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 answer to all your Bible questions. This broadcast is a previously-recorded episode. To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this broadcast, call 800-835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747. Now, here's your host from Amazing Facts International, Pastor Doug Batchelor.
Doug Batchelor: Hello, listening friends. Would you like to hear an amazing fact? Perhaps you remember "The Jetsons." Yes, that 1960s cartoon series about a space-aged family that lives in the future. They had robots, and they cruised around in flying cars. Well, it looks like the future has caught up with fiction. Swedish company Jetson Aero has built what it says is the first commercially-available personal flying car. The company says it hopes the vehicles will be able to replace traditional cars in the future. The carbon fiber and aluminum vehicle looks like a big drone, can carry a 200-pound man up to 63 miles an hour, but it only has a flying time of about 20 minutes. That'll no doubt improve over time as battery technology advances. So now for about $100,000 you can purchase your own flying car without a pilot's license. I don't know, Pastor Ross, that sounds pretty interesting, but you sure wouldn't want the battery to die on you when you're at about 10,000 feet.
Jean Ross: That's right, Pastor Doug. It sure would be nice to be able to get into your drone and fly to wherever you need to go. Doug: Especially when traffic's bad. Jean: That's right. You wonder what the traffic in the air is going to be like in a few years if that keeps moving forward. But, you know, the idea of flying has always been something that's fascinated people. You look at the birds and how they can fly, and, of course, you've flown many a time in your plane and then also commercial flying. But there's something special about just breaking gravity and being able to soar in the air, and of course we even find the Bible speaking about a time when the redeemed will fly.
Doug: That's right. There's not a lot of verses, but there's a few that explain we will be able to fly like angels do. One is in Isaiah 40, verse 31: "But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They'll run and not be weary. They will walk and not faint." And so I'm looking forward to, as it says in the song "Rock of Ages," soaring to worlds unknown. I want to fly.
Jean: You don't have to worry about your batteries dying halfway there. You know, we have a book that's called "Heaven: Is It for Real?" We talk about heaven and just--the Bible says eye has not seen, ear heard, neither entered into the heart of man the things that God is preparing for those that love him. It's hard to imagine, but it's real. Heaven is a real place. And we'll be happy to send you a book if you'd like to learn more about heaven. The book is called "Heaven: Is It for Real?" The number to call for that is 800-835-6747. You can ask for offer number 189 or ask for the book by name: "Heaven: Is It For Real?" You can also dial #250 on your smartphone and just say "Bible Answers Live" and ask for the book "Heaven: Is It For Real?" We'll be happy to send it to you, anyone in the US and Canada. If you're outside of North America, you can just go to the website, AmazingFacts .org, and you'll be able to read the book right there online.
Well, Pastor Doug, we always want to greet those who are joining us. We have folks listening not only on the radio and on satellite radio, but we have people joining us who are on social media, watching on YouTube, also on Amazing Facts TV and some of the other television networks that partner with us in this. So we want to greet all of you. If you have a Bible question, the phone line here to the studio is 800-463-7297. That's 800-GOD-SAYS, 463-7297. That'll bring you here into the studio with your Bible question. Well, Pastor Doug, before we go to the phone lines, let's start with a word of prayer. Dear Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the opportunity to be able to study. And tonight we ask the Holy Spirit to be with us here in the studio, be with those who are listening and watching wherever they might be. Lead us into a clearer understanding of the Bible. In Jesus's name, amen. Our first caller today, we've got Ellie listening in Texas. Ellie, welcome to the program.
Ellie: Awesome. Thank you for answering. Hope you're doing well. I have a question today in regards to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 10 where it says, "For this cause ought the woman to have power over her head because of the angels." And my main question was on the explanation because of the angels. What does that exactly mean?
Doug: Yeah, well, this is a very interesting passage where it talks about, in part, the relationship between men and women and a woman's hair, especially, like, praying in public. And so Paul is addressing issues for the first Corinth--first letter to the Corinthians of propriety and some of it, we believe, is related to custom. But it was understood that as a sign of humility God has given women hair as a covering, and if they pray in public they should cover their hair because their hair is their glory as a sign of their humility. If you look in the book of Isaiah chapter 6, it says that the angels cover their faces and their feet in the presence of God. And so it says the angels, you know, are beholding when you address God, and as a sign of humility that women should cover their heads. The big question among theologians is, was this a commandment that is universal for Christians through ages? Because it's mentioned once in the Bible. You know, the Bible says in the mouth of two or three witnesses we should establish our doctrines, not one verse. And it's not mentioned anywhere else. So--or was it a custom? And later on--and maybe, pastor, also help me find what verse is it where he says we have--yeah, verse 16. He says, "But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the churches of God." So many are wondering is this--was this a custom?
Jean: Seems as though the principle there is reverence and respect when you enter into the house of God and you're involved in worship. You know, Pastor Doug, we've traveled to different places around the world, and it's very interesting when you go to these different cultures they have different signs of reverence and respect. We were in India at one of the largest Christian churches. You were invited to speak there, and it was very interesting for us. Their sign of reverence and respect is to remove their shoes when they enter into the church. And so you go to this church that had thousands of members and neatly out front they have little boxes and everybody puts their sandals in their box and then they go into the church. So that was a sign of reverence. In our culture, probably if you are a man and you walk into a church and you're wearing a hat, it's appropriate to remove the hat. So there are certain customs even in our society that show reverence.
Doug: Yeah, and for--people have seen the Jews praying at the Wailing Wall. For them, the men always cover their heads when they approach. And, you know, we've been together there at the Western Wall, and when you go up they'll tell you--if you have a baseball cap, you're okay, but if not, they'll hand you a cardboard yamaka or something. They say, "Do not approach this holy place without covering your head." So this was a custom, we believe, of reverence that Paul is addressing. Hope that helps a little bit, Ellie, and we appreciate your patience.
Jean: Next caller that we have is Junith listening in Nevada. Junith, welcome to the program.
Junith: Hello, good evening, Doug and Pastor Ross. My question is, wasn't the decision of Sarah for Abraham to have a kid with Hagar, it was not God's will. But then if it was not God's will, could this be a major reason why the second coming of Jesus has lengthened up? Because it has a lot of compromise in this decision. Thank you for answering.
Doug: Yes, okay, well, thank you, Junith. The decision of Abraham to--at Sarah's suggestion to use Hagar as sort of a surrogate wife to have a baby, she basically was functioning as a concubine back in those days, that was definitely not God's will. Ultimately, God told Abraham--when Sarah said, "Send her away," God said, "Yes, send her away." Basically, it was a divorce. As far as we know, he never saw Hagar again and it brought all kinds of strife into the family and through history the descendants that ended up growing into, you know, Mohammed and the Muslims, the Arab world and the children of Abraham--there has been so much strife between the nations that came out of that decision. Now, your question has that postponed the coming of the Lord, I don't know. I don't know that I could speculate about that. It is interesting that the two largest religions in the world today, Christianity and Islam, sprang out of that decision. Or you can say they forked, you should say, because of that decision. So yeah, that was not God's will clearly. God said, "I will give you a son through Sarah your wife." Multiple marriages is not God's plan.
Jean: And we recognize that when God said to Abraham, "Take your son, your only son whom thou lovest," He's talking about Isaac. So, you know, you think about that, Pastor Doug. Both of these large religious movements, you got Christian-- or Judaism and you've got Islam and-- of course, Christianity came out of Judaism. They all hark back to Abraham, and a lot has to do with that decision, whether or not to be faithful to God, to trust in God. Little did he realize what would come of that decision.
Doug: It goes to show how one mistake like that has ramifications just like the mistake of Adam and Eve. Look what's going on in the world. The mistake of Abraham has had long lasting, as you say, ramifications. Thank you, appreciate your question, Junith.
Jean: We've got Gary listening in Illinois. Gary, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."
Gary: In Revelation 9:14 and then again in Revelation 16:12 it says when the Euphrates river dries up four demonic angels will be released unto one third of the population and their power is fire, smoke, and brimstone. So is that power is--are they describing hell? Are those angels going to release hell on earth?
Doug: Okay, well, when you read about four angels who are prepared for an hour, a day, a month, and a year, you also see in Revelation chapter 7--is it 7 where it says there are four angels holding back the four winds of strife? It doesn't say they're demonic. People are assuming that. So the angels that are holding back the winds of strife, and then you read here in this chapter it talks about angels--again, four angels. Four really represents in the Bible--this is universal. Jesus said he'll send his angels to the four corners of the earth to gather together the elect. So what is going to happen here both in Revelation chapter 7 and chapter 9 is talking about something universal. When you look at the Euphrates river, you need to know some Bible history that isn't specifically in the Bible. There are prophecies that allude to it. Before the children of Israel were freed from Babylon to go back to the Promised Land, the Euphrates dried up. The reason it dried up is because Cyrus the general in wanting to conquer Babylon--the River Euphrates ran under the walls of ancient Babylon, which was a huge city, and he knew that if he could divert the river-- they dug a ditch--big ditch. He had an army do it. They diverted the water from the Euphrates into a dry lake bed and the water level going under the walls of Babylon dropped. It dried up. The Persians marched under the walls. They sent a little contingent under. They opened up the inner gates and let the rest of the army in. And so for the Jew the drying up the Euphrates is a harbinger that they would soon be going back to the Promised Land. So when it tells us in the sixth plague that you read about in the seven last plagues, it at least has a spiritual application there that the power of the beast-- Babylon is going to dry up, and you find a lot about Babylon in chapter 17 of Revelation.
Now, whether there is a literal application makes you wonder sometimes because, you know, in Revelation it talks about before the Lord comes the sun will be dark and the moon turns to blood, the stars fall from heaven, powers heaven are shaken, heaven is rolled back as a scroll. Those things have happened historically sort of as wake-up signs, but they're going to happen literally in quick succession just before the second coming. And so I think maybe God is using the fact the Euphrates--by the way, the Euphrates is not totally dried up. It's just gone down, and they're predicting it's going to dry up. I wonder sometimes if the Lord is using that to at least get people's attention. But I wouldn't wait for four demons to come out of a cave. I've heard people say there are some demons coming out of a cave by the Euphrates river. Doesn't say anywhere these are demons.
Jean: Well, there's two drying up of the River Euphrates. You alluded to it. You've got the sixth trumpet that the four angels release from the River Euphrates, and then you have the drying up the Euphrates, which is one of the plagues in Revelation chapter 9 where it talks about the sixth trumpet and the four angels that are bound in the great River Euphrates. A number of theologians, many of them especially the early Protestant reformers, identified that as the expansion of Islam under the Turks or the Ottoman Empire.
Doug: It was the judgment for the—
Jean: A judgment that came upon the Christian. That's right. And they've identified the four main tribal groups that formed the Ottoman Empire and their location in Baghdad, another one in Aleppo, Iconium, Damascus. So these are sort of the capital areas connected with the River Euphrates, but that's where these tribes came from that formed the Ottoman Empire as a judgment under the sixth trumpet. But then you have the drying up of the River Euphrates, which is under the plagues as well.
Doug: Yeah, in Revelation 16. Well, thank you. Appreciate that, Gary. And don't have a book we can offer on that, but—
Jean: Something we could write, drying up of the River Euphrates. It would be interesting. Jerry listening in Texas. Jerry, welcome to the program.
Jerry: Hey, pastors. I want to get you guys's take on this one text in Genesis, Genesis 6:21 and--referring to the beasts of prey when they came on the ark were--of course, we know that God can sustain like He sustained Moses on the Mount Sinai for 40 days. But were the lions and tigers vegetarians on the ark? I guess they would have to be. Were they vegetarians before?
Doug: Okay, good question. Well--so yeah, the animals that were on the ark--of course, he took two of the clean animals and the unclean--I'm sorry. The clean animals were taken by sevens. The unclean animals were taken by twos. So what did the carnivorous animals eat? Well, it says that Noah was told to bring food for them. So there was extra food. You know, ostensibly he didn't bring, like, live animals for the lions to eat. The other thing is--they've shown is that when animals are taken on a boat, they go into a type of hibernation. When boats are rocking, they sort of--they eat very less. They're not mobile, and they probably were not eating a lot on the boat. But yeah, Noah was told to bring food for them, so he brought something the lions could eat.
Jean: And, of course, lions can live--probably not their preference, but they can live on a vegetarian diet. There are some modern examples of lions that just for some reason--little Tyke is what I'm thinking of, a lion that just refused to eat meat and he lived very well on--she lived very well on a diet of grains and eggs and--yeah, amazing.
Doug: Full-grown lion.
Jean: Okay. Thank you, Jerry. We've got Sam listening in Canada. Sam, welcome to the program.
Sam: I have a question relating to-- how do we know the Bible is inspired? I'm studying right now in university and we learn about, like, the different flood myths around the world, and it's just how similar it is to the Bible's Noah's flood.
Doug: Yeah. I'm glad you asked. Actually the different myths that you find around the world regarding the flood--like the Babylonians have the "Epic of Gilgamesh." The Hawaiians have a similar legend. Those myths grew out of the true incident that Moses records. Moses gives us the accurate account. The other epics or stories, whether it's the Greek myth of a worldwide flood--you've got the story in Greek mythology about this powerful race that lived in this land called Atlantis, and because of their wickedness the island was swallowed up. Well, that's the flood. It says powerful race that lived and because of the wickedness they were destroyed. Even Pandora's box, the idea of this woman opened a box that was full of evil she wasn't supposed to open. Well, it was Eve eating the forbidden fruit. Over time some of these true stories, they get changed as they're passed along and you develop these different myths. But I think that's evidence the Bible is true. In the Bible, you're getting the truth about what really happened. These other civilizations--you know, the Jews were very careful of writing these things down, and one reason God told Moses to write it down is because over time when they used to sherry--share their history orally there was a risk that things were going to be changed. So Moses was inspired to write down the accurate account of what happened, and it has stood the test of time.
Jean: You know, we have a book. It's called "The Ultimate Resource," and it's all about the Bible. And Pastor Doug just mentioned one or two, but there are many proofs in the Bible itself of its divine origin, that the Bible is inspired. You got prophecy. You got history, archaeology. So the little book will give you more information. It's called "Ultimate Resource," and it's all about the Bible. To receive that, call 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book. It's called "Ultimate Resource." You can also dial #250, say "Bible Answers Live," and ask for the book "Ultimate Resource." Next caller that we have is Lee listening in Texas. Lee, welcome to the program.
Lee: Yes, sir, my question is, who is Satan in the book of Revelation that does false miracles? I mean, I know who the Antichrist is and the man of sin is, but who is supposed to be Satan?
Doug: Okay. Well, in Revelation chapter 12, for instance, it talks about him as the dragon. It says that dragon of old, the devil, Satan. So it uses four different titles there that we can't confuse: the serpent, Satan, dragon, devil. And that's--I think it mentions that twice in Revelation 12. No, it does twice in Revelation. And so you might be wondering when it talks about the beast, the dragon, and the false prophet, and you know there you've got the dragon certainly the devil. It tells us that that old serpent, the dragon, the devil, and that goes back to the Garden of Eden when the devil, Lucifer, he basically used the medium of a serpent to deceive Adam and Eve.
Jean: Now, of course the Bible does tell us that before Jesus comes there's going to be many false Christs and false prophets, and the Bible also says don't be surprised because the devil himself can be transformed into an angel of light. So it wouldn't surprise us if the devil tries to impersonate the second coming of Jesus. Now we know according to the Bible that when Jesus comes a second time he's not going to be walking on the earth. The righteous are caught up to meet him in the air. So if somebody appears, even if they do perform miracles and they're walking around on the earth, that's a false Christ. So the Bible does give us these guidelines, these pointers. Next caller that we have is Angela-- Angelina, sorry, from Oregon. Angelina, welcome to the program.
Angelina: Thank you. Thank you, and bless--God bless you both.
Doug: Thank you for calling. Your question.
Angelina: My question is I was looking at when Jesus called the disciples, but I heard somebody said that Jesus didn't call Judas Iscariot to be his disciple or his--or like one of the apostles, that somebody took him to Jesus and recommended him to Jesus because he was good for the group. And other comment was that Judas invite himself to be one of Jesus's disciples, and I need to find out where in the Gospels said that Judas didn't--was not called by Jesus.
Doug: Well, it says in Matthew 8:19 that there was a certain scribe that said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Now, with most of the apostles Christ said, "Follow me." And they left their nets and they followed him. He said to Matthew, "Follow me," and he followed him. He asked the rich young ruler, "Follow me," and he didn't follow. And here you've got a scribe that says, "Sir, I will follow you wherever you go." And many believe this was Judas because this person, this scribe was hoping for some earthly gain. And Jesus answers and says, "The foxes have their dens and the birds of the air have their nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay the head." In other words, "If you're following me because you think you're going to get ahead in the world, don't follow me." And, you know--and it's not specifically in the scriptures, but some understand that the disciples were so impressed with the education and the brilliance of this scribe by the name of Judas they recommended him to Jesus and Jesus allowed him in.
Now, there is a place in the Bible where Jesus says, "Have I not chosen you 12 and one of you is a devil?" So Christ did ultimately lay hands on Judas like he did the others and say, "Okay, you're recommending him to me. I'm going to go ahead and treat him like an apostle." But he kind of put himself forward as opposed to being called, if we assume that this scribe is Judas.
Jean: And we also have some other references to where Judas actually held the money bag so he came to be the treasure--yeah, he was the treasurer of the group. So holding a position of influence. Good question. Thank you. Next caller that we have is Taylor listening in South Dakota. Taylor, welcome to the program.
Taylor: Hello, pastors. My question is on Joshua 21, verse 44 where it says that the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand, them being Israelites. But in another passage in chapter 15, verse 63 it says that as for the Jebusites, the children of Judah could not drive them out. And there's a couple of other instances in chapters 16 and 17. So I guess I'm wondering why it says that he delivered all their enemies when there's a few instances where they didn't.
Doug: Yeah, I think that it's just an understanding of the phraseology. Everybody that Joshua went against in battle, God delivered them. There's only one example where Joshua's army lost a battle, and he came back and then won the-- you know, he won the war against Ai. The initial battle against Ai, they were defeated. God humbled them. They prayed. And then they went back, they defeated Ai. They defeated all the kings of the Amorites, everyone they fought against. But they made the mistake of once they basically dominated the land they got comfortable. They inhabited the cities. They'd driven most of them out, but they began to tolerate some of them. Even by the time of King David, David is still trying to get the Jebusites out of Jerusalem.
Jean: So there seem to be some mopping-up operations, you might say, that needed to occur by the various tribes once they occupy the land. Some tribes were more diligent in doing that. Others kind of just settled in and they didn't finish the work.
Doug: "Once the other tribes--once the other nations are paying taxes and they're not bothering us anymore, we're tired of war. We want to start farming." And problem was by allowing those pagan nations to live among them, their children began to intermarry and--that's what happened with Samson and others, and God said, "This is what's going to happen. They're going to be thorns in your sides." And I think He said, "Sand in your eyes." And it became a real curse because they didn't completely drive them out as they were supposed to. But everyone they--in the days of Joshua, everyone they fought against in battle was delivered to them.
Jean: Okay, next caller that we have is Caleb listening in New York. Caleb, welcome to the program.
Caleb: Hello, pastors. How are you guys doing today?
Doug: Doing great. Thank you for calling.
Caleb: My question is about Romans 9, verses 11 to 13. I'm just confused about it because it makes me a little bit nervous because I just want to know is Esau ever forgiven and how does that apply to us? How do we know we're forgiven? Did Esau know he was hated like-- and would Esau even be in heaven? I mean, he forgave his brother. I'm just a little bit confused about-- from Romans 9 to 11--11 to 13.
Doug: Yeah, and I'll read this for our friends. It says in Romans chapter 9, verse 11, "For the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but according to him who calls, it was said to her, 'The older shall serve the younger.' As it is written, 'Jacob I have loved, but Esau I've hated.'" Now, that is a big question. So you hear the music, friends. If you want to hear the answer, got to stay with us. We're coming back after the break and we'll answer that.
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Announcer: You're listening to "Bible Answers Live," where every question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His plan to save you. So what are you waiting for? Get practical answers about the good book for a better life today. This broadcast is a previously-recorded episode. If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. 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."
Doug: Welcome back, listening friends, to "Bible Answers Live." And if you have a Bible question, just give us a call. The number is 800-GOD-SAYS. We are also broadcasting on the Amazing Facts Facebook page, the Doug Batchelor Facebook page, the Amazing Facts YouTube page, Amazing Facts television, and--program airs a number of other stations also and rebroadcast. So you may want to participate and call in with your Bible question and it'll be a blessing to others as well. My name is Doug Batchelor.
Jean: My name is Jean Ross. And just before the break, Pastor Doug, we were talking with Caleb, and he had a question about Romans chapter 9 where it says, "Jacob I have loved. Esau I have hated." Almost gives the idea that they were predestinated even before their birth.
Doug: Yeah, it's--this is referring to not Jacob individually necessarily. Esau as an individual could end up being saved, not every Edomite--the descendants of Esau were called Edomites. Not every Edomite is lost, and not every Israelite is saved. You know, every individual based on their lives. Esau did make a big mistake, and he sold his birthright for a pot of beans. Well, that doesn't mean he couldn't have repented later and turned to the Lord and been saved. So this is not dealing with that. But the nation of the Edomites generally turned away from God and turned to paganism, and they are called Esau. The nation of Jacob's was called Israel. And so when it says, "I've loved Jacob and I've hated Esau," it's not talking about the individuals. "I've just decided I'm going to hate this one and love this one." It's saying because God knew in advance what they were going to do, He could foretell which one was going to serve the other.
Jean: And it was also God just choosing. I mean, the Bible says God didn't choose Israel because they were more numerous or better than the other nations. He chose Israel and was through Israel that the Messiah was to come. So in that sense the nation was chosen by God, not talking about individuals but talking about the nation. Israel was chosen and was set apart to prepare the way for the first coming of Jesus.
Doug: And you can't really understand Romans chapter 9 unless you know what is Paul quoting. Paul is quoting the Old Testament. He's quoting Malachi chapter 1, verse 2. It says, "'I have loved you,' says the Lord, 'yet you say, 'In what way have you loved us?' 'Was not Esau Jacob's brother,' says the Lord, 'yet I loved--but Jacob I've loved and Esau I've hated, and I laidwaste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness.'" It's talking about a judgment that fell on the descendants of Esau. Not so much the individuals, but their nations.
Jean: You know, I think we have some good evidence, Pastor Doug, that Esau actually--if you read about the death of Isaac and you have Jacob and Esau actually coming together to bury their father. So it appears as though there was reconciliation at least between the two of them. Esau could very well at the end of his life have returned to the God of his father, could have been a worshiper of the true God. But, again, we're not talking about individuals here, we're talking about the nations that's represented. Next caller that we have is Bradley listening in Missouri. Bradley, welcome to the program.
Bradley: Good evening, pastors. Thank you for taking my call. My question tonight is on Revelation 14, verse 10 and 11. And I see a lot of verses in the Bible that teach against eternal hellfire, but I'm actually confused with the phrase in Revelation 14 where it says the ones that take the mark have no rest day nor night. So my question is, if the wicked after being destroyed are sleeping, I guess, what does it mean when it says they are not resting day nor night?
Doug: Yeah, well, for one thing one of the big battles in the last days is whether or not we're going to be serving God or serving the Pharaoh. You remember what the Pharaoh said to Moses? He said, "Let my people go, that they might worship God." And Pharaoh said, "I'm not going to let them. You're not working hard enough. Don't give them any straw anymore that they may not think about worshiping God." And Pharaoh said to Moses, "You are causing the people to Shabbat." Pharaoh said, "You're causing them to rest. Those that worship the beast have no rest." Jesus said, "Come unto me. I will give you rest." So the--and Hebrews it says, "They will enter into My rest." The rest here isn't talking about like, you know, not perspiring because you're digging a ditch, it's talking about they have no peace, no rest who worship the beast.
Jean: There's also judgment that's portrayed in this passage. So on the one hand there's rest--a lack of rest now for the unbeliever, but there is a day of judgment, the Bible is quite clear, and in that day of judgment the Bible says everyone shall be rewarded according to his works. Revelation chapter 20 talks about the lake of fire. And if every person is to be rewarded according to their works, not everyone's going to suffer the same. In other words, some will die almost instantaneously. Others might suffer a little longer. The devil probably will suffer the longest, and it appears at least a day and a night he will suffer. It won't be eternal. There won't be any--you know, he will ultimately be consumed because the Bible says that the wicked become ashes and the devils turn to ashes on the earth. But there are penalties, there are judgments that will come on the wicked. And when it says, just to add to that, the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever and they have no rest day, those who worship the image. When it says the smoke of their torment ascend forever, it's not saying that they're going to be tormented forever but the consequence of that judgment, of that fire is forever and ever. Those are destroyed in the hellfire at the end of the 1,000 years. There is no resurrection that comes out of that. They are eternally lost. And so the consequences of their judgment is forever and ever. So the smoke's forever, not the fire, and that's just an idiomatic expression that we find there in the book of Revelation. All right, next caller that we have is Hector listening from Florida. Hector, welcome to the program.
Hector: Thank you. Good evening, everybody.
Doug: Evening.
Hector: My question concern two verses that I have in front of me. One taken from John 14, verse 2 to 3. He's talking about, "My Father's house have many mansions." And we got Isaiah 65, verse 21 and 22. As Jesus preparing house--in his Father's house has many mansions for us and he went there to prepare a place for us, while Isaiah 65 we have to build houses and inhabit them and we shall plant vineyards and eat the fruits of them and verse 22, contrary what he's saying, and they shall not build, and another inhabit. What can you explain about this?
Doug: Good question. Well, first of all, you're going to have more than one house. Jesus says that he's preparing a place in the New Jerusalem. That's what comes down from God out of heaven, and then we will go forth--you read in Malachi chapter 4 we're going to go forth from the New Jerusalem, and it says we will--you know, God is going to create a new heavens and a new earth. The whole planet is going to be available for inhabiting. The Garden of Eden that was created and planted by God--before the flood, we assume that God took the garden up, the tree of life. It's all in the New Jerusalem. It's the Garden of Eden, Central Park of the New Jerusalem. But we're not all just going to live in the city with this beautiful world God's created. They're going to go forth from the New Jerusalem, and we will have our own country estates and we're going to build houses on them and we will plant vineyards. See, God made Adam and Eve to be horticulturists, to plant and to build and to develop. God made men to create and do stuff. We're not going to just sit there on clouds and play harps in the New Jerusalem.
Jean: So basically, Pastor Doug, you're saying everyone will have two houses. You got your city house. You got your country house. You got a house--a mansion in the New Jerusalem and then you have a place that you get to design and build, and you can buy whatever you want for your house and put it on your Father's account. He'll cover it. All right. Thank you, Hector. Next caller is Don from Oklahoma. Don, welcome to the program.
Don: Hi, yeah. My question is in Matthew 7, verse 22. Those will come to Jesus and say, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name and done-- cast out devils in your name?" And so on. And, of course, his response is, "I never knew you." So my question is, if they didn't know him, how are they performing these miracles in his name?
Doug: Well, you could ask the question, is it possible for a person who isn't converted to be casting out devils? You have the example in the Bible where Jesus--I'm sorry. Judas followed Jesus and Jesus sent out the 12 apostles and they came back and said, "Even the demons are subject unto us." And the apostles were really confused one day. You read this in Mark chapter 9. They could not cast out a devil and they said, "What's the problem? We usually cast them out. We couldn't cast this one out." But Judas was in that group, and he was evidently casting out devils. And, you know, there's something about the power of the Word and the power of the Lord. Sometimes God can even speak through a donkey if He wants to. So you can have someone, they're not totally converted. They can preach and the power of the Word can still convert people and the devils can be cast out of that person's life because the power is in the Word and the person themselves may not even be converted.
Jean: That's right, Pastor Doug. I mean, you look at people in the Bible. You have Saul--King Saul who was filled with the Spirit at the beginning, even prophesied, and yet we find him at the end of his life totally turning against God. So God can use people, and the power is in the Word. Just because somebody does a miracle, it doesn't always mean that they're always going to be doing what's right.
Doug: So these are people that they were going through the religious motions, even seeing some fruit, but they weren't surrendered. Thanks. Good question.
Jean: We got Isaac listening from New York. Isaac, welcome to the program.
Isaac: Yes, Pastor Batchelor. My name is Isaac. I'm 14 years old, and I would like to know if there would be any electronics in heaven, or lamps or anything like that. Thank you.
Doug: All right. Yeah, good question. Well, you can read in Revelation it says that in the New Jerusalem there's no need of the sun for the Lord God, He lights the city. So the whole city is illuminated with a light that comes from God's presence. You know, God is brighter than the sun. Jesus is referred to as the sun of righteousness. So I don't think we're going to need a nuclear power plant to give us electricity in the new earth. The glory of God is going to light things. Now, does that mean that as time goes by there'll be no science where we're going to be using any kind of invention or power, maybe even electric power? I don't know, you know. God created all these interesting physics and things and, you know, we might have some creative uses for those in the new earth or even on other worlds. So it's hard to say. I don't picture we're going to have electronic devices like we do now, but there may be some use of electricity at some point in the future. I don't know.
Jean: And if you think about it like you say, Pastor Doug, electronics is really just an outcropping of studying the natural laws of nature and figuring out how to harness those powers. In the universe to come and the earth made new, I'm sure there's going to be people interested in trying to figure out why things work the way they work. There will still be science. There will still be discovery. There'll still be learning. I don't know if we'll need to create, you know, the network like the web--World Wide Web. We don't need that in heaven.
Doug: The Cosmic Web.
Jean: That's right. But it is interesting, we'll be learning. The Bible says eye has not seen, ear heard, neither entered into the heart of man the things that God is preparing for those that love Him. Thanks for your call. We got Eron listening in New York. Eron, you're on the air.
Eron: Good evening, pastors. I like to know the meaning of John chapter 11, verse 16. A few verses before it, Jesus was explaining to his disciples that Lazarus was dead. In the--in verse 16, Thomas said something that doesn't make sense to me. Can you explain it?
Doug: Yeah, well, Jesus is in--he's up in the northern part of the country around Galilee. He's around the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was born in Nazareth, which was central Israel up in the north. The headquarters was around Jerusalem. The religious leaders down there and the priests, they wanted Jesus dead because the crowds were following him. Jesus had called them hypocrites. And when Jesus said, "I'm going back to Bethany," which is in southern Israel right--Bethany is not far from Jerusalem, Thomas, who is sometimes a little bit negative, he said, "Well, we love him. Let's go, and we'll die with him. He's going to get killed down there, but we'll go die with him." And so that's why he's saying that because Jesus in order to resurrect Lazarus he had to go back down to where the hotbed of his enemies were. Does that make sense?
Eron: Yes. Thanks.
Doug: Okay. Thank you so much, Eron. Appreciate your call and your question.
Jean: Next caller that we have is Jim listening in Indiana. Jim, welcome to the program.
Jim: Yes. Thank you. Good to talk to you both again.
Doug: Thank you.
Jim: I was wondering in Revelations 16 and 17, but in 17 it says the ten horns--verse 16, "The ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire." Now, is--does that there coincide with 15-- or 16:21, and there fell upon men—
Doug: Were you talking about does Revelation 17 where it talks about the ten horns, does that coincide with Revelation 16? I'm not sure what you're asking.
Jim: You know, when it--yeah, when it talks about, "And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, and every stone about the weight of a talent and men blaspheme." Does the city get burned by Jesus when he comes or—
Doug: Yeah, the--in Revelation 16 you've got in the last plague it talks about this great hail that falls upon men, and this is the seventh plague. It's all synonymous with the second coming of Jesus. The last plague is the Lord comes and, you know, there's a great earthquake and a great hail plague. Then you read in chapter 17--and keep in mind Revelation often backs up and gives more detail. You can read in chapter 17 about the fall of Babylon and all these plagues that seem to fall on Babylon, but the ten horns specifically are the ten divisions of the Roman Empire that had grown into the nations of Europe that ended up becoming the economic powerhouse of the world and that where the seed of the beast is. So you almost need to better understand the ten horns. You need to read our lesson on who is the Antichrist.
Jean: That's right. Just to add to that a little bit, when it talks about the ten horns, it says they're ten kings. A king represents a kingdom. So there appears, according to Revelation 17, that there is a coalition of kingdoms supporting the beast power described as Babylon in Revelation 17. But when they realize that they've been deceived, this is just before the second coming of Christ, they actually turn against this power. So those powers--those political powers that once supported this political religious power ends up turning against it. And then of course you have the hail, you have the second coming of Christ. So it's right near the end. The parallel of that is the drying up of the River Euphrates where the support that came to symbolic Babylon is withdrawn. Those powers withdraw their support. Okay. We have Andre listening in Colorado. Andre, welcome to the program.
Andre: Yes. Thank you, pastors. You all can hear me?
Doug: Yes. Thank you for calling.
Andre: Yes. So my question is--this one has been confusing me for quite some years actually, and it's in the topic of divorce and remarriage. And my question is in regards to--in the situation of a divorce where adultery took place. And can the person who's in the wrong be remarried after that? After--is there a time of, you know, repentance that can take place and then that person can get remarried? And the confusion is, is that person not supposed to be married for the rest of their life or can they be remarried eventually with true repentance? And of course with, for example, David and Bathsheba, wasn't he married and then he committed adultery and then he did what he did with Bathsheba but he eventually married her? So can you please explain that, please?
Doug: Yes, well, what you're saying is true. David basically he killed Bathsheba's husband. He did it at the hands of other soldiers and then he took her to be his wife, and Nathan the prophet confronted him and said, "Because of what you've done, the sword will never depart from your house and you--because you did this thing you will lose four of your sons," which ended up happening. He lost the baby, lost Absalom, lost Adonijah, and lost Amnon. And so you can say, yeah, God did forgive David and Bathsheba ended up becoming his wife, and God knows you can't, you know, unscramble scrambled eggs. I guess God can do anything. He can do that, too. But, you know, typically once you get into these divorce and remarriage things, God sort of meets us where we're at. When Jesus met the woman at the well, of course she was a pagan and didn't know any better. She'd had five husbands and was living with a man she's not married to. Well, he still revealed he was the Messiah and we believe He saved her because she goes out right away telling everyone else. So--but biblically, you know, there's no grounds for divorce and remarriage unless the other partner has committed adultery. Jesus said--otherwise, as soon as you start making loopholes, everybody starts trying to make the loopholes bigger. Marriage is--it's interesting Pastor Ross and I just came from a marriage, very sacred covenant. If you're watching our television broadcast, you see we're dressed up a little more than usual because we walked over from the marriage here. It's a sacred covenant. It's supposed to be till death do you part. Now, when there is divorce and sometimes people get divorced and remarried and they don't have biblical grounds, are we saying that's the unpardonable sin? No. The Bible says something else is the unpardonable sin. But I recommend you talk to a pastor. Sometimes there's a lot of more intimate details connected with divorce and grounds for divorce than--you don't want radio pastors giving you life advice on that. You probably get someone local.
Jean: You know, we do have a book, Pastor Doug, that gives some good biblical principles called "Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage." And we'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and ask. It's 800-835-6747. Just ask of the book. It's called "Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage." We'll be happy to send it to you if you're in Canada or the US. If you're outside of North America, just go to the website AmazingFacts.org. We've got Jeffrey listening in Texas. Jeffrey, welcome to the program.
Jeffrey: Hey, I had a question coming out of 1 Corinthians 14 and 2 where it talks about the unknown tongue. I wanted to get you guys's interpretation on that word unknown tongues. Sorry.
Doug: Yeah. Yeah. So in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, Paul goes into a length explaining about tongues. Now, the word tongues simply means language. Every time here in 1 Corinthians where you read the word tongue, just insert the word language. When they were speaking in their services in the Corinthian churches, they had slaves from all over the Roman Empire. They spoke many languages. Their services were becoming confusing. People were praying in public in languages no one else understood. Paul said, "If you're going to pray in a tongue--" And when he says unknown tongue, he means unknown to the majority there. "If you're praying in a tongue that is unknown to the others there, you should have an interpreter." Paul says, "If not, pray to yourself."
And you can read, for instance, in verse 7 he says, "Even things without life, whether a flute or a harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played?" You know, when you play music, if you give it to a child, they just start playing gibberish on the piano, you don't know what the song is. It needs to be order and distinction for you to recognize the song. It says so it is--and he goes on and says, "If the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who can prepare for the battle?" Trumpets used to give very specific sounds. He said, "In the same way there are many languages in the world and none of them is without significance. Therefore, if I don't know the meaning of the language," and I'm in verse 11 now, "I'll be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he will be a foreigner to me." So, you know, we--he's basically saying speak in the languages now--and you read in verse 13, "Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he might interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my understanding is unfruitful," meaning people listening, it's--they don't understand what I'm saying. My praying is unfruitful to them.
So the summary of it is whether you're preaching or praying in public, do it in a language that people listening understand, or have an interpreter, a translator, or don't speak. Now, we have a book on this, and I really hope you'll request this. It's called "Understanding Tongues." It's a book that deals specifically with the subject of tongues. I know in a lot of churches people kind of break out speaking in tongues and it sounds like babbling or gibberish and folks are wondering, "What are they saying?" They say it's a heavenly prayer language, but there's no example of Jesus doing this or Paul. The only time they spoke in tongues was in Acts chapter 2, Acts 10, and Acts 19. And there are several language groups present. Purpose for a tongue is to communicate thought, and the idea of us just babbling in a language we don't even understand is not biblical. So if you want to find out what the Bible really says on this, and it's a pretty compelling book, it's not a big book, just ask for the book "Understanding Tongues."
Now, listening friends, we're going to be taking off in just a minute. As you know, if you've been listening for a while, this program goes all across the country and other parts of the world and we kind of sign off in two stages because some are listening via satellite, which is on a different schedule from the land-based stations. So in a moment we're going to say farewell to those who are listening by satellite, and then we're going to come back and we're going to answer some rapid fire Bible questions. And two things, Pastor Ross. One is, how does a person get the book "Unknown Tongues?" And the other is, how do they send in their questions?
Jean: Okay, to get the book, just call 800-835-6747. That is our resource phone line. Ask for the book. It's called "Understanding Tongues." We'll be happy to send it to you if you're in Canada or in North America. And if you'd like to email us your Bible question, we'll include it in our program, just simply send an email to BALquestions@amazingfacts.org, BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. And we'll be back in just a few moments with some email questions.
Announcer: Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. "Bible Answers Live" is produced by Amazing Facts International, a faith-based ministry located in Granite Bay, California.
Jean: Hello, friends. Welcome back for our email questions or the texting questions that have come in. Pastor Doug, we have several good ones this evening. Question number one, "Are the seven last plagues literal or figurative?"
Doug: Well, both. We believe that they're real because you read in Revelation when it talks in chapter 15, 16 about the seven last plagues, many of them are similar to the plagues that fell on ancient Egypt, which were very real. There were ten plagues that fell on Egypt as a prelude to their deliverance and the journey to the Promised Land. The children of Israel were protected from the last seven of those ten plagues. So in Revelation when it says there are seven plagues God protects us through those seven last plagues, but they are very real plagues that prelude our deliverance from this world and beginning a journey to God's promised land. Now, there may be some spiritual applications to some of the plagues like the darkness on the seat of the beast, probably literal darkness, but it means they're also living in darkness.
Jean: All right, next question that we have, it says, "When Jesus says He baptizes with fire, what does it mean?"
Doug: The Holy Spirit because John the Baptist says that He that comes after you will baptize you in fire in the Spirit. He makes it clear what that--and then you look in Acts chapter 2. When the Holy Spirit fell on the apostles, it says it came like tongues of fire. The children of Israel when they came out of Egypt they went through the Red Sea, baptized in water, then they were baptized in a pillar of fire that God used to protect them. We need both baptisms.
Jean: "Did Jesus die on Wednesday if the Bible says He was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth?"
Doug: No. The only reason people try to move the crucifixion to a Wednesday is they misunderstand Matthew chapter 12 where Jesus said, "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, so the Son of Man will be--" Rather "Jonah three days, three nights in the belly of the fish, so the Son of Man will be three days, three nights in the heart of the earth." The three days of Jesus begins with His suffering and His surrender in the Garden of Gethsemane. So it's talking about Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night He was suffering for the sins of the world. That's including the suffering, the death, and the tomb. He rose Sunday morning. So you don't need to move the crucifixion to Wednesday. By the way, we do have a book that talks about that three days and three nights, and it's called "The Sign of Jonah."
Jean: That's right. If you'd like to receive the book, just call 800-835-6747. Pastor Doug, one more. "Where in the Bible does it say, 'God helps those who help themselves?'"
Doug: Doesn't say that in the Bible. That was Benjamin Franklin. Hey, listening friends, we're going to learn more next week. Tune in, tell your friends, and go to AmazingFacts.org. God bless.
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