Pastor Doug Batchelor: Hello, listening friends, would you like to hear an amazing fact? Ladies, have you ever wondered why a man sometimes doesn't seem to hear or understand what you said? Well, a study at the University of Sheffield and published in the
NeuroImage Journal may provide the answer. These researchers found differences in the way that male and female brains process voice sounds.
The results of the study demonstrate that a man processes the sound of a male and female voice differently, in different regions of the brain. The guys could easily hear and understand other men's voices. However, women have a greater natural singsong melody in their voice, using higher and more complex range of sound frequencies than a male voice.
The study found that men had a harder time deciphering a woman's voice and really hearing what they were saying. To interpret a woman's voice, a man has to use a different region of the brain and a more complex process, that typically analyzes music. What's worse, this process may grow more difficult as men age.
When listening to a woman's voice, a man must make a little extra effort to concentrate on what he's hearing. If he can't, or won't, and I guess at least he has a better excuse for it, selective hearing. In the Bible, God's prophets often spoke about the reluctance of men and women to hear the voice of God. Stay with us, friends, we're going to learn more on this edition of Bible Answers Live.
Narrator: You are 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 on this evening's program, call 8008356747. Once again, that's 8008356747. Now, let's join our host Pastor Doug Batchelor and our co-host, Pastor Jean Ross.
Doug: Welcome, listening friends, to Bible Answers Live. If you're tuning in for the first time, this is a live international interactive Bible study and we're always excited when people want to join in. If you have Bible questions, give us a call. We have lines open, we're not only on the radio, but you can watch us streaming on Facebook at the Doug Batchelor Facebook page, or the Amazing Facts' Facebook page.
The phone call, phone number rather, if you want to call in, is 800-GOD-SAYS, lines are open now, good time to pick up the phone and call in with your Bible question. That phone number is 800-463-7297. One more time, the number is 800-463-7297, we are live, give us a call with your Bible questions. My name is Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Jean Ross: My name is Jean Ross. Good evening, friends. Pastor Doug, let's start the program with prayer. Dear Father, we thank you that we have this opportunity, once again, to open up your word and study together. Lord, whenever we come to the word of God, we need Your guidance. We do ask for the Holy Spirit to be with us here in the studio, be with our friends who are listening, just all across the country and around the world. We pray that we might learn together, for we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Doug: Amen.
Jean: Pastor Doug, you opened with an amazing fact, but I guess it's not that amazing to most women, [chuckles], that men don't always hear them right. [laughs]
Doug: [chuckles] That's right. Maybe this is a good time for me to give a shout-out to my wife, who is driving cross-country. She said she's going to be tuning in via satellite radio. Karen is driving our younger son back to college, and I said, "Make sure to tune in, dear." Now you understand why, sometimes, I don't hear you, it's not my fault.
Jean: [laughs]
Doug: It's just the way our brains process sound. [chuckles] That's a good excuse, I'm going to use that as long as I can. There evidently is a difference, I don't know why. There's a reason why God wired men differently, typically men are more task-oriented, women are more relationship-oriented. I'm going to ask the Lord when I get to heaven, "Why was it harder for us to hear women's voices?"
I'm sure there's a reason for it, but it made me think about all the places in the Bible, where the Lord speaks to His people and they don't seem to listen. In the Book of Revelation, He says seven times, I think, in Revelation 2:3, "He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Church."
The only reason he would say, "He that has an ear-," well, that's everyone, "-let him hear." Because they're not listening. In Matthew 13:15, Jesus said, "For the hearts of these people have grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed. Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts and turn, that I should heal them."
Zechariah 7:11, "They refuse to heed, they shrug their shoulders and stop their ears, so they could not hear." I think there's a place in, what is it? Psalms, where David says, "Whoever turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination." Or that may be Proverbs, actually. Through the Bible, you'll see this kind of language is used, where it seems like people have selective hearing, when it comes to listening to the voice of God.
Jean: The verse you're referring to, Pastor Doug, is Proverbs 28:9, "When somebody turns away from hearing the law, their prayer is an abomination." We have a free offer that deals with the subject of, how do we respond when we hear something from the word of God? Do we receive it? Do we accept it? Or do we close our ears to it?
It's called Hidden Eyes and Closed Ears. That's the name of the book. We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks, and the number to call is 800-035-6747, that is our resource line. Just ask for the book, it's our free offer this evening; Hidden Eyes and Closed Ears.
There are many times in the Bible, Pastor Doug, when God gave a special message of warning to people. Or a special invitation, as in the case of Jesus, calling people to repentance. Unfortunately, most of those who heard the message, turned away from it. They didn't respond to it. We don't want to do the same thing today. God is still calling people through his word, and we want to respond to that.
There's always a blessing in doing what God say. We'll be happy to send this book to anyone who calls and asks, it's called Hidden Eyes and Closed Ears. The number to call is 800-835-6747, that is the resource phone line. If you have a Bible question, we have some phone lines open, this a good time to call. The number is 800-463-7297.
Again, that number is 800-463-7297, and if you call now, there's a very good chance we're going to be able to get you on the program after a few moments. We're ready to go to our first call of this evening. We have Curtis, that's listening in New Mexico. Curtis, welcome to the program.
Curtis: Yes. Hello, fellows.
Doug: Hi.
Curtis: I was curious if you could tell me, from what's in the Bible, if you're supposed to be buried or if it's okay to be cremated.
Doug: All right, great question. We get this periodically, because if the Lord tarries, everybody at some point is going to have to make a decision about that. It is very expensive these days to perform a traditional burial, even cremation is expensive. What does the Bible say about that? You don't find any explicit command in the Bible that says "You shall not cremate or that you must do a traditional burial."
First, we need to just back up and ask the question, whatever method is used in your death or in dealing with your body, you may have been blown apart in a war, you may have drowned at sea, and then been gobbled up by the sea creatures. You may be cremated, you might be buried. None of that prevents God from resurrecting you with a new body. First, let's establish that.
Traditionally, in the Bible, when someone died, they were given some basic embalming and burial. The reason that the Church Fathers say, this is not in the Bible, this is extra biblical reasoning, the Church Fathers would say that, because men were made in the image of God, that even in death that image should be respected. Of course, you want to respect the memory of a person, even though you know they're going to get a new body, Pastor Ross and I were at a funeral today. It's something that we all have to address.
Generally you go to India, some of the Pagan countries, and they often burn or cremate. They feel like they're accelerating things to go on with reincarnation and the circle of life. When you think about it, if a person's buried, and the Bible says, "Ashes to ashes and dust to dust," sometimes the cremation is just accelerating the process.
We can't give you a command from the Bible. The example, if you're going to go circumstantially, the example in the Bible is burial. There are two individuals that we can think of in the Bible, that were burned, and we know that they'll be resurrected, one being Jonathan, the son of Saul, who was a good friend of King David. That's about the only thing I can think of someone that was burned.
Jean: Part of the reason that we see an example, especially in the early Christian Church, of burial versus what the pagans were doing, the Christians wanted to make a statement of their faith and their belief in a resurrection when Jesus came the second time. The pagans didn't believe in the resurrection. When they burned their dead, it was releasing the spirit, at least that's what they believed, to some kind of intermediate state, whereas the Christian belief, that the dead would be resurrected when Jesus comes the second time. It was an evangelistic statement, especially in that pagan culture to bury the dead, versus follow the tradition of the day. Things are a little different, especially in North America, might be different in some other countries, but in most western countries, there's not that connection to cremation as the pagans had.
Doug: I hope that helps a little bit, Curtis, and we appreciate your question. We do have a study that will provide you for free and it's on the subject of, Are the Dead Really Dead? It just tells a little bit about the state of man and death and the resurrection.
Jean: Yes, the number to call for that is, 800-835-6747 and you can ask for the study guide called, Are the Dead Really Dead? Thank you for your call, Curtis.
Voiceover: 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 1-800-God-Says. For life-changing Christian resources, visit afbookstore.com.
Jean: Our next caller that we have is Sue and she's listening in Michigan. Sue, welcome to the program.
Sue: Thank you very much. Good evening, pastors.
Doug: Good evening.
Sue: I have a question that has puzzled me. I try to keep the best I can the Sabbath, but it keeps coming up that there might be a funeral, or a baby shower, or a family reunion. Are any of those things considered breaking the Sabbath, if you go to that?
Doug: Well, it would depend. You can go to a funeral, which is a very sacred inspiring spiritual event, which would be appropriate. You don't want to do anything that there's a lot of work, you get everything prepared as much as you can in advance. Usually, it's a memorial service that people will have on the Sabbath. Usually you don't want to take a body out, start burying a body on Sabbath.
People might have an inspiring memorial service, and I've seen where you can have a sacred wedding ceremony. I was at one church where on Sabbath, they had a wedding ceremony followed by a baptism. The couple got married, they got baptized, because they just learned the truth and wanted to do the right thing.
I've seen it done that way, but then if you're a believer, and you go into a wedding where there's a lot of partying that takes place afterward at the reception, where sometimes happens, the dancing and stuff like that. It's difficult for a Christian anytime, but especially the Sabbath. I'd say it varies with the event, and what the spiritual atmosphere is going to be.
Sue: Okay. How about a baby shower for like a great grandbaby or a family reunion?
Doug: I understand that sometimes you've got convictions about keeping the commandments in the Sabbath and you're invited to a family event where they might not feel the same way. I think you need to just really pray for grace and wisdom about, can you be a witness at this occasion? I think that people have to really pray that God's spirit guides them in some of these things.
Sue: Okay.
Doug: You just want to make sure you keep the principles of the Sabbath.
Jean: Adding to that principle of the Sabbath. Of course, there's nothing wrong in getting together with family on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day for rest, and communion, and fellowship, and being together with family or being at a special event. That's the content.
Doug: If your family's all drinking and watching the Super Bowl [laughs]-
Jean: Yes, if the environment is opposed to that, no. I know, Pastor Doug, some experiences where someone might pop in and give their greetings or their wishes or whatever the case might be. At least, show their interest in the ceremony, but they don't participate, don't stay for the party part, whatever the case might be.
Sue: Oh okay. That's a great idea.
Doug: That's a good idea. Pastor Ross and I, Pastor Ross, he's a pastor's kid and I am a pagan’s kid. Our families were a little different. [laughs]
Jean: That’s right.
Doug: When you say get together with family, you haven't seen my family.
[laughter]
Doug: Anyway, all right. Hey, well, thank you very much, Sue, well, and hope that helps some.
Sue: Thank you very much. I appreciate that information.
Doug: All right. God bless.
Jean: The next one that we have is Craig listening in Jackson, Michigan as well. Craig, welcome to the program.
Craig: Well, thank you very much, Pastor Doug, Pastor Jean. I have two quick questions. The first one is, are the 144,000, are they the only ones that are still living at the second coming? That's first question. The second question was carp, is that a clean fish to eat since it has fins and scales, and it's a bottom feeder, though? I was curious about that.
Doug: All right, two very different questions, 144,000 and carp.
[laughter]
Doug: Well, it's going to be difficult to segue from one and to the other, [chuckles] but no, I think it's funny. The 144,000 are not the only ones living in the last days. The 144,000 is a special group of spirit-filled leaders that do a special work. If you read in Chapter Seven of Revelation, it says that there 12,000 from the 12 tribes, and this angel or an elder is talking to John.
He also sees a great multitude that no man can number and John asks, “Who is this great multitude arrayed in white robes and where they come from?” The eldest says, “These are they that came out of great tribulation, and they've washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” There's a great multitude that comes out of tribulation, some wonder, “Is this the final tribulation?” Which would mean that they're not the only ones in the last days.
I don't think the 144,000 is the only group saved because I did the math on a calculator. If there are roughly 7 billion people in the world today, and only 144,000 are saved, your chances of being saved are 1 in 50,000, which is better than the lottery, but it's kind of discouraging.
Craig: I was curious, more so on the, are they the only ones that are actually living at the second-- I know that they're not the only ones saved, but are they the only ones actually living on Earth at that time?
Doug: No, because there's even wicked that are alive on Earth when Jesus comes. It says, “The wicked run from the presence of his coming.” You've got a lot of people alive on the earth. You've got a large group of saved. I think there's a large group converted from the 144,000. We'll send you a book on that, we’ll tell you about in a minute. Just quickly on carp, did you look them up?
Jean: I was looking it up and they didn't give me an answer.
Doug: Well, if the Bible says if it has fins and scales, it's clean-
Jean: Unfortunately, I don't know that much about fish, Pastor Doug. I don't eat fish.
Doug: I don't eat fish either. I used to but as far as I know, if it's got fins and scales, it's clean. I wouldn't want to eat anything that's a bottom feeder.
Craig: Yes, carp is a bottom feeder. I was curious about that. I get that question sometimes for people that I talk to about Leviticus and the proper foods to eat, and they keep coming back with, “It's a bottom feeder.” I don't know what to tell them.
Doug: According to the Bible, if it's got fins and scales, it's technically clean.
Jean: Now, when you say scales, if the only way you can see the scale is through a microscope, then maybe you need to think twice about that fish. When the biblical principles are given, it was a way in which the people could distinguish between the clean and clean fish by looking at it. If it obviously has scales on the fish and fins, then you know it's clean. If you can't see the scales, or if it's so small, you need a microscope, then you need to ask yourself, “Is this maybe not a clean animal?”
Craig: Okay. Well, thank you. Thank you very much.
Doug: Alrighty, thanks a lot. Bye. Bye. I was just looking online. It said here that the carp are the pigs of the river-
[laughter]
Doug: -with fins. I don't think I'd want to eat them.
Jean: Ruby's our next caller from California. Rube, welcome the program.
Rube: Thank you, sir. [laughs]
Doug: Oh, it's Rube, not Ruby. Huh.
Jean: Rube, sorry.
Rube: Yes, that's all right. Everybody mix them. I've never talked on radio before, I’m kind of shy. My question was when Jesus was crucified and resurrected in 40 days on Earth. Well, when he got resurrected, was anybody else resurrected with him?
Doug: There's one Gospel that says that when Jesus died on the cross, that there was a great earthquake. In the midst of that, there was a lot of graves that were opened, and some of the saints that slept came out of those graves following the resurrection, and appeared to others. That would be in Matthew 27:51-53. In our lesson on the second coming, or rather the lesson on death, does it talk about that group?
Jean: I don't know if it specifically mentions that group. Now, you might wonder what happened to them after they were resurrected. Well, we believe that they ascended with Jesus to heaven, and the verse for that is Ephesians 4:8, where it says, “Therefore He sayeth, when he ascended on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.” When Jesus sent it to heaven, those who are resurrected at the time of his resurrection, they came as the first fruits, so to speak of the resurrection. Of course, the big resurrection happens when Jesus comes the second time.
Rube: Well, that was my question. I sure appreciate what you just told, because I was curious about that. I've heard people talk about that. I wasn't really sure.
Doug: Yes, there's one verse it's interesting that Matthew is the only one who mentions it, Rube, but it's there. You're right. There is a group.
Voiceover: Did you know Amazing Facts has a free Bible school that you can do from the comfort of your own home. It includes 27, beautifully illustrated study lessons to aid in your study of God's word. Sign up today for this free Bible study course by calling 1-844-215-7000. That's 1-844-215-7000.
Doug: All right, Pastor Ross, who do we have next?
Jean: We've got Kathleen listening in Arizona. Kathleen, welcome to the program.
Kathleen: Hi, there. Hi, Pastor Ross. Hi, Pastor Batchelor.
Doug: Hi.
Kathleen: My question is Isaiah 65:17. The last part of it where it says, "The former shall not be remembered nor come into mind." Now, I know the 1,000 years that we're in heaven, we're going to understand why people don't make up people that we may love. We'll understand why God is just. I'm thinking this means when we get to the new earth, that we won't have any memory of our past life here on this earth. If we did, even though I would understand that my loved one that God was the ingest, I would still be sad.
Jean: I don't think that Isaiah is saying here that God brainwashes us so that we have no recollection of our redemption from this life. I'm sure through eternity, we are going to have a memory of how Jesus saved us and we'll never lose that gratitude for that. He's principally talking about painful memories. It's like heaven is going to be so long, it's going to be eternity, and it's going to be so bright.
You've heard the expression, "Time heals." You go through a tough experience, but over time, it gets easier to bear and you don't think about it all the time. Well, think about if you live for eternity a million years from now, how much are you thinking about the pain and suffering in this world? It's going to be totally eclipsed by the glory and bliss and brightness of heaven, so it doesn't even come into mind? See what I'm saying?
Kathleen: Yes.
Doug: I don't think that right after the destruction of the world and resurrection, suddenly, we're brainwashed. We don't remember anything. We're not going to think on it. We won't be dwelling on those things anymore. There is a verse in 1st Corinthians 13, where He says, "Then I'll know even as I am known." We're going to recognize and know each other up there. Jesus will have scars in His hands, so we'll know why the scars are there. Because He had scars when He rose from the dead. The painful memories will not haunt us, we won't be living with regrets over our failures from this life.
Kathleen: Okay, thank you very much.
Doug: Thank you. Appreciate your call, Kathleen.
Jean: We do have a free offer that talks about the resurrection and the second coming of Christ, and it's called Ultimate Deliverance. We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. The number is 800-835-6747. Again, you can ask for the study guide. It's called Ultimate Deliverance. We'll be happy to send that out to anyone who calls and asks. We've got Susie listening in Colorado, Susie, welcome to the program.
Susie: Hi, thanks for taking my call. My question is about the Ark of the Covenant. I understand that in the time of Jeremiah, that they hid it in a cave to protect it from the Babylonian. Do you think that that will be found before Jesus comes?
Doug: Well, I don't know. Some people have taken the verse that's in, where is it, Pastor Ross? Revelation 11, where it says, "I saw the temple of God open in heaven." Some people have taken that passage where it talks about that, I saw the temple open, I saw the ark, to mean that it's somehow going to be found. I don't find any explicit prophecy that says it will be found. It would be great if it was I thought before, even if Noah's Ark was found, real tangible evidence, what would that do for people's faith in the Bible? That'd be wonderful.
Susie: That's what I was thinking, it would be wonderful if they saw those 10 Commandments and maybe were converted over that, but I don't find anything in the Bible.
Doug: What an opportunity. That'd be such an opportunity to preach and explain it all. In a sense, Jesus said, "You believe because you've seen. Blessed are those who believe without seeing." We have the 10 Commandments in our Bibles. We don't have the golden box. We don't have the rocks, but we've got the words.
Susie: That's right.
Doug: I don't know. The Lord may just say, "Look, I give them to you. You still have them." If He doesn't want us to make an idol out of the ark, He doesn't want us to pray to any object. Who knows? I don't know. I'd love for Him to find it. They're doing so much digging around and building around Jerusalem. Pastor Ross and I were there a little more than a year ago, that I wouldn't be surprised if they dug up some new things.
Susie: Well, thank you so much.
Doug: Thanks. Appreciate it, Susie.
Jean: All right. Next call that we have is Karen listening in Florida. Karen, welcome to the program. We have just two minutes before the break.
Karen: Okay. All right. Well, thank you, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross for taking this question. My question is-- well, it's for my son actually, Ethan. He's almost 10. He wants to know if God didn't want Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, why did He even create the tree?
Doug: Well, what I'd say to Ethan is, even though you're not supposed to cross the street without looking, why is there a street? Sometimes we're surrounded with opportunities in life to make bad decisions. God wants us to learn self-control. Because the devil had just rebelled, God really was giving Adam and Eve an opportunity to prove their loyalty so they would never be tempted again, but they failed the test.
They had plenty to eat. It's not like God said, "You've only got one tree to eat from or two trees, there are thousands of trees to eat from." He said, "I'm going to give you one you're not supposed to eat from." That was the one that they got enticed to eat from because they wanted to be like God. They fell for the same temptation as the devil.
Karen: Well, I appreciate that. He's listening. He's here. You're on speakerphone. He heard that question and he heard the answer.
Doug: Good question, Ethan.
Jean: Let me add one other thought to that. It's also interesting to note that God limited the devil's access to Adam and Eve to one tree. As long as they stayed away from that tree, they were protected from the devil. God didn't allow the devil just to go harass them or follow them around the garden. In one way, God limiting just to that tree, it was a protection for Adam and Eve, so they couldn't be tempted anywhere else.
Karen: I didn't know that part. That's definitely something new. Thank you for adding that, Pastor Ross. Thank you for you both. Thank you again for answering the question.
Doug: All right. You have a good evening.
Karen: You too. Thank you so much.
Doug: Well, we're going to have a break here in just a minute, friends. Rather than take another call and have to cut them short, I just want to remind you that so much of what you're hearing now you can also peruse at the Amazing Facts website amazingfacts.org. Don't go anywhere. We've got the best yet to come.
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Voiceover: Stay tuned. Bible Answers Live will return in a moment.
Voiceover: Journey back through time to the center of the universe. Discover how a perfect angel transformed into Satan, the archvillain, the birth of evil, of rebellion in heaven. A movie that moved to earth. Behold, the creation of a beautiful new planet, and the first humans witness the temptation, and even discovered God's amazing plan to save his children. This is a story that involves every life on earth. Every life. The cosmic conflict, if God is good, if God is all powerful, if God is love, then what went wrong?
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Voiceover: You want to know God's plan for our world and solutions for your life's challenges. Beautifully redesigned, Amazing Facts 27 Bible study guides provide encouraging Bible-based answers to questions on healthier relationships when Jesus will return and much more. Prefer to watch while you read, our brand new Prophecy Encounters DVD series makes the perfect companion set. Order your study guides and DVDs today by visiting afbookstore.com, or by calling 800-538-7275.
Voiceover: Written by the hand of God and spoken with His voice, some words will never fade.
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Voiceover: Get Pastor Doug Batchelor's 12 parts sermon series on the 10 commandments by calling 800-538-7275, or visit afbookstore.com.
[music]
Voiceover: 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.
Doug: Welcome back listening friends, and I suspect some of you have tuned in along withThe way you are listening to Bible Answers Live. It is a Bible study that goes around the world via radio and the internet. You can listen on this radio station. You can also tune in, if you want to see what we look like, you got to watch today because Pastor Ross and I both look like Mormon missionaries, just go to the Doug Bachelor Facebook page, or you can go to the amazing facts, Facebook page. You can watch as well as listening for what it's worth. My name is Doug Bachelor.
Jean: My name is John Ross, and we're going to go straight to the phone lines. We've got Angel listening in Texas. Angel, welcome into the program.
Angel: Hi. Hi. Thank you.
Doug: Yes. How are you doing and your question?
Angel: I wanted to know how do we know that the Bible is the word of God?
Doug: Well, there's a lot of evidence that we can examine that shows that it is a supernatural book. What it says is true, you can test it in other areas to know if the rest of it it's true. For one thing, it stood the test of time. It's been the best seller for, oh, 2,000 years. If you include the Old Testament, it's been 2,500 years, and more than that if you go to the books of Moses.
Jean: Almost 3,000
Doug: Yes. Then you have the test of prophecy. The Bible has made a lot of very explicit prophecies. We know the prophecies were written before the event took place. We know, for instance, from the Dead Sea scrolls that the prophecies of Daniel and Isaiah were made before the events and the prophecies came true. Very explicit prophecies about what kingdoms would rule the world and they did, such as Persia, Greece, and Rome.
Caller 1: The book of Daniel, it was dated like by the 200 BC, after the fact.
Doug: No. Well, how could the book of Daniel be dated 200 years BC, if the Dead Sea scrolls have the book of Daniel in it, and they've dated those manuscripts 100 years before Christ?
Caller 1: By the linguistics?
Doug: Yes. You're reading some books of what they call higher criticism. They're just people that criticize everything, but most historians believe that Daniel because of his knowledge of the Babylonian and the Persian court was extremely precise. The cities that he mentions the language is part of Daniel, is not only written in Aramaic. Part of it is written in Chaldean.
The book of Daniel, is and if you believe anything, Jesus said, Jesus quotes from the book of Daniel. It had to be written before the time of Christ. That's one book, but you can go to other prophecies, you can go to prophecies of Moses where Moses prophesied that Jerusalem would be besieged, they would turn to cannibalism, they would be conquered by people that came and swooped down on them like an eagle.
Well, the Roman armies, their sign was an Eagle. They besieged Jerusalem, they destroyed it and everything Moses foretold happened. There so many prophecies that you can't deny. We may have lost that caller, but hopefully you still listening. Hey, if you are still listening, the best thing you could do is we've got a study guide. We'll send you for free. This is Talking to Angel And Is There Anything Left You Can Trust? It talks about why we know the Bible is trustworthy as the word of God.
Jean: Okay. We'll be happy to send it to you. All you need to do is call our resource line. It's 800-835-6747. The study guide is called, Is there Anything Left? We can trust units, 800-835-6747 and be ready. For our next call, we've got Jeff was listening on the road. Jeff, welcome to the program.
Jeff: Yes, how are you doing?
Doug: We're doing okay. Thank you for calling.
Jeff: Thank you. I'm sat in my car. I lost my daughter in a car accident and two months ago, it's been eating me alive. She's in heaven if we accepted Jesus. I know. Does she know me now.
Doug: Well, let's talk about it. First of all, Jeff my heart goes out to you. I lost a son several years ago, and I know something about the heartache that you're feeling. You've got great comfort. You say that your daughter had accepted Jesus. The promise is that when the Lord descends from heaven, let me give it to you. It's from 1st Thessalonians 4, “That when the Lord descends from heaven, that the dead in Christ will rise."
They get new glorified bodies and that she is sleeping right now a peaceful dreamless sleep. That's why Christians all over the world, put the words RIP on gravestones. That means Rest In Peace. If a person dies saved, their next conscious thought is the resurrection because they have no consciousness of time. As far as your daughter's concerned, when she closed her eyes in death, the next thing she knows is she's coming forth from the grave in a glorious resurrection, it's like a moment for her.
Paul calls it the twinkling of an eye, but you and I still live in this world of time. The second coming hasn't happened, the judgment hasn't happened, the resurrection hasn't happened. Those things are future. When we love someone, the Bible says, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."
If you die and you're saved, your next conscious thought is the resurrection of the righteous. Jesus made it clear that resurrection is in the future. He said on the last day, they will hear his voice and come forth. When Jesus' friend Lazarus died, he said, my friend Lazarus sleeps and he's dead, but I'm going to wake him. I hope that made sense.
Jeff: Thank you. Yes.
Doug: You don't have to worry your daughter is sleeping a peaceful, sweet dreamless sleep, but for her there's no consciousness of time. Her next thought is going to be almost immediate, a resurrection, glorified body and the presence of Jesus.
Jeff: Thank you so much. Thank you.
Doug: Well, thank you, God bless him. You know, we have a special lesson will send you on that. If you want more information or you could even watch it or listen online.
Jean: Just ask for the study guide talking about it is called, Are the Dead Really Dead? It's actually a comforting truth. As Pastor Doug mentioned, the ones we love, who have trusted in Jesus and are laid to rest, they not looking down from heaven, seeing all the struggles that we might be going through here on earth. The next thing they know is when Jesus comes, they are resurrected and that is indeed comforting.
Just call and ask for the study guide is called, Are the Dead Really Dead?’’ The number to call is 800-835-6747, and we'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls and ask. We also have a website that we'd like to mention. If you'd like to learn more about this subject, it's simply called deathtruth.com. It's got a lot of resources there. What does the Bible teach about the subject? Anyone who looks at it, you'll find it comforting and encouraging
Voiceover: Throughout recorded history, tales of ghosts and spirits can be found in folklore in nearly every country and culture. Egyptians built pyramids to help guide the spirits of their leaders. Rome sanctioned holidays to honor and appease the spirits of their dead. Even the Bible tells of a king that used a witch to contact the spirit of a deceased prophet. Today, ancient folklore of spirits and apparitions have gone from mere superstitions to mainstream entertainment and reality.
Scientific organizations, investigate stories of hauntings and sightings, trying to prove once and for all and the existence of ghosts. Even with all the new film technology and centuries of stories all over the world, there is still no clear cut answer. How do we know what's true? Why do these stories persist? Does it even matter? We invite you to look inside and find out for yourself, visit deathtruth.com.
Jean: Next caller that we have is Robert listening in Walla Walla, Washington. Robert, welcome to the program.
Robert: Hi, Pastor Ross. Hi, Pastor Doug.
Doug: Hi, Robert. Thanks for calling.
Robert: You're welcome. My questions tonight, you can see on your screen is about the spirit. Well, not the spirit, but a spirit, as well as wanting you to define the word spirit. Like when Jesus says, "I commit my spirit into your hands." Then in Hebrews, of course it says that God is the father of spirits. Usually, we think of spirit as being breathe, but then is Jesus saying, "I commit my breathe into your hands," and is He the father of breathes? Can you explain that?
Doug: Yes, well, you're asking a good question. Of course, the word spirit in the Old Testament comes from a Hebrew word. Hope I say this, right? It's roll off. It means breath. It says, God breathed into Adam the breath of life, it's sometimes translates the spirit of life and he became a living being. When you get to the New Testament, the word is pneuma. That's where we get the word like pneumatic tools are tools that are driven by wind or air. When someone catches a cold deep in their lung, they call it pneumonia. Pneuma meant breath or wind. Clearly sometimes the word is talking about the inner life or spirit of a person. Other times it's just talking about the breath of life. It's one of those words that you need to read the context to get the best definition about how the writer is using the word. When Jesus is on the cross, and he said, "Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit." The word is Pneuma, but he's talking about the spirit of life that he's putting into the father's hands, his being. I don't think it means that Jesus was just saying, "Here's my air."
Jean: I think sometimes breath in the Bible is synonymous with life. You'll find that when it talks about, "Breath was in Him," meaning His life was in Him. Again, it represents life.
Doug: Breath of life.
Jean: The breath of life.
Doug: Does that make sense?
Robert: What about the "Father of spirits"?
Doug: Which verse you're referring to? Hebrews?
Robert: It's Hebrews 12.
Doug: I'm going to look it up here and see if that word there is also pneuma. If it's the word pneuma, then it's pneuma. I would think that when he says, "The Father of spirits," he might be talking about-- we talk about spirits in heavenly places. He's talking about angels, usually, in that context.
Robert: Hebrews 12:9.
Doug: Are you struggling with that particular verse? What's your concern? Sometimes I feel like I'm answering something you're not asking.
Robert: [laughs] Sometimes I talked with these people who believe that we were in heaven before we came to this earth kind of thing. That's one of the verses that they use "Father of spirits" since He's the Father of spirits, so we were existed before we were born, and that kind of thing.
Doug: I'm looking it up in Hebrews 12:9, there again, it is the word with the Pneuma root to it. It means wind, breath, life, soul.
Jean: Of course you want to do a full Bible study on the subject of soul and spirit. It's difficult to build a doctrine on one verse, you want to look at what some of the other verses have to say, it's referring to life, it's referring to breathe, the essence of who a person might be, a character. All those things also need to be considered when you look at these words. Next caller that we have is Adrian listening in Illinois. Adrian, welcome to the program.
Adrian: Good evening, Pastors. How are you doing?
Jean: Good. Thank you for calling, Adrian. Your question tonight?
Adrian: I want to be brief. I listen during my lifetime numerous sermons about the Pearl of Great Price as it presented in the Gospel. The explanation was always that the pearl is Jesus Christ, it is heaven, is the truth, and so on. Last time I heard recently, the pastor was talking about the same subject but presenting that the Pearl of the Great Price is the sinner, me. I want to ask you if this is a sound biblical explanation and stands for?
Doug: No, I think that Jesus says that, "The Kingdom of heaven is like a man seeking precious pearls. He finds one of great price and he sells everything that he's got to obtain the pearl." Christ is comparing that parable to other parables where he said, "If anyone is going to come after me, he needs to forsake everything, take up his cross and follow me." Jesus is telling us in a number of places when you find a treasure in a field, you sell everything you've got to get that treasure.
He says, "Seek and you'll find." The thing we're seeking for is not us, the sinner. We're seeking for God, the truth, and the salvation. Christ is saying that eternal life is worth everything in this world. I could see why people would spin it around and say, "Jesus gave everything to save us." That's really not what Christ was saying in those two parables of the treasure and the pearl. Any thoughts on that Pastor Ross?
Jean: Yes, I was going to echo what you were saying. The first without a doubt, the first meaning of the parable is that when we find salvation in Christ, we're willing to give anything and everything to obtain it. That is the Pearl of Great Price. Then also, it is true that Jesus picking up his mission said he came to seek and save the lost. He gave everything. It's an incredible thought why God would come to this earth to save us, and yet he sees value in us. I could see how that could also be a secondary application, perhaps.
Doug: Both gave everything. Thank you. Appreciate that, Adrian. Appreciate your question.
Jean: Next caller that we have is, we've got Ray listening in Washington. Ray, welcome to the program.
Ray: Hey, Pastor Doug, Pastor Ross?
Doug: Hi. How can we help you?
Ray: John 1:18 says that nobody has ever seen God and other places, it says that also. Would you read Exodus 24:9-11 and then comment on it, please.
Doug: First of all, I think I know where you're going with this. You're wondering, well, the Bible says no man has seen God, then why does it say that these individuals saw God in the Old Testament? Is that your question?
Ray: Yes, that's about it. That's my question.
Doug: It's not just Moses, Abraham saw the Lord, Jacob said, I've seen God. Noah and his wife, they said, "We've seen the Lord, we're going to die." She said, "If God wanted to kill us, then why would he reveal these things to us?" It makes it clear when you look in John 6:46. It says, not that anyone has seen the Father, except Him who was from God, he has seen the Father. Whenever people saw God in the Old Testament, it's what they call the Christophany. It's when Jesus, God the son appeared in his pre-incarnation glory.
Now, Daniel saw him in vision, he fell on his face. Ezekiel saw him and he coward. There were a number of prophets and patriarchs in the Old Testament, that saw some visage of God. They probably could not look into the full unveiled face of even Christ in work is Moses. God told Moses, "Look, no man's going to see my face and live." In our sinful condition to stare undiminished into the face of God would probably be, presence of God is a consuming fire, the Bible says. I don't know if that helps a little bit. John 6:46, not that anyone has seen the Father. You're with me, Ray?
Ray: Yes. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Doug: Thanks so much. Appreciate it. I do have a book that talks about the name of God, where I talked a little bit there about these apparitions where they saw the glory of God.
Jean: If you'd like to receive a copy of the book called, The Name of God, the number to call is 800-835-6747 and just ask for the book called, The Name of God. We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. We've got let's see, Henry listening in Sacramento. Henry, welcome to the program. Henry in Sacramento, are you there?
Doug: He's mute on. Henry going once. Henry going twice.
Jean: All right, maybe we'll come back. We got Joshua listening in Texas. Joshua, welcome to the program.
Joshua: Hey, how's it going? Thank you for having me on the show.
Doug: Good. Thanks for calling.
Joshua: My question was about in Matthew 10:23. When Christ is talking to his disciples, He says, "They won't be finished spreading His Gospel until the son of man has come in his glory." Obviously, the son of man still hasn't come yet. What does that mean? I've seen that in other parts of the Gospels in Mark, on Luke. I was wondering what you guys thought about it?
Doug: This is a verse where Jesus is sending out the apostles, and it says, "You'll be hated of all names my sake. For surely I say to you, that you will not have gone through all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes." Now, when he's talking about going through all the cities of Israel, it is a mysterious verse. Some are wondering, does that mean literal Israel? Is it talking about all the cities that the Israelites had established around the Roman Empire? Is it talking about you haven't gone around and talked to all the spiritual Jews that I've called? It's a little bit of a mystery. Obviously, the Gospel's not been preached in all the world yet.
Jean: Remember, there's a lot of the things that we find in Matthew 10 here, and also echoed in Matthew 24, not only relate to the second coming of Christ but a lot of those also related to the judgment that came upon Israel in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Some have discussed the term there, the cities of Israel has also been the cities where the Jews were scattered throughout the Roman Empire.
It's not just limited geographically to the land of Israel, but the cities where the Jews had gathered, and of course, you read about in the New Testament Acts, Paul traveled to a number of the cities, and the group that he would often preach to first were Jews. He would go to the synagogue. I've seen some commentators addressed that verse and saying, not just the cities in Israel, but also scattered throughout the Roman Empire where the Jews were.
Doug: Hope that helps a little bit, Joshua. We're going to try and get one more call. I think we got someone calling from Indonesia, Pastor Ross, line 12 there.
Jean: Yes. We got, I think it's Aryeh listening from Indonesia.
Aryeh: Shalom, sir. How are you? Thank you so much for your time. [chuckles]
Doug: Thank you. We've got about five minutes.
Aryeh: Thank you. My question is in Genesis 30:38-39.
Doug: Can I read that to our friends that are listening and then I'll do my best-- You want me to try to explain that?
Aryeh: Yes, I want your explanation. Sorry for my English. [chuckles]
Doug: No problem, I'll do my best. You read here in Genesis 30, and I'll start with verse 37. "Now, Jacob took from himself the rods of green poplar of the almond and the chestnut trees, and he peeled white stripes in them and expose the white, which was under in the rods. The rods that he had peeled he set before the flocks and the gutters in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink so that they should conceive when they came to drink. The flocks conceived before the rods and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. Then Jacob separated the lambs."
Now let me tell you what's going on here, friends. It's a very interesting story. Jacob was having problems taking care of his father-in-law's sheep. He finally told his father-in-law "Look, I'll take care of your sheep for a few more years, but we got to have an agreement. All of the sheep and the goats that bear striped speckled or spotted offspring are mine." His father-in-law said, "That's the deal."
When it came mating season and they came to the water in troughs to water and eat the grain, that Jacob took these posts and he peeled the bark that exposed white stripes and streaks that were underneath the darker bark and he put it before the animals, so that when the rams were going around servicing the ewes, somehow they would have this visual of all these stripes and these speckled poles.
For years, people said, "Well, that was just a superstition. Why did he do that?" Well, they, whatever reason they believed the shepherds believed that maybe they'd get more striped if they were looking on stripes when they bred. Now, we laugh at that, but I'll tell you, they've had some interesting studies. Why is it that rabbits that live in the Arctic grow white fur and the same hairs that live in the desert have brown fur? They can crossbreed and they have still have hairs.
They've discovered that animals are able to take in their environment and transfer it into their DNA somehow and they are able to camouflage themselves or that they store that visually and it does something to their DNA that can actually affect the offspring. It's an amazing study.
I don't know if it has to do with Jacob's story here, but you better be careful before you discount that animals can actually affect their offspring, whether he was following a superstition and God blessed it, or there was some scientific thing we don't understand connected with it. I think the point is that God said, "Look, I'm going to give your cattle spotted and stripe so that you'll become wealthy with cattle at work." You got a better answer.
Jean: No. You're right, Pastor Doug. I think it was a common belief back then that, and maybe there was something to it. Now, we're beginning to discover some of these things with DNA and so on, but it was a belief back at that time that the animals that they were around, the things they were around affected the type of offspring that the animals would have. That's why it says Jacob separated the sheep and the goats from the others, the speckled and the spotted from the plain. Maybe it will also an act of faith on Jacob's part, trusting that the Lord would indeed bless him as he had said.
Doug: I hadn't thought of that. That's true. He's just saying, "Lord, you know that I need spotted and speckled if I'm going to take care of my family." It is an interesting story, that's what I love about the Bible, is it puts it all in there. It helps us to understand that it is the word of God. Well, thank you very much for your question, Aryeh. I hope that helps a little bit. That's the closest we can get to what there may be some scientific connection why different animals are able to transfer camouflage into their DNA? We're not exactly sure. Why are the tiger-striped and the lions on the plains, they're both big cats. Why are the tigers in the jungle stipes?
Jean: You got polar bears up in the snow country and you've got the Brown Bears.
Doug: Yes. They needed the white fur to sneak up on those seals. The Lord made them somehow. Hey, listen in friends, it won't be fair for us to take another caller right now. I don't think we have enough time to do it justice, but please bear with me for just a moment as I remind you lovingly and pleadingly as I can that the only reason you're hearing this program is because there are people like you that here and say, "You know? I want to bless that program. It's been a blessing to me and keep them on the air."
You can just go online and click on the Amazing Facts website. It's simply amazingfacts.org, and it makes it very simple. Anything you could give to keep us going, that's we live entirely 100% by the support of our listeners, our viewers, the people who read the literature. Our mission, I should say is his message or just, our goal is to get the word of God out there.
We know that the word has power to transform hearts, and we're trying to reach as many hearts as we can. It's like the question that came in tonight. Matthew 24:14, "The Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations and then the end will come."
That's when we'll know we have gone over all the cities of Israel when the Gospel is preached in all the world so that everybody around the planet has a chance. That's our mission. We're sending out the Gospel through radio, television, publishing, live evangelistic training, internet, and every method we can. Thank you for tuning in friends. Tell your friends and enemies about the program and God willing we'll study His Word together again next week.