Your Forever Doesn't Exist

Jëan Ross: Hello, friends. How about an amazing fact? In the summer of 1823 near the fork of the Grand River in present-day South Dakota, Hugh Glass, a fur trapper and frontiersman, encountered a grizzly bear and her two cubs. Before he could fire his rifle, the bear charged, clawing and biting him severely. His fellow trappers managed to kill the bear, but Glass was left badly mauled and unconscious. Believing that he would soon die from his injuries, the expedition leader, Andrew Henry, asked John Fitzgerald and a young Jim Bridger, who would later become a legendary mountain man himself, to stay behind with Glass until he died. After a few days of waiting and fearing attacks by hostile Indians, Fitzgerald and Bridger convinced of Glass's imminent death, took his rifle, knife, and other equipment and returned to the expedition group, reporting that Glass had died. But against all odds, Glass survived. He regained consciousness and he found himself alone, devoid of his supplies, suffering from a broken leg, exposed ribs from where the bear had torn away his flesh, and serious injuries to his head and arms. Nevertheless, he was determined to live and reach safety. He used a stick to stabilize his broken leg and surviving on wild berries and leftover meat from wolf kills, he crawled more than 200 miles to Fort Kiowa, a journey that took him over 6 weeks. Glass's incredible survival journey became legendary, symbolizing the harsh realities of the American frontier and the extreme measures that Hugh Glass took to cling to life.

You know, friends, the story reminds me of the story of Job in the Bible who also, facing immense suffering, yet maintained an unwavering faith in God. During his ordeal, he declared, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." That is Job 13:15. Through perseverance and faith in God, we too can endure trials and tribulations, knowing that God will ultimately deliver us from all evil and pain and will one day make all things new. This is the hope that has sustained Christians throughout history, enabling them to face persecution, sorrow, and even death. You know, Jesus gave these words of promise to all believers. John chapter 14 verse 1, Jesus said: "Let not your hearts be troubled; if you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house," Jesus said, "there are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you," He said. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."

That is the promise. Jesus said He will come again. This world is not our home, but we're looking forward to a heavenly home, a New Jerusalem where there is peace and joy, no more pain, no more sorrow. God will make all things new. And friends, do you have that hope in your heart? Do you believe that heaven is for real, and that Jesus is coming back and that you can have a place in that heavenly kingdom? I hope so. We do have a free offer, Pastor Aron, that talks about this wonderful hope that Christians have.

Aron Crews: Yes, we do. And it is a booklet entitled, "Heaven: Is It for Real?" written by actually my grandfather, Joe Crews. And if you would like to get your hands on this for a deeper study into the topic, you can call, as you see on the screen if you're watching, 1-800-835-6747 and you can get that offer right there and then.

Jëan: Just call and ask for it. Ask for it by name. You can also get that by dialing #250 on your smartphone. Say "Bible Answers Live" and then ask for the book by name: "Heaven: Is It for Real?" And you will be blessed by reading this book. Read it, share it with your family members, give it to a friend. We do have hope as Christians. This world is not our final home.

Pastor Doug is out this evening, but this is live interactive Bible study, "Bible Answers Live." So if you have a Bible-related question, we'd love to hear from you this evening. The number to call here to the studio is 800-463-7297. That is 800-GOD-SAYS, 800-463-7297. We want to greet all of our friends who are listening on the various radio stations, on satellite radio, also on AFTV, watching on the Internet. And joining me here in the studio is Pastor Aron Crews and he's going to be working the phones. We appreciate him taking the time to. He's got a wealth of information about the Bible as well. So he'll be answering these Bible questions with me as we take the various questions. But Pastor Crews, before we go to the phone lines, why don't we start with prayer?

Aron: Absolutely. Let's bow our heads. Dear heavenly Father, Lord, we thank You so much for this opportunity to study Your Word and to field some of these questions that are on so many people's minds and hearts. So, Lord, we ask for Your Spirit to be here as we share faithfully from Your Word what the scriptures say about these various things and give those who are inquisitive minds trying to figure out for themselves a special blessing as they listen for themselves, but then ultimately turn back to the Bible and find the truth of Your Word for themselves. We pray in Jesus's name, amen.

Jëan: Amen. All right, well, we've got a number of folks who are waiting with their Bible question. Who do we have first?

Aron: All right, our first question is a caller from the great state that we're in, California, and his name is Lou, calling in with a question about Daniel 11. So Lou, hey, welcome to the show. What's your question for us today?

Lou: Yeah, thank you. My question was from-- about the king of the North and the king of the South going to war in the very last days. And I'm wondering if you can elaborate on that a little bit, expand a little, and tell us who you think they might be and so forth and so on.

Jëan: Okay, great. All right, we appreciate the question. Of course, you read about the king of the North and the king of the South in Daniel chapter 11. It's the longest chapter that you'll find in the book of Daniel. It is also the most detailed prophecy talking about the rise and fall of different kingdoms. So the first reference that we have to the king of the North and the king of the South relates to different kingdoms over time. Of course, you have Babylon that fell to Medo-Persia, and Medo-Persia fell to Greece. And then the Grecian kingdom was divided up into four different parts. And there were two prominent generals that sort of took charge: the one in the north and the one in the south. The one in the south was Ptolemy and he kind of established the Ptolemy dynasty or Ptolemy dynasty, depending how you pronounce it. The Seleucid dynasty was in the north and the two powers, the king of the North and the king of the South, through much of the chapter describes their activities. They were going back and forth to war.

Now, the reason those two are mentioned is because the people of God, Jerusalem, was right in the middle, between the king of the North and the king of the South. And so, every time they would embark on a military campaign, it would very often affect the people of God, and Israel would change hands from the power of the Grecian Empire back to the Egyptians. It would go back and forth. But when you get to Revelation chapter the king of the North and the king of the South, even a little before that actually, the king of the North begins to take on more of a role of, first, Pagan Rome. And then it follows with Papal Rome, and much of the chapter nearing the end deals with the king of the North representing the papal power. And the king of the South has been identified in two ways. The one would be the king of the South would represent those religions that are opposed to God, sort of paganism and even atheism that we see coming up during the French revolution. Some new interpretations, especially as you relate to Chapter 40, I feel that perhaps the king of the South might be a coalition of some atheistic kingdoms or powers that are backing Islamic nations. Of course, Egypt today is Islamic.

So, some are suggesting maybe you have on the one side, you have the Western powers supporting the papal power and you have China, maybe even North Korea and Russia and some of these others supporting the Islamic nations. And maybe there's a big showdown. Now, of course, chapter 40 onwards is still in the future. So some of the specifics of this we don't quite yet know, but that's the leading interpretation that-- the leading idea as to who the king of the North and the king of the South is. It is a very detailed study. And if you'd like to learn more about that, I'd encourage you to take a look at some of the resources at Amazing Facts. But it is fascinating and we're living right around that time period after verse 40 that you read about in Daniel chapter 11. All right, thank you, Lou. Who do we have next?

Aron: All right, our next caller, his name is Patrick, calling in from Canada. Seems like, Patrick, you have a question about the Apocrypha. Welcome to the show.

Patrick: Good evening. Yes, my question is about the 54 books of the Apocrypha and its relationship to the Bible. I'm not sure if it has a relationship or I just want to find out if it's inspired or not.

Jëan: Okay, very good. The apocryphal books, you'll sometimes find it in the Catholic Bible. You don't often find it in Protestant Bibles. The reason for that is that when the Reformers were working on putting together what we call the Canon of Scripture or the Bible as we have it now, they recognized that the apocryphal books didn't really line up with the other inspired books of the Bible for several reasons. For one, the authorship of some of the apocryphal books is somewhat questionable. Sometimes somebody would write a book and then they would ascribe a name of a famous Bible character like Enoch or something like that. But it wasn't really the one who wrote the book, to kind of give it credence. Also, some of the doctrine of some of the apocryphal books actually contradict Old Testament passages as well as the New Testament books written by Paul and the apostles. There is some interesting history that you can read about in the apocryphal, especially in the books of Maccabees. But they're more historical and they describe that time period from sort of the inter Testament time periods that bring you from the last book written, Malachi, up until Matthew, what was happening in Israel during that time.

So the reason they're not part of the Bible is because the Protestants recognized that they're not inspired. They're not on the same level as the rest of scripture and the-- who the author is, is somewhat questionable at some of the books. So that's why you don't find it in the Protestant Bible.

Aron: Yeah, great answer. All right, next question. Our next caller is calling in from Ohio and we have Glenn here with us on the line. Hi, Glenn, what is your question for us this evening?

Glenn: Yes, good evening. Thank you, gentlemen, for taking my call. You know, when a person is converted, they are forgiven. And then with the application of 1 John 1:9, if they do bad, they can be forgiven until the end or they can jump off the wagon anytime and jump back on. The love of God covers them during that period of gestation. But if they do endure unto the end, Matthew 24:13 tells us they will receive the gift of salvation and they receive it eternally secure. So therefore, the answer to the question, "Can a saved man choose to be lost?" is wondrously, no.

Jëan: All right, well, yeah, let me share a little bit about that because it sounds like, yeah, you made an interesting statement. Can a saved man choose to be lost? Well, I think we have freedom of choice. Even a converted person doesn't lose their freedom of choice. That's why the Bible, as you mentioned, Jesus said, "He that endures to the end shall be saved." But for someone that is trusting in Jesus, that is surrendering to Him, Jesus promises that they are secure. No one can take them out of His hand, but they can still choose if they will. So, if we're trusting in Jesus, we can have confidence that He forgives us, 1 John 1, verse 9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us, to cleanse us for all unrighteousness." And as long as we are abiding in Him, as Jesus said, "Abide in Me and I in you, as the branch cannot be a fruit of itself except that abide in the vine, neither can you except you abide in Me." And Jesus says if you do not abide, they will be removed, the branch will be removed from the vine.

So yes, there is an abiding that's needed, and we choose to abide. It's something that we do. We still have freedom right up until, you know, Jesus comes, we can choose. So, nobody loses that freedom to choose. We choose to be saved and we choose to remain in a saving relationship with Jesus. And as long as we are doing that, we have no fear that we'll be lost because we are trusting in Him, and His blood cleanses us from all sin. You know, we do have a book called, "Can a Saved Man Choose to Be Lost?" I think that deals with this question exactly. And we'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. What's the number?

Aron: It's 1-800-835-6747 to get that. I think that's the title of the book: "Can a Saved Man Choose to Be Lost?" Jëan: And it explains that and gives a whole lot of scripture. So yes, Glenn, call and ask for that. You can also dial #250 on your smartphone. Just say "Bible Answers Live" and then ask for the book, "Can a Man--a Saved Man Choose to Be Lost?" and we'll give you a digital download. You'll be able to read it right away. All right, who do we have next?

Aron: All right, our next caller is Shannon, calling in from Georgia. It looks like you have a question about the book of Hebrews. Hi, Shannon, welcome.

Shannon: Hi, yes, I'm calling-- I've been searching to find out who wrote the book of Hebrews and some of the writing sounds like Paul, but I can't find anywhere where it actually says he wrote the book of Hebrews or who wrote the book of Hebrews.

Jëan: Okay, good question. You're right, the book of Hebrews does not give its authorship. It almost appears as though the author was recognized by the reader as being somebody having authority. Also, when you read Hebrews, you understand that whoever wrote the book was very much aware of the Jewish system, the Old Testament, the sacrifices, the priesthood, the sanctuary, and everything associated with that. And of course, he brings the connection between the sacrifice representing Jesus, the priesthood representing Jesus. He goes into great detail, talks about the heavenly sanctuary where Jesus ministers as a high priest. And even though it's not clearly stated, many Bible scholars believe that actually Paul is the one that wrote Hebrews, even though the language might be a little different in some way. So sounds a little different from Romans, but remember the audience was different. So, Romans was primarily to a Gentile audience, but Hebrews was written to a Jewish audience. But just the depth of knowledge and understanding of the Jewish system as well as the fact that the author was considered to be an authority, to be an apostle, many believe that that was Paul who wrote the book of Hebrews.

Aron: When we get to heaven, we'll know for sure.

Jëan: We'll know for sure, yeah.

Aron: We'll know for sure. All right, our next caller is Gary, calling in from Illinois. Hello, we've got Gary here. Welcome to the program.

Gary: Thank you. In Revelation 16, the Euphrates River dries up, demons are released enticing the kings of the world to meet at Armageddon. If a nuclear war should happen, would the hail, the size of a talent be the outcome of that war, which is mentioned at the end of chapter 16?

Jëan: Okay, well, good question. Yes, you read about this in Revelation chapter 16, verse 12, where it talks about the drying up of the River Euphrates. Now, this is part of what we call the seven last plagues. It's actually the sixth plague. And you start reading in verse 12 through to verse 16. So, there are a series of plagues that come upon the earth just before Jesus comes. And when it talks about a hail falling upon the earth and a great earthquake, which is the seventh plague, that brings you right up till the Second Coming of Christ. So, these plagues take place before Jesus comes. The first plague, if you read about it, it's a terrible sore that develops upon people and then it talks about the sea turning to blood, then the rivers turning to blood and then the sun scorches men with intense heat and so on and so forth.

So, these are literal plagues that will come upon the earth. It hasn't happened yet. It happens after probation closes. So, when Michael stands up in Daniel chapter 12, Jesus says, He that is holy, let him be holy still. He's that filthy, let him be filthy still. That's Revelation 22. Probation closes. The righteous are sealed, the wicked have the mark of the beast, and then the seven last plagues fall.

And the drying up of the River Euphrates is an interesting plague because it has a symbolic application. It's not only referring to the literal River Euphrates which very well could dry up, but if you go back in Bible history, you have the city of Babylon. This is during the time of the Jewish captivity; the Jews are captive in Babylon. And in order for the Jews to be set free to go back to Jerusalem, you have Cyrus who is the Medo-Persian leader or general. And in order for them to conquer Babylon, they dried up the River Euphrates which ran diagonally through the ancient city of Babylon. They diverted the waters into some marsh areas and, as the river lowered, they were able to march their soldiers under the massive city walls, and in one night, Babylon fell. After the fall of Babylon, Cyrus allowed the Jews to go back and start rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. So symbolically, when you see the drying up of the River Euphrates, it represents that God's people are soon to be delivered from symbolic Babylon and taken to the New Jerusalem.

Now, water in Bible prophecy, according to Revelation chapter 17, represents multitude in nations and kindreds and tongues. And so, this counterfeit religious system in the last days referred to as Babylon in Revelation 17, just before Jesus comes, the support that people are giving to this apostate religious system will be withdrawn because the previous plague talks about darkness upon the seat of the beast. So, people suddenly realize, hey, we've been deceived by this power and they withdraw their support. That prepares the way for the Second Coming of Christ. So, this is a great study. It's referring to something yet in the future. And this is part of the seven last plagues that you read about in Revelation 16. Hopefully, that helps. Thank you, Gary.

Aron: All right, our next caller is calling in from Canada, up north. Caller named Deborah. Deborah, welcome to the show. What is your question for us this evening?

Deborah: Hello, Pastors. How are you?

Jëan: Good, thank you.

Deborah: I have a question about Mark 14, verses 51 and 52. I have to tell you that when I read it, I got emotional. Other people have told me that it's, you know, Mark making a cameo appearance, and I've looked up the word "nakedness" and I've looked up the word "linen" because of the two things that the story tells us. And nakedness is mentioned 104 times in the Bible, and linen represents purity, and nakedness could be-- it could mean other things other than shameful in the Bible, depending on where it's used. So, could you tell me who he was or who you think he is? And is there a significance to this? I don't believe it's just a filler in the Bible. And I don't really-- because of how emotional I got; I believe there is something to this story.

Jëan: Yeah, absolutely. Let me share what we have here. So, yes, you find this in Mark chapter 14. This is at the time of the arrest of Jesus. When the religious leaders came with the Roman soldiers, they met Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. You'll remember how Peter pulled out his sword and chopped off the high priest servant's ear. Jesus healed the servant and then He allowed Himself to be arrested. And as He's being taken away, the disciples all began to run away. And apparently there was a young man who heard about what was happening. The reason it says he was wearing a linen, it's late at night. He probably just grabbed a blanket or whatever he had. He heard about this and he came out to see what was going on and as they arrested Jesus and took Him to Caiaphas, the high priest, for this trial, they wanted to grab as many of His followers as well, and it seems as though the Romans grabbed a hold of this young man and him filled with fear just took off running in his birthday suit, so to speak.

So, people believe that the reason it's even mentioned there is that it could very well be Mark himself. He was a young man at the time. Mark, of course, wrote the book. He wasn't officially one of the disciples of Jesus, but he was there at the time, and he received an eyewitness account that came from the apostles when he wrote the book of Mark. So yes, we believe that was him. The point being here is that really everybody deserted Jesus, and they ran for their lives and that was a prophecy that Jesus had mentioned would take place. It says, "The shepherd shall be smitten, and the sheep shall disperse." They will run away. And that's what happened to the disciples of Christ at that time. Later on, you read about John and Peter that follow Jesus at a distance and they went into Caiaphas's high-- a high priest's place, at least the compound, and they were there. But it seems that this young man from all accounts, as far as we know, it was probably Mark and he ran away along with the other disciples.

Aron: Yeah, another point is it's significant that it's only the Gospel of Mark that records this little incident here. So, it's not unusual, we have the Gospel of John where, you know, it's quite clear that John wrote the Gospel of John. John never actually fully identifies himself as the author, right? So, Mark could have been, you know, throwing this personal anecdote in there as well without claiming, you know, like, "Hey, this was me, by the way and I wrote this Gospel."

Jëan: Yeah, he's sort of saying, "Hey, I was there, I can verify. I'm an eyewitness account. This is what happened to me, but I was there when Jesus was arrested." Very good. Thank you, Deborah. Who do we have next?

Aron: All right, next we have Christopher calling in from California. Hi there, Christopher. Welcome to our show. What's your question for us this evening?

Christopher: Good evening. My question is: When is the close of probation for everybody?

Jëan: Okay, good question. Yes, the Bible doesn't give us the exact time when probation will close. There are certain things that prophecy foretells needs to take place before probation closes. So, we know for one that probation hasn't closed yet. For example, some of the signs that Jesus gave, He said, "This gospel of the kingdom must be preached to all the world as a witness unto all nations, then the end will come." If you're still preaching the gospel that means probation is not closed. You can also read in Revelation chapter 18, there is a description of a mighty angel. We call him the fourth angel of Revelation 18, because in chapter 14, you have three angels and now you have this fourth angel. It says, "The earth is illuminated with his glory, and he cries mightily with a strong voice. 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen.'" And that's referring to a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit and a great awakening amongst God's people in taking the last warning message to the world. As we saw at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and the gospel went forth with power, we will see a similar thing just before probation closes. That has not happened yet. So we know that is still to come.

We also know that before probation closes, there is going to be the issue of the mark of the beast. In other words, people will be forced to make a decision. Are they going to worship God according to the commandments, or are they going to set aside one of God's commandments in order to worship according to the beast power that's described there in Revelation chapter 13? That hasn't happened yet. So there's a couple of things that still have to take place and once these things have taken place and the loud cry is given, then at some point, Jesus says it's over. Now, Daniel chapter 12 verse 1, it says Michael stands up. Michael is the prophetic name of Christ and there is a time of trouble, worse than the world has ever seen. That's when the seven last plagues will be poured out. But at that time, Thy people shall be delivered, everyone found written in the book. Well, that's the Second Coming of Christ when the righteous will be delivered. So close of probation still in the future.

But of course, for us individually, probation can close any time, right? Because when a person dies, their probation is closed, their decisions have been made. That's why the Bible says, "Today is the day of salvation. Do not harden your heart." So, every day we want to make that choice to surrender to Jesus. Thank you, Christopher. Appreciate your call.

Aron: Amen, great, great answer. And I love that emphasis on, you know, the Bible says, you know, Jesus says, "I'm coming soon. I'm coming soon." Well, that was 2000 years ago, but we do believe He's coming soon, but everyone's individual probation could close before the corporate final close of probation. All right, Lee, we have calling in from Texas. Welcome, Lee, to the show. What is your question for us this evening?

Lee: Yes, my question is: Why is Greek mythology closely linked to the Bible?

Jëan: Well, when you talk about Greek mythology closely linked to the Bible, all pagan religions have certain kernels of truth because in reality, paganism is really the religion inspired by the devil himself. And yes, there is a controversy between good and evil. Sometimes you'll read about a fall; even in certain pagan mythologies, you even have a tree. Of course, it's all twisted. The serpent or the dragon also has significance in paganism. Of course, you read about the serpent in Genesis. So, yes, there are some connections because, you know, paganism was inspired by the devil. Greek mythology for the most part was built upon these pagan religious teachings that are false. Although, you know, a lot of Greek mythology is just made up as well. It's not the truth. The Bible has the final word. The Bible is the truth. But there are some interesting things even in some remote tribal groups, they talk about a flood that you read about in Genesis, different ideas of it. But you get kernels of truth scattered. Well, friends, we're going to take a short break and then we'll be back with more of your Bible questions. So stand by, we'll be back in just a moment.

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

Announcer: Jerusalem, the City of Peace, has been a place of unending conflict for centuries. Many now believe that Jerusalem will soon take center stage again. But what does the Bible say? "The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem" presents the vital history you need to know about Jerusalem and its role in end time Bible prophecy. This "Amazing Facts" edition of the classic volume, "The Great Controversy," is the perfect sharing book. Get your copy at afbookstore.com.

Announcer: In 6 days, God created the heavens and the earth. For thousands of years, man has worshiped God on the seventh day of the week. Now, each week, millions of people worship on the first day. What happened? Why did God create a day of rest? Does it really matter what day we worship? Who was behind this great shift? Discover the truth behind God's law and how it was changed. Visit SabbathTruth.com. announcer: Find out what the critics are raving about. Top scholars and theologians from around the country come together to reveal the hidden history of the book of Revelation. With powerful reenactments and incredible visual effects, this 95-minute masterpiece brings to life the book of Revelation like never before. Revelation is no longer a mystery. Get your copy today. Visit iTunes or AFBOOKSTORE.COM.

Announcer: You're listening to "Bible Answers Live" where every question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His plan to save you. So what are you waiting for? Get practical answers about the Good Book for a better life today.

Announcer: 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."

Jëan: Hello, friends. Welcome back to "Bible Answers Live." This is a live interactive international Bible study. We want to welcome you with your Bible questions. If you have a Bible question, the phone line is 800-835-6747. My name is Jëan Ross. Pastor Doug is out of town this evening but working the phones and helping answer the Bible questions is Pastor Aron Crews who is one of our pastors at the Granite Bay Hilltop Church. He's actually our young adult pastor. Glad you're able to help us with "Bible Answers Live."

Aron: Yeah, definitely. And I want to give a special greeting to those who-- of course, multiple avenues that people can listen to the program, but also want to give a shout to those who are listening through 3ABN as well as the local radio station KPGC in Norman, Arkansas, and KTIE in Glendale, California. So, thanks so much for tuning in. Now, we're going to continue on with our live questions and we have Terrence calling in from North Carolina. Hello, Terrence, welcome to the show. What is your question for us this evening?

Terrence: Yes, Pastor Ross, Pastor Crews. I just have a question. It's a simple one for you tonight. What were Jesus's last words? Was it Luke 23:46, Psalms 22:1, or John 19:30? I think it's Luke 23:46 but it's conflicting.

Jëan: Okay, yes, I think you're right. I mean, there's a number of words that Jesus spoke and not all of the Gospels record all of His words, but if you take the different statements of Christ from all of the Gospels, you come up with what the total is. Luke 23:46 says: "And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 'Father into Your hands, I commit My Spirit.' Having said this, He breathed His last." So yes, from the verse, it appears pretty clear that this was the last thing that Jesus said. Incidentally, it's actually a quote, a quote from Psalms 31, verse 5, that Jesus was quoting. A number of the statements Jesus made from the cross were actually quotes from the Old Testament, much from the book of Psalms. Part of that is that Jesus wanted to direct those who were at the cross to go back and to read these passages of scripture to help validate that He was indeed the Messiah, the fulfillment of these various prophecies that you find in the Old Testament. So, yes, Luke chapter 23:46 seems to be the final words that Jesus spoke when He said, "Into Thy hands I commit My Spirit" and then He died. All right, thank you, Terrence. Who do we have next?

Aron: All right, we've got Esther calling in from California with a question about animals. Hello, Esther.

Esther: Hello, Pastor. I recently saw a documentary about beavers and bees and how they keep the Sabbath. I was just wondering, do animals praise God?

Jëan: Okay, well, indirectly. You know, they don't consciously say, "All right, we're going to worship God," or praise God. But when you look at the marvels of creation and you look at what animals do and you look at how they are made, you can see evidence of a Creator. You can see the handiwork of God in the things that He has made. And so, when you look at a hummingbird and you see its beautiful colors and you see how that it can drink nectar from a flower while it's flying and yet it has such endurance to fly long distances. That's all evidence that there is a Creator God. So, in them just doing what they were made to do, they're in essence praising God. They're revealing the glories of God. Not that they purposely gather together. In other words, when a bird sings, he sings because he's a bird, but he's doing what God made him to do. And that in a sense is praising God. So yeah, very good observation.

Aron: Yeah, just a couple of verses along those lines. We have Psalm 148. Read a couple of verses here, starting in verse 1, which says: "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all the angels; praise Him, all the hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you stars of light! Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord." So here we have intangible things, the light, the sun, the moon, the stars, who the Psalmist says, "Praise Him," right? And I love what you said there, Jëan, that when something is created by God, an animal, a sun, a moon, and they're simply doing what they were created to do, in that sense they're really giving praise to God. And so, we--we have a-- we're made in the image of God and we have you could say a higher degree of consciousness and when we intentionally and purposely do what God created us to do that is what matters the most for us, so--.

Jëan: And we're praising God in that sense.

Aron: Amen, amen, amen. All right, our next caller who is a first-time caller, calling in from Virginia, Keliah. Thank you so much for calling in, and your question for us this evening is?

Keliah: Yes, I was calling to find out does the devil worship on Sabbath, because I have a definition from the dictionary that says the Sabbath is a meeting of witches.

Jëan: Okay, well, you know, whatever that definition is, from the dictionary, is wrong. The Sabbath was created by God. It's a memorial of His creative work. It is a day of worship. The righteous worship on the day God set aside because that's what He asked us to do. God's people throughout time have recognized Him as the Creator and have remembered the Sabbath to keep it holy. The devil does not worship God. He hates God and he hates anything that connects people to God, and the Sabbath would be one of those things. So, the devil is doing his very best to cause people to ignore or forget this wonderful truth because, you know, Jesus wants to spend time with us. Christ is the Creator God. He's made us and He set aside a day where we can actually enter into His presence in a special way. It doesn't mean we can't worship Him throughout the week. But this is a time that He has set aside for us to gather to worship, and He wants to bless us with His presence in a special way on the seventh day. And always reminding us that He's the one that made us. We didn't make ourselves. So, the devil hates the Sabbath. He hates worship. And yeah, the Sabbath is a good thing, according to the Bible.

We do have a study guide that talks about the Sabbath, and you might enjoy reading it. All you need to do is call and ask. It's called, "The Forgotten Day in History." "Forgotten Day in History." And it's about the Sabbath, what the Bible says. If you'd like to receive it, the number to call is 800-835-6747. Or you can dial #250 on your smartphone. Just say "Bible Answers Live" and then say, "I want that study guide called 'Forgotten Day in History'" or while you're on the phone, if you call and you're speaking to one of the operators, you can sign up for free to the Amazing Facts Bible School. We have a set of lessons. We'll mail it to you. You'll be able to read through them, look them-- look up the Bible verses, and you'll be able to fill in the quiz, send it back to us. And when you've done the whole course, you will get a certificate of completion from Amazing Facts. It's free. So take advantage of that. You will be blessed.

All right, who do we have next?

Aron: All right, thank you. Our next caller, calling in from New York, has a great name, Eron, which is my name. Eron, welcome to the program. Looks like you have a question about Proverbs chapter 3, eh?

Eron: I do, Aron.

Jëan: Thanks for calling, and your question tonight?

Eron: My question is: What is the meaning of that verse, especially the word "acknowledge"?

Jëan: Okay, let me read it. Proverbs chapter 3, verse 6. It says: "In all of your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." So, the word there, "acknowledge," means to inquire and submit to His plans and purposes. In other words, if you want God to direct your ways, you need to be willing to go in the way that He leads. You can't say, "All right, Lord, I'm going to do my own thing and I hope this is part of Your plan." No, if you really want God to bless, then you need to say, "Lord, what is Your plan?" And that's what it means when it says, "Acknowledge Him." In other words, seek His will. Say, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" We want to search the scriptures, make sure that what we are wanting to do is in harmony with the principles given in the Bible. Sometimes we might need to seek some godly counsel from others. But at the end of the day, if we know this is in harmony with the will of God, and we say, "Lord, if it's Your will, then through providence, open up the doors. Close doors if You don't want me to go a certain way." We can trust that God is going to lead us. So to acknowledge Him is to seek His will and then follow it, and not doing your own thing, but saying, "Lord, Your will be done." So that's the key.

Aron: That's right. Great question though, very, very practical.

Jëan: Oh, you know what, I just remembered a book. Pastor Doug wrote a book called, "Determining the Will of God," and it's free. We'll send it to anyone who calls and asks. The number is 800-835-6747. It deals with this very verse. Call and ask. It's called, "Determining the Will of God." All right, thanks, Eron. Who do we have next?

Aron: All right, another caller in from New York and it's Phil. Phil, you have an interesting question for us this evening. What is it?

Phil: I hope I do. Thank you very much. I'll just take a second to say your explanation about the Euphrates was really superb because it ties together religious and secular history. It was excellent.

Jëan: Amen, well, thank you.

Phil: My question is: Do you believe that the woke culture and Marxist globalist ideology are somehow connected to the one world system of the Antichrist?

Jëan: Okay, well, good question. Well, in 1798 you had the French Revolution, which really was the beginning of a nation claiming atheism. And of course, Marxism or Marx, Karl Marx, and what he wrote, which kind of came out of that French Revolution, influenced communism, atheism, evolution, and many other ISMs, materialism, and so on and so forth. Sort of was the catalyst for that. What is interesting is that there are two extremes and, of course, we can see this in our world today. On the one hand, you would have what we maybe consider the Liberal or the left side of things. On the other, you'd have the Conservatives and maybe consider that the right side, if you're dealing with politics. But what the Bible does tell us and these two powers, these two philosophies, seem to be, you know, at odds with each other and they are. But what the Bible tells us that at the end of time, the Antichrist's power is going to be able to pull both groups together. He's going to unite them for a particular cause which is going to lead to the enforcing of the mark of the beast. Now, we don't have time to get into the exact details. We do have a study guide that actually talks about the mark of the beast. But it is interesting how that you're going to have on the one hand, those who are very pro, you might say, environmental movements and social justice causes, uniting with those who are directly opposite, on the religious side of things, who believe that because of immorality, because of what the culture is doing, the United States will be doomed unless America gets back to God, and you have the Antichrist power reaching sort of middle ground and pulling both groups together. And what is interesting about this, it's going to revolve around a particular day. Now, without me saying too much, get the study guide and read it, dealing with the Antichrist's power and the mark of the beast, but it's interesting that in the environmental movement, that people are talking about the earth needing a day of rest, once a week. And on the religious side of things, you've got the religious world saying we need to get back to God. We need to start enforcing Sunday as a day of rest and worship. And it's interesting how these two ideas will eventually merge together, being guided by the Antichrist's power in the last days to enforce the mark of the beast. So yes, it does. What we see happening in politics today and around the world, is that connected with the fulfillment of prophecy? Absolutely. These are signs of the times and we're living in some very exciting times.

Aron: Yeah, and I'll just add briefly, there may be powers in the world that seem to be totally opposite, yet both are against or somehow contrary to the Bible and to God, and Satan will take advantage of that. It was, after all, the Sadducees on the left side and the Pharisees on the right side that came together, right, along with the state that crucified Jesus, right? So, Satan finds his friends everywhere, right? And when it comes to attacking God's people, all the powers of the world ultimately are going to team up together against the righteous.

Jëan: That's a good point. You know, ultimately, we need to trust in the Bible. We can't trust in what's happening in politics. We can't trust in different organizations. We've got to trust the board* of God. That's going to be our safety in the last days. Phil, great question. Thanks for calling. You might want to get that study guide called, "The Antichrist." There's actually two: "The Mark of the Beast" and "The Antichrist." For anyone wanting to learn more about this very important prophetic subject, call 800-835-6747. Ask for those two study guides. You'll be amazed when you read what the Bible says, who these powers are in the last days. Okay, who do we have next?

Aron: All right, next, we have Alexander calling in from New York and it looks like you're a first-time caller, Alexander. We're so excited to have you here. Welcome to the program. What is your question for us this evening?

Alexander: Good evening, and God bless you guys always.

Jëan: Yeah, thanks.

Alexander: My question is, because we're studying the great controversy, and I wanted to know if the devil had a chance to visit all the world with his lies or was it only earth that he got to deceive?

Jëan: Okay, very good. Well, it appears as though he did at some point. And here's why. In Job, you read the book of Job, it begins by talking about a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before God. Now we know that these sons of God are not human beings, they are representatives of other unfallen worlds. The Bible in Hebrews talks about God who made the world, uses the plural, and they are the representatives of these worlds. And Satan shows up at this meeting and he comes representing earth. You see, that's why God says, "Where did you come from?" He said, "Oh, from walking up and down on the earth," meaning my kingdom, so the devil claims this earth is his. So, the fact that there is this meeting taking place, we would understand that the other representatives of the other worlds, they were aware of this rebellion. You read in Revelation chapter 12, talks about war in heaven, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels, and the dragon lost, and he was cast out of heaven, probably the devil and the angels that joined his rebellion kind of wandered through space, you might say, looking for a place that they could claim as a capital. They probably tempted or tried to tempt these other worlds, but they weren't successful. Right around that time, God then starts creating again and he creates earth. And the devil says, "Ah, here's my chance, man and woman created in the image of God. Let me see if I can deceive them." And, of course, he comes, and you know what happened in the Garden of Eden. So yes, the other created beings, the angels, the unfallen world, so they're aware of this rebellion that took place.

Aron: Yeah, and I want to add one more verse there that goes right along with what you're saying. In Revelation 12, verse 12, it seems, and the context is, is Jesus's crucifixion and the devil being cast out in some secondary sense, right? It says, "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them!" Okay, so there's this party in heaven and those who dwell there and probably not just heaven heaven, but like, the heavens, and it says, "Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time." So, there it seems, right, that the devil after the cross in some significant way, is sort of trapped to the earth, right? Alluding to, before this point, he had some kind of access as we see in the book of Job to heavens, heavenly intelligences, other unfallen beings perhaps, to, yes, attempt to spread his lies. But of course, we're thankful that-- we're not thankful that humans rebelled, but we're thankful that we are the only planet that has rebelled, and that God is working through the plan to--. Jëan: Sort of in quarantine here on planet Earth, right? Waiting for the restoration of all things. All right, thank you. Who do we have next?

Aron: All right, next, we have Jeanette calling in from Michigan and I pastored in Michigan for almost 7 years. So, a warm place in my heart has-- is Michigan. So, Jeanette, welcome to the program for the first time. What's your question for us?

Jeanette: Good evening.

Aron: Good evening.

Jeanette: Good evening. My question is in Judges chapter 19. What happens with the Levite's concubine is really bothersome even when she returns home in verse 29. But my question is why do they offer their own family such as their daughters and concubines to evil men instead of their visitors? Lot did the same, but he had angels. I could understand that. This was just, you know, random visitors, it seems. But, you know, he offered them his daughter and concubine for that horrible thing.

Jëan: Absolutely, well, that's, you know, that's a good question. I-- of course, to us today, it would be terrible. I mean, the last thing a father would want to do is allow anything bad to happen to his family. You'd think he'd be the first one to step out there in defense. The culture was a little different back in Bible times in that if you brought a stranger into your house, it was your responsibility to take care of him and they took that very serious. So, in the case, for example, of Lot, and in the case of the story that you read about the Levite's concubine, the owner of the house, you know, went out and said to these wicked men, "Please do not do this thing." Now, of course, they wanted-- they wanted the man in both cases. Says they wanted to know him carnally, and perhaps the thinking would be, as well, you know, if they send a woman maybe they wouldn't be that mean. But, apparently, yeah, they were wicked, on both accounts. It's a terrible story. You wonder why is it even in the Bible?

Well, the reason it's in the Bible is because this led to civil war in Israel and the tribe of Benjamin was almost wiped out and it was terribly painful for the nation. But that was because of this wickedness that was done here in the story in chapter 19. So that's why it's even referenced here in the scriptures because of the terrible things that happened. So, yeah, it might be a little different for us today. We might struggle to try and understand it. But it was-- it was the most important thing back in Bible times that you were to take care of the visitor that came under your roof at any cost. And that's probably what helped motivate those decisions. Well, they're not good decisions. You know, the Bible gives us both good and bad. And that was a bad thing that they did.

Aron: Yeah, and then just one more principle to keep in mind when you're reading difficult stories, in particular in the book of Judges, there's actually two verses that sort of set the whole theme of the book of Judges. And it's Judges chapter 17, verse 6, and Judges chapter 21, verse 25, which is the very last verse of the whole book of Judges. And it says this: "In those days there was no king in Israel; and everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Showing basically, that, hey, there's a lot of messed up stuff happening here because instead of, as a caller earlier referred to, Proverbs 3, verses 5 and 6, instead of trusting in God to direct your paths, they were trusting in their own knowledge, right? And so, these are the consequences. This is the kind of gross, messed-up stuff that we see when people do things in their own eyes and God is working with sinful humans, even Israelites that claimed to serve Him at that time. And even today can go astray in different ways when they lose sight of God's principles and His direction.

Jëan: That's a very good-- and, of course, if you reject the law of God, you reject the counsel of God, you're probably going to get your counsel from the pagan nations around you. And this was common in the nations around Israel. So, they just adopted these pagan traditions.

Aron: Yeah, that strong culture and then bringing in some of those surrounding nations.

Jëan: Very good. All right, well, thank you.

Aron: Okay, our next caller is calling in from Day's Creek, Oregon. We have Chris here joining the program with us. Hello there, Chris, what is your question for us this evening?

Chris: Hi there. Thank you for taking my call. Was Satan tricked into crucifying Jesus? And this is a claim that's emerged from the popular movement with the Genesis 6 confusion. And so, I'm just curious. I think they base it off the healing of the demoniacs and the demons seem kind of clueless to Jesus's purpose, His ministry. Thank you.

Jëan: Well, I-- you know, we don't know the mind of Satan, but obviously, we understand that he is so bent on evil that he can't even control himself. I mean, he can read the Bible, he knows Bible prophecy better than we have and yet he still continues down the path of wickedness. He knows what his final end is going to be. But it's as if he's past the point of rational thinking. He hated Jesus. Of course, he first tried to tempt Jesus into worshiping him. And when that failed, he did everything he can to try and hinder the work of Christ. He inspired, you know, Judas Iscariot, he inspired the religious leaders and the Romans to eventually crucify Jesus, but it almost seems that after Christ submitted to that, it's as if the devil wanted Jesus to come down off the cross because I think he realized that if Christ went through with the sacrifice, you know, salvation, finally he would be overthrown. So, it almost seems that he wanted Jesus to exercise His divine power and come down off the cross. That was a real temptation to Christ. That's why Jesus said, "If it's possible, let this cup pass from Me, not My will, but Thy will be done." So, yeah, was the devil tricked into crucifying Jesus? No, I don't think so. I don't think he could really help himself; he was so evil. But when Christ actually submitted, then the devil realized, "Man, I want Him to exercise His power and come down off the cross." But of course, Jesus didn't. He remained there and that's why we have hope of eternal life, we have salvation, because of Christ's willingness to suffer. All right, thank you, Chris.

Aron: All right, our next caller is Samuel, calling in from Washington. This is a first-time caller and, Samuel, it seems that you're quite young and you have a-- an interesting question for us this evening.

Jëan: Hi, Samuel. How old are you?

Samuel: I am 11 years old. And my question is: Are dinosaurs going to be in heaven?

Jëan: Oh, great question. All right, well, thank you for calling, Sammy. We're glad you're listening. Will dinosaurs be in heaven? Well, I think there's going to be animals in heaven that you can't even begin to imagine. You know, there are dinosaurs. Matter of fact, I think there are dinosaurs even mentioned in the Bible. The Bible speaks about something called the Behemoth. And if you look at the description given in Job, it talks about this giant animal that eats reeds is down by the water. He's vegetarian, but he has a thick tail and he's massive, bigger than all the other animals. So yeah, it could very well be that in heaven, when you get there, you get to get a dinosaur pet. Maybe a real big dinosaur that sleeps in your front yard, I don't know. But the Bible says: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it even entered into the heart of man, the things that God is preparing for those that love Him." So yes, it could very well be that there will be good dinosaurs in heaven, not the bad ones. There's going to be no death. You don't have to be afraid of any animals, but yes, there will be some wonderful animals in heaven.

Aron: All right, our next caller is Pam, calling in from Washington. Hello, Pam. Welcome to the program. What's your question for us?

Pam: Hi, I just want to know how come when Jesus was speaking to His disciples privately and said, "Don't go or listen to one that comes from a desert or secret chamber, that would be the Antichrist and it would deceive the very elect." They happened to be His elect. So, and then He never said anything about Paul because at the end of that chapter, it says He's coming back as lightning strikes, in the blink of an eye, like, blink. Why didn't He tell them about Paul?

Jëan: Okay, let me get right in there because we can run out of time. So when Jesus said those things, He was referring to His disciples, but even more, it was prophetic because it's talking about the Second Coming of Christ. So, He's talking about us in the last days and He says, "Don't be deceived." Friends, we're going to have to end for those listening live, but the rest stay by. We'll be right back.

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.

Aron: All right, welcome back for our final rapid-fire question time. And these questions are specifically taken from those who have submitted questions ahead of time through email. And if you would like to submit a question via email for us to answer at the end of our program, you can submit them to BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. So, without any further ado, let's get to our questions. Morgan asked, "I have heard that we should long for Christ's Second Coming. How can I long for the Second Coming when so many people have not yet been saved?"

Jëan: All right, well, that's a good question. Jesus says, of course, one of the prophecies in the scripture say that "the Lord is not slack concerning His promise," talking about the Second Coming, "but He's longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish." Why hasn't Jesus come yet? Well, He's want to give as much time as He possibly can for people to make that decision to serve Him. So, on the one hand, yes, we are sad. But on the other hand, you know, this world is getting worse and worse and there's a lot of suffering that people are experiencing here on this earth. When Jesus comes, there's going to be no more war, no more pain, no more sorrow. He's going to make all things new. So on the one hand, we want Him to come, but on the other hand, we're saying, "Lord, but what about this person? What about that person?" God knows the perfect time and we can just trust in Him, knowing that He's going to do everything He can to try and save people.

Aron: All right, our next question by Chairman. He asked in relation to Leviticus, where there's laws discussing clean and unclean meats, basically, did these laws also apply to pets?

Jëan: Okay, you know, some of the animals that we have running around our house today would be considered unclean, for example, dogs and cats. You can't eat dogs and cats. Is it okay to have pets? Did the Israelites have pets? Well, we know they had donkeys, and donkeys are unclean, and they used donkeys. You can use unclean animals. You can have unclean pets, just don't eat them. That's what the Bible is referring to.

Aron: All right, our next question. Candace asks: "Do you have to be perfect to get to heaven?" In a previous episode, Pastor Doug referred to being perfect in order to go to heaven. What was he talking about? Is it perfect before Jesus comes or after or--.

Jëan: Okay, when we receive Jesus as our personal Savior and we confess our sins, the Bible says, "He's faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We are standing before God just as if we have never sinned. And as long as we are trusting in Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit to work within us, we can trust that at that time, we will be found completely clothed in His righteousness. And yes, we will be perfect. But as long as we keep allowing the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, we keep trusting, He will finish the good work that He has started. Well, friends, thank you so much for joining us for "Bible Answers Live." Hopefully, we answered your question. Join us again next week for a new episode.

Announcer: "Bible Answers Live." Honest and accurate answers to your Bible questions.