Did We Ruin It ?

Doug Batchelor: Hi friends. Would you like to hear an amazing fact? Antibiotics like penicillin are chemicals effective at killing or stopping the growth of a microscopic disease-causing bacteria. Ironically, history's greatest miracle drug was discovered quite by accident. In 1928, Alexander Fleming, Scottish physician and microbiologist, returned from vacation to his messy laboratory at St. Mary's Hospital in London and he noticed something odd. He left some plates with bacteria cultures on a bench in the corner. On examination, he noticed one of them was growing mold. Fleming observed that the bacteria nearest to the mold growing was dying. Something in the mold was killing the bacteria. Fleming discovered the mold was penicillium, one of the top three most common airborne fungi. It took years before his discovery was refined by others, tested, and manufactured on a mass scale. Before penicillin, the number one killers in the world were things like tuberculosis, pneumonia, diarrhea, scarlet fever, meningitis, infections from wounds or even surgery. Penicillin's ability to cure people of what were once fatal bacterial infections has saved over 200 million lives. It's easy to understand why it's called a miracle drug. You know, it tells us, Pastor Ross, in the Bible that there is a substance infinitely more powerful than the strongest antibiotics.

Jëan Ross: That's correct, Pastor Doug. It is something that can not only cure sickness, but more importantly, the sickness of sin and to eternal death. And of course, we're talking about the blood of Christ, the cross.

Doug: Amen. You can read a couple of scriptures here. Hebrews 9, verse 14. "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" And then there's another powerful verse in Ephesians 1:7. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." I remember, Pastor Ross, when I first started looking into the Christian religion. I thought, it's kind of gory. They talked about power in the blood and saved by the blood and washed by the blood. And I thought, this is a bloody religion. And--but then I came to understand that, you know, the Bible says the life is in the blood and Christ, in giving His blood, He gave his life, and we are washed by His life, and we are healed and empowered by His life and His sacrifice of His life. And so, in a sense, He gives us a transfusion of His purity to heal us from our disease. So, in that sense, the blood of Christ washes away our sin. And maybe there's some people listening out there that think, I need healing, I need salvation and forgiveness for my sins, and I think I could use a dose of that cure. We have a free offer that talks about that.

Jëan: We do. The book is entitled, "The High Cost of the Cross," and we'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks. That's our free offer this evening, so take advantage of it. All you need to do is just call the number 800-835-6747, you can ask for offer number 156 or just ask for it by name, "The High Cost of the Cross." It explains the gospel and shares good news. If you'd like to get a digital version of the book, just dial pound 250 with your smartphone. Again, just say, "Bible Answers Live," and then say, "High Cost of the Cross." That's pound 250 with your phone and ask for that free gift. You know, Pastor Doug, probably one of the most important truths that we find in scripture centers on the cross, centers on that sacrificial death of Jesus and, just, such an important truth. Well, before we go to the phone lines, we always like to start with prayer, and so let's do that now. Dear Lord, we thank You for this time once again when we can open up the Bible and study together. This is Your book. Lord, we pray for the Holy Spirit to come and guide us, that same Spirit that inspired the prophets many years ago, we ask that that Spirit would guide our hearts and our minds, be with those who are listening wherever they might be, in Jesus's name, amen.

Doug: Amen.

Jëan: Well, our first caller this evening, we've got Jerry listening in Texas. Jerry, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Jerry: Good evening, gentlemen. I have a question in my Bible readings this morning and refers to Numbers 24 and the interactions between Balak and Balaam. I don't know if it was in a--maybe an insert from an inspired writer, but I thought--I understood that Balak used sorcery in a couple of his attempts. Can you explain that to me?

Doug: Yeah, well, you have two characters that are mentioned here in the book of Numbers 24 and Balaam was a prophet of God. Now, keep in mind, there were some Old Testament prophets. They knew the Lord and the Lord spoke to them and they weren't necessarily Jews. You know, Noah is technically a prophet, and he was not a Jew. So, in Mesopotamia there was someone who worshiped the true God, his name was Balaam, but while he started out good, he ended up going bad. Well, he was known to the other kings as a man that God spoke through. And so, Balak, knowing that God was with Israel--Balak was the king of the Moabites. He thought, look, if I can't defeat them with natural means, I'm going to fight fire with fire. They've got God with them and maybe I can get a prophet of God to curse them. That was his reasoning. And so, he--you know, they were used to, back then, paying psychics and sorcerers to try to cast spells, and they told Balaam, "Will you come cast a spell or curse Israel?" And he said, "No, God's blessed them, I can't." They kept offering him more and more money and he got tempted. He wanted the honor and the money they were offering. So, he said, "Well, I have to see what the Lord says, but I'll go if you, you know, if you insist." And so, every time he opens his mouth to try to curse Israel, blessings come out. In fact, one of the blessings of Balaam is where it said, "A star will rise out of Jacob," and it's probably the wise men in Mesopotamia where Balaam was from that were reading that when they came searching for the Christ child. So--but Balaam was not using sorcery. Balak, the king of the Moabites, was hoping that he would use some kind of witchcraft or sorcery to curse them. So, hopefully, that helps a little bit, Jerry. It's a very interesting story where the donkey ends up talking to the prophet.

Jëan: All right, thank you. The next caller that we have is Isaiah listening in Texas. Isaiah, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Isaiah: Yes, hello. Thank you, pastors, for both taking my call. I appreciate it.

Doug: And your question.

Isaiah: Yes. Yes, sir. My question is referring to Acts 26:24. It's referring over to when Paul was feeling beside himself. And I guess with all the learning, it was driving him insane. Could you please elaborate on that?

Doug: Paul is making his defense before Festus, who is one of the Roman rulers that is going to decide whether or not to set him free or to punish him or to send him to Rome. And as Paul is talking to him about Jesus and the Resurrection Festus says, "Paul, you're beside yourself!" Beside yourself is a term that's used to mean you've lost your mind. And he's saying, "You're beside yourself! Much learning has driven you mad!" Paul was very educated and he said, "You spend too much time reading the prophecies and you're getting caught up in it and you're not balanced. You've gone mad." So, while Paul was not beside himself and he was not crazy, and though he was very wise, and so he goes on to say in verse 25, "I am not mad, most noble Festus, but I'm speaking the words of truth and reason. For the king, before whom I also speak," and he's talking there to Agrippa. He said, "He knows the words that I say are true." So, there's a couple of rulers that are listening to him and one of--when he talks about the Resurrection, he says, "You're crazy."

Jëan: You know, if you look at that same passage, there is a cross reference where, Paul now, in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 21, speaking of Christ and Him crucified, he said, "To the Jew, it's a stumbling block and to the Greeks it's foolishness." So, you can understand how here you have this Roman governor who talks about, or hears about, the Resurrection, he says, "That's craziness. You're out of your mind." Paul said, "Well, to the unbeliever it's foolishness, but to those of us who are saved, it's eternal life," you know, "it's wonderful promise."

Doug: Good point.

Jëan: So, okay, thank you, Isaiah. We've got Joan listening in Australia. Joan, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Joan: Hello, thank you for taking my call. My question tonight is where in the Bible does it say we screen or vote people to be members in or out of the church?

Doug: Well, I don't think you'll find the word vote. The teaching that people need to be clear before they're added, you know, before baptism, Philip asked--I'm sorry, the Ethiopian treasurer asked Philip, and I think this is Acts chapter 8, he said, "What prevents me from being baptized?" And he said, "Well, if you believe with all your heart," that's the one thing, is you got to believe to be part of the church. You need to be willing to obey God's commandments. In Matthew chapter 28 Jesus said, "Go therefore, teach all nations," or certain teaching. Teaching what? He says, "Teaching them to observe all things that I've commanded you." So, a person should not be part of the church or be baptized if they don't believe the commandments of God. And then Paul later says that if someone, and Jesus says it also in Matthew 18, if someone will not listen to the authority of the church, then they should be put out and treated like an infidel. I think he says a "publican." Paul talks in 1 Corinthians 7 about a man that was sleeping with his stepmother, and he said, "You need to put that man out." He was, you know, clearly bringing shame on the cause. And so, there's a criteria. And then when they were baptized in Acts chapter 2, it says, "They were added to the church," and the term they're added means, like, brought within the fold, they're becoming part of something. So you see, there's a criteria for coming in and for going out and it's believing the teachings of Jesus. Does that make sense, Joan?

Joan: Thank you.

Doug: All right, thanks so much. Appreciate your question.

Jëan: All right, we've got Britney listening in California. Britney, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Britney: Hey, hey.

Doug: Hi, how are you doing, Britney?

Britney: Oh, pretty good.

Doug: And what's your question tonight?

Britney: Yeah, my question is, should a Christian celebrate Cesar Chavez Day?

Doug: Well, you know, there's--there are some people that are notable in society, you know, there's Martin Luther King's Day, they've got President's Day, that is actually honoring both Washington and Lincoln. So, when you say celebrate, you know, there's no religious celebration going on on any of those days. People might want to, you know, enjoy and commemorate their achievements, but, you know, there's no mandate in the Bible to celebrate, I guess, anybody but Jesus. Matter of fact, we don't even really have a command to remember Christmas. That's more of a tradition than a command. So, yeah, nothing in the Bible says to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day. So, hey, thanks Britney. I hope that helps.

Jëan: We've got Deborah in Canada, Deborah, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Deborah: Hi, pastors. How are you doing?

Doug: Great. Thanks for calling.

Deborah: Good. I have a question about the raven. The bird, the raven. I know Noah, in Genesis 8:7, let it out of the ark. It was the first bird to be let out. And in Kings--1 Kings, the raven was--the ravens were used to feed Elijah. I was just wondering if there was any significance as to why God would choose, what we know in the Mosaic Law, as an unclean bird.

Doug: Yeah, that is interesting. I think that the reason that the Lord chose the raven is, first of all, Elijah and Noah were not told to eat ravens. The ravens are probably--they're in the corvid family and they're the smartest--one of the smartest birds. I think their intelligence is, they say, even above a dog. They know how to use tools. They live a long time. They grieve when another raven dies. And they can actually--some ravens can learn to mimic certain sounds like, you know, parrots do. So, they're extremely bright birds and I think God guided them into the palace of Ahab to take food from Ahab and bring it to Elijah. I can't prove that, but it's fun to think. So, yeah. And they're--what do you call it? Ravens are kind of omnivores, so they could bring almost anything. Yeah, it's not like a hummingbird, it's just going to get nectar.

Jëan: And it's a big bird, so it can carry.

Doug: Yeah, that's true.

Jëan: All right, thank you, Deborah. Good point. We've got Gary in Illinois. Gary, welcome to the program.

Gary: Thank you. Are we entering the first trumpet judgment, you know, considering the recent extreme weather like wildfires in Texas and hail storms? I get this from Revelation 8:7.

Doug: Yeah, I don't know, Pastor Ross, you want to--?

Jëan: I can read the verse. It says, "And the first angel sounded: and there was hail, followed with--mingled with blood," and it says, "they were thrown to the earth, and a third of the trees were burnt up, and the green grass was burnt up." Of course, the book of Revelation is a prophetic book and it's filled with symbols, right, from the very beginning of the book all the way to the end. You talk about horses galloping across the sky and you've got a red horse and a white horse and a black horse and a pale horse and a lot of symbolisms that you find in the book--.

Doug: Dragon with seven heads, you don't see that every day.

Jëan: Yeah, that's right, and beasts coming up from the sea and the earth and--so, yeah, this is part of the trumpets and the trumpets kind of go through the history from the time of Christ all the way through until our time. And the fifth trumpet, it's got--talking about trees being burnt up and green grass being burnt up. In the Bible, trees are often associated with people and green grass would be a symbol for people, once again, or large groups of people. It's really talking about a judgment that was to come upon those part of the Roman Empire that had persecuted the Christians. There was attacks from the various barbarian tribes that entered the land. You also have the Muslim tribes, or the Muslim movement, under the Ottoman Empire and the Turks that were coming in, entering into Europe. So, that had a broader historical application with reference to this fifth trumpet, not so much a literal application. Although, you know, the Bible does speak about the earth getting old like a garment and it talks about the sea and the waves roaring as signs connected with the coming of Christ or close to the coming of Christ. And yes, there are changes in our environment and I think there are signs. Bible speaks of earthquakes in divers places, so there are things happening in the natural world that are warning signs as to the imminent coming of Christ.

Doug: Yeah, and, of course, it tells us in Revelation that God will destroy those that destroy the earth. And you can just see that the fires and everything that's happening, a lot of them are man-made.

Jëan: And of course, things are a little different nowadays. You know, back 100, 200 years ago, these forest fires would burn almost all summer long in the mountains here in California and they would burn out a lot of the underbrush. Whereas, you know--.

Doug: The trees were big and they'd survive.

Jëan: Yeah, we're putting fires out and so it's only increasing the vegetation that can burn. It's dry, and so, yeah, things have changed. The environment has changed.

Doug: All right, well, thank you. Appreciate that, Gary.

Jëan: We've got Glenn listening in Ohio. Glenn, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Glenn: Thanks again for taking my call. You know, when God spoke to Noah in the 11th chapter of Genesis, He told him to get busy and replenish the earth. And all translations agree with that replenishing of the earth, but when you go to Genesis 1:28 where Yahweh is speaking to Adam and Eve, He tells them also, according to the King James translation, to replenish the earth. I see that as either a blemish in the King James Version of the Bible or something else that needs to be talked about. Can you help me?

Doug: Yeah, well, when God tells him to fill the--the word I've got, and I'm reading the New King James, He said that "they should fill the earth." And you know, God told Adam and Eve, "I want you to populate the earth." Originally, they were in the garden, after sin they were evicted from the garden. Are you thinking that there was maybe a population before Adam and Eve that needed to be replaced?

Glenn: I think that might be worth the consideration because it's the only translation that talks about Adam and Eve, the replenishing the earth.

Doug: Yeah, well, I think, like I said, this translation--and by the way, there--the King James translation, while it is wonderful, is not perfect. It was done by men. They were not angels that translated the King James Bible. And there are a couple of places where they maybe didn't have the best choice of words or there's some inconsistency. This is a place where I think that the word "be fruitful and fill the earth" is more appropriate because there's nothing in the Genesis record that says that there was a civilization before Adam and Eve that needed to be replaced. It's--goes sequentially from the days of Creation to Adam's creation to Eve to the Fall. There's no other scenario of some other race that was wiped out that needed to be replaced, that you can squeeze in there.

Jëan: Sin, the consequence of sin, is death and we know, according to the Bible, that sin started with Adam and Eve.

Doug: There's no death before that.

Jëan: Yeah, if they were the ones to replenish the earth, meaning they were to replace a population beforehand that had died, how would they have died if there had been no sin? So.

Doug: Good point.

Jëan: And if you look at the other translations, it says, "Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it." So, I think that's a better translation there. Next caller that we have is Henry, listening in New York. Henry, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Henry: My question is, if you go to heaven and your name is written in the book of life, do you have to take communion before you get into heaven?

Doug: Well, it--you know, Jesus does say in the, I think it's both the Gospel of Matthew, it's repeated in 2 Corinthians, that the Lord's Supper, celebrating the--and the Lord's Supper was like an extension of the Passover. The Passover was, you know, this angel of judgment passes over because of the blood of the Lamb. Well, when Jesus comes, He knows He is the Passover Lamb, and He said, "Except you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you," John chapter 6-- So, that's talking about--it's a symbol for accepting the life of Jesus and that His blood would cleanse us from sin and the teachings of the New Testament, the new covenant, that's what the grape juice is a symbol of. So, a believer should want to participate, first of all, in being part of a church family and communion. Now, in our church sometimes we've got some seniors that--well, I guess every church you have some people that are shut ins, they can't make it. And when we have communion, we have elders and pastors that'll go and take it to their home and--so that they can participate. But it--there's only a couple of sacred ordinances that Jesus left the church and one of them is baptism. Of course, you got marriage, baptism, and you've got the communion service. So, it's certainly--it's a ratification of our faith that should be repeated whenever the church comes together in that capacity.

Jëan: Okay, thank you.

Doug: Do you have to know it? Do you have to do that to go to heaven? There'll be people in heaven that maybe didn't have an opportunity, for sure. But why a believer would not want to is a concern.

Jëan: Okay, all right. We got Lloyd in Arkansas. Lloyd, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Lloyd: Hello, thank you for having me on and to answer my question. My question is, is God protecting Satan? And if so, what is He protecting him from?

Doug: Well, when you say is God protecting Satan, Satan is living under an impending judgment and Satan is also--he is restricted in what he can access. The Bible tells us in Revelation 12 that Satan was cast down to the earth. So, the devil's rebellion against God has been limited to our planet. And so, as far as God protecting him, well, God gives all of His creatures life and people that choose to turn away from God, their initial life comes from God. He doesn't--God does not exterminate somebody as soon as they say, "I don't love You anymore." Otherwise, we'd see half the--more than half the population would expire right away. So, people are sustained by God, He's the one who gives grace to the people that even curse Him. They couldn't live or take another breath or have another heartbeat without God. So, in that sense, the devil is still sustained by the initial life God gave him, but the devil is not being protected by God. I don't think he needs much protection as far as--he's the highest of the angels. There's no other angel that's harassing him in that way. So, I don't know. Hopefully I'm answering your question, Lloyd.

Lloyd: Pastor, thank you very much.

Doug: All right, thanks so much. You take care.

Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is Efrank in New York. Efrank, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Efrank: Good evening, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross. I have a question in regards to the Bible about an issue that has to do with how you believe in Jesus on certain occasions. There's this South African woman who told me that the way Jesus revealed Himself during the persecution of Herod in Africa, that she has the right to celebrate and display an understanding of her symbolic adherence to what Jesus did in Namur. Now, I have always believed in the--what Jesus preached in Galilee. And I just want to know, Pastor Doug, in the Bible, does it say that we have to wear any type of apparel or indicative symbols indicating that we're Christians and we believe in God and the Bible that way? Because in the Bible it says that it's harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than someone who is poor.

Doug: Yeah. All right, so is there any criteria on what we should or shouldn't wear given in the Bible? You know, God does not order us to wear a particular costume. Now, when the priests--in the Old Testament, there was a certain apparel that the priests would wear. Of course, the purpose of the Old Testament temple has been fulfilled. When Christ died on the cross, the veil was rent, Jesus said, "Your house has left you desolate," and so the Aaronic priesthood right now does not exist in that they're not sacrificing lambs. So, there's no uniform. There are principles that God gives in His Word for every believer and those principles have to do with neatness, modesty. The Bible tells us that, you know, we should not be wearing, and this is men and women, should not be adorned with the outward adorning of gold and apparel and costly ra--. And Paul talks about, you know, women wearing pearls and having elaborate hairdos. You know, God's people shouldn't dress so frumpy that we attract attentions because of our being out of date, but we also shouldn't try and be impressing people with our money by the clothes we wear. There should be humility in that. Neat, clean, modest, those are the principles that God shares. We got a book on that, by the way, on--"Jewelry: How Much is Too Much?" A person can get when they call the resource line.

Jëan: The number to call is 800-835-6747. You can ask for that book. It's called, "Jewelry: How Much is Too Much?" And we'll be happy to send it to anyone in Canada or the US. So, call and ask.

Doug: All right, friends. We're getting ready for our half time break, so we want to encourage you to pay attention to these important messages that are coming. We'll be back taking more Bible questions in just a few moments.

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

Diamond Garcia: Hi, my name is Diamond Garcia and I'm from the beautiful islands of Hawaii. I was raised in a very dysfunctional family, like most families. Being in that environment, I would lie, cheat, steal, rob houses, cheat in school and tests, and lying to teachers and getting into fights and all kinds of stuff. One day, I was asked to take this little box of something and I had to walk down the road and give it to someone and they would give me money and I would walk back home, and I later realized I was dealing drugs. Growing up in that environment, I thought that, you know, being an adult was a life of drinking and smoking and partying, and that's just what adults did. When I looked at my family and saw the road that they were going down, getting arrested, getting beaten up, coming home drunk and puking all over the floor, I just didn't want that for myself.

Growing up, I had a grandma who was baptized as a Christian in her 20s, but then she wasn't a real practicing Christian. And so, one day I was at her house and there was a box of various books and I went to the bottom of that box and found a book called, "The Great Controversy." And I picked it up and I said, "This is interesting," and I opened to the first page of that book and it said, "If thou hadst known," I had no clue what it meant. And so I said, "You know what, forget this." I put the book down, I just walked away, did my thing. But then something told me, "You know, Diamond, go back to that book." And so I went back to the book, picked it up, went to the last two chapters and I read it. And I said to my grandmother, I said, "What church is this from? I want to go to that church."

So, she brought me down to the local church and then I walk in from the back door and the piano is off key, people are off key. It's like, man, this is really, kind of, I don't want to be here. And I got to the front of the church and I sat down, I was listening to the sermon, and the whole service, it was so boring to me. But then someone gives me this set of DVDs and it was called, "The Prophecy Code." It was through watching Doug Batchelor explain the truths found in the Bible that really brought me to Christ and brought me to realize that you know what, there is a life better than my family's life.

My second week at church on Sabbath there was one person there. He basically told me, "Hey, Diamond, do you want to make some money?" And I said, "Sure." I said, "What do you do?" He says, "Well, I'm a call porter. We go door to door and we sell Christian books." I said, "Oh, okay. Well, that sounds interesting. I do want to make some money, too." And so, he said, "Okay, well, why don't you come with me?" We drove out to the neighborhood, parked the car, and that night was just raining, it was pouring and pouring. It could not stop raining. He prayed, he said, "God, this is Diamond's first night. If it's Your will, stop the rain so we can go knocking on doors." And as soon as he said, "Amen," the rain just stopped. I was just thinking in my head, is this guy a prophet or what? I mean, he just prayed and asked God and it happened. And so, I was so happy, I grabbed the books and I went to the first door, and the first door I went to the person gave me $50.

That night was actually a big night for me because it was where I saw God's power work in stopping the rain and people actually giving me lots of money. I then became a colporteur, or a canvasser, and I saved money to pay for my way through academy. And when my church began to see how God was using me, they immediately recognized that it was God's Spirit moving, and they put me, you know, preaching and teaching and sharing my faith. And I've been engaged in ministry for the past six to seven years now and God has taken me all over the world on multiple continents, sharing my testimony, how God has brought me out of darkness into His marvelous light. It's a total contrast as to how it was before. And now, you know, it's a total contrast. My name is Diamond and Amazing Facts has helped to change 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 p.m. and 8 p.m. Pacific Time. To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this evening's program call, 800-835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747. Now, let's rejoin our hosts for more "Bible Answers Live."

Doug: Welcome back, listening friends, to "Bible Answers Live." And if you have tuned in somewhere along the way, this is as the title hints, a live international Interactive Bible study. You can give us a call. Call if you have a Bible question, the number is 800-GODSAYS. That's 800-463-7297 with your Bible questions. My name is Doug Batchelor.

Jëan: My name is Jëan Ross and we have a number of folks who are standing by with their Bible question. But, Pastor Doug, before we go to the phone lines, we want to remind you of our free offer for--that we have, talks about the cross. It's called, "The High Cost of the Cross," and we want to send that to anyone who calls and asks. The number is 800-835-6747. You can ask for, "The High Cost of the Cross," just offer number 156. You can also receive a digital download of that book by simply dialing pound 250 on your smartphone. Say, "Bible Answers Live," and then ask for, "The High Cost of the Cross," and we'll be able to send you a digital copy of the book. You can read it, you can share it with somebody else. We're going to go back to the phone lines. We've got Preston listening in Texas and he's got a question about watching Christian programs. Preston, welcome to the program.

Preston: Hello.

Doug: Hi, thanks for calling.

Preston: Yes, so my question was, is it wrong for Christians to watch Christian programs like "The Chosen," the TV show, "The Chosen?"

Doug: All right, well, I'm a little biased if you ask about watching Christian programs because we're producing one at this very moment. So, there's no sin in taking in spiritual material, whether you're reading or whether you're watching or listening. TV is just one of the mediums that communicates. And so, that's a very powerful medium. At the same time, you want to, you know, have a filter about what you do and don't watch. There are some Christian programs out there that I don't watch they're, you know, these pastors, quite frankly, that they--they're doing this prosperity gospel. I think it's extortion of a type, spiritual extortion. And--you notice, we don't spend a lot of time begging for money on this program and promising people fame and fortune and health and wealth if they do. So, I--there's some things I won't watch because I just think they're so unbiblical. There's some good ministries and ministers out there. I don't expect them to agree with me in every point. And they, they've got a lot of great material and so you kind of eat the melon and you spit out the seeds. And they probably feel that way about me. Now, when you're talking about The Chosen--and I've only seen it, to be honest, a few excerpts. I've found, in my own experience, Pastor Ross may have some thoughts on this, that when Hollywood tries to recreate Jesus or biblical stories, they almost never can get close to the real thing or it's always distorted in one way or the other. I have some good things come out of that. Well, I'm sure there are people that haven't thought about the life and teachings of Jesus that watch this and you could point to some good things. I--but personally, I think that there's a danger when we start getting our information about Christ and His ministry, from what I've known, someone told me I should watch it. I watched a little bit and I saw right away they were embellishing the story with things that were not in the Bible, which is always suspect. But, you know, I'm not here to condemn. I commend people that are trying to communicate the gospel. I don't know, that's a rambling answer, but--any thoughts? You want to ramble?

Jëan: You know, Pastor Doug, it, you know, it's--.

Doug: You'll go out on a limb with me?

Jëan: Well, I think they actually say that they're not trying to be perfectly faithful to, you know, what the Bible says. They do take liberties to kind of add in and, you know, there's some extra stories added, extra personalities added, that's not in the gospel account and--on the one hand, you got to be careful because, you know, the Bible talks about a really true story, something that really happened. When you read about the gospel, you read about Christ, you read about the apostles. That's history, that's real. You don't want to create the scene where that almost becomes more of a novel type scenario. So, yeah. I agree, Pastor, we got to be careful.

Doug: You start embellishing on the truth and people can get distracted by the embellishment and miss the main point, so.

Jëan: All right, thank you, Preston.

Doug: A verse in the Bible, Philippians 4, verse 8. "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true," and he goes on to say, "dwell on these things," yeah.

Jëan: Okay, next caller that we have is Sandra listening in Pennsylvania and she's got a question about Joshua and the angel that you read about in Zachariah 3, Sandra, welcome to the program.

Sandra: Hi, good evening. Thank you for taking my call.

Doug: Evening.

Sandra: Hi there. So, the other day--recently, I heard a sermon in regards to Zechariah chapter 3--Wonderful sermon and--but I was a little confused as to who Joshua is and who the angel of the Lord is because I always thought that Joshua represents Christ and that also the angel of the Lord also represents Christ pre-incarnate. So, I was just trying to figure out, you know, who's represented in that chapter.

Doug: All right, good. Well, in Zechariah chapter 3, there's a vision that says, "He showed me Joshua," this is verse 1, "the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose," or that word is to accuse, "him." You go to Revelation chapter 12, it calls Satan the accuser of the brethren. And in the book of Job, there's the devil accusing Job before God. And the devil is our accuser and Christ is our defense attorney. So, the angel of the Lord is the one that rebukes the devil in Zechariah. Now, there really was a high priest in Israel during Zachariah's time and his name was Joshua. It's interesting, the name Joshua is the name Jesus in Hebrew. It's actually Yeshua. And you've got Joshua who led the children of Israel into the Promised Land, he's like our general and our judge. And then you got Joshua the high priest that led the children of Israel from Babylon back to the Promised Land. So, they're both types of Christ and the priest would bear the sins of the people. So, Joshua's got these dirty clothes because of the sins of the people and the devil's accusing. And in the story, his filthy clothes are taken away by the angel of the Lord and he's given clean garments, and it's a symbol of the cleansing from sin. So, you're pretty close from what you said, Sandra, to having the right interpretation. I'm not sure what you may have heard someone else say, but yeah, this is a story about the plan of salvation and tells us that the angel of the Lord stood by and he said, "Now," you can read in verse 6, "Now, if you'll walk in my ways," this is after his filthy garments were taken away, "if you'll walk in my ways, and if you will keep my command, then you will judge my house, likewise have charge of my courts; and I will give you places to walk among those who stand here." In other words, you'll be here in heaven. So, it's a wonderful promise.

Jëan: So, in this parable, or in this chapter, in this vision, Joshua would represent the people and the angel of the Lord would represent Christ. But like you said, there's almost a dual application because, yes, our High Priest is Jesus, but in this context, Joshua represents the people. Okay, very good, thank you. Good question, Sandra. We got Charlie listening in Arizona and he has a question about Exodus chapter 20, verse 10. Charlie, welcome to the program.

Charlie: Hi guys, how are you this evening?

Doug: Good. How can we help you?

Charlie: Exodus 20, verse 10. It says that God created everything in six days, and you have to rest on the Sabbath. And He starts listing, "You, your son, your daughter, your man servant, your female servant, your cattle, everything," but there's no mention of a wife.

Doug: Well, yeah, I think that husbands and wives are included in the admonition. When God gives the Ten Commandments, it tells us that the men and women washed their clothes, husbands and wives, and they came before the Lord, and they heard the Lord saying these words audibly. So, the command is not just given to the man. The commandment is given to the parents. That's why later it says, "Honor your father and your mother." And so, I think it's understood that, yeah, people are to rest from their regular labor. There is a verse earlier where it says, "Bake what you're going to bake and boil what you're going to boil," and ostensibly, you know, the women were doing a lot of the cooking back then and they were to be resting. They were to get that work done ahead of time. So, the command's all encompassing, I think, for the family. The stranger, the cattle, everybody was to rest.

Jëan: And it does appear that, you know, when it specifically mentions the list, like you say, your son, your daughter, your servants, a male servant, female servant, your cattle, the strangers within your gates. It's people under your control, those who you can direct, and definitely that would include all of the members of the family.

Doug: Well, he's got a point. It's hard to direct your wife, though.

Jëan: Well, yeah, maybe--.

Doug: I retract that last statement.

Jëan: But it would include everyone in your household is the idea behind that. All right, thank you, Charlie. We've got Giovanni listening from Idaho and he's got a question from Deuteronomy 3:3. Giovanni, welcome to the program.

Giovanni: Hi there pastors. How are you this evening?

Doug: Hey. Great, thank you.

Giovanni: Awesome, so my question is actually in regards to Deuteronomy 23:3 and it's about David and how he is king, and I was just kind of wondering how he's king when Ruth is a Moabite?

Doug: Right. Let me read this for our friends that are listening. The Moabites had attacked the Israelites and gave them a hard time. And so, there was a curse pronounced on them, and you can read in Deuteronomy 23:3, "An Ammonite or a Moabites shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord forever because they did not meet you with bread or water on the road when you came out of Egypt, because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you." And yet, Ruth, and it has not been ten generations from when this was given, no, I don't think it had been. Yeah, I can almost trace the genealogy from--Boaz was the son of Salmon who the--maybe one of the spies of Joshua. So, yeah, it wasn't ten generations yet. And yes, she was a Moabite and then she is the grandmother, or the great-grandmother, of David. So--and she was allowed into the congregation. The command does not eclipse an earlier command that if someone converted to the God of the Israelites that they were welcome. And so, Ruth, she said, "Your God is my God." So, she converted, and they had that law that is saying you could be friends with the Moabites, up until they did this, they could have stayed Moabites but--and you could do business with them, but after they tried to curse Israel, there was a curse pronounced for ten generations. How long would that be, 40 times 10,400 years?

Jëan: Okay, thank you. Good question. Let's see. We've got Regina listening in Oregon. Regina, welcome to the program.

Regina: Hi. Thank you.

Doug: Thank you.

Regina: I--So, I do have a question. Actually, I've been asking this question myself, but I did not know how to answer. And someone asking me, in Genesa--when God create Lucifer, because He did create the Lucifer, when Lucifer choose to do the wrong, where did he know the--that wrong? Where is the wrong coming from, you know? How do--because God create only the right things, love and everything. Everything was perfect. Where--how would you--okay, I'm sorry. How did he know to pick the wrong? You know what I mean?

Doug: Yeah, I think I know what you mean, Regina. Yeah, of course, God made everything good. The Bible tells us in James, "Every good and perfect gift comes from God." And Jesus said, "God is good and God does not tempt, neither is He tempted." God cannot do anything bad because He is perfect and He's good. So, God made good creatures, but He made them with--they're built with a risky freedom and that freedom to love is given to all of His intelligent creatures. And Lucifer was given the same freedom to love, but in order to love, you've got to have the ability to choose to not love. God can't make you with forced love built in. It ceases to be love if you can't choose it. You become a robot. So, Lucifer was given this. He chose to love himself more than God and it's--he just kept nurturing that and it probably went from an early inclination, he knew something was wrong, but he kept cherishing this self-love until he, pretty soon, he put himself on the throne and he wanted to destroy God and he became ruled by selfishness. God is love. Satan, in a word, is selfish and it's all about his pride and his selfishness. So, yeah, God made him perfect. He made him free. He chose to love himself more and he became corrupt through it.

Jëan: And we got a study guide. It's called, "Did God Create the Devil?" and it answers all of these questions. It's a good, great study and we want to encourage anyone who wants to learn more about this, just call and ask. The number is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the study guide, it's called, "Did God Create the Devil?" You can also dial pound 250 on your smartphone and say, "Bible Answers Live," and then ask for that study guide, "Did God Create the Devil?" We'll send it to you. Study it and you'll be blessed. Next caller that we have is Eric and he's listening in Colorado and he has a question about spirits. Eric, welcome to the program.

Eric: Hi, thank you for taking my call.

Doug: Yes.

Eric: I see and hear spirits. Does this mean that I'm lost?

Doug: You hear and see spirits? Well, it means the devil is probably trying to get you. Of course, he's trying to get everybody, but, you know, I think there are some godly people in the Bible that they saw spirits, that the devil was trying to spook them. And so, because the devil's trying to harass you or frighten you does not automatically mean you're lost. It means that the devil's trying to distract you or confuse you or frighten you. Whether you are saved or lost is something that you and the Lord only know. If you've come to Jesus and surrendered your life to Jesus, then keep your eyes fixed on Him. If the devil comes around, in the name of the Lord rebuke the devil, do not give him ground. If there's something in your life that's opening the door to the devil--you know, I've got a friend that was seeing all kinds of spooks and demons and they spend all their time watching scary movies, these diabolical movies. And I thought, well, no wonder. You're watching ghost movies and you're kind of opening the door to the devil. So, close any avenues in your life where you're creating a bridge for the devil to come in and haunt or tempt or frighten you, and reconsecrate your life to the Lord every day. Paul said, "I die daily." That means you got to be born again every day.

Jëan: Okay, great, thank you. We've got Corette listening from Connecticut and Corette has a question about working on Sabbath.

Corette: Yes.

Jëan: Corette, welcome to the program.

Corette: Good evening, pastors.

Doug: Evening.

Corette: Yes, I was asking, when is it okay to work on the Sabbath?

Doug: Well, there are obviously Christian hospitals that have people they care for, you know. Jesus said, "It's better to do good on the Sabbath day." And so, if you're ministering to somebody who's struggling with some dire sickness, then that's appropriate. You know, I know Dentists that they love the Lord, but they'll get a call from someone that's in agony from a toothache, they'll--on the Sabbath day, they'll open their shop, usually free of charge, and they'll go and either help them right then or at least help them with some temporary relief where they can do major surgery or whatever they need later. I don't know of any dentist that will say, "Let me adjust your braces," because that's kind of an elective thing that you can schedule another day. But when someone's in pain or suffering, if someone's in the hospital, they need doctors, nurses, and people to care for them. My wife is a physical therapist, and she hasn't worked in a hospital for years, but when she did, some people had surgery on Friday, and they needed to have physical therapy immediately the next day. And so, she would work, and she would not keep that pay. She just donated to the Lord. So, there are emergency situations, you know. If you're a fireman, you should try to schedule your Sabbath free. Let someone else be on duty then so you can rest, but if there's a forest fire, you hop in your truck and you go save people. So, even the Jews, when they're attacked on their Sabbath day, the soldiers can't say, "Well, we'll start defending the country when the sun goes down." So, there are emergency situations, but they should be the rare exception and not the rule. Does that make sense, Corette?

Corette: Yes, it does.

Doug: All right, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Thanks for your question.

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

Larry: Hi.

Doug: Hi, Larry. Thanks for calling.

Larry: Yeah, I got a question. How does a person know--because I know in Matthew Jesus was talking about those who speak against the Spirit, you know, the unpardonable sin, but how does the person really know if they committed it? Because sometimes I wonder, but yet I feel guilty about a lot of things, so I'm a little confused. And when I ask for forgiveness, I sometimes, like, is that real? I got questions about that. So, I'd just like to know about the--I just hope I didn't, like, push the Holy Spirit away for that, you know.

Doug: Well, you know, every time we sin, we may grieve the Holy Spirit, but that does not mean you grieved it away where it's unforgivable. So, the very fact you're calling means the Holy Spirit is striving in your heart. So, I would not be worried that you've committed the unpardonable sin. I would be concerned--God wants you to have peace and the Lord wants you to believe that He will forgive your sins and that He'll give you power to live a new life. You know, Christ doesn't ask us to do anything without giving us the power to do it. When God says, "Repent, come to Me, I'll give you a rest," you turn from your sins, you confess your sins and He says, "I'll give you peace and rest and victory and a new life." You believe that and you're going to have peace and you'll have evidence in your life that God is working in your life and that will confirm the promises of God, also.

Jëan: You know, we have a book, Pastor Doug, it's called, "What Is the Unpardonable Sin?" And we encourage you to take a look at that. I think you'll enjoy it. The number to call is 800-835-6747 and just ask for it. It's called, "What Is the Unpardonable Sin?" We'll mail it to you or you can just dial pound 250 on your cell phone, say, "Bible Answers Live," and then ask for the book by name, "What Is the Unpardonable Sin?" We got Joyce in Florida. Joyce, welcome to the program. We have just a few moments, but you have a question about the punishment of the wicked.

Joyce: Yes, praise the Lord. I love your program. Yes, I would like to know, will there be degrees of punishment in hell? And if so, where is that located in the Bible?

Doug: Well, I'm looking it up for you right now. Yes, there will be differences. S-T-R-I-P--oh, I added an extra letter in there. Hang on here. I'm typing something in my computer. I just can't spell.

Jëan: Luke 12:48?

Doug: You found it.

Jëan: Is that the one?

Doug: You beat me well. No, I'm looking at Luke 12--yeah, 47:48. It says, "That servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, he will beaten with--be beaten with many stripes," and then it also says that, "those that did not know their master's will are beaten with few stripes." So, stripes are when they used to whip a person, that would leave stripes on their back, and that was whipping, really. And so, Jesus is basically saying those who were guilty for much suffer more than those who were less accountable and did not know. So, yes, there are varying degrees of reward, and so there are varying degrees of punishment. Jesus says in one of the last verses in the Bible, "Behold, I come; my reward is with me, to give to every man according to his works." So, Adolf Hitler is going to suffer more than people of lesser crimes. So, hopefully that helps. Are you with us, Joyce? Does that make sense?

Joyce: Keep up the enlightenment.

Doug: All right, you're welcome. God bless and we thank you for your call. Pastor Ross, we have time for one more quick one?

Jëan: All right, we've got Ron listening in, let's see, Alabama. Ron, welcome to the program.

Ron: Yes, good evening. Thank you for taking my call. My question has to do with Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, mentioned in Genesis 34. Could she somehow represent the church? You know how you have literal Israel and the tribe, the children of Israel? Then you have spiritual Israel. Could Dinah represent the spiritual body of the church, being one of Jacob's, you know, descendants?

Doug: Yeah, I think you're on to something. And the story that Ron is referring to is found there in Genesis 34 where Dinah, the only daughter listed of Jacob's children, everyone else was a son, that when they were living near Shechem, she went out to visit the other ladies of the land and maybe do some shopping, and young man took her and, I don't think he raped her, but he took advantage of her and he said he wanted to marry her, he loved her. But that's kind of what the pagans had done to the Israelites. Through intermarriage they kind of lost their purity. And so, there is an analogy there. Very perceptive, Ron. I've never actually preached on that, but just as I was listening to you talk, I think there's more there under the surface. And you never hear that Dinah got married again and it doesn't really tell about her having a family after that. So, it changed the course of her life.

Listening friends, you know, in just a moment, we're going to sign off and say farewell to those listening on satellite radio. And then, those of you who are listening on land based stations, we always stay on for a few more minutes to do rapid fire Bible questions that come in via the internet. So, you can email us questions. Some people have questions but they say, "Oh, I'm afraid to get on the air." Well, you can email your questions, we'll take a few of them at the end of each program, and you'll see the number there on the screen. The email address is BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. But before we say farewell to the audience at large, you know, we do these programs because we want to share the good news. And that good news is that God sent His son into the world to take the punishment for all the sins of the world and He wants you to be in His kingdom. He desperately wants you to be saved. But we need to make a decision to say, "Lord, I'm not doing a very good job running my life. I'm willing to surrender my life to You. I believe You have a plan for me. I would like to be forgiven of my sins." It's our prayer that everybody listening will do that even right now. Make that decision then go and sign up for the "Amazing Facts" Bible study course at amazingfacts.org. We'll be back for the others.

Announcer: Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. "Bible Answers Live" is produced by Amazing Facts International, a faith based ministry located in Granite Bay, California.

Jëan: Hello, friends, and welcome back again to our email Bible questions. Pastor Doug, we've got a few great questions this evening. And of course, if you'd like to send us an email Bible question, it's BALquestions@amazing facts.org. "Genesis chapter 6, verse 6 says that God repented, but Numbers 23:19 says that God does not repent. How do we explain this?"

Doug: Yeah, well, I think that different things are being meant here. When it says in Genesis 6 that God repented, it's talking about when sin was in the world, it grieved God in His heart and He was sorry, not sorry because He had sinned, but He was sorry that He'd made man--His plan for the paradise and man to have this happiness and man made in His creatures, sin. And the devil had totally interrupted that and there was just misery on the planet and violence. And so, that grieved God at His heart. That's different from God saying, "Oops, I made a mistake," and repenting in that respect. God knows everything, nothing surprises Him, and God doesn't repent for sin because He does not sin. He's pure and perfect.

Jëan: Okay, next question that we have is, "I believe Christians are discouraged to drink alcohol, but why does God ask for an alcoholic beverage in Numbers 28, verse 7 as part of the sacrifices?"

Doug: Yeah, when it talks about the drink offering, it's not talking about an alcoholic drink. They would offer grape juice. And even Christ at the Last Supper, He made it clear that the grape juice that He was offering the disciples was not fermented. He said, "In the kingdom you'll drink this with Me new," and that's in Matthew 26, I believe. So, we also have a book called, "Alcohol and the Christian," that'll answer that question if you want a free copy.

Jëan: Again, that number is 800-835-6747. Just ask for it, it's called, "Alcohol and the Christian." All right, next question. "Why is it that Jesus lost His ability to be omnipresent, although He still is omnipotent and omniscient now that He's in heaven?"

Doug: Yeah, well, Jesus is omnipresent in the sense that He said wherever the Holy Spirit is, He is. He said--everybody listening right now, when we accept Him, He says, "I am with you always, even to the end of the world." So, while Christ took on human form in His body, through His omniscience, His all knowing, He can be everywhere all at one time. But you just think about the incredible sacrifice that He made in that He will forever be married to the human family because of His love for us and the sacrifice that He made. So, that's a wonderful thing to consider. And friends, we look forward to studying with you more in the coming weeks. So, just make sure and go to AmazingFacts.org and study and continue to listen to "Bible Answers Live."

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