Pastor Jean Ross: Hello friends. How about an amazing fact? Born on June 15, 1959, Michel Lotito was a Frenchman with a very unusual diet. At the age of nine, he began eating large quantities of metal and glass. In later life, he became an entertainer and took the nickname, Mr. Eat-All-Things. It seemed that his body was able to live up to his unusual nickname.
He was known to have eaten supermarket carts, TV sets, bicycles, chandeliers, razor blades, bullets, nuts and bolts, length of chain, computers, and an entire Cessna 150 aircraft which took him nearly two years to consume. His technique included lubricating his digestive tract with mineral oil, cutting the parts into bite-size pieces, and then consuming a large quantity of water while eating the junk.
What is most amazing is that he didn't seem to suffer any unusual side effects from eating materials usually considered poisonous. It is believed that between 1959 and 1997, he consumed about one ton of metal. He said, as a child, he liked the taste of metal, and wanted to impress his friends by eating metal objects. He then discovered that he could win bets by eating things like nails and glass plates.
Over time, he developed a technique that allowed him to eat almost anything. Michel died of natural causes on June 25, 2007, 10 days before his 57th birthday.
Friends, did you know that the Bible encourages us to eat something that is not food every day? Stay tuned for more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Bible Answers Live, honest answers to your Bible questions.
This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this evening's program, call 800-835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747. Now, let's Join our host, Pastor Jean Ross.
Pastor Ross: Hello friends. This is Bible Answers Live. Pastor Doug Batchelor is out this evening, but the phone lines are open and we're ready to take your Bible calls. If you have a Bible-related question, the phone number to call, again, is 800-463-7297. That number once again is 800-463-7297.
That will bring you right here into the studio with your Bible-related question. Maybe you have questions about the Word of God, maybe about a particular text that's puzzled you, or just general questions about living the Christian life. Well, this is a good time to pick up your phone and give us a call. Our phone lines are now open. That number once again, it's 800-463-7297. Or, if you can remember it this way, it's 800-GOD-SAYS. 800-463-7297.
I opened the program with an amazing fact about a gentleman who, well, made a living at eating all kinds of strange things, things that you'd never consider food. Yet, somehow he seemed to survive. He had figured out this technique of being able to eat metal and glass, and it just passed right through his system.
The Bible speaks about the Christian needing to eat something every day that's not food. Now, of course, I'm not talking about eating glass, or metal, or something strange like that, I'm talking about eating something spiritual.
In the Book of Revelation, you read about John, in vision, being told by an angel to take a book and eat the book. It said that the book would be sweet in his mouth but bitter in his stomach, and John does just that, and that's exactly what happens. What does it mean to eat the book?
Jeremiah 15:16 says, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and they were unto me the joy and the rejoicing of my heart." To eat the book, at least in spiritual terms, is to receive it and make it your own. You see, every day, we need to feast upon the Word of God.
To eat the Word is to receive it, to make it your own, to allow the Spirit of God's Word to transform our lives. Jesus said this in John 6:53, speaking to his disciples and many others, a large crowd that followed him, he said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."
I could imagine, this caused a lot of questions in the minds of the heroes of Jesus. What does it mean to eat his flesh and drink his blood? There were many who were actually offended by this and they left. Finally, Jesus was there with his disciples, and he said to them, "Are you also going to leave me?" They said, "Lord, where are we to go? You have the words of truth, but this was a hard saying. What does it mean to your flesh and drink your blood?"
Jesus then explains in John 6:63. He said, "It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh profits nothing. The words I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life." To eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ is to receive his word, to receive his teaching, to make it a part of your very life.
Yes, friends, there is something that we need to eat every single day for spiritual health, even more important than physical food, that's the Word of God. That's actually what our free offer is about tonight. It is a book dealing with the Bible called The Ultimate Resource. We want to send this to anybody who calls and asks.
This is our resource phone line. If you have a pencil, I hope you ready. Here it is. 800-835-6747. That's 800-835-6747, and you can ask for the book called The Ultimate Resource. It's all about the Bible; how you can study Bible, how you can learn to receive the blessing of the Scriptures. Just call, and we'll be happy to send that to you. Once again, that number is 800-835-6747.
If you have a Bible question, a phone line here to the studio is 800-463-7297. I can see there's phone calls coming in right now. If you don't get through right away, just hold on, we'll get to your call. Again, that number is 800-463-7297. Before we go to the phone lines, I always like to begin the program with a word of prayer. We recognize the Bible is God's book, and we need the Holy Spirit in order to understand it, so let's pray together.
Dear Father, we thank you for this opportunity for us to open up your Word and study together. We want to ask the Holy Spirit to come and guard our hearts and our minds. Lead us into a clear understanding of what the Bible teaches, so that we can indeed, feast upon the Living Bread that is the Word. Thank you, Lord, for hearing our prayer, in Jesus name. Amen.
Well, we are ready to go to the phone lines with our first caller this evening. We have, let's see, we have Ryall calling from Richmond, Indiana. Hi, Ryall welcome to the program.
Ryall: Yes. Good evening, Pastor Ross. Thank you for your ministry and for taking my call.
Pastor Ross: Well, thanks for calling.
Ryall: Yes. My question is, in Judges 19, we have the story of the Levite and his concubine. The concubine is unfaithful, left Levi and returned to her father's place. Then the Levite woos her back, but then on the way home allows her to be raped and murdered, basically by the men of Gibeah, but then he ends up cutting her corpse up into 12 pieces and sending it to Israel.
I've heard people say that the story is included in the Bible because it just shows how bad people can get when there's no law or when they don't follow God. Does this have a spiritual significance, like does the woman represent the church or does the Levite represent God? It doesn't sound like that's the godly trait.
Pastor Ross: Sure. Definitely, it's a difficult story. It was during the time when there was no king. Pretty much regions of Israel were governed by different judges. The Bible describes that time as a time period when every man did that which was right in his own eyes. That's a sad story.
You have this Levite who has a wife, a concubine, but she leaves him, goes back to her father's house. It appears as though she played the role of a prostitute or a harlot. He finally went after her and he wooed her back, and they were actually journeying on their way back to the mountain areas where he was from. He stopped in the city, spent the night there, and the wicked men of the city came up against the owner of the house and was threatening to kill him. It's sad,
but, yes, the Levite and the man gave them his concubine.
Perhaps, the rationale behind that was because of her reputation, because of what she had just recently be doing, perhaps they considered that something would happen but they didn't think that it would cost her her life. In the morning when it did happen and and she died because of the wickedness of these men, to display the terrible sin of Israel, her body was divided up into 12 parts and the Levite sent it to the 12 tribes, which caused a civil war in Israel, and they fought against Benjamin. Gibeah was one of the cities there in Benjamin, and almost completely destroyed the tribe of Benjamin.
The reason it's mentioned in Scripture is because of its impact on the nation of Israel and the different tribes. Is their spiritual significance? To some degree, I think there are some broad principles that we see in Scripture. In the Bible, sometimes, a woman can represent a church. In Old Testament times, Israel is sometimes described as a harlot woman who is--
Ryall: Like Gomer.
Pastor Ross: Yes. That was supposed to be devoted to God but left her allegiance to God and followed the customs, and the idols, and the forms of worship of the pagan nations around her, and eventually, judgment came upon Israel when you had the Assyrians conquer the 10 tribes of the north, and Babylon conquered Jerusalem and a little bit of Benjamin that was left.
Perhaps, there's something there, some lessons that we can learn. I think the prime reason why this is mentioned in Scripture is because it connects the history of Israel, God's people, and what the condition was at that time in Israel.
Ryall: Because I don't hear any sermons on it.
Pastor Ross: Yes, it's a difficult passage to deal with because it is sad. It's a terrible description of what had happened-
Ryall: Gruesome.
Pastor Ross: Yes, gruesome -what had happened in Israel when they left their allegiance to God.
Ryall: Okay.
Pastor Ross: All right. Thanks for you call. Good question. Our next caller this evening is Gabino, listening in San Antonio, Texas. Gabino, welcome to the program.
Gabino: Thank you, sir.
Pastor Ross: Hey, thanks for your call.
Gabino: I've read the Bible the whole book, and I'm reading it again. As I read it more and more, I began to digest and I began to understand, but there are certain places where I do not understand. For example, Revelation 12:7, where it says, "There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels, and they were forced out of heaven and they were cast down to the earth." Why were they cast down to the earth?
Pastor Ross: That's a good question. The passage, of course, that you're referring to is Revelation 12:7. After this rebellion took place in heaven, and the reason we have this rebellion is because the most leading angel in heaven, his name was Lucifer, coveted God's position and one of the worshiper, the other angels, and eventually this resulted in full-blown rebellion against God and against his government.
Finally, he was driven out of heaven. He and his angels, he was able to deceive at least a third of the angels to join his rebellion against God. Probably, for a time period, the devil went from place to place in the universe looking for some place that he could establish his kingdom in opposition to God's kingdom.
Right around this time, the earth is created. Of course, on the earth God creates a beautiful garden, Adam and Eve is placed in the garden. God warns them and says, "You can eat of all the trees of the garden but don't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God limited Satan's access to Adam and Eve to that one tree; but you know the story how that they disobeyed God, ate of the forbidden fruit, and sin came into the world.
Now, when God created the earth and he created Adam, he gave Adam dominion over this world. He was to be the representative of the earth. When Adam disobeyed God and chose Satan instead of God, in essence, he handed his dominion over to Satan and Satan claimed this earth as his, and so this earth then, became the capital of the devil's kingdom and his opposition against God.
It was not that God forced the devil on the earth, rather it was the freedom of choice that God had given to Adam and Eve, in choosing the devil's way they chose the devil instead of God, thus Satan claimed the earth as his.
Then, of course, after that he was cast to the earth, meaning that this is where he's limited. You read in the Book of Job how that there was a meeting, probably in heaven, and Satan came as the representative of earth, and God said, "Where have you come from?" and he said "From walking up and down on the earth," from walking up and down in his kingdom, in essence, and God said, "Have you considered my servant, Job?" In other words, God said, "There is someone in your kingdom that actually belongs in my kingdom." You heard the whole story about Job.
When Jesus died on the cross, he became the second Adam. He took the place of the first Adam, and now the kingdom, the earth, is really Christ's, and of course, the kingdom becomes his fully when Jesus comes the second time. The devil's days are numbered.
Gabino: You say when God created the earth, that he was testing other planets?
Pastor Ross: Quite possibly. The Bible speaks of in Job, talks about these representatives of unfallen worlds, refers to them as elders there in heaven. We also read about the 24 elders in the Book of Revelation. They could very well have been the representatives of other worlds. The Bible speaks of Christ creating the worlds. It uses the word plural, so there could be other worlds out there that didn't fall, that remained loyal to God, and it was our earth that fell, and that's why Satan claims this earth as his kingdom.
Gabino: Thank you, sir. I appreciate it.
Pastor Ross: All right. Great question. If you have a Bible question, our phone line here to the studio is 800-463-7297. That is 800-463-7297. Our next caller here is Pam, listening in Billings, Montana. Pam, welcome to the program.
Pam: Thank you very much. It's an honor to speak to you, Pastor Ross.
Pastor Ross: Thanks for calling.
Pam: You bet. I have a question. I know you guys have had many questions about this chapter and parable. I've read the Bible for years and I still don't quite grasp. It's Matthew 22, particularly 10-14, and about the man that shows up. He was bid to the wedding and he came, and then when the king saw the guests and he had not on a wedding garment and he's cast out. That always disturbs me. I never quite understand the meaning of the parable.
Pastor Ross: Sure. Good question. It's a great parable. As you said, you find in Matthew 22. For those who might be driving, let me just summarize what this parable is, and then we can talk about its meaning. It's very significant.
The parable begins by Jesus saying, "The Kingdom of heaven is likened to a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son. Jesus is beginning a parable, and he's talking about a king. The king has a son, and the son is about to get married. It represents something. The king would represent God the Father, the son would represent His Son, and the marriage would represent Christ reception of his bride, the Church; Christ reception of his kingdom.
Then it says the king arranged everything needed for this wedding, and it talks about how he had prepared the meal. It talks about my oxen, my fattened cattle are killed, all things already come to the wedding, and then those who were first invited to come to the wedding, they didn't want to come.
Every time they were invited, they made an excuse. One said, "I can't come because of this," and another said, "I have a farm that it needs to take care of," or, business. Some of those who were invited took the servants of the king, and killed them and treated them badly. Then it says, "But the king heard about this. He was angry, and he sent out his armies to destroy those murderers, burned up their city." Those are the ones who were first invited.
"Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is ready, but those who are invited are not worthy. Go, therefore, into the highways and as many as you find, invite them to the wedding." The servants went out to the highways and the byways, and they invited all these people to come, and the wedding hall was furnished with guests." Everybody was there seated, waiting for the wedding to take place.
Then it says the king came in, and he was examining or looking at the guests, and he saw a man that was sitting there in the wedding hall that didn't have on a wedding garment, and the king said, "How did you come in here without a wedding garment?" The man speechless. Then you have those verses in particular that you're talking about, where the king says, "Bind him hand and foot, and throw him outside."
Of course, in the parable, we spoke about who the king represents, he represents the Father, the son represents Jesus, the marriage represents Christ reception of his bride and kingdom. Those who were first invited represents the Jewish nation as a whole. When it says that they took the servants and they treated them spitefully and even killed them, it's referring to how the prophets would come, and they would preach to those in Israel and they would treat it very badly. Some of them we even put to death.
Then it says, "The city, eventually, was destroyed." Well, that happened in the 70 AD when the Romans came and destroyed Jerusalem. Then the king said, "Everything is ready for the wedding." In other words, Christ had already died, the sacrifice
had been provided. Then, "Go into the highways and the byways, and invite as many as you can." That refers to the gospel now going out the Gentile world, not only just for the Jews but for anyone and everyone, to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. Then there were many who responded to the gospel invitation.
Then it talks about everybody gathered in the wedding whole, just before the marriage is to take place, and there is a man who didn't have on the wedding garment. You see, just before Jesus comes, that's when Jesus comes the second time, that you have the wedding that takes place, because it talks about the Marriage Supper of the Lamb that occurs in heaven after the Second Coming.
Just before Jesus comes, there is an examination of those who claim to be Christians. It is examining the guests. There are many who claim to be Christians but they don't have on, they have not by faith received the righteousness of Jesus, so they're sitting there in their own filthy garments.
Before Jesus comes, there is a judgment or an examining of those who profess to be Christians. Those who are found to simply be Christian in name but have not committed themselves to Christ, they're cast out for they won't be ready when Jesus comes the second time. That's really what this parable is referencing. It's talking about a special time that happens just before Jesus comes. I believe we're living in that time now, where there is, to some degree, an examining of those who profess to be followers of Christ.
There's a lot in that parable. I know we just zipped right through it, but read it again with that in mind, and I think it will make sense.
Pam: I truly appreciate that, because, like I said, I read that for years and years. I've been a Christian for many years, and the explanation is never quite understood. I get it. Thank you so much.
Pastor Ross: Good. All right. Thanks for your call, Pam. We appreciate it. Our next caller here is Thomas, listening from Long Island. Thomas, welcome Bible Answers Live.
Thomas: Good evening, pastor. How are you doing?
Pastor Ross: Doing well. Thank you for calling.
Thomas: Okay, sir. My question is, after Mary gave birth to Jesus, she had other children also?
Pastor Ross: The other children that she had or could have had, it's not clear. There were other brothers and sisters that Jesus had, but they were probably half siblings from Joseph prior to his marriage with Mary.
Thomas: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Can you give me a passage to support or to advocate what you're saying?
Pastor Ross: Yes.
Thomas: The Bible is crystal clear, it says she had four children and daughters, four sons and daughters. They were epistles. Jude and then James. James in Greek it means Jacob. I don't know how this name got involved with James. I don't know. I have no clue with that.
Pastor Ross: Sure. Well, let me explain about that.
Thomas: The Bible is very crystal clear.
Pastor Ross: It does say that Jesus did have brothers and sisters. It appears, from the context, and I'll explain why in just a minute, that they were probably the half siblings of Christ. Joseph was most likely married. Of course, he died a lot earlier than Mary. These other siblings appeared older than Jesus because they wanted to tell Jesus what to do. You'll remember a story where Jesus was with the disciples, and Mary came and his half brothers and sisters, and they wanted to tell Jesus what he was to do with reference to his ministry. Jesus turned to the crowd and he said--
Thomas: Where it says that? What chapter?
Pastor Ross: Well, I'd have to look that up. Maybe you can help me if you got to Bible in front of you.
Thomas: There's no way. There is no passage to support that. Number two, when they want to register in Egypt, it said Joseph and Mary. It does not, like what you're saying that Joseph was divorced and had his children from previously marry, that's not the Bible support that. Number three, when the shepherds went to see Jesus when he was born in a stable, they found Mary and Jesus. It is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible that was other children, too.
Pastor Ross: Okay. Let me give you a few verses on that since you're asking. If you look in Mark 3.31, it says, "Then the brothers and his mother came standing outside, they sent him calling him." This is talking about Jesus. "The multitude was sitting around him and they said to him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you." He answered and said, "Who is my mother or my brothers?" He looked around in a circle of those who sat by him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father, he is my brother and my sister."" There, it does say that Jesus did have brothers.
Thomas: You know why he said that? You know why Jesus did say that? He said that because he didn't want to exalt anybody. "Those who do my will, these are my brothers and my sisters." If you go to Acts 1, also to advocate what I'm saying, you will see everybody down, all the disciples, Mary and the brothers, and everybody else.
The Bible is crystal clear. There's nowhere in the Bible to support that according to the great priest and the Catholic mythology. Do you understand what I'm saying? We sometimes tweak words around that will make our own theology. I understand you guys do preach very well, but this, as far as that, it's false.
[crosstalk] perception about that. I'm from Greece. I know the language very well. As far as that, I disagree all the way. There's no evidence that Joseph had other children from previously married, because I can tell you. I'll give you my--
Pastor Ross: You know what? I appreciate your sharing with us. All I'll have to go with is what the Bible says, there are brothers and it appears that his mother came. The question is, did Mary have other children? It doesn't appear that way, because when Jesus was on the cross, he gave Mary into the guardianship of John, one of his disciples.
If Mary would have had other children or other sons, it would have been their responsibility to take care of her. That's why a number of scholars feel that these brothers of Christ were actually the sons of Joseph from his first marriage, and his first wife died and then he married Mary. Anyway, I appreciate your call, but that's what we see here in these passages of Scripture.
Let's see our next caller. I think we have time for one more before the break. We have Raymond, listening from Michigan. Raymond, welcome to the program. We have about a minute.
Raymond: Okay. I also like to ask a question about good and evil, but I guess your one caller called and has answered my question.
Pastor Ross: Well, good. There you go, we got two for the price of one. That was good. Did you have another question you wanted to ask, or did you want to expand on that one, or? You know what, Raymond? I hear some music playing in the background. If you hold on until after the break, we'll take your call. That will give you a chance to think about what you'd like to ask.
Don't go away. We just got a few announcements. We have stations identify themselves, and then we'll be right back with more Bible answers. If you have a Bible question, get ready. I'll be giving you the phone line number just after the break. We'd love to hear from you if you have a Bible-related question. We'll be right back.
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Speaker: Stay tuned. Bible Answers Live will return in a moment.
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Speaker 2: Journey back through time to the center of the universe. Discover how a perfect angel transformed into Satan, the arch-villain. The birth of evil, of rebellion in heaven, a mutiny that moved to earth. Behold, the creation of a beautiful new planet, and the first humans witness the temptation and evil.
Discover God's amazing plan to save his children. This is a story that involves every life on earth; every life. The Cosmic Conflict. If God is good, if God is all powerful, if God is love, then what went wrong?
Speaker 1: If you missed any of our amazing facts programs, visit our website at amazingfacts.org. There, you'll find an archive of all TV and radio programs, including Amazing Facts Presents one location, so many possibilities, amazing facts.org.
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Every Bible question you have answered, moves you one step closer to the fullness of God's will for your life. What are you waiting for? Get the answers you need for a fuller, richer, more confident life.
You're listening to Bible Answers Live. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM Pacific Time. To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this evenings program, call 800-835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747. Now, let's join Pastor Jean Ross for more Bible Answers Live.
Pastor Ross: Hello, friends. Yes, this is Bible Answers Live, a live international interactive Bible study. If you have a Bible-related question, we would love to hear from you tonight. Our phone line here to the studio, and looks like we got three lines still open, is 800-463-7297. That number, again, is 800-463-7297.
If you have a question about a particular passage of Scripture, or just question in general relating to the Christian life, this is a good time to pick up your phone and give us a call. Now, just before the break, we were talking to Raymond from Michigan. Raymond, are you still there?
Raymond: Yes, sir, I'm still here.
Pastor Ross: All right. Thanks for your patience. You had said you had a question related to Adam and Eve and the fall?
Raymond: I did, but like I said, though, the one caller called and he pretty much had answered that. I have another question. It's in the beginning, before God-- The Trinity was always there. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, before any and everything was created, they created the angels first and then created everything else. Is that true? Or is that how it was, or?
Pastor Ross: It appears that way, that God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, they have no end. For us to try and figure out how that could be, it's something beyond human comprehension. We live in a dimension of time. Our lives revolve around time. We have birth, we have death, and everything in between; but for God, he is outside of our time; He has no beginning, no end.
We know the angels were created by Him, as well as all things in the universe. It appears as though the angels are created or were created earlier, definitely earlier than earth, we know that with reference to the rest of the universe. That's something the Bible doesn't tell us for sure, but they've been around for a long time.
Raymond: Before they created the human race and also Lucifer, and the one third that fell with him, did they know that Jesus would have to die on the cross for the sins of the earth, sins of the human race?
Pastor Ross: I think the whole plan of redemption and the fact that Jesus came, was an unfolding even to the angels. It was an unfolding of God's great love and His willingness to save, even at an incredible cost, Himself. They didn't fully understand it, but they probably had some idea with the introduction of the sacrificial system that occurred after Adam and Eve sinned, sacrificing a lamb and then that pointing forward to that Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world.
They learned, through this whole experience, a new revelation of God's love in saving mankind.
Raymond: Thank you very much.
Pastor Ross: Thanks for your call, Raymond. We appreciate it. God bless. Next caller that we have is Hooray, listening from New York. Hooray, welcome to the program.
Hooray: Thank you, pastor. Good evening. Yes, I have a question about the Old Testament. All my life, I read in the Old Testament that our patriarchs, people used to live over 400 years, like Methuselah who lived over 400 years.
Pastor Ross: 969 years, yes.
Hooray: Are those years same that our present time, because also in the Psalms it referred to man lifespan to be 70 or less. If the person was very healthy, he will leave a little bit longer.
Pastor Ross: Correct.
Hooray: It was a big difference between people leaving 400 years, and then in the Psalms it says man to live only 70 years. I've always wondered if there is a big difference between years in the Old Testament and then later on.
Pastor Ross: Okay. Let me answer that. That's a good question. No, the years have always been the same, and the reason being is when it talks about creation, it says that God created the earth in six days, rested on the seventh day; a day consists of 24 hours, and you have the earth moving around the sun, which would give you a year. The reason the people living before the flood lived so long, we have Methuselah who lived 969 years, and many of the others, even up to their 800s and 900s, the world before the flood, the environment before the flood was very different.
We know that we can go back in the archaeological record, and we could see that a lot of the plants and the animals that lived before the flood were much larger in size.
Hooray: That's right.
Pastor Ross: The atmosphere was probably different before the flood. There was less vegetation. There were not as many diseases. It wasn't until after the flood that you begin to see the age of people begin to get less and less until it settled down somewhere around about 70. Then, even in modern times, 300, 400, 500 years ago, if you want to call that modern times, the life expectancy was even less typically around 50, if you were lucky maybe the 60, because the diseases that were present and the type of food that people were eating. Now, life expectancy is beginning to get a little bit better because we are generally trying to eat healthier and environments are changing.
The reason we have those long ages of those who lived before the flood, the main reason would have been because the environment was so much different than what it is today.
Hooray: I see. Thank you very much. That help a lot, because I always question the difference, but now you made it clear for me. I appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Pastor Ross: All right. Thank you for your call. If you have a Bible-related question, the phone line here to the studio is 800-463-7297. If you have a Bible question, that's 800-463-7297. I'd love to hear from you this evening. Our next caller is Tommy, listening in Orlando. Tommy, welcome to the program.
Tommy: Hello, Pastor Jean. Thank you for taking my call.
Pastor Ross: You are welcome.
Tommy: My question, and I'm really not sure how to phrase it, but the dead in Christ and those who are still alive in Christ when he returns, I'm understanding that we will receive our new bodies at that time, and we'll go back to heaven with Jesus to live, and then at some point come back to the earth to reign on earth, and then the wicked will be raised again. Is this correct?
Pastor Ross: Yes. Let me run through the sequence. We have the Second Coming of Jesus, the dead in Christ are raised, the righteous living are changed in a moment in a twinkling of an eye, and we're all called up to meet Jesus in the air. The wicked are destroyed with the brightness of Christ coming. The righteous go to heaven for 1,000 years. Yes, I'll talk more about that in just a minute.
At the end of that 1,000-year period, then you read in Revelation 21, the New Jerusalem descends from God out of heaven, and with it all the redeemed. At that point, Jesus sets his feet on the Mount of Olives, and it opens up and forms a great valley, and the New Jerusalem comes to rest in that valley.
Then the wicked are resurrected for what's referred to in Revelation 20 as the Great White Throne Judgment. At the conclusion of that judgment, then it is that the wicked mount their attack upon the New Jerusalem. Fire comes down and devours them, and the fire that destroys the wicked purifies the earth. Then God creates a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness. That's the sequence of events.
Tommy: Then my question is, when the dead are raised, the wicked are raised, and even when they mount the attack on Jerusalem, are they going to receive new bodies too, or what are their bodies going to look like? Is it the old body?
Pastor Ross: No, they don't receive the older bodies. Probably similar to-- I mean it's as if they'd just been put together for that final judgment. The world's going to be quite different at the end of the 1,000 years. You can imagine everything would have been destroyed. They're not going to have time to go plant, and harvest, and eat the way we do now. Things are going to be a little different.
They'll be able to see angels at that point. They, of course, will see the New Jerusalem. They'll be able to understand what's going on with the Great White Throne Judgment. They won't have immortal bodies, but they will be resurrected in some form for that final judgment.
Tommy: Okay. Very good. In my mind, I'm thinking, "Gosh, if they don't get new bodies like we do, are they going to look like they did when they died? What if they died in a horrible tragic accident? Is it going to be like the Night of Living Dead?
Pastor Ross: No. I think God's going to put them together
sufficiently so that they can understand what's going on and they have an opportunity to participate in the judgment, meaning they're having a chance to ask the question, "Why am I not saved?"
At the end of that judgment, according to the Bible, it says, "Every knee bows and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." Even the devil himself will acknowledge that God is true in what He's done. It doesn't change their hearts, because no sooner do they say that and then they mount this attack upon the New Jerusalem. All the evidence will be presented, and it will be overwhelming, even to the wicked, and they're going to have to say, "No, God is true."
Tommy: All right. Very good. Thank you so much for everything that you do, as well as Pastor Batchelor. We love you guys. I enjoy the show. Thank you.
Pastor Ross: Thank you for your call. We appreciate that. Our next caller is Henry, listening in Bronx, New York. Henry, welcome to the program.
Henry: Does the devil know the future?
Pastor Ross: He knows a little bit of the future based upon probably what is he has learned from the past. In other words, he's been around for a long time. He knows what the Bible says. He knows how the prophecies have been fulfilled. I think he knows what's coming. That's why the Bible says, "The devil is going around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, for he knows he has but a short time."
The devil knows his days are numbered, and he is trying to do everything he can to bring as much misery, and sorrow, and pain as he possibly can before he's finally destroyed, before that final Great Judgment scene.
He doesn't know the future in the way that God would know the future, but he does know, based upon the prophecies of Scripture and what he's learned from history, he can at least get a good idea of what's coming.
Henry: Does he know what will happen the next minute?
Pastor Ross: No, I don't think so. Only God is omniscient. Omniscient means all-knowing, and the devil is not all knowing. He can't read our minds.
Henry: Thank God. You're right.
Pastor Ross: That is a good thing. He reads our actions and he can tempt us, but only God knows the heart.
Henry: Can I ask one more question?
Pastor Ross: Sure.
Henry: If a woman is married. She marries her husband and they're both believers, and he ends up backsliding and never comes back, should she stay with him?
Pastor Ross: That's a good question. When it comes to someone who they're both married, and in this case as he said, the husband is unfaithful, the commitment is still there to the spouse. If all possible, you want the marriage to continue. Sometimes by the example of the wife or the example of the husband, they might be able to win back that spouse who has turned away from God.
If for some reason, the spouse who is no longer a Christian, if they choose to depart and do their own thing, then, yes, there is a point where the believing spouse is freed from that relationship. As long as possible, I think the believing spouse wants to be the best example that he or she can be.
I've heard many stories. I know people who were faithful, and it took many years but finally their spouse was won to Christ by their example. That's always something that one wants to do. Thank you for your call, Henry. We appreciate it. Our next caller is Maria, listening from Fresno, California. Maria, welcome to the program.
Maria: Hello, Pastor Jean and Pastor Doug. Thank you for your program. I have a neighbor who asked me a question. I think I answered part only. She had an abortion when she was in her early 20s, and she asked if she's going to see the baby at resurrection time. My answer was, I know there are going to be children in heaven. She had abortion on purpose. She went to a clinic and she had an abortion. I don't remember if she was six weeks or 26 weeks pregnant. That was my answer.
Pastor Ross: Yes, you are correct. There are going to be babies in heaven. I think there will be cases where perhaps a young girl, a teenager perhaps did have an abortion, but later on came to love the Lord, became a Christian, committed their life to Christ. Perhaps they've wanted or they've longed to see that child. If they trust in God, and they believe there's a possibility, very real possibility that they get to raise that child, that baby in heaven.
I know that's probably true, especially for believing parents who have lost their child prior to birth, a miscarriage, there is a good chance that they will be reunited with that child and get to raise it in heaven. Yes, I believe that is the case.
Now, having said that, I don't believe every aborted baby, especially if it's related to an unbelieving parent will necessarily be in the resurrection. For believing families, believing parents who love the Lord, yes, we have the promise of the resurrection.
Maria: Even if the baby wasn't born?
Pastor Ross: Yes, absolutely. According to the Bible, life begins when that heart starts beating. Jeremiah talks about how that the Lord knew him in the womb and formed him. We just have a family right now that is going through a difficult experience because they lost their child or the baby, I think few weeks into the pregnancy. It's a difficult experience. They take comfort to know that, yes, they will see that baby in the resurrection.
Maria: Even though when she had the abortion she wanted to have that abortion.
Pastor Ross: Well, that's where we make mistakes. We all make mistakes in different ways, but if we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us. If she has committed her life to Christ and she's a believer, and she longs to see that child, there's nothing stopping God from giving her that child in the resurrection. Again, God makes those decisions.
Maria: Okay. I will definitely tell her.
Pastor Ross: Yes, absolutely.
Maria: Okay. Thank you so much.
Pastor Ross: Thanks for your call. Our next caller is Charles, listening in Georgia. Charles, welcome to the program.
Charles: Yes. Can you hear me?
Pastor Ross: Yes, I can hear you.
Charles: Great. I just have a question about the experience of being born again. When I listen to preachers preach, they're always about theology about it, theological points. I listened to a testimony and she so described what happened to her and her soul. Is there any kind of universal spiritual experience of the soul where you have evidence like, sky is bluer, the best greener, intense joy, freedom? That's the things she described.
Can you explain that, where if someone says, "Have been born again?" you can say, "Yes, I have, because this is what happened in my soul," or, "No, I haven't, because I haven't experienced that even though I agree with all the truth."
Pastor Ross: Sometimes, a person's conversion could be very dramatic. They do have a powerful testimony of how their lives changed and they had this overwhelming sense of peace knowing that they are forgiven. That does occur. It's a powerful testimony.
For many others, they might come to God in prayer, especially those who maybe grew up in a Christian home. They commit their life to Jesus, they confess their sins, they might not have that same overwhelming experiences somebody else might have, but it doesn't mean that they're not converted or they're not born again.
The new birth experience comes in the form of a seed, not a full-grown plant. Let me explain. When you take a seed and you put it in the soil, and you cover it up, you might not see anything dramatic changing in that seed immediately. Given enough time, the seed germinates, it begins to grow, and it becomes a full-grown tree that produces fruit.
So it is for the Christian. When you receive Jesus as your personal Savior, the Holy Spirit places that new heart within you. You might not be able to sense anything different at the moment, but you take God at His Word. You believe the promise given in Scripture. As you keep trusting in Him that new life begins to grow, and then you begin to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in your life.
You don't have to have a wonderful emotional experience in order to take God at His Word, but we can have faith to say, "LORD, I believe what you say. I'm not going to wait to feel a certain way, but I'm going to simply take You at Your word." God will honor that.
Charles: What about joy? The joy of salvation, that the Bible talks about that. Shouldn't there be an experience of joy?
Pastor Ross: Absolutely. There is. There is a peace that passes all understanding that the Bible speaks about, but having said that, it doesn't mean that a Christian doesn't face discouraging circumstances. Look at David in some of the Psalms. He was converted, but he went through all kinds of difficulties where he struggled.
You have Job who faced all kinds of trials and difficulties, and disappointing experiences. Faith is still claiming God's promise, even if we don't feel like it. It's holding on to His Word. Yes, the Christian does have peace, the Christian does have joy, but it doesn't mean that they don't have temptations, or discouragement, or difficult circumstances. Despite those things, we want to hold on I believe.
Charles: What if you believe the truth and even know the truth very well, but you've never really experienced joy in your whole Christian experience, would you question whether you are a Christian?
Pastor Ross: If you'd never experienced joy or even more so, peace, a peace that passes understanding, then probably the thing one needs to do is spend a little more time in prayer, and by faith claim the promises of God. Trust God. Just simply take him at His Word, and God will give you the peace that does give you strength and courage to face different trials in life.
I want to encourage you to do that. It's an important thing. We don't want to simply live by our feelings. As a Christian, there is a peace that we have that gives us confidence that God is true. Take Him at His Word, hold onto him by faith. It's an important thing for us to do. Thank you for your call, Charles.
We're going to try and get a few more calls in before we run out of time. Our next caller that we have is Boonton from Alabama. I believe it's Boonton. Welcome to the program.
Boonton: Yes.
Pastor Ross: Hi. Welcome. Your question?
Boonton: My question is, I read in Revelation. I study and I want to know that, is dog go to heaven?
Pastor Ross: Do dogs go to heaven? All right? We know there are going to be animals in heaven. The Bible speaks of the lion and the lamb, and they'll probably be all kinds of animals. Are they exactly the same animals that we have here on the earth? In other words, is our pet dog or cat going to be in heaven? God could probably create a dog or a cat that's very much like the ones we have here. With reference to the Gospel, Jesus died for us. He didn't die for the dogs and the cats. He died to save mankind, those created in his image.
Boonton: Yes, sir. Then the second question is, okay, the New Jerusalem. I love God and I love plants. When my plant die when winter time come, I feel sad for them. I tell them, I say, "One day, we all go to heaven." I love plant. I say, "I love that to you and me." I wonder; do we have a garden in New Jerusalem? Do we plant?
Pastor Ross: Yes, we will. Matter of fact, the Bible tells us that we will plant vineyards and eat the fruit of it, and we will have fig trees. It talks about the new earth. It describes these things.
Boonton: That's my dream. I want God to help me to get there.
Pastor Ross: Absolutely.
Boonton: I said, "Dear LORD, my heart want to obey but You have to help me." I talk to God. I believe with all my heart. I believe God is real. All my life. I come from Thailand. I don't know God. I come to learn about God when I come to United States. I look for love, all my life.
Pastor Ross: We do have a study guide that I think you'd really enjoy. We'll send it to you for free if you just give us a call and ask for it. It's all about heaven. That actually gives you the scriptures about what people are going to do in heaven. To get that, just call our resource phone number, it's 800-835-6747. I'm going to tell you the number again, 800-835-6747, ask for the study guide about heaven. It's called A Colossal City in Space. Just ask for the study guide about heaven. We'll be happy to send that to you. There's just about some wonderful promises there in the Word of God. Thank you for your call.
Our next caller is Sunil from Redlands, California. Sunil, welcome to the program.
Sunil: Yes, I am here.
Pastor Ross: Yes. Thanks for your call. We have just a few minutes left.
Sunil: Okay, no problem.
Pastor Ross: Your question?
Sunil: My question, when Moses was in the wilderness with the Israel people, and there was built the sanctuary. Same kind of sanctuary in heaven and what Jesus is doing in the heaven now?
Pastor Ross: Okay, good question. Yes, there is a sanctuary in heaven. It was told when Moses built the sanctuary, he was to build it according to the path that was shown him. The earthly sanctuary was a miniature of the heavenly sanctuary. Jesus is currently our high priest in the heavenly sanctuary. If you want to read about that, the whole Book of Hebrews in the New Testament is all about the high priestly ministry of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary.
What specifically is he doing for us? He is interceding on our behalf. In other words, when we confess our sins, he appears as our advocate, and he atones. His sacrifice covers our sins, just like the priest in the Old Testament would take the blood of animals and sprinkle it there on the veil of the sanctuary, so Jesus is ministering the merits of his sacrifice.
There are actually three phases to the ministry of Jesus. When Jesus came to the earth, he came as our sacrifice. He was the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Now Jesus is ministering in heaven as our high priest. Soon, his high priestly ministry will finish, and Jesus will come back as King of kings and Lord of lords. There's three distinct phases of Christ's ministry. He is both our sacrifice, he's also our priest, and then he comes back not as a priest but as king; king of kings, and Lord of lords.
Sunil: Thank you, sir. I appreciate your answers.
Pastor Ross: Absolutely. Thank you for your call. We do have a study guide that will tell you more about the sanctuary and the work that Jesus is doing as a high priest. It's called God Built the Plants, and it's all about the sanctuary. You can just ask for that, and we'll be happy to send that to you. God Built the Plants is about the heavenly sanctuary. I think you'd find that very interesting.
The number to call is 800-835-6747. That is the resource phone number. Again, the number is 800-835-6747. You can ask for any of the resources that we mentioned on the program tonight, and we'll be happy to send it to anybody who calls and asks.
Friends, as you can hear, we have the music playing in the background. That means we are running out of time. I want to thank you for all of the calls this evening. If I didn't get to your call tonight, don't give up. Give us a call next time and we'll try and take your Bible question on the air. Until then, I want to encourage you to take a look at Amazing Facts website, just amazingfacts.com for a lot more information. Till next time.
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