- [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 Jean Ross.
- Hello friends, welcome to Bible Answers Live. Pastor Doug is out this evening, but how about an amazing fact? In 1913, the little country of Albania in Eastern Europe achieved its independence. There were many Muslims in Albania and they chose as their leader a Turkish prince named Halim Eddine. Prince Halim Eddine seemed reluctant at first to leave his native Turkey. But one day a Telegraph was received, saying that he would shortly arrive in the Albanian city of Durazzo. The people of Durazzo turned out in force to greet the prince. They could tell at once that he was a nobleman. He spoke with authority, wore a splendid uniform, and carried along sword. When he told them that he would lead an attack against the heated city of Belgrade, they went wild with joy. The people of the city quickly declared the prince to be the king of Albania. The new king chose a strange name for a Muslim, Otto I, but the people were not critical of their hero. They cheered him everywhere and showered him with costly gifts. Everyone was happy. Five days later, however, another telegraph arrived. Otto I, it said, was a fraud. The real Prince Eddine was still in Turkey. Well, the people rushed King Otto to find out the truth, but the king was gone. For Otto the First was really Otto Witte, a German circus performer who had carried out one of the boldest hoaxes in history. Friends, did you know that the Bible predicts that one of the greatest impersonations of all is soon to come? Actually, it was Jesus that warned His followers. In Matthew 24:24, He said, "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the very elect. So the Bible warns us that before Jesus comes, there's going to be a lot of deception in the world. Good evening, Pastor Carlos, welcome.
- Hello, Pastor Jean Ross.
- It's good to have you here.
- Good to be back.
- Now, we're talking about one of these great deceptions that the devil is going to do before Christ comes. Well, the Bible tells us that he's even going to try and impersonate Jesus. You know, there's an interesting verse in Revelation 16:14 that says, speaking of end time events, "For they are the spirits of demons, performing signs or miracles." So just because somebody performs miracle, that doesn't mean that they're of God. How are we to know whether someone is genuine or if they're a counterfeit? Well, the Bible tells us in Isaiah 8:20, it says, "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." So what is to be our guide, Pastor Carlos, when it comes to determining what is genuine or what is counterfeit?
- Well, God gave us His word so that we can distinguish between what is His and what is not.
- So we have to go by the Bible and what the Bible says?
- Amen. Not by our feelings or our emotions, but what is God say in His word.
- Do you think, even in the world today, there are these false spirits or evil spirits performing miracles under the name of Christianity and maybe even in churches today?
- Oh yeah. I mean, I remember in a second Corinthians chapter 11, Paul speaks about these false teachers and they masquerade as Satan, who also presents himself as an angel of light. And he has his ministers
- That's right.
- that are also sharing and scattering deceit and lies and misinterpreting scripture too, so.
- So at the end, it's very important to know what the Bible says on this important subject. Well, we do have a study guide. It's actually one of our books that we have. It's dealing with the second coming of Christ. And it's very important. It's called Anything but Secret. And this is our free offer. To anyone listening, if you'd like to receive it, all you need to do is call the number 800-835-6747. And you can ask for the book by name, it's called Anything but Secret or offer number 106, and we'll be happy to send it to anyone in North America. That's 800-835-6747. And again, just ask for the book Anything but Secret, and we'll be happy to send it to you. If you're outside of North America, they can still receive the book, Pastor Carlos, but just go to the Amazing Facts website. It's amazingfacts.org Click on the tab that says free library and you can read it. You can read a digital copy right there online. So that's something you can do right away. If you're in the area and you have a Bible question, give us a call. The number to call is 800-463-7297. That is our phone line here to the studio. That number again is 800-463-7297. This is Bible Answers Live, it's a live interactive international Bible study. And if you have a question about the Bible, about living the Christian life, our phone lines are open. We'll be happy to search the scriptures together to find Bible answers. Pastor Carlos, before we actually go to the phone lines and to begin our Bible study, it's always good to start with a word of prayer,
- Amen.
- Because the Bible is God's book and we need the Holy Spirit to guide us. So why don't you stop with prayer?
- Let's pray. Father, thank You for another day of life, and thank You for the privilege of having Your word. And as we now open it, because we want to help each other find answers to understanding Your will and the things that are happening in this world, we ask that Your Spirit guide us and direct us so that everything that is said and done may be in harmony with Your Word. So we thank You again for this privilege, and we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
- Amen. Who's our first caller tonight?
- First caller, we have Glenn from Ohio. Good evening, Glenn. Welcome to Bible Answers Live.
- Good evening. Thank you for taking my call. You know, the Bible says that there's no other name under heaven by where you must be saved, but I don't believe that it tells what name that is. Is it Jehovah or Jesus, or is in the word name back to something that gives that away?
- Okay. Well, good question. I think the answer to that is just simply the name referred to there is the name of the Messiah, which is Jesus. Now, of course, there's different ways to pronounce the word Jesus. In English, it's Jesus, Hebrew would be more Yeshua, so there are different ways of pronouncing the name, but the name refers to the person, and the person is Christ. Our only hope of salvation is in Jesus. Also, in the Bible, names have significance and names referred to the person, they represent the person. When it came to the birth of Jesus, an angel gave Joseph the message that His name should be Jesus, and then it tells us He shall save His people from their sins. So Christ is the Savior, He's the one who saves us. Is it important, Pastor Carlos, that we pronounce the name of Jesus a certain way, or is there a certain language? Do we have to pronounce His name in Hebrew or Aramaic in order for us to be saved? Or what does it mean there's no other name?
- No, I just think that just like ours. Your name is Jean, right? And in Spanish it would be Juan.
- Right.
- So we changed the names depending on the differences. For example in Greek, in the New Testament which were in Greek, when Paul is writing about Jesus, he uses the Greek word Jesus, right? Because that's their language at that time. Even though we know that the name comes in Hebrew Jesuah. Some people do get caught up with that, but at the end of the day, is who are you talking about? Who are you thinking about? Who are you contemplating? If you say Messiah, if you say Christ, if you're the Jesus, if you say Hesus, if you say, It's the person, right?
- That's right, the name represents the person. So anyone, everyone that will be saved will be saved because of the sacrifice of Christ, they are saved by faith in Jesus, in the Messiah. And that's the important point. You know, we do have a book, it's called The Name of God, and it's a free gift. We'll send it to anyone who calls and asks. If you'd like receive the book, all you need to do is call our resource phone number. That's 800-835-6747, and ask for the book that's called The Name of God, and we'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls and asks.
- Amen.
- All right, who do we have next.
- Next we have from Switzerland, we have Katja calling us. Hello, Katja.
- Hello. Good evening, pastor. It's very nice of you to take my call. I have a question about the Old Testament, which might seem a little bit mundane. Is there any mentioning of sweets or dessert in the Old Testament?
- Sweets or desserts. Well, you know, the idea of something being sweet is found in the Bible, you'll also find it with reference to salvation, you find it in reference to the word of God, and sometimes, the word honey is used. Speaking of the land of promise, it was referred to as the land flowing with milk and honey, and Psalms 119 speaks of the word of God, as sweet as honey, more precious than silver and gold. So the idea of honey would be sweet, not so much of a dessert per se, but the idea of something being sweet is found, and it symbolizes the word of God, it symbolizes the promised land, hope for the redeemed, and that's what it refers to. But back in those days, I think the sweetest thing you get was honey.
- Grapes.
- Grapes are sweet. And of course, dates.
- Dates.
- You could get a type of date honey as well, which is also very sweet, but that's pretty much it. They didn't have cane sugar like, of course, we have it today.
- Yes. The point came up after concert, the musician saying about what the people, what you all would do in the Messiah comes. And they had citations from the Bible like sing like Solomon or dance like Moses and eat a banquet. And then when I said, "Oh, you forgot about the dessert," They said there's no mention of dessert in the Old Testament. And I said, okay, I will find that until the next concert. Okay.
- They play music, which is half traditional and often with religious themes. So that's why the question came up.
- Yeah. You know, I think not specifically dessert, but if you look back, and even today in the Middle East, often a meal will end with some fruit or something sweet. And fruit was considered much more of a delicacy back in Bible times than we might consider today, because of course they didn't have certain fruits all year round. So when it was grape time and the grapes were, you know, ready for harvest, that would be something special. You might eat that at the end of your meal, whether it was dates or whatever it might be. So food was used almost like a dessert, and was available at the end of the meal. That's a good point though.
- Do we have a verse?
- Not specifically of them eating fruit at the end of the meal. That's just, you know, more cultural. With reference to honey, there are a number of references, starting all the way back in Genesis 43:11. It's also interesting to know, just something came to mind, when Jacob sent gifts to Joseph who was in Egypt, and they didn't know that it was Joseph. When he sent his sons to get grain during the famine, he gathered the best of the land that he could and it included dates. And so that was considered a delicacy back in those times.
- And this is in Genesis?
- Genesis 43. Genesis 43:11. You also find honey referred to in Exodus 3:8, speaking of the land of promise. And then there are many references to honey throughout the Old Testament.
- Yeah. Thank you. Thank you very much.
- All right, you're welcome. Thanks for your call.
- Next. We have Angela from Illinois. Good evening, Angela.
- Ah, thank you. I have a question in regards to Luke 16:19-31, it talks about the rich man and Lazarus. I was reading it and I don't really understand it. I assume it's a parable. So can you explain it to me please?
- Yes. Great question. You find this in Luke chapter 16, starting verse 19, sometimes referred to as the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Actually, the hitting that I have in the New King James version is just that. It says the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, it's in the context of a number of parables. But what's unique about this parable is that we have a character who has a specific name. It's very important. And that person's name is Lazarus. And we are going to get to why in this parable, there is somebody that has a specific name. For those who might be new to the parable, you can find it in verse 19. It talks about a certain rich man who was a Jew and he lived very well but there was a beggar, and the beggar's name was Lazarus. And the beggar would be at his gate begging for something to eat, but the rich man sort of ignored the beggar. And in the story, they both die, and the rich man goes to, in verse 23, a place of torment called Hades. And we can say something about that in just a minute, but Lazarus, who was the poor man, the beggar, he ends up in a place that's referred to as Abraham's bosom. And so Lazarus is in a place of paradise, and the rich man is in a place of torment. And then it says they are talking one to another, and the rich man who is in Hades says to Abraham, he says, "It's hot down here," I'm paraphrasing, "please put a drop of water on my tongue." And the message comes back from Abraham and says, you know, remember during your lifetime, you received all the good things. Whereas Lazarus, the beggar, the poor man, he received the bad things. Now Lazarus is comforted and you are tormented. And then he goes on to talk about a great gulf that is fixed. Well, then verse 27, then he said, "I beg of you, Father," this is the rich man in Hades talking to Abraham. "I beg of you father, that you would send him," that's Lazarus, very important, "to my father's house for I have five brothers, that they may testify to them lest they also come to this place of torment." Abraham said, "They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them." Verse 30, and he said, "No, Father Abraham. They will believe if someone were to go from the dead." Verse 31, here's the key point. But he said to him, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one is raised from the dead." So in the parable, you have this man by the name of Lazarus, he's a beggar, and you have the rich man symbolizing the nation of Israel, of the religious leaders of the day. And here the message is if Lazarus were raised from the dead, they would believe. Jesus says if they don't believe Moses and the prophets, meaning the scriptures, they won't believe even if someone is raised from the dead. Now what's amazing about the story, just a short time after, talking about a matter of weeks, even days after Jesus told us parable, there was somebody raised from the dead whose name was Lazarus, and still the religious leaders refused to believe that Jesus was the Christ. So this was a prophecy that Christ really making concerning the fact that even though Lazarus would rise from the dead, they would still stubbornly refuse because they rejected the testimony of Moses. This is not a discourse to talk about what happens when a person dies, because the Bible tells us in many places that the dead know not anything, that you're in the grave until the resurrection at the second coming of Christ. This is a parable like all of the other parables, to teach a very important lesson. And that's the main thrust of what is being taught in this parable. Also, the imagery that Jesus is using, He's using Greek Mythology. When He is talking about Abraham's bosom, when He is talking about a place of torment, that was common to the Greeks, that's what they believe, that when you died, you went into a place of torment or you went up to a place of paradise. And Jesus is using something that they were familiar with to illustrate an important truth. The truth being you won't believe even if somebody is raised from the dead, and oh, by the way, his name's going to be Lazarus. And they still didn't believe which to me is amazing. It's an incredible parable. It really is a powerful story in the context of what Jesus was doing.
- Oh, wow. This is great. Thank you.
- I understand it now.
- Oh, great question. Thanks for your call.
- Amen. Don't we have a book also? We have a,
- You know, I think we do. It might be called The Rich Man and Lazarus.
- The Rich Man and Lazarus.
- Yeah, I think it is. And Angela, you might want to call and ask for that. We'll be happy to send it to you. Just call 800-835-6747, and ask for the book called The Rich Man and Lazarus. It'll go into a lot more detail than we have time to talk about right here on the air. Good question. Who do we have next?
- Next, Olivia from Washington. Welcome to Bible Answers Live.
- Hi, thank you for taking my call. Well, a few days ago, I was looking at my dad's Bible and it opened to a random place, and it just, it was somewhere in 1 Corinthians.
- Mm-hmm And it said something about if women did not have their head covered, when they prophesied, then their head would be disgraced, and I was wondering what that meant.
- Okay. Good question. I think the verse you're referring to is 1 Corinthians 11, and it starts around verse 4, 5, and I think it goes all the way through to about 8. And it's talking about in the church, the context here, Paul is writing a letter to the believers in the city of Corinth. This church was made up of both Jews and Gentiles, more so Gentiles, it seems, and there were a lot of people coming and going. And if you read the rest of not only 1 Corinthians, but also 2 Corinthians, Paul was helping the church to get organized. There seemed to be some confusion in the church, things weren't being done right. And so Paul is writing a letter and he is giving some practical guidance to the church members as to how they were to perform the services, what they were to do in church. And one of the things that he's mentioned here, if you find in verse 4, 1 Corinthians 11:4, it says, "Every man praying or prophesying," that means preaching, "having his head covered, dishonors his head. But every woman who prays or prophesize with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head was shaved." Now, let me give you the context. As the sign of respect and reverence, back in those days in that culture, similar to as it is today, for a man to enter a church, it is respectful for him to remove his hat. That's true, even if somebody goes to somebody else's house, but especially a church. If somebody enters the church, the respectful thing is to remove your hat. It is a cultural thing. But that's true just for men. It's not true for a woman. Matter of fact, there are many women that will wear a head covering or a hat when they go to church, and it's actually a sign of reverence and respect. And that's what Paul is emphasizing. He says, when you go to church, you need to show forth respect. And if that involves for a man removing your hat, then remove your hat or your head covering. For a woman, if you're going to be front, if you're going to be leading in the prayer, you want to cover your head, meaning you want to show respect and reverence. So the whole point here is talking about reverence and respect, and there was a traditional component to that because Pastor Carlos, you know different cultures around the world do things differently. I spent some time in India, and it's true that when a woman goes to the front of the church, or even if she enters the church, it's very common for her to cover her head. It's appropriate for a man to remove his hat if he goes in, but also another sign of reverence is the removing of their shoes.
- Shoes. Yep.
- So when you go into the church, you'll often see in the front of the church, there are all kinds of shoes or sandals that's there. Now, that's not the way it is in North America, in a Western style culture. But whenever I go to India and I'm asked to preach, I'll always remove my shoes, I'll be up there in my socks. It feels a little odd at first, but that's a sign of reverence. And that's the point that Paul is emphasizing, that when it comes to worship and it comes to the church, things need to be done decent and in order.
- Amen.
- Yeah. So hopefully that helps a little bit, Olivia.
- Thank you, that did help.
- All right. Thanks for your call.
- Awesome. Next we have Darryl from Florida. Welcome to Bible Answers Live.
- Good evening, pastors. My question is which of the plagues mentioned in Revelation 16 are literal and which are symbolic? And if we have enough time, when does Satan show up posing as Christ? Before the plagues or during the plagues?
- Okay. Well, good question. Let's take the first part of the question. Which of the plagues, the 7 Last Plagues that we find in Revelation 16 are literal or symbolic. I think the first four plagues are literal. The first one is a painful sore that comes upon those that have the mark of the beast. Then it talks about the sea turning to a substance that is like blood. And then the springs and the rivers turning to a blood like substance. And then you find the fourth where it talks about an intense heat and people are scorched with heat. So those first four plagues would be literal. I mean, these are things that are judgments that are coming upon the earth. But then when you get to the next plague, you find darkness on the seat of the beast power. There is a literal application of that because I believe there will be a darkness that'll settle over the beast power that you read about in Revelation 13, but it's also symbolic in that it reveals that this entity, this religious power that claims to be preaching or teaching the truth is actually preaching lies and is dark. And then the sixth plague is the drying up of the river Euphrates, making way for the kings of the East. That is symbolic. We know in Bible prophecy, water represents multitudes in nations and kindreds and tongues. And so we find the support that these various kingdoms and nations gave to symbolic Babylon or the beast power will be withdrawn in preparing the way for the second coming. The kings of the East here symbolize Jesus and the angels coming to bring deliverance to God's people. So the sixth plague. And then the seventh plague, it talks about an earthquake and hale. That's definitely got literal applications as well. That brings you right up to the second coming of Christ. So yes, they both literal, but they also definitely have spiritual applications. Does that help, Derryl?
- Yeah. And if we have time, when does Satan show up posing as Christ? Before the plagues or during the plagues?
- I think there's a little bit of both. I think there is before probation closes, the plagues fall after probation closes. I think before probation closes, there's going to be false Christ and false profits performing signs and wonders. But I also think during the plagues, near the end, there's going to be a final gathering together of all of the nations. Cause according to Revelation chapter 13, it speaks about a death decree that he's eventually passed against those who keep the commandments of God. Now that death decree is never enforced because Jesus comes before that happens. But I think during the time period of the plagues, and even before, there'll be a special or an increase of these false Christ and false prophets, and even the devil himself claiming to be Christ and deceiving the whole world and uniting them in the opposition.
- That's what I'm referring to is when Satan himself poses as Christ, you think it's going to be like at the sixth plague when it talks about the frogs coming out of the dragon's mouth and out of the beast and out of the false prophet's mouth?
- Yes. The three unclean spirits out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. Yes. That's an application to that as well. Don't think of the impersonation of Christ by the devil as being an experience that occurs just quickly. The devil's going to be here for a while and is going to be involved in deceiving people over an extended period of time. He's going to be galvanizing the world. So it could even begin a little bit before, but definitely culminates during the three unclean spirits that you read about in Revelation 16.
- Okay. Thank you.
- All right. Thanks your call, Derryl. Good question. Appreciate it. All right. Who do we have next?
- Lucas from Tennessee. Welcome to Bible Answers Live.
- Hey pastors. So my question is, where do dinosaurs fit in the biblical timeline? My current understanding is they are probably pre-flood and possibly the results of amalgamation, which could explain why they weren't on the ark.
- Okay. Yeah. Good question. Well, as far as the dinosaurs, yes, they did exist before the flood. And the reason we have so many fossilized remains of the dinosaurs is because of the flood, because of the various layers of mud destroyed the dinosaurs. There were some animals that you might consider close to that category that actually made it on the ark. For example, you have the woolly mammoth, which isn't a dinosaur, but it is extinct now. We believe it did make it on the ark because they found some pretty good preserved remains of it. But most of the dinosaurs, they were destroyed at the time of the flood. Others could not exist in the environment that was created after the flood. There was a reduction of vegetation, there was changes in the atmosphere. And so these animals that were so big, they just couldn't exist. Also, we find all kinds of animals before the flood that seemed to be a lot bigger. All the way from insects, dragonflies, and others that were much bigger than what we have now. So the whole environment was very different before the flood than after the flood. Well, thank you for your call, Lucas. Friends, we're going to be taking a short break. We'll be back with more Bible questions. If you have a Bible question, it's a good time to pick up your phone and give us a call. We'll be right back.
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- [Announcer] You're listening to Bible Answers Live, where every question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His plan to save you. So what are you waiting for? Get practical answers about the good book for a better life today. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7:00 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.
- Hello, friends, welcome back. This is Bible Answers Live, a live interactive international Bible study. We want to welcome those who are joining us online, also listening on the various radio stations. If you have a Bible-related question, we'd love to hear from you this evening. The number to call is 800-463-7297. That is a phone line here to the studio and the lines are open. It's a good time to give us a call. If you don't get through right away, well, just have a little patience, stay on the line, and somebody will get your call as soon as possible. Pastor Doug is out this evening, but we are taking your questions. And we have Pastor Carlos who is helping with the phone lines. And for those of you who might not know who Pastor Carlos is, Pastor Carlos, what do you do here at Amazing Facts?
- I am the director for AFCOE, Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism, and I'm an associate bilingual speaker to our ministry.
- Okay. Pastor Carlos is the Spanish voice of a lot of what we do here at Amazing Facts. And we have a website for those of you who might be listening who understand Spanish or would like to see what resources we have available. What's the website? The Spanish Amazing Facts website?
- Amazingfactslatino.org
- Okay.
- Amazing Facts Latino. And I believe we have video content there as well as a lot of written content and also some great Bible study resources.
- Amen.
- And it's all in Spanish. So you might want to take a look at that. Okay, well, let's go to our next caller. Who do we have next?
- Next we have Kenneth calling from Michigan. Welcome, Kenneth.
- Praise the Lord, pastors.
- Amen.
- Good evening. My question is over in the book of James, where it says, "Are there any sick among you? Let them call for the elders and let them anoint them, and pray the prayer of faith." My question is, what is the prayer? Because it says the prayer of faith, I believe that that is a specific prayer. I don't believe it's the Lord's prayer. I would like some enlightenment on that.
- Okay, great question. You know, the Bible tells us that we need to believe that God is, and that He's a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. So the Bible tells us that if somebody is sick, they're to call for the elders of the church, the leaders of the church, they are to gather around, they are to pray. As you mentioned, the prayer of faith, and we'll talk about that. Anointing with oil in the name of the Lord, and trust that the person will be raised up. Now, I've been involved in this service, I know Pastor Carlos is too. And I have seen some wonderful answers to prayer where healing has occurred on multiple occasions. But the ultimate promise that we find in this verse is even if we are healed now, the greatest reward is the new body when we are raised up at the second coming of Christ. So there is a temporal healing that we might experience now, but the promise is our sins will be forgiven if we trust in the Lord, and we'll be raised up when He comes. Well, what is this prayer of faith? Well, I believe the prayer of faith can be best summarized by the words of Jesus when Jesus prayed, Thy will be done. You know, we come to the Lord, we give Him our request, we say, Lord, please heal us or heal this person. We confess our sins. Want to make sure that we are right with God, and we pray in faith, trusting that the Lord hears our prayer, but ultimately, we also are willing to submit to whatever God's will is for us. Sometimes that can be a challenge. Maybe the healing doesn't come as quickly as we would like, or maybe there is a witness that we can be through this ailment. You know, Pastor Carlos, I'm reminded of the story of Paul, where he had some kind of ailment,
- Mm-hmm.
- and he prayed. And he speaks about it being a thorn in his side. And he prayed saying, "Lord, deliver me from this, heal me from this." And the message came back. My grace is sufficient for my strength is made perfect in weakness. And so in that case, Paul was not healed while he had faith. He had the prayer of faith. He submitted to whatever the will of God is. So I think that's an important component that we need to bear in mind when we pray the prayer of faith, we are saying not my will, thy will be done. Does that help, Kenneth?
- Yes, it does. Thank you so very much.
- All right. We appreciate your call. Thanks for calling. You know, we do have a book that talks about prayer, and it's called Teach Us to Pray.
- Teach Us to Pray
- And it's free. We'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls and asks. The number for that is 800-835-6747. And again, the book is called Teach Us to Pray, written by Pastor Doug. We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks.
- Amen.
- Who's our next caller?
- Next, we have Shelly calling us from Michigan. Welcome, Shelly.
- Good evening, pastors. Thank you for taking my call. I was just wondering if there's anything in the Bible that would help me with, my ex-husband and I are divorced and have been for almost 10 years, and we're starting to get back together. And I'm just wondering if there's anything in the Bible that says that I can remarry him or further that relationship, or am I not supposed to do that?
- Okay. Yeah, good question. So if two people are married, and for some reason, the marriage falls apart but they're still able to be friends, and the relationship is able to grow, and maybe both of them experience a conversion, and they realize that they really do love this person, and they want to recommit their lives and get remarried. That's perfectly appropriate. Now, of course, if somebody is remarried in the interim, well, no, you can't get remarried. But if both individuals have re remained unmarried and they've been able to come together and harmonize and love each other and they want to recommit to that marriage, that's perfectly appropriate according to the Bible.
- Thank you so much. I really do appreciate that. Thank you.
- All right. You're welcome. Thank you. Thank you, Shelly.
- Amen. Next, we have Lori calling us from Indiana. Welcome to Bible Answers Live.
- Thank you for taking my call. Well, it's kind of hard to voice it. My daughter recently had a drug overdose and she became brain dead. I want to know where in the Bible I could find if she is still going to be able to go to heaven. She was saved and baptized, but obviously, she was backslid, and I don't think she had time to ask for forgiveness. But she sent me prayer hands right before because she'd asked me to come and get her.
- Okay.
- That she didn't want to be alone. Yeah, absolutely. You know, we don't know the heart. And I think that's why the Bible's very clear that it says it's not for us to judge. God knows the heart. It's also encouraging to know that God doesn't judge us eternally based upon maybe one good decision we might make or one bad decision. But rather, it's the chain of our lives, it's the direction of our life. And I think that's why it's important for us not to judge. God knows. And there are circumstances that might occur. You know, I know of experiences where somebody might have been in incredible pain, and in a moment of weakness, they tried to commit suicide and they took some pills, only to realize what they had done. And they called and said, I've made a terrible mistake, but it was too late. They confessed what they had done and said, "Lord, please forgive me." So we don't know the heart. Probably the best thing we could do is to recognize that God loves our children even more than we do. And He will do everything He can to save. So we can pray and we can place them in the hands of Jesus, and trust that He knows what's best. And thank God for His mercy and His grace and just trust in Him.
- You know, it's just really been tearing me up because I'm so afraid for her cause she's in a nursing home now, and she's only 36 years old. She can't speak. She can open her eyes and that's it. She can't talk or anything or move. And like I said, I'd been trying to preach to her. And I told her she'd go to heaven, but I didn't realize, I mean, if you don't repent, is there anywhere in the Bible that I could look that would tell me this?
- Yes, there are.
- When she dies, cause she did die, does her spirit leave or come back or what?
- No. You know, the good news is that the Bible says if there's life there is hope. So if someone is alive and they're able to understand, there is hope. And again, you don't know how much she does understand. We don't know what's happening in her mind, we don't know how the Spirit is working so we can pray for her. I've heard many stories, again, of people who were in a coma, and people thought they couldn't hear, but actually they could. And you could still talk to them, talk about Jesus. You can ask her if she will respond, you can say, have you accepted Jesus? and give her an opportunity. But you can keep encouraging her. And you don't know, the Lord might open up a window or understanding might clear up if she's not made that decision. So just keep being the best example that you can, and place her in God's hands and trust in Him.
- Thank you so much. If you wouldn't mind praying for her also. Her name's Angela.
- Yeah. We will definitely keep Angela and pray. You know what Lori? Let's pray right now, okay?
- Thank you.
- Dear Father in heaven, we just want to come before you, and we want to lift up Angela a very special way. You know how dear our children are to us, and we know, Father, they are dear to you because you are our Father. So we just pray for Angela, we pray for Lori, and we ask that you would just keep your hand over that situation, Lord, and do everything you can to save. And we thank you in Jesus name. Amen.
- Amen.
- Amen. Praise God.
- God bless you, Lori.
- Thank you so much.
- All right. Thanks.
- You too.
- Buh-bye.
- Anthony from New York, you are live on Bible Answers Live. Welcome.
- Yes. Good evening, pastors. Can you hear me okay?
- Yep.
- We can.
- Okay, good. I think there's a delay on my phone. My question is based on Matthew chapter 10, verse two, where it lists the disciples. Verse 2 through 4 actually. And so my question is we always hear about the usual suspects, Peter, Andrew, James, John, Judas, Thomas. But then as I look in this list, I see there's a few that we never, at least I've never really heard much about, like Bartholomew, Thaddeus, and ones like that, or James, son of Alphaeus and things like that. I know that there's one of them that was suspect to be the brother of Jesus or something like that. Or maybe that was the one that wrote the book of James. I was wondering, could you expound on, maybe just giving us a little background, if there is any, on some of the other disciples and who they were.
- Okay, good question. Yes, of course we are very familiar with the disciples that played a leading role during the time of Christ ministry. We know that Peter, James, and John, they formed sort of an inner circle of disciples that got to share some very special experiences with Jesus. But the other disciples were very devout, they were very committed. They had some wonderful experiences with Jesus, and they were very involved after the resurrection in the early church, other than, of course, Judas Iscariot. So they all had different roles. The Bible doesn't explain all of what they did, all of what all the other disciples did. There is some traditions, and I think they're actually pretty solid. Thomas, one of the disciples, is believed to have gone to India as a missionary after the resurrection, and he was killed in India. And there's actually an area in India that you can go visit where they believe Thomas was buried. So all of the disciples are involved in some type of missionary activity. The Bible doesn't give us a whole lot more about them. In the book of Acts, you have some of the key people, as you mentioned, but the focus of the book of Acts is really the gospel going out to the Gentile world. And that's where Paul plays such a significant role in taking the gospel to the world. But the other disciples were involved in the work in Jerusalem, up until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. And just prior to that, there was persecution that caused a lot of the Christians to scatter. But we don't have a whole lot of reference other than that, with reference to what happened to the other disciples. We know they we're all faithful, other than Judas Iscariot. So hopefully that helps a little bit, Anthony.
- Yes. Thank you. Or do you have any resources that talk about other disciples at all?
- You know, I'm trying to think if Amazing Facts has anything. I don't think we have anything specific on that. We do reference, there is a book called The 144000. It's talking about God's end time sort of apostles that take the three angels message or the gospel to the world. I'm not sure if it might reference the 12 apostles in that, but it doesn't really give much of the historical context. There are historical books. I know Foxe's Book of Martyrs is one that comes to mind that actually mentions the number of the apostles that you don't often hear about and how they died based on tradition, and based on research that's been done. So you might want to take a look at that. I know I've read the first section of that book that talks about what happened to the apostles. All right. Thank you for your call, Anthony. Who do we have next?
- Eric from Canada, welcome to Bible Answers Live.
- I've been really struggling with understanding science and Bible.
- Okay.
- Because it just feels like there's just so much evidence against the Bible with science. I don't know. We struggle with understanding origins, like, especially with creation and the evolution issue.
- Okay.
- So how do we overcome that? Cause it's been really affected my faith and how I see the Bible.
- Okay. Good question. And I'm going to have Carlos address this a little bit because your experience is somewhat unique. You know, if we look at science correctly, especially through the lens of the Bible, understanding the biblical account of creation, the flood, what happened to the dinosaurs, looking at it from a biblical perspective makes a whole lot more sense than going along with the idea of slow change over long periods of time. There are just too many problems with what often is referred to as the popular understanding of evolution, where you have a lightning bolt that somehow affected some chemicals in a pond on the earth and proteins were formed. And then suddenly the proteins were able to create a cell. And somehow, the cell knew that it had to divide and it had to separate its DNA and it had to have a nucleus and everything else in place for a cell to have life. The chance of that happening by itself is impossible. But understanding what the Bible says, and then looking at science through the lens of scripture, everything fits in together in a beautiful way, and we can understand creation, we can understand science far clearer if we look at it from the Bible perspective. Now, Pastor Carlos, you weren't always a Christian. And I believe it was science that really led you to search the scripture because things weren't adding up.
- Yeah, that's right. It was the study of science that's making me see the complexity and how everything is synchronized and everything is orderly and has a purpose. And so what I would say, Eric, is that when you look at science, remember, science is just the gathering of information through scientific experiments, through scientific instruments. The problem thus is not the science, but the interpretation that many people give of the scientific discoveries. And those we've learned that consistently throughout time, they're changing, they realize scientists are always updating their information. So with the Bible, we know that there's no changing, there's no variation. And so I've come to find the Bible has been consistently confirmed both scientifically, historically, through archeology, and through a number of different ways. So, you know, just remember that many people have different agendas, whether it'd be intellectual agendas, political agendas in regards to their scientific interpretation. But when we go to scripture, there's always a solid foundation into how God wants to portray creation and understand it.
- You know, Eric, we have a book and you can read it online by just going to the Amazing Facts website or call and order it, and we'll be happy to send it to you. It's called How Evolution Flunked the Science Test. It's an interesting read. How Evolution Flunked the Science Test. And you'll find a lot of great information. And if you can accept what the Bible says about, you know, origin, suddenly the world around you makes sense. So we encourage you to call and ask for that. The number is 800-835-6747. Ask for the book, How Evolution Flunked the Science Test, and we'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. Who do we have next?
- Next we have Samuel from Wisconsin. Samuel, welcome.
- Peace be with you brothers in Christ.
- Amen.
- Hi, Samuel.
- Calling about 2 Peter 3:17-18. And I see as the darkness deepens that the light will brighten and I have great joy at the soon coming of the Lord.
- Absolutely. And the question you're asking about 2 Peter 3:17?
- Chapter 3, verse 17 and 18.
- Okay. Let me go ahead and read that for those who are listening. It says you therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the errors of the wicked. But grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen. And your question on that, Samuel?
- Is that a path, pastor, as my search for the Lord, that I understand is soon coming, that I do not have the fear of the world, but the joy of the coming of the Lord?
- Absolutely. You know, the Bible tells us perfect love casts out fear. And if we're longing for the coming of Christ, we need not be afraid. And when we study Bible prophecy, we understand that yes, there will be trials that'll come. But we also know that Jesus has said, He'll never leave us nor forsake us. And if Jesus is with you, you need not fear. He will carry you through whatever it is that the future has in store for you. So we can trust in God. He will see us through. The Bible tells us here to grow in grace. And so if we're studying, if we are growing in our relationship with Jesus, our trust and faith in Him will grow, and we'll be looking forward to that glorious day when Jesus comes. Now, that doesn't mean that, you know, we're just focused on ourselves saying, oh, I want Jesus to come so that we can be delivered from this world of sin and sorrow, but we're also doing everything we can to tell others about Jesus' soon coming, because we want others to be ready for Christ to come as well. So we're being a positive witness in our life, in our experience. We're sharing with others as opportunity arises. We're trying to do the best we can to build up the kingdom of heaven.
- Amen. And maranatha Jesus.
- All right.
- Thank you.
- Absolutely Samuel. God bless you. Thanks for your call. Who do we have next? Eric from Kansas, I think. Eric, you're you're live on BAL.
- Good evening, Pastor Jean Ross and Carlos.
- Hello.
- Yes.
- I had a quick question. I've heard mentioned in a few messages, name, but I wanted to ask, is it mentioned anywhere in the Bible named the woman that was placed at Christ feet that was found in adultery.
- You know, in the story that we find in scripture, her name is not mentioned specifically in that passage. But with a little sanctified detective work, we can kind of figure out who that is. And there's a number of clues that we find in the Bible. There is a woman that's referred to as Mary of Magdala, and then there's a Mary, the sister of Martha, and she's also the sister of Lazarus. Now Mary Martha and Lazarus lived in a town of Bethesda, which was close to Jerusalem, actually just outside. And whenever Jesus was in the facility of Jerusalem, he would often stay in their home. It's the same Lazarus that died that Jesus raised from the dead. But then when it talks about this Mary of Magdala, we also know that Mary, the one from Lazarus' sister, apparently, she had a bad reputation in town because on one occasion, when Jesus was there at the home of Mary Martha, Mary came in and anointed the feet of Jesus. And Simon the Pharisee said if he was a prophet, he would know what kind of woman this is. So Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, she had a bad reputation. It's quite possible that Mary left Bethany or where she was and went up to Magdala, which is close to the Sea of Galilee. And she was a prostitute. There were a lot of Roman soldiers that were stationed in Magdala. And that's where the name Mary of Magdala comes from. She made Jesus, Jesus cast out seven demons. It's quite possible that she slipped back because, you know, seven times, she seemed to fall back into the same sin. It's very possible that she was also the one that was caught committing adultery and Jesus forgave her. And that's why she was so grateful just a few days before the death of Jesus. When she anointed the feet of Jesus, she wept. And Jesus said, "You see this woman? She loves much because she has been forgiven much." And we also know that that was the same Mary that Jesus appeared to first when He rose from the dead on the death on Sunday morning. So just a beautiful story. You know, we have a book at Amazing Facts, it's called At Jesus Feet. And it's the story of Mary, Mary Magdala or Mary, the sister of Lazarus. And it gets into all of the verses and more of the detail of who that Mary is. And I think you'd really enjoy reading it, Eric, but I think you're on the right track. The Mary that was the sister of Lazarus, Mary Magdala and also the woman caught in adultery is probably the same person. All right. Thanks for your call. Who do we have next?
- Next, we have Robert from Washington. You're on the air, Robert.
- Robert, welcome to the program.
- Thank you. Glad you could squeeze me in.
- Absolutely.
- I was interested in 1 Corinthians 15:2. I've heard some people say that because of the wording that as an Adam all died, but then with Christ, all will be made alive. And so does the all mean all?
- Okay. Good question. Yeah. First of all, you know, in Adam we all die. So what does that mean? Well, because of Adam's sin, we're all born with a sinful nature. As a result of that sinful nature, we do sinful acts, and the wages of sin is death. So because we are in Adam's image, cause God said to Adam, "You shall procreate in your own image, according to your likeness." So in Adam, because of Adam's sin, we're all destined to death. But because of Christ, the second Adam, and because of His sacrifice, all can be saved. But there is a change. There is something we need to do. It doesn't mean we all are going to be saved, but all can be saved. In other words, Christ's sacrifice is of sufficient value to save everyone. That's what the Bible tells us. God can save to the uttermost, in Hebrews, those who come to God through Him. But we still need to come. You know, the famous verse, John 3:16, for God so love the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life. The whosoever believes, that would include anyone because Christ's sacrifice is available to anyone. But we do need to respond to that sacrifice. We need to believe, we need to come to Him, we need to ask forgiveness. So in that sense, that's what Paul is referring to when he says, "So even in Christ, all shall be made alive." Anyone that is saved is saved because of Christ. We are saved in Christ, but we do need to come to Him, because God can't save us if we refuse to be saved. If we don't repent, there is really nothing that God can do for us. Well, friends, we want to thank you for all of your calls. And if we didn't get to your calls tonight, give us another chance. Give us a call next week when we do Bible Answers Live. Now, don't go anywhere just yet, because we are going to be taking some of the email questions that have come in to Bible Answers Live. But we do want to say goodbye to those who are listening on satellite radio. Join us next week.
- [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 to Bible answers live. We've got about two minutes before we actually end our program to take more Bible questions. I want to thank you for sending in your Bible questions. If you want to email a Bible question to us, the address is simply BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. Pastor Carlos, what is our questions for this evening?
- Number one, Michelle will like an explanation of the abomination of desolation.
- Okay. The abomination of desolation. That's referring to Jesus in Matthew chapter 24. When He says, "When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, the prophet, stand in the holy place, let him that being Judea flee to the mountains. Well, in the first sense, there's sort of a dual application to the abomination of desolation. The first is a reference to Rome. The Roman armies that came and surrounded Jerusalem in 70 AD actually just before 70 AD, that resulted in the city's destruction. The Christians that heard Jesus speak these words, when that time came, they remembered what Christ said. And when they saw the Romans surrounding Jerusalem, there was a moment where the army, the Romans withdrew, which allowed the Christians to escape from Jerusalem. And when the Roman armies came back, they did destroy the city and there was a great slaughter. But in Bible prophecy, there is a symbolic power, also known as the abomination of desolation, which is also Rome, but not pagan Rome. In this case, it is papal Rome that is going to play a very important role as we near the end of time. And when we see papal Rome or the papacy taking positions in governments or influencing legislation, then we need to be aware that well, the end is near. And so there's a whole study on that, but that's a dual application for what the abomination of desolation is.
- Gary is asking if the enmity between Satan and the church in Genesis 3:15 is to help us hate sin.
- Yes, that is something we need to pray for. If we want to truly overcome sin, we need to ask God to put in our hearts a hatred for sin. You know, I know many who'd tell me that the things they once love to do after they came to know Christ, they don't love to do anymore. And the things that they didn't love, suddenly, they begin to love. So it's an evidence that the Spirit is working, that there is a change occurring in the heart. That is something that only God can do. And we need to ask for that. We need to be willing to allow God to do that work within us.
- Yep. And last, Jeff would like to know how he can study the Bible if he hasn't studied Greek and Aramaic and Hebrew.
- Take a look at some resources that's free online, for example, strong concordance. If you want to look at what the meaning of the original words is, just strong concordance, you can look up the verse. It'll tell you what the original meaning of the word is, and it'll help your study. Until next week. God bless.
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