The Wait and the Hurting

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 is your host from Amazing Facts International, Pastor Doug Batchelor.

Doug Batchelor: Hello, friends. Would you like to hear an amazing fact? On May 1st, 2023, a plane carrying seven crushed in the Amazon jungle of Colombia. The soldiers located the wreck and the bodies of three adults, but the four children ages 1 to 13 were missing. In a coordinated search effort called "Operation Hope," soldiers and indigenous people covered approximately 1,650 miles while looking for the siblings. Incredibly, 40 days later after tracking little footprints, soldiers located the four children alive. They were very gaunt and dehydrated, but they were expected to make a full recovery. They suffered only minor cuts and scrapes from the crash. Officials especially praised 13-year-old Leslie for ensuring survival of her younger siblings 9, 5, and 11 months old. Because of their indigenous background, the children had some familiarity with the rainforest fruits. This plus some cassava flour were the key to their extraordinary survival in an area where snakes, jaguars, mosquitoes, and other animals abound. Because the children lost their mother, the president of Colombia has committed funds for the care of the children and to educate them. You know, Pastor Ross, I think this is just amazing. You know, they were 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness.

Jëan Ross: That's right, Pastor Doug. It's just--it's remarkable for a grown-up to be able to survive under those conditions for 40 days let alone three kids, the younger of which you said was what, 14 months?

Doug: The younger--11 months. Actually he turned 1 year old during the 40 days.

Jëan: That is amazing, yeah. So there were angels unseen that undoubtably were protecting them from just the wild animals and all the things that could destroy them there.

Doug: So when we hear 40 days in the wilderness--well, you can think about the children of Israel were 40 years in the wilderness, but you've got Jesus fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. And you can read in Mark 1, verse 12 and 13 after his baptism, "Immediately the Spirit of God drove him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him." I'm pretty sure angels took care of those kids out there.

Jëan: That's right.

Doug: And you get the story where Elijah ran into the wilderness and angels fed him. And then, of course, Moses was 40 days and 40 nights up on the mountain, actually two times, getting the Ten Commandments. And you see a picture then in the New Testament, the three individuals had fasted 40 days, 40 nights in the Bible are all on the mountain together, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, in what they call the Mount of Transfiguration. And many people are surprised to know they are the two witnesses. Moses and Elijah is a symbol of the two witnesses that you find in Revelation chapter 11.

Jëan: That's right, Pastor Doug. That is a great study. You just mentioned a few of the similarities between Moses and Elijah and Christ. What else is interesting is you have Moses who died and he was resurrected and taken to heaven, and of course Elijah was taken to heaven without seeing death. It's obviously a miniature of the second coming because it's going to be those who are resurrected when Jesus comes again and there will be those who will be translated without seeing death. So you almost got a picture here of the second coming of Christ. So much to this story that we read about.

We have a book. It's called "The Two Witnesses," and it's all about Moses, Elijah, Jesus there on the Mount of Transfiguration. That is our free gift for anyone who is listening. All you need to do is call the number, 800-835-6747, and you can ask for offer number 195. We'll be happy to send it to anyone here who is in the US and Canada. If you're outside of the United States, just be sure to visit our website at AmazingFacts.org. Another way that you can get the free offer is by simply dialing #250 on your smartphone and say "Bible Answers Live" and then ask for the free gift. It's called "The Two Witnesses." And we'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls and asks.

Well, Pastor Doug, before we get to our phone lines, as we always do we'd like to begin the program with a word of prayer. So let's do that now. Dear Father, what a joy it is for us to be able to open up Your Word and study together, and, Lord, we ask for Your blessing. We recognize the Bible is Your book. You inspired the prophets of old who wrote it. And so we pray for that same Spirit to come and guide us as we search the Scriptures. Be with those who are listening wherever they might be, and we ask this in Jesus's name, amen?

Doug: Amen.

Jëan: I think we're ready to go to our first caller this evening, Pastor Doug. We have got Cristi listening in Canada. Cristi, welcome to the program.

Cristi: Hi, pastors.

Doug: Hi, thanks for calling, Cristi. And your question tonight?

Cristi: My question is the validity of Jeremiah chapter 29, verse 11 and how to trust in the Lord as David did in Psalms 31 despite the verbal criticisms of others. As the adversities I see in the Bible kind of contrasts, I guess, in the literal sense-- as it complies with school and my grades and my future, as I grow despondent of such matters and, you know, worry since I'm not making the ideal grades even though I try my hardest and pray while reminding myself of the promises of God.

Doug: Well, that's a good question and, you know, if-- when you pray and you trust God and you still find yourself struggling, don't be discouraged, because there's many examples in the Bible of people that prayed several times before they experienced an answer. You can read about the children of Israel, and there was quite a while that they were crying unto the Lord for deliverance and says then the Lord heard their prayer. Sometimes during the time of waiting God is building our faith. There is a story in the Bible about blind Bartimaeus. And Jesus was passing by, and he was crying out and people told him to be quiet, but he kept crying out, and then God stopped and Jesus brought him and healed him. You wonder, why did the Lord make him cry out several times? And there is a parable Jesus shares in Luke chapter 18 about the widow that continues to go to the judge and say, "Give me justice. Deal with my adversary." And then finally the judge says, "Well, she is wearing me down. I'm going to answer." And God says how much more will the Lord answer the prayers of those that cry unto him day and night. So don't be discouraged, Cristi. You can trust what it says there in Jeremiah 11--or 29, verse 11. He promises, "You'll search for Me and you'll find Me when you search for Me with all your heart," in verse 13. Just continue to pursue God and you will see peace and answers.

Jëan: You know, Cristi, we do have a book for anyone who is listening, and it's about prayer. You mentioned prayer and persistence in prayer is one of the important principles that we find in the Bible, and we have a book written called "Teach Us to Pray." And we'll be happy to send this to anyone in the US or Canada. The number to call for that is 800-835-6747, and you can ask for the book. It's called "Teach Us to Pray." Or just dial #250 on your smartphone, say "Bible Answers Live," and then ask for the book "Teach Us to Pray." And we'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls. Take advantage of it. It's a great book. Next caller that we have is Kaela listening in Tennessee. Kaela, you are on "Bible Answers Live."

Kaela: Hi, my question is: Where did Elijah get the water for the offering on Mount Carmel?

Doug: Yeah, just for our friends listening, I'll set this up so they have the background. But there is a big showdown on Mount Carmel during 3 1/2 years of severe famine where Elijah called together all the prophets of Baal, this false god, and they prayed and nothing happened with their altar. They were supposed to pray and fire would come down, but there was no fire. But Elijah said, "I'm going to pray for fire to come on God's altar. But to prove it's God, we're going to put three barrels of water." You figure like, you know, three big oil barrels of water were dumped on this altar to show that it was a supernatural fire. But it's a famine. Where is the water coming from? Well, the famine there was no food, there was no rain. Nothing was growing. There was still water in the wells and in the springs not too far away from Mount Carmel. You not only have the ocean down the hill, doesn't say it was fresh water, could have been salt water, and you've also got the Gihon spring and the creek there, and it probably still had water in it. So they, you know-- and all the people gathered up there on the mountain. The king probably had bought some--brought some water so the people would have something to drink up there. So there is a few different options, but Bible says that they had water. They just didn't have any food.

Jëan: All right, thank you. Next caller that we have is Brittany, listening in California. Brittany, welcome to the program.

Brittany: Hey.

Doug: Hi.

Brittany: Yeah, mine is: If dogs are unclean, and Revelation 22:15 condemns dogs, will there--will our pets be in heaven?

Doug: All right, and says there in Revelation that the dogs are outside. And does that mean there'll be no dogs in heaven, or will our pets be in heaven? You've got a couple of questions here. First of all, what is it talking about when it talks about dogs outside of the New Jerusalem? The word dogs there is not even talking about people. You can look where Jesus and even some of the Old Testament people in the prophecy about Christ--when they were around the cross persecuting Jesus it says, "Dogs have encompassed me." That's talking about people that kind of rip and tear into you. So it's an analogy of evil, vicious people. And even Christ said you don't give the children's food to the dogs. He was talking about the unbelievers. So when it says dogs are outside the city, don't be thinking of canine or pooches. It's talking about evil people. Will there be dogs in heaven? God made dogs. I'm sure there'll be dogs in heaven. Will your pets be in heaven? That's another question. No Scripture that guarantees that God is going to resurrect your pets. There's no Scripture that says God can't do that. So just--when you get to heaven, I'll promise you, you will be happy. So don't be discouraged or worried.

Jëan: That's right, Pastor Doug. The Bible says eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither entered into the heart of man the things that God is preparing for those that love Him. No one's going to get to heaven and say, "Oh, man, I was expecting something different. It's not quite what I envisioned." No, it's going to be everything that you can--you can't even imagine the things that God has prepared for those that love Him. So we just need to get there. Next caller that we have is Glenn listening in Ohio. Glenn, welcome to the program.

Glenn: Thank you for taking my call. And I tell you, Amazing Facts is wonderful. Not above Yahweh. He's able and He did it again. You know, my question is a little bit strange. I don't think that God was very knowledgeable of such a thing as sin as evidenced by the Scripture that the Savior claimed from before the foundation of the world, but I wonder--my question is I wonder what was on His mind when He allowed Satan to introduce sin to the creation.

Doug: Well, I won't pretend that I could read God's mind. It tells us that, you know, God is passed finding out. His ways are higher than our ways as the heavens are above the earth. And I think the nearest star is four light years away, which means if you travel 186,000 miles a second it's going to take you 4 years to get to the nearest star. So God is infinite, but in His wisdom God knew that He would have to take the risk of making creatures--even powerful creatures like Lucifer that might choose not to love Him because they're free. And we are all free moral agents. And so Lucifer is exhibit A that God makes us with a freedom to love Him, and Lucifer loved God probably for, you know, millennia before he rebelled. We don't know. He was one of the highest angels. He was probably around a long time before the seeds of pride and rebellion grew in his heart.

Jëan: Yes, we do have a study guide that talks about that, Pastor Doug. It's called "Did God Create the Devil?" And sometimes people think of the devil, they think of Satan, they say, "Well, did God create him bad?" No, that's not what the Bible teaches. God created a beautiful angelic being, the highest of all the angels, but He created Lucifer and the others angels with freedom of choice, and he exercised that choice to rebel against God. We'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls and asks. The study guide is called "Did God Create the Devil?" And the number to call is 800-835-6747 and ask for that study guide "Did God Create the Devil?" You can also dial #250 and just say "Study guide--" or say "Bible Answers Live" and then say "Study guide, Did God Create a Devil?" And we'll make sure that we get that to you.

Doug: By the way, Pastor Ross, we also have a video online people can watch called "Cosmic Conflict." You can just go to YouTube or go to Amazing Facts and type in "Cosmic Conflict." I think it's the first thing that will come up on YouTube, and it explains how the devil came to be the devil. So you'll enjoy that.

Jëan: All right, our next caller that we have is Dennis, listening in South Carolina. Dennis, you're on the air.

Dennis: Hey, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross. How are you?

Doug: Good, thank you for calling.

Dennis: Well, my question is real quick. So I'm on this group on Facebook and everybody has different opinions and beliefs, but it is my understanding that the Great Tribulation is a great tribulation for the believers because we'll be being persecuted by the unbelievers, and it'd be a great tribulation for the unbelievers because they are going to experience the wrath of God via the plagues.

Doug: Well, yeah, the Bible speaks of these two great tribulations. Jesus talks about a historic great tribulation that went from 538 to like 1798 during this tremendous religious persecution throughout the Roman-- fallen Roman Empire. May have been called Papal Rome at that time. But there's a lot of religious persecution that the church went through. He also talks about a great tribulation the Jews went through. So he's also telling the apostles that Jerusalem was going to fall and they go through a great tribulation. But there's a final great tribulation you read about in Daniel chapter 12, says that Michael will stand up. I think this is verse 1. Michael will stand up. "The great prince that stands for the children of Thy people and there'll be a time of trouble such as there never was, even unto that time, and at that time, many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake." So it's saying the resurrection comes after this great time of trouble. There's going to be problems not only of religious persecution. Not only will there be plagues. I think the whole planet is going to be sort of imploding shortly before the Lord's coming. So I think everyone's going to experience some element of persecution or tribulation that's going to come on the whole world.

Jëan: You know, Revelations chapter 7 describes four angels holding back the four winds of the earth. Another angel comes from heaven saying, "Don't let go of the winds until we have sealed the servants of God in their forehead." The wind represents this time of trouble, this turmoil, this conflict. And so, yes, God is doing a work of sealing, but when that work is finished probation closes, the seven last plagues get poured out, and then Jesus comes. Now, the good news is for the believer, when probation closes God is going to preserve those who trust in Him. We read in Psalms 91 no plague will come nigh thy dwelling. God will send His angels to watch over you. But there will be those who suffer before probation closes. Some might even give their life as a testimony of their faith and as a witness to others, but that occurs before the close of probation. All right, thank you, Dennis. We've got Junith listening in Nevada. Junith, welcome to the program.

Junith: Sure, hi, good evening, Pastor Jëan and Pastor Doug. Can you hear me?

Doug: Yes, your question?

Junith: Thanks for taking my call. My question is regarding the Lord of the Sabbath, who is the Lord of the Sunday. Mark 2:20. Jesus--can you please explain in a holistic way the connection between creation, redemption, and then recreation, and then restoration to eternal paradise before Adam and Eve sinned? And also please focus also on the mark of this 666 beast and the seal of the heavenly Father. Thank you.

Doug: All right, well, you gave us a tall order that--

Jëan: It's a Bible prophecy seminar, right? All the important prophetic truths.

Doug: Not going to be able to cover all of that. Now, part of what Junith was asking, if you look in-- for example, in Revelation chapter 1, I think it's verse 10, John says, "I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day." And some have wondered, what is that Lord's Day? And I even heard a pastor say this week that was Sunday. Well, there's no Scripture that calls Sunday the Lord's Day anywhere in the Bible. They just--it sort of comes from a tradition. If you want to know what is the Lord's Day, the Lord's Day, the Bible says God is--the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord. And then you can look in Isaiah 58 and He calls the Sabbath My holy day. And Jesus says, and she was referring to this, in Mark chapter 2 the son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath. So if there is a day of the week that God is the Lord, it would be the Sabbath. Some have wondered there in Revelation chapter 1 it says, "I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day," is it talking about, "I was in the spirit and I witnessed the day of the Lord's return." I actually think he had his vision on the Sabbath day. He's just saying that he was resting that day and God came to him and spoke to him.

Jëan: Yeah, you know, in the Bible you have the phrase--Pastor Doug, as you know we've got the Lord's Day and then we have the day of the Lord. It's not always the same thing. You have the Lord's Day and then you have the day of the Lord. It's often associated with the second coming or the establishment of Christ's kingdom and power and glory, but the Lord's Day would be the seventh day of the week.

Doug: Correct.

Jëan: You know, we do have a book, it's one of our study guides, and it's called "The Lost Day of History." So if you're wondering what does the Bible say about the Lord's Day, you're wondering about the Sabbath, call and ask. The number to call for that is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the study guide. It's called "The Lost Day of History." Or dial #250 on your smartphone, say "Bible Answers Live," and then, again, ask for the study guide "The Lost Day of History." We'll send it out to you. Next caller that we have is Billy listening in LA. Billy, welcome to the program. Or I guess Louisiana.

Billy: Okay, my question is: What day of the week was Jesus crucified on?

Doug: Well, a quick answer would be Friday. And the reason we say this--it says the Sabbath drew on and they wanted to take the bodies off of the crosses before the Sabbath. Now, that Sabbath was also a Passover Sabbath, but it calls it the preparation day. And then you read in Luke, it says that they went home and kept the Sabbath according to the commandments. So we know what Sabbath it was. It was a Sabbath according to the Ten Commandments, which is the seventh day of the week. So the day immediately precedes the seventh day, which is Saturday. You know, all the Jews today still keep the seventh day, Saturday. That would be Friday. That's why many religions call Friday Good Friday. Now, some have read in Matthew chapter 12 where Jesus said Moses--I'm sorry. "As Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so the son of man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights." And they think, "Well, in order for that to work, you got to move the day of the crucifixion." So were you wondering about that, Billy?

Billy: Yes, because I've done a lot of study on it, and everybody believes that he was crucified on Friday, preparation day for the regular seventh-day Sabbath. But John, he quotes in there about the half Sabbath the-- in other words, you can't get 3 1/2 days from Friday to early Sunday morning.

Doug: Well, you don't mean 3 1/2, you mean 3 days?

Billy: Three days, but there's-- it clearly says in John that they last the-- Jonah in the whale, he's been in the heart of the earth three days and three nights, and the only way I can see the Scriptures all and falling in together is he was crucified on Wednesday evening before the half Sabbath and entered into the grave, and he been there 3 1/2-- 3 days and 3 nights, which he'd be resurrected probably 72 hours later.

Doug: Yeah, let me tell you the place where the mistake comes in. People read that one verse there. You don't want to build a doctrine on one verse. That one verse there in Matthew chapter 12 where Jesus says three days, three nights, heart of the earth, they assume the heart of the earth means only his time in the tomb. When Jesus says heart of the earth, there's nowhere else in the Bible the tomb is called the heart of the earth. When he says heart of the earth, he's talking about in the midst of the world. When Jesus started suffering for the sins of the world, that was Thursday night. The penalty for sin was not just death. And it wasn't just the time that he was in the tomb, it was the suffering. And in the Garden of Gethsemane he told the disciples, "Now is the hour." So that's when you punch the starting stopwatch, you might say. Thursday night he began-- he said, "Not my will. Thy will be done." The Father withdrew His protection. For three days and three nights Jesus was suffering for the sins of the world, and he was beaten and tried and mistreated and tortured and he rose again Sunday morning. So that's the three days and three nights. It starts Thursday night after the Last Supper. And so you don't need to move the crucifixion day. Because when Luke talks about the sign of Jonah, he never even mentions-- in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus talks about the sign of Jonah. He says as Jonah was assigned to the Ninevites. Doesn't even mention the three days and three nights. So be careful not to try and move the day of the crucifixion because of that. We do have a free book we can offer you on that.

Jëan: We do. The book is called "The Sign of Jonah," and we'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks. The number is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book "The Sign of Jonah." We also have a book called "Three Days and Three Nights." I think that's two books on the same subject. Both are very good. Just call and ask for either one: "The Sign of Jonah" or "Three Days and Three Nights." You can dial #250 on your smartphone, say "Bible Answers Live," and then ask for the free offer by name, and we will send it to you. Well, let's see, Pastor Doug. We've got 2 minutes to go here. Let's see if we can maybe get Roger in Minnesota. Roger, welcome to the program.

Roger: Hi, Pastor Doug.

Doug: Hi.

Roger: My question is kind of heavy. It's why did God choose the number 2,300. Why not 2,000 or 2,400?

Doug: You're talking about in Daniel chapter 8, verse 14, I'm assuming.

Roger: Yeah, and if you could--you would allow me to respond after your comment, I would appreciate that.

Doug: Okay, don't know-- hopefully we'll have enough time, but I don't-- I can't give you a reason why God chose that particular numerical quantity. I just know that God said that's what the quantity would be from the starting point to the ending point of the prophecy. So you must have something in mind.

Roger: I do.

Doug: Okay, please be brief because we're going to run out of time.

Roger: I'm sorry to hear that. God gave Moses two festivals to keep after they left Egypt: the spring festival and the fall festival. And when Jesus was crucified, how did he know he was going to be resurrected on the third day? That's because he was a wave sheep of the first fruits. And how did he know that was his last supper? That's because on the 14th day of the first month the Passover lamb was slain, and Jesus knew he was the lamb of God. So if the spring festival held that much weight, then the fall festival must hold also that much weight. So if we count the days God has already given in Leviticus 23 on the first day, the blowing of the trumpet for 90 days, on the 10th day the Day of Atonement, on the 15th day the Feast of Tabernacles for 7 days, and then there's a 8th day. You add all that together and you come up with 22 literal days. So 1 Kings chapter 7 and 2 Kings chapter 7, thereabouts, it says that when Solomon had finished building the temple he told the people to go--which was--and then he--then they had the feast then and then at the 22nd day they were told to go home in 1 Kings and on the 23rd day they was--told to go home in Chronicles. So in Daniel 8 it says unto 2,300 days, not 2,300 days and one more. It's just unto, up to that. So you have 22 days, 22 1/2, 22 3/4, 22 7/8, 22 8/8. That brings you right up to 2,300 of 22 full days, and evidently God has taken His 22 full days and turned it into hundreds of days. So it's 2,300, which is a little over 6 years.

Doug: Okay, well, we're going to run out of time here. I bet you are an accountant because you got a lot of math going on there. Hey, friends. Don't go away. We're just taking a halftime break. We're coming back with the very best of "Bible Answers Live," and they'll be more time to call in your questions.

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Announcer: Order your copy of "Heading for the Hills?" Call 800-538-7275 or visit afbookstore.com.

Announcer: You're listening to "Bible Answers Live" where every question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His plan to save you. So what are you waiting for? Get practical answers about the good book for a better life today. This broadcast is a previously-recorded episode. If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7 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're tuning in and you've just joined us along the way, this is a live, international, interactive Bible study where we take your calls and we--calls from around the world and do our best to use the Bible resources to answer any question regarding the Word of God or living the Christian life. My name is Doug Batchelor.

Jëan: My name is Jëan Ross. And friends, if you're listening on radio, we want to let you know that you can also participate in this program live via the internet. We are live streaming this program, and it's at the Doug Batchelor Facebook page, the Amazing Facts Facebook page. We're also broadcasting live on AFTV. So if you have a question, feel free to give us a call. The number to call for that is 800-463-7297. That's 800-463-7297. And just be patient. One of our assistants will answer the phone and queue you up and you'll be on the air. Next caller that we have is Bob, listening in Washington. Bob, welcome to the program.

Bob: Hi, thank you very much. My question is in this time that we're living now on earth, is there a connection between physical healing from God and obedience?

Doug: Yeah, well, sometimes Jesus healed a person. I'm thinking about the pool of Bethesda. When he healed that man he said, "Go and sin no more, lest a worst thing come upon you." So there is definitely a connection between sin and healing, not every time. Some sickness is just because, you know, degeneration of humanity and disease in the world, but some sickness is brought upon us by sin. And God does still also miraculously heal in response to prayer and--

Jëan: You know, I think of the verse, Pastor Doug, in James where James gives guidance for the church and he says, "If somebody is sick among you, let them call for the elders. Let them pray over him." But there was also associated with that special anointing service a confession of sin because it says, "If he has committed any sins, he shall be forgiven, and the Lord will raise him up." So if we are seeking the Lord to heal us and we know of a sin that we have not committed or forsaken, we want to get that taken care of. We want to get that out of the way so that doesn't become a hindrance to God answering our prayer.

Doug: Yeah, says He forgives our sins and heals our diseases, and I think it's Psalm 103. So there's often a connection. Thank you. Hope that helps a little bit, Bob.

Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is Angela, listening in Illinois. Angela, welcome to the program.

Angela: Hello. I have a question in regards to Acts 23:8. It says that, "For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, but the Pharisees believe in all of these." I guess my question is then if the Sadducees says that, that there's no resurrection or angels or spirits, then what did they actually believe in? I mean--

Doug: Seems pretty hopeless, doesn't it?

Angela: Yeah, I was going to say there's no hope.

Doug: Yeah, the Sadducees were a pretty liberal group and they thought that, you know, God, He can bless you in this life if you obey Him, but they didn't really talk about a resurrection or a spiritual life. It was all like it's all right here right now. And yeah, that'd be pretty sad. It's almost like those who believe in evolution that say this is it.

Jëan: Mm-hmm, it's all you have.

Doug: Yeah, you die and you turn back to fertilizer, and that was your life. So I've wondered that before. Just, you know, who would want to be a Sadducee? That's why they were sad, you see? [laughing]

Jëan: And they claimed to only believe the first five books written by Moses, but in those first five books you do have references to angels.

Doug: Yeah.

Jëan: So it was kind of strange how that they rejected the belief of angels and the resurrection. Of course, you know, we have examples in the first five books of Moses of the resurrection. So, you know, it is interesting that-- yeah, that's neglected, pushed aside.

Doug: Yep.

Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is Dale in Illinois. Dale, welcome to the program.

Dale: Yes, good evening, Pastor Doug, Pastor Jëan.

Doug: Evening.

Dale: In your Minnesota seminar you answered that you believe Sunday worshipers will be in heaven and on your Amazing Facts program on Hope Channel you said you believe millions of Sunday worshipers would be in heaven. So my question is: Wouldn't any and all Sunday worshipers be disobeying the Sabbath?

Doug: Well, yeah, and I did say that. And you know, sometimes people have said because we teach the Sabbath truth on this program, are we saying that all those people that don't know that truth are going to be lost? And we say, "No, absolutely not." It's one of God's commandments. But there are going to be people in heaven--for example, the Bible says that you're only supposed to have one wife, but you're going to find people in heaven like David and Solomon and Jacob and others that had multiple wives. And you read in Acts chapter 17, "At the times of this ignorance God winked at." And so there are people of God who lived through history who maybe they didn't know certain biblical truths and they lived up to the light they had, and God will wink at their ignorance, but once we know the truth--for example, I don't drink. I don't drink alcohol. I think it's a sin. I know better. I see what it does. Martin Luther drank, but he lived in a time where everybody drank beer because the water wasn't good. I expect to see him in heaven. He didn't know. I don't smoke because I think smoke is--smoking is kind of like, you know, thou shall not kill yourself. Says right there on the pack, "This will kill you." Well, the guy who wrote Amazing Grace, John Newton, he smoked. They thought it was good for your lungs back then. They were wrong.

So there are people through history that are godly people, they just didn't know certain things. And there's dear spiritual people in many churches that have not heard what the Bible says or they've not had it presented well about the Sabbath truth still being a commandment that is to be kept. So do I think there are people that are going to go to heaven that went to church on Sunday? Absolutely. I don't think there's going to be people in heaven that knew the Word of God and turned away from it. The Bible says once we know what God wants, if we turn away from it, that's sin. Sin is knowing to do good and not doing it. So hopefully that clarifies that a little bit, Dale.

Jëan: Yeah, of course, when everyone does get to heaven, the Bible says that there will be a gathering that occurs every week. It's not the first day or the sixth day. It's going to be on the seventh called the Sabbath. So everyone will be keeping the Sabbath in heaven.

Doug: Yeah, from one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come to worship before the Lord: Isaiah 66.

Jëan: All right, thank you. Next caller that we have is Ivan from Mexico. Ivan, welcome to the program.

Ivan: Good evening, pastors. How you doing?

Doug: Doing great.

Ivan: My question is in 2 Corinthians 12:9. "And he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Doug: Okay, you just want to explain it?

Ivan: Yeah, please.

Doug: Yeah, Paul had some affliction he talks about, and he mentions that earlier in that verse where he said, "I had a thorn in the side, messenger from Satan." No one's exactly sure what it was, but many speculate he had a problem with his vision. And he prayed that God would heal him, but God says no. You'll notice other people often write Paul's letters. He dictates for them. And there's a few occasions in the Bible where it appears Paul didn't see what was happening. Paul is basically saying that God is allowing him to suffer some affliction, that he would trust the Lord had kept him humble, and he says in verse 7, "Lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of revelations." Paul had talked to Jesus, he saw visions, and he said, "You know, God's keeping me humble because I've had that relationship by this physical affliction. And I'm going to glory in my afflictions if that keeps me closer to the Lord. If that's God's will, I will embrace it." And I've known people who have struggled with some kind of physical handicap and they say, "God use this to save me, and I thank God for it." It's hard to understand when you're going through it, but in the big picture when we get to heaven we'll say, "I am glad for the trials that God sent because he used it to save me."

Jëan: All right, thank you, Ivan. We got Michael in Alabama. Michael, welcome to the program.

Michael: Oh, good evening. First, about a month ago either Mr. Ross or Mr. Batchelor on this broadcast answered another caller's question about the so-called mark of the beast. Now, I myself am not obsessed with Bible prophecy unlike countless thousands of Protestants, but one that-- your interpretation has frightened me. It said--you answered the person's question, either one of you, that the beast--mark of the beast is like the devil's seal of approval in your mind and heart and spirit-- mind and your will and your spirit. I don't see that definition anywhere here in Revelation and I wonder where and how you arrived at this. I got obses--severe depression as a baby Christian, a teenage Christian, and then obsessive compulsive disorder from churchianity from pastors that taught stuff like this, that you could commit practically unpardonable sins without knowing it because you have some secret-- almost like you have some secret covenant with Satan just for being you or something like that.

Doug: All right, well, let us get it-- jump in here and try and say something to respond. So, again, I don't know exactly what question or which one of us responded to. We probably pretty much believe the same thing on this, because it's not new with us. The teaching through history, and it's from the Bible, is that the mark of the beast is really the opposite of the seal of God, talks about the mark being in the hand or in the forehead. If you look in the Old Testament, Moses, after giving the Ten Commandments, says in Deuteronomy chapter 6, "These words I command you this day shall be in your heart. You shall bind them for a sign upon your hand. They shall be as frontlets between your eyes." It's talking about the forehead biblically. The law of God was to be in their hand. And again, you read in Isaiah chapter 8, it says that we are sealed with the law of God. So the law of God is sealed in our hearts and our minds. If we do not have the law of God we'll have the laws of the beast in our minds. And ultimately it's going to mean they're obeying the laws of the beast instead of the laws of God.

You look in Daniel chapter 3 and it's got the king making everyone worship a image or he would be killed. Revelation 13 is harkening back to that. Says those who do not worship the image of the beast would be killed. If we obey the laws of this final beast power that will be in conflict with the law of God, we're going to have the seal of God, but we'll be persecuted by the beast as a death penalty. Now, I'm not saying this to scare you. I just have to tell you what the Bible says. It's pretty clear it's happened several times in history.

Jëan: You know, Pastor Doug, I think not only does the Bible portray it, but we can just look in the world around us. We're in the midst of the great controversy between good and evil. There are bad things happening to good people. There are bad things happening to bad people. There are wars and there's unjust things happening all around us. And the question is why? Well, the Bible gives the answer. It says that Satan is the author of pain and suffering and death, and God wants to save us, and that's the whole plan of redemption and why Jesus came. But Bible prophecy points to this final showdown that occurs just before Jesus comes. And you're going to have two groups in the world. Those who love the Lord, keep His commandments, they have the seal of God, and those who follow manmade tradition, they have rejected the commandments of God, they end up with the mark of the beast. So two distinct groups just before Jesus comes.

Doug: Now, Michael, I detected in your question that you are feeling some anxiety, and God wants to give you peace. And I think if you study the subject I think you'll see that the Book of Revelation has a happy ending for those that embrace Jesus. And you shouldn't be frightened by this when you, you know, accept the Lord. We're going to send you a study on the mark of the beast, and it ends with good news, and all you have to do is call the number. Please look at the study and it gives you all the Scriptures on the subject-- anybody out there.

Jëan: Matter of fact, you might want to ask for the whole series. That's just one study, one lesson amongst many, but you'll be blessed if you go through the whole set. It's all free. Just ask for the Amazing Facts Bible School. The number to call for that is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the study on the mark of the beast, but I'd encourage you ask for all of the studies, and they'll be happy to send it to you. Dial #250 if you have a smartphone and you can just say "Bible Answers Live" and ask for the Amazing Facts Study Guide series, and we'll get that in the mail. Thanks for your call. We've got Sue, listening in New York. Sue, welcome to the program.

Sue: Hi, thank you. Good night, pastors.

Doug: Evening.

Sue: I would just like you to explain Mark 2:27, which says the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath, please. Thank you.

Doug: Yeah, well, we'll read also verse 28. "Therefore the son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." This verse Jesus--you always want the context. The religious leaders were giving the apostles a hard time because they were going through the fields as they walked with Jesus. They were grabbing some of the heads of grain, they'd rub them in their hands, it was harvest time, and they'd blow away the chaff. They'd pop up in their mouth. I see corn out of a field, green sometimes. And they're--the religious leaders that were watching this said, "Oh, they're harvesting." Well, they weren't harvesting. It was like picking an apple on the Sabbath day. It's not harvesting. But they were very legalistic and they said, "You're harvesting." And Jesus said, "No. They're just--they're gleaning a little food to eat." And they were putting all these manmade laws on the Sabbath like the reason that man existed was to serve the Sabbath. And Jesus reminded them that man was made first and the Sabbath was made to be a blessing for man because man was made on the sixth day, the Sabbath then was made this period of time to be a blessing for man in his communion with God. That's why he said the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. So we shouldn't be legalistic about Sabbath-keeping as the Pharisees were, but neither should we neglect it. Jesus never said, "Ignore the Sabbath. It's done away with." He said, "The son of man is Lord of the Sabbath, meaning I'm the one that created the Sabbath." And Jesus--all things that were made were made by him. He made it to be a blessing, not a burden, and that's simply what he's teaching there.

Jëan: All right, thank you, Sue. Next caller that we have is Tim listening in Texas. Tim, welcome to the program.

Tim: Hey, how you doing?

Doug: I'm doing great, thank you. And your call--your question? Yeah.

Tim: Oh, my question is in heaven talks about the tree will be--the leaves will be for the healing of the nations. Why would there be healing of the nations if it's a perfect world?

Doug: Yeah, that's-- that is a good question. You can also look in the end of Ezekiel. And Pastor Ross might find the verse where it says--when you type in the word medicine you'll probably find it, and it says the leaves of the tree will be for medicine, and it's a similar vision that Ezekiel has, a lot of comparisons between Ezekiel and Revelation in this respect. Obviously nobody is going to get sick in heaven and need to go, you know, clawing or crawling up to the tree of life and rubbing the leaves in a wound or something like that. The way that I've understood it is there's two things. You notice it says healing of the nations. It doesn't say healing of disease. All the nations are divided in this world by language and culture and politics and different things. As God's redeemed gather together under the tree, under the leaves of that tree to eat the fruit, all the divisions of the nation will be healed, and we will be one people. So it's a healing of the nations. And when we're resurrected, though we'll have glorified bodies, man has been stunted by sin. And again, not only will we be eating the fruit, it's possible that maybe there'll be some edible properties of the leaves and they'll eat that and grow up to the full stature, because it does say in Malachi, "They shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall." So we may even increase in height. And so I can't wait to get to heaven and find out, but.

Jëan: Yeah, the verse that it's--that's drawn from in Revelation is Ezekiel chapter 47, verse 12.

Doug: Yeah, okay, thank you.

Jëan: Talks about the leaves of the trees used for medicine. All right, good question, Tim. Next caller that we have is Joel in Tennessee. Joel, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Joel: Thank you for taking my call. My question regards to Matthew 5, verse 19.

Doug: Okay, I can read it if you want.

Joel: Yes, please.

Doug: "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, he'll be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." So are you wondering what that verse means?

Joel: I was wondering are there levels in--like, are there levels or, like, positions that people will have when they get to heaven?

Doug: Yes, but that is not taught by this verse. When I say will there be levels it's not that God segregates us in heaven, but Jesus tells us there are varying degrees of reward both for the saved and the lost. You know, Christ says that those that knew their master's will and did not do it are beaten with many stripes while those who did not know their master's will but somehow disobeyed are beaten with few stripes. And the Bible also says, "Great is your reward in heaven, those who are persecuted for righteousness sake." So there's varying degrees of reward, but this verse when it says if you're teaching others to break the commandment you'll be called least in the kingdom, that's not saying you're in the kingdom and you're going to be in low position. It means the people in the kingdom of God call that individual the lowest kind of person. The people that teach others to sin, not going to be in the kingdom. He's simply saying whoever breaks the least of these commandments and teaches men so shall be called least. Those in the kingdom of heaven will call that person the lowest kind of person. So they're not going to be in heaven, if anyone's teaching people to sin.

Joel: I do have another question. It's about, like, pastors that may not be all-knowing of the truth or, like, if they teach--like, if they're ignorant of something and they teach others to sin kind of, would they still be in--like, I don't know if that kind of ties in.

Doug: Yeah, well, yeah. You know, when the apostles first started teaching under Jesus, they didn't have all of their eschatology correct. Even after the resurrection, they said, "Lord, will you at this time establish the kingdom?" And then even after Jesus ascended to heaven, they didn't think they were supposed to preach to the Gentiles, and so their knowledge grew with time. So, you know, I've preached before and did evangelism and lead people to the Lord, but then later I realized, you know, I said something that actually wasn't accurate. And I, of course, correct that and I grow on my knowledge. So I think if a pastor makes a mistake--an honest mistake in his teaching because he really believes something and he's just misinformed, you know, God is going to wink at that ignorance and He'll bless the ministry as much as he can. I think there are godly ministers in many churches that are doing their best to lead people to Christ and repentance and faith and they may not have all their theology square, as I'm sure mine isn't perfect. But what Jesus is saying here in Matthew chapter 5:19 is different. This is people teaching people to disregard God's commandments.

Jëan: All right, thank you for your call, Joel. We've got Matthew listening in Arizona. Matthew, welcome to the program.

Matthew: How is it going, pastors? Blessings.

Doug: Thank you.

Matthew: The question is did Noah preach to the whole world being that the whole world was flooded?

Doug: Yeah, but keep in mind that in the time of Noah, while there may have been hundreds of thousands or even millions of people that lived in the world, I think they were mostly restricted to one section of the planet. They had not dispersed all over the planet. And so, you know, wherever Noah had the ark parked where he was preaching, probably not too far from the gates of the Garden of Eden, that he was preaching to the people. He may have gone on a circuit preaching during the 120 years he was building the ark. I don't know that he was a global jet-setter back then and that there were people all over the planet. So I don't know. You got any thoughts on that?

Jëan: Yeah, but I don't think it was just Noah that was preaching. There were others who passed away bef--

Doug: Probably Methuselah, Enoch.

Jëan: Methuselah and others, yes.

Doug: Yeah.

Jëan: They lived for hundreds of years. So word got around, people would speak, so even if it wasn't Noah speaking, there were others that testified saying judgment is coming.

Doug: Yeah, maybe they had the internet back then.

Jëan: Maybe, stuff for communications. Yeah, all right, well, thank you, Matthew. Next caller that we have is Israel in California. Israel, welcome to the program.

Israel: Hi, thank you, and thank you for your ministry. It's meant a lot to me.

Doug: Thank you.

Israel: My question is concerning transgender theory. Is there any way that it correlates with the Bible? Is there any way that transgender and queer theory some denominations have accepted it? What are your thoughts on this as far as it relates to the Scriptures?

Doug: Yeah, well, I'll do my best. And I guess I'm pretty simplistic about it in that the Bible says that in the beginning God made the male and female. Not only is that in Genesis, Jesus quotes it. That leaves two options when it comes to gender. You're male or you're female. And in every human body every female is stamped with a XX chromosome, while every male is stamped with an XY chromosome. So even if a person goes and has some kind of reconstructive surgery, their maleness or femaleness is stamped on the chromosomes, and that's not changed by that. God wants us to celebrate the distinctions about being male or being female. Now, I--you know, my heart goes out to people that struggle with very strong feelings towards sin, whatever those feelings might be. Everyone struggles with sin, but some people struggle with how they feel about being a boy or a girl. And while I don't understand it, my hearts go out--my heart goes out to them, but I know that we all need to bring our feelings in harmony with the Word of God and ask for God to transform us. It's called conversion.

The world doesn't believe in conversion theory, but God does. And we can be new creatures. The Bible is pretty clear. Deuteronomy chapter 22, verse 5 the Lord says, "A man shall not put on the garment of a woman, nor shall a woman put on a man's garment. All that do so are an abomination to the Lord." The Lord wants us to not only celebrate but to preserve the distinction between men and women. And in the last days the devil is attacking every institution that God established in the Garden of Eden. The devil is attacking. Well, we've talked about the Sabbath night. He's attacking that day of rest, and people are working themselves to death. The devil is attacking family and the devil is even attacking just the distinction in the genders. So everything you see established in the Garden of Eden is sort of under attack right now, and that would be part of it.

Hey, for our friends listening, we're going to sign off in two stages. God bless to those listening on satellite. Stay tuned. The rest of you, coming back in just a moment with rapid fire Bible questions. Stick with us.

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.

Jëan: Hello, friends. Welcome back. And as you can see, we can't take the radio programs. But with those of you who stayed around on AFTV and you're watching on the internet, we have just 2 minutes to answer the email questions that have been sent in. If you have an email question, just simply send it to BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. All right, pastor, that first caller that we have-- or first question that's been emailed to us, I should say, which of the member of the Trinity spoke to the prophets, for example, Moses or Isaiah?

Doug: Well, when you say which member of the Trinity, Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Father typically communicates to us through the Son and through the Spirit. There are a few times where you had what they call a Christophany, where it seems that Jesus may have been the one that actually wrestled with Jacob and Jesus who spoke to Moses and Jesus who met with Abraham. So there are examples of Christ himself coming to earth and speaking. Most of the time God spoke through the Holy Spirit. And I think it says that through the Spirit, God spoke to the prophets.

Jëan: Holy men of old, yeah.

Doug: Holy men of old spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. So in most cases it would be the function of the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, to communicate the will and the mind of God to the prophets and the patriarchs and the kings.

Jëan: All right, very good. Pastor Doug, here's a question. Galatians 2:18 is the verse. And the person is asking about what law is being referred to here in Galatians chapter 2, verse 18.

Doug: All right, now, I think we need to read more than just verse 18. It says in verse 17, "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves are also found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not. For if I build again the things that I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor." That's verse 18. "For I through the law died to the law that I might get-- might live unto God." Well, of course, according to the law we're all guilty of sin. We are condemned through the law. The penalty for sin is death. But when we come to Christ, we die to self. That's what Paul is talking about. We take up our cross and we follow Jesus and we're dead to law and we're dead to the pen-- now, it doesn't mean we don't disobey the law, but we're dead to the penalty of the law through the sacrifice of Jesus. Now, we live lives of obedience through the power of Christ.

Jëan: Okay.

Doug: We're not doing it because it's the law, but because we love the Lord.

Jëan: Amen. All right, last question. How do you respond to somebody if they keep telling you that, "Well, that's just your understanding of the verse?"

Doug: Well, Peter warns against those who have a private interpretation. We shouldn't all be coming to our own feelings about it. We need to compare Scripture with Scripture. And I believe when you do that, that's how you find evidence to arrive at truth. We want to thank you for tuning in to "Bible Answers Live," and we'll study again next week. God bless.

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