Hello friends, this is Doug Batchelor, how about an amazing fact? As a child and a teenager, Jack experienced very poor health, addicted to sugar and junk foods, his volatile moods would frequently swing between suicide and homicide. The murderous behavior was usually directed towards his older brother who he once nearly killed with an axe, and another time with a big butcher knife. Jack described himself as short and skinny with pimples. He was constantly bullied by other kids at school. Then, at age fifteen, Jack’s mother, a Bible Christian, insisted he come with her to hear a nutritionist, Paul Bragg, speak on diet, health and exercise. At the conclusion of his talk, Mr. Bragg did back-flips across the platform to punctuate his lecture. It was a life-changing experience. Jack instantly gave up junk food and began to focus on altering his diet and exercise habits. The transformation was so complete, by the time Jack graduated from high school he was offered several sports scholarships.
Jack passed up a future in sports, instead, he dedicated the next eighty years to teaching others how to care for their bodies. Thousands today speak of Jack LaLanne as the Godfather of Fitness. Jack LaLanne firmly supported a vegetarian diet, and blamed overly processed food for many health problems. LaLanne always practiced what he preached, waking up 4 a.m. and working out two hours a day. To promote healthful living, in 1984, he fought strong winds and currents as he swam one and a half miles while towing seventy boats with seventy people each across Long Beach Harbor. And he did this when he was seventy years old and his hands were handcuffed and shackled. Jack’s motto was “Be happy you’re alive.” Get up in the morning and say, “Thank God I’m here again.” Some people think the Bible is just a spiritual book. But you’d be surprised how much it has to say about practical health. Stay with us friends, we’re going to learn more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Pastor Doug: We do have some lines open. And if you want to call in with your Bible question, right now is a good time. That number one more time, free phone call, 1-800-463-7297. Of course, that’s for those in North America. You can also listen and e-mail us if you go to the Amazing Facts website. The toll free number again is 1-800-GOD-SAYS for your Bible questions. This is Bible Answers Life. It’s a live, international, interactive Bible study for the next hour. And my name is Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Jëan Ross: My name is Jëan Ross. Good evening friends. Pastor Doug, let’s begin the program with prayer. Dear Father, once again we thank you that we have this opportunity to study your word, and we ask your special blessing upon this program. Be with those who are listening wherever they might be and, Father, give us wisdoms as we search the Scriptures. For we ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.
Pastor Doug: Amen.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Pastor Doug, there’s s been some remarkable individuals over the years who have defined the norm and have lived to old ages and have been extremely fit, and have done extraordinary things. You mentioned in the opening of the program Jack who swam a mile and a half at seventy years old towing seventy boats with seventy people, that’s amazing.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, and he was shackled and handcuffed at the time, just incredible. He did several other feats. You know, we sort of are doing this amazing fact to honor Brother LaLanne. He passed away a little more than a week ago, at ninety-six, from pneumonia. But what’s interesting is he fought hereditary heart disease. His father died of heart disease when he was only about forty. And that’s another thing that sort of stirred Jack to say, “Look, I want to do something.” And it goes to show that even though you may have a certain degree of hereditary problems, a lot of it can be offset by good health practices. And I think people are surprised that the Bible has so much to say about health.
Of course, a lot of Jesus’ ministry was not just teaching but he was very interested in healing people. And the Lord expects us to take care of our bodies. It does matter what we eat and what we drink. You know, there are some modern Christians that say, you know, once you’re Christian, you just pray over anything and you don’t need exercise, it doesn’t matter what you eat, and that’s really irresponsible. The Bible says “God is not mocked what a person sows, they’re going to also reap,” and in First Corinthians 6:19, “What? Don’t you know your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God? And you’re not your own, for you are bought with a price therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit.”
So we need both, we need that balance. And I think that our friends would be surprised to learn--or many would be--the Bible has so much to say about practical health tips. Matter of fact, in the Bible there are some health tips, some natural remedies that, if followed--things like rest, exercise, proper diet, and water on the inside and on the out, fresh air, sunshine and others--that if practiced can not only heal a lot of diseases--it gives the body a chance to recover--but prevent a myriad of different diseases. A lot of the disease and problems in North America today people bring on because they’re really ignoring the basic principles of health you even find in the Bible. And when the Lord brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, one of the first things He did was, He gave them some practical health rules.
By the time that nation entered Egypt, it says, “There was not one sick person among their tribes.” And there were, you know, two and a half, three million according to the statistics, had an army of nine hundred thousand, so you add in the women and children, there’s a lot of people, not one clinic, not one sick person, no first aid station because they were, of course, eating the food God provided, exercise, walking through the desert, sunshine, so forth. So we have a free offer tonight for people who want to know what are the Bible tips to longer, stronger life.
Pastor Jëan Ross: It’s an amazing facts study guide entitled, “God’s Free Health Plan.” It’s “God’s Free Health Plan” and you can get it for free if you’d call our resource line. It’s 1-800-835-6747, that number again is 1-800-835-6747 and ask for “God’s Free Health Plan.” Pastor Doug, we also have a magazine that Amazing Facts has just recently published, called Amazing Health. And for those who’d like to learn more about that, they can go to the website amazinghealthfacts.org. Amazinghealthfacts.org. There are articles they can read on the various principles of health. They can also order the magazine if they’d like to do that. Amazing Health Facts: 8 Bible Secrets for a longer and stronger life.
Pastor Doug: I practice these. I do my best, anyway, everyday and it makes a big difference. And when you neglect it, you will feel it. So a lot of people testified to the transformation from following these principles. Anyway, we no doubt have some Bible questions lined up.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We’ve got Jim who is listening on the internet and he is listening in Ohio. Jim, welcome to the program.
Jim: Hey, welcome. Thank you. I love you guys’ show. You’ve helped me a lot. My question today is pertaining to the sacrifice that Cain and Abel made. You know, when I first started reading that--I’m on my fifth time through the Bible--I was always confused why God accepted bloods of Abel’s and not Cain’s, unless I got that backwards. And where in the Bible does it kind of let you in…
Pastor Doug: Let you in on that information?
Jim: …why one wasn’t accepted?
Pastor Doug: Alright. Well, a couple of things. The sacrificial system, you know, you might wonder where did they get this idea of sacrificing lambs and goats or certain clean animals? That was, many believe, established in the Garden of Eden. And Pastor Ross will help me find the verse, “The lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” I think that’s in Revelation. It tells us that there at the foundation of the world there was some kind of sacrificing. God established the sacrificial system. Now, think about this. After Adam and Eve sinned and they discovered their nakedness, their robes of light evaporated, and they saw they were naked they went to cover themselves with fig leaves, vegetation. God said the vegetation is not going to cut it, and it says, “God gave them robes of skin.” How will you provide skin? It usually means something has to die, right?
Jim: Correct.
Pastor Doug: So it’s believed this is when He established the sacrificial system, and it required lamb’s skin to cover them. And you have that verse?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes. Revelation chapter 13 verse 8, it says, “All who dwell upon the earth shall worship Him, whose names have not been written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” It’s speaking about worshipping, the antichrist power of Revelation 13.
Jim: Thank you.
Pastor Doug: So the sacrifice of Cain, it says, Abel took care of sheep and he brought the fat lambs of his flock Cain brought of the food of the ground. So once again you get Cain bringing a vegetable, and Abel said, “No, it’s going to require the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sin.” This is a principle in the Bible, it’s in Leviticus, “Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission or forgiveness of sin.”
Jim: Okay.
Pastor Doug: And so, Abel obeyed God Cain, for whatever reasons said, “I think that’s messy, that’s not going to be popular, I’m going to do it my way.” And God said, “No, you don’t bring me vegetables and pomegranates for your sin.” He said, “It requires a sacrifice because it represents my son.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: And you can read about that in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 22, where it says--it’s actually a quote from the Old Testament--”Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.”
Jim: Okay.
Pastor Doug: So did that make a little more sense?
Jim: Yeah, it does. You know, another thing, this one’s also-- and I’m going to be real quick with this--could that also tie in as far as, like, how we, like, the sacrifice--like when it comes to the issue with the Sabbath, even though I know it says, you know, you worship me with the doctrines of men and that can kind of tie in with the Sabbath, the Saturday or Sunday issue.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, whenever we substitute a commandment of God for any manmade tradition, you know, that was not the plan. Now, we do have a book that talks about the sacrificial system and it’s called “Does God’s Grace Blot Out His Law?” And we’ll be happy to send you a free copy of that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number to call is 1-800-835-6747. Jim, you can ask the book “Does God’s Grace Blot Out the Law?” That’s not only for Jim but for anyone listening. The number again is 1-800-835-6747 and the book, “Does God’s Grace Blot Out the Law?” We’re going to go to our next caller Aaron, is calling from Sacramento, listening on KFIA. Aaron, welcome to the program.
Aaron: Hi. Thanks for explaining the health thing. Last week I went through the website and--anyway, I had a different question this week because I was--actually, oddly enough it was the flood that helped me understand that, because God wouldn’t destroy the world again. And I also figured out that hundred and twenty years was not, like, how long people lived, was that an investigative judgment on the world at that time, like how there’s supposed to be one now? Can you briefly explain is there a book or resource that can explain the investigative judgment better to me? I’m so sort of confused about it.
Pastor Doug: Alright. Well, first of all, we do have a lesson that deals with what--and for our friends listening, Aaron knows what we’re talking about but some people might wonder--the Bible tells us a judgment must begin at the house of God, and just think of it this way, when Jesus comes, at that point He is dispensing rewards. The dead in Christ are caught up to meet Him in the air to rapture up. There’s also a judgment on the wicked. So when He comes, you know, there’s going to be two classes: He separates the sheep from the goats. Some judgment takes place obviously before He comes. No judgment is so God can’t figure out what’s going to happen because He knows everything. So this judgment that transpires before Jesus comes is sometimes called the investigative or the pre-advent judgment.
And Aaron’s asking an interesting question--Jesus compares His coming to the days of Noah, was that final one hundred and twenty years when Noah was preaching the flood is coming before the flood, something of a time of judgment for them--and I think a person could probably argue that—and then that last seven days that Noah was in the ark after the door was shut, it was like a close of probation.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And it’s also interesting, if you continue with that analogy, during the hundred and twenty years when Noah was preaching, he was building an ark of safety. So likewise, before the coming of Christ, he has an ark of safety, not an ark made out of wood but he’s got a group of people, a remnant that the Bible speaks of who are faithful to his commandments, and who love him. And Christ is their ark of safety during that time of judgment in preparation for the close of probation, the closing of the door.
Pastor Doug: Now, Aaron, we have a lesson that is called “Right On Time” that deals with this investigative judgment, and we will be happy to send you a free copy of that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number to call is 1-800-835-6747, and the study guide is “Right On Time.” There is also another one, Pastor Doug, that goes along with that same theme, it’s “Case Closed,” also talking about the judgment. So the number is 1-800-835-6747, ask for the study guides “Right On Time” and “Case Closed,” which talks about the pre-advent judgment. Our next caller is Joel, listening from San Antonio, Texas. Joel, welcome to the program.
Joel: Hello, Pastors, thank you for taking my call.
Pastor Doug: Hi.
Joel: My question specifically is--I always get these interesting questions from my own understanding, the way--well, specifically, the pyramids, these huge monoliths, talking about Stonehenge, and maybe like the Nazca Lines and, you know, Machu Picchu, all these great things that we have. My understanding is the flood destroyed everything. So those creations must have been created after the flood. But something that’s phenomenal is the precision, the ability to move these huge stone blocks and…
Pastor Doug: Are you wondering how did they do that?
Joel: Yeah, how did they do that? And then it almost indicates, with the Nazca Lines, that they must have had the power of flight. I don’t know if they did or not. So I just wanted you to talk about…
Pastor Doug: Now, did you ever read a book by Rene Noorbergen called “Secrets of the…
Joel: I don’t think I’ve heard of that.
Pastor Doug: …well, there a guy named Rene Noorbergen who wrote a book called “Secrets of the Lost Races,” and he went around the world and looked at these different places, and he thinks, you know, some of these ancient civilizations had a lot of technology we don’t give them credit for. Now, keep in mind, you know, we really focused on Bible questions and so, I would have to transition into speculation, Joel, in telling yeah, I’ve got ideas about how they built the pyramids. I’ve seen some explanations that’s implausible to me. One thing they did to move these massive stones is they had wooden blocks that were rounded on one side, they were strapped to the square stones and they’d rolled the stones along.
And they had these ramps, and so they could move them pretty quick. But they must have had a massive workforce because they used to saw these things by hand, and so there are a lot of things I think we don’t understand some technology. By the way, I’ve been to the Great Pyramid. I’ve been down to some of the Inca Pyramids. Matter of fact, I was in the Great Pyramid. I don’t know if they let you in there any more because they said the tourism and the humidity is starting to damage it. And my family’s going to back in Belize in about a month and we’re going to go explore another one of those Central American pyramids and so it is phenomenal how some of this was done. And I just think they had technology. I don’t think they can levitate stones as some people say or that they were jetting around through the air, but I think they had technology we don’t give them credit for.
Joel: Yeah, the only reason I bring it up and try to apply it to the Bible is because a lot of people will say, you know, like to kind of what you’re indicating maybe giving these--where they could get this technology from. And sometimes I think as you’re saying, that they must have been a little smarter--I mean, some of the stones, I understand, are granite and to be able to cut these, you know, tons of stones, not a granite, they must have had some, you know, more fast cutting tools. And specifically on the Nazca Lines, do you think they had the power of flight back then, in Bible times or not?
Pastor Doug: No. I think that they just believed that the Gods were up in the heavens and that they were worshipping, and they were able to use perspective to draw these lines on earth so that it would look better from the sky because they really believe the Gods were looking down and they wanted to please them. But, no, I don’t think they were flying over and that they were using them as runways. And I’ve read and heard a lot of these theories or some say that, you know, they were trying to zero in, the aliens were to land, and you hear all kinds of goofy things. But no offence anybody who believes those things, but, yeah, I don’t ascribe by that. Thanks, Joel, for your question.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yeah, what it does tell us is that the people who were involved in the buildings of these things were intelligent, you know, the idea of someone evolving and coming along and caveman type mentality. Well, that’s not true when it comes to the pyramids and some of those things.
Pastor Doug: I’ll give Joel one additional thought on that. An example would be--some skeptics say Noah could never have built a wooden vessel over three hundred feet long because nobody has ever built a wooden vessel--the limit is three hundred feet--and that’s just categorically not true. They’ve now found that there was a Chinese admiral who had a whole fleet of ships and the main ship was about six hundred feet long. It was massive. And so, yes, Noah had the technology, they were much smarter than we think to have built those things. Thanks for your question, Joel. It does stir up our minds.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We have Lenora, who’s listening from Greenville, North Carolina. Lenora, welcome to the program.
Lenora: Thank you. Good evening, Pastors.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Lenora: My question is, I’ve heard Pastor Batchelor say about dinosaurs and people coexisting?
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Lenora: I was just wondering--my question is, so man also existed with man-eating dinosaurs? Are they just lived…
Pastor Doug: Well, as far as the what the dinosaurs ate--you know, of course, man exists with the other man-eating animals in the world today, so just because they are carnivorous or violent animals doesn’t mean that man can’t exist with them. It actually says in the Bible speaking of Nimrod that he was a mighty hunter. Dinosaurs are just big lizards. They’re big reptiles. And they found in--I think it’s Montana, recently a dinosaur bone--I think it was a femur bone--they took a cross-section and they found soft tissue with blood cells in it. And they’re just totally bewildered by that because they’ve always believed that, you know, these are fossils that are, you know, thirty million years old or more, and how could you still have soft tissue with blood cells after all that time?
The Holy Grail of evolutionists is their dating method. They hang everything upon these long ages and they’re just not true. It is all a theory about how they arrive at these long ages, and the reason you find mammals and dinosaurs at different levels is because in the flood the material of reptiles and mammals--mammals will bloat and float when they drown, whereas the reptiles will sink sooner and they’re going to all be in different strata’s of the mud. So there’s so many leaps of faith that are taken. And according to the Bible, sin entered the world with man. There was not death and sin before Adam sinned. So the dinosaurs were going around chomping on each other and man hasn’t even been created yet, well then, how did death and imperfection enter the world before man’s sin? Because the Bible says “it all began with the sin of Adam and Eve.” Up until then, the lion was laying down with a lamb.
Lenora: So what you’re saying is, I guess, dinosaur--I mean I guess I was kind of thinking of the dinosaurs, right, and men having to…
Pastor Doug: I’m sorry, go ahead.
Lenora: …men having to defend themselves from that.
Pastor Doug: You know, I don’t think that humans were cowering from the animals the way that we, you know, picture in the movies--we always have them--nothing in the bone tells you how ferocious an animal is, nothing in the bone tells you whether it will run from a man. I’ve walked around the woods for years. Everyone talks about being afraid of bears. I’ve run into so many bears and every time I see one, they run from me. They could take me out in a minute. But God says in the Bible that He would put the fear of man upon the animals. I forget that verse. So, you know I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if whenever these larger reptiles saw man that they just put their tail between their legs and ran. The idea that they were running around biting their heads off is we get that from the movies. Nothing in the bone will tell us that. That’s writers.
Lenora: Okay, thank you very much.
Pastor Doug: Alright, thank you very much. Good question, Lenora.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Our next caller is Beatrice and she’s calling from Ontario. Beatrice, welcome to the program.
Beatrice: Thank you for having me.
Pastor Doug: Absolutely. And your question?
Beatrice: Okay. My question is, how do you deal with rejection? You’ve been praying for some things, you did everything you’re supposed to do, and you know in your heart that God told you to go to do this, and then you go to the (Unintelligible) and you’ve been rejected and you helped somebody, you go back to God and He takes (inaudible) family and everything that He was going to (inaudible). How do you keep (Unintelligible) when you’ve been rejected? How do you summarize it?
Pastor Doug: Well, you know, when things like that happen, there’s only a few things you can do: one is you need to maybe evaluate your own life and say, “Lord, is there something in my life, lack of faith or some area where I am in rebellion or disobeying, that I can surrender to you that will open the way for your blessing and for your leading.” Sometimes we may misinterpret what, you know--or someone may give us wrong information about what God’s will is and we build our assumptions on what this person has said or what we think, and we misinterpreted God’s will. One time Elijah ran--Elijah was a prophet of God, a good man. But he got discouraged because he heard some bad news and he ran all the way down into the desert to Mount Sinai and God said, “What are you doing here?” And he probably thought, “Didn’t you send me here?” And God said, “No.” And Jonah, same thing, you know, he went out in the ocean and God basically said, “You’re going the wrong way.” So sometimes we misinterpret or even disobey God’s cues, and it doesn’t mean God’s rejecting you because He desperately loves every one of us. He loves you. He wants to save you. And Pastor Ross?
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know we have the verse in First Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17, it’s a short verse, it says, “Pray without ceasing.” In other words, don’t give up. If you pray and you’re asking for God to perhaps reach a family member or bring someone to a knowledge of truth or there is a need and you’re praying and you’re asking God to move in a special way, if you don’t see results immediately, at least not in the way that you think, don’t get discouraged, don’t give up. Keep bringing your petition before the Lord. Sometimes there are things that God needs to do for us first as far as our hearts go in cleansing us or softening our hearts before He can bestow the blessing upon us. And it’s through earnest prayer that God is able to do the work within us that He wants us to do. So don’t give up, don’t get discouraged. Believe God’s promises and keep praying.
Pastor Doug: You know, we have a book we’d like to send you, Beatrice, and it’s called “Teach Us to Pray,” and all you’ve got to do is call the number and we’ll be happy to send that to you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747. And, Beatrice, the book’s entitled, “Teach Us to Pray.” I believe, Pastor Doug, you wrote that book.
Pastor Doug: I did.
Pastor Jëan Ross: “Teach Us to Pray.” 1-800-835-6747.For anyone listening, who wants to learn more about how can we pray and have our prayers answered, it’s a great resource, great book--1-800-835-6747, “Teach Us to Pray.” Well, I think we have time for one more call before the break. And we’re going to go to Alfred who is listening in Los Angeles. Alfred, welcome to the program.
Alfred: Hi, Pastors, how’re you doing?
Pastor Doug: Doing well.
Alfred: I have a question about the Final Events DVD, most specifically Section 4 about the King returning. It references Revelation 1:7. Now I understand when Jesus comes that the dead in Christ will rise first and we who are alive and right with the Lord will be, you know, caught up with Him, and then those who are lost they are going to be running in fear. It also says that those who pierced Him will see Him. Now I know that after the millennium when we come back that the wicked will rise, so, is there--I mean I’m assuming that those who pierced Him are lost-- is there, like a special, like group that are raised with…
Pastor Doug: Good question. You know, Jesus said to the High Priest--and this is in Mathew, Pastor Ross, where He said to Caiaphas, “Hereafter you will see the Son of Man,” Jesus said to Caiaphas, “You will see the Son of Man standing on the right hand of power coming in the clouds of glory.” And so Jesus seemed to indicate that when He came back Caiaphas would witness that and then it says here in Revelation, “He’s coming with a cloud, every eye will see Him those also which pierced Him.” That Scripture…
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s Mathew chapter 26 verse 64, where Jesus said to the High Priest, “You have said”--the High Priest asked, “Are you the Christ?” Jesus responded, “You have said. Nevertheless, I say unto you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
Pastor Doug: So those who persecuted, tortured and rejected Him as king, it seems they are raised in sort of a special resurrection when He comes to see Him coming, and it’s just they’re basically being given a front row seat to realize how outrageous what they have done was in betraying Christ or in torturing Him. And so, yeah, that’s the events. The general resurrection of the lost happens at the end of the one thousand years, it says, “The rest of the dead don’t live again till the thousand years are finished.” I appreciate your question, Alfred. We don’t really have a book specifically on the sequence of the--oh, the millennium book.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The “1000 Years of Peace.”
Pastor Doug: Yeah, “1000 Years of Peace” I think talks about that. Hey, listening friends, a minute ago we told you about a website dealing with health. It’s Amazing Health Facts. And there’s a magazine there you can read online or order. Don’t go away, more questions coming.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Pastor Doug: We are back and for those who tuned in along the way, this is Bible Answers Live. We have the best half of the program still before us now. If you have a Bible question, we have some lines open. Pick up your phone now, here’s the number: 1-800, that’s the easy part, then it’s 463-7297. If you can remember the acronym, it’s 1-800-GOD-SAYS. Give us a call now with your Bible question, 1-800-463-7297. And, Pastor Ross, we were telling people just as we reached the first half there about this website--it’s actually been up for a little while but we haven’t said much about it, and it’s just filled with information on the Bible principles of health. It’s called the Amazing Health Facts. And anybody can go there, amazinghealthfacts.org. And it’s a great sharing tool also if you would like, you know, someone struggling with their health, give them the Bible secrets to longer, stronger life and they’re al free. It’s not gimmicks or supplements or vitamins or something you have to buy, it’s truth and proven principles.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Now, if you want to discover those eight Bible secrets of a longer, stronger life, go to the website amazinghealthfacts.org and you’ll see on the left hand side--Pastor Doug, I’m actually looking at the website right now--there is a link that says Health Articles--if you click on that link, you will see eight what we call the secrets of a healthy life: nutrition, exercise, water, sunlight, temperance, air, rest and trust, trust in God. You can click on each of those links and read articles filled with scientific information, fascinating facts dealing with that particular area and how that--for example, talking about sunlight, how sunlight will benefit you, how much sunlight you need and so on. Just a great resource. That’s amazinghealthfacts.org.
Pastor Doug: That’s right. And, hey, when you go to that website go ahead and link to it because you can help share the good news about health with other people by doing that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We’re going to go to the phone lines. Marjory is listening in Ontario, Canada. Marjory, welcome to the program.
Marjory: Yes, hello.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Marjory: Good evening.
Pastor Doug: And your question?
Marjory: What I really wanted to ask--why do this Christian worship on Sunday? You know, God says we must remember the Sabbath day to keep it Holy--I mean, I worship on Sundays, but I just wanted to know…
Pastor Doug: Where did Sunday come from as opposed to seventh day?
Marjory: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: Alright, good question. And just so everyone will understand, I think most Christians realize Jesus rose on the first day of the week and that’s Sunday. If you look it in any encyclopedia or dictionary, it’ll say Saturday, the seventh day of the week and most normal calenders have it that way. You go to Europe and Germany’s, they’ve changed the calender based on the work week, so it looks different. But still technically, Sunday is the first day of the week. It always has been. And Saturday, the day that the Jews keep today as the Sabbath, the same day Jesus kept, people say, “Well, why do Christians go on a day other than the seventh day?” And you’ll hear lots of beautiful theories--folks will say, “Well, we go to church on Sunday because that’s the day that Jesus rose and it’s the New Christian Sabbath,” that sounds beautiful. I used to believe that. And then I asked where’s the Scripture and found out there is absolutely no Scripture that says that.
And I want to also make it clear. I believe there’s going to be millions of spirit-filled Christians in heaven that went to church on the first day of the week that simply didn’t know. I mean, you know, God loves us and He winks at our ignorance. But if someone wants to know the truth, the truth is that Sunday is not the Sabbath, Sunday is not the seventh day, nowhere does God say remember the first day to keep it or that we should gather on the first day. Some people take the verse there in First Corinthians 16 where it says, “On the first of the week, lay aside your offerings.” They say, oh, there must have been a church meeting. No, Paul said that there is no meeting when I come. So they were to set aside a special offering at home. I never did answer your question “Where did Sunday come from?”
Marjory: Yes.
Pastor Doug: Well, about three hundred years after Christ, in Rome, Constantine the Great legalized Christianity because they were having problems with barbarians coming down from the north, and he had wars even within the Roman Empire, and they were wasting time fighting Christians who really were not violent and threatening to anyone. He legalized Christianity and suddenly became very in vogue to be a Christian. And a lot of the priests in Rome certainly converted over to Christianity because it became a popular religion. And they brought with them the first day of the week, which was Sunday, it was called The Venerable Day of the Sun. Matter of fact, Constantine issued an edict in 321 A.D. called the Edict of Milan, where he told people to remember to rest on the venerable day of the sun, not S-O-N, Son of God, S-U-N because it was a Roman holiday.
For the next couple of hundred years, throughout the empire, they did what a lot of cultures do today, they took two days off. They took off the seventh day for the Christians and the first day for the Romans. Gradually, the Jews had become very unpopular and people wanted to distance themselves from the Jewish religion, and they said, “Let’s not keep the old Jewish Sabbath, let’s just keep the first day of the week. We’ll have a new Sabbath that is uniquely for Christians.” And so the church really did it not by any biblical command but just, you know, by their own choice to evoke their tradition.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, Marjory, we have a website called sabbathtruth.com and everything that Pastor Doug has mentioned is actually on that website. You can see the various edicts when they were passed, various emperors that passed them and really get a handle on how Sunday became the popular day of worship. There is also a video that you can see on that website called “The Seventh Day.” It’s a documentary series that gives you in-depth detail on this question of the Sabbath and Sunday.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, that video I think was just referenced in the World Daily Net News, seventh day. It’s to see how magnificently well done, covers the history of the Sabbath. Hal Holbrook narrates it, the Academy Award winning actor, and just very well done.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And you can view the whole thing for free right at the website sabbathtruths.com.
Pastor Doug: Thank you for your question, Marjory.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We have Maryanne who is listening in New Jersey. Maryanne, welcome to the program.
Maryanne: Good evening, gentlemen. I have a question. I’m confused, everybody’s confused. The thousands years, who lives with God the thousand years? The people that have already died, the believers that are dead, do they live with Him? If I go to heaven in the rapture, am I coming back to live with Him for a thousand years?
Pastor Doug: Well, I’ll tell you what, let’s look in Revelation 20--the 1000 years, commonly called the millennium, is all found in Revelation 20 or most of it’s there--and it says, “I saw thrones”--in verse 4, “I saw thrones and they sat upon them and judgment was given to them and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and the word of God, and they had not worshipped the beast, neither His image, nor had received His mark on their forehead or on their hands and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” So it describes the saved as a living and reigning with Christ a thousand years. Next verse is a real clue, “The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years are finished. This is the first resurrection.” In other words, the ones living and reigning with Christ are the ones in the first resurrection. The rest of the dead--they’re in the second resurrection--they must be the wicked because if you look in First Thessalonians 4, it says, “The dead in Christ rise first.”
Maryanne: Correct.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, Jesus said there are two resurrections, the Resurrection of Life, and the Resurrection of Damnation. So, the ones who’re living and reigning with Christ during the one thousand years are the righteous.
Maryanne: Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The question that you might be wondering is where is this reigning taking place? Is it going to happen here on this earth, or is it going to happen in heaven? Is that what you’re wondering?
Maryanne: Yes, will it be here, or in the New Kingdom or…
Pastor Doug: Well, I’m glad you cleared that up. I was answering a question you weren’t really asking. Yes, we are not here on the earth during the one thousand years. And just think about that for a minute. Some pastors teach that the righteous are reigning over the wicked and the righteous have got their glorified, immortal bodies but the wicked are still, you know, growing old and dying. What righteous person would want, would consider it a reward to reign over a bunch of lost wicked sinners? Here we are mortal and we’re reigning over mortals and what would we do? I mean, are we forcing them with some kind of, you know, sanctified police department to try and keep them under control? It says we live and reign with Christ, we’re really going up. When Christ comes back, it says, “We are caught up to meet Him in the air,” Jesus said, “I go and prepare a place for you in my Father’s house with many mansions”--that’s John 14. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am”--this place that he’s prepared--”you may be also.” So what direction do we go, Maryanne, when Christ comes?
Mary Anne: Up.
Pastor Doug: That’s right, we’re going up and so we live and reign with Christ in glory. And the word “reign” doesn’t mean, you know, we’re up there ordering people around. “Reign,” it was really a position of honor among the unfallen angels and other realms that God has made. And so, at the end of the one thousand years the New Jerusalem descends out of heaven--you’ll find that in Revelation 21--that’s when ultimately God creates a new heaven, a new earth. That’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek as they will inherit the earth”--that’s after one thousand years. Hey, we will send you our free lesson on that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: It’s a great study called “1000 Years of Peace.” The number Maryanne, is 1-800-835-6747, ask for the Amazing Facts study guide entitled, “1000 Years of Peace.” They probably would know what you’re talking about if you ask for the one on a thousand years of the millennium.
Pastor Doug: Exactly.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And they’d be happy to send that to you. That’s 1-800-835-6747. We have Patricia who is calling from Georgia, listening on the internet. Patricia, you’re on the air.
Patricia: Yes, hello.
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Patricia: It’s so good to be able to talk to you today. I’m kind of curious because a friend of mine was asking me about the mauling of some children when they tease Elisha…
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Patricia: …and we couldn’t comment heads or tails of that because she was saying, “Well, how could have God allowed that to happen to children?” So I kind of lost at that.
Pastor Doug: It does sound serious. This is Second Kings chapter 2 verse 24, after Elijah went to heaven, Elisha--who before who had only been the apprentice of Elijah, which is sort of a lowly position--he was given a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, he was given the mantle of Elijah, he was given the job of taking the place of being the national prophet for the ten tribes of Israel. Some kids came out of a city and began to make fun of him. Now, keep in mind, priests sort of had respect, they wore uniforms and special garments. But here he’s a prophet. They dressed in the common cloths and these kids came out and began to make fun of Elijah and they said, “Go up, thou bald head, go up thou bald head”--I guess he was bald--and Elijah, you know, went to heaven in a chariot and they’re making fun of him saying, “Why don’t you go up like Elijah?” It was very disrespectful.
In that culture to dishonor your elders was considered a sin. Matter of fact, in the Law of Moses, it said, “If you’ve got a son that is rebellious and a glutton and dishonors his mother or father that they were to be brought before the people and stoned.” And so, when these youth came out and they dishonored Elisha, it doesn’t say any of them were killed, keep that in mind. It says he pronounced a curse on them and two she-bears came out of the woods--mother bears are especially vicious--and tore, that means they got mauled or scratched or bitten, four and two of them. These two she-bears went rampaging through this crowd, this gaggle of young people that were making fun of Elisha. And I’ll tell you what, that was a painful experience, but nobody in Israel ever wagged his tongue at Elisha again for the remaining of his--I don’t know--forty, fifty years of ministry. Yeah, it was a terrible judgment but, you know, God felt that was necessary that they might respect His chosen messenger. You want to add to that, Pastor Ross?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, yes, I think you also need to take note that in the New King James, it refers to them as youth. They probably weren’t three or four year olds.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, they weren’t toddlers.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yeah, exactly.
Pastor Doug: This is a gang of kids.
Pastor Jëan Ross: They were old enough to have heard about what happened to Elijah the Prophet, and this was just an act of mockery, making fun of whom God had now anointed to be prophet in Israel. And I guess God takes that very seriously when somebody mocks the Lord’s anointed.
Pastor Doug: Yep. So, yeah, I know it’s serious, and these are some of those difficult passages, but the good news is hopefully they all healed up and learnt a valuable lesson.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right.
Pastor Doug: They got a serious spanking by two she-bears.
Patricia: Okay. Well, thank you very much.
Pastor Doug: Thank you, Patricia. Good question. I don’t think we’ve had that question long time.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right. We’ve got GW who is calling from Alabama listening on WOCG. GW, welcome to the program.
GW: Hey, thanks for taking my question.
Pastor Doug: How can we help you?
GW: Earlier you answered a question about hell-fire being eternal or not, and that was a really good answer. And you said that it came up from church doctrine that people will go burnt forever, and I was wondering why? Is somebody trying to scare people into trying to choose heaven instead of hell or something?
Pastor Doug: I’ll tell you a quick story, GW, in answering that. I’ll do as quickly as I can. A Baptist minister--car broke down in Texas twenty years ago, I picked him and his family up. It was Christmas Eve. They couldn’t get their car fixed. Well, I actually helped them fix it the next day, but they spent the night with us. We got into a Bible study on the subject of hell. And I went through the verses that I’d seen in the Bible that explained that, you know, there is a lake of fire, the wicked will burn, but they don’t burn forever and ever, and they’re not burning yet because there’s not been a judgment. He got real quiet, and he said, “You know, Brother Doug, I’ve seen these Scriptures and I’ve always wondered, but I’m afraid if I don’t tell people that they’re going to burn forever in hell, they won’t come to church any more.”
And there are people out there that think that fear is the best motive to get people to come to church--fear of hell-fire. Well, even though the wicked may not burn forever, I don’t want to burn for five minutes. There is a hell-fire. I don’t want to go there at all. But that’s not the motive. The best motive to serve God is because you love Him. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” He didn’t say if you’re afraid of blistering forever, keep my commandments. Now there are fearful warnings in the Bible about the lake of fire, and God wants us to note those, but that might be a starting point. That should not be the main motive that we serve God. Because who wants to serve somebody that’s going to beat you if you don’t? I mean we want to serve God because we love him. We don’t want our children to cower and obey us because we’re going to beat them if they don’t.
And this doctrine basically came from a number of pagan religions because the priests have always found it was a great manipulating tool to use fear. Governments still do it today--use fear to manipulate people. And the church has done it over a time, too. So, you know, we didn’t mention the website, GW, helltruth.com. I looked that up this week, Pastor Ross, and it’s still on the first page of Google when people search at simply helltruth.com. I think you can even type in helltruth.org and you’ll get there. And it’s got great history, resources, videos, all on the subject of understanding the truth, the Bible truth about the lake of fire. And we’ll also be happy to send you that lesson book we have on that, “Is the Devil in Charge of Hell,” GW, or anyone who wants it.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747, and the study guide is entitled, “Is the Devil in Charge Of Hell?” It’s got this picture on the front cover, Pastor Doug, that really pokes your curiosity. If you’d like to call and get that, “Is the Devil in charge Of Hell,” the number is 1-800-835-6747. Our next caller is Robert and he’s listening in Alabama. Robert, welcome to the program.
Robert: Good evening, Pastor Ross and Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Hi.
Robert: Hi. My question is concerning the identity of the gospel writers.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Robert: I mean, we know them as Mathew, Mark, Luke and John and of course, Luke also had written the Acts. What I was reading was that we really get the identity of the gospel writers from the 2nd century, according to Eusebius that’s one of the first Christian historians--because basically the writers are not identified within the gospels. So therefore in the 2nd century, from what I was reading, they made guesses as to who it was, and applied the names as we know them now.
Pastor Doug: Well, there’s one correction. Luke does identify himself. But, yeah, go ahead.
Robert: You say Luke?
Pastor Doug: Yeah. Well, in the Book of Acts, Luke--he’s giving this historical account--he brings himself into the story--and I think it’s chapter 16 or 17--up until the time that Luke begins to join Paul, he writes about Paul saying, “Paul went here, Paul went there.” When Luke joins Paul in Acts, it says, “We went here, we went there.” Suddenly the whole context, the tense changes. But anyway, the gospel of Mark is really the gospel of Peter that was dictated to, they believe, John Mark. And I’ve not heard many people challenged that Mathew wrote Matthew, or that John wrote John--the style of John is so much like Revelation, where John does identify himself, he says, “I, John” two or three times in Revelation. Style is identical.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We also need to remember that even in the 2nd century when the books in the New Testament were gathered together, the reason a book made it into the New Testament was that it had a credible source and whoever wrote that book in order to be a part of the New Testament had to be an eyewitness of Christ. So it had to be one of the apostles or one of the early believers in the church, somebody that had at some point in time had direct contact with Jesus in one way or another. That was the requirements.
Pastor Doug: And Luke basically got through his association with Paul.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Right.
Robert: Alright. And I was just curious as to why like, Mathew and Mark, John--you say Luke doe--but why they’re not named? The only thing John says is beloved--I believe he said the beloved…
Pastor Doug: “The one that Jesus loved.”
Robert: Right.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, you know, there’s an attitude among the gospel writers. They believed that they were dealing with the most holy subject in the world and that all glory should go to Christ. They would load to mention themselves and they just thought that they didn’t want to take any credit at all. And so they deliberately did not mention themselves because they didn’t want to attract any credit to the author. They wanted it to be the message, not the messenger. So they went out of their way not to mention themselves, as you can notice in Paul’s gospel, he keeps saying, “The one whom Jesus loved,” he knew he fit into the story prominently, but he didn’t even want to mention his name. And you can see it really clearly there. They were very humble.
Robert: Yes.
Pastor Doug: So good question. I appreciate those questions make you think. By the way, we do have a book that’s dealing with the subject and it’s called “The Ultimate Resource.” It just talks about the Bible, a little bit of the history and how to study it. And we’ll send you a free copy of that, Robert, if you call.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747, and again, the book, “The Ultimate Resource.” That’s 1-800-835-6747.
Pastor Doug: We really ought to call them a booklet. I’m sorry, I interrupted the number. We really should call this a booklet. I don’t want people to think they’re going to get a Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia. These are quick studies and sometimes it scares people when they think they’ve got a big book to read.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know, the nice thing about the booklet, as you say, it’s to the point, it gives you what you need. Our next caller is Ezekiel, calling from Lake Placid. Ezekiel, welcome to the program.
Ezekiel: Yes, hi guys. I have a real interesting question here. I know we’re living in the last days, obviously the big earthquakes happening worldwide, you see birds falling from the sky and the fish dying and worse. But something came up to me, when I was watching this TV channel in TruTV--Jesse Ventura Conspiracy Theory--there was a presentation that they took off the air. It was police state. And they showed these massive coffins that the government’s storing up and these concentration type community centers, and they went and spoke to some of the co-signers and Congress about this. And, you know, they were first trying to not admit to it but then they were basically caught lying. But my question is--I know we’re at the end and I know the Sunday Law is coming very, very soon--does Bible say anything about a massive jail, or like a massive death toll right before the Sunday Law?
Pastor Doug: Well, it does tell us in the Bible that there’s going to be a great time of trouble--now that’s preceded by what’s called the small time of trouble--near the end of time when the beast power begins to become more prominent. First, there’s laws made that people cannot buy or sell unless they receive the mark of the beast. And ultimately, those that don’t capitulate, there’s a death decree pronounced against them. And very similar to what you find there in Daniel chapter 3 when they wanted to bow down and worship the King’s image, he pronounced a death decree against them. And so, yeah, there is going to be a time of trouble. I wouldn’t put too much stock in-- first of all, I don’t put a lot of stock in some of the tabloid television things and they--you know, I don’t have any question the government does have coffins lined up.
They’ve got stock piles of things. And they might even have some concentration camp things or POW camps that are prepared for emergency. We’ve got one just south of Sacramento here. Anyone could drive by and look any time they want, they’re not hidden anywhere. And some of these were used as far back as World War II. So, yeah, there they are. And they might be used again some day. But none of that really affects my faith or how to prepare. You know, I think we just need to be ready, Ezekiel, for the last days. We do have a book talking about the second coming of Christ--we could send you-- called “Anything But Secret.” It talks about the tribulation and the second coming.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747, and the book is entitled, “Anything But Secret” and we’ll be happy to send that out to you. Well, Pastor Doug, I’m wondering do we have time for one more?
Pastor Doug: Let’s try, we’ll try.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We’ll try a quick one. We’ve got Sharon calling from Modesto. Sharon, welcome to the program.
Sharon: Hello.
Pastor Doug: Hey, Sharon, we’ve got about a minute. Can you make a quick question?
Sharon: How do you know God’s will?
Pastor Doug: Alright, before I answer, we’re going to send you a book, and it’s called “How to Know the Will of God.” So don’t forget that. But the best thing is be willing to do His will. If you tell the Lord, “Whatever you want Lord, I am willing to do it,” there’s a promise in the gospel of John: “If any man is willing to do His will, He will know of the doctrine whether it’d be of God.” So the first most important step in knowing God’s will is a willingness to do it. If you’re perfectly willing, He’s then responsible to show you, if you do the next step, which is to seek. That verse?
Pastor Jëan Ross: It’s John chapter 7 verse 17.
Pastor Doug: John 7:17. And then we need to seek to know what God’s will is. So as we continue to search to better understand God’s will, He will reveal things to us. I’m sorry, Sharon, we’ll send you that book, it’s called “How to Know the Will of God,” it’s brand new, and just ask for it.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747, and again the book is entitled, “How to Know the Will of God.” The resource number 1-800-835-6747.
Pastor Doug: Anybody that calls, we’ll send that to you. We want you to have the answer to that question. Thank you for keeping Amazing Facts in your prayer. You’ll notice that during this program we don’t waste time begging for money, we wait till the end. But we’re only on the air because folks like you keep us on the air. We’d love to hear from you. You could do something right now. It’s so easy. All you got to do is click on to Amazing Facts and you could click where it says “Donate.” And the donation will help us keep this station on the air. And if you’re real generous, we can add stations. Most of all, friends, we want you to stay close to the Lord. Hope you’re in a regular Bible study program. You’ll find a lot of Bible resources at the Amazing Facts website, it’s amazingfacts.org. We’ll be back next week.
------------------------------------------END----------------------------------------