Blind will see at Christ's Coming

[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]

Pastor Jëan Ross: Hello friends, this is Pastor Jëan Ross. Pastor Doug Batchelor is out this evening. If you have a Bible-related question, we would love to hear from you. The number here to the studio is 800-GOD-SAYS, that’s 800-463-7297. That number again is 800-463-7297. Phone lines are now open, so this would be a good time for you to pick up your phone and give us a call. Daniel Kitsch had both of his eyes removed due to cancer at the age of 13 months. Yet he can ride a bicycle on a congested city street, cook gourmet meals, lead hikers in the mountain and safely navigate new locations, all by utilizing sound waves. By clicking his tongue, he creates sound waves which travel at the speed of more than a thousand feet per second. These sound waves bounce off all of the objects around him and return to his ears in the form of slight echoes.

Daniel has trained himself to hear these echoes and to interpret their meaning. He has given his own name to his technique, which he refers to as Flash Sonar, but the scientific name is Echo Location. This technique allows Daniel to decipher information that on the surface would appear impossible for a blind person. He is so incredibly precise that he can tell the distance between two trees on a lawn, or how far away from a kerb a car might be parked. Daniel is not the first blind person to use this technique, but he's the first to document it, break it down into all of its parts and to develop a method for teaching it to others. He runs a non-profit organization that trains other blind people to utilize Echo Location to interpret their environment.

Did you know friends that the Bible predicts that one day, all of the blind will see. The Prophet Isaiah wrote, "Behold your God will come. He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped." When will this verse be fulfilled? At the Second Coming of Jesus. Friends, perhaps you'd like to learn more about the Second Coming of Jesus. How can I prepare for that very important event? Are there signs in the world around us telling us when Jesus will come? We have a book that we'd like to send you absolutely for free, that talks about the Second Coming of Christ. It is entitled "Anything but Secret" and to receive that book, just give us a call on our resource line. The number is 800-835-6747. That number again is 800-835-6747 and you can ask for the book "Anything but Secret," and we'd be happy to send that out to you. If you have a Bible question, the number to call here to the studio is 800-463-7297. We're going to go to the phone lines. Our first caller this evening is Rose and she's listening in Florida. Rose, welcome to the program.

Rose: Hi, how are you?

Pastor Jëan Ross: Well.

Rose: Good. This is my first time calling. I read the Bible often and I see things that I don’t quite understand.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.

Rose: In Leviticus 22:11, it says that you should not wear a garment with woolen and linen together, and then I see it again in Leviticus 19:19 and I wonder if you can give me an answer as to why is that forbidden.

Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s a good question. First of all there are some practical reasons why this counsel is given. If you use different materials to make clothing, when they are washed or the way they wear, it's different. If you try and combine the wool and for example linen, especially back in those days when they didn't have the technology that’s available today, the material could come apart, so there were practical reasons for that. There was also an application that Jesus wanted to make, God wanted to make, that the children of Israel were to be different from the nations around them. That also included the way they dressed as well as their culture, and I think that principle is still true today. As Christians, we should look differently from the world. We should behave differently from the world. That’s really the principle behind that verse. Not saying that it's wrong to wear clothes today of different fabrics, but the fashions of Christians should be different from the fashions of the world.

Rose: I see, thank you very much.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Good question. Thanks for calling Rose. If you have a Bible question, the number here to the studio is 800-463-7297. We've got Darrell who is calling from Florida. Darrell, welcome to the program.

Darrell: Hi Pastor Jëan Ross Ross. My question has to do with Hebrews 1:2. I was speaking with a friend of mine and telling him that somebody had called in and asked about there’s life on other planets somewhere in the universe and Pastor Doug had brought out Hebrews 1:2, where near the end of the verse it says, "By Him also he made the world" and my friend pointed out that that word world in the Greek is aeon or eon and it means ages. I was confused because I looked up other interpretations and a lot of them use world, so I was just wondering what was going on there.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Good question. In the original, there are probably different applications to the word but if you go back, one of the applications that you can definitely apply is the word world. That’s why you have a number of Bible translations that put it there as worlds in the plural form. In other words, the point being made in Hebrews 1:2 is that God through Christ created more than just planet Earth there were these worlds. We also get this idea introduced in the Book of Joel, where you read about Satan who appears in Heaven and he comes from Earth and it says that there were these other sons of God that were there, evidently representatives from these other worlds that God had created. Satan came as representative of planet Earth, and God said, “Have you considered my servant Joel?” and then you have the whole discussion and you know the rest of the story, the experiences that Joel went through. You have this verse in Hebrews 1:2 that speaks about Christ creating the worlds and then you have other references in scripture that gives the idea that we're not alone in the universe. There are other beings on these other created worlds. You can also read over in Revelation, Chapter 4 that describes God's throne room and talks about 24 elders surrounding his throne, talks about other beings in Heaven. These could also very likely be representatives from these other worlds.

Darrell: That Greek word aeon or eon that gives the definition ages, how do you explain that?

Pastor Jëan Ross: The word in the original Greek aeonos is probably the closer pronunciation for that. It refers not only to ages but also can refer to various creations. It's also used or translated in Second Corinthians Chapter 5 Verse 17 as a new creation, that same word. It's translated different ways, depending upon the context that it's referred to. Does that make sense?

Darrell: Yes it does.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for your call, appreciate it Darrell. If you have a Bible question, we'd love to hear from you. The number is 800-463-7297. The acronym is 800-GOD-SAYS, 463-7297. We have Missy who is listening in New York. Missy, welcome to the program.

Missy: Hello?

Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi Missy, you’re on the air.

Missy: Thank you. My question is, my husband I are separated because he has an affair with a woman on the job and I believe that there is a child involved with him and the woman. I have children also and I want to know, is it okay for me to pray that me and my husband get back together and that the other woman is completely gone from his life?

Pastor Jëan Ross: I think if you look at the Biblical premise for marriage-

Missy: Is it Biblical for me to do that?

Pastor Jëan Ross: Sure, absolutely. God intended for marriage to last forever. He wanted a husband and wife to be committed for as long as they live, as long as life lasts for them. Things happen in your case there was adultery involved. Ideally, if it's in your heart to repair that relationship, to bring that marriage back together, that would probably be the ideal. Pray about it, ask the Lord to move upon His heart, ask the Lord to move upon your heart that there will be genuine forgiveness. But he also needs to be willing to make changes and make commitment to you and do what he can to restore the marriage as well. It takes both individuals in order to put that marriage back together again. Go right ahead, absolutely. Pray that the Lord would move upon his heart and lead him into the realization of what he's done and a willingness to make those changes.

Missy: Thank you, thank you.

Pastor Jëan Ross: You know we have a book dealing with the subject of marriage, divorce and remarriage that I think you'd find rather interesting. If you would go to the Amazing Facts website, it's just www.amazingfacts.org and you can read the book online for free. It's entitled "Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage" and it'll give you a whole lot of scripture and various points that I think you'd find helpful. Thanks for your call Missy. If you have a Bible question, the number is 800-463-7297. Carla is listening from New York. Carla, welcome to the program.

Carla: Hi Pastor Doug, how are you?

Pastor Jëan Ross: Doing well, this is Pastor Ross. Pastor Doug is out this evening.

Carla: Oh sorry.

Pastor Jëan Ross: No problem. Your question tonight.

Carla: My question is on Matthew 13:38. We had a Bible study group and I just wanted to see if I was understanding this correctly. It says that the field is the world and the good seed represents the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. I had thought that belong to the evil one meant that God has his people and Satan has his people that belongs to him, like where they're put amongst us, where it comes with the weeds and the tears. You explain it to me and then I'll know if I-

Pastor Jëan Ross: Let me share with you, you’re looking at Matthew 13:38. Let me read it for those who are listening. Jesus is explaining a parable and the parable is about a certain sower who went and sowed seed on his field. At night, the enemy came and sowed weeds amongst the wheat, so when the wheat began to grow the weeds appeared with the wheat, and the servants of the farmer came and said, "Do you want us to go and tear up all of the weeds?" He said, "No, let them grow together until the harvest. At the time of the harvest, we'll send in the reapers and they will separate at that point the wheat from the tears. The wheat will be gathered to the barn and the weeds will be gathered for destruction to be burnt." Then the disciples came and asked Jesus to explain the meaning of this parable, and that’s where your question comes up. Jesus in explaining the parable in Matthew 13:38 said the field is the world, the good seed are the children of the kingdom but the tears are the children of the wicked one. The field is the world and in the world you get two groups of people. Those who have chosen to follow Christ, they're referred to as the children of the kingdom and those who have rejected Christ, those who have turned their back against God, they're referred to as the children of the wicked one. So there's two groups in the world today.

Carla: OK, she told me not to ask another question.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Go ahead, we'll squeeze it in quick.

Carla: I know God can save anyone and they all God wish for to be saved, but does this mean that they cannot be saved?

Pastor Jëan Ross: This is not an arbitrary decision on God's part where He says you can be saved but you can't be saved. It's by their choice. They choose to reject Christ, they choose a different master and they become the children of the wicked one. It's not God's will that they be the children of the wicked one. In 2 Peter 3 it says God is not willing that any should be destroyed but that all should come to repentance, so it’s God’s desire that everyone respond to the gospel but those who refuse to respond, those who refuse to come to Christ, they are choosing another master, they are choosing to follow the wicked one that would be Satan. But they still have freedom to choose. God's willing that everyone respond to the gospel.

Carla: Thank you so much.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for your call. Our next caller is Peggy and she is listening in San Diego. Peggy welcome to the program.

Peggy: Hello, thank you. I was wondering often there are people who walk into a church and start shooting people and I was wondering how you would feel that someone in the church would have something there to defend themselves.

Pastor Jëan Ross: I think that just happened today, if I understand the news correctly. There was a gunman that walked into a church, I think over in Florida and started shooting at the people, at least he shot the pastoral staff. These things happen from time to time.

Peggy: How would you feel about someone having a gun there so they can keep these people safe?

Pastor Jëan Ross: I don’t know how comfortable I would be and I'm a pastor at church. I don’t know if I'd be comfortable having armed guards standing watch at the door, sort of monitoring people when they come in. It’s tragic when these things happen. I think there needs to be a realization of the environment in which we live. It might be wise for a church to take certain precautionary measures. Maybe there needs to be some type of surveillance system set in, maybe there needs to be key people placed at key positions in the church and I think that’s just wise. I personally wouldn’t be too comfortable with having armed people standing in the church.

Peggy: No, I wouldn’t either but it often happens and the last one that happened was terrible. They said if someone in the lobby of the church had a gun, they might have been able to stop several people from getting killed.

Pastor Jëan Ross: It's a difficult situation, that’s where we've got to ask God for wisdom. I think each church, each case might be a little bit different. Ultimately our protection is in God.

Peggy: I love your program, it’s just beautiful, it’s so wonderful, I just love it. Thank you so much for being there.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for calling Peggy, we appreciate it.

Peggy: Bye-bye.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Bye-bye. If you have a Bible question, the number to call is 800-GOD-SAYS. That’s 800-463-7297. We've got Mark who is listening from Ontario. Mark, welcome to the program.

Mark: Hey how are you doing?

Pastor Jëan Ross: Doing well.

Mark: I don’t mean to make a joke of it but that last caller, you could hire Clint Eastwood, he played a priest once. The question I have, a little while back you guys had talked about when the body dies or when the person dies a Christian, then the body awakes and you’re waiting for the resurrection, being the last times. You guys had talked about that when the body dies or soul and everything was just rested in the grave, and when the resurrection comes and then we'll be resurrected. To be separated from the body or from the body to be present with Lord, but if that’s the case, the one verse where it talks about the rich man that died and when he opened up his eyes in Hades, he sees Abraham far off.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Let's talk about that for a minute. That’s in a series of sermons that Jesus gave. He gave sermons talking about a certain farmer that was sowing seed in the field, we just spoke about that. Jesus said things like "Except you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you” and the people couldn’t quite understand it. Jesus tells a story about a certain rich man and Lazarus, and then he goes through and describes certain situations. This is a parable along with the other parables that Jesus told to teach a very important lesson, and here are some of the points that we can get from that story that Jesus told. First of all you have this beggar by the name of Lazarus and he's lying at the gate of this rich man. The rich man pays no attention to him and he's eating wonderfully but the beggar isn't getting anything. Jesus gave the Jewish nation tremendous wealth in spiritual things but they hoarded it to themselves. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God,” so bread represents the word and truth was given to Israel as a nation but they hoarded it to themselves. The gentile nations around them were considered like beggars and yet they didn't share any truth with them. Then it goes on and both of them die and it says the rich man goes to this place to torment and Lazarus goes to Abraham's bosom. You need to first of all ask some questions. Are there symbols in the story? What is Abraham's bosom? How big is Abraham's bosom? That doesn't make sense. Then it says people can communicate, those in Abraham's bosom can communicate with those in this place of torment, and this rich man says if you can just bring a drop of water and place it upon my tongue, it'll bring relief. How would a drop of water on the tongue of a spirit being bring any type of relief? Then of course the discussion goes back and forth, and then finally the message comes from Lazarus. The rich man responds and says, "I have these brothers. They don’t believe but they will believe if somebody is resurrected from the dead." Now here’s the point of the story. Then the answer comes back to him and says they have Moses and the prophets. If they don’t believe Moses, they won't believe even if somebody is raised from the dead. There was somebody raised from the dead whose name was Lazarus, but still the Jewish leadership refused to acknowledge Jesus. If you look at the story in its fullness, this is not a commentary on what happens when a person dies. Rather Jesus is speaking to the nation of Israel, to the Jewish leadership, pointing out their lack of faith that they wouldn’t believe even if a mighty miracle of someone being raised from the dead was done in front of them, and they still didn't believe.

Mark: They didn't believe that, yeah.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Incidentally that’s the only parable where you have a name and it's very interesting that the name's Lazarus, and we know that Lazarus is the one raised from the dead. There's a lot of lessons in that parable that Jesus gave. We have a study guide dealing with the subject of death, what happens when a person dies, and that parable is dealt with. We'll be happy to send that to you Mark, absolutely for free if you just call our resource line. You can ask for the study guide, "Anything but Secret." The number to call is 800-835-6747. That the resource number, it's 800-835-6747. You can also go to the website, TruthAboutDeath.com and there's a study guide there online that you can read. It deals with this subject and gives a lot of scripture.

Mark: If you don’t mind, I got just one more little subject.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, real quick.

Mark: You know when people talk about déjà vu, there is a girl at work who I met a little while back. She is into witchcraft and all that, she brought that up. Everybody experiences that, right? I didn't get a chance to tell her. I went to Bible College one time and the teacher, the pastor wouldn’t answer me, but you know when God had John on Patmos Island when he's doing the Book of Revelation and he gave him visions of things that was going to occur, right? When God showed him the future and he's seen everything, the cars, the helicopters and everything, is that what brought everything to life?

Pastor Jëan Ross: It was. When a prophet is taken off into vision, he sees things, he experiences things, he hears things and it's as if he's there and he describes, he writes down everything he sees, everything he experiences. Déjà vu is a little different. There is a scientific explanation that makes a lot of sense to me. Everything we see, all the time is going into our subconscious. We can't always recall it but everything we see is being filed away. There are times where we might walk into a room and instantly our mind gathers everything that we see and stores it, but sometimes the sequence isn't just right so when you walk into a place you’ve never been before, your mind gathers everything and stores it but then you think to yourself, have I been here before and it's as if the wrong file gets pulled accidentally. The information that’s just been stored, comes to you as though it happened far back in the distant past and you feel as though you’ve been there before. It’s just one of those things, the way the mind works.

Mark: When the Lord showed John this stuff in the future, that’s what brought us to life in the particular time and then boom.

Pastor Jëan Ross: We don’t know for sure how God transported him down in time but what we do know is, He saw things, He understood things, He heard things and then He wrote it down. I don’t know how God did that but it was very real to the prophet.

Mark: I better let other people have a chance.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for calling Mark and be sure to call the resource line and ask for that study guide, Are the dead really dead? We've got John who is listening from New Jersey. John welcome to the program.

John: Hello.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi you’re on the air.

John: Hi, God bless you.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Thank you. Your question, we have just two minutes before the break.

John: [inaudible 26:00] and he said he didn't make it to heaven. I don’t think so-

Pastor Jëan Ross: I think we have pretty good evidence to believe that Solomon will be in the kingdom. The Book of Ecclesiastes is written by Solomon along with Proverbs, was written by Solomon. If you read Ecclesiastes, it was written when Solomon was an old man and it describes his experience. He started very faithful, he was a faithful king. He built the temple in Jerusalem. God blessed in a mighty way, God gave him great wisdom but the Bible says that he loved foreign women and he multiplied his wives. They really led him astray, even to the point of him offering sacrifices at these pagan altars. Finally it seems as though near the end of his life, he comes back to God and he writes the Book of Ecclesiastes and in the Book of Ecclesiastes he is giving counsel and he's saying these are the things that I have learnt during my life, that vanity are the things of the world. They don’t satisfy. Finally he concludes his book. At the end of Ecclesiastes he says let's hear the conclusion of the whole matter. “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Based upon the writings of Ecclesiastes, we believe that Solomon did have a genuine repentant heart. God inspired him and he wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes and he died committed to God.

John: I told him God's not going to allow someone to write a book like Ecclesiastes, right?

Pastor Jëan Ross: God used Solomon in a mighty way, not only for the kingdom of Israel but through Proverbs and some of the other books.

John: For the book.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Yeah absolutely, God used him in a mighty way. You're listening to Bible Answers Live. For those of you just joining us, this is a live international, national Bible study and if you have a Bible-related question, we would love to hear from you. The phone line to the studio is 800-463-7297. The acronym is 800-GOD-SAYS. We're going to be taking a break in just a few moments. I'd like to give you our website www.AmazingFacts.org. Amazing Facts is filled with important Bible truths and I encourage you to take a look at that. You can hear archives of previous Bible Answers Live programs as well as video. There is a free online library. Many of the resources that we give out every week, you can read for free at the Amazing Facts website. Jot that down, that’s AmazingFacts.org. We'll be back in just a moment.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

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Welcome back to Bible Answer Live with Pastor Doug Batchelor. This broadcast is pre-recorded. If you have a Bible-related question, you can call us from 7 to 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 Jëan Ross: Hello friends, this is Bible Answers Live. If you’re just joining us, this is a live international Bible study. If you have a Bible-related question, we would love to hear from you. The number is 800-4637-297, that’s 800-GOD-SAYS. We’re going to go straight to the phone lines. Our next caller is Martin and he is listening in New York, listening on WMCA. Martin welcome to the program.

Martin: Hello there, praise the Lord. The reason for this call tonight is I had a certain thing to bring up. I had a problem with one of my friends, we were having a relationship and at times she'll ignore me. I wanted to find out, what does the Bible say about dealing with difficulties in a relationship between a man and a woman.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Difficulties perhaps in a marriage relationship?

Martin: Yes.

Pastor Jëan Ross: There are different principles given in scripture. There is admonition given as to how the husband is to treat his wife and how the wife is to treat her husband. As far as the husband goes, the Bible tells that the husband is to treat his wife the way Christ treats the church and gave himself. The husband is to minister to the wife, he is to encourage the wife, he is to strengthen the wife and the wife is to honor and respect her husband. Really that’s the foundation of love, you read First Corinthians Chapter 13, the love chapter, it gives certain characteristics of what love is really like. Those are the attributes of any healthy relationship. There's problems in your relationship, what are you to do? One of the things is to sit down and to start talking about it. If it is a Christian relationship, that’s something to take the Lord in prayer. God can change the heart, and when two people get together and earnestly desire God leading in their relationship, He will lead. He can change the heart if we just call upon Him. There are practical aspects necessary for a healthy marriage or relationship and God can help us to obtain that. You know Martin, you'll probably enjoy that book, I mentioned it a little earlier. It talks about marriage, divorce and remarriage and in that book it gives Bible principles for a happy marriage. You can read that online of you go to the Amazing Facts website and if you call our resource line, you can ask for the study guide, "Keys to a Happy Marriage." It'll give you a whole lot of Bible principles. The number is 800-835-6747, ask for the study guide "Keys to a Happy Marriage” and we’ll send that right out to you. We have Mary who is listening in Washington State. Mary welcome to the program.

Mary: Hi how are you?

Pastor Jëan Ross: Very well, thank you.

Mary: I will try to make this quick. I recently met a new coworker. He gave me his card, he said that he's a minister and we got to talking. He was telling me that him and his wife are trying to have a baby and that when she gets pregnant, because she's in her late 40s he's going to insist that every kind of test be done to make sure it’s healthy. Then he said if there's any chance that anything is wrong, and I'm using his words, he said he's going to force her to have an abortion. He said that he can do this because there's scripture in the Bible that basically says, if a man causes a woman to lose a child, he just has to pay restitution of a fee which means get her pregnant again and everything's okay. I have not seen him again but I was too shocked to even think straight to ask him, where this scripture is at?

Pastor Jëan Ross: That particular passage that he's referring to in the Old Testament dealt with if there was a fight that was taking place between two people and a woman intervened, the wife came to rescue if you like, of her husband. She was pregnant, but in the process her child died in her womb. There was to be restitution made. Nowhere in the scripture does it say that it is okay to abort a child. As a matter of fact, Isaiah 44:2 says, "Thus saith the Lord, I made thee, I formed thee in the womb." God is the only one that can give life and that’s why the commandment says, Thy shall not kill. We can't take life. If there is a situation where the life of the mother is being threatened and it's very serious and she is going to die, no question, if intervention does not take place and that would result in the death of her unborn child, I can see a case for that. She already has a life, she already has a family, but I don’t know if there would be any other circumstance where the Bible would justify someone actively taking a life of an unborn child.

Mary: I don’t claim to be prolific in the scriptures, I'm starting to just study. I was really quite shocked and I was sure that could not be correct, whether he says he's a minister or not. I was sure that couldn’t be correct.

Pastor Jëan Ross: He needs to go back and study that passage in a little more detail and realize that the circumstances described is quite different than somebody just choosing to abort a child and then paying some money.

Mary: Right, because it's not healthy.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Absolutely.

Mary: Thank you very much.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for calling. We have another Mary who is listening in New Jersey. Mary welcome to the program.

Mary: Yes, I have a statement and a question. My husband is still in an adulterous affair and I spoke to my mother about it. I was looking up on the internet and trying to figure out what was happening here. It said something about strange woman, so I started going to the Bible and trying to find out more about the strange woman and her function, or how would it apply in this case. I spoke to my mom, I said the Bible identifies her as a strange woman. My mother found out it is an ongoing affair but she says, "She's not a strange woman to him. She's involved with him for a long time." I was wondering, even though she's been involved with him for a long time, is she still considered the strange woman? I was looking at Hosea and it says something about ... I forgot the name of Hosea’s wife but it seems like she was involved. As I was reading, I asked the Holy Spirit to reveal if I can get a clear understanding, whether he was actually still praying that him and his wife would reconcile. I don’t know and I want to know.

Pastor Jëan Ross: People make mistakes in a marriage. Even if there is adultery involved, if the one involved in the adultery recognizes the error of the way and wants to hold the marriage together and makes proactive steps in doing so, obviously cutting off all contact with that individual and recommitting himself or herself to the spouse, God can still save that marriage. Here in scripture, a strange woman is anyone that breaks up a marriage commitment or a marriage relationship. It's not whether or not you really know her. Biblically speaking, a strange woman would be anyone that breaks up a marriage. You could probably refer that to a strange man as well. Anyone outside of the marriage relationship would be considered strange Biblically. Does that make sense?

Mary: Yes it makes sense, what you just said makes sense. The Hedge of Thorns, is that something that you can pray to God, is that something I can pray to God to put a hedge of thorns around my husband to keep him away from the strange woman? Is that okay to pray that?

Pastor Jëan Ross: You can pray and say Lord please, work in this situation, work things out and God will. However God will and we need to also recognize that God does give people freedom, freedom to choose. We pray for the person, you pray for your husband but then you also pray that God will give you strength and wisdom so that you might know how to proceed. It's a difficult situation but that’s something that we need to pray about and hold to that before the Lord.

Mary: Someone told me, it's just a matter of prayer and it's simple. Is it really that simple to pray to God for something that seems so impossible?

Pastor Jëan Ross: The Bible says, that which is impossible with Man is possible with God. There is nothing too hard for God to do. Whatever the problem is, whether it's a broken relationship, whether it's finances, whether it's health, we can take it to God in prayer. We can submit ourselves to His guidance. We don’t know the end from the beginning, so there are times, even in relationships we say Lord, I don’t know what’s going to be best in this situation but I'm going to trust you’re leading. That’s something we can always do. Mary, I think you'd also appreciate that book I mentioned a little earlier, "Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage." Take a look at that, I think it'll give you some encouragement, give you some counsel. There are some great inspiring stories as you read through that that'll strengthen you. The most important point is taking it all to the Lord, trusting in him and allowing Him to work through that.

Mary: Thank you.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, God bless you. We have Dexter who is listening from Florida. Dexter, welcome to the program.

Dexter: How are we doing this evening?

Pastor Jëan Ross: Doing well and yourself?

Dexter: Doing just fine, thank you.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Good, your question tonight.

Dexter: I had a question concerning the 16th and 17th verses in the second chapter of Genesis. It reads, "And the Lord commandeth the man saying, every tree of the garden thou mayeth freely eat but the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, though shall not eat of it, for in the day that you eat from it thou shall surely die." My question was, He may have mentioned not only of the evil but of the good. I'm not questioning God but I just wanted to know why did it state that, the good as well as the evil that he didn't want them to eat of.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Adam and Eve had a knowledge of good, that’s the only knowledge they had. By eating of trees that God had given them in the garden, you have the Tree of Life and you have the other trees and then by following God's leading and His commandments, they had a knowledge of good. They knew what was right. By eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, it didn't mean that they lost the knowledge of good that they had, but in addition to the knowledge of good, they experienced evil. They got a knowledge of evil. It was never God's design that they have a taste of evil, that they experience sin, but through disobedience, they obtained a knowledge of evil and we can see the results of what that leads to today in our world with pain and suffering and death. They had the good by eating the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil they already had the good what that tree did is add the knowledge of evil.

Dexter: Also my thought was thinking like, in the New Testament after Christ has come and has given us of His spirit, still even our good is not good enough, it's not good enough to give remission for our sins. It could not bring us back into right standing with God, but only it's about our faith and our belief and our trust with God did through Christ. We can do all the good we want but it's still not good enough to stay in good standing with God now.

Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s absolutely right. God's design is for us to have the knowledge of good but true knowledge of good comes from Him. It's not coming from ourselves, it’s not based upon on our own works but it's receiving His gift of salvation by faith allowing God through His spirit to dwell within us. Then we get a true knowledge of what good is.

Dexter: Thank you very much.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for your call. We have Chad who is listening in Seattle, Washington. Chad, welcome to the program.

Chad: Good evening. My question is in Acts chapter 5, about Ananias and Sapphira. Can you tell me what’s the significance of that and why were they put to death because they held back part of the proceeds?

Pastor Jëan Ross: The reason, those of you might not be familiar with the story, in the early Christian church the gospel is going rapidly. People were giving houses and land, they were selling property and they were giving the proceeds to the apostles for the furtherance of the gospel. There were two people in the church, Ananias and Sapphira, a married couple. They said the apostles that they were going to sell some land that they had and they were going to give all the proceeds to the Lord's work. They went along and they sold the land but then they started thinking about it and said, we did promise to give everything for the Lord's work but we want to hold back a little bit for ourselves. Ananias goes in first before Peter and Peter asks him, is this all the money from the property? The response is, yes this is all and Peter says, you’re not lying to man but you are lying to the Holy Ghost and he struck down. Then his wife comes in and basically the same question is asked, is this everything? She doesn't know about her husband and she says, yes this is everything, and she's also struck down dead. Their big problem was pride. They wanted the church to think that they were generous and they were self-sacrificing and they were giving everything, and yet really they were holding things back. God wanted the church to realize the danger of pride, wanted the church to realize the importance of full consecration and full surrender. They weren't forced to give the proceeds of the land, they could have said, we're actually only going to give half or we've had a change of circumstance and we're going to need to retain some of the money, and nothing would have happened to them. But the fact that they wanted to appear as though they were giving everything and yet still holding back to themselves, that was the sin that they were guilty of.

Chad: Thank you very much.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for your call Chad, good question.

Chad: Also in chapter 9 that talks about Ananias, after Paul was converted on the road to Damascus, after Paul was blinded. It says Ananias came and the Lord spoke to Ananias-

Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s a different Ananias, totally different.

Chad: Thank you.

Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re welcome. Our next caller is Sandra and she is calling from New York. Sandra, welcome to the program.

Sandra: Hi how are you?

Pastor Jëan Ross: Good, thank you.

Sandra: My question is, is wearing jewelry a sin?

Pastor Jëan Ross: Is wearing jewelry a sin? Let me give you a few Bible passages over here and we can talk about it. In the New Testament the Bible talks about the adorning of a Christian that we are to dress differently from the world, we are to dress modestly. The Bible tells that when a person dresses, Paul and Peter both speak of this that the adorning not be the outward display of putting on gold and silver and those things that the world values, but rather let it be the hidden person of the heart. If a person is being convicted that what they are wearing is really drawing attention to themselves and it’s not drawing attention to Christ, if they read scripture and they follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, I think they would want to do whatever they can to please Jesus, and the Bible is pretty clear on that.

Sandra: Is there a specific text in the Old or New Testament?

Pastor Jëan Ross: Let me give you one and there's several. We have a little book entitled "Jewelry, How much is too much?" I'll give you a phone number in just a minute and you can call for that but let me give you a verse. 1 Peter chapter 3:3, Peter says whose adorning, speaking of a woman in particular here but principle applies to man, "Whose adorning let it not be outward adorning, of the planning of the hair, the wearing of gold or the putting on of apparel." Paul basically says the same thing, so that’s 1 Peter 3:3. Let me give you the number, it's 800-835-6747 and ask for the book, "How much is too much?" or the book on jewelry, you can just ask for that and we'll be happy to send that out.

Sandra: Thank you.

Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re welcome, thanks for calling, we've got Steve who's listening in Michigan. Steve, welcome to the program.

Steve: Hi, how are you doing?

Pastor Jëan Ross: Very well.

Steve: I have a question about cremation. What does the Bible say about cremation?

Pastor Jëan Ross: What we know, the Bible is very clear that when a person is resurrected at the Second Coming of Christ, God doesn't use any of the parts of the body that we now have. A person is a new creation. We have these new bodies, we are changed in a moment in the twinkling of a eye, this mortal must put on immortality. As far as the resurrection goes, God's not dependent upon the body right now. The custom back in Bible times is burial, but there some examples. For example you have Jonathan who was very godly man. He was the son of Saul, he was killed in battle, and the enemy took his body and hung it up on a wall and then some brave soldiers of Israel came and took away his body, he along with his father and some others and they cremated the body and buried the ashes. We believe that Jonathan is going to be in heaven. So from a Biblical perspective, there is not a problem to be cremated or buried. God's not dependent on anything that we have now to recreate us.

Steve: I was just wondering because back not too long ago, I had a friend of mine, his mother was sick and she asked him not to let them burn her. Unfortunately when she passed away he could not afford to bury her, so they went ahead and cremated her, not by her choice.

Pastor Jëan Ross: As far as the Bible goes, there's no problem. If she loved the Lord, she'll be resurrected whether she's buried, whether the person is cremated, they have the hope of the resurrection if they trust in Christ.

Steve: If you trust in Christ, believe Him as your savior, then regardless of what happens to you when you die, you’re buried or if you’re cremated, it's still the same.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Absolutely. Think of all the many people that drowned at sea who love the Lord. They're going to be resurrected so again, God is not dependent on any of our body now to use that again in the resurrection.

Steve: Thank you very much.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for calling. We've got David who is listening in New Jersey. David welcome to the program.

David: Hi, how are you today Pastor?

Pastor Jëan Ross: Very well.

David: Good, I have a question on Proverbs and I probably will answer my own question, I'm still looking at it. It says, Proverbs 17:6 it says, "Children's children are a crown to the aged and parents are the pride of their children." They're talking about the parents' children or ... I'm confused on that.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Really it's referring to grandchildren here in verse 6, the children's children are a crown to the old men. This would be the grandchildren, and that’s true today. Grandchildren have a very special place in the hearts of the grandparents. Then it talks about the glory of the children of the fathers. In other words, if the father has a good reputation and a good name in society, that is a glory to the child.

David: Fair enough, and one other question. Exactly why was John the Baptist beheaded?

Pastor Jëan Ross: Why was he beheaded, we know the historic reason for that. You're probably wondering why did God allow that to happen.

David: Yes.

Pastor Jëan Ross: It's interesting, we don’t know the end from the beginning. What we do know is that Jesus said some amazing things about John the Baptist. Jesus said of all of them born unto woman, there is not arisen one greater than John the Baptist. John the Baptist did a great work in preparing the way for Jesus. However God in His wisdom knew that that was probably the right time for John to be laid to rest. The very next thing John knows is the resurrection. He accomplished the work that he was to do. The focus now was to shift away from John the Baptist, to Jesus. Again we don’t know the reason, we'll probably need to wait till Heaven to see exactly why God allowed that to happen, but we do know that Jesus really commended John for his faithfulness.

David: Have a blessed night.

Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for calling David, we appreciate it. We're going to see if we can squeeze one more quick call in. We've got Carey who is calling from Michigan. Carey, we've got about one minute.

Carey: I am calling and I want to know are we in the thousand years. Has Satan been loosed where it says when the thousand years are in, then Satan would be made free from his prison.

Pastor Jëan Ross: No we're not in the thousand years yet. The thousand years begin at the Second Coming of Jesus. You can read the end of Revelation Chapter 19, it’s a description of Jesus coming, describes him coming on a white horse. He's coming as king of kings and Lord of Lords, and it's that point that the dead in Christ are resurrected and the righteous are called up to meet Christ in the air. They then go to Heaven and the thousand year period begins. At the end of that thousand year period, that’s when Satan is loosed. Carey, thank you so much for your call. Friends once again, you’ve been listening to Bible Answers Live. Thank you for joining us, please come back next week. God bless.

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