- [Commentator] It is the best-selling book in history. No volume ever written has been more loved and quoted, and its words sometimes simple and sometimes mysterious, should always be studied carefully. It is the Bible, the Word of God. Welcome to Bible Answers Live. Providing accurate and practical answers to all your Bible questions. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this broadcast, call 800-835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747. Now here's your host from Amazing Facts International, Pastor Doug Batchelor.
- Hello friends. Would you like to hear an amazing fact? The Welwitschia is one of the strangest plants in all of the world. Firstly, because they're unusually ugly, of course, that might be a matter of opinion. They got two large strap like leaves that continuously grow from a short woody unbranched stem along the ground. Over time the ends of the leaves die and dry forming a twisted and frayed bundle at the base of the plant, like a big rat's nest. They're also interesting because they live a very long time. Carbon-14 dating of the largest plants have shown that several individuals are at least 1,500 years old. Some are believed to be as much as 2,000 years old making them the oldest plants in the world. Even though they've got a shallow taproot, these incredible plants survive and thrive in the deserts of Namibia where temperatures can easily reach 130 degrees. How do they do it? During the night and morning, they absorb any moisture in the air. That's a good lesson for all of us to make the most of what little we have to get through fiery trials.
- Absolutely, I mean, when you look at the pictures, you don't think, well, it's not much to look at, but it's a fascinating plant. For one, it lives a very long time, more than 1,500, almost 2,000 years. Of course, redwood trees are known to also live for a very long time, but here is a-
- A plant.
- Almost just like a bush. Yeah, like a plant. Something else interesting about the plant I was looking at, it releases a red pigment when it's very hot in its leaves and the leaves actually turn reddish, which helps to reflect the radiation of the sun. And when it's cooler in the desert areas, then it releases more chlorophyl and the leaves turn very bright or deep green, which helps to absorb energy, so-
- And I'm guessing that they must taste awful or some camel would've eaten them for 1,500 years-
- some animal animal would eat it, but-
- It must smell or taste terrible.
- leave them alone. So here we have a plant that's able to endure incredible hardships. It patiently waits until the moisture comes and it's able to just thrive under these very difficult conditions. It reminds me of some Christians who are able to thrive even though they're going through some difficult trials.
- Yeah, when I lived up in the mountains, I lived in the Desert Mountains for several years, and, well, about a year and a half, and they have barrel cactus up there. And during the dry season, they shrivel and they get skinny, they got pleats in them. And then if you have a rain in the desert, a day or two or a few hours of rain, you'll see them, they soak up every drop of water, and they literally, they swell up, and they slowly then use that water to survive. So that's what a Christian needs to do as long as we can, we need to soak up the living water, the Word of God, and store our minds with truth to get us through the times of trouble. The reason that Noah survived the flood is because he stored it with food and resources, he couldn't drink the salt water to get him and the other animals through that storm. And, friends, now is the time for us to be storing up the truth of God's Word and the living water of God's Spirit to get us through the fiery trials that come. There's a verse in the Bible, Pastor Ross, it's in 1 Peter 4:12-13. "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial that is to try you, as though some strange thing has happened to you, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy." God promises He can get us through those fiery trials, and those trials actually shape and prepare us.
- Mm-hmm, absolutely. We have a book that gives encouragement, some biblical principles of how we can endure trials and difficulties. The Bible tells us everyone who chooses to live a godly life-
- Hmm.
- Will experience difficulties and trials. So how we're to react when these things happen? The book is called, "When The Brook Dries Up", that's "Why Do Christians Suffer?" And I think it'll be an encouragement for anyone going through some difficulties. Just call and ask, we'll be happy to send this to anyone for free. The number to call is 800-835-6747. And again, just ask for the book, it's called, "When The Brook Dried Up." And I think it's referring to the story there, Pastor Doug, of Elijah when he was riding... Or during the three and a half year drought in Israel when God provided water and food at the brook, but then the brook dried up.
- Yeah.
- And yet God had another plan for where he was to go.
- Yeah, He always, if that happens, He will supply another way, and He did.
- Absolutely. Again, we want to welcome those who are joining us on the various outlets, those joining us on Amazing Facts TV, we are live, and we are welcoming your questions. Also those listening on radio, both in various local stations and on satellite radio, on Facebook, Pastor Doug Batchelor Facebook page as well as the Amazing Facts Facebook page. So, again, welcome, thank you for being a part of the program. If you have a-
- a Doug Batchelor now a YouTube page too.
- Oh, and the YouTube page.
- That's right. Yeah.
- We're also on YouTube. If you have a Bible related question, the phone lines are now open, so this is a good time to pick up your phone and give us a call, the number is 800-463-7297. Again, the number is 800-463-7297 with your Bible question. If you don't get through right away, stay on the phone, and one of our phone operators will answer the call as soon as they can. Well, Pastor Doug, before we go to the phone lines, we always like to start with a word of prayer, so let's do that. Dear Father, once again, thank You for this opportunity that we have to be able to open up Your Word and study together. And, Lord, it's Your Book, so we ask for the Holy Spirit to come and guide us, lead us all into a clear and a full understanding of Bible truth found in the Scriptures. Be with those who are listening wherever they might be, and we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
- Amen.
- We're going to go to our first caller this evening, we have Risen in Los Angeles, California. Risen, welcome to the program.
- [Risen] Hi, praise Jesus. Thank you, Pastor Doug.
- Yes.
- [Risen] Thank you, Pastor Ross. It's been a year or so since I spoke with you, but I don't want to go around the bush, I want to go direct to my question because I know you have a lot of people who want to ask questions.
- Sure.
- [Risen] I have a question about jewelry.
- Mm-hmm.
- [Risen] I heard your message about jewelry, and you said that jewelry cause people to have pride. I wore jewelry, Pastor Doug, in...
- Did we lose you? Are you there? All right, go ahead. Just so you wear jewelry, are you wondering if it's wrong to wear jewelry?
- [Risen] I wore jewelry in moderately, okay?
- [Doug] Uh-huh.
- [Risen] And jewelry goes around my wrist, reminds me of heaven that I'm going to be walking in the street of gold. It doesn't give me pride at all.
- Well, you do want me to give you the Bible reasons? Yeah, do you want me to give you the Bible reasons for what I said?
- Sir, I'm not done with my question yet, if you can finish me up.
- Okay.
- [Risen] In the Bible, there are references about jewelry, like the prodigal son, the father gave his son a ring when he came back to him.
- Mm-hmm.
- And also in Psalms, with David, it's full of jewelry there too. So I don't know what's wrong with jewelry when it comes to moderation. So go ahead, Pastor Doug.
- All right, thank you, Risen. Yeah, no, I appreciate it. And a matter of fact, I could even add to your argument. It tells us in Ezekiel about how God adorned His bride with jewelry. And so I'm not denying that people in the Bible wear jewelry. And let me make it very clear in case anyone out there misunderstands. There's going to be a lot of people in heaven that wore jewelry. So, yeah, I don't know, I've answered that question many times, so I don't know which answer you heard, sometimes it focuses on a different aspect of it. But I was saying that there are a number of Scriptures in the Bible that talk about jewelry being connected with pride. And one of them is in Isaiah chapter, I think it's Isaiah chapter 3, it says, the daughters of Jerusalem are proud, and they go walking and mincing as they go, and it describes all their jewelry in detail. And then you can even read about Lucifer, it talks about all the precious stones that covered Lucifer. When the children of Israel went out of Egypt, jewelry was money in Bible times because they had no paper money, and so they used to trade with jewelry. When Eliezer wanted to give a dowry to Rebekah, it says he gave her a bracelet, it tells how much it weighed because it was money. The children of Israel ended up making a golden calf out of their jewelry and worshiping it. And so many Christians through history have believed that because of statements where Paul says, let the adorning not be the outward adorning, the wearing of gold and putting on apparel. And Paul talks about not with gold or pearls or precious adornment, but with modesty. And so, people, they're wondering, well, if I just wear a little bit modestly, how's that? I take the position that, how much is too much? So, by the way, I have a book written by the same title, and you may have read that, it's called, "Jewelry: How Much Is Too Much?" And the reason is that sometimes by your example, some people, they're concerned about their appearance, they have low self-esteem, and they put on a lot of jewelry, and it can be a stumbling block for somebody, so to avoid having anyone else stumble. And let's face it, a lot of people wear a lot of bling, and they spend a lot of money. So, if something is going to make your brother stumble, don't do it. Paul says, "If eating meat's going to make my brother stumble," he's talking about eating meat offered to idols, he said, "I won't eat it." "I don't want to do anything to make my brother stumble." There will be people in heaven that drink alcohol. I don't drink any alcohol because some people will get addicted, and it's a bad witness, I also think there's good health reasons. So I think the reason is, for Christian modesty, a few years ago... I'll say one more thing on that. A few years ago, a number of televangelists got into trouble, they fell morally, and it became very public. But the same televangelist, they were always parading their Rolexes and talking about their Bentley cars and their wives were always dressed in very flamboyant attire, lots of jewels. And the world was making fun of them, and they said, you're begging for all the money from these poor people, and look at how you're bedecked. So I've always taken the position that, I think if a Christian's going to make a mistake, make a mistake on the side of modesty. God is not going to say to me when I stand before Him in the judgment, "Doug, I can't let you in." "Why not, Lord?" "You didn't wear enough jewelry." So I know some people out there think, "Boy, you're kind of radical", but maybe.
- Well, God knows the human heart better than we do.
- Yeah.
- And if God asked us not to do something, ultimately it's for our own good. We find an example in the Bible, in Exodus chapter 33, before the children of Israel were to enter into the Promised Land, one of the things that God told them to do is remove all of your jewelry. He knew that that would be a stumbling block for them. And, of course, like you say, we want to set a good example for those around us. So, Risen, I'd encourage you to call and ask for that book, it's called, "Jewelry: How Much Is Too Much?" And that's for anyone wanting to know, what does the Bible say about this topic? The number to call is 800-835-6747. And again, just ask for the book, it's called, "Jewelry: How Much Is Too Much?" We've got Mark listening in Tokyo, Japan. That's where the Olympic Games were. Mark, welcome to the program.
- [Mark] Yes, hello, Pastor Doug, and Pastor Jean.
- Yeah.
- I'm in actually Mitaka, Tokyo, we're right next to the park where the bike races began, and-
- Oh, the Olympics?
- [Mark] Yeah, all the way through around Mount Fuji to the Koku area. And, boy, I don't know, I don't know how they didn't keel over in the heat, but they made it, so that's good.
- Yeah, that's good. Well, I'm glad you got a front row seat there.
- [Mark] Actually my question is, I think it's a very simple one, but yet I get so much opposition in this question, and in this particular Bible verse, and it's Ecclesiastes 9:5. "For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten." And what I'm having so much opposition is, is the very last verse of, "For the memory of them is forgotten." My version is the memory of the person that is deceased, that is dead, that is now sleeping, their memory is wiped out and gone, but I'm getting people saying, it's the memory of people that are alive that knew them. And I'm thinking, well, my parents died many years ago, and I still remember them. So I'm not, somehow or other, I need clarification on this particular, which what it mean.
- What is forgotten when it says, "The memory of them is forgotten"? I'm looking at the Young's Literal Translation here, and it words it for, "The living know they'll die, but the dead know not anything, and there is no more to them a reward for their remembrance has been forgotten." And I think if you go by this, Solomon is saying, it could be taken one of two ways. Solomon, I think here is saying that over time, people do forget about the living, but I think it also could be said that that person's memories, they're not thinking anything when they're dead. So it doesn't mean they're not going to be resurrected to have any memories, but it just means that they're not remembering anything when they're dead. So there's kind of two ways you can look at that verse, but either way fits with good theology.
- And, of course, the memory of those who are forgotten, it's talking in general terms. There are certain individuals, I mean, our family members, our parents that we would remember, but even if you think back four or five generations, even in your own family, do you remember-
- Unless you're in a history book.
- Yeah, your ancestry.
- It's very few.
- So I think it's talking in general terms. The reality is that when a person dies, their own memory ceases in death, but over time their contribution to this life is also forgotten unless... It's interesting, unless they played a role in helping to lead others to Christ, and then that gets perpetuated.
- Right.
- So we can. I have a memory, and that is in sharing Christ with others. Does that help, Mark?
- [Mark] Yeah, so what you're saying is really, it's kind of a dual answer. It's really the dead, for the person that is now sleeping, his memory is now forgotten, and then the people over time and forget about them, and what they-
- Mm-hmm.
- [Mark] What their actions and what they've done on earth.
- Yeah, Solomon, you look at the... What do you call it, the context of everything he's saying in chapter 9, he is saying, the important thing is life. He says, "To all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion." And he says, several times he talks about, as the man dies, so dies the beast. He's saying, if you're making your treasure down here, it's really a waste because this life is temporary. That's what he's really saying. He concludes the whole book by saying, what's the conclusion? Fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of man, for God will bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or evil. So he's basically saying, don't live for this life alone, think about the life that will last because you're going to die, and this life will be over. So, but if you fear God and keep His commandments, there is a judgment, and obviously there's a judgment, there's a reward. So that's how he concludes the whole book.
- All right, well, thank you for your call, Mark. We do have a study guide, it's called, "Are the Dead Really Dead?" And it talks about the subject of, what happens when a person dies. And we'll be happy to send this to anyone in North America, the number to call is 800-835-6747, and you can ask for the study guide, it's called, "Are the Dead Really Dead?" We also have a website, it's called deathtruth.com. And, of course, you can access this website anywhere around the world, and it's filled with all kinds of wonderful Bible verses, sermons, study material. So if you want to learn more about the subject, take a look at deathtruth.com. Next caller we have is Robert, and he's listening from... Let's see, Robert is in Washington. Robert, welcome to the program.
- [Robert] Yes, hello. Thank you for taking my call.
- Sure.
- [Robert] Okay, yeah, I have a question about Isaiah 65:23.
- [Doug] Yeah.
- [Robert] And it's, "They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them." Okay, I had always understood this to be talking about the survivors of the seven-year tribulation period, and this is talking about the 1,000 year kingdom, and those are the children born without trouble. What is your take on that?
- All right, great question. Keep in mind, Isaiah has prophesied before the Jews were attacked by the Babylonians. He lived quite awhile before that, but he's foretelling a time when they would go through a great trouble, but there would be another period of peace when they would come back and their descendants would be blessed. And that was during the time of Ezra-Nehemiah got watched over them and... But it's really a bigger picture of talking about heaven. And you can read here, if you go back to verse 17, "For behold I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former will not be remembered nor come into mind." And so he begins to talk about just, there'll be no more weeping in Jerusalem, my people will be at joy. It's like Jesus said, there's no more pain or suffering or sorrow, in Revelation 21 and 22. So it says, they'll not plant and another eat, they'll not build and another inhabit. They used to plant their vineyards and then they, like in the story of Gideon, the Midianites came and took all their produce, or they'd chase them out, they'd move into their houses. And he said, "You will long enjoy the fruit of your hands." Now I don't think it's saying, there's going to be new births, it says you and your offspring, meaning you and your children will enjoy the benefits of this eternal, peaceful kingdom, but I think that's after the millennium.
- Yeah, if you look on a few more verses, verse 25 says, "The wolf shall lay down with the lamb and they will feed together." So that's clearly talking about the earth made new at the end of the 1,000 years. It's also interesting, specifically Pastor Doug, 23, it talks about, "You shall not bring forth children for trouble, and your descendants will be blessed to the Lord, your offspring with them." So the family unit will still be intact in heaven. Now it doesn't mean that you're going to be giving birth to children in heaven. The children that you have here that perhaps will be alive when Jesus comes or have died and are resurrected, the children will grow up in heaven, but the family unit will still be blessed.
- Yeah.
- And there won't be any fear for the future.
- Yeah, and it's actually the, it's the antithesis of what Jesus said on the way to the cross. He told the daughters of Jerusalem-
- Hmm.
- "Don't weep for Me, but weep for you and your children."
- Mm-hmm.
- Because a great trial was coming. Here He says, "Your children will be safe."
- Right.
- It doesn't mean they'll be procreating, it just means that-
- Right.
- Your children will be safe in the new kingdom, they'll have peace.
- All right, well thanks for your call, Robert. Hope that helps. We got Hosen or Josen. Josey, I think it is, in Washington. Josue, welcome to the program.
- Hello, Pastor Doug.
- Hi, welcome.
- Now how do say your name?
- [Josue] You say it Josue.
- Josue, okay
- Josue, okay.
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
- [Josue] Yep. My question is on 1 Samuel 28.
- Okay.
- And my question is how, when I explain to a new believer that because in that chapter, Saul wanted to get to Samuel, but he wasn't alive. And so how would I explain to a new believer that Samuel wasn't alive, but the Bible says he was. For example, in verse 15, he says, "And Samuel said to Saul." How would I explain to someone like that?
- Yeah, well, I think that for one thing, the context is, does a witch have the power to resurrect a believer? Does the devil have the power to resurrect a believer? And I think the unspoken answer is, well, and that would really be bizarre. I think it's seeing this apparition that looked like Samuel. So for the means of telling the story, they got to say, what do you call this apparition? It claims to be Samuel. And there's another place that Pastor Ross, I think is going to right now in Chronicles where it explains what Saul did. And it's says, Saul actually died, not just because of his pride in his rebellion, but because he went to a medium, and he was consulting evil spirits. The Bible says, "Do not go to a necromancer, somebody who speaks to the dead." Paul said that people when they worship idols, they don't realize they're worshiping devils. And the Bible talks about Satan as devils that work miracles. Satan himself can be transformed into an angel of light. Satan can bring down fire from heaven and create illusions. And so there's just a lot of Scriptures that explain that there are evil spirits that can masquerade this way. Do you have that, Pastor Ross?
- I'm just looking for a passage that I found the one in 1 Psalm, which is the one we're talking about. Let me see if-
- Yeah.
- I can pull it up here. I'm familiar with that verse.
- So yeah, it-
- You got to get the wording just right.
- Yeah, it talks about how he-
- Yeah, here it is, 1 Chronicles 10:13. That's the one, it says-
- Go ahead.
- It says, "So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the Word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it." So there we, it says-
- It's not Lord, it's not Samuel, it's a familiar spirit.
- Yeah, that's right.
- And that's what they used for demons and fallen angels. Does that help a little bit, Josue?
- [Josue] Yes, it does.
- All righty, thanks so much for your question. We do have a lesson on the Witch of Endor, and it's in the historical series of the landmark series.
- Mm-hmm.
- And it's called, I think the Witch of Endor.
- If you'd like to learn more about that, I think in this case, go to the Amazing Facts website. You can actually read-
- Yeah.
- The lesson for free online.
- Mm-hmm.
- And it's called "The Witch of Endor", it's part of the historical set of lessons or the landmark set of lessons.
- Right.
- They're in both of those. Next caller that we have is John, and he is listening in Florida. John, welcome to the program.
- [John] Hi pastors, how are you doing?
- Doing really well, thank you.
- [John] Well, I'm calling on behalf of my wife. We've been studying, and I'm not as knowledgeable obviously as you guys, and she's wondering why Seventh-day Adventists keep Catholic holidays?
- [Doug] Such as?
- [John] Easter primarily, but Christmas, and I guess these were based on pagan holidays, and her coming from Orthodox, they follow different days obviously than they do here in America.
- All right, well, let's jump in here, first of all. Yeah, Seventh-day Adventist, when you say, keep them, we don't, we don't, we don't have a special mass on Christmas or Easter. We meet, in other words, if Easter is on Wednesday, I don't know any churches that say, let's get together on... Well, Easter is always on Sunday, isn't it? I don't know any churches that get together on Sunday-
- [Jean] Yeah.
- Yeah, Christmas on Wednesday, we don't all flock to the church and have a mass or anything like that. So we certainly don't. And whether or not, it's one denomination or another, we want to know what the Bible says, right? That's the main thing, Jean.
- exactly.
- So I don't know, you want to jump in, Pastor Ross?
- Yeah, I think it's important for us to understand a little bit. I mean, we're quite open and honest, we don't believe Jesus was born December 20... What is it? The 25th of December. We don't believe Jesus was born December 25, and I think there's some good biblical reasons for that. We know the history a little bit about that. And, of course, Easter, to peg it to one particular weekend, it still moves in the calendar, so even Easter is not exactly the time.
- Yeah.
- I mean if you go by the days, they'll move throughout the week, and they pick a Sunday and they say, well, this is the day.
- Yeah, may not land on a Passover.
- It doesn't always land-
- Yeah.
- On a Sunday. But I think there's nothing wrong in celebrating or remembering the resurrection of Jesus. That's an important event.
- Sure.
- And also remembering the death of Jesus, but to keep that day as a holy day, as somehow being a sacred day, I think that's the issue, that's the concern.
- Yeah, there's no Bible command to do that.
- Exactly.
- But it is a scriptural event.
- Mm-hmm.
- So if you want to remember the Thursday when Jesus had the last supper. Well, I guess you can, no one else celebrates it, but I think we ought to preach on everything Jesus did, but yeah, there's no command that we're supposed to celebrate His birth on that day.
- One of the things we try to do Pastor Doug, talking about that around Easter time, we try to do a communion service. Some are connected around that time of the year. Now, of course, we don't always get it on the day, doesn't have to be on the exact day, but it's kind of neat when the rest of the world is talking about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for us to recognize that through the institution that Christ Himself established-
- That's not as sin to give somebody a present on the 23rd of December, huh?
- Yeah. You could do that.
- If people are giving presents in remembrance of God's gift, that's probably as good the time as any.
- Well, we do have a book, it's called... What is it called? "Feast Days and Sabbaths." No, wait. There's another one.
- "Baptized Paganism."
- That's the one I'm thinking, I was looking for here, that actually deals with some of this, and we'll be happy to send that out to anyone who calls and asks. Just ask for the book called "Baptized Paganism", and the number for that is 800-835-6747.
- All right, friends, don't go far, we're just taking our midterm break, and we'll be back in a few moments with more Bible answers.
- [Commentator] Stay tuned, Bible Answers Live will return shortly.
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- [Commentator] For thousands of years, man has worshiped God on the seventh day of the week. Now each week millions of people worship on the first day. What happened? Why did God create a day of rest? Does it really matter what day we worship? Who is behind this great shift? Discover the truth behind God's law, and how it was changed. Visit SabbathTruth.com.
- [Commentator] You're listening to Bible Answers Live where every question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His plan to save you. So what are you waiting for? Get practical answers about the 'Good Book' for a better life today. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. If you'd like answers to your Bible related questions on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time. To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this evening's program, call 800-835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747 Now let's rejoin our hosts for more Bible Answers Live.
- Hello, friends, we're just so thankful that you're joining us for Bible Answers Live, and we're very thankful now that we're on TV, we're on AFTV, that you can not only see on the Galaxy 19 satellite. I think you just go to aftv.org and watch it streaming. They can see it on YouTube, Facebook, Doug Batchelor Facebook, Amazing Facts Facebook, and we're going to continue to expand the stations that will not only play it on radio, but be playing it on television. I'm Doug Batchelor.
- My name is Jean Ross. Again, we want to welcome all of those who are joining us. We have a number of folks waiting online, so we're going to go straight to the phone lines, Pastor Doug, and-
- Should we tell people that at the end we're going to take a bonus question?
- Oh, that's right. Yes, I nearly forgot about that. So for those of you who are listening on radio, we are going to have a short break right at the end of our program, but don't go away because we're going to come back with a very interesting Bible question. Now there might be some who are listening on satellite radio and you might lose just that last question, but for those who are listening social media, Amazing Facts TV, and other radio stations, you'll probably be able to join us for that bonus question. So standby for that, it'll be at the end of the program.
- So what if someone do if they want to send us an email question?
- If you want to send us an email question to get on that bonus question every week, all you'll need to do is send an email to BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. You see the lower third there on the screen, BALquestions@amazingfacts.org, and we'll try to answer as many of those bonus questions as possible.
- All right.
- Very good, thank you. We've got Ms. Roe listening from Virginia. Ms. Roe, welcome to the program.
- My question is, I want to know if Jesus is abiding in me? It's been three years since I've studied the Bible and I want him to abide in me, but I'm, the nature of my heart I feel, and I love Jesus, but I think I love myself more. I should just serve myself more than I should just serve Him. I have some improvements in some areas, but I feel like I don't do those things with my efforts. I mean, I do those things with my efforts rather than depending on Him.
- Hmm.
- [Roe] It's hard to obey Him, and often fail to do so. I pray and enjoy studying His Words, and I desire to know Him, not as knowledge, but with my heart, I want to really know Him, but I know that I don't love with the love of Jesus. When I ask others, I'm told that the fact I want Him providing me is exactly the proof that He does, But I also don't want to assume and be confident about it, well, if in fact I don't let Him yet. So what do you think?
- Yeah, great question. You are not alone, there's a lot of people out there, they want to love Jesus more. If someone came to Christ and they said, "Lord, what's the greatest commandment?" Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself." Loving God with all is a full-time job. And so for the Christian, you always want to be feasting on the Word looking to Jesus, talking to Jesus, and it's an ongoing discipline because in this life, we're weak, the devil is constantly trying to distract us and derail us. And God's very loving and patience, so don't get discouraged, but you want to grow as a Christian. And so, your devotional life, the three most important things you can do to grow spiritually is read the Word, pray, and share your faith. Do something to try to help others. Love the Lord and love your neighbor. So yeah, go ahead.
- We go to book, Pastor Doug, it's called, "Three Steps to Heaven." And I think it emphasizes those very three things that you're talking about, the importance of prayer, Bible study, sharing our faith. And it's an ongoing spirit, the Apostle Paul, this champion of faith, and you just look at the things that he did, he is a prophet inspired by the Spirit. And yet he said, "I have not obtained." He said, "I die daily." So it is an ongoing daily experience where we have to surrender ourselves to Christ. And we might not be where we want to be, but we should by God's grace not be where we started out, there should be spiritual growth in preparation.
- The Christian life, as Paul says, it's a fight.
- Mm-hmm.
- It's a race, it's a wrestling match, and-
- Mm-hmm.
- But it's still a lot better to be a Christian than to be lost in the world and be a slave of the devil.
- Hmm, absolutely.
- So there's some struggles, but feast on the Word.
- And don't give up. Every Christian has those-
- Yeah.
- Mountaintop experiences where you sense the presence of God and you're filled with joy, and it's just wonderful, but you also have those moments where you don't feel that close to God. It's at those times that you need to exercise faith and believe His Word that He said He'd never leave us nor forsake us-
- Yep.
- And hold onto His promises.
- Absolutely. So hope that helps a little bit, Roe. Get that book, "Three Steps to Heaven", it's free, just request it, we'll send it to you.
- The number to call is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book, it's called, "Three Steps to Heaven." We'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls and asks. We've got Gill listening from New York. Gill, welcome to the program.
- Hi, good evening.
- Evening. And your question?
- Yeah, hi. Jean Ross, I remember talking to you off the air, and Doug Batchelor, I remember you praying for me off the air years ago too. I'm also blind, visually impaired, so bear with me. In 1 John 2:15, it says, "Love not the world, nor anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Now how do you balance that with John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life"? And then I have another verse in question with that.
- All right, well, as far as loving not the world, and then God says, "God so loved the world." When the Bible tells us, you look at the context of how something is being used. When the Bible tells us to love not the world, it's talking about worldliness. And then is it James that says, "If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him"? God wants us to love lost people that are in the world, and God so loved the lost people in the world. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. It's not talking about the sin in the world because that world is going to pass away and the lust thereof. So he's defining what about the world is going to pass away. The sin and the lusts of the world will pass away, but he that does the will of God will abide forever. Again, that's John chapter, 1 John 2:15-17.
- And the famous verse, John 3:16, "For God so I love the world", it's talking about the people in the world. It's not talking about-
- Yeah.
- The rocks, He loves people, He came to save people.
- Yeah.
- And we ought to have that same love for people.
- Yeah.
- But there's a difference between loving people and loving the evil things in the world.
- The worldliness.
- That's right.
- Which is different, yeah.
- There is a difference.
- So you had another second part of the question-
- Yeah.
- Gill?
- Yeah, Matthew 5:44 kind of maybe answers your question a little bit. It says, "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." But then in James 4, it says, "Friendship with the world is enmity towards God."
- Yeah. Well, yeah, you caught it. So we kind of touched on that verse. The Lord wants us to love everybody for the purpose of saving them. It doesn't mean we love evil, and we certainly don't endorse bad behavior, but yeah, matter of fact, one place God said to... Was it King Jehoshaphat? "Why will you be friends of those who are enemies of me?" He was making the league and supporting Ahab. So we're not to love worldliness, but yeah, Jesus died for all sinners.
- We've got Barrington listening from New York. Barrington, welcome to the program.
- [Barrington] Good evening, Pastors.
- Evening.
- [Barrington] My question is this, there's baptismal formula in Matthew 28.
- Yes.
- Why the disciples didn't follow that baptismal formula when they were baptizing in Acts, the book of Acts?
- Yeah, well, you're correct that there's no record of the disciple saying, we baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I don't think that we should assume that they never did. So in Acts, I believe it says three, at least three different ways. It says baptize in the name of the Lord, baptize in the name of the Lord, baptize in the name of Jesus. And so the exact wording is different in almost every case. I think two of them are the same in Acts. So I wouldn't get hung up on the wording. When Christ said, "Baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit", and then in Peter it says, "To be baptized in the name of the Lord", and it says, "Baptize in the name of Jesus Christ" in Acts 2:38. So are you thinking that it must be uttered a certain way or you're just wondering why there's different terms that are used?
- [Barrington] Yeah, because Jesus says in Matthew 20, all authority is given to Him in heaven and in earth. So why not baptize in His name?
- Well, I think that the disciples did baptize in the name of Jesus. Well, in our church we try and cover all the bases. We say, "I baptize in the name of the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit", but yeah.
- I also think in Acts, there's a clear distinction be made. You're right, we ought to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And I think that's very clear in Matthew chapter 28. It's not saying that the disciples never prayed that way or baptized, I should say that way, but I think the point that obviously was in contention at the time of the early Christian Church was Jesus and His position as the Son of God, as the Savior of the world. Most of the Jews accepted the fact that God is, God the Father is God, but it was the Jesus' question that raised a lot of dispute. So I think we have it mentioned in Acts 10:48, Luke is just making it very clear that these were people being baptized into Christianity, into Christ.
- Yeah.
- And that was the point that was being emphasized.
- Yeah, I just looked it up real quick. It says, baptized in Acts 2:38 in the name of Jesus Christ; Acts 8:16, baptized in the name of the Lord; Acts 10:48, the name of the Lord; Acts 19:5, the name of the Lord Jesus. So the wording is a little different, but I think that the idea is, are you being baptized into the name of the God of the Bible and the Messiah Jesus? As Pastor Ross was saying. So let me just give you an analogy real quick. That's not something we should get hung up on because baptism is very much like marriage, it's a public covenant that you're following Jesus. And Pastor Ross and I are pastors, we are ordained, we do weddings. And when we do a wedding, the important thing of that wedding covenant is that the two individuals getting married know who they're making the covenant to. Some weddings I might say, "Bill, do you take Sally?" It's a little informal. Other weddings I might say, "Do you, William Randolph Hearst..." No, not him, but anyway. Now he's going to marry Patina James, or whatever, just the whole name, and it's very formal. Either way you do that wedding. When they say, "I do", and they're witnesses, and they sign that document, they're married. So the wording in the ceremony is never emphasized in the Bible as that is supposed to be the important thing. They all knew they were getting baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the God of the Bible.
- You know we have a book-
- We do.
- Called, "Baptism: Is It Really Necessary?"
- I've actually, pardon me.
- Oh, we have another.
- I've got a book called, "The Name of the Lord."
- "The Name of the Lord." There you go.
- "The Name of the Lord" talks about baptism and what name do we get baptized in.
- That might even be a better book. I mean, both are available. You can ask, "The Name of the Lord", or the book, "Baptism: Is It Really Necessary?" For those who aren't baptized, we want to encourage you to prayerfully consider this, it's an important step. And you might want to call and ask for that book, and then also ask for the book that's called, "The Name of God." The number to call is 800-835-6747. And, again, just ask for those free books. If you're outside of North America, you can still read it by simply going to the Amazing Facts website, just AmazingFacts.org. Next caller that we have is James listening from New Orleans. James, welcome to the program.
- Maybe you're muted, James, you there?
- Well, good evening, Pastors.
- Evening.
- [James] I'm here, can you hear me?
- You're popping in and out a little bit. So yeah, state your question, and we'll do our best to answer it.
- [James] Thank you, sir. My question is, is there any opportunity to be saved after the rapture?
- Is there an opportunity to be saved after the rapture?
- opportunity to be saved?
- Okay, we're going to bring your volume down, your phone, your cell is having a problem. If you look in 2 Peter chapter 3, it talks about the day of the Lord coming as a thief in the night, in which the heavens pass away with a great noise, and the elements melt with fervent heat. The day of the Lord is when Jesus comes back. You can read in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, "The Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, the voice of the archangel, the trump of God, and the dead in Christ will be caught up." That's the rapture, we get caught up. What happens at that time? Thessalonian says, "The wicked are destroyed by the brightness of His coming." And so, no, I don't believe there's any chance, once the Lord comes and people are caught up, we're of the opinion that the tribulation happens before-
- Mm-hmm.
- They're raptured up, not after.
- So you go through what we call the tribulation, and the Bible speaks about the seven last plagues being poured out. God's people are protected during that time, just like the children of Israel were protected when the 10 plagues came upon Egypt, then they were delivered after the plagues. So God's people are protected during those seven last plagues. But then when Jesus comes, the righteous are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, the wicked are destroyed at the brightness of His coming, as 2 Thessalonians tells us. We also need to remember that just before Jesus comes, there is a universal death decree, according to Revelation chapter 13 passed against God's faithful people. So Jesus comes to the deliverance of His people and the wicked are then destroyed with the brightness of His coming.
- Yeah, it's not just the Jews as some of-
- That's right.
- My friends believe.
- Yes.
- It's talking about any believers.
- Pastor Doug, I think this is important, this is an important Bible truth for people to understand. I've actually heard people talking about this, and he wasn't a believer but she was. And his argument was, well, I'll wait until suddenly she disappears, and then I'll know that what she says is real, and I'll get my act together and I'll seek after God.
- Right, repent during the seven years.
- Well, it's going to be too late, right?
- Yeah.
- I mean when Jesus comes, there's no second chance. So it's a good point to bring up, James, something that I think we need to study out. We do have a book on the topic, it's called "Anything But Secret." It's talking about the second coming of Christ, and we'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. The number again is 800-835-6747, and you can ask for the book, it's called "Anything But Secret." And, of course, you can read it outside of North America just by simply going to the website. Of course, if you're in North America, you can read it too at the website. We've got Derek listening in Minnesota. Derek, welcome to the program.
- [Derek] Oh, hi, thanks for taking my call. I had a question, and it's sort of like, you know how the first angel message mirrors the Sabbath commandment? I noticed in Genesis in the New King James version, Genesis 6 or 3:16, and then in Genesis 4:7. Like the 3:16, it talks about like Eve and the desire will be for the husband and he'll rule over you. And then when you go to Genesis 4:7, it says like, sin lies on the door, and it'll be your desire, and then it'll rule over it, or something like that. It's weird how it's like the language is kind of mirrored in both of those verses, and I didn't understand it. Is there some like symbolism there?
- That's a good point. Of course, one is a statement where God is talking about the consequences of sin in Genesis chapter 3. With Cain, He's saying that sin wants to have the mastery of you, but you should rule over, you should subdue it, don't resist it. And he would not resist his pride, in that sin he ultimately killed his brother. But is there a connection between those two? I can't spot one right now. Sure, I mean, the verse is, the wording's similar, but...
- The wording is similar, but I think that probably the idea in my understanding is when it says, sin lies at the door, and it's desire is for you, but you shall rule over it, it's kind of referencing that carnal nature, that sinful nature that we've inherited-
- [Doug] Sin shall not have dominion over you.
- Yeah, we've inherited from Adam and Eve, and our parents all the way down, but the Bible tells us that by God's grace we are to rule over it. In other words, it's not to rule us.
- [Doug] Right.
- So it's not a sin to be tempted, but by God's grace we are to resist that temptation, we have to rule over that temptation.
- [Doug] Mm-hmm.
- And that's what we find in this verse.
- Yeah. Well, thank you, Derek. We've got a lot of calls lined up, we're going to try and get a few more in.
- We've got Sherman. Oh, Sherwin, I should say, listening from Canada. Sherwin, welcome to the program.
- [Sherwin] Hi, good evening, Pastor Ross and Pastor Doug.
- Evening.
- [Sherwin] Hi, my question is about the justification and sanctification. So I've always believed that justification and sanctification is sort of a linear process, but now I'm thinking, so every time I sin, really I get justified if I ask for forgiveness, and then so on and so forth. So it's looking like it's more recursive or it's in a cycle rather than it's linear, and then eventually glorification comes. So my confusion is, is the justification and sanctification process, is it linear or more of a recursive?
- All right, I think I understand what you're saying. Let me give you another way to look at it. When Jesus died, he provided justification for all that believe, and I'm looking at three verses in Romans that talk about that: Romans 4:25, Romans 5:16, Romans 5:18 talks about resulting in justification of life. Think of justification as that through the blood of Christ, He filled an ocean that will wash away sin. He does that once, we may need to jump in that ocean several times, and have that justification renewed, but He was justified once in, and in another He provided this justification for those who will take advantage of His offer when He died on the cross, and He died for the sins and He poured His blood out, and it was adequate for the whole world at that point. But you and I often have to renew our justifications where Paul said, "I die daily." Dying daily is not just sanctification, dying daily is asking for, I want to be resurrected new life, and have a refreshed justification.
- [Jean] We have a book that you wrote, Pastor Doug, it's called "Assurance: Justification Made Simple", and deals with this very subject.
- [Doug] That's right.
- [Jean] And I think anyone would be encouraged by reading this. The number to call is 800-835-6747. And again, you can ask for the book written by Pastor Doug, it's called "Assurance: Justification Made Simple."
- [Doug] And, Sherwin, in Canada can read that online.
- That's right. And we can send it to Canada. Anyone in North America.
- That's right.
- So yep, you can read online, or if you're in North America we can send it to you. We've got David listening in Hawaii. David, welcome to the program.
- [David] Hey, Pastor, thanks for having me.
- [Doug] Yeah,
- [David] My question is in regards to the 2,300 days in Daniel chapter 8. Specifically how does it tie to the Day of Atonement: The context in Daniel chapter 8 is that the sanctuary is being cleansed because the little horn has desecrated, but the context of the Day of Atonement is that it is being cleansed because of the sins of the repentant. Also the word "cleanse" is not the same Hebrew word in Daniel 8:14 as it is when it's referring to the Day of Atonement. And lastly, why is the day/year principal applied when it says evenings and mornings, and we don't apply that to other prophecies like Jesus' prophecy about being buried three evenings and mornings for in the creation account.
- Okay, you got several questions there. Hopefully we'll try and cover some of that. Can I start with your last one though? The last one you're talking about, why do we apply the day for the year? Either way you do it. If in Daniel chapter 8, it's talking about the ultimate cleansing of God's people, which occurred on the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement happened once a year, so if you say that this is 2,300 years or days rather, and you apply the day for the year principal, well, then it's 2,300 years. If you say, well, it's 2,300 days of atonement, and the Day of Atonement comes once a year, it's still 2,300 years because you're talking 2,300 days of atonement that come once a year. So I think it's real easy to support that this is speaking of a year. The other thing is, Jesus, He did used the day and the year. Christ after John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus told His friends, I think this is Luke chapter... Let me see, there's a Luke chapter 13, I forget. He said, if you type in the word "fox" you'll find it. Jesus said, "Go tell that fox that I teach and do cures and cast out devils today, and tomorrow, and the third day I'll be perfected."
- That's Luke 13:32.
- Thank you. Yeah, so it wasn't, Jesus did not teach three more, this is six months into His ministry, He did not teach three more days, He taught three more years, but He was making a prophecy. So the only way Daniel 8 works is if you do apply the day for the year, and the context of it is the ultimate cleansing of God's people.
- And, of course, we only apply the day for a year principal when we're talking about Bible prophecy, and clearly Daniel is a prophetic book, there's a lot of imagery that's used. You wouldn't apply this prophecy talking about the six days of creation because that just wouldn't make sense. So instead of talking about six days, try and make it 6,000. It doesn't work because, for example, you have vegetation created before you have the sun. So, I mean, that's clearly six days, and, of course, then the seventh day God rested, and He blessed, and He set it apart.
- Can I make a suggestion? I want to try and get one more call, Pastor Ross.
- Yeah.
- David, we have a magazine that we just came out with, that's called "Divine Design" and it goes into Daniel chapter 8 in great detail. You've asked some great questions, we need 25 minutes to answer your questions, or more than that. So please look at the magazine, and I think it covers all of your questions, and that will let us take one more caller.
- Okay, absolutely. Let's see, we've got Jaylin listening in Atlanta, Georgia. Jaylin, welcome to the program.
- [Jaylin] Hey, how are you guys doing today?
- Good, thank you for calling. And your question tonight?
- Yes, sir. Yes, sir, I'm going to make it quick. So it's on tithe. Can you hear me well?
- We can.
- [Jaylin] All right, beautiful, beautiful. So I've been doing a... I actually saw a video about tithe, and I heard you speaking, Pastor Doug, about it. So I just did some research just on it because there's a lot of controversy on it. And when I did my research, however, I pinpoint tithe, it just mean produce grain. Let me see, livestock, oil, wine. And the only time I see tithe mentioned with money, however, is when I see it says in Deuteronomy. It says, if the journey be too long, you should sell your tithe coming from agriculture that they have produced.
- Right?
- And you can use the money and go to where the Lord, that God put in. You can buy wine, strong drink, but that's a whole another subject, but any who, you can... That's the only connection I see with tithes with money, and it was for the Levites, they were priests and they worked in the temple.
- All right, so I want to wrap it up and then they... Maybe we're going to run out of time, so I've got to-
- Oh, yes, sir.
- Let me-
- [Jaylin] Oh, I'm sorry. I was going to say... Yes sir, my question was, how does pastors receive tithes if they were for the Levites, and pastors don't come from the tribe of Levi and whatnot? And it was never money.
- Let me answer that as quickly as I can. You are right, it was an agricultural society, many of the people the way they would pay tithe on their increase, and there's a lot of verses on that. You can read in Malachi it says bring all the tithe into my storehouse, they'd bring their grain and so forth. Clearly by the time of Christ, they were giving money. You've got the widow that gave her two mites when she came to the temple, and the priests would, they'd cast their gold into the temple. The Levites said that you could pay money, they had temple shekel, and even Deuteronomy talks about that that people would pay. The main idea was to support the priests, so that they could continue to minister to the people through the year. And so they were to bring tithes, whether it was the grain or the sheep or the agriculture, or you could trade that in for money. The thing was, they were to be supported of the increase. We've got a lesson on that called, "In God We Trust." We'll send you a free copy.
- [Jean] And the number to call for that is 800-835-6747. Again, you can ask for the study guide, it's called, "In God We Trust." It's a pretty exhaustive study on the subject of tithing, and what is the responsibility for a Christian. So call and we'll be happy to send that to you.
- Amen. Well, friends, this is about the fastest hour in the week. It seems like we just build a momentum, and the hour is gone. We are coming back in just a moment with another bonus Bible question, but we've got to sign-off with our friends who are listening on satellite radio right now. Otherwise stay tuned, we're coming back with some internet Bible questions in just a moment.
- [Commentator] Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. Bible Answers Live is produced by Amazing Facts International, a faith-based ministry located in Granite Bay, California.
- Hello friends, welcome back for our Bible Answers Live bonus question. Now, again, if you have a Bible question, and you'd like to send it to us, you can email us by simply emailing your Bible question to BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. And we'll try to take as many of those in this segment of the program. Here we go, Pastor Doug, first question for tonight. Are aliens real?
- Well, angels could be accused of being aliens. And so, does God have life on other planet? I believe yes. Do angels visit our world? Yes. And we know they're good angels, evil angels have been cast down to earth, according to Revelation 12. I don't think UFOs and ET are coming, but I need to let our studio know... Oh, he is doing okay. I wanted to see how much time I've left on the clock. But no, the people that says, I had a UFO, or I was captured by aliens, and they did experiments on me, I'm very dubious that that happened.
- Mm-hmm. Okay, next question that we have, we're going to try and get to many as we can. Do I have to go to church to be saved?
- Well, I think there'll be people in heaven that didn't go to church because the thief on the cross was saved in the final hours of his life. There are people who maybe are sick, and they can't physically go to church, or they're so far removed from a church they can't attend, and that will not be an obstacle to their salvation. But if a person loves the Lord, and if Jesus said that church is His body, and we learn to love the Lord by loving each other, and if the church is the medium through which God communicates the gospel with the world, why would not a Christian want to go to church? And so I'd wonder about, if a person is committed to following the Bible. He said in... Especially after Covid, everyone's wondering, do I have to go to church to be saved? Friends, we need to start getting back into the habit, as you know, your local laws allow. Do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. And the Sabbath was called a holy convocation, there's something that happens. Jesus said, when you come together in My name. We need to come together in the name of the Lord.
- And we can even sense it in our congregation, in our experience, Pastor Doug, when folks have been separated from each other for an extended length of time. Even though they might be watching online, you begin to, I don't want to say grow cold, but your spiritual fervency can begin to diminish if you're not inspired by others who believe the same thing, who want to worship God, where you sing together, where you pray together. It's needful for a Christian, we can't live by ourself.
- Yeah, I think it's real important to come together. Friends, we want to remind you this program exists entirely because people like you believe in what's happening here. We are 100% supported by supporters, and so thank you so much. You can just go to amazingfacts.org and donate, keep us on the line. God bless, we'll study next week.
- [Commentator] Bible Answers Live, honest and accurate answers to your Bible questions.