Hello friends, this is Doug Batchelor, how about an amazing fact? There are no creatures on earth quite like cats. Today, there are about a hundred different distinct breeds of domestic cats. Cats can hear ultrasound and are able to produce over one hundred vocal sounds. Dogs can only produce about ten. These (Unintelligible) also have amazing night vision. Cats only need about one-sixth the amount of light that humans do to see. In spite of their keen vision a cat cannot see directly under its nose. This is why they can’t seem to find the tidbits that are on the floor. Speaking of their noses, just like fingerprints every cat’s nose path has a unique pattern. Cats are one of the sleepiest of all animals. They spent between fourteen to sixteen hours of each day sleeping. That means a seven-year-old cat has only been awake for two years of its life and thirty percent of their waking hours are spent grooming themselves.
A cat in South Wales named Lucy has become the oldest ever, living thirty-nine years. That’s the equivalent to a hundred and seventy-two human years, more than doubled the average life expectancy. Someone said neutering a cat can extend its life by two or three years. Like birds, cats can have a homing ability that uses its biological clock, the angle of the sun, and the earth’s magnetic field to find its way home. There was a cat that a family, Shaun Philips and his father, Ken, lost near Brisbane, Australia. That was in the summer of 1977. On March 28, 1978, Silky the cat, returned to Mr. Philips’ house in a Melbourne suburb. According to his owner, “He was as thin as a wisp and he stank to high heaven.” Silky had traveled 1472 miles to get home. Have you ever felt like you’ve wandered too far from God to get back home? 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: This program is a lot of fun. We get to talk about the most important thing in the world, the truth from God’s word, how to live forever, how to have a better life. Friends, we like to welcome you to Bible Answers Live. If this is the first time if you’ve tuned in, it’s a live, international, interactive Bible study. We’re on about four hundred channels across North America and number around the world, many through the internet. And if you have a Bible question, now is a good time to pick up your phone. I’m looking and we see several lines open. Here’s the number if you missed it at the beginning. It’s 1-800-GOD-SAYS or 1-800-463-7297. Free phone call, 1-800-463-7297, that will bring you into the studio with your Bible questions. We don’t deal with the romance or the finance questions, but if you’ve got a question about the word of God, we’d love to talk to you about it. My name is Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Jëan Ross: My name is Jëan Ross. Good evening listening friends. And, Pastor Doug, as usual, let’s begin the program with prayer. Dear Father, we thank you that we have this opportunity to study your word. Thank you for those who have tuned in and who are a part of this program. We ask your special blessing. We need the Holy Spirit to guide our minds as we search the Scriptures for truth. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Pastor Doug: Amen.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Pastor Doug, you opened the program by talking about an incredible journey of a cat to go home. You know, there’s a number of these incredible journey stories of different animals that have traveled amazing distances to go back home. But when it comes to the human heart, can an individual wander so far away from God that, well, it’s just too far to go back home?
Pastor Doug: You know, most people that feel like they’ve wandered too far, haven’t. They are underestimating God’s ability to bring them home. You know, Jesus included this story in the gospel Luke chapter 15 of the prodigal son who went into a far country. He was a long way off. But he came to his senses and he began his journey home. And as soon as the father saw him coming, he ran to meet him, he embraced him, he welcomed him. The Bible promises in the Book of James, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” Friend, whoever you are, wherever you are, as soon as you take those first faltering steps back towards your father’s house, he runs to embrace you. And he’ll walk that journey with you. Everyone can make at home. And He ultimately wants us not only to be with Him in this life but to be with Him through eternity. And we have a free offer tonight that’s going to talk to you about how you can take those steps and begin your journey home and to heaven.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We’ve got a book entitled, “Three Steps to Heaven.” Again, the name of the book is “Three Steps to Heaven.” If you’d like to receive a free copy of this book, give us a call. Our resource line is 1-800-835-6747. That number again is 1-800-835-6747. You can ask for the book “Three Steps to Heaven.” “Three Steps to Heaven.” Such an important subject and sometimes, well, we overcomplicate issues. The Bible gives us three simple steps that will bring us back into contact with the father with the source of life and forgiveness and peace.
Pastor Doug: Absolutely. And, you know, there are a set of Bible studies that are available at the Amazing Facts website that will give a person even more detail if they want to understand the basic teachings of what it means to be a Christian. I was talking to someone today about what it means to be a Christian and there’s a lot of confusion out there. There are so many different fragments and divisions of Christianity. Someone asked me this week, if Christianity is true, then why is it the most fragmented religion? And I said that’s precisely the evidence that it is true. People aren’t going to waste their time dissecting something that’s an obvious lie.
But the devil is trying to camouflage or to hide the diamond of the gospel by surrounding it with broken glass. And so there’s a lot of confusing things that happened out there in the name of Christ that have nothing to do with Jesus or His teachings. But if you’ve ever heard some of the teachings of Christ and it resonated with your spirit, friends, and you want to know what is the truth, what did Jesus really teach, what was His life really about? We’d invite you to go to the Amazing Facts website and do the Bible study course. You can begin, it’s free, right there on-line, it will change your life.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Again, if you go to amazingfacts.org, amazingfacts.org, you’ll see a link there that you can enroll in our free on-line Bible study guide series. Alright, let’s go to the phone lines. We have a caller calling from Savannah, Tennessee. Loretta, welcome to the program.
Loretta: Yes, thank you. Good evening, Pastors.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Loretta: I appreciate your ministry there.
Pastor Doug: Well, thank you. And your question?
Loretta: I’ve got a question and I’m not exactly sure how to phrase it but I came up with the question, if someone is speaking for the devil, would they be considered demon-possessed? But don’t answer because I need to explain to you why I’m asking the question.
Pastor Doug: Alright, I won’t answer you. But go ahead give me a quick explanation.
Loretta: There’s a book out entitled, “Is Heaven For Real?” And the book is a story of a three-year-old boy who lost consciousness and essentially died on the operating table. When he came back to, he told his father who is a pastor that he had been to heaven. Now, what he had described was accurate although, he had never heard sermons about what he had described. And another thing is that he went to his parents and he saw his sister there. And he had a sister that was alive and they said, “No, it wasn’t her.” Well, it come to find out she had miscarried and they hadn’t told him. And, you know, he saw that as the sister and he also said he saw his great-grandfather whom he’d also had never seen on earth. And when they showed him a picture…
Pastor Doug: Now, how old was this boy?
Loretta: Three. He recognized the picture immediately as being the great-grandfather although, he had never seen him and it was a young picture. Then they showed him a picture when he was old and he didn’t recognize that and then they showed…
Pastor Doug: Alright, well, Loretta, I want to try and get to your answer before we run out of time.
Loretta: Okay, that’s where I’m going.
Pastor Doug: So the question is, would something like this be true? Is that what your question is?
Loretta: Kind of.
Pastor Doug: First of all, let me answer your question with a question. The bottom-line of how we decide what is true, will it be somebody’s experience or will it be the Bible?
Loretta: Based on the Bible, yes. So living (inaudible) that…
Pastor Doug: So no matter how eloquent…
Loretta: …(inaudible) anything.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, no matter how eloquent, or creative, or fantastic or convincing somebody’s experience might be, an experience never should trump the say of the Lord. And because, you know, the devil can get people experiences. Some people die on the operating table. And they say, you know, I saw that I was with the Krishna in heaven and they’ll tell all about their Hindu experience. Other people die in the operating table and so, yeah, I met with Buddha and all the different reincarnations of Buddha. Someone else dies on the operating table and they said I was with Muhammad. And so every religion these near-death experiences where people, you know, die and it gets everyone real excited. And so which one are we going to believe?
Loretta: So are they demon-possessed if they’re speaking for the devil?
Pastor Doug: Not necessarily. The doctors will tell you that in most of these cases when a person’s blood is saturated with carbon dioxide…
Loretta: Yes.
Pastor Doug: …that they began to hallucinate and they’ll see all kinds of things. Now, you know, especially with the young child parents could be sort of encouraging them to say, you know, here’s grandpa, did you see him? The kid will say yeah. Well, you know…
Loretta: But he distinctly said that his grandmother pulled it out of a box and they had never seen it, and they saw the picture. She was in the picture. He didn’t recognize her, but he recognized the man.
Pastor Doug: Well, I have never seen the book. I don’t know who wrote the book but I’ll tell you that I’m very suspicious when someone has a book that is filled with fantastic experiences and then they sell the book.
Loretta: Okay, yeah.
Pastor Doug: Maybe that’s because I grew up in New York City, but don’t believe everything. The only thing I believe is the Bible. If it goes along with the Bible, I’m interested. If it contradicts the Bible, then I have to make a choice, the word of God is the final.
Loretta: Well, it talks about his deceptions being for break that if it were possible…
Pastor Doug: Even the very eloquent will deceive.
Loretta: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: You’re right. Absolutely.
Loretta: This would probably be a perfect example.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, and a lot of people I think probably have been deceive by these ostensive, you know, experiences.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, we do have a study guide dealing with this subject. It’s an important subject.
Pastor Doug: It is.
Pastor Jëan Ross: “Are the Dead Really Dead?” And we’d be happy to send that to anyone who’d like to learn more about this subject. The number to call is 1-800-835-6747 and you can ask for an Amazing Facts study guide, and the name of it is “Are the Dead Really Dead?” And we’ll be happy to send that to you. Pastor Doug, we have a website also dedicated to this important subject…
Pastor Doug: Perfect.
Pastor Jëan Ross: …giving Bible answers as to what happens when somebody dies. And the website is deathtruth…
Pastor Doug: Dot com.
Pastor Jëan Ross: …dot com.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, it used be truth about death, but we still have that, but we were able to acquire the genre of truth websites we like. So we got hell truth, and marry truth, and dead truth, and Sabbath truth and real simple, deathtruth.com.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Deathtruth.com. Alright, next caller is Gardner calling from New York listening on WMCA--oh, Gander--sorry Gandier. Welcome to the program.
Gardner: I’m Gardner.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Gardner, okay.
Gardner: Okay. This week I read a very disturbing book called the “Point of No Return.” It’s like Christian literature teaching on the “Book of Lamentations.” And they write that the “Book of Lamentations” is a type of what’s going to happen in the end times. And the book was very disturbing. They said that God is behind the great tribulation that He is extremely angry with His church and that His people, fifty percent will die and that He will use Germany and the Syrians for nuclear war and we will be eating our children. Is this true?
Pastor Doug: Well, I’ve not read the book. But the “Book of Lamentations” is actually a book reciting the mourning of Jeremiah over the fall of Jerusalem. There are some parallels between the fall of Jerusalem and what is going to happen to God’s people in the last days. And you read in Matthew 24 when the disciples heard Christ say, “There won’t be left one stone upon another in the Jewish temple,” they came to Him shock, they were aghast. And they said, “What will be the sign of your coming in the end of the world?” And in Christ’s answer He wove together both the fate of Jerusalem and the fate of the world in the last days. Now, there’s nothing in Lamentations that’s telling us that half the church is going to die. Nothing in that book is telling us about Syria or Russia or any of these nations, Iran, and someone is doing wild speculation with that aspect of it. Will there be a time of trouble in the last days? Yes. It’s pretty clear from Revelation, Paul says, “All that live godly will suffer persecution.” And Paul also says it is through--and, Pastor Ross, I can’t remember it’s in Acts--you know, Paul says, “It is through much tribulation we enter the Kingdom of God.” So yes, there will be tribulation in the last days, but God’s people don’t need to worry about it.
Gardner: Is God behind the tribulation although, it’s thought that it was Satan behind the tribulation?
Pastor Doug: Let the Bible speak for itself. If you read in Revelation, the great tribulation is--and the great tribulation is the one that God initiates. That’s after probation closes and He pours out the seven last plagues. If you read in Revelation 15 and 16 where the seven last plagues fall, it’s pretty clear that is the tribulation. It’s a terrible time. But it says God’s angels are pouring out these vials. So it is the wrath of God and so, yes, God does initiate that, the small time of trouble is really where the devil is inflicting persecution on the church because they will not give up their believes. So you’ve really got this kind of this battle between the dragon and the Lord in the last days and so when you say, who’s causing the problem? Well, the world’s going to be a battlefield. And so on any battlefield you get two forces, so if you want me to say it’s all God or all the devil, that’s not accurate. You know what I’m saying?
Gardner: Thank you.
Pastor Doug: Alright. Hey, good question. I’m trying to think, Pastor Ross, what book can we give Gardner that--well, we get the book on the second coming, it talks about the tribulation.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That will explain more on that important subject.
Pastor Doug: “Anything But Secret.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: “Anything But Secret.” Gardner, if you’d give us a call on our resource line, that’s 1-800-835-6747, ask for the Amazing Facts study guide, entitled, “Anything But Secret,” talking about the second coming of Christ. Gill is listening in New York on WMCA. Gill, welcome to the program.
Gill: Hi, it’s a pleasure and a treasure to get through again. I want to ask a question about marriage. I know that in Matthew chapter 22 verse 30, it says, after resurrection people will need to marry or be given in marriage, they will be like the angels in heaven. And my concern is, because, you know, I’ve had women that have gotten close to the past, you know, where things almost happened as far as the marriage or whatever. And I want to ask, because I heard a call that came on the radio years ago about a woman who lost her husband and she was very upset, and she was I think asking in reference to, will they still be married in heaven? And I remember, Doug Batchelor, you were saying something cute about that God will not give divorce papers in marriage or something. I was just wondering, because I know…
Pastor Doug: Well…
Gill: …Christians don’t believe that.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. The way I understand the verses that you quoted, Gill, is where, you know, Christ is talking--He’s answering the sages, He’s there trying to trap them with a question about some women having seven husbands and Jesus is saying that in the resurrection she’s not married to anybody, we’re all ultimately married to God. The churches’ called the Bride of Christ. I don’t think there’ll be new marriages. There’s one reason that Adam and Eve got married as He said, “Go be fruitful and multiply,” the earth is going to be pretty well populated with redeemed. So the need to fill the earth with people is not going to be a prissy need. And some people think, “Oh, you know, if there’s no marriage in heaven that means there’s no sex in heaven because, of course, Christians not supposed to have sex without marriage.” And that means that, “Oh, there’s not going to be much pleasure there” and it’s a pretty carnal worry that people are not going to be extremely happy.
There’s going to be a heavenly ecstasy that we don’t even know about that those human relations--it’s just not even compared--but that doesn’t mean if you’ve got someone like Adam and Eve or Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac and Rebekah just had each other. It’s not like Abraham who took an extra wife, for Jacob who had four wives. Isaac and Rebekah, one marriage, both died, never remarried, no record. When they get to heaven, is God going to hand them divorce papers? Well, I don’t think so. I think that they’re best friends. Matter of fact, Isaac one time was trying to hide that Rebecca was his wife and he couldn’t keep from flirting with her and people, like figured out that they were married. So he really loved her, the Bible says. I think they’re going to still be together in heaven. Will they have more babies? No. Will they still be together? Sure. So that’s the way I understand, that there’s no new marriages. What do you think, Pastor Ross, is that kind of where you’re…
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yeah, absolute. You know, if you look at the reason given in Matthew 22 verse 30, Jesus says, “In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage,” and then He says, “But are like the angels.” So when someone is resurrected when Jesus comes, their bodies resembled out of the angels. And angels don’t procreate. So that function of marriage will not be needed. But the relationships that we build on earth whether it’s with a spouse or whether it’s with a child or with a close friend, surely in heaven, in the earth made new, we would still share that special relationship. There will be that bond.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. Why would the Lord prohibit people to be together? Hey, appreciate your question, Gill. I can’t offer to you now, but I’ve spent the last few months writing a book on marriage, though it sounds strange when someone name Batchelor writes a book on marriage, but it should be ready in about six weeks. Appreciate your question.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Next caller is Nancy. She’s listening in Brooklyn, New York. Nancy, welcome to the program.
Nancy: Yes, good evening. Hi, Pastor. How are you all doing?
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Nancy: God Bless you all. And you guys have great wisdom and knowledge from above and we appreciate that.
Pastor Doug: Well, thank you. It’s actually on the laptops, on the Bible in front of us. But we’re glad for the illusion it creates.
Nancy: Okay. My question is, is it wrong for me to ask God for sign on something that I’m believing, my faith? I don’t know.
Pastor Doug: Well, Jesus actually talks about that. Now, there are good people on the Bible that asked for signs. King Hezekiah and Gideon and others said, you know, what sign will there be? Jesus then talking to the Jewish people said, “It’s an evil and adulteress generation that seeks after a sign.”
Nancy: Yeah, that’s my worry, my concern.
Pastor Doug: So now if you’re facing an important decision--now keep in mind, when Jesus said that to them they were doubting that He was the messiah after all the evidence that He had already done and that’s why He said that that they were evil and adulteress because they were worshipping after, you know, other Gods.
Nancy: Okay.
Pastor Doug: But I’ve faced difficult decisions where I’ve been faced with two good choices, just important decisions and I didn’t know which way to go. And I said, “Lord, I look in your Bible, I don’t see any distinctive answer for this question. And I’m not sure my decision’s going to have big ramifications. I don’t know the future. Lord, please show me what to do.”
Nancy: Right.
Pastor Doug: I think you can ask God for guidance. And sometimes He’ll guide you--the sign might be a providential sign. And sometimes--
Nancy: Can I tell you what it is?
Pastor Doug: Well, if you want.
Nancy: Okay, it’s a relationship.
Pastor Doug: Don’t do it. Sorry.
Nancy: And I’m just asking God, like because I love this man so much and I’m asking God that if (inaudible 22:36) meant together for Him to give me a sign and for Valentine’s Day, meaning tomorrow, that he could call me.
Pastor Doug: Well, I hope you get more than a phone call. You’re supposed to spend your lives together. You know, there’s a book we just--we do have a new book that we can send you, Nancy, and it’s called “How to Know the Will of God?” The cover of the books got a sign post and it’s pointing a couple of directions like how do you know which way to make these decisions. There’s a list of about ten things that we give so you can help decide God’s will on, you know, multiple decisions, everything from a job to marriage, to a move, these are difficult decisions and especially marriage. I’ll tell you one thing, don’t ever marry someone if you think you can live with him. You want to marry him if you can’t live without them. You know what I’m saying? If there’s any doubts, wait. So I don’t know, what do you think, Pastor Ross. But I think when it comes to marriage, if you’ve got any doubts, wait.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know, I think there are--well, the Bible makes some very clear principles, lays down guidelines for us for those seeking marriage. For one, they need to be of the same faith, they need to be Christian if you’re a Christian. So if those criteria are met and the person loves the Lord, then you want to pray for guidance and…
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: …you want to allow God to open the way and to lead by providence. And then as Pastor Doug says, if there are doubts or concerns, then it’s better to wait and see which way the Lord leads.
Pastor Doug: Are you still there, Nancy?
Nancy: Thank you.
Pastor Doug: Yep. I will say that see how he treats his family, how he treats his sisters and his mother, and that’s how you will be treated. So it’s usually a good criteria.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number, Nancy, is 1-800-835-6747 and the book is entitled, “Determining the Will of God.” That’s for anyone listening. If you’d like to learn more, it’s 1-800-835-6747, you can ask for the book “Determining the Will of God.” Miguel is listening from Queens, New York. Miguel, welcome to the program.
Miguel: Hello, Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Miguel: Good evening. Thank you for accepting my call. Can you hear me loud and clear?
Pastor Doug: I hear you.
Miguel: Okay, because the receptionist told me to speak up.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Miguel: Pastor Doug, I have a question. Are we God’s children, or are we Christians? Because throughout the Bible it addresses us as God’s children. Jesus says, when we pray we got to pray Our Father in heaven. And being Christians it’s kind of divides everybody up because there are so many different denominations. So should we address ourselves as Christians or as God’s children?
Pastor Doug: Well, there shouldn’t be a conflict. If you are a Christian, a real Christian, you are a child of God. Now God has--
Miguel: Okay, because this is where I’m mixed up because real Christians--then if I’m a real Christian and my child decides to go to Afghanistan to the war, being that I’m a real Christian I shouldn’t allow him to go because the Bible does say “thou shalt not kill.”
Pastor Doug: Well, that’s a different question between the difference…
Miguel: Well, that’s why I’m asking the first question because as the children of God, God says we are loved and so love doesn’t kill.
Pastor Doug: Well, now do you think that--and I agree with you that we shouldn’t take human life. But at the same time, do you think there’s a role for military in a country?
Miguel: Absolutely to protect the country.
Pastor Doug: What if that involves killing?
Miguel: Well, if somebody’s trying to kill you, yeah, but to go to somebody else’s backyard and try to kill them--you know, I hate to make the question so complex but if we look at ourselves as God’s children we shouldn’t see if somebody kills us. Such as Christ wasn’t afraid to go to the cross, you understand?
Pastor Doug: Yeah. I do understand. So I’m still trying to figure out is your question really about Christians and the military killing or…
Miguel: Because if people look at themselves as God’s children, then the church wouldn’t be so divided with so many denominations because they see themselves as equal. If they look at themselves as Christians, well then I’m a Christian of this denomination, Christian of that denomination, you know, I’m just trying to clear the air.
Pastor Doug: Well, a Christian is…
Miguel: …and what does the Bible say?
Pastor Doug: Well, first of all, the word “Christian” is in the Bible, in the Book of Acts--I think it was an Antioch where they were first called Christians.
Pastor Jëan Ross: It’s Acts 11 verse 26.
Pastor Doug: Yes. So the word “Christian” is a Bible term and if a person is a Bible believer, there’s nothing wrong with the name or the title. Christian, it means a follower of Christ or a follower of the Messiah. Christos was the Greek word for the anointed or the Messiah. And now along with the teachings of Jesus, obviously as far as you can you should turn the other cheek, but there’s also a role for soldiers--John the Baptist, you know, even addressed the soldiers and how they should respond. You know, the Bible doesn’t really make a statement that Christians living in a country with the military is a wrong or a bad thing.
Pastor Jëan Ross: I think what Miguel might be referring to as well is the name Christian which we find in Scripture means a follower of Christ. But unfortunately there are many who take the name of Christ.
Pastor Doug: Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: But they don’t live up to the truth. Matter of fact, Jesus said, when He comes there’ll be many that say Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name and cast out devils in your name. Jesus will say, “I never knew you.” So He will be proclaiming to be the followers of Christ, but they didn’t have the fruits of righteousness.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, the word for that is a nominal Christian. Nominal means in name only. And so, yeah, Miguel, it’s a very hotly debated issue about what is the role of a Christian relation to the military. You know, we do have a book we can send you on, “The Name of God.” Now we’re not leaving, friends. We’re just taking a break. We do this every program about halfway through. So don’t go anywhere. And just before we enter into the break I want to remind you that you can take the Amazing Facts Bible study course right on-line on the internet. Simply go to amazingfacts.org and you’ll find more information there. Be right back.
[Commercial Break]
Pastor Doug: We’re back. I expect there are some of you who’ve come on board along the way and this is Bible Answers Live. We are live and we are taking Bible questions. If you’d like to call in with your question--I still see a couple of little windows on our screen that’s say nobody’s on that line. And if you just hang on and let it ring for a minute our operators will get to you, that number is 463-7297. We tried a budget about three or four minutes per question so we can get as many as we can. That’s not that these questions aren’t important. But there’s a lot more information we provide at our website with a lot more depth to the many questions we get. And that again is amazingfacts.org. So, Pastor Ross, maybe we should just see the second half how many questions we can get in and answers provide for people.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright. Well, let’s go straight to Gerick who is listening in Detroit, Michigan. Gerick welcome to the program.
Gerick: How are you doing, Pastors?
Pastor Doug: Very well. And your question tonight?
Gerick: My question was, why God give man meat?
Pastor Doug: Well…
Gerick: And why are we able to eat meat? I mean, why did God allow us to kill animals?
Pastor Doug: Well, first let me ask you a question. Was eating meat part of God’s original plan?
Gerick: You said eating meat a part of God’s original plan?
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Gerick: No, I don’t think so.
Pastor Doug: I agree with you. I don’t think it was part of His original plan. I think that as a result of sin that all kinds of things went haywire and sideways in the world. And, are you still there? Yeah.
Gerick: Yeah, I’m still here.
Pastor Doug: So after sin, the sacrificial system was established and they started eating certain clean animals, those that could be offered as sacrifice, like a lamb or a goat or a deer or whatever. And then especially after the flood when all of the vegetation was globally wiped out, then they began to eat more of the clean animals and it became more common practice. But we won’t be killing and eating animals in heaven. There’ll be no death there, the Bible says. There’s no pain there. So, you know, death and even eating animal flesh is all part of the sin problem. God said if you’re going to eat animals it had to be among the clean animals. Now, I’m a vegetarian for a couple of reasons. Well, I’m a vegetarian because first of all, I’m getting ready for heaven and we’re not going to eat them there. Secondly, just about every doctor will tell you the fewer animal products that you eat, the better off you are. You don’t get cholesterol from celery. You get it from the animals. And so it’s better for your health.
Gerick: I wanted to ask you was--somebody tell me that meat was to shorten the lifespan?
Pastor Doug: Well, if God wanted to shorten the lifespan He didn’t need to make people start killing and eating animals. God could simply let some error out of their balloon and their lifespan would shorten. You know, there’s a lot of ways that Lord could do that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Although it is interesting…
Gerick: That’s not in the Bible--somebody told me that was in the Bible that God say, gave us meat because we were living--you know, back in the days before Noah, before the flood, we’re living for like a thousand years and stuff like that. So He didn’t want us to live that long, so He gave us meat to have shorten our lifespan. I mean, that’s what somebody told me. I didn’t see it in the Bible myself.
Pastor Doug: Well, you know, it is true that following the flood the whole environment radically changed, everything from probably the oxygen level to the way the sun hit the earth. The whole planet changed during the flood. And you’ll notice especially after the flood man’s lifespan radically began to go down to the typical three scorn ten years that we have right now. It’s been that way for about four thousand years, five thousand years. But meat-eating was probably part of that, man’s diet changed after the flood. But I don’t think God like try to trick us into eating meat to shorten our lives. It all kind of went part and parcel. We do have a study guide that talks about--“Death in the Kitchen.” We’ll be happy to send your free copies, Gerick, and it’s got more information there and what the Bible says about diet and food.
Pastor Jëan Ross: It’s a book actually entitled, “Death in the Kitchen,” and it’s free if you call our resource line, that’s 1-800-835-6747. And again, the book is called “Death in the Kitchen.” Our next caller is Johnny. And Johnny is calling from New Jersey, listening in WMCA. And, Johnny, welcome to the program.
Johnny: (Inaudible 35:28)
Pastor Doug: And your question?
Johnny: Alright, listen, God Bless you.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Johnny: I attend the Bible study last week, right? And this teacher he was saying that there is no evidence that, you know, the Bible that say about some of the (Unintelligible) but he said that the law and the grace are like, you made it like, it’s the same, so I mention that we are not in the law no more. And this is your grace, so I don’t think he likes that. But I don’t see it like that the law and the grace they like, you made it or defame. What do you think?
Pastor Doug: Well, I don’t believe that there is a conflict between law and grace. We are all guilty of disobeying God’s law. The penalty for sin is death. So everybody has broken God’s law. We all are deserving of death. God extends grace to us through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus where we are forgiven when we accept Christ and then given power to live a new life of obedience. God does not give us a blanket permission out to break His law. So obviously, when a person is forgiven for their sins--Paul says in Romans, “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, who are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” So when we are saved by God’s grace, part of the purpose of that grace, He gives us grace to obey.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, we’ve got a book dealing with this very subject, the title of the book is “Does God’s Grace Blot Out the Law?”
Pastor Doug: Perfect.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s a common question that people have. This book is free if you call our resource line, it’s 1-800-835-6747. And, Johnny, if you’d call and ask for the book, “Does God’s Grace Blot Out the Law,” we’ll be happy to send that to you or to anyone who’d like to know more on this important subject. Next caller is Jim. And Jim is listening in Florida on the internet. Jim, welcome to the program.
Jim: How are you this evening?
Pastor Doug: Evening, Jim.
Jim: Evening. I heard it on another Christian radio station about May 21st. They were talking about that it was going to be the end of the world, and I heard that rapture.
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Jim: The relationships.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, we’ve heard that, too. We’re getting a few phone calls on that subject. It stirs everybody up naturally. No man knows the day or the hour. I actually got so many questions on that that I delivered a message at my church called the day and the hour, does anyone know the day and the hour? And I went through the Bible and showed what I think is a pretty compelling argument from Scripture that Jesus made it clear we do not know. He said, “In such an hours you think not the Son of Man comes.” It’s going to overtake the world as a surprise. And so when one, you know, lone pastor begins to say, you know, I’ve managed to calculate the second coming of Christ down to the day, I should mention I’m pretty sure I know who you’re talking about. He also picked another day back in 1994, I believe it was, and that came and went. So it’s pretty reckless. It’s reckless guessing.
My wife tells me a little cynical. But it’s interesting whenever he makes one of these wild predictions his donations go up for a little while up until the prediction passes. Now Jesus might come sooner because no man knows the day or the hour. I frankly don’t think the Lord is coming this year. And part of the reason is that gospel is going to be preached in all the world for a witness. There are still places in the world through the 10/40 Window that have not heard about Jesus. Amazing Facts is going to the Middle East and Indonesia this year to share the gospel there. So many people that don’t know about Christ in these countries that--I think that there’s still some things that need to happen first before the final events. I want to get stirred up about the date, Jim, I’d just say be ready.
Jim: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: I mean, whenever we die, that’s the second coming for us. So we want to be ready everyday because no one knows if we’re going to breathe another breath.
Jim: Well, the thing that was concern to me and that was that while I was listening to the station up in South Bend, Indiana one night and a guy called in and said, well, we missed the rapture on the 21st, should we go ahead and commit suicide on the 22nd?
Pastor Doug: Well, there are several problems with that point of view. One problem is, traditional Christian view is that when the Lord comes, life does not go on here on earth. It’s only recently in the last hundred years that some evangelical Christians adopted this, left behind scenario of prophecy that when the rapture happens that people will continue here on earth. If you read in second Peter Chapter 3, it says that “the day the Lord comes as a thief in the night in which the heavens pass away with the great noise, and the elements melt with fervent heat, the earth and the things that are in it are burned up.” So when the Lord comes as a thief, which everyone agrees as the rapture, how is life going to go on on earth if everything’s melted and burned up? You see what I’m saying?
Jim: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: Hey, let me send you a book on this. It’s the book we offered in once tonight, it’s on the “Anything But Secret.” It deals with the rapture, the tribulation and some of the signs of Christ coming. You’d also appreciate our study guide on the second coming.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number to call, Jim, is 1-800-835-6747. The book is entitled, “Anything But Secret.” “Anything But Secret.” The study guide is entitled, “Ultimate Deliverance.” And if you ask for those two items, we’ll be happy to send it out to you. Let’s see, our next caller is Wade. And he is listening in British Columbia. Wade, welcome to the program.
Wade: Hello.
Pastor Doug: Hi, Wade. And your question?
Wade: My question is concerning tithing. On one-year later programs you said that tithing is giving ten percent to the church, is that right?
Pastor Doug: That’s what the Bible says.
Wade: Well, I’d just like to point you to Deuteronomy 14:22--the way I understand that, it says that tithing is ten percent, but Levites only gets part of that tithing. So then I was like, well, how much do we give to the Levi then? The only place I could find anything that maybe you sent to me was Numbers 18:26, it says that Levi gets a tenth of the tithe so that tithe is more like one percent and ten percent. A tithe is ten percent, but how much the Levite actually gets his one percent?
Pastor Doug: Well…
Wade: And then every third year, in Deuteronomy 14, it says, every third year then you give it all, but then the other nine percent goes to widows and to poor people and whatnot.
Pastor Doug: Well, first of all, the word “tithe” means tenth.
Wade: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: So we agree on that. If you read in Malachi chapter 4--and I just want to make it very clear, I don’t think any pastor of a church should ask the members to give him personally ten percent of their increase. Tithe is supposed to do much more than go into the pastor’s personal checking account. And so you’re right. The individual Levites were not supposed to get ten percent because there was a lot more happening with tithe than just the sustenance of the Levites. If you read in Malachi chapter 3, it says, “Bring all the tithe into the storehouse.” There was a central location from where it was divided for the different uses of the tithe. And, you know, it’s a deeper study and I can’t probably do in a few minutes. We do have a study specifically on the subject of tithe that we’ll be happy to send you a free copy, but you are right that the Levites weren’t to get all ten percent for one man.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, I get rather nervous, if there was a pastor that stood up and said that you should give me ten percent, everyone should give me ten percent of your increase.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, what if he’s got fifty? If he’s got fifty members, then he ends up getting about five times more than anyone member because he’s getting ten percent of fifty peoples.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right.
Pastor Doug: It’s quite a gimmick.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Right so…
Wade: So what’s the answer then? If you tithed and give ten percent to the church, where does the other nine percent supposed to go nowadays?
Pastor Doug: Well, first of all, there’s two things--and again, in Malachi chapter 3 I think it’s verse 8, talks about tithe and offerings, so two separate things. The Israelites’ tithe was a prescribed amount and it was ten percent. Paul then talks about bringing offerings and Paul explains that offerings are, you know, to be given cheerfully, whatever the Lord impresses on a person’s heart. And so in the Bible they had freewill offerings, they were called, and there was tithe, two distinct different things. And freewill offering might not even be--it might not be money, it might be sheep, it might be cloth. They brought offerings to the temple when it was being built.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And if the church follows the biblical method all of the tithe will go to a central location, often a number of churches will contribute their tithe to a central location. The tithe then would be divided up to provide, you know, financial supports for the pastors…
Pastor Doug: Missionary, teachers, all kinds of things.
Pastor Jëan Ross: …missionaries, teachers, number of others who are involved in active ministry. It doesn’t all go to one individual.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. So I hope that helps a little, Wade, and do ask for the study guide, “In God We Trust,” and we’ll send that to you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747 and the study guide is “In God We Trust.” And we’ll be happy to send that out. Our next caller is Genie and he is calling from Minnesota. Genie.
Genie: Hello. Yes, hello. Hi.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi.
Genie: Hi, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross.
Pastor Doug: Hi.
Genie: So my question is concerning creation in Genesis 1 verse 3, where it says, “God said, let there be light and there was light.” I’ve got a friend who says it’s the sun and I’m saying no, because the sun was create on the fourth day. So I’m wondering what this light is? Or is this the presence of God, or what is this light?
Pastor Doug: You’re right. It is the presence of God.
Genie: Okay.
Pastor Doug: I’m looking at the verse right now. First John 1:5, “This is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” And then you go to Revelation where talks about the city of God, it says, “There is no need of the sun, for God lights the city.” And that the light of God is brighter than the sun when Jesus appears. So when God came to this corner of the universe where you’ve got this orb, that was a chaotic mass, His very coming as He came He said, “Let there be light,” and just His presence brought light. And I expect what He did at that point, He began rotating the planet, whatever side was facing Him was day and whatever was facing away was night. And on the fourth day then He’d made the sun to sort of replace His light when He were to leave this corner of the cosmos. So, yeah, God’s presence was that light, I believe.
Genie: Okay. I wasn’t sure because that’s kind of what I thought, but I get your opinion on it.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. There’s several verses that talk about the light of God being brighter than the sun. You can even read in Malachi chapter--is that chapter 3 also--“The Lord will rise as the Son of Righteousness with healing in His wings.” The word “son” there is S-O-N.
Genie: Okay.
Pastor Doug: So one of the words that was used for Christ was the son. And anyway, so, yeah, God is light.
Genie: Okay.
Pastor Doug: He’s that light brighter than the sun emanated from Him.
Genie: It’s His presence. Okay.
Pastor Doug: Yep, sun, moon and stars made the fourth day, you’re correct.
Genie: Okay. Okay, well, thank you very much.
Pastor Doug: Thank you, Genie. Appreciate your question.
Genie: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, friends, we do have a few lines still open. If you’d like to get your Bible questioning on the program this evening, the number to call is 1-800-463-7297. Again, that number is 1-800-463-7297. Our next caller is John and he is listening in San Diego, California. John, welcome to the program.
John: Hi. Thank you very much. I’m calling about Matthew chapter 7 verses 7 through 12, where it says, “Ask and it will given to you, seek and you will find, knock on the door and it will open to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to Him who knocks the door will be opened.”
Pastor Doug: Okay.
John: “Which of you, if your son asks for bread will give him the stone?” “Or if he asks for a fish will give him the snake. If you then who are evil--though you are evil--know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more you’re your Father in heaven give good fits to those who ask him.” So when Jesus said this, what I’m wondering is if that’s the case--and I believe that is it--I just wondered if it’s applicable to us today because Christians today will ask for deliverance from illness, or poverty, or for a safe trip when they go on vacation, or many, many things like that. But often they are not granted those requests. And I wonder how we square that reality of not having those request granted with this teaching by Jesus--this seeming promise by Jesus?
Pastor Doug: You know, one way I think to help understand this, John, is you read the same passage in Luke 11. In Luke 11:13, it says, “Or if your son asks for an egg, will you offer him a scorpion? If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that asked?” So here Luke’s specifies what Jesus is contextualizing. Jesus is saying, “If you seek, and you ask, and you knock for God, for the spirit, He’ll be given to you.” And He sums it up also in Matthew when He says, seek ye first the priority, the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these other things, you know, the food and the cloths and things we need will be added. So making God and His righteousness the priority, if we are seeking and knocking and asking for the Lord, He’ll take care of the basic needs. I think that some have read this verse to me, if we are seeking, knocking and asking for whatever a Christmas list is, that we’re going to get that. Jesus isn’t saying that. You know, prayer is not, you know, a heavenly lottery.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, I’m looking another verse here in First John chapter 5 verse 14, where it says, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything, according to His will, he hears us. So when it comes to prayer we want to pray according to the will of God, we have the example of Jesus in The Garden of Gethsemane where He pray and said, not my will be done, thy will be done.” But when we go to God demanding that He does certain things that we want Him to do, we’re not really submitting to what His will, maybe that’s not His will for us.
Pastor Doug: Now, John, if you are still there, I’ve got a book I can send you, it’s called “Teach Us to Pray,” and it goes through the basics of answered prayer and what that means. But God does answer prayer to you for the essentials. Would you like a free copy of that?
John: Sure. I appreciate the answer, in the seeking you shall find, the Scripture is very interesting, I guess when I’ve read that, of course, seek first the Kingdom of God and all these other things will be added to you. But I know personally of Christians, like growing up in Ethiopia, a friend of mine I met in college, he would go to bed hungry as a child and, you know, I know his family prayed for bread and food, and they were Christians and they were seeking first the Kingdom but yet…
Pastor Doug: Yeah, you’re right. Even Christians suffer and might experience some want and trials. And that’s not, you know, of course, everyone here knows. There have been thousands, millions of Christian martyrs that not only got hungry or starved to death but they were executed for their faith. And someone might say, well, you must not have pray hard enough. But, you know, every prayer like John said, it has to be submitted to the will of God. And there’s an old expression, “One gunshot is heard more than a thousand prayers.” And what I mean by that is, God answers so many prayers with a “yes” that when we do see someone and their prayers answered with a “no,” we think, oh, did God failed. Is His promise failed? No, everything is subject to His will. But it’s still important to pray. Hey, John, we’re going to try and get in a couple of more questions before the program is over. I hope that helps a little. Who is up to bet, Pastor Ross?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Again, the book, just before you go to the next caller.
Pastor Doug: Oh, yeah. “Teach Us to Pray.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: “Teach Us to Pray.” To receive that book, call our resource line. That’s 1-800-835-6747. Again, that number is 1-800-835-6747. And the book that you need to ask for is “Teach Us to Pray.” Pastor Doug, I’m looking at our callers here and I’m seeing we have taken a few of these calls before some of the folks that we have in line.
Pastor Doug: Well, let’s just try someone who’s-- let’s take one cold turkey here.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, let’s go to Donna and…
Pastor Doug: Well, they said Donna’s still (Unintelligible), let’s go to the one above that. Just let’s see what happens here.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Let’s see who’s over here. Alright, we’re on the air with…
Pastor Doug: Welcome to Bible Answers Live.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We’re not quite sure who we got.
Pastor Doug: Who we’re talking to?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Are you there? Yes, you’re there, we hear you.
Pastor Doug: And your question?
Woman: I have a question about my adolescence daughter. She asked me who do I pray to? Is it God or Jesus?
Pastor Doug: Good question.
Woman: But I said t her--but I couldn’t remember where to find this text, but the Bible say, you know, you have to go to the son, Jesus Christ.
Pastor Doug: Right, we pray in Jesus’ name. Yes, if you look in the Book of Acts when Stephen--I think it’s Acts chapter 7--when he pray just before he died it’s Acts 7:59 he said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Now that’s the only time that I found in the Bible where someone addressed a prayer to Jesus, so to speak, there maybe others. But most prayers in the Bible, we pray to our Father in Jesus’ name. I think one reason that Stephen did that there is because, you know, that big debate around him was that Jewish wondering if Jesus was a Christ. Pastor Ross?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yeah, there’s another verse in John 14 verse 13 where Jesus says, “Whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that my Father might be glorified in the Son.
Pastor Doug: Right. And of course, Bible ends by saying “even so come Lord Jesus.” But typically, we address our prayers--Christ had praying this manner, Our Father, and then we ask the Father to hear our prayer as you read that verse for Christ’s sake and praying in His name. So that’s the key to that and she would probably also enjoy the book we just mentioned on prayer.
Pastor Jëan Ross: “Teach Us to Pray.” The number is 1-800-835-6747. You can ask for the book, “Teach Us to Pray.” You know, Pastor Doug, on that same theme I’ve yet to find the Scripture where someone pray to the Holy Spirit, do you now have one?
Pastor Doug: No, that’s a good question. That’s true. Prayers typically were addressed to the Father. You want to pray in the Spirit but not to the Spirit.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, let’s see do we have time for another call.
Pastor Doug: Oh, what can we do and…
Pastor Jëan Ross: Let’s give it a quick call. Let’s see if Donna’s ready. Donna, welcome to the program.
Donna: Hi.
Pastor Doug: We’ve got about a minute, Donna? Can we do it?
Donna: Hello.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, you’re there. We’ve got one minute for this question. Can we get in real quick?
Donna: Yes, the question is, are we suppose to refer ourselves as male and female even though God called us man and woman?
Pastor Doug: Well, I don’t think there’s anything morally wrong with using the terminology of male and female. I think everyone understand there’s probably several other terms that can be use to describe the separate genders. Bible distinguishes them that way, too. So I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that morally. We’re both made in the image of God. But man and woman are certainly different and it goes beyond the pluming, He’s wired us differently on the inside as well, and are thinking that are needs and together we represent the character of God. Hey, friends, you can tell it from the music that it is sort of chasing us away from the microphone that we’ve run out of time for your questions. But don’t change the dial just yet. Please let me take a moment to thank you for participating. We love to hear from you. The program can go on right now if you just go over to the Amazing Facts website. It’s very simply amazingfacts.org, amazingfacts.com, amazingfacts.tv. It’s all Amazing Facts. God Bless you, friends, and God willing we’ll be together next week.
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