BAL 2025, Ep05 - Is It Okay To Lie Under Certain Conditions ?

Doug Batchelor: Hello, listening friends. Welcome to "Bible Answers Live." And we always like to start with an amazing fact. The James Webb Space Telescope is by far the world's most powerful telescope and the largest ever sent into space. This highly sophisticated instrument took over 24 years to complete and cost NASA around $10 billion to build. Launched on Christmas day 2021 from French Guiana, the telescope is a hundred times more powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope. If it was on earth, it could detect the heat of a bumblebee from the moon. Webb's infrared cameras are so sensitive they need to block all light from the sun, earth, and moon. The five-layer sunshield is like having sunblock of SPF 1 million. Not to mention it's as big as a tennis court and they had to engineer this so it could fold up into a little rocket and then unfold 1 million miles from earth with no errors. Since it began transmitting its first images in July 2021, the scientific world has been stunned by the spectacular new, ultra deep pictures of the cosmos. One of the goals of the extraordinary telescope was to see if they could discover something about the origin of the universe. Scientists were hoping the JWST would see the outer edge of the expanding universe. Instead what they found is an infinite ocean of galaxies containing billions of stars that continue to stretch as far as the telescope can see in every direction.

You know, Pastor Ross, we were just talking before the program. I still wonder if I could be fired in a rocket ship a thousand times the speed of light in any one direction, would you ever reach the end of space, of, you know, galaxies and stars and stuff? And if you hit a wall, you'd have to say, "But what's on the other side?" And the idea of the immensity and infinity of space is just mind-boggling, and yet God's aware of every detail.

Jëan Ross: And He made it all. He made all the stars. Matter of fact, the Bible tells us not only is He the creator of all things, but He knows the number of the stars. Here you find in Psalms 147, verse 4 and 5, speaking of God, "He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite." So, there it is. God counts the stars, and He has a name for them.

Doug: Yeah. You know, I think probably if you go back even just a couple of 100 years, when astronomers looked up into space, you know, they saw a lot of twinkling white stars. Some had a little bit of the red hue maybe. They might have seen the rings of Saturn. But now when we get these images coming back from both the Hubble and the James Webb Telescope, these colors and shapes and forms, and these nebulae, and these gas clouds, supernovas, and quasars. And there's so much out there, and we don't see any of it up close. So now when we talk about God having a place in heaven, it actually sounds more scientifically plausible. We used to wonder in the Bible, how could God have a new Jerusalem come down from heaven, a city come down from space? Well, man has built an international space station. If man can do that, why would people doubt that God has this paradise that the Bible speaks of?

One more thought before--I know you're going to go to the free offer. I think it was C.S. Lewis that said, and it's a great practical argument in philosophy, that every desire that God gives humans, there is some mechanism to fulfill that desire, whether it's food or procreation or social interaction. Or it seems whenever we have a desire, there must be some way to satisfy that. The Bible says God has placed eternity in our hearts. There must be a way to satisfy that, or we wouldn't have it. And we have an offer. If people don't think there's a heaven, I think that you need to think again.

Jëan: We have a book. It's called "Heaven: Is It For Real?" That is our free offer. We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. The number is 800-835-6747. And you can ask for the book. It's called "Heaven: Is It For Real?" You can also dial #250 on your smartphone and just say, "I like that book 'Heaven: Is It For Real?'" And we'll be happy to send you a digital copy of the book. Well, Pastor Doug, before we go to the phone lines, we always like to start this program with prayer. So let's do that now. Dear Father, we are grateful once again that we have this time to open up Your Word and study. And as we look up into the heavens, we see Your glory, Your power, but when we look into Your Word, we also see Your power and glory and Your love manifest in the plan of redemption. So please be with us as we study together this evening, and we thank You. In Jesus's name, amen.

Well, friends, again, we are so delighted that you are part of "Bible Answers Live." And we do have a number of folks who are standing by with their Bible questions. And, oh, by the way, if you do have a Bible question, you can just call our studio here, and the number for that is 800-463-7297. Again, that number, if you have a Bible question, is 800-463-7297. Our first caller this evening is Elizabeth listening in Arizona. Elizabeth, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Elizabeth: Hi. Thank you, pastors, for taking my call.

Doug: Yeah.

Elizabeth: I tried to ask this question last week. I'm asking about the same passage in Malachi.

Doug: That's okay. If we didn't scratch where you're itching, we want to try to answer the right part of the question.

Elizabeth: I appreciate you. It's perplexing my brain. Why is there the possibility that Elijah would fail? Isn't the earth going to go through a great deal of trouble anyway? I mean, could this get worse? How could Elijah possibly let the Lord down?

Doug: Let me see if I can do a better job. And, first of all, for our friends that are listening, Elizabeth's asking about this prophecy at the end of the Old Testament, and it says, "Behold," verse--this is chapter 4 Malachi, verse 5 and 6. "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse." Now, there's two senses in which Elijah comes. One, Jesus said, and this is in Matthew 11, that John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah. He brought a message of revival. Many were revived. To some extent, John prepared the way of the Lord, and many accepted Jesus, and there was a great Pentecost and a revival, but the nation rejected him, and a curse came on them. They were destroyed in 70 A.D. In the end of time, there's going to be another Elijah message. God is going to have a great message of returning to the Lord, repentance, revival. And some will respond, but not everyone. And you've got the seven last plagues that will ultimately fall upon those that reject that message of revival.

Jëan: And even during the time of Elijah, the historic Elijah, when he prophesied to Ahab the king, Israel was not spared of judgment. Eventually the northern kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians and dispersed. And yet there were individuals who received the Elijah message. The Bible speaks of 7,000 that didn't bow their knee to Baal. And so a remnant was saved from that group. Likewise in the time of John the Baptist and at the end of time. God will have a remnant who'll respond to the Elijah message. They'll be protected, and eventually they'll be taken to heaven, the second coming.

Doug: Yeah, hopefully. Does that make sense, Elizabeth?

Elizabeth: Yes, sir. I appreciate you taking my call once again.

Doug: All right. Hey, thanks so much, we appreciate your calling.

Jëan: Next caller that we have is Brittany in California. Evening, Brittany.

Brittany: Hey, hey, hey.

Doug: Hi, thanks for calling. And your question.

Brittany: Yeah, my question is, why do so many people go through bad things in this world?

Doug: Why do so many people go through bad things? You know, that is a big question. A lot of people turn from God because they say, "If God is all powerful and He's loving, then why does He allow so much suffering? Why does He allow bad things to happen to good people?" And probably the oldest book in the Bible is the book of Job and it deals with that question. Here you've got a good man who is suffering terrible plagues. And you look behind the veil in the story of Job, we see that God is not doing it. There is an evil power that has hijacked this planet. The Lord has come to redeem the planet for those that will turn to Him, but it doesn't mean it's without a struggle. So, there's a battle between good and evil. Not everything that happens in the world is God's will. That's why the Bible says we are to pray His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, because this world--Jesus says the devil is the prince of this world. Our first parents, when they listened to the devil instead of God, they sort of handed the keys and the deed of the planet. They gave their dominion to the enemy. Jesus came to redeem or buy back, to ransom this world. So soon it'll be over. Satan's been defeated, but he's going to go down fighting according to Revelation 12.

Jëan: You know, we do have a book. It's called "When the Brook Dried Up: Why Do Christians Suffer?" And we'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks. You know, the good news, Pastor Doug, is that the suffering is not going to last forever. The Bible is very clear that there is an end. And Jesus comes and puts an end to sin and sorrow and suffering and He makes all things new. If you'd like to learn more about that, call and ask for the book. It's called "When the Brook Dried Up." The number to call is 800-835-6747. And you can call and ask. You can dial #250 on your smartphone and you can ask for it by name. "When the Book--" Sorry. "When the Brook Dried Up." And it's kind of bringing the story from Elijah when the brook dried up and he was facing trials and difficulties. Next caller that we have is Glenn and Linda from Ohio. Glenn, Linda, welcome to "Bible Answers Life."

Glenn: Good evening, pastors. Thank you for taking my call, and welcome from Bethel, Ohio.

Doug: Thank you.

Glenn: I have a correction. My Scripture this evening is Isaiah 60, not 66.

Doug: Okay.

Glenn: So, get that in the book right there. And where it begins is the 2nd verse of Isaiah 60 where it talks about a great darkness over the land. And it’s in conjunction with a massive move by the Gentile population around the world bringing their wealth and coming to Jerusalem under that darkness that existed at that time. Question number one is I wondered, is that historic or is it prophetic? And the second question is, what was it all about?

Doug: Good, great question. Thanks, Glenn. Let me read this for our friends that are listening. We know people are often driving. And so, I'd like to just read the reference that Glenn is talking about. And it begins with verse 1. "Arise, shine; for your light has come. And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the land, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. And the Gentiles will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising." So, what is this light, this rising? Well, you read in Malachi, it says the Son of righteousness will arise with healing in His wings. And Jesus said, "I Am the light of the world." And because of Christ, the Gentile world was converted to--or much of the Gentile world I should say, was converted to the God of the Bible, the God of the Jews, Jehovah. And so, this is a prophecy. Now, it had happened in the Old Testament during the time of Solomon where the Gentiles, like the Queen of Sheba, they came to the light, the wisdom of Solomon who was the son of David. Well, Jesus is the son of David. He's the king of kings. And a lot of people around the world, Gentiles, are turning to the God of the Bible.

Jëan: And in Revelation chapter 18, it's interesting you've got this mighty angel coming down from heaven. Says the earth was illuminated with his glory, and he cries with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen." Of course, what we refer to here is this fourth angel. Also is reflective of the three angels' messages in Revelation 14, in particular the second angel. So here we see a great revival that is to take place just before Jesus comes, where the earth is filled with the glory or the light of the gospel, this proclamation of God's last warning message, calling people to come out of religious confusion and to make their stand on Bible truth. You know, Pastor Doug, I'm looking for a book that goes along with this. And we do have one that speaks about this great plan of redemption, the gospel, the good news. It's called "Three Steps to Heaven." And, friends, if you want to be ready when that time comes so that you can be amongst those who are shining forth the glory, you want to learn what the gospel is, we'll be happy to send you the book. It's called "Three Steps to Heaven" and it's about salvation. How do you obtain that gift? The number to call is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book by name, "Three Steps to Heaven." You can dial #250 on your smartphone and ask for the book that way as well. Anna in Oregon, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Anna: Evening, pastors.

Doug: Evening, thanks for calling.

Anna: Thank you. I was reading through Genesis. And in Genesis 12, Abram and Sarai, I think that's how you pronounce it, they go to Egypt, and he tells his wife to say that she's his sister. And, of course, they lied. And then Pharaoh gets punished for it and Abram gets blessed for it.

Doug: Yeah, he goes out of Egypt with great wealth. But the Pharaoh did sort of rebuke him also, says, "You know, I could have lightly have lain with your wife. You--why did you--why'd you lie to me?"

Anna: Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, I guess my question is, is it okay to lie in certain situation?

Doug: Yeah. No, it's not a dumb question because there are a lot of people that have thought, "Well, you know, what do you do with the story in the Bible where Joshua pretended that he was being defeated? It's, you know, deception in battle so he could draw the enemy out of the city." So, deception is, you know, dishonesty in some form. David pretended he was crazy before Abimelech so that he wouldn't be killed. You've got Rahab where she lied and said, "Oh, yeah, the spies, they left. If you hurry after them, you'll catch them." So, you've got examples in the Bible where people lied, but never does it mean God endorses it. The Bible is a faithful history book. Now, there are times of ignorance that God winks at. It doesn't mean it's okay. Means in times of war. Abraham shouldn't have been deceptive. Technically, he was thinking, "Well, Sarah is actually my half-sister." And he was really scared. And not only did he do it, it set a bad example for Isaac. Isaac did it with Rebecca later with the Philistines. Said, "Oh, just say you're my sister." She wasn't his sister; she was his first cousin.

But anyway, there's never a good reason to lie. And, you know, I think about a story in the book "The Hiding Place." That's not in the Bible, but it's a great example, where these German soldiers were rampaging up the street, taking young men out of the Dutch houses to--and forcing them into--pressing them into service. And this young lady was a Christian, devout Christian, and her brothers were hiding under the table. And they came in and they kept pressing, "Are there any young men here?" And she didn't want to lie and she just was about to have a meltdown. Finally, she said, "They're under the table." And because she'd never lied. She just been taught, "Don't ever lie." Well, the Germans lifted up the tablecloth, they didn't think to look under the table and they thought that she was mocking and they marched out. Well, she told the truth, and God still spared them. So, I think you better off saying nothing. Sometimes you shouldn't say anything. Jesus said to the disciples, "There's many things I have to say to you now, but you can't bear it." So sometimes you might say nothing, but you should never lie.

Jëan: You know, another story that comes to mind, Pastor Doug, of modern times is Andrew. He's referred to as Brother Andrew, who was committed to taking Bibles into the Soviet Union, and he said he wasn't going to lie. And he had these amazing stories of how he was stopped, and people would say, "What you carrying?" And he says, "Bibles." And as if they didn't hear him or they would look in the trunk of the car and they wouldn't see the Bibles there. So, God just worked in miraculous ways because he was committed to being honest and trusting in the Lord.

Doug: Exactly, exactly, great stories.

Jëan: All right, thank you, Anna. We've got Noah listening in Kansas. Noah, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Noah: Right. My Bible question is, why did God make us?

Doug: Okay, good question, Noah. Why did God make us? Well, you sound like a young person. Why does a mom and a dad have children? Because they want to love them and they want the children to love them back. God is love and He--you know, you can't love anybody if you don't have anybody, and love is something that must be expressed or shown. And so, God wanted to show His love and make children. So, He made us to show His love and so we could experience life and joy. Good question. Thanks so much.

Jëan: All right, thank you, Noah. We've got Larry in Oregon. Larry, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Larry: Good evening, gentlemen.

Doug: Good evening.

Larry: I have recently heard some interpretations of Isaiah 4:1 that just don't—

Doug: Well, let me try and answer. I don't know if you're offline, but, Larry, hopefully you can hear us. Isaiah 4:1, let me read it for our friends. "And in that day seven women will take hold of one man, saying, 'We will eat our own food, wear our own apparel; only let us be called by your name, to take away our reproach.'" This is an example, there's several in Isaiah, of what you might call a dual prophecy. Often after a terrible battle--you know, typically the men went to war, and if the armies were decimated, there was a shortage of husbands. Now, I understand in China because of the one child policy, and they were doing selective abortions, they had a shortage of wives. They still do. They got a terrible shortage of wives. Well, after wars, there was a terrible shortage of husbands. And back then they had no social security. If you had no children to take care of you in your old age, if you--you had no place in the community if you had no children, and so the women were so desperate to have families. They--but they knew that the men were thinking, "I can't support all these wives." Says, "Don't worry about it." Seven women would take hold of one man and say, "We'll eat our own food. We'll get our own food, we'll get our own clothes, but let us have your name to take away our reproach of being childless."

So, it was telling about a terrible judgment that would come, that did come with the Babylonian captivity, but it's also talking about the spiritual significance. A woman in prophecy is a church. And in the last days you have many churches that claim to be Christian and they have their own bread, their own interpretation of the Bible, they've got their own apparel, a robe of righteousness, their own idea of what's righteousness, but they want to call themselves Christian because it's the only name whereby men must be saved. So that would be the spiritual application. So hopefully you heard that, Larry. And I don't know if that fits in with what you were going to ask, but we didn't want to leave you hanging. Thanks.

Jëan: All right. Next caller that we have is David in California. Hi, David. Welcome to the program.

David: Hello. Is it okay for us to listen to jazz music?

Doug: Is it okay--yeah, so you're wondering, is it okay for a Christian to listen to jazz music? You know, jazz is a genre that is fairly broad. I've got a neighbor that is an extremely talented pianist and he plays Christian jazz. Now, I--you know, right or wrong, I'm just telling you it's what he does. And just amazing what he does with a keyboard, but he'll take, you know, "Great is Your Faithfulness" and he does a whole different arrangement of it. I would stop short of saying that, you know, this is all a sin. You know, a lot of jazz music that would be associated with, like, a jazz bar and the dancing, I don't think you'd see Jesus listening to and going there. So, when you're in doubt, first of all, if you get the Holy Spirit guiding you, you just have an inner voice that'll tell you, "This is not right. I can't picture My Lord listening to this music or being in the environment this music creates." And so, the Spirit will guide you. Sometimes that change in tastes of music--with me it happened gradually after I became a Christian. Things I once loved, I now hate, and things I once hated, I now love. So yeah. You know, I have a book, and I think we could probably give it away. It's a small book, bigger than our normal sharing sermons, and it's called "The Christian and Music." And if you'd like, David, we'll send that to you. It's got the principles of Christian music. And I think you'll be in--you'll be blessed by that.

Jëan: The number to call for that is 800-835-6747. You can ask for this book. As Pastor Doug mentioned, it's called "The Christian and Music." We don't always offer that, so take advantage of it. Call and ask. You can dial #250 on your smartphone and ask for the book "The Christian and Music." We've got Scott in California. Scott, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." You're on the air.

Scott: Hey, how are you guys?

Doug: Doing good. Thank you for calling us.

Scott: So, I have kind of a convoluted question. But it's more on the lines of you know in the Bible where angels guided people's hands to write the Bible? How do you know if you're really being--like, I wrote this question, and to be honest with you it says, is John in the four gospels the same as the John that wrote the 3 John chapter 1, verse 2, and how is these Johns associated with the John the revelator? Are any of these Johns related? What about John the Baptist and Isaiah? John's head was cut off, and Isaiah was cut in half. How do you know if the Holy Spirit is leading you?

Doug: All right. Well, let's take it one que--you got a lot of good questions there, but, first of all, you have the name John is a common name in the Bible. I don't know, there must be six or eight of them that you can think of. You got John Mark, John the Baptist, John the apostle. The John who is the apostle is also the author of 1, 2, and 3 John. They're short letters that you'll find at the end of the New Testament. He's also the one who had the revelation of St. John. And all the early church historians agree with the authorship of the gospel of John, 1, 2, 3 John, and Revelation written by this apostle. He was the youngest of the 12 apostles. So, you do a little research and you can find out that it's always been understood and accepted that he's the author. People don't argue about who wrote "Pilgrim's Progress." We all know it was written by John Bunyan. Another John. But John the Baptist, he was different. He was probably a cousin of Jesus and he was the one who was filled with the Spirit from his mother's womb that announced the coming of Jesus. Then you get young John Mark in the Bible, and he was probably a relative of the apostles somehow because he was there in the Garden of Gethsemane when they were--arrested Jesus.

So do a little research and you'll see. You know, look at some Bible dictionaries or Bible commentaries, Scott, and it'll help you to designate who these people are. I know one thing. John, the gospel of John, the letters of John, Revelation, the last book in the Bible, they are all inspired, and holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. If there is any trustworthy document anywhere in the world, the most trustworthy document is the Word of God, the Bible. It has stood the test of time. Someone once said the Bible is an anvil that has worn out many hammers. So, you can trust it. We're going to talk more about that blessed book in just a few minutes. You can hear we're getting our halftime music break. Have some important announcements for you. But don't go away. Best questions are yet to come.

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

José: So I grew up in a somewhat Christian family. Not really devout or anything like that. No, we weren't going to church all the time. There was a lot of drugs in the household. Every weekend, you know, was partying and drinking, and sometimes in the midnight police would come. I would say it was a dysfunctional home. And my grandmother was the one who really raised me, taught me about God and about Jesus and she was always there for me. Going to school, you know, 2nd, 3rd grade, 1st grade, those years I was pretty rebellious. Around, like, 12 years old I started to get more of a friend group. We started skateboarding, and that was, like, the new thing. I smoked weed for the first time and drank for the first time, and music became my obsession. You know, at 10 years old is when I started and I was obsessed with getting into Hollywood, being famous. You know, I went into college, and I was studying music business and I end up dropping out, kind of lost in the club lifestyle and the party lifestyle, you know, just trying to get a foothold on a music career. I started to feel bad drinking and I started to feel bad smoking and I wasn't finding any real fulfillment. And so, I was trying to find something that was better than what I had.

And so, at 21 years old I had a lot of interactions with people who were involved in the occult and I got introduced into eastern meditation and getting into meditative stances and going into trances. You know, I would wake up in the middle of the night hearing knocks on my windows, hearing chants. I would wake up in the middle of the night, like, if my house was being surrounded. So, I walked out of my household and just left everything behind. I just kept on walking for at least 3 days. And then I end up falling asleep out in the wilderness and end up getting picked up by police officers, and they ended up taking me to a hospital and force-feeding me drugs.

Something told me that if I continue this way that I was going to lose my life, and I believe there was a voice of Christ. I kneeled down and asked God to deliver me from the side effects of the drugs because the side effects were really, really bad. And so, I went to the church looking for help. They had introduced me into Amazing Facts. So, I watched "Mountain Moving Faith" from Doug Batchelor. And I remember hearing Doug say, "Have you ever seen a mountain move in one second? Sometimes it may take a moment, but once it moves, then it'll be like it was an instant." And so, I end up falling to my knees. Every time I get the side effects of the drugs, I would pray, and I would find peace and comfort. And where I would spend a lot of my time would be in the Bible, and I started to change.

One week passed by and the side effects weren't so bad. Two weeks passed by, I was almost back to normal. Every Sabbath I would put on, you know, a sermon, I listen to "Bible Answers Live." Also "Storacles of Prophecy" was another thing that was helping me through. When I was hearing the words of God, you know, when I was hearing the words of truth, when I was hearing the Bible, I had peace, you know. And even despite whatever, you know, trials might come my way, I still have joy. My name is José. Thank you for changing my life.

Announcer: You're listening to "Bible Answers Live" where every question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His plan to save you. So, what are you waiting for? Get practical answers about the good book for a better life today. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7 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." This is a live international interactive Bible study. We take questions from live callers. And we invite you to call in with a question that deals with the Bible, the Word of God or living the Christian life. We'll do our best to find Bible answers, but it's all about the book. And my name is Doug Batchelor.

Jëan: My name is Jëan Ross. And we've got Steve, that he's listening in Oregon. So, Steve, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." You're on the air.

Steve: Yes. For decades I've struggled with the subject of what is the abomination of desolation. Multiple descriptions of the abomination of desolation is, like, at different times and locations throughout history. For instance, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the slaughter of a pig by pagans in the sanctuary. I have never heard an explanation that applies to the end times, that being today. Could not destruct--construction of a mosque at the location of the original Temple Mount in Jerusalem and the daily prayers to Allah from that Temple Mount, especially considering the prayers of Christians is only allowed from the Wailing Wall.

Doug: Yeah, well, if you ask Orthodox Jews, I'm sure they will look upon having a Muslim mosque at the site of the ancient temple as an abomination. A desolation means something that is also destroyed, so it's a combination of things. You're not too far off because in Matthew 24--now, John might be looking at the verses in Daniel. I don't know. We--several different places we can go here. In Matthew 24 when describing the end of the world, He said there would not be left one stone upon another at the temple that would not be thrown down. And He said when you see the abomination of dan--of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, let those that be in Judea flee into the mountains. Now, the key to understanding that is you go to Luke. And when Luke mentions that--is that chapter 17 or 21?

Jëan: 21, 21:20.

Doug: Verse 20 says when you see the abomination of desolation--when you see Jerusalem encompassed with arms—

Jëan: Surrounded with armies.

Doug: Let those that be in Judea flee in the mountains. So, we know right there that the Roman army surrounding and preparing to desolate the holy place was at least one fulfillment of that. Now, there's going to be a last day of fulfillment when God's city, His spiritual city, His people are going to be surrounded with laws. And a spiritual Rome is going to be connected with that that's going to hedge people in with laws, and they're going to have to flee again. You know, Jesus said, "Pray our flight is not in the winter or on the Sabbath day." I think we actually have a book called "The Abomination of Desolation" by Gary Gibbs that we could send. But you had some other thoughts.

Jëan: Yeah, just to add to that. So, there's--as you mentioned, Pastor Doug, you've got the abomination of desolation in one sense, if you look at Matthew 24 and Luke 21. It's clearly referring to pagan Rome and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. But when you go to the book of Daniel, not only is it referring to pagan Rome, but you also have papal Rome, which did persecute God's people during the 12 around 60 years of papal supremacy, and then there is sort of a revival of this. There is a persecution that takes place just near the end, just before Jesus comes. And once again, God's people are going to have to find safety outside of the big cities. I kind of like what Jesus said. "You need to flee to the mountains." There'll be a similar type of experience just near the end. So dual application for that abomination of desolation.

Doug: Yeah. And we'll be happy, Steve, to send you that book for free. Anyone, if you want to understand this very important subject, what is the abomination of desolation? Jesus foretold it's not only in the past. You need to understand it because there's another one in the future. It's free. You owe it to yourself to call and get this free book.

Jëan: The number to call is 800-835-6747. That is the resource phone line. You'll see it on your screen. As for the book, it's called "The Abomination of Desolation." And you can dial #250 on your smartphone and ask for the book, and we'll be able to send you a digital copy and also send you a hard copy in the mail. Thank you, Steve. We've got Josh in Iowa. Josh, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Josh: Hi. Can you guys hear me clear?

Doug: Loud and clear. Thanks, Josh.

Josh: Thanks, Doug. My question is about why God allows Satan to tempt us into sin? And just to let me set it up for you, reason I'm asking is because if God destroyed Satan, right, but left us here, we would still have our free will, but we could still choose to sin or not to sin. But Him allowing, you know, Satan and the demons and everything to tempt us into sin all the time, it kind of feels like--it's kind of like telling an alcoholic that he's not allowed to drink anymore, but then forcing him to live across the street from a liquor store. You see what I'm saying?

Doug: Mm-hmm.

Josh: So, I'm just not sure, like, what God gets out of allowing Satan to tempt us when we could still have our free will with our human existence.

Doug: Yeah, well, God is not allowing Satan to tempt us to prove we have a free will. There's--Satan has accused God not just before the earth but before the universe. There was a rebellion, a war in heaven between Satan and his angels and God and His angels. And two-thirds of the angels followed Lucifer. Now, Lucifer was the highest, most powerful of God's creations, and he was saying that God's government is not just and that if he was in charge, everyone would have more freedom and happiness. And he went through the universe, and eventually at our world he tempted Adam and Eve to not trust the Word of God but to trust his word, and he basically hijacked the planet, and as we mentioned earlier. And this controversy between good and evil has been--this war has been--being acted out.

Paul says our world is a theater to the universe. They're all watching this battle between good and evil. At the cross you see Satan's intense love for power and you see Christ's power of love. It's all at the cross, is the greatest demonstration of Christ humbling Himself, Satan exalting himself. He says, "Bow down to me. I want to be God." He wanted to be the Most High. So we and all creatures, all intelligent creatures, have a choice. Now, I'm not denying the sovereignty of God, but I also believe that we have freedom. Because why does the Bible say choose you this day who you will serve? Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. God is not willing that any should perish. So, we have this probationary time. The penalty for sin is death. Why aren't we dead yet? Why don't--why doesn't everybody die immediately after they sin? Christ through His sacrifice purchased time for people to understand the issues, the probationary life, where we can choose to trust God or to live the selfish existence of the devil. And there's so much more I can say because you're asking the big questions, Josh. We have that Cosmic Conflict Magazine, the new Cosmic Conflict Magazine, and there's the movie. I think it's got, like, a million hits on YouTube, if you type in "Cosmic Conflict." Or you can request the magazine. It's brand-new.

Jëan: The number to call is 800-835-6747. You can ask for that magazine. It's called the Cosmic Conflict. We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. You can dial #250 on your smartphone and you can and be able to get it that way as well. Thank you, Josh. Minerva in Mexico. Minerva, welcome to the program.

Minerva: Oh, hello, Pastor Doug and Pastor Ross. Thank you for taking my call.

Doug: We're glad you called. Thank you, Minerva. And your question tonight.

Minerva: Thank you. Yeah, my question is, should deaconesses be ordained even if the Bible doesn't mention it? And if they're not supposed to, why do some churches do it?

Doug: Okay, that's a fair question. You know, in the Bible, of course, we have in Acts-- is it chapter 6 or 7? Well, it's 7 I think where they ordain the deacons. And they needed some people that were spirit-filled, some men that could help to delegate and carry out some of the more mundane business of the church, but very important, so the apostles could give themselves more to preaching, to prayer, teaching the Word. And then we know the word deacon is connected with the Greek word servant. There were also women that served. It doesn't give an example in the Bible of women being ordained as deacons, but I don't see where there's any moral dilemma with someone placing their hands on a woman and blessing them and giving--praying that God will give them the Spirit if they're appointed to serve in a certain capacity. There are areas in the Old Testament where the men, the priests had particular ministry. But there were also daughters of Aaron, they were the wives of the Levites, and they had ministry in the tabernacle too. Their ministry often had to do with the garments for the priests. I think were made by the wives of the Levites. So, there's ministry and service for both. In our church we have deacons and deaconess. So, you're right, there is no biblical example of laying hands on the women who ordained them or commissioned them, but setting people aside with prayer, there's no moral problem with that.

Jëan: You know, we have a book. It's called "A Woman's Role in Ministry." And we'll be happy to send it to anyone who wants to learn more about that. The number to call is 800-835-6747, and you can ask for the book. It's called "A Woman's Role in Ministry." You can dial #250 on your smartphone and ask for it that way as well. Shanna in Utah. Shanna, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Shanna: Hello. Hi, Jëan and Pastor Doug. My husband and I love your show. Thank you. My question is related to the Holy Spirit. In John chapter 14, chapter--or verse 16,17, you know, towards the end it does say that, "You know Him, for He lives with you and He will be in you." So that--does that mean that the Holy Spirit is always with us or is it appropriate to ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance in our daily prayer?

Doug: Yeah, great question. You know, I believe you can prove from the Bible that people can have varying relationships with the Lord, and that would include God the Spirit, and that God the Spirit comes into our lives in varying degrees. I believe the apostles had the Holy Spirit when they were baptized and began following Jesus, but then at the upper room, after the resurrection, it says Christ breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." But then at Pentecost 40 days later, they're baptized with tongues of fire and great power and signs and wonders and miracles. There's different degrees. You can even read in the Old Testament, says the Spirit of the Lord came upon David, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson. And it's something I think we should pray for every day because you cannot live the Christian life without the Christian spirit. So, Christ said, "If you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those that ask?" He compares it to bread. Bread's something you eat every day. Asking for the Holy Spirit is something you would need every day.

Jëan: You know, we have a book. It's called "Life in the Spirit" and goes right along with this question. We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. The number is 800-835-6747 or just dial #250 on your smartphone. Ask for the book by name. It's called "Life in the Spirit." Eva, 9 years old from New York. Eva, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Eva: Hello.

Doug: Hi, thanks for calling. What are you doing up so late? It's, like, 10 o'clock back there. And your question tonight.

Eva: My question is, how do you stay Lord Jesus Christ and--how do you stay close to the Lord Jesus Christ and keep on following Him as a child?

Doug: That's a good question. How do we stay close to the Lord as a child? Well, you know, the way you stay strong as a child is you eat, you breathe, and you exercise. The way you stay strong as a Christian is you eat, and you breathe and you exercise. We eat by eating the bread of life, which is the Bible. Jesus said you don't live by bread alone but by every word. So, we ought to read some of the Scriptures every day. We breathe by praying. The Bible tells us you can just be aware of God. Talk to Him all the time, not just when you wake up in the morning. I heard about a girl your age, Eva, that when she went to sleep at night, she threw one of her shoes under her bed. And her mother asked why she did that, she said, "I have to get on my knees to get my shoe, and then I remember to pray." So, make sure and pray not only in the morning and when you go to bed at night but through the day. Just any time you need God's help, talk to Him as your friend. He's always there even though you don't see Him. And then exercise. Tell other people about the Lord, and resist the devil, be a good example, and that's called exercising your faith, living out the light. You do those things, you'll stay closer to the Lord.

Jëan: All right, thank you for your call. We've got Chris in California. Chris, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Chris: Thank you, pastors. Thank you for taking my call. In the Bible and as Christians, how should we feel about owning a gun or having a gun in our home for self-protection and just the use of guns in our life? And also, with that, the occupation and life of being a police officer and having a gun as part of your job, that you may take a life. What does the Bible say?

Doug: All right, well, I'll try and give you a biblical answer. Paul said--and I don't remember the verse, Pastor Ross, where it says that the soldiers or Rome or the government does not bear the sword in vain, meaning that, you know, there are authorities in government that they have the power to punish sinners. It uses the term sword there. They had no guns back then. So, in the temple, God had guards actually that would guard. It talks about that in 2 Kings chapter, is it 11, when King Joash was being coronated. They had guards around him in the temple. And Solomon had shields in the temple. And so, you know, in our day and age, a lot of churches realize it's just a practical tool that you might want to, you know, have some training in firearms for protection. If someone does not feel comfortable with that, they shouldn't do it because if anything is not of faith, it's sin. Now, coming from my perspective, Pastor Ross has been at our place way up in the hills, I have firearms. It's not a secret. Everybody in the hills does because we got wild animals. We got bears and we got, you know, rabbit, animals, and rattlesnakes. And, you know, it's a tool. God forbid I would ever use it against a human. I would never want to do that. That would take some extreme circumstances of defending my family to do something like that, but--and I don't even think about it. So, you know, I'd say that I would never want to bear arms in a war to take another life. And I'm very thankful for soldiers that protect our country and I'm very thankful for police that protect our community, but I think that Christians need to, you know, pray about these things. And one time the disciples--it's a big question. It's a politically--potentially politically divisive question too, so I want to be careful. But the disciples one time--Jesus said, "And he that--if you don't have a sword, sell your garment and get one." And the disciples had said, "Look, we've got two swords." And Jesus said, "Enough of this." In other words, they didn't understand when He talked about a sword, Christ said, "I came to send a sword," He meant His Word is the sword. So, He's not telling Christians to arm themselves in that statement. We need to be armed with the Word of God. That's Ephesians chapter 6. Maybe that's a good offer for this, "The Armor of God."

Jëan: If you'd like to receive that, all you have to do is call and ask. The number is 800-835-6747. As for the book, it's called "The Armor of God." Dial #250 and you can ask for it by name. Thank you, Chris. We've got Terry in California. Terry, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Terry: Hi, yes, so, somewhere in the Bible it talks about if you keep sinning the same sin over and over again it will come to the point where no--there'll be no more sacrifice left for the sin.

Doug: Hebrews chapter 10, verse 26.

Terry: And I also read that only overcomers will be in the kingdom. And for me I'm needing to give up chocolate for health reasons, and I sincerely give it--like, repent the night before and the next day. Somewhere I'll eat it, and it's hurting my health. And for me I feel it's sin and I'm just--I don't know what my problem is, but I'm wondering also where God would draw the line. But I just want to overcome that, and I'm having issue.

Doug: Well, bless your heart. You know, first of all, you're not alone. Everybody--we're all kind of sinnerholics, all of us. We just--it manifests different ways. Chocolate's not my problem. And some people it's alcohol or some people it's--they can be kleptomaniacs or it might be pornography. There's all kinds of addictions that people struggle with, and you struggle to give it up. But I can promise you that God can give you the victory over any temptation. I have a sermon online and it's called "Cold Confession" and I tell about my struggle with ice cream. Now, it seems like a light thing. And some people are probably laughing that you're talking about struggling with chocolate, but it's a real struggle when you're trying to get the victory over some eating habit. And--but you can. And we have a book that we'll give you. And I see Pastor Ross is nodding. "Tips for Resisting Temptation?"

Jëan: That's right.

Doug: Yeah. That will give you a lot more information than I can share in three minutes, but you can get the victory. Now, Jesus does say in Revelation to him that overcomes. He wants us to learn to be overcomers. Jesus came to set us free, and He can set us free from every bad habit. You just need to trust Him. And He saved me from, you know, cursing, and stealing, and living immorally, and alcohol, and cigarettes. And He that has begun a good work in you will perform it. He doesn't say it's going to be without a battle. You might struggle and fall and take two steps forward, one step back, but you can get the ultimate victory. So don't get discouraged.

Jëan: To receive the book "Tips for Resisting Temptation," call 800-835-6747. You can dial #250 on your smartphone. Just a great read. I think every Christian needs to read this because if we want to be a Christian, we going to face temptation. How do we overcome? So some great tips. 800-835-6747 or dial #250.

Doug: Yeah. And I briefly mentioned that there's a sermon you can listen to I did on YouTube. If you just type in "Doug Batchelor Cold Confession." I talk about my battle. But it basically gives the principles of, what do you do when you keep falling into the same temptation? I struggled for years with an ice cream addiction. I mean, it was an addiction. It's--not that ice cream is a sin for you, friends, but it turned into a sin for me. So, you can just look up "Cold Confession" on YouTube and you'll see that as well.

Jëan: All right, next caller that we have is Robert in Washington. Robert, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."

Robert: Thank you, Pastor Ross. I was going to ask about the first question in your intro tonight, who is Michael the archangel? Some people say, you know, that he can't be Christ because he's not an angel, you know, et cetera, et cetera.

Doug: Yeah, that's a good question. And when we answer this question, I always want to preface and say please listen very carefully 'cause, you know, some churches teach that you've got this angel called Raphael and there's another angel called Michael, and they're always portrayed as these powerful cherubs. It's a misunderstanding. The word archangel means greatest messenger, and the word Michael means who is as God, and the phrase Michael the archangel is one of the titles of Jesus. Jesus is not an angel. Jesus is eternal God. He's all powerful. But it's one of the many titles that you find. Now, let me give you some verses. You have in Revelation 12 it says, "The dragon and his angels fought against Michael, and Michael and his angels fought."

Well, the dragon is a symbolic name for the devil, Satan. Michael is a symbolic name for Christ. You read in 1 Thessalonians 4, "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, and the voice of the archangel." The Lord Himself with the voice of the archangel. You read in Jude verse 9 that it says Michael comes to resurrect Moses. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. And you can read in Joshua, I forget it's chapter 5, where Joshua meets the angel of the Lord. And this angel is not like a normal angel. This angel says, "Take your shoes off your feet, for this is holy ground." Well, Gabriel tells John in Revelation 19, "Do not bow down and pray to an angel. It's a sin. Only worship God." So, who is this angelic warrior that you see in the book of Joshua? That's what you call a Christophany. Michael the archangel. Jesus appearing before His incarnation. So, I'm leaving out those verses also in Daniel and other places. Michael will stand up, and there's a time of trouble such as there never has been. That's Daniel 12. We got a book.

Jëan: We do.

Doug: I'm giving you the whole study, and we got a book. So, I'll stop talking.

Jëan: And it's just "Who is Michael the Archangel?" A great study, and a lot of Scriptures in there. If you'd like to get it, the number to call is 800-835-6747. Dial #250 on your smartphone. You can get it that way as well. The book is called "Who is Michael the Archangel?" And I'm sure, Pastor Doug, you have a sermon on YouTube dealing with this subject. And you could probably just look it up. Pastor Doug Batchelor, "Who is Michael the Archangel." You'll be able to see that sermon. Next caller that we have is Rod in New Mexico. Rod--or rather Ron. Ron, welcome to the program.

Ron: Thank you, brothers. Want to start off by saying Joe Crews would be very pleased with what you folks have done with Amazing Facts.

Doug: Oh, praise God. Well, thanks so much. Of course, you and I both know God gets the glory, but we're just praising Him for the way He's been blessing.

Ron: Amen. Amen. Hey, Paul was all about righteousness by faith, but in Acts 21 he meets up with the Jains and the elders, and they say, "Hey, people think you don't observe Jewish customs, so go pay for these guys' purification rights." And then in verse 24, "Then everyone will know the rumors are all false and that you yourself observe the Jewish laws." What is up with that?

Doug: Yeah, you know, I don't know that this was Paul's finest hour. I think to some extent that Paul was--he was capitulating to the leaders, trying to cooperate with them because he wanted to stifle any idea--that there had been false rumors that Paul had scuttled the teachings of Moses. Paul did not give up the teachings of Moses, neither did Jesus. Jesus said, "Think not that I have come to destroy the law of Moses. I've not come to destroy, but to fulfill." And Christ said, "Whoever therefore shall break one of the least of these commandments and teach men so, he will be least in the kingdom of heaven." So, when it came to the overreaching teachings of Moses and what you find in the Old Testament, Paul was in full agreement. There were certain ceremonial laws that Christ fulfilled that the Jewish Christians were trying to impose on the Gentile Christians, and Paul said that's not necessary. And the Jerusalem council eventually agreed with that in Acts chapter 15. So--but they wanted to appease the Jews in Jerusalem. So, they said, "You know, why don't you get out front and do this?" And it kind of backfired. It turned into a riot, and Paul ended up going to jail, and God turned it for good in the end.

Jëan: Well, friends, we do have some email questions, Pastor Doug, in the last minute or so before the end of the program. Let me ask you a couple of these email questions. First question, will the universe and the other planets be burnt up when God creates a new earth--a new heavens and a new earth?

Doug: Yeah, that confuses people because they think, "Well, what's wrong with the heavens that the heavens would be dissolved with fervent heat in 2 Peter chapter 3?" The word heavens there is one of the Jewish words for the atmosphere around the world, which, you know, is getting polluted over time. So, God is going to create a new, pure atmosphere. There's nothing wrong with the stars and the galaxies, and there'd be no advantages, no sin out there to be burned up. It's talking about new atmosphere. You know, in Genesis it says God separated the waters from above the heavens, from the waters below the heavens. It's the atmosphere around the world that we're talking about that'll be made new.

Jëan: All right, Arlene is asking, "What does it mean when it says--when you say somebody is resting in peace?"

Doug: Yeah, Jesus, when Lazarus died, he said, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." And when a person dies in the Lord, they are sleeping a peaceful, dreamless sleep until the resurrection and they are resting, and hopefully they're going to be woke up in the first resurrection. Hey, friends, you can tell we're out of time. God bless. We'll study His Word with you again together next week.

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