Westminster Abbey in London is one of Great Britain’s most famous churches. English monarchs since William the Conqueror in 1066 have been crowning the church and most of them are buried there. Famous citizens like Isaac Newton and David Livingstone are also buried there. But one of the most amazing people buried in the church was a farmer named Thomas Parr. Stay tuned for more. You’re listening to Bible Answers Live.
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hello friends, this is Pastor Jëan Ross. Pastor Doug is out this evening, but this is Bible Answers Live. And if you have a Bible-related question, we would love to hear from you tonight. The number to the studio is 1-800-GOD-SAYS. That’s 1-800-463-7297. Four lines are now open. The number is 1-800-463-7297, if you have a Bible-related question. Let me tell you a little bit about Thomas Parr. He’s a farmer that was buried in Westminster Abbey, London. He was born in 1483 during the reign of King Richard III. Thomas Parr is reported to have lived to the age of one hundred and fifty-two, witnessing the crowning of ten monarchs during his life. In 1635, King Charles I invited Thomas to the palace so that he could meet this remarkable man. The King asked him the secret of his long life. Thomas told the King that he lived a simple life doing the work of a farmer and eating mostly potatoes, oatmeal, bread and cheese.
While visiting the King, Thomas ate the rich foods served at the palace. That night he became very ill and died. The King felt so terrible that his food had killed Britain’s oldest citizen that he commanded that Thomas Parr be buried in England’s most famous church, Westminster Abbey. Did you know friends that the Bible gives practical principles that can lead to a long and healthy life? In third John, chapter 1 verse 2, we read, “Beloved I pray that you might prosper and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” Friends, we’d like to offer you a free copy of Amazing Facts’ study guide entitled, “God’s Free Health Plan.”It is filled with biblical principles for health and happiness. And if you’d like to receive that for free, call our resource line.
The number is 1-800-835-6747. That is the resource line, 1-800-835-6747. You can ask for the study guide “God’s Free Health Plan.”If you have a Bible-related question, the number to the studio is 1-800-463-7297. That is 1-800-GOD-SAYS, 463-7297. We’d love to hear from you. Well, before we go to the phone lines, I invite you just to join me as we have a word of prayer. Father, we’re going to be opening up your word here in just a moment and we recognize that the Bible is your book. And for us to correctly understand it, we want the Holy Spirit to guide us, the one who inspired the book in the beginning. We pray that the Holy Spirit will help us understand it even now. So thank you for being with us, in Jesus’ name, amen. Well, friends, we’re going to go to the phone lines. The number again is 1-800-463-7297. Our first caller this evening is Danny, and he is calling from Minnesota. Danny, welcome to the program.
Danny: Well, thank you, Pastor. I have a question about when Christ was alive, He cast out demons and He told the apostles to cast out demons, and we don’t hear about that anymore in preaching in the churches, and is that a deliverance ministry? And what are your thoughts on that?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know, I believe it is happening. God still and does cast devils. It does happen. But, you know, I think Satan is very wise and he kind of adapts his strategy to try and meet people where they’re at. I’m originally from Africa, grew up in South Africa. And the manifestation of people being possessed is more common in Africa than it would be over here in North America. I know that people are possessed with devils here in North America, but the way in which it manifest is a little bit different. I think the devil modifies his tactics to try and reach people. There is power in prayer. God still can deliver people from devils, from demons. It’s not something that we take very lightly. It is a serious matter, and you got to go into it with much prayer.
Danny: Oh! Okay. So, do you preach that in your ministry how to cast out demons?
Pastor Jëan Ross: We do speak about the influences of the enemy. We don’t want to dwell too much upon Satan and his tactics. But, you know, if somebody does have a situation where a devil is harassing an individual, there are times where we’re called upon to pray for them in a special way. But it is a little different than going out looking for devils. You know, as I said that’s not something that you want to just walk in to. Something you have to [inaudible] with prayer and fasting.
Danny: Yeah, do you have a study guide on that?
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, we don’t have a study guide specifically on that subject, but we kind of do have a study guide dealing with some of the tactics that the devil uses to deceive people. The study guide is entitled, “Did God Create the Devil?”And it kind of talks about the origin of Satan but also some of his tactics that he’s using in the last days to deceive and, you know, we can send that to you for free.
Danny: Thank you very much, Pastor.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sure. The number to call is 1-800-835-6747, that is our resource line and, Danny, just ask for the study guide, “Did God Create the Devil?”Again, friends the number here to the studio is 1-800-463-7297. That’s 1-800-GOD-SAYS, 463-7297. We have some phone lines open, this is a good time for you to pick up your phone and give us a call. You might be driving in your car, or maybe you’re at home, you should give us a call. We’d love to hear from you tonight. Let me also let you know of some of the resources that Amazing Facts has just developed to help people in their study of God’s word. We’re excited about a new website, which we’ve just released dealing with the subject of ghosts. Yeah, there’s a lot of questions that people have with what happens when a person dies. Do they come back as a spirit, as a ghost?
This website deals with these subjects. It’s entitled, ghosttruth.com. Just ghosttruth.com and you can go to that website, a lot of Scripture there that you can take a look at. There’s also some videos that you can watch dealing with the subject of ghosts and what happens when a person dies. You’d also be interested in taking a look at the website truthaboutdeath.com. It’s also dealing with the similar subject, what happens when a person dies? You know, one of the devils greatest deceptions is to deceive people concerning what happens afterlife and he is going around trying to set people up for deception. So these are great resources available for anyone wanting to learn more about these important subjects. We’re going to go to the phone lines. Next, we have Carol who is listening in Queens, New York. Carol, welcome to the program.
Carol: Yeah, welcome, thank you so much for taking my phone call.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re welcome.
Carol: I’m going to be brief and simple. It’s just about the Book of Kabbalah. What does the Bible say about Kabbalah?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know, the Bible doesn’t say a whole lot about it. Tell me a little bit about your question there. What are you getting to?
Carol: Is it a religion? What is it all about? Because, you know, somebody gave it to my friend and to read as the questions and I feel like it’s kind of puzzled about it. I see even people are touching. I just want to know what the Bible say about Kabbalah, what type of things that it is.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. You know, the Bible doesn’t address Kabbalah. It doesn’t speak concerning the book. I am not too familiar with the origin of where it comes from. I know there are a number of Eastern religions that have been adapted somewhat to meet Christianity or maybe to try and apply to that. But my thinking is stay with the word of God. Stay with something that we know is true and trustworthy, something we can stand on. You know, if you’re going to read the book, I would read it cautiously and carefully, I would compare with Scripture. And if you find anything that contradicts the Bible, you know, the Bible says, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this, there is no light in them.” So, you know, that needs to be our test of truth when it comes to reading and studying different things.
Carol: Okay. Alright, thank you so much.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for calling. Appreciate it. The number here to the studio is 1-800-463-7297, that’s 1-800-GOD-SAYS. We’ve got Stanley who is listening from Vancouver, British Columbia. Stanley, welcome to the program.
Stanley: Hi, welcome. Hi. Oh, first time caller here. I’m calling from beautiful Vancouver, BC. And my question is, I just want to know or [inaudible] the word of the evil secret society such as the illuminati and their desire for a new world order and I’d like to know what is your thoughts on that. And also, I also want to know about the implanting of the RFID biochips and stuff because there’s lots of things on the internet and stuff for that. And also Revelation chapter 13 verse 17 also or 16-18, I just wanted to know what is your thoughts on that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay, sure. Let me just--in case we forget at the end of the call, Stanley, we do have a study guide that I think you’d be interested in taking a look at. It’s entitled, “The Mark of the Beast.”
Stanley: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And deals with some of these issues. And I’ll give you the number for our resource line. It’s 1-800-835-6747. That’s 1-800-835-6747. Give them a call and just ask them for the study guide, “The Mark of the Beast,” and they will send that out to you. You know, when we’re looking Bible prophecy, especially in the Book of Revelation, we begin to see certain players that the Bible predicts playing a significant role in end-time events.
Stanley: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: There are certain parallels that we see in the Old Testament that will be fulfilled prior to the coming of Jesus. Now, probably one of the most significant parallels in the Old Testament is found in the Book of Daniel. And you can read in Daniel chapter 3, where the king of that time, which is Nebuchadnezzar, creates this great golden image and he sets it up on the plain of Dura and he calls for various people in his kingdom and he gathers them around this image and then he tells them, “When you hear the music playing, you need to bow down and worship this image.” And everybody bows down except for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And so, the king brings the three faithful Hebrews before him and he says, “I’m going to give you another chance,” and they say, “King, we’re not afraid to answer you in this matter for the God that we serve is able to deliver us from your fiery furnace but even if he doesn’t, let it be known unto you, we’re not going to bow down and worship your image.”
And so, they get thrown into the fiery furnace, but God delivers them through that experience. Now, that is a type of what’s going to happen at the end of time. In the Book of Revelation, you read about a beast power that has a mark. The key issue at the end of time revolves around worship. You see, Satan wants to get the whole world to worship him. And it will seem as though he is God, everyone worshipping him except for those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. There will be a group of people, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who will refuse to compromise. They will be faithful to God’s commandments. They will be faithful to Christ. Now, the devil’s going to use different ways to try and get to that, to try to get the world to worship him. If the devil shows up and says, “You know, I’m Satan, please bow down and worship me,” you’ll probably get a few folks that might go along with that.
But the way he’s going to do it is he’s going to work through various political and even religious powers to get the world to worship him. He’s the power behind that. And I have no doubt that he’ll work through various kingdoms, he’ll even work through religious institutions, and he’ll even work through financial means. In Revelation 13, it says, “No one can buy or sell except the one who has the Mark of the Beast.” So somehow finances are going to be involved in this as well. And really, the issue at the end revolves around worship. So there’s different ways that the devil’s going to try to get to that same goal. We want to be faithful at the end and worship God.
Stanley: True. Would that be the time to leave the city when they implement the Sunday law?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know, the time will come where it won’t be safe to be in cities. There’s going to be a lot of things happening in the world as we near the end of time and God will lead us just like He told the Christians during the time of destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, He told the Christians to flee to the mountains. So there will come a time where it won’t be safe to be in the cities, but God will guide His people when that time comes.
Stanley: Okay. Well thank you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright. Thanks for calling. Be sure to take a look at that website or rather the study guide, call for the study guide “The Mark of the Beast.” The resource number again is 1-800-835-6747. If you would like to get your question on the air this evening, the number here to the studio is 1-800-463-7297. That’s 1-800-GOD-SAYS. We have Melissa who is calling from Brooklyn, New York. Melissa, welcome to the program.
Melissa: Hi. My question is like, God is a loving God, He doesn’t force people to serve Him, but in the Bible it state that when Jesus Christ come, it says, “That every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Christ the Lord.” What if people don’t want to do that? Because there are some people in this world, they don’t serve God, they serve the enemy. And the enemy forced people to serve him, but I’m just wondering like, will God force people to bow down to Him? What if they don’t want to?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, it’s a good question. You know, God’s government is not based upon force, it’s based upon love. But the time will come when God’s character will be so manifest, even to the wicked, that they will be overwhelmed by the evidence and they will actually confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. I think the verse you’re referring to is Philippians chapter 2 verse 10. It says, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and those in heaven and on those on earth and those under the earth.” Even the devil himself will be forced to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord just based upon the evidence, if you look at what God has done to save mankind and you see the gift of Christ.
Melissa: So it’s not by force, right?
Pastor Jëan Ross: It’s not by force. Now, that confession of the wicked, that’s not genuine repentance because we find that after they confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord, according to Revelation chapter 20, that they mount their attack upon the New Jerusalem. So that’s just based upon overwhelming evidence. It’s like Judas who betrayed Christ after he had betrayed the Lord and he realized that Jesus was going to allow Himself to be arrested and crucified, he took the money back to the Jewish leaders in the temple and he threw it upon the floor and he said, “I betrayed innocent blood.” So he was forced to confess that what he had done was wrong and yet it wasn’t genuine repentance because he went out and hung himself. So it’ll be a similar type of situation for the wicked where they will almost be forced to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord just because of the evidence but it’s not a change of heart.
Melissa: Oh, okay. Okay, thank you very much.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re welcome. Thanks for calling. The number here to the studio is 1-800-463-7297. That’s 1-800-GOD-SAYS. We have Dardo who is listening from New York. Dardo, welcome to the program.
Dardo: Hi, Pastor. Good evening.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good evening.
Dardo: I have a question. It says that the first man was born in Africa, so there’s overwhelming evidence that the first human, you know, appeared in Africa. So my question is, was Adam African? The first man that God created was African, was black or was white?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Oh, that’s a good question. You know, if you go all the way back to the Genesis account, it speaks about God creating Adam and it says God made Adam, of course, He made Eve from Adam’s side. The word Adam is really, in the Hebrew, a type of color. It’s a description of a type of color. It’s almost a reddish perhaps color. Not a bright red, but kind of a reddish type color. I don’t know something similar to that, almost a clay type color. That’s what the word Adam means. Now, we don’t know whether that’s reference to perhaps his color at that point in time. But really race doesn’t come into play until after the flood. It go all the way back to the time of Noah and there was only one race at that time and that was Noah. And then he had his three sons and they migrated to different parts, you know, the descendants of Sham, Ham and Japheth, each went different ways and that’s really what populated the globe. And as they moved, based upon environmental factors, you know, genetics were able to adapt to the environment, and that’s where the different races come from. So it all really goes back to the time of Noah.
Dardo: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: So I wouldn’t be able to say that Adam was black or white or whatever it was, we don’t know, but God made him just the way God wanted him.
Dardo: Okay, thank you, Pastor.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, thanks for your call. We’ve got Jerry who is listening in Denver, Colorado. Jerry, welcome to the program.
Jerry: Thank you, Pastor. My question pertains to divorce. Matthew 19:19 gives an exception for adultery, but Mark 10:10 and Luke 16:18 basically say that “if you divorce and remarry, you commit adultery.” Why is there one exception given in Matthew and says the other two don’t offer that exception, which Scripture governs?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay, good question. You know, when we look at the gospel writers Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, they often portray the same event but from different perspectives or different angles. And they emphasize different aspects of what was happening, different things that Jesus said, they emphasize. We can be confident that the words spoken by Jesus in Matthew 19 where He says except for the case of adultery is valid and we can stand on that biblical principle. The other gospel writers, as you mentioned, Mark and Luke, they don’t necessarily say that, they were emphasizing more the point the permanence of marriage. So we want to take all of it, we want to take the weight of evidence. So I will put it all together and say yes, God wants marriage to be permanent but there is an exception and that in the case of adultery. Not that one has to get divorced if somebody was unfaithful in the marriage, God can still heal, God can still forgive. But if somebody’s heart is hardened and they’re committed to going a different way, it is permissible biblically for divorce.
Jerry: In my particular case, when I caught my wife, she could give me no assurance that it would not happen again. And then she moved out, and I subsequently remarried. Am I in God’s good grace?
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, again, from a biblical perspective, if somebody breaks the marriage vows, as a result of unfaithfulness, and there isn’t a spirit of repentance or remorse, there isn’t a commitment to make the marriage work, you are free, in that case, to be remarried.
Jerry: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Now, we do have a book on this that I think you’d find very interesting. You can read it at the Amazing Facts website. It’s entitled “Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage.” And it will go through the various biblical principles that one needs to follow in the various circumstances. It’s entitled “Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage.” And you can read it at the Amazing Facts website.
Jerry: Okay. Thank you, Pastor Ross. I would like to say one last thing that I was originally [Unintelligible] Sacramento on the Sabbath to be [Unintelligible] and their service is there. I’ve done that twice, I very much enjoyed it.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well great. Appreciate it. Thank you, Jerry. Alright, God Bless. We have Juno who is listening from New Mexico. Juno, welcome to the program.
Juno: Yes, Pastor Ross, good evening.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good evening.
Juno: Yes. My question is in Revelation 11 verse 1 and 2…
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Juno: …I believe that the temple is the church, according to Ephesians 2 verse 19-21.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes.
Juno: I was just wondering about Revelation 11:1-2.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay, let me read it for you. It says, “Then was given a reed likened to a measuring rod, and the angels stood saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar and those that worship therein. But leave out the court, which is on the outside of the temple, and do not measure it for it has been given to the gentiles. And they shall tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.” Now, just to get the context here, this is a vision, John wrote the Book of Revelation and in his vision, an angel comes with this measuring reed. Another word for that measuring reed is a ruler, almost like a tape measure. And the angel says, “Rise, measure the temple of God, the altar and those that worship therein.” The event that’s being described here in Revelation chapter 11 1 and 2 is what is sometimes referred to as the pre-advent judgment.
Just prior to the coming of Christ, there is a judgment that takes place in heaven. All of those who have professed faith in Jesus at some point in their life, God is looking to see if their profession is real, do they really love Him? Are they faithful? Have they surrendered themselves fully to Him? And that is, in an essence, a type of measuring. It’s a type of judgment taking place. However, this judgment does not affect the wicked. That’s why it says in verse 2, “But don’t measure the court, for it has been given to the gentiles.” The gentiles would represent those who have never professed faith in Jesus. This is not time for their judgment their judgment comes later on. But the judgment described here in verse 1 and 2 refers to the church, and it’s this investigation just before Jesus comes.
Juno: I see. So they’re not talking about an earthly temple?
Pastor Jëan Ross: No, there’s no earthly temple at this time. We do know there’s a heavenly temple, Hebrews makes that very clear, and in Revelation chapter 1 Jesus has described standing amongst the seven-branched candlesticks in the heavenly sanctuary and of course, the sanctuary represents God’s people as well. So the measuring of the sanctuary is also a measuring or a judging of the church of God’s people.
Juno: I see. Okay, can I have one more question?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sure.
Juno: Yeah, in Daniel 9:27, I was just wondering, how did they get that? The 9:27, they’re talking about “he” that is Antichrist, but didn’t say anything there about that Antichrist.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re talking about Daniel 9?
Juno: Chapter 9 verse 27.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Daniel 9:27. It says, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offerings.” And your question is who the “he” is?
Juno: Yeah, because actually, I’ve got some co-worker, they’re talking about that “he” is the Antichrist. I just didn’t understand why. How would you view that commandment?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. Well, you know, if you study the context here in Daniel chapter 9, the “he” in verse 27 is really referring to the Messiah. It talks about the Messiah who would come, he’d confirm the covenant with Israel for one week, that is a total of seven literal years and in the middle of the week, that’s three and a half years, He will bring an end to the sacrifice and offerings. Well, that happened when Jesus died on the cross, the veil was rent in the temple from top to bottom. There was an end to the sacrificial system. Now, the second part of the very 27 where it says, “And on the wing of abomination, shall be one who makes desolate,” that’s referring to the destruction of Jerusalem that happened in 70 AD. The abomination of desolation spoken of is really Rome and the Roman armies that came and surrounded Jerusalem and destroyed it.
Juno: Yeah, that’s what I understand, but I just don’t understand how they get that he is the Antichrist. I just don’t understand that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re right, that is a misunderstanding of that passage, and it’s become rather popular. You know, we do have a study guide dealing with that subject that will explain it more, called “Right on Time.” Friends, you are listening to Bible Answers Live. We’re going to be coming up on our break here in just a few moments. Don’t go away. We’ve got more Bible Answers Live after that. But just before we take the break, let me remind you of our free offer for this evening. That’s a study guide entitled, “God’s Free Health Plan,” biblical principles to help you live happy, healthy and long. To receive that, call our resource line. It’s 1-800-835-6747. You can ask for that study guide “God’s Free Health Plan” and we’ll be happy to send that to you. Also, just a reminder about our new website that’d be just released entitled, ghosttruth.com. That is ghosttruth.com, deals with the subject of what happens when a person dies. You’ll find a lot of helpful information there, a lot of Scripture, even videos that you can watch and that’s a great website to share with your friend. We’ll be right back.
[Commercial Break]
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hello, friends. You’re back with Bible Answers Live. This is a live, international, interactive Bible study. And if you have a Bible-related question, this would be a good time for you to pick up the phone and give us a call. The number to the studio is 1-800-GOD-SAYS. That’s 1-800-463-7297. Looks like we got two lines open yet. It’s 1-800-463-7297. We’re going to go to Doug who is listening in Sacramento, California. Doug, welcome to the program.
Doug: Hi, Pastor Ross. Hey, I got a question on John 5:29.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay.
Doug: In between “resurrection of life and they that have done evil, in between life and end is there a thousand years between that?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes, it is. Let me read the verse for those who might not have their Bible with them. I’m reading from John 5:28 and 29. Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this for the hour is coming, in which all who in their grace will hear His voice and come forth, those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation.” So according to this verse, there are two resurrections. The first is the resurrection of life. The second is the resurrection of condemnation. Now, Revelation chapter 20 refers to the first resurrection, which is the resurrection of life, as the first resurrection. That would then mean that there is a second resurrection. There is a period of one thousand years, sometimes referred to as the millennium between the resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection of the wicked.
Doug: Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Now, the time period is not presented in verse 29 of John 5, there’s no time period given. But as we read the rest of the Scripture, especially Revelation chapter 20, that makes it very clear.
Doug: Right. Okay, thank you so much.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re welcome. We have a study guide called “A Thousand Years of Peace” and it deals with this millennial period, this one thousand-year period. It talks about the first resurrection and the second resurrection. Call us on our resource line, Doug. It’s 1-800-835-6747. Ask for the study guide “A Thousand Years of Peace” and we’ll send that out to you. We have Emmanuel who is calling from Brooklyn, New York. Emmanuel, welcome to the program.
Emmanuel: Hello.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hello, yes, you’re on the air.
Emmanuel: Yeah. Good evening, Pastor. Thank you for taking my call.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sure.
Emmanuel: I have a question from the last Book of Moses, chapter 22 verse 5.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay.
Emmanuel: Okay. And it says that, “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment. For all that do so are abomination unto the Lord.” Okay, when I was young, right, I was in the church and then they were preaching and then they got this text and they said, because of that, women are not supposed to wear pants, right? If any woman wears a pant, it’s a sin, it’s abomination unto God. And then I’ve been fumbling with this, I want you to clear that for me.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Oh, okay, good question. You know, the principle that we see in Deuteronomy 22:5 is that there needs to be distinction between the dress of a man and the dress of a woman. Now, there are certain factors that would come into play. In certain cultures, the dress of a man would be different than certain cultures. For example, there are certain countries where the dress of a man would literally involve a skirt. Now, that doesn’t mean that the man’s wearing a woman’s clothing, but that is the fashion and that’s really what they wear. And that’s modest and that’s acceptable for men to wear that. When it comes to pants in a Western culture, that is not exclusively the dress of a man. You know, a woman can wear a pair of pants and there are pants made for women. The principle is modesty, and there needs to be a distinction between dress. So, is it wrong for a woman to wear a pair of pants? No. Maybe in some cultures, it would be. But not necessarily in Western culture. But the way she wears the pants, you know, the question is modesty. Is it modest?
Emmanuel: Okay. I’m from Africa. I’m from Ghana and that’s where I got all these teachings and when I came in and see the women wearing pants, you know, and [inaudible 35:25-35:27] I have a child, I thought it’s a sin for a woman to wear pants because according to the Deuteronomy chapter 22 verse 5, that’s why I was saying.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know, in some countries it probably would be wrong, it would be frowned on for a woman to wear a pair of pants. But, again, the principle there is a distinction between dress.
Emmanuel: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright?
Emmanuel: Thanks a lot, Pastor.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for you call, Emmanuel. Appreciate it. We’ve got Eric who is listening in New Jersey. Eric, welcome to the program.
Eric: How are you, Pastor?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Very well.
Eric: [Inaudible 36:03-36:05] of God always. Alright. My first question is, Revelation 22:18-19, do you believe that the word of God as we have it has been tampered with?
Pastor Jëan Ross: The word of God as we have it has been tampered with it, yeah, I believe that God has protected His word so that the gospel message and the plan of redemption and the truths that we need to know have been preserved for us today.
Eric: Okay, so because we know where man is involved and we know where the desire for power and for control is, and we’re not going to go through the whole history lesson, but we understand that when these principles, these tactics, are at work, man will manipulate anything that he possibly can to keep his foot on another man’s neck. Do you agree?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sure.
Eric: Okay, going back to Constantine when he went to the whole deal about which books we want to be into the word of God, we understand that Constantine was more worried about his rule and about having his centralized movement so he was going to do whatever was necessary to keep that dream or to keep that thought process moving. So in doing that, do you believe that they manipulated the Scriptures? Because I see no need for Christ to manifest His words in Mathew, I mean, [Unintelligible] in Revelation 22:18-19 unless--well not unless, the Holy Spirit already knew, God already knew that men was going to do these things so he’d already said these words in order.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, yeah, I agree with you. We need to be on our guard. Now, today there are all kinds of different versions, you’ve got paraphrases, you’ve got translations. And we need to be careful because it is possible for people to translate the Bible or maybe even to paraphrase the Bible insert their own ideas and their own thoughts that’s not in the original text. But God has preserved sufficient truth in His word, especially if you go back to the original text--we have an abundance of manuscripts, of both for the New Testament, as well as for the Old Testament. Of course the Dead Sea scrolls which date back prior to the time of Christ helped to validate the Old Testament Scriptures. And so, we can go back to the originals and we can compare these originals and we can come up with a close copy of the original as possible. But it is possible, and I believe it has happened, where people have taken the word of God and have tried to manipulate it for their own ends. We need to be aware of that, we need to be careful. And that’s where comparing Scripture with the original languages is so valuable and so helpful. But God has preserved truth for us.
Eric: Absolutely, and this is a necessity, one of the necessity is for having or obtaining the Holy Spirit within us.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Correct.
Eric: Now, I also have one other question for you. Do you also believe that even in the affirmation that we have that the understanding to the doctrine that we do have has been manipulated for so long of a time that it still have, even though we have the words of power before us and the Holy Spirit, do you believe that we have been manipulating and understanding that we have been taught and has been passed down from generation to generation to continue keep us in a bondage, a message [Unintelligible]
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sure. You know, that’s pretty evident. There are I don’t know how many churches today or denominations today all claiming to be the true denomination. They all claim to be preaching for the Bible. But they’re saying exactly the opposite. So, you know, people can manipulate the word to their own ends. But when one comes to the Scriptures with the sincere desire to do God’s will, you’re going to find truth, so that you can apply it to your life and you prayerfully ask God to guide you and you look at the weight of evidence in Scripture. In other words, you look at everything the Bible says on a particular subject. God will guide us and see us seek into whole truth, that’s His promise. So depending upon the attitude of the heart and a willingness to study thoroughly and to search the Scriptures, we can come to an understanding of truth.
Eric: Well, thank you again, minister, and it was a pleasant speaking with you. Thank you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, thanks for calling, Eric. By the way, we do have a book that I think you’ll find interesting. If you call our resource line, you can just ask for it and we’ll send it to you for free. It’s called “The Ultimate Resource.” It’s all about the Bible, it talks about different translations, how we got the English versions today. Call 1-800-835-6747. The number again is 1-800-835-6747. You can ask for the book “The Ultimate Resource.” And if you have a Bible question, the number to call here to the studio is 1-800-463-7297. That’s 1-800-GOD-SAYS. We have Eric from New York. Eric, welcome to the program. Eric, you’re on the air.
Eric: Howdy, Doug? Question, how do you apply criteria as to determine whether someone who claims to be a prophet is indeed a prophet or just a crackpot? My reason I asked this is because on many pastor shows, not as much on yours, but I’ve heard it on yours as well, but on many pastor shows over the last few weeks, they’ve been making [Unintelligible] to be a crackpot. And my argument is simple, it seems to me--and by the way I don’t think he was right, but he was just guessing, he was just speculating, and why would his speculations any more goofy than any of the speculations about Revelation that I hear on you or any other broadcast, for heaven’s sake?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright. Well, good question. Let me speak to that for just a moment. You know, when it comes to understanding Bible prophecy, there are certain principles that we want to apply. In other words, we want to make sure that we allow the Scripture to interpret itself. It’s popular trend today, or somebody might look just--hang on a second-- it’s popular trend…
Eric: Inanimate objects can’t interpret themselves.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, hang on, we got the Holy Spirit, at least we need to pray for the Holy Spirit and we say, “Lord, guide me in the understanding of your word,” and then we want to compare Scripture with Scripture. So the symbols in Revelation are explained in the Old Testament, and when we compare the symbols of the Old Testament with that of the New Testament, and we look at the weight of evidence, what the Scripture says on a particular subject from start to finish, that’s where we can come to correct understanding of Bible prophecy. And even doing so, we want to make sure that we are not dogmatic, especially when giving our own opinion. We want to make sure that we allow the Scripture to speak. So test everything by what the Bible says. The Bible tells us in Isaiah, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this, there is no light in them.” So Scripture must be tested with Scripture. Eric, you there?
Eric: Yeah. But, again, it’s speculation. You’re giving some--in one of your promos you say call up this number and you’ll get a tape or some kind of a temple or something on life after death. Well, you’re guessing as to what life after death is like. You don’t know. I don’t know. And the guy down the street doesn’t know. So why can’t you just be upfront about that and say, “Look, this is what I think and maybe there’s some truth in it or maybe the guy down the street on the park bench he was scouting this or that, maybe he’s right. Nobody really knows. In order to be [Unintelligible] honest, you really got to own up to that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, hang on a minute. This is what we do and we offer, for example, what we’ve done is we’ve gone to Scripture and we’ve looked up every verse in the Bible that talks about what happens when a person dies. We’ve put it all down there. And then we tell people take a look at it and come to your own conclusion. That’s our goal. We want people to study the word for themselves and make a decision based upon the weight of evidence. Don’t take my word for it, or don’t take the word of any preacher. We want to go with what the Bible says. And so, when we do offer these various resources, it’s a resource. It’s to help somebody study the Scripture for themselves and come to their own understanding, prayerfully, allowing the Spirit to lead and guide. Thanks for your call, Eric. We appreciate it. We’ve got Patrick who is listening from Oregon. Patrick, welcome to the program.
Patrick: Yeah. How are you doing?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good.
Patrick: Yes, my problem is that how can I…
Pastor Jëan Ross: Patrick, get a little closer to your phone there, if you don’t mind. There we go.
Patrick: Okay, how can I cast out when demon is possessing someone?
Pastor Jëan Ross: How can you cast out a devil when someone is possessed? Is that the question?
Patrick: Yeah, how can a devil be cast out? How can I cast it out?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright.
Patrick: Even if it’s inside myself or someone else, so yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. There is only one source and one source alone that can deliver a person from a demonic influence and that’s Jesus Christ. And the only thing somebody can do to be delivered from a demonic force is to earnestly and fervently plead and ask Christ for help. There’s no magic formula, there’s no magic words, there’s no magic potion. God looks at the heart. You know, man looks at the outward, God looks at the heart. And if we come to God with sincerity and we say, “Please, Lord, we are powerless against this evil force, I need your help, please, answer our prayer,” and if there is sincerity and if we are willing to surrender ourselves to Christ, Jesus is able and willing to give us the victory. That’s what’s involved.
Patrick: Thank you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright. Well, thanks for calling, Patrick. Appreciate it. We have John who is listening in Toronto. John, welcome to the program.
John: Hi, good evening.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good evening.
John: I’m calling from Ontario, Toronto. I’m glad to have gotten through. Just want to ask one question. Actually two but here go the first one. I can’t remember the Scriptures right now or the passages, but is it true that those that are saved and believe in Jesus Christ will not come to judgment?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, the Bible tells us in Romans chapter 8, the first two verses, “That those who are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation.” Meaning, that if you’re in Christ Jesus, if you surrender to Jesus, if you’re trusting in Jesus moment by moment you have nothing to fear in the judgment. The judgment will just prove that you are in Christ Jesus. It’ll validate your profession. It’ll validate your faith.
John: So that people that are left behind, there’s this one who will come into judgment, am I correct, the same way?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes, but the judgment of the righteous--there is a judgment for everyone, including the righteous, but the judgment of the righteous or the judgment of those who professed to be followers of Christ, is not so much to weigh their good deeds versus their bad deeds. The purpose of that judgment is to see who is indeed in Jesus, who’s trusting in Jesus, who’s believing in Jesus. So long as they’re doing that, there is no condemnation. The blood of Christ covers them and the judgment validates that and says, you know, John is in Christ Jesus, he has confessed his sins, he’s trusting in Christ, yes he is able, we can save him, he’s savable. So the purpose of the judgment for the righteous is to confirm that they’re in Jesus, whereas the purpose of the judgment for the unrighteous is to determine what their punishment is going to be.
John: Okay. One other question, when I pray, I pray to God and I pray to Jesus, I know that they’re both one, the Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But sometimes I get confused when I pray, I refer to Jesus, I refer to God. Can I just pray to two Gods? Or can I just pray to Jesus? Because I don’t want to go from side to side. I know they’re all one, but help me in that situation.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sure. You know, Jesus gave us an example, and He said, “When you pray, say our Father in heaven.” And Jesus says that we ought to direct our prayers to the Father. We pray in the name of Jesus, and that’s why we always end our prayers in Jesus’ name. But we got to talk to God as a father. And there’s nothing wrong in praying to Jesus. We have an example of Stephen, when he was being stoned, who prayed directly to Jesus. But most times our prayers following the example of Scripture is directed to God the Father. We’re bringing up petitions to the Father in Jesus’ name. And, you know, don’t be too concerned about the words, what God is looking at is the heart. What is the attitude that we have when we come to be in prayer?
John: Very good. Thank you very much indeed, Pastor. Have a great evening. And thanks for taking my call. [Unintelligible]
Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for calling. Okay. We’ve got Arlene who is listening from Willett, California. Arlene, welcome to the program.
Arlene: Hello, thank you. Thank you for taking my call. I have question about, a gentleman mentioned it earlier, he brought up about how do we know what’s in the Bible, correct and incorrect. And he was saying how it just changed and this man has trampled with it and all that sort of thing. And I was just wondering about the book of Gnostic Gospels, I just wanted to know what because Constantine picked certain books, and at the time of Constantine that’s when the Bible was put together. So I was just wondering--somebody told me there was the book of Mary, that Mary actually wrote a book, and I was just wondering if you knew about that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Sure. Let me say something about it. You are referring to the New Testament canon or how the Bible was put together. There’s a simple principle involved when the New Testament was put together. Only the books that could be validated that were written by eye witnesses of Jesus, with the exception of Paul’s writings, were included in the New Testament. So there were many letters that were written in the early Christian church, from various church leaders. But if they were not an eyewitness of Christ, their book was not included in the New Testament. And then any book that couldn’t be validated as far as the authorship, that was not included either. So you had to be an eyewitness of Christ and your book had to be validated for authorship in order to be included in the New Testament.
Arlene: I see.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s the criteria that they used.
Arlene: Yes, and I thought about what that gentleman said about, you know, how do we know that it hasn’t been changed. And I asked that question before and somebody told me, well, that they have found the papyruses through the years and they all tell the same, it’s all the same as the Bible we have today.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right.
Arlene: But I thought that that was something that should be said.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right. That validates the Bible. There’s two sets of Greek text in the original language. The one’s called the Byzantine family of text. The other is the Alexandrian family of text. And when you compare those various manuscripts together, they, in essence, say the same thing. There might be just one or two little words that might be different as a result of copying. But the essence, the thought and the message is the same. So that helps develop the accuracy of Scripture.
Arlene: Right. I just thought it would be really fascinating if they found another papyrus and it was actually, like you said it had to be--well, Mary was a witness of Jesus, so it would be interesting. I mean, the Bible, it is the way it is now. But I just thought it might have been kind of fascinating if there was really--if she did indeed wrote a book…
Pastor Jëan Ross: Right.
Arlene: …you know, in her own--I just thought that that would be fascinating.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know, there were other letters, for example, that Paul wrote to the church of Laodicea that we don’t have in the New Testament. It’s mentioned in one of his other letters. But we don’t have the book in the New Testament. For some reason, it got lost and we don’t have it. So there could very well be other books that were written, but they couldn’t validate the authorship or it had gotten lost and it was not included. However, what we can be confident of is that that which we need for salvation is included in the New Testament. God made sure that we had all of the information necessary for our salvation. And that’s encouraging.
Arlene: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright. Well, thanks for calling, Arlene. You know, you might enjoy the book we’ve mentioned a little earlier, it’s called “The Ultimate Resource.” And it talks about the Bible. It kind of deals a little bit with the original manuscripts and then the various translations that we have and it’s free if you’d call our resource line, which is 1-800-835-6747, you can ask for the book “The Ultimate Resource,” and we’ll be happy to send that out to you. For anyone that’s listening, if you would like to obtain this book, 1-800-835-6747, and again, just ask for the book “The Ultimate Resource.” You can also ask when you call that number for our free offer tonight, it’s entitled, “God’s Free Health Plan.” It’s Amazing Facts study guide and, again, we’ll send that to you for free. It’s 1-800-835-6747. You can also go to the Amazing Facts website, which is just amazingfacts.org and you can read these various materials online.
We have a library at the Amazing Facts website, just click on library and you can scroll through various books that we have. We also have video online, amazingfacts.org, click on the link that says video and you can watch previous programs. You can even listen to pervious programs of Bible Answers Live. Well, friends, you can hear the music in the background. That means we have come to the end of our program for this week. We apologize if we weren’t able to get to your call. Give us a call next week and we’ll try to answer your question. Until then, God Bless.
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