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- [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.
- Hi friends, would you like to hear an amazing fact? UPI News reported on December 13, 2021, a wildlife rescuer in South Africa was summoned to a home in which the family found a venomous snake slithering in the branches of their Christmas tree. Gerrie Heyns, owner of the reptile rescue service, Snake Lives Matter, said he was called to a home near McGregor in the Western Cape area, when the resident spotted a venomous boomslang crawling among the branches in their Christmas tree. While its bite can be deadly, the boomslang is generally a timid snake and only bites when people provoke or attempt to handle it. Heyns said he arrived at the home 90 minutes later to find the snake still slithering among the decorated branches. Heyns safely captured the snake with a pair of specialized tongs and later released it into the wild. Now friends, here's a question. Can you think of a place in the Bible that talks about a snake in a tree? (chuckles)
Welcome to Bible Answers Live, friends, I'm Doug Batchelor, Pastor Ross has the night off and we invite you to call in with your Bible questions. We are live. And if you have a Bible question, you can give us a call. 800-GODSAYS, that's 800-463-7297. Right now, the lines are wide open. So you're welcome to give us a call. One more time, 800-463-7297. And the program is also streaming on the Doug Batchelor Facebook page or on the Amazing Facts Facebook page, or on the Amazing Facts YouTube page. And as well as we're streaming this live on AFTV, that's Amazing Facts Television, we're on both internet and satellite around the country. We invite you to call in with your Bible questions.
You know, I thought it was really interesting, these people had quite a surprise when there was a venomous snake in their tree. And of course, that hearkens to a story in the Bible, you find in the Book of Genesis. Genesis 3:1, "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Has God indeed said that you shall not eat of every tree in the garden'?" Of course, God didn't say they couldn't eat from every tree, but the serpent is trying to get Eve off guard. And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat from the fruit of the trees in the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows in that day that you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
And I think most of us know how that story ended that Eve ate the forbidden fruit, gave it to Adam. He ate the forbidden fruit and all the sin, and misery entered our world at that time, as the devil basically set up his headquarters on this planet to continue launching his attack against the kingdom and the government of God. And all of the sin and the misery, and suffering we see in this planet is because the devil, Satan is the prince of this world. You can fast forward all the way to the end of the Bible and it talks again about that old dragon called the serpent, and the devil who deceives the whole world. And he's of course, challenging Jesus authority at every point.
You can actually see through the Bible, there's several cases where it talks about the serpent sort of being a symbol or a type of the devil. Children of Israel said, they've got tired of eating the bread of God in the wilderness, and then a plague of serpents came in, and they reject the bread of God, and then they get a plague of serpents, venomous serpents. And when they're all dying from these serpent bites, God instructs Moses to put a bronze serpent upon a staff or a pole, he lifted up, so when the people look at it, if they look in faith, they would be healed from the effects of the venom. And then Jesus refers to that story and he tells Nicodemus in John 3, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that whosoever believes in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life."
That serpent up on a pole was a symbol of a defeated serpent and Christ through His death on the cross, when we look in faith at His sacrifice, we know that His blood is the antidote for the venom of sin. And that is available to you friends. And you can find all through the Bible, it talks about you will tread upon the serpent and the serpent would bite the heel of the seed of the woman. There's this battle between these two forces and you see it playing out even in Revelation, where ultimately that dragon, the serpent is cast into the lake of fire, along with his angels.
If you'd like to better understand the gospel story, then we have a free offer for you. And it's called "The Savior and the Serpent." And we'll send that to you for free, the number if you'd like a call for the free offer is 800-835-6747. Now we give out one number to call in for questions that number's 800-463-7297. For the free offer, it's 800-835-6747. Just tell them you're listening to Bible Answers Live, and we will send that to you for free. You can even read it if you go to the Amazing Facts website under our free library.
Well, before we go to the phone lines for tonight, I'd like to begin with a word of prayer. Loving Lord, thank you for your goodness and your blessings that Jesus died on the cross to free us, and to save us from the effects and the venom of sin to provide forgiveness, and power, and healing. And Lord, I pray that each person listening can experience that in their lives right now. And Lord, I just pray that you'll bless as we seek to answer the questions from your Word. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
All right, friends. Well, we're going to go to the phones. We do still have some lines open. One more time, call in with your Bible questions. We are live, 800-463-7297. And I'm going to begin by going to British Columbia, Canada, talking to Diane. Diane you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
- [Diane] Yeah, my question is about Matthew 27:51 to 53. I guess I'd always thought that when Jesus died on the cross, that there were a few of the dead that were risen, but when I'm reading this scripture again, it seems like the dead actually were risen when Christ was resurrected. And I'm just wondering if I'm confused there?
- Well, let's read it together for our friends that are listening. I always remember most of our listeners are driving down the road. Now, let's talk about when Christ died, this is Matthew 27, starting with verse 51. "Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn into from top to bottom and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of the graves after His resurrection," And that's the point you're making. "They went into the holy city and appeared to many." So the earthquake, when Jesus died, it shook the graves open, not of everybody, but of many. And they actually came out of their graves following the resurrection, that would be Sunday morning. They went into the holy city and they appeared to many. And you only find this mentioned in Matthew, you don't find this incident mentioned in Mark or Luke, or John. And so it is quite amazing that there was sort of a small group that was a resurrected after Jesus came out of the grave. So He could take a trophy with Him back to heaven. And it's some people who had died in the vicinity of Jerusalem. He may have had people like Isaiah, the Prophet that had been looking forward to him or Jeremiah, or someone else. So it was a very small, but a localized resurrection and they were taken to heaven. Now, am I answering your question, Diane?
- [Diane] Yes, I believe so. So it seems like the graves actually opened when the veil was torn, which was at the time of His death, but they didn't actually come out of the graves until He Himself was resurrected.
- Correct, when He died, it seems there was an earthquake and that opened the graves. It says a rock were rent and then when He came out of the grave Sunday morning, He would've come out first. And then by virtue of His resurrection, the others were brought back to life because Jesus...
- Well, thanks so much for answering that.
- You're welcome. He's the only one who can raise anybody. That opens up a line, if you want to call in with a Bible question, 800-463-7297. We're going to talk with Destiny in Texas. Destiny, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
- [Destiny] Hello, Doug. I have a question. What is the difference between baptism in the name of Jesus, and in the name of the Trinity?
- Well, Jesus said in Matthew 28, "Go, therefore teach all nations baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." You get to the book of Acts and the Apostles they often said, be baptized in the name of the Lord or the name of the Lord Jesus, or the name of Jesus. They kind of used one of the three different methods. And so you don't really find among the Bible writers that there was a precise pronouncement. The idea was that they were going to be baptized in the name of Christ and the message of the gospel that He was preaching. You can find where some had been baptized by John the Baptist in Acts 19, and Paul said, have you heard about Jesus? And they said, no, we just heard the Messiah was coming. He baptized them again in the name of the Lord. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit. We cover all the bases when I do a baptism. And I just say, we baptize you in the name of the Father, in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. And in the name of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said it, if is good enough for Jesus, is good enough for me, does that make sense?
- [Destiny] I think, yes. Thank you so much.
- I have a book, if you would like to send for free copy. Anyone who wants to know more about this, it's called "Baptism, is it Necessary?" And it'll go through these verses and it's 800-835-6747. That's 800-835-6747. You know, I just remembered, I have another book called "The Name of God," and I talk about what name do we baptize in. So that may even be closer if you call that same number, say I'd like to get Pastor Doug's free book on The Name of God, 800-835-6747. There's a section in there that talks about what name do we baptize in? Appreciate your call, Destiny.
We're going to talk now with Rebecca. Rebecca is calling from here in California. Welcome to Bible Answers Live, Rebecca you're on the air.
- [Rebecca] Yes hi, thank you for taking my call. My question is in regards to Luke 23:56, where it says that Jesus body after He was crucified was not anointed because it was Sabbath time. And I was wondering, is it appropriate to attend a Memorial service on the Sabbath during Sabbath hours? When the Savior of the world's body wasn't even anointed during Sabbath hours?
- Yeah, no, I think we're talking about two different things. If you're going to a Memorial service where people are going to celebrate someone's life, and they're going to be talking about spiritual things and the resurrection, that's a different than what they did in Bible times when someone died is it was labor intensive to anoint their body and wrap it in a strips of cloth, it was basically an embalming program. And I don't recommend that. And I certainly don't recommend people plan a funeral where you're doing a graveside service and people are digging a grave and burying a body. That's different from a Memorial service where people come together, and you'll often just have a picture of the individual with some flowers beside it, and folks will get up, and to celebrate a Christian life. So that, I don't see a conflict there.
Now, there can be varying circumstances. Let's face it, some people die in faith and some do not. And I've seen people, funerals turned into a drunken wake, you wouldn't want to go to, you know what I'm talking about? So I feel uncomfortable going to a wake where everyone is drinking themselves silly, and that's not appropriate for Sabbath, but a respectful Memorial service, that's got a spiritual focus can actually be edifying. You read in the Book of Ecclesiastes, there Solomon says, "It's better to go to the house of mourning than the house of weeping." And the living will take it to heart. So it can be a spiritual experience. Hope that makes sense?
- [Rebecca] Yes, absolutely.
- All right, thanks so much, Rebecca. Appreciate your question. And with that, opens another line 800-463-7297 for your Bible questions, talking now with Oscar in Mount Vernon, New York. Oscar, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
- [Oscar] Yes, sir. I have a friend. I knew somebody. We were talking about divorce and remarriage, and he said something I don't understand. He says, if a person divorces and you remarry, he says that God cannot forgive. I told him, why? He says, God cannot forgive you. He says, you have to go back to your first spouse, your first marriage. So I didn't understand. Did I miss anything, I didn't understand. So I told him that, did God die for, I mean, did Jesus pay for all your sins or is that a sin that God, Jesus cannot forgive? I didn't understand what he meant.
- Yeah, so the question is, is getting remarried, let's suppose that you get divorced and you don't have biblical grounds, and that a person remarries, have they now committed the unpardonable sin? And I would say, no. The Bible does tell us there is a sin that's unpardonable, but that would not be that sin because you have King David, for instance, he committed a sin, took his neighbor's wife, he had Uriah killed. Then he married Bathsheba without biblical grounds, plus he already had at least 10 other wives or nine other wives at that point. And later God says to David, God says, "I forgive you." And he comforted his wife, Bathsheba. Earlier, it had referred to Bathsheba as the wife of Uriah, after God forgave David, it says, he went to his wife, Bathsheba. So the Samaritan woman comes to Jesus, and Jesus says, "Go call your husband." She says, "Well, I don't have a husband." He said, "That's right, you've had five husbands. And you're living with some character right now, you're not married to."
Well, He reveals to her, He's the Messiah, clearly, she can be forgiven for that. Or He wouldn't have gone to the trouble, she became an evangelist for Him and goes and tells the whole town she's found the Messiah. So is it a sin to get divorced without biblical grounds? Yes, very serious. Is it the unpardonable sin? The Bible does not say so, but you know, for some people it could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. I mean, who's to say what sin reaches the point of no return for any individual, but divorce and remarriage is not classified as the unpardonable sin. So we do have a book Oscar, if I'd like to send you a free copy, I'm trusting you're still listening. And that the number for the book, well, first, let me tell you, it's called "Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage." Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage by yours truly. And it's 800-835-6747. We'll be happy to send you a copy of that, 800-835-6747. Thank you, Oscar for your call.
Going to go next and talk with William in Canada. William you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
- [William] Good evening, Pastor Doug. This is the sort of a blessing to be talking to you live. Anyways, first time caller, and I'm a disciple of Jesus and have been baptized eight years. I love the study in the Word and appreciate the last quarterly we've had on Deuteronomy, which has a lot to do with us, says the Lord. Does the use of the word for the 25th of December that the world uses break the third commandment. And I think it does, that's my faith statement. And I've been doing this for three years now and I wondered, Martin Luther always said, here is my stand, I can do no more, unless somebody shows me from the Word of God that I'm wrong. Now I presented this to the church and actually to the conference and...
- Well, let me see. I want to state your question. I know what you're saying, but I'd like to state it for our listeners if it's okay, William. Are you saying it's taking the name of the Lord in vain to use the word Christmas?
- [William] Correct. Right.
- Or because Jesus... All right, let me do my best to address that. First of all, I agree that Christmas, the date for Christmas has a dubious origins. And we've shared on this program many times that it's fairly certain from scripture and history, that Jesus was not born on the 25th of December. And the name, the word Christmas, springs from the mass of Christ and Protestant Christians have a problem with a transubstantiation, which is what happens in the typical Roman Catholic mass. And so some folks have been very uncomfortable even using that word because it incorporates a doctrine that Protestants usually aren't comfortable with. But then I think at some point you use a name because it's become the label for something. We call Los Angeles, it's not angels city anymore, really. I don't believe that San Francisco is Saint Francisco. There are places that have all kinds of religious names that have come through history and they they're all... You go to India, they changed all the English names from Madras to Chennai and from Bombay to Mumbai. And some of them have Hindu trappings. So are we not to use a word because it's got maybe some pig and trappings to the history, to the name?
I think a name is a name. And just for the sake of communication, if you have to dance around a word because you're afraid to say the word, that becomes very cumbersome. If everyone knows that there's a time of year and a season that we call Christmas, well, I don't see that there's a problem with that. Anyway, so I hope that helps a little bit. We do have a book and I think you'll find some comfort in that or some answers in that it's called, "Baptized Paganism." It talks about some of the pagan origins of these things. Jesus was not born the 25th of December, Jesus died in the spring and He ministered three and a half years from His birthday. Luke 3 says, "At the time of His birthday, He began His ministry." He was baptized. A priest could not minister till he was 30. Jesus died in the spring, if you go back three and a half years, that means He was born in the fall. So shepherds are not in the field in the middle of December, in the land of Israel. And anyway, hope that helps a little bit. And I appreciate your question.
I think we got time for one and a half more questions. We're going to go to Indiana and talk to Randy. Randy, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
- [Randy] Good evening, pastor. My question is, I have been watching a couple of your sermons lately, and you have said in your sermons that show me a Christian that is not practicing one of the three principles on the holy place of the sanctuary and I'll show you that he's back sliding. Well, I believe that I'm backsliding because I read my Bible and I pray fervently. However, I do not know what is the easiest way for me to preach the gospel or show Jesus to somebody else, or share my life. What is the shortest way or that most convenient way to show Christ or share my life to the world?
- Yeah, now not everybody is a teacher or a preacher, Randy. I think that one of the things we can do is of course, live out His life in ourselves. And it's often been said, preach Christ and if necessary, use words. Now, I don't agree with that completely. I think that we do use words and it's important to share your faith, but first of all, be a witness. Jesus will let your light shine. There's a lot of ways to let your light shine. You can do it verbally, you can do it by showing the peace of God in your actions and showing ministry for others, and kindness, and generosity people see your Christian behavior. And Peter says in chapter three, he said, "As they behold your chased conversation, coupled with fear, it has a converting influence."
So one thing is making sure you're living the life. And then there's three things you can do to witness to people you love. Whether they're friends, neighbors, strangers, family, pray for them. Be a good example. And if they're open, share information that might mean sharing Christian literature, you may not be a preacher or teacher, but you can share something that is on a DVD. You might pass on a website to somebody. And so, there's a lot of things you can do to witness and encourage them to watch Christian programming, read Christian books, listen to Christian material and give a Bible study. And you can get training on how to do that too. So I don't know if that helps a little.
- [Randy] It does. I'm just trying to get more acquainted on how, breaking the shell of spreading the Word.
- Let me give you a challenge. Tomorrow morning when you wake up say, all right, Lord, today, I want to witness for you. Help me through the Holy Spirit, recognize the opportunity to say something in your behalf. And it may not be something long, it might be something like saying, God bless you to somebody when you're buying your groceries. But just say, Lord, help me remember because I think we just forget the opportunities every day and you watch the Holy Spirit He is going to bring somebody or something to your mind and say, Lord, help me know what to say. And God is anxious to get the Word out, and so if you say I'm willing to be used, He will give you an opportunity, and then call me back and let me know what happens.
- [Randy] I will be calling back next week, I promise that.
- All right. God bless, Randy, will look forward to hearing from you. All right, I got one minute and 47 seconds. All right, Efrank in New York. Efrank, we got about a minute. Can we do a quick question?
- Absolutely.
- And what's the question tonight?
- [Efrank] Yeah, well basically, I want to ask you this, sorry, I'm a little bit too out of target this evening, but it's just the problems here where I live. But anyway, my question for you, Pastor Doug is, do you believe that the three wise men were somewhere in another part of the world? They were not generally in the area where Jesus came into the world with Mary? And what I'm trying to say is the three magi, were came from a larger distance because I looked through scripture and I can't find where it states that the three magi were able to travel long distance.
- First, it never says there's three. It says, Wise Men came from the east. So they came from the east, the east typically is referring to Mesopotamia and they had been reading, probably the prophecy of Balaam who said a star will arise out of Jacob and a scepter, and is talking about a coming king. And so, these wise men probably came from somewhere over there across Euphrates in Mesopotamia. They'd been studying the heavens, a band of angels appeared to them and said, this is the sign of the Messiah, the King. And He would be the King of the Jews. They made that journey, Matthew 2.
Hey, listening friends, don't go away. We're going to come back. There's more Bible questions to come, have some exciting things to share with you and get your questions ready. Be back in just a moment.
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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 PM and 8:00 PM, 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 host for more Bible Answers Live.
- Welcome back, listening friends to Bible Answers Live. Thanks for staying tuned. If you've joined along the way, this is a live international interactive Bible study, and we invite you to call in with your Bible questions. If you want to call in with a question, the number is 800-463-7297. And I think we still have some lines open. If you call and the phone's ringing, just endure unto the end, someone will pick up and get to your call, but we're going to go back to the phones. My name is Doug Batchelor, Pastor Ross has the night off. And so we're doing this with our team in the studio. Going to Jorge in Manhattan, New York, New York. Jorge, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
- [Jorge] Hi, good evening, pastor. My question is, is any different between the soul and the spirit?
- Yes, but not always. Sometimes the Bible writers merge it together when they talk about the soul and the spirit, they about your outer being, your inner being, and just the essence of who you are. Technically, there is a difference in the languages. The word soul is talking about the entire person and the Bible tells us in Genesis, God breathed the breath of life. And the word there in Hebrew is the Ruach. He breathed the breath of life into Adam and Adam became a living soul. So it says He breathed, and that word Ruach is translated spirit in many places. He breathed the spirit into Adam and the combination of the spirit, and the body that God had made. He made Adam's body out of the dust of the earth, became a living soul.
Now, when a person dies, if you go to Ecclesiastes 12, tells us when a person dies, the body returns to the earth as it was and the spirit, and the word there is breath, the breath of life returns to God who gave it. It's not talking about a little ghost inside of you that comes out and flutters off to heaven. And so, there is a biblical difference in the words that are used. In the New Testament, the word for spirit is the word pneuma. And it's also like the word wind, and that's where we get the word pneumatic tools that are driven by air or the pneumonia is a considered to be a disease of your breathing or your wind. So similar to the Old Testament, you got ruach, it means breath or wind. New Testament, it's pneuma, but the spirit is talking about that breath of life. All right, thanks so much Jorge, appreciate your call. All right, going to be talking...
- Thank you very ready much pastor.
- Thank you.
- Good night.
- Good night. We're going to talk to Kelly in California. Kelly, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
- [Kelly] Hi, Pastor Batchelor, thank you for taking my call.
- Sure.
- [Kelly] I have a question on Jude 1:6.
- I think you mean verse six because there's only one chapter.
- [Kelly] Where it says that, Satan and the angels were thrown out of heaven. A third of the angels. And here it says, that God has them placed in chains in chains of darkness, so what angels are those?
- What angels are in these everlasting chains of darkness? And then the Bible tells us in Revelation 20, and I'm jumping there because it helps answer the question. That an angel takes a chain in his hand and he binds Satan and casts him into the abussos, the darkness. That's the bottomless pit it's called, but it's the same principle. The devil is bound in this world right now. The devil was, and his angels, they were free to roam through the universe. They were ministering spirits of God, but they're bound right now and they're waiting for their judgment. Even some of the angels said, "Jesus, have you come to judge us before the time?" So when He was preaching, some of these demon possessed people would say things like that to Him. And so, these are the fallen angels that are in the world. They are in chains of darkness. In other words, they have no hope or forgiveness. You and I have hope, there's light for us, but for these fallen angels, all they have to do is look forward to destruction. You can look there in Revelation it says, "Satan has come down with great wrath because he knows his time is short." Satan knows his doom is sealed. It was sealed at the cross and they are in chains of darkness. They're bound in this dark world.
- [Kelly] All right, well, thank you so much for answering my question.
- Thank you. And we have a lesson that talks about this when the devil is bound and if you call the resource number, you can ask about this, the lesson on the millennium. The number is 800-835-6747. It's called "A Thousand Years of Peace." It's talking about the millennium, and when Satan and his angels are bound. All right, appreciate that and we're going to talk next to Jack, who's calling from Montana. Jack, you are on the air with Bible Answers Live.
- [Jack] Hey, Doug. Thanks for accepting my call.
- Absolutely, thank you for calling.
- [Jack] So my question is, was Noah's Ark found and if so, is it like a sign of the end times?
- Well, I personally don't believe that they found Noah's Ark in a significant way. I mean, there are some who have claimed to have cite it through history. Even Marco Polo in his journeys, he said that one year, you could even see Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat. Now, whether that was a legend or not, I don't know. I just know that it does appear once in history, but there are people who say they have found Noah's Ark, from the evidence that I've seen, I don't think it really is Noah's Ark. It's kind of like a teardrop shaped lava flow and they say, oh, it's shaped like a boat, this must be Noah's Ark. And it's at the base of Mount Ararat, but I don't think that there's many hard evidence. Now, it may be discovered before the end of the world, I believe Noah Ark is somewhere in the mountains. Never says it's on Mount Ararat, it says in the mountains of Ararat or the region up there. But yeah, that'd be wonderful. Hopefully it would increase people's faith if it was found. Mount Ararat's got a nice cap on it a lot of the year, it's covered by glacier. So it could be that glaciers have destroyed it, we don't know, but I believe the story. Thank you very much, Jack, appreciate your call.
- [Jack] Thanks for accepting it.
- All right, you have a good night. All right, talking next with Josh, who's calling from Florida. Josh, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
- [Josh] Yeah, my mom, she recently passed and then she was with me and then, she passed because of COVID, but I feel like I didn't do enough, so I kind of like blamed myself for it, so that's kind of like traumatizing for me, but like she passed, like she was all that my family had, but so my brothers and my sisters, they're relying on me. So I just want to know like, because I don't know, I felt like the Holy Spirit telling me that her soul was saved and resu- so like she's being there during the resurrection.
- Okay, well that should give you hope
- Just want to know... Yeah, I just wanted to know like, what can I do to give me strength to like persevere?
- Well, you've been through a tragedy, you've experienced one of the hardest things is when we lose someone we love. And I've been there. I was at my mother's side when she passed away and you have always a lot of regrets, you would wish you had spent more time and done more loving things, and said things and, but you can't change what is in the past. And so you say, all right, Lord, I pray, I'll take this opportunity to reconsecrate myself. If you believe your mother's going to be in the kingdom, that's all the more reason for you to be saved and be there and see her in the resurrection. And so just take this as an opportunity to reconsecrate yourself, Josh, and be, you say you've got other family, and you can be a witness and a support for them during this time and point them to the hope we have in Christ. The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4, "When we lose someone we love, we do not sorrow as others that have no hope." There's sorrow, but we're not sorrowing as others, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, that He will bring with Him those who have died in Christ. So look forward to that blessed hope, the Bible calls it. And I hope and pray, you find some encouragement in that.
- [Josh] And you said that's verse Corinthians?
- 1 Thessalonians 4. And you can start reading with verse 13. It talks specifically about comfort for those who have lost loved ones.
- [Josh] Thank you, Doug. And the second question would be like, how I can try to be live a righteous life and be more like Christ?
- Yeah, absolutely. Well, you become like what you look at Josh. And so start fixing your eyes on Jesus. And we do that of course, by talking to Him in prayer. If you have a Bible, I hope you're reading the Bible, gather together with other people that worship the Lord and in fellowship, that will strengthen your faith. Those three primary Christian disciplines are fellowship, you want to be with other believers. You want to breathe in prayer. You want to eat or feast on the Word of God, read God's Word. And Jesus said, "Thy Word is truth." His words have life, that's why Christ said, "Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you." And He's talking about taking the Word inside, that bread of life. Do those things, Josh, and you'll be encouraged. And we'll be praying for you that the Lord just helps you get a new beginning, now that you've gone through this tragedy, but it's also an opportunity for a new chapter in life. God bless, and we thank you for your questions. Going to talk next with, let's see here. Talking to Jerry in Oregon. Jerry, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
- [Jerry] Good evening, Pastor Doug. My question pertains to Numbers 22:20, where Balaam was given permission to go with the Moabites as a result of his prayer inquiry. But then in two verses later, it says this, "But God was very angry when he went and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him." So if God gave him permission to go, why was He upset that he went?
- Well, God told Moses, I'm just answering your question with another illustration that's similar. God told Moses to go out of Midian and meet with his brother, Aaron. And it says on the way, the angel of Lord met Moses and nearly slew him. And the reason was that Moses had accepted this commission, but he had not yet circumcised one of his sons. And God's saying, look, I've convicted you, I've told you you're supposed to do this, and you're not doing it with the right attitude and consecration. Balaam was supposed to go and simply say whatever God's wanted him to say, but Balaam was thinking about the rewards. His heart was not right. You also read where it says Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness. He wanted the reward from Balak, the king of the Moabites and the angel knowing his spirit wasn't right, and he was going with the wrong motives, he met him in judgment. He was running greedily after gain is the way it's worded there, I think it's in Jude. And it also talks about Balaam, it says you have there, those that have the doctrine of Balaam in Revelation, and that doctrine is one of greed like Judas. So you're right, it sounds strange. First God says, don't go. Balaam is disappointed because he wants the rewards and God says, okay, I'll let you go, but you got to say what I want you to say. And Balaam was trying to hurry along the road so that he could get his reward and God wanted to get his attention and say, look you're not going to get what you're thinking you're going to get a reward for cursing them, you're not. You're going to bless them. Anyway, it is a good question.
- [Jerry] Okay, thank you. Good night.
- All right, thanks Jerry, appreciate that. All right, talking next with, let me see here. Hendry in Colorado. Hendry, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
- [Hendry] Good evening, Dr. Doug.
- Evening, how can we help you tonight?
- [Hendry] Yeah, I have a question regarding duck, is it unclean or clean, pastor?
- Well, the Bible says that swan is unclean and duck is in the same category. The birds that were clean for eating, were the foraging birds and those would be, things like a chicken or a Turkey, or a quail, or a pheasant, they go around, they pick the ground. Ducks, sometimes they eat what's going on the bottom of the lake. And they're in the category of the birds, I believe that are unclean. I'd say whenever you're in doubt, do the safe thing. But, I think the Bible does say swans are unclean and ducks would be in the same category.
- [Hendry] Yeah, because some of the pastors said is clean and some of them say doesn't, is unclean. And also...
- Well, you know, whenever you're in doubt, do the safe thing.
- [Hendry] All right.
- All right, thanks so much, Hendry. All right, let's see here. And that frees up another line, 800-463-7297. Let me see here. Talking next with, Tanya calling from Georgia. Welcome to the program, Tanya, you're on the air.
- [Tanya] Hi Pastor Doug, how are you this evening?
- I'm always better than I deserve.
- [Tanya] Yes, sir. Thank you so much, and God bless you for these live questions. They have made a significant difference in my personal life and I can't thank you enough for it.
- Well, you make it all worthwhile. That's what we want to hear. It's making a difference.
- [Tanya] My question is if you've lived your whole life or you live your whole life as a Christian, however you don't or never acknowledge Saturday as the seventh day and did not attend church on that day, and you pass away. How, or is there a chance to have salvation, although you did not acknowledge the Sabbath?
- All right, let me state your question a little differently for people listening. Folks that listen to this program on a regular basis know that we believe that the 10 commandments are still in effect, that the seventh days of Sabbath and that is Saturday. And we encourage people to follow the Word of God, but this is going to be millions of people in heaven that went to church on Sunday. Now let me give you... I'm going to change the subject to help you understand it. Tanya, are there going to be people in heaven that had more than one wife at a time?
- [Tanya] Yes, if they ask for forgiveness.
- Well, I mean, like you take King David, he'll be in heaven, the Bible's pretty clear about that. He's a man after God's own heart, he wrote all those Psalms in the Bible and he had many wives. Solomon will be there, and when you read the Book of Proverb, Solomon had, oh, I forget. I think had 300 concubines and 700 wives, it's just crazy. But they lived in a time where that was really customary for a king to have a harem , so they'd have plenty of descendants. It was just, everybody did that. There are going to be people in heaven who owned slaves like Abraham. Well, that's certainly not appropriate for Christian today because we know better. See what I'm saying?
- [Tanya] Exactly.
- I know better. I'm not going to go take extra wives, the Bible says, no man can serve two masters, that's another reason. So for me, it would be a sin because I know better. Now that's the way it is with all truth. And when someone learns Bible truth, God wants us to walk in the light that we've received. So if a person has learned the Bible truth about the Sabbath or any subject, He wants us to walk in the light, but there are going to be people in heaven that didn't know certain things. And there's a verse I want you to remember, it's Acts 17:30, it says, "At the times of this ignorance, God winked at." In other words, you briefly close your eyes. God has been very patient and merciful, but he says, "Now that they know he commands men everywhere to repent."
So sin is knowing to do good and not doing it. So once a person knows God's will, whether it's regarding slavery or polygamy, or the Sabbath, or whatever the case might be, I know people who they didn't pay tithe for years and then they read the verse in the Bible that about tithe, and they said, oh wow, I should be paying tithe. Well, 30 years have gone by where they didn't, they probably can't pay back tithe without going bankrupt. So they just start where they're at and they say, I'm going to start walking in the light that God's revealed to me. And so that's the principle there. And I think you understand, thank you so much for your call, Tanya. We're going to continue here, let's take a few more calls. George in New Jersey, George you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
- [George] Hi Pastor Doug, how you doing tonight?
- Really well, thank you.
- [George] Yes, haven't talked to you in a while, but I had a couple things on my mind tonight. So I thought I'd ask you if death is a 'sleep', which I tend to believe it is. And it's an unconscious state and that people are non-existent. Where is the link between their identity and the one they have with the resurrection, and that brings up another question to me too, in conjunction with it. Did Jesus actually, could He have been non-existent between death and His resurrection because He's divine. So you see where I'm getting at here? I'm curious about that.
- I do George, you're asking the big, big questions here. Well, first of all, we know that when God brings something into existence, they're in the mind of God. So God knew what He was going to do when He made Adam, the way He made Adam was unique in that, Adam was created. He did not have to learn to walk. I don't think, he had to learn to talk. I think God made him, sometimes I get a computer from the factory, it's got all this software already installed. All I do is press the button and it's up and running. And I think Adam was created with pre-installed software. When God resurrects, those who are sleeping in the dust of the earth, they come out of the graves, they've got a new glorified body.
You know, it's interesting using the computer analogy again, they've got these little thumb drives, USB drive and you can have 50 gigabytes on one of these things now, I can take everything from my old computer, then that's the keyboard doesn't work and the screen might be cracked. I take all the program and I put it on this little jump drive, and then I plug it into a brand new screaming, fast, shiny computer. And I've got all of my character of my computer is there.
So for lack of a better explanation, God's going to download in the new glorified bodies who the essence of that person is. Will there be a time of non-existence? No, I think that they're really in the heart and the mind of God. They're for the person, it's a brief sleep for them. They have no interruption, it's going to be like going to sleep and waking up. It's going to be instant to be absent from the bodies to be present with the Lord. But the resurrection hasn't happened yet. Now, Jesus, this is the big question. What was going on with Jesus when He died? Well, we have to take the Bible and its Word says, Christ died for our sins. And whenever we started saying, well, died doesn't really mean died. He didn't just transmigrate to a different existence. I think Jesus slept the sleep of death while the time He was in the grave, He said, I lay down My life and I have power to take it up again. Then Sunday morning He rose, He took it up again. So big question, George. Good question. I hope my answer made a little bit of sense. Let me see here, I'm going to talk with Jeremiah who's calling from Connecticut, I believe. Jeremiah, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
- [Jeremiah] Hi Pastor Doug, how are you?
- Doing well, we've got about three minutes, can we do it?
- [Jeremiah] All right, my question is, what is predestination and is it biblical?
- All right, well the word is in the Bible. So the word predestination is certainly biblical. The question is, what is meant by that? Some people believe that predestination means that God has already designed in advance, who is going to be saved. And some people were created and they really have no hope of being saved because it's not God's plan for them to be saved. So it's almost like God designed them to be lost, but that goes against the verses in the Bible that say, "Who so ever believes in Him..." Believing us to believe, you got a choice to believe. And then the Bible tells us, "God is not willing..." In this 2 Peter 3, "God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." And then Paul tells us, "The Lord who would have all men to be saved." So the Lord doesn't want anyone to be lost. So Calvin and people who believe in this doctrine of predestination, they mean by that often that some people were created and they're created to be lost. I believe that God creates everybody with the option and hope because we have a free will. And why would God punish a person and throw them in the lake of fire, if they're created and they have no option to be saved, why would you punish them for doing what they are naturally created to do? There's no justice in that.
So when the Bible talks about predestination, it's talking about God has designed in advance, that people should be saved. And those who respond to the election, to the call, they're going to be saved. And I think Paul is also speaking when he talks about predestination, some of the Jews had a hard time understanding that the Gentiles, that it was God's plan, that they should also be able to take advantage of Christ's sacrifice and be saved. Another big problem with, some of the Calvinistic predestination, they don't believe that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. They believe that Jesus died just for the sins of those who will ultimately be saved. But we, meaning myself and many other Protestant Christians, that we believe that Jesus died for the sin of everyone. His sacrifice was adequate to pay for the sins of everybody, not just those that accepted it. In other words, some people will not use the sacrifice that Jesus made available to them, which is a tragedy, but He died for everybody. His grace is unlimited. His sacrifice was, whosoever, the Bible says, "Let him come and drink the water of life." So I'm about to run out of time.
We have a free book, we'll be willing to send you Jeremiah. And it's called "Can a Saved Man, Choose to be Lost?" Can a Saved Man, Choose to be Lost? And if you call the resource number, that number is 800-835-6747. We'll be happy to send you a free copy of that. Can a Saved Man, Choose to be Lost? Anybody who is listening, if you'd like to know more about these free offers, we try to give away material so that people can study these things.
We usually budget about three minutes during the program for each question so we can get as many questions. Problem is your questions aren't as thorough as you want them to be, so we give out the literature. Go to AmazingFacts.org at AmazingFacts.org you'll see our free library. If you click on that tab and there is a whole kaleidoscope of different doctrinal subjects with books and lots of reference material, we want you to know.
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- Hello, welcome back, listening friends, those of you who are still with us, we actually have kind of two sections in Amazing Facts. We go off the air with our satellite stations around North America, but many of you are still listening. We're going to do some rapid fire Bible questions that come in via the internet. And if you want to ever email us some of these questions, you can just send them into the Doug Batchelor Facebook page in the comments there.
All right, what is the testimony of Jesus mentioned in Revelation? And that's Revelation 12, it says that, "The dragon is wroth with a woman, and he goes to make war with the remnant of her seed that keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus." You go to Revelation 19:10, and the angel says, "Don't pray to me, pray to God." And he said, "I am of your fellow servants and your brethren and fear God, those that keep the commandments, and have the testimony of Jesus." He says, "The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus." So it tells us that there.
All right, we're going to go to the next question. Does God withdraw His protection from us because we sin or does our sin cause God to withdraw? Well, if God completely withdrew His protection from us none of us would survive because the devil's going around like a roaring lion seeking who he might devour. But I think we limit what God wants to do for us in protecting us and in leading us by disobedience. The Bible tells us, "The Angel of the Lord encamps, roundabout those that fear Him and delivers them." And so, God put a hedge of angels around Job. You can read about that in Job 1, even the devil was frustrated by this hedge of protection that God gave him. So we want to obey. We want to cooperate with the Lord, don't venture out on the devil's ground.
All right, let me see here. Someone said, I heard you say capital punishment was okay. Well, no, it's not that I said it, I'm just saying that the Bible tells us that an eye for an eye a tooth for tooth, life for life, but didn't Jesus say turn the other cheek. Yes, He's talking about our interpersonal relationships. We should be patient and forgiving, and tolerant, going the second mile and giving our shirt to the one who sues us for our cloak. But governments, they operate under a different law and Moses made it very clear that government needs to punish crime, severe crimes, according to what they deserve. Murder, premeditated murder is a very serious crime. And if you have a society where that is not treated in a serious way, there should be very careful investigation before someone is given the death penalty, but the Bible still says that that is the answer for that.
Thank you so much again for your questions and God willing, we'll study His Word together again, next week.
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