Pastor Doug: Hello, listening friends, would you like to hear an amazing fact? The sheer vastness of space is truly incomprehensible to the human brain. Here's one example. Back in 1996, for 10 days, astronomers pointed the Hubble telescope into a part of the sky close to the Big Dipper that seemed utterly empty. A little patch they focused on was no bigger than a grain of rice held out at arm's length. Still, they discovered 3,000 galaxies came into focus, producing one of the most profound and humbling images of all human history. Every single smear and dot was an entire galaxy.
That's a fiery pinwheel of light, each containing hundreds of billions of stars, not even counting how many planets there might be. Then between 2004 and 2014, using much improved equipment, they did it again. This time, they pointed the telescope towards an empty spot in the constellation Orion for over a period of nine years. Over 10,000 galaxies appeared in that speck of space known as the Ultra Deep Field. This is the farthest we've ever seen into the universe, but as if that wasn't mind boggling enough, astronomers now estimate that this vast universe that we see is really only just a quarter percent of what's out there.
The immensity of space is mind boggling. Yet the Bible says that God counts all the stars and has a name for each one. Stay with us friends, we're going to learn more on this edition of Bible Answers Live.
Speaker 2: You're listening to Bible Answers Live. Honest answers to your Bible questions. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this evening's program, call 800-835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747. Now let's join our host, Pastor Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Doug: Hello, listening friends. This is Bible Answers Live and it is a live international interactive Bible study where we invite you to call in with questions regarding God's word. We don't claim to have all the answers, but we've got Bibles at our fingertips here and we will search the word together. The phone number with your Bible questions is 800-463-7297. My name is Doug Batchelor. We do have I think one or two lines open. I want to welcome our friends that are watching the stream on the Doug Batchelor Facebook page.
We've heard that we've got people that are calling in from Australia and people listening from Italy and different parts of the world, but before we get into our program tonight, we always begin with a word of prayer. Loving Lord, we just thank you again for the blessings of life. We thank you for the sacrifice of Jesus, His death and His resurrection. That reminds us You are a living God that You ever lived to make intercession for us at the right hand of the Father. Lord, we're thankful for the promise that though these bodies grow old and die, we don't need to fear. We will be given glorious bodies even like Yours. Bless with that encouragement for all listening. Be with us in our program tonight. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.
Well, I started with an amazing fact dealing with some of the photographs they've taken in deep space. I've seen that picture many times on my universe of the Ultra Deep Field, where you see 10,000 galaxies in what they estimate in one photograph and each galaxy, each of those dot is a galaxy with hundreds of billions of stars. That was just a little piece of sky as big as a grain of rice held out at arm's length. You think about how immense the universe must be.
God made all of that. Then the Bible says, not only does He number the hairs of our head, it says He knows all the stars. He calls them all by name. He knows every detail of your life, friends, but how much can we know about God? The Bible says that He is past finding out. Isaiah tells us, "As the heavens are high above the earth, so are His ways above our ways," but we can know what is revealed in His word. Now God is what He is. The three persons is who they are. God is composed of three persons, of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We sometimes use the term Trinity. The word Trinity is not in the Bible, but the word incarnation is not in the Bible and Millennium is not the Bible.
Indeed, the word Bible is not in the Bible. These are words that we use to explain teachings, but the understanding of God, Jesus said, "Baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." There at the baptism of Jesus, God said, "This is my beloved Son, God, the Spirit was coming down." We see, especially in the New Testament, the fullness of the plurality of God. Now, the Bible says there's one God and that's because one in the Hebrew mind means a united unit, but God, in the beginning, said, "Let us make man in our image." God said, a man and woman get married, they become one flesh.
Jesus prayed to 12 apostles, John 17, might be one. Now, there's a lot of mysteries about God, and we're on holy ground, but there are some things revealed we can understand. If you'd like to better understand this subject of the Trinity, we have a free offer for you. You can just call the resource number, that's 800-835-6747 and ask for the free book on the Trinity. In fact, if you'd like to read it right now, so many people download PDFs and books, we've made it available for free. If you go to the Amazing Facts website, simplyamazing.org, you can read and or download it there.
All right, with that, friends, we're going to go to the phones and we're starting out talking to Sarah. Sarah, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
Sarah: Hi, Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Hi, thank you for calling.
Sarah: Thank you. Yes, my question is, I had this lady or I know this lady who she loved God, she was very involved in her church, she was a chaplain. I also know that she dealt a lot with depression and she actually ended up taking her own life. Afterward, the discussion was, I know that she love God. People said, "We'll see her in heaven?" The other people are, "Well, suicide is a sin." I'm just wondering what your thoughts are on that.
Pastor Doug: It is a tough question because I think we need to be careful, to be honest and be gentle. We need to be honest and tell people that suicide is a sin, because what if a person's thinking of it and you say, "Oh, yes, you can be a Christian. Just murder yourself." Murder is a sin, but we've got to stop short of saying those who commit suicide are all lost, because technically, you could argue Samson killed himself and Hebrews said, he'll be in heaven. His life was something of a sacrifice at the end. I think they may have been getting ready to kill him and he knew that.
When a soldier sacrifices himself on the battlefield, it could be called a suicide if he jumps on a hand grenade, but he's doing it to save others. You see what I'm saying? There's a balance. I did a funeral for a young lady that got very discouraged, struggled with depression, took sleeping pills, realized what she had done, and then called 911 and said, "Please save me. I just took pills to kill myself." They came. They couldn't resuscitate her. Who's to say in the last hours of her life or moments that she didn't repent? How can we say, we don't know what's going on in their mind? Some people I know have been Godly Christians all their life.
In their final illness, they're medicated, they're not thinking clear, and they've taken their life. We've got to be careful not to tell people there's no hope, but at the same time, we've got to tell people that if you're thinking of suicide as a way to ease your problems, in most cases, it ushers you into a permanently bad situation. You know what I mean?
Sarah: Yes.
Pastor Doug: I think it's dangerous business. Now going to the Bible. I can think of a couple of cases of suicides, three in the Bible. Let me see, Ahithophel hung himself. Judas hung himself and both of them had just betrayed friends. Judas said Satan entered him. He grieved with the Holy Spirit. Saul fell on his sword after he grieved with the Holy Spirit. The examples in the Bible of suicide are not encouraging, with the exception of Samson. I'd strongly advise against it, but we need to stop short of saying that a suicide is automatically lost. We don't know.
Sarah: Okay, thank you.
Pastor Doug: Hopefully that helps a little. It's a tough question. Thank you so much. Appreciate that, Sarah. With that, we're going to move on and talk next to someone who's calling, an anonymous caller, maybe it's Steve in Kansas City. Is that you, Steve?
Steve: Yes, it's me.
Pastor Doug: Hey, thanks.
Steve: Hi, Pastor Doug. I really appreciate your show. I was listening to an older pre-recorded show on KCXL. I was wondering about the microchip. There was one 25 years ago in a baby and one in a woman's hands so she could wave a wand and then charge her purchase. I was wondering if that was a physical manifestation because we know that you have to have a number to buy and sell at the end time? Was that the physical manifestation of a spiritual event? Now I know that your head and your hand have to be thinking towards the beast system and giving into it or working towards the beast system. I'm just wondering, are the spiritual and the physical tied in that manner?
Pastor Doug: Well, they could be. Let me just clarify and make a distinction here. The final law of the beast is those who do not worship will be killed. Before it gets to that point, it talks about they cannot buy or sell. The beast power will use some mechanism or technology to control buying and selling, but that technology is not the mark. Could they have an RFID implant under the skin. They're doing that now at businesses, all kinds of people are doing it, but we got to be careful. I remember when the barcode first came out, all my friends said, "Don't buy anything with a barcode. It's the mark of the beast."
I think they all starve since then. Then credit cards, and the magnetic strip and other people said, "That is the mark of the beast," because it's in your hand. RFD cards are the inserts I would really hate to do that, but the mark in the hand and in the forehead, let me read you something. Deuteronomy 6, and if you go to verse 6, Deuteronomy 6:6, it says, "These words I command you today shall be in your heart." Now, they had just given the 10 commandments in Deuteronomy 5. You'll teach them diligently to your children, you'll talk of them, when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lay down, you rise up.
Now it gets to this part, Steve, you bind them as a sign on your hand and they will be frontlets between your eyes. On your hand in between your eyes, the saved are going to have the seal of God in their forehead, but it's not a computer chip. They got the law of God between their eyes. The laws also has something in their hand and between their eyes, that means in your actions, Isaiah says, "Evil was in their hand." It doesn't mean you're holding a bowl of evil, it means they're actions. In that forehead means in your thoughts and your worship.
When a person chooses to obey the laws of the beast and they bow down to the image, instead of the laws of God, they're getting it in their hand and their forehead. The buying and selling could be controlled with and RFD insert or a magnetic strip or something like that. That's where they might be tied together, but let's be careful not to think that if a person gets a credit card or if somebody would diabetes gets this little implant under, it's usually between the thumb and the forefinger, that means they've got the mark of the beast. I don't really see that in the Bible. Hey, can I send you a free lesson on that subject?
If you just go to the Amazing Facts website, we got a lesson called the Mark of the Beast. I've got a whole sermon I preached there on YouTube, but Steve, you can also call 800-835-6747. Ask for our lesson on the Mark of the Beast and thank you very much for calling. Talking next to Stephanie in Austin. Stephanie, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
Stephanie: Hello, Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Hi, thank you for calling in from Austin, Texas. Is that right?
Stephanie: That's correct.
Pastor Doug: Your question?
Stephanie: My question is, I recently was telling someone about the story of Job. I was talking to them and telling them about how God and Satan were talking about Job and how God allowed Satan to take away everything, except he couldn't kill him. In retelling the story of Job, this person that I was talking to just saw terrible qualities of God and it actually did some damage to their faith. I would just really love to be able to go back and tell them because I kept saying that there are so many more lessons and I kept telling them what those lessons were. They just couldn't get past the idea of God allowing these things to happen to an innocent person.
Pastor Doug: It's going to be a struggle to try to help them understand it is true that God withdrew His protection from Job, He allowed Job to be tested, God did not cause the calamity, God does withdrew His protection. The devil said, "The only reason that Job is serving us because you bless him. Take away the blessing, he'll curse you." Now, keep in mind, the sufferings of Job may have lasted a few weeks. God then restored everything to Job twice as much afterward. Sometimes we go through a valley in order to get to a mountain. They need to focus on how God blessed Job even more afterward.
Here's a man who lives nearly 200 years, according to the Bible, and out of the 200 years, he's got a few weeks of severe suffering. What is that compared to 200 years and eternal life? I hope that their perspective will allow that, yes, sometimes God does allow us to suffer, does that person know that God allowed His son to suffer that we might be saved?
Stephanie: Yes. I did tell them that God and Jesus was a sinless person and all these things befell Him so that we could eventually end up in heaven again with Him, but they just could not get over that one part. I've kept saying, there's so much more to this story and I would just wish you would open your heart and listen, but they couldn't get past that, that God allowed that to happen.
Pastor Doug: It's important that they do get past that because what they're doing is they're putting themselves in a position to go through some of the trials of Job, if they don't get past that. I've got a series. I just did a series for 12 weeks on the book of Job. If you go to YouTube and you type in Doug Batchelor Book of Job, you'll probably see a number of the studies I did there during a Sabbath school class. I go into great detail on there. Thank you so much for your call, Stephanie.
Speaker 2: You're listening to Bible Answers Live. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Pacific time, call us at one 800-GOD-SAYS.
Pastor Doug: I'm going to talk next to, let me see, line four, is this Patrick? Patrick, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live?
Patrick: Hey, how's it going, Mr. Doug?
Pastor Doug: Good. Thank you for calling.
Patrick: My question is if God told Adam the need to be fruitful and multiply and they were the only beings on earth at the time, did they multiply as far as their kids, did they multiply with their siblings? In essence, did God allow incest? If so, do God approve of incest back then, and does he approve of incest today?
Pastor Doug: All right. Good question. Adam and Eve have an interesting relationship. You can say Adam and Eve are brother and sister in the sense that they both came from the same parents, but it's a little even weirder than that, in that Eve came from Adam's Rib. The children of Adam and Eve, the boys probably married their sisters. I wouldn't say probably. I know they did. Keep in mind, the reason that it is wrong in our day and age for brothers and sisters to intermarry is because you'll have all kinds of genetic defects and weakness when you do that.
There's a lot of problems with different tribes and peoples, there are some diseases that are only exclusive to people living on islands. I'm half Jewish, but there's some diseases only Jews get because they stayed marrying just Jews for so many centuries, that there are some genetic weaknesses that happen there. There are certain diseases that only African- Americans get or that are more prevalent. Genetic vitality is the reason that you're especially not supposed to marry close to the family tree, but Abraham married his sister, Sarah's half-sister anyway Sarah. Isaac married his first cousin, Jacob married his first cousin.
By the time you get to Moses, Moses said, "You're not to marry your near of kin so that there would be genetic vitality." Because the Israelites occasionally married with other people that converted, like Ruth became a Moabites and Rahab who was a Canaanite became-- I'm sorry, the Moabite, Ruth became a Jew. Rahab a Canaanite, became a Jew. They were getting an influx of healthy genes. That's the main reason. In the beginning, when man's genes were perfect as they came from God, you have Cain and Abel and Seth, they all married their sisters.
I know that sounds strange, but that's the way it was back then. Hey, thank you very much. Appreciate your question. I do have a book that talks a little about that you can get, it's called, Who Are the Sons of God. That's 800-835-6747 ask for the book, Who Are The Sons of God, Patrick, and thank you for your call. With that, we're going to go to our next caller. Christopher, who is calling with a question. Christopher, you're on the air from Hampton, Kentucky.
Christopher: Hey, Doug. My question was, who is the two witnesses in Revelation? I was a little bit confused on that when I was reading it.
Pastor Doug: All right. When you read in Revelation 11, it talks about these two witnesses. It's a prophecy about an all-out war that came against the Word of God. The Word of God are the two witnesses. Sometimes, the Word of God is portrayed as Moses and Elijah because Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets. The Old Testament ends by saying, remember the Law of Moses. This is Malachi 4 "Behold, I send you a light to the prophet". Then you turn into the New Testament, Moses and Elijah appear to Jesus. Jesus teaches from the law and the prophets. That means the books of the New and the Old Testament, or it's a sword with two edges. That's why God says in the mouth of at least two witnesses, his word is established. These two witnesses that were under attack, it was really the birth of atheism that happened with the French revolution.
I know, I really don't have time to go through all of chapter 11, but you look at the characteristics of the two witnesses. By the way, the two witnesses that you find in revelation, chapter 11 are also found in the book of Zechariah. I think it's chapter four and it says, "These are two lampstands by the throne of God." Well, the reason they're called lamps, thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. It says these two witnesses can call down plagues from heaven. You have plagues in the Old Testament, you got plagues in the New Testament.
These two witnesses, it says can stop the rain. It says they stopped the rain and there was famine in the Old Testament. There was a famine in the days of Angelus in the book of Acts in the New Testament. It's really talking about the word of God. Now hope all that rambling made a little bit of sense.
Christopher: It would be the Old and the New Testament.
Pastor Doug: Now I've got a book I can send you on that for free. Would you like it?
Christopher: Yes.
Pastor Doug: If you tell me no, it'll hurt my feelings because I wrote it. You got to say, "I want two of them". The book is called The Two Witnesses. If you call the resource line 800-835-6747, we'll send you a copy of The Two Witnesses. Thank you very much for your call. With that, we're going to go to line six here and talk to Fritz in Orlando, Florida, Fritz you're on the air with Bible answers live.
Fritz: Hi Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Hi.
Fritz: My question comes from Leviticus 25:44-46, where it talks about slavery. I can request a passage and I'm not very clear on, Is it justifying slavery? Can you just put that in context for me?
Pastor Doug: Let me just answer the bigger question. You're going to find that in the laws of Moses, God made laws to protect people in very tough times. God does not approve of slavery, but the whole world had slaves back then. And God made laws to protect the slaves. Even in the 10 commandments it says they were required to let their slave rest every week and they want to beat their slave. If they beat their slave and they injured their slave there was punishment for that. God does not approve of polygamy, but God and the Levitical law made laws to protect an extra wife.
It says you cannot do certain things. You have to treat them all fairly and you can't deny the firstborn of one wife if you love the other one more. That's back in a time when men would go to war and they'd be decimated and there just weren't enough husbands. The Hebrews had a law that if a brother died, his brother was to take his wife and family into the home and take care of them. Some of the laws were made for the protection of people in some very tough times, but God does not approve of polygamy and he does not approve of slavery. You can see that even more clearly when you get to the New Testament.
You read the book of Philemon, Philemon Paul writes to a runaway slave and it's one chapter read that and it'll give you some insights on that. Does that help a little?
Fritz: Thank you.
Pastor Doug: Hey, thank you, Fritz I appreciate your question. We're going to talk to line number seven here, talking to Justina from Quincy, California. Am I saying that right? Justina, you're on the air,
Justina: Yes Justina Anderson.
Pastor Doug: Hey, thank you for calling. We've got three minutes before the break. You got a question?
Justina: Yes I do. I went to church and I'm growing up in church and we talk about false prophets that we're going to run across in the end times. Recently some of my Christian friends were talking about actual prophets and the end times that are going to spring up and speak the truth to the world. I never knew that there were going to be more prophets. I thought that all the prophets in the Bible were the prophets and that was it. I didn't know they were going to be modern day prophets. Could you talk about that a little bit? I'm confused.
Pastor Doug: Great question. I'm so glad you asked that because there's so much misunderstanding. First of all, we got to be careful about false prophets. The first thing Jesus says in Matthew 24, when he talks about the last days, "He says beware of false Christs and false prophets." He wouldn't say beware of false prophets unless there were also going to be true profits. Or he would have said, be aware of anyone who claims to be a prophet. If you go to 1st Corinthians chapter 14, Paul talks about prophecy and the gift of prophecy as one of the gifts in the church.
He talks about there are pastors, prophets, evangelists, all the other gifts that Paul identifies we still believe her in the church today. We've got to be careful about saying that God now can no longer give a person the gift of prophecy. Every time historically, when God did something significant, he spoke through a prophet before the flood he had Noah and before the Exodus, he had Moses and before the Babylonian captivity he had Isaiah and Jeremiah and before Jesus, he had John the Baptist.
It should make sense that before the second coming of Jesus, there'd be something. Let me give you a verse. Malachi chapter four, I just quoted, "Behold I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord, and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers. Now, John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah just before Jesus. Jesus said, "John has come or Elijah has come." Jesus said, "Elijah will come." Meaning there will be an additional example of that.
Now I trust you're still listening. I got to listen. I want to send you on. Does God inspire prophets? It's free. You call our resource line 800-835-6747. We'd like to send you that free lesson. Does God inspire prophets, Justina and you'll be blessed by that. Friends don't go anywhere. We've just gotten our momentum for the second half of Bible answers live, call in with your questions. 800 God Says, we'll be back right after the break.
Speaker 2: Stay tuned. Bible answers live we'll return in a moment. Written by the hand of God and spoken with his voice, some words will never fade. Get Pastor Doug Batchelor's 12 part sermon series on the 10 commandments by calling 800-538-7275 or visit afbookstore.com.
Pastor Doug: Hello friends, Pastor Doug Batchelor here with amazing facts. Carine was divorced, pregnant, and very concerned about her future. God saw her in her desperate loneliness and confusion. He used a coworker to share an amazing facts of DVD that led Carine to our website here at the website she studied our life-changing free online Bible studies. What she learned there transformed her heart. Today Carine has a lasting peace, she's baptized and part of a nurturing church family. Now you friend have an opportunity to help someone today and to make an eternal difference from where people like Carine.
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Speaker 2: Every Bible question you have answered moves you. One step closer to the fullness of God's will for your life. What are you waiting for? Get the answers you need for a fuller, richer, more confident life. You're listening to Bible answers live. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM Pacific time. To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this evening's program. Call 800-835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747. Now let's join Pastor Doug Batchelor for more Bible answers live.
Pastor Doug: We are back listening friends. If you have just joined us this is Bible Answers Live, we are live around North America through about 300 radio stations, satellite radio around the world via the internet and Facebook we just stay on our Facebook page, we got people literally around the world tuning in now and we are still thankful you are. We are going to start taking some questions from our Facebook callers here in the future. Typically they have to call into the radio program but it would be nice every program to take a couple that are texted into the page.
I am manning the program tonight, Pastor Ross is on vacation but we're going to go back to the phones now. Talk with Jerry in Medford, Oregon. Jerry, you are on the air with Bible Answers Live.
Jerry: Yes pastor, good afternoon or evening it's always a pleasure to talk to you.
Pastor Doug: Likewise.
Jerry: During the wait, another question came to mind that is more important than the one I presented to the individual who received my call, so can I switch questions?
Pastor Doug: All right, we're going to go for it and see what happens.
Jerry: Concerning tithes, there is a lot of Christian organization the SDA church is one of them that have organizations that aid homeless orphans and then there are other known ones in many US cities that provide shelters for [unintelligible 00:31:58] and so on. People that sit down on their lap. My question is, is it acceptable to give your tithes to these organizations who have this dual mission of ministering and providing humanitarian aid to people orphans in need?
Pastor Doug: All right good question, I believe that tithe biblically is to be restricted for the proclamation of the gospel and then you have offerings. In the Bible, the priest Paul says in the New Testament as well as in the Old it says, "They received tithes." The idea was that people who were dedicated to full-time ministry did not have to take up a job where they were so busy supporting themselves and their family that they couldn't be involved in full-time teaching and exposition of the word.
In the times of the greatest prosperity in Israel spiritually the tithes were brought to the storehouse, distributed to the Levites who were ministering to the people in the Synagogues throughout the land of Israel during the time of Hezekiah, Jehoshaphat, some of it was happening during the time of Samuel. During times of apostasy, they neglected it, the Levites all went took jobs, the teaching of the people fell apart and there was usually moral decline.
Tithe really should go to that, offerings is different from tithe and if you read in Malachi 3 it talks about tithe and offering. Tithe was a tenth, offerings was something above and beyond that and we do have a free study guidebook, we'll be happy to send you a free copy of that Jerry, and it's called, In God, We Trust a play on the phrase we find on our money.
In God We Trust goes through all the Bible teachings on tithe and how it should be applied. If you want a free copy call 800-835-6747.
These are beautifully illustrated color studies and they are very thorough and we've just reprinted them all. 800-835-6747 and we'll send you one of those. We've got several callers, I'm very excited to hear that and I see that we're going to talk next to Angela in British Columbia. Angela, you are on the air with Bible Answers Live.
Angela: Hi, thank you so much for taking my call and for your ministry.
Pastor Doug: It's a pleasure.
Angela: I was wondering about smoking. I know I've quit before and I use Champix but are there other ways to do it?
Pastor Doug: I'm glad that you are wanting to quit and you know what the Lord will bless you. I smoked for several years, my mother smoked, my father smoked, my grandfather smoked and I grew up inhaling nicotine. I became convicted after I became a Christian that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. I read on the cigarette pack, this is going to kill you. I read in the 10 commandments don't kill, that would include yourself and I thought I don't think this is glorifying God, I believe God wants me to quit.
I tried to quit and it's like Mark Twain said, "Quitting is easy, I did it 100 times, staying quit was the challenge." Now what did it for me, and I'm not against the person using some kind of medicinal help. I finally did and what did it for me was just an overwhelming sense of the sacrifice that Jesus made for me and that my body was a temple of the Holy Spirit. One day I threw away my cigarettes 37 years ago, no 41 years ago I'm getting old and I haven't smoked since. I haven't put one in my mouth and so I believe God can give the victory, it was tough.
I don't want to pretend I didn't struggle those first couple of days were real tough then the week or two after that was hard but not as bad and then as the month went by I still think of it but it wasn't bad. The waves kept getting smaller and further apart until I don't think about it at all anymore. You're not born smoking, you learn to do it and you have to unlearn it and it just takes some time and you can get it behind you. Think of all the money you'll save and it's good for your witness.
Angela: Exactly. I did quit for a year and three months and then it just, I don't know what happened.
Pastor Doug: Then you picked one and started with one, right?
Angela: Yes.
Pastor Doug: How did you feel after you started again? Didn't you feel rotten for going that?
Angela: Really bad.
Pastor Doug: How good you're going to feel if you stop?
Angela: Better than I do now.
Pastor: Do you have kids?
Angela: I have a daughter, yes.
Pastor Doug: That's an even better reason. Hey, could I pray with you real quick, Angela?
Angela: Yes that would be great.
Pastor Doug: I believe in something called the five-minute plan and let me tell you what the five-minute plan is. First of all, do you believe God wants you to quit smoking?
Angela: Yes.
Pastor Doug: Do you believe God will help you do what he wants you to do?
Angela: Oh, yes I do.
Pastor Doug: Then all you've got left to do is to take the first step and ask him and if you like I'll pray with you right now then I'm going to encourage you if you've got any cigarettes you go throw them out and see what God does for you. That's the way it works, you know you'll live through it so it's just a question in your mind in your heart and God can give you the power.
Father in heaven I just want to lift up my prayer right now on Angela's behalf and others who may be listening that are struggling with smoking or one of these other habits and help them now believe in your power to break the chains just as you set Peter free from prison, you can break the chains and the habits that bind us. Jesus came to save us from our sins and to give us new life and new health and I pray you'll bless her, and bless her in her body, bless her in her witness. Help her to know that your spirit and angels are right there to encourage her and be free from this. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Angela: Amen, thank you so much Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Absolutely, you can make it and I've got a study guide I'll send you a free copy and it's called God's Free Health Plan. It will encourage you, God's Free Health Plan it's called. Just dial the number 800-835-6747, you can also read it for free at amazingfacts.org. Thank you for that call and we're going to move on now and talk to Michael in Mount Pleasant. Is that Michigan?
Michael: No.
Pastor Doug: Hi Michael, thanks for calling.
Michael: Hi [unintelligible 00:38:35] that's pretty good, not bad. I have a question I just talked to a friend today on messenger and we did video chat. At the end of our conversation, I don't know if it's the brother, it doesn't matter if it's her brother or not but she said something to the brother and then she says, "I'm gay," and that's when I start talking to her I'm like, "Oh." That's my normal reaction when I hear about someone in that sense of mind. My question is it wrong to have people that like both male and female versus science? Is it a wrong thing to have?
Pastor Doug: Is it wrong for them to what, I couldn't hear the last thing you said?
Michael: Like male and female is it wrong to have as a science? [crosstalk] to lead them to Christ?
Pastor Doug: Let's ask this question, it's a couple of different kinds of friends, one is you want to befriend people so you can be a witness. You got to be careful about being intimate friends with a person that is going to drag you down spiritually but Jesus is a friend of sinners, Jesus spent time witnessing to harlots and publicans and we need to build relationships with sinners so that we can share the Word of God with them, you see what I'm saying?
Michael:
Pastor Doug: It's one thing to have a relationship with a person to be a witness but you don't want to walk in their ways. In other words I would try to encourage a person who's struggling with drinking and I'll be their friend, I'll try and help them but I'm not going to go to the bar and give them a Bible study in the bar. You got to know how you can be a friend and be a witness but don't let them pull you and your thinking in the wrong direction. A Christian needs to choose friends that will also encourage them in holiness but we've got to have a relationship with the lost so how well we're going to reach them?
Michael: Right, because I'm trying to-- I love to help as many as I can that actually had that problem [crosstalk].
Pastor Doug: Show love to everybody. Yes, you want to show love to everybody and if you have a real friend, I've got friends that struggle with homosexuality and they know where I stand and they know I love them and I want to be their friend. I don't support what they're doing, but you've got to show people, you care about them and as individuals and you value them but at the same time, whatever it is, whether it's homosexuality. Hey I had a friend and he was always living with all kinds of I'll just say moral indiscretions and he tells me about it and say, "Look, I don't want to hear about that, that's wrong." I'd be his friend I try and encourage him, but he'd also know I did not approve of what he was doing. That's the balance I think we're looking for is loving people, having relationships, showing you value them, witnessing to them, and yet not walking with the ungodly, as it says in Psalm 1. Thank you for your call, Michael, and we're going to take another call and talk next to Patty. Who's calling from Carmichael, California. I know where that is. Hello Patty.
Patty: Hello, Pastor Batchelor. My question. I was reading Exodus we were studying it on our Christian radio station and I came across a stanza that just blew me out of the water, which is Exodus 4:24-26. Could you please tell me was God going to kill Moses and what in the world is that all about in those three little things there?
Pastor Doug: Let me read that to you. It says, "It came to pass on the way to the encampment, that the Lord met him, Moses, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah, his wife, took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet and said, surely you are a husband of blood to me or a bloody man and so he, the angel let him go and she said, you are a husband of blood because of the circumcision."
Now, the way that most commentators understand that is God had just called Moses to be the spiritual leader to lead this nation out of slavery, and yet Moses had two sons with Zipporah and he hadn't circumcised one of them. Zipporah evidently thought, "Why would you do that? That's bloody, that's barbaric." He said, "Well, this is a covenant that God made." They had some family argument between the husband and the wife. God had continued to convict Moses, you need to take care of this, you need to take care of this and he's getting ready to cross into Egypt and God said, "Look, you can't do what I've called you to do unless you obey and you're consistent and you have to decide, am I your Lord or is your wife, your Lord." I guess there was a little family dispute there.
Patty: Oh, I see.
Pastor Doug: Our God the same way the angel of the Lord met Balaam when he was on the way to do something he shouldn't do God met Moses and finally Zipporah gave in and they circumcised the boy and he went on his way with his mission that began the Exodus. Yes, I appreciate that and I hope that makes some sense and that is a good question. People reading through the Bible, run into that and they go, "What Is that all about?"
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Pastor Doug: All right, with that, we're going to go and talk next to Ken in Orlando, Florida. Ken you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
Ken: Hey sir.
Pastor Doug: Hi, thank you for calling.
Ken: Yes, listen, I'm just a little confused in Matthew 24, when Jesus was talking to the disciples and he was given them the signs to look for dealing with the second coming. Why is it that he would do that when the rapture would occur first and they wouldn't even see that day.
Pastor Doug: Well now maybe it's not happening exactly like that. There are three views among Christians about the sequence of the rapture and the rapture means to be caught up. Most Christians believe there's going to be a tribulation time of trouble. The question is, does the time of trouble happen before the rapture? Does it happen after, or does the rapture happen in the middle of it? [crosstalk]
Ken: Before tribulation.
Pastor Doug: Some people go post-drip, mid-trip, pre-trip, that's the abbreviations for it. I am in the old school and when I say the old school, I mean, I'm in the same school as Charles Spurgeon and John Wesley and Martin Luther, and a lot of the reformers that the time of trouble happens before and if you would like I'll tell you real quick why. It says, "That he then endures to the end will be saved." Endures what? Well, you've got the plagues and the tribulation that are happening. The Bible tells us, Paul says, "It is through much tribulation we enter the kingdom of God. God is coming for a church without spot or wrinkle and he gets rid of the spots and the wrinkles through the hot water, hot iron."
Peter said, "Do not be amazed at the fiery trials that will try you as though some strange thing has happened." God did not save the Israelites from the plagues of Egypt. He saved them through the plagues and the seven last place in revelation are the tribulation. I've got a book on that and I'll be happy to send you a free copy, but there's a whole lot of sincere Christians on all the sides of this issue. I don't want to condemn anyone that doesn't agree with me, but I've got the old fashioned view.
Ken: That we're going to go through the tribulations and then the rapture.
Pastor Doug: Yes, and God would protect us, I'm not worried about it.
Ken: Right.
Pastor Doug: That's why it says in Psalm 91 "No plague will come, now you're dwelling a thousand will follow your right hand, but it will not come nigh into thee." There's a lot of promises, we don't need to worry about the plagues and the tribulation, but I do think that we're in the world, and let me give you one more verse. Daniel 12, it says, "At that time, Michael will stand up the great Prince that stands for the children of thy people and there will be a time of trouble such as there never has been ever since there was a nation, even unto that time. And at that time that people are delivered everyone who is found written in the book." Jesus refers to that great time of trouble, such as there never has been in Matthew 24 and it says, "That's when God's people are delivered."
Ken: That makes a lot of sense.
Pastor Doug: Yes, take a look at the book that I'm going to send you, and it's called Anything But Secret. Anything But Secret it's free call 800-835-6747, Ken.
Ken: Thank you, sir.
Pastor Doug: Then you're welcome. Thank you very much for your question. With that, we're going to go and talk next to Roger. We're just going down the line here, Roger, yes, sir.
Roger: Hi Doug, I've got a serious question. How does the Lord give us strength to not commit adultery?
Pastor Doug: Well, Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart." If you read in the book of Job, Job said, "I've made a covenant with my eyes why should I behold a young woman?" Of course, he was married.
Roger: Yes. [crosstalk]
Pastor Doug: It's a question of trying to keep focus.
Roger: Okay, but what if your wife doesn't feel the same way in a sexual way? What if she has some problems at the home that doesn't let her do herself to him because we're both Christian and we're both do what's right.
Pastor Doug: Well, that is very tough.
Roger: Yes.
Pastor Doug: Let's talk about it for a minute. If a man is married and he and his wife, they got the normal marriage and suppose the wife then has a health problem where they can no longer have intimacy for whatever reason does that give the man the right then to violate the marriage and go find someone else. I say, no, that's a terrible burden but God sometimes gives us trials and we pray for grace. Paul said he had a thorn in the flesh and he prayed three times that God would take it away and Satan was buffeting him and God said, "No, my strength is made perfect in weakness."
You would pray for healing, you pray that things would improve, but there's no excuse for a man or a woman to violate the marriage vows and commit adultery if, for some reason, things are not working out. Now, the Bible does say that a man or woman in a marriage does not have a right to withhold indefinitely intimacy. The Bible says a man's body belongs to the wife and the wife's body belongs to the man and if you want to separate and agree to separate and fast and pray, well, that's fine.
He said, then come back together again, less, you'd be tempted for your inconsistency, but otherwise, people say that in marriage, the bed is undefiled. I'll hope that helps a little bit and I do have a book that talks about marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Roger will be happy to send you a copy of that. I'm going to try and squeeze in a couple more calls here. Talk to David. Is that Kona Hawaii? David, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
David: Hi, Pastor Doug. I've been studying with a great friend of mine Pastor Diamond Garcia here in Hawaii, and we were going over this subject on the Sabbath. I was reading in Isaiah 66 where he showed me that we will keep the Sabbath in Heaven. I also saw in that same text it mentioned that we will be keeping the new moons as well. So I am wondering what that means, and if we will be keeping the festivals in Heaven in the future.
Pastor Doug: Yes, by the way, say hello to my friend Diamond, and I wish I was with you right now in Kona. I have been there many times. We are reading from Isaiah 66, verse 22. Let me read it to you: "For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me, says the Lord, so shall your descendants and your name remain. And it will come to pass that from one new moon to another, and one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come and worship before Me, says the Lord."
Now, the moon right now, it's on a cycle of a little more than, what is it? A little less than 27 days, the lunar cycle? I think that the whole world and the lunar cycle has been damaged by sin and the flood. We are not going to have winter in Heaven. The earth right now rotates on its axis, what is it, 20 degrees? That's why you get the swing of the seasons. I think the moon in heaven is going to line up perfectly with every 28 days, which is every fourth Sabbath is also going to be a new moon. Every new moon will land on a Sabbath. Do you see what I'm saying?
David: Pretty much.
Pastor Doug: So the weeks and the months will all be coordinated and every Sabbath we're going to come and worship before the Lord. Every fourth Sabbath, it will be a new moon, it will be like a high time to worship before the Lord, but I don't think it's telling us to keep the feast days, because the Bible Sabbath goes back to creation, before sin. You've got Genesis 2. There's no mention made of the new moons until the Levitical Law is given.
David: So it is not referencing the feast days at all.
Pastor Doug: No, I don't believe so. I think he's saying that from week to week and month to month because the new months will always line up with every fourth week.
David: Right, thank you so much, and I will tell Pastor Diamond hi for you.
Pastor Doug: Yes, please do that, and thank you so much for your call. All right, going to talk next to Liz, calling from San Diego, is that right? Liz, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
Liz: Hi, Pastor Doug. Thank you for this opportunity. I wanted to ask a question about animals and animals' cruelty. I've seen so much suffering in animals. I don't know about emotional, but physically they definitely are suffering, and they are so depending on humans. As far as I know, God doesn't say that they will be in heaven. God is loving and just, but why he allows animals who did not sin to suffer?
Pastor Doug: All right, let me dive into that. We've just got a couple of minutes left, and I want to try to give you a good answer. First of all, your question is a good question, but we could also ask, why do children suffer? Not just animals. Because of a bad decision, sometimes there are innocent people that suffer. Because of the decision of Adam and Eve, you and I are suffering, right? No one ever asked me about the forbidden fruit. I was born in this world of sin and suffering. My brother was born with a deadly disease, and he died at 35. He didn't do anything to deserve that. These animals, God loves the animals, and Adam named the animals, and he was supposed to care for them.
Whenever we do wrong, it not only hurts us, but there is a ripple effect. It ricochets and it bounces off those around us, and even the creatures and the creation. It grieves God. Now, there are going to animals in Heaven. God created them, He loves them, and you read that in heaven, the lion will lay down with the ox, and a bear and a wolf and a lamb, they are all going to feed together. The Bible in prophesy paints a beautiful picture of heaven as a paradise once again where the animals are living peacefully with each other and with man. The sooner Jesus comes, the sooner we'll have that new heaven and new earth. I will tell you, there is a verse in the Bible, Liz, it says, "A righteous man regards the life of his beast, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." I forget the verse, but it's in Proverbs. So God wants us to care about the animals.
I apologize if we didn't get to your question tonight, friends. I want again to greet and thank those who have tuned in on Facebook, it looks like we have got thousands of people that are joining us on our Facebook feed, as well as our radio and satellite radio audience around the country. I want to remind you, this ministry is 100% a faith ministry. We don't receive any subsidy from any corporation or denomination. Amazing Facts since its inception has only been supported by people who listen.
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