- [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? On June 23rd, 2022, Amazon revealed an experimental Alexa feature that allows the AI assistant to mimic the voices of the user's dead relatives. The company demonstrated the feature at its annual MARS conference, showing a video in which a child is seen asking Alexa to read the "Wizard of Oz". And then you hear a unique voice we later learn is his deceased grandmother reading the book to him with a natural warmth and inflection. Amazon said, "Its AI systems can learn to imitate someone's voice from just a single minute of recorded audio." In an age of abundant videos and voice notes, this means it's well within the average consumer's reach to clone the voices of deceased parents, spouses, or friends to create new messages. I can understand people wanting to remember their loved ones, Pastor Ross, but this could get a little creepy, because I think people already think that the dead are communicating with them.
- That's right, Pastor Doug. It's interesting, you know, when you get a phone call and you answer the phone, you could, for the most part, tell who's calling you by the sound of their voice, especially somebody you know well. You don't have to ask or look at the call ID to see who this is. We connect the sound of a person's voice with who they are, their personality and you know, it's not a new thing, but even the Bible speaks of people wanting to communicate with a dead loved one. Now maybe they want to see the person, but for sure they want to hear this dead loved one communicate to them. That's not only something we find in the Bible, but I think most of our listeners know that there is just an increased interest in communicating with the dead.
- Yeah and the Bible forgives or forbids rather, what it calls necromancy, are trying, a medium, someone who tries to communicate with a dead, and you can read in Ecclesiastes 9:5. "So the living know that they'll die, but the dead do not know anything." And so, and you can read here, there it is on the screen for those watching the TV program, "Neither have they anymore a reward for the memory of them is forgotten." And verse six goes on to say, "For their love, their hatred, their envy is now perished. Neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun." Under the sun, meaning in this life. Now where a lot of people get confused. We know that when a believer dies, their next conscious thought is the resurrection and the presence of the Lord. But that doesn't happen till the coming of the Lord. For them it's instant, it feels instant, but the dead haven't gone to heaven until there's a resurrection. The judgment hasn't happened yet and that's still future. So this idea that we can communicate with the dead is a great fallacy. And I'm surprised how many Christians believe that they're getting messages from the dead and this is spiritism really.
- Now somebody might be wondering, "Well, what's the big deal? So what if you think your dead loved one is speaking to you?" Well, we do know that the Bible tells us that at the end of time, the devil's going to do everything he can to deceive. And one of the deceptions of the devil is going to be impersonating dead loved ones to lead people astray. The Bible says. "That the devil is able to perform signs and wonders." And especially at the end of time, there are these evil spirits that are going around the world and they're trying to deceive people. So if a dead loved one shows up and they communicating something and they say, "Oh, this is, you know, a message from heaven." And if a person doesn't understand what happens when a person really dies, well they setting themselves up for deception.
- Yeah and especially if something is going to contradict what you find in the Bible, it's dangerous. And this has happened before as well. Well, now some of our friends might want to know where are the Bible verses, what does it say about this subject of are the dead really dead? And you'll be happy to know friends, that we do have a free offer that gives you a whole study on what the Bible teaches on this.
- The study guide is simply entitled, "Are the Dead Really Dead?" And we'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks the number to call. You'll see it on your screen, if you're watching is 800-835-6747, and you can ask for the study guide by name, "Are the Dead Really Dead?" or ask for offer number 117, and we'll be happy to send that out to anyone in North America. I know we do have folks who are listening outside of North America, and if you'd like to read the study guide, we encourage you to go to the Amazing Facts website, just amazingfacts.org, you'll be able to read it there. You can actually sign up for a free Bible study. You can do this both online, or you can actually mail in your study guides, and you'll go through a series of great Bible lessons, helping to understand these important truths of scripture. You know, pastor Doug, we also want to welcome those who are joining on not only listening on satellite radio, and on land-based radio stations, but we have folks who are also watching at the Amazing Facts television station or channel as well as watching online on the Doug Batchelor Facebook page, on the Amazing Facts Facebook page. So we want to greet all of you. If you have a Bible question, our phone lines are open and the number to call is 800-463-7297. Again, that's 800-463-7297. If you pick up your phone and give us a call, there's a very good chance that you'll get on tonight's program. But before we get to the phone lines, we always like to begin with prayer. So let's do that now. Dear Father in heaven, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the opportunity we have to be able to study together, and we ask Your blessing upon those who are listening wherever they might be, and be with us here in the studio as we open up Your Word and we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.
- Amen.
- Well, we're ready to go to our first phone, our first caller, Pastor Doug. We've got Anthony listening in New York. Anthony, welcome to the program.
- [Anthony] Hello, good evening, pastors.
- Evening.
- [Anthony] Matthew chapter, I believe it is Matthew 27:53. It says verse 52, this has to do with the resurrection of the death of Christ and it says, "And the graves were open and many bodies of the saints, which slept arose." And verse 53 says, "and came out of the graves after His resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared unto many." My question is actually related to Revelation chapter 14, where it talks about the 144,000. So as I read versus one through four, it seems to allude to the 144,000 in being a number from the past, especially when it says, "That it's the first fruits of Christ." Could the saints that were raised at the crucifixion and resurrection of, oh, at the resurrection of Christ, be part of, or be that 144,000, or are we only looking towards the future?
- Well, I think the whole key to understanding the 144,000, and I'm more convinced of that today than I was yesterday, because I read about it again this morning is that the number really denotes a leadership among God's people. So first fruits doesn't always mean sequential. First fruits can mean from like the 12 apostles were a type of first fruits for Jesus. And you read in the Old Testament, I just got done reading where David had an army of 288,000 that would rotate and that's two times 144,000. I think there was six months they each would be kind of on duty and off duty so they could take care of their homes and farms. So it's two sets of 144,000. And then you can read, there was 288 people that ministered in the sanctuary. It again, they had by day by night, there's 12 hours in the day, 12 at night, it's 144,000, 144,000. But their leaders, this is His army, it's His priesthood. And so I think the 144,000, when it says, "First fruits", it's not talking about 144,000 that were resurrected at the crucifixion of Christ. I think it's still speaking at the time it was written. It's looking forward to a group near the end of time. So I have a book, we have a free book. We'll be happy to send you a copy, where it reviews that, and or anyone that wants to know it's about 144,000.
- If you'd like receive the book, all you need to do is call our resource phone line. That's 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book called "The 144,000", and we'll be happy to send it to whoever calls. You know, pastor the actual title of the book. I'm looking for it here, "Who Shall Sing the Song." I believe it's entitled talking about the 144,000, and that is free to anyone in north America. Again, just call 800-835-6747, we'll send that to you. Our next caller that we have is Wesley listening from California. Wesley, welcome to the program.
- [Wesley] Yes, thank you. My questions basically, should we move now to the country so we can avoid buying and selling, and being stuck with a mark of the beast?
- All right, well, let's look at that. First, let me read that for our friends that are listening, it says that part of the persecution of the beast in the last days, it says, "That no one might buy or sell, except he who has the mark or the number of the beast, or the number of his name." And it really shouldn't shock anybody that one of the things the devil's going to use in the last days is going to be economic sanctions. I mean, you can turn the page in the news right now, and it's talking about economic sanctions, that of governments against Russia and other governments if they're not complying with international norms. We are also saw just in Canada, there were some protesters, a truckers protest, and anyone that was arrested, I think they had their bank accounts frozen. And that's kind of unnerving to think that everything is digital now. And it's so easy for the governments to monitor a person's buying and selling that I don't think anyone is shocked to hear that the beast power in the last days will use some sort of economic sanctions on those that do not worship appropriately. Now, because you may not be able to buy or sell, people are thinking, "Well, we don't know when that is, should I run to the hill, start planting a garden so that I don't starve?" I don't think I would react for that reason because people who read these verses 50 years ago, or 100 years ago, they could have said, "We're going to run to the Hills and grow our own food." There's advantages to country living. But I would not move to the country because of Revelation 13. I think when things get that bad, God has always fed His people in those times of trouble. So are there good reasons to move it to the country? Yes. Should we do it because the day's coming when you can't buy or sell? Well, I think there'd be advantages to that, but I wouldn't make that your first consideration. So, you know, I've got a book on that, and it's talks about heading to the Hills, and some beginners guide to country living. So you could go to Amazing Facts. And I wrote a little book on country living and great benefits. But if everybody, if all the Christians run to the Hills right now, who's going to do evangelism?
- You know pastor, talking about country living. I think you also have a video. I was just watching it the other day, of country living. Of course, you've got a place in the country and you spent quite a while cutting wood. And actually before you went into full time ministry and you were selling firewood, so you spent a lot of time up in the hills, in the mountains and quads-
- Well, you've been there, it's pretty far out, isn't it?
- It's pretty neat, yeah, it's out there.
- Far out, I mean, it is way off the grid.
- So that is a great video. I think it's available on YouTube.
- Yeah, just go to Doug Batchelor Country Living. I'm sure it'll pop up.
- Yeah, all right, well, thanks for your call Wesley. We've got Lonnie listening in Arizona. Lonnie, welcome to the program.
- [Lonnie] Everyone's always afraid of what's going to happen at the judgment seat of Christ. And again, if you've died in Christ, then you know that your name is in the book of life, and all of that and that our sins are washed away. You know, as of Isaiah 1:18, but my question really is, do our dirty laundry and I've heard you say this in some of your sermons, that it's basically about rewards, which I know the both of you going to embellish on. And the thing is that the good and the bad deeds they're going to be aired, but to whom?
- Well, I think that if you have repented of and confessed your sins, they are under the blood of the lamb, and the Lord will protect us. God is not wanting to out us. You know, it was Judas who finally turned away from the Lord, his sins of stealing and everything were made manifest. But I think the Lord is looking to protect and to wash away and treat as innocent those that repent of and confess and turn from their sins. He's not, they don't come before them into judgment because Jesus is really being judged for those things.
- And you know, there's two things being blotted out of the books of record. If you're a believer, but you turn away from God, then your name gets blotted out of the lambs book of life. But if you're a believer and you remain faithful to God, then your sins get blotted out. Or at least to the book of sin in heaven. And that's a good thing. So when we are forgiven at the end of that judgment, the sins all cleanse the book, so to speak are cleansed, the record of sins removed. So that's good news. No one's going to be up there in heaven during the thousand years, you know, thumbing through the book and saying, "Oh, look what he did, oh, look what she did." No, the sins of the righteous they're blotted out.
- That's why you've got that robe of righteousness. It's a covering.
- That's right, absolutely, very good.
- Thank you, good question.
- We've got Caleb listening from New York. Caleb, welcome to the program.
- [Caleb] Hello, thank you, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross. How you guys doing?
- Good.
- [Caleb] Oh, by the way, Pastor Doug, I love your sermon on Saturday on Sampson.
- Oh, praise the Lord. Glad you enjoyed that.
- [Caleb] My question is for you is I'm going through a lot of problems right now, like mentally and stuff like that. I haven't been praying and spending time on the Bible. And am I like, what can I do to get back? Or am I already doing like, oh, God's Spirit has left me. Is that why I'm not like, you know-
- Well, first of all, don't think that you're doomed. You probably wouldn't be calling if you were doomed. The Holy Spirit's still working with you. Every believer has ups and downs. You know, life has ups and downs. The weather has ups and downs. There are days the sun is shining through and there are days that the clouds obscure the sun. The sun is still there, but the earth rotates and the sun is hidden and the storms come and the sun is hidden, but the sun is still there. God, He loves you and it's consistent. You can make a decision to love the Lord and say, "I'm committing myself to the Lord." That doesn't mean there aren't going to be ups and downs. When you get married, you make a covenant, you make a commitment, there're going to be ups and downs in your marriage, but you're still, you've got that unconditional love and that commitment. And so, yeah, don't be discouraged. Now, you may need to rediscover that first love. There may be things you need to do to reignite your faith and faithfulness, spend time in prayer, repent of your sins, you know, repent and turn from your sins, ask the Lord for His grace and as soon as you do that, He'll send the refreshing of His Spirit again. So, and every believer may have to do that a thousand times or more in their experience that we often seem to sometimes go through ups and downs. There are highs and lows. That's just part of life. It's also part of the Christian life. Do not think it means that God has abandoned you.
- You know, the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:6, "That we walk by faith, not by sight." So what that means is you might not always feel a certain way. Doesn't mean God is abandoned you, but we walk by faith trusting in His word. Even if you don't necessarily feel any different or feel differently, we take God at His word.
- That's right, amen.
- Okay, next caller that we have is Connor listening from Colorado. Connor, welcome to the program.
- [Connor] Hello pastors, how are you guys doing?
- Good, thanks for calling.
- [Connor] Thank you, my question is kind of similar to the last one, but I was just wondering how a person would know if they've committed the unpardonable sin?
- All right, first, when we hang up request the free book, we'll send you a book on that. We get this question a lot. And you know, one of the most frightening things that Jesus said is that "All manner of sin and blaspheme can be forgiven, but he that sins against the Holy Spirit, or blasphemes the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven." And people go, "Wow, there is an unforgivable sin. I wonder if I've committed that sin?" And 99.99% of the people that worry about that have not. Of course, no one knows the heart, but God, but sometimes we're convicted by the Holy Spirit to turn from our sins. We think, "Well, maybe I've gone too far." The devil often wants us to think we've gone too far. There's a story in the book of Zachariah, I believe it's chapter three, where the high priest is wearing filthy garments, and the devil is there accusing, he's basically saying, you know, "he can't be saved, he's gone too far." When Michael comes to resurrect Moses, the devil is there saying, "Oh, Moses sinned, you can't take him to heaven." So the devil is the accuser of the brethren. He often wants us to think we've gone too far. If we're willing to repent and turn to God, God is willing to forgive. Grieving away the Holy Spirit is not something that happens through usually one particular sin, but it's a process of years of rejection of God's Spirit. So that the volume of the Holy Spirit goes down where we just don't even hear it anymore. Examples of those who committed the unpardonable sin in the Bible would be Balaam, King Saul, Judas. I mean, they just, they you know, Judas, what do you call it? The Saul went to a witch and God stopped speaking to him, but it was 40 years of rebellion that preceded that. And it was three and a half years of Judas sinning in the face of God's own son teaching. God is very patient. So don't be discouraged and do send for that free book about what is the unpardonable sin.
- You know, we also have a book pastor, that our previous caller, we probably should have mentioned it at that point too. It's called "12 Steps to Revival." Talking about how do you rekindle that love for God, that first faith and we'll be happy to send that as well. If you'd like to receive either of these books or both of them, the number to call is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book, "What is the Unpardonable Sin?" You can also ask for the book, "12 Steps to Revival." And if your north America will be happy to send it to you. Next caller that we have is Andrew listening in Kansas. Andrew, welcome to the program.
- [Andrew] Hi Doug. Hi Ross. How are you guys doing?
- Good, thank you for calling.
- [Andrew] My question is, God is only one God and I got brought this question and I don't know how to answer it. And so God the Son is our God too. So they're trying to tell me that there's two gods.
- Yeah, I know people get, that's a common and a normal misunderstanding. When it tells us in the book of Deuteronomy chapter six, "Hear O Israel, the Lord God is one." And the Bible says several times, "There is one God." In the Hebrew mind, the way they use the word one is not always talking about numerical quantity. It's talking about unity. Jesus prayed to the Father and He said in John 17, "Father, I pray that they", meaning the 12 apostles, "I pray they may be one." Well, there's 12 of them, but He wanted them to be united. He said, "Father, I pray they may be one even as You and I are one." So Jesus was not asking the 12 apostles to merge into one person. He was asking for them to be of one Spirit, to be united as Jesus and the Father and the Spirit are united. And so all of the pagan religions, many of them anyway, they were polytheistic, they had many gods. The God of the Bible, it's a one united God. And so that God, in the beginning, God says, "Let Us make man in Our image." It's plural. So right from the beginning of the Bible, we know that God is composed of a united God, meaning one in the Spirit, in unity and purpose. And it's, I know it's somewhat mysterious, but it's composed of three unique persons. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And we have a book we can send you on that. That deals with "One God or Three, is the Trinity Biblical?"
- The number to call is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book it's called "One God or Three?" What is the Bible teach about the Trinity? Of course, the word Trinity, pastor not found in the Bible, but the idea of the three members of the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that is very biblical, and we find that throughout scripture. So be sure to call and ask for that book. You will be blessed. Next caller that we have is Linda listening in Missouri. Linda, welcome to the program.
- [Linda] Praise God. I just first before asking my question, I just wanted to let you know that both you, Doug and Jean, that because of you guys, you're both going to have an extra crown, or extra star on your crown because you guys both lead me to Christ, and the fullness of everything. And I just wanted to thank you both on that. My question is about the Amplified Bible. And what do you think about it, is for a good main Bible or a study Bible?
- Yeah, for our friends that are listening, the Amplified Bible is a Bible that and correct me if I'm wrong, Linda, but I think it's, you're talking about the Bible that's got a verse, but it'll have like four translations of each verse.
- [Linda] Yeah, it says, "For the behind the original Greek and Hebrew."
- Yeah, well, I guess there's a few Amplified Bibles, but the one I'm thinking of as it goes through the different verses, you'll see each verse will have different versions of that verse. So you can amplify each verse a little more and it shows you some, yes, some expound more on the Greek and the Hebrew, but it's a great study Bible. So if you want to dig deeper into each verse and look at it through the eyes of different translators to get little nuances, most of 'em say exactly the same thing, but you often get little nuances and insights through different words. It expands your understanding. Nothing wrong with looking at the Amplified Bible as a study Bible.
- Well, you know, I think there's also an Amplified Bible, if I'm not mistaken, which is a paraphrase where they will take an English version, and they'll confer with the Greek and Hebrew, but they'll take an English Bible, and they would they'll write the verse using different words and maybe expand on different ideas. So there is a difference between an actual translation and a paraphrase. So we just want to be aware of that. Translation is a direct translation of the original text. Sometimes the word order is change just a little, but a paraphrase is somebody adding some flavor, you might say, or an angle or perspective, or putting it in different language for people to understand.
- [Linda] That definitely helps me so much. Thank you very much. And you two have a wonderful evening.
- All right, God bless. Thank you.
- Next caller that we have is Pat listening in Colorado. Pat, welcome to the program.
- [Pat] Thank you very much. My question is, Jesus is called the first born of God. And why is Jesus called the first born of God before He was born human on earth?
- Where are you talking about? What verse?
- [Linda] I didn't get the verse written down. It's always said, "Jesus is the first born of God and we're adopted into the family of God.
- Right, well, Jesus is the, He's the only begotten Son. He is called the first born. It's not because He was the first human born. You know, of course God made man in His own image, but the only time that God became a human was in Christ. And so, you know, He has preeminence because of that. In the book of Hebrews also tells us. But again, I don't think that it's talking about the first born as in sequence. Now, when you talk about, well, let me back up and correct myself. In the Hebrew, the first born son had a special inheritance right, and he was given special privileges. In that sense, Jesus spiritually is the first born. He receives those special inheritance rights. He's the greatest among the son, so to speak. But obviously, Jesus wasn't the first time that a human was born. So I guess we got about 25 seconds till the break, Pastor Ross anything you want to add to that?
- Yes, I mean, there is a phrase in the Old Testament that seems to indicate or a reference to the first born, it's usually messianic and it's pointing to Jesus, and the fact that He would come, and He would be considered the first born in position and rank because it's through Him that anyone else is saved.
- All right, friends, we're going to take a break. We are coming back in just a moment with more Bible questions, but we have some important messages.
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- [Announcer] Your 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 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 hosts for more "Bible Answers Live".
- Welcome back listening friends to "Bible Answers Live". And if you've joined us somewhere along the way, we are a live international interactive Bible study. We invite you to call in with your Bible questions. You can be listening on the radio. You could be listening on the Amazing Facts Facebook page, Doug Batchelor Facebook page AFTV and other stations. My name is Doug Batchelor.
- My name is Jean Ross, and we have a number of folks who are standing by on the phone. We're going to go to Damon in Oklahoma City. Damon, welcome into the program.
- [Damon] Hello pastors, good evening.
- Evening, and your question.
- [Damon] Yes sir, yes, sir. Thank you. So I've been trying to confirm the Holy Spirit and the Godhead a little bit more, and I've been reading some scriptures. I'm getting a little, I get a little confused. Is the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God, two different things or is it one in the same?
- Well, I can't imagine a case where someone would receive the Spirit of God without the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit is the one. And sometimes in King James, it calls it the Holy Ghost, the same word we don't, today we think of ghost as a, you know, spook or something, but it's really the Spirit of God. And when it says, "The Spirit of the Lord came on Sampson or the Spirit of the Lord came on David, or they were baptized in the Holy Spirit", the Bible says, "There's one Lord, one faith, one Spirit." And so it would be the same.
- [Damon] So like, when it says like the breath, like when it, for instance, when it says, "God breathes the Spirit", which is like the ruach, the breath.
- Oh, now I see what you're talking about now. Now that is a little different, you know, when it's talking about the breath of life that is talking about the air of life, and of course it's even there, it's the Spirit of God that is infused in a person. But the word really is breath like when you breathe. And when it tells us in Genesis, "God breathe into Adam." And that word in Hebrew is ruach, in Greek it's the word pneuma, which is where we get pneumatic tools, tools that run on air, or pneumonia, it's a sickness of the air or the breathing. So that's the word pneuma, that's talking about the wind or the air. And sometimes that's interchangeable with the word spirit. It depends on the context.
- You know, these different symbols used for the Holy Spirit in the Bible. You have wind, as you mentioned, pastor. Also, fire is a symbol of the Holy Spirit at times. And then also water can symbolize the Holy Spirit. So you've got these different symbols that appear in the Bible. But it's illustrating or pointing forward to the Holy Spirit.
- Yeah, we've got a book we'd be happy to share with Damon. That's dealing with the Holy Spirit and it talks about the need of the Holy Spirit. And this goes into some of the definitions of the spirit there. We'll be happy to send you a free copy Damon.
- The number to call is 800-835-6747. And again, you can just ask for the book it's called "The Holy Spirit, the Need", and we'll be happy to send it to you, Damon or anyone listening in North America. Outside of North America, you can still read it, but please go to the website, amazingfacts.org. We have Jesus listening in Florida. Jesus, welcome to the program.
- [Jesus] Hello pastors. Thank you for taking my answer my question. So my question comes from 1 Corinthians 7:12. I was doing a little bit of study, because I've been going along with like the yearly Bible study plan that you guys have, but I'm a little delayed. And the question is pertaining to when it says, "But to the rest I not the Lord say if any brother has a wife." Practically Paul saying that he not the Lord is advising. I guess you could say like the Corinthian church. I wanted to know what are your guys' thoughts?
- Yeah, I think Paul is taking a humble approach here. He's giving some counsel to the church. He's also giving counsel to a particular church and he's saying, "Look, I'm not giving this to you as a command from God but my judgment." And Paul actually uses that word other times. He says, "In my judgment" and he's disqualifying. He said, "This is my judgment." Now of course he is an apostle inspired by God. So his judgment, he probably underrated his own judgment. But yeah, he's talking about this situation. If a man's got a woman she doesn't believe, and she's willing to stay with her, he's saying, "Let her not divorce him." Now, this is actually a position of most churches that believers should not divorce their unbelieving spouses, because marriage is a sacred union. And Paul said, "Who knows? You might be able to convert your unbelieving spouse." Peter reinforces this when he says, and I think it's 1 Peter chapter three, where he says that "The unbelieving husband can be converted by the chaste behavior of the believing wife." And so it's a principle that I think is a scriptural principle. Paul, he seems to approach it with some humility saying, "You know, in my opinion." Does that help?
- [Jesus] Yeah, definitely, thank you.
- Yeah and by the way, we do have a book on marriage, divorce and remarriage, and we do address this issue in that book.
- The number to call again is 800-835-6747. That is the resource phone line. You can ask for the book called "Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage", and we'll send that to anyone who calls and asks. We've got Matthew listening in Toronto. Matthew, welcome to the program.
- [Matthew] Hi pastor, thanks for taking my call. Based on Genesis one. The Bible says, "God made male and female." So my question is, is it okay for me to change from male to female and God still love me and can I be saved in God's kingdom?
- Well, God, you know, people often do sinful things and God is a God of love. So the Bible says, "What can separate us from the love of God?" God loves us. Can a person continue in known sin whatever that sin is and still be saved? No. If we don't repent of our sins, we can't be saved. So now then the other question is, is it a sin for a person to try to change themselves from male to female? I believe it is. I think the Bible tells us that God makes a person for one thing, it's biologically impossible. It doesn't matter how many procedures and chemicals and hormones you receive, the differences between men and women go all the way to the genetic level. And you are born either one or the other. I know there are some rare cases of people that have some deformities when they're born, but the very genes, the X and the Y chromosomes in male and female are different that cannot be changed. You know, I think there was just an interesting ruling that was made. Everyone was aware in the news, how there was a certain male swimmer who went through, you know, the outward change to try to be transformed into a female. And as a male swimmer, he was a mediocre, but as a female swimmer, suddenly he began to just, you know, break all the records, and all the girls began to protest. Well, first they were afraid to because it was politically incorrect and he began to protest and said, "This just no way we can compete. This is not fair. He is physiologically a male, the surgeries don't change things." And now the sports board that governs that department has agreed and they said, "Someone who has entered puberty as a male, they cannot compete as a female." Of course, I don't think they should ever at any point. But so I'm meandering to answer your question. God made them male and female. The Lord does not want, a male should not dress like a female, the Bible says, and that's in Deuteronomy, I think it's 18. A male should not dress or maybe it's Deuteronomy 22, "A man should not put on a woman's garment or a woman put on a man's garment, for all that do so are an abomination unto the Lord." If God made you a man celebrate how God made you, or if He made you a woman be thankful and celebrate and live that out, that's God's plan.
- All right, well, thanks for your call Matthew. Next caller that we have is Steve in New York. Steve, welcome to the program.
- [Steve] My question involves Joshua chapter six and in Joshua chapter six, the Lord instructs Joshua to take the men of war and some priests to march around Jericho. And they were to do that seven days. So my question is one of those seven days would've been the Sabbath. And I'm just wondering why God would've instructed them to march on the Sabbath doing that. Or was it again, maybe not common, but not unusual for Israel to go into battles even when it was the Sabbath day?
- Yeah. Good question. All right, so in the story of Joshua, it says, "You're to march around the city six times, or a six days, once, seventh day, seven times, he's not talking about the seventh day of the week. He means the seventh day of marching, but your point is still good. That that would mean if there's seven sequential days in marching around Jericho, one of those seven must have been the Sabbath. Well, if God tells His army to go march around a city and blow trumpets, that's really just a Sabbath walk and special music. There's nothing in there that's really forbidden in itself. They're not actually going to war, but even among the Israelites, if they were attacked by their enemies on the Sabbath day, and that happens to modern Israel. Several of the wars have been launched by Islamic enemies on Friday, thinking that the Jews would be the least prepared. When Pearl Harbor happened, it was not an accident the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on a Sunday morning, they knew it would be the day of rest for the people in the city, and that they would be the least prone to preparation for fighting. But the Jews, as other armies, they realize an army needs to be equipped all the time and prepared all the time. And even the Jews had people who were a Watchman in the temple, on the Sabbath. So, it's not a sin for a Jewish army or Sabbath keepers to defend themselves if they're attacked on the Sabbath day. There were some wars that the Jews fought that lasted for years and obviously, they didn't take every Saturday off. So when there's defending the cities.
- All right, thank you, Steve. Next caller that we have is Jesse listening in Colorado. Jesse, welcome to the program.
- [Jesse] Hi.
- Hi.
- [Jesse] So my question deals with Revelation 17, who is the lady and I have an opinion on it already, but I just want to hear what you guys say.
- Yeah, Revelation 17 is that chapter that identifies this woman who's called, Mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abomination of the earth. Says "That she's got many daughters." Well, I think the key to answer that question. This is a prophecy that was written by John. John is a captive in Rome when he writes the prophecy and he says in verse 18, that's the last verse in chapter 17. "The woman who you saw is that great city that reigns over the Kings of the earth." What city was raining over the Kings of the earth when John wrote Revelation?
- [Jesse] So I would say Rome, right?
- Correct. So a woman in prophecy is an allegory of what?
- [Jesse] I have really no clue.
- Okay, well, the Bible says, "Husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church." And sometimes God's church has been unfaithful. So here you have an unfaithful woman in Rome that becomes a very powerful, that gets involved in intrigue and adultery with the Kings of the earth. The only church that can fit this description would be the Roman Catholic church. And by the way, that's not pastor Doug or Pastor Ross. This is what was said by Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, John Wesley, John Calvin, all the Protestant reformers, and many, matter of fact, even I think it was even Pope Gregory the Great who said, "Any man that calls the office of the Pope to be, you know, the head of the church", he says, "he is antichrist." So yeah, this is identifying the Roman Catholic church says, "The woman sits among seven Hills." Rome is the city of seven Hills. So I think it's pretty clear.
- You know, we got a study guide called "The Other Woman", and it's talking about this description we find in Revelation chapter 17. We'll be happy to send this to you, Jesse or anyone wanting to learn more about this very important chapter that we find in the last book of the Bible. You can just call and ask, ask for the study guide. It's called, "The Other Woman", it's on Revelation 17. The number to call is 800-835-6747. And again, ask for the study guide called "The Other Woman". Our next caller that we have is Keith listening in Louisiana. Keith, welcome to the program.
- [Keith] Can you explain 1 Peter 3:18-20?
- It says, "For Christ suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit, by whom", talking about by the Spirit. "He also went and preached to the spirits in prison who formally were disobedient when once the divine long suffering waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared." It's talking about the divine long suffering. It's talking about the spirit. Peter is referring back to Genesis chapter six, and I think it's verse three where God says, "My Spirit will not always strive with man, but his days will be 120 years." So it was the same Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead. That spirit strove with unbelievers back in the days of Noah and spoke to those who are imprisoned by sin. It's not saying that when Jesus died on the cross, that He went to a dungeon somewhere to give special second chance treatment to people that live before the flood. And this is, you know what some people have taught, but Bible doesn't teach that. Is that kind of what you were wondering?
- [Keith] Yes, sir, yes. Especially that part was a bit troubling about the spirits in prison. So yeah, that does make more sense.
- The key to understanding that is you go to Genesis 6:3. God said, "My Spirit will not always strive with man." This was written before the flood. This is the Spirit, the long suffering of God. "For 120 years", it says, "they would have from the time that God called Noah until the flood came, and God spoke to the spirits in prison", by the devil meaning, "in prison by sin."
- All right. Thanks for call. We've got Reasoner listening from North Carolina. Reasoner, welcome to the program.
- [Reasoner] Hey, thanks Pastor Doug, Pastor Ross. I got two questions. First of all, can you read Matthew 5:20 please?
- All right, you got it, Jean. You want to read it?
- Yes. "For I say to you, unless your righteousness succeeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
- [Reasoner] Okay, thanks. Now, first question is simply this. If Christ were here now, dispensing free education, free medicine, free food. He fed the crowd for free, His charity and generosity. Could you see Him being branded as a socialist? That's the first question.
- Okay, well, no, you know, of course, how would He be branded? They, everybody branded Jesus pretty poorly. Both the legalists and the liberals, the Sadducees and the Pharisees didn't care much for Jesus. Jesus freely dispensing. He was not freely dispensing from a government. He was personally freely dispensing. He was encouraging believers to dispense, not compulsory gifts and taxation. In other words, America started out where the government depended on the goodness and the Christianity of people to care for the poor, the hospitals, the orphanages, they weren't run by the government. They were run by the Christians. But as time went by, the government said, "Well, we can't trust you to be good. So we're going to take the money from you and we'll run it." That's a whole different system than what Christ really was setting up.
- Well, you know, pastor, I'm thinking of another verse. It's clear, the Bible does talk about our responsibility as believers to help those in need. And that is the poor. But on the other hand, you do find a principle that we read about in 2 Thessalonians three, this is not the only place, but the principle is simply this "The one who does not work, shall neither eat." In other words, we need to work. It's not a good thing for us not to do what we can to support ourselves and our family. If we claim that we don't want to work and we just want to get handouts, well, we lazy. It's contrary to what the Bible says.
- That's spiritual.
- So, there is a balance. We need to be industrious. We need to do our best. The Bible says, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." But there are people that get sick. There are people that suffer, need. And as believers, we want to be aware of that. And we want to help people. It's a different structure that you see than what's being promoted today in different political circles.
- So you guys, you had two parts to your question. What was the second part?
- [Reasoner] Okay, the second question is simply this, the Pharisees were more old line stand pat, traditional, staunchity, okay. That when Saul got his name changed to Paul, did he leave the party of the Pharisees?
- Well, he must have, because I think Paul says, "I was a Pharisee of the Pharisees." And so he speaks of it in past tense. Of course, I don't know if that's by his choice or if they evicted him, but he considered himself a Pharisee. He had to abandon some of the teachings of the Pharisees because the majority of the Pharisees rejected Jesus.
- And of course the Pharisees fundamentally the theology was righteous by works. And so Paul, you know, becomes Paul but he was Saul, him being a Pharisee of the Pharisees, he was very careful to observe every little tradition that was created, trying to be righteous. And then of course he discovered the truth of the gospel and realized righteous comes by faith in Christ, not as a result of works. All right. Well thank you for your call. We've got Joseph listening in California. Joseph, welcome to the program.
- [Joseph] Hello pastors, how are you guys doing?
- Doing great. Thank you for calling.
- [Joseph] Yeah, first of all, I want to thank you guys for your ministry. I've learned a lot from listening to you guys' programs. My question is, what are your thoughts on home church? And does the Bible say anything against it?
- Well, you see a lot of examples in the Bible of people meeting in homes in the early days of the church. If you look in the book of Acts, you know, of course Christ first met them in a home church, an upper room. The last supper was in what you would call a home church, an upper room. The resurrection and the early Bible studies. The Holy Spirit being poured out. This was all done in homes. There were not formally dedicated church buildings with a more public nature. And so I personally think, I know Pastor Ross agrees, that the strength of any church is going to be not just what happens once a week in the building, but in the homes and in small groups. Because that's where we really build relationships. And you can have more intimate times of prayer and know the people and know how to pray for them. We learn how to get along and love each other better. It's sometimes easier in a big church. You can come in and go out and not really get involved with people, but you don't always learn how to love. So yeah, I think that, I think the strength of even the modern church is very important to be involved in home groups. Now, I wouldn't abandon the corporate getting together or maybe a more traditional facility, but certainly nothing wrong biblically with the home church.
- I think we even find in the Bible, for example, Colossians 4:15, when Christians were facing opposition and persecution, not only from the religious leaders in Jerusalem, but the Romans as well. There were groups that met in homes and they were churches. Colossians 4:15 says, "Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and Nympha, and the church that is in his house." So his house served as a gathering place for believers. And that was, you might say a home church, but again, that was the time of persecution. Christianity was spreading in a place of relative ease or peace. There's nothing wrong in building a building dedicated just to the worship of God where believers can gather together and worship on a regular basis.
- You know, I think one of the best verses in that Pastor Ross is in Acts 2:46, "For continuing daily, with one accord in the temple", that was the public place, "and breaking bread from house to house", meaning getting together, studying as well as eating. "They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God." So I think really a healthy church needs both.
- Absolutely next caller that we have is Steve listening Canada, Steve, welcome to the program.
- [Steve] Good evening, gentlemen, thank you very much for everything that you do. Like I learned as well as many people to try to walk the narrow path with our savior. I was wondering the 1/3rd of angels who became demons as you referred as made by pastor Doug Batchelor that cause conflict in the movie as well. Are they have this mentality mindset that he's weakness from the two weakness where I understood that he's jealous and proud. Do they have this character? And one and the following, if you don't mind just asking me, us when we are in Christ, we become in the image of Christ as our character. But once when we seen like Judas, Saul that you quoted, or they became in the character of Lucifer, or Satan the devil, as they are also have this jealousy and proud in them, that is his character. Can we inherit his image, his character of Satan, what I'm saying, just like we can get the character of God?
- Okay, so when the angels that were deceived by Lucifer, when they fell and chose to follow Lucifer in his rebellion, they began to take on the characteristics of Lucifer, which were pride and selfishness. And of course the human race. When we fell into sin through our first parents, our love nature was damaged and we became very selfish creatures. So I think that, I don’t know, Pastor Ross had seemed to me that everybody that, unless we're converted and born again, people are motivated by selfishness and pride and we need to have our image transformed. You know, all old things passed away, all things made new, we're being conformed into the image of His Son. And so that is the plan of salvation.
- You know at the end of time pastor, two groups of people are described in the book of Revelation. Those with the mark of the beast. And those with the seal of God. Those with the seal of God, they reflect the character of God. Those with the mark of the beast they reflect the character or the image of the beast, meaning pride, selfishness. So yes, as we surrender to the Spirit of God, as we seek God to guide and work within us, He creates a new person by faith, little by little it's called sanctification. Absolutely. If we reject that though, we are setting ourselves up to reflect more and more the devil.
- That's right. You know, when we have a Bible lesson that talk, well, first of all, our caller asked about the "Cosmic Conflict" DVD. If you want to know more about this rebellion, where did sin come from? If God is more powerful than the devil, then if God is good and if He's loving, why doesn't He destroy the devil? Did He make a devil? Why is there evil in the world if God is good? This is the big question a lot of atheists ask. They say, "If God's so good, if there's a God, why is there innocent people suffering?" All of this is answered in that DVD called "Cosmic Conflict." And you can order that from Amazing Facts, or you can probably listen to it for free. Everything seems to land on YouTube. If you just go to YouTube, I'm quite certain it's there. Type in "Cosmic Conflict" and that'll really help you understand that. Also there's a lesson you can get called, "Did God create a devil?" How do they get that?
- The number to call for that is 800-835-6747. And just simply ask for the study guide it's called, "Did God Create a Devil?" And pastor we hear the music playing the background, but to those listening on satellite we can be signing off, but for the rest of you stay by, we've got some great internet questions that we're going to be answering.
- [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.
- Hello, friends, welcome back. This is our final internet questions that have been sent in. Pastor Doug, we have about a minute and a half to try and answer as many of the questions as we can. So we'll get right to it. Here's the first one. "How can I stay calm when somebody else falsely accuses me?"
- Well, it's not necessarily a sin to feel some indignation when you're falsely accused, but I believe that the reason we can find calmness is through the Spirit of God. Knowing Jesus went through the same thing. Look at Christ at His trial, how calmly He bore all of the false testimony that was hurled at Him. So it's not unnatural to feel some righteous indignation, but then hopefully you'll find peace knowing I can't change that, I can only change me.
- Next question that we have. Why did Jesus cry out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me" on the cross when He knew what was going on and what was to happen?
- Well, some people think that Jesus reached a point of despair when He cried out "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" That's actually the first verse in Psalm 22, which was a messianic Psalm, which they would normally quote from the messianic Psalms during the Passover. Christ, hanging on the cross, quoted from the Psalm that pointed to what He was experiencing. And in that very Psalm, it says, "They pierced my hands and my feet." And people would see Him saying that on the cross. And they'd go, "This is the prophecy that tells who He is." He was not uttering despair, because Jesus did not ever lose faith. He was basically pointing us to the fulfillment of that prophecy.
- Okay, another question that we have, "If I don't know that I'm doing wrong, will God judge me for that?"
- Well, the Bible tells us in the book of Luke, "To him who knows his master's will and does not do it he will be beaten with many stripes. He that did not know and disobeyed is beaten with few." You are more accountable for when you know, God says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because they've rejected knowledge." And so there is more accountability when we know God's will. Jesus said, "For someone who does not know, if you did not know you would have no sin, but now that you say you see, your sin remains." And that's the gospel of John.
- Maybe time for one more Pastor Doug. "Why didn't Daniel go straight to heaven?"
- Okay, meaning Daniel the prophet. Believe it or not friends, there is more than one Daniel in the Bible. You know, it's really easier to ask why didn't all the other good prophets go right to heaven? Like Elijah or Enoch. All the other good prophets went to their graves. God said, "Daniel, you will sleep until that day the last day of the judgment day." Friends we are now out of time, stay tuned for some important messages. We'll study together next week.
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