would be useful for his company and business. He was sorry his vacation could only last for a week, but did you know that the Bible says it is possible to book a journey that will last for eons? The good news is that the travel arrangements are already paid for in full. Friends on this edition of “Bible Answers Live” we’re going to talk about ways where you can book that vacation as well.

If you have just joined us this is a live, international, interactive Bible study and we invite you to call in your Bible questions. There’s toll free number. That number is 800-GOD-SAYS that’s 800-463-7297 and right now we still have a couple of lines open. If you want to make that call, you have a good chance of getting on tonight’s broadcast. 800-GOD-SAYS ~ 800-463-7297 and my name is Doug Batchelor.

And my name is Jean Ross. Good evening listening friends and Pastor Doug, it’s good to finally be back in the studio. We were gone there for awhile.

Pastor Doug: And it’s going different directions. I think where was I? I was in Europe last week.

Pastor Ross: You were in Europe and I was off in the Caribbean for some meetings there, but it is good to be back together. Before we go to the Bible let’s start with a word of prayer. Dear father we thank you again for the opportunity to share truth over the over the airways. Bless those who are listening and give us wisdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Pastor Doug: Amen.

Pastor Ross: Well what a vacation, seven days in space. It’s not something I guess too many people can afford. I asked you before the program if there was anyone else who bought a ticket, a civilian, to go up into space and you aid you hadn’t heard of anyone else.

Pastor Doug: I don’t know of anyone who has purchased the right to go up there because not too many can afford it. But, they have had some private citizens who have either gone on the Shuttle Missions or to the Space Station. Now the Russians may have taken a couple of people up, but I don’t know that they made it to the Space Station and of course there are several private companies right now that are developing technology to take tourists into space. But, you think about how much a person would pay for a little bit in the heavens. And yet we can spend eternity in the heavens with a ticket that has already been purchased and I think our friends realize of course that is speaking of the gift of everlasting life that Jesus has purchased for us and when the Lord comes to receive those that are saved; we’re going to take a trip through the stars. And we may have some listeners who want to know more about that. We have a free offer that talks about how they get to be involved in that journey.

Pastor Ross: We have a study guide called, “Colossal City in Space” it’s talking about heaven and the place that God is preparing for us that love Him. It’s free. Call our resource line 1-800-835-6747 ~ 1-800-835-6747 and ask for the study guide, “Colossal City in Space” and we’ll be happy to send it to you.

Pastor Doug: You know I like that song, “Rock of Ages” it says, and I’ll soar to worlds unknown and see beyond thy judgment throne. And even though that was written years ago they had their theology right that we will be able to soar to other worlds. And so I sure look forward to that.

Well we’re going to jump right to the phones. We have some important things to share with you about half way through the program. Get a pencil ready we’re going to give you some websites. As a matter of fact you should have your pencil ready right now because we’ll be giving out the phone number where you can request some of the free offers and literature that we have available each broadcast. Who is in line Pastor Ross?

Pastor Ross: We’ve got Rose listening from WMCA in New York, Rose, welcome to the program.

Rose: Hi Pastor Doug.

Pastor Doug: Evening, appreciate your calling.

Rose: Can you find the text for me where it is talking about God sending His angel to answer Daniel’s prayer, but was detained by the devil for a number of days?

Pastor Doug: Well when you’re in Daniel Chapter 9 it says that the angel Gabriel comes to answer the prayer of Daniel. That he prays in that Chapter, but in Chapter 8, Daniel gets sick before the vision is interpreted.

Pastor Ross: And then in Chapter 10 it talks about the angel coming, but it talks about the devil that was hindering the fulfillment of Daniel’s prayer. He prayed that the Israelites would be allowed to go back and rebuild Jerusalem. And so in Daniel Chapter 10:13 Gabriel says that Michael came to assist him in regards to Daniel’s prayer. That’s Daniel 10:13.

Rose: Well I want to know; how does God allow His angel to be detained by the devil? Do you know that I mean that would say the devil is more powerful than God’s angels?

Pastor Doug: Well the devil what he does is he resists with arguments and he probably was arguing the right of God to let the people go. There are other angels that are watching for instance when devil came and he began to accuse Job before God. So there was this dialogue and he was resisting when Jesus came to resurrect Moses it says the devil resisted him. When Zachariah the high priest—no I’m saying that wrong—when Joshua the high priest stood before and it is in the book of Zachariah, he stood before the Lord and the devil there resisted him. So the devil is always arguing and so the devil was arguing now that he didn’t have a right to liberate the children of Israel and I suppose he was pointing to the book of Moses that says you know, they were unfaithful and they deserve their captivity. You know there are other angels watching this debate. But, yeah you’re right; the devils muscles are not bigger than God’s muscles.

[Laughter]

Pastor Doug: So it’s not like they were arm wrestling.

Rose: Oh okay. Thank you so much.

Pastor Doug: Alright thank you good question Rose.

Pastor Ross: Mark is listening on WITA from Knoxville, Tennessee. Mark you are on the air with Pastor Doug.

Mark: Yeah since the doctrine of eternal torment is an unbiblical doctrine why did God allow some passages in the Bible that seemed to teach that in light of the fact that God didn’t want to be viewed as a monster?

Pastor Doug: Well you can probably ask that question Mark about all kinds of theology that is misunderstood. If people read verses separated from the rest you can arrive at some pretty strange conclusions. And so that’s why the key is in the Bible to comparing Scripture to Scripture and if somebody does that you’d never come to the conclusion that the wicked live forever. And the Bible ends by saying there’s no more pain that all things are new and that the wicked perish and only the saved have eternal life.

Mark: And the word forever and ever can be translated for ages and ages. Doesn’t the word age in itself sound like thousands of years?

Pastor Doug: Well and I think it does and the word in Greek is translated as eon and which is an unspecified period of time. But, you know you read the context and when God talks about eternal life and that we’ll never die and we’re with Him forever and ever more, that’s really clear. Sometimes it uses the word forever to describe a time that seemed endless. Even when Jonah was in the belly of the whale it uses the word forever. The first time, but later we find out that it is three days and three nights.

Mark: So could that be a short period of time?

Pastor Doug: It can be—well the word eon can often mean—until the end of it. For instance when it talks about the devil being burned forever and ever the smoke his torment to send up it means; until he’s all gone, the end of him.

Mark: So whether it’s hours or thousands of years the word eon means the end?

Pastor Doug: In Greek the word eon is an unspecified period of time.

Mark: You know in—I think in Chapter 19 I think it talked about the beast and the false prophets are cast into the lake of fire. Why does in Revelation 20 toward the end of it says where the beast and the false prophet are it sounds like they are still there even after the thousand years. So they’ve been there at least for a thousand years.

Pastor Doug: Well first of all, the beast is a world government and so you can’t really burn a government. So it is talking about these powers that are judged. But, the individuals, the devil, his angels and those that follow them, they are cast into the fire at the end of those thousand years; so if the devil and his angels and the people that follow them, if they are not thrown in until the thousand years are finished then who can be in the lake of fire?

Mark: So who gets cast into the lake of fire before the millennium like it says in Revelation 19?

Pastor Doug: Well did what I just said make sense?

Mark: Yeah the governments.

Pastor Doug: Yeah –well no—what I am getting at though is there are three powers that are going to be punished in the judgment of the wicked; Satan, his angels and those that follow him. And some verses for that are in Matthew 25 in that parable there where it talks about prepared for the devil and his angels. And then in Revelation 22 everyone is judged according to their works and cast into the fire. An in Revelation 20; were you going to say something Pastor Ross?

Pastor Ross: Yeah I was just going to comment on Revelation Chapter 19:19 you know at first reading it seems like the beast is thrown into the lake of fire and then you have the one thousand years and then at the end of Chapter 20 it says that all of these were cast into the lake of fire.

Mark: Where the beast and the false prophet are which means that they are already in the lake of fire.

Pastor Ross: Yeah and then the lake of fire keeps burning for the thousand years. In Chapter 19 is sort of telling you what the end result will be for these entities. Chapter 19 doesn’t tell you that there is a thousand years between the second coming and the third coming. Then you’ve got the millennium. It just sort of summarizes and tells the results of what the wicked are going to be. Then in Chapter 20 he fills in the details and tells you about the judgment that is taking place in heaven and then there is resurrection of the wicked in the great White Throne Judgment; men they mount their attack upon the city, then fire comes down and they will all be cast into the lake of fire. So Chapter 19 kind of gives you the overview of what is going to happen to the wicked and Chapter 20 explains a little more of the details. And then finishes by saying that is what is going to happen to the wicked.

Mark: Okay then 19 doesn’t necessarily come before 20 in so far as chronological orders?

Pastor Doug: That is what I was getting ready to say is that when you’re reading Revelation Mark, it’s not written in chronological order. For instance when you read about the seven churches; that’s covered in the history from the first coming to the second coming. Then you get to Chapters 4 and 5 and it will talk about the seven seals and talk about the seven plagues. And in many cases it backs up and it re-covers in from another perspective. But, we actually have a lesson that talks about the millennium. Is that thousand years of vacation or of peace?

Pastor Ross: We’ve got two. One on hellfire called, “Is the Devil in Charge of Hell” and then, “A Thousand Years of Peace” both two excellent study guides that deal with the subject. If you would like to receive either of these or both of them call our resource line that’s 1-800-835-6747 and you can ask for the study guide on hell or you can ask for the one on the thousand years or you can ask for both. Our next caller is Tony calling from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tony welcome to the program.

Tony: Hi how are you doing? Hi, Doug.

Pastor Doug: Hi.

Tony: Hi it’s a pleasure and an honor speaking with you.

Pastor Doug: Likewise.

Tony: And I wanted to let you know you’re one of the greatest Bible teachers and the reason is you just keep everything real.

Pastor Doug: Well bless your heart.

Tony: I stumbled across you on television and ever since then I’ve been hooked. I mean it’s just like breathing I’ve got to have Doug every week in my life.

Pastor Doug: We’re going to get you a support group and find recovery.

[Laughter]

Tony: Well my question for you today is following you three guys those two guys they teach like the thousand year reign of Christ is going to be here on earth. And I’m sure they know their Scriptures. But, you say it’s going to be up in heaven because once Christ comes the brightness of His coming leaves desolate so to speak and why are they saying His reign is going to be here on earth and I‘ve been following that since Jack van Impe, but it’s like they say the thousand year reign is here on earth and you’re saying we’re away for it.

Pastor Doug: Yeah well let’s just do some—we’ll walk through it real quick.

Tony: Okay.

Pastor Doug: First of all, when the Lord comes the one thousand years begins with the resurrection and the second coming. If you look in Revelation 20 it tells us that the dead in Christ rise first; that’s 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4. Revelation 20 says blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection. Now, that’s when the thousand years begins. It’s the first resurrection because it says in Revelation 20, by the way friends the main Chapter that talks about the thousand years is Revelation 20. It says there in Revelation 20 that the rest of the dead live not until the thousand years are finished. So that means that the wicked aren’t raised until the end of the one thousand years so the millennium begins with the resurrection of the just. Well the Bible says that the Lord is going to descend from heaven with a shout and the dead in Christ, the just, the saved, are caught up so when Jesus comes; what direction do we go?

Tony: Up.

Pastor Doug: Alright to starting point of the one thousand years is the resurrection and we’re going away from this earth; we live and reign with Christ in heaven. Who wants to live and reign over the wicked? Would that be heaven for the saved to be reigning over the people like the ones in Washington D.C.? Who would want that?

Tony: It seems like once we’re caught up the people that are remaining they don’t want to be left behind. They’re teaching like after we’re caught up.

Pastor Doug: Yeah I’m acquainted with the traditional kind of left behind teaching. But, you know the Bible describes the condition of the earth during the one thousand years I Jeremiah Chapter 4. Do you have that Pastor Ross?

Pastor Ross: I do.

Pastor Doug: Will you go ahead and read that?

Pastor Ross: It’s Jeremiah Chapter 4:25 and a few verses on. It says, “And I beheld and lo there was no man and all the birds of heaven fled. I beheld and lo the fruitful places were a wilderness and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord and by His fierce anger.” So we’re talking about the second coming of Christ and it says the cities are broken down and there is no man. It talks about the mountains tremble, the sky is dark, so that is describing the earth after Jesus comes. It’s after the second coming and everything is broken and the redeemed are in heaven.

Pastor Doug: You’ve got another verse in Isaiah verse 6:11 and it says, “Then I said Lord, how long? And he said until the cities be wasted without inhabitant and the houses without man and the land be utterly desolate. There’s this period that the prophets all talk about when the world is vacated. Jeremiah describes a time when the whole land is covered with the dead and no one is alive to lament or bury them. And it is because of the coming of the Lord that they’re broken down. John Chapter 14:1 Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you, if I go prepare a place I will come again and receive you unto myself” and so we go up to be with Him.

Now another idea, just something to think about, Tony and I don’t want to belabor the answer, but Biblically the age of the earth now is about six thousand years. You know, no one knows the exact date, but according to Bishop Usher’s chronology when you add up the ages in the Bible it is about six thousand years old and then we’re going to spend a thousand years living and reigning with the Lord. The Bible says in 11Peter Chapter 3 that a day with the Lord is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day. So for six thousand years God has been sowing the seed of the Gospel here. Jesus uses that analogy. He’s coming in Revelation to harvest the earth. Then He takes the harvest back with Him. He takes the redeemed back with Him. We live and reign in the New Jerusalem. At the end of one thousand years the New Jerusalem comes down; so when you get all of the evidence together and it’s the only scenario that really fits.

Tony: Yeah because I believe that is what makes sense you know like to me the next major event on the earth is going to be the rapture.

Pastor Doug: yeah we’re going to be caught up to meet the Lord. You know we’d like to send you; if you haven’t already read a lesson on the millennium Tony, it gives you a lot of Scripture that we didn’t even touch on now. And that’s why we like to answer these questions as quick answers, but then we want to send you the resources for deeper study. So please ask for them, “Thousand Years of Peace”.

Pastor Ross: “The Thousand Years of Peace” the number to call is 1-800-835-6747 and you can ask for “A Thousand Years of Peace”.

Andrew, who is listening on the internet; from Iowa City, Iowa. Andrew welcome to the program.

Andrew: I have quick question on the second death.

Pastor Doug: Okay.

Andrew: The Bible says in Isaiah 59:2 that sin causes separation from God. And since God is the source of all life, is the second death a natural result of the separation from God? Or does God impose a second death as a penalty on sinners?

Pastor Doug: Well the Bible tells us that whoever has the son has life; he that doesn’t have the son does not have life. And so the wicked who are lost; they are resurrected they are judged and they are without Christ for eternity so, in that sense it is the second death because it represents the eternal separation from God. To some extent it is their choice. Yeha I think you have a radio on in the back ground and it’s creating a little feedback or so you can turn that—down.

Andrew: Okay. Is that better?

Pastor Doug: Yeah, but does that make sense?

Andrew: Yes it does. But, I wasn’t sure that sense God is the source of all life, since sinners have their own choice to either live apart from God or do they die eternally as a natural result of living apart from God? Or does God have to interject himself and cause sinners to die the second death?

Pastor Doug: Well it says they are cast into a lake of fire so there is some proactive action on God’s part. They don’t jump in.

Andrew: I see. Yes.

Pastor Doug: And so when God came to judge Sodom and Gomorrah the Bible tells us that is an example of what will happen to the wicked. And it says God rained fire down from on heaven and when God spoke to Abraham about it God said I’m going to have to punish them. So God was reluctantly proactive in dealing with those things and that’s how He is with the lost.

Pastor Ross: And so it tells us that God does not take delight in the death of the wicked. So this is not by any means something that God delights in. But, it is time to clean the universe. It is time to eradicate sin forever.

Pastor Doug: It breaks His heart just like when David had to send an army against his own son; he didn’t want his son to die, but he had to do it. And his son did die.

Andrew: The one question I was talking about is if the second death is an imposed penalty and God says I’ll impose the death. Does that mean that sin would live forever if God didn’t impose the penalty?

Pastor Doug: No well that’s—in the beginning when God chased Adam out of the Garden of Eden, he said lest he eat and live forever. So man is going to die even if God didn’t.

Pastor Ross: And of course you know that Lucifer, who became Satan, well he’s been living for at least six thousand years and by that time seven thousand years and if ever there was a wicked person it would be him and yet all of the sin he’s committed hasn’t self-destructed and blown up Lucifer.

Pastor Doug: Right he manages to keep going. Hope that helps a little bit Andrew. And again we’ve got that lesson on, “Is the Devil in Charge of Hell?” and it has a lot of Scripture on the punishment of the wicked. Not a happy subject, but it is a very important Biblical truth to understand.

Pastor Ross: Drew is listening on the internet from Bassett, Virginia that is VA right? Drew welcome to the program.

Drew: Hey how are you doing?

Pastor Doug: Good.

Drew: I just had an interesting question about the feast of tabernacles. Now that was a part of the ordinances right?

Pastor Doug: Yes, you mean one of the ceremonial laws?

Drew: Right, and we know according to Colossians Chapter 2 that it was no to the cross.

Pastor Doug: Yes.

Drew: It seems to me though that something struck me odd, in Zachariah Chapter 22 when he speaks of Jesus coming back after the one thousand years; in Chapter14:16 and verse 19 it speaks of people coming to keep the feast of tabernacles, and it tells us in verse 18 that he will smite the heathen that does not come up to keep the feast of tabernacles and I kind of got confused there and wondered wait a minute, why are we keeping the feast of tabernacles again?

Pastor Doug: You know all of the feasts have a spiritual application to them today. So in a sense they all exist. Let me give you an example. Paul says and Pastor Ross might look it up real quick for me where Christ is our Passover. So when Jesus celebrated the Lord’s Supper, it was a Passover dinner that night. So the feast of Passover has gone through radical change with the coming of Christ, the first coming of Christ in that; we don’t kill lambs anymore, Jesus is our lamb. And we don’t literally take blood and spray it over our door.

Pastor Ross: The verse there is 1 Corinthians 5:7 it talks about Passover. So that same principle would apply to all of the feasts. There is a spiritual analogy for each of those. You know there’s not specific date now when Christians celebrate the Lord’s Supper they do it 3-4-5- times a year and I know some preachers if they’ve got nine churches they do it nine to ten times a year.

Drew: Oh so there used to be a date?

Pastor Doug: it was a specific date in the spring that’s when Jesus died right there in the Passover. So the feast of tabernacles represents the celebration of their liberation from Egypt and remembering that time that they were in the wilderness. They lived in tabernacles during that time. In heaven I think we are also going to celebrate our liberation from the world. But, we’re not going to keep it the way that the Jews did just like we don’t keep the Passover the way the Jews did because it has been fulfilled in Christ.

Drew: So it is basically the spiritual, but not the letter.

Pastor Doug: Exactly. Yeah there’s a spiritual; application for all of those feasts they are very important to study, but as far as going back to shedding animals blood we can’t keep them the same.

Drew: Right, but when it said he would smite the heatren, that does not keep the feast of tabernacles, what does that mean exactly?

Pastor Doug: Yeah hang on just one second pastor Ross had a thought.

Pastor Ross: Yeah just on that we recognize the prophecies made to Israel in the Old Testament had a condition of fulfillment. If Israel had remained faithful to God the fulfillment of these prophecies would have taken place. And I think in Zachariah 14:18 it says in there it is an application for the New Jerusalem, but in the New Jerusalem, the world is made new. There’s not going to be the punishing because there’s one group of people who won’t have rain because they won’t come up to worship in the New Jerusalem. So that was a prophecy based upon the faithfulness of Israel with God would have blessed them here on the earth, but because of their lack of faith in God that was never fulfilled.

Pastor Doug: Now you asked another question about the heathen being punished. Something we said earlier to a caller is there are a few apocalyptic books in the Bible, Ezekiel, Daniel, Revelation and one of them is Zachariah these visions are very rarely given in chronological order and I just want for you to know that it is very important for you to keep that in mind when you look at these things.

Drew: Oh yeah.

Pastor Doug: That sometimes the angel and the spirit are taking them back and forth and showing them things and not necessarily in sequence. But, there’s a book I really would like to recommend that would fit I with your question and it is called, “Feast Days and Sabbaths are they Still Binding?” and it talks about how does a Christian today relate to all of the Jewish feasts? What is the spiritual meaning and how do they fit in? I’ve also got a DVD presentation at the Amazing Facts website that’s called, “Jesus in the Feast Days” and I talk about how you can see Christ in all of these Jewish feasts. And so you can just go to the Amazing Facts website there and I think you can view that for free at our website.

And friends we are going to take a break. This just means that we’re giving our stations a chance for their ID and to get a pencil handy. Call a friend tell them to tune in we’ve got another 30 minutes to go. Be right back.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

Pastor Doug: We’re back listening friends. You’ve tuned into “Bible Answers Live” we’d like to remind you to get a pencil handy; we’ve got some interesting websites for you to listen to or check out. One is “Amazing Facts dot TV”. You can watch “Amazing Facts” programs 24 hours a day at the “Amazing Facts TV” website and so we’d encourage you to tune in there and hopefully when you get that you’ll get really good resolution 24 hours a day. There’s good Christian programming there. Pastor Ross are we ready to go back to the phones?

Pastor Ross: We are. Our next caller is Trevel calling from WMBA in Columbia, South Carolina. Trevel welcome to the program.

Trevel: How are you doing?

Pastor Doug: Good. And how are you doing?

Trevel: I’m doing pretty well. I have two questions and I am going to ask the first one quickly; if you have time.

Pastor Doug: Alright.

Trevel: The first one is dealing with tithes and offerings. Now what I’ve been hearing is that concerning the offering. It is something you want to pay equal to the amount of the tithe, so that it is more than the tithe. Is there anything in the Bible that specifies what the offering amount is supposed to be?

Pastor Doug: Well the Bible does say as each man purposes in his heart. The idea of an offering is an offering. If it is mandated and dictated it ceases to be an offering. So it really is what a person decides. The free will offerings that were given, a matter of fact, one time; when they were receiving offerings for the building of the first temple, in the wilderness, Moses had to tell the people to stop bringing it because they had too much equipment. They had too much gold, and silver and cloth to build the temple. So people were giving as they were able and that’s an offering.

You know some churches will specify that—of course tithe is 10 % -- they say it would be nice if there was another 5 % to help cover the church budget and the church school and the missionaries. And some have given guidelines for what offerings could be. But, I know people that pay a double or triple tithe to just because they are very wealthy and they have a big income and you know—the very fact they call it an offering means that you are free. Do you see what I am saying?

Trevel: Okay.

Pastor Doug: Let me just—you didn’t ask for this, but let me just share something. Some people think that in the Old Testament that God said 10% in an offering and it was very rigid and now there were New Testament times, so it should be a little more graceful and maybe not as much.

But, when you get to the New Testament the percentage was much higher. In the New Testament when God poured out the Holy Spirit, it said, “No man ought to be said that had was his own, but everyone sold their possessions and had all things in common. They were selling their houses and lands and laying the money down at the Apostles feet. So for a Christian tithe is like kindergarten, it’s just a big piece of the giving.

And as you grow in Christ, people make much bigger sacrifices. Do you know what I am saying? The New Testament pattern was, boy they put everything on the altar back then.

Trevel: Okay.

Pastor Doug: So I just sometimes hear preachers say well tithes that were just legalism and it’s just offering now and Pastor Ross.

Pastor Ross: Yeah, one quick thought on that you know, the children of Israel would bring their sacrifices and their gifts to the sanctuary and the sacrifices acknowledged God as the law giver and as judge, but the gifts which included their offerings acknowledged God as their creator and sustainer. When we bring our tithes and our offerings we are acknowledging God as our creator and that He will sustain us. That He will take care of us.

Pastor Doug: That’s right, a good point.

Trevel: I’ve got one quick thing I want to say on the Sabbath day.

Pastor Doug: Okay.

Trevel: Real quick we believe in the seven days, but the problem is on which days? As to say a lot say Sunday is the first day, why or who is to say that Monday isn’t the first day? Or even Wednesday could be a first day to make Saturday as a seventh day. Is there anything in the bible I can use to prove that Sunday is the first day and Saturday is the seventh day? Where does it mention the names of the days of the week in the Bible?

Pastor Doug: Yeah, I think there are several ways you can know what the days of the week are. The weekly cycle has never been changed by any change to the calendar. No matter what you do to the calendar that doesn’t need to affect the cycle of the week. You can go back in the Bible Jesus dies on Friday which was called the preparation day and rested on the Sabbath and He rose Sunday morning. People call it the Easter Sunday. And so you’ve got Good Friday when he died, Saturday He was in the tomb and on Sunday He arose. That pattern had been kept. There’s a whole nation of Jews that travel around the world that to this very day; they still keep the seventh day Saturday as their Sabbath and a lot of Christians keep Sunday to honor the resurrection so you know at least they claim; which is the first day of the week and they freely admit that. Then if you look in an encyclopedia or in a dictionary and look up the word seventh day, it’ll say Saturday and you look up the word first day and it’ll say Sunday. So there are all kinds of evidence. So we don’t ever have to wonder what the weekly cycle is. It has not changed since our recorded history that we know of.

Trevel: Okay, well I appreciate you.

Pastor Doug: Well alright and you know what, we’ve got a book on that. We’ll send you a free copy and it’s—waits a minute I want to give you the right—oh, “Is Sunday Really Sacred?” There it is; by Joe Crews. “Is Sunday Really Sacred” it goes into that history you’re asking about.

Pastor Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747 and the offer is “Is Sunday Really Sacred” it’s a great resource and I encourage you to call and to get that. Our next caller is Donna and she’s calling from Corning, Arkansas listening on KOYS, Donna welcome to the program.

Donna: Hello.

Pastor Doug: Good evening.

Donna: I wanted to ask, I read in one of your booklets I think that when we die we don’t know anything and we don’t know what’s going on and we’re just asleep. But, where does Hades and Paradise come in there?

Pastor Doug: Well Hades was a word that was used—it’s a Greek word and it’s a word that was used to talk about a place of darkness and sometimes it’s speaking of the grave and sometimes Hades, it’s talking about this place in Greek mythology; where people were punished for their bad lives. So are you talking about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus?

Donna: Kind of about that, but I just wondered I didn’t understand why people went to Hades and why they went to Paradise and what was the big difference there?

Pastor Doug: Well in the New Testament the word Hades is sometimes translated for hell. And most of the time that word simply means the grave. It was a place of darkness, except in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. This is where then Jesus is drawing on Greek mythology to teach a lesson. He’s not really saying that the people in Heaven and Hell can talk to each other. And that’s in Luke 16 and Jesus is also not saying that everybody that dies is going to the bosom of Abraham or that all the saved go there. So Abraham would have to have an awful big bosom to have all of the saved nestled there. So it’s an illustration in this parable. But, the Bible is very clear that the wicked do get punished in the lake of fire, but it’s not until after the judgment and the resurrection of the wicked. That you find in Revelation Chapter 20. So what confuses people Donna is if you’re saved or if you’re lost, when you die, your next conscious thought is your reward. The next thing you know is the righteous if you meet with the Lord in the air or if you’re raised with the wicked, and you’re going to be facing that judgment and that punishment. But, nobody is in hell burning now because the judgment hasn’t taken place yet; even though some preachers talk about people burning in hell right now. Why would the Lord pull the people out of hell and judge them and put them in there again?

Donna: I heard a preacher and he said our bodies if we go to hell. That our bodies will be made out of something that cannot burn and it will just burn forever.

Pastor Doug: Well think about that now for a minute, God is love, and God is just, it’s hard to explain the justice of burning a creature that you have made that’s kind of naturally prone toward sin through endless ages of a billion years from now still burning for the sins of one brief lifetime. Do you know what I mean? How long is a life compared to an eternity?

Donna: I hope you’re right about that.

Pastor Doug: Well you know I believe there’s a lot of Bible support and that it is true, you know we do believe in a lake of fire, but the Bible says the wicked are consumed in the lake of fire.

Donna: Umm-hmm. Like they are burned up completely right?

Pastor Doug: Yeah it says it as a matter of fact in Malachi Chapter 4, it says, “The day comes that will burn as an oven all of the proud and all that do wickedly will be stubble. The day comes that will burn them up.” Burning them up is burning them up it says, “In the smoke they will consume away; they will perish and never will they be anymore.” The language is very clear that the wicked meet with everlasting darkness and separation from God and they are annihilated; they’re consumed. You know we’ve got a study on this and it is called, “Is the Devil in Charge of Hell?” And we will send you a free copy of that Donna and first of all I want you to know that you don’t need to worry about the punishment of the wicked because you are still on this side of life and you can be thinking about heaven.

Pastor Ross: You know Pastor Doug and Donna we also have a website you can go if you have access to the internet. It is called, “Hell Truth dot com” which has a number of verses and you can study about that and it is called, “Hell Truth dot org” And then it is a good study guide.

Pastor Doug: Yeah one of the most popular websites on the subject of hell. People go there from all over the world, too, because there is a lot of misinformation and about the punishment of the wicked. It makes God look like a sadist some of these stories about people’s bodies being made of pitch or something that can’t be consumed. Yeah.

Pastor Ross: The number to call is 1-800-835-6747 that’s our resource line and you can ask for the Study guide, “Is the Devil in Charge of Hell?” And be sure to go to the website, “Hell Truth dot org”.

Rick is listening on the internet from Knoxville, Tennessee. Rick welcome to the program. Rick are you there?

Rick: Hello. Yes I’m here.

Pastor Ross: Welcome you’re on the air.

Rick: Oh thank you. I thank you for taking my call guys I listen to you all of the time. Thank you very much.

Pastor Doug: Our pleasure.

Rick: I’ve got a question for you guys and I’m going to try to do my best to explain it. We’ve been prying well obviously about making every decision in our life with prayer and try to do the Lord’s will, but we moved over here to Knoxville and we had something put into our hearts that is going back to South America where my wife is from. And we’ve prayed about it and we’ve asked about it and this is what I am trying to find out is a presumptuous thing to do, but I have to ask the Lord, but I’m going to talk to my boss and see if I can move over there. And we’re going to be a little bit better and try to raise our kids over there and do some missionary work and everything has worked out great to now and we’re kind of questioning it. I don’t know if that is something you can do even though He says ask and you shall receive. Do you know what I mean?

Pastor Doug: Umm-hmm. You’re trying to better understand the will of God and His decision?

Rick: Right I just want to go where we can do the best we can for Him. I just want to know if He knows our heart and we’re not going to end up doing or making a wrong turn. Do you know what I mean?

Pastor Doug: Well there is no question that God knows your hearts and God no question that He knows everything. And there is no question that He has a plan for you. Sometimes God doesn’t always lead us in a straight line to His will. You know when the children of Israel went through the wilderness they took a lot of twists and turns because He wanted them to learn different things along the way. But, if you’re feeling an impression to go back to the mission field, and it seems as though the doors are opening, then you should move towards those doors. And continue to pray as you go and if God starts closing the doors say alright Lord I will wait on you. And do what is wisest at hand with all your might until He does open the doors. Now you know can you get on the internet Rick?

Rick: Yeah actually I can with my wife, but she is listening to the broadcast right now.

Pastor Doug: I am just saying after you get a chance if you go to the Amazing Facts website, right there on the homepage is an article that I wrote recently. It is called, “Determining the Will of God” and it gives a number of Scriptures and principles on making one of these big life decisions. And I just encourage you to read through that because there are a lot of Scripture principles to do that would be good to consider. Okay?

Rick: Can I ask you one thing?

Pastor Doug: Sure.

Rick: Well this is all from the family and we are all of the same belief, but long story short because one of my Aunt’s I was talking to was saying because she said the Lord will allow things to happen, good or bad, not like you have anything they just happen for the greater good. You know like you break your arm and then you talk to the nurse and then you know she became converted to Christ. Is that just—that is a very vague explanation, but that like even correct? Is that not Biblical?

Pastor Doug: Well sometimes God does allow hardship to happen to bring us to our knees. When the famine came to Israel God allowed the famine to bring the people to humble themselves. And yes sometimes there will be trials that God allows in order to bring us to repentance or to get our attention. Paul had a thorn in his side and prayed about it and said you know my soul is made perfect in weakness. He told Paul to stop worrying about it. So I don’t know if that answers your question, but—

Rick: It does. It really does, but I have to know how to—you’re right it does, it totally does.

Pastor Doug: Alright. Hey I appreciate the call Rick and when you get a chance take a look at the website on that article about will of God.

Pastor Ross: Joseph is listening on WMCA from New York. Joseph welcome to the program.

Joseph: Good evening, gentlemen.

Pastor Doug: Good evening.

Joseph: Pastor did you previously say that the Israelites lived in tabernacles when they were in the desert?

Pastor Doug: No. During the feast of tabernacles I am sure some of them did, but during the feast of tabernacles to commemorate their time of wandering; they would take the limbs of palm trees, and trees and they would make little booths, like little tents. Now those are called tabernacles and those are very temporary, when you make a little house out of leaves they don’t last long. But, that would remind them of their wandering.

Joseph: Good enough. Did you also say that the earth is six thousand years old? Or that civilization is six thousand years old?

Pastor Doug: That man’s history on earth according to the Bible is six thousand years old. If you add of the ages of Adam.

Joseph: Yes, that’s about correct. One other thing as I tuned into the program, I missed the cost of a ride into space for a week.

Pastor Doug: Oh he paid 20 million dollars and that was Dennis Tito. Some people dispute that much, but the one report came out was 20 million.

Joseph: Well I’m still waiting until after the holidays. My question is this is Pastor Ross, did you previously mention a reference to Sarah, Hagar her name? Did you mention that she was a slave?

Pastor Ross: She was the servant of Sarah and probably back in those days servants to a large degree were treated more like slaves.

Pastor Doug: Yeah Hagar I think there is no question she was what we would call a slave because when she gave Sarah a hard time after she gave birth, Abraham said look she is in your hands, she’s your slave. And she—

Joseph: Did Solomon and David have slaves also?

Pastor Doug: Yes. Yes they did.

Joseph: They both did?

Pastor Doug: Yeah, I’m sure.

Joseph: Well may I ask something totally unrelated to that?

Pastor Doug: Well I thought you were going to ask next why God allows slavery, but God’s plan was never slavery.

Joseph: It was free will.

Pastor Doug: He just dealt with the bad behavior. The Bible says at the time of this ignorance he winked at, He winked at the ignorance of people regarding slavery and all kinds of things.

Joseph: Did the Virgin Mary have brothers and sisters?

Pastor Doug: Well I read that Mary did have one sister. I read one commentator that when they went to the tomb it was Salome; that she was Mary’s sister. But, there is no statement in the Bible that talks about the sister or brother of Mary.

Joseph: Well I know she had parents.

Pastor Doug: It is a good chance that she did just because they had bigger families back then. It was unusual to have one child.

Joseph: You know what I was wondering Pastor is these people that may have been related to Jesus, they never wrote about it the way people trace their lineage.

Pastor Doug: Right.

Joseph: But, at the time that Jesus was on earth did he know that was a divinity or did that come later with the gospels?

Pastor Doug: Well I believe that when Christ was on the earth that at least his circle, they believed that He was Divine because they refer to that several times; speaking of the Divinity of Christ.

Pastor Ross: You know I found a verse talking about the sister of Mary that’s John 19:25 it says, “Now they stood by the cross of Jesus His mother and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. So apparently Mary did have a sister based upon John 19:25.

Pastor Doug: I was going to say that Cleophas mother. Hope that helps Joseph appreciates your questions.

Pastor Ross: Alright next caller is Kevin calling from Baltimore, Maryland. Kevin, welcome to the program.

Kevin: Thank you very much. Hi how are you guys doing?

Pastor Doug: Doing well, how can we help you tonight?

Kevin: I just want to ask a question to both of you about what the Bible says concerning women preachers because I have heard and I am talking about preachers and pastors that when they can be preachers and pastors and then some say they can’t and so God can choose who He wants to use. I just want to get both of your take on that. The truth and why so many Pastors disagree on this subject?

Pastor Doug: Well I think the most important thing is to stick to what the Scriptures say because you are right you are going to get almost endless opinions on this. Here are some facts and you can do with the facts whatever you want. But, the facts are you can go from Genesis to Revelation in the Bible a single example of a woman being “ordained”. Now I am emphasizing the word ordained as a pastor, priest, preacher, elder, or whatever you want to call it. The spiritual authority was given to men. But, that did not mean that a woman could not be used of God in the capacity of prophet, and a prophet is someone who speaks on behalf of God which is preaching and teaching and evangelism. Philip had four daughters that prophesied and so God obviously spoke through women, but the positions of spiritual leadership like apostles, they were all men. Pastors, Elders, Priests, there are no women Priests in the Bible and so that’s the reason I have always taken the position when it comes to ordaining as a Pastor, it should be men; just as men should be the servant leaders in their families.

Kevin: Well, but you just said that God could use whoever He wanted and He used women to do the preaching when they prophesied on all of the other so I don’t understand why you would say that women can’t actually be ordained as preachers.

Pastor Doug: Well, I didn’t say that women can’t preach. But, I said there’s no example in the Bible I mean Jesus could have called six men apostles and six women apostles, but He only chose 12 men. And when the Lord picked the judges of Israel they were well one judge, Deborah was a judge.

Kevin: Yes she was.

Pastor Doug: Yeah I was trying to think of the sons of Jacob that were leaders of the tribes were all men. And so those that are ordained the elders they say they need to be one wife, it never says they need to be a wife of one husband.

Kevin: Right I know about the elders. I’m not talking about the elders the elders back in that day in the context of the name elders being used they particularly were talking about leaders. But, I don’t know if you really answered my question as why you think that you said you believe that they shouldn’t, but I’m—but then there’s really no definitive I guess answer.

Pastor Doug: Well I think there are some.

Kevin: But, there is not any reason why God couldn’t have some women preachers.

Pastor Doug: Well you see I am being very careful to try to delineate. I do believe that women can preach and teach. This is done though with the men in authority of spiritual leadership. And Pastor Ross you had a thought?

Pastor Ross: Yeah I was just going to add in the Bible in the Old Testament God placed the responsibility for spiritual leadership upon the shoulders of the husband in the home. He is the head of the home it is his responsibility to bring the sacrifice for the family to the temple. And then when God ordained the Levitical priesthood, it sort of took the place as the head of the home of bringing the sacrifice before God. And then in New Testament times, the ordained pastor fulfills that same function. That’s always been the responsibility that God has placed on the shoulders of a man. It isn’t to say that a woman isn’t to be involved. She can be involved, but she is because the man doesn’t want to do his responsibility, it doesn’t mean that God is going to hold him accountable for what God is going to do.

Pastor Doug: I just wrote a book on this Kevin. I’ll send you a free copy. It just came out. And it is called, “God’s Role for Women in Ministry” and so if you’ll call the free number we’ll send you a free copy. And it’s got a lot more Scripture than we were able to cover in this brief answer. It’s a very important subject.

Pastor Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747 and the book is, “God’s Role for Women in Ministry”.

Pastor Doug: Yeah if you just ask for the women in ministry book they’ll know what you mean.

Pastor Ross: Okay Pastor Doug do we have time for one quicker one?

Pastor Doug: 2 minutes, if it’s a quick one.

Pastor Ross: Alright Jeff calling from Edmonton Alberta Canada we have a quick question that you can give us this evening.

Jeff: Yes good evening pastors.

Pastor Doug: Good Evening.

Jeff: I was wondering if you can help me out. I am trying to decipher between the prophecies Daniel. Matthew 24, Revelation that are referring to the Middle Ages that are in the end time because I’m having a hard time differentiating what time period the prophecies are referring to.

Pastor Doug: Well I’ll see if I can give you a quick answer on that Jeff.

Jeff: Do you have any study guides or?

Pastor Doug: Well we actually do have some study guides that talk about the second coming of Jesus. And what confuses people sometimes is when Jesus gives the answer in Matthew 24 regarding the end of the world and His return, and the time of trouble, He co-mingles the prophecies about the Middle Ages and the Dark Ages with prophecies that deal with the second coming.

Pastor Ross: We’ve got that study guide called, “Right on Time” it deals with the time prophecies of Daniel.

Pastor Doug: Yeah that’s also that would be perfect for that. “Right on Time” and there’s a study guide or a lesson we have that deals with signs of the second coming where Jesus goes through Matthew 24 and I am just trying to—

Pastor Ross: That’s, “Rescue from Above”.

Pastor Doug: Yes that’s, “Rescue from Above”, so that will have more information Jeff and we didn’t mean to be so brief, but we tried to squeeze in one more question there. Friends apologize if we did not get to your question tonight. God willing we will be back next week for more “Bible Answers Live”. Also please go check out the website because the archives of these questions and many of the popular questions will be there at “Amazing Facts dot org”. Until then folks remember that Jesus id the truth that will set you free. God Bless.

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