Hello friends! How about an amazing fact? In 2009 Doctor Zimbrasha thought that 28 year old Artyom Sidorkin had cancer. He was a smoker and he came to the doctors coughing up blood and complaining about incredible chest pains. An x-ray revealed the mass in one of his lungs and he was scheduled for surgery to determine the severity of the issue. But as surgeon Vladimir Kamashev became to cut into the lung, he discovered something amazing. In the lung tissue he found green tree needles.
He opened the area further and too his surprise found a 5cm spruce tree in Sidorkin’s lung. “I blinked three times and thought that I was seeing things” Kamashev said. Then I called to my assistant “come and see this, we’ve got a fir tree here”. The 5cm sapling was removed and Sidorkin is now back at work and feeling much better. His doctor’s theorized that he must have inhaled a fir tree bud which grew into the 5cm tree and that the tree needles were puncturing the blood vessels in his lung, causing him to cough up blood. Did you know friends that the bible says that Christians should also have something living inside of them? Stay tuned for more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition, of Bible Answers Live.
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
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 pm 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 Jean Ross: Hello friends! Welcome to Bible Answers Live. This is Pastor Jean Ross. Pastor Doug Bachelor is out this evening and as the name suggests, this is a live national and international bible study. We would love to hear from you this evening the number here to the studio with your bible question is 1-800-GOD-SAYS that’s 1-800-463-7297. The phone lines are now open. This is a good time to call if you would like to get your question on the air. Again that number is 1-800-GOD-SAYS that’s 1-800463-7297. I open the program this evening by talking about a gentleman from Russia, Mr. Sidorkin who had a remarkable thing happen to him.
He had this little tree growing in his lung. Surprise the surgeon and a lot of those in the medical field that something like this could actually happen. But you know friends the bible says that we need to have something living within us as well. Of course that would be the Holy Spirit. You see if the Holy Spirit is living within us, we will then manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In Galatians chapter 5:22 and 23 we read, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Now for many Christians we recognize that these are things that God wants us to have. He wants us to have love, joy, peace, patience, self-control and gentleness but for a lot of Christians the question is how.
How are we to obtain this love, joy, peace and long suffering? Well the answer friends, is found in having the Holy Spirit living within us. You see the fruit of the Spirit, is the fruit of the Spirit. In order to have these characteristics we must have the Holy Spirit dwelling within our hearts. We have a book that will tell you how you can the Holy Spirit living within you. The book is entitled “Life in the Spirit”, it is absolutely free if you would call our resource line. That number is 1-800-835-6747 again that number is 1-800-835-6747. That is the resource line, you can give that number a call and ask for the book “Life in the Spirit” and if you would like to call the studio with a bible question this evening, that number is 1-800-463-7297. Well before we go to the phone lines and take some bible question, I would like to begin this program with a word of prayer.
Father we thank you for the opportunity we have to study your word and we thank you for the medium of radio. Were we can have so many people join us as we search for scriptures to find the answers that you have for us. Bless this program this evening. Be with those who are listening. In Jesus name amen.
Pastor Jean Ross: Well friends we are going to go to the phone lines now and our first caller is Mark. Mark is calling from Knox Ford, Tennessee. Mark, welcome to the program.
Mark: Hi, thanks for taking my call. My question is regarding the dark day in 1780.
Pastor Jean Ross: Yes.
Mark: How can that be considered a supernatural event when it was caused by forest fires in Ontario, Canada, with smoke drifting over New England?
Pastor Jean Ross: Well that is a good question. You know a number of these signs that are given in Matthew chapter 24 as being significant to certain time periods reaching their fulfillment, even though they were signs given by God. God could have very well used natural events in nature to bring that about and with the forest fires we just had this volcano erupting in Iceland and caused a tremendous amount of volcanic ash which darkened the skies over Iceland. And God knowing that, knowing the end from the beginning, and knowing that would happen - he used that as a sign for those studying his word. Around that time period, that of course was the end of Time of Persecution during the Dark Ages. There was tremendous interest in the bible, particular prophecy. It kind of spurred people’s interest and their enthusiasm, and their commitment to study the word of God There was this dark day which did do just that, cause people to go back and study the word.
Mark: Even though the Dark Day wasn’t really a supernatural event?
Pastor Jean Ross: No, I mean God uses various things even in nature for his purposes. Not that he is bound to use things in nature, but he offered those because he knows the end from the beginning. So that doesn’t take away from the fact that God knew that was happening and that God used that to draw attention to his word.
Mark: Okay, do you have time for a second one?
Pastor Jean Ross: Sure.
Mark: Why does God use humans to evangelize the lost? Because I often see the lost saying “well you are just a human being like the rest of us. What makes you above us?”
Pastor Jean Ross: Well of course that is a good question. God could have always used Angels to do the work he has asked us to do. But there is something about a personal testimony, when somebody has experienced the grace of God and they have found forgiveness and freedom, and they have found power in their lives to live a victorious Christian life. That is a powerful witness for those who are not Christians.
Mark: Even though an atheist will come back and say, well religion is just made by human beings?
Pastor Jean Ross: Well you know, that brings up another point that I have found interesting this week. Maybe you have heard about there being an announcement of some possible discoveries on Mount Ararat. Some wooden structures and some are thinking that maybe that could be Noah’s Ark.
Mark: I have heard of that before.
Pastor Jean Ross: I found it very interesting. It is probably one of the most well documented finds up there on Mount Ararat. Now it is in this glacier and there is a lot of volcanic rocks and it is not like there is a boat just sitting up there. But they have found these wooden boards and these wooden rooms and there is further exploration and this obviously needed to help verify all of this. But if it is indeed Noah’s Ark, and the bible does say that the Ark came to rest on Mount Ararat.
I think that will help to confirm the faith of many, but I don’t know if that is going to change the mind of the hardened skeptic or atheist. I think of the experience of Jesus, he raised Lazarus from the dead and the Pharisees still refused to acknowledge him as the Messiah. And even when Christ rose himself from the dead as he predicted, they still refused to acknowledge his. As a matter of fact they told the soldiers that they were to go along and tell the people that the disciples had come and stolen the body of Jesus. So all of the evidence that was before them they refused to acknowledge because their hearts were hardened.
Mark: Yeah, no you know as far as like the Dark Day, how come that forest fire was the only one to ever cause a Dark Day, whereas the one in Yellow Stone about 20 years ago didn’t do so?
Pastor Jean Ross: Well you know it must have been a tremendous fire and it could very well be that God was also involved in bringing that about. There could have also been a lot of volcanic activity, you know don’t know for sure. What we do know is that that was a remarkable occurrence, as something that the people back then had not seen before.
Mark: Never to that extent?
Pastor Jean Ross: Not in that extent, no.
Mark: Not even from Yellow Stones Park?
Pastor Jean Ross: No, not like that. As a matter of fact you can go to one of these encyclopedias online and you can just type in Dark Day and you can actually see the historical account and how the people responded to that. So it was a rather remarkable occurrence.
Mark: Yeah that is where I got the Ontario Canada forest fire from, Wikipedia.
Pastor Jean Ross: Yeah there is several ideas as to what contributed to that. But whatever it was, God used it for his ultimate purpose.
Mark: Okay well thank you.
Pastor Jean Ross: You’re welcome, thank you for your call Mark. Again the number here for call is 1-800-463-7297, that is 1-800-GOD-SAYS. Our next caller is Robert and Robert is calling from Palm Springs. Robert welcome to the program.
Robert: Hi good evening.
Pastor Jean Ross: Good evening.
Robert: I had a question. I was reading the bible the other day, and I was in Revelation where it talks about behold the seven plagues and it won’t hurt the earth until the Angel seals the 144,000.
Pastor Jean Ross: Yes Revelation chapter 7.
Robert: Chapter 7 yes. And then after they are seal, I believe the plagues are allowed to come. My question is of all the believers at that time, does that mean that there is only going to be 144,000 that are going to be saved from that plague.
Pastor Jean Ross: Well that’s a good question. You know if you go on further in Revelation Chapter seven it talks about 144,000 and then it actually gives you the tribes from which the 144,000 come. And if you look at the order of the tribes mention in Revelation chapter seven it is unique to any order that we find the tribes in scripture. You have the tribe of Dan is left out and Ephraim is left out and the tribe of Joseph is added to make up the total of the 12. Levi’s is also included in the list. If you look at the meaning of the names of those various tribes and their experiences they went through. It’s interesting the way that the order is given it really is the description of the experience of God’s people. What they will go through just before Jesus comes.
Now you have the number 144,000 of course the 12 is very significant in the scripture. You have the 12 tribes in the Old Testament, you have the 12 Apostles of the new and you have 12 times 12 times 1000, 144,000. Some look at the 144,000 as representing those who are alive upon the earth when Jesus comes, not necessarily just the ones who are saved. The 144,000 also play a very important work in proclaiming the gospel. God’s last warning message just before the close of Probation and you can read about Probation in Daniel chapter 12:1 and also in Revelation chapter 22. Where Jesus stands up and he says, “He that is Holy let him be Holy still, he that is filthy let him be filthy still.” So the 144,000 basically represent God’s people, those who alive on the earth during the plagues and they do a special work in revealing God’s character before the close of Probation before the plagues come. They have the seal of God and therefore representing they reflect the character of Jesus.
Okay so they I understanding that 144,000 are given us like a sacred privilege before the plagues come to profess the word. Not necessarily are the 144 kept from sparing and sorrow. They don’t go to the plagues but they are in the mist of it.
Pastor Jean Ross: That’s right they are not delivered from the plagues but they are protected through the plagues and before the plagues fall, before Probation closes. The 144,000, those who are seal and again it just represents those who are alive on the earth at that time have committed themselves to Christ. They go about and they do a tremendous work in proclaiming God’s last warning message. And in Revelation 18 you have a description of an Angel coming down from heaven and the earth is illuminated with his glory. And he cries with a loud voice Babylon has fallen, that Angel in Revelation 18 really describes the work of the 144,000. They are going to go out to all the world and they are going to proclaim God’s last warning message just before Probation closes.
Robert: Okay so then from what I understand is the 144,000 are kind of like special Evangelist that are given the power to give a real strong warning before the plagues.
Pastor Jean Ross: That’s right, so that God’s last warning message to the world.
Robert: Right got you, okay. I was just curious because I thought, well maybe only a 144,000 are going to be saved.
Pastor Jean Ross: That would be somewhat discouraging wouldn’t it?
Robert: Yes, it would be.
Pastor Jean Ross: You know we do have a book dealing with the subject of the 144,000 and if you would call our resource line and just ask for the book “Who are the 144,000” we will be happy to send it to you. There is a number of verses in there and kind of explains a little further what the work is of the 144,000.
Robert: Okay.
Pastor Jean Ross: The number Robert is 1-800-835-6747. 1-800-835-6747 that is the resource line and also if you are not near a phone but you are near a computer you could also read that resource at the amazing facts website. The number here to the studio is 1-800-GOD-SAYS, that’s 1-800-463-7297. Our next caller is Lloyd and Lloyd is calling from Modesto California. Lloyd welcome to the program.
Lloyd: Thank you.
Pastor Jean Ross: And your question this evening?
Lloyd: Can you explain Isaiah 60:16?
Pastor Jean Ross: Isaiah 60:16 would you like to read that for us?
Lloyd: I don’t have my bible.
Pastor Jean Ross: Alright well let me read it. I got it right here in front of me. It says “Thou shall also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shall suck the breast of kings: and thou shall know that I the Lord am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.” Now you wondering what is the meaning where it talks about sucking the milk of the Gentiles?
Lloyd: And of the Kings, yeah.
Pastor Jean Ross: And of the Kings okay. In scripture you will find the phrase milk, especially milk and honey as being a blessing. If you remember the Israel’s would travel from Egypt to the promise land and the promise land was described as the land flowing with milk and honey. To have milk and honey, that was the delicacy, not everyone could have that. It was a reward, it was a blessing. And over here in Isaiah chapter 60 verse 16 If God’s people Israel had been faithful and had received the Messiah, they would have received to the blessings that belonged to the Gentiles. The riches and the power even that of the Kings.
Of course Israel wasn’t faithful the way that it should have been and yet this prophecy will find the fulfillment in God’s people, because we know that when Jesus comes. It speaks about the second coming of Christ and the righteous are taken to heaven, Revelation chapter 20 talks about the redeemed who are living and raining with Christ for 1000 years. And so those who are present on earth, they will ultimately overcome they will even be involved in judging the wicked during that 1000 year period in Revelation chapter 20. So when it talks about sucking the milk from the Gentiles and the milk of the Kings, it is basically talking about the blessings that the Gentiles have now that the people of God don’t seem to have, but the tables are going to be turned one day when Jesus comes.
Lloyd: I see.
Pastor Jean Ross: So again it’s just a figurative description of prosperity and blessing.
Lloyd: Okay thank you very much.
Pastor Jean Ross: You are welcome thank you for your call. Our next caller is Lisa and Lisa is calling from Brooklyn New York, let me see if I can get her on the phone she is not there just yet. Let’s go to Angela, Angela is calling from Brooklyn New York as well. Angela, welcome to the program.
Angela: Hi
Pastor Jean Ross: Hi Angela.
Angela: How are you?
Pastor Jean Ross: Good thank you.
Angela: I have a question on 1 Timothy chapter 5:23.
Pastor Jean Ross: Yes.
Angela: It says “do not drink water any longer but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent cases of sickness”. What do they mean by that?
Pastor Jean Ross: Alright, what are they talking about is Paul advising Timothy to drink a little alcohol, is that what you are wondering?
Angela: Yes
Pastor Jean Ross: Okay, now of course when you find the word wine in scripture you need to look a little bit at the context because in the bible the word wine can mean alcohol as we think of it today. But it can also represent grape juice the fruit of the vine is also referred to as wine. You can find that in several places in the scripture. Now they are a lot of places in the bible that tells us that wine is a marker strong drink is raging where is received by the wise. We also know what the consequence of drinking alcohol can do, it confuses the mind and people do things that otherwise they wouldn’t do if they were thinking clearly.
So when it says here drink a little wine, it’s good for your stomach. It appears as though Timothy was suffering some type of aliment and he has been abolished to drink either grape juice which of course has a number of health benefits in the grape, it is a very health juice. If Paul is telling Timothy to drink a little wine, it is for a specific reason, it is like a medicine that is being given to him for some specific aliment, some sickness. This is not a license to go out and drink as much as you want there is a specific reason that is given here which is because of his affirmatives, because of his sickness. So it is as if Paul heard about it and he wrote in his letters to drink a little grape juice or drink the fruit of the grape. If that is fermented or not fermented, but it is for a specific reason and that is for health, to bring you to healing and strength. So I don’t think we can take this verse as a sanction for Christians to go out now and drink as much wine as they want. They would be going against the rest of what the scripture says about the subject.
Angela: And also it would be going against the commandment that says though shall not kill right?
Pastor Jean Ross: That’s right you know of course there is disease like cirrhosis of the liver and many other things that can be the result of people drinking too much alcohol.
Angela: And when he said, do not drink water anymore does he mean like, for that case because like drinking for that time when he was sick was not good for him?
Pastor Jean Ross: Yes, now of course he doesn’t mean don’t ever drink water for the rest of your life. That would be absolutely detrimental to anybodies health but with how Timothy was at the time it seemed as though the water was not pure or was not good to drink. They didn’t have the purification systems that we have today and so evidently the water could have been probably making Timothy sick and Paul says stay away from the water for at least a period of time until you can get well and drink this grape juice the fruit of the vine. That would be good for the stomach. So again he is not telling him to only drink wine for the rest of his life.
Angela: Okay thank you.
Pastor Jean Ross: Alright thank you for your call, I appreciate it. We do have a study guide at Amazing Facts dealing with the subject of health and what the bible says about alcohol and Christian. It’s called “Gods free health plan” and it is an Amazing Facts study guide and if you call our resource number line at 1-800-835-6747 you can just ask for that study guide “Gods free health plan” or you can go online and take a look at the Amazing Fact website. Our next caller is Lisa. Lisa is calling from Brooklyn New York as well. Lisa welcome to the program.
Lisa: Yes good morning.
Pastor Jean Ross: Hello
Lisa: I have a question to ask. When I was at work I said I was going to talk to you. You know in the bible it talks about the women of the bible and it seems that the women if they had a maid and something happened to the maid. That their life was like over, you know the is nothing in there that says that they tried to build a new life or they started going out with someone else or that they would possibly get married again. It’s like there is this daughter-in-laws and they will put themselves into the daughter-in-laws and try to help them get married or if something has happened to the sons or if something has happened to the husband. The person that cheated goes on like their life is over after she reaches a certain age like 60, 70 or 80, whatever her life may be.
Pastor Jean Ross: Alright so the question is, does the bible say anything on remarriage?
Lisa: It doesn’t say anything of remarriage, it doesn’t say anything about women of certain age should not get remarried or have feelings of love or want to be with someone.
Pastor Jean Ross: Okay, well you know that is one example that comes to mind and that is the story of Ruth. Do you remember Ruth in the Old Testament?
Lisa: Yes
Jean Ross: And of course she was married, her husband passed away and then she got remarried. She married Boaz and it was through her descendants, through Boaz descendants that of course Jessie and eventually Jesus came through that Linage and so remarriage is not by any means forbidden in scripture. We do find though that in bible times, because of the number of wars that were involved, there appears to be far more women than men. A number of men would go to battle and would die in battle and so on. So in order for God to provide for the widows, those who had lost their husbands for whatever reason, God did setup a way in which the next of kin, which would be the closest relative to the woman who had lost a husband.
That person was responsible for that woman. He needed to take care of her, if she didn’t have any children he would give her children so that she could have an inheritance. So God did provide a way so that the widows could be taken care of in Israel. Now how old does a person need to be before they decide that they are not going to go ahead and get remarried, well I think that is really a matter of where the person is and what their situation might be. I know people who are well up in age and their spouse died and they were single for a long period of time and then somebody brought a person into their lives and they clicked and they loved each other and they got married, and God was able to bless those final years of their life in a wonderful way. So there is no time limit, however most people who are in their 70’s or 80’s and they lose a spouse for the most part they don’t get remarried. They don’t find a partner but if they do, by all means it is not forbidden in scripture.
Lisa: Okay, alright thank you so much.
Pastor Jean Ross: You’re welcome, thank you so much for your call Lisa. Our next caller is Daniel and Daniel is calling from Canada. Daniel, welcome to the program. Daniel, are you there? Yes Daniel you are on the air.
Daryl: Yes my name is Daryl not Daniel.
Pastor Jean Ross: Oh I am sorry well welcome Daryl.
Daryl: Well that is okay. I think I have a question you have probably heard many times before but I am just wondering. The church that I attend down the road on the Sabbath and I am just wondering, are we putting a little too much emphasis on the Sabbath and also the teaching on t he events how we are taken up into heaven not until Jesus comes back to get us. I do agree with both of those things, I think I have learned the truth from Pastor Doug’s teaching on those things, but I still have a hard time sharing those things with people at my church and that kind of stuff. I am just wondering, does that mean I am not going to heaven I understand that it is a commandment and all those other things.
Pastor Jean Ross: Yeah well let’s talk about that for a moment. Now it is true that nobody is saved by their works and I think we understand that salvation is a gift and it is a gift because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. He died for our sins and we receive him as our personal savior. But you know at the end of time, the bible tells us in Revelation that the Devil is going to do everything he can, to deceive people. And in Revelation chapter 13 it says that the best power will be able to get the whole world to worship him except for those who names are written in the Lambs book of life.
The issue of the end of time revolves around worship, who are we going to worship? Are we going to worship God or are we going to worship the counterfeit, the anti God at the end of time. So you see Satan wants worship, that’s what he wanted in heaven and that’s what he wants on this planet. And the difference between God and Satan is, God will not accept worship that is forced. God will only accept worship that is freely given, but the Devil will take worship any way he can and in Revelation 13 it speaks about a death decree. That will be passed upon those who don’t worship the beast. So the issue at the end of time is worship, now how do we worship? The way we worship is first of all by exercising faith in Christ, but then also being obedient to what Christ asked us to do.
Jesus said, “If you love me, then keep my commandments.” And so at the end of time even though we are not saved through keeping the commandments, obedience to God’s commandments will be a manifestation to our faith and our worship. That is why in Revelation chapter 12, we have a description of God’s people right at the very end of time, and it says ‘They keep the commandment of God and they have the testimony of Jesus.’ That’s in Revelation chapter 12 or 17, so is the Sabbath a big deal? Well I think God’s entire commandment is for a big deal because it manifests our commitment and who we want to worship. You know I hear the music playing in the background and we are going to come up on just a short break here. We are not going away we will be right back, I wish we had more time to talk about this important subject but you know Amazing Facts does have a website that is called sabbathtruth.org. And it deals with a number of these passages and scripture and looks at some commonly ask questions that people have related to the Sabbath. So Daryl I will invite you to go take a look at that website, you will find a tremendous house of resources.
Daryl: Can I throw one more, quick question right at you?
Pastor Jean Ross: We are going to go to our break so hold on to that one until after the break.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Pastor Jean Ross: Hello friends welcome back. This is Pastor Jean Ross, Pastor Doug is out this evening and we still have a whole half an hour, 30 minutes of bible questions. If you will like to get your bible question in this evening let me give you or toll free number. That is 1-800-GOD-SENDS. That’s 1-800-463-7297 and it looks like we got about 3 or 4 lines that are open. That is 1-800-463-7297. Just before the break we were talking to Daryl from Canada. Daryl you were about to launch into another Question.
Daryl: Well the other thing I was wondering about was on the Sabbath again. Whenever I listen to Pastor Doug’s teaching, I always wondered how do we know that Saturday is the seventh day because whenever he gets down to establishing that proof, he goes outside of the bible. He goes to the dictionary or to some other thing, like historical reference just to prove that the seventh day is Saturday. I don’t know I just had a few difficulties with that because he should get it from the bible, that’s all.
Pastor Jean Ross: yeah let me share a couple thoughts with you on that, not only do we have evidence in scripture that the seventh day is the Sabbath but we have evidence outside of the bible, but let’s just talk about some of the bible evidence. What day of the week do the Jews observe as the Sabbath today?
Daryl: Well Saturday for sure.
Pastor Jean Ross: Saturday, what day of the week did Jesus rise from the dead, was it the first day of the week or was it the seventh?
Daryl: It was the first.
Pastor Jean Ross: And what day Christ rise from the dead?
Daryl: Probably on a Sunday.
Pastor Jean Ross: That’s right, so the first day of the week is Sunday and the Jews observe the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week and they observe Saturday. It is pretty clear today which day of the week is the seventh day isn’t it?
Daryl: Yeah, I think I am convinced.
Pastor Jean Ross: And of course that is just biblical evidence, you can go outside and you can look at a dictionary. You can just look at a calendar, what day of the week is the seventh day of the week. You know some people say well maybe the days got confused in the last 2000 years. Well you got to think about that for a minute, to have a whole nation, to have all of the Jewish people get confused as to which day is the Sabbath, in a period of seven days is impossible. There is just plenty of evidence to evaluate which day of the week is the Sabbath and we can go all the way back to Genesis too, when the bible speaks about that. Well Daryl thank you so much for your question again. I would encourage you to take a look at their website, sabbathtruth.org, for anybody wanting to know the subject of the bible and the Sabbath. Our next caller is Frank and Frank is calling from St. Louis Missouri. Frank welcome to the program.
Frank: Sure thanks. I am totally blind so I can’t read the bible but the lord he talks to me. When I need to hear thing, I ask him to set me apart, to sanctify me and he said he would make fissures of men of me and send me some vision and should me some angels surrounding me. He should me that the Angels are controlling the demons around me.
Pastor Jean Ross: That’s right Angels take care of us. Frank what is your question this evening?
Frank: Question, okay question number 1 or maybe the only question.
Pastor Jean Ross: Okay well let’s talk and see how much time we have.
Frank: When the bible talks about those who would be denied access into heaven and we will say Lord we cast out demons in your name and be rebuke. You know this, that and the other and we would say depart from me evil doers of iniquity I never knew ye. It seems to be a situation and salvation where a lot of people go to church and a lot of people seem to be in a feel good thing, it seems to be the right thing to do and I just want to caution folks out there.
However the translate out to be, that there is lots of ways that the Devil can trick us into thinking that we are doing God’s will. Knowing God’s words, reading the bible, fellowshipping with one another and really getting on our knees seems to be answers that God has given to me. I don’t really need an answer brother I just want to caution folks out there to really know God’s voice. He said in the bible that his sheep will know his voice and I really feel that God has blessed me with really being able to hear his voice. When something’s is wrong he would say something like thou shall not have any other Gods before me.
Pastor Jean Ross: You know Frank, when we fill our minds with the word f God, that’s when the Holy Spirit is able to impress the word of God upon our minds. You know the verse that you mentioned is in Luke chapter 13:27 for those who happen to be driving. Its Jesus responding to those who say Lord, Lord re-do his miracles and Jesus says I never knew you [35:57]. You know the real issue when it comes to salvation it’s knowing God - it’s knowing Christ, and that comes as a result of surrendering our heart and our mind and our will completely to him. It is thy self and given ourselves to Jesus. You know that is just an important subject I would like to encourage those who are listening, if you have never given yourself completely to God. If you have never committed your life to him, if you have never really trusted him with all that you have, I would like to encourage you to do that. We have an Amazing Facts study guide that will help you to give yourself completely to God. It is entitled Rescued From Above, it talks about salvation. How we can have peace and joy in our hearts and if you call our resource line, anybody who is listening call 1-800-835-6747 and you can ask for that study guide called Rescued From Above, talks about how we can have peace and how we can know the voice of God. Thank you Frank you brought up a very important point. Our next caller is called Jennie and she is calling from Minnesota. Jennie welcome to the program.
Jennie: Hello Pastor Ross. Once of my favorite Palms, is Palms 91 and when I read in verse 1, it says he who dwells in the secret place of the most high shall abide in the shadow of the almighty and then when I went to Palms 25:14, it was talking about the secret place of the Lord. It says the secret of the Lord is for those who fear him and he will show them his covenant. I am wanting to know what the secret of the Lord is when it says those who are in awe of him and then if the covenant is where he writes his law in our hearts, in our minds.
Pastor Jean Ross: Yes the secret of the Lord is knowing him and the way that we know him is by spending time with him, and in Palms 91:1 where it says, ‘He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high.’ That means the one who spends time in the presence of God. He steals away, he is by himself and he spends time studying the world of God, he spends time in prayer. He is the one that knows God. He gets to know the secret of God.
Jennie: Okay, and then the convent, what is that then?
Pastor Jean Ross: The convent is the new convent that is promised. You can read about it in Hebrews where God says I will write my law upon your heart also Ezekiel chapter 36, I will write my law upon your heart, upon your mind, I will put my spirit within you, I will call you to walk in my ways. That is the promise of Jesus giving us a new heart and making us what he wants us to be.
Jennie: Okay
Pastor Jean Ross: So you are absolutely right, the secret place is spending time with him and coming to know him. It is receiving that convent promise, receiving that new heart and his Spirit within our lives.
Jennie: Okay well thank you very much.
Pastor Jean Ross: Great question, thank you for calling. Our next caller is Sandra, and Sandra is calling from Miami Florida. Sandra, welcome to the program.
Sandra: Yes hi good evening. I was calling to ask a question and to find out some bible references for it. Is it okay for Christians to join sororities or fraternities in colleges and universities and if not is there any bible explanation as to why not?
Pastor Jean Ross: Well I think first of all joining something like that, in and of itself might not be wrong, but the question you need to ask yourself is what does that fraternity stand for? A lot of these groups, clubs and fraternal are really in many cases doing things that a Christian can’t really participate in and the bible does tell us to avoid the appearance of evil. So if things are going on in this particular fraternity or this group or club that we joined as a Christian we can’t support. Then probably that is not the kind of thing that we would want to be a part of. Does that make sense?
Sandra: Yes that makes sense.
Pastor Jean Ross: Now of course there are clubs, they are groups on colleges even on secular campuses that I think Christians can be a part of. There are certain Christian groups, I know in the church that I Pastor, we have a number of young people who are attending a secular college and they are very involved in a Christian group on campus. They actually spend time studying the bible together. So I mean those are the types of things I think Christians can get involved in and join but I think simply a gathering or a club or a fraternity where people are doing things that a Christian can’t support well then we shouldn’t waste our time to be a part of that.
Sandra: Okay, alright thank you.
Pastor Jean Ross: Alright then thank you for your call. Stephan is calling from California. Stephan welcome to the program.
Stephan: It’s Stephan, straight Stephan.
Pastor Jean Ross: Alright Stephan welcome.
Stephan: Pastor Ross, God bless you and I have a question. I have read recent - well probably not recent maybe five months. 142 different bibles have been printed over the years and I had compared my King James with other bibles and I don’t like what I read in some of the other bibles. What is the notification about what bible should we follow straight up?
Pastor Jean Ross: Okay good question. If ever there is an important question it is where are we putting our confidence and our trust when it comes to the word of God? Let me give you a little bit of a background and then I can give you some specific translations. When you look at the English bible, of course you got the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament. When it comes to various English translation of the Hebrew Old testament there is not that much dispute as to which original Hebrew manuscript needs to be used, typically it is the Masoretic text used and that was validated with the Dead Sea scrolls and a number of other findings so there is not too much controversy or debate as to the Old Testament Hebrew. Where the question refers to is the Greek New Testament, now there are three main families you might say of Greek text. You got what is called the Alexandrian type text, you got the Bosentan type text and then you have what is called the Western type text, three main families. Now what a lot of scholars do when it comes to translating these Greek manuscripts into English, they want to try and find the oldest manuscript.
The older they believe to be the more accurate and the reason you have the Alexandra type text is because it was centered around Alexandria and you had for example Paul writing the book of Romans and had went to the church of Rome, but then it was copied in Rome and was sent on. And so you have these various letters that make up the New Testament going from city to city and the church and the scholars would copy by hand the various letters. And as time went on and they began to copy, copies of copies of copies and so there was slight difference that began to develop. A number of the differences have no doctoral significance. It might just be an A here or a slight little difference in a letter or such.
Stephan: Well that seems to be a lot of copying.
Pastor Jean Ross: Yeah a lot of copying took place over time. So the question we need to ask is which of those families of text seem to be the most accurate. Now the Alexandria text is apparently dated back to around the 3rd century A.D. The Bosentan text around the 4th century A.D, the Western text, there is not a lot of modern scholars that put too much credibility in the Western type text. It is mainly the Alexandrian or the Bosentan. The Bosentan has far more Greek manuscripts available, so scholars can compare. The Alexandrian does seem to go back a little further but there are portions of the Bosentan text that are not part of the Alexandrian text. There are some phrases and words that are missing and in my thinking when people are translating especially in the New Testament times. If they came across a word that is difficult for them to decipher for whatever reason, it was more likely for them to leave that out than to try and add something in its place. And so if you are looking at a passage where there is something missing, I would rather go with a passage that is a little fuller and a little more complete.
So a number of the modern translations that we have today are based more so on the Alexandrian type text, where as the King James version and the New King James version is based more on the Bosentan type text. Personally I like the Bosentan type text I like more the King James and the New King James version. You know we do have a book called the Ultimate Resource that goes into a lot more of the details I just briefly touched on and it is free if you call our resource line and you can study that out. One thing I just want to emphasis is that weather it is the Alexandrian text or the Bosentan text God has made sure that there is plenty of truth that if someone is earnestly seeking the world of God they can and will be able to find it.
Stephan: Well I am not questioning those particular texts but the one I am questioning is some of these newer bibles that have come out in the past 15, 20, 30 and 40 years and when I read my King James and the same passage in their bibles, they don’t compute. There are so erroneous to me or the meaning or the whole passage is left out.
Pastor Jean Ross: Right, now if you find something that is left out in comparing it with the King James it is probably because they were using the Alexandrian text for that particular passage or scripture. You know there are so many bibles out there and we need to also remember that not ever bible is a translation. There are paraphrases.
Stephan: I have run into that in quiet a few different bibles.
Pastor Jean Ross: Right there are paraphrases where basically it is just the English bible rewritten in other words.
Stephan: Maybe it is okay to paraphrases in dating.
Pastor Jean Ross: Yes maybe it’s a kind of devotional study but if you are going to really start studying the word of God I would really encourage an accurate translation. Something on the Bosentan text or something that is really trust worthy in that way.
Stephan: That is one reason why I stick with the New King James and the Old King James at my church.
Pastor Jean Ross: That is a good translation deal. Well Stephan I would like to thank you again for your call. Call our resource line and ask for the resource The Ultimate Resource. That is our book and we will be happy to send that to you. That is 1-800-835-6747. Our next caller is Mark and Mark is calling from Washington. Mark welcome to the program.
Pastor Jean Ross: Good thank you, and your question this evening?
Mark: My question is, do you think based on the bible, since you seem to be a highly educated professional on the bible. Do you think the world is going to end and do you think the human race is going to be extinct?
Pastor Jean Ross: Is the human race going to be extinct? No, the bible tells us that before that happens, Jesus comes. So there is hope, there is hope but the hope is only found in Christ.
Mark: Now based on that, why do you think that God would keep humans alive? Is there a possibility to live forever?
Pastor Jean Ross: Well there is but not here on this earth. You know a person gets old, they get sick and they die. What we need is an immortal body. The bible tells us that when Jesus comes again he is going to give those that love him an immortal body. A body that will never get sick, never get old and never die, that is the promise of eternal life. But here on this earth, until that time comes, people are going to get sick and people are going to die.
Mark: So you don’t believe that earth will be transformed into heaven?
Pastor Jean Ross: No, because on the earth there is sin and where there is sin there is sickness, there is suffering and there is pain. Normally we not only see that in mankind but we also see that in the animal kingdom. There is sickness and death and disease. We read in Revelation chapter 21 where the bible promises us that God is going to create a new earth. Where there is no pain, no sorry, no suffering and that is the reward that we look forward to. Jesus comes, he takes us to heaven, we are there for 1000 years or referred to in Revelation 20 as the millennium and at the end of that we come back to this earth and Jesus creates a new earth. That becomes the eternal home of the redeemed.
Mark: okay well on you saying that, I got to add this. I believe God can do whatever you want and if God wants and if God believes because when I am happy and I am having a good time, it feels just like heaven. So what I got to tell you on that is I believe if God wanted us to live forever he could snap his fingers and within any time that he wanted give doctors the cure for any diseases or anything he wanted to do.
Pastor Jean Ross: Well you are right Mark God has all the power and he can do this but there is one thing that God earnest and that is the freedom of choice. God is not going to force anyone to love him and so God waits for us to respond to his invitation of grace. The bible says God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that who so ever believeth on him should not perish. We need to trust in him, we need to believe in him, and then it is that when we can live forever. Then we have the promise of a new heaven and a new earth, but God respects human freedom. He is not going to force somebody to live forever who doesn’t want to live forever. That is not the kind of God that we serve. Thank you for your call Mark. We are going to try and get a few more callers in here. Our next caller is James and James is calling from Oklahoma. James welcome to the program.
James: Good evening, thank you Pastor. I guess I am trying to make it just a simple question. Do you believe within biblical reference that Jesus died the second death?
Pastor Jean Ross: Yes he did.
James: I don’t believe that. One thing I didn’t like at the start was that my Jesus died before the Devil even had to taste it and still inside the scroll this woman said he died the second death he had to, to save me from it. And I didn’t agree and I even wrote in to Doug Bachelor’s central study hour and it was during that time that we were just discussing it in our class. And he was on the air and he said listen very carefully. He said Jesus staged the second death, he didn’t die the second death but he staged it by dying for us and he took all the sins of the world upon himself and so people think he died the second death.
Pastor Jean Ross: Well let me explain maybe a little bit of a difference. There is a little bit of a difference with what Christ experienced and the experience of the wicked at the end of 1000 years. Of course those that die the second death at the end of the 1000 year period, there is no hope of life. Jesus died but then he rose again so in that sense Christ experience was different from the wicked. But in the sense of Christ being forsaken of his father, remember when Jesus hanged on the cross and said my God why has thou forsaken me. In that sense Christ died the second death, in that he was abandoned or forsaken by his father. Not that his father didn’t love him but Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world, he died in our place.
The wicked at the end of the 1000 years they are forsaken of the father and that brings about an anguish of soul that nobody has really experienced now because of Christ sacrifice. Jesus experienced that anguish of soul he didn’t die because of the nails in his hands and feet. He did because of a broken heart. So that second death isn’t just the idea of being dead but that idea of being separated from the source of life being separated from God and bearing the full consequences, the full guilt of our own choices and that’s what Jesus did. He bore the consequence of our choices and that’s what broke his heart. So yes he did die the second death in that sense but of course he rose from the dead because there was no sin within him and that’s not something that happens to the wicked.
James: Alright then, my understanding was that there was no coming back from that and he faced it but he didn’t actually die that death.
Pastor Jean Ross: He faced it, he experienced it, he died that same experience but the difference is because he had no sin in of himself he rose from the dead. The wicked don’t do that they remain dead forever, so in some ways yes he faced it, other ways it was a little different from what happened. Good question James, thanks for your call. We are going to try and get a few more in. Our next caller is Julie and she is calling from Illinois. Julie, welcome to the Program.
Julie: Hi.
Pastor Jean Ross: Yes and your question this evening.
Julie: Hi I heard last week on the national news, a very short thing about Noah’s Art being found and that Turkey was going to announce it or they were announcing it. That they had found like pens suitable for keeping animals and that was by Diane Sawyers and it was just a minute, very brief. And since then I haven’t heard anything from it, not from any news organization or anything. I just wanted to know if you heard about it?
Pastor Jean Ross: Yes I have, a matter of fact I am rather excited about the whole thing. Now for those of you that haven’t heard, it is a Christian group from Hong Kong that have gone on several expeditions to Mount Ararat and in October of 2009 they were up there and they had a cameraman with them and they entered into this cave like thing and inside they found these wooden rooms made of wood. You can see the video on that, a lot of ice a lot of broken debris. They couldn’t see the whole Ark in this glacier if that’s what it is. I think this is what we know thus far, we know there is something up there in Mount Ararat that is made from wood.
Of course the bible does talk about Noah’s Ark and does talk about it resting on Mount Ararat, but I think there needs to be some further expeditions and some further research and I think there are. They have gained the interest now and I think they were also able to get the money to really go back and do some thorough investigation of this site to try and see what they find. It would surprise me if it is Noah’s Ark, I hope it is. I think that will help validate the scriptures, but as I said at the beginning of the program I don’t think that is going to change the minds of too many atheist, all the world won’t change their mind.
Julie: Oh yeah I know what you are saying.
Pastor Jean Ross: But it is exciting for those who believe in the biblical account. This could very well be the evidence. I mean I was looking at some of the picture before it came to mind. If this is indeed Noah’s Ark how interesting Noah himself could have very well planed that board and nailed in into place and there it is on Mount Ararat, very interesting discovery.
Julie: Yeah you know I have been thinking about this every since I heard it. Been thinking someone else would, you know. I mean I thought I would hear some more about it but I haven’t so that is why I called you all. I thought maybe you heard something.
Pastor Jean Ross: We know as much as you do at this point, we will just have to wait and see what happens over the next few months. They really don’t have much time to do a whole lot of work on Mount Ararat because of the weather of October so we will have to wait a little while until they go back and see what they discover. Well thank you for your call we appreciate it Julie. We are going to try and get at least one more call in before we go off the air. Well you know what I hear the music playing that is one minute so I am not going to take any more calls which because it mean we would have to abandon you half way through your question.
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