- [Narrator] It is the best-selling book in history. No volume ever written has been more loved and quoted, and it's 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 1-800-835-6747. Once again, that's 1-800-835-6747. Now here's your host from "Amazing Facts International," Pastor Doug Batchelor.
- Hello, listening friends, would you like to hear an amazing fact. As a child, Andreas Russo used to listen to his Peruvian grandfather tell amazing stories of a boiling river hidden in the jungles of Peru. Then years later, during his graduate studies at Southern Methodist University in Texas, Russo was creating a thermal map of Peru using infrared satellite. That's when he discovered an unusually large hotspot, one of the largest geothermal features found on any continent. In November, 2011, Andreas Russo went to central Peru on an expedition and discovered the boiling river for himself. In a remote jungle, several hours from the nearest city of Pucallpa, guided by a local shaman, he saw for himself the legendary boiling river. The steaming turquoise river is guarded by 60-foot walls of lush green forest and vegetation, and it stretches for almost four miles. The water temperature ranges from 120 degrees to a scalding 200 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to poach an egg. In some places, the water reaches 16 feet deep, and in places, the mud of the riverbank is too hot to even walk on. If you fall in for even two seconds, your skin would be covered in third-degree burns. Frogs and small animals that fell in have discovered this lesson the hard way. You know, friends, I don't know anywhere in the Bible where it talks about a boiling river, but the Bible does talk about a lake of fire, and you can read about that in the Book of Revelation. Some people talk about this as hell, but it's typically called a lake of fire. You read in Revelation 20:14-15, "Then Death and Hades," that means death in the grave, "Were cast into the lake of fire. "This is the second death. "And anyone not found written in the book of life "was cast into the lake of fire." Now, there are a lot of misunderstandings on the subject of the lake of fire or hell fire, and people go to one of two extremes, one group says there is no hell, and the other group says that the fires of hell are going to torture and burn people through ceaseless ages, never-ending, boiling, burning, brimstone. Actually, the Bible tells us that every person is punished according to what they deserve, that they are burnt up. The Bible says in Malachi, "They are turned to ashes. "They are burnt up root in branch." I just read in Revelation, it calls it a second death. Jesus said, "You either have the choice of life or you perish." But the idea of people being tortured endlessly in the lake of fire is not a biblical teaching. The Bible says God is going to make a new heaven, new earth, where there is no more pain, no more sorrow, no more suffering. All things are new. Sinners are not immortalized. Eternal life is given to the saved, not to the lost. The penalty for the lost is death, punishment and death. So many people have turned away from God because of their misunderstandings and the punishment of the wicked. You really need to know what the Bible actually says. I mean, I could go through the list of people like Ingersoll and Karl Marx and even Darwin. One reason they turned away from God is because they couldn't conceive a loving God that would torture the objects of His creation for all eternity because of the sins of a brief lifetime. Would you like to better understand this? Than we have a free booklet, a study guide that you need to ask for. It's called "Is the Devil in Charge of Hell?" And that's out of a provocative question. That's what we want. We would like for you to ask for this free offer. All you do is ask for offer number 119, offer 119, call 1-800-835-6747. Or you can simply do #250. And if you dial #250 in the US and say you're listening to "Bible Answers Live," they will send you that offer. And after you read it, share it with a friend, because it changed my life, helps it become a little easier to love God and knowing that He is a God of love. Well, welcome, friends, to "Bible Answers Live." Tonight, Pastor Ross is returning from an overseas mission trip, and so while we're missing our regular co-pilot, but we're going to do our best with the staff that's in the studio and the Lord, and we're going to go through your questions. As always, we want to begin with a word of prayer, "Loving Lord, thank you so much for the opportunity "to study Your Word with friends like this "and this technology that makes it possible for us "to do this on a global level. "I pray You'll bless this program, "that the truth will be very clear and based on Your Word "and just be with us all, "we pray in Jesus' name, amen." Want to remind our friends, not only can you call in with your Bible questions, it's 800, God says, that translates into 1-800-463-7297, of course, a free phone call in North America. And we are streaming on the Doug Batchelor YouTube channel, Doug Batchelor Facebook, Amazing Facts Facebook. And we're also broadcasting this on Amazing Facts Television right now. So it's not only radio, it's growing into more and more of a TV program. And we know some of our friends at Hope Channel and Better Life are also carrying this program. Sometimes they're a delayed broadcast, but the questions are still real. So we're going to go right to the phones now, and got a call here from Anna in Oregon. Anna, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live!"
- [Anna] Good evening, Pastor Doug.
- Evening.
- [Anna] I was wondering about the passage from Matthew 7:6 pertaining to casting your pearls before swine and are there multiple meanings to this?
- Yeah, Jesus there says something that can be a little shocking. He said, "Do not give that which is holy to the dogs "unless they turn and render you "and do not cast your pearls before swine." I think Jesus is telling us there that there are people that will monopolize your time and they'll try to take you off the work that God has called you to. And they're never going to change, they have no interest in the truth, they're not interested in repenting and reformation and a new life. Even John the Baptist, when some of the hypocrites came to his baptism, they weren't coming because they wanted to be baptized, they were spying on him. And he said, "You brood of vipers, "who has told you to flee from the wrath to come?" So Jesus said, there are people that you can spend a lot of time, they want attention, but they have no intention of changing, and you can spend a lot of time studying with them and working with them, and there's people all around you that are really hungry for the truth. So when you recognize that some ground is going to be barren, go to where the ground is fertile, do not cast your pearls before swine. Your life is made of time. And if you squander your time and let the devil manipulate how you spend your time, there's no shortage of people that will just try and gobble up your time, and there'll be nothing productive to come from it. So it's a tough statement. Now you asked if there's multiple meanings, possibly, but that's, typically, the way I understand it is that you don't give what's holy to the dogs. And alright, now we've got Glen in Ohio. Glen, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."
- [Glen] Thank you Pastor, thank you for taking my call. A little quick about your amazing fact that I just wanted to do that, that the eternality, I guess, of the incorrigibly wicked, that it is the eternal punishment, not eternal punishing.
- Very good, Glen!
- [Glen] Thank you for taking this, for listening, but my question is about prayer. My wife is the prayer warrior in the family, but I do pray, I pray for thanksgiving in the safety, and I find myself asking for a lot of things. But my question concerning people who pray for a half hour, some people they talk about praying for two hours. What do people pray for for two hours?
- Okay, good. Well, it's interesting you would ask that question, because the length of prayer is going to be the topic for my worship in our office this week. And so, I was studying that. It seems like when you read the prayers in the Bible that public prayers are typically pretty short, even the Lord's prayer. And I don't mean where Jesus said, you know, "Our Father, which art in heaven," I'm talking about when Jesus prayed in John 17, what we call the Lord's prayers, technically the disciples prayer, but well, Lord's prayer is very short. John 17, even that you can read it in four or five minutes. But then the Bible does say that pray without ceasing. Now that doesn't mean go around on your knees praying all the time, it means being an attitude of communion with God. Jesus did literally spend entire nights in prayer, for example, before He chose the apostles and laid His hands on them, He spent the entire night in prayer. So there are times where, in personal prayer, you can spend a long time, that doesn't mean you're constantly talking to the Lord during those times. Sometimes, part of prayer is you just wait on Lord, you're bowing before Him, you're listening, you'll think of things to say, He might speak to your heart, and it's almost like you're having a conversation and the Holy Spirit is speaking to you and you're talking to God, you're thinking of people you want to pray for. I've got a friend that has a prayer list, and he knows that he'll forget to pray for certain people that have requested prayer. So he makes a list and he will go through his list with the Lord. And I think some people actually have a ministry and a gift for prayer that is special. They're intercessors, they're prayer warriors, and not everybody has that gift. So hope that makes sense. Public prayer should typically be short. Jesus said the hypocrites love to pray long prayers, but private prayers, you may want to pray longer. In my personal prayers in the morning, I spend more time praying than I would in a public prayer. Hope that helps a little bit, Glen.
- [Glen] It does.
- Thank you, we sure appreciate your question, and I appreciate also-
- The effectiveness of the prayer is really more important than how long it is. Anyway, thank you for your answer.
- Thanks so much, God bless you, and talking next with Pamela in Louisiana. Pamela, you're on the air.
- [Pamela] Hello, Pastor Doug, how are you?
- Oh, I'm much better than I deserve every day.
- [Pamela] Good, well, my question is, what is the special resurrection? Is it before the first resurrection or is it the same as the first resurrection?
- Well, I think it happens about the same time. And for our friends listening, when we talk about a special resurrection, there are some people that were participating in the crucifixion of Jesus. And at the trial of Christ, Jesus said, I think He said it to Caiaphas, the high priest in Matthew, that, "Hereafter you will see the son of man "coming on the right hand of power." And so Jesus was telling the high priest that he and others who participated in crucifying Him, you read in Revelation 1, He's coming in the clouds, every eye will see Him, they also which pierced Him, so those that were involved in condemning and crucifying Him, they're going to come forth in a special resurrection, and they're going to see that Jesus is coming as the Conquering King. So that's one group. And then there'll be people, I think, they died in the faith of the three angels message in sharing the good news, and God's going to bring them forth to see the promise fulfilled. So you know, in the same way that there are exceptions, most people die and they go to heaven at the resurrection at the end of time. But we know Enoch, Elijah, and even Moses are exceptions. So God occasionally has exceptions. When Jesus rose from the dead, some of the graves around Jerusalem were opened and many of the saints that slept were raised. So there are exceptions, and the Bible seems to have a couple of exceptions regarding when He comes again. Typically, it's going to be the dead in Christ that rise first. But those connected with crucifying Him are going to be raised to see that. Thank you very much, Pamela, appreciate your question. Talking next with Bradley in Minnesota. Bradley, you are on the air with "Bible Answers Live."
- [Bradley] Hey, pastor, so I was wondering, Jesus washed the disciples feet. Is that something that we are supposed to literally do to our fellow believers as a believer?
- Well, I'll tell you what, let's look at what Jesus said, and can I ask you a question first?
- [Bradley] Yes.
- So you understand what the Lord's supper is, communion?
- [Bradley] Yes.
- Do you think that's mandatory?
- [Bradley] I think sometimes yes.
- Okay, so yeah, Jesus commanded that we should do that as often as we do it. It's reaffirming our covenant with Him. If you look in John 13, after Jesus washed their feet, I'll look at verse 12, John 13:12. "So when He had washed their feet and taken up His garments, "He sat down again and He said to them," now these are the words of Jesus, "Do you know what I have done to you? "You call me Lord and teacher, "and you say well, for so I am. "If I then your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, "you also ought to wash one another's feet. "For I have given you an example, "that you should do as I have done to you." Jesus uses the exact same wording that He uses when He talks about the Lord's supper. He said, "Do this in remembrance of Me." And here He says, "Do what I've done." So in our church, we practice foot-washing. I know they do in a number of other churches, the primitive Baptists and others, they say, "Hey, this is a pretty clear command." Now they may not do it every time they have the Lord's Supper, we do in our church. And some churches have communion every week, in our church where something like the Methodist where they do it quarterly, just the ideas that you want to reaffirm that covenant. It's important to remind ourselves of that. But yeah, I think that the foot-washing is a very clear command just as with the others. Thanks so much, Bradley, for your question. And with that we're going to talk to Will in Canada. Will, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."
- [Will] Good evening, pastor.
- Good evening.
- [Will] Thank you for answering my call. So my question is in Genesis 3:16 and the final part of the curse on the woman, what does it mean and is it still binding today?
- Okay, let me read this for our friends. Genesis 3:16, this is after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. God then curses both the man, the woman, and the snake. And God says to the woman, in verse 16, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception, "in pain you shall bring forth children." And let me pause there first. Is that still true? Yes. First of all, He says your sorrow and your conception, conception isn't birth. Some people have equated this with morning sickness. Sometimes when a woman conceives, there's some sorrow and sickness in connecting with that. "In pain you'll bring forth children." Now of course, that's been mitigated a lot by modern medicine, but normally, it could be a joyful experience after the baby's born, but it could be a very painful experience in the delivery process. And it says, "Your desire shall be for your husband, "and he shall rule over you." And that's been understood to mean that you might naturally want to rule your husband but he shall rule over you, meaning that men were designed to be the servant leaders in the family. That's where you get the word, house band, husband, and men were to do providing traditionally, they're providing and protecting. And so, am I answering what you're asking?
- [Will] Yes please. But it looks like the society nowadays, women want to take the leadership.
- Yeah, well, no question about that. The feminist movement, I think, has had a definite impact on the church Christianity and certainly the culture. Typically, commercials, it's expected that if there's a couple in a commercial and if one of them is to be made to look foolish, you're only allowed to make the man look foolish. If you make the woman look foolish in some program or some commercial, that's called sexism. So it's a little different from when I grew up and they had programs like fathers that knows best than the traditional man being a strong leader. A lot of the media has wussified the men in our society. Alright, Paul in Washington state, Paul you are on the air with "Bible Answers Live."
- [Paul] Hi, Doug.
- Hi, thanks for calling.
- [Paul] My question is, what does the bible say anything about why some people have a greater propensity to sin and other people have a lesser propensity to sin?
- Well, that's a fascinating question. First of all, answer, yes. I think that some do, and it's not that I think everybody's born with a propensity to sin, just because of our fallen natures. But I think that in the rearing process, based on how some parents rear their children, if they are not taught self-discipline and self-control, then children can grow up and they constantly think the world revolves around them, and selfishness, which is what sin comes from, is very strong in their natures. In his book, James Dobson, Dr. James Dobson, he wrote a book about "The Strong -Willed Child." And in his research he said, "It seems like we are all given different characters, "and some children simply grow up "and they seem more willing to comply "and to please authority, "while others question and rebel against every rule." And why that is, I don't know, but I think we'd agree that even parents in the same family, the same mother and father, one will have a Cain, another will have an Abel. The only biblical example I can give you is that, yes, clearly, I think some seem to make the wrong choices. A lot of it affects how they're raised when they're very young. I think it springs from that. But good question, I appreciate that, Paul, thanks so much. Alright, Jerry in Texas. Jerry, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."
- [Jerry] Hey, thanks, Pastor Doug. Quick note, I wish you guys would air your morning prayer, meaning that you're going to talk about the subject of prayer. But anyway, my question is, is that I've asked you about this, I think, two times, and what's going to happen in the future, we really don't know, God is all in compassing, but Matthew 22:30, when they asked about whether there'll be marriage in heaven? I think there are going to be gender neutral in heaven myself, but a six-month pregnant girl pregnant, and Christ comes in the skies, some glory. She's going to be a woman for a little bit. And just a few comments of that. I mean, Holy Spirit gives you so much knowledge and God bless that.
- Well, thank you so much. But you've just touched on an area that is somewhat mysterious. I remember someone asked me during a live program once, what will happen to women that are pregnant when Jesus comes? And I said without thinking, "They'll be delivered," because of course, that's a play on words. I think that probably, they will have their baby handed to them, a fully born, a full-term baby handed to them. I can't imagine them going through a painful birth in heaven with their glorified bodies, because yeah, we get glorified bodies, and there are some things that are mysterious that it's hard to explain. And you know what, if I'm there, I'll just be happy to be there, amen. If we're in the kingdom, no complaints from me. I just praise the Lord to be there. Hey, thanks so much, Jerry, appreciate your question.
- [Jerry] Oh, thank you Doug, bye.
- Good night. All right, with that, Archie in California, you are on the air with "Bible Answers Live."
- [Archie] Hello, pastor.
- Evening.
- [Archie] My question has to do with people from eight years old to 80, all during our life, we have different preferences. Jesus said, "Love your enemies." Well, we have people we just don't like, others, we say we hate, maybe we do, maybe we don't. But my question is how do you obey Jesus and love your enemies or love the ones you don't like?
- It's very hard to do that without the Holy Spirit, because just like you, I've had people that have hurt me and done things that are mean and unkind, and then you read where Jesus says, "I want you to love them." For one thing, sometimes I'll pray for a person even though I may not feel like it because Jesus commands it. And I find that even as I'm praying, my heart softens towards them. The other thing that helps me is I realize that sometimes people do mean or unkind things because they're lost, and that is normal behavior for a lost person. And if they would be saved, they'd be a lot more likable. And so you want to pray that these people, the Holy Spirit will work on their lives and change them. And I have seen folks that I didn't care much for, I had some conflict with, and then the Lord got ahold of their hearts, probably also got ahold of mine. And you end up becoming friends. God can change people. So I think that we're loving people to be redemptive, because Jesus loved us even while we were unlovable. Even while we were sinners, Christ Jesus died for us. So we're trying to be like our Master, and that it's not always easy. He says sometimes you're taking up a cross.
- [Jerry] Would it be possible for you to write a booklet about this? Well, I think everybody needs to know.
- I do have a book I just finished last year. You may not have seen it because we haven't said much about it, but if you go to the Amazing Facts website, I've got a book on forgiveness, and the whole book is talking about how do you forgive, and it talks about also how do you love some people that are unlovable. And if you call the Amazing Facts resource line, that's 1800-835-6747 or simply go to #250, you can dial pound #250 on your phone and say you're listening to "Bible Answers Live." And I'll will prompt you on how you can get the offer for tonight. And you might also be able to record that you're looking for Pastor Doug's new book on forgiveness. And hopefully, that would be a blessing. Let's see, can we get one more call in? Nathan calling from Washington. I think we got a young person here. Nathan, you're on the air.
- [Nathan] Hello.
- Hi, your question.
- [Nathan] So my question is, when did they become more than one language? Because in Genesis 11, it talks about Babel and how God confounded their language. But in Genesis 10:5, it says, "By these were the aisles of the Gentiles "divided in their lands. "Everyone after his tongue, "after their families and in the nations." When did they become more than one language?
- Okay, very good. Well, you're right, Nathan. They're at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, they were making this tower sort of a monument of rebellion against God, and God confounded them. Now, what happened is, all of a sudden, they couldn't understand each other, and the whole building project just unraveled and fell apart in chaos. People began to group together with others they could understand. And I think right then and there, God just made it where some people were able to understand and communicate in groups with others and the main languages of the world were sort of born then. Now language constantly changes, and as you go around the world, you can see examples of that. A lot of languages are similar, but they're not the same. I worked with the Navajo Indians, and their tongue was very much like some Eskimos up in Alaska, but not like the other tribes around them. Study of language is a fascinating business. Well, I hope that helps a little bit Nathan, I appreciate your question. Friends, we're going to take our mid-time break. Don't go anywhere because we're going to have more Bible questions. Just give us a call. 800, God says. We'll get to your question in the second half and be right back.
- [Narrator] Stay tuned, "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly.
- [Narrator] Doug Batchelor was the teenage son of a millionaire father and show business mother. Yet he was living in a cave. He had everything money could buy, everything but happiness. But all of the fun and excitement he enjoyed left his life out of control. His search eventually led him to a cave above Palm Springs that became his home. While Doug scavenged for food and garbage bins, his father owned a yacht, a Learjet, and an airline. But in his cave home, he discovered a dust covered Bible. As he began to read, he soon learned of his true purpose in life. "The Richest Caveman" is the extraordinary true story of Doug Batchelor that tells how a rebellious teenager who once lived in a cave became a tremendous soul winner for Jesus Christ. It's a thrilling testimony of the transforming power of God's Word. To order your copy of "The Richest Caveman," call 1-800-538-7275 or visit afbookstore.com.
- [Narrator] You are 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 1800-835-6747. Once again, that's 1800-835-6747. Now let's rejoin our hosts for more "Bible Answers Live."
- Welcome back, listening friends, to "Bible Answers Live." And this is a live international interactive Bible study. We invite you to call in with your questions. You can simply call 1800-463-7297. That's 800, God says, with your Bible questions. We're also streaming this on the Amazing Facts Facebook page, the Doug Batchelor Facebook page. It's on Amazing Facts Television, better known as AFTV, and you can watch that online, aftv.org, as well as the Amazing Facts YouTube channel. And we're going to go back to the phones. I am Doug Batchelor, Pastor Ross is coming back from a mission trip tonight. So we are flying solo right now, but we're going to talk to Brent who is listening and been waiting patiently in South Korea. Brent, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."
- [Brent] Hello, Pastor Batchelor. Good to talk to you. I have a little bit of a research question. I wondered if you could explain the discrepancy in time between Genesis 15:13 and Exodus 12:40. In Genesis 15:13 is where God tells Abraham that his defendants will be slaves and strangers in a foreign country, and that it'll be 400 years, and Exodus 12:40, when they come out, it's, I believe, about 430 years. I was merely wondering about that discrepancy.
- Yeah, good question. That's come up often as people are reading through the Bible. It's understood that in Exodus there, when it says 430 years, it's counting back from when Abraham entered the promised land and God first speaks to him in Genesis 12. He is 75 years old. The other reference is when the persecution begins. And they're starting that from when, Abraham was not supposed to marry Hagar, the Egyptian, and her son Ishmael was mocking Isaac when he was five years old, he was being weaned. And so they market there saying 400 years from the persecution that began with Ishmael. And that kind of surprised me when I first read it. But I read several scholars that say that's where it starts. The children of Israel were not in Egypt 400 years, and this is where a lot of people get mixed up. They were not slaves for 400 years. You can read where, I think, Levi is the father or grandfather of Amram, the father of Moses. You don't get 400 years in those three generations. And they were probably 200, 230 years actually in Egypt in slavery. But it's dating it back from when the persecution began with Ishmael to the Exodus. So that's the understanding that I've had, and I think you'll find in some of the commentaries. Thank you, Brent, and thank you for your patience. All right, talking next with, is it Sheniqueka, in Florida.
- [Sheniqueka] Have a good night, pastor. My question is the term 'soulmate,' is it biblically linked or is it more of a worldly term?
- Well, I don't think you find the word soulmate in the Bible, but the principle is there, a particular person that God has designed for you to be your spouse, where your souls are knit together. And I think you can say yes. Now when you say soulmates, we often think about a husband and wife, but when you read about, there are friends in the Bible that are soulmates, and you can read Jonathan and David, it says their souls were knit together. And so, you could probably easily argue, Jonathan and David were soulmates, and some people try and build it into being some kind of a homosexual relationship, which is absurd. They were both married and very clear on that point. But when you look at how God found a wife for Isaac, she was specifically chosen , and he must have chosen with the leading of God, because when Isaac saw her, they fell in love, he never married another wife, and it says he loved her. And then later you can see there's even a place where it says that they're flirting with each other even after they're married. So they seem to have a great love relationship even though they had favorites, one favored Esau and the other one favored Jacob. You could probably find other examples. I think God was very particular that Joseph was to be the husband of Mary. And they seem to have a soulmate bond. God shows them to be the perfect parents, to earthly parents, I should say, to raise Jesus. So in principle, I think you could argue that there are some people, their souls are knit together. When Jesus sent out the apostles preaching, it seems that Jesus paired up the Apostles two by two, where he was matching their characters. And John always seems to go out with Peter, John, the brother of James, I used to think, Lord, why didn't James go out with his brother, John, why didn't Andrew go out with Peter? But no, Peter went with John. And I think Jesus matched up the 12, and he put them two by two based on their personality so that they would be stronger together. Yeah, so, great question and thank you so much. God bless, Sheniqueka. All right, with that, we're going to go to Illinois and talk with John. John, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."
- [John] Good evening.
- Evening.
- [John] My question is regarding Revelation 17:3-4 and the scarlet woman. So it says that when John was taken away in the spirit to see her, she was taken into the wilderness, and in Revelation 12, God's church or God, the woman that's dressed in the sun was given wings to go into the wilderness. Regarding that, I was doing a study on that, and I was wondering, is that the same church but corrupt as well as the woman's color, which she was arrayed in. So it was purple and scarlet. And in Exodus 39, the priest is also in that same color, but he has the color blue. And that's the color that represents the law, correct?
- Yeah, the Bible does say that the color blue was to be on the hymn of the garments, a reminder of the commandments. Let me read this for our friends that are listening, because I always like to re remember that a lot of our listeners are driving or they're preoccupied and they can't always drop what they're doing and read the Bible. We're reading Revelation 17, and I'll read verses three and you said four. "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, "and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, "which had names full of blasphemy, "having seven heads and 10 horns. "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet "and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, "having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations "and the filthiness of her fornication." Of course, it goes on to say, her name is Mystery Babylon The Great, The Mother of Harlots. So a woman in Bible analogy is a symbol for the church. And so this woman, she is the antithesis of the woman that you see in Revelation 12 that is clothed with the sun, moon, and stars, all natural light. This woman is clothed with artificial colors and adornment, calls her a harlot. That's pretty telltale that if she was once faithful, she's not now. It is true, God sometimes told his church, he told Israel, you read the Book of Hosea, he says, "You've played the harlot." Whenever God's people went after other religions or other gods or idols, he's called it harlotry. God said, "I'm your God, I'm your husband, "and here you're committing adultery with these other gods." So the woman in Revelation 12 was Christian or has at least some illusion of being Christian, but has compromised. Most Protestant commentators believe that this is speaking of the Papacy, and the Catholic church, what happened during the dark ages when they turned to idolatry, of course, they had the colors, and the cardinals are red, and the bishops are purple, and there's a golden cup in the hand of the pope and the priests when they do the mass, and virtually, all Protestant reformers identified this woman with a Christian Church that had compromised with the Roman religion, hence Roman Catholicism. And they drifted from the Bible. Now of course, there are millions of very faithful people in that church living up to the light they have. But nonetheless, the organization has drifted from the scriptures. So when you look in Revelation 12, you've got this dragon, this scarlet dragon, that is trying to devour the other woman. Here, the woman is sitting on the dragon. So the government of Rome tried to destroy Jesus as a baby. That's the dragon there. But now this woman is sitting on the dragon, and you can also read, it says in the last verse in chapter 17 of Revelation, the woman that you saw is that great city that reigns over the kings of the earth. Well, that was Rome. Rome had imprisoned John of Patmos. So for friends who were hearing this for the first time, this is nothing new with me, this is what all Protestants used to believe. We have a lesson we'll send you for free, and it's called "The Other Woman." And all you have to do is call 1800-835-6747, 1800-835-6747, or you can do #250. And when they answer, say you're listening to "Bible Answers Live," dial pound #250 on your phone. And that's for those that are in the US and US territories in Canada. And we'll be happy to make these studies available to you. I think you can even go to the Amazing Facts website and read that study guide on Babylon, the mystery woman, and you'll get that information. Thank you very much, and we're going to go next to Chris in Florida. Welcome, Chris, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."
- [Chris] Hey, pastor, thank you. My questions on the remnant church. And I was wondering, is our church the remnant now before the close of probation and the end of the three angels messages or will we make up the remnant church after that time has passed and coming Sunday law is enacted?
- All right, well, let's talk about that. When you say the word remnant church, now this is a biblical term. If you go to Revelation 12 and you go to the last verse, it says there in verse 17, "The dragon was enraged with a woman, "and he went to make war with the remnant of her sea." Now woman's a church, it says the remnant, the remainder, what's left of her descendants, that keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. So it's understood there by many Christians that near the end of time, God is going to have a faithful, remaining church. They are going to believe the teachings that were once delivered to the saints. They will return to the purity of Bible truth. And Christ is not coming for a church that has totally been dissolved by and diluted by compromise, he's coming for a church that is revived, filled with the Holy Spirit. They've been empowered by the latter reign. And I believe that's a group that is still coming together now. But I'd say, you need to find a church that follows the Bible the most accurately and be part of that church to make sure you're in the remnant church, says she keeps the commandments of God, they believe in all the commandments, that means all 10, and they have the faith of Jesus, you read in Revelation 14:12. Revelation 12:17, it says, "They have the testimony of Jesus," that means the law and the prophets, they believe the Word of God. Hope that helps a little bit, Chris. Talking next to Bob in Washington. Bob, your name is the same forward or backwards, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."
- [Bob] Hello, Pastor Doug.
- Evening, how are you?
- [Bob] Not too bad, a lot better after a nap for sure.
- Okay, well, good. We're glad you're all rested up, and your question tonight?
- Well, it has to do with John 9:2. I've talked with some people who believe that that verse, somehow they make it into, there's this one church that talks about us being in a premortal state kind of thing, and so they believe that, well, the verse says, disciples asked him saying, "Rabbi, who's sinned, "this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" So did the blind man sin before he was born?
- Right, yeah, let me explain that for our friends that are listening, You have to almost read the first verse. Jesus is passing by, he sees a man who is born blind from birth. The disciples begin to ponder, "Why is he suffering? "If he was born blind, "somebody must as sinned for him to suffer like this. "What did he do?" And so, the disciples were speculating, keep in mind, the disciples, their theology was not all right, they totally misunderstood Jesus' mission. So you don't want to get your theology totally from their questions, because they're still learning. And they said, "Who sinned?" Maybe his parents sinned or maybe was it his sin? And what they're saying is God knew in advance this man would be sinful, so he punished him in advance. And then you're right, there are people that say that you had some kind of pre-incarnation existence and in your spirit body, you were sinning, or in your pre incarnation, they had some form of reincarnation. And yeah, there is a church that believes that you exist without a body before this earth, that's totally unbiblical. So the disciples are just, they're pondering, "Who's sinned." "Did God know he was going to be bad "and he punished him in advance? "Was it his parents?" And then Jesus answers, as it says here, "Neither this man or his parents sinned, "but that the works of God should be revealed," and of course, he heals the man. All sickness, but people that are born sick, my brother was born with, ultimately, a terminal disease called cystic fibrosis, and he didn't do anything wrong, and he struggled with it, and my parents couldn't control their genes. So wouldn't it be directly from their sin? It could all be traced back to the sin of Adam in the beginning has caused sin and sickness and degeneration through the whole human family. Good question, Bob, appreciate it. Thanks so much. And talking next to Nicholas, is that in Delaware? Nicholas, you're on the air.
- [Nicholas] Yes.
- Hi.
- [Nicholas] I have a question.
- Yes.
- [Nicholas] But when the Bible, it says that Abraham's descendants will outnumber of stars, does that mean the end can't come until Abraham's descendants outnumber the stars?
- No, that, I think, is a figure of speech. God uses allegories. God says, "I own the cattle on a thousand hills. "If I was hungry I would not tell you." Well, God is not eating barbecue. He's just saying that, "I own everything in the world." So when God tells Abraham, "Your descendants will be like the stars of heaven," and other places, he says the sand on the seashore, God is not specifically counting every grain of sand and saying, when Abraham gets as many descendants, well, you know how many grains of sand there are? It's innumerable.
- [Nicholas] There's a lot.
- Yeah, and how many stars are there? They figure there's almost as many stars as there are grains of sands, it's innumerable. And so God is just saying that Abraham would have so many descendants that you wouldn't even be able to count them. And that actually came true during the time of King David. David wanted to number Israel, and they never even got the whole number. But you know, Joab said to David, "May the Lord multiply your people a hundred times more," but we don't even need to count them anymore, there's so many. So yeah, I don't think God's waiting until he's got as many Jews in the world as there are stars in the sky, I think it's a figure of speech.
- [Nicholas] Okay, that's what I stopped, but thank you.
- All right, thank you, Nicholas, appreciate your call. And with that, we're going to talk to Isaac. Isaac, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."
- [Issac] Hey, how you doing, pastor?
- Doing well.
- [Issac] Good, I had a question. So why did God require lamb sacrifices by his people after sin into the world? Because obviously, before sin, there was no death. So I was just wondering why would he require lamb sacrifices after sin?
- Well, you're saying why would he require them after sin?
- [Issac] Yeah, after sin into the world, wasn't he, I guess, requiring lamb sacrifices by his people?
- You can read in Revelation, it talks about the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And if you look in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve first sinned, they discovered their nakedness, they went and got fig leaves to cover their nakedness and to hide their shame. God said, "That will not do." And it says they made aprons of leaf, the word that's in Hebrew is they made aprons, miniskirts, and then it says God made them tunics, those are robes, of skin. Now, where did God get the skin? Did God just blink his eyes, and all of a sudden they had leather coats? Or did God establish the sacrificial system back there to explain that to cover their shame, something had to die. And those lambs or goats that were dying in the sacrificial system, they had to be clean animals. They couldn't offer a skunk or a pig or anything. The clean animals that died in the sacrificial system were a symbol for the day when God's son would come. What did John the Baptist say when Jesus walked by the Jordan? He pointed to him and said, "Behold the lamb of God "that takes away the sin of the world." All of those animal sacrifices pointed to when Jesus would come, and it was reminding them that the blood of Christ would cover their sin. So it was a symbol, and the God used it to educate people about the awfulness of sin. Does that make sense?
- [Issac] Awesome, okay. Yeah, that makes perfect sense. I never heard anyone break it down like that, thank you.
- All right, thanks so much, appreciate your question. And with that, we're going to talk to Tammy in California. Tammy, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."
- [Tammy] Hi, pastor.
- Hi!
- [Tammy] This is Tammy from Loma Linda. And my question is, I know in the Bible I forgot exactly where, but the Lord says that he had, Jesus mentioned that he had given us power and authority to cast out demons and to heal the sick.
- Yes, he says that in Mark 16. He says it in several places, but one is Mark 16.
- [Tammy] Okay, and so my question is, is that what we should be doing today?
- Well, does God still have the power, yes! Should we still pray for people that are harassed by the devil or sick, absolutely! Do we have the same power the apostles had, no! Will God pour out the Holy Spirit before Jesus comes back and give that power again, yes! So there are times in history where we see God's spirit and power moving in different waves, in different intensities. And before Jesus comes back, I think he's going to pour out his spirit in the power of Pentecost. And you will see Christians, believers going out doing some of the same signs and wonders that Jesus did. Even Jesus said, "These miracles that I've done, "greater things than these will you do "because I go to the Father." So I believe all that's literal. I think even today we should be praying that people are delivered from the devil, when they're being harassed or possessed, I believe that we should be praying for people who are sick. And I've seen miracles. Just this last week someone asked me to pray for somebody that was in very dire condition in ICU. Last report I got is they had improved and they're out of ICU. Now, it doesn't mean it happened instantly, but I believe God heard the prayer. So yes, we should be praying more. Thanks so much, Tammy. We're going to talk to Jasmine in Texas. Jasmine, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."
- [Jasmine] Hi, this is Jasmine. Thank you so much for taking my call.
- Yeah.
- [Jasmine] I was wondering, my family and I have the conviction and know that we are called to live in the country, and we've been praying about it, but we don't know, how do you know when God is telling you where? Because I know that if we're being led by God, then we won't fail, but I don't know where he's leading us. How do you know that?
- Well, that's a great question, and it's a very important question. You don't want to make the wrong decision. And I would say don't do anything unless you do know, with confidence, that God has opened the door. First, let me tell you, there is a free booklet that you can download or request from Amazing Facts, and it's called "Determining the Will of God." And I give 12 points in that book, biblical principles about how do we know God's will in a question, not whether we should kill or not kill, I mean, there's sometimes many good choices. We wonder how do I know what God wants me to do? So that book is called "Determining the Will of God." You can just go to amazingfacts.org, look in our free library, you can download that and read it, or you can call 1800-835-6747 and request it. But I would look for providential openings. You want to make sure before you're going to move to another country, you've got income. The Bible tells us to look ahead, be wise in decisions that you make. And God doesn't always ask us to just recklessly step out in faith, I've known some dear people that said, "I feel like I need to move the country." And they quit their good jobs, they moved off with no training or experience. They realized that they had bought the wrong piece of land, and they came back to the city bankrupt. It was very sad, I've seen it happen a few times. So, plan carefully, and make sure God's leading you, and that not only does God show you what he wants you to do, sometimes he has you wait until the right time. I mean, look how long he had Moses wait for his big mission in Abraham to have son with Sarah. So, be patient, and say, "Lord, we're willing to do your will." Now here's the promise, once we tell the Lord we are willing to do whatever he wants, he then becomes responsible to show us. If we are seeking, we're knocking, we're praying, we're asking, he will show us. And so, get Christian counsel, look for providential openings, the leadings of the Holy Spirit, most importantly, look in the word, and you'll find guidance in the principles that are in the Word of God, and download that book, "Determining the Will of God." And I think you'll be blessed by that. Thank you, Jasmine, we appreciate your question. Now for our friends that are listening, you know we're starting to come to the tail end of the radio program right now. And I like to just explain to people that when we sign off, we are both on satellite across the country, satellite radio, and we're on land-based stations, they operate on a different clock, but we don't want to lose any of our time. So what we do is we sign off in two stages. After we sign off with our satellite stations, don't go away, you're going to hear me come back, and I'm going to answer some internet questions that came in. And if you ever have any internet questions, some people say, "I've got a question, but I'm afraid to get on the air." Some people get nervous calling in a live program, don't be. But if you are, you can email us a question. Just go to Amazing Facts, and I think there you'll see Amazing Facts, it'll be \bibleanswerslive.org. And you can submit Bible questions there, just even if you go to the amazingfacts.org channel, you'll see there where you can submit a Bible question. And for those of you that are bidding us farewell, driving down the road, God bless you, we look forward to studying with you again next week. For the others, standby.
- [Narrator] 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.
- We are back, friends, with some of the internet questions that have come in, and thanks for standing by. And let's start with Talora, would like to know if we will still have our old thoughts when Christ returns and we are changed. The Bible tells us in the book of Isaiah, says, "The former will not be remembered or come into mind," and he doesn't mean you're brainwashed so you don't remember that Jesus has saved you, but the former painful memories that we have, those things are going to be eclipsed by the everlasting glory and bliss of heaven. You won't need to worry about that there. And so, no, you don't have to worry about the painful memories. And keep in mind, as time goes by, time is healing, our minds are going to be so full of the incredible experiences of heaven that all of the painful things of this world are going to just be crowded out, and we're going to be looking forward. Paul said, "Forgetting those things that are behind, I press on." Through eternity, the only reminder of sin will be the scars in Jesus' hand for what he paid for us. Kyle would like to know, how will we know when it's Sabbath in the new earth if there'll be neither day or night? Well, it doesn't say there'll be no day or night, it's talking about the new Jerusalem. It says there is no need of the sun in the new Jerusalem because the presence of God is there. And the Bible says God is light. The people sometimes say, when God began creating the world, he said, "Let there be light," but he doesn't make the sun till the fourth day, but he has day and night before he makes the sun. How do you have day and night? Well, God, he set the planet spinning, whatever side of the planet was aiming the glory of God, Bible tells us in Mark 9, in the Mount of Transfiguration, "The glory of Jesus was brighter than the sun." And you can read in Malachi, it says, "Then the son of righteousness "will arise with healing in his wings." So the light of God will illuminate the city, but the world will still have a day and a night, and there'll still be weeks, and it says from one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come in worship before him. Nelly from Kenya asks if it's acceptable to use family planning methods. Without going into detail, I would say yes, The Bible tells us, "Do not build a tower if you are not able to complete it." And if you cannot afford to rear a family, educate, and be a good father or mother, then you ought to plan accordingly. But I don't believe in abortion. I think that what you should do then is prevention. And I won't go into detail there. Hey, friends, there's so much more Amazing Facts has to offer. Please go to amazingfacts.org. Watch us on YouTube and Facebook. God Bless, we'll study next week.
- [Narrator] "Bible Answers Live," honest and accurate answers to your Bible questions.