When the Rubber Meets the Road

Doug Bachelor: Hello, friends. Would you like to hear an Amazing Fact? Every time a jet plane lands, you see a little puff of white smoke as the wheels make contact with the ground. This is because each tire leaves about one and a half pounds of burnt rubber on the runway aircraft. Aircraft tires are stationary until touchdown, when the sudden contact with the ground causes tremendous friction, quickly whipping them up to speeds of more than 150 miles an hour, and producing temperatures of around 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Jumbo planes like the Airbus 380 with 22 tires leave as much as 30 pounds of rubber on the runway with each landing. In case you're wondering, a jet tire's only good for about 200 landings before it needs to be retreaded or replaced. As you might guess, this rapid buildup of rubber can make runways very slick when wet. At larger airports, specialized crews must go out at night three or four times weekly to remove hundreds of pounds of excess tire rubber from the runways and clean it from the runway lights. It's estimated that 10,000 pounds of aircraft tire rubber is removed from US airports runways annually. You've probably seen that Pastor Ross, when the planes come in, you see a big poof when they first make contact.

Jëan Ross: That's right. You know, you always wonder, why don't they figure out a way to turn the tires? But I guess they're going to have to spin them real fast to get 150 miles or whatever it is to touch down without the puff of smoke. But yeah, it's sort of a standard thing.

Doug: I was wondering the same thing, maybe they could find some air pressure to get them spinning. So that there's not so much friction when they make contact, but yeah, I'm glad that they clean off the rubber every now and then. And you know, they have to wait until the last planes come in at night, you know, sometimes it might be two in the morning, then the crew gets out there real quick and the lights on and they clean off the runway and get it ready for the next day or next few days. And it just reminded me that, you know, as we go through this life, even though we come to the Lord and we've accepted Jesus and we're baptized and our sins are washed away, sometimes we need a refreshing, we need to be re-cleansed. And you know, Jesus actually established something at the Last Supper where He washed the disciple's feet. And He said you know, not only are we to remember the Lord's death and sacrifice through the communion of the bread and the grape juice, but Jesus said that "If I your Lord and master have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet." And so it's like a mini baptism. But it makes me think of that verse that "If we confess our sins," and this is 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." So we're cleansed by coming to the Lord, we repent and we confess our sins, but then why do we need baptism?

Jëan Ross: Well, you know, you mentioned Pastor, that the communion or the foot washing is a miniature baptism but the Bible's clear that when one receives Christ as is personal Savior, he needs to make a public profession of that and that is through baptism. Jesus said, "Except a man, be born of water and of the Spirit cannot enter into the kingdom of God. So that public confession of our faith to be baptized by immersion following the example of Jesus, it's an important step and it's a wonderful step for the one being baptized. It's a new beginning, it's cleansing from the past, you can claim the promise of the verse you just read that "If we confess our sins, Christ will forgive us and cleanse us," and you come up out of the water and you have a new walk with Christ. It's an exciting experience.

Doug: And then when we have the Lord's Supper, communion, and even foot washing, that's sort of like cleaning the runway every now and then.

Jëan: That's right.

Doug: Well, I think we have a free offer that talks about that.

Jëan: We do, it's one of the amazing fact study guides, and it's called "Purity and Power." And this is our free gift to anyone who is listening, all you need to do is call the number 800-835-6747 and ask for offer number 121. And we'll be happy to send that to you. That's 800-835-6747, ask for the book that's called "Purity and Power." It's actually part of our Amazing Facts Study Guide series, or another way to get it is simply by dialing #250 on your smartphone, say, "Bible Answers Live" and then ask for the gift and we'll be happy to send it to you.

Doug: Well, let's begin this broadcast with prayer, then we have other exciting announcements to share along the way.

Jëan: All right, let's start with prayer. Dear Father once again, we are grateful for the opportunity to be able to open up your Word and study. As we always do Lord, we ask for your presence to be with us here in the studio and also be with those who are listening if they're in their car at home, wherever they might be. And Lord, lead us into a clear understanding of truth for the Bible says, you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. Thank you for your promise to be with us. In Jesus's name, amen.

Doug: Amen.

Jëan: Well, we're ready to go to the phone lines, our first caller this evening is calling from Texas. We got Jerry in Texas. Jerry, welcome to the program.

Jerry: Hey, thanks. You know, science always tries to outdo God. Is science able to look back in time the days of Hezekiah when the sun was turned back 10 degrees?

Doug: You know, I was thinking about that and I don't know that science would be able to do it because you know, what markers would they have in the sky that would demonstrate that? I was wondering, was there any historical account? Because Hezekiah, he lived, what? 700 BC you'd think maybe there was some other nation. Now it does say in the Bible that the Maggi in Babylon noticed it. Of course, everyone noticed it, and they actually sent emissaries to find out about the wonder that had been done. So in the Bible it says other nations took note of it but I don't know of extra biblical history where it's mentioned.

Jëan: I mean, God can do anything but if you stop the earth spinning on its on its axis for that period of time and then started it up again, there would be nothing in nature to indicate that other than just the long day that the people had when they were there.

Doug: Yeah, and people would say, well, that was a really long day.

Jëan: Yeah, I know.

Doug: I've had those days so it'd be hard to find Jerry. I haven't heard of anything, but I might poke around on the Internet and see if there's anything in history.

Jëan: Next caller that we have is Louis from Florida. Louis, welcome to the program.

Louis: Hello, pastors, how are you doing?

Doug: Oh, it's Louis, hi.

Jëan: Hi, Louis

Doug: Yes and your question.

Louis: My question is from Revelation 21 verse 4, the ending where it says "The former things have passed away." How much are we to actually remember, like our families or anything like that? Do we remember anything?

Doug: Well, I think when it says, "The former things have passed away," it's telling us that all the painful memories will be gone. God is going to wipe away our tears. I think that not only are we hurt by painful events, we often are hurt when we remember them. And, you know, you can see tears coming to a person's eyes when they talk about someone they love that passed away. They're just visiting that in their mind and it brings pain. But I think that God is going to cleanse us from the painful memories. And it's not that He's going to brainwash us, I think our minds are going to be so filled with the glory of the future that we won't be looking back. It's like Paul says, "Forgetting those things that are behind, I press on." And so God wants His people to be forward thinking, once you repent of your sins, you leave them there, God buries them in the depths of the sea, we move forward.

Jëan: And you know, that's true even in life today. People have gone through some difficult experiences but the pain does wear off to some degree. And here the promise in the new Earth are those painful experiences or memories will eventually fade away and there'll be nothing to take away from the joy and just the worship, the experience of being eternally in heaven.

Doug: Amen.

Jëan: All right, thank you for your call. Next caller that we have is Gary listening in Illinois. Gary, welcome to the program.

Gary: Thank you. My question is about our covenant with God. I know the first one was circumcision and then the Ten Commandments and now Jesus in Matthew 26 verse 28 says, "This is the blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for the many, for the forgiveness of sins." So to understand that I go to 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." So the New Covenant is Jesus forgiving sin in view of sanctification. Am I right?

Doug: No one is saved by the law. In the Old Testament, they were saved by faith. In the Old Covenant though, it talks about God made an agreement with His people where it says, "Here's my law." And the people said, "All the Lord has said, we will do." But they broke the law almost immediately, they made a golden calf. And then God said in Jeremiah, he said, "I'll make a New Covenant with the house of Israel. I'll write my law on their hearts." Now, the covenants were all sealed with blood. In the Old Testament, the Old Covenant was sealed with a symbol for Christ's blood, it was the blood of a lamb. That's why when Jesus got baptized, John the Baptist said, "This is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." And so Jesus is basically saying, "The New Covenant, it's not based on a lamb's blood, it's based on the precious blood of the Son of God." Yes, and it's through that we're both justified and sanctified, as you mentioned, through faith in that our sins are forgiven and we walk in a newness of life. So hopefully that helps. You know, we have a really good book that I think you'd enjoy and it talks about that covenant. It's a sermon book and I think it's got a little lamb on the cover and talks about the plan of salvation and what that New Covenant is. And if you'd like, we'll be happy to send you a copy of that, Gary. And you call and ask for the book on the new covenant.

Jëan: A matter of fact, here it is, it's called "Blood Behind the Veil." It's got a lamb on the cover.

Doug: That's the one.

Jëan: That's probably the one you're thinking of. Okay, that's the free offer we'll be happy to send it to anyone wanting to learn more about the new covenant. It's called "Blood Behind the Veil." And to get it, just call the number 800-835-6747. You can answer the book. It's called "Blood Behind the Veil" or dial #250 on your Smartphone say "Bible Answers Live," ask for that by name, "Blood Behind the Veil," and we'll be happy to send it to you. All right, next caller that we have is Philip listening in Arkansas. Philip, you're on "Bible Answers Live."

Phillip: All right, thank you. My question is in Revelation 14, after the three angels’ messages, you get to verse 13 and it says, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." So my question is, what's different about those who die in the Lord after the three angels messages versus those who have always died in the Lord?

Jëan: Yeah, good question. You know, I think it's referring to a time of trouble that He's coming upon the earth. According to Daniel chapter 12, it says, "When Michael stands up, there'll be a time of trouble worse than the world has ever seen." We know that God's people will be protected during that time but it's still going to be a difficult time for a lot of people. I mean, you've got the seven last plagues that are pouring out, there's a lack of food, the water's turning to blood, you can just read the description that that has there. And here is sort of a blessing pronounced upon those who have faith in God that are laid to rest before the final time of trouble, their reward is in heaven. And it's true everyone who's died in faith, they are blessed. But in the context of the last days and the events that are taking place, there's actually a blessing for those who are laid to rest before the final events occur.

Doug: That's right. Yeah and I think I was looking for the verse it's in Isaiah where it says that "None considers that some of the people that die are safe from the wrath to come" and back in Isaiah's day he knew the Babylonian captivity was coming. He says, "Those that die before that it's going to be a blessing." And before the great time of trouble, which you find in Revelation 14, as you say, it's going to be a blessing for those to go to sleep and not have to experience that.

Jëan: Does that help Philip?

Phillip: Yeah, that makes sense. I appreciate it.

Jëan: Next caller that we have is Anna listening in Oregon. Anna, welcome to the program.

Anna: Evening pastors. My question tonight is, who are the twenty four elders in Revelation? Are they elders that were resurrected when--after Jesus or are they beings from other planets?

Doug: Well, there are two theories. I'll tell you what one theory is that, you know, when Christ died and rose again, actually it says when He died there was an earthquake and many graves were opened. And some of the saints, or many of the saints that slept around Jerusalem were raised and ascended to heaven with him. Some have thought, well, maybe those 24 elders are composed of some of the saints that were buried around Jerusalem that came forth with Christ. That would be a pretty narrow sample of the people that God would put around the throne. The other theory, and this is probably the one I ascribe to, is that the Bible tells us in Job "There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, sons of God. And they are like the leaders of unfallen worlds. Adam was called the Son of God and he was to have dominion of this world but he gave it to the devil. So instead of Adam showing up, Satan comes to this heavenly meeting again, I'm talking about Job chapter 1. And so it's been believed that, you know, these 24 elders are really representatives of God's unfallen cosmos out there that have come. It's also a play on what you see. When I say play on, it's like there's a symbol in the Old Testament. You read where both David and Solomon, they had leadership that surrounded them in the number of 24, which is of course 12 times 12. It's symbolizing, you know, God's leadership in heaven.

Jëan: Yeah, maybe just one more thing on that pastor, like Isaiah chapter 24 verse 23, this is the Old Testament. It says, "The Lord shall reign before His elders gloriously and that's the Old Testament. And you read in Revelation chapter 4, you have the 24 elders that are already in heaven and Christ doesn't appear until chapter 5. And so they're already in heaven waiting for Jesus and He appears as the lamb as it had been slain. So it appears as though these elders, as you said, are representatives of the Unfallen worlds, and there they are, that great council that are witnessing the cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan.

Doug: All right, next caller that we have is Glenn listening in Ohio. Glenn, welcome to the program.

Glen: Thank you for taking my call, gentlemen. I have a word in my mind a religious word, but in a Bible study one night a couple years ago, I asked the question and everybody giggled until nobody could give an answer to the question. The word, you see it with a definite article only, you never see it with an indefinite article. You see it as an adverb, as a noun, as a direct object but I don't know what the word means or what it is. Can you help me? The word is glory.

Doug: Glory, I think I can. You find the word glory in the Bible many times and it's talking about matter of fact, I'm looking right now, and it says 379 times it appears. When you think of glory, think of something that is bright but in the Bible context, it's not just bright, it's a symbol of holy splendor. And so you've got this brilliant holy splendor around the Lord. And it says, "When Moses came down from the mountain after talking to God, his face was shining." And then Paul talks about, you know, the glory that Moses had was so bright, he veiled his face but how much more glorious is Christ? And you have a lot of examples of this but I think the word may be used a few different ways but that's probably the most prominent.

Jëan: You've got the glory, as you mentioned, the glory of God. This power, this presence, the Bible speaks to that, but then the Bible also tells us to give God glory. So not only does God have glory in and of Himself, but we can give Him glory and the way we do that is to live a life that brings honor to His name, to be obedient to what He asks us to do. We are giving glory to God. "Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do it to the glory of God." And the first angel's message in Revelation 14 says, "Fear God and give Him glory. So it's more than just the glorious presence of God, but it's actually willing obedience that is part of giving glory.

Doug: And even with our mouths you know, when we praise Him, we can be glorifying God in our words as well. So that's, I know that's broad, but it's one of those words that, it's a glorious word

Jëan: That's right.

Doug: Well, that helps a little bit Glen. By the way, I've got a little book, it's called "The Two Witnesses," and it talks about the glorious mount. And this is where God's glory is revealed on the mountain to Peter, James, John, and Jesus is transfigured. And it discusses that a little bit.

Jëan: To receive the book, just call and ask for it. The number is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book, it's called "The Glorious Mount," or dial #250 on your smartphone, say "Bible Answers Live" and say, "I'd like the book, 'The Glorious Mount.'" You know, pastor Doug, we're getting a lot of folks who are actually doing that. They're just dialing #250 and they're able to get the free offer right there. It's easy, easy number to remember. Next caller that we have is, Duane listening from Georgia. Duane, welcome to the program.

Duane: Hey, good evening, gentlemen.

Doug: Evening.

Duane: Just a little bit nervous here, I apologize. Thank you for taking my call and I certainly appreciate your ministry.

Doug: Yeah, thank you dude, just relax, don't worry.

Duane: Well, you're great guys and I'm just really excited to talk to you. I got a question about the Sabbath. A friend of mine is telling me that he believes that we have lost sight of the true Sabbath through Babylon. I don't know if you've ever heard of this before either one of you. He claims that the Sabbath days fall on the same days of the month, like the 15th, the 22nd and the 29th. And that they always follow in like the three months in a row that follow a new moon cycle. Have you've ever heard of anything like this? I just find it hard to believe that God would ever let us lose sight of His true day of worship.

Doug: Yeah, that's a teaching that I think is very unbiblical. It's called the Lunar Sabbath and they think that we are to pick the weekly Sabbath based upon the lunar cycles, but there's really nothing in the Bible that I find that teaches that. The Sabbath always was based on a numerical weekly cycle of one through seven, one through seven, one through seven, that has continued in continuity from Adam to the present day. And there are people that have written the US Naval Observatory and the observatory in Greenwich, England and said, you know, there have been any change to the calendar that has affected the continuity of the weekly cycle. And they say, "The weekly cycle has gone back in continuity since long before the Christian era. And you know, the Jews have been tracking it ever since the Exodus when, you know, it goes all the way to Adam because God creates the first Sabbath on the seventh day in Genesis chapter 2. And then it says, "Abraham kept My laws and My commandments." So you know, the Jews were keeping it, they lost it in Egypt or they started ignoring it. God got them back on track again when He started reigning manna from heaven. He says, "You're going to get six days a week, you'll get enough for one day, on Friday, gather enough for two days, because the next day is a Sabbath and there won't be any on that day." And so, God very clearly for 40 years reestablished what that cycle was. And it was one through seven had nothing to do with the moon. So I've heard that before and it, I think you really have to torture your logic to say that the Sabbaths are governed by the moon.

Jëan: And then we know that Jesus, according to the gospels, he kept the Sabbath as His custom was. And that was 2,000 years ago and since then, we have a whole nation that has been at least aware of which day of the week is the Sabbath. Maybe have the Jews haven't all kept the Sabbath but they know which day is the Sabbath and it's been kept ever since. So there should be no doubt. All right, thank you. Next caller that we have is Lee in Texas. Lee, welcome to the program.

Lee: Yes, sir. Thank you for taking my call tonight.

Doug: Yes, sir, and how can we help you?

Lee: Well, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to ask this question, but I guess I can ask anyone and see if I am wrong. There are six chapters, to the Pope's Encyclical Laudato Si' what happens when all six are done?

Doug: You mean when they're implemented?

Lee: Yes, sir.

Doug: Yeah, well, you know, the Popes have had encyclicals for, you know, 1500 years and it'll lay out the ideals that they want. I don't know that any Pope has ever seen all of it fulfilled. And the Laudato say, Encyclical that Pope Francis wrote, and I understand he's coming up with a 2.0 version of it. It's been updated or expanded. That it was unique in that it especially focused on the environment. And folks are interested to see, you know, how's he going to implement this? Well, so far, you know, he's campaigned for changes and things that would affect global warming and but you know, he certainly hasn't been able to implement all the changes that he has ideals in his letter but it does tell us that the important thing about when the Pope issue is an encyclical, it reveals kind of what their desired agenda is. And so this one was very interesting because it was unique in that I think Francis became the first pope that really said that, you know, the Christians need to focus on saving the planet instead of moral change. It was making, you know, environmental issues a moral issue. So that was interesting. We'll be back in just a few moments, so don't go anywhere, more questions are coming.

Announcer: Stay tuned, "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly.

Andrew: When I was eight years old, I brought home a five foot rattlesnake, and it's gone downhill ever since. Rattlesnakes, sharks, cliff diving, free diving, I wouldn't call myself an adrenaline junkie, I just realized that the closest that I've ever been to being alive is when I'm so close to death. I was raised in the northern mountains of Mexico. I learned English because there was missionary groups that were coming from Colorado and then going to the northern mountains of Mexico. And they were all changed on these short term mission trips and they had these unbelievable experiences in their close encounters with God and I would share their testimony and I would translate for them. And I was jealous. I was jealous because I didn't have a testimony. I didn't have something like that. I didn't have that life changing experience that close encounter with God. I knew He was there I just, I couldn't understand him and I didn't really want anything to do with him and a part of me wanted him not to want anything to do with me. I felt like I was unworthy of God's love. I left Mexico to come to college. Once I got to college I realized how expensive college was. And so in order to pay for college, I became a commercial salmon fisherman in Alaska. And the first time that I stepped on a boat, I knew I was going to be a fisherman for the rest of my life. I met this man in Tennessee, in one of the rivers and I found out that he had an orphanage in Honduras. And he said, you know, you can come down to Honduras, you can help us put a support video together. And you know, he was like, "Maybe you can get some college credits out of it." I said, "You know, that'd be great, I would do that, I would love to do that." And so I flew down to Honduras and one of the conversations that we had during dinner, we were talking about this and that and somehow I brought up rapture and they said, well, find us a place in scripture where it talks about rapture. And I said, it's all over the Bible. They said, is it really though? So they gave me a DVD that said "Amazing Facts" and I remember coming back to America and I started watching and it said, "Amazing facts presents," and Doug Bachelor started talking. One of the things that he said is that the word rapture wasn't in scripture. And that was the first time that I actually heard Pastor Bachelor speak. And then I run into YouTube a video series called "Prophecy Code." And I said, "Oh this is going to be good, sweet." But it was just torture because everything I knew was just getting tossed out the window. He was just using scripture after scripture to take away everything that I thought was normal and everything that I knew about the Book of Apocalypses. Ever since I've learned scriptural truth and I've seen the light, I feel like there's been a fire rekindled in my heart. And I have this knowledge that I want to share with people. It brings me peace and I think that it does that for other people we've managed to share with. My name is Andrew. I am a fisherman and a dreamer. I want to thank you for changing my life. male

Announcer: You are listening to "Bible Answers Live," where every question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His plan to save you. So what are you waiting for? Get practical answers about the good book for a better life today. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. If you'd like answers to your Bible related questions on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7 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've tuned in somewhere along the way, this is a live international active Bible study and you can participate, you can call in with a Bible question and that's 800-God-says, you can not only listen on this radio station you may be listening to, but it's streaming live you want to see the video, you can go to the Amazing Facts Facebook page, the Amazing Facts YouTube page, the Doug Bachelor Facebook page and I think we're streaming live on AFTV and a number of other stations. So tell your friends, if you don't have any, tell your enemies to tune in and give us a call with a Bible question. And I think Pastor Ross we're going to--oh that's right, I'm Doug Bachelor.

Jëan: And I'm Jëan Ross.

Doug: And we're going to go back to the phones.

Jëan: There you go. We got Michael, listening in Florida. Michael, welcome to the program.

Michael: Good evening pastors. How are you guys doing?

Doug: Evening.

Michael: Well, I guess I just want to be candid. I've been stuck in my faith for the past few years now but the thing is, one of the things for some--for whatever reason has been kind of besetting me, is the doctrine of hell, I guess. And I just wanted to ask what does the Bible teach about the ultimate fate of the wicked? Because you know, I was raised to believe in the doctrine of annihilation that God ultimately destroys the wicked. But some time ago, probably like a couple weeks ago, I had like some bad dream about sort of like the eternal torment form of hell and to be quite honest it's you know—

Doug: Rattled you a little bit, huh?

Michael: Yeah, it rattled me, it's robbed me some sleep, it's really like you know—

Doug: Well, first of all—

Michael: It's just blown off my peace so to speak.

Doug: Yeah, I understand Michael. First of all, don't worry about hell if you're planning on going to heaven. So in other words, I don't want to give you comfort that hell won't be so bad so you can go there, the idea is you want to be in the other place no matter what. And then you don't have to worry, either way but let me tell you what the Bible says and hopefully it'll not only bring some comfort but I think it brings some reason. There's two extremes that people make when it comes to misunderstanding the subject of hell. One is that nothing happens to the wicked, and the other is this kind of medieval idea that God broils and burns people for billions of years and they never stop burning for the sins of one lifetime, that's also not true. The Bible says the penalty for sin is death. Revelation says the wicked will be consumed. You read in Malachi chapter 4 it says, "They will be burnt up." It says "You'll diligently consider his place and it will not be." It says "You'll tread down the wicked their ashes under the soles of your feet." That's also in Malachi. It says "The penalty for sin, of course, is death, the gift of God is eternal life." God does not give eternal life to the lost. They are--everyone is cast in the lake of fire that is lost, the lost are cast into the lake of fire. Everyone is punished according to his works. If everyone burns forever they all get the same punishment. Everyone is punished according to his works, and they are consumed. The Bible uses the words consumed, devour, burnt. Now they are burnt with eternal fire. What that means is the result of the fire is eternal. The Bible says the fate of the wicked is the same as Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah, God rained fire upon them. They were burnt, they've never been rebuilt, they were burnt with eternal fire. And so those cities aren't there anymore and they're not still burning. And we have a whole study on this. I could go on and on, but I think it'll bring you comfort. The Bible is really clear that God is fair and just in dealing with the wicked, there is a hell, there is fire, but it does not burn forever and ever.

Jëan: You know, we've got a website called Helltruth.com and it's got all the scriptures there, it's actually got the lesson you're referring to as well, Pastor Doug, and for anyone wondering what's going to happen and why is this important? Well I think first of all, as you said, you know, for the redeemed, they're going to be in heaven, that's where we want to be but the idea of an eternal burning hell for you know, forever, for somebody suffering, just because of their life of sin, that's a reflection on the character of God. Would our loving God do that? I think that doctrine, a misunderstanding of this doctrine has led countless millions to turn away from God saying, "Well, I don't want to serve a God like that, that's going to torture people throughout eternity." That's not what the Bible says.

Doug: Yeah, absolutely. So hopefully that helps a little bit, Michael. And be careful not to let the devil frighten you with dreams because that's really not the source of truth. We can have all kinds of dreams. Jëan: We have a study guide called "Is The Devil In Charge Of Hell?" That actually answers all of these questions in addition to the website, just helltruth.com. You can call and ask for that study guide. The number is 800-835-6747 and ask for it "Is The Devil In Charge Of Hell?" You can also dial #250 on your smartphone and just say, "Bible Answers Live," and then ask for that study guide and we'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. We've got Cami in California. Cami, welcome to the program.

Cami: Good evening, pastors. Thank you very, very much for taking my phone call this evening. My question, it's regarding Matthew 5:48, which says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father, which is in heaven is perfect." So what is meant by perfect, especially in light of all of our righteousness being as filthy rags in Isaiah 64:6?

Doug: Yeah, that is a good question because you know, people are thinking, "Wow! If I've got to be that kind of perfect, how can I do that?" I think part of the answer would be always compare scripture with scripture. When Jesus uses that same phrase in Luke, and if you look in Luke chapter 6 verse 36, He says, "Therefore be merciful, as your father in heaven is merciful." And so the word perfect that he uses in Matthew is the word be mature. And here Jesus, He says, "Be merciful." God wants us to have a perfect love and mercy for other people. If the idea of being perfect means that we all needed to be some sort of super sterilized stainless-steel Christians that you know, are flawless, nobody's going to make it. God wants us to have perfect love and if we love Him, we'll keep His commandments, right? So whenever I find out, when I want to know what is Christian perfection, I just look at the stories in the Bible of the faithful. And I know Elijah's in heaven, I want to be like him. Well, the Bible says, "Elijah was a man subject like passions as we are, but he prayed and God answered his prayers." I want to have the kind of faith Daniel had where he said, "I love the Lord so much that I'd rather go to the lion's den than disobey him." Or the faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego or Peter, James and John, who will be in heaven but they were arguing with each other about which of them was the greatest, they were human. And so you know, God wants us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, to be like Him, be born again, to have that Christian perfection. Hopefully that helps a little bit. Sometimes I remember I first read that and it said, "Be perfect even as the Father is perfect." And I thought, wow! Not only that you read in I think its 1 Peter he says, "Be holy as I'm holy." I think how am I ever going to be as perfect and holy as God? Well, the only way that happens is if God washes us from our sin and gives us His Spirit and His character. So we reflect His image. So it's the born again experience he's talking about.

Jëan: You know, also think just want to--this is when Jesus says, "Be perfect even if your father in heaven is perfect," it's more of a promise than a command because how can someone who is imperfect be perfect? But there is a promise that God is able to do that which we cannot do for ourselves. So to be perfect is a gift of God, it is the Spirit of God working within us we are to cooperate, but in reality, it is the working of God. All right, thank you for your call. We've got Noah listening in Kentucky. Noah, welcome to the program.

Noah: Hey, Pastor Doug.

Doug: Hi. Noah: My question is, if you sell your soul to Satan and get something in return, can you repent and return to God and still go to heaven or is it over, is it final? You know, like—

Doug: Yeah, that's a good question. So if you make a deal with the devil and you promise you make a vow, can you break a vow made to the devil? I would say yes, because otherwise that would be the unpardonable sin. So I mean, there's a lot of examples in the Bible of people that were serving the devil and God transformed them. He got you know, king Manasseh that he was sold out worshiping pagan gods but he was converted, he repented. And so to make a vow to the devil is a sin. So can God forgive sin? Yes, He'll forgive that sin. First of all, the sin of breaking a promise to the devil. Secondly, even dealing with the devil. But yeah, don't fall into that trap of thinking, "Well, I made a promise to the devil and he gave me what I wanted now I'm lost." Repent of what you did and let me give you an example. Maybe it's not a good one but sometimes when we're desperate, we do things and I think God knows you're just not in your right mind. I was hitchhiking one time and praying for a ride and hours went by and I couldn't get a ride. And I thought I was going to die out in the desert on this freeway. And I rashly promised, I said, "Lord, if you'll give me a ride, I promise if I ever get a car, I will pick up every hitchhiker that I see." I was tired and hungry and so I made this kind of a rash promise. Well, I tried when I first got my car to pick up every hitchhiker and then as time went by, I realized, this is absurd, I couldn't do it. And I just said, "Lord you know, that was foolish and I hope you'll forgive me." But that doesn't mean a Christian shouldn't keep their promises but I think sometimes we do things like that and God winks at our ignorance. Do you know, the Bible says that, I don't know if I should say this, the Bible says that "If a wife makes a vow, the husband can overrule it."

Jëan: Have you ever tried to overrule when your wife makes a vow?

Doug: Yeah, but I was three weeks in the hospital. No, I don't call it overruling, don't use that word. I'd say, "Hey, Karen, let's talk about that." All right, new subject. Thanks hope that helps a little bit.

Jëan: Next caller that we have is Aaron listening in New York. Aaron, welcome to the program. You're on the air.

Aaron: Good evening pastors. Thank you for taking my call.

Doug: Yeah.

Aaron: In 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 8, Paul says, "Let us keep the feast." I don't see the word feast mentioned anywhere else in the chapter. My question is, what is the meaning of this Bible verse?

Doug: Yeah, well, he's, he talks in verse 6 he talks about, "Do you not know a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" He's making a reference that all the Jews understood, and I suppose the Corinthian Christians did about the Passover. They were not to have any leaven in their bread and leaven here is a symbol of sin. That's where Jesus told the disciples, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees." The sin or false doctrine. And so then He says, "Let us therefore keep the feast, not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread." So later, and I think it's, is it 1 or 2 Corinthians? He talks about the Passover. That may be a rather the Lord's supper. That may be 2 Corinthians but anyway, I think the listeners understood that He's talking about, the Passover as a symbol of salvation. The angel of judgment passes over because of the blood of the lamb. So they understood that.

Jëan: And I think also part of the controversy in the Old Testament or actually in the New Testament I should say in current was, you had the Jewish believers and then you had the Gentile believers. And the Jewish believers were telling the Gentile believers that they had to keep all of the laws of the Old Testament related to the ceremonial laws. Yeah, and the Passover and so on. Paul is almost saying here that if you're going to keep the feast, it says, "Therefore let us keep the feast not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice or wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." So he's even going a little bit deeper and saying it's not about the keeping of the feast, meaning removing the leaven from the house, but rather there's a spiritual application that he's trying to bring to view.

Doug: Have leaven out of your heart.

Jëan: Just like he says, Jesus is our Passover. We don't keep the Passover.

Doug: It's a spiritual,

Jëan: Spiritual application of it, yeah.

Doug: Thank you, good question, Aaron.

Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is Henry in New York. Henry, welcome to the program.

Henry: Yes, hello pastors. God bless you. My question is, when Jesus comes back, and for the women who were pregnant and they stayed, will the babies be born in heaven?

Doug: Oh, right. That's a great question. I remember I was doing a Bible answer one time on TV and the pastor read the question that what's going to happen to women who are pregnant when Jesus comes? And I said, "Well, they'll be delivered." So you know, I assume that either they would get their glorified bodies and have a painless birth in heaven because in the Garden of Eden, there was no pain in childbirth. But I'm more inclined to believe that when they get their glorified bodies, the little baby is going to be placed in their arms as a new baby. Again, there's a lot of things that we speculate about and you know, people say, "What's going to happen to folks that are on the International Space Station when Jesus comes?" So you'll get all kinds of odd scenarios that are kind of hard to comprehend but I don't worry about that. But yeah, if a woman is saved and she's pregnant, when Jesus comes, she can be sure that she'll either have a painless birth in heaven or those angels will hand her that life with her glorified body.

Jëan: Absolutely. All right, next caller that we have calling from Nevada and Dwinelle. Is that correct?

Dwinelle: Dwinelle.

Jëan: Dwinelle.

Dwinelle: Thank you, thank you for taking my call. My question is in Matthew 12:43-45, talking about "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, and swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself." And my question is, are the spirits or the evil angels different levels of wickedness?

Doug: Well, I think they probably could be. Well, I think that we've learned that even among the good angels it seems like there's different ranking. And so there might be some evil angels that are more powerful which would make them more effectively wicked. Angels, every one of them, they're created and they're individuals and you know, they have different personalities just as people do. The good angels are all holy, the bad angels are all bad but they're unique. They're not like cookie cutter robots. And so I suppose when Jesus said, "He'll take with them some that are even more wicked, that there are varying degrees among the evil angels.

Jëan: Well, you know, we noticed that even in the experience that Jesus had, remember one occasion a man brought his son to Christ and he was demon possessed and the disciples couldn't cast the devils out. And then Jesus said, "Well, this kind comes out with prayer and fasting." So there does seem to some kind of rank or power—

Doug: More intense, yeah.

Jëan: Yeah, than others, which yeah, interesting.

Doug: So yes, and I think that the most important part of that parable, and it is a parable, is Jesus is saying, "If you come to him and the devils are cast out and you're forgiven of your sins, replace that in your life with something good. If you don't introduce the light of the truth in your life, eventually the darkness comes back and it can seem even darker. It's like where Peter said, if someone or it's Hebrews rather in chapter, is it chapter 4 verse 6 or 6 verse 4, where he said, "If someone turns away from the truth, the latter state of that man is worse than the beginning." Peter says, "It's like the dog returning to his vomit or the pig that was washed to the wallowing of the mire," and in Hebrews it says, "It's impossible to renew them to repentance." And so it's like the grip of the devil doubles if you turn back. It's not that you can't be saved but it can be more difficult.

Jëan: Okay, next one that we have is Michael listening in California. Michael, welcome to the program.

Michael: Thank you.

Doug: Yes sir.

Michael: Had a question for you about the feast days. Leviticus 23, they're listed right there. And the first three verses are talking about the Sabbath, the weekly Sabbath. Now I've been keeping these days since 1975 and I don't know who to ask about this but I'll throw it at you. Those weekly Sabbath on the first three verses should be included in the New Year, correct? As you have the Day of Atonement, you have Feast of Trumpets and all that, God lifts them from that point on. And it's based on the spring equinox, the 10th day you select the lamb and on the 14th day you kill him and you sacrifice him.

Doug: Yeah, let me pause you for a second just to make sure I'm understanding. Are you asking if we should be keeping the annual feast? Because the Sabbath in verse 3 is a weekly feast and the other one's mentioned in chapter 23 are the annual feasts?

Michael: That's correct.

Doug: So you're wondering if we should keep them the same?

Michael: These should be in the same year. That would mean that there would be a new calendar every year because those days change and instead of using the Gregory Pope calendar.

Doug: Yeah, well the Gregorian the Gregorian calendar had nothing to do with the Jewish feast days that didn't come around until—

Michael: That's correct, you're right.

Doug: Well, Julius Caesar is the Julian Calendar and then later you had Pope Gregory updated the Julian Calendar and that's why we're now living under the Gregorian. But neither of those had anything to do with Leviticus. They lived long before Leviticus as long before the Caesar's. So but just, yeah, well let me jump—

Michael: You count the days though. Okay, go ahead.

Doug: Yeah, let me just jump in here now and what's happening in Leviticus 23 is Moses is going through the annual feasts. He begins by separating the weekly Sabbath and saying, "Of course, six days your work will be done. The seventh day is the Sabbath." A holy convocation you gather together and all your dwellings, that's a weekly cycle. That was part of creation, part of God's perfect plan. It says, in heaven, from one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come and worship before the Lord. And so that's a memorial of salvation, it's a memorial of creation. The Levitical annual feast did not happen until after 2,000 years after sin or even more than that because it was after Moses, after the Exodus. And they were nailed to the cross and if someone wants to keep them, well more power to you. Paul said, "You know, if you're going to keep a day, keep it to the Lord, if you're not going to keep it, don't keep it." He's talking about the annual feasts. Because the Jewish believers were telling the Christian believers, you have to keep Passover, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles and they didn't, they didn't have to. The one that we're still obligated to keep is the one that's in the Ten Commandments. The annual feasts are not part of the Ten Commandments. So we do have a book that talks about the, should Christians keep the feast days? And we'll be happy to send you a copy of that Michael.

Jëan: You know, just to add to that quickly, pastor, that you know, I think it might be confusing sometimes the ceremonial Sabbaths were referred to as Sabbaths. So you have the sixth day you know, every seventh day Sabbath, but then you have the annual Sabbath. The feast days were to be commemorated like a Sabbath. In other words, they weren't to work on that day and it was a gathering, a holy convocation which occurred also on the seventh day Sabbath. So when you see the word Sabbath, it could refer to the Seventh day Sabbath, or it could be referring to one of those ceremonial Sabbaths. And that's why you need to, you need to figure out, is this an annual day that it's talking about or is this the weekly day? And that's the distinction.

Doug: Some were ceremonial part of the Levitical law, the weekly Sabbath was part of the Ten Commandments and it had a very practical application for all people at all time and even the animals were to be given a day of rest. So, just want to make sure that we're separating the two out and I think Michael was saying that he thought we should still be under an obligation to keep both. So we do have that book.

Jëan: It's called, Feast Days And Sabbaths," we'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. The number is 800-835-6747, or you can dial #250 on your smartphone. Let's see, Pastor Doug, we might have time for one or two more callers. Let's try for, we got Thomas in New York. Thomas, welcome to the program.

Thomas: Oh, how're you doing? Thanks for taking my call. There's a lot of stuff on the Internet here about you know, Ellen G. White trying to predict the end of the world. Will Miller and they say, Ellen G. White is a false prophet you know, the Seventh-day Adventist’s laws. How do I address this where they say the Seventh-day Adventist tried to predict the Second Coming of Christ? Like how, what should I tell them?

Doug: Ellen White never predicted the Second Coming of Christ. Ellen White was one of many Christians in the 18th-- 19th century that were in the Millwright movement. And the Millwright movement was believing that Christ was coming in 1844. But she did not predict that and actually later said that was a mistake. So, people that try to connect the two, it's just not accurate. It was William Miller that established that date.

Jëan: I don't think the Bible's quite clear Pastor Doug, "No man knows the day or the hour." So if anyone's trying to predict when Jesus is coming, well be aware.

Doug: Yeah and Ellen White said "Don't predict it, no one knows the day or the hour." So hopefully that answers that. Do we have about--have a question that we can ask?

Jëan: Yeah, we got Robert in Washington. Robert real quick, we got just a few minutes.

Robert: Yeah, real fast. Thank you for taking the call. On 1 Samuel 16 and verse 16 and 23, it says, "An evil spirit from God." I didn't think that evil spirits came from God. If you could explain that to me, I appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Doug: Yeah, good question. Probably the best way to understand that is when you read the Book of Job, the devil was asking permission to prove that Job wasn't really loyal to God and God had to basically lengthen the devil's leash or allow him to do it. So you might say, "Well, God sent the devil to Job." You know, God, every good and perfect gift comes from God. God allowed Job to be tested to a certain point to demonstrate his faith and even to strengthen his faith. But it was the devil that did it, it was the devil that initiated it. And it's the same thing that you're reading about with King Saul. Saul grieved away the Holy Spirit because of his pride. And when you grieve away the light, the only thing that's left is darkness. The devil came in as an evil spirit and filled that vacuum and tormented the king. So the Hebrew uses kind of the old phrase, came from the Lord. Hey friends, you've asked some great questions tonight and I just as time goes so quickly, I wish we had more time Pastor Ross. Thanks so much for studying the Word of God with us and Lord willing, we'll do it again together next week. 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.

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Jëan: Hello friends, for those of you who stayed by, we had to greet and say goodbye to those listening on satellite radio but for the rest of you, we've got your email questions that we'd like to answer. If you have a Bible question you want to email to us, it's just BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. Pastor Doug, question number one, "Is Satan an angel?" I know that he was a covering cherub but is that the same as an angelic being?

Doug: Well, I think that he would be in the category of angels and you can read, is it, 2 Corinthians chapter 11, it says, "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." Well, he's an angel of darkness but he can look like an angel of light. So we would categorize him as an angel.

Jëan: Does a person need to be baptized to get to heaven?

Doug: Well, we are not saved by virtue of baptism. I don't want to give the wrong impression. There will be people in heaven who are not baptized but Christ is pretty clear in the New Testament. It says, John the Baptist was doing baptism and the last words of Jesus are go teach baptize. And He said, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved." And Peter said, "Repent and be baptized and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." So baptism is as important to a Christian as a wedding is to a marriage. So if a believer can be, they must be.

Jëan: All right, then there's a follow-on question, it says, who then can do the baptism? Can any other Christian do the baptism or do they have to be a licensed pastor? How does that work?

Doug: You know, it seems that in the Bible that Jesus authorized certain leadership to perform baptisms. They were the very least deacons but typically the apostles. And in Samaria when they accepted the Lord, they then sent John and Peter to lay hands on them. And so there was some authority designated making sure those that were baptized were clearly instructed in the gospel.

Jëan: Okay, "Do we know anything more about the mark that was placed on Cain after he killed Abel?"

Doug: You know, that is something of an enigma and pardon the play on words. It just says a mark and the word is almost like, you know, something that would be impressed or engraved but it may have been a mark as though he was a marked man. There was some significant difference, or he had been marked by his behavior and his record. We really don't know, it doesn't say anything more than what you read there in the text.

Jëan: And of course you also find a mark in Revelation.

Doug: Yeah, so there's an analogy there.

Jëan: Last quick question, Pastor Doug, "Why are there gates on the New Jerusalem if there's nothing evil outside?"

Doug: Gates aren't all bad to keep bad things out, gates are also borders to keep good in and just gives us a delineation. Thank you so much again for your questions. God bless we'll study again together next week.

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