Hello friends, this is Doug Bachelor, how about an amazing fact? When it was first built in the early 1930s, the Queen Mary was the largest ship in the world, even surpassing the Titanic in almost every way. For many years, she had a rich history, transporting passengers with over one thousand Transatlantic Crossings, not to mention the other oceans. Then, during World War II the great lady became instrumental in saving lives.
She conveyed thousands of wounded returning to the United States and carried up to fifteen thousand troops at one time. Servicing the war effort, the Queen Mary traveled more than six hundred thousand miles and carried over eight hundred thousand troops, one historic journey to New York in May 1943, included passenger Winston Churchill and five thousand German POWs. In 1967, the city of Long Beach bought the Queen Mary from Cunard Lines.
Since then $63 million has been spent on its conversion into a tourist spot, with shops, restaurants and a hotel. Now many in the city of Long Beach look upon the giant ship docked in the ocean front and dominating the view, as a floating white elephant, and voices are calling for the old liner to be scrapped. With no possibility of sail in the seas, they claimed the Queen Mary serves as false advertising, calling it a ship when it’s really a misnomer.
Even though it has a bow, a stern, a bridge and all the features of a great ship, it has no destination. Like many churches today it’s a large floating museum, a resort filled with activity that never ventures from port. 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: Hello listening friends, welcome to Bible Answers Live. And if any of you are tuning for the first time, this is a live, international, interactive Bible study, we would encourage you to join in. If you like, you can call in with your Bible question. You can listen along as we study the word together. You can also go to the Amazing Facts website and you’ll see a lot of the resource as we discuss and make available. And you can e-mail your friends right now and tell them to turn in. This is a live program. If you’ve got a Bible question, give us a call. It is a free phone call. Here is the number, 1-800-GOD-SAYS. There are lines open right now, good chance you’re getting on the program if you pick up your phone now. One more time, that’s 1-800-463-7297. 463-7297 will bring you into the studio here with your Bible question. And we focus especially on questions relating to the Bible and the word of God, Christian life. And then, have a pencil ready, we give away other resources. We have another number for that, some other websites we might share. 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. We ask your special blessing upon this program, be with those who are listening, wherever they might be. Lord, we recognized that the Bible, in order for us to correctly understand it, our minds need to be guided by the Holy Spirit. So we ask in a special way that you would draw close to us. Be with those who are listening in Jesus’ name, amen.
Pastor Doug: Amen.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Pastor Doug, you opened the program by talking about the Queen Mary over there in Long beach and while you’re reeling that amazing fact it reminded me of my visit down there, and we actually toured the Queen Mary. To be honest, it wasn’t as impressive as I had thought it was, of course, in those days it was a big ship.
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: But when you compare that ship with what we have today, it’s really not that big. Nevertheless, there’s a lot of activity around the boat, tourists coming, tourists going. And you mentioned that sometimes the church can kind of have a lot of activity but not really be going anywhere.
Pastor Doug: That’s right. It’s typical for churches, especially in countries where Christianity is embraced or become sort of the norm to become settled into, really, a little bit of a social club. It’s real easy after a couple of generations for it to turn into something other than the passionate message to be take into the world of discipling people in lives of holiness and fortifying their minds with the Scripture and really forgetting the great commission. The gospel is summed up in two profound utterances of Jesus. The first one you find in Matthew 11. It’s called “The Great Invitation.” That’s where Christ invites us to come to Him, and where He says, “Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest.” Then you’ve got the second as “The Great Commission,” where He tells the church to go and tell others. So, really, the church is summed up in the shape of a cross. It’s our love relationship with God, our coming to God--and that’s the vertical--and then you have the horizontal hour going for God, the Great Invitation come to God, the Great Commission go for God.
And every day our lives need to be filled with these two dynamics. But a lot of times the churches lose their focus. Jesus gives a Great Commission by the way in Matthew chapter 28 verse 19, He said, “Go ye therefore, teach all nations--that’s what we’re trying to do in this program is teach the word--baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” “And teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” Now, there are so many different fragments of Christianity in the world today and in different divisions, how could a person know what the truth is? How could a person know it doesn’t matter what church you belong to? And a lot of people call in with that question. We have a resource that we’re willing to send anybody who asks for it, dealing with “Search for the True Church.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s actually the name of the book that we are offering for free this evening if you’d call our resource line, that’s 1-800-835-6747 and ask for the book, “The Search for the True Church.” The number again is 1-800-835-6747 and the book is entitled, “The Search for the True Church.”
Pastor Doug: You know, just before we go to the phones, we want to remind people that we do have a spectacular new website that is just going into orbit. It’s for anybody that wants to study the Bible, especially the prophecies, and it’s bibleprophecytruth.com. Three words all glued together, they are bibleprophecytruth.com. And just to give you some of the headings, it covers all of the dynamic hot subjects in prophecy, 666 Antichrist, Heaven is Real, A new world order, Seven Last Plagues, Tribulation, Babylon, Millennium, Angels, Rapture, Mark of the Beast, it’s got all of these and their topical studies or charts, and videos, and audios and it’s a tremendous website. We hope you look at it and then pass the link onto your friends.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, well, Pastor Doug, we’re going to go to the phone lines. We have Jim who is listening in Ohio, listening on the internet. Jim, welcome to the program.
Jim: Hey, excellent websites. I’ve been there many, many times. Pastor…
Pastor Doug: Thank you, Jim.
Jim: …I just started reading, you know, different version of the Bible and I’ve started for the fifth time, and I’m reading a version called the Complete Jewish Bible and it’s completely different like the Book of Ruth is moved out. I think it’s passed Isaiah. And numbers chapter 16, has fifty verses in the other Bible, but this one only has thirty-five, I just wondered why is that Bible so different? And, like, where it’ll say like Abram or Abraham. It’s completely different. And I was just wondering why.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, I can’t give you a complete answer because I don’t know all the versions. There are so many different versions. My mom’s side of the family is Jewish, and I was visiting some Jewish relatives not too long ago and they had a Bible, of course, it’s the Old Testament on their family coffee table. And I opened it up and I looked and I saw, I think what you’re talking about, some of the arrangements were different.
Jim: Yes.
Pastor Doug: But the typical Old Testament that we have as Christians in our Bibles is really identical to the universally accepted Jewish Old Testament, they probably have some different scholars that have got different arrangements of books, that wouldn’t surprise you because even the books in our Old Testament are not arranged chronologically. They divide them up in Major Prophets, Minor Prophets, the books of poetry and history and so forth. So, you know, you could shuffle the arrangement, not lose the story by putting Ruth or Job in a different place. What I couldn’t answer you is why you’ve got a version there where numbers has a different number of verses. Now, what I’d be curious to know is, is all the same material in the book of numbers and did they just put the chapters and verses differently? Because chapters and verses is something that dates way past the time of Christ, that was developed and…
Jim: Right. Yeah, this one here--I’m sorry I don’t mean to cut you off--this one had, like I said, in the book of numbers it was chapter 16 and it only have thirty-five verses, and it ended with something where it says “God rained fire down on them.” And to be honest with you I’ve started doing, like, two-day readings. I wanted to read it in six months and I just ended up switching over to the English version because it was really throwing me off.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. I would be suspicious if it’s missing a lot of verses. I don’t know why. There maybe some Jewish manuscript that did not include the latter half of numbers and they chose to go with that. But, you know, that puzzles me, so I can’t give you a square answer on that. I don’t know. I don’t know if Pastor Ross has run into that before.
Jim: Yeah, if you’ve got a chance it’s called the Complete Jewish Bible. It’s the Old and the New Testament.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yeah, in number 16 there should be fifty verses and you say yours touched off what verse…
Jim: Right. And this one it only has thirty-five.
Pastor Doug: At thirty-five it stops?
Jim: Yes.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, that’s when fire came from the Lord and consumed the two hundred--you know what I’m curious about, when you go to number 17, does it take up with “and the Lord spoke to Moses?”
Jim: You know, I’m not sure, to be honest with you.
Pastor Doug: You know, because they might have the chapter…
Jim: You know what? It does.
Pastor Doug: So all the material’s all there, they’ve got different chapter-verse arrangement.
Jim: Yes, this one does because I was comparing this one with one of the other verses I have got that other versions of the Bible I got. And I don’t know it just kind of throwing me up because…
Pastor Doug: Well, the numbers are going to mess you up but the good news is that all the material is still there and that makes me feel better to hear that. I couldn’t figure why some of the Jewish Bibles would delete whole section of Scripture. That was a conundrum. But I have heard, Jim, that some of the Jewish Bibles have the chapter and verses labeled differently but all the same material is there. Hey, thank you very much. I hope that helps a little bit. By the way, we do have a book called “Spiritual Israel.” Talks about some of the history of ancient Israel compared with the New Testament and you will find that interesting. We’ll send you a copy, Jim.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number to call is 1-800-835-6747 and again, the book is Spiritual Israel. We’ll be happy to send that out. You know, Pastor Doug, something else dealing with the subject of the Bible, we have a book that explains a little more about various Bible translations and where the Bible came from. It’s called “The Ultimate Resource.”
Pastor Doug: That’s right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And for anybody listening, again, the number is 1-800-835-6747 and you can ask for the book, “The Ultimate Resource” or the book, “Spiritual Israel” and we’ll be happy to send that out. We have Adrian who is listening on the internet in Georgia. Adrian, welcome to the program.
Adrian: Good evening, Pastor Doug, and good evening, Pastor Ross. How are you doing guys tonight?
Pastor Doug: Doing well.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good.
Pastor Doug: Thank you for calling. And your question?
Adrian: Pastor, I have a dilemma for me, what to do and what to decide with a--God gave me a green manure revealed to me how to cure something that nobody can cure, but He (inaudible 13:48) this. I just have something that I (inaudible 13:52). What I’m trying to say is this: what should I do? Because I have people which is telling me to sell it or to keep it for me, just for me because they’ve got me in with--and it’s difficult for me to understand what to do, because, to me it’s…
Pastor Doug: So, is your question really, Adrian, then a question about God’s will?
Adrian: Yes. What to do? Because everybody is telling me to sell and to do it and I want to make a career to be able to keep the Sabbath and/or I need to keep it just I use it and just to keep it as a secret. What is your take on this, Pastor, because it’s too heavy for me?
Pastor Doug: Well, I appreciate you’re calling with the question, but, you know, really, I need to stick with Bible questions. But we do have a book that deals with how to know the will of God and we’ll be happy to send you a copy of that, Adrian. And as far as business decisions or life decisions, you pray, read the book, maybe it’ll give you some biblical principles that will guide you in this and Lord will show you what to do.
Pastor Jëan Ross: I think that’s the key, looking at the biblical principles that we see, following God’s principles given in the Bible and making wise decisions based upon that. The book is entitled, “Knowing God’s Will.” And if you’d call our resource line, 1-800-835-6747, and again, Adrian, just asks for the book “Knowing God’s Will.” We don’t have the time to go into all of the principles but they’re all listed in that book. The number is 1-800-835-6747. We have Gwen who is listening from Georgia, listening on the internet. Gwen, welcome to the program.
Gwen: Good evening.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good evening.
Gwen: I’m a first time caller, kind of nervous. I’ll try to get to the point.
Pastor Doug: Oh, relax. It’s okay.
Gwen: Pastor Doug, I recently joined a study group, a Bible study group, and the subject that it came up were there are some people who include the phrase “Father God” in their prayers, and I wanted to know if you can shed some light on the division of how it came into being and whether or not if it’s a term that should or should not be used.
Pastor Doug: Well, in my Bible I just did a search because I saw where you’re heading with the question here and the arrangement “Father God” does not appear, but I don’t know if there’s anything morally wrong with using that. You know, of course, Jesus said, “When you pray, say, Our Father” and of course, He’s called Lord God and some maybe saying Father God because you have God the Son, God the Father, God the Spirit and so they’re same.
Gwen: Right.
Pastor Doug: You know, I don’t think there’s anything wrong. But one thing I tried to do in my prayer, it’s really easy to get into a rut.
Gwen: Yes.
Pastor Doug: And there are so many titles for God in the Bible that are used in prayer. I think it’s okay to mix them up because the different titles tell us something about God and whether you call Him a creator, you know, you could call Him, you know, Lord, Dear Savior. There’s a lot of terms they used to address God in the Bible. Even Jehovah isn’t an appropriate term.
Gwen: Right. Here’s what the dilemma is, the dilemma is that one person said it has a pagan derivative and that we should not at all and then someone quote the Scripture, you know, where it says we should not call…
Pastor Doug: Call no man father?
Gwen: Father, yes.
Pastor Doug: Well, that’s call no man father. And that’s the custom of…
Gwen: Right, exactly. And that was, like, I think--
Pastor Doug: …call Him like a priest.
Gwen: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Gwen: Yes, exactly.
Pastor Doug: You see, back in the Old Testament when Elijah went to heaven and Elijah died they prayed and said, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel.” They used to call the religious leaders and the prophets father. And in the time of Christ, it had gotten out of hand and Jesus said, “Look, you really have one spiritual father and that’s your heavenly father.” There’s nothing wrong with calling your dad father.
Gwen: Right. So you don’t know whether or not if there is any prove that it has a pagan derivative?
Pastor Doug: No. I think different phrases kind of come and go in the church. A few years ago everyone was calling Him “Awesome God.” So, you know, this may also pass. I’ve heard it a lot, too, where people referred to God as Father God.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, I think it’s also important that keep in mind when one does pray that the names we give for God that we speak with the reverends otherwise, it just sort of become the cliche and sometimes that happens. The name of God will be used even in prayer in a reckless way and we need to be careful of that.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, that’s true, a lot of people talk about the relationship with God as our friend. You know, Jesus is our heavenly brother, so to speak, but then they start to talk to God in a very casual buddy, buddy way and that become irreverent.
Gwen: Well, thank you so much.
Pastor Doug: I appreciate it. You know, that’s an interesting question. I’ve heard a lot of people praying that way lately, but I’ve never had a question on that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We’ve got a book that does deal with the subject of prayer. It’s called “Teach Us to Pray.” And for anyone wanting to learn more about how to pray, give us a call at 1-800-835-6747, you can ask for the book “Teach Us to Pray.”
Pastor Doug: Yeah, one more thought. Gwen, we do have a book on “The Name of God” that talks about the different titles of God and it’s called “The Name of God,” I believe.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And the number again, 1-800-835-6747 and the book, “The Name of God.” We’ll be happy to send that out. Althea is listening on WMCA and she is listening in Green Walk [ph] I guess it is.
Pastor Doug: Connecticut.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Althea, welcome to the program.
Althea: Yes, Greenwich, Connecticut. Yes, I have a question, Pastor Doug. In the Scripture I heard a pastor was saying the other day that it was not commanded--(Unintelligible) did not commanded it for the Gentiles to pay tithes, there is nowhere in the Scripture that the Gentiles should pay tithes, is that so? It’s only for the Jewish?
Pastor Jëan Ross: No, that is incorrect. Let me give you a New Testament statement of Jesus. If you read, for instance, in Matthew 23:23, there the Lords…
Althea: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: …says, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and you have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith,”--notice how Jesus finishes that sentence--“these you ought to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” In other words, you know, make your priority, the judgment, the mercy and faith but don’t neglect the faithfulness in tithe. And so you got that one statement and then, of course, whenever God makes a command in the Bible, unless you see a retraction somewhere else you were to assume it’s still there. The way you read the New Testament is tithe was a tenth of your increase. When you get to Acts chapter 5, it says, “Everyone was selling their houses and lands and laying it at the feet of the apostles, no man said that aught that he had was his own.” In other words, people were given eighty percent in the New Testament during Pentecost. So the idea of saying, you know, tithe is too much--well, I think anybody who is teaching that for a New Testament Christian, that a tenth of our increase is too much for the work of the Lord, something is dubious about their theology. It’s way beyond tithe for the New Testament Christian.
Althea: Oh, okay. Okay. So let me ask you one more question. I know you have a lot of people waiting, but (Unintelligible) if the person is working and they are really having a hard time paying that ten percent, what do you think how they feel about that?
Pastor Doug: Well, let me give you a verse that you find in Malachi chapter 3. It’s a promise that actually can help you with your financial straits. And he says in verse 10, “Bring all the tithe into the storehouse, that there might be--by the way, this is the last book in the Old Testament, so it’s hard to imagine God would say this last book in the Old Testament, then you turn over to the New Testament, He has abolished tithe--but here he says in Malachi 3:10, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there might be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it, and I will rebuke the devour. The devourers of your increase will be rebuked and He will not destroy the fruit of your ground, neither your vine cast, or fruit before its time in the field,” says the Lord, “and all nations will call you blessed.”
So faithfulness and tithe--there’s a promise God invites everyone to test Him on this and He promises to bless us. And so we do have a book, we can send you on that, Althea, and it’s dealing with “In God We Trust.” It’s a Bible Study on the subject of tithe and it gives New Testament’s Scriptures on it as well as the Old.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Our resource number again is 1-800-835-6747. And that study guide is “In God We Trust.” You know, Pastor Doug, we’ve seen it many times that if somebody’s struggling financially and they’re withholding their tithe, when they actually pay their tithe faithfully God is able to work in a abundant way, a miracle way to help provide for their needs.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, it’s often true in the Bible--friends, please listen--when you get to heaven, should you get to heaven you will find out that there are a lot of miracles that God wanted to work for you. He couldn’t work because we didn’t take that first step of faith. Sometimes we’ve got to take that step of faith. You might experience a little hunger in the wilderness before He turns the--that brings the men are from heaven. You might experience a little thirst before He brings the water out of the rock. You might have to put your feet in the Jordan River before He parts it. And so it’s not just with tithe but in every area He test our obedience and then He often works miracles.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Absolutely. John is listening on 3ABN radio from Little Rock, Arkansas. John, welcome to the program.
John: Hi, how are you doing?
Pastor Doug: Doing well. And your question tonight?
John: I was wanting to know how [inaudible] what I’m trying to say is where did we found in the Bible how to feel the truth by the prophet?
Pastor Doug: The way to tell a true prophet from a counterfeit or a false prophet, there’s several criteria--matter of fact we’re going to give you a lesson in just a moment where you can have the list in your hands, anyone that wants to know, there’s Bible criteria, I’ll give you a few of them. First of all, if they make prophecies that don’t come true, the Bible says then they are not genuine. Secondly, their lives need to be in harmony with the other revealed truths. Their prophecies are not to contradict existing Scripture. They’re not to be glorifying themselves by glorifying God. And I would be very suspicious about anybody that says they’re prophet if they say that they’ll give you a prophecy but you must pay them first for this message from God. And that usually, you don’t ever see an example of that in the Bible.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, we do have a study guide, Pastor Doug, that deals with this very important subject. Jesus said in Matthew 24 that before He comes there will be many false prophets. So we will need to be able to discern the genuine from the counterfeit. The study guide is entitled, “Does God Inspire Psychics and Astrologers?” And it gives you a list of various tests…
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: …that can be applied to somebody who claims to be a prophet. To receive that study guide, call our resource line, that’s 1-800-835-6747. Again, that number is 1-800-835-6747, you can ask for the study guide, “Does God Inspire Psychics?” And we’ll be happy to send that out to you.
Pastor Doug: Alright.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, I think we’re ready for our next call. We have Johnny who is listening in New York, New York. Johnny, welcome to the program.
Johnny: Hello, God Bless you.
Pastor Doug: Evening. Thanks for your patience.
Johnny: Yeah, listen, I have a verse in the Bible--want me to read it?
Pastor Doug: If it’s a short one, go ahead.
Johnny: It’s a short one. Just make it shorter anyway. It’s Mark chapter 16 verse 17.
Pastor Doug: Okay, go ahead.
Johnny: Did you mind reading?
Pastor Doug: I don’t mind. I’ll read it for you.
Johnny: So read it.
Pastor Doug: It says, “These signs will follow them that believe in my name they’ll cast out devils they’ll speak with new tongues they’ll take up serpents.”
Johnny: Okay, that’s enough. That’s enough.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Johnny: That happened after they face Him to heaven. Okay, it’s a contradiction today, right, you saw some churches--they criticized speaking of new tongues because when we speak our human terms, it’s (Unintelligible) the language (Unintelligible) I do, but when you talk about evangelical, some people are going to be talking new tongues, so it’s a contradiction today, some churches say these are demon. I don’t see like that. Could you explain it, please?
Pastor Doug: Sure. What Jesus said here in Matthew 16, one of the signs that would be evidence of the disciples being filled with the spirit is they’d speak with new tongues. Now, the word “tongues,” of course, means languages. And when the disciples at Pentecost were filled with the Holy Spirit--you will find that in Acts chapter 2--they were supernaturally filled with Holy Spirit and given the ability to speak in new languages they did not formally know or had not studied. Now, that doesn’t mean they are languages nobody understood because you read right there in chapter 2, there are sixteen different language groups. There were Jews visiting from around the Roman Empire and that He gave them the ability to preach the gospel in their languages. It was a new tongue for the apostles. They were speaking the new languages. Right now, if I should start to speak in--pick a language here, let me think…
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hindu.
Pastor Doug: Hindu. Yeah, there you go. Glad you picked Hindu. That’d be new tongue for me. I couldn’t speak. You know, sometimes a guy comes home with a car and he says, “Dear, I got a new car,” well, you know, it might be a 1970 but it’s new for him. And so that’s all it was saying, the disciples were able to supernaturally speak in that language. Hey, we’re not going away friends. By the way, we have a book on tongues and it’s called “Understanding Tongues.” Johnny, we’ll send you a free copy, “Understanding Tongues,” call 1-800-835-6747. Be right back, friends.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Pastor Doug: And we are glad that you are still with us, friends. Some probably joined us en route. This is Bible Answers Live and if you have a Bible question, lines are open. Here’s the number one more time, 1-800-463-7297. You’ll remember the 800 part, it’s 463-7297, that will bring your Bible question into the station. You know, a lot of people listen, they have questions, they say “Oh, well, I’m scared, I’ve never called before.” Oh, we’re not that scary. Try it out. With that, oh, yeah, we were going to real quick about, one more time, I told you about that amazing website that is kind of going into orbit, Bible Prophecy Truth. And it’s sort of become a one stop location for everything exciting about Bible prophecy and incredible resources, charts, studies everything from Bible numbers and what their meaning is to the symbols in the Bible and how to unlock these prophecies, and this website is really going to open your eyes regarding last day Bible prophecies as well as, you know, books like the Book of Daniel and, you know, Revelation, so go to bibleprophecytruth.com. Once you find out how incredible it is, make sure and send the link to your friends. We want the truths to get out there. Okay, back to the phone, Pastor Ross.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright. We’ve got Tim who is listening in Iowa. Tim, welcome to the program.
Tim: Thank you very much. How are you tonight?
Pastor Doug: Praise God, well.
Tim: I have one question. Decades ago I read Hal Lindsey’s great book, Great Late Planet Earth and first, he goes through all the prophecies that have come true and then he said there were some yet to happen. And he mentions what he had said in the book that Israel would find some richness in the earth, (inaudible) or something.
Pastor Doug: Right.
Tim: And, you know, when I read it back then, and I haven’t found it since, I didn’t think it pertaining to Israel. And I was just wondering if you knew what book he was talking, verse and chapter.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, I will, of course. They talk about, you know, riches would flow unto Israel and I think Hal Lindsey--I frankly agree with his interpretation of prophecy. I don’t question his sincerity. I think he takes a lot of the prophecies that talk about spiritual Israel or the fulfillment of when, you know, God’s people inherit the New Jerusalem and he applies them to present Israel. Some said that prophecy about Israel finding richness in their own land, were fulfilled in the Dead Sea. Now, the Dead Sea is one of the largest deposits of rich minerals and potash in the world. They mine incredible quantities, a very valuable minerals that they go down through the Jordan Valley and they all settled and kind of dry out there in the region around the Dead Sea, and some have said, that others have forecasted that Israel is going to hit their own oil so they’re no longer dependent on Egyptian or Arab oil. That really hasn’t happened yet.
Tim: Do you know what book and verse that comes from?
Pastor Doug: You know, offhand I don’t know. My guess is it’s Isaiah or Ezekiel where it talks about the riches of the Gentiles will flow unto you. I’d have to do a search and…
Tim: Isaiah or Ezekiel.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, I’m sorry that’s pretty broad, isn’t it?
Tim: That’s alright.
Pastor Doug: You got sixty-five chapters in just Isaiah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, there is one verse. Yeah, I’m looking at it. Isaiah 61 verse 6, it says, “You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast.”
Pastor Doug: You might find a cross-reference here. I don’t know if you have that feature open, Pastor Ross, but it’ll show you other related verses. So that’s one for you, Tim. We will, you know, if you like we will send you that book on Israel that I wrote with another Jew called Steve Wohlberg and it’s “Spiritual Israel.” I take some of the Old Testament and the New Testament prophecies about Israel and applies them. And if you’d like we can send you a copy of that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number to call is 1-800-835-67467 and the book is “Spiritual Israel.” Mark is listening in Tennessee on WITA. Mark, welcome to the program.
Mark: Hi, thank you for taking my call.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re welcome. We’re glad you’re with us.
Mark: When a person is searching through their Bible by themselves, what passage or two usually convinces them that what they’ve been taught about hell-fire in their church was wrong?
Pastor Doug: Well, there’s probably thousands-- maybe not thousands, there’s hundreds of passages--for me, you know, the idea where Jesus says in Matthew chapter 10 that He said, “Don’t fear him who destroys the body but rather fear him who can destroy your soul and who will destroy soul and body in hell.” Now, that to me is a really clear verse. And that’s Matthew chapter 10, “Fear him who will destroy soul and body.” He says devil might hurt your body but he can’t touch your soul, but God will destroy soul and body in hell. Then you got the verse in Revelation chapter 20 where it says that “the wicked experience the second death in the lake of fire.” And, of course, John 3:16, there are two choices that everybody has, those that believe everlasting life, those that don’t believe perish. Perish means to, you know, dissolve away into corruption, cease to exist. And so there’s so many verses. God told Adam and Eve you disobey, you will die. And there’s just a lot of verses along that line and, you know, the best thing is I can send you a study guide that actually has a list of the Scriptures, would you like that?
Mark: Yeah, probably.
Pastor Doug: Well, it’s free. There’s no strings attached and you’re not going to have any pop-ups on your computer screen or salesman knocking at your door, we’ll just send you the study guide. And I think you’ll find it a blessing. The one, “Is the Devil in Charge of Hell?”
Mark: Okay.
Pastor Doug: “Is the Devil in Charge of Hell?” Just call this resource number, it’s 1-800-835-6747 and ask for the book “Is the Devil in Charge of Hell?” And that’s got a long list of Scriptures that deals with what does the Bible really teach about the lake of fire. Now, for our friends that might be wondering, the Bible’s really clear, there is a lake of fire and the wicked do get punished every men according to what he deserves. But the idea of hell going on through billions of years really kind of grew out of the dark ages. It’s not taught in the Bible. A few verses have been misapplied. There’s either life or dead we’re all offered, eternal life for the saved and eternal death. The idea that everybody’s got an immortal soul, you don’t really find the Bible teaching that. Thanks, Mark, appreciate your question. And make sure and send for the book “Is the Devil in Charge of Hell?”
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number is 1-800-835-6747. That is our resource line. You know, Pastor Doug, not only do we have the study guide “Is the Devil in Charge of Hell” but we’ve also got a great website dedicated to the subject.
Pastor Doug: Oh, of course.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And it’s called simply Hell Truth.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, you can go there, Mark. Go to helltruth.com. And anyone listening, if you want the answers right now at your fingertips, just go to helltruth.com. I think it’s probably one of the most popular websites on the subject.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Our next caller is Greg. And Greg is listening from Orlando, Florida. Greg, welcome to the program.
Greg: Hi, pastors. Good evening.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Greg: I really enjoy your show and God bless you both. My question has to do with tattoos. The Bible in Leviticus chapter 19 verse 28…
Pastor Doug: Right.
Greg: …Old Testament, it talks about tattooing and that you shouldn’t really tattoo. There’s pastors and churches around the country today that to reach the youth of our nation--they think it’s okay to get tattoos, how do you feel about this?
Pastor Doug: Well, yeah, I think the Scripture there in Leviticus 19:28, “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord,” God qualifies that statement by saying I am the Lord, you’re my people, our bodies are His temple, I mean what would we think if--and if you got this beautiful marble temple dedicated to the God of the universe if someone were to take a can of spray paints start tagging gang graffiti on there even if you’re to spray Christian verses on it, that would be vandalism. It would be desecrating something holy. And our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The pagans are the ones who really invented tattooing, and you see a lot of it done in prison. It’s a whole culture that, you know, is the antithesis, in my opinion, of that which is holy and pure.
Greg: Yes.
Pastor Doug: It’s really sad in my opinion. And I’m sorry God knows there’s going to be a lot of people in heaven that had tattoos. I think most of them will regret they did it. And they’re not always easy to remove. There are some techniques where you can, to some extent, remove some of them, but it always kind of leaves the skin with white spots. It doesn’t clear up perfectly. But, you know, so many people get these tattoos and then a little while later they sort of regretted. They tattoo a boyfriend or girlfriend’s name on them and then they break up, and they got it there and they got to try and change or make it look like something else.
Greg: Yes, I agree with that. I agree, Pastors, and people know that the Bible says not to really do it, that they shouldn’t do it after they’re saved if they’d known me (Unintelligible) proper…
Pastor Doug: Exactly. Yeah, God will led anyone come to them.
Greg: Yes, I have one other quick question, is it okay?
Pastor Doug: If it’s a short one.
Greg: Yeah. Angels, did God create angels?
Pastor Doug: Yep. Of course, He made all the angels. Some of them were veiled. They are created, they’re not born. And yep, God created the angels. They are ministering spirits of His. Let me see, we don’t have a book on tattoos. We do have that book that really deals with Christian appearance and it’s talks about jewelry and, you know, some wonder how much jewelry should a Christian wear before it starts getting ostentatious. It’s called “Jewelry: How Much Is Too Much?”
Pastor Jëan Ross: To get that resource, call our resource line. It’s 1-800-835-6747. And again, the book is entitled, Understanding Jewelry--what does it called, Pastor Doug?
Pastor Doug: Jewelry.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Jewelry.
Pastor Doug: We got two actually. “Jewelry: How Much Is Too Much?”
Pastor Jëan Ross: I’m looking at it and I’m…
Pastor Doug: Joe Crews has one called “Colorful Cosmetics and Jewelry.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s the one I was looking at.
Pastor Doug: Either book is great.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Again, 1-800-835-6747, ask for the book on jewelry, we’ll be happy to send that out. We have Amill who is listening from Brooklyn, New York. Amill, welcome to the program.
Pastor Doug: Amill, you’re on the air. Your question?
Amill: Yeah, I’m sorry.
Pastor Doug: That’s okay.
Amill: I wanted to ask you--it was Adam and Lilith, am I right?
Pastor Doug: Well, there’s a Hebrew legend that there’s someone named Lilith, but that’s not in the Bible.
Amill: Alright. Well, anyway, Adam and Eve…
Pastor Doug: Right.
Amill: …they never had any children, up until the time they sinned.
Pastor Doug: Correct.
Amill: Have you ever think about that?
Pastor Doug: Yeah, from the time of creation until they sinned not very much time went by and so I’m sure that God intended them to go forth be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth in a sinless world before that first nine months went by and the first children came along, that devil met them at the tree and racked paradise. Of course, God still told them to go forth and have children. But, yeah, Adam and Eve--there was no Lilith, there is one Hebrew tradition that says that there was this other wife and that the first wife was rejected somehow and Adam got another wife. And none of that’s in the Bible. That’s like a Rosicrucian myth. And I really don’t put anymore credence in that than I do in Jews, Mercury or Hades. So, yeah, you don’t find that anywhere in the Bible. It’s from mythology. But I appreciate that, Amill. Thank you for your question.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We have Sarah who is listening from Toronto, Canada, listening on JOI. Sarah, welcome to the program.
Sarah: Hi.
Pastor Doug: Hi. We’re glad to have callers from Canada.
Sarah: Thanks. I was listening for a while. I just decided to call you. I’m reading Isaiah.
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Sarah: Isaiah 15.
Pastor Doug: Isaiah 15.
Sarah: Isaiah 65:15.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Sarah: Would you explain the verse?
Pastor Doug: Isaiah 65:15?
Sarah: Yes.
Pastor Doug: Alright, shall I read that for everybody?
Sarah: Okay.
Pastor Doug: It says, “You shall leave your name as a curse to my chosen: for the Lord God will slay you, and call His servants by another name.”
Sarah: Okay.
Pastor Doug: And…
Sarah: What name is He talking about?
Pastor Doug: Let me back up here. “Behold, my servants shall sing--I’m in verse 14--“Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and wail for grief of spirit.” Well, if it’s His servants singing, the ones who are wailing are the ones who reject Him.
Sarah: Okay.
Pastor Doug: Because there’s only two roads in the Bible. God says you can only serve two masters. And if we’re not serving God, then we’re probably serving the enemy. And so He’s saying that His servants will sing, but the one who reject God, doesn’t matter whether they’re church members of Israelites, if they’re rejecting God they’re not His servants.
Sarah: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: If you go to the beginning of the chapter in verse 1 it talks about the second coming, it says, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens that you would come down, that the mountains may shake,” and that’s symbolism for the second coming of Christ and then later on it describes a group of people that will be called by God’s name. You’ve got Spiritual Israel which is made up of Gentiles, people from all different nations who have responded to the gospel, they’re also included as God’s chosen people, as part of God’s spiritual Israel. I think that could refer to that.
Sarah: It wouldn’t have to do with the name like the evil name Joshua and Jesus with the pagan name, what is the (inaudible 45:05-45:08)?
Pastor Doug: You know, I don’t think this has anything to do with the pronunciation of God’s name. This has to do with those who are being loyal to worshipping God. It’s not how you say His name. Yeah, some people make a big issue on using the New Testament pronunciation of Jesus’ name. When you read through the New Testament, friends, let’s just get this out of the way, if you’re looking in the King James version, instead of reading Elijah it will say Elias and instead of reading Noah it will say Noye. There’s Greek pronunciations for those same Hebrew names when you read the Bible. The name for Jesus in Hebrew was Yeshua, it’s very similar to what we say Joshua. Most people pronounce it the way that is, you know, kind of universally accepted coming from the Greek pronunciation which is Jesus. It’s certainly not incorrect to use that common translation. We don’t know how we would have said Jesus’ name in English if the Bible had first been translated in English so people could choose to draw it from Hebrew. If you want to call Him Yeshua, that’s fine. If you want to call Him Jesus, that’s fine.
The idea that God is going to plug his ears if you say His name in your native tongue is, in my opinion, silly. But some people have built a whole doctrine around that that if you don’t say it right that He is going to curse you. God is not that petty, where it’s like a father their child can’t say his name right and they’re going to, you know, punish them until they pronounce it right, they’re saying that in their native dialogue. So, yeah, if you go to Mexico it’s Jesus, so are we going to tell them all there they got to learn to speak Hebrew before God’s going to answer their prayers? By the way, we do have a book, if you’ve got a question on that, we kept run into folks getting distracted with proper pronunciation of God’s name and it’s called “The Name of God.” We’ll be happy to send you a copy of that, Sarah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number, again, is 1-800-835-6747 and the book “The Name of God.” And we’ll be happy to send that out to anyone who calls. A very important subject, a lot of discussion about that. We have Gina who is listening n Orangevale, California, on KFIA. Gina, welcome to the program.
Gina: Thank you very much.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Gina: Please, I have a question about the Philippians chapter 1 verse 29, if you could read it and explain it for me, please? And then, also, I was wondering if you have a booklet to offer?
Pastor Doug: Alright, that’s a good concise question. Let me see if we can help.
Gina: Thank you.
Pastor Doug: “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but to suffer for His sake.” He’s talking to the believers in Philippi just to give you a little picture, Paul was imprisoned at one point with Silas in Philippi. He was whipped, put in prison, put in the stocks, he had done nothing wrong and so he experienced physical suffering for his faith in Philippi. The other believers after he left were also experiencing some persecution for their faith. Paul is saying what Jesus said, basically rejoice and be exceeding glad if you’re persecuted for righteousness’ sake. When the disciples actually were punished because of their faith in Christ, they went out of the synagogue or wherever it was, they whipped them and says they rejoice.
They were kind of worthy to suffer for His name. So when you think about how much God loves us, that He was willing to suffer as He did for us, if we’re called to suffer as a witness for Him in some respect and we can bring Him glory by it in some way, then really, we should be thankful. Whether we’re blessed for God’s glory or we suffer for God’s glory, whatever we do for the glory of God we should be thankful. Now, I’m trying to think about what we might have in the way of a book, Pastor Ross.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yeah, I’m just looking through our lists here. We do have books of encouragement if somebody is going through a time of difficulty and trial and some specific…
Pastor Doug: Don’t have anything specifically on suffering. You know, we really ought to write something on that subject because we do get questions from people why does God allow suffering, why does He allowed trial and tribulation? And that would be very helpful. You’ve just stymied us, Gina, we can’t think of a book specifically that deals with that, but we want to give you something.
Gina: The encouragement one will be fine. Thank you.
Pastor Doug: Alright, Pastor Ross?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, there are several that we have. One that I would find encouraging is “Life in the Spirit,” kind of dealing with how do we live a…
Pastor Doug: Perfect.
Pastor Jëan Ross: victorious Christ-centered life even in the midst of trials and difficulties. If you’d call that resource line, 1-800-835-6747, Gina, ask for the book “Life in the Spirit,” and we’ll be happy to send that out to you. We’ve got Charles who is listening right here in Sacramento. Charles, welcome to the program.
Charles: Well, thank you. And your program is a blessing.
Pastor Doug: Well, thank you. Appreciate you’re calling. And your question?
Charles: In Psalms, I think it’s (Unintelligible).
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Charles: There is a passage there that’s curious, it says, the deep calls into the deep.
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Charles: What in the world are they talking about, does the ocean have water currents?
Pastor Doug: No. Let me see. I’m looking at it up right now.
Charles: Psalm 49:2.
Pastor Doug: I’ve got Psalm 42:7.
Charles: Okay, 42:7.
Pastor Doug: “Deep calls unto deep at the noise of your waterfalls, and your waves and billows have gone over me.”
Charles: It sounds like somebody’s suffering.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, it does. “O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore I’ll remember you from the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermonites, from the hills of Mizar,” “Deep calls unto deep at the noise of your waterfalls.” You know, it almost sounds like he’s talking about just the depths of suffering, you know, Jonah prayed from the bottom of the ocean.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s kind of what comes to mind that you have the prayer of Jonah down in the depths of the ocean, and the imagery and the language is very similar in that way.
Pastor Doug: Because Jonah talks about the billows going over him, too.
Charles: Yes, he does.
Pastor Doug: And, you know, sometimes we suffer even because of bad choices we made and you wonder how low you can go. And so, “Deep calls unto deep,” I think David here or the author of this Psalm is bemoaning, I’m as low as you can get. You know, deep does not call unto deeper, deep calls unto deep because I’ve reached the bottom.
Charles: I can’t go any lower. Okay.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, I think that’s sort of the poetic way. Psalms, of course, there’s a lot of poetry involved and that’s what I would sort of make out of that. The waves and billows go over me.
Charles: Okay.
Pastor Doug: And you’ll find that language also in Jonah chapter 2 about, you know, the waves. Hey, good question. I don’t think we ever had that one before. Appreciate it, Charles.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, we’ve got--let’s see, Nancy who is listening in Missouri. Nancy, welcome to the program.
Nancy: Yes, thank you, Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Nancy: What was Jesus telling us when He told us not to cast pearls before swine?
Pastor Doug: Oh, I’m always to afraid to answer that question but if you’ll forgive me I’ll be honest with you here. Well, I was going to be honest. But, you know, there were a lot of people that wanted to distract Jesus from His mission that had no real desire to surrender or to follow from Him. And Christians who are involved in ministry as the apostles were need to be careful they don’t fall for the people that will distract them with disputes and with quarrels. I mean, someone said to Jesus one time, “Lord, my brother not going to divide the inheritance with me, can you help arbitrate?” And Jesus said, “Man, who’d made me a judge and rule over you.” And He later told the disciples, He said, you know, “Man’s life doesn’t consist in the abundance of things he possesses.”
People get distracted, Christian ministry gets distracted sometimes with disputes and things that the devil uses like a black hole to take away our time. And it’s kind of like giving your time is what life is made of. It’s the most precious thing you have. The way Jesus is going to reward us is with time, eternity. And so the idea of giving this pearl of our time and our life to people who really have no desire to follow Christ that are just working for the devil is like casting your pearls before swine and it’s like giving that which is holy to a dog. Dogs were considered unclean, as well as pigs. And so Jesus said just be careful about throwing away your time in your life on those that will never appreciate it and have no intention to follow in the word.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, also at the time of Christ there were certain followers, probably even some of the disciples that felt as though Jesus wasn’t following the right cause in proclaiming Himself as the messiah. They felt as though we should go to Jerusalem and maybe spend more time talking to the Pharisees and leaders of the Jewish people. But Jesus knew their heart. He knew that they wouldn’t respond.
Nancy: And they wanted an earthly king.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right. And in one sense, that would have been casting poor before swine. They wouldn’t have responded to it. Their hearts are set upon their own agenda. Jesus was going to those who are open and they were the ones who are receiving the message.
Pastor Doug: Bible uses some strong language. John the Baptist calls that group--he said the brood of vipers.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Absolutely.
Pastor Doug: Or wolves, Paul calls them. Thanks. Appreciate that, Nancy.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We’ve got Adrian who is listening in Oregon. Adrian, welcome to the program.
Pastor Doug: Adrian, are you there?
Adrian: Yeah, I’m here.
Pastor Doug: Hi. And your question tonight?
Adrian: I was wondering what James 4:11 means when it says that anyone who speaks against the brother or sister judges the law?
Pastor Doug: Well, let me read it for our friends, James 4:11, “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren, he who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law, but if you judge the law you’re not a doer of the law but a judge.” He’s basically saying be careful, it’s like what Christ said when He said “judge not,” that doesn’t mean the Lord is telling us not to use any discernment or discrimination. He wants us to use that kind of judgment. We’ve got to be careful not to condemn a brother or sister. And so when he says “speak of evil of another” he’s not talking about praying for someone who might have fall. He’s talking about just running somebody down you’re really judging them, you’re condemning them and you’re not the judge of the law.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, one day somebody came to Jesus and they asked what was the greatest commandment in the law? And Jesus said, “You ought to love God with all of your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbors as yourself.” If somebody is speaking evil of another, they are violating their principle of love, doing to others and have them doing to you. So in that sense, you’re speaking evil of the law. You are judging country to the law because the law is based upon love.
Pastor Doug: Good point. Hope that helps a little bit, Adrian. Can we squeeze in one more call, Pastor Ross?
Pastor Doug: Alright, let’s see, we got Daniel who is in New York. Daniel, welcome to the program.
Daniel: Yes, how are you doing, Doug? I was looking to a program on Saturday and…
Pastor Doug: We’ve got just about a minute, so summarize it, please.
Daniel: Romans chapter 7 verse 6, it says, but now we are delivered from the law, that being dead in which we were held that we should serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. When it says we’re delivered from the law, is that referring to the Ten Commandment?
Pastor Doug: Well, let’s just say that it did for a minute, delivered from the law, would that mean now we are free to break the law, we can kill, we can steal, we can commit adultery because we are delivered from the law? Obviously that’s absurd. He’s saying we’re delivered from the curse and the penalty of the law and now we’re not to obey the letter but even the Spirit. It’s not just don’t commit adultery, it’s more than that. It’s don’t look on the opposite sex and lust. It’s not just don’t kill, but it’s don’t be angry in you heart. And so Christ brought out the spirit of the law as well as the letter. Christians not only keep the Ten Commandments, they also keep the Spirit of the law that really goes to the motive of the heart.
Okay, friends, you can tell that we’ve run out of time. Notice we’ve dedicated as much time as we possibly can to answering your questions. But, listen, please, for just a moment, we would love to hear from you. Take a moment go to the Amazing Facts website. It’s amazingfacts.org. Let us know you are listening. Send us a note if you enjoy the program. And it’s right there, you can donate on-line and help keep this program on the air. Most of all, we want you to remember we do this because it’s about Jesus who is a truth that will set you free.
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