BAL 2025, Ep02 - Why Did God Stop Talking Directly With Us ?

Doug Batchelor: Hello friends, welcome to Bible Answers Live. Would you like to hear an amazing fact? Armadillos are among the strangest of God's creatures. Like their cousins, the anteater, armadillos have a very long sticky tongue to slurp up bugs and strong claws to tear open ant nests or to dig up a burrow 15 feet long. The female armadillo always bears four young, which are always the same sex, either four female or four males. This is the only mammal known to do so. Armadillos like to swim and they're very good at it, but because their heavy shells make them sink, they must swallow air to become more buoyant or they sink and walk along the bottom of streams like a lobster. If they need to, they can hold their breath for up to six minutes at a time. They sleep a lot and only come out at twilight or when it's very cloudy because their eyes are very sensitive to light.

The name armadillo is a Spanish word meaning little armored one. Their armor protects them against the thorns and spikes in the desert. When threatened, the three banded armadillo can roll up into a virtual ball. The popular nine-banded armadillo found all the way from the US down to South America is between 29 to 36 inches long, including the tail, and they usually weigh between 8 to 17 pounds. Now that's nothing compared to the largest armadillos who have ever lived, which are called glylopidons. They lived in South America. They were about 11 feet long, 5 feet tall, and weighed over 4400 pounds. For additional defense, at the end of their long tails, they had a club covered with spikes. You know, even though some of these ancient mammals were huge, they still needed armor because there were also even bigger predators they had to worry about back then.

Jëan Ross: That's right, Pastor Doug. It seemed like before the flood, animals were super-sized. Even the armadillo needed to be big.

Doug: They call them megafauna. They had, some of these are huge. I remember I was on the island of Malta. I was 16 years old. They took us to a museum. They showed us the rack, a rack of antlers from some deer-like creature. That did look like it was 20 feet long. It, just, the animals were huge back then. It's hard to comprehend. And we've all heard about the 13 feet tall sloths and, you know, some of these other big animals. Well, we believe that they lived contemporaneous with a lot of the big reptiles and what we call dinosaurs, but it's interesting, they needed armor.

And you know, the Bible tells us that we need armor, too, to protect ourselves from a very big reptile and the dragon, the devil. And Paul says in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 11, matter of fact, there's several verses there. He says, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you might be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." We deal with temptation every day and God in His word and in the teachings of Christ, He provides armor so that we can be victorious in our battles with the enemy.

Jëan: We have a book that's called "The Armor of God" and talks about how we can practically put on that armor every day so we can stand against the wiles of the enemy. If you'd like to see the book, all you have to do is call and ask. The number to call is 800-835-6747. That is our resource phone line and you can ask for the book. It's called "The Armor of God." You can also dial #250 on your smartphone and say, "Bible answers live," and then ask for the book. It's called "The Armor of God" and you'll be able to get a digital download that way. Be able to read it right along. If you have a Bible question, you can just dial 1-800-463-7297. That is our phone line here to the studio and you'll be able to get your question on tonight's program.

Well, Pastor Doug, before we go to the phone, let's start with prayer. Dear Father, we are so grateful for this time to be able to open up your Word and study. And Lord, we know the Bible is Your book and so we ask for the Holy Spirit to guide us, lead us into a clearer understanding of truth. Be with those who are listening and watching wherever they might be. We ask this in Jesus's name, amen.

Doug: Amen.

Jëan: First caller this evening is Duncan calling from Canada. Duncan, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Duncan: I have a question relating to Malachi chapter 3, verse 16. Is the prayer of remembrance spoken of in Malachi chapter 3 and the Lamb's Book of Life, which we read about in the Book of Revelation one and the same?

Doug: All right, well, let me read this for our friends. It says in the Malachi 3:16, "Then those who feared the Lord spoke one to another, and the Lord listened and heard them; So, a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared the Lord and who meditated on His name." Now are you wondering if that is the same as the Lamb's Book of life you find in Revelation?

Duncan: Yes, I am.

Doug: You know, it appears there's different books in the Bible. You've got a book of what you would call remembrance, you've got the book of life, and then, you know, Revelation also deals with a book with seven seals that are written. You've got a book of records in the Bible where it tells us, you know, every idle word we speak is somehow recorded.

Jëan: So, you know, I think that, well, there's several books. First of all, you know, you've got the Book of Life, and the Bible says, "Those whose names are found written in the Lamb's Book of Life." So, you want your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life. But in addition to that, the Bible says when Jesus comes, He brings His rewards with Him to give to every man according to His works. So that's not only referring to the wicked being judged out of the book of iniquity or book of sin, but each is rewarded also based upon what they have done for the Lord. Out of some kind of record, probably the book of remembrance. So, I think these books serve different purposes, different aspects as we see in Scripture, but the most important book, of course, is to have your name in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Doug: Yeah, and just keep in mind, friends, when the Bible talks to us about books, you know, we have records that are kept, just look at the way records have changed, you know, the record used to be on cuneiform and then, you know, you get type with the Gutenberg and in the last few years, it went from big round reels of tape to cassette tapes to computer tape to computer disk to digital and so what kind of ways does God have to record information? He uses word book because that's something they could relate to, but God has a record of everything and exactly how He stores that, I don't know, but He's got it booked as you might say.

Jëan: All right, thank you, Duncan. Next caller that we have is Paul in South Dakota. Paul, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Paul: Well, thank you, brothers. My question is about Revelation 13 verse 5, that 42 months or 3.5 years. Will that be closing around the time probation closes?

Doug: All right, let me read this for our friends listening. We'd like to be mindful a lot of folks listen driving down the road and they don't have a Bible in their lap. And it says in Revelation 13:5, "And it was given, and he was given," and this is speaking of this beast power, "a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those that dwell in heaven. And it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given over to him over every tribe nation, all who dwell on the earth will worship him whose names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life."

And so, you've got this time period that's mentioned three times in Revelation, also mentioned in Daniel, of 42 months, 1260 years, a time, a times, and the dividing of time. A time was one year. A times meant a pair or a couple of years, which so that's one plus two, that's three. Plus the dividing are half, 3.5. So, you got three and half years, 42 months, 1260 days, they all add up to the same time period. Now, this is not talking about when the plagues begin. This is stretching during a time of great tribulation in the Dark Ages from 538 till 1798 and it was a time of what they called the papal persecution. By the way, even the Catholic Church admits to this, and they've apologized for it in history. And so, from the time that the church became sort of a military power in 538 when they were given an army compelling people to obey and believe until they lost power under the army of Napoleon when Berthier went into Rome to arrest the Pope in 1798, that's exactly 1260 years because a day in prophecy is a year. So that's what that time period's pointing to.

Jëan: And we find that actually 7 times in Scripture, both in Daniel and Revelation. As you mentioned pastor Doug times and a half a time, 1260 years or days and 42 months. There are 30 days in the Hebrew month, so 42 times 30 is 1260. Same time period.

Doug: Yep, also the same length of time Jesus taught, three and a half years. It was literal three and a half years, same time from Christ's death until the stoning of Stephen, same time that Elijah hid during a time of famine, three and a half years. So yeah, it's actually an interruption of seven. It's cutting seven in half. So, it's the opposite of the perfect number. It's apostasy, there's some persecution happening in that time.

Jëan: All right, we do have a study guide. It's called, "Who Is the Antichrist?" And I think that's one of the identifying marks that's listed here, this 1260 year time period. If you'd like to learn more, just call and ask. The number is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the study guide. It's called "Who Is the Antichrist?" You can also dial #250 on your smartphone and ask for it by name, "Who Is the Anti-Christ?" We'll be able to send you a digital copy of that lesson. Next caller that we have is Glenn and Linda in Ohio. Glenn, Linda, welcome to the program.

Glenn: Thank you very much for taking this call. I have a question just before I come in with a former question. I'd like to see "Amazing Facts" develop a book that were in three parts. The first part is the biblical prophecies fulfilled, the second part biblical prophecies waiting to be fulfilled, and the third part, the prophecy is known to be fulfilled. I think "Amazing Facts" would be a good spot to develop something like that.

Doug: Well, thank you, I appreciate that. That'd be a good project to work on. We do have some resources along those lines, but we'll tell you about that later. And your question, Glenn.

Glenn: Thank you very much and thank you for taking my question, which is Leviticus 11. Is it possible that teaching of abstaining from eating animal products a slap in God's face?

Doug: Say, isn't it possible that eating them is a slap in God's face, you say?

Glenn: Yes, you're not eating it. He's teaching the abstaining from eating animal products.

Doug: Oh, well, when God says that he specifies what animals may be eaten, He wasn't commanding that they had to eat and so not choosing not to eat it is--was not an insult. You know, there's things that God has allowed because of the hardness of people's heart, but it wasn't His will. God made laws about slavery. So, if we say, "Well, you know, God made laws about slavery, I don't want to insult Him, so I better get some slaves." No, that's not a good argument. God made laws about divorce and so you say, "Well, since He made laws about divorce, may as well get divorced." And because He made laws about what animals can be eaten, doesn't mean you have to kill and eat animals. It's because of the hardness of our hearts or you might say hardness of our arteries. He said, "If you're going to eat meat, do not eat the unclean meats. These are the meats to eat." And God says, whatever you do, you know, whatever you sow, you're going to reap. And we know scientifically now that you get cholesterol from animal products. That people are a lot healthier if you're a vegetarian and better yet a vegan, you're going to live longer and have less disease. The jury's in, we know that. And so, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You're obviously going to do better if you take care of your body. Now, a lot of doctors will say limit, you know, red meats, limit certain kinds of meats. Certainly, you don't want to eat pork, they don't even grade pork prime because it's so infested. But no, it's not an insult to God because He gave permission to eat certain kinds of meats, does not mean you need to do it. It means it was because of the hardness of our hearts. He said, "If you're going to do it, here are the laws." But that was definitely not His original plan and in heaven, we're not going to be killing and eating animals. And Adam and Eve weren't doing it in the Garden of Eden.

Jëan: You know, we have a study guide. It's called, "God's Free Health Plan" and it gives the biblical principles for living a healthy life and not only dealing with diet, but other areas of guidance that we find in Scriptures. It's very informative. We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. The number is 800-835-6747. That's 800-835-6747. Ask for the study guide, it's called "God's Free Health Plan." You can also dial #250 and say, "Bible answers live" and then ask for it by name. All right, thank you, Glenn and Linda, next caller that we have is Matt in California. Matt, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Matt: Hey, good evening, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross. Thank you for taking my call and my question. So, my question is, what did a biblical marriage consist of? My understanding was, back then, a man would ask the father of the wife to be married and then they would pretty much be married after that, correct? And then was there like a minister or a priest who married them and then entered into a marriage contract kind of like we have today or how did that work?

Doug: Yeah, that is a good question, but it's probably a lengthy answer to give you a lot of history. The first marriage God performed for Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve did not have to have a big ceremony because the ceremony is basically, you're witnessing to the community that there's been a covenant. There was no community besides the angels. And so, but then, as time went on, you see that by the time you get to, you know, Jacob and Isaac, well, Isaac's marriage to Rebecca was pretty perfunctory. It says he took her to his mother's tent, she became his wife. But Jacob, they had a marriage feast and it lasted days, and the story of Samson, there was a marriage feast. And then, of course, Jesus's first miracle is a marriage feast. That's because the marriage covenant was something that affected people socially. The family knew these people have made a covenant. They're now, you know, married for life. They're not available. They're off the market, so to speak, and that was to be respected. There were severe penalties for violating the marriage vow. One of the Ten Commandments addresses that. So, it was something that was done publicly. There was usually a dating period. The dating period back then was not only to make sure the parties were compatible. The families were often largely involved and there was a dowry, an agreement for what the price would be. So, yeah, it's kind of evolved over time, but the idea of the marriage ceremony is almost universal around the world. So, the community, there's witnesses knows these people have made a covenant and it was something celebrated from that point on. They were to be for just one another.

Jëan: And of course, the marriage covenant was not only recognized by the people getting married, but as Pastor Doug mentioned, the families recognized it and society recognized it. And so today, we have certain laws when people get married that gets recognized by the state and there's certain privileges and rights that a married couple has. So, you want to be married both in God's eyes, but also be recognized by society, by the community, by the laws of the state.

Doug: Yeah, and you can see the what happens in a culture, because it's happening today, where men go around fathering children, but they don't stay around to father them and they just kind of procreating and you have a lot of children growing up without families and fathers and it causes problems. Statistically, it's kind of a known fact. Those young people are going to have a higher percentage of problems growing up.

Jëan: All right, we do have a study guide. It's called, "Keys for a Happy Marriage" and gives some good biblical counsel for those who are married, for those who are thinking about getting married. The number is 800-835-6747. And you can ask for that study guide, "Keys for a Happy Marriage." You can also dial #250 on your smartphone. Say, "Bible answers live," and then ask for that by name, "Keys for a Happy Marriage." Ellie in Kansas, I believe it's Ellie. Welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Ellie: Yeah, yeah, my question is why did God stop talking to us directly? Because, you know, I cannot understand why when He told Noah to create the ark, He told him directly, right? But I cannot understand why He doesn't talk to us directly today.

Doug: Well, I think God still does speak more directly to some people. We know that God says in His Word that, you know, the Lord does nothing, but He tells His secret to His servants, the prophets. They are prophets that God speaks to, and He might speak through a dream, a vision, an angel, a few of them, like Abraham, He speaks face to face--or Noah. These are prophets and the gift of prophecy is still very much alive. But most people God does not speak to directly. Most people, it says in Isaiah, our sins have separated us from God. And if God were to talk to us, you know, some people we just could not endure His presence. So, it might even be an act of mercy, but God does still speak to people. And I don't know of any prophets personally, but I know there have been some in recent history.

Jëan: But, you know, the Bible also tells us that, yes, in addition to the Word of God, which of course is God communicating to us, He does speak through prophets, but if somebody is seeking God's will, there are times so we got, you know, test everything with Scripture. But there are times where you hear that still small voice, as the Bible puts it, the Holy Spirit would guide a person. You might not hear an audible voice, but you might have a strong--I don't know what you'd want to call it--impression perhaps that you feel as though God is guiding you a certain way. Of course, you want to test all of that by Scripture, but there's many instances, I think in my life, Pastor Doug, yours where you look back and say, "Wow, that just seemed very clear that the Lord is pushing me in a certain direction."

Doug: Absolutely.

Jëan: All right, thank you. Next caller that we have, oh, you know, we do have a book. It's called, "Determining the Will of God." Probably talks about this and gives you some biblical principles. We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. The number is 800-835-6747. It's 800-835-6747. Ask for the book, "Determining the Will of God." You can dial #250 and you can ask for it that way as well. Next caller is Chuck in Virginia. Chuck, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Chuck: Hi, good evening, pastors. My question is concerning Ezekiel 10. It refers to cherubim and faces and wheels and wings full of eyes, as well as four faces and four wings. I would like to know what this chapter represents. Thank you.

Doug: Yeah, well, you'll find that not only in Ezekiel chapter 10, I think you'll also find it in Ezekiel chapter 1, and the four creatures, you also find those same four creatures mentioned in Revelation-- is it chapter 4?-- that it talks about them. And maybe we'll start there because you start getting into the wheels within the wheels and it's pretty, it's pretty deep. There's been a couple of ideas about what these four creatures represent. You've got a lion, you've got a man, you've got a calf, and you've got an eagle. And these are different attributes of Christ. You find them reflected in the Gospels. In Matthew, for instance, Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah. In Mark, Mark is speaking more to the Romans, but it also shows the vision and the swiftness of God. You've got Luke, who is a physician, and he shows the humanity of Christ. And then you've got John, and he shows Jesus as the sacrifice, the calf. And so, these creatures that you find in these apocalyptic prophecies of Revelation and Ezekiel are showing different dimensions of God, different facets.

Jëan: It's also interesting if you look at the order that's given in Revelation. Revelation 4, you have a lion which could represent Christ's pre-incarnation. Then you have the calf, Jesus came to be our sacrifice to bear our sins. And then you have the man, Christ ascended to heaven. He is our high priest, ministering. And then you have the eagle, Jesus coming back as King of kings and Lord of lords. He's coming and eagle is often associated with judgment. It's swift, connected with royalty or rulership. So, Jesus comes as King of kings and Lord of lords. So, you kind of almost see the sequence of the different phases of Christ's ministry reflected. But we do believe that these are four angelic beings that make up or surround God's throne. And you read about that more in Revelation chapter 4 and 5.

Doug: Yeah, and the wheel within the wheel that's sort of a key to all life in that whether it's, what do you call it? An electron and an atom, you've got one globe circling another globe all the way to not only the human cell, but you go into the solar system and the galaxies, and everything seems to be wheels within a wheel. And, you know, in the galaxies you've got these suns that are being orbited by planets and it's just the whole Milky Way and everything is like a revolving wheel within a wheel. So it's sort of one of the mysteries of life.

Jëan: All right, next one that we have is Alfred in Canada. Alfred, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Alfred: Yes, thank you for taking my call, pastors.

Doug: Thanks for calling.

Alfred: I was just wondering, when I'm reading in the New Testament, it talks about God the Father and Jesus the Son, especially in John 3:16, with this God all of the world that He gave His only begotten Son. A person will get the impression that God is a single parent. Is that so?

Doug: No, you know, when you start thinking of God as the Father and Jesus as the Son, we've got to be careful not to try to relate Them to an earthly family. It's just showing the wonderful love between the Father and the Son. When He made His sacrifice, He so loved the world He gave His Son, His only begotten Son. And it's actually an allusion back to when God told Abraham to give his son that as a sacrifice, I've heard some people say, "Well, God, God is the Father and the Holy Spirit's the Mother, and Jesus is the byproduct." No, I think it, you know, we're trying to bring God down to our level when we start using statements like that. So, no, Jesus is not--it's not like He's an only child in and that God brought Him up in a single parent family home.

Jëan: Yes, because then that kind of leads to the question, well, then, was there a point when Christ did not exist and it was just the Father, and then Christ came forth somehow or was begotten from the Father? No. The Bible says that both the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, They all share the qualities of divinity, meaning that there is the eternal. There is no beginning, no end. So, you have the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, sometimes called the godhead or the Trinity, and They share certain qualities or characteristics. They are united in the work of saving mankind. They're omnipresent, They're omniscient, They--you know, all powerful. So, all of these qualities and characteristics are manifest, and yet you have Christ who came to the earth. He was our sacrifice. God the Father, the ruler of the universe, the Holy Spirit, He's the gift that works in us and through us and reveals the presence of God. So, They're all working together to save mankind. You know, we do have a book, Pastor Doug. It's called, "The Trinity: Is It Biblical?" and it talks about—

Doug: Or actually--I'm sorry, that's the old one. The new one, "The Trinity: One God or Three?"

Jëan: Oh, okay, good, we updated the title, good. We'll be happy to send that to anyone who calls and asks. Just call and ask for that book on, "The Trinity: One God or Three?" The number is 800-835-6747. That is our resource phone line. Again, that's 800-835-6747. Ask for the book on "The Trinity," you can dial #250 and just ask for it by name. You know, I'm looking at the clock, Pastor Doug, we probably don't have time to take another call before we take the break, but somebody did mention about prophecy being fulfilled. Do we have anything in "Amazing Facts" that kind of highlights some of the prophecies of Scripture and the fulfillment? We do have a DVD, a video, actually, I think it's available, that talks about prophecies in the Old Testament that pointed to Christ.

Doug: "The Bride, The Beast, and Babylon" is one, and then we also have "Kingdoms in Time." And you can order that from "Amazing Facts." You know, we don't make any money by letting you know you can probably watch it for free on YouTube as well. But one of them is called "The Bride, the Beast, and Babylon." I think it's got like over a million views right now on YouTube. And it takes a number of Old Testament prophecies and shows their fulfillment as well as "Kingdoms in Time." It's a different DVD that is very popular and I think people can purchase that on Amazon, but you can also probably see it on YouTube. Everyone copies everything, puts it up on YouTube. That music does not mean the program's over, means it's time to tell your friends to call and tune in. We'll be back in just about two minutes with more Bible questions.

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

Sarah: When I was growing up in the Philippines, we were not really churchgoers, it's just only special occasions that we go. When my husband and I got married, we had the opportunity to move here in the USA. So, during those years we were blessed that every year we get the chance to go back to the Philippines and visit our parents. It came to the point that my father was getting, like, ill and getting weaker. It was in July 2018 when he told me, "Why will you go back in the USA when your dad is passing away?" But I have to go back. I didn't get the chance to talk to him anymore. It was in October when he passed.

After my dad passed away, it was the first time now that I thought about death, wondering where he is. I knelt down and prayed, "Lord God, please lead me on what is the truth." I work at the University Medical Center. One of my patients, he was a pastor and there was one day that he gave me a DVD from Amazing Facts, and it's called "Cosmic Conflict." So, when I watched the DVD, that made me more interested about good and evil. From this point on, I've been like almost every day I'd watch Pastor Doug videos. Every time when I listen, it's just so clear. It just made sense. So, after learning about the Sabbath, after learning about unclean food, about tithing, that's when I started like, "I'm getting to know Jesus more."

When I started this journey, my husband saw a change in me. I learned to be more patient to him and then one day I asked him if he wanted to go to Bible study to just listen to the Bible study. And a year later after those Bible studies, he was baptized after I was baptized. So, I'm grateful that God used "Amazing Facts" to share the truth. My name is Sarah. Thank you for changing my life.

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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." We're going to go to the phones in just a minute, but some have joined us along the way. This is a live international interactive Bible study and you are invited to call in with your Bible questions. If you don't get someone picking up right away, just try again. We've got operators standing by and they'll ask you some simple questions just so we can have a heads up where you're going with your question. And my name is Doug Batchelor.

Jëan: My name is Jëan Ross, and we have Tim, who's listening in Texas. Tim, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." You're on the air.

Tim: Hey, how are you doing, guys? This is Tim the street evangelist from San Antonio.

Doug: Oh, good to hear from you again.

Tim: Yeah, you know, every day I tell your story to somebody, I mean, over and over and over again. I went in the store shopping one day. I had an hour. It was Sabbath was coming up. I thought, I'm going to take 21 of these Bible cards, three EBN cards. I went in there in a half hour, I witnessed the 21 people who got my shopping done, got home, drove home, and was able to work out for ten minutes.

Doug: Oh, wow, that's industrial strength witnessing. Good for you, Tim.

Tim: Yeah, so my question is about the healing leaves in the garden that heals the nations in the New Jerusalem and why would that be there?

Doug: You know, when you notice it says in Revelation, I think it's 21 or is it 22? Says, "The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." It doesn't say healing of people, it's a healing of nations. All of the nations in this world are divided by everything from political to cultural to racial differences. But when we get to heaven and we're standing around that tree of life under those leaves, all of those divisions are healed. I've heard it explained that way. And you have the verse there.

Jëan: Yeah, Revelation 22 verse 2, where I'll read it. "In the middle of the street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve kinds of fruit, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Just to add to that, Pastor Doug, you know, this is a big tree. You read the dimensions, it's massive. And back in Bible times, people would often gather, especially in the heat of a day, under a tree. There'd be a large tree. Matter of fact, in the Old Testament, talks about Abraham. It speaks about places where there were certain trees, sycamore trees, and so trees were important and people would gather under trees, they'd visit, they'd socialize. There would be discussions that would take place and it's as if this tree in the New Jerusalem is a gathering point where people gather together. They'll talk, they'll visit. And as you mentioned, Pastor Doug, there is some healing, some clarification, one might say, amongst the nations. And there'll be peace and harmony. Not that anyone will be getting sick in heaven and some you have to pluck a leaf and chew on it in order to get your strength back. It's more for healing the nations.

Doug: You know, one other thing I've heard, and by the way, whenever you read Revelation, I'm going to do a series someday. Just go through Revelation and show the Old Testament parallels. But in Ezekiel 47, it says, "Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; Their leaves will not wither, their fruit will not fail. They will bear their fruit every month," it says that about the Tree of Life, "because the waters flow from the sanctuary," talks about a river flowing from the temple of God in heaven. "The fruit will be for food and the leaves for medicine." So, the other thing I've heard is that, because of sin, even our glorified bodies, we're going to come forth from the grave, we'll have eternal bodies, but we will continue to grow, and it's like, you know, whatever has stunted us through sin, we're going to continue to grow and these leaves will have something to do with that. The fruit perpetuates life, the leaves help us grow into the fullness of God's original plan, I'm not sure, but it'll be good.

Jëan: Okay, thank you, Tim. Connie in Arizona. Welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Connie: Yes, good evening, gentlemen. My question is in Genesis. I've always been very curious, and I have many questions asked of me when God said He would "make man in Our image" that makes obviously God as a plural God. There are three in the godhead. What does He mean in your interpretation of "In Our image"? What image would we be then?

Doug: All right, for one thing, when it tells us about the image of God, there is a physiological likeness in that, when you read about God in the Bible, it describes God with eyes, hands, feet, nose, arm, hair, mouth. I mean, so we have features that are like the form of God. And but in another sense is that in our image through an act of love, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit procreate in Their image. They made man in Their image. Humans get married, we procreate in our image. So, we do something God does in that sense. Man and woman get together, they become one flesh, and one of the ways they're one flesh is by commingling their DNA in their offspring. And I have fun. I was doing it yesterday. When I see parents and then I see their children, I look at the children and I look at the parents. I'm always curious what features they've got from which parent, and you can always see something from both parents usually. So, that's another way that we are made in the image of God is that we've been given the ability to create in our image as God does.

Jëan: And then, of course, we have the ability to worship God, we have the ability to communicate, to understand, to reason. We have free will, free choice. So, in addition to just in the image of God physically, but even more so spiritually, we have the ability to understand, to worship, to reason.

Doug: We can think certainly a lot more abstract than animals.

Jëan: All right, thank you, Connie. Next caller that we have is Hector in Florida. Hector, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Hector: Thank you. Good evening, pastors.

Doug: Evening.

Hector: My questions will be based on three references. In Luke 23, 53, 55, they left what they had intention to do and then they return on after Sabbath, talking about-- Then in Mark 16, verse 1, again, they returned after the Sabbath. Then when you compare what's been said in Romans 12:16, that pushed me to ask that question. Do you think it is lawful to participate or attend wedding or funeral on Sabbath?

Doug: Well, it's not preferable if it involves preparation. Now, certainly a funeral or memorial service-- you don't want to be involved in burying somebody. The disciples wouldn't finish embalming the work of embalming Jesus on the Sabbath. So, they felt that that was inappropriate, even though it was an act of love, they thought, "Well, this is not going to please Jesus, we'll wait till the Sabbath is over." A marriage is also a sacred covenant and there's certainly something spiritual about it. But the typical preparation of a wedding and the festivities that often are associated with it, you know, I've seen a couple that got married in church and baptized on the same day, and it was actually done in an appropriate way. There was no work and stuff that usually goes on. And I've seen memorial services done where you're just remembering a person and praising their life of service on the Sabbath day. But, you know, the typical graveside service and things that might go on with the funeral, that it would be better to do that another day. So, I don't know. Your thoughts on that?

Jëan: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you got two parts for the wedding, for example. You have the part that usually happens in the church. It's sacred. It's a covenant you're making before God, but then usually there is a celebration following and that's the reception. There's a lot of work involved in the reception. And that's not always in line with the guidelines given in Scripture as far as preparation and food preparation, conversation and gathering.

Doug: And rest.

Jëan: And rest, yeah. So, I have seen folks who just wanted to have the actual wedding part in the church on Sabbath and they weren't going to do reception that day. They're going to do it a different time. Well, that's probably okay. But even then, there's a lot of preparation that's often involved in putting a wedding together in the church, flowers and decorating. We usually do weddings for us. You know, they'll do preparations Saturday night, and the weddings usually are on Sunday, and it doesn't conflict with the Sabbath.

Doug: That's right. Hope that helps a little, Hector. Good question. Thank you.

Jëan: Marlene in Florida. Marlene, welcome to the program.

Marlene: Hello, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross. You kind of touched on this question earlier, but my question is the four beasts around the throne in Revelation. Do you think that is a literal description or a symbolic description of them?

Doug: Well, I think it's a symbol because it's hard to imagine. Well, there's so many symbols about beasts and creatures in Revelation. All the others are symbolic. And so, there are other places that picture the throne of God without any creatures around His throne. You've got Isaiah where it says there's actually cherubim and that's probably more accurate. Isaiah chapter 6, and then in Exodus when the ark is made, it pictures two cherubim or seraphim on the right and left of the throne of God. These angels that guard His throne. I don't know that God's got a zoo around His throne, but the--in Revelation, it uses symbolic features of an animal to teach a lesson.

Jëan: And of course, in the same chapter Jesus appears in Revelation chapter 5 as a Lamb as it had been slain before the throne. So again, there's a lot of symbols in those passages.

Doug: I think these creatures are full of eyes too. It's, you know.

Jëan: Six wings--well, they'd also had the Old Testament description of them. All right, thank you. Next caller that we have is Tom in Oregon. Tom, welcome to the program.

Tom: Hello, fellas. Hey, I have a question about Luke 17, verse 31 to maybe 36 and then verse 24. My question is we've always been taught that this was these warnings were to flee Jerusalem in AD 70 and it appears that Jesus is repeating this. It's in red letters. At His Second Coming.

Doug: Yeah, I do think that the statement that Christ makes in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17 and Luke 21, He's doing what they call the Olivet Discourse, talking about the Second Coming, and He's not only talking directly to the disciples about the destruction of Jerusalem, that is part of what He's saying, because He says there won't be left one stone upon another of the temple and that it would be thrown down, and that did happen. But He's also looking down in time to God's people near the end of time, because there was going to be three tribulations, you might say. There was a literal tribulation that fell on Israel when the Romans surrounded the city and destroyed Jerusalem. Then there was a tribulation historically that happened to God's people during the Dark Ages, a great persecution. Then there'll be another great time of trouble, it talks about in Daniel chapter 12, just before the Second Coming, when the seven plagues are poured out. That's when Michael stands up. So, Christ is, I think, referring here where it says, you know, two men are in the field. One is taken, one is left, and He said, "Don't even take anything out of your house." I think He's saying not only when the Roman army showed up, but in the last days there's going to be signals for us to run.

Jëan: And then also the verse that in verse 24 it says, "There's lightning that flashes from one part of heaven even to the other, also the Son of Man shall be in His day." So, here it's talking about the literal visible coming of Christ, yeah.

Doug: Good point.

Jëan: All right, thank you, Tom. We do have a study guide called, "Anything but Secret" and it's about the Second Coming of Jesus and deals with this passage of Scripture and others. If you'd like to learn more, the number is 800-835-6747. And then again, you can just ask for it by name. It's called "Anything but Secret." You can also dial #250 on your smartphone and ask for that study guide and we'll send it out to you. Landon in Texas. Landon, welcome to the program.

Landon: Hello, hello, hello. How're you all doing?

Doug: Hey, you're there. Hi, good, thanks for calling.

Landon: So, I wanted to ask, I had a question about James 4 verse 7 and how it correlated to Jesus's temptation in the wilderness and how exactly did the devil flee from Jesus when He was tempted.

Doug: Yeah, well, you know, the devil can clearly give someone more direct focused attention. And when he was tempting Jesus, he was--the devil was there in person. He wasn't tempting Jesus through one of his fallen angels. I think the devil does also use up space and time. You know, he talks about going to and fro in the earth and walking up and down in it. The devil is not omnipresent. He's not all over the earth at the same time. He works through fallen angels. And so, you know, after Christ said, "Get behind Me, Satan"-- He's basically saying, "Be gone"-- the devil had to obey that, and he left His presence. And you can even see that where the devil came into the presence of God in the book of Job and then he went out from the presence of the Lord. And so, Jesus left the presence, where He goes, I know--where His headquarters is, the Bible doesn't say.

Jëan: You know, there is a promise in that. If we submit ourselves to God and we resist the devil, there comes a point where on that particular temptation, he's almost forced to retreat, meaning that he realizes that he's not going to gain the victory. And maybe at some point, God says, "All right, enough, enough. You got to go now." So, he finally does leave. It doesn't mean he's not going to come back and try again, but if we trust in the Lord, we submit and we hold on, that temptation, the power of that temptation wanes away as we trust in the Lord as if the devil has been driven away from us.

Doug: Yes.

Jëan: Thank you. You know, we do have a book called, "Tips for Resisting Temptation" and we'll talk about this verse along with many others. We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. The number is 800-835-6747. That is the resource phone line. It's 800-835-6747. Ask for the book. It's called, "Tips for Resisting Temptation." You can also dial #250 on your smartphone and say, "Bible Answers Live" and ask for it that way as well. Connor in Mississippi. Connor, welcome to the program.

Connor: Hello, thank you. So, my question was in Mark 7:17 to 23, as well as a couple other verses in the New Testament, God refers to pork and other unclean animals as being good and worthy of thanksgiving and to be accepted. Does this mean that the old food law referenced in the Old Testament is null?

Doug: Where does God say pork is to be accepted?

Connor: In Acts 10:15, God says, "What God has declared clean, you must not call common." In Mark 7:17 to 23, Jesus declares that all foods are clean, and in 1 Timothy 4:4, "For everything God created is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving."

Doug: All right, you said, "God said pork was clean." Where did you find the word "pork"?

Connor: It does not expressly refer to pork, but all animals.

Doug: I just wanted to make that clear, okay. Now, if you go to--let's take them one at a time. All right, so we got Acts chapter 10. The sheet comes down from heaven and God's voice says what God has cleansed, you must not call common. Peter, when explaining that vision to the church later, he says, "God has shown me not to call any man unclean." So, is it fair to say this vision is about calling food unclean? If Peter understands, it means do not call the Gentiles unclean. So, when Peter is explaining that vision, he says, "God has shown me not to call any man unclean." That's what the vision meant. So, did the vision mean anything about food or was God telling Peter he can go preach to the Gentiles, "Don't call them unclean"?

Connor: Well, it does refer to--if I'm pretty sure, now, I did read this last Sabbath, but it refers to this vision is after Peter was starting, I believe it says.

Doug: No, well, the vision happens before Peter goes to Cornelius. He's up on the food, he's up on the roof and he's hungry. He's thinking about food. He has this vision of an unclean sheet that comes down. Now notice, this vision takes place, oh, maybe four years after Jesus has gone to heaven. And Peter answers when God says, "Arise, kill, and eat." Peter says, "Not so, Lord, I've never eaten anything common or unclean." So, Peter never heard Jesus say it was okay, because he still hasn't eaten anything common or unclean. And then it never says he takes anything from the sheet and eats it. So now he's wondering what the vision means. If you look in verse 17, Peter's wondering in himself what the vision means. He obviously doesn't think it means go buy some bacon. He's wondering what it means. Behold, men come from a Gentile, Cornelius, knocking at the door that very moment. God was saying, "Do not call the Gentiles unclean." So that's that one. And then now you mention also where in Mark 7 where Jesus said, "It's not what goes in a man's mouth that defiles him, but what comes out." And then there's a preface in there that says, "In saying this, He declared all foods clean." By the way, you'll only find that in the NIV Version. In the original Greek, it says, "The food enters your mouth and goes out, thus purging clean foods." In other words, your food is eliminated and your stomach, your digestive system purges if you get any dirt because you're eating with unwashed hands. No food, no particular food, no unclean food is mentioned in that passage. It's just talking about eating with hands that are not ceremonially washed. Jesus said, "That's not what's going to make you unclean." And let me see, you gave three verses.

Jëan: 1 Timothy chapter 4, verse 4.

Doug: Oh, yeah, "For every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if it's received with thanksgiving." So, was Paul saying here to Timothy that "you can eat anything that might crawl across your plate"? "It's okay to eat a cockroach skunk sandwich. It's okay to eat buzzards. It's okay to eat all kinds of dogs and snakes, and--" no, it's not saying that. The

issue is they were offering animals to pagan gods. Now, they're offering clean animals. Anything that the Romans sacrificed, whether it was a sheep, a chicken, a goat, they offered it to Jupiter, Apollo, Mercury, their gods, and the Jews were worried "we can't eat--" these are the Jewish Christians. "We can't eat those things. They've been offered to pagan gods." Paul said, "Every creature of God is cleansed because it is sanctified by the Word of God." So, if the Word of God sanctifies something and says you can eat these clean meats, then don't worry about if it was offered to a pagan god. So, they're talking about clean foods there that are offered to idols. Don't let that worry you, and it's like I tell my friends, if I go to a Chinese restaurant and many Thai or Chinese restaurants have got a Buddha at the entrance. As some people might say, "I can't eat there because they worship Buddha." "Well," I say, "it doesn't bother me. I'm not worshiping Buddha." So, you know, but if it worries my friend, we'll go somewhere else. That's what Paul's talking about. He's not saying that suddenly God now said that you can eat anything. What parent would tell their child--doesn't matter if you're a Christian, Jew or what your religion is or if you're a pagan. What parent would tell their kid, "We don't care what you eat"? I mean, of course you care what they eat, because don't be deceived. God is not mocked. If you eat bad food, you're going to have bad results, and you're going to have heart disease and be overweight and have cholesterol problems. So, these verses are often misapplied to say that God now said you can eat anything. That's not true.

Jëan: All right, we do have a book. It's called, "God's Free Health Plan." It's one of our Amazing Facts study guides that gives more biblical principles. The number to call for that is 800-835-6747 or you can dial #250 on your smartphone and ask for "God's Free Health Plan." Angela in New York. Angela, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Angela: Hi, good evening, pastors. How are you?

Doug: Doing great, thank you. Thanks for your call.

Angela: Okay, so my question is, I was just wondering, will the Jews ever come to Jesus and how long is it going to take for them to come? And I also read something, I'm not sure if I read it in the Bible, I mean, I know I read it in the Bible, but I'm not sure where. It says that they're waiting until the fullness of the Gentiles to come and then they will be--like, accept them through, once they become jealous or something-- of jealousy.

Doug: Yeah, you're combining two verses. You're on the right track, but you're combining--I think it's in Luke 21 where it says that Jerusalem is trodden by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles, and then in Romans it says in chapter 10 verse 19, "I'll provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation, I'll move you to anger by a foolish nation." In other words, Paul is saying that when the Jews saw the Gentiles accepting Jehovah and turning to God, they'd say, "Oh, maybe we'd better turn back and maybe we ought to recognize Jesus." Now, God's never saved people based on their national identity. There will be many of Abraham's children, literal Jews that, I think, are going to be revived and turned back to the Lord. But you're never going to have all of any one nation. All of the Romans did not accept Jesus. Many did, but not all. And you will not have all of the Jews suddenly saved because they've got a passport. So, but there will be a great revival among the Jews, and I believe many will turn back to God. And, you know, Paul intimates that in Romans 9:10, you know, we didn't have time to read the whole chapter. So, I do believe there's going to be a revival among the Jewish people and there are other verses that imply this. So, yeah, I don't think He's done with the Jewish nation. Thank you very much. We do have a book that I think you'll enjoy and it's called, "Spiritual Israel." I had to think for a minute. I wrote it.

Jëan: The number to call is 800-835-6747. And again, the book is called, "Spiritual Israel." You can dial #250 on your smartphone. Say, "Bible Answers Live" and just order it that way as well. Rajeem from Massachusetts. Is it Rajeem? Welcome to the program.

Rajeem: Good evening, Pastor Doug, Pastor Ross. Thank you for taking my call.

Doug: Yeah.

Rajeem: All right, so my question was, is that I was wondering when was the fall of Lucifer?

Doug: We think Lucifer was cast out of heaven before Adam and Eve were created. Part of the reason God made this world and was preparing to populate it is to replace all the beings that had been evicted from heaven when 1/3 of the angels follow Lucifer out of the presence of God. There's no specific verse that says this, but the idea that God created the world, and I think He gave Adam and Eve warning that the end that there had been a rebellion and warned them against temptation. There's only one place the devil could come to them that was there at that forbidden tree. So, Lucifer, I think, was cast out first.

Jëan: Well, Pastor Doug, we have some email questions that have been sent to us and our first question tonight is, does the devil have access to one's thoughts?

Doug: You know, that only in the sense that I think the devil can place temptations in our mind-- of course, we can place things in each other's minds just by talking. So, the devil can place things in our minds, but he can't always-- he can't read our minds. Only God knows men's hearts. I think you find that in, oh, 1 Kings chapter 8, like verse 32 in the dedication prayer of Solomon, he says, "God and God only knows the thoughts of men's hearts." Jesus knew what was in man, the devil doesn't know what you're thinking.

Jëan: Okay, we have another question. Pastor Doug, what do you think about the Shroud of Turin?

Doug: Yeah, of course, it's not really a Bible question, but it's a famous relic that you find in Italy that many people come, and they believe that it was the actual grave clothes of Jesus. And it was rather mysterious, how it was formed. All the dating and the careful examination shows that it dates for hundreds of years after Christ. It may have been a crusader, somebody that was crucified. And they were wrapped up because it does look like it's an authentic piece, but it's not the grave clothes of Jesus. It, just, the dating doesn't match.

Thank you, friends, for your question. We'll study God's Word together again, God willing, next week, God bless.

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.