Hello friends, how about an amazing fact? Icebergs generally range from about 3 to 250 feet above sea level. The largest icebergs comes from the Antarctic but the tallest icebergs come from the North Atlantic. The tallest iceberg ever recorded was 550 feet high. That is about the height of a 55-story building. The largest iceberg ever recorded broke off the frost ice shelf in Antarctica in March of 2000. It was called Iceberg B15. It was almost half a mile thick and its area was about 4,500 square miles, roughly the size of the state of Connecticut. It was the largest iceberg ever found by the U.S. National Ice Center since the center began tracking them about 25 years ago. Icebergs this large are sometimes referred to as ice islands.
Arctic icebergs are generally smaller than Antarctic icebergs because the Arctic does not have the vast uninterrupted spans of open ocean which allow for the formation of huge ice sheets from which these massive icebergs brake off. Icebergs are virtually indestructible by men. In theory it would take about 1,900 tons of TNT to destroy an average sized North Atlantic iceberg. To melt such an iceberg it would require the combustion of nearly 2.4 million gallons of gasoline. Just think about how much it would take to melt the B15 iceberg! Friends, did you know that the Bible speaks of a time when not only icebergs will melt but the earth itself will be on fire? Stay tuned for more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Welcome to Bible Answers Live brought to you by Amazing Facts Ministries. Are you looking for a clear, concise answer to your most challenging Bible questions? Maybe you’re struggling to understand difficult passages of scripture. If, so you’ve come to the right place. Join us now as we open God’s word to discover His will and find honest practical answers to your Bible-related questions. This broadcast is pre recorded. If you have a Bible question call us Sundays from 7-8 pm Pacific Standard Time at 800-GOD-SAYS. That’s 800-463-7297. Now let’s join our host, author, speaker, and evangelist Pastor Doug Batchelor.
Pastor John Ross: Hello friends! This is Pastor John Ross. Pastor Doug Batchelor is out this evening but this is Bible Answers Live and if you have a Bible related question we’d love to hear from you this evening. To call us here in the studio the number is 800- GOD-SAYS. That’s 800-463-7297. We do have phone lines that are now open. The number again is 800-463-7297. We’d love to hear from you. Well friends we open the program by talking a little bit about icebergs and truly these are immense blocks of ice floating out in the ocean. But you know the Bible speaks of a time when not only the icebergs will melt but even the earth itself. In 2 Peter chapter 3 we have the following passage of scripture. It says, “The lord is not slack concerning his promise that some men count slackness but his long suffering towards us not willing that any should perish but that also should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat both the earth and the works that are there in will be burnt up. Therefore since all these things will be dissolved what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conduct than godliness.” Here the apostle Peter speaks of the day when the elements will melt with fervent heat and the earth and the works that are there in will be burnt up. Now the context of this passage Peter is referring to the second coming of Christ.
In verse 9 he says, “God is not slack concerning his promise but his long suffering not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Well, how can I be ready for that glorious day when Jesus comes and what will the second coming of Jesus really be like? We have a book that we would like to give you absolutely free if you would call our resource line we’d be happy to send that out to you. The books is entitled “Anything But Secret”. It is a book written by Pastor Doug Batchelor and if you’d call our resource line 1-800-835-6747. That’s 800-835-6747. Ask for the book “Anything But Secret” talking about the second coming of Christ and we’ll be happy to send that out to you. Well friends we’re going to go to the phone lines now. But just before we do that let’s ask God’s presence to be with us through this program. Dear father once again we ask for your blessing as we study your word. We know that the Bible is your book and in order for us to correctly understand it we need the Holy Spirit to guide our hearts and our minds and we ask a special blessing upon those who are listening wherever they might be. For we ask this in Jesus’ name Amen! Our first caller this evening is Emil and he is calling from Brooklyn, New York. Emil welcome to the program.
Emil: Hello! I have only a few questions referring to when Jesus forgave sins
Pastor John Ross: Yes.
Emil: He told them sin no more. Now when He took away evil spirits from people with the use of that word what was the reason for that? You know?
Pastor John Ross: You know sometimes when it came to healing Jesus would heal someone and he would say, “Your faith has made you whole.” He did not always tell people go and sin no more.” There were some cases where Jesus said that and in those cases the predicament that the people found themselves in to a large degree was the result of some sin that they have been cherishing in their life. Probably the most famous statement where Jesus says, “go and sin no more” was to the woman that had been caught committing adultery and the Jewish leaders had brought her to Jesus in the temple and Jesus knelt down and He began to write with his own finger their in the dust that had gathered and one by one those who had accused her dropped their stones and left until finally it was just Jesus and the woman and then Jesus said, “where are those that accused you?” and she looked around and said, “there are none Lord” then Jesus said neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more.” So, when it came to healing someone of a particular ailment that was a direct result of their sin Jesus would at times say, “go and sin no more” but He didn’t do that every time. Does that help Emil?
Emil: Yeah, But does evil spirits go to anybody?
Pastor John Ross: You know evil spirits can’t enter a person unless in some way that person allows those evil spirits to enter them. In other words, God will not allow evil spirits just to enter anyone otherwise dark list, the devil will try to possess especially those who are putting their confidence and trust in Christ but God won’t allow that. We have to in some way open up our hearts or our minds to the influence of the devil in order to be possessed in order to have an evil spirit.
Emil: Okay. Thank you.
Pastor John Ross: Alright! Well, thank you for your call. Good question. If you’d like to have a question on the air this evening again the number is 800-463-7297 or it’s 1-800-GOD-SAYS. That’s 800-463-7297. Our next caller is Alex and Alex is calling from Chicago. Alex, welcome to the program.
Alex: Hi! Thank you for having me. My question doesn’t pertain to a specific Bible passage but I have more of a personal question as to why is God sometimes… Why is He silent when asking for His help so much? Yeah that’s basically why is He silent?
Pastor John Ross: Why is He silent?
Alex: Why does He not answer me?
Pastor John Ross: Well, you know that’s not a question that I’m sure it’s not just been asked by you. That is a question that probably every Christian at some point in their life has asked depending upon the circumstances and the events that are transpiring in their life. What we need to remember, when we ask God for something and it seems that though God is silent. Really, God is answering us. He is answering us. For example if we are asking God for direction or if we’re asking God to relieve some type of stressful situation or financial crisis that we might find ourselves in, we pray and we ask and it seems so nothing is happening. It seems that God is not asking. What God is telling us to do is to keep trusting and waiting. You know God’s got three answers that He can give. One is yes, the other is no, and the other is wait. And when it seems though God does not answer us He really is answering us and He is asking us to wait. Keep believing, keep praying, keep asking, keep Trusting but wait. Perhaps circumstances have not reached a particular point where God is wanting to act in a certain way. Maybe there’s other individual involve in our request and God is working upon their hearts. The timing might not be just right so if God does not seem to answers you immediately keep asking, keep believing, keep trusting. God will answer. He has promised to answer but He will give us the answer that we need at the right time.
Alex: Alright. Thank you very much.
Pastor John Ross: Thank you for your call. You know Alex that’s a good question. We do have a resource that I think those who are listening will find helpful. Again this is for anyone. It is called “How to Determine God’s will”. Determining the will of God and it deals with this question of sometimes it seems that God is silent. He is not answering in a way that you would want Him to or expect Him to, how can you move forward with that? If you would like this book “Determining God’s Will” you can call us in our resource line. The number again is 800-835-6747. The number is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book “Determining the Will of God” and we’ll be happy to send that out to you and if you have a Bible question the number here to the studio is 800-463-7297. That’s 800-463-7297. Our next caller is Dale and Dale is calling from Canada. Dale welcome to the program.
Dale: It’s about time we finally hooked up.
Pastor John Ross: Alright!
Dale: It took me three months or more to get in here.
Pastor John Ross: I’m glad you finally come through.
Dale: Okay. My question is, how come some denominations don’t believe in healing like we do today? Personally I do. Why I say that? Last June 21st I was hospitalized at stage 4 cancer in my pancreas. A man came in and prayed for me. I had no clue who he was? I talked to my pastor on Sunday morning the day I got out of the hospital, he said it was my guardian angel. I believe He healed me there plus He healed me with my blood clots also because I’m completely healed. Nowhere did he found that there are no cancer. Nowhere.
Pastor John Ross: Well you know what? There’s no doubt just in your own personally experience that God does hear and He does still perform miracles. He does heal and you know I’ve seen many experiences in my own life and in my own ministry where God has healed and most miraculous ways. They have several ways that God can heal. One is dramatically and instantaneously. He does do that, you know we do have cases by God heals immediately. But there were also cases where God will heal over a period of time. He will also utilize the resources that are available, perhaps in medicine and so on but you can clearly see that this is God healing. In some cases a person might be sick and then might require a surgery and we pray and we ask for healing the problem might not disappear immediately and they need to go for surgery but it seems though God is blessing throughout the whole procedure and their recovery time is quick and they’re back on their feet. You know in a short period of time they’re doing well. So there’s evidence of God’s healing but God was working through modern medicine in that process.
Dale: Got the point.
Pastor John Ross: Now, you know the Bible does kind of give us an outline of what we ought to do if we are sick and we’re asking for God’s special healing. Now let me share this. It’s in James 5:13.
Dale: Verses 13, 17 and 18
Pastor John Ross: That’s right. You can only hear it in verse 14 the psalmist says, “If anyone is sick among you let him call for the elders of the church, let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” So there we have a promise. If we are sick we have to call for the elders of the church, let them anoint with oil, praying in the name of the Lord and God will raise them up. Now that is not always mean that raising up is instantaneous.
Dale: No it could be spiritual. It could be physical. It could be anything.
Pastor John Ross: That’s right and in some cases God might see fit to lay that person to rest. The promise is still there that in the resurrection they will be raise up.
Dale: Exactly.
Pastor John Ross: So, we can count on that Word. You know, the beautiful thing about having faith in God whatever the circumstances that we are going through, whatever our sickness might be we can pray and ask God for help and then we can trust ourselves to His goodness. He knows what’s best.
Dale: Yeah. Exactly like…
Pastor John Ross: And He work things out.
Dale: A couple of weeks ago I prayed for this man. He said he had some problem with his heart. I says it doesn’t matter where you stand with Christ, what matters is that you have your personal relationship with Jesus but I’m going to pray for you on either way. I said God in your timetable heal Him and we still have to bind using the name of Jesus Christ by the price of the blood of the Lamb. I do that because I said I don’t want to go and depart. I want my father to be praised at all times.
Pastor John Ross: Absolutely and you know there’s nothing wrong in asking for healing. As a matter of fact the Bible tells us that if we are sick call upon the Lord and He will hear and answer. So we believe that the Bible does encourage that. Alright Dale well thanks for your call. Our next caller is Lamar and he is calling from New York. Lamar welcome to the program. Lamar are you there?
Lamar: Hi. How are you doing?
Pastor John Ross: Good and your question.
Lamar: If he say is very… Does that mean like everything will just be rightfully. Well yeah. Does that mean you still struggle with something like the guy who [inaudible 00:15:36] like a year now. I’m still learning his book.
Pastor John Ross: Okay sure. You know when we give our lives to Christ we can have the assurance. If we confess our sins the Bible says in 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So we can confess our sins and we can believe with all of our heart that we are completely forgiven. But just because we are forgiven that doesn’t necessarily mean that we are now free from temptation. Quite often when a person gives their life to Christ the devil comes against them with even greater fury. He doesn’t want to lose another person. It’s then that we need to learn to cling to Jesus and trust in Him all the time. You know He is able to give us strength to gain the victory over every temptation and by God’s grace we can overcome and yet it is our work to keep trusting and asking and believing and holding onto Him. Now Jesus said in John 15 “I am the vine, you are the branches.” He said, “Whoever abides in me and I in him the same bring forth much fruit” then He said, “without me, you can do nothing.” So if we’re going to gain spiritual victories in our life, the key is abiding in Christ and the way that we abide in Jesus is to continually communicate with Him, spend time in His Word, spend time in prayer, spend time fellowshipping with other believers, allow our faith to grow and as we cling to Jesus and abide in Jesus, He is able to work within us to give us the victory.
Lamar: Okay. Thank you. I need that.
Pastor John Ross: Now remember Lamar if we stumble and fall on the way which we all do don’t get discouraged. Well, you know the devil. He will temp us to sin and then when we do sin, he will say, “You know you’ve gone too far. God won’t accept you back.” But even if we stumble and fall the Bible says, “We have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the righteous so we can always turn back to Christ.
Lamar: Yeah. I got it because I won’t like because I was feeling like false guilt after guilty for some and something in my, I feel guilty like even when I’m tempted as to but not really sin. Jesus got tempted. He didn’t do it. He was tempted to do but He didn’t get tempted.
Pastor John Ross: That’s right and there is no sin in being tempted. The sin is giving into that temptation. So that when that temptation comes what you need to do is run to Jesus and say, “Lord I need your help. I can’t do it. You’ve got to give me the victory.” and as we learn to do that and trust in Christ He will bring us forth as conquerors.
Lamar: Yeah. Thank you. I needed that.
Pastor John Ross: Well, thank you for your call Lamar. It is good news. Jesus is able to keep us from falling. We have Leon who is calling from New Jersey. Leone welcome to the program.
Leone: Yes. Yes, I’m calling because I just want to know more about palm readers and you know I feel like maybe there is like very bad thing you know but I just you know wanted to get going for on that.
Pastor John Ross: Well you know the art of palm reading goes back many, many centuries. We find this origin back in the Babylonian system. It was part of fortune telling. There were several ways that people could do it one of which is to examine tea leaves. Another way was to examine aligning of the kidneys of a particular sacrificial animal. Another was to examine the lines on the palm on the hand and that’s all really part of fortune-telling.
Leone: Okay.
Pastor John Ross: The Bible tells us to put our confidence in Christ. To trust in Him.
Leone: Okay.
Pastor John Ross: He is really the only one that can foretell the future. His word reveals to us what the future has in store for the world and you know we have the wonderful promise that if we put our confidence in Christ our future will ultimately end in the glorious coming of Jesus and we will get to spend the rest of eternity with Him. So, you know for a Christian to dwell with fortune tellers to get involve in that type of speculative guessing of the future really that’s not something that Christian should be involved in.
Leone: And if that’s not you do get involved in and what could you do to clean your life up because you know sometime I feel very confused and feel like very, you know like that I’m not on track. What can I do to get back on track?
Pastor John Ross: Well you know, whatever it is that we might have done in the past we can claim that promise of 1 John 1:9, “that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So whatever it is we can come to the Lord and say, “Lord I am sorry for what I did.” You know the word repentance means to turn. So we’ve been going a certain way. We are convicted that we are going in the wrong direction or we’ve done something that is not pleasing to God then we need to change direction. So we do that by coming to the Lord sincerely and saying, “please Lord forgive me” and then reach out by faith and grasp a hold of the promises of God that has given in His word. He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” He said, “If we confess our sins He will forgive us” and then we need to move forward in faith. Start spending time in His word. Spend time in prayer. Start fellowshipping with others that love the Lord and our faith will begin to grow. So believe that promise. You know sometimes the devil will come and remind us of all of the wrong things we’ve done in the past, things that we’ve already confessed and ask God to forgive us of and then you need to turn around to tell the devil, “We’ve already dealt with that. I’ve already given that to the Lord. Get behind me Satan.” and we move forward in faith.
Leone: Basically never, never, never go around into those places. Never because it’s no good.
Pastor John Ross: It’s no good. Stay away from it. Stay away from that. The Christian should have nothing to do with those types of practices.
Leone: Okay. Okay. Alright. Thank you and that was great for me.
Pastor John Ross: Well thanks for you call Leone, we appreciate it. Again if you’d like to get a question on the air the number is 800-463-7297. It’s 800-GOD-SAYS 463-7297. We have Tony who is listening in Stephen Island. Tony welcome to the program.
Tony: Yes. Hi! How are you?
Pastor John Ross: Good thanks and your question this evening?
Tony: I have some question in regards to the wall [inaudible 00:22:21]
Pastor John Ross: Yes.
Tony: [inaudible 00:22:23] before the reformation.
Pastor John Ross: Tony, try and hold the phone little closer to your mouth.
Tony: Okay I’m sorry is that better?
Pastor John Ross: That’s better yes.
Tony: okay. My first question is were there any Waldenses in the northern part of Spain? And also my second question is, is there any factual evidence that they were seventh-day Sabbath keepers? That’s something…
Pastor John Ross: Alright. Yeah for the first part of the question where were the Waldensians located? They might be some that travelled from this particular location to various part of Europe but sort of the headquarters if you like was in the mountains of northern Italy in the Waldensen mountains. I have actually had the opportunity to drive out through the Waldensen mountains and the valleys over there and actually have seen some of the left over ruins of the Waldensens. They were in northern Italy and from there they spread out across the Roman Empire and took portions of the scripture to various places. Oh what’s the second part?
Tony: The second part was there any factual evidence that they were Seventh Day Sabbath keepers?
Pastor John Ross: You know they were. For at least the majority of their time they were Sabbath keepers. When the reformation began to take place in Europe a number of the Waldensens began to side with the reformation and eventually merged into the reformation that was beginning to take place in Europe. But during the time of severe persecutions sometimes referred to as the Dark Ages the Waldensens were faithful to the word of God. They kept all of the commandments including the fourth that say remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.
Tony: Thank you.
Pastor John Ross: Good question. Thank you, Tony. Appreciate your call. Our next caller is Rodney and he is listening from Queens, New York. Rodney, welcome to the program.
Rodney: Hi! How are you?
Pastor John Ross: Good. Thank you.
Rodney: God Bless you all.
Pastor John Ross: Thank you and your question.
Rodney: My question is a devout Christian. I dedicated my life holy to the Lord fully and as soon as I did that things like I’m going through calamity after one calamity have my girlfriend sick, I’ve lost my house, my job is in jeopardy, I got harassed by the police, everything just going on. I wonder if it is a time of testing from God or it’s just the devil just trying to [Inaudible 00:24:56] everything.
Pastor John Ross: Well you know there is a time of testing when our faith is tried but remember the devil is not happy whenever a person gives their life to Christ. He’s going to try and discourage them in any way that he can, you know and so don’t be surprised. I tell people this all the time people that have just become Christians and given their life to Christ. I say, “Don’t be surprised when the devil comes with the trials and temptations and hardships. He’s not happy, you know if everything was going great and we didn’t have any trials or any tribulations then we might want to wonder, “Well is my relationship with Christ the way it should be. Why is the devil upset?” So when trials come don’t get discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Whatever our trial is, whatever our tribulation is that we are going through, take it to the Lord in prayer ask Him for wisdom and guidance, leave it at his feet, keep trusting in Him. You know He’s given that promise that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. We might not be able to see it now but we believe and trust that God loves us and that He is leading us in His life.
Rodney: Well, thank you Sir.
Pastor John Ross: You know I also want to recommend Rodney. I think you’ll find this book very helpful “Determining the Will of God”. Again if you’d call our resource line we’d be happy to send that to you. The number is 800-835-6747. Again that’s 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book “Determining the will of God” and we will be happy to send that out to you. The number here to the studio is 800-463-7297. That’s 800-463-7297. We have Robert who is calling from California. Robert, welcome to the program.
Robert: Hi. Thank you.
Pastor John Ross: Hi!
Robert: My question would be I don’t know what apostle Paul is that he said that when such a one is sinning and turned over his body to devil and so their soul maybe saved or something what is that all about? What’s Paul talking about there?
Pastor John Ross: Give me a little more information on the passage that you’re thinking of.
Robert: Well it’s the one where Paul said something that such one should be turn over to the devil or Satan or something like that, you know? Does it ring a bell?
Pastor John Ross: You know I’m thinking. Let me see if I might be able to find something here that might have that. There is a passage where Paul is speaking to the church and he is referring to unbelievers in the church or discipline that’s needed on a particular person in the church, who is living in open sin, you will go to them and confront them and talk to them about the sin but if they stubbornly refuse then there is a point in time where you need to remove them from church fellowship and that’s probably the passage that you referring to.
Robert: Well that brings interesting point because there’s a…
Pastor John Ross: Let me see. I think we might have loss Robert there. Robert are you there? You know Robert I’m sorry we got disconnected there for a moment but be back. Could you repeat what you were saying? I missed part of that.
Robert: My question then leads me to what you just said we have some people that a couple of males that go to our Bible study that are a gay and in that study I thought I should bring it up maybe to repent of their sins do you think that’s appropriate action during the study?
Pastor John Ross: Well you know there at some point in time you need to lovingly and tactfully point out to them what God’s word says and encourage them to turn over to the Lord and allow the Lord to work in their life. You know Robert we are coming up in a break. We’re not going to be gone for good. We’re just taking a short break and we’ll be right back.
Don’t go away. There’s more Bible Answers Live in just a moment. Don’t forget to tune in to Pastor Doug Batchelor’s weekly television broadcast “Amazing Facts Presents” which is aired on major networks including ABC family, The Word Network, Discovery Channel and Super Station WGN. Check your local listings or contact us to find out when and on what channel the programs will be aired. Are you in need of additional Bible-based materials for further study? Consider Amazing Facts’ free correspondence Bible study course or our sale catalogue featuring hundreds of inspiring books and tapes. To order call our resource line at 800-835-6747. That’s 800-835-6747. Don’t forget friends that Amazing Facts is a faith-based listeners-supported ministry operating only by God’s blessing through your prayers and financial gifts. We’d love to hear from you. Write to us at P.O. Box 909 Roseville, California 95678 or online at AmazingFacts.org.
Welcome back to Bible Answers Live with Pastor Doug Batchelor. This broadcast is pre recorded. If you have a Bible-related question you can call us from 7-8 pm Pacific Standard Time on Sundays and receive clear, honest answers directly from scripture. Call 800-GOD-SAYS. That’s 800-463-7297. Now, please join us as we look to God’s word for more Bible Answers Live with author and evangelist Pastor Doug Batchelor.
Pastor John Ross: Hello friends, you are back. This is Bible Answers Live. My name is John Ross. Pastor Doug Batchelor is out this evening. We have a half an hour of Bible questions in store this evening. We’d love to hear from you. If you have a Bible question the number to call is 800-463-7297. That’s the line directly to the studio it’s 800-463-7297 or 800-GOD-SAYS. 800-GOD-SAYS. If you would like to call for our free resource this evening a book written by Pastor Doug Batchelor entitled “Anything But Secret” give us a call on our resource line. That number is 800-835-6747. Again the resource line is 800-835-6747. We’re going to go back to the phone lines. We have Stew who is listening from Detroit, Michigan. Stew, welcome to the program.
Stew: Hello!
Pastor John Ross: Good Evening!
Stew: I’ve got a question about what is at the end of 3 of that Paulean Epistle.
Pastor John Ross: Yes.
Stew: At the end of his letter he says, “The people went through greet each other with the holy kiss” and I’d like to know what that means?
Pastor John Ross: Okay. Good question. To greet with a Holy kiss was a form of greeting, showing friendship and showing brotherly love, brotherly concern. The greeting with the kiss was a custom, a tradition that is still followed today in the Middle East where you probably seen it where two people sort of touch cheeks on the one side, kind of kiss into the air and then do it on the other side, kind of back and forth. That’s kind of the tradition that is being carried over and it was a form of greeting. A form of friendship, a form of acceptance that was very prevalent back in those days. You might want to follow a tradition in North America of greeting someone with haughty hand shake. That would probably carry over the same connotation as it did in that culture greeting with a holy kiss. Does that make sense?
Stew: Very good. What part of the body was kissing those days?
Pastor John Ross: Well, really what it was is it wasn’t anyone who is actually kissing somebody on the lips or even on the cheek but it was more kind of as what you see in the Middle East today where people will embrace and sort of almost kissing into the air but it’s a form of greeting that’s done. So, it wasn’t a romantic kiss by any means. It was just a respectful form of greeting.
Stew: Oh I understand. I hope not.
Pastor John Ross: It was a custom a tradition that they follow.
Stew: For today’s culture has a different meaning of the k-i-s-s than that was meant in the biblical time.
Pastor John Ross: That’s right. That’s right. That’s right. It’s a little different today. Alright thank you for your call Stew. You bring up a good comment, a good question there. Our next caller is Yvette and she is calling from Takomo Park, Maryland, Yvette, welcome to the program.
Yvette: Hi!
Pastor John Ross: Hi!
Yvette: Hi! My question is how does one know the will of God for your life and purpose and also how do you know that God is guiding you?
Pastor John Ross: Okay.Good question. First of all, let’s start with the last part of your question and then we can work our way back with how do we know if God is guiding us? Well, first of all we need to ask some basic questions. Number 1 is am I living up to all of the light or the truth that I’ve been given? Is there known beauty in my life that I am neglecting? Is there something that God would have me do that I’m not doing. If by God’s grace we are doing everything that we can do to live a life that’s in harmony with His will then we can be in a position where God can guide us and God can lead us. If we need to make a particular decision and we want God’s special guidance in that decision we want to search to make sure that the principles of scripture are applied in that case. We don’t want to be violating any of the principles of scripture but then it’s also wise for us to seek council from other godly men and women. Ask them what do they think? What advice can they give you and then spend time in prayer. You want to have peace to know that the decision your making is indeed the way God would want you to go and that there is appropriate time for even fasting and prayer, seeking God’s guidance so that you make the right decision.
Yvette: Okay.
Pastor John Ross: You know I think you’d also enjoy the book that we're offering this evening it’s called “Determining God’s Will”. It goes through this principles and then sort of builds on them and gives additional scriptures. So if you’d call our resource line it’s 800-835-6747 and ask for the book “Determining God’s Will” and we’ll be happy to send that to you. Again, Yvette the number is 800-835-6747. The book is “Determining God’s Will”. If you’d like to get a question in this evening the number to call is 800-463-7297. That’s 800-463-7297 and we will try to get your question on the air. Our next caller is John and he is listening from Michigan. John, welcome to the program.
John: Thank you
Pastor John Ross: And you question this evening.
John: Yes. My question is the Lord promises never to forsake us or abandoned us?
Pastor John Ross: Yes.
John: So, why did Jesus in His last breath say “Lord why have you forsaken me?”
Pastor John Ross: Alright! Well the reason we have the promise that God will never leave us nor forsake us is really because of what Jesus went through in bearing our sins and dying in our place. Christ was forsaken because of our sins so that we will never be forsaken. You see Jesus beginning in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus took upon himself the sins of all of the world. The Bible tells us that sins separate us from God. Jesus bore the guilt of every sin that has ever been committed and at will ever be committed until Jesus comes and He paid the penalty. He died in our place. He was separated from the father because of our sins but by faith in Christ’ sacrifice we can receive forgiveness and we need never be forsaken of God.
John: Alright. That answers my question. Thank you very much.
Pastor John Ross: Alright, good question. Thank you John. Let’s see our next caller that we have is Marjorie, and she is calling from Detroit. Marjorie, welcome to the program.
Marjorie: Hi! Good evening.
Pastor John Ross: Good evening.
Marjorie: I just have question about recurring dreams about somebody in my past and I have look [inaudible 00:37:26] the Bible to see what to do about it, how to go about it but is there any choice that just addresses that or not?
Pastor John Ross: Well, you know the Bible does speak of dreams and dreams can come from various sources. The most common source for dreams is just the brain sort of filing the events of the day, a certain events that might have impacted you emotionally or mentally in some way. It’s not uncommon to dream about that. Even some events from the past that have impacted your life people have dreams based on that events or maybe have dreams with reference to certain individuals that influence them in one way or another. So, that’s the most common source of dreams. I believe that it’s possible that the devil at times can try and create a dream that brings a certain amount of fear to the heart. He can lay something heavy upon the mind, he can remove sleep from an individual or remove their peace. The other source of dreams with then be from God. There are times and we have examples in scripture where God gives dreams. Probably one of the most well known is the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 2. So, those are the various sources of dreams. What we need to do is, if we have a dream first of all we want to submit it to the teachings of scripture. The Bible says to the law and to the prophets if they speak not according to this there is no light in them. If so if we are having a dream that’s contradicting scripture. For example if we are dreaming that some departed love one is coming to us and giving us some message we need to look at that and say, “well does that harmonized with the teaching of the Bible?’ The Bible says the dead know not anything. So, you know we can probably, we can figure out where the source of that dream is very quickly. But if the dream is in harmony with the scripture and you know the principles in the Bible and maybe it’s something re occurring perhaps it’s a matter that we need to spend some time in prayer with saying, “Lord are you guiding me in this case? Are you trying to lead me somewhere?” It’s also a good idea to speak to God-fearing men and women and say, “you know this is a dream that I’ve been having over and over again. What do you think? Could this be God guiding me? It seems to be in harmony with all of the principles of scripture” and there is nothing wrong in seeking godly advice.
Marjorie: Okay.
Pastor John Ross: Alright!
Marjorie: Thank you.
Pastor John Ross: You’re welcome. Thank you for your call. We have Cathy who is listening in Sacramento, California. Cathy, welcome to the program.
Cathy: Hi! Thank you.
Pastor John Ross: Hi and you’re question.
Cathy: I’m calling right now I’m struggling through a divorce that I did not want. I’ve finally reached some keys with it but one of my struggle is does this mean one time divorce that I’m to be alone the rest of my life and never remarry as the opportunity arose?
Pastor John Ross: You know not necessarily. There are different principles given in scripture for divorce. The most common is if there is infidelity in the marriage, if there is adultery in the marriage, that does free one of the spouses to remarry that is a reason for divorce. So, you know it would vary from time to time. There are cases where people remain single for a period of time. It’s good for the healing process. They can learn to trust in God. They can learn to believe in God. The other person that divorce them eventually goes their own way they end up marrying or having a relationship they have in essence broken the marriage vow. That would then, the remaining spouse would then be free to remarry. So, every case is just a little bit different but that’s the biblical principle.
Cathy: Okay. I appreciate that. You’ve got a wonderful show. Keep it up. Thank you very much.
Pastor John Ross: Thank you I appreciate your call. Next caller is Andy and he is calling from Clovers, California. Andy, welcome to the program.
Andy: Hi! Thank you for putting my call. Quite of about heaven.
Pastor John Ross: Yes.
Andy: My mom went to be with the Lord in heaven about a year ago and I just wondered she remember her kids, me her son and my sisters still here on earth while she’s up there or is it only when we get to heaven ourselves?
Pastor John Ross: Well you know that’s a good question. Exactly a deep study that you bring up. There’s a lot of folks that wonder what happens when a person dies. Do they go straight to heaven? Do they go you know if they’re bad do they go straight to Hell? What does the Bible teach in that? You know if you look in the New Testament the Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 that we ought to comfort each other when we’ve lost our love one with the assurance of the promise of the resurrection. So, the hope of the Christian, what brings comfort to the Christian isn’t whether or not you know our loved one is in heaven or in hell but our comfort is the promise that one day when Jesus comes the dead in Christ shall be resurrected and we shall meet them in the air and we shall forever be with the Lord. You know to the person who dies, the Bible speaks of death being as a sleep. If you’ve work hard all day and you close your eyes at night the very next thing you know your alarm clock rings and it’s time for you to get up and go and a person that closes their eyes in death their very next conscious forward is that day with the Lord at the second coming. Second coming is that glorious alarm clock that rings and awakens the dead from their slumber or sleep and there with Jesus. The good news then is that those who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord according to 1 Thessalonians 4 they get caught up to meet the Lord in the air and thus we shall ever be with the Lord. So, what I would say to you based upon scripture is put your confidence in the fact that when Jesus comes there’ll be a glorious reunion that will take place. That’s when you will meet your mother. You know those who have died it’s comforting to know that they don’t see or they can’t experience the pain that might continue after their death.
Andy: Okay.
Pastor John Ross: Heaven wouldn’t be a place of joy if dead loved ones are looking down and they see the agony and the sorrow, the hardship.
Andy: Yeah.
Pastor John Ross: That their loved ones need to go through. The Bible tells us the very next thing they will know is the resurrection. They’ll be resurrected and that Jesus will be coming.
Andy: Well that then they will recognize us when they start to go up?
Pastor John Ross: They will recognize us in the resurrection, we will recognize them.
Andy: by the time we are here on earth, we recognize her and grieve that she’s forgot about this sort of.
Pastor John Ross: Well she’s unconscious to us. She doesn’t know the pain and the sorrow that we might be going through. Again the Bible likens death to a sleep and a sleep is described as a restful…
Andy: Okay.
Pastor John Ross: Peaceful state where it’s not, we’re not conscious of what’s going on around us and dead loved ones are at rest they’re in the hands of Jesus waiting for the resurrection.
Andy: And they know they’re in heaven. They know it’s a beautiful place. They know what has happened that they’ve passed on from death to life.
Pastor John Ross: Well when they die, the very next conscious thought that they’ll have is the second coming of Jesus. They don’t even realize that 10, 15 a 100 or 150 years is transpired. It’s they close their eyes in death and then the very next instant their eyes are opened and they see Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven. They really don’t know that time has elapsed.
Andy: Oh I see.
Pastor John Ross: Time stands still from the point of death until the resurrection, Time stands still for that individual.
Andy: Okay. I got it clearly. Then we’ll know each other but in the mean time we’re still thinking that how they would recognize us all of a sudden if we’re here on earth and they’re up there in heaven and may they still know the moment we get there, “Oh there’s my son.”
Pastor John Ross: Yup in the resurrection they’re going to recognize us and I think the angels are going to have a work in connecting all of us back together. You know directing family members and those resurrected with those living and connecting all of these families and friends together. That’s going to be what happens at the resurrection. That’s the great reunion day.
Andy: In paradise or like in…
Pastor John Ross: In the air 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 it says, “the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with the shout with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the air to meet the Lord” and so as we are caught up to meet Jesus at the second coming of Christ the grace are opened the dead are resurrected and we meet together in the air and we meet Jesus.
Andy: Wow.
Pastor John Ross: And then together we all go to heaven.
Andy: Wow. Sounds good.
Pastor John Ross: I tell you it’s good news. It’s good news that the Bible has.
Andy: And she accepted the Lord in her heart to date she was 92 yeah and I tell you she did to pray Jesus, “come in to my heart” that was like her last words, like she prayed before but her last three days finally she’s got her prayer, correct?
Pastor John Ross: God hears the prayer. You know God knows the heart of people. We can take courage to know that God’s in the business of trying to get as many people in to the kingdom as he can. Not try to keep people out of the kingdom.
Andy: Thank you for your questioning and answering
Pastor John Ross: You’re welcome. Thank you for your call. By the way let me just mention if you would call our resource line 1-800-835-6747 you can ask for the study guide called “Are the Dead Really dead?” and it deals with the subject of death. What happens when somebody dies and talks about the resurrection and the glorious reunion that takes place when Jesus comes? We also have a website that I think you would find interesting it is simply TruthAboutDeath.com. It’s www.TruthAboutDeath.com. You’ll be able to do a Bible study right there online and see a lot of passages of scripture dealing with the subject of what happens when a person dies.
Andy: Yes. Thank you.
Pastor John Ross: Thank you again Andy for your call. Let’s see our next caller is Dennis and he is calling from Kansas City. Dennis, welcome to the program.
Dennis: Hello, How are you?
Pastor John Ross: Very well.
Dennis: I was just calling about Ezekiel 28:14 where God is talking to Satan there to in the holy mountain. God and he in, And he said he’s walking among in the midst of the stones of fire and there I haven’t been able to find out what these stones of fire are?
Pastor John Ross: Alright that was a good question. Let me read the passage Ezekiel 28:14. It says, “You were the anointed cherub who covers. I established you. You’re on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of the fiery stones. You were perfect in all of your ways from the day that you were created until inequity was found in you. Well, a clue as to what does it mean when refers to the fiery stones is the first part of verse 14. It says, “You were the anointed cherub that covers.” You know God told Moses to build a sanctuary and to build it according to the one that was shown him in heaven and in the earthly sanctuary the most holy place there was the arc of the covenant in which was place the Ten Commandments. There was lit called the mercy seat and then there were two angels made of gold and their wings were outstretched. Those angels were called covering cherubs and there was this fiery presence, the Shekinah Glory which was the visible presence of God that was revealed on the mercy seat. So, here you have Lucifer prior to his fall before he became Satan. He was one of those covering cherubs. He sits in the very presence of God and there was this fiery presence, this glory that was seen in the earthly that was also in the heavenly and here it’s described almost as fiery stones. It could refer to being in the very presence of God. Being in the presence of that glorious that fire.
Dennis: Well and then if you could answer one more. I was wondering about one in Ezekiel 38 where it talks about the army from the north. I don’t know whether it’s Magog or whether Rush is considered somehow a country but I don’t know. When we consider the country from a far north I mean.
Pastor John Ross: Sure! You know it…
Dennis: The Bible saying…
Pastor John Ross: You know we find that same imagery Gog and Magog probably a little more familiar is in Revelation chapter 20 where it speaks about Gog and Magog gather together to do battle against God. The phrase God and Magog refers to the enemies of God. So, in Ezekiel where it talks about Gog literally Israel had enemies and God delivered them from their enemies. Gog and Magog represents all of the enemies of God. All of the enemies of God and his people coming up against God and when you read about that in Revelation it’s talking about the final showdown the battle of Armageddon where Christ is victorious over his enemies.
Dennis: But do you know what the actual name was really country. It was not Rush. I mean it didn’t say Rush but do you know what the name of the…
Pastor John Ross: You know the name Gog is a little more inclusive than just a specific place. It’s not exclusively to anyone particular group of people rather it’s representative of the enemies of God’s people. Irrespective of what country they might be a part of if they’re part of the enemies of God’s people they fall into their term of Gog and Magog.
Dennis: Would Rush be another name?
Pastor John Ross: You know I’m not sure on Rush Gog and Magog comes from the Hebrews which is those opposed to God, those who are lead by the enemy of God, those who’ve united with the enemy of God.
Dennis: Yeah. Okay. Well thank you.
Pastor John Ross: Good question. Thank you for calling Dennis. We have got Neil who is calling from Brooklyn, New York. Neil, welcome to the program.
Neil: Yes. Hello Sir. My question is don’t you have to repent in order to be saved and when do you know that you have repented?
Pastor John Ross: Okay. Repentance does precede salvation. The Bible says repent and be baptized. In order to repent means that we need to confess our sins to God 1 john 1:9 “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us.” So part of the process of repenting is confessing. Also part of the process of repentance is acknowledging that without God we can do nothing. So, it is confessing our sins but it’s also reaching out by faith and grasping a hold of God’s power and claiming God’s promises. When we claim God’s promises we then ought to apply those promises to our life and by God’s grace make the changes that are necessary in order to bring us back into harmony with God’s will.
Neil: Okay.
Pastor John Ross: The word repentance in its biblical form literally means a u-turn. It means turning around. It means changing direction.
Neil: Right. Right. The problem is I’ve done that many years now and I know positively that I committed myself to the Lord but from time to time I struggle with sin every now and then and possible back to John 1:9 after that sometimes it’s just that I don’t feel like I’m saved if you know what I mean.
Pastor John Ross: Alright! You know sometimes we do feel saved, sometimes we don’t feel save. That doesn’t mean that God has abandoned us. Feelings come and feelings go. The Bible says we ought to walk by faith and not by sight. It’s at those times when we don’t feel necessarily the presence of God. That’s when we need to exercise our faith even more and put our confidence in the promises of God. Repentance is not something that happens just once in our life but repentance is sort of an ongoing process. As we grow close and close to Jesus, we will begin to see more and more of our need of Jesus and we’ll feel less and less confident in our own ability and we’ll learn to trust in Christ more and more. So, when we stumble and fall turn right around and go back to Jesus plead with Him for strength and help, believe His promise and He’ll give us the victory.
Neil: Okay. We need this sanctification process to strengthen us
Pastor John Ross: That’s right. Sanctification is growing more and more like Jesus and that takes time.
Neil: And being set part on God’s holy use.
Pastor John Ross: That’s right.
Neil: Okay. I appreciate that very, very much. I enjoy your show.
Pastor John Ross: Okay good call. Well thank you Neil. Our next caller is Roy and he is calling from California. Roy welcome to the program.
Roy: Yes. Thank you for taking my call.
Pastor John Ross: Sure.
Roy: When the Bible speaks about the image of the beast is it talking about an entity, a nation or what is it?
Pastor John Ross: Okay. Well first of all when we’re talking about beasts in the Bible and were talking about prophetic passages of scripture the Bible tells us that a beast represents a king or a kingdom. It represents a nation of for example Daniel 7:23 it says, “The fourth beasts shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth.” So a beast represents a kingdom. The image to the beasts is something that is created at the end of time that follows the same teachings and beliefs that are propagated by the beast’ power. So, at the end of time you have two beasts in Revelation chapter 13. The first beasts which is a kingdom which is a combination of church and state. It’s sort of a political institution but has taken on religious connotations and image to that beast is another kingdom forming the same type of church and state alliance and eventually forcing all of the world to follow that first beasts. That’s what that image of the beasts is.
Roy: Will the Christian people be here for that or…
Pastor John Ross: Well you know that will be a test for the Christians who we’re going to choose. Are we going to be faithful to God or are we going to follow the traditions of men. Yes, Christians will be here but just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, those who are true in heart will stay faithful to God and will refuse to worship the image.
Roy: Amen.
Pastor John Ross: You know we have a study guide that we could send out to you Roy on this subject if you’d call our resource line ask for the study guide… There’s actually two. You might want to ask both. The one is “The mark of the beasts”. The other is “The U.S. in Bible Prophecy”. “The Mark of the Beasts” or “The U.S. in Bible Prophecy”. The number to call is 800-835-6747. Ask for those two study guides and you’ll be able to learn more about the beast and about his image. Well, friends you hear the music playing there in the background. We have run out of time for this edition of Bible Answers Live. Thank you for your calls. If we weren’t able to get to your call please give us another chance. Give us a call next week and we’ll try to get your question on the air. Again remember this program is on the air because of your prayers and your financial support and we’d love to hear from you. Go to Amazing Facts.com. That’s simply www.AmazingFacts.org and you’ll be able to find resources there. There is a link that you can click on, that says contact us. You can even give us your prayer request or Bible questions. Until next time. God Bless!
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