Hello friends, this is Doug Batchelor. How about an amazing fact?
Mountain climbing can be a dangerous business. In one 1996 Everest expedition, 8 climbers were killed and several others were stranded by a rogue storm. Some mountains were even more treacherous than Everest. The Annapurna peaks in the Himalaya range are among the world’s most perilous mountains with a fatality rate of more than 40% among those who attempt to scale them. So, why do people climb mountains? When British climber, George Mallory, was asked in 1924 why he wanted to climb Mt. Everest, he responded with those famous three words, “Because it’s there.” August of that year, Mallory and his partner, Andrew Irvin, disappeared on the way to the summit. For 75 years, he was missing. But in 1999, his body was discovered in remarkably good condition at about 27,000 feet. No one’s quite sure whether he and his partner made it to the summit. We hope so.
Then there is Reinhold Messner, an Italian mountaineer from South Tyrol who is often viewed as the greatest mountain climber of all time. He’s renowned for making the 1st solo ascent of Mt. Everest without supplemental oxygen. And for being the 1st climber to ascent all 14 peaks over 8,000 meters; that’s 26,000 feet above sea level. In August 1973, Samantha White of Steilacoom, Washington, successfully climbed to the top of 19,340 foot Mt. Kilimanjaro. At 8 years old, she’s believed to be the youngest person to ever conquer Africa’s highest mountain. Of course, Mt. Everest at 29,032 feet is the highest peak in the world. The mountain was officially conquered on the morning of May 29th 1953 when Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing, reached the summit where they took a few pictures and buried a cross.
Did you know the Bible says in the last days every believer may have to be a mountain climber? Stay with us friends, we’re going to learn more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Welcome to Bible Answers Live brought to you by Amazing Facts Ministries. Are you looking for a clear, concise answer to your most challenging Bible questions? Maybe you’re struggling to understand difficult passages of Scripture. If so, you’ve come to the right place. Join us now as we open God’s word to discover His will and find honest, practical answers to your Bible related questions. This broadcast is pre-recorded. If you have a Bible question, call us Sundays from 7 to 8 P.M. Pacific Standard Time at 800-GOD-SAYS. That’s 800-463-7297. Now let’s join our host, author, speaker and evangelist, Pastor Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Doug: Bible Answers Live! We’re here to take your live Bible questions, friends. If you have any Bible-related questions, we invite you to give us a call. We believe the Word of God contains the most important information in the world because it is the truth that will ultimately set you free. To get on tonight’s program, we do have open lines. That free phone call is 800-GOD-SAYS; that’s 800-463-7297. And now is a good time to pick up the phone and to call in with your Bible question. My name is Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And my name is Jëan Ross. Good evening, listening friends. Pastor Doug, before we start the program, let’s begin as usual with prayer. Dear Father, we thank You again that we have this opportunity to study Your Word. We ask Your blessing upon the program. Father, be with those who are listening wherever they might be— in their car or at their home. We pray that You be with us here in this studio. Give us wisdom as we search the Scriptures. For this we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Doug: Amen!
Pastor Jëan Ross: Pastor Doug, you spoke about these folks who had this desire to climb mountains— the higher, the better. And it’s further remarkable, some of the feats that people have accomplished with the various mountains that they have climbed, but what were you meaning when you said before Jesus comes, there will be many that will be climbing mountains?
Pastor Doug: You know, there is a lot of mountains in the Bible. And of course, Moses went up the mountain for the Ten Commandments and Elijah had that showdown on Mount Carmel. And you’ve got Abraham bringing Isaac up the mountain. And Jesus ultimately died on the same mountain— Mount Zion, not Moriah— on a noel there known as Golgotha, which is a Hebrew word. It means “Calvary” or “Skull.” And so, in that sense, you know, we all take up our cross and follow Jesus to our crucifixion; we’re crucified with Christ. But even more specifically, Jesus prophesied in the last days that believers might need to hit for the hills as they say and that might be where the expression comes from.
Mark 13, speaking of the last days, Jesus said in verse 14, “But when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand where it ought not,” (let him that reads understand). “Then let those that be in Judea flee into the mountains.” Luke words it this way, it’s a little different. Luke 21:20 and 21, “When you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, know that desolation thereof is near. Then let those that be in Judea flee into the mountains.” And so, it’s personal days of Israel. They were surrounded by the Romans, there was a brief period when the Romans retreated from besieging Jerusalem. The Christians knew that was their signal to flee out of the city and to hide out in hills of Judea, which they did and they survived.
But this is also a parallel for the abomination and desolation in the last days that is going to encompass God’s people with laws and seek to annihilate them. And so, maybe we have some friends out there that are wondering how to prepare for that mountain climbing and what the abomination of desolation is. We’ve got a special gift tonight if you like to understand that subject, “What is the abomination of desolation?”
Pastor Jëan Ross: It is a book that is simply entitled, “The Abomination of Desolation,” and it’s free if you’d call our resource line, 1-800-835-6747. Again, that number, 1-800-835-6747. And ask for the book, “The Abomination of Desolation,” and we’ll be happy to send that out to you and you’ll understand a little more about what the Bible has to say about what is coming upon the earth.
Well let’s go to the phone lines. Our irst caller then this evening is Alvin and he’s calling from Toronto, Ontario. Alvin, welcome to the program!
Alvin: Good night!
Pastor Doug: Evening! And your question!
Alvin: My question is concerning believing in the Bible and accepting religion. Is it a command or, you know, I want answers on that.
Pastor Doug: Well if a person believes the Bible… now, when you say accepting religion, do you mean that a person needs to join a church?
Alvin: The person don’t accept religion as to say they just believe in the Bible and they don’t want to follow the “religion name” religion. And the church.
Pastor Doug: Well, if a person believes the Bible, I’m assuming they’re going to believe what it says and in the Bible, it talks about us when we accept Christ, when we accept His forgiveness that we want to be part of His body, His… the body of believers. And so, if a person really believes in the Bible, they will want to be part of God’s body or His church.
Alvin: Okay.
Pastor Doug: So the two go together, you know. If you got to believe, you’re going to want to belong.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know the church in the days of the apostles in Acts 2:47, describes the church saying, “Praising God, and having favor with all of the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” And so, God would bring people who responded to His Holy Spirit, respond to the preaching of the apostles, and they were added to the church— the Body of Christ.
Alvin: Okay, wonderful.
Pastor Doug: Now, we have a study guide that deals with that subject if you’d like to… if you’d like to get a free copy that will… we’ll send that to you Alvin. It’s called, “The Bride of Christ,” or no, it’s called “Called with Light,” I think is called.
Pastor Jëan Ross: “Bride of Christ” is the study that we have.
Pastor Doug: “Bride of Christ!” We’ve got two so I was trying to remember which one that is. Yeah!
Alvin: Okay.
Pastor Doug: And we’ll send that to you for free if you like a copy.
Alvin: Sure, I would like.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number to call is 1-800-835-6747 and ask for the study guide, “The Bride of Christ.” Again, Alvin, the number is 1-800-835-6747 and the study guide, “The Bride of Christ.” Our next caller is Maria and she is listening on the Internet calling from Coast Ville. Maria welcome to the program!
Maria: Hello.
Pastor Doug: Good evening! And your question.
Maria: My question, Mr. Batchelor is— I was reading about the war that occurred in Heaven and how God had cast out Lucifer and one-third of the angels. My question is, why would God cast out Lucifer and the angels onto earth when a creation of His, which was Adam and Eve hopping on earth, so my bottom line question is knowing that God is all-knowing, why did He do place Lucifer on earth knowing that Adam and Eve, His most perfect creation, was there?
Pastor Doug: Well, when it tells us that the devil was cast to the earth in Revelation 12 that was only after Lucifer had tempted Adam and Eve to reject the command of God and to accept him. In other words, the rebellion in Heaven first happened— the war in Heaven— there may have been, who knows, you know, hundreds of years between the war in Heaven and when Lucifer was finally cast to the earth. Lucifer roamed; he was evicted from Heaven. Lucifer roamed through the universe and tried to find other created beings to sympathize with him as the angels did. And the only place that he found a receptive ear was here on earth when Adam and Eve chose to listen to him instead of God. Then God, when it says cast them to the earth, he’s really restricted to the earth. It doesn’t mean that he was catapulted here and bounced off the planet. And so, Lucifer was restricted to the earth; he was cast down here. That happens after Adam and Eve decided to listen to him. It says in Romans chapter 6 that whoever you obey, his servants you are. And when Adam and Eve chose to obey the devil instead of the command of God, they surrendered the dominion of this planet to the enemy.
Maria: Oh, because I was thinking that I also, my other question was that, was earth created before Lucifer was cast out? So you’re stating that it was hundreds of years possibly before Lucifer even was, you know…
Pastor Doug: Well, if I can…
Maria: …finally found earth.
Pastor Doug: Well, you know, Amazing Facts actually has a brand new DVD that you can find out about. It’s called “Cosmic Conflict” that tells about the war in Heaven and Lucifer, and his rebellion. If you look at the website, cosmicconflict.com, you’ll find out more about that there. But the period of time between when Lucifer rebelled against God and he was evicted from Heaven and then cast to the earth, there was some time in there. And when we did all the research preparing for that DVD, it really appears from the Bible that Lucifer then kind of went through the universe. The only place he could tempt creatures was at this tree, for instance. And that’s where he met with Adam and Eve and tempted them and they fell.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And of course, somebody might be wondering, “Well, why did God allow Satan to have access to Adam and Eve at that particular tree?” And the answer would be because God respects freedom of choice. Love cannot be forced and God has given all of His creatures the ability to choose whether to love and obey Him or to choose not to love and obey Him.
Pastor Doug: So yeah, take a look. It’s something we can’t send out for free because this is, you know, a 45-minute DVD that has just been released but you can see the trailer for that and more information about it. And the DVD I recommend everybody has everything.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We do have a free study guide dealing with the subject though that if you call our resource line we could send out to you. And I believe it’s the one “Did God Create the Devil?”
Pastor Doug: Yes! Tells about the fall of Lucifer.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Deals with this subject. Maria, the number to call 1-800-835-6747, you can ask for the Amazing Facts study guide, “Did God Create the Devil?” Our next caller is Jacky and she’s calling from New Jersey. Jacky, welcome to the program!
Jacky: Welcome, God bless.
Pastor Doug: Evening!
Jacky: Hi, my question is about the last days when God is coming with the judgment. I haven’t read the actual date because it hasn’t been revealed but I was watching a program and they said that the day of rapture will be May 21, 2011. How do they get that information if it’s not in the Bible?
Pastor Doug: Well, I think it sort of… it’s hocus pocus Bible reading. I don’t know how they get that date to tell you the truth, Jacky. And if it’s the same individual that I think, he’s set other dates before that obviously did not happen. There have been many who have come through history that have picked dates when they said the world would end going as far back as 1,000 A.D. And so, you know, Jesus said no man knows the day or the hour. If anybody’s advertising, they’ve managed to calculate the exact date, the Lord may surprise us by coming before that; we don’t know. And… but I can almost guarantee you that He hasn’t given the inside track to this one individual on that information.
So, you know, there are signs that the Lord gives us, Jacky. Let me tell you what some of the signs are. By the way, we have a lesson— we’ll send you a free copy— that talks about the return of Jesus and it talks about what those signs are. But real quick, some of the definitive signs that we can know we are living in the last days. For instance, in Daniel chapter 12, it tells us that “Many will run to and fro and knowledge will be increased.” Well, I think everyone agrees knowledge has increased more exponentially in the last 50 years than all the history of man combined. And then you have Jesus’ promise in Matthew 24:14, “The Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world for a witness unto the nations then the end will come.” He’s very definitive about that. Well, right now, the Gospel is going into all the world. And you know, I was just thinking, Pastor Ross, we have to tell people before the program is over, Amazing Facts now has a 24-hour a day channel on satellite that covers all of North America. Amazing Facts program’s 24 hours a day. We are only one of hundreds of Christian broadcasters that are around the world through the internet, and through television, and through radio. The Gospel is now going to all the world. So I do believe this is the last generation, Jacky. But when someone says I’ve got the date, I’d run the other direction. That’s very dubious.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, we have a study guide dealing with the subject of the Second Coming of Jesus, talks about the signs that Pastor Doug has just mentioned. To receive that absolutely free, Jacky, call our resource line. That’s 1-800-835-6747; that’s 1-800-835-6747. Ask for the book, “Ultimate Deliverance.” It’s actually an Amazing Facts study guide that has a lot more information on that.
Pastor Doug: Alright! We appreciate your question.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Our next caller is Philip and he is calling from Cleveland, Ohio. Philip, welcome to the program?
Philip: Hi, how are you doing?
Pastor Doug: Doing well. How can we help you?
Philip: My question concerns the old Mosaic Law. It had prohibitions against eating certain food such as fish and meat. And if the Old Mosaic Law was done away with when Jesus was nailed to the cross, why are there still some organizations that, “Hey, you can’t eat this certain meats or fish.” If you could answer that for me, I would appreciate it.
Pastor Doug: Well, the Mosaic Law did not forbid eating fish. It forbade eating unclean sea creatures that didn’t have fins and scales. But the Jews and Jesus, they’re quiet about fish. So, I just want to clarify that. But it is true that included in the Law of Moses was a prohibition against eating unclean food which included certain birds, certain mammals, certain fish, or certain bugs. But the clean and unclean Law was not restricted to the Mosaic Law. In other words, if you go back to Noah, you find the distinction being made for Noah when the animals were brought in the ark. You know, the kids sing the song, “They came on two by two.” Well, that’s not entirely accurate. The unclean animals came on by twos, in pairs of two. The clean animals were taken on the ark by 7. And that tells us all the way back to Noah who was not a Jew and did not know Moses that God has made a distinction between clean and unclean animals.
Philip: Okay.
Pastor Doug: And so… and then even in the New Testament after the cross, Peter has a vision in Acts chapter 10 where he sees all this creepy, crawly things that are, you know, including unclean animals in a sheet that is let down from heaven like a big hammock, I suppose. And God says, “Arise! Kill and eat.” Peter says, “Not so, Lord. I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” So that tells us that even after 3 ½ years of the apostles following Jesus, they have never heard Jesus say, “You can eat unclean food.” Peter still had not eaten anything unclean. And then God later tells in that vision means not to call the Gentiles unclean.
Philip: Correct.
Pastor Doug: Peter, that’s his own definition. So, the reason that many Bible Christians say, you know, “If you’re going to eat meat, don’t eat the unclean meats.” It’s not only the Bible commands but there are health benefits that science has supported. I mean…
Philip: Okay.
Pastor Doug: …most people know that pork is not really good for you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, in the Bible, we also see 4 sets of Law that’s worth considering. We have, of course, the Ten Commandment Law that is binding for every person, you have the ceremonial laws that had to do with the sanctuary and the sacrificial system…
Pastor Doug: They were nailed to the cross.
Pastor Jëan Ross: …by the blood of Jesus came to an end. Then you have the civil laws which were in place to govern Israel as a nation. And then, you have the health laws which, included in the health laws was the clean and unclean…
Pastor Doug: Sanitation.
Pastor Jëan Ross: …meat along with many other practical principles that help a person to be healthy. And you know, God wants us to be healthy. He wants us to have a clear mind that He created us; He knows what’s best for us.
Pastor Doug: That’s right! We have a study guide dealing with that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The study guide is entitled, “God’s Free Health Plan.” And it’s interesting, Pastor Doug, we were just talking about the big debate that’s taking place in the nation.
Pastor Doug: We need to send this to all of the Senate in Congress [laughing].
Pastor Jëan Ross: [laughing] God’s got a health plan too!
Pastor Doug: Well, you know, I’ve said before on the program, and we tried to stay out of the political arena, but it is a fact that if everybody in North America would even listen to half of the health principles in the Bible, there would not be a health crisis right now because most of the health… the catastrophic health cause in America are related to a lot of sick people. If nobody was sick, there wouldn’t be a health crisis. And so many people are sick because of bad living practices. So hey! Anybody, if you haven’t read God’s free health plan, you need to take advantage of that— the Bible secrets to longer, stronger life.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747, and ask for the Amazing Facts study guide “God’s Free Health Plan,” and we’ll be happy to send that to you. Our next caller is Larry, and he’s calling from New Jersey, listening on WMCA. Larry, welcome to the program.
Larry: Thank you very much.
Pastor Doug: How can we help you, Larry?
Larry: I have a quick question, and it’s like, that’s from Genesis. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, the Bible says there was a separation between God and man. They died spiritually and God pronounce curses upon their lives. Now, when you look at that part of the Bible, that’s when God pronounced death. I mean, physical death. He said, “The dust shall go back to the dust.”
Pastor Doug: Right.
Larry: That’s what the Bible is talking about there— physical death. So I want to know from this point of view that the sinner is sinning against God— sin of disobedience is that sin that brought about physical death because, when you look into the Bible, the Bible did not talk about physical death. Also, they’ve sinned against God, and after that God pronounced this curse upon them, God talked about death. So I want to know if the sin brought about this death. I want you to think about this. Or up to my point of view, the Bible did not say a thing about death or to this sin against God.
Pastor Doug: Well, let me see if I can understand what… more specifically what you’re asking. When God told Adam and Eve, “If you disobey, you will surely die,” they did begin to die spiritually that day that they disobeyed. You know, the light that they wore— they had this garments of light. It went out and they saw their nakedness. And in addition to that, their natures were marred. But it also tells us in 2 Peter chapter 3, I believe it’s verse 8, “A day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day.” And they’ve got this as principle of the millennial week in the Bible where for 6,000 years, the Plan of Salvation has been activated. We live and reign with Christ for like a thousand years’ Sabbath.
And so, if a day is like a thousand years and no man live longer than 969 years— that was Methuselah— then all the men of that first generation did die in the first millennial day where sin took place. But it is still true today that the penalty for sin is death. But God, because He is long-suffering and not willing that any should perish— that’s also 2 Peter chapter 3— he extends mercy. And you know, you ask a good question, Larry, because many people don’t understand not only are the righteous living with mercy right now because of the sacrifice of Jesus. The wicked people roaming the planet that do not even believe in Jesus, they’re alive because of the sacrifice of Christ. He bought everybody probationary time to accept Him. And it’s just a wonderful truth. But yeah, Adam and Eve understood what death was because death was mentioned before sin— that’s the absence of life; perishing. Hey Larry, we’re going to try and get a couple more questions in before our break. So, thanks for your question.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Our next caller is Vergil, calling from Honolulu, Hawaii. Vergil, welcome to the program!
Vergil: Hi, good evening Pastors. God bless you for your ministry.
Pastor Doug: I wish I was in Honolulu right now. And your question.
Vergil: [laughing] Well, come on down. Anyway, it’s a very simple question that it has perplexed me for years. One question, two parts. At the Mount of Transfiguration when our Lord went up to that mountain with Peter, James, and John, they immediately identified the two spirits that were glorified with our Lord as Moses and Elijah. And the second question is… second part is when our Lord met the Samaritan woman at the well, how did she know that He was a Jew? So…
Pastor Doug: Okay good.
Vergil: …if you be so kind…
Pastor Doug: Real quick, we’ll try and give you an answer to both of those.
Vergil: Okay.
Pastor Doug: In Mark chapter 9, you find the Mount of Transfiguration story, you also find in Luke chapter 9. It tells us in Luke that Jesus talked with them and so when Christ is talking with Elijah and Moses, and you find that in Luke 9:31, it says, “Who appeared in glory and He spoke of His decease which He should accomplish in Jerusalem,” Jesus addressed them by name. And so, the disciples were able to tell who these two individuals were because Jesus was talking to them and said, “Now Moses, now Elijah.” And also, when you’re so surrounded with the Holy Spirit, it increases you discernment. And I think the Holy Spirit was also bearing witness in their hearts who these very prominent noble destined characters were. How did the Samaritan woman know that Jesus was a Jew? The clothing of the Jews was different. The style of the clothing and the… even their characteristics of the Jews were different than of the Samaritans. And you know, I can go to many parts of the world— you’re in Hawaii right now. Let me ask you, can you tell the difference between a Samoan and maybe a Polynesian or Fijian?
Vergil: Yes! Correct, if you look…
Pastor Doug: Can you tell the difference between someone who is Japanese and someone who’s not?
Vergil: Correct!
Pastor Doug: Typical question. I’ve got a lot of Hawaiians look partially Japanese because they’ve intermarried so long. I’ve been to Hawaii a lot. But, you know, you could see there’s physical, there are dress differences, there was… maybe He said something, she detected the accent is different. And… but I think she was able to say, “Look, He asked for a drink of water.” She said, “Oh, you’ve got an accent of someone from Nazareth of Galilee. And, why are you, a Jew, asking me for a favor?”
Vergil: [laughing] Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And of course, we have the example in the time when it was… when Peter betrayed Jesus, they identified Peter as being from the area of Galilee based upon his accent.
Vergil: Okay.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, like here in America, we can tell when somebody is from Hawaii. No I’m just teasing you. (Laughing) But you know, I’ve got some friends from Hawaii and they do have a little different accent.
Vergil: [laughing] There’s a culture of the Milwaukee’s. But anyway, Pastors, I know you’re short on time. God bless you for your ministry and for the cause of Christ.
Pastor Doug: Alright. Thanks so much and God bless you, Vergil. Let me just double check, how much time do we have? We’ve got one minute. Hey, you know what we got to do, let’s re-mention what we started with Pastor Ross that this is a historic weekend. And so, friends, when you think about spring 2010, we don’t want you to just think about what might be happening in Washington. This is the weekend when Amazing Facts launched a 24-hour a day, 365-day a year television channel. It the Amazing Facts channel. You can find out more about this. Go to the website; it simply says amazingfacts.org. You’ll find out how anybody in North America can get this and many other Christian stations. You will pick up our friends at 3ABN and Hope TV and other Christian stations. It’s a glorious start system. And so, you just go to amazingfacts.org and you will find the information. By the way, the programming is free. And so, if you got the satellite equipment, you can get Christian programming.
One of the things… I don’t think it’s premature to tell people, Pastor Ross. We’ve talked for years about putting Bible Answers Live on TV. And so, we’re going to continue working on that getting this actual broadcast so you can not only call in with your Bible questions but, I don’t know how edifying it will be, you get to look at us, too, at the same time. And sometimes these visual things that you can get when a person’s talking and other certain gestures that they communicate. So we’re going to have Bible Answers Live on television. Check out amazingfacts.org. We’re going to take a break friends, we’ll be back right on the other side.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Pastor Jëan Ross: Welcome back to Bible Answers Live with Pastor Doug Batchelor. This broadcast is pre-recorded. If you have a Bible-related question, you can call us from 7 to 8 P.M. Pacific Standard Time on Sundays and receive clear, honest answers directly from Scripture. Call 800-GOD-SAYS. That’s 800-463-7297. Now, please join us as we look to God’s word for more Bible answers live with author and evangelist, Pastor Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Doug: Hey, we’re back, friends! [Laughing] I was spacing out and they pointed and said, “Hey, you’re on the air.” Welcome back, friends, to Bible Answers Live. And if you just joined us, this is a live international interactive Bible study. And we’ve got one or two lines open. If you want to call in with a Bible question, it’s a free phone call— 800-GOD-SAYS; 800-463-7297. I’m Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Jëan Ross: My name is Jëan Ross. Pastor Doug, we’re going to go to the phone lines and we have DJ who is listening on 3ABN radio. DJ, welcome to the program!
DJ: Yeah, hi.
Pastor Doug: Hi!
DJ: I was just wondering if the Bible has said anything about what kind of position or stand the body of Christ being the church should take in matters of abuse of women and a girl child in communities, in the church, and in the world, and how the church should or should not participate or support such matters. And what is your opinion on the ended male campaign and does your church and you as a Pastor support this campaign?
Pastor Doug: Yeah, actually we’ve got a poster up in our church right now. And I’m looking up a verse, Pastor Ross might help me. I found it. 1 Peter 3:7, it says, “Likewise…
DJ: 1 Peter…
Pastor Doug: 1 Peter 3:7, “Likewise, you husbands dwell with them,” speaking of your wives, “according to knowledge giving honor to the wife as the weaker vessel.” In other words, don’t abuse the fact that most men are physically, you know, bulkier and bigger than women. But they are to be honored as a weaker vessel that means to be respected.
Pastor Jëan Ross: I’ve another 2 verses along those…
Pastor Doug: Go ahead, Pastor Ross.
Pastor Jëan Ross: …same line. Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands love your wives even as Christ also love the church.” And Colossians 3:19…
Pastor Doug: “And gave His self…”
Pastor Jëan Ross: “And gave Himself for it.”
Pastor Doug: Yeah. So I mean, husbands should be willing to sacrifice their lives to protect their wives.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sacrifice to…
Pastor Doug: What’s the other verse?
Pastor Jëan Ross: And then Colossians 3:19, “Husbands love your wives and do not be bitter against them.”
Pastor Doug: So that’s a good start just for radio program.
DJ: Okay, great! Thank you very much.
Pastor Doug: Alright, thank you, DJ.
DJ: You’ve answered all of my questions. And had another satisfied customer.
Pastor Doug: Yeah! Well, praise the Lord! We’re glad we can make you happy.
DJ: Thank you very much. Have a good evening.
Pastor Doug: You too.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Next caller is Matthew and he is calling from Arkansas. Matthew, welcome to the program!
Matthew: Hi, how are you guys today?
Pastor Doug: Doing great! And your question.
Matthew: Yes, I just wanted to know what’s wrong with like gambling and stuff like that? I know it’s wrong but can you give me some biblical support on that?
Pastor Doug: Well, you know, you’ll not going to find a verse that says, “Thou shall not gamble” per se because, of course, they didn’t have bingo and lottery or cards in the Bible time. They did, I’m sure, have bets and wagering on different things. Though I can’t think of a wager in the Bible, Pastor Ross. Maybe someone might send me one. There’s some other principles, and the principle is that “do not haste to get rich.” And Pastor Ross might look this up for me. “He that hastens to get rich will not be innocent.” So when a person tries to get rich quick… you got that?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yeah, that’s Proverbs 28:20, “A faithful man shall abound with blessings but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.”
Matthew: Right.
Pastor Doug: So, trying to get rich quick, which often is what gambling involves when you take a risk and try and get… and it’s not like, it’s not like making an investment, you know. You buy a house and you rent it and you’re hoping you can sell it for more than you bought it. That’s, you know, Jesus encourages us to make practical investments. He gave His servants in the parable different talents and told them to work with their talents and invest their talents that they might multiply. And God wants us to multiply our gifts whether they are natural gifts or financial gifts. But gambling is almost always a losing proposition because the house has the odd stack to win. And, you know, if you buy a lotto ticket, someone said once, you’ve got a better chance of getting struck by lightning than winning.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, the Bible tells us we should not covet. And I think the root of gambling is in covetousness, wanting something that is not really yours.
Pastor Doug: And wanting it quickly.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Wanting it quickly.
Pastor Doug: So, they’re just some principles there Matthew. I… like I said, I can’t point you to a Scripture. Now, we do have a lesson that we can give you that talks about Christian finances it’s called “In God We Trust.” And we’ll be happy to send you a free copy of that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747, and again, the study guide is entitled, “In God We Trust,” dealing with the subject of money. Theresa is listening on the Internet, calling from North Carolina. Theresa, welcome to the program!
Theresa: Thank you. God bless you for your ministry.
Pastor Doug: Well, thank you. And how can we help you tonight?
Theresa: I’m calling in reference to a subject that was discussed last week. A woman called and asked about losing her salvation or being blotted out of the book of life. And you told her you had not a found a phrase saying blotted out of the book of life…
Pastor Doug: That, actually, that is in the Bible. Blotted out of… I don’t remember the phone call but the phrase “blotted out” or “blot out of the book of life” is in Revelation 3:5.
Theresa: And in Revelation 22:18-19.
Pastor Doug: Yup!
Theresa: Basically, 19 that says, “And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the Holy City which are written in this book.”
Pastor Doug: Right.
Theresa: And I’ve found in Proverbs 36, it reproves you and proves you a liar. In Deuteronomy and couple of places it just says it is to keep the commandments.
Pastor Doug: So specifically, what is your question then?
Theresa: If I’ve understood you properly, you believed that salvation cannot be taken away unless you do exactly this because it says that quite plainly. Do you believe in “once saved, always saved?”
Pastor Doug: No, I don’t believe that once you’re saved, you can’t be lost because that would mean that you’ll lose your freedom to choose.
Theresa: Okay, I do believe that you may give your salvation back to God if you make that choice. And yet, because salvation is a gift… I have a hard time reconciling a God that only loves me and many, many, many very much…
Pastor Doug: That would give a gift and then take it back?
Theresa: ...removing it.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. Well, God… Jesus said, “I will never let go of you and all that my Father has, He’ll not lose.” And so, it’s not a question of the Lord taking back His gifts or giving up on us. It’s a question of our becoming unfit or unworthy or rejecting the forgiveness He gives. Now, let me give you a quick parable that helps illustrate this if I might, Theresa.
Theresa: Okay.
Pastor Doug: You know the parable of the unmerciful debtor, it’s in Matthew chapter 18.
Theresa: Yes.
Pastor Doug: The king brings a servant that is in debt and he cannot pay. He shows mercy on that servant and forgives, freely forgives his debt towards 10,000 talents. Then that servant goes out and takes another fellow servant by the throat and says, “You owe me $40 and you better pay me back,” and… but he won’t have mercy on him. The king then revokes his forgiveness of that first servant because he was so unmerciful with his fellow servants. And so, God is like that king. He freely forgives everybody when we ask Him, it doesn’t matter how big the debt is. But then He says, “Now, if you love Me, keep My commandments and pass on that forgiveness to others. Be merciful, be kind.” And if we show ourselves to be cool and unkind, then yeah, we can have our names blotted out of the book of life. We have a book that deals with “Can a Saved Man be Lost?” And that’s the name of it, “Can a Saved Man Choose to be Lost?” I’d like to send you a free copy of that, Theresa. You can either read it online at amazingfacts.org or we’ll send you a free copy, “Can a Saved Man Choose to be Lost?”
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747; that is the resource line. And call the number and ask for the book, “Can a Saved Man be Lost?” and we’ll be happy to send that out.
Pastor Doug: It’s actually very encouraging but some people think you’re going to take away “once saved, always saved.” But when they read it, it’s very encouraging.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Encouraging. Our next caller is Connie, and she’s calling from Detroit Michigan. Connie, welcome to the program!
Connie: Hi, thank you for your ministry. God bless you.
Pastor Doug: Well, thank you! And your question.
Connie: The question today is about marriage and what constitutes marriage? We were going through Bible study about sexual period but, you know, the sex before marriage. And so, well, you know, back then, they didn’t have a big ceremony like we do today. And so, what does the Bible say about that, sirs? What’s the ceremony? Is there a ceremony? What does it mean to marriage? What it does specifically say in the Bible?
Pastor Doug: That’s a good question. I’ll give you a little heritage. The first wedding in the Bible was conducted by God.
Connie: Okay.
Pastor Doug: God was the Pastor, Adam was the groom, and Eve was the bride.
Connie: Okay.
Pastor Doug: And you know, He basically, you know, brought them together and He declared the vows, “What,” you know, “God has joined together let not man put asunder.” And He said they were to be one flesh. Of course, Jesus… I was quoting Jesus there earlier. But then, you know, you read on the Bible and a lot of marriages were something that were done publicly. You do have where Jacob married Rachel and Leah. They had a public festival because you wanted everyone else to know this person is spoken for. They are now committed because it became part of the social fabric in a community, in a town, in a village. There is a rare case where it says that after Abraham contracted for the wife of Isaac, she was brought back from Heron and when Isaac first saw her, it says he took her into his mother’s tent and she became his wife. Well, that sounds like they had marriage and honeymoon all in the same moment.
Connie: Okay.
Pastor Doug: So you know, that’s a rare exception. But the other places in the Bible, Jesus tells about His first miracle is at a wedding. And He compares salvation to a great wedding feast. And so, you know, weddings are something that are to be recognized by the society. And the vows that are made publicly. And then, Paul tells us to obey the laws of the land. So you’ve got that factor as well.
Connie: Okay.
Pastor Doug: Now, I just kind of threw a lot of Scriptures at you without giving you references.
Connie: Yes.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. Well, of course, you know where to find Adam and Eve; that’s in Genesis chapter 1 and 2.
Connie: Absolutely.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, we do have a study guide dealing with the subject of marriage. It’s called “Keys to Happy Marriage.”
Pastor Doug: A lot of these references are right in there.
Pastor Jëan Ross: They’re in there as well. So Connie, if you’d like that free study guide, call our resource line, 1-800-835-66747.You can ask for the study guide, “Keys to a Happy Marriage.” Our next caller is Vicky, calling from Grants Pass…
Vicky: Hi!
Pastor Jëan Ross: …Oregon. Vicky, welcome to the program!
Vicky: Welcome to you too, thank you very much for calling. I mean, for me letting you call. My question, Genesis 3:14 where God told the serpent that it would be on its belly for the rest of its life. Why did I find one in my pine tree last year?
Pastor Doug: Well, He never said they could never go up trees again. The serpent evidently was able to fly— now, don’t laugh at me. That’s not something I thought up. Most Bible scholars believe that all of these depictions and stories, and paintings and carvings about flying dragons or flying serpents that… I mean, you know, even in the fossil records, they’ve got this flying reptiles.
Vicky: Right, I understand that.
Pastor Doug: They think that… and the snakes today— many snakes have something called vestigial remnant. It’s like they’ve got these leftover appendages that they used to have some limbs or something. And so, if the serpent was able to fly… they do have serpents in Indonesia. They flattened their rib cage, they jump from… is it Indonesia or Madagascar?
Vicky: Yeah. I’ve seen that there.
Pastor Doug: They jump from tree to tree and they glide. And… but you know, somehow, the wings were clipped off these serpents. Something happened that made them lose their mobility in some way. Yes, serpents still go underground. They go through the water; they go through trees. There’s hardly any environment that serpents can’t go through. But they can’t really fly, and so they were grounded, so to speak.
Vicky: Oh, because I thought once they’re on the ground, that was it, until I found one in my pine tree that…
Pastor Doug: Your tree. Well, you know, even tree snakes do come down to the ground…
Vicky: I know. This one’s…
Pastor Doug: …they don’t always stay on the trees.
Vicky: This one’s been under the ground also.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. Well, probably you know, if you got a tree snake, it’s probably not venomous if you live in North America because the venomous snakes in North America— I don’t know of any that hang out the trees— that’s usually some kind of constrictor or something that goes up there. Hey, I appreciate your question Vicky and…
Vicky: Thank you.
Pastor Doug: …I’m sure people find that intriguing. By the way, at the Amazing Facts website, I wrote an article and it’s called “The Sign of the Serpent.” I talked about what the Bible says about snakes and I give this information. It’s under the Inside Report Articles section. Go to the… our magazine is called the Inside Report and if you go to the archives, it’s free. You can read the article on “The Sign of the Serpent.” Thank you, Vicky.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Mark is calling from Knoxville, Tennessee. Mark, welcome to the program!
Mark: Yeah, I got a question it’s about Uzzah, who touched the ark, and then Manasseh, who like sacrificed children into fire and all that?
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Mark: What made Uzzah sin so grievous that he got struck down immediately? And then my follow-up question is, was there another person who touched the ark that may not have known better or something that didn’t get struck down?
Pastor Doug: Well, you’re on the right track. God judges people based on their knowledge and He looks on the heart. Uzzah was a priest. The first thing a priest learned about the ark was they were not to lay their hands on it. They were to carry it on poles; very careful instructions were given about how to conduct the ark.
Mark: Didn’t Manasseh know it’s wrong to sacrifice children to fire?
Pastor Doug: Yeah. And the other thing is that it seems like the judgments of God are more severe in times when His Spirit is present and people sin against the Spirit. Another example would be… you’ve probably heard of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5.
Mark: Yeah, I have.
Pastor Doug: Well, if every time a Christian lies they fell over dead, there’d be a whole lot of dead people in the church today. Why did God deal so severely with Ananias and Sapphira? The Spirit would… had just been poured out on the church; they’d seen signs and wonders and miracle. God’s presence was so palatable in the church that when Ananias and Sapphira lied in the face of Peter that they were more culpable. God judged them more severely. Manasseh lived during the time or period where there was sort of spiritual darkness. And maybe God was more patient. By the way, Manasseh did repent before…
Mark: Yeah, I knew that, at the end of his life.
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And of course…
Mark: Was there a guy that did touch the ark?
Pastor Doug: The Philistines. When they captured the ark, evidently, they touched it because they opened it up and they put some golden mice inside. They made some mice of gold and put them in there. But God didn’t judge the Philistines the way He did to Uzzah because they didn’t know any better. And I think there was some men of Jabesh Gilead that opened the ark and they were plagued. So the Jews knew better, where a week earlier the Philistines… they opened it and they didn’t know better. So…
Mark: And Manasseh. Manasseh probably didn’t know better…
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, remember with Manasseh, even though God did not destroy him right away, and he eventually came to the point of repentance, he suffered terribly because of his sins. He was taken away and the Bible says, “With hooks in his flesh, taken captive.” Now, that must be something terrible because of his apostasy in dealing Israel into sin. And then he was imprisoned in a dungeon. And that’s where he came to repentance. So he suffered terribly because of his sins as well. But I think maybe God knew that there was this seed of repentance that was going to germinate and grow in the heart of Manasseh…
Pastor Doug: And well, you know, there’s another thing about Manasseh, Mark. It’s Manasseh’s father was a good king named Hezekiah who did not live long enough to watch his boy grow up. Manasseh started becoming king very early and I’ll bet Hezekiah invest a lot of prayers for his son and God may have been more merciful with Manasseh because of the prayers of his dad. Just like God was merciful with Solomon because of the prayers of David. So I think that’s one more factor that we have another equation. Hey, I appreciate your call, Mark. We’re going to see if we can get a couple more on the train here.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Next caller is Matt, and he is calling from Fort Worth, Texas. Matt, welcome to the program!
Matt: Hello?
Pastor Doug: Hi, Matt. You’re on the air.
Matt: Oh, okay. Yes, I have a question about in Job when Satan travelled to talk to God before he tested Job. I was wondering, where did he go? And, did he go to Heaven? And how did he travel such a distance so fast? Because I thought he was… I thought Satan was bound on the earth.
Pastor Doug: Alright, good question. And for our friends listening, you find this in Job chapter 2 and 3. Satan’s a spirit. He’s not an astronaut and it doesn’t probably obey the same physical laws that man are restricted to. Where did Satan go? Well, it may not have been the core of the universe but it may have been. It says, “There was a day when the Sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came and he says, ‘I’ve come from the earth.’” Well, angels move pretty quick and Lucifer used to be the chief of the angels. You read in Daniel chapter 9 that Daniel begins to pray. Before his prayer is over, Gabriel appears and Gabriel says, “At the beginning of your prayer,” he was sent from God. So Gabriel, somehow, in a matter of minutes, got from Heaven to earth. I don’t think angels travel the speed of light or the speed of sound. I think they travel the speed of thought. I don’t know what that is but they’re pretty fast. And, so… but then, after the sacrifice of Christ, I think Lucifer’s access to Heaven was restricted.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, it appears that in the case of Job, Satan shows up as sort of a representative of earth.
Pastor Doug: Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, he’s walking up and down on the earth. But after Christ died, he lost that…
Pastor Doug: That access.
Pastor Jëan Ross: …that access.
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: …because no longer was he the representative but Christ that won that back.
Pastor Doug: He lost the status, too, yeah. Because Jesus had redeemed the planet with the successful ransom. Thank you, Matthew. By the way, we do have that same lesson that deals with “Did God Create the Devil?” Tells a little bit about those dynamics of the devil— where he came from, that he is a spirit. We don’t wrestle against flesh and blood and he doesn’t need a specialty to get around.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Our next caller is Craig, calling from Toronto. Craig, welcome to the program!
Craig: Alright, good evening Pastors.
Pastor Doug: Evening!
Craig: First of all, Pastor Doug, I’d like to thank you for coming to Calgary last October. That was very, very thoughtful of you.
Pastor Doug: Hey, you tell our friends there I appreciate the cowboy hat. I got a pet— they gave me a really nice cowboy hat and I want to make sure that I echoed that thanks.
Craig: I will. My question is— it’s more of a curiosity question— when Jesus’ Second Coming states that every eye will see Him with the world being round, how will every eye see Him when He comes?
Pastor Doug: That’s a good question. When I first read that, I automatically thought that, too. And then after reading it awhile, I realized, “Oh, God is not saying every eye will see Him simultaneously.”
Craig: Right.
Pastor Doug: I think what that means is when He comes and He sweeps around the circle of the earth and the dead in Christ rise and those of us who are alive are caught up or sort of vacuumed up to meet Him in the air, every eye’s going to see Him that day.
Craig: Right.
Pastor Doug: It doesn’t mean every eye simultaneously because you think a round world someone’s got to be on the opposite side of the cue ball.
Craig: Right.
Pastor Doug: So, once I’ve thought about that that was good enough for me. That it just means every eye will see Him when He comes.
Craig: Right. And we know He’s all powerful and…
Pastor Doug: I think the whole planet’s probably going to, you know, there’ll probably be a glorious light around the whole planet when He comes. You’re not going to hear about it on CNN and they’re going to have to beam it by satellite to the other side of the planet [laughing]. But hey, who knows, they may actually fix the camera on this apparition in the sky and everyone will be watching on TV and everybody on earth will see it at the same time. Coming to you first from FOX news [laughing].
Craig: Yeah [laughing].
Pastor Doug: I’m sorry.
Craig: Well, thank you. Thank you very much for that and thank you for all your work that you’re doing at Amazing Facts as well. It’s… the information is endless and we appreciate very much.
Pastor Doug: Thank you very much and keep us in your prayers.
Craig: Thank you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Stephanie is calling from Michigan. Stephanie, welcome to the program!
Stephanie: Hi, how are you?
Pastor Doug: Doing well. And your question tonight?
Stephanie: My question is I study my Bible quite often and I can’t find anywhere, you know, they find dinosaur bones in Montana and museum is full of them. It doesn’t mention anything about dinosaurs in the Bible and they didn’t get put on the ark. So, where do I go from there? Were dinosaurs around? What happened?
Pastor Doug: Okay, couple of questions. First of all, right now on the planet, there are probably, you know, million different kinds of creatures. And I’m not exaggerating, you know, a lot of them are categories. But you can break those categories down into just thousands and thousands of different species. The Bible doesn’t mention a fraction of the animals that are alive— that were alive even in Bible times. And so, it want to surprise us that these large dinosaurs that may have existed before the flood, they’re not all specifically mentioned. But there are some verses where it talks about the behemoth and the leviathan. You want to read that, Pastor Ross?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yeah, we got it here in Job 40:15…
Pastor Doug: Now don’t read it all because it’s like a whole chapter.
Pastor Jëan Ross: It’s a long thing but let me just highlight one or two points of this. It says, “Behold the Behemoth, which I have made, he eateth grass like an ox.” And then, in the next verse, it says, “he moves his tail like a cedar.” Now, what animal has a tail that’s like a cedar tree that eats grass like an ox? Well, there’s no modern animal that you can think of that has… I mean, for example, a cow has a string for a tail but what animal has a massive strong tail? It would be some sort of a pre-historic dinosaur.
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Stephanie: Yes.
Pastor Doug: By the way the “dinosaur” is a recent word. It means “thunder lizard” and it’s something invented in the last 150 years. But Job actually lives shortly after the flood. It tells us that, you know, he lived over 200 years. The ages of people back then were that was like the second generation after the flood. There may still been some large dinosaurs in existence at that time. They were obviously all killed off.
Stephanie: Yeah, yup!
Pastor Doug: So…
Stephanie: So they just kind of evolved out of that and I just… I’ve wondered about that…
Pastor Doug: Well, you know, they’ve just found… if you look online, you’ll even see this paleontologist admit they just found a Tyrannosaurus Rex’s skeleton that had soft tissue in the bone where they were hoping to get some DNA sample. Well, if it’s 50 million years old, you’re not going to have soft tissue.
Stephanie: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: The dating methods that are being used by paleontologists are just totally outrageous. The methods are flawed and…
Stephanie: Yes, yes.
Pastor Doug: …so, hey, you know, we do have something at Amazing Facts that talks about dinosaurs specifically. If you go online and you typed in at the Amazing Facts website “Dinosaurs,” it’s a whole illustrated Bible study guide with pictures by Jim Penkowski. It’s written by a friend of ours; we can’t give them away but you’ll find out they’re pretty affordable. And take a look at the dinosaur edition we’ve got.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Our next caller is Patricia, calling from Bronx, New York. Patricia, welcome to the program!
Patricia: Yes, hi. Good night Pastors. My question, a caller called in earlier about the unclean meat.
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Patricia: And I heard the Scriptures that you read. But also, there’s in 1 Timothy 4 verse… you can read from 3 to 5. And… but in 4, it said, “For every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving for it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer.”
Pastor Doug: Okay. Let’s talk about that real quick, Patricia. You hear the music coming up. First of all, make sure and send for the study guide, “God’s Free Health Plan.” We’ve even got a book we’ll send you called “Hogs: Another Hazard,” that deal with that. Here, Timothy is talking about those creatures that are deemed clean by the Bible. They’re all sanctified by prayer. Paul is not saying that we are allowed to eat anything that might crawl across our plate. Just say a prayer and God is going to make it healthy. That’s really tempting the Lord.
Listening friends, I think you can tell I didn’t mean to cut that question short. I just have no choice. Hope you’ve been blessed by the program. Make sure and go to the Amazing Facts website— amazingfacts.org— big things happening. See you next week.
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