- [Announcer] 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? If you want to have a dazzling dinner, the most expensive restaurant in the world is Sublimotion in Ibiza, Spain. At over $2,000 per person, a maximum of 12 guests sit around one table and receive 15 courses of delicious food plus dessert, prepared by some of the world's best chefs. Of course, the portions are small or you'd be uncomfortably stuffed. The meal is much more than food. The entire room and table is a high definition screen, making it an immersive experience. Some courses drop from the ceiling and desserts hover above the table. The atmosphere and music of the room will change over the course of the night. The result is a spectacular three hour banquet that takes guests on a sensational journey from a vivid coral reef beneath the ocean to fantasy forests, to a futuristic dinner where friends and guests put on these special 3D goggles. And I'm wondering if they can do vegan. Do you know the Bible says there's one dinner that's even more expensive and you've been invited for free? Isn't that incredible?
- Yeah, I'm thinking I'm not taking my wife therefore.
- Well, yeah, you'd probably have to take out a loan to take her to dinner.
- Yeah, I went on the website and I noticed they said they don't do take-home.
- [Doug] You can't bring a doggie bag, huh?
- Yeah. So that's amazing.
- [Doug] Yeah.
- What is that free dinner? That free celebration?
- Yeah, I kind of set that up. The Bible tells us that the best supper in the world, and the most expensive supper in the world, course it's expensive because it cost the life of God's Son but it's free for us in that He's giving it as a gift. So it's very expensive and it's called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. And you can read about that in Revelation 19:6. This is the last book of the Bible, some of the last chapters. And I heard, as it was, the voice of a great multitude, and the sound of many waters and the sound of mighty thundering, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready." And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.'" And he said, "These are the true sayings of God." This is a message directly from the angels to the Apostle John, telling about this dinner of all dinners that we'll eat. And Jesus even says, "And I will come and serve you."
- Amen.
- So it's almost incomprehensible.
- Yes, to think that at that moment we should be serving Him for all He's done for us, and then again it shows the level of humility of God.
- Yeah, even when He was on Earth you could kind of understand the condescension of God that He would say, "I want to be an example of how you serve each other." But even now that He's in Heaven, the idea that He said, "I'm your brother and I want to serve you," and I'm guessing that somewhere on the table they're going to have some of the Tree of Life. Your fruit cocktail with 144,000 different varieties.
- Sampler.
- Yeah, so I want to be at that dinner. And by the way, friends, we have a free offer tonight that you can ask for that'll tell how you can get your ticket to that special restaurant.
- Yes, so the free offer, if you go 1-800-835-6747. It's a free offer number 156, "The High Cost of the Cross." Right? So if you're available here in North America, in US territories, just call that number, 1-800-835-6747, offer number 156, and we will send that to you for free. So call us.
- You know, I probably should have said something. Pastor Jean Ross is not here tonight. We gave him the night off because he's at his mother-in-law's birthday party. And if you miss that, you're in trouble.
- [Carlos] Yeah.
- And so I'm really glad that Pastor Carlos Munoz is here with us, both evangelist and the director of our Amazing Facts evangelism training program. And he's a well-versed expert in scripture, so we're very comfortable working together. We did meetings together in Puerto Rico.
- Yes.
- Where you're from.
- Yeah. This is our first time doing BAL together.
- That's right. You've been here before.
- With Jean.
- But we're glad that you're leading out. Maybe before we go to the phones, you could lead us in prayer.
- Sure. Let's have a word of prayer. Father, we thank You again for a beautiful day of life and thank You for this opportunity to come together and spend time in Your Word, answering Bible questions. And so we just ask Lord, your divine discernment and wisdom and with us and with everybody that's calling and listening also. May Your Spirit guide us to truth and to live by truth. And so we thank You, Father. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
- [Doug] Amen.
- All right, so we have the first question here. It is from Anthony in New York. Anthony, good evening. You're on the air.
- [Anthony] Good evening, Pastors. How you doing?
- Doing great.
- Great.
- Now you're talking to two New Yorkers right now so we could probably understand each other without a translator.
- [Anthony] Awesome. My question tonight is why did Ninevah get a warning to repent or be destroyed, but it appears that Sodom and Gomorrah didn't?
- Okay, good question. And a lot of people don't realize Sodom and Gomorrah did get a warning. Pastor Carlos might look it up for me, but when Lot and his family were carried off by the King Chedorlaomer from the north, there was a judgment that came on Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham went out and he saved them and so he saved them and this was to urge them to repent of their sins because they had nearly been destroyed, but through Abraham's intercession and God's mercy, they were given another chance. When the judgment finally came, in, is it Genesis...
- 19.
- 19, yeah. Then well, that was because they'd run out of their, God said they pushed the envelope too far.
- Yep.
- So they were actually warned and they were given kind of a chastisement warning them to turn from their wicked ways and they didn't.
- And Ninevah was warned. They repented but later on, they went back into their wicked ways.
- And judgment came. I think it was a flood and fire and wars. It just destroyed the city.
- Yeah.
- Very good. Does that help a little, Anthony?
- [Anthony] Yes, it does. Thank you very much. I appreciate that.
- Thank you.
- All right. Thank you, Anthony. Next we have Jesus from Palm Bay, Florida. Jesus, you're on the air.
- My guess is it's Hayseuss, but you would know that. Are you there, Jesus?
- [Jesus] Yeah. Yeah. Hey Pastors. It is Hayseuss. But I usually get both. So my question today is when witnessing to other denominations, how should we witness when it comes to doctrines and differences between doctrines?
- All right. That's a good question. You know, first thing is if you're talking to people from a different denomination, clearly everybody is part of a denomination because they believe certain things, they're sensitive to their beliefs. First thing you want to do is be winsome, find common ground, show them that you love and respect them even though you may disagree. It's okay to disagree without being disagreeable. And then you might put them in a position where you're saying, "Look, help me understand." Instead of saying, "You know, what you believe about the Trinity, what you believe about the rest, it's all wrong. Or what you believe about tongues, it's all wrong." Instead of coming off as an attack, you can come off and say, "Help me understand better what it is you believe." And then you kind of question, then when they raise something now say, "Now where is the verse for that?" And so you do it in more of a winsome, teaching way as opposed to clubbing the person with your opinions.
- Yeah. And you always want everything that you share with people, always have your Bible verse, your foundation, so that they see that it's not your opinion, that you're basing it off of scripture.
- Right. Yeah, I had to debate with another pastor, it was a friendly debate, and then afterwards someone brought to my attention, they said, "Doug, you said, 'Well, I believe,' and you should've said, 'The Bible says.'" And I looked at that and I thought, "You know, that's right." I had all the scriptures and instead of saying, "Well, you believe this and I believe this," I should've said, "Well, the Bible says this." because that's the final word in all of that. And yeah, we appreciate your calling, Jesus. By the way, I don't know if we ever gave out the number. You know, some callers popped up and we just dove right in. But if you would like to be part of tonight's program, there are lines open and it's a free phone call. Just call 800-GOD-SAYS. That's 800-463-7297. Not only are we on a radio stations, both satellite and land-based stations around the country, but we are streaming this live. If you want to watch what's happening here in the studio, we're on Amazing Facts Television. We're on Facebook, that's the Amazing Facts Facebook page. We're on the Doug Batchelor Facebook page. And maybe even YouTube. So you can watch, you can listen, and call in with your questions.
- Yeah. All right. So let's let that. We have a question here. This is Jerry from Texas. Jerry, you are live.
- [Jerry] Hey guys. Good evening. Thanks for taking my question. I have two texts in Genesis and the first text is Genesis 27 to 30, and this is kind of a terrible time when Dinah went into the land of the kingdom where they were staying and Shechem fell in love with Dinah and he took advantage of her. And, of course, the brothers didn't like it and then they- I don't know which one made a proposal that we would be one people, you give us your-
- Sounds like it was either Simeon or Levi. We're not sure.
- [Jerry] Yeah. Simeon and Levi were the ones that killed them and so that was a dirty thing though. Jacob said, "You make a stink of me and the people." You know? And then Jacob was gone. And they took their women, their children, and their...
- Cattle and all their possessions, yeah.
- [Jerry] The booty. Right. Yeah. And where are those individuals in Genesis 46:6 when Jacob goes down to Israel? I see no mention of them of the 70 that went down to Egypt land.
- You know, the 70 that are mentioned, I know this may sound terrible but, the 70 that are mentioned were all family members that are descendants of Jacob. That would be Jacob's sons, his wives, his grandchildren, and at that point he had some great-grandchildren probably because the spread of years between Reuben and Benjamin is significant. So I think it doesn't count the slaves, that's unfortunate. And when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, it tells about them. And then later, it mentions and there came out a mixed multitude, some of the other servants of the Egyptians escaped with them.
- [Jerry] Correct.
- So I'm pretty sure that there were more than 70 people that came out of Egypt, I'm sorry, came from Israel to Egypt, but that's a great question. It does just mention I think the family members.
- [Jerry] Well Pastor, I like to give you difficult questions. Thanks, Doug.
- Well, you did a good job.
- [Jerry] And had-
- That make sense? What do you think, Carlos? All right. Hey, thank you so much. We appreciate your call, Jerry.
- Thank you Jerry.
- [Jerry] Hey, thanks guys.
- All right.
- [Jerry] Bye.
- [Doug] Bye-bye.
- Next we have Robert from College Place, Washington. Robert, you are on the air.
- [Robert] Hi there. I found someone who believes that when Jesus comes that we will reign with Him on Earth for 1,000 years, and was just wanting to know how I've used some verses but I just was wanting to know your take on that.
- Yes. Very good. So during the millennium, that's the thousand years, the word millennium is a composite of thousand, milli, anum, that's a thousand years. Same teaching. During that time, there are good Christians that believe that the living and reigning with Christ and Pastor Carlos will- We're in chapter Revelation 20.
- Revelation 20.
- Which verse though does it talk about we'll live and reign with Christ for 1,000 years?
- Verse four, the end of verse four.
- Verse four. Thank you. Yeah, so they believe that means we're living and reigning with Jesus on Earth. But the way they share that is that at the end of the rapture and the end of the seven years of tribulation, Jesus literally comes and the righteous are reigning over the wicked for 1,000 years. Now, I have absolutely no desire to reign over the wicked. Some believe that we are living and reigning with Christ here on Earth over the wicked. Some believe that we're living and reigning with Christ in Heaven. My belief, and the Bible says, is that we are caught up when Jesus comes.
- [Carlos] Mm-hmm.
- He says, "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place, I will take you to where I am that you may be also. In My Father's house are many mansions." We go up. And it's not until Revelation 21, the next chapter, the new Jerusalem comes down.
- [Carlos] Comes down.
- So we are living and reigning. You know, Christ said we're reigning in the new Jerusalem with Him during that time, testifying of what He did to redeem us. We're going to be part of the reign means working with the records and the books of what's happened here on Earth. So the idea that we're here on Earth reigning over the wicked, where we have immortal bodies, they've got temporal bodies where they die every 70 years or 80 years, is just a really strange arrangement.
- Yeah, and it also says in Revelation, at the end of Revelation 6, it says that the wrath of the Lord has come. We know that the wrath of the Lord is the seven plagues of Revelation that are going to undo the six days of creation. And so it would be impossible to live on this Earth after that time period. There will be nothing to sustain human life.
- Yeah, if you read in Jeremiah 4:23. Listen to this. I beheld the Earth and indeed it was without form and void and the heavens and they had no life. Well, that sounds like before creation. But keep reading. I beheld the mountains and indeed, they trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth. I beheld and indeed, there was no man and all the birds of the heaven were fled. And I beheld in the fruitful place was a wilderness. Now listen. And all its cities were broken down. Well, what caused this? A fruitful place, a wilderness, everything's broken down. By the presence of the Lord and by His fierce anger. Now, why don't you read your verse and then I'll comment on that.
- Isaiah 24 says: Behold, the Lord makes the Earth empty and makes it waste. So if He empties it it's because it was filled. And then it jumps to verse 4 and says, verse 3: The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered. The Lord has spoken. The Earth warns and fades. When you read further down, verse 5. The Earth is defiled under its inhabitants because they have transgressed the laws, broken the everlasting covenant, and the curse has devoured the Earth. And the inhabitants of the Earth are burned. And then that last part of verse 6 says: And a few men are left. That word in Hebrew, is like genesis, the remnant, right? Those that are protected or sealed.
- [Doug] Yeah.
- In a sense there.
- And then there's another verse where it says the land is covered with the dead and there's no one to mourn, lament or bury.
- [Carlos] Malachi.
- Yeah. Is that it?
- [Carlos] Malachi-
- So you have several prophecies that talk about a time when the Earth is vacated and it's covered with the slain and it's burnt. Well, that's after the Lord comes. We're caught up, we're living and reigning with Christ. Paul says the wicked are destroyed by the brightness of His coming. And the Earth is an: That word means a bottomless pit. For 1,000 years, it's a dark void and we're living and reigning with Christ in glory. At the end of that time, we come down and He makes a new Heaven and new Earth. You know, we have a study guide that talks about "1,000 Years of Peace," and maybe you could give the number again. We'll be happy to send you, Jerry, or Robert, a free copy of that if you just call this number. Or anyone who asks.
- Yeah. 1-800-835-6747. 1-800-835-6747. It's there on the screen and you can ask for "1,000 Years of Peace," I think it's called.
- Yep. Talks about the millennium.
- All right. Thank you very much, Robert. Next we have Jim from Indiana. Jim, hello. You're on the air.
- [Jim] My question is in Revelations, when the angel with the seven vials, now is that there also the seven plagues?
- Yes. It tells-
- [Jim] That are coming out? And...
- Yes.
- [Jim] Go ahead.
- Well, I was just going to say those seven vials are poured out and each one has a plague, so to speak. So it's like the wrath of God is being poured out.
- [Jim] Okay. Now when did those start? Whenever they enact the Sunday law?
- Well, the seven last plagues come when probation closes, and that's going to be during a time when it tells us that those that are saved are saved, in Revelation 22, those that are lost are lost. The clean are clean, the unclean are unclean. And when everyone's made their decision one way or the other regarding the beast and his image, then God is going to say, "Okay, no sense for mercy to linger any longer, everyone has decided what they're going to do." And at that point, the seven last plagues are poured out. So when they reject the law of God, and they put the laws of the beast in its place, then the plagues come.
- Yeah and that's exactly what we read in Isaiah 24. It says: They have, humans have, made their decision to completely reject the covenant and the law of God. And so God says, "I have nothing else to do. They won't listen to me. I've given them ample opportunity." And so now comes judgment on this world of sin.
- Yeah, but the righteous are protected during that time. So when people hear about the seven last plagues, believers are often terrified because they're very graphic. They're very much like the seven plagues that came on Egypt and yet, God preserved His people all through those plagues.
- [Carlos] Amen.
- So I don't ever worry about the plagues.
- Yeah.
- I'm more concerned with Doug being faithful day by day, and if I'm faithful day by day, I know God'll get me through that time.
- Amen. Amen.
- What does it say in Psalm 91? Neither will any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
- A thousand shall fall at your left and 10,000 at your right hand, but none shall touch you for the angels of the Lord shall be with you.
- [Doug] That's right.
- Amen. All right. Now our next question here, we have from David from New York. David, good evening. You're on the air.
- [David] Yeah, my question is what does the Bible say about two first cousins getting married?
- All right. Well, I think according to the Bible, it was legal in the days of Abraham. Because you have... Well, what is it? Jacob married his first cousin when he married Rebekah and Isaac married his cousin. Isaac I should say Rebekah, Jacob's first cousin was Rachel and Leah.
- [Carlos] Mm-hmm.
- And in the beginning, when you think about it, God made Adam and Eve, they were technically brother and sister, same parents. And then when Cain took his wife, obviously he took one of his sisters. There was nothing wrong with that. Abraham married his half-sister. Back when humans' blood and genes were so vital, there were no risks then of, you know, having mutations that would cause weaknesses and problems. But as time went by, Moses said, "You're not to look upon the nakedness of your sister." And he's insinuating that you're supposed to marry out, away from the family tree as far as possible. But within the tribe or within the people. They weren't to marry foreigners.
- Yeah. There's still today some people marry their first cousins.
- Yeah. And it depends. Matter of fact, most states vary from, those laws vary from state to state. But there are risks because I've done evangelistic programs on some small islands in the South Pacific where there's not a big gene pool and they have a lot of birth defects because they're all kind of marrying relatives. And I've seen several times where the kids or people had six fingers or six toes and that is one of the signs of marrying too close-
- [Carlos] Close proximity.
- Yeah, exactly. So it's probably healthier to look outside of the family. All right, hey, thanks so much. Appreciate that, David. Hope it helps a little bit.
- Thank you, Dave. All right. Next we have Ronald. Ronald is calling from Michigan. Good evening, Ronald, you're on the air.
- I think a screener may be talking to Ronald still.
- Okay.
- Let's just go-
- Let's go to the next one. We have Shantelle from the beautiful island of the Bahamas. Hello Shantelle. Welcome. You're on the air.
- [Shantelle] Good night, Pastor Doug, Pastor Carlos.
- Hello.
- Evening.
- [Shantelle] Hi.
- Hi. And your question tonight?
- [Shantelle] Can you hear me?
- Yes!
- Yes, we can hear you.
- We hear you. Can you hear us?
- [Shantelle] Yes, I can. Yes, I can.
- And your question?
- [Shantelle] I have a simple question. I have a three-year-old niece who is reading and she asked me a question yesterday. She wanted to know how God made rain. And I was stumped to give an answer that was included for someone her age. So I said I would ask Pastor Doug and "Bible Answers Live" how they would have answered that question for a three year old.
- Well, that's a good question. I'm not sure exactly what happened with the geology of the Earth or the meteorology of the weather, but the Bible does say that before the flood that it never rained on the Earth. But God did make a mist. And there's several places in the tropics you still see that.
- [Carlos] Mm-hmm.
- You know it's very humid. You'll see a mist come up from the ground and it watered the Earth. But this envelope of water that God had, because it says He made an atmosphere, a heavens, between the waters above and the waters below. There's some envelope of water and that's actually very scientific because if you've got water that is polarizing the light and the heat, the whole planet would've been a similar temperature. And they find in Siberia, in Antarctica, they find fossils of ferns and these tropical animals and they think that the whole Earth must've shifted on its axis or something. But I think the whole world was a beautiful, habitable place and what God did during the time of Noah to actually trigger the flood, I'm not sure. But He poked a hole in that envelope and it dissolved, went-
- [Carlos] It popped.
- Yeah. It all came down. But water also came up from below.
- Yeah.
- It says the fountains of the deep were opened, the water shooting up. And from then on, there's so much moisture in the atmosphere it began to rain.
- Yeah. So that would be Genesis 2:6, Shantelle. And next time you go to the supermarket, I don't know if over there in the Bahamas, but when I go to a supermarket, you know how sometimes they have the little water misters.
- [Doug] For vegetables.
- That always reminds me of Genesis. So you can show them that and say, "This is how God used to water the nature before the flood."
- [Shantelle] Okay. All right.
- Does that help?
- [Shantelle] That helps. Have a good day.
- All right.
- Thanks. Take care, Shantelle, you have a good evening.
- Thank you. Thank you.
- [Shantelle] You too.
- All right, next we have Travis from Lexington, South Carolina. Travis, you're on the air.
- [Travis] Thank you, gentlemen. Good evening.
- Hello.
- Evening.
- [Travis] My question is, it's a two-part question. Is it possible to achieve a sinless state here on Earth? And if it is not possible, what are the implications of believing that it is possible?
- All right, great question. Now, I need to let you know in advance, we've got about a minute so I'll do my best. Let me ask you a question. Do you believe the devil can tempt us to sin?
- [Travis] 100%.
- Okay. Do you believe Jesus can keep us from sin?
- [Travis] I believe He can, yes.
- Now, your answer is slower. So as much as we believe the devil can tempt us to sin, we need to have faith that with God all things are possible. And that through Jesus, He can keep us from sin. So the fact is, if you ask the average church to be honest and raise their hands how many feel sinless, no one's going to raise their hand because we all fall. We sin and fall short of the glory of God. But we have a perfect example and there's no excuse for any sin and the Lord can give us victory over any temptation. You can't name a sin now, unless it's the unpardonable sin, but I know people who've overcome it. Whether it's drugs or drinking or cursing or whatever it might be, God can give victory in every hour. And we need to believe that! Now, we're going to run out of time, Travis, and I'd hate to do that to you, but we have a book called "Is it Possible to Live Without Sinning?" And give him the number and we'll go to our break.
- [Carlos] Yeah. So Travis, you can call 1-800-835-6747 and ask for that book, "Is it Possible to Live Without Sinning?"
- And don't let the title scare you. It is really a good book.
- Oh, it's a great book.
- I actually read it once when I was flying. I put the plane on autopilot and I was really touched by it. Don't go away, friends, we're just going to take a little break here, get a drink of water, tell your friends to tune in. We'll be right back.
- [Announcer] Stay tuned. "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly.
- [Announcer] What if you could know the future? What would you do? What would you change? To see the future, you must understand the past. This intriguing documentary, hosted by Pastor Doug Batchelor, explores the most striking Bible prophecies that have been dramatically fulfilled throughout history, "Kingdoms in Time." For more information, visit kingdomsintime.com.
- I really wanted to start a new devotional habit but life got in the way. Next thing I know, we're a month into the New Year and I'm like, "What's the point of starting?" Then I saw "365 Amazing Answers to Big Bible Questions." Each day is a single study, so you can start anywhere on any day and not miss a thing. They're crisp, clear, and enlightening.
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- The Jews are some of the most unique and gifted people in the world. And even though Judaism is one of the smallest religions, about 16 million globally, they still manage to have a profound impact on history wherever they go. Yet even though most of the Bible was written by Jews, and Jesus Himself was Jewish, the Jewish people can be among the most resistant to the Christian religion. Well friends, this is why Amazing Facts has recently produced a fascinating three-part DVD series called "Is Jesus Kosher for Jews?" In these new programs, Steve Wohlberg, Jeff Zaremsky and myself, all who share Jewish background, relate our personal miraculous journeys of faith in a winsome way. And we consider together the controversial question: Are Jesus and Judaism compatible? You will personally be inspired by these life-changing stories. Call today, 800-538-7275. Or visit afbookstore.com.
- [Announcer] Throughout recorded history, tales of ghosts and spirits can be found in folklore in nearly every country and culture. Egyptians built pyramids to help guide the spirits of their leaders. Rome sanctioned holidays to honor and appease the spirits of their dead. Even the Bible tells of a king that used a witch to contact the spirit of a deceased prophet. Today, ancient folklore of spirits and apparitions have gone from mere superstitions to mainstream entertainment and reality. Scientific organizations investigate stories of hauntings and sightings, trying to prove once and for all the existence of ghosts. Even with all the new film technology and centuries of stories all over the world, there is still no clear cut answer. So how do we know what's true? Why do these stories persist? Does it even matter? We invite you to look inside and find out for yourself. Visit ghosttruth.com.
- [Announcer] 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. If you're just tuning in, this is "Bible Answers Live." And my name is Doug Batchelor.
- Carlos Munoz.
- And we're here to try and do our best to answer your Bible questions. We don't claim to know all the answers, but we've got the Bible in front of us and we invite you to call in. We have some lines open.
- So let's go back to the lines. We have Brian. You're calling from Hobbes, New Mexico. You are on the air, Brother Brian.
- [Brian] Hi Pastor Doug. I had a question regarding John 1 where it says Jesus is the Word. And my question is what does it mean that Jesus is called the Word? What does it mean to call Him the Word?
- In the Gospel of John it says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Abstract thought is communicated by intelligent creatures through the sounds that we're making that give us understanding of truth. And it's amazing. You can close your eyes and you hear words and you can have pictures in your mind. God conveys truth through words. And the message of God to man was communicated through the life of Jesus. It's interesting. We have no idea what Jesus looks like in spite of the typical artist's conceptions of what He looks like. What changed the world was what Jesus said. And Christ even said, "You know, the things I'm teaching, this is going to go into all the world." And He said, "You'll even be hated of all nations for my name's sake." And He knew that that message would be a message that would go global, and it did. So the message of God was in flesh, lived out in the life of Christ. Christ said, "If you want to know what God's like, look at me." And the things He taught and the life He lived, He was the message of God.
- Yeah. You know in the Spanish it's interesting. It doesn't use the word word, it uses the word verb.
- Oh really?
- Jesus is the verb. So a verb is like-
- [Doug] It's more active.
- Yeah. It's the center of a sentence. There's no action without it, so it's the manifestation.
- That's good, yeah. So yeah. And then even in, where is it? In Revelation 19 where Jesus comes riding on a white horse and on His thigh it says the Word of God. And so that's a consistent title for Christ through the Bible. Does that help at all, Brian?
- [Brian] Yeah, it does. So when we say that, when we call the Bible the Word of God, is it the same thing or is that different?
- Well, the message of God is contained in the Bible. And keep in mind, when Jesus lived and He told us about the Word and reading the Word, there was no New Testament because that's later written about His life. So the Old Testament and the New Testament are certainly the Word of God and every time Jesus was tempted by the devil, He quoted from the Bible, "It is written." And that's where our strength is, is in the Word.
- [Brian] Okay. All right. Well, thank you.
- All right.
- Okay. Thank you. Thanks so much. We have free book we'll be happy to share with you, Brian, and it's a book that I wrote about the Bible and it's called "The Ultimate Resource." And if you'd like a free copy of that, then call us at the number.
- [Carlos] 1-800-835-6747. 1-800-835-6747. Can call and ask for that book.
- [Doug] All right.
- All right. Next we have Eduardo from New Jersey. Good evening, Eduardo.
- [Eduardo] Good evening, Pastor Carlos. Good evening, Pastor Doug.
- Yeah.
- [Eduardo] So I have a question on Romans 9, not the whole chapter, but just one verse where it talks about Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated.
- [Doug] Mm-hmm.
- [Eduardo] Who are these vessels of wrath fitted to destruction when it says Romans 9:22, what if God to show His wrath, make His power known endured with much suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction?
- Well, first what is a vessel? He tells us earlier that God is the potter, we are the clay. God can make different kinds of vessels. And so vessels are talking about people. He wants to fill our vessel with His Spirit and He wants us to be vessels, containers, that are for His use to communicate His truth and to pour ourselves out for good in the world. So we're the vessels. When he says, "Vessels of wrath," he's talking about vessels that can't be used. Now there is, in the law of Moses in Leviticus, they had a law that said that you could clean a vessel. But if certain vessels were exposed to anything that was unclean, if you opened up a basket and it had mice in it, they said, "Burn it. Don't use it. Don't try and wash it." Some vessels were to be destroyed because they were unclean. And if we refuse to allow the Lord to clean us, we become vessels that are fit for destruction. But I actually want to take you back a little bit because there's a very common mistake that people make when they read here in Romans, where Paul says, "You know, Jacob I have loved and Esau I've hated." He's actually quoting from Malachi when he says, "Jacob!" Jacob was a term meaning Israel, the people. Esau meant Edom, or the Edomites. And the reason God said, "I love Jacob and I've hated Esau," is because Jacob, he wanted the blessing, and his people, they were doing more to pursue God. The Edomites turned from God and turned to paganism. It wasn't that before they were born, God liked Jacob and hated Esau. God liked that Jacob was pursuing the Spirit and Esau was pursuing the flesh, and God hated that. That is still true today. God wants us to, it says in Romans 8, if you live unto the flesh you will die. But if you live for the Spirit, you will live. So Romans 9 is expounding on that.
- Yes, and that verse is Malachi 1:2 and 3 for Eduardo. Did that help, Eduardo?
- [Eduardo] Yeah, so much. I also have just one more verse. What is Proverbs 16:4 where it says: The Lord hath made all things for His self, yeah, even the wicked for the day of evil.
- Yeah, well, God did not just say, "You know, I think I'm going to create some wicked people so that I can burn them for entertainment." It's basically saying, "I've even created people who would choose wickedness because I create everybody free." And so God made people with a free will. Even Lucifer, God made a beautiful angel, he chose to become a devil. And so God is saying, "Look, I make everything." He's the ultimate Creator and He even makes creatures that'll choose not to love Him. But the Bible's clear God is good and every gift of God is good and God doesn't tempt anyone with evil. So God did not make somebody who would deliberately sin or then God becomes an accomplice. And just think about the implications of that. That God would make a creature that had no choice but to sin and then He's going to punish them for sinning.
- It would ultimately be His fault then.
- Yeah. You know? So you got to be careful. Some churches teach that and that's a dangerous doctrine.
- All right. Thank you, Eduardo.
- [Eduardo] Yeah.
- Our next caller is Rolando from Brooklyn, New York. That's my birth city. Rolando, you're on the air.
- [Rolando] Hi! Thank you for taking my call. Like I said to the lady earlier, first I want to say that I believe that God knows everything that's happening, that's going to happen. But that said, now Judas is vilified for betraying Christ but with God knowing everything, was that not his purpose in life? Wasn't he destined to do that?
- No, that's a great question and it's connected with a former question. Now, think of it like this: God is a weather man, just use this as a rough illustration, and He flies in a helicopter and from the perspective of the helicopter, He can see two cars heading on the same road that the traffic signs are out and they're going into a tunnel and there's only one lane. He can say, "Well, there's going to be an accident in the tunnel." Before the accident happens, He can see there's going to be an accident. He's not making the accident happen. He's just saying, "I know it's going to happen." Jesus said, "I know Judas is going to betray me." He didn't make Judas betray Him, but God knows everything so He knows what's going to happen. He lets His creatures be free and, you know, some parents have had kids and have said, "This is a kid that just is really rebellious and I kind of know what direction he's going to go. I don't want him to, but that child has free choice." And God did not want Adam to sin or Eve. So because God knows something doesn't mean He's making it happen. Jesus, He wept over Judas. He washed his feet. He longed to have him repent but He just knew that he would ultimately harden his heart.
- Yeah. It's proactive in hard decisions.
- [Doug] Yeah, exactly.
- Amen. Did that help, Rolando?
- [Doug] Yeah.
- I guess he's off.
- [Doug] Okay.
- All right. Next we have Saith from Texas. Good evening, Saith, you're on the air.
- [Saith] Hi. My question is, how do we know when the seven last plagues started?
- All right, you know that's a good question. One of the seven last plagues, it says the Euphrates River would dry up. I think that's the sixth plague.
- [Carlos] Mm-hmm.
- Which is very interesting. I turned on the news a couple of years ago and CNN and Fox, major news networks, they said, "The Euphrates River is drying up." Because ISIS had captured the floodgates up higher and they were turning them off.
- [Carlos] Yeah.
- And the river was going dry and they basically trying to starve their enemies. And folks were going, "Oh, that's the sixth plague! Next plague is Jesus comes." But now the river's got a little more water in it. I do think it's interesting that's one plague that may have a literal and a spiritual fulfillment as well. But you know, we certainly have not seen the waters turning to blood. You know, we've not seen the whole world covered with a noisesome sore. Yeah, COVID, but not a noisesome sore. And then it says men'll be scorched with great heat and I think that's the fourth plague. And so, you know, we haven't seen those things happen. I also think that the spiritual events that happen just before Jesus comes talks about a law that everybody must worship the beast and his image or they can't buy or sell and they'll be killed. That has not happened. Plagues come after that.
- Yep. And also, there's no repentance after the plagues start to fall. So some people ask, "Is COVID one of the seven plagues?" Well, more people are repenting now and coming to the Lord than ever, so that shows that we're still, we haven't gotten to that point.
- It is a plague.
- Yeah.
- And Jesus said, "There'll be pestilence in the last days," so it certainly fulfills that. But I don't believe it's one of the seven last plagues.
- Yes, exactly. All right. Thank you, Saith. Next we have Edna from Michigan. Edna, good evening. You're on the air.
- [Edna] Good evening, guys.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- [Edna] My question is Matthew 5:21 and 22. So do you want me to read that or do you want to?
- You can go right ahead.
- [Edna] Okay. 5:21: You've heard that it was said to those of old, "You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of judgment." But I say to you, verse 22, that whoever's angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, "Raca!" Shall be in dangers of the council. But whoever says, "You fool!" Shall be in danger of hell fire. So my question is the very last. If a person is a fool and what's wrong with saying that they are a fool? Hell fire is pretty drastic.
- [Doug] Yeah.
- [Edna] So what's wrong with calling them a fool?
- Yeah, I know what you're saying. And there are actually places where James says, in, oh, I forget which verse it is, but he says, "Oh foolish man." And then Jesus said, "Fools and slow of heart to believe." And if you read in Proverbs, Proverbs talks a lot about the foolish man. The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God," David said. So are they all going to Hell because they said that? You know, the word there that Jesus uses for fool means to call a person worthless. And I think He's basically saying that if you tell a person that they're not worthy of being saved, that they have no value to God, you know, that's really an insult on the Creator. And treating people, I don't think it means saying it one time, because that's not the unpardonable sin, but treating people like they have no value before God, that's, yeah, that's very dangerous.
- [Edna] So what I hear you saying is because God made that person that they are worthy of His sacrifice and so, therefore, I should not think him to be a fool.
- Yeah. Don't think him to be worthless. And you know, even in English, we've got some words that, depending on the context, they have two different meanings. And so this is one of those words in Greek that can mean a silly person. And let's face it, there's a lot of silly people, their behavior. But then using that same word, it can also mean a person that has no value. And so you don't want to tell a person they have no value. That's I think the context of what Jesus is saying. Thank you.
- [Edna] Well, I appreciate you telling that because I've read this over and over and I just did not understand it, but now I do. Thank you.
- Amen.
- Thank you.
- All right. Next we have Tidian from Illinois. Tidian, you're on the air. Did I say that correctly?
- [Tayvion] It's Tayvion.
- Tayvion. All right. And your question?
- [Tayvion] So my question is, is that I'm in kind of a predicament, but the general question is the unpardonable sin. Because I heard about this, I believe, like a year or two ago and it just kept clouding my mind. And I know... And I essentially know what it means, and essentially, I know what it means and I know how you commit it, but the thing is though is that I've been going through a lot of struggles lately because I don't know any other Seventh-day Adventists, like Christians around me, and even if I do, I can't go to church or whatever because I don't drive. But that's mostly to due to my fault. But my question is, is that if you committed the unpardonable sin, would the character that God has been making you into still remain or would it completely disappear?
- All right. Let me see if I understand what you're saying. So if you've committed the unpardonable sin, are you asking does that mean that you get any credit for your past development?
- [Tayvion] No. No. No. No, essentially, no. So I'll do a little bit of a short story so that the-
- Well, we got to make- See, summarize it as quickly as you can because we got a few people lined up.
- [Tayvion] Yeah. Yeah. So essentially I've been struggling with sin a lot but I've had victories over like my mouth and I don't play violent video games much anymore, let alone anything else, and I've gained the victory over pornography. Essentially, that really doesn't bother me anymore. But it's essentially got to the point to where I asked God to put me through a trial and, you know, it's at that time I was fired. Basically, meaning to me it's a trial. And then it literally got to the point where I think He did and then I've been attacked mentally that like essentially doubting God essentially. And then that's the life of me thinking I committed the unpardonable sin and that's just been plaguing me. But for the past couple of days, I've felt encouraged and I even felt the Holy Spirit tugging my heart on Friday, saying, "Go to Jesus." And then now, the Word of God is hitting me, kind of like what you brought up earlier, like with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. I believe it was Sodom and Gomorrah. It was something about Abraham. I can't remember.
- All right. So if we were to summarize this, are you asking then, "How do I know that I've not committed the unpardonable sin?"
- [Tayvion] Basically, yes.
- Okay.
- All right. And that's a good question. You know, you're not alone out there because people come to Jesus and they find themselves struggling with sin, for years sometimes. And their whole life you're going to struggle with temptation. But does that mean then that, well, if I'm still being tempted after being a Christian 30 years, sometimes they fall in the same area over and over again, does that mean I've committed the unpardonable sin? I'll say no. Because as long as there's a devil in the world, you're going to be battling temptation. You want to continue to nurture the Holy Spirit in your life. When you are convicted, you repent of your sins and then by God's grace, you strive to turn. Repentance means a sorrow for sin and a willingness to turn away. Do you see growth? Bible says grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, you know, are you seeing any progress? I'm encouraged because I see spiritually that I'm growing. I think I'm praying more now than I ever used to and I see progress in my life. But boy, every day. I was talking on the way to the radio program with a friend that picked me up. I said, "I’ve got to battle every day with not eating too much. And it's been that way for years!" Because, you know, if I just go with my taste buds, I'll eat twice as much. So you're never going to get away from having some battles. And don't get discouraged. Now, we have a free book we'll send you, and it's called "The Unpardonable Sin." I think you'll find that encouraging.
- Yes.
- Tidion, I call him.
- Tadion.
- Tadion. All right. Thank you for your call. See if we can get a couple more in before we run out of time here.
- Yeah, sure. Let's go to Ruth from Denton, Texas.
- [Ruth] Yes. My question is are those seven last plagues going to be all over the world or like separately in different areas of the world?
- Yeah, good question. You know, even when the seven plagues fell on Egypt, it seemed like different areas in Egypt had different intensity. The Lord spared the land of Goshen during the last seven plagues. When it tells us that the Earth is going to be scorched with great heat under the fourth plague, I suspect it's going to be worse at the Equator than it's going to be in Antarctica. And it talks about of course, fresh water turning to blood, the seas turning to blood. So, you know, I don't know that they're going to be universal in nature. Jesus said that, "Except those days be short and no flesh." That means good, bad, anybody. No animals, nothing would survive. So it's going to be pretty serious.
- Yeah, I think they're progressive because if they fell on the Earth, or covered the whole Earth, then they'd be completely wipe out humanity, so.
- Yeah, exterminate humanity. So they're probably going to be coming in different levels, at different times. Well, we know they're at different times. But it's going to be a sequence. And maybe they'll just start to recover from one and then another one hits.
- Yeah. Just like in Egypt.
- Yeah.
- All right.
- Thank you, Ruth. Appreciate your call.
- All right, we have Caleb from New York. Caleb, welcome. You're on the air.
- [Caleb] Hello. Yes, my question is about someone asked me today when I was talking Bible with someone today and I couldn't answer this question. My question is, what about people that live in tribes? People who don't know about Jesus Christ? Because I remember a few years ago, this guy was trying to preach to this tribe and then they killed him. These people don't know. They never heard Jesus Christ. What happened to these people?
- Are you wondering, is everybody lost who never heard about Jesus?
- [Caleb] Yes.
- And you know, you've got these people that are in, you know it might be Aborigines in Australia or some of the Natives in the jungles of Brazil, or in Africa that never heard about Jesus for all those millennia. Are all of them automatically lost? And I would say no. Because Jesus, when He began His ministry, He said, preaching to His people in His own home church, He said, "There were many lepers in the land in the days of Nahum but none of them was cleansed except the Syrian." Not a Jew. And He said, "There were many widows in the land in the days of Elijah, but Elijah wasn't sent to any Jewish widows, he was sent to a Phoenician widow." And Jesus is emphasizing that there are many that will come from the east and the west and sit down in the kingdom. There are people, I think, in foreign lands. Now, most people are not going to be saved. Jesus said, "The road to destruction is wide." Because they did not surrender to the will of the Lord. But Christ is pretty clear in John, and I think it's chapter 5, where He said, "The hour is coming at which those that are in the grave will hear His voice and come forth. They that have done good, the resurrection of life. They that have done evil, the resurrection of damnation." There are some people maybe in foreign lands that they're saved by Jesus, no one is saved without Jesus, but they listen to the voice of Christ speaking through providence or angels, and they walked in the light they had. There's nothing that would prevent God from saving those people. So I think the Holy Spirit, doesn't Paul say in Romans 1, that even the barbarians who maybe did not hear the gospel from an apostle or preacher, they've heard God speaking through His creation, and so they're without excuse. So God has spoken to people. It's just never been as direct. Missionaries are so important because it is such a direct way of communicating the full gospel. But, you know, I think there'll be some people that will be saved from these dark corners of the Earth.
- Yeah, and for God to judge everybody, as it says in the Bible, then He had to reveal Himself in some way, shape, or form, whether through creation, Romans 1, through His Son primarily, through His Word. So everybody in some way, shape or form has had a revelation of God. And they've rejected it or acknowledged it.
- And Jesus said, "If you had not seen, you would have no sin. But now that you see, your sin remains." So to whom much is given, much is required. People that know the full gospel are going to be held more accountable than those who've had very little knowledge of these things. All right. You know what? I'm looking at the clock and I don't think we can do a question in 54, 53, 52. Let me tell you what's coming up, friends. Don't go away. We are doing more Bible questions. But just so you understand the mechanics of this, we're on not only a number of land-based stations and the internet around the world, but we're on satellite across North America. And the time clocks between these two stations are a little bit different. We're going to be going off the air with our satellite friends in just a moment, but everyone else stay tuned. Pastor Carlos and I are going to be going through a number of rapid-fire questions in just a moment. And if you want to email us, we're going to be dealing with questions that came in during the email time. If you want to email questions to us, you can email Amazing Facts at our "Bible Answers Live" address and say, "I'd like you to answer this question during your fast fire program at the end." So coming back in just a few moments with more Bible questions.
- [Announcer] 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.
- All right. We're back.
- Yes.
- So this is what they normally do during the bloopers and the credits. We're going to do questions real quick. We got like two minutes. Let's see how many we can get through, Pastor Carlos.
- All right, let's do quickly. This is from Joanne in England. She says, "Can you please throw some light on Jude 1:13?" Well, there's only one chapter. Jude 1:13. "We know that there is no eternal damnation for the wicked, yet the verse seems to imply that God will punish the wicked forever in a place of darkness. Could you help me understand this."
- Yeah, well, it's talking about... It says: For whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Well, if you've got blackness of darkness, that's oblivion. You don't see anything, you don't know anything. And it's basically saying that the wicked will experience eternal judgment. They are, you know, brought into nonexistence, the blackness of darkness. They don't see God, they don't see each other, they don't know anything. And so, truth and realization is compared to light. This is the opposite of that.
- Eternal death. Next Sonlet has, "Why was Moses punished so harshly for striking instead of speaking while David was punished so lightly for adultery and murder?"
- Well, Moses was treated severely because he was the leader of the people and the mediator between God and man. God told him clearly to speak to the rock. And God later said to Moses, He said, "You're being punished because you did not glorify me before the people." And God ultimately did raise Moses from the dead, and He did let him see the Promise Land from Mount Nebo. David was punished harshly. He not only lost the illegitimate child, he lost three other sons, the respect of the people. And yeah, he spent seven days on his face crying.
- Yeah. Next we have Mel asking, "My Christian husband left the church and had an affair during the end of our marriage. I too started a short affair and committed adultery. Will the Lord judge us the same for breaking the marriage vow?"
- Well, all sin is sin but I'm not going to be judging anyone's heart right now because in a situation like this there's going to be a lot of circumstantial evidence or differences that I'd recommend you read the book that I wrote and you can send for it. It's called "Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage." A lot of verses deal with that subject there.
- All right. Then we have here from New Zealand, Russell says, "When Jesus said He will be with us until the end of the age, does that mean He will leave us at some stage? I thought He was with us forever."
- Well, yeah, He will be with us forever. I think the time we're worried about is not when we get to Heaven, I think the context is the people were worried that He was going to go to Heaven and forget about them. He said, "No, I'm never going to leave you. I'll be with you all through the trials of this world." And friends, wherever you are, He's with you right now. And this really is coming to the conclusion of our program. Go to amazingfacts.org.
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