It's the Little Things

Doug Batchelor: Hello, friends. Would you like to hear an amazing fact? Since the inception of NASA, the United States has spent nearly $650 billion on our space program. Tragically, millions of those dollars were wasted because of little mistakes. On July 22nd, for example, 1962, Mariner 1 launched from Cape Canaveral. Its mission was to reach Venus and maintain contact with mission control for about 25,000 hours, which was 100 times longer than the previous Ranger probes to the moon.

However, about five minutes into the mission, the command was given for the vehicle to self destruct. The $18 million Atlas rocket had malfunctioned because of the single missing hyphen in a computer program. Yes, a missing dash ended up costing, what would today be $183 million? Far more tragic, on January 28th, 1986, the space shuttle challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing seven crew members and traumatizing the nation. The $3.2 billion shuttle and seven lives were lost because of a $2.00 ring seal that had not been tested. Neglecting little things can have catastrophic consequences.

You know, Jesus made this clear that little things can make a big difference. He told us that the very hairs of our head are numbered. He said that a sparrow does not fall without the notice of your Heavenly Father. And He said that not even a jot or a tittle would pass from His Word till all is fulfilled. Let me read that to you friends. It's in Matthew chapter 5, verse 17 through 19, "Do not think to say that I've come to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, he will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

And you can see here, Jesus was making a case for not only the enduring nature of His law, but he said, not even a jot or tittle. That would be the equivalent in English of saying that the dot on an "I" or the crossing of a "T," something like a little hyphen or a dash in a programming code, it's very small. You wouldn't think it would make a big difference, but Jesus says not a word is to fail. Heaven and earth will pass away first. Some people say that, you know, after Jesus came, that He did away with the Law. Jesus said, whoever teaches others that even the least of these commandments has been done away, he will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. Of course, Christ is talking about the Ten Commandments, the moral law, not the ceremonial or the sacrificial law. Many people are being taught error regarding to the importance and the permanence of God's Law. And so we have a special offer we'd like to make available tonight. It's called the "Written in Stone."

If you'd like to better understand the eternal nature of God's Law and how to separate the Ten commandments from the other you know, ceremonial laws or some of the traditional laws, that'll be very clear and it's important to understand that. Just ask for your free copy of "Written in Stone." It's offer #111, and you can call the free offer number 800-835-6747. Now, for any of our friends that want to call in, we have lines open. The way to do that is just to call 800-GOD-SAYS. That's 800-463-7297.

I am Doug Batchelor, Pastor Jëan Ross is out for the night and with the help of the Lord and our friends in the studio, we're going to negotiate an hour of doing our best to answer your Bible questions from the Word of God. But as always, we begin with a word of prayer. Loving Lord, thank you again for the gift that we have of Your Word, this love letter from heaven that communicates what is truth. And I pray you'll bless every aspect of this program that, that truth that sets us free might be faithfully proclaimed. Please bless Lord. We ask in Jesus's name. Amen.

Once again, if you want to call in with your question, it's 800-GOD-SAYS. That's 800-463-7297. And keep a pencil handy because during the program, we often have free resources we make available depending on the various nature of the questions that come in, and we'll be sharing those with you as well. Alright. I also want to welcome those who are not only watching on television. You know, if you don't know friends, we're streaming live. You can go to the "Amazing Facts" YouTube Channel, if you want to see what's happening in the studio, as well as listen. Or the "Amazing Facts," Facebook page, the Doug Batchelor Facebook page, on AFTV, and others. And we're going to go to the phones now and talk to Jerry. Jerry who is calling from Texas. You're on the air Jerry, with "Bible answers Live."

Jerry: Hey, pastor. Good evening to you.

Doug: Good evening.

Jerry: My question refers to Matthew 27, verses 51 to 52. And this relates to the last day of Christ on earth. A great earthquake happened and the curtain in the most Holy Place was torn asunder from top to bottom and many graves of the saints were open and upon His resurrection, these saints arose showing Jesus had power over the grave. Now there is Bible commenter that said that some of these people, I want to get your take on it that were from after creation, pre-flood and then of course, post-flood. That they may have been some of the characters that God chose to raise up as the first fruits of His. Like a wave sheaf, you know? And I just wanted to get your take on that because it was powerful.

Doug: Alright, well let's just make it clear. We talked, of course, about Matthew chapter 27. And this is saying, when Jesus died on the cross, there's a great earthquake. Following the earthquake, some of the tombs, and it's not a universal resurrection. it says around Jerusalem were opened. It says, because they end up going into the Holy City. They don't rise from the dead right during the earthquake says, after His resurrection, they went into the Holy City. In other words, they waited until He rose, then they rose. They went into the Holy City and appeared to many.

Now, it's vague. How many is many? You know, if five people are resurrected, we'd say that's many because it doesn't happen very often. It may have been 20, it may have been 40. We don't know, it wasn't a universal resurrection. Who were they? The Bible doesn't say. But and you notice this is not mentioned by Mark, Luke, or John. So, but it is mentioned by Matthew who did a very careful accounting, that there was a small group of saints. When I say small group, there was many around Jerusalem, but small compared to the universal group that will be raised someday, and they were taken like a wave sheaf. Now these are faithful that live probably in the proximity of Jerusalem, we can only speculate, you know? It may have been people like Isaiah that was killed in Jerusalem for his faith. We know it wasn't David because Peter tells us in Acts chapter 2, 40 days after the resurrection, he said, "Let me speak to you freely of the patriarch David, that he is dead and buried, and his grave is with us and he is not ascended to heaven."

So Peter is extremely clear that David was not in that number, but there was a special group that Jesus rose to take to heaven as sort of a first fruits trophy. And don't know what their names were, but it's going to be exciting to find out. Thank you, Jerry. I hope that helps a little bit. Talking next to Anthony, calling from New York. Anthony, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."

Anthony: Yes. So, I find that sometimes I ask questions and then I listen to your sermon and you answer the question in one of your sermons. So I'll keep asking anyway. My question has to do with Revelation chapter 21, verse 22. And it says, "And I saw no temple therein: For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." And so with the understanding of what it says in Hebrews chapter 1, I'm sorry, chapter 8, verses 1 through 5 where it talks about the pattern, the heavenly pattern that Moses was shown in the mountain. I guess, you know, we understand that there's a heavenly sanctuary that there was earthly pattern of. So I guess I want to know is, how is Jesus or, you know, God the Father and God the Son, the Temple in the New Jerusalem?

Doug: Yeah, good question. Let's talk about it. First of all, there is a Temple in heaven, it's there right now. The Bible is very clear. The earthly temple was built and patterned after the heavenly temple. And Jesus ministers, the New Testament tells us, as our high priest in that temple, and the temple of God, of course, is a dwelling place of God. Now, there's something different about the sanctuary now, than there would be in the future.

The earthly sanctuary was all about dealing with sin. It had, you know, the first thing you saw was an altar when you came in, where the sacrifice was killed, bled, then burned, and then there was washing and blood was brought into the Holy Place. That was all part of the process of salvation and forgiveness. When we get to heaven, there's no longer a need for continuing forgiveness from sin. We're all purified from sin at that point. So why is it saying then that Jesus is the temple? Well, Jesus compares Himself to the temple several times in His ministry and the apostles do. Jesus said, "Destroy this temple that is made with hands and in three days, I will make one without hands." They accused Him of that at His trial, and also He did say it in the gospel of John. He said, "I will raise it up in three days." And they said, "This Temple has taken 46 years to restore, you're going to raise it up in three days?" He spoke of His Body.

And so we are called living stones. Christ is a cornerstone. We are called the Body of Christ. And so I think it's telling us there in Revelation chapter 21, that God is our dwelling place. And in that sense, Jesus is the Temple. Jesus is not going to turn into an edifice in heaven, but it's one of the names for Christ. He is a Temple. Thank you. I hope that makes sense, Anthony. By the way, we do have a lesson on the sanctuary. We'll send you or anyone who wants to know more about it, a free copy. And it's called, "God Drew the Plans." "God Drew the Plans." And just call the number 800-835-6747, and we'll share that with you. Alright, we're talking to Brittany in California. Britney, you are on the air with "Bible Answers Live."

Britney: Hey.

Doug: Thanks for calling. And your question?

Britney: Yeah, my question is, Does 1 Kings have to deal with our current government and how this world nowadays has become, definitely a little more warped in their thinking and judgment?

Doug: When you say 1 Kings, you mean the book of 1 Kings?

Britney: Yeah.

Doug: What, cause 1 Kings is kind of all over the map with different kings and different situations. Was there a particular story? Because, you know, we don't have a monarchy in America anyway.

Britney: Things like Ahab and Jezebel and their idolatry or one of the other evil Kings.

Doug: Yes. Yeah. Thank you. That makes more sense, Britney. Now, I think I know where you're coming from. Yeah, there was a time during the time of Elijah where God's people had kind of drifted into great apostasy. And you'll notice that the history of Israel is very similar to the history of the Church. The history of Israel in the Old Testament, it's similar to what's happened to the history of the church in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the Northern Kingdom kind of went into apostasy and they got involved in idolatry, and the Southern Kingdom tried to remain true and stick to the Word and maintain the ordinances of the Lord with the priests of the Lord. So you had the one group that was compromised and that's what's happened to the church.

You know, you've got a large Catholic Orthodox Church that's gotten into idolatry and you might say 10 tribes are there. But then you have the Protestants that are trying to stick a little more to the fundamentals of the Bible, and so you'll actually see among spiritual Israel, some of the same history has been acted out. Unfortunately, in the Old Testament, there is a unity during the time of Ahab and Jehoshaphat. They started to join forces in a few battles and it turned into a disaster. Revelation tells us that these powers of Protestantism and Catholicism are going to unite with the beast power in persecuting God's people. And so, are we seeing these days lived out again? Yes, in many ways.

For anyone that wants to know more about this, you can look at our free lesson. We'll send it to you. It's called "America in Prophecy." Once again, call that number 800-835-6747 and ask for the free study guide on "America in Prophecy." Thank you Britney. Going to go and talk to Debbie in Canada. Debbie, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."

Debbie: Hi, Pastor Doug. How are you?

Doug: Doing great. Thank you for calling.

Debbie: Okay, I have a question. In Genesis 1, it says, "In the beginning God made heaven and earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Does that mean there was water here? And how could that be if everything was void?

Doug: Well, when it says void, the word void doesn't mean there's nothing. Void means that things are in a chaotic state and there was probably vapor all over the planet, clouds. And it was in this chaotic state because then what God does is He begins to separate the waters below from the waters above. Kind of like when you got a foggy day and the fog lifts, and you see clouds above and things clear up. So I believe there was water here. There was rock here. You know, God came to this mass and that was here in chaos. Everything was in confusion and he brought order to it. So it's interesting, you know, just while you're thinking about it where it says the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. You've got the Holy Spirit there talking about waters. You go to the last verses in the Bible and it says, and the Spirit and the Bride says, come and whoever is a thirst, let him come and take the waters of life freely. So, again, at the end of the Bible, you got the Spirit and the waters again, which I always thought was intriguing. Hey, thank you, Debbie. We appreciate your call and your question tonight. Alright, we're going to talk next to Carlos calling from Florida. Carlos you're on the air with "Bible answers Live."

Carlos: Good evening, Pastor Doug.

Doug: Evening. How can we help tonight?

Carlos: So, the question is, in the 2300 day prophecy of Daniel. Is there any way without going to an outside source to confirm the starting date, the 457 BC date, you know, the command to rebuild Jerusalem?

Doug: Yes. Well, the-- and for our friends that are listening, Carlos is asking about one of the most important prophetic dates in the Bible and it needs to be established because you get two major prophecies that hinge on this. The prophecy in Daniel chapter 8, where it says 2300 days, then the sanctuary will be cleansed. But Daniel faints before the angel can tell him when that prophecy begins. In Daniel 9, the angel Gabriel returns and he says, I've come to give you understanding, meaning for the first prophecy, but he even expands it because Daniel was praying, when's the Messiah going to come? So then the angel gives Daniel what we call the 490 year prophecy telling when the Messiah would be anointed, about this one week of ministry, how He would die in the midst of that seven year period. So both visions has one starting date and the starting date given by the angel is, from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem.

Now, there were three commandments that kind of came in stages. The last final permission was given by Artaxerxes and it was in the year 457. You find this in Ezra chapter 7, actually has the decree. So, if you're wondering which decree it was, it would certainly be the one that the prophet highlights, Ezra and he must have known what that all meant. And also history supports that. Now, there are some historians that contend that, you know, they're kind of quibbling over six months. But, you know, 457 is the right date. I hope that helps. And, you know, you have to just research that, go to Ezra 7, or look in Encyclopedia Britannica or some other historical resources, and you'll find that. Thank you. Alright, and we're going to talk with Juneth, who's calling from Nevada. Juneth, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."

Juneth: Blessed evening. Can you hear me?

Doug: I do!

Juneth: Okay my dear. I have a question on the context of the archangel in 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 16. It says you're going to hear the shout of the Lord of citizens from the eastern skies. And then you're going to hear also the, is it the sound of the archangel? My question is, who's this archangel? Is this archangel, Michael who is trying to personify Jesus? Or are they both? You can see them at the same time?

Doug: Yeah, that's a good question because, it kind of gives you the answer right there. The word archangel is only found twice in the Bible, once in the book of Jude verse 9, and here in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. It says, "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel," the Lord with the voice. And the word "archangel" means highest or chief. Angel means messenger. The Lord is coming with the voice of the greatest messenger. You know, there's a sermon that I preached, oh, maybe three weeks ago. If you go to the Doug Batchelor YouTube or Facebook and you go back about three weeks, you'll see, I just did a message on who is Michael the Archangel. And if you take a look at that Juneth, I think you'll be blessed by it, and there's a free book we'll be happy to send you. All you have to do is call and ask for it. "Who is Michael The Archangel" goes along with the message, the message I go into a lot of depth too. So hopefully that'll help a little bit. Alright, talking to Brian. Brian is calling from Washington. You're on the air, Brian.

Brian: Hello, Pastor Doug.

Doug: Hi.

Brian: My question is, what was the first marriage in the Bible? The reason I asked that is, how did we develop into the marriage ceremony and all the legalities and everything based if the two become one flesh?

Doug: Good question. Let me see if I can do my best to answer that for you. The first marriage was performed by God and as far as I know, the only marriage performed by God was Adam and Eve. God performed one funeral too and that was the funeral of Moses. It says God buried him and God married Adam and Eve. And you know, when the earth was sparsely populated, marriage is, you know, pretty small affairs. But it was always something that was done as a sacred commitment, and a covenant because, you know, even at the beginning, God said a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. This is a permanent covenant to establish this family unit with a mother and a father, which is God's ideal. As time went on because, you know, sometimes people were making contracts with wives or someone might get married and not know that this person was married. And they wanted everybody in the community to know these two have made a covenant. It was something to be celebrated. It was also something to be advertised so that other men and women would know these individuals are off the market, so to speak. They've made a covenant and they're married. And marriage doesn't have to be in a church to be legal. To be legal, it's a covenant performed before witnesses. And for a Christian, I don't know why you wouldn't want it to be done where it would also include a covenant, then the presence of God. And so that's why many Christians, they have their marriages in a church. It's a sacred ceremony. But hopefully that helps.

We do have a book that talks about marriage, divorce and remarriage. But it does address the function of marriage. I always thought it was interesting when a wife was chosen for Isaac. Says, "When Isaac saw Rebecca," it says, "He took her to his mother's tent and she became his wife." It's pretty, they were nomads and I guess it was a pretty private occasion. But you also notice Jacob when he got married, it was a seven day celebration. And so it, and when Samson got married, again, a seven day celebration, it was a much bigger event. Of course, Jesus's first miracle was at a wedding. Alright, we're going to see here. Talking to Anthony in Michigan. Let's see if we can address your question. Anthony, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."

Anthony: Hi Pastor Doug.

Doug: Hi.

Anthony: I was going through something in my mind lately while I was wondering. In different parts of the Bible, it gives different examples of, like, self-defense, and then, like, examples of self-control, of giving in to somebody striking and then one responding, and the decision to or not give to that. Like Jesus when he was arrested, he didn't try to resist any of that. But like, it's not like God didn't send David out to do some stuff too. And there's, like, times where it seems ok. And there's times where it seems not. And I'm wondering if there's like any resources, or guides, or verses, or stories you might know that might give me a more clear understanding.

Doug: Well, you know, when Jesus talked about, if someone strikes you on, you know, the right side, offer him the other also, He is talking about as a Christian in settling disputes. He wasn't talking about someone pulling a knife on you, or attacking your family. You know, Christ also said in Mark 3:27, "No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he binds the strong man." In other words, if that strong man is not stopped, he will stop the intruder. And Jesus said, and then you got again, Christ says in Luke 11:21, "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own place, his goods are in peace."

So it's a law of life that your persons and property can be protected. And you know, if someone threatens your family with physical force, and you're able to defend them, I think it's what you call a self-evident truth, you should. You know, no one, no Christian, anybody wants to ever resort to violence. But you got Chris-- you know, God did use people in the Bible like David and Samson and others that you know, he inspired with supernatural strength and skill to defend, and even to deliver his people from their enemies. So, there's no moral dilemma in doing that.

I think that, you know, Christians, if you're involved in a war, should do their best to find positions where they can be supportive in a humanitarian way, as opposed to taking human life. And some of you have all heard the story of like, Desmond Doss that wanted to be a non-combatant in World War II. He said I'm going to be a conscientious supporter, and he said I will support, but I'm not going to take up a gun. I'll try and heal and support my troops, and which he ended up getting a medal of honor for doing that. But he said, I'm not going to take up a gun and try and take another life. So, you know, he said, I'll let other people do that. I'm not going to do it. Good question. I hope that helps a little bit. Anthony don't have a resource particularly on that. I think I got a, I do have a sermon online called "Does God Believe In War?" And that sort of answers some of those questions.

You hear the music friends. This just means we're getting ready to take a break and we'll be coming back and taking more Bible questions just a moment. So don't go away. We have some important announcements to share with you.

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Sandy: I always have felt like a lost soul, kind of like a square peg trying to fit in a round hole. Brokenness, estrangement, that's been the running theme I think of my life. My real father left me when I was just a year old. And my stepfather married my mother when I was not much older than maybe two and he was an alcoholic. He'd come home and the minute he got home, he'd start drinking until he passed out on the couch. That was my reality every night. My mom was hardly ever there. I was being raised by a stepdad, and sometimes and when he would drink, he would tell me that I was sort of the unwanted baggage that he didn't bargain for. And so I was always feeling like never good enough.

My mom, she was fearful that I was going to become an addict like my stepdad and get into trouble, so she put me in a church school and I thrived. But when I was 12 years of age, I found out she's been married five times, and I was the sixth child and I never knew my siblings. It kind of rocked my world and I was angry and I didn't understand why I had this family that was withheld from me. So when I graduated school, you know, I just kind of went out into the world. You know, I was wild and I sought relationships. I didn't seek God, I sought relationships, I sought the feeling of love through relationships with men. I went through three marriages and I had two children by two different marriages in those three marriages. And I found myself repeating the same history my mom did.

A couple of years later, here comes the pandemic. I suffer with autoimmune disease and all the things that they were saying in the media was frightening, and I was scared to death, and I felt so out of touch with people. You know, I was listening to Doug Batchelor on "Amazing Facts" on YouTube. I had found that I didn't listen to the news, I listened to "Amazing Facts." I had that always on in my house and that was my sustaining strength through all of the fear that happened through the pandemic and the lockdowns. God taught me who I am. He became my family, that empty place that I always had, He filled. And then when He started to fill that empty place, He started to show me His truth, and it's brought such a peace to my life. It's brought such a stability to my life and I know that I belong to Him. God used "Amazing Facts" to do that for me, to reach into my living room where I was at on days that I couldn't even get off of my couch. And He fed me through that ministry. My name is Sandy and thank you for changing my life.

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 PM and 8 PM 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." This is a live international interactive Bible study and you're invited to call in with your Bible questions. We're also streaming on Facebook, on the "Amazing Facts" Facebook page, the "Amazing Facts" YouTube page, the Doug Batchelor Facebook and YouTube pages as well as "Amazing Facts" television and other outlets. And our next question is coming from Glenn in Ohio. Glenn, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live." Hi!

Glenn: Good evening, Pastor Batchelor. Thank you for taking my call.

Doug: Thank you for your patience.

Glenn: You know, sir, during the turn from the BC to AD, the Romans persecuted the Jewish people terribly. Principally, I understand because they wouldn't come into their religion. They really persecuted them terrible but today we find Jews go join, coming out of Judaism and going to Christianity by the fistful as it were. Can that be considered as a victory for Rome?

Doug: No, because Christians, Jews have become Christians. I'm one of them. Jews who have become Christians are not, first of all, they're not becoming Roman Catholics and they're not becoming worshippers of the emperor. The Roman emperor, you know, in the time of Christ, it was Augustus Caesar. They claimed to be deity. I think Julius Caesar was the first who did that. They start claiming to be gods. And the Christians and the Jews were offended by that. The Romans had the heads of their Caesars on the coins. Remember Jesus asked when he said-- they were testing, Jesus and said, "Should we pay taxes to the Romans?" And Christ said, "Show me a coin. Whose inscription, whose image is there?" They said, "Caesars." He said, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God, the things that are God's." Jew and Christians do not worship the Roman gods.

And so when a Jew becomes a Christian, a Jew becoming a Christian is really becoming a fulfilled Jew, because the ultimate fulfillment of the Jew was to proclaim the Messiah to the world. And they did that at Pentecost, and many of the Jews that were there believed, and the first early church was all Jewish actually. The apostles were all Jewish. So, it's not a denial of Christianity or Judaism to become a Christian. I think it's a fulfillment. Great question, Glenn. Thank you. Hope that helps a little bit. Alright, talking next to Linda. Linda is calling here in California, and you're on the air, Linda.

Linda: Hi there.

Doug: Hi.

Linda: Thank you. This is about, it's Exodus 4:25, is where my question is. And before that, Moses is talking to the Lord and then, I don't understand what Zipporah meant. His wife, when she-- I'll read it from the authorized version, "Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at Moses's feet, and said, surely a bloody husband art thou to me." I don't know what she, what was going on there?

Doug: Yeah, that is a good question. And we get that from time to time. Anyone reading through the Bible, they get that and they go, what in the world is the back story here?

Linda: Yeah, and I can understand.

Doug: You know, once, let me give you the picture of what's going on. So Moses, he leaves Egypt. Moses is Jewish. Moses was circumcised as a baby because his mother, they're supposed to circumcise at eight days. His mother kept him what till he was three months. So when Moses was pulled from the river, even the Egyptian princess, you know, a little baby boy, they're naked and she said, oh, it's a Hebrew child. You could see that and they adopted him and he always knew that. But when he ran away from Pharaoh and he went out into the wilderness, he married one of the daughters of Jethro, Zipporah. And Jethro, and they may not have been practicing circumcision, even though they were related to Abraham.

So, when Moses has two sons, there must have been some family dispute where Zipporah thought that's a barbaric thing. I don't want you doing that to our boys and Moses gave in to her. Now, Moses is going to lead God's people out of Egypt. And circumcision is a covenant for Israel. And he hasn't practiced circumcision in his own family. And, because his wife was resisting it, and God stopped him on the way and was going to kill him. Now God of course, doesn't swing and miss. It means that an angel withstood him, like Balaam, with a sword drawn. And God said, look, I've called you to lead my people and you're disobeying me in something that you know, you're the lead of the family. You should be taking care of this.

Zipporah heard all that and with some regret, she circumcised the son and cast the foreskin at his feet. She said, "You're a bloody husband," meaning I think this is barbaric, but she did it. So that's probably what was happening is Moses was in disobedience regarding circumcising one or both of his sons. We don't know, only one is mentioned here. Eventually during the plagues, Moses sends Zipporah and the boys back to Midian, to where the father-in-law was and he rejoins them in the wilderness later. But, there was a family dispute, It seems, over circumcision.

Linda: Okay, terrific, thank you very much.

Doug: That makes sense?

Linda: Yes.

Doug: Okay, thank you, appreciate that. Good question. Alright, let's see here. Alright, let's see, we're talking next to Robert in Connecticut. Robert, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."

Robert: Hey, good afternoon, good evening Doug Batchelor. Yeah. Hey, the Hebrews 10:26. Could you help me understand that better because I'm looking at that and it's pretty scary. If somebody has a sin that they are trying to—

Doug: Get the victory over, yeah.

Robert: You get the victory over versus, you know, willfully. I mean, somebody might know it's wrong but they can't quite get it right yet. Are they doomed or?

Doug: Well, let me read this for our friends that are listening. So they, I know what you're talking about and you do. But it says in Hebrews 10:26, "For if we sin willfully after we've received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no longer a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation that will devour the adversaries. Anyone who rejected Moses' Law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witness. Of how much more severe punishment, do you suppose, he will be thought worthy? Who's trampled underfoot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of Grace."

So Paul is saying that if a person continues, and the word here, if we continue to sin willfully after we've received the knowledge of the truth. You know, the whole message of salvation is to turn from our sins, to be saved, not in our sins but from our sins. Now that doesn't mean you're not going to fall and have battles, because everyone listening to my voice right now knows you do. But we cannot be content to continue to sin willfully. Willful sin is different than someone slipping up. When someone says, well, I'm just going to continue to sin, and they're not fighting the temptation and doing all they can humanly do, and trust in God's grace to ultimately give them the victory, well, they basically surrendered to the devil. A Christian should never be satisfied with a known sin in their life. They should always be doing all they can to call on God's power to resist. The Bible says, "Resist the devil and he'll flee from you." There's a struggle. Now, you know the very fact, the Bible says, we strive, we wrestle, we fight, we war, we struggle against sin. These are terms the Bible uses.

Every believer has this battle between the Spirit and the flesh going on. Don't be discouraged, but don't ever come to the place and many pastors are telling their people this lie. Don't ever come to the place where you're comfortable in willfully sinning. You see what I'm saying? Because if we say, well, I guess we're all sinners, and you make no effort to resist, then you're basically surrendering to sin. And Jesus says, I am more powerful than the devil. I can save you from your sins. So I know people who struggled with alcohol and were saved and they never drank again. I know people who struggle with smoking. I'm one of them, and God saved me from it and I've never had another cigarette in 40 years. Whatever the addiction or the temptation is, God can save you from it. Now it doesn't mean that there'll never be times in your life where you're, you know, tempted and you fall in some area, but that should be the exception and not the rule for the Christian. Does that make sense?

Robert: Absolutely. I appreciate that. That helps out.

Doug: Alright, yeah. Don't give up. Paul says, you know, "We fight a good fight, right to the end." Thanks so much. Appreciate your call.

Robert: Thank you.

Doug: Bye bye. Alright, talking to Marin in Brazil. And you're on the air and I hope I'm saying that right, Marin.

Marin: Yes, good evening Pastor.

Doug: Evening.

Marin: Can you hear me?

Doug: Yes.

Marin: My question, it's more like a kind of, I would like to understand more about Ezekiel 38. You know, I know that there's a lot of different visions on that chapter, but basically it says that, I don't know if it could be what's happening now in Israel, it could be some kind of trigger to what's describing there. It says that some league of nations in a distant future, we invade Israel and when that happens, God will judge, He'll perform some judgment there if I understand it right. I just would like to hear your thoughts on that.

Doug: Yeah, they, if you look in Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39, it describes this massive battle when all of God's enemies, and it identifies them as Gog and Magog, talks about Rosh, Meshech, Tubal. There are some pastors out there that are saying Rosh is Russia, and Meshech is Moscow, and they're really stretching to say that. These are Old Testament. You find Gog and Magog mentioned in like Genesis 10. It's going way back to the early divisions. This is even before the Tower of Babel. And you know, you can't associate that with Russia, but these were some of the tribes that ended up being enemies of God's people. And you've got Gog and Magog means from the matrix, or out of Gog, Gog and the children of Gog. Now what you're seeing happening when this, these powers, the enemies of God's people come upon them like a cloud is repeated. And if you take a look, Marin in Revelation chapter 20. You will see there where again, it says, at the end of the 1000 years, there's this Great Resurrection, all the dead come out of their graves. And I'm reading in verse 7, "When the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and go out to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather," he's talking about Ezekiel 38 and 39, "to gather them to battle, the number is as whom like the sand of the sea." I think Ezekiel says, "They cover the earth like a cloud. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints." This is the New Jerusalem. Don't forget, this is not the old Jerusalem. This is the New Jerusalem, "And fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them."

So who are Gog and Magog? Is this talking about Russia and China, and these earthly nations coming against the Jews? No, these are symbols for the enemies of God in the last days after the resurrection of the wicked, all the wicked who have ever lived come out of their graves. They are the enemies of God's people. They try to take, led by the devil, they try to take Jerusalem by force. They are all judged in a White Throne Judgment and fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. This is not describing the events that are happening in the Middle East. Now, will there be a great conflict in the Middle East? Now, there may be. Can this be the beginning of the end? Yes, it could. You know, Jesus said, except the days be shortened, no flesh would be saved. I don't know. Many times things like this have unfolded into international conflicts. This has that potential. I mean, if you know, if you've got an axis of Russia, and Korea, and Iran, and China maybe and they're pairing off against the western nations of the United States, and you know, allies in Europe, you could have just a massive global meltdown. And so we should be praying that the angels will continue to hold back the winds of strife so God can seal his servants and we can reach as many as possible. Hopefully, Marin* this answers that a little bit.

We do have a lesson called "1000 Years of Peace." It's on the Millennium and it talks about Gog and Magog. We'll send you or anyone that wants a free copy of that. All you have to do is call 800-835-6747. That's for our free offers, 800-835-6747. And with that, we're gonna try and take a couple more questions. Alright, Joyce in Virginia. Joyce, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."

Joyce: Yes, I am so glad. Thank you so much. I'm never able to get through, but this particular one is the book of James, and the number 1 chapter, and number 2 verse. "Count it all joy," I've lost my page. But we go over it quite a bit. Let me see, "Count it all joy when you're going through," and I don't fully get it because we have it all the time. And He's saying He wants us to get this.

Doug: Well, let me read this for our friends.

Joyce: Do it, does it mean that, count it all joy while you're waiting and going through, because when it ends or you're delivered, you're able to give God glory on and praise or tell the people about it? What does it mean when you say, "Count it all joy," during that time?

Doug: That's a good question. You know, if you read on in the verse here, it says, "My brethren," this is James 1, verse 2. And I'll read verse 3, "Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work." You know, when we go through various trials, we know that if God loves us, it says that, "Every father chastens the children that he loves."

Every trial that you go through as a Christian, don't forgive those friends, every trial you go through as a Christian, God is trying to use that trial to reach you. God is trying to use that trial to reach others through your witness, because Christians are the best witness in trial or both. Usually, both. God is wanting us to learn something through the trial. He's wanting us to be a witness during that time of trial, and so embrace it. Paul said, you know, I've got a thorn in my side and I prayed God would take it away, but He said, my strength is made perfect in weakness. So Paul said, I am going to glory in my tribulations in spite of that. And I know it's hard to do that. But you know, Jesus said, if you're being persecuted for righteousness, rejoice and be exceedingly glad. That's one trial we can rejoice in, and one time when the apostles were whipped for their faith by the Sanhedrin, and said they left the place rejoicing that they could suffer for Christ's sake. So I think James is also talking about that when he says, "When you fall into various trials," he may be especially talking about if you're persecuted for your faith. Thank you Joyce. I hope that helps a little bit and we're going to talk next to Chuck calling in California. Chuck, you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."

Chuck: Yes, Pastor Doug. I'm wondering if you can clear up 1 Thessalonians 4:14 where it says that, "Those who are asleep and in Jesus, God will bring with Him."

Doug: So, yeah. And this is, let me read the verse before too. It says, "Brethren, I don't want you to be ignorant concerning those who've fallen asleep." Of course, he's talking about those who have died. And then he says, "Lest you sorrow as others that have no hope. We have hope that the dead are going to live again. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so will," now he's talking about future tense. "Even so will God bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus." They're asleep in Jesus now. How will they be with Jesus when he comes? Next verse he explains it, "For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord will not precede those who are asleep."

In other words, the one who are dead, they get raised first, "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout." When do the dead rise? "When the Lord descends from heaven with a shout, voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise," is His future. So when Christ comes and we're caught up to meet him, says, "Then we who are alive," verse 17, "and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds." They are with the Lord first. When we get there, they are with him, because they've just been raised. But the dead in Christ rise first, then we join them. They are with Jesus when we join Him. So hopefully, does that make sense Chuck?

Chuck: Yes, sir. Thank you very much.

Doug: Okay, thank you. And for any of our friends that are listening. You know, a lot of folks are confused about the Resurrection. Some folks believe that when you die, you go right to heaven before the Resurrection or before the Judgment. And they read the verses that say absent from the body present with the Lord, which is absolutely true. If you're a believer and you die, your next conscious thought is the presence of the Lord. But you don't have that conscious thought until the Resurrection. For you it seems like a moment, the twinkling of an eye, it's almost instant. So technically, we live in time. The Resurrection hasn't happened yet. No one's with the Lord yet until we are caught up to meet him at the Second Coming.

We have a study on that, if anyone's interested. It's called, "Are the Dead Really Dead?" We'll send you a-- and it gives you all the scriptures. Free lesson, ask for it. You'll be glad you did. 800-835-6747, 800-835-6747. Alright, let's see. We're going to talk to MaryAnn. First time caller from Florida. MaryAnn you're on the air with "Bible Answers Live."

MaryAnn: Hello Pastor Doug!

Doug: Greetings.

MaryAnn: You know what, I last saw you in Canada when there was a general conference?

Doug: Oh, Toronto, that's been a few years.

MaryAnn: Yes. Okay, my question is, Revelation chapter 20 and 21. In 20 it says, "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations." And then 21 says, "I saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down." So here's my question, There's going to be the same, going to be back on earth with Jesus. And there's going to be billions of people, the saved ones. So when the fire comes down and kill all these people, the unsaved, where are-- the earth is still not quite ready yet. The earth is still filthy. Why would we come from heaven or a clean heaven and come down to a filthy earth and then the people going to be burned? I would think that the people, the earth is going to be clean first and then we come down after the thousand years.

Doug: Well, that's a great question. Let me talk to you about that. So we read that, and you can read also in Zechariah chapter 14, that Christ will come down. Well, the New Jerusalem comes down, Christ first comes ahead of it. It probably hovers up in the heavens for a bit. His feet touch the Mount of Olives, the Mount of Olives splits. It causes a great earthquake and leaves a great plain. The great plain becomes the foundation spot from the New Jerusalem. Jesus feet touching this planet that has, you know, all the wicked have been destroyed here. It's just the ashes. There's no dead bodies laying anywhere. The Bible tells us that all the wicked are dead and gone. The New Jerusalem settles down on the world in this valley that has been prepared and purified by the feet of Christ. Then he calls all of the dead back to life for judgment. And instead of coming out of the graves and repenting of their sins, they come out of the graves and attack the saints. Jesus is showing that they have not changed. They are still ready to follow the devil in this battle against Gog and Magog.

When Satan's chains are loose and he can tempt the wicked, he just leads them out again to fight against God. God has no chance but to judge them, no choice but to judge them and consume them. And then God creates a new heavens and a new earth. We are inside the city, the walls are 214 cubits. We're protected, nothing's going to harm the saved. But outside, the Bible says, are the dogs and the liars, and the whoremongers, and all the wicked are outside the city. I hope that helps a little bit, MaryAnn. Alright, Scott in Kentucky. Scott you're on the air.

Scott: Okay. My question is when Jesus died and rose again, he appeared to his disciples and other people. And my question was, did his disciples ever believe that they would be able to reappear to their friends or family once they died?

Doug: You know, there's a good question. There's no evidence that the apostles thought that they would reappear. And there's no example in the New Testament of anybody dead coming back. The Bible says that the living know they'll die, but the dead know not anything. So we shouldn't be trying to communicate with the dead. In the Old Testament, Moses said that anyone tries to communicate with the dead or they consult a medium, that was a sin. And it got into spiritualism and witchcraft. King Saul went to a witch and she supposedly conjured up Samuel the prophet, but we read later in the Bible that was actually an evil spirit. So that's one of the things that's going to happen in the last days. It says that these unclean frogs, they're going to go out of the mouth of the Beast, the Dragon and the False Prophet to the kings of the earth and deceive them with miracles. And so there'll be spiritualism and deception just like there was in the days of Saul.

Hey, thank you for your questions friends. Now, we sort of sign off on "Bible Answers Live" in two phases. That's because the clocks that are used by satellite radio are a little different than the clocks used by the land base stations. So for our friends listening on satellite, God bless, tune in next week. For the rest of you, don't go anywhere because we're going to take in some questions real quick that you've emailed to us and we'll tell you how any listener can email some questions. So we'll be back in just a moment.

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.

Doug: Alright, friends. We'll begin with our first question. Comes from Kell in Papua, New Guinea. “Greetings.” I've been to New Guinea a couple of times. "How do I love God more? I want to love God more, but I don't know how or what to do. Can you help? Because I'm a bit confused on what I have to do to show that I love Him more." Well, loving Him more and showing Him you love Him more are related, but they are also different.

First of all, how do you love God more? Well, the Bible says, "We love Him because He first loved us." So it's His love for us that touches our heart and makes us want to love Him more. As we behold His love for us, it will increase our love for Him. Not only will our love increase, but our faith increases by reading the Word. Paul says in Romans chapter 10, verse 17, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." So read the Bible, look at Jesus, look at the cross and there you see His love for you, "God so loved the world." And that's what leads us to repentance. It's the goodness of God and the love of God that leads us to repentance. So spend time in communion with God through prayer. If you know Him better, you'll love Him more and you will serve Him better because you love Him more. Love is a reason to keep the commandments. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Moses said, "I command you to love the Lord your God. Keep His commandments."

Okay. Martha from Zambia asks, "Was Moses part of the captives that ascended with Jesus at his resurrection?" This is speaking of in Matthew chapter 27. And I would say there is no record that Moses was at that time. Evidently, Moses was raised by Michael, the Archangel. You can read this in the book of Jude, verse 9. The devil didn't want to let Moses go and there was an argument, and Michael says, "The Lord rebuke thee." And Michael resurrects Moses. Moses then appears in the New Testament to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses is there with Elijah, so before Christ died on the cross, Moses was already in heaven. He was probably not or evidently not in that group that was resurrected there around the scenes of the crucifixion.

And let me see here. "Is it necessary that a person is baptized and filled with the Spirit to enter God's Kingdom?" Yeah, the Bible says, "Unless you're born of the water and the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven." But there'll be people in heaven that were not baptized because they could not be, or it was before the age of John, the Baptist baptism. Alright friends. We're out of time for everybody. God bless.

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