Pastor Doug Batchelor: Welcome listening friend, to Bible Answers Live. This is Doug Batchelor and I've got an amazing fact for you. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a world famous 183-foot bell tower in Pisa, Italy. Shortly after construction began in 1173, the builders noticed the structure was not perfectly level. Because of the shallow foundation and silty soil, Architects believed there's really nothing more they could do about the slight lean. Therefore, between a number of small wars and financial setbacks, it took them another 200 years to actually finish the tower.
In the centuries that follow, the tilt gradually increased, until it was leaning a precarious 15 feet off vertical setter. By 1990, the iconic structure was at risk of toppling and closed to the public. During the next decade, they spent $40 million to slightly straighten the leaning tower and reinforce the foundation. Eventually, they deemed it safe and after reopening it for tourists to stand near it and to enter the crooked monument. The Bible says you need to lay your plans carefully before you build a tower or others will mock. Stay with us, friends. We're going to learn more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Pastor Doug: Well, friends, we're so glad that you've tuned in for Bible Answers Live. It is a live, international, interactive Bible study. Interactive because we invite you to call in with your Bible questions. That number is 800-GOD-SAYS. Because the Bible is our foundation for these studies, we use the word of God, 800-GOD-SAYS. That's 800-463-7297. Of course, it's a free phone call. They're kind of free everywhere now, aren't they? [laughter] That used to mean something. Anyway, do have lines wide open, so give us a call. 800-463-7297. I am Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Jean Ross: My name is Jean Ross. Good evening, listening friends and Pastor Doug. Let's begin the program with a prayer. Dear Father in heaven, what a privilege to be able to open up your word and study together. We want to ask your blessing upon this program, be with those listening and guide us, Lord, into a clearer, fuller understanding of the Bible. For we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.
Pastor Doug: Amen.
Pastor Ross: Well, Pastor Doug, you opened the program by talking about the amazing Leaning Tower of Pisa. Now, I've actually been there. Have you been there?
Pastor Doug: I have but I was 16 years old, so it's been a long time ago.
Pastor Ross: When I went there, I don't think they actually allowed you to go in. They were doing renovations or something. It is quite spectacular, look at it and keep thinking, "Man, that's going to fall down. All you need is an earthquake and it's over." Yet it's been standing for a long time.
Pastor Doug: It's amazing. They have earthquakes around Italy, but not necessarily that part. I think when I went, I was like 16 years old and that's been a few years ago, I did go in. You could go in it back then. There's a lot of steps that you to climb up. That's the tower that legend tells us, were Galileo dropped two balls. To see if they would- a small and a big one, to see if they actually fell at the same speed and did some experiments.
Over the centuries, it's become iconic because so many people mock, they take pictures next to it, they lean into it, they act like they're holding it up. You just think, "How in the world could they've built something that ornate and not know it just wasn't level." It's because they got the foundation wrong. There's a story, a parable actually. Jesus tells in Luke 14:28, "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first, and count the cost, whether or not he's going to have enough to finish it. Lest, after he lays the foundation, he's not able to finish, all who see begin to mock him and say, 'this man began to build, and was not able to finish.'"
Maybe I shouldn't have mixed my amazing facts, but I don't know if people know that the Washington monument, another tower, they ran out of money before they built it. There were years, I think 40 years, at one point where it was kind of half built, because the government could not get enough money to finish. There it was, a monument that everybody mocked.
Even more important than that, Jesus talks about foundations. You know the parable of the wise man and the fool. The wise man builds his house on a rock, the fool builds his house on the sand. Problem with the Tower of Pisa is it was sandy soil and they just couldn't get a stable foundation.
Jesus said, "If you're going to have a successful life, you need a good foundation." The foundation he said is, "He that hears these words of mine and does them." The word of God must be the foundation for your life. The Bible is a rock you can build on and when the storm comes your house will stand. Friends, what is guiding your world view about what is truth and what is right, and what is wrong? If it's anything other than the Bible, you're building on the sand. We'd like to encourage you to explore why the Bible has been the bestselling book through history and why it makes a wonderful foundation for your life and for your faith. We have a free offer we'd like to make available tonight.
Pastor Ross: We have an offer that really deals with the Bible, that is the foundation, the rock upon which we build. We'll be happy to send this to anybody who calls and asks. Call our resource phone number, that number is 800-835-6747. You're going to ask for the book called The Ultimate Resource. That number again is 800-835-6747. We'll be happy to send you the book about the Bible called The Ultimate Resource. If you have a Bible question, our phone line here to the studio this evening is 800-463-7297. That's 800-463-7297. We'll go over to the phone lines, our first caller this evening is Steve and he's listening in Oregon. Steve, welcome to the program.
Steven: Hey, how are you doing? This is Steven.
Pastor Doug: Thanks for calling. Your question tonight?
Steven: My friend and I have started a ministry on Facebook and we called His Steve Ministry. We're just putting out some studies there and stuff. We were doing a study on health message. One of the scriptures that came back from somebody was Genesis 9:3. You want me to go ahead and read it?
Pastor Doug: Sure. That'd be fine.
Steven: Yes. Genesis 9:3, "Every moving thing that lives, shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things." The person was concerned that the scriptures said that God has given every animal for us to eat. I've never heard this one addressed in the health message. I was wondering if you could give me some thoughts on this.
Pastor Doug: Well, first of all, this is after the flood and all the vegetation had been or nearly all of it had been destroyed. Do you remember it was great celebration when a dove came back with a little olive leaf in its mouth, telling that things have begun to sprout and to grow again? God had already specified before the flood that there were clean animals and there were unclean.
Based on the specification, they were free to eat those things that were deemed clean. He said everything because there were fish they could eat, there were animals they could eat, there were birds they could eat, but they needed to be in the clean category. All the person has to do is use common sense and say, "What human in the world believes it's okay to eat anything?"
Will you eat a starfish? Would you eat a skunk? You know what I'm saying? Would you eat cockroaches and stuff like that. Obviously, God wasn't-- When he said, "I'm giving you permission to eat things that are in the category--" from the earlier chapter about the clean and the unclean. If anyone's wondering what those are, you can find both the clean and unclean-- By the way, we are all related to Noah and so everybody I think should follow these health laws. God specifies that the clean animals-- Go ahead.
Steven: I appreciate you saying that because those are kind of my thoughts too. That's what I put out there. We are dealing with a lot of people that don't really have much common sense any more in the world today. I hope I'm not offending anybody by saying that.
Pastor Doug: Yes, I know what you mean. We do have a free study guide and I'm sure that you are aware of it, but others listening may not know. It's called God's Free Health Plan. It talks about what the Bible says are the specifications for the clean and the unclean animals.
Pastor Ross: The number to call to receive that study guide is 800-835-6747, that is our resource phone number. You can just ask for the study guide called God's Free Health Plan. That number is 800-835-6747. We'll be happy to send it to anybody who calls and asks. Well, thank you for your call, Steven. We're going to go William, who is listening in New York. William, welcome to the program.
Pastor Doug: Hey, William, you’re on the air, thanks for calling.
William: Thank you so much Pastor Doug Batchelor, how are you today?
Pastor Doug: Doing good.
William: Well, my question is that ever since you came out with the prophecy code is tremendous serious that you come out, it gives me a great revelation where actually I share with believers and you talk tremendous stuff that's actually Biblical because I know this- because I get your confirmation from the spirit. Doing the seminar that you teach, I watch it may be over 10 times. I don't get sick and tired of watching it because I know that God always revealing- when you give the message. I heard it for the second time.
Ever since that you talked in the program and you said that-- actually, one day about the dead man Lazarus saw [unintelligible 00:10:47] seminar you're going to speak this thing you never speak about the question. My question even though the Bible teaches us about man should not quarrel, I had a discussion on [unintelligible 00:11:02] andhe was telling that Jesus is not a God that can lie. I said absolutely not, why would he tell a story about the rich man and Lazarus and at the same time talking about the tormenting that's going to happen. I didn’t want to debate with him too much because I don't want to start in strife because when you start a strife, it comes to a place where it's at the edification in the Spirit.
But he’s telling me why would Jesus say this- Jesus is telling the story and I said it has to do with the symbolic reason. I know it has to be a symbolic as a parable- actually he’s talking about things that we can relate to. Can you be more specific even though I never got to hear the answer to that question when you posted on-- [crosstalk]
Pastor Doug: Well, let me talk a little bit about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. You'll find it by the way in Luke 16:19. It says “There is a certain rich man clothed in purple fine linen, he feasted every day and a poor beggar named Lazarus full of sores laid at his gate.” Then it says, “The rich man dies and he goes to torment. Lazarus dies and he goes to Abraham's bosom and the rich man asks Lazarus, "Father Abraham of Lazarus can bring him a drop of water to cool his tongue.”
Well, first of all, I don't know too many people that believe that the saved and the lost are going to be able to talk to each other. The saved are going to talk to the people burning in hell or that a drop of water would cool a person's tongue. Or that everybody that is saved is going to Abraham's bosom. There's no other place in the Bible that talks about Abraham's bosom. What Jesus did here is he told a parable with some paradox in it. It's obviously an illustration and he said that basically the meaning of it is that the Jewish nation was rich. They had the truth, they were feasting on the truth, the bread of life, the word of God.
They had the Gentiles, Lazarus, the beggars around them, they were starving for the crumbs that fell from their table but Jesus was warning them that if they did not share the word of God with others they might find that when they die that they are outside and the Gentiles are on the inside. Now, many of the disciples shared the same thing. They said many will come from the East and the West and sit down in the kingdom with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but the children of the kingdom- meaning there could be some Jews that will be in the outside because they didn't care about the lost, they did not love their neighbor. There will be Gentiles on the inside.
This is the essence of his parable and what Jesus does is he says that Lazarus, the Gentile is in the Jewish heaven with Abraham and the rich man who represents the Jews who did not believe, they are in the pagan-- Jesus uses the word Hades, they’re in the Greek place of torment. Christ is using a little bit of humor and a paradox here to teach this parable. It's not to be taken literally, it's a parable. I do have a book I’ll send you a free copy Steven, it's called The Rich Man and Lazarus. All you got to do is call the resource number and we will send you that book and we appreciate your call.
Pastor Ross: The number to call is 800-835-6747, just ask for the book called The Rich Man and Lazarus. Again, that number is 800-835-6747. If you have a Bible question and would like to get your question on the air this evening, our phone line here to the studio is 800-463-7297, 800-463-7297. We have Ron, listening from Arizona. Ron, welcome to Bible Answers Live.
Ron: Good evening. I had a privilege of leading a man to Christ who was dying of cancer and was unable to be baptized. Another pastor told me, "That's not good enough. If he's not baptized, he's going to hell." Needless to say, that upsets me as something terrible, I don’t believe that but I wanted to get your opinion.
Pastor Doug: Well, I would respectfully disagree with the pastor that told you that because Jesus led someone to believe in him while he was hanging on the cross. That thief that died beside Christ and he said, "You will be with me in Paradise." That man did not come down from the cross and go run and get baptized. Of course, there's a lot of people in the Old Testament before the practice of baptism that will be in the kingdom such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The idea that you have to be baptized to be saved, it is a Christian right. We teach it, Jesus did say, "Go preach into all the world, baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit."
The disciples did say, "Repent and be baptized," but the idea that you can't be saved without baptism is like saying you can't love someone without marriage. We're not saved by baptism, we’re saved by Christ and by faith in him. Now, if a person says, "Well, I know what the Bible says about baptism and I want to accept Jesus but I don't want to get baptized, it's inconvenient. Well, that's dangerous, that's disobedience. But if a person is in a prison or they're in a hospital and they're dying and they come to Christ, baptism will not be an obstacle to their salvation. Here's one more thought on that Ron, was Jesus baptized?
Ron: Yes.
Pastor Doug: All right. Was Jesus baptized to wash away his sin?
Ron: I can't answer that. [laughs]
Pastor Doug: Well, no. The Bible says Jesus never sinned, correct?
Ron: Correct.
Pastor Doug: All right. Jesus died not for his sin but he died for our sin. Jesus was baptized not for his sin but he was baptized in behalf of those who could not be and they can get credit for Christ's baptism. Jesus will give them credit for his own baptism just like he gives us credit for his righteousness to cover our sin. Does that make sense?
Ron: Yes, I appreciate. The pastor that told me belong to a church which I won’t mention because you asked me not to, but I just believe that they are wrong. Thank you so much, father. God bless you.
Pastor Doug: All right. God bless you, thank you for your question, Ron.
Pastor Ross: Just thinking if we have a free offer that kind of goes along--
Pastor Doug: Baptism, Is It necessary?
Pastor Ross: That's right. I think that book will be ideal. The number to call is 800-835-6747 and you can just ask for the book on baptism called Baptism, Is It Really Necessary? We'll be happy to send it to anybody who calls and asks and if you would like to read the book online just go to the Amazing Facts website. Just amazingfacts.org. You can type in the little search bar "baptism" and I think not only will you find the book but you'll also find some sermons dealing with that same subject, just a great resource. If you have a Bible question, the phone line is 800-463-7297, 800-463-7297. Joshua is listening in Orlando, Florida. Joshua, welcome to the program.
Joshua: Hey, guys, how are you?
Pastor Doug: Good, appreciate your call.
Joshua: Pastor Doug, how are you doing today? Good to talk to you.
Pastor Doug: Yes, glad you called in. Your question.
Joshua: Yes sir, they said to keep it under three minutes, I've got to give a little bit of background but basically, I just wanted your thoughts on this question. Basically, I've been researching-- I've been a Christian for a while and Reform Theology seems to be very accurate to me and my question is on unconditional election as far as it also applies to the free will. Now, I’m not asking whether it's free will or God's sovereignty.
I know the answer and it's God's ways are higher than ours but I feel that I hear pastors ignoring the reform which I feel is very backed up by Scripture of total depravity, we're dead in sins, filthy rags of our righteousness, none comes to me unless the Father draws him to the sun ray itself. We balance that but then I hear, you hear a pastor saying, "God, we leave it up to you." He stands at the door and knocks and the scriptures about Jesus didn't heal them because of their belief. It depends upon us.
God is waiting on us to respond but that seems to be unbiblical. In my view and I just wanted to know is that something that-- semantics and I'm just being critical on and I should just not be upset about it or whatever you know what I mean.
Pastor Doug: I think so. Joshua, you're asking the big questions in the Bible. The great theologians have grappled over the free will and the sovereignty and the Calvinism. I'm of the belief based on a lot of scripture, at least I think, that I'm basing this on Scripture that God loves us. God draws us. He takes the initiative to save us if we are saved he gets the glory. But because you can not have love without choice. Otherwise, we're just automatic robots. God may as well make a tape player that says, I love you. He really does give us the freedom to choose.
While he knows the future, he is not making us choose him. Otherwise, why would he tell so many prophets choose you this day who you will serve or turn eternally, why will you die? There's just a number of cases where he sends messengers that are appealing for the listeners to make a decision like Elijah on Mount Carmel. How long will you hold between two decisions? If it's all predestined, why did he use that language inviting us to choose?
Jesus said to some disciples, "Follow me," and they forsook everything and followed him. He said to the rich young ruler, "Follow me," but he couldn't because he was rich and he just made the decision not to. I think a lot of people don't realize that we are making eternal decisions regarding our destiny. If we're lost, it's not God's fault because he did not pre-program us correctly. It wouldn't make sense for him to then punish us, for not doing what we were incapable of doing. You know what I'm saying?
Joshua: Right, and that was my question because it just seems that the Bible backs up that you are incapable of choosing man lest God enabled us by spirit but it almost seems like it's more watered down to like wooing instead of how the Greek in that drawing of Jesus. He literally means unless the father drags them, draws them to him to know him and then he can't even come to the sun. None can come unto him unless the father drags them literally.
Pastor Doug: Well, I don't think it's dragging any more than a husband takes his wife by the hair and dragged her to a cave. I think he draws us. The Bible tells us with a loving kindness he has drawn us. I believe-- you know what, I've got a book I'll send you that's got a lot more scripture than we can share in just a few minutes here and it's Can A Saved Man Choose To Be Lost? It's really a good book, got a great study in it. It's a quick read but it's got lots of studies and it's free. A matter of fact, you might want to read it online tonight. You can probably find it at the Amazing Facts free library.
Pastor Ross: Just go to the Amazing Facts website, amazingfacts.org or you can call our resource phone number and we'll be happy to send this to you, Joshua or anybody wanting to learn more about the subject. The number is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book Can A Saved Man Choose To Be Lost? That number is 800-835-6747. Our next caller is Michael listening in Miami, Florida. Michael, welcome to the program.
Michael: Hello, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross.
Pastor Doug: Hi.
Pastor Ross: Hello.
Michael: My question is coming out of two scriptures, Genesis 9:22-25 and also scripture on Leviticus 20. Genesis 9:22-25 talked about when Noah was drunk and I believe it was Ham saw and Ham saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers out and Shem and Japeth covering him up. Then the thing is when Noah woke up, he cursed Canaan. I guess growing up, I always thought that the scripture was just blatantly saying that Ham saw Noah in the nude because he was drunk but when I look back at the scripture, it just simply says that Noah was uncovered within his tent and that reminded me of Leviticus 20:11 that says, "And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness."
Since both Leviticus and Genesis were written by Moses, I was just assuming that maybe the same literary semantics, if you will, in that, perhaps what Genesis 9 was actually saying happened was that Noah was drunk and while he was drunk that Canaan, since he was the one that actually got cursed slept with Noah's wife. I'm not sure if I'm being too much of a stickler on semantics here or is that-- did you give that a fair reading?
Pastor Doug: Yes. No, I understand what you're saying. It is a difficult passage. The way I have understood it is that Noah, being drunk was uncovered. I don't think that means that Ham or Canaan slept with her father. I think what happens is Ham came into the tent with his son. They saw Dad and Grandpa was drunk. They went out and they kind of mocked him to others. The Bible says you should respect your father and mother, and so a curse fell upon them for being disrespectful. Now, the reason I say that it says Shem and Japheth took a garment, they put it on their shoulders and they went backward and covered the nakedness of their father.
The next verse makes it pretty clear Noah was naked and they didn't want to look upon, out of respect the nakedness the father or be disrespectful. And so they did it that way whereas Ham came in and he gazed and he mocked and probably described it to others in the village there. When I look at different commentaries that's the take that I get from that. He basically broke the commandment about honoring your father. That doesn't justify Noah being drunk but they should not have responded that way.
Michael: All right. I was always a little confused because it says Ham saw his nakedness but then when Noah woke up, he said he cursed Canaan. I think it's kind of weird- [crosstalk]
Pastor Doug: Yes, I think that it's because after Ham saw it he went out and obviously he told others, that's how they knew he saw it. I think that maybe his son, Canaan was mocking. Do you remember the story in the Bible where Ishmael was mocking Isaac? When Isaac- they had a feast for Isaac and it was pretty serious. And finally, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away. I think something like that was going on here as well. Hey, I appreciate your call, Michael.
We do have a couple of more lines open. I don't know if we've got time for a break. We got one minute. Tell you what, instead of taking another call and cutting off short right now standby if you're on the line. We're going to get your call and we do have a couple of lines still open. Let me give you that number again 800-463-7297. Also, keep in mind that not all but most of the books and the free resources that we offer to send you from Amazing Facts that have-- we've got hundreds of studies on hundreds of subjects. You can read many of them for free. You can download them as PDF and put them in your Kindle reader at the Amazing Facts website.
When you go to amazingfacts.org, you'll end up seeing that there's a tab that says Free Library. Click on that and you'll see a plethora of studies. There's also a website where you can enter online into some personal Bible studies. It's called Bible Universe, just go to bibleuniverse.com. I think if you type in bibleuniverse.org you'll get there just as well. A long time ago we registered a number of these domains to make sure that people could find them easily. Bible Universe, sign up for the studies there and you will-- Boy, I'll tell you, it will change your life.
Don't go away, friends. We're going to have a quick break so that our other affiliates can do a station ID. Coming back to your phone calls with more Bible questions.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Pastor Doug: Welcome back, listening friends and for those who tuned in along the way, this is Bible Answers Live. We are taking Bible questions. If you got a phone, you can call in with a question. You might have a radio and not a phone, it is possible. Here's the number 800-463-7297. I'm Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Ross: My name is Jean Ross. Pastor Doug, I think we're ready to go straight to the phone lines. Our next caller is Mark. He is listening in, let's see, Damascus, Massachusetts, I believe. Mark, welcome to the program.
Mark: Good evening. It's actually Damascus, Maryland.
Pastor Doug: Maryland.
Pastor Ross: Maryland, okay.
Mark: I'd like to revisit the question, the subject of free will.
Pastor Doug: All right. Let's do it.
Mark: It's my understanding that one reason why there is evil and sin in the world is because we have free will to choose right from wrong. God gave us that free will so that we would not become programmed [unintelligible 00:31:38] and that the right choice would have value. My question is, after the tribulation, after the second coming during the millennium, we will have new bodies. We will be in new world. My question is, will we have free will once we get our new bodies?
Pastor Doug: I believe so because if we're going to love God, we need a free will.
Mark: Okay.
Pastor Doug: I believe the angels have a free will, and that's why some followed God, and some chose to follow Lucifer. They were able to choose. The angels who followed Lucifer were cast out.
Mark: Yes, because as I understand it, there will be no sin and no suffering and no evil in the millennium. I was curious if we will still have free will or not.
Pastor Doug: Right. Yes, so we'll still have free will, I believe, because we love the Lord. Sin will never rise up again, and you can read about that in the Book of Nahum, sin will not rise up the second time or affliction will not rise up the second time. Forever, Jesus will have the scars in his hand that reminds us about the cost of sin. We have this life to choose whether or not we want to love and serve God. We will be thoroughly settled in the truth in our choice in love for God.
A man and woman can date, and they can choose each other to get married. They make a covenant. They love each other. They're committed, and they can be married for 100 years- [laughs] by always back in days of the patriarchs. They've always got their free choice, but they have settled on their covenant to each other and they love each other. You see what I'm saying?
Mark: We have free choice, but the--
Pastor Doug: Free choice doesn't mean you're going to always choose to sin.
Mark: Because the millennium, well, there will be no sin or suffering during the millennium. That none sin will be written to our hearts.
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Mark: We will still have free will?
Pastor Doug: Of course, we still have free will because like I said you can't love God if we don't have a free will. It ceases to be love. Love must be freely given, otherwise, it's just a computer program that is saying, "I love you, God, I love you, God." That's meaningless to God. He wants us to choose him because--
Mark: That clears it up for me. Thank you very much.
Pastor Doug: Yes. Please send for that book we offered earlier on Can A Saved Man Choose To Be Lost? It'll also deal with this issue, Mark. Thank you for your call.
Pastor Ross: Our next caller is, let's see, Cliff who's listening from Florida. Cliff, welcome to the program.
Cliff: Hi, Pastor.
Pastor Doug: Hi, Cliff. Thanks for calling.
Cliff: Yes. My question is based on our sermon that-- and correct me if I'm wrong but I didn't catch all the sermon, and I don't even remember what the topic was about. I thought that I heard you mentioned un-fallen world in the sermon. I didn't catch the whole thing, so I was trying to ask if you believe Biblically-based and if so where are you getting it from the Bible, but do you believe that there are unfallen world out there? Do you mean un-fallen world that are inhabited by people? Or just un-fallen world by unfallen planet that will one day be for us?
Pastor Doug: All right. Good question. I've got a message I shared a few years ago that's on Youtube, and it's got many thousands of hits and a lot of people have passed it around. I think it talks about, is there life in other planets? I say yes. I start with a very simple premise. God talks about angels. Angels are alive. They're ministering spirits. There's a number of scriptures where the Lord talks about making worlds. You can read this at Hebrews 1:2, Pastor Ross? Where it says through whom he made the worlds.
Do they have people on them? No, I don't think so, because, on this planet, God made men in his image. We are unique in many respects. Does he have life on other planets that is sinless? Well, there's a scripture where Jesus shares a parable about a man who's got a hundred sheep but one goes astray. He leaves the 99 safe in the fold and he comes looking for the one lost sheep.
Well, I think that this world was a lost world. Adam fell. Christ came to this world to save us. You just remember that Jesus is eternal. God is eternal. Space is infinite. The idea that we are it is sort of a- it's kind of an ego maniac idea that there's no other intelligent life out there but us. I don't think the others have sinned. I think they aren't fallen.
Cliff: I mean, the life that you think might be out there, do you think that that life-- but ours is exclusive in the sense that we are the only ones made and created in his image. The other worlds would not have life created in his image. Just us?
Pastor Doug: I think that when we start to speculate about what the creatures on the unfallen worlds are like, I believe there's other intelligent creatures that God has made that worship him. You could start going through all the strange things you see on Star Wars or Star Trek and try to imagine what they look like. [laughs] They always look like people in strange makeup. I think we can't even imagine. The Bible says the things that God has prepared for those that love him.
Cliff: Just one follow up question, if I may. Probably the same question. [unintelligible 00:37:07] heaven, I was wondering why do you think [unintelligible 00:37:13] out of heaven, they would've passing down to earth, our world versus one of these other worlds.
Pastor Doug: Well, the time when Satan was cast down to our world was after Adam and Eve sinned. You read about that in Revelation 12 where it says that the devil was cast to the earth. When Adam and Eve sinned, the Bible says in Romans 6, "Whoever you obey, that's who servants you are. Originally, God gave dominion of the world to Adam and Eve. When they chose to listen to and obey the devil instead of God, they handed over dominion of the world to the enemy.
That's why Jesus calls the devil the Prince of this World. We do have a study guide that talks about that that will give you a little more information. Talks about the fall of Lucifer. It's Did God Create Devil? We'll send you a free copy, Cliff if you like that. Did God Create Devil?
Pastor Ross: Yes, the number to call is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the study guide called Did God Created Devil? We also have another book, Pastor Doug, as you're mentioning talking about this other worlds, called Who are the Sons of God?
Pastor Doug: That's right.
Pastor Ross: We'll be happy to send that to you, Cliff, or anybody. It talks about the inhabitants of these unfallen worlds. What does the Bible say about it, and what scripture references are there. It's a great resource. Just call and ask Who are the Sons of God? is what the book is called. The number is 800-835-6747. If you have a Bible question, the phone line here to the studio is 800-463-7297. One more time, 800-463-7297. Our next caller is Lass, listening from Orlando, Florida. Lass, welcome to the program.
Lass: Thank you. How are you guys doing?
Pastor Doug: Doing good. Your question tonight?
Lass: My question is- I'm struggling on when the sun and stars where there's evening or morning. When I first learned about the Sabbath, when I found out about the evening, I just wanted to find out which was the truth so that I don't have to keep thinking about it because I keep stressing about it. Then I came to the persuasion that it's in the morning. Just two examples real quick is that in the beginning, in Genesis, in the evening and the morning were the first day.
I would read that as the evening came, and then the morning came, and then that's the first day. Also, like in the crucifixion, the way the evening and the morning were used, I just keep, it gets to me as if the evening, if the morning is the beginning of the Sabbath, morning to morning. I just need some help with this.
Pastor Doug: Yes, the Bible has a statement that makes it pretty clear. It says, well, and first for all for anyone that's listening. There's a lot of Christians that are kind of rediscovering the fourth commandment in the 10 Commandments it says, "Remember the Sabbath." A lot of blessings. I read about people that are even taking the Sabbath from their electronics and say, "Well, we need a rest." We get tied down, we have so much stress and anxiety. I think the top medications are all related to stress.
People are struggling to sleep and a lot of it can be traced back to not taking time off to rest the way God commands. It does say in the Bible, from even unto even will you celebrate your Sabbaths. Then again, where is it, Pastor Ross? The New Testament that even when the sun did set. It's in the Gospel of Mark, I'm pretty sure. Maybe it's Mark Chapter 2. They brought all the people to Him.
Pastor Ross: Yes, that's Mark 1:32.
Pastor Doug: 1:32, Mark 1:32. There are several verses that make it clear that the Sabbath would begin at sundown and even your Orthodox Jews around the world, they celebrate the Sabbath when the sun goes down. Sundown varies depending on what time zone you're in. Today it's really easy to figure that out. We've even got an app that will beep you before the Sabbath begins. Give you a 15-minute warning or something. Does that help a little bit, Lass?
Lass: The verse you said about the evening to evening you should celebrate your Sabbath. I came to learn that that person's just only for that specific feast and what helps a little bit when you mentioned the Jews, because, a tradition being passed down since the beginning it would make sense that they're still keeping that, that way-
Pastor Doug: Yes, so--
Lass: -people will buy it that way.
Pastor Doug: They always believe that a day began and ended at sundown. One more evidence, of course, is Jesus when he's crucified it says that the Sabbath drew on. He died, he was executed like nine in the morning, they took him off the cross at about four in the afternoon and they wanted to finish embalming his body before the Sabbath began and that would be at sundown. They said we won't come back until Sunday morning because they wanted to wait and let him-- Jesus even kept the Sabbath in his death, you might say.
Lass: I'm sorry, what makes me struggle a lot is when Joseph was able to take Jesus' body he said that evening already came, so I'm assuming it's a whole new day. Its kind of I'm struggling with how I'm interpreting the evening when it comes to when it starts within the evening if that makes any sense?
Pastor Doug: Well, Joseph came and got his body off the cross before sundown. He was with the women and they stopped and you can read there in Luke that they put his body in the tomb and they went home and rested according to the Sabbath. Jesus died before sundown. We do have a book we can send you that talks about that. We have a study guide and that talks about, well, let me see, we've got several books but specifically, answer what you're asking, would it be-- what's the best? Oh, can you get online Lance?
Lass: Yes.
Pastor Doug: Yes. Here is a website that's got some great stuff, Sabbath Truth. Just go to sabbathtruth.com. It's the most popular website on the Internet on the Sabbath. It's got all the verses for you right there. Anybody, if you want to know more about the subject a lot of people are rediscovering the Sabbath, sabbathtruth.com.
Pastor Ross: If you like to receive a study guide dealing with it called The Last Day of History, talking about the Sabbath, we'll be happy to send it to anybody who calls and asks. The number is 800-835-6747, again you can ask the study guide called The Last Day in History. We'll be happy to send it to anybody who calls. Our next caller is Spencer listening from Los Angeles. Spencer, welcome to the program.
Spencer: Hello.
Pastor Doug: Hi, you're on the air.
Spencer: Hi. Hi. This is Lee Spencer from California and I wanted to ask a question about women pastors when it speaks of it in the Bible that women are to-- He suffers a woman not to teach but for a woman to be silent and not have the authority over men, why, or people ordaining women pastors?
Pastor Doug: Well, there are people doing a lot of things that aren't Biblical. That would be, of course, my first answer. I want to make it clear that I do think that God calls women to various aspects of ministry. There are women prophets in the Bible and you've got the women like Priscilla, the wife of Aquila, that are giving Bible studies. But what you don't find in the Bible is there is no example from Genesis to Revelation in the Bible of a woman serving in the capacity of a priest or a pastor or an elder.
These were roles that were God designed that men should be the priest leaders of the family. Now, men and women could be part of the priesthood but the job of the women in the priesthood was very different from the job of the men. Only the men would sacrifice. No example in the Bible of a woman being ordained as a king. There is no example of a woman offering a sacrifice. The men were to be the priest for the family. There were women, the daughters of Aaron, as a matter of fact, Elizabeth, was called a daughter of Aaron and there were roles for them to serve in the sanctuary too, but they did not do the public teaching and they did not do the sacrifice. You still there?
Spencer: Yes. It says a woman not to keep side and he doesn't mean to just keep silent and say nothing, just don't have authority over the men?
Pastor Doug: Yes, I believe that's correct. There's many cases of women that were speaking in church and they're filled with the spirit. You've got Henna, who, she went to the temple and she prayed and she praised God. Then you got Anna. When Jesus was a baby she was in the temple and she spoke. I don't think Paul is making a statement. First of all, don't ever build the doctrine on one verse.
If it seems a little outrageous and find out compared to other verses. I don't think that God is saying that a woman was never to speak in church. I think that the Bible was telling us that, in that Corinthian church, sometimes the women were asking their husbands questions in policy and look you need to talk together about this when you get home. The women also sat separately from the men in many of these services and they were calling over their husbands. It was, I guess, creating a raucous.
That's probably what was going on there. I've got a book that I can send you a free copy, Spencer or anyone else that would like one. It's called the Women in Ministry. Women in Ministry. We'd be happy to send that to you.
Pastor Ross: Our next caller is-- actually I forgot to give the numbers, 800-835-6747, that is our resource phone number and you can ask for the book called Women in Ministry. We'll be happy to send that to you Miss Spencer or to anybody who calls and asks. Our next caller is Lisa listening in Orangevale, California. Lisa, you're on the air.
Lisa: Yes, hi.
Pastor Doug: Hi, thanks for calling.
Lisa: Yes. First, I just want to say thank you for your program. It's been very helpful and a big blessing I'm sure to many people.
Pastor Doug: Well, thank you.
Lisa: Yes. I wanted to get some clarity to make sense on like if you're single and it says, you're going to be willing to work to eat. Then there's the other part that you can't serve both God and money. Can you clarify all that for me?
Pastor Doug: Well, when Jesus says that you can't serve God and man and her money, he's not saying don't work for money. He's saying don't let it be your god. Of course, Paul says that the love of money is the root of all evil. Again, he's saying not money is evil. Paul, he went through Asia picked up a big offering to bring to Jerusalem so he thought that there was a purpose for money. Paul worked and he got paid. Paul was a tent maker.
When Paul said if you won't work you shouldn't eat, the church in the early days had a fund to take care of the orphans and the widows. Then Paul actually goes through some guidelines about which people would qualify to receive of the church assistance program that they had. You had to be a widow over 60 that was in good reputation and sometimes they couldn't earn. If they were younger, he said that they should either, work and contribute and work, get married again. It's something that Paul said. I don't know. Does that help you answer your question, Lisa?
Lisa: Yes, very well. Yes, thank you.
Pastor Doug: All right. Thanks so much.
Pastor Ross: Our next caller is Ray listening from Michigan. Ray, welcome to Bible Answers Live.
Ray: Hello, sir, how are you doing?
Pastor Doug: Doing good. How can we help you today?
Ray: I have a question. Delilah found out the secret of Samson's strength. It wasn't really his hair, it was God that gave him the strength.
Pastor Doug: Right.
Ray: Did she cut off his hair or did she call forth a barber and he cut off his hair?
Pastor Doug: Well, if I remember correctly, she-- while he slept she called for somebody to come and that would be in Judges if I remember what Chapter in Judges that's in. It's one of the last chapters. But I'm, pretty sure she called for somebody that came and cut off his hair and she kind of put him to sleep in her lap, and-- So the Philistines be upon you. Let me see here. Five, just about I got it. Here we go. She lolled him to sleep on her knees and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. She had one of the servants that was hiding in the wings somewhere sneak out when he went to sleep and they had a sharp implement to snip off his locks.
The hair, of course, was a symbol of his covenant to God because he was a Nazarite from his youth. So, yes, God gave him his spirit but when he gave away the secret of his covenant, he lost his power. Well, when his hair grew back and he prayed, he got his power back again, and of course the last prayer, he put out his arms and brought down the house.
Ray: Yes, he does. Yes, he did.
Pastor Doug: So it tells us God can forgive.
Ray: I guess he destroyed more Philistines then than he did before.
Pastor Doug: This is one of the stories in the Bible, Ray, where Samson is even a type of Christ. The last act of his life was one of sacrifice. He stretched out his arms like Jesus stretched out his arms, and through his death, it says he killed more enemies through his death than he did in his life, and Christ did more to deliver us from the enemy by his death and he was a sacrifice it stretched out his hands. We believe we'll see Samson in heaven and he'll probably have his hair back then too and his eyes, but he's mentioned in Hebrews 11 among the faithful, so I think that's a good indicator. Thank you for your call, Ray. Good question. Who do we have lined up next?
Pastor Ross: We have Mark listening in Michigan. Mark, welcome to the program.
Mark: Thank you for your radio ministry. It's a tremendous blessing to the community.
Pastor Doug: Well, thank you it's a privilege.
Mark: Here's my question. About 25 years ago, maybe around 1992, a medical doctor asked a young couple, would they like their newborn infant to have a microchip or a nanochip implanted into their baby? Flash-forward to today, a young lady wants to go the extra step. We're moving towards a cashless society and now instead of paying at the register with her phone using Apple pay or Samsung pay or Android pay, she wants to have a procedure done where she can have a type of microchip, nanochip embedded into her hand so she can just wave her hand at the register instead of her phone, that being with all her financial information embedded into the chip that's embedded into her hand.
Pastor Doug: Sorry. Let's turn it into a question.
Mark: Huh?
Pastor Doug: Let's turn this into a question.
Mark: The question is, is there any scriptural guidance, wisdom, advice, that would be able to have helped the young couple make the decision when approached by the doctor 25 years ago or this young lady today as to whether they should be doing that?
Pastor Doug: All right, I think I understand what you're asking. Personally, I think it would be going-- I think would be going beyond the limits of privacy when if the government were to embed your body physically with some kind of ID. It kind of reminds me of what the Nazis did in tattooing people in their prison of war camp. We all know about the mark of the beast in the hand of the forehead. I do not believe the mark of the beast is a microchip. We had our dogs, got a microchip when we adopted them. We can't help it, they do it to all the pets now so they can scan them and find them and we did an amazing fact a couple weeks ago about someone who lost a cat in California and ended up in Canada.
How it got 2,000 miles away is a mystery. We'll have to ask the cat. But it was a microchip that helped him find his way home. There are some advantages to these things but I personally wouldn't want to do that. I think your body's a temple of the Holy Spirit. You should avoid having the government embed your body with ID. You can carry a card. But it is not the mark of the beast. The mark of the beast, it tells us is the opposite of having the law of God in your heart or in your hand or in your forehead.
You can read in Deuteronomy chapter 6 where Moses said, "He that hears these words of mine and does them, where to hide God's Word in our heart where to have it as frontlets between our eyes. We are to tie it on our hand so between the eyes on the hand that's having the law of God, that's the seal of God. Thy word I have hidden in my heart." The mark of the beast is when you have the laws of the beast and you'll obey the beast and worship the beast in your hand or in your forehead, means in your actions is in your hand, between the eyes is in your forehead, that means in your thoughts.
I know we're seeing more and more computer technology being used to govern the buying and selling and these things, Mark, like the chips may be used to govern buying and selling but it is not the mark of the beast. We will send you a lesson if you want to know about that, about what is the mark of the beast, and just call the resource line, that number 800-835-6747. That's 800-835-6747.
Pastor Ross: The next caller if we have time is Carol listening in Oakland. Carol, we have just a few more minutes. Carol, you there?
Carol: Hi. Thank you. Thank you. I guess my question summed up is what role does United States play in the end times? My daughter heard a sermon by a pastor and he said because the United States is not mentioned like the bear Russia and those other countries that are going to descend on Israel, he felt that we would be destroyed before that happened. I wondered what your thoughts were on that?
Pastor Doug: All right Carol, I'm going to have to give you a quick answer here. We have a message online for free on YouTube, it's called the USA in Prophecy. You just type in "Doug Batchelor USA in prophecy," or a free study, Amazing Facts website. That's amazingfacts.org. Look for the USA in Prophecy. It is in prophecy, friends. Those things foretold there are coming soon. Look forward to studying together again next week.