Hello friends, this is Doug Batchelor how about an amazing fact? Ants are the most numerous creatures on earth. It has been estimated that the combined weight of all the ants in the world is greater than the combined weight of all humans on the planet. We also admire ants for their ability to pull 30 times and lift 50 times their own weight that would be the equivalent of you and I, out-pulling the Clydesdale horse or lifting an elephant. They understand teamwork, too. If necessary, they’ll make their bodies into a ladder to climb on or raft to float on.
Ants are also among the most organized insects. Some ant species herd aphids like domestic livestock. The ants and the aphids are engaged in a symbiotic relationship in which each benefits from the other. On the one hand, the ants actually care for the aphids and protect them from ladybugs. In exchange, the ants receive nutritious honeydew excreted by the aphids.
The ants tap the aphids with their antenna to let them know they would like some honeydews sap then they carry the honey back to the nest to feed others. While attending their flock, the ants might even redistribute the aphids on their host plant to prevent local overcrowding. Before winter, these ants will even carry off aphid eggs to start a new herd of aphids in the spring.
Some ants are also farmers. Leaf-cutter ants from the tropical force of Central and South America live in huge underground colonies ruled by a single queen and may contain as many 8 million ants. The largest workers leave the nest to go out foraging for leaves and petals. They collect the leaves by cutting them with their sharp jaws into small pieces. They then carry the pieces back home.
But they don’t eat the leaves. Instead, these resourceful insects use them to grow their own food. Back at the nest, smaller worker ants chew the leaves into tiny pieces forming large compose heaps. This compose grows of fungus on which they feed. These fungus gardens deep underground are carefully tended by tiny gardener ants.
You know friends, the Bible says, “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which having no captain, overseer, or ruler provides her supply in summer and gathers her food in harvest.” There’s a lot we can learn about God’s creature.
Stay with us friends, and we’ll learn more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Welcome to Bible Answers Live with author and Pastor, Doug Bachelor. Do you find it challenging to understand the Bible? Stay tuned to get clear, practical answers to your most pressing questions straight from the Bible. If there are passages of Scripture that confuse you or that’s difficult to connect what you read in the Bible with what you’ve been taught, then you’ve found the right program to get clear, reasonable, and down-to-earth answers to your Bible questions.
Bible Answers Live is produced by Amazing Facts dedicated to spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. Lines are open so call now, 1-800-GOD-SAYS. That’s 800-463-7297. Now, here is your host, Pastor Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Doug: Welcome once again, listening friends, to another edition of Bible Answers Live and we are so thankful that you have tuned in either by design or providentially, we are glad you’re with us either way.
If you would like to, you can participate in this live, interactive Bible study by picking up the phone and calling. We have several lines open right now. If you have any Bible-related question, it’s a free phone call, 800-GOD-SAYS and that plays out to 800-463-7297. Give us a call now with your Bible questions and you have a good chance of getting them on this program. My name is Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Dick: My name is Dick Davit and good evening, Doug. It’s good to see you.
Pastor Doug: Good evening. You too.
Pastor Dick: This is a fascinating little amazing fact about the and. You and I both have been in Africa within recent times and I want to talk about these ants in just a minute but before we do, let’s have a word of prayer.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Pastor Dick: Father in heaven, we ask that You come and be with us now as we seek to open Your words and share with our callers and our listeners the word of God. As we seek answers from Your word. Lord, we know that You are speaking to us today just as You have done all through history to Your people. So Lord, please let us hear Your voice clearly tonight. It’s my prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Doug: Amen.
Pastor Dick: When I was in Africa in Ghana last year, I saw these ants and giant… what do you call them, herds I guess or?
Pastor Doug: They’re the termite hills.
Pastor Dick: Yeah, the termite hills these giant hills…
Pastor Doug: And the army ants? Oh, you saw the big termite hills.
Pastor Dick: I saw the big termite hills but I also saw the ants marching down the road by the millions.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, army ants.
Pastor Dick: Oh, man!
Pastor Doug: I saw it, too.
Pastor Dick: Once they start moving…
Pastor Doug: We were hiking through the jungle and we stopped and stood in the wrong place for just a moment and one of our team just had them swarming all over her. And you don’t notice it until they start biting they’re very light.
Pastor Dick: Yes, yes. That’s right.
Pastor Doug: But they’re very incredibly industrious creatures.
Pastor Dick: Now, where are you going with this spiritually, Pastor Doug? We can see signs of God’s power in nature. Is that pretty much where you’re..?
Pastor Doug: You know, I was amazed when you read through Proverbs as well as some other parables of Jesus how often the writers of the Bible through inspiration point to creation to illustrate biblical truth.
Pastor Dick: Okay, yes.
Pastor Doug: Here where Solomon talks about the ant as a great example of industry and teamwork even though they have no general barking out orders, they all work together without anyone trying to get the credit. And you know, of course he talked about everything from the eagle in the air to the snake on the ground.
And Jesus, He talked about the flowers of the field and the sheep and the fish and so there’s a lot we can learn from God not only from His spoken word but from His created world – from the creation.
Pastor Dick: Okay, including our own characters, right? I mean, we can learn from observing societies and cultures and other people as well.
Pastor Doug: Every now and then, we all have this epiphany revelations where the reality of God strikes us with incredible force. For me, the moments when I feel the greatest faith in the reality of God is when I see some of these marvels in nature or you look up at the starry heavens and you think about how big God must be how immense space is. Our minds can’t take it in.
And then as David says, “When I consider the heavens and the stars You’ve made, what is man that You are mindful of Him?” We’re so small and yet He loves us. So creation teaches us lessons about God.
Pastor Dick: The beauty that I saw today, I was flipping through the TV channels and I saw the Pro-M Golf Tournament in Pebble Beach and beauty of that area…
Pastor Doug: Yes, it’s wanted…
Pastor Dick: Along the Central California Coast. It’s just magnificent! God is the Master Artist, isn’t He?
Pastor Doug: And there are some people who may not see God initially in a church or in the Bible but He reveals Himself sometimes through the things He’s made. And we have an inspirational offer that will do that for you.
Pastor Dick: We want to make this available. This is something that we haven’t offered in recent times that I can remember, Pastor Doug. It’s called, “Amazing Wonders of Creation.” This little book will give you a quick but convincing study of how the great mysteries of the land and sea support the biblical account of creation.
So please call our resource operators tonight and ask for this book. It’s called, “Amazing Wonders of Creation,” 800-835-6747, 835-6747. The book is called, “Amazing Wonders of Creation.”
Pastor Doug, we do a couple of internet questions before we go to the phones each week. First one tonight is, “Is there life on other worlds?” We’re exploring Mars right now. We’ve got this two rovers going on up there and the United States is active in its Space Program.
Pastor Doug: That’s another thing that is very fascinating to me and I’ve probably made myself obnoxious telling all of our listeners I would love to be the first Pastor in space.
Pastor Dick: Oh! I’ll be right behind you, bro.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, I would be willing to take the risks, I’m telling you, to be able to get up into the heavens like that.
Pastor Dick: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: I may have to wait ‘til Jesus comes to soar the worlds unknown but is there life on other planets? You know, I believe there are obviously, the Bible teaches – let’s go to the Bible – that God does have creatures that He’s made other than humans. Of course we know there’s angels and cherubim and seraphim, and they are ministering spirits but we also believe the Lord has other intelligent creatures on other worlds.
And one reason we believe that is in Hebrews 1:2, the writer there says, “God has, in this last days, spoken unto us by His Son Whom He’s appointed Heir of all things by Whom He made the worlds,” and that is definitely plural in the Greek. Not just this world but the worlds. Then you can go to Colossians 1:16, “For by Him were all things created that are in heaven above, that are in the earth beneath – visible and invisible, whether they be thrones of dominions or principalities or powers – all things were created by Him.”
And then if we look in the book of Job, it begins with some heavenly meeting where the sons of God gather before the Lord. And they may be representatives of other worlds because Adam was called the son of God here in this world. And yet Satan comes to represent the world because man – Adam – sold out his dominion when he sinned. And it says that God says to Satan, “Where did you come from?” He said, “I came from the earth,” and so I think we have every reason to believe that there are unfallen worlds who have not sinned.
We all know the parable of the shepherd that had 100 sheep and one went astray and he left the 99 safe in the fold to go look for that one. This world, when you think about the immensity of space, is that one lost sheep and Jesus came into this world to save this world.
Pastor Dick: That’s a good point. It’s almost as if this world has been quarantined that we haven’t been able to communicate…
Pastor Doug: That’s a good way to put it.
Pastor Dick: With the other worlds that sin…
Pastor Doug: Because of sin.
Pastor Dick: Sin is being kept here and it’s…
Pastor Doug: The only ones that can deal with a quarantine patient are the hospital staff, and in this case, the hospital staff are God – Father, Son, and Spirit – and the angels. And our world has got this infection of sin.
Pastor Dick: Okay, good. Second question, “Do you think America will be affected by the Antichrist and if so, in what way? Is it safe to say that European countries and the Middle East would be more likely affected by an Antichrist attack to rule the world?”
Pastor Doug: Well, to answer that question, of course Revelation 13 and 12 is where we get a lot of that answer and even Revelation 14. I do believe that America, the United States, will have a prominent role. It tells us that the beast’s power compels the other parts of the world to worship.
And if you think what power in the world today has the most clout? What political power? What country? We don’t want to be arrogant but I still think it is the United States. I travelled around the world and most people look to the dynamic economy, military, communications of the United States as the standard and the United Nations is here.
So I think that the US is going to have a prominent role in endorsing the Antichrist when he is finally entrenched. We don’t know exactly when that will be. And then of course, the Middle East and Europe will follow suit.
Pastor Dick: Okay, very good. Well, let’s go to the phones. We want to remind folks, we do have still, let’s see, four lines open so if you have a Bible-related question of any kind and you want to ask Pastor Doug your question, now is the time to call and we’ll do our best to get you on by the end of the program 1-800-GOD-SAYS, 1-800-463-7297.
Let’s take our first caller for the evening, Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Pastor Dick: We’ll talk with Raymond who is in Andrews, North Carolina listening on WKRK. Andrew, welcome to the program.
Raymond: Thank you.
Pastor Doug: Yes sir, and your question please?
Raymond: Doug, I’ve been reading in Daniel 9, the last four or five verses there.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Raymond: 24 through 27 and where it speaks of the Messiah being cut off after three weeks. Then in verse 27, it comes back and says, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week and then in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.”
Now, there are some denominations or religions that ‘he’ here is speaking of Jesus. But then, there seems to be many others that feel that this is speaking of the Antichrist, the actual arch enemy of Jesus and I wonder what your thoughts were on this.
Pastor Doug: Well, I have heard, and a matter of fact, I used to attend with a church – a dear people – but they believe that ‘he’ there was the Antichrist. This is obviously a very, very important question because we don’t want to confuse the Antichrist with Jesus. They’re two diametric opposites.
The context of the sentence is the coming of the Messiah – the context of the passage. It briefly talks about the prince that will destroy the city of God and but then it goes back to the context, which is the Messiah. One reason we know that, “confirming the covenant” means a covenant has been made and it’s reiterated. There is no reference to a covenant that the Antichrist has made with anybody in the Bible. But there is a covenant that the Messiah made.
Now if you go to Hebrews chapter 2, well we can go to verse 3 Hebrews 2:3, “How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which, at the first, was spoken by the Lord,” that’s Jesus, “and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him,” the apostles. For the first three and a half years, Jesus spoke the covenant, He confirmed the covenant of salvation, right?
Raymond: Right.
Pastor Doug: Then, for three and a half years, until the stoning of Stephen, the apostles only preached to Jews. They confirmed that covenant that God had made with Israel. When Stephen was stoned, Paul was then converted, Peter went to Cornelius – the gospel then went to the Gentiles.
Three and a half years in person, three and a half years was confirmed through those that heard Him. But there’s nowhere in the Bible does it say that any covenant was made or confirmed by the Antichrist so that’s, I think, a manufactured doctrine.
Raymond: Okay, thank you very much.
Pastor Doug: All right. God bless and hope that helps.
Raymond: Thanks. Bye-bye.
Pastor Doug: Bye-bye.
Pastor Dick: Thanks for the call, Raymond. Let’s go to Elsa Bronty, California. Tony is listening on KNDL. Welcome Tony.
Tony: Thank you. How are you?
Pastor Doug: Very good.
Tony: Great. I have a question for you, gentlemen. We have an older friend of ours and he wants to know, he says if there is a God, why would God take the young babies that are sick at such an early age? Do you have an explanation that will help me explain to him and make it a lot easier?
Pastor Doug: I will do my best but you have framed one of the most common questions because it is the most acute example. People will say, “If God is love then how can He let innocent babies suffer and die?” They’re not guilty, they haven’t done anything wrong. And you would think if God is love and if He is love – if He is all powerful – why doesn’t He stop it from happening?
A lot of it has to do with the right understanding of how important freedom is to God. God gives all of His creatures a free will. This world was made where God gave dominion of the world to Adam and Eve, and you can read that of course in Genesis chapters 2 and 3. Adam and Eve’s freedom and dominion was conditional on trusting and obeying God. When they chose to doubt God and listen to the devil, Satan setup his office in this world. He has claimed this world as his staging ground, indeed, even Jesus calls the devil the “prince of this world” because most of the people in the world, whether knowingly or unknowingly, worship the devil – very few worship God comparatively.
So when babies suffer, when innocent people suffer, God cannot always intervene. That’s why we pray. We are needing to invite Him to intervene. And even when we pray, sometimes the innocent suffer.
I had a game of racket ball today with a friend of yours and mine, Pastor Dick, Pastor Mike Contis, who lost a baby girl to a brain tumor, and of course I lost a son in a construction accident a few years ago. And you could ask these questions, if God is love… well, you know Jesus said, “Good and evil comes to the just and the unjust.”
You know, the best example I can think of and the best answer, Tony, invite your friend to read the book of Job. He doesn’t have to read it all. The first four chapters. The whole book of Job deals with “why does God allow bad things to happen to good people and why does God allow good things to happen to bad people?”
Jesus said, “God is a loving God and He sends the good and bad to everybody.” He allows it for everyone.
Tony: Right, because in the book of Job, Job lost everything but he still gave thanks to the Lord for having Jesus in his life and in the end, he was rewarded.
Pastor Doug: And, you know, the bottom line is God is sovereign and sometimes He is a compassionate God, sometimes these babies die because He’s allowing them to die. If a baby dies before the age of accountability, they’re most likely saved, correct?
Tony: Correct.
Pastor Doug: So, really, death for them is an insurance. It is the ceiling of eternal life.
Tony: Right. The book of Job is the perfect explanation.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, it really is.
Tony: Thank you very much.
Pastor Doug: All right, hope that helps.
Tony: Have a good evening. Bye-bye.
Pastor Doug: God bless.
Pastor Dick: That was a good question, Tony. We appreciate the call. You know, Pastor Doug, ever since we’ve sinned in the Garden of Eden, man has had this propensity to allow himself to fall into slavery, right? Slavery of sin.
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Pastor Dick: And God honors that choice. I mean, if that’s our choice, so be it but He doesn’t want it.
Pastor Doug: He doesn’t force us to love Him.
Pastor Dick: Exactly.
Pastor Doug: We can’t do it.
Pastor Dick: Yeah, that’s a good point.
Pastor Doug: And sometimes you know, we have to recognize that He allows the righteous to suffer at the hands of the wicked.
Pastor Dick: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: And they’re martyrs. He loves them.
Pastor Dick: Yes.
Pastor Doug: But He doesn’t always intervene.
Pastor Dick: Okay, let’s go to Washington, to Crawford, Washington. Katrina is listening on KGTS. Hello Katrina.
Katrina: Hi. I was wondering if how God was created or if He was created or was He just already there?
Pastor Doug: Good question. This is one of those times, Katrina, I want to answer your question with a question, okay? There are people out there that don’t believe in God because they say, “Well, we don’t know where He came from. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Katrina: Yeah?
Pastor Doug: But they believe the world evolved through a series of explosions, right?
Katrina: Yes?
Pastor Doug: And you might ask these people, “All right, where did the world come from?” and they will say, “Well, the world came from our sun when it exploded. That’s where our solar system came from.” And then you ask them, “Okay, where did our sun come from?” “Well, our sun came when our galaxy was formed and there was a great explosion.” “Okay, where did our galaxy come from?” “Well, way back when the universe was formed, these gas particles came together and exploded. Big boom!”
You’ve heard the expression maybe, the ‘Big Bang Theory.’ And then you say, “Where did the gas particles come from?” and they will ultimately say, “Something always existed.”
So everybody has two choices, Katrina. We know that we’re here, we know that there’s organization and design and intelligence in the world. You can see the planning, right?
Katrina: Yes.
Pastor Doug: If you walk to an airport and you see a big 747 jet airplane out on the runway, do you think it got there because something exploded?
Katrina: No.
Pastor Doug: Or it’s obvious something made it, right?
Katrina: Yes.
Pastor Doug: So we have two choices – either everything we see in the world is here because there has been a God who has always existed or everything is here because of gas particles that always existed and started exploding. Those are our two choices. It takes a lot of faith to believe that all the organization that we see came from gas particles that blew up.
Katrina: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: It’s easier to believe God has always existed. Something always existed. When did God have a beginning? I don’t know. That where you get the word ‘infinity.’ Jesus said, “I Am.” He says, “I Am the Alpha and the Omega,” that means forever one direction, forever the other direction. He’s eternal. We can’t understand that. Our brains start to explode when we think about it.
Pastor Dick: That’s right.
Pastor Doug: But God has always existed and there is no day when He was created, because, think about this, if God was created, Katrina, He need a Creator, right?
Katrina: Yeah. Yes.
Pastor Doug: Then where did that Creator come from?
Katrina: I don’t know.
Pastor Doug: So that’s my point. At some point, there had to be the first Creator Who always existed.
Pastor Dick: And that’s God.
Katrina: Yup.
Pastor Doug: Someday when we get to heaven, we’re going to talk to Him about that and He might give us more insight.
Katrina: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: All right?
Katrina: Thank you.
Pastor Doug: Thanks. Good question.
Pastor Dick: Thanks Katrina, for the call. Let’s go to Littlerock, Arkansas. Steve is listening on KWLR. Hello Steve.
Steve: Hello. How are you all doing tonight?
Pastor Doug: Good. Thanks for waiting. And your call, question?
Steve: Yes sir. Well, I first wanted to say that I respect you Pastor and that I’m not asking to try and trip you up but I actually would like to get an answer. But my question stems from dealing with the resurrection or the rapture, whatever you want to call it.
Matthew 24:29-33 and Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-54, and 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 and Proverbs 2:21-22 are all good examples of the Bible stating that Christ is coming after the tribulation. There is hundreds of Scriptures that say that, that point that and say it straight out but there’s not even one that point it straight out that Christ is coming before the tribulation. People just gather it from other Scriptures that actually don’t say it straight out.
The second thing is our founding church fathers…
Pastor Doug: Let me interrupt you because you may be saying the same thing as me if I understand right. You believe that tribulation is before the second coming? Is that correct?
Steve: I don’t believe interpretively as what the common reserves of things but my question really stems from this information that I’m giving you.
The church founding fathers like Martin Luther and Matthew Henry and Calvin, and all them, everybody before the 1800s had the viewpoint of Christ coming after the tribulation.
Pastor Doug: I believe that.
Steve: Okay. Well, the rapture actually…
Pastor Doug: Oh, you need to key him in again. I think we… you back, Steven?
Steve: Hello?
Pastor Doug: We lost you for just about two seconds.
Steve: Okay. Well, the tribulation is actually a sign of Christ’s coming. And I’m just wondering all these information that I, you know, in the light of all these information that I just said, how is it that this doctrine of pre-tribulation rapture is prevalent in the church today and you hardly hear any kind of doctrine dealing with post tribulation?
Pastor Doug: All right. Now, let me answer that a little bit because we’re going to run into our break here in a moment.
Steve: Okay.
Pastor Doug: I couldn’t agree with you more if I understand you correctly. I agree with Spurgeon, Luther, Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke, Gil – all of the church fathers. The apostles believed that the tribulation was before the rapture. That’s why Jesus said, “He that endures unto the end will be saved.” And in Daniel chapter 12, Michael will stand up in the resurrection, second coming, and it’s “after a tribulation such as there never has been.”
So I agree with that wholeheartedly. You’re asking, where did this come from? This is a doctrine of futurism that began with a Jesuit priest by the name of Francisco Rivera it was to combat the teachings of Luther. It was eventually adopted by a popular Protestant scholar by the name of Schulfield and Schulfield included his notes about the futuristic interpretation, which is the whole ‘Left Behind’ scenario, in his Bible. It became very popular because of his Bible notes and nobody was talking about Revelation back then and embraced by people like Howlen Sy and others.
And today, you basically have many, many Protestants that are teaching and believing in the Catholic view or the Jesuit view of prophecy, which is futurism.
Steve: Francisco Rivera, or whatever, is a current with Martin Luther?
Pastor Doug: He lived shortly after.
Steve: Okay.
Pastor Doug: It was a counter-reformation writing and, you know, I have a book that I would like to send you.
Steve: Yes sir.
Pastor Doug: It’s called, “Anything But Secret,” and it’s a book I specifically wrote with lots of Scriptural reference that bears at the very point that I think you’re making that all of these Scriptures are saying something very different from the ‘Left Behind’ fantasy that has been embraced by so many. The tribulation comes before the rapture. And it is so clear from all of the evidence in Scripture that you almost wonder where people are getting this.
Steve: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: You have to torture the Bible to make it say the other in my opinion.
Steve: Yeah, yeah.
Pastor Doug: So if you call our resource number, tell them you’re listening to Bible Answers Live and ask for Pastor Doug’s book. I’ll send it to you for free. Does that sound fair, Steven?
Steve: That sounds great!
Pastor Doug: It’s called, “Anything But Secret,” it not only talks about these references on the secret rapture but the tribulation as well. Pastor Dick will give you that number.
Steve: Okay.
Pastor Doug: God bless.
Pastor Dick: Steve, that number is 1-800-835-6747, 835-6747. Okay?
Pastor Doug: Now, we apologize that we didn’t have more time. That’s a good question but we’re taking a break. Don’t change the channel friends, we’re going to come back in just a few minutes with more Bible questions. For those of you who are where you can log on, you might either jot this down or remember just the word ‘Amazing Facts.’ If you type in ‘Amazing Facts’ and ‘.com’, ‘.org’, ‘.net’, ‘.tv’, it’ll take you to this Christian website with all of these Bible resources that will be a tremendous help in your personal study.
We offer probably more free Christian material than any other website. Take a look. Be right back!
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Welcome to Bible Answers Live with Pastor Doug Batchelor. You can call right now with your Bible-related questions and receive clear, practical, down-to-earth answers to your most perplexing Bible questions straight from the Bible. Call now, 800-GOD-SAYS 800-463-7297. Now join us as we open our Bibles for more Bible answers live with author and evangelist, Pastor Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Doug: Welcome back listening friends, and if you have just joined us, you’ve found your way to Bible Answers Live and we are very thankful that you’ve tuned in. This is a live, international, interactive study.
You can participate with us by listening, praying for us, and calling in any questions. That free phone call is 800-GOD-SAYS, 463-7297, and you should also know, have a pencil handy because we give out some other website information for free resources as well as free books that you can call and request. My name is Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Dick: My name is Dick Davit and we have a line or two open so give us a call if you have a Bible-related question. Let’s get back to the phones, Doug.
Jersey City, New Jersey, LèVance is listening on WMCA. Hello LèVance.
LèVance: Hello, how are you doing?
Pastor Doug: Good. Your question please?
LèVance: Yeah. How do you ask the Lord God for a soul mate?
Pastor Doug: How do you ask the Lord for a soul mate?
LèVance: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: Well, it’s a good question. You know, of course the Bible tells us, God said, “It’s not good for a man to be alone,” and if we pray sincerely and – don’t forget this – patiently.
You know, Pastor Dick, I remember in the Bible that Abraham didn’t get a wife for Isaac ‘til he was 40.
Pastor Dick: That’s right.
Pastor Doug: How could that be? I could have gone crazy waiting that first 20 years.
Pastor Dick: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: But pray persistently, pray patiently, God has someone for you. And in the meantime, serve the Lord in your singleness with joy knowing that ultimately, God is your spouse. And He tells us that He loves us as Christ loves the church.
We have a free offer that we’d be happy to send you, LèVance, if you would like that. It’s called, “Happiness for Husbands and Wives.” It’s our Bible study on wedlock or deadlock. And, are you there?
LèVance: Yeah, I’m here.
Pastor Doug: And if you call the resource number, it gives you some great guidelines on how to pick a spouse and we’ll be happy to send that to you.
LèVance: Okay, who do I talk to?
Pastor Doug: Well, we’ll give you a phone number. You just call them. Pastor Dick will give you the number and tell them you want the study guide on marriage.
LèVance: Okay, study?
Pastor Dick: Study guide on marriage, LèVance, and the phone number is 835-6747. Now that’s an 800 number, you could dial 1-800-835-6747 and ask for the study guide on marriage and we’ll send it right out to you.
Let’s go next to Sacramento, California. Dale is listening on KFIA. Hello Dale.
Dale: Hello Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Hi, how are you doing, Dale?
Dale: Can you hear me?
Pastor Doug: Yes, loud and clear.
Dale: Okay. I have a question for you because it has something to do with the angel Gabriel.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Dale: I heard you say once that you feel that the angel Michael is Jesus. So I want to ask you now, who do you think… I’m not trying to trip you up or anything, but I for frankly speaking, I disagree with you more than I agree with you on a lot of things.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Dale: But I’m, you know, I’m a missionary kid from Nigeria. You were speaking about Africa earlier. My dad teaches at Fuller Seminary and I live here in Sacramento but I had a lot of trouble with a lot of your theology. But this is one I want to clear up because…
Pastor Doug: That’s why you ask the question, who do I think Gabriel is?
Dale: Yeah. I’d like to know biblically.
Pastor Doug: I believe Gabriel is an angel. It calls him the angel of the Lord.
Dale: But you also say Michael is an angel but Michael is Jesus and Jesus is… angels are non-copperier beings.
Pastor Doug: No, I never said… now, this is where I think you’re misunderstanding it. Bear with me. I’ve never said that I believe Jesus is an angel. I don’t believe that. What I’ve said is the individual that is identified as Michael – Michael is never called an angel in the Bible. Can you show me where?
Dale: Can you please…
Pastor Doug: He’s called the ‘archangel’ and the word ‘archangel’ means ‘greatest messenger.’ What I’m sharing is actually right out of Matthew Henry’s Commentary who is probably… Spurgeon says he was one of the best Bible commentators.
All of the characteristics of this individual called Michael – the name ‘Michael’ means “Who is as God?” and whenever he appears in the Bible, it is a manifestation of Christ in His pre-incarnation. Now, do you agree that Jesus appeared to Abraham?
Dale: Oh yes, I do.
Pastor Doug: Okay. Do you believe that Jesus appeared to Moses at the Burning Bush?
Dale: I…
Pastor Doug: Well, God appeared to him, you agree with that?
Dale: Well, wait a minute. I’m not sure how to answer that because I know the Burning Bush existed and God spoke to Moses but I don’t see in the Bible where it says, “And Jesus appeared at the Burning Bush.”
Pastor Doug: Oh no, it doesn’t say that, I agree. I’m not trying to…
Dale: Why do you read things into the Bible like that?
Pastor Doug: No, I’m not trying to trick you. Let me tell you where I’m going with my question. The Lord appeared to Moses at the Burning Bush, the Bible says that. The point is another time Moses refers to it, he says the angel of the Lord spoke to him and one time, it says the Lord spoke to him.
Dale: Okay, did it say the archangel of the Lord?
Pastor Doug: No, but when you get to Daniel chapter 12 where it talks about…
Dale: Wait a minute, just answer my question that I originally asked you about Gabriel.
Pastor Doug: Gabriel, I believe, is an angel.
Dale: Okay, was he an archangel?
Pastor Doug: It never calls him an archangel.
Dale: Then what are the names of the archangels?
Pastor Doug: Only one angel is called an archangel, Michael.
Dale: Okay, so you don’t believe then that Gabriel and Jesus were the same?
Pastor Doug: No.
Dale: But you give characteristics to Michael… you give attributes to Michael that are Christ-like?
Pastor Doug: I don’t want to give anything. Let me… can you quote for you?
Dale: Okay, but be careful because your station says ‘GOD SAYS.’ You’re naming your program as ‘GOD SAYS.’
Pastor Doug: That’s why I’m telling you I’m not going to say, let me just quote the Bible for you.
Dale: Okay, but be careful because I want you to use exegesis, not isogesis.
Pastor Doug: I’m quoting Scripture… let me quote the Scripture for you. 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout and the voice of the archangel,” the original Greek is “the Lord descends with the voice of the archangel.”
Then when you go to the book of Jude, it’s telling us that Michael is the one who comes to resurrect Moses. When you get to Revelation, I’m sorry, Daniel chapter 12, Michael is there at the resurrection of the dead in… of those who sleep in the dust of the earth.
And so, you look at the characteristics of this individual and he always has the characteristics of Jesus. There’s a book that we’ll send you for free if you’re interested, Dale. It’s called, “Who is Michael, the Archangel?” The whole book is dedicated to this. You know, it’s one little nuance in Bible study but people really choke on that. But I’m just telling you what I believe the Bible teaches. And we’ll send that to you for free.
You know, that could be a long study but we’ve got people waiting in line so I hope…
Pastor Dick: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: You’ll understand if we move on.
Pastor Dick: Yeah, we really want you to call and get that book, Dale, at 1-800-835-6747. Ask for the book about Michael, the Archangel and we’ll send it to you if you’ll call that number tonight 835-6747.
Let’s go next to Lewis who is in Union City, New Jersey listening on WMCA. Good evening Lewis.
Lewis: How are you doing?
Pastor Doug: Very well. How are you?
Lewis: Good. First time caller. I was just listening to the radio and I’ve been blessed by the Lord recently and I just want to find more information about proof that the Lord exists. I have friends of mine that are atheists and I’m trying to find more proof in the Bible that He exists so I could contradict them as they speak to me about how evolution was the way that this earth and the universe and man was created.
Pastor Doug: Well, we have two books that we could offer you that deals specifically with this. One is the book that we are offering tonight called, “Wonders of Creation.”
Lewis: Okay.
Pastor Doug: It talks about the evidence of God in creation. And if you ask them, they may send you both books for free. Usually, each caller gets one but you tell them that you’re talking to me and maybe they’ll give you the other one and it’s called, “When Evolution Flunked the Science Test.”
Lewis: Okay.
Pastor Doug: They’re both by Joe Crews, “When Evolution Flunked the Science Test,” and the other is, “The Amazing Wonders of Creation.”
Lewis: Beautiful.
Pastor Doug: And you’ll be encouraged by it, there’s a lot of biblical, I believe, evidence and reasons that we can know about the existence of God if you think logically.
Lewis: Right, right.
Pastor Doug: You know, one of the great minds of the last century was C.S. Lewis who started out as an atheist and deeply steeped in philosophy and he ended up, because of logic of Christianity, he could not deny it and he became one of the greatest Christian minds. He’s got some books out. I’m trying to remember the name, one is “Mere Christianity.”
But one of his books specifically deals with an argument for God. And anyway, there’s a series of five books that he’s written and I’m getting some help up here. I’m trying to remember. Hang on one second “God in the Dock.” That’s the book by C.S. Lewis.
Lewis: “God in the Dark?”
Pastor Doug: “God in the Dock.” Now, we don’t offer that.
Lewis: Oh, okay.
Pastor Doug: You’ll have to get that at a Christian bookstore.
Lewis: Sure.
Pastor Doug: I bet you can read it online now because it’s over 50 years old. It’s probably public domain.
Lewis: Yup.
Pastor Doug: Okay?
Lewis: And the question I will ask you is recently in the last decade, Scientists have been noticing that evolution theory looks like is collapsing. And recently, in Georgia, I’ve been reading and saw in the news that a possibility that they’ve been teaching all the kids of this world how evolution is and how possibly in Georgia, they’re going to eliminate that as they’re teaching more about creation. How do you feel about that?
Pastor Doug: Well, I believe that the evidence for creation is profoundly more compelling than the evidence for evolution. The evidence for evolution is extremely broken and it’s built upon a foundation of sin. That foundation is their dating methods – the whole evolutionary theory rises or crashes to the ground on their dating methods and the first thing they’ll tell you when you look up Carvin’ 14 Radio Isotope Dating is that it’s very undependable, very unreliable. A lot of variables change it.
So read these books that we mentioned and I think you’ll get more evidence there as well. Okay, Lewis?
Lewis: Thank you for your time. Could I ask you one quick question?
Pastor Doug: You know, I better keep moving. We sort of try and quota ourselves.
Lewis: It’s fast. It’s going to be…
Pastor Doug: All right, go ahead.
Lewis: It has to do with a question I was asked before on the radio.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Lewis: About Adam and Eve.
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Lewis: If God created Adam and Eve and because they sinned and then obeyed the Lord, that’s today why we don’t have our freedom the way we like to have it and to live in a better piece of life. How long would this promise may continue?
Pastor Doug: Well, when the Lord comes back, then He is going to reclaim the planet and He’ll alleviate the suffering. So at the return of Jesus is when the creation is restored to the Creator.
Pastor Dick: And yet, our freedoms can be restored now.
Pastor Doug: That’s right.
Pastor Dick: Our freedom of choice is restored at the moment that we choose to believe in Jesus Christ.
Pastor Doug: We can become part of that kingdom now.
Pastor Dick: Exactly, exactly. Okay.
Pastor Doug: Thank you, Lewis.
Pastor Dick: Thanks for the call, Lewis. To Walla-walla, Washington next. Tracy is listening on KLRS. Welcome Tracy.
Tracy: Yes. I’ve been reading in 1 Corinthians and I’ve always believed that – at least the church that I come from believed – is that speaking in tongues is not appropriate at least the way a lot of people believe. But I have been having a hard time understanding a couple verses. It’s 1 Corinthians 14:2 and verse 13 and 14.
Pastor Doug: Can I read those for our listeners?
Tracy: That’d be great.
Pastor Doug: 1 Corinthians 14:2, “For he that speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not unto man but unto God for no man understands him, how be it in the spirit, he speaks mysteries.”
Let me give you the scenario of what Paul is talking about and you will see how it all fits. The only time Paul talks about tongues, is at all, is to the church in Corinth. Are you aware of that?
Tracy: No.
Pastor Doug: Okay, Paul wrote about half the New Testament, wrote many letters to many churches. He never even mentions tongues to the other churches. He mentioned it to the Corinthian church because Corinth was a seaport in the Roman Empire that was filled with slaves from all over the Roman Empire speaking scores of different languages.
Many of them, as often as the case is, the poor classes turn to Christianity it was the poor that follow Jesus. And their church services had become very confusing because people were speaking many dialects in the service. And Paul is saying that you stand up and you speak in an unknown language, meaning unknown to the majority person, you’re not speaking to men but to God – of course God understands every language, right?
For no man understands you in the spirit, that means in your heart, you’re speaking mysteries. People don’t understand what you’re saying in their spirits. Now, you also wanted to know some other verses.
Tracy: Well, it just kind of continued on in verse 13 and 14.
Pastor Doug: “Let someone who speaks in an unknown tongue that he may interpret.” Now, I’ve preached as Pastor Dick has in many countries and you need someone to interpret, and that means to translate. A matter of fact, we tease sometimes – we call them our interrupters because you say a few words, you stop, they translate, then you say a few, then they translate, and so they’re not just interpreters, they’re interrupters. But what good is it if you don’t allow them to translate or interpret so those listening know what in the world you’re saying.
And, let me park here for a moment, a lot of these charismatic ministers that babble in tongues and they say, “This is the gift of tongues,” when they go overseas and do crusades, you realize that they need translators. Sometimes they get a whole army of them that go with them because they speak in tongues that they say God understands but nobody else knows what they’re saying.
Tracy: Right.
Pastor Doug: When the Lord poured the Holy Spirit out on the apostles during Pentecost, the Jews that were there from other parts of the Roman Empire said, “We hear and understand them speak about the wonderful works of God,” in their native tongues – in their native languages.
So what Peter and the apostles were preaching was understood and this is the gift of tongues. It’s God miraculously gives the ability to speak out their languages to people who did not know it through study or design.
Tracy: Sure.
Pastor Doug: Verse 14, “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays but my understanding is unfruitful.” This verse has been used to say that we’re supposed to pray in an unknown tongue.
Now, first of all, the purpose of prayer is so – the very definition of prayer is so you can communicate to God what your needs are. If you’re praying and you don’t know what you’re praying, how can that be prayer? How can you know if the answer ever came? It doesn’t meet any definition for prayer. But this verse is used.
And then, I have to ask a question. Show me one example in the Bible of anybody praying in tongues. Just one. There is none. But here, you have Paul saying, “If someone is in church and they’re speaking in an unknown tongue, pray that he might interpret. If I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays” – I can pray from my spirit – “but my understanding is unfruitful,” and in Greek, what that means is “my understanding is unfruitful to those present.” That’s the context of the former verse.
For instance, if I should start praying right now in Hebrew, “Baruch atha aranoya lohinou mela chola molchi lacha mena orch.” I am praying in my spirit, I know what I said but it’s unfruitful to you. Got it?
Tracy: Yeah, okay.
Pastor Doug: That’s what he’s talking about and so, people take 1 Corinthians 14 and they miss the whole purpose of it. Paul says in verse 9, “Except you utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how will it be known what is spoken? You are speaking into the air.” That summarizes the whole chapter.
Tracy: Right.
Pastor Doug: When you speak, make sure you’ve got a translator or speak so they can understand or be quiet. That’s what he says with the whole chapter.
Tracy: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: Now, I get excited about this because I wrote a book about it, Tracy.
Tracy: Okay.
Pastor Doug: I used to worship with a lot of dear people who practice this form of tongues and I had problems with it and I had problems with it and it’s called, “Captured by Tongues.” I’ll send it to you for free. Would you like a copy?
Tracy: Okay.
Pastor Doug: And Pastor Dick will give you the number.
Tracy: Okay, thank you.
Pastor Dick: Tracy, just call the number we’ve been giving out. It’s 835-6747, that’s an 800 number 1-800-835-6747, okay?
Tracy: Okay, thank you.
Pastor Dick: And ask for “Captured by Tongues.”
Tracy: Okay.
Pastor Dick: All right. Thanks for the call, bye. To Stanton Island, New York, Fred is listening on WMCA. Fred?
Fred: Hi guys.
Pastor Dick: Yes, welcome.
Fred: Hi guys, thank you for taking my call. I just want to say that you guys are of actual examples of being Christians. I mean, not everybody is going to agree on what the Bible says and they’re not going to all fall into line on exactly what’s interpreted. However, I just want to say that you guys are always keeping your cool, you always keep your composures, you never get out of hand or out of shape, like that call from Sacramento. I mean, he’s a missionary son, if I heard him correctly, and I mean, I understand if he’s not agreeing totally with you guys but that’s human nature.
And I mean, I was stunned to yell at the radio. I was telling him to relax, “Calm down! What you get [inaudible]”
Pastor Doug: You know, Christians, if nothing else, we should act like Christ and we should be able to disagree respectively without being disagreeable.
Fred: Right. And I don’t understand why he’s so bent out of shape but if you don’t agree, you know, that’s fine. You know that stuff, like start getting like bent out of shape about it.
Pastor Doug: Well, even the apostles had their moments of disagreements, it’s evident.
Fred: Right.
Pastor Doug: Well, I appreciate that. Thanks for the words of encouragement, Fred. Keep it in your prayers.
Fred: All right, thank you guys for taking my call.
Pastor Doug: God bless.
Fred: You too, bye-bye.
Pastor Dick: Appreciate the call, Fred. Let’s go to College Place, Washington. Tammy is listening on KGTS. Hello Tammy.
Tammy: Hi.
Pastor Doug: Hi, Tammy. How are you?
Pastor Dick: And your question please?
Tammy: I’m good. I just have a question about Moses. If Moses died on Mount Hebron in Deuteronomy 34:5, “And Michael the archangel contends with the devil for the bones of Moses as Jew,” and I believe Michael is Jesus. And then the other place I can see where Jesus resurrects Moses to heaven is in Matthew 27:52 which says, “The graves were opened and many of the bodies of the saints which slept arose after Jesus’ resurrection,” I don’t understand how Moses could have been in heaven during the Mount of Transfiguration.
Pastor Doug: All right. There are some things that we don’t have in the Bible that we may have to depend a little bit on Jewish – other Jewish writings. Other Jewish writings say that God assumed or raised Moses to heaven three days after his death so that he would not decompose the same way he honored Christ that He would not corrupt. And Moses was raised so that he could see the children of Israel crossover.
That would mean that if Michael raised Moses as referred to there in Jude chapter 1 – it’s only one chapter – then Moses was not raised in that resurrection in Matthew 27. He was raised in the Old Testament times. There will be no reason for the Lord to wait that long. If the Lord could bring Elijah to heaven before he even died, he can raise Moses three days after he died. It’s not in the Bible. The only evidence we have is Jude, which is in the Bible, and the Hebrew tradition that Moses was raised three days later.
Tammy: So it’s some Hebrew writing that…
Pastor Doug: Yes, and I don’t remember if it’s the Mishna. You know, I should search that out and have that reference available. I don’t have it at my fingertips.
Tammy: But it’s not in our Bible?
Pastor Doug: No.
Tammy: Okay.
Pastor Dick: The only thing in our Bible is the fact that he appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Pastor Doug: Exactly. There’s exhibit A. Thank you, Pastor Dick. He appeared to Jesus and “talked with Him,” it says in Luke, and He discussed His decease He was about to experience.
Tammy: Okay, thank you.
Pastor Doug: So obviously, Moses was there before Matthew 27.
Pastor Dick: Thank you, Tammy. God bless.
Pastor Doug: God bless. Good question.
Pastor Dick: To George in New York who is listening on WMCA. George, welcome to the program.
George: Thanks for taking the call.
Pastor Doug: You bet.
George: The question is about language considering Enoch and going back to Adam, what possibly could have been the original language? Was it Hebrew? Was it classical Hebrew, ancient Hebrew or was it some other language? I mean, is there any evidence for this?
Pastor Doug: So you mean the language before the Tower of Babel is what you’re really saying?
George: Absolutely.
Pastor Doug: Well, of course I know a lot of people that will tell me it’s Spanish. They say that’s the language of heaven and you know, even though Spanish is a second language to me, it is a very beautiful tongue and it makes a whole lot of sense of English.
George: Kind of romantic line with it.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. English doesn’t make any sense at all. They just, I mean…
George: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: Sometimes I don’t know which way to write which. In any event, we don’t know. You know, to answer your question, the Bible calls it the language of Canaan. I don’t believe anybody speaks that language in the world today. I believe every earthly tongue has been corrupted by sin.
George: But tell me, how is it possible that the Torah has been passed on from grandparents to grandchildren and on and on and on? And the tongue has been passed down for thousands of years. How could that information would have been passed on? I mean, just think about it.
Pastor Doug: Well, before the time of Moses, information was not certified. It was passed down orally.
George: Correct.
Pastor Doug: And so, it did not necessarily could have been written. So there could have been some changing of the language. After the Tower of Babel, they scattered in many different directions based on, you know, family clans and who understood each other.
One thing that is interesting, George, and you sound like you might be something of a linguist, there are similarities in words all over the globe.
George: You’re right.
Pastor Doug: That are very ancient similarities.
George: That is right. I sensed that myself.
Pastor Doug: So, you know, there’s some evidence that all the languages do have a common mother tongue and we don’t even know what that original tongue was.
George: Do you think it was like a Canaan-like language possibly?
Pastor Doug: You know, we call it the language of Canaan, but Canaan was actually… it was inhabited after Mesopotamia. If the Tower of Babel was in the plain of Sinar, so whatever language they’ve spoke in Eden and whatever language they spoke before the Tower of Babel was confounded – that’s what it was.
George: Are you saying that God communicated with Adam in that sort of language or was it something like…
Pastor Doug: Yeah. Well, I believe that He spoke to Adam in the language of… before the fall, before sin and we don’t know what that language was. I bet it was a lot more articulate and beautiful than anything that we speak today.
George: Well, we look forward to speaking that language with the Lord.
Pastor Doug: Amen! Well, that’s right.
Pastor Dick: Amen.
Pastor Doug: We can speak that in prayer right now. Thanks for your question, George. We’ve got a couple minutes left and a few more callers.
Pastor Dick: Let’s go to Grand View, Washington. Noueya is listening on WPLR. Did I say that right?
Noella: Noella.
Pastor Dick: Noella. Welcome to the program.
Noella: Thank you. I just have a question on John 5:4 that’s talking about an angel. It says, “An angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water. Whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.”
Pastor Doug: Yes. Are you wondering if that was an angel of God that troubled the water?
Noella: No, I know that it wasn’t an angel that moved the waters but what I want to know is how to explain to someone and I know that this verse is omitted and some of the…
Pastor Doug: Some versions.
Noella: Yes, yes. But not in the Spanish and I don’t know. I want to know how to explain to someone that’s taking this verse literally, you know, and believe that it was an angel.
Pastor Doug: All right. Well, let me just…
Noella: So I want to know what caused…
Pastor Doug: Let me do my best to explain that very quickly because I only have two minutes or less.
Noella: Yes, okay.
Pastor Doug: First of all, we do not believe an angel of God would play a joke on all the sick people around the pool and make the water bubble and people then climb over each other selfishly so the first one who gets in is healed. That whole thing would be – it goes against the very nature of God.
Noella: That’s right.
Pastor Doug: It was probably a superstition that John is relating. Keep in mind, John often related what the people said from their perspective. John said the religious leaders believe Jesus was a glutton and a wine-bibber. Well, He wasn’t but they believed that.
John said they accused Him of breaking the Sabbath. Well, He never did but they believed that. Well, in the same way, they had a superstition when this spring bubbled, people believed the first one in was healed. Some of them may have experienced healing because it was by their own faith.
Noella: Right.
Pastor Doug: I mean, we know there’s faith healers today that do that. But if that was the case, Jesus would have put them in into the water but He didn’t depend on the water. Jesus healed him completely separate from that superstition.
Noella: That’s right.
Pastor Doug: So that, I think, is the best evidence. It’s Jesus healed them with the word and through his faith in him. I hope that helps you, Noella.
Noella: Do you have anything that I can get more information to explain that?
Pastor Doug: You know, the best thing… can you get on the internet?
Noella: Yes.
Pastor Doug: Type that verse into the internet and then put the word ‘commentary’ and there are several commentaries that deal with that.
Listening friends, we’re out of time. We took as long as possible. Keep us in your prayers. We’d love to hear from you. Most of all, Jesus is the Truth that sets you free.
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