Announcer: It is the best-selling book in history. No volume ever written has been more loved and quoted, and its words, sometimes simple and sometimes mysterious, should always be studied carefully. It is the Bible, the Word of God. Welcome to "Bible Answers Live," providing accurate and practical answers to all your Bible questions. This broadcast is a previously-recorded episode. To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this broadcast, call 800-835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747. Now here's your host from Amazing Facts International, Pastor Doug Batchelor.
Doug Batchelor: Hello, listening friends. Would you like to hear an amazing fact? Peregrine falcons are among the most amazing raptors that can be found all around the world. Scientists estimate that the falcon's vision is eight times better than a human's. This allows the birds to spot small prey from nearly 2 miles away then swoop down with precision to catch it. They're monogamous birds that mate for life, which is about 20 years, and they migrate over 15,000 miles a year to their nesting grounds. The peregrine falcon is not only the fastest bird, but it's the fastest animal in the world. When diving for prey, they can reach speeds of up to 240 miles an hour. Now, just for perspective, the fastest that a professional baseball player can pitch is less than half of that, 106 miles an hour. At these times when a peregrine falcon is diving, the air entering its nose would normally cause its lungs to explode, but the bony tubercles in its nares safely regulate the stream of air. It was by using this knowledge that jet turbine engineers solved the air in-deck problem--intake problems in jet engines and created a similar system. The Bible asks in the book of Job chapter 39, verse 26, "Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, and spread out its wings towards the south?" You know, it's amazing, Pastor Ross, how many of these creatures that God has made have just such unique engineering. The idea that that could all happen by accident is really absurd.
Jean Ross: That's right, Pastor Doug. You know, the amazing thing is that there are so many things that we use today in our modern society--for example, you mentioned jet engines, how they learn from the birds. And so there are so many things from nature, the things that God created that we can learn and that we have used. I'm thinking, for example, the dragonfly and the helicopter. And there's just so many similarities and things that have been learned from nature. And when you look at the wonders of creation, it testifies of a mighty creator and a God that cares, a God that is concerned even about the smallest creatures that He makes.
Doug: Yep. There's a wonderful verse in the book of Job chapter 12, verse 7: "But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?" It's so clear from the things that God has made that there is a designer, and maybe our listeners out there would like to know more about this powerful God and His infinite wisdom that has designed these incredible symbiotic relationships between all of His creatures and just engineering of these animals that can run and fly so fast.
Jean: Yes, we have a book, and the book is called "Amazing Wonders of Creation." And this is free, friends. We'll be happy to send this to anyone in North America, in the US and Canada. All you have to do is call. The number is 800-835-6747 and ask for the book. It's called "Amazing Wonders of Creation." You can also text by just #250, say "Bible Answers Live," and then ask for the free offer "Amazing Wonders of Creation." You'll be able to get it that way as well. We also want to greet those who are listening. We do have some phone lines open. So if you'd like to call in with your Bible question, the number is 800-GOD-SAYS. That's 800-463-7297. That'll bring you right here into the studio, and you can ask your Bible question on line.
You know, Pastor Doug, before we go to the phones, we just want to greet our friends who are listening, as they say, down under. We were just recently in Australia and New Zealand and a number of folks came up and said, "Well, we listen to 'Bible Answers Live.'" Now, of course, it's not 7 p.m. their time, but it's of course--I think it's the middle of the day if—
Doug: New Zealand would be about 3 hours earlier, and East Coast would be about 6 hours earlier.
Jean: That's right, so we know folks are out there listening, so we want to greet all of you. We had a wonderful series of meetings in Melbourne, Brisbane, and then also in Auckland. So if you have a Bible question, you can go ahead and call as well and we'll try and get your question on the program. Our first caller this evening is Gary listening in Illinois. Gary, welcome to the program.
Gary: Thank you. My question is with the church there's no emphasis with environmentalism, even though in the Bible Genesis 1:28 says that God gives dominion of the planet to Adam and Eve. I take that to mean we're to be good stewards of the planet. And then in Revelation 11:18 God says, "I will destroy those who destroy the earth." And so with that--I mean, climate change events are overwhelming. You know, we got to give our children and grandchildren a chance to be saved.
Doug: That's a great question, Gary. You know, it's interesting you would ask that because just today I was listening to a biblical message on that very subject. It's interesting how the Lord arranges those things. And I think the Christian needs to have a balanced approach. According to Jesus, when you talk about the value of creatures, humans are infinitely more valuable than sheep. You know, Jesus said, "Are you not worth more than many sheep, or are you not worth more than many sparrows?" But the animals do have value. When God created the world, He creates this beautiful environment for the crowning act of His creation, which are these creatures that are made in His image, humans. And it's not a sin for people to use resources that God has made, but clearly God said that man was to dress and to keep the garden. That actually has the idea of cultivate. That means you increase organization and design to something that normally was, you know, just going wild and--so man, he needs to be a good steward of the environment, but it's not a sin to use resources in the environment and a Christian should have a good balanced view on that. And I'd agree, Gary. I think sometimes we have two extremes in the church. One extreme is saying that, "Well, the earth is for us to use and there's no responsibility." Then the other extreme is saying that we're supposed to, you know, treat whales like they're worth as much as humans and trees like they're worth as much as people and--which they're not, you know. So we need to understand the value. And God gave dominion of the world to Adam and Eve, our first parents, but we should be good stewards of that environment.
Jean: You know, Pastor Doug, it's interesting when you see a group of Christians--we've traveled before. We've been to different countries where there's a lot of garbage around and things aren't being well kept and maintained. But when you find a group of Christians in their homes, in their dwellings, things are typically neater and cleaner than just general society. So being a Christian, there is a degree of stewardship. You want to take care of the things, your personal belongings, your home, but even the environment that God has given you. So there's a good principle there. The next caller that we have is Junith listening in Nevada. Junith, welcome to the program.
Junith: Yes, I have a question. There are two Adams in the Bible, and the first Adam has a very crystal clear of having Eve number one. What about Eve number two? Who is the Eve number two of Adam number two? Is it the bride? Is it the church? It does not really clear me up as to what the Bible said.
Doug: Yeah, good question. And if you read in Romans chapter 5, Paul goes into a discourse where he talks about, you know, we all struggle with sin because of the mistake of the first Adam. Adam was a son of God made in God's image and--but because of Jesus who is a type--I guess the first Adam is a type of Christ. He is the second Adam. Because of his victory, we can have victory. We are reborn. And so you're saying, well, what would the type for Eve be? Well, it's interesting that when Adam went to sleep on the sixth day, God opened his side and out came a wife, you might say. You know, He took a rib and He made a wife for Adam. Jesus on the sixth day of the week he died on the cross. He went to sleep and God opened his side--or the Roman spear opened his side and in the blood and water the church was born, the bride of Christ. You know, often with a human birth there's blood and water. And so it's a symbol of there's a new birth to the church. So the church is the bride of Christ. The Bible does tell us, "Husbands, love your wives even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her." So, Junith, I think that would probably be the best equal analogy. If Jesus is a symbol for the second Adam, then the church would be a symbol for Eve.
Jean: You know, we have a study guide called "The Bride of Christ." It talks about the church and the great price that Christ has paid for his people. We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. The number, again, is 800-835-6747. You can also dial #250 on your cell phone and say "Bible Answers Live," ask for the free gift. It's called "The Bride of Christ." And we'll be happy to send it out. For those listening outside of North America, we're unable to mail you the free gift, but you can go to the Amazing Facts website, just AmazingFacts.org, and you'll be able to read it there as well. We got Anthony in New York. Anthony, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."
Anthony: Yes. Good evening, pastors.
Doug: Evening.
Anthony: My question is based on the book of Ruth chapter 3, and in verse 9 it says he asks, "Who art thou?" And she says, "I am Ruth thine handmaid. Spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman." So my wife and I were wondering, would this be considered an ancient day form of Ruth proposing to Boaz?
Doug: Yeah, well, basically she's saying, "I am available. And the way that you could redeem the property of your kinsman, Elimelech, is by marrying me." And he was unmarried as far as everything we see in the text at that time, and there are some customs that I think we need to understand that aren't totally clear. You know, traditions and customs about marriage, they change a little bit from culture to culture and even over time. And so by his spreading his garment over her, there's, I think, another allusion to that when God says he married Israel. He said, "I spread my garment over you." And it basically is like a proposal. And so she was saying, you know, "If you would take me as your wife, you could redeem me." Now, this might seem a little forward to us. You can read a verse in Isaiah chapter 4, verse 1 where it says in that day seven women will take hold of one man saying, "We'll eat our own bread. We'll wear our own apparel. Only let us be called by your name to take away our reproach." It was often true because of wars back then that sometimes there were several women for every man. That's why God often winked at a man having more than one wife because some of these women had no protection or provision unless they had a husband. And so it wasn't that uncommon. It says those women took hold of one man saying, "Marry us. We'll even provide for ourselves. Just marry us. We need a name." And--so Ruth was saying, you know, "My husband died." Her sister-in-law's husband died. Elimelech her father-in-law had died. And the only way for them to get their property back was through marriage, and Boaz was the near kinsman who had that right. So that was the ritual for doing that, and he actually said, "Wait until morning. There's someone else who's first in line. If they turn down that right, then I'll marry you."
Jean: All right, next caller that we have is Bill listening in Canada. Bill, you're on the air.
Bill: Yes. Good evening, pastors. Thank you for taking my call. My question this evening is as a Sabbath-keeping, commandment-keeping disciple of Jesus I'm really curious and I have a great number of other brethren of mine that are curious as to this as well. And that question is, why are so many churches today not preaching the third angel's message?
Doug: Yeah, well, I would think that the devil would be threatened by people preaching the truth, and that would be the first reason. And when--our listeners are wondering, "What do you mean by the third angel's message?" Just before Jesus comes--you read in Revelation 14 this vision of Christ coming in the clouds, one like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. There are three prominent messages that go to the world preparing the world for the return of Christ. And Bill is asking, why are churches neglecting to preach those messages? Matter of fact, Amazing Facts just completed a magazine. It's actually moving pretty quickly. A magazine talking about the three angels messages, and I think we can give those away if someone calls and asks for one.
Jean: We also have a study guide that talks about that. So if you'd like to learn more about God's last-warning message, it's a very important subject, you can call and ask. It's "Angel Messages from Space." That's what the study guide is called, and the number is 800-835-6747. And, again, just ask for "Angel Messages from Space." As Pastor Doug mentioned, we also have a magazine. So you can ask about that as well. And if you have your cell phone, just dial #250 and say "'Bible Answers Live,' I'd like the three angels brochure," or "Angel Messages from Space" is the name. Thank you for your call. We're going to try Brittany again in California and see if she's by her phone. Brittany, welcome to the program.
Brittany: Hey.
Doug: All right. Hey, we reached you. And your question tonight?
Brittany: Yeah, my question is, is necromancy considered one of the unpardonable sins? Like how is a person supposed to deal with it? Doug: Yeah. All right. For our friends listening, necromancy is another term for being a medium trying to consult with the dead, and this is strictly forbidden in the Word of God in a number of passages. I think Revelation mentions it, Paul mentions it, Moses mentions it. And King Saul in the book of Samuel, King Saul tried to consult the dead, and he committed suicide the next day. It is not called the unpardonable sin because I think even King Manasseh engaged in all kinds of witchcraft and occult behavior, and he was forgiven and converted. And the Bible doesn't say there are different kinds of unpardonable sins, I think it specifies there is one unpardonable sin. Jesus said, "All manner of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven for the children of men, but there is a sin that will not be forgiven and that is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit." Now, if a person wants to know what is that, we have a book that we'll send you a free copy. "What is the Unpardonable Sin?" And it explains that. A lot of people call us, Pastor Ross. They say, "I'm worried. I've made the same mistake so many times. Have I grieved away the Holy Spirit? Have I committed the unpardonable sin?" And, of course, we're not God. We can't look into anyone's life or heart, but most of the time people concerned about committing the unpardonable sin are not--have not because they're convicted and they're wanting forgiveness.
Jean: Amen. You know, the verse you're referring to, Pastor Doug, Matthew chapter 12, verse 31 talks about every sin being forgiven except the unpardonable sin. So if you'd like to learn more about that, the number, again, is 800-835-6747, and you can ask for the book. It's called "What is the Unpardonable Sin?" We'll be happy to send it to you. Again, dial #250 on your cell phone and say "Bible Answers Live," ask for "The Unpardonable Sin."
Doug: We also have that book that talks about does God inspire psychics and astrologists if they want to know what necromancy is and those things.
Jean: That's right. That's also a good one. You can ask for that as well. "Does God Inspire Astrologists and Psychics?" That's the name of that study guide. Well, we have somebody listening from Australia. We got Joan. Joan, welcome to the program.
Joan: Yeah, thank you. I got a question. When God said to the snake, Satan, "On your belly you shall crawl," was He talking to the snake or has He taken Satan's form of transportation away on the earth?
Doug: That's an interesting question. Well, I think it--first of all, it was talking about the serpent because we know that serpents do typically crawl. There are a couple of serpents that swim, and there are some that actually can glide briefly through the air, which is fascinating. But it's believed that before the serpent was cursed that it could fly. Now, we know from the fossil record there are certain--there were winged reptiles. So it shouldn't surprise us that the serpent could also fly at one point, and it would have been very hypnotic in doing that. But it is an interesting proposition that in some respects Satan was restricted to this earth. He was grounded, you might say, to some extent after sin. And the idea of, "You will go on your belly," you can't get any lower than your belly. And what the devil was doing in rebellion against God and bringing death to this planet was about as low as you can get.
Jean: And, of course, we're not talking literally here. I mean, the Bible tells us the devil can appear as an angel of light, so, you know—
Doug: Right. He didn't turn into a serpent. Jean: Exactly. He's not going around on his tummy, but I think there's a symbolic application there that we can clearly see. Good question. We've got David listening in California. David, you're on "Bible Answers Live."
David: Hi, pastors. On November 6th through the 18th, the pope and world church leaders gathered to unite--to rewrite God's Ten Commandments on November 13th. I was wondering would this be abomination of desolation spoken by Jesus--or Daniel in Matthew 24:15?
Doug: Yeah, you know, I saw that report and I was very intrigued by it, and I looked into it, and I found out that it wasn't really the pope that was trying to rewrite the commandments. And I think you're talking about when they were wanting to rewrite the commandments from an environmental point of view. There was a group of some religious leaders, and one of them was from the Vatican, and they were coming up with a proposition of ten commandments about preserving the environment. And so they wrote that up. It was not adopted by the Catholic Church or any group that I know of. It was a kind of proposal, and the papers had fun spinning it around. But I looked right into that, just thought, "Wow," the way it was put forward is like they're redoing the Ten Commandments, but they were just saying, "We want to have ten commandments on the environment," and small group, nothing official was ever voted, but it is fascinating. I wouldn't be surprised. Matter of fact, the beast power has already tried to change God's time in law.
Jean: He already has. Yeah, absolutely. All right, thank you for your call. We've got John listening in Kansas. John, welcome to the program.
John: Good evening, pastors. I find it easier to understand the stories of the Bible when I read it chronologically. And from about the time of Abraham until the time of Esther there's some type of activity going on during each one of those centuries, but then from about the 5th century BC there's a big time lapse between there until we get to the birth of John the Baptist and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Can you tell me why there is such a void there? Was there nothing inspired going on?
Doug: Yeah, good question. Well, there was a number of things happening historically. This is a time of Greek dominion and some terrible Greek oppression. There are some historical books. I don't believe they're part of the Bible but some Bibles include them, about the Maccabees. And you can read about Jonathan Maccabee and his sons that fought against Antiochus Epiphanies and the Greeks. And so there were things happening, but it is interesting that there was no prophet that was speaking with inspiration between the time of Malachi and, you know, Mark's Gospel. Mark was probably written before Matthew. So between that period of time it seemed like the inspiration was silent, but that shouldn't shock you because there were other periods where there were hundreds of years and no prophet. Though, you know, some history is given, there's almost a continual history that's given from Genesis, you know, through Abraham all the way to Malachi. Then they're carried to Babylon. They get to come back. And during the time of the Greek supremacy, there was a kind of lukewarm period.
Jean: Yeah, it is interesting, Pastor Doug, you have times in Bible history in the Old Testament where there's a flurry of prophetic activity, you might say. There's not just one prophet, there's multiple prophets at the same time. And, of course, we see that in the story of the 70 years of Babylonian captivity. You have Jeremiah and then, of course, when they come back Ezra, Nehemiah. Daniel, of course, he wrote--so just some amazing and important prophecy. Ezekiel around that same time. But then as you say--as the nation began to start implementing their traditions and place their traditions above the commandments of God, there almost seems to be a lacking of that prophetic gift. And of course we also see that even in the Christian era when the church set aside God's commandments, there was a void of the Spirit in the prophetic sense. So some parallels there.
Doug: You know, and one more thing I'll just mention on that, John, is that you look at the story of Gideon, this always amazes me, Gideon asks the angels, "Whatever happened to all the miracles we heard about?" There was a spell of what seemed like silence to Gideon. For a couple of generations he thought, "Where's-- you know, where's the Lord in all this?" And, of course, God was getting ready to do great things again. So there were quiet spells even before Malachi. Thanks, John. Good question.
Jean: All right. Next caller that we have is Shawn listening in Illinois. Shawn, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."
Shawn: Good evening, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross. Thank you for taking my call. I'm calling with a question concerning the seventh-day Sabbath. I was speaking with a friend and I was asking them how come they didn't keep the seventh-day Sabbath, and they said in order to keep the Sabbath fully you had to observe all the feast days. And my question is, is that correct?
Doug: No, it's not correct. You can't make a parallel between the Sabbath of the Ten Commandments and the Jewish feast. Let me tell you why very quickly. They're different. They're given differently. The Sabbath of the Ten Commandments appears before there's even sin. You have it in Genesis chapter 2. On the seventh day, God rests. Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man, not for Jews, but for mankind. The word he uses is anthropos. That's where you get anthropology. Sabbath was made for humanity back before there was a Jew. It's part of the Ten Commandments written on stone. The ceremonial Sabbaths and laws and feasts are written on paper. They don't appear until after the exodus, and they go till the time of Christ when Jesus dies and the veil is ripped and they meet their fulfillment. But the Sabbath is a weekly time of gathering together and worshiping God and studying His Word that goes all the way back to creation, and it says in Isaiah it will be kept even in heaven, that from one Sabbath to another all flesh will come together to worship before the Lord. So they are two totally different categories, and one is one of the Ten Commandments spoken by God, written in stone. The others were part of the ceremonial law that was of a passing nature.
Jean: And the Bible refers to those ceremonial laws as a shadow, but the substance is Christ. For example, the sacrificing of lambs, it was a type. We don't sacrifice lambs anymore because the Lamb of God was slain, Jesus gave his life—
Doug: Yeah, but do we still need physical rest, and do we still need a time of worship? Yeah, the purpose of the Sabbath has not changed at all. So more so now than ever, I suppose.
Jean: Yeah. You know, we have a study guide that talks about that, and we'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls and asks. It's called "The Lost Day of History," and we'll be happy to send that out. The number is 800-835-6747. Ask for the study guide. It's called "The Lost Day in History." You can also dial #250 on your cell phone, say "Bible Answers Live," and then ask for the study guide called "The Lost Day of History" and we'll be happy to send it to you. Let's see, I think we have time for one more. We got Hector listening in Florida. Hector, welcome to the program.
Hector: Thank you. Good evening, pastors.
Doug: Evening.
Hector: Okay, my question will be on second resurrection of-- second coming of Christ. We know the people--the wicked people that will be alive will get slain by the brightness of Christ. Now, what about the second resurrection now? Are those people going to take part of the second resurrection as well?
Doug: Yeah, good question. Yeah, you can--you read in the Bible that the wicked are destroyed by the brightness of his coming and a person might think, "Well, then are they going to get raised and judged and destroyed again?" Yes, unfortunately. You could say the same thing about those who are killed by the flood. Do they get raised and punished again? Yes. A lot of people have died in terrible ways, but everybody--it says we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. So all the wicked are going to be raised and they're going to stand before that great white throne judgment when the books are opened, and we want everyone to be ready for that day. That's why you want to come back for the second part of this program. Don't go away, friends, we're going to have more Bible questions and answers in just a few moments. We'll be right back with you.
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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 we just want to mention, for those who may have joined us on the way, this is a live international interactive Bible study. In fact, we just had a phone call from Australia. They don't get much further away than that. My name is Doug Batchelor.
Jean: My name is Jean Ross, and we do have phone lines that are open. The number to call is 800-GOD-SAYS. That's 800-463-7297. And if you were watching the little commercial in between, there's also a way that you can send us your email questions. You can just email the question to us, and our email address--we'll give you that in just a few moments, but it's BibleAnswersLivequestions @amazingfacts.org. I think that's what it is, if I remember right. Okay, we're going to go to the next caller that we have, and that is Heather listening from Virginia. Heather, welcome to the program.
Heather: Hi. Good evening, pastors.
Doug: Evening.
Heather: My question this evening is we recently had a revival, "10 Days of Prayer," and the theme of that revival was rebuilding the altars. And we were encouraged to build physical altars in the home where we could have daily worship, and I'm looking for some biblical validation for that.
Doug: Well, you know, biblical altars, they often offered a burnt offering. So I hope you're not going to do that in your living room. The Bible does say that as Abraham went from place to place and he would pitch his tent with all of his household that he would build an altar and that would be for the worship of his family, and he actually had hundreds of people in his household. The Bible tells us he had 300 servants that were trained in war. So it was like a moving city. And so they did have a place of worship outdoors where they would offer lambs. There's nothing wrong with having a place in your home that--where you would gather and pray. Now, that--the word altar now is sort of a symbolic term. You know, we don't really need to have a pile of stones. I think the Hebrew altar had 12 stones and they were rough cut, so, you know, I--nothing wrong with saying, "We're going to gather--" it's sort of a metaphor when you say, "We're going to gather around the family altar." It just really means you're going to get together in the living room, dining table, have worship with the children, when you kneel and pray. You don't need a physical structure to kneel around necessarily. That would more be symbolic.
Jean: That's right. I think--yes, the symbolic application of that is you need a place where you gather to pray and gather to study the Word. That could be your living room. It could be your dining room, wherever it might be.
Doug: Yeah. So in principle it's--every family should have an altar in that they have a corporate worship or a place of prayer. Jesus said you can go into your closet and pray. Don't need the burnt offerings anymore.
Jean: Joshua is listening from Kentucky. Joshua, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." Joshua, are you there?
Doug: You might have your mute on. Joshua, one more time. Kentucky.
Jean: Okay, we're going to come back. We'll go to Susie in California. Susie, welcome to the program. Susie: Hi, pastors. Thank you for taking my call. So sorry I have a scratchy voice. I have a question. Are there prophets walking with us today, and if so, how do we know if they are from God?
Doug: Okay, good question. You know, I just saw this week, Pastor Ross, a pastor, he had a TV program and on the--what we call the lower third in television--that's where you have the title, and it said prophet so and so, and I thought, "He's advertising he's a prophet." Sometimes I know ministers use the word prophet in the form of 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 where it talks about those who prophesy the Word of God. But in the biblical sense of a called prophet that is really speaking more directly for God, there may be some in the world today. I can't personally think of any that--but Jesus does say that, you know, we need to guard against false prophets. Presumably there'll be true prophets. The book of Joel says, "I'll pour out my spirit in the last days in all flesh. Your sons and daughters will dream dreams and prophesy." So there will be gifts of prophecy in the last days. How do you know a true from a false prophet? We have a study guide that goes through the criteria of how we can identify true prophets, and I believe that's the same study guide that talks about astrologists and psychics.
Jean: That's right, all you have to do is call and ask. It's called "Does God Inspire Astrologists and Psychics?" It talks about the true gift of prophecy. What does the Bible say? The number to call is 800-835-6747, or you can dial #250 on your phone, ask for "Does God Inspire Astrologists and Psychics?" And we'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls and asks. Of course, Pastor Doug, one of the identifying marks of a true prophet, they need to prophesy in harmony with the Word of God. But God often communicates through visions and dreams. So one's got to be real careful. If somebody's walking around claiming to have visions, it's got to match the Bible.
Doug: Yeah, that's right. Well, thank you.
Jean: Next caller that we have is Robert listening in Washington, Robert, welcome to the program.
Robert: Good evening.
Doug: Evening.
Robert: I talked to a denomination that likes to think that we were preborn and--I mean, we were spirits before and we'll be spirits after. We don't really die kind of thing. And so this one denomination, they were telling me Job 32:8. There's a spirit in man. And so they want me to believe that there's somebody else living inside me, and then when I die then the other guy takes over and goes to heaven kind of thing.
Doug: Yeah, so are you wondering what does that word mean?
Robert: Yeah, so how can I explain to the people that I try to help that the spirit isn't going to be taking off after I die kind of thing and be hanging out in heaven and enjoying a sauna or whatever kind of thing, you know?
Doug: Yeah, I've never thought about going to heaven taking a sauna, but that might be nice. Anyway, back to the question. The word spirit there in the book of Job chapter 32 and other places in Job is the Hebrew word ruach, and it simply means breath. It's the same word you find in Genesis where it says God breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life and he became a living soul. And Job says later, he says, "All the while the Spirit of God is in me and the breath of God is in my nostrils." The word spirit there simply means the breath of life. It's not another conscious person or a little, you know, ghost inside of anybody.
Jean: And, you know, it's even interesting we have Job here. Job 32, it's written in Hebrew poetry, just the structure. You can actually notice if you have a New King James it's written in that format. So it makes a statement and then it will repeat the statement, and in verse 8--Job 32, verse 8 it says, "But there is a spirit in man." And then he repeats that and says, "And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding." So you connect the spirit and the breath of the Almighty. So spirit and breath are used interchangeably in this verse.
Doug: Yep. So, thank you. Appreciate your question. We do have a study guide that says, "Are the Dead Really Dead?" It talks about the spirit and the breath that you find in both Hebrew and Greek and what those words mean.
Jean: The number to call for that is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the study guide "Are the Dead Really Dead?" We also have a website, friends. It's called deathtruth.com, and it's got all of the scriptures there and a lot of good information. Just take a look at that, deathtruth.com. And one more time, you can dial #250 on your phone and ask for that study guide called "Are the Dead Really Dead?" We got KJ listening from Tennessee. KJ, welcome to the program.
KJ: Hi, pastor. How are you?
Doug: Good. Thank you for calling. And your question?
KJ: Could you explain Genesis 6:2 for me, please? I don't quite understand what it's saying.
Doug: Good. I'm glad you asked. I like this question. And let me read it for our friends that are listening. It says, "The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful and took wives for them of all they chose." And then God said, "My Spirit will not always strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh. His days will be 120 years. And then there were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were mighty men who were of old, men of renown." Some people are wondering, "What does this mean?" And I've actually heard pastors that say, "Yep, aliens came down to earth and married and had intimate relations with humans, and then they had these superhuman giant children." And others will say these were fallen angels. The sons of God, they were fallen angels, devils that had sex with humans and then had these giant children. That's not at all what it's saying. Let the Bible explain itself. After Cain killed Abel, he took his wife, one of his sisters no doubt, and he went and separated from Seth and his mother and father and the rest of their offspring, and you end up with two distinct races of people. You've got the children of Adam and Eve and Seth that worshiped God. They were called the sons of God. If you look at the genealogy in Luke, it calls Adam the son of God. And you read in 1 John chapter 3, verse 1, "Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called sons of God." Believers are called sons of God. Jesus said to the enemies, he says, "You are of your father the devil."
You've got two kinds of people in the world: believers, sons of God; children of men--or the devil. That's the other group. When the children of God, the sons of God saw that the daughters of Cain, the sons of men, they were the lost, were beautiful and the believers began to intermarry with the unbelievers, then they drew their hearts away and the land was full of wickedness. And it's not surprising that they had some very powerful children. That's just called genetic vitality. When you get cross-breeding in a gene pool, you cross a tiger and a lion, you get a liger, and it's actually bigger than both. This is called genetic vitality. So it was humans marrying humans. The descendants of Adam and Eve and Seth intermarried with the children of Cain that were lost children of men, and they lost their distinction and then the land-- the world was full of wickedness. Now, I've got a book that answers this question in great detail, KJ, and it's called "Aliens, Angels, or Adopted." And we'll send you. It says, "Who Are the Sons of God?" We'll send you a free copy if you ask for it.
Jean: The number to call is 800-835-6747. And, again, just ask for that book. It's called "Who Are the Sons of God?" It's actually got a long title. "Aliens, Angels, and--or Adopted." We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and ask. So 800-835-6747 or #250 on your phone and we'll send it to you. Next caller that we have is Ashton listening in Kentucky. Ashton, welcome to the program.
Ashton: Hello, Doug.
Doug: Hi.
Ashton: My question would be in regard to second commandment. And it's been on my mind for quite some time, but let me just get straight to it. So the commandment is "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." And the second part is, you know, not to bow down to it. Now, I've seen plenty of different research articles online saying, you know, you can't have paintings, you can't have pictures, you can't have even little figurines of, you know, animals or anything like that because it would be considered a graven image. Now, I guess my question is then why did God have Moses make a bronze serpent? Why did he have him make cherubims on the Ark of the Covenant? Why exactly in the temple, for example, are there all kinds of different, you know—
Doug: Representations and things. Yeah. Well, let me take a stab at it. I think the key in this commandment--and it says you shall not make yourself a carved image. This is Genesis chapter 20, verse 4. "You shall not make yourself a carved image of any likeness of anything that is in the heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them." So the commandment is not just don't make something. It says don't make something and bow down to it and serve it. When the children of Israel made a golden calf and called it their god, that was clearly idolatry and they were punished for it. When they made oxen that held up the laver in the Temple of Solomon, that was not a sin. That was just, you know, a representation. So there were artistic things that were done, and they didn't pray to it. Like you said, when they made the bronze serpent, that was done under the instruction of Moses. But during the time of Hezekiah, when people started praying to the bronze serpent, Hezekiah broke it to pieces and he said, "It's just a piece of brass. We're not supposed to pray to idols." So to have a photograph of your children in your wallet is technically--it's a representation. It's an image. It's a likeness. I think Christians ought to stay away from religious icons. In other words, having a statue of Jesus on your front lawn might tempt somebody to think there's something holy about it. Or when you start putting statues of Mary on your dashboard of your car, you know, some people come in the car, and they'll cross themselves. They think it's something sacred. It's just a piece of plastic. So, you know, you don't want to do anything that's going to cause someone else to stumble. There's nothing technically wrong with having a representation of something, but we are not to bow down and pray to these things or worship these things.
Jean: All right. Very good. Thank you for your call. Good question. We've got Josiah listening from Florida. Josiah, welcome to the program. Doug: Josiah, are you there from Florida?
Josiah: Oh, hello.
Doug: Hi. Thanks for your patience. You're on the air.
Josiah: So my question is, if 1,000 years for God is a day for us, does that mean the devil will be bound for a day?
Doug: Well, it says 1,000 years are like a day for God. It doesn't say 1,000 years are like a day for the devil. For the devil when he's bound for 1,000 years, especially bound in darkness in this world that is going to be, you know, like, in a bottomless pit, it's going to seem like 1,000 years or longer. I just heard about some ladies that were rescued from the earthquake. They were in darkness for a week. Two sisters were trapped together under concrete in the darkness for a week. And when they were rescued, they thought--I'm sorry. They were under there for 60 hours. It was, like, three days, and they thought they had been there a week, and it was three days because they're in the dark. No measurement of time. So for the devil when he's bound for 1,000 years in the darkness of this world, I think it's going to seem like a long time for him because he's waiting for his judgment.
Jean: Right, at the end of that 1,000 years. You know, we do have a study guide that talks about the 1,000 years. It's called "1,000 Years of Peace." Revelation chapter 20. And we'll send this to anyone who calls and asks. 800-835-6747. Ask for the study guide called "1,000 Years of Peace." You can also dial #250 and ask for that same study guide. We'll send it out to you.
Doug: Thank you, Josiah. Good question.
Jean: Next caller that we have is Jeff listening from Florida. Jeff, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." Jeff in Florida.
Doug: Jeff, you there?
Jeff: Yes, I'm sorry. Hello, hello. I accidentally hit the mute button. Sorry about that. Okay. So my question is--first of all, good evening, Pastor Jean Ross and Pastor Doug.
Doug: Evening.
Jeff: So my question is, how can a follower of Christ find a balance between the teaching of Matthew 7, verse 6 and Ezekiel 3:17 through 19? So it's the concepts of give not which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under your feet and turn again around you. And then the teaching in Ezekiel that when I say to the wicked thou shalt surely die and thou givest him not warning nor speak to warn the wicked of his wicked way, to save his life. The same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand. And it goes on to say if you warn the wicked from his ways, then you will deliver your soul. So can you expound upon that in how you might find a balance when you're trying to witness to people or share the gospel with fellow people or Christians?
Doug: Yeah, good question. First of all, when God is telling Ezekiel, "Cry aloud, blow the trumpet. If you don't warn the wicked to turn from his ways--" And He's speaking to a watchman. He's not talking about everybody. He says, "I've called you to be a watchman on the walls of Israel. You need to warn people." Ezekiel was given a special message for his people during a time, and he had a responsibility to give the trumpet a certain sound and to warn them and, you know, hopefully they would listen and repent. If he didn't do that, then he was accountable. But Christians also have a similar responsibility to be faithful witnesses when we have opportunity. That doesn't mean--and I know people that are--they think that everybody they see on the street they've got to find out if they're saved and give them the gospel, and that's really not practical. We don't see Jesus doing that. So you're not responsible to wrestle everybody to the ground that walks by you and find out if they're saved and try and witness to them. You'll go crazy trying to do that. And when it says there in Matthew to--well, let me back up and finish the other thought.
God wants us to be witnesses when we have opportunity. He'll give us opportunity. The Holy Spirit will speak to us. And different people you can witness to in different ways to different levels. You know, if you're trying to reach someone that's an atheist, well, you don't start quoting verses to them right away. You first try and build some confidence in the Bible and talk to them about the bigger picture. So you pray for wisdom and tact to reach people where they are. We see Jesus doing this, whether he's talking to the woman at the well or Nicodemus. And when it comes to casting your pearls before swine, there are people who have just turned their back and closed their eyes and their ears and they just don't want to hear it. You can see Jesus dealt with some of the Pharisees and the hypocrites in a very different way because they had rejected the commandment of God to follow tradition. So he wasn't quite as patient with them as he was with some of the publicans and sinners that had at least open hearts. So it varies from person to person.
Jean: Right. Absolutely. I mean, our job, Pastor Doug, as you mentioned, we want to share every opportunity we have, but there is a point where there's sometimes people that will just want to take your time and that causes a lack of you being able to minister to others.
Doug: That's right.
Jean: All right. Thank you for your call. We got Angela listening in Canada. Angela, welcome to the program.
Angela: Hi. Good night. Can you hear me?
Doug: Yes.
Angela: Okay. So it is said to me, and I've heard it often, that your gift or your talent or your purpose will make room for you. And so I am struggling to see that the purpose or the gift that God gave me, why is it not making any room for me? Why am I having so much conflict, like total famine? So I'm thinking maybe it's not my gift what I'm thinking is my gift. So please explain your gift making room for you because I'm not seeing the room. Should I be expecting challenges?
Doug: Yeah, you know, God will give you different gifts, but if you--if God gives you a spiritual gift, He will then give you opportunity to exercise or express that gift. Now, it may not always happen right away. Moses had given up on the idea that he had a gift of prophecy. He spent 40 years following sheep around, but the timing wasn't right. He needed to still learn to hone that gift and increase his trust in God. And then finally you see in the book of Exodus when God calls him in chapter 3, he then is given an opportunity to use that gift. And it's the same thing when, you know, God called Isaiah and He said, "Who will I send?" So some of it is timing. Paul, you know, he was going a completely different direction and then God got his attention and empowered him. Peter was fishing for fish and Jesus said, "No, you really should be fishing for men." So some of it is timing. When it comes to your spiritual gifts, it's always a good idea to talk to Christian counsel around you that knows you and say, "What do you believe my gifts are, and how can I incorporate or look for opportunity to use these gifts?" But I would say, first and foremost, surrender your heart completely to God. If you say, "God, I am yours. I'm surrendering myself. I'm repenting of my sins. Please use me and open the doors you want me to go through." He will open the doors. I just know that because He's done it for me all my life.
Jean: Amen, all right, we got Nicole listening in Michigan. Nicole, welcome to the program.
Nicole: Hi, pastors. How are you?
Doug: Doing good. Thank you for calling.
Nicole: Good, I just want to thank you for all that you do. But my question is in Romans chapter 9, verses 21 to 23 it sounds like the Bible is saying that God made vessels fitted for destruction, and I don't know--I don't think that he did, but if he did not, what does that text mean, vessels fitted for destruction?
Doug: Yeah, I don't think Paul is saying that some people were made to be destroyed because, you know, God loves us so much He gave His Son to save us. He's not willing--Peter says in 2 Peter 3, He's not willing that any should perish and that would be destroyed. He doesn't want anyone to be destroyed. Paul is really just making an argument that when people are saying, "Why did God make me the way I am?" He says, "Look, He's the potter. You're the clay." He may want to make one pot that is going to just be thrown away. And, you know, what right do we have to say to the potter, "Why are you making it this way?" It's his clay. So Paul is really sharing an overreaching principle there. I don't think he's suggesting that anybody that God makes is trash to be discarded.
Jean: Yeah, of course. If that's the case, then you have God being responsible for those who are lost, which the Bible doesn't teach. Doug: Yeah, made you to be lost. That wouldn't make any sense. Jean: Right. All right, good question. We've got probably time for one more. Let's see. CJ in Arizona. CJ, welcome to the program.
CJ: Good evening, gentlemen.
Doug: Evening.
CJ: I just want to say thank you very much for the things that you have done. You guys taught me a lot. My question is--tonight is, since there's power in the name, why is it that we don't use--call God by His actual name, which is Yahweh, and we don't call--and same thing with Jesus. We don't call Jesus by his original name, which is Yeshua. Why is it then--where did Jesus come from since God is a title?
Doug: Okay. Well, you're right. When Moses said to God there at the burning bush, "When they ask me who did you send, what shall I say?" God said, "I am that I am." And God reveals Himself by the name Yahweh. Now, if from that point in Exodus through the rest of the Bible God only used the name Yahweh, we'd say, "Well, that's what we're supposed to do." But God actually uses a number of different names for Himself. And if you get to the book of Revelation, Jesus, he must have about 40 names in Revelation, everything from he's the bread, he's the alpha and the omega, he's the I am, he's the morning star, on and on. Hey, I wish I had more time. I have a book called "The Name of God." You can get a free copy. For our listening friends, we kind of sign off in two stages. We're going to do that. Goodbye to those listening on satellite. God bless you till next week. For the rest, stand by. We'll be back with a couple of rapid fire 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 to "Bible Answers Live." And we have a few minutes, Pastor Doug, where we're going to take some questions that people have emailed to us. And so here's the first question that we have. Somebody says, "I've heard about a special resurrection. Is that in the Bible?"
Doug: Yeah, when it says special resurrection, you've got, of course, the main general resurrection, but some will be specially resurrected at the second coming. This is not at the end of the 1,000 years. There may be some who will be specially resurrected who were participating in the execution of Jesus, and you read in Daniel chapter 12 some will come forth to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt when Michael stands up. Christ said to the high priest Caiaphas, "Hereafter, you will see the Son of man coming on the right hand of power." So Caiaphas and some of the Sanhedrin that condemned Jesus in that kangaroo court, maybe some of the soldiers that participated in crucifying him when that event took place, they may be raised to see that he was indeed the King. So there's a couple of verses that talk about that. It says in Revelation, "Every eye will see him, those also that pierced him when he comes."
Jean: Okay, next question that we have, "What did Jesus mean when he said the night is coming when no one can work?"
Doug: Yeah, when Jesus first ascended to heaven, there was a period of time for about, oh, seven years--well, there's three and a half years from Christ's ascension till the first martyr, stoning of Stephen. But even after that, they were able to do a great work after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But then a great persecution arose in Jerusalem, and even during the time of Diocletian, the Roman emperors, there was a time of darkness and night and you see that in the churches--or I should say the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. There was great darkness for that second horse, that persecution.
Jean: We also have probationary time ending for the Jews as a nation, which of course happened 34 AD at the stoning of Stephen, and then there's a close of probation that will occur before Jesus comes and we're not going to be able to work. You know, people won't be converted. All right, last question that we have. "Are only 144,000 people going to be saved when Jesus comes?"
Doug: No, you can read in Revelation 7 there is also a great multitude, and John asked the attending elder, "Who are these arrayed in white robes?" He said, "These are they that came out of great tribulation." And for any of our friends listening, if you want to know more about that, we've got a book, "Who Are the 144,000?" Go to AmazingFacts.org. You'll see it there online. God bless. We are out of time. We look forward to studying His Word with you again next week.
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