- [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 Bachelor.
- Hello friends. Would you like to hear an amazing fact? They live in total darkness in oceans thousands of feet deep, where the water pressure's extreme. Glass sponges must be some of the world's most bizarre, multicellular animals. These creatures have a lattice-like layer of tissue surrounding a skeleton made of a matrix of interweaving silica spines. Silica, that's right. It's an animal made of glass. Scientists have found the unique lattice structure of the glass sponge is significantly stronger than any pattern currently used by building engineers. One researcher said, "It's sort of the holy grail of engineering design." Additionally, the glass threads grown by these sponges work like fiber-optic lines, conducting and bending light. One of the most astonishing aspects of the glass sponges is that while they grow very slowly, they don't appear to age. Theoretically, if not eaten by starfish or destroyed by fishing nets, they're capable of living for thousands of years. I tell you, Pastor Ross, when you look at the intricacies and the design and the engineering in the symmetry that you see in these animals, these creatures, then it's more evidence that this could never have happened by some biological accident, there clearly is an intelligent, brilliant, genius designer behind what you see in creation.
- That's right Pastor Doug, and it's not just the amazing complexity of these various creatures, but just the beauty, I mean, we were looking at some pictures of the glass sponge, just the perfect symmetry and how they can reflect and transmit the light, is just amazing. And of course, there's other creatures that they found way deep in the ocean that actually have these neon, glowing, whatever it is.
- Bioluminescent, they flash. You know, there's even a verse in the Bible that talks about this in Psalm 107:24, David here is talking about people that go to sea, and he says, "They see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep." So not only on the land and in the sky, but in the deep you can see the Hand of God. And maybe our friends would like to know more about that Creator that has that miraculous ability.
- We have a book, it's called Amazing Wonders of Creation. It's a free gift to anyone that is watching. All you need to do is call the number 800-835-6747. You can ask for offer number 116. We'll be happy to send it to you. You can also ask for this gift by name. It's called Amazing Wonders of Creation. And then Pastor Doug, we're doing something a little different, you can also request the gift simply by dialing on your cell phone #250 and then you'd say "Bible Answers Live," it'll prompt you, you say, "Bible Answers Live," and you'll be able to receive the gift that way as well, just #250 or 800-835-6747, and that's to receive the free gift. If you have a Bible question, our phone lines are now open. The number here to the studio is 800-463-7297. That's 800-GOD-SAYS, 463-7297. Well, we have some folks lined up, but before we go to the phone, as we always do, we like to start the program with prayer. Dear Father, we thank You for this opportunity once again, to be able to open up Your word and study the Bible. Lord, Your word is a light to our path. It reveals truth. And Jesus said, "You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free," we want to be set free in a clear understanding of Your word, so bless this program, be with those who are listening wherever they might be, in Jesus' name, amen. Our first call of this evening, we've got Anthony listening in New York, Anthony, welcome to the program.
- [Anthony] Yes, good evening pastors.
- Evening.
- [Anthony] I'm actually asking this question on behalf of my wife, she was reading first John, chapter five 16. It says, "If any man see his brother sin a sin, which is not unto death, he shall ask and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death, there is a sin not unto death. I do not say that he shall pray for it." And then in verse 17, it says, "All unrighteousness is sin and there is a sin not unto death," so what exactly is the sin not unto death? And that's what the assumption that all sin leads to death, based on what the Bible says, as well.
- Right, well, the penalty for sin is death. And so, he's talking about interceding here for some sin that cannot be forgiven. Jesus tells us, really the only sin that cannot be forgiven is the unpardonable sin, now I've heard some of the scholars and theologians have gone through the 10 Commandments and they say that, well, you know, there was, according to Jewish law, breaking some of the 10 Commandments carried a death penalty. While, you know, stealing or lying, you might suffer the consequences in court, but it wasn't the death penalty. So I've heard people try to approach that verse that way, and you see folks in the Bible that interceded in behalf of others that were guilty of sin and God hears their prayer and defends them or delivers them, but typically, it's thought to be the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is that sin that cannot be forgiven.
- And if you want to add to that a little more, any sin that is unrepentant leads to death.
- [Doug] That's right.
- So the only way that sin can be forgiven is we want to repent of those sins. So if there is somebody that has sinned and yet, they have a repentant heart, then that's a sin that does not lead to death.
- [Doug] That's right.
- But if they have a hard heart, a rebellious heart, then they're in danger of committing the unpardonable sin or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, does that make sense, Anthony?
- [Anthony] Yes, it does. I believe so. Thank you.
- All right, well hey, thanks so much for your call tonight.
- You know, we do have a book, Pastor Doug, that's called Can a Saved Man Choose to be Lost, and I think it talks about the unpardonable sin in that book, the number to call for that again, is 800-835-6747, we'll be happy to send it to you if you're in the United States or Canada. If you're outside the US or Canada, you can always go to our website, just amazingfacts.org. Click on the free library and you'll be able to read it there, and then the new way that you can request our gifts, is dial #250 on your cell phone and ask or mention the name Bible Answers Live and you'll be able to order the book that way. Our next caller that we have is Philip listening in Arkansas, Philip, welcome to the program.
- [Philip] Thank you pastors, for doing this show, I hope you guys are as blessed as we are listening to this every week.
- Oh, it's a joy.
- [Philip] Just to clarify on Anthony's question real quick though, why does it say that we have to distinguish between praying for someone that is sinning, but they have a repentant heart versus them not having a repentant heart, how are we to make that decision?
- Well, I think that sometimes you can tell if a person is asking for mercy or they're turning to the Lord. Other people, they say, "I don't want God in my life." And they're turning from the Lord.
- You know, the Bible says by their fruits, he shall know them. Jesus spoke about the Pharisees, he said, or actually, John the Baptist said, "Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance," in other words, Pharisees were unwilling to acknowledge this and they were unwilling to repent, so we don't know the heart, but we can tell by the actions, by the attitude, if it is a genuine repentance or a willingness for repentance.
- [Philip] So in some sense, we do stop praying for someone once they reach that point, it says that we shouldn't pray for them anymore.
- You know, the Bible tells us, not only is there a time where you might not be praying for somebody, you've got places in the Bible where David is praying that God will take vengeance on his enemies. So I know that's pretty severe, we usually don't preach sermons on that, but it is in the Psalms.
- [Philip] Yeah, that's fascinating. Back to my question real quick, in Matthew 10, I had a question when Jesus sends the 12 disciples out to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, he tells them they're going to be going from town to town. Why does he say in verse 23 that you won't have gone through all the towns until the Son of Man comes?
- If you were to take that even literally right now, Israel is one of the hardest places in the world to do evangelism, you are not allowed right now to do public evangelism in Israel. We are on TV there, I think, just because a lot of TVs pick up satellite and so Amazing Facts is on TV in Israel and many places in the Middle East, but if you do any proselytizing in Israel, they'll invite you to leave the country or at least cease and desist. So, certainly I think there's going to be a revival among the Jews before Jesus comes, I hope and pray for that. That has not happened yet.
- And then I've also, if you want to look at it as in a symbolic sense, there is a work of evangelism. There is a call for repentance amongst those who profess to be the followers of God. You've got spiritual Israel in the Bible, you've got literal Israel, you've got spiritual Israel. There is a work of reformation that needs to take place within the church, if you look at Christianity as a whole today, I think with all of the various doctrines and teachings and contradictions, there is definitely a work of preaching the truth of the Word of God, even to those who profess to be Christians and in Christian countries, so you've got the literal application of Israel as Pastor Doug mentioned, but I think you've also got the spiritual application. And if you look at the three angels' messages, the second angel's message says, "Babylon has fallen, has fallen," we understand Babylon to be representative of a religious system claiming to be Christian, and yet it has fallen from the truths of God's Word. So there is a call, there is a preaching even to profess Christians.
- Yeah and some of the apostles, they write their letters to the 12 tribes, well there were not 12 tribes at that time and they may have been using it as a spiritual system.
- Symbolic application. All right. Thanks for your call, Philip. Good question.
- By the way, we do have a book called Spiritual Israel.
- We do.
- We can send you a free copy.
- The number to call for that is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book, it's called Spiritual Israel. We'll send it to anyone in North America, actually in the United States and Canada. We were just reminded before the program that there are parts of North America that is not part of the US and Canada, so if you're in one of those two countries, we'll be happy to send it to you for free, otherwise, visit the website, just amazingfacts.org, and again, if you're in the US, you can just dial #250 and you can get the book that way. Lolita is listening in Nevada, Lolita, welcome to the program.
- [Lolita] Hi. Thank you pastors, my question has to do with Daniel 12, verse 12, it says, "Blessed is he who waits and comes to the 1,335 days." So I'm just wondering, what exactly is that referring to?
- Pastor Ross, you want to?
- Yeah, we'll give it a try and then, you jump in there.
- See if we can do it in a short time. You did a good job last time.
- We've got three time periods listed in Daniel 12. You've got the 1260, the 1290 and then the 1335. So the 1290's understood to be the conversion of Clovis, King of the Franks, that was the last of the various Pagan tribes that was hindering the supremacy of the Papal power in Rome. That occurred in 605, 605 AD, Clovis converts and eventually the Franks, of course, become France. And then the 1335, if you start with that date of 605 and you go forward 1335, 1,335 years, you end on the date 1843 and we find a great revival that was taking place, especially in interesting bible prophecy around that time period, 1843 and 1844. So the 1335 has been identified as that time period from 605 to 1843. I don't know if you wanted to add anything to that.
- You know, to study Daniel 12 is a tough question. When people ask, it's like when they ask about the wheel within the wheel and Ezekiel because you've got three time periods and it's sort of a summary, those three time periods are summarizing what's happened in all these previous apocalyptic visions in Daniel.
- Sort of a summary of the book. At least the time periods.
- So, you almost have to take people back.
- Right, and look at each of them.
- Chapter seven, chapter two, chapter nine.
- Put it all together. Well hopefully that helps a little bit, Lolita. Next call that we have is Jim listening in Indiana. Jim, welcome to the program.
- [Jim] Yeah, good to talk to you again. The question that I have is in Zechariah chapter six, it's about the four chariots, what do they represent?
- Well, one thing you'll notice is you've got these chariots and it talks about you've got a red one, you've got a black one, you've got a white one and you've got a dappled one. Zechariah is one of those books along with Revelation that you read along with, I should say, Ezekiel and Daniel, that you read and understand better in Revelation. In Revelation, you've probably heard of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, there's a lot of similarity between this prophecy here in Zechariah and the prophecy in Revelation, now four in the Bible typically represents something universal, in Revelation, you've got the four angels holding back the four wins of strife. So these four chariots are talking about them going forth. They're really going forth everywhere. And with the strong seeds, typically chariots were also used in battle and so here it's, I think talking about, you know, the message of the Lord and the progress of the gospel through the ages. Now the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is the first four of the seven seals in Revelation. You read in Revelation, it says you got seven seals, and as they open the first four seals, the four horses go forth.
- And you can't mistake the identity, or at least the connection between Zechariah and Revelation, where it talks about the four horses. The order's a little different, which is interesting. The first horse in Revelation is a white horse representing the proclamation of the gospel, the red horse is a time of persecution, a black horse is a time of compromise, when number of Pagan practices came to the church, the pale horse represents the Dark Ages. There was almost a death to the truth and the plagues that came during that time period, so I think there is a connection here between Zechariah and of course, there were judgements coming upon ancient Israel, more specifically from Babylon, and then of course you had other nations after Babylon, you got Persia and then you got Greece and then you got Rome, so you also have four principal nations that came up against literal Israel, as well.
- All right. So hopefully that helps a little bit. That is a deep study, next caller that we have is, let's see, Jimmy is listening in Texas. Jimmy, welcome to the program.
- [Jimmy] Yes sir. Thank you.
- Yeah, how can we help you tonight?
- [Jimmy] Yes sir, I was trying to, what is the will of the Father, is it in John chapter six, verse 40? Or in Psalm 40, verse eight?
- Well, in Psalm 40, verse eight, it says, is that the one? I love to do your will, your law is in my heart?
- [Jimmy] Yes sir. I believe so.
- Well, of course the law of God is the will of God. Now what was the other verse you gave us in John?
- I've got it right here, it's John 6:40, and it says, "This is the will of Him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son believes in Him, who has everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day." So you're wondering, is the will of God to keep his law or to believe in the Son, is that the question?
- [Jimmy] Yes sir. That's my question.
- Yeah, well, believing in the Son is believing in the teachings of Jesus, who said that his teachings are to support the law, so believing in Christ means believing in His teachings. He said, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not the things that I say," this is what Christ said. And he said, It's not everyone that says Lord, Lord that will enter the kingdom, but they that do the will of my Father," now, it tells us in the gospel of John chapter one, that all things that were made, were made by him, meaning Jesus. That would include the 10 Commandments given on Mount Sinai. The Father did not somehow sneak away from the Son when He gave the 10 Commandments. Jesus was part and parcel of the Commandments being given to humanity. And so that's why Jesus said, "Not one jot or tittle shall in any wise pass from the law." So the law of God is a perfect reflection of the will of God and it's the epitome of believing in Christ.
- Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my Commandments."
- Yeah, so we don't keep the Commandments to be saved, but if we love the Lord and we've accepted Him by faith, we want to obey Him.
- Absolutely, you know, we do have a study guide called Written in Stone. It's about the 10 Commandments, but not only does God want the law, which was written in stone, but He wants the law in the heart. And that's part of the New Covenant experience. We'll send that to anyone who calls and asks, the number is 800-835-6747 or you can dial #250 and ask for the study guide, it's called Written in Stone, it's about the law of God. You'll be blessed by reading that. Thanks for your call. Next caller that we have is Gilbert listening from America Samoa, Gilbert, welcome to the program.
- [Gilbert] Thank you. Thank you for having me. My question is, I grew up in the faith, in the FDA faith and went to schools all my life. And when I graduated from high school and joined the military, I just stopped going to church and really just didn't, I was just out of the faith. I believed in God, but I was out of the faith. Now I was baptized when I was 12 years old and I'm in my fifties now, and now that I've come back to the church, I'm wondering would it be right for me to be baptized again?
- You know, based on what you said, I always tell a person they really ought to talk to a local pastor to evaluate that. But just based on what you've told me, if I was your pastor and you basically had wandered from the Lord for years and been living out in the world, you would be exhibit A of a good reason to be re-baptized.
- Recommitting your life to Christ.
- And it's also your testimony to others.
- And sometimes when a person is younger, they could be sincere at that point. But I know there are many younger people that might get baptized just because their friends are doing it and it's not really their decision. Not that it's wrong to be baptized if you, you know, are 12 or 13 years of age, but if you have wandered away, like you say Pastor Doug, and you come back, it's a great testimony to your friends and family too, saying, you know, I'm recommitted to Christ. Does that help Gilbert?
- [Gilbert] Yes, it does. Thank you very much.
- Yeah, and by the way, we do have a book on baptism. Is It Really Necessary?
- The number to call for that book is 800-835-6747. The book is called Baptism, Is it Really Necessary? You can also dial #250 and you can ask for the book that way as well, Elliot is listening from California, Elliot work with the program.
- [Elliot] Good evening, pastors.
- Evening.
- [Elliot] So my question is regarding Jonah, chapter one, verse seven. So it says, "And they said, everyone to his fellow, come and let us cast lots that we may know for whose causes evil is upon us. So they cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah." So my question regarding that is, is this still applicable to this day to cast lots?
- Well, I don't think God plans for us to make important spiritual decisions by rolling dice or casting lots, it is true in the Bible, when they divided the Promised Land, they wanted to find an equitable reason to look like there was no bias in how they divided the Promised Land, Joshua cast lots and when they picked a replacement apostle for Judas between two candidates, Peter cast lots, these are Pagans. So of course what the Pagans did in the story of Jonah, they're not our example, but the fact is that they knew this was a supernatural storm and they thought the gods were angry and they want to know why, which one of us has done something to anger the gods? And well, in fact, the Lord was upset with Jonah for shirking his duty and running from the word of God. And so God allowed their method of casting lots to identify him. But God doesn't recommend that we use casting lots. Nowhere else in the New Testament does it say, "Well, if you're not sure what to do, cast lots." It's a lot like flipping a coin.
- I think you wrote a book Pastor Doug, called Determining the Will of God. And you gave some principles, some Biblical principles that we can follow in wanting to know what God's will is. And again, that's free, we'll send it to anyone who calls and asks, the book is called Determining the Will of God. Number is 800-835-6747. Ask for the book and we'll be happy to send it to you. Next caller that we have, let's see, April is in Florida. April, welcome to the program.
- [April] Good evening, Pastor Doug. Good evening Pastor Ross. The Lord actually blessed me because your time and my time in Florida is 10 o'clock, after 10 o'clock here. So I pray to God to keep me awake so I may call, I actually have two questions, but I can't be selfish. So I have a question for, not just myself, but for other people. What is the difference between a spiritual Jew and a Seventh-day Adventist? I go to a Seventh-Day Adventist church in Key West, Florida and we have a lady that is a spiritual Jew. But when I ask one of the elders, what did he say he is, he said she's a Seventh-day Adventist. So how do I determine what I am, a spiritual Jew or a Seventh-day Adventist?
- All right, you know, it's interesting because a lot of, my family, on my mother's side, is all Jewish. And when I became a Christian, my grandparents said, "Oh," you know, "you've become a Goyam. You've abandoned the faith," and then when I married Karen who was a Gentile girl, they felt betrayed. And I said, "Look, I'm more Jewish than you are." I said, "I still keep the seventh-day Sabbath and I don't eat unclean food." And so, some people have seen that there's a parallel between Seventh-Day Adventists and Judaism, is it like, they're basically messianic Christians. So there are a lot of messianic Christians in the world there that are evangelicals that are non-denominational, they're just Jews who have become believers in Jesus and many of them have identified that the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, you know, kind of fits in with their comfort zone. But there's a lot of spiritual Jews that are out there, anyone really, who accepts Jesus. And you're following, you're walking in the Word and you're following the light that God gives you. You really become a spiritual Jew because Paul says in, oh, it's in Galatians, you might find it for me. "He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly, but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly." And Paul says, I think in Galatians, "If you are Christ, then you are Abraham's seed." And again, it tells us it's not circumcision of the flesh, but circumcision of the heart.
- Romans chapter two, verse 28.
- Yeah, that's one of I think, three or four verses that Paul talks about spiritual Jews. So yeah, every believer in Christ sort of becomes adopted into, by the way, friends, the most important verse on this is the New Covenant, we know the New Covenant says, "I'll write my law in your hearts," but listen to the preamble, it says, "After those days, I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah." He never makes that new covenant with Gentiles. So if anyone's going to buy into the New Covenant, you become a spiritual Jew because it's only made with the Jews.
- And if you look in the Book of Revelation, which talks about, you know, end time events, you only got two groups. You've got the Jews and you've got the Gentiles. The Gentiles symbolically represent the unbelievers, but Israel or the Jews in the Book of Revelation, represents the believers.
- Yeah, I see a question coming up here for probably the second half, about the 144,000, but now there is a third maybe, doesn't Revelation also say you get the synagogue of Satan? They're professing that they're believers, but they're not. They're unfaithful, again, it uses the Jewish terminology.
- Worship. The synagogue. All right, well I'm looking at the clock.
- We've got that book on Spiritual Israel.
- Spiritual Israel, maybe we'll mention it again if you've missed it, the number to call is 800-835-6747. The book is called Spiritual Israel and we'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls and asks. Again, if you're in the United States or Canada, if you're outside the US, just go to the website, amazingfacts.org and you can dial #250 and you'll be able to receive the book that way. And you know Pastor Doug, you did a program, I think it's available on YouTube, where you and a few other Jews, believers in Christ, spend some time talking about Judaism and Christianity and the Bible, it's just a really great series of programs.
- Yeah, it's called Is Jesus Kosher for Jews?
- Absolutely.
- So I think it's a great title, but yeah, and you might want to get a copy of that and share with any Jewish friends you have to introduce them to the Christian faith, now Pastor Ross, we want to remind everybody that not only is this a radio broadcast, it's been a radio broadcast for years, but we're also airing on TV now, they can see this on AFTV, it's rebroadcast on Hope Channel, and soon to also be rebroadcast on 3ABN, so be watching their schedules. Be back in a minute with more Bible questions.
- [Announcer] Stay tuned, "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly.
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- [Announcer 2] Order your copy of Heading for the Hills. Call 800-538-7275 or visit afbookstore.com.
- [Announcer] You're listening to "Bible Answers Live", where every question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His plan to save you. So what are you waiting for? Get practical answers about the Good Book for a better life today. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7:00 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, you are listening to and perhaps watching "Bible Answers Live", where we do our best to answer Bible questions that are coming in from all over the world. Matter of fact, Pastor Ross, we just had a question came in from American Samoa, that's a long way off. It's probably the morning there right now, anyway, if you want to call in with your questions, it's simply God says, 800-GOD-SAYS, that's 800-463-7297. You can also be listening and sending in questions via YouTube, Facebook, and some other social media platforms. My name is Doug Bachelor.
- My name is Jean Ross and we've got a number of folks who are listening. We're going to go back to Florida, we've got Rick listening in Florida, I can see what his question might be about and I'm curious, so Rick, welcome to the program.
- [Rick] Well, thank you pastors, for taking my question. I wanted to know, what does the Bible say about eating insects? Chocolate covered ants, snails, grasshopper burgers?
- Yeah, well I don't know, you're probably safer eating the grasshopper than eating the chocolate, but technically in the Bible there are certain insects that you were allowed to eat, and you know, grasshoppers are largely vegetarians. And so there was a provision that you could eat locusts. And it specifies there are certain hopping insects that were edible, you're not to be eating beetles, I don't think you're supposed to eat ants or wasps or things like that, certainly not a praying mantis or a black widow, but.
- Right. Well maybe a slug that doesn't sound.
- Oh no, I don't think you're supposed to eat grubs or slugs either, I think it says that they had to be hopping insects.
- Six legs. Hopping insects, so, well didn't John the Baptist eat locusts?
- Yeah, that word also could mean locust bean and we're hoping that's what it means, but I just hate the picture of him with grasshopper legs in his teeth.
- All right, thanks for your call Rick. We're going to go back to, who do we have next? We've got Henry listening in New York, Henry, welcome to the program.
- [Henry] Thank you for taking my call. When Jesus Christ comes back and any woman who is pregnant will go as she stayed, will she have the baby without pain?
- Okay, so when Jesus returns, will unborn babies be born? I had a pastor ask me this one time, he said, "What happens to pregnant women when Jesus comes?" I said, "They're delivered in more ways than one." I'm sure that a woman who's pregnant that is a believer that you know, the Lord is somehow going to help her to experience that child, whether right then in the coming of the Lord when our bodies are transformed, angel placed the baby in her arms, but I'm sure it would be painless. And I hadn't thought, you know, maybe when they get to heaven, there will be a maternity ward. There are children in heaven, of course, a lot of babies in the resurrection, how God is going to do that, that's one of the mysteries. People ask me questions like, you know, what's going to happen to those that are in the International Space Station when Jesus comes, will they be forgotten or left behind? You know, there's a lot of the, you know, questions that sort of are speculating.
- What about the sailors who are in a nuclear submarine under the ocean.
- I wouldn't want to be there. So hope that helps a little bit. There's no specific scriptures on that, Henry. All we can do is speculate.
- All right, thanks for your call. Robert is listening Washington, Robert, welcome to the program.
- [Robert] Hello pastors.
- Hi.
- [Robert] I sometimes talk with people who believe that Christ will have a 1000 year millennial reign and they ask me, "Well, do you read the whole Bible?" There was one passage that they mentioned, Zechariah 14, chapter 14, we don't need to read the whole chapter, but one of the verses, I guess verse 18, talks about those who are there need to do the Feast of Tabernacles, otherwise they don't get any rain. And that seems to be pertaining to the millennial reign?
- Yeah, well the Feast of Tabernacles was basically a feast that coincided with the Exodus. They were supposed to remember that while they were in the wilderness, that they were sojourners, they were pilgrims, and so they would, during the Feast of Tabernacles, they'd make these little booths, it was the Old Testament version of tents out of the branches of trees and so forth to shelter them from the sun, something like the booth that Jonah made when he was sitting on the mountain. And those that experience salvation, they're singing the song of Moses and the Lamb, you know, Miriam sang a song of deliverance when they came out of Egypt, so Zechariah is going back and forth in this chapter between a punishment that was going to come on Israel, he talks about when the women are ravished and the city's destroyed during the Roman captivity. Jesus connected what happened to the Jews when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and signs of the second coming, Zechariah does the same thing in chapter 14. This prophecy is interwoven and it overlaps with the Jewish history and spiritual Israel at the second coming in the millennium, or you know, their time in the kingdom.
- Yeah, just add to that Pastor Doug, the Feast of Tabernacles is a symbol or a type of the 1000 years where the Redeemed will be in the new Jerusalem in heaven. Now remember, the final home of the Redeemed is not heaven. It's actually the Earth made new.
- [Doug] That's right.
- Jesus said the meek shall inherit the Earth, so the Feast of Tabernacles symbolizes that time when the righteous are in heaven. Well then you read on, in the same passage, it talks about those who do not come up to the Feast of Tabernacles, in other words, they're the ones that are not taken to heaven when Jesus comes a second time, that would mean they're the wicked, symbolized here by Egypt, that says they received the plague. Well if you read a little further, you find out what that plague is, which is eventually eternal destruction at the end of the thousand years. There won't be any rain on the earth during the thousand years, the wicked all destroyed with the brightness of Christ's coming, so there's some dual applications there as it refers to that symbol of the Feast of Tabernacles.
- So hope that helps a little. Thank you so much.
- Next caller that we have is Tanya listening from Missouri. Tanya, welcome to the program.
- [Tanya] Yes, hi, I have a question about the 144 and also the close of probation.
- [Doug] Okay.
- [Tanya] Could you explain, is the 144 literal and if it is, what happens to everybody else?
- All right, good question, for our friends listening, the 144,000 is a special group that's identified in Revelation, both chapter seven of Revelation and chapter 14, and it says that God has this group of 12,000 from the 12 tribes of Israel. And then it names the tribes and it's giving them in an order that you normally don't find. So one, the question is, are these literal Jews? And I believe not, because when it's talking about 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar and Zebulun and Asher, those tribes ceased to exist, they were conquered by Assyria, they intermarried, their descendants kind of have been, you know, scattered around the world. Assyria was later conquered. And so finding literal descendants from the 10 tribes that were carried off to Assyria would be difficult to do long before Jesus was born. But the reason it's saying that, it's talking about, I think, spiritual Israel, everyone who's adopted into God's family becomes members of the tribe. Is it a number? Are they the only one saved? No. You read later in chapter seven when John is talking to the angel, he says, "Who are the ones arrayed in white robes that are without number, a great multitude," said, "these are the ones who've come out of great tribulation," and you find that in verse 14 and on, so through the influence of the 144,000, there's a great revival, just like God had 12 apostles that were leaders in sharing the gospel with the House of Israel in the beginning, Jesus has got 12 times 12,000 that share the gospel with the whole world before His second coming. So they're like last-day apostles. They're not the only ones saved.
- It's interesting Pastor Doug, you have literal Israel that God raised up to prepare the world for the first coming of Christ, you got spiritual Israel, symbolized here by 144,000 that are preparing the world for the second coming of Christ through the proclamation of the three angels’ messages that we find in Revelation, chapter 14, so very interesting connection. Now I think Tanya was also asking something about the close of probation. So Tanya, what was that about the close of probation?
- [Tanya] Well, can you explain it because I'm confused. I get so many answers.
- Sure, you know, just before Jesus comes, there is a period of time when salvation, the door of salvation, is finally closed and those who are saved are sealed, they're sealed with the name of God and they're saved for good and they can't be lost and those who are lost, cannot be saved, in Revelation 22, Jesus says, "Let the just be just still, let the filthy be filthy still," no changing teams. It's something like back in the days of Noah, when Noah and his family entered the Ark and God shut the door, the rain hadn't started, life went on outside the Ark, but their destiny was sealed and the lost could no longer get in the Ark and Noah and his family were sealed inside. There's going to be a period of time, we don't know exactly how long, before Jesus comes, when probation closes and no one else can be saved or lost for that matter.
- And then after probation closes, you got the seven last plagues and then Jesus comes.
- [Doug] Good point. Yeah.
- All right. Next caller that we have is Jason listening in California. Jason, welcome to the program.
- [Jason] Hi. Thank you for having me.
- Yeah.
- [Jason] So before I ask any questions, I'd like to say that I'm a married man and my question is, how do I maintain a work and family life by helping my parents and being married and when my parents want me to put them first before my marriage. And I know Genesis 2:24 says, you know, a man shall leave his mother and his father and shall cleave to his wife. So how do I separate the two? And then how do I?
- So how do you balance those things? That's a good question, when you're married and you start a new family, you can see this all through God's natural world, there comes a time where the parents, they usually chase the young away. But sometimes, you know, in the human families, we want to keep our sons and our daughters around, which is normal, but it's important for the new family unit to have some freedom and independence when it's established. And that's why God's says a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. And so your first allegiance would be to, of course, the Lord, then your wife because it says when you marry, you become one flesh with your wife. But while at the same time, you want to do all you can to respect your parents, and I know right now there's a lot of ears perking up around the country listening to that because there's a lot of families that kind of struggle in the relationships between the parent and the child and the wife or spouse of the child and just balancing the time and the relationship and the attention. It can be real challenging, you know, sometimes young wives, they think, "I can never live up to my mother-in-law. She's always judging me because I'm not as good as your mother," or whatever, that argument's happened a lot. So that's why it's good sometimes to maintain a little bit of separation and it's really difficult unless you've got, I've seen it work in really special occasions, living under the same roof, but unless everyone's converted, there's going to be problems.
- All right. Well, thank you. Next caller that we have is, let's see, we've got John. Yeah, John, welcome to the program.
- [John] Good evening, pastors. Been wanting to give you guys a call for a while now. I just actually got your Revelations verse-by-verse daily devotional.
- Oh wonderful.
- [John] Yeah, I've been studying Daniel and Revelations, for a long time, but my question is concerning Revelation, chapter 12, nine, I guess you could say through 13. It says, now when Satan's angels were cast out of heaven, they weren't, it says that they were cast to the Earth. Now, just with my studying and a little understanding and you know, even listening to some of your programs, when he was cast out, he wasn't actually cast to the Earth. He was kind of cast out and when it says, "Rejoice, oh heavens and all those who dwell in them," my understanding, and then it says, "woe to the inhabitants of the Earth and to the sea," my understanding is that there was rejoicing in the heavens, you know, because God, Jesus, was on trial in the universe. So what I'm saying, my question is for you guys, kind of is basically when he was cast out, he wasn't cast out directly to the Earth until after Christ was resurrected and rose after the 40 days, went back to heaven.
- All right, let me see. Yeah, let me jump in because I think I understand your question and I want to see if I can consolidate or capitalize that, that's not the word I'm looking for. Capsulate that. Revelation 12 is not something that happened in a moment. Revelation 12 is covering a process of things. The war in heaven did not happen immediately. It started with Satan beginning a campaign that may have lasted eons, had finally broke into open rebellion, he was cast out, Satan went roaming through the universe, looking for a place to continue his battle, ultimately, after this world was created, he found Adam and Eve would to listen to him and they disobeyed God at the tree. He then was restricted to this Earth. And again, I think his access to heaven was limited further after the cross, Christ said I saw Satan fall.
- And if you look at the verse, it's interesting, you have him being cast out of heaven and then it says, "I heard a loud voice in heaven, now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ has come, the accuser of the brethren has been cast down." So it's talking about the cross when it says now salvation and strength has come. So it's as if Satan is cast out of heaven and then he comes to the Earth and he sees Adam and Eve. But it was really at the cross that everyone realized or saw the true colors of the devil and he was cast down, meaning he can't represent the Earth any longer. Do you remember the story of Job, he goes up and sort of, claims to be the representative of Earth. Now Jesus is the representative of Earth and he's in heaven representing the Redeemed.
- He's interceding for us.
- So he's cast down, then it says he knows he has a short time, so he's very angry, and so yeah, that's referring to the cross and after that.
- And the reason that he says heaven is rejoicing is because he had been causing all kinds of problems in heaven, he's just not there anymore. That's why he said rejoice heavens, he's not there anymore.
- [Both Together] Woe to the Earth. He's down there.
- Going around like a roaring lion.
- Came and wrecked the neighborhood.
- All right, good question, next caller that we have is Jonathan listening in Washington. Jonathan, welcome to the program.
- [Jonathan] Hi, good evening.
- Yes.
- [Jonathan] Just first wanted to say thank you guys for your time and you guys always have been a really good source of information and I'm sure you guys know you helped a lot of people. I have a question about Colossians 2:14. And it says, "In the handwriting of ordinances that was used against us, contrary to us, nailed to the cross." And the word ordinances, in this verse, in the Greek is dogmasin and dogmasin is defined as something held as an established opinion. So wouldn't this mean that the ordinances nailed to the cross are the tradition of the elders or Pharisee law and not the law of Moses?
- Well if you look in the Old Testament, it talks about when the 10 Commandments were given, that God also gave Moses laws and statutes that were placed in the side of the Ark that they might be a witness against you, Moses said they might be there to witness against you, Paul is using that same language. But that's referring to the ordinances, and these of course were nailed to the cross, meaning, you know, the sacrifice of lambs and circumcision, a lot of the ceremonial laws Christians are not obligated to keep that, that was fulfilled in Christ. So yeah, the laws that Paul is referring to here are not speaking of the 10 Commandment laws, talking about other ceremonial or Levitical laws.
- Does that help, Jonathan?
- [Jonathan] Well the thing is, because it says dogmasin, and it's only used twice in the New Testament, and based on the definition, it seems more like it fits. Well, it seems like it would fit public opinion versus what would be considered law.
- Well the word dogma, I think, like you said, it's just teaching, it's a pretty broad definition. I think the key is, Paul uses words like the handwriting of ordinances, now the word handwriting's a key, talks about those laws written by the hand of Moses and then the 10 Commandments written by the finger of God. Now, I think we've got a book called Feast Days and Sabbaths, it talks about Colossians chapter two and we could send him a free copy of that, it goes into more detail than we can in a few moments.
- The number to call is 800-835-6747, you can ask for the book, it's called Feast Days and Sabbaths and it talks about Colossians two, you can also dial #250 and say the words "Bible Answers Live" and you'll be able to order the book online there as well, actually by phone, thank you Jonathan. We've got Linda listening in North Carolina. Linda, welcome to the program.
- [Linda] Oh, I listen every week. I'm just curious, why does the Bible give two different versions on how Judas died? One says he burst asunder and the other one says he hung himself.
- Yes, well they're really the same, it's just that it's giving more of the story. Peter in Acts, he talks about Judas falling headlong. He burst asunder. Judas, and some of this is based on tradition, but the Bible says Judas went out and hung himself. We believe that he put a rope around his neck and he hung himself, but he hung himself from one of the scaffolds or something outside the city wall, he wanted to make sure that he could jump and drop and hang, and at some point, the rope broke and he fell after he hung himself. And tradition says that it wasn't far from the road where they brought Jesus out to execute him and that he had fell and in the process of falling, hitting the rocks below, I know it's not a pretty picture, but it says that he opened up and that you know, the dogs were already beginning to work on him at the time when Christ was being taken out of the city, showing the judgment. That's why Jesus said it would've been better for him not to have been born than to betray the Son of God. So he hung himself, the rope broke and he fell.
- Okay, next caller that we have is Tony listening in Fiji. Tony, welcome to the program.
- [Tony] Hello?
- Yes. Bula.
- [Tony] Can you hear me?
- I can hear you. You hear us?
- [Tony] Oh, thank you Pastor Doug. Thank you, sorry, I just have a question regarding Matthew 27. Matthew 27, verse 52 and verse 53, it talks about when Jesus died on the cross. Many bodies of the saints that slept, arose. and came out of the graves after his resurrection and went into the Holy City, appeared unto me, so I'm just wondering is this the two separate resurrections or is it the same one?
- Well, when the graves opened during the earthquake and it says many of the bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of the graves after his resurrection. So it almost sounds like that the earthquake opened the graves and after Christ rose, they came out of the graves and went into the Holy City and appeared to many. I don't think they rose and laid in their graves until Sunday morning, what's your?
- Yeah, I agree. I mean, it could be two ways. The one is that they came into the city after they were resurrected and then of course, the graves broke open at the time of Christ's death. So maybe their graves broke open, they were resurrected at that point, but didn't appear until after Christ rose from the dead or they could have been dead until after Christ rose from the dead and then they were resurrected, but it's the same group that's being described.
- See I always thought it was the resurrection of Christ that really gave them power to rise.
- [Ross] Right, he's the first resurrected.
- And then they ascended to heaven with Jesus as the first fruits. But yeah, wonderful, wonderful example of, and we don't know who was in that group. It says many of the saints, it's not all of them.
- Now, we know David wasn't in that group.
- Yeah because it says in Acts chapter one, says he's dead and buried, his grave is still with us.
- But maybe Elisha, we don't know. We can only speculate.
- Elisha. Yeah. All right, hey, thanks so much. Do we have time for half a question, no, it doesn't look like it. Hey listening friends, let us just remind you, someone mentioned during one of the questions, they said, "We just picked up the new Amazing Facts devotional on Revelation," Amazing Facts spent two years writing a verse-by-verse devotional, it goes through every verse in the book of Revelation, there's 404 verses. We divided those 404 verses among the 365 days in a year. And it is a daily devotional that will take you through the entire Book of Revelation, explaining the passages and also devotional thoughts. I think you'll find it really encouraging and now is a great time to pick one of those up. So when January comes, you can say, "I'm going to spend this next year reading through the Book of Revelation," especially when you consider where we are in history right now, you'll be blessed by that, and I think they can just go to afbookstore.com and they'll find more information on how they can order one of those books, it's the Amazing Facts Revelation Devotional. And also want to remind you that, with this program, we've got like two big pools of listeners. We have some listening via satellite and some who are listening via regular, land-based radio stations, they are on different time clocks, so we're going to say farewell in a few moments to our friends who are listening on satellite, but don't go away, those of you who are on all the other stations, because we're going to do rapid-fire Bible questions and you can send in your Bible questions for the time.
- Just send them into BALquestions@amazingfacts.org.
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- Hello friends, welcome back, as mentioned just a little while ago, we are going to take some of your questions that you've emailed to us. You can email again at BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. All right, Pastor Doug, first question, should you leave an inheritance for your kids if they are not Christians?
- Yes, I didn't say how much, that would depend on how much you have and how much they can handle, but you know, while you don't want, you know, if your kids have gone away from the faith and you're thinking, "Well, leaving money to my kids that are unbelievers, isn't that like leaving it into the hands of the enemy?" You know, you want to show your kids that you do love them, and does God also bless, does he send rain on the just and the unjust, so I think you need to leave them something and show them you love them, but of course, you want to make the work of God and the message of God a priority, you're believing kids will understand that but also leave something for them. That's, I think, that's a good policy to follow, and I think it's supported by Proverbs, as well.
- Okay, next question that we have. Since Jesus fasted for 40 days, do we still need to fast?
- Yes, because even after Jesus fasted, we don't need to fast 40 days, but Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, he said, "When you fast," he doesn't say if you fast. And then he said that once the bridegroom is taken away, then the friends of the bridegroom will fast. So, Paul talks about fasting all through the New Testament. It's something that's a healthy and a good practice to occasionally fast as believers.
- Okay, we have a question from Dora in Maryland. She says, "Why do most Christians say that the 10 Commandments are not really part of the New Covenant and don't have to be kept?"
- They misunderstood, where Paul says that we are not under the law, they think, "Oh, we're not under the 10 Commandments anymore." And they assume that means we don't have to keep them. But if you follow that to its ultimate conclusion, it's absurd to say, "Oh, I'm a Christian. I can now kill. I can lie. I can commit adultery. I can steal. I can use God's name in vain." Obviously, that's absurd. When it says you're not under the law, it means believers are no longer under the penalty of the law, the penalty for sin is death. Jesus saves us from the death penalty by His grace. Then we want to obey God's law because we love Him. If we're not keeping the law, Jesus said we don't know Him. "If any man says, I know Him and keeps not His Commandments, he's a liar and the truth is not in him." That's what the Apostle John says. So when we are saved by grace, we want to obey God's law out of love, Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my Commandments," not being under the law simply means by grace we're saved from the penalty of the law, not the law itself. Hey, thank you so much friends, for listening to "Bible Answers Live" and tell your friends about the program, to find out more about Amazing Facts, go to the website amazingfacts.org.
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