Deep sea Anglerfish

Its round body resembles a basketball; and indeed, it looks like it could easily swallow one. It has the largest mouth compared to its body size of any creature in the sea. In addition to its mammoth mouth, it's filled with savage fang-like teeth that have earned it a second name of the "common black devil."

Behind their powerful jaws and teeth, they have a stomach that is greatly distendable and they can swallow prey that is even larger than they are. The stomach of one small black devil anglerfish contained a lanternfish nearly twice the size of the angler. Despite its ferocious appearance and appetite, the angler only reaches a maximum length of about five inches.

The angler name comes from the long, modified dorsal spine that is ticked with a light-producing organ known as a photophore. Like many other deep water fish, the angler uses this organ to lure and attract its prey. It'll flash its little light on and off while wiggling it back and forth like a fishing pole. When the prey fish get close enough, the angler snaps it shut with its powerful jaws.

In the dark gloom of the deep sea, the angler's blackish skin renders them nearly invisible to their prey by absorbing any bluish light. Only the female deep sea anglers have the lure. The small males survive in a different way. The male of the species is about the size of a finger, and it looks like a black jelly bean with fins.

He has small, hook-like teeth that he uses to bite and attach itself to the female. Once attached, its blood vessels join with that of the female and it will spend the rest of its life joined to her like a parasite, getting all of his nourishment from her body. He drinks her blood and, in return, he fertilizes her eggs.

The flesh of the two fish eventually fuse and they remain permanently connected until death do they part. This adds new meaning to the Scripture, "And they two shall be one flesh." Stay with us friends. We'll learn more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.

[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]

Pastor Doug: Hello listening friends. We're glad that you could join us for another edition of Bible Answers Live. This, as you can tell from the title, is a live, international, interactive Bible study. We would invite you to participate by listening, praying for us as we attempt to answer the questions, or calling in your Bible question.

It's a free phone call, and that number is 1-800-GOD-SAYS. That's 1-800-463-7297. We have some lines open now so if you would like to give us a call, just dial that number, 1-800-GOD-SAYS, 1-800-463-7297. My name is Doug Batchelor.

Pastor Dick: My name is Dick Devitt. Good evening Doug.

Pastor Doug: Good evening Pastor Dick, welcome back.

Pastor Dick: Thank you

Pastor Doug: We miss you when you're gone.

Pastor Dick: Well I appreciate that. I miss you too.

Pastor Doug: Thanks

Pastor Dick: This was a local thing. I wasn't doing any traveling. I had a little surgery and so there was a need to just take some time off.

Pastor Doug: Well we're glad you're back safe and sound; and you look like you're in good form.

Pastor Dick: We're doing fine.

Pastor Doug: So why don't you lead us with prayer before we start the program.

Pastor Dick: Right. We usually start with that. Let's do that.

Father in heaven, we want to thank You and praise You for Your love, and Your grace, and Your mercy; and for the privilege, Lord, of participating with You in sharing the Gospel. Lord, we're not able to do that unless Your Holy Spirit comes and abides with us and speaks through us. So right now, I lift up Pastor Doug, and I lift up this program Lord and ask that You clear our minds, and that You be with the listeners and with Pastor Doug. Give him clarity of thought and discernment as we seek to answer questions from those who are yearning to know a deeper truth about Jesus Christ. Lord, this is Your program and we want to hear from You. And we thank You and we praise You, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now Pastor Doug, I must mention before we go any further, for our local audience here in the Sacramento, California area that we are having some technical difficulties in the rest of the country. So this is a perfect opportunity for people in Northern California who might think, "Oh well, all those people back east get their calls in first, and we can't ever get in there." Call now folks! [Cross talk, unintelligible] We have some lines open.

Pastor Doug: This program goes by satellite. Every now and then, there are a thousand little transistors that need to work right and sometimes there's a glitch. So if you are in the Sacramento area, you have a good chance of getting on. Of course, all our friends who listen on the Internet that would still hold true for them as well.

Pastor Dick: That's right, that's right - 1-800-GOD-SAYS is the phone number. Now Pastor Doug, tell me a little bit more about the spiritual application of this little fish. I have seen a video tape somewhere, National Geographic or something, about this little fish with the light over its head, and it's in the deepest - -

Pastor Doug: Well, yeah, they're called everything from the "black devil" to the "deep sea angler." They are a scary-looking fish.

Pastor Dick: Yeah!

Pastor Doug: They've got this big, old menacing mouth filled with sharp, fang-like teeth; and the mouth is about the whole body. It's like a mouth with fins. I wondered whether or not I should even make the analogy between this deep sea creature and marriage, but when I read part of the amazing fact where it talks about the way that the male and the female fuse for life, they really do become one flesh.

I couldn't help but notice the biblical principle that "they two are joined and become one flesh," speaking of marriage. We could even learn something from this scary fish that swims a mile down in the oceans.

Pastor Dick: Well then it's appropriate because Father's Day is about upon us - -

Pastor Doug: That's right

Pastor Dick: - - and Mother's Day just passed not too long ago. So yeah, you're right, there are some good ties.

Pastor Doug: It's something to be said for a commitment and marriage being a symbiotic relationship.

Pastor Dick: Uh-Huh

Pastor Doug: And, especially in this day and age where so many of these unions that are meant to be holy wedlock, seem to degrade into unholy deadlock. Instead of people enjoying marriage, they feel like they're enduring their marriages.

Pastor Dick: And as Pastors, we hear this too often, - -

Pastor Doug: Yes

Pastor Dick: - - more often than we like to hear it; so we pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will, uh - -

Pastor Doug: We would like to put some resources in people's hands to help strengthen good marriages and to help some of the struggling marriages. And this would even be for those who are single out there contemplating marriage. It's a special study guide that is part of our series dealing specifically with marriage.

Pastor Dick: Amazing Facts has a plethora, to use one of your words, of wonderful resources; and just one of them is this Bible study lesson, which is part of the lesson study guides that we often make available to our listeners. This particular lesson is called, "Has Holy Wedlock Become Unholy Deadlock?"

No reason to despair. There is a solution if you are having communication problems in your marriage. If there are problems of any kind, I would encourage you to send for this Bible study, along with all the others. Either you can get them from the Internet or you can call our resource operators. There are several ways that these lessons are available. 1-800-835-6747 is the resource number and just ask for the lesson on marriage; and they'll make it available to you tonight. Pastor Doug, we want to welcome some radio stations to our network.

Pastor Doug: Amen!

Pastor Dick: Praise the Lord, we always rejoice when we hear of new stations joining us. There is a radio network here in the United States called Radio 74 USA and three of their affiliates have joined us just recently: KOZR 102.9 FM in Gentry, Arkansas; KGIA 92.9 FM in Grand Island, Nebraska; and KPVA 92.7 FM in Shelton, Nebraska. So we welcome these stations to our network.

Okay, praise the Lord, our engineers have just held up a little message saying - -

Pastor Doug: We're on the satellite. We're live, praise the Lord!

Pastor Dick: We're live! That's great to hear. So we apologize to those of you who are out of the Sacramento listening area. Just to let you know, we did have a technical difficulty as we went on the air but we have some lines open. If you have a Bible-related question, now would be the time to call 1-800-GOD-SAYS. That's 1-800-463-7297.

We also want to send greetings to an overseas listener who sent us an email. This is from Mitchell DeShields. Mitchell lives on the island of Bermuda and he says that he is listening to us on radio station ZFB 1230 AM, radio ZFB on the island of Bermuda. Mitchell, thank you for your email. We appreciate that and please spread the word about Bible Answers Live.

Pastor Doug: Amen

Pastor Dick: Amen. Internet questions?

Pastor Doug: I'm ready, okay.

Pastor Dick: Let's see. Our first one, "I am a young adult. And many Christians say that God's ideal plan for people is to have a family or be married. I enjoy being a single Christian and being married is not a desire of my heart; but my peers tend to disagree with me. Am I wrong in thinking this way? Can you give me examples of a single person's lifestyle from the Bible?"

Pastor Doug: Well, a Christian is a follower of Christ and Jesus was married to the church, ultimately the bride of Christ.

Pastor Dick: Amen, yes.

Pastor Doug: He was single; - -

Pastor Dick: Right

Pastor Doug: - - and He lived as a single man, and I'm sure there were the temptations. It says He was subject to all the temptations that we're subject to, yet without sin. There are temptations for married people. There are temptations for single people.

Ultimately, when God's perfect plan was developed, God wanted man and woman to be fruitful and to populate, or fill, the earth. Well the earth is pretty well populated now. And yet, the Bible does say it's not good for a man to be alone; and that would mean people, mankind. So in some ways, people reach a more complete fulfillment through marriage.

There are certain attributes that a man has that a woman lacks; and certain characteristics and thoughts and temperaments that women generally have that men lack, and they can balance each other out.

Pastor Dick: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: That's why God said, "I will make a help meet for man," and that really means, "I will make someone who is compatible to help fill or round out his character." So in many ways men and women often compliment each other. But there are examples in the Bible, such as Jesus; the apostle Paul, who was single.

Pastor Dick: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: We don't know. History is so little obscure whether Paul had been married; whether his wife left him when he became a Christian; whether he was a widower, we're not sure; or he never married. It's just not clear. Some argue that he had to be married to be a Pharisee, but we don't know that.

Anyway, Paul says in 1st Corinthians 7:7, "For I would that all men were even as I myself," and he's speaking of being single, "But to each one has his own gift from God, one to this manner, another to that." Some people have a gift of singleness. Paul says that it's sometimes easier to serve the Lord more completely with less encumbrances when you don't have a spouse and a family.

But he goes on to say, "I say to the unmarried and to the widows, it is good for them if they remain even as I am." So here's a command where, especially during times of persecution, he said singleness may be a better option for spreading the Gospel.

Pastor Dick: Okay, second question, and it fits right in with what we're talking about. "How does the Lord guide us in finding a mate?"

Pastor Doug: Well, it's often miraculous the way it works. I would caution our listening friends. Be careful not to force God's hand in that issue. Some people, they are so lonely that they will push by, you know, signing up for every conceivable dating service on the Internet and doing everything they can to join every single's group.

Something that's important as a life mate, when it was time for Adam to get married, God brought them together. And when it was time for Isaac to find the right wife, in a miraculous, providential way, she was brought to Isaac.

Pastor Dick: Right

Pastor Doug: It often happens when you least expect it. So, it doesn't mean it's a sin to seek and you'll find. The Bible does say that "he that findeth a wife finds a good thing" and that works both ways. But be careful to wait on the Lord and make sure that He leads. Make sure the person is compatible with your beliefs biblically. Check and see how they treat their family.

If a man is disrespectful to his mother when you're dating him young ladies, then you know that's how he's going to treat you. So see how he interacts, not just while you're at school. A lot of young people think it's important to share a bed before they get married. I heard one Pastor say, "If you want to find out if you're compatible, you don't need to share a bed. Share a checkbook, and you'll find out if you're compatible."

Pastor Dick: Ah there you go! [Chuckles]

Pastor Doug: The quick answer, Pastor Dick, is order the lesson on marriage that we are offering for free.

Pastor Dick: Right, right, right. And I have often told young men to go to the home and see how the woman, er, you know, the young lady treats her father.

Pastor Doug: Um-hmm

Pastor Dick: And I've said to women, "Go to the home and see how the young man treats his mother because you just learn so much."

Pastor Doug: That's the model they're going to live by.

Pastor Dick: Exactly, exactly. Well let's go to the phones Pastor Doug. We want to take our first caller for the evening. It's going to be Sharon in Greenbrae, California. Hello Sharon, welcome.

Sharon: Hi

Pastor Doug: Thanks for waiting, and your question?

Sharon: My question is what does the Bible say about premarital sex and where is it found in the Bible?

Pastor Doug: Well there's quite a bit. First of all, one of the Ten Commandments--the Seventh Commandment--says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Some people believe that means as long as two married people are not unfaithful, as long as you're not married, sex before marriage is sort of a free-for-all.

But really, adultery means any improper sexual union, and that would be sex outside of marriage. Fornication and adultery both fall under that definition. Then some Scriptures for you, Sharon, would be, of course, Acts 15:20. There's a New Testament passage where it says that all Christians should abstain from fornication. Fornication means any kind of illicit sex, either adulterous sex or sex outside of marriage.

First Corinthians 6:13, "The body is not for fornication. It belongs to the Lord." First Corinthians 6:18, "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is without the body; but he that commits fornication sins against his own body." And even just our own common sense tells us that there is something that is so sacred about that union between a man and a woman.

There is nothing that you can describe that is more intimate; and it is also designed for procreation in the image through the combination of those two individuals through the act of love, procreation. So it produces a family. And so for them to have that relationship without the commitment to be parents, it's a risky thing.

We're in a society where we're just assuming that anything that feels good must be okay. But really, self-control is something the Bible teaches that's not heard much about these days.

Pastor Dick: Um mp, amen

Pastor Doug: So there are a few Scriptures. You would also find more in the lesson we're offering for free Sharon, if you'd like us to send you one.

Sharon: Okay

Pastor Doug: Just call and ask for the Bible lesson.

Pastor Dick: Yeah Sharon, just call our resource operators and ask for that lesson about marriage and they'll send it to you tonight, 1-800-835-6747, okay?

Sharon: Okay, thank you.

Pastor Dick: Alright, thanks for the call.

Sharon: You're welcome.

Pastor Dick: To Lexington, Kentucky, Joseph is listening on WJMM. Hello Joseph.

Joseph: How do you do gentlemen?

Pastor Doug: Good, and your question tonight?

Joseph: Well, my question is how does anybody get saved?

Pastor Doug: How can a person be saved?

Joseph: Yes. Very early, about 15 or 20 years ago, I said to Jesus Romans 10, verse 9, - -

Pastor Doug: Uh-huh

Joseph: - - "I believe in my heart in Jesus and you say it with your mouth, you are saved." And I said, "Yeah, I believe." And somebody told me, "Well you're saved." And then I got baptized. But here in Kentucky a pastor says, "No, that's not right" he says. He refers to Mark 16:16. "It says you get baptized and you're saved." Which of the two is correct?

Pastor Doug: Well salvation comes, first of all, by belief - -

Joseph: Yeah okay, right.

Pastor Doug: - - because the thief on the cross who was saved by Jesus in Luke chapter 23, he was saved based on his belief. He called out to the Lord in faith. He was repentant. He confessed right there on the cross; he publicly confessed his sin and Jesus said you'll be with Me in Paradise.

Joseph: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: He wasn't baptized, but I can guarantee you that if he could have come down and been baptized, he would have been. Baptism is an outward ceremony that seals that faith. The Bible says all that call on the name of the Lord will be saved; and calling on the Lord means more than just calling out His name because you're in trouble.

Calling on the Lord means those who call on Him through prayer on a daily basis. They have a relationship with the Lord.

Joseph: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: So there is more to salvation than simply uttering magic words and then going on living for yourself. If Jesus is on the throne of your heart, then He's your Lord. But if you're living your own way....

Pastor Dick: It's that relationship between you and the Lord, where you spend time with Him and He spends time with you, and you're in communication with Him and He's in communication with you. It's that relationship that is the proof, the evidence, that you are saved.

Pastor Doug: And then, of course, Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Then it's a willingness to turn from your sins and follow Him.

Pastor Dick: Right.

Joseph: This pastor said, "You're not saved. First you have to be baptized, then you're saved." In other words, when I accepted Jesus, he's saying I was not saved until I was baptized according to Mark 16:16.

Pastor Doug: Let me see if I could illustrate this. First of all, we'll send you a study guide on baptism for free if you like. It helps explain the relationship between baptism and salvation. But baptism is to the Christian what a wedding is to a marriage. It is the ceremony that seals the commitment and the love relationship.

Two people must be committed before marriage, you know what I'm saying? The marriage ceremony does not make them love each other. The marriage ceremony does not provide the commitment. Baptism is the public commitment that seals a love relationship that has existed before. You see what I'm saying?

Joseph: I wasn't saved before then? You're saying if I'm not baptized?

Pastor Doug: Let me give you an example, yes, you can be. Suppose that I go to prison and you're on death row and you're in the electric chair, and you say, "You know, I really am sorry for my sins. I really want to believe in Jesus. I want to be saved." And you genuinely repent, you accept Christ, but they're not going to let you out of death row to get baptized.

Joseph: Right

Pastor Doug: Are you saved? I would say yes you are; but you haven't been baptized yet. Baptism is not an obstacle to your salvation. One reason we know that, what about the thousands of people in the Old Testament who were not baptized, but Jesus said they are His children? So baptism is a ceremony that publicly testifies of the inward change that has happened.

We'll send you a lesson on that that hopefully, Joseph, will be some help entitled, Buried and Forgotten by God, on our sins being buried and forgotten.

Pastor Dick: Right. If you'll call our resource operators at 1-800-835-6747, Joseph, and ask for the lesson on baptism, or by title, Buried and Forgotten by God, we will send it to you tonight. So make that call tonight. Let's go next to Rancho Cordova, California. Jason is listening on KFIA. Jason, welcome.

Jason: How are you doing?

Pastor Doug: Good. Thanks for calling.

Jason: You're welcome.

Pastor Doug: And your question?

Jason: Yeah, my question is I was told the other day that we were suppose to keep the feast days.

Pastor Doug: Okay

Jason: And I understand that Christ fulfilled all those feast days, and how did He do so?

Pastor Doug: Well, if we look at the purpose of the feast days, they were all shadows that were pointing forward to Christ; and when Christ came, He is the fulfillment of that. One of the ways I might explain that is suppose that you had a son that was in the military and he's deployed for a couple of years.

Now, I've got a boy that's in the Marines right now overseas. We've got his picture on our desk. I might look at his picture, I might even pick it up and hold it, and I wouldn't never confessed if I kissed it. But when my son comes home, what would he think of me if he's standing at the door and I said, "Oh Daniel, it's so good to see you!" and I run into the living room and pick up the picture and start hugging the picture?

Pastor Dick: [Laughs]

Pastor Doug: He's there in front of me. So all of these types and shadows that helped us to recognize Christ, for us to exalt them--in other words, why would we sacrifice a passover lamb now that Jesus is our Passover?

Pastor Dick: Amen, yeah.

Jason: Yeah

Pastor Doug: You see what I'm saying?

Jason: True

Pastor Doug: And, of course, you've got that Scripture in 1st Corinthians 5, verse 7 Jason.

Jason: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: Here's what it says, "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you are truly unleavened." Now, we don't have leaven in our bodies. He's speaking in symbolic terms.

Jason: Yes

Pastor Doug: "For Christ is our passover sacrificed for us." Jesus is now our Passover Lamb. So why would we keep celebrating the Jewish passover? Now Jesus tells us instead of the passover, we celebrate the Lord's Supper.

Jason: Yes

Pastor Doug: And the same with all the other feasts. They have a more modern equivalent in the Gospel.

Jason: Okay

Pastor Doug: For us to keep them in the Old Testament times and fashions would really be like hugging a picture when the person is in front of you.

Jason: Oh okay

Pastor Doug: Okay?

Jason: I've even heard of preachers saying, "We don't know the difference between the weekly Sabbath and, you know, the feast sabbath. We can't tell."

Pastor Doug: Well, there are some real differences there. There's a book, Jason, we'll send you for free. It's called, Feast Days & Sabbaths, by Joe Crews. Would you like a copy of that?

Jason: Sure

Pastor Doug: Just call the number and ask for Feast Days & Sabbaths.

Jason: Alright, thank you.

Pastor Doug: Thank you

Pastor Dick: Thanks for the call Jason, 1-800-835-6747 is that number Jason. Ask for that little book, we'll send it out to you tonight. Let's go to New York. David is listening on WMCA, a first-time caller. Welcome David.

David: Hi, how are you doing? I'm sort of puzzled. I have many study Bibles. I was wondering what study Bibles you would recommend? And also, your view on the chronology of Daniel chapter 9?

Pastor Doug: Oh, big questions. Well let's start with the Bible question here. There are a number of good translations out there. Keep in mind David, some Bibles are not really translations. They are paraphrased for easy ready. If you get a children's Bible that's for ages 7 to 10, that may not be an accurate translation to study for deep theology because it's just made for easy ready; and it sort of translates the thoughts.

If you get into, like, studying Daniel chapter 9, you probably want a translation that has come from what we call the Textus Receptus. Not all English translations have come from the same manuscripts. The NIV, for instance, and some of the living bibles, some of them come from a couple of manuscripts that are a little bit suspect called the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus; whereas the King James Version, the New American Standard, the New King James, they are translated from the Textus Receptus.

I typically do evangelism preaching from the King James. For a study Bible, I have a Thomas Nelson, New King James Version. There's a lot of really good study notes in there. I don't agree with 100%, but 99%; and every now and then you've got to spit out a few seeds, but the melon is good.

Pastor Dick: Yeah, I have a Thompson Chain Reference, which I don't agree with some of it, but boy there's a lot of good stuff in it.

Pastor Doug: Yeah. Keep in mind David, that individuals like you and me can do their own translations.

Pastor Dick: Right

Pastor Doug: I mean, God forbid, but I could put out my own translation and call it the Batchelor Bible; and it would have all the flaws of my theology in there.

Pastor Dick: Yeah

David: [Chuckles]

Pastor Doug: You know what I'm saying?

David: Yeah

Pastor Doug: So, the main thing is go with what the Word says and you want it to be an accurate translation.

Pastor Dick: Right, right

Pastor Doug: Okay?

David: Okay. In the resource center, uh what - -

[Cross talk]

Pastor Doug: In Daniel chapter--you asked about Daniel chapter 9?

David: Yeah.

Pastor Doug: Eeee!

David: I know. Yeah.

Pastor Doug: Listen, we have a study guide we'll send you.

David: Okay

Pastor Doug: It's dealing with God sets a date for the judgment. The title is, God Sets a Date for the Judgment. Ask for that, we'll send it to you. It has a chronology chart of Daniel chapter 9 and I think you'll really appreciate that, okay?

David: Yup

Pastor Doug: Look at that and let us know what you think.

David: Okay

Pastor Dick: Thanks for the call David. There's the music Pastor Doug. We are not going away for very long anyway. We're going to take a brief break and then we'll come back for the second half of Bible Answers Live.

Pastor Doug: Absolutely. For our listening friends, if you've just tuned in, this is Bible Answers Live. We invite you to check out the website. If you're not far from accessing the Internet, just type in AmazingFacts.com, .org, .net, .tv, and it will take you to our website.

We have a plethora--I like that word--of resources. We have a free library where you can download books, read them online, a whole Bible study course that you can take. You can get your degree as a apostle of prophecy by going to our Bible University website and studying the Storacles of Prophecy lesson series. We'll be back after these important announcements.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

Pastor Doug: Welcome back friends. If you have just tuned in, this is Bible Answers Live, a live, interactive Bible study where we are exploring the Word of God to better understand the different aspects of what is truth. If you'd like to participate, you have a Bible question, we do have several lines open. So pick up your phone and dial our toll-free number, 1-800-GOD-SAYS, that's 1-800-463-7297. My name is Doug Batchelor.

Pastor Dick: My name is Dick Devitt, and we want to go right back to the phones Pastor Doug and keep moving through. The lines are lighting up. We still have a couple of lines open, but now would be the time to give us a call if you have a question that you would like to ask Pastor Doug. We want to go to Loma Linda, California. June is a repeat caller. Welcome June.

June: Good evening Pastors

Pastor Doug: Good evening

June: Thanks for taking my call.

Pastor Doug: Okay

June: I just have a question. Did Gideon practice idolatry?

Pastor Doug: Well, I'm afraid to say that he did. You're talking about the idol that he made from the jewels I guess that he took as sort of a, oh, um, oh what was - -

June: As a price to pay?

Pastor Doug: Well it was a price; there's another word for it--a tariff that he took on the victory. He made an ephod, if I'm not mistaken. He made it an idol and it ended up being sort of a smirch on what had been a life of great faith. Keep in mind, he was living during the age of the Judges, where it says, "And every man did what was right in his own eyes."

June: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: And there were those who, both before and after Gideon, the permanent temple had not been built yet. The sanctuary they had taken through the wilderness was very tattered at that point. It's hundreds of years after they have come through the desert; and a number of the tribes sort of set up their own shrines, a place to bring their offerings and to sacrifice to the Lord.

June: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: They saw the nations around them with their various idols and they said, "Well we're going to call our idols by the name of Jehovah, so that must mean it's okay." But they were forgetting that First Commandment and the Second one.

June: It became significant to me because a Muslim brother that I met, he was starting to read the Bible and he cited this to me, and I couldn't give him an answer; because I know in the Muslim religion, their foundation is they're against idolatry.

Pastor Doug: Well, I would agree with him that it was wrong, but the Bible records the good and the bad of the heroes. It simply proves the truth of the Bible, that it shows what Gideon did. God never endorsed what Gideon did. In fact, it said that it was a mistake.

June: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: Do you have the passage in your Bible?

June: Yes. It's on Judges 8, verse 27.

Pastor Doug: Why don't you read that to me?

June: This is the New King James Version. Verse 27 says, "Then Gideon made it into an ephod, and set it up in the city, Ophrah: and all Israel played the harlot with it there: it became a snare to Gideon, and to his house."

Pastor Doug: That's it. Okay, there you go. God is saying he did this, that the children of Israel that went to worship it, it was called harlotry--that means they were committing spiritual adultery--and it was a snare. That means it became something that was a stumbling block for Gideon and his posterity.

So the Bible records that he did it. It doesn't approve of it; so if your Islamic friends are using this as an example of some fault with the religion of the Bible, the Bible is a record book that gives the good and the bad.

Pastor Dick: It certainly doesn't change the character of God - -

Pastor Doug: No.

Pastor Dick: - - you know, which it ultimately is what this is all about.

Pastor Doug: In Hebrews 11, it cites him [Gideon] as a hero that will be in heaven, not because of this, but in spite of this mistake that he made.

Pastor Dick: In spite of--right, that's right.

June: Well thank you very much Pastors.

Pastor Doug: Thank you, good question.

Pastor Dick: Okay, thanks for the call June. Let's go next to North Highlands, California. Guy is listening on KFIA. Welcome Guy.

Guy: Hello, how are you doing Pastors?

Pastor Dick: Doing fine

Pastor Doug: Hi Guy, welcome.

Guy: How are you doing Pastor Doug--I have sort of a three-part question.

Pastor Doug: Okay

Guy: The first part is what would be a biblical way of, like, I guess, courtship? And, I mean, and how would you judge your own sentence on choosing that if you, like, meet a person and they're a nice person, and you find them attractive, not in a lustful way but as just a beautiful person? I mean, what's the biblical way about going about that, or should you just stay back, or what?

Pastor Doug: Well, you want to try to get know who the person is. In our culture, they get it backwards. They want to try to get to know them physically, and then later on after they're married, they try to get to know who they are; where, in reality, you want to get to know who they are, and the physical doesn't come until after marriage.

Everybody thinks the compatibility in marriage depends on the sexual plumbing, and "make sure that you're compatible in that way." When you're married, that is a very small part of the marriage relationship; though it is something that is to be considered. But get to know who they are by spending time together without becoming physically intimate.

A lot of young people get in trouble, Guy, because they want to get to know the girl and they use the braille method, meaning that they start to get into where they're not just holding hands, but they're, they're--you know--having full-body hugs and they get excited, and they start to activate natural processes that are hard to stop.

And even good Christian men and women, they get by themselves and they start hugging and kissing, and it always tends to go too far. So you want to avoid those situations where you're going to get.... First of all, you don't want to be alone with that person in a situation where it could get carried away.

So, get to know them in a variety of different situations where you would get to know who they are in between their ears.

Guy: Yeah

Pastor Doug: That's the part you're really going to live with.

Pastor Dick: And that part takes time. Relationships take time to develop. The Bible says that we're not to be unequally yoked; and the only way that you find out who a person is is by taking time to find out what they think, and feel, and how they respond in certain situations. That, as I said, that takes time.

Pastor Doug: You know, Guy, there's a book, we don't carry it at Amazing Facts, but I think they carry it on a number of other Christian websites. I know Focus on the Family carries it and it's called--well, we may carry it at Amazing Facts, I don't know. It's called, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. We do carry it, I'm being corrected. It's called, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, and it talks about a Christian outline for dating. That sounds like it's right up the alley of what you're asking Guy.

Guy: Okay

Pastor Doug: Alright? Now, it's not a book we're offering for free, but you can go to the website and find it there - -

Guy: Okay

Pastor Doug: - - because it's not one that we publish. Okie doke?

Guy: Okay, yeah. My second part, or my last part, or question I guess would be if, let's say if I don't, or whoever doesn't, end up in that union on the old, or will that still be possible on the new earth?

Pastor Doug: You mean is it possible to get married in heaven?

Guy: Yes

Pastor Doug: You know, it seems from one Scripture where Jesus said that, "Those that are worthy of the resurrection neither marry, nor are they given in marriage," it appears there are no new marriages between sexes in heaven. See, God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and to fill the earth. The new earth will populated largely with the saved.

We'll all, ultimately, find our fulfillment there with our glorified bodies. We're going to find our fulfillment in marriage to Christ. Nobody in heaven is going to say, "Aw man, I should have gotten married before I got here. Now I'm depressed."

Pastor Dick: [Chuckles]

Pastor Doug: Nobody is going to be unsatisfied there. Okay?

Guy: So if you're married and we get there, then it won't be the same?

Pastor Doug: Well if you are married, now this is my opinion, I don't believe that people who have had multiple marriages and divorces are going to be married to anybody in heaven but the Lord. But, in the case where there has been an uninterrupted marriage here on earth, I don't think God gives them divorce papers when they get to heaven.

Pastor Dick: Um m

Pastor Doug: When Adam and Eve get there, I don't see that God is going to say, "Well I hope you enjoyed your 900 years on earth. It's over now." I think they will probably be still closest friends, but they probably won't have any more children.

Guy: Okay

Pastor Doug: Okay?

Guy: Okay, thank you.

Pastor Doug: Alright, God bless Guy. Good questions.

Pastor Dick: To Boston, Massachusetts, Lourdes is listening on WROL. Welcome Lourdes.

Lourdes: Yes, how are you doing?

Pastor Dick: Good

Pastor Doug: Good, thanks for waiting. Your question?

Lourdes: Yes, my question is what does the Bible say about the Sabbath? And do we still have to keep the Sabbath day? And also, are we in the new dispensation and we're to keep the Sunday? How does that work?

Pastor Doug: Wow! You asked a lot of questions. Alright.

Lourdes: I'm sorry.

Pastor Doug: It's okay. I'll give you my abbreviated answer. Before I give you the answer, let me tell you that this is a subject that a lot of Christians are asking about. We have a free resource we'll send to anybody who wants to know about the Sabbath. Just ask for our Bible study guide on the Sabbath day and we'll send it to you.

Lourdes: Yeah

Pastor Doug: Now very quickly, the reason it's such a topic of interest, one of the Ten Commandments says, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." That's the Fourth Commandment.

Lourdes: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord. And everybody knows the seventh day of the week is what we commonly call Saturday; yet, many good Christians gather every Sunday, the first day of the week, they say in honor of the resurrection as their sabbath. The problem is there is a deafening silence in the Bible on any command that tells us to keep the first day of the week as the Sabbath.

There are a couple of very weak allusions to times when the disciples gathered on the first day of the week, but it never calls it a new Sabbath day. And so a lot of Bible Christians are saying, "We probably should stick with the Ten Commandments because God spoke it with His voice, He wrote it with His finger, and there's nothing in the Bible that tells us that He annulled, or altered, one of the Ten Commandments.

So, over time, the organized church, largely in Rome, began to try to accommodate the pagans and reach the pagans that worshiped on the first day of the week; and many of them slowly transitioned from worshiping on the seventh day, because the Jews did that and they were trying to distance themselves from the Jews, to keeping the first day of the week. And that's where a lot of the confusion comes in. That's the quick answer Lourdes. I hope that helps a little bit.

Lourdes: Okay, but some of these preachers, they talk about the new dispensation. What does that mean?

Pastor Doug: Well, you've got what they call the old and the new covenant.

Lourdes: Okay

Pastor Doug: And the old covenant was the law of God written on stone, and the people said, "All that God said we will do."

Lourdes: Okay

Pastor Doug: A covenant is an agreement. The new covenant, God said, "I will take My law and I will write it in your hearts and cause you to walk in My ways." The old covenant was based on the promises of the people to God. The new covenant is based on the promises of God to the people. But it's the same law. God never says in the new covenant, "I'm going to take away My law." He says, "I will write My law in your hearts." Same law, - -

Lourdes: Yeah, okay.

Pastor Doug: - - but it's written in the heart. Nowhere in the New Testament does Jesus say don't keep the Commandments. Matter of fact, He says the opposite, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Nothing in the New Testament tells us the Ten Commandments have been altered or abolished.

Lourdes: Yes

Pastor Doug: They're summarized in love. The first four Commandments deal with love for God. The last six Commandments deal with love for man. But you send for the study guide on the subject of the Sabbath. Read that please Lourdes, and let me know what you think. Call back.

Pastor Dick: 1-800-835-6747, Lourdes.

Pastor Doug: Pastor Dick, I should also, before we take the next call, mention I also touched on the covenant. We have a free study guide on the subject of the covenant that they can read right online. If they want to know more about the new and the old covenant, just go to the Amazing Facts' website under Free Library.

Pastor Dick: Let's go next to Colbert, Washington. Katrina is listening on KEEH. Katrina, welcome.

Katrina: Hello

Pastor Dick: Hello; and your question please?

Katrina: Does it say anywhere in the Bible that you have to be a certain age to get married?

Pastor Doug: You've got to be old enough to clean up after a sloppy man. How old is that?

Katrina: I don't know.

Pastor Doug and Pastor Dick: [Laughs]

Pastor Doug: I'm teasing. I'm sorry. I shouldn't say that. Well actually in the Bible, it is true that sometimes young ladies were getting married not very long after they were old enough to have children. But that was also because their lifespans were very short back then; and they felt like if they didn't get married soon, they wouldn't live to even have children.

What I tell kids when I preach, Pastor Dick, and I did a graduation today, I said, "Don't get married until you're 25 because they say your brain isn't done growing until you're 25."

Pastor Dick: [Laughs]

Pastor Doug: You know, what does happen sometimes, Katrina, is you go through so many changes in your development and personality between the ages of 12, or puberty, and 20, that you don't want to marry somebody and then continue to change and find out that you're hardly compatible. You want to be settled into who you are as a person.

You want to know the person you're marrying has settled into who they are. I remember when I went to school and I was 14 years old, there was a girl in my class who was 13. She was about a foot taller than I was. A few years later, I saw her and I was a foot taller than she was. I mean, we just change so much in just a couple of years; a little young to get married because you're just going through such radical changes.

Pastor Dick: That's right, that's right.

Pastor Doug: So, you want to wait until the person is settled into their major developments. You don't want to get married until a person is able to support a family on both sides of the equation. That doesn't mean both have to go earn an income, but marriage is a big responsibility; and it's learning how to let go of your family, your parents, and develop a new one.

Pastor Dick: That's right. A man and a woman were to cling together, to leave mother and father and cling together as one flesh.

Pastor Doug: To leave and to cleave they say.

Pastor Dick: That's right, to leave and to cleave. And when young people got married, they had a lot of difficulty trying to provide for each other. So you need to, today, wait at least until you can provide for each other. Okay, let's move on. Let's take our next caller. We want to go to Yucaipa, California. Filiki is listening on KTIE. Welcome!

Filiki: Hello?

Pastor Dick: Are you there Filiki?

Filiki: Hello?

Pastor Doug: Yucaipa, California, are you there? [Background conversation commencing on caller's end.] It sounds like they're listening. They stepped away from the phone.

Pastor Dick: I think so.

Pastor Doug: We'll try to come back to you in a minute. Don't get discouraged. Why don't you put them on hold Pastor Dick?

Pastor Dick: Okay. We'll see what happens when we come back to them. Let's go to Jean in Cambridge, Massachusetts, listening on WORL. Hello Jean.

Jean: Hello

Pastor Doug: Hi

Pastor Dick: And your question please?

Jean: My question is why was God's name removed from the Bible--or the name Jehovah removed from the Bible?

Pastor Doug: Well first of all, it isn't that there was any conspiracy to take God's name out. The Jews felt the name of God was so perfectly sacred, they were afraid to even write it. They felt they were unworthy to write it; and the times that they did write it, they actually used a separate pen, separate ink, and they'd say a prayer every time they wrote the name.

Part of the problem we have today is we are not exactly sure how to either say or to spell the original, sacred name of God that was given. It's actually not the original name, but the name that God gave to Moses. Some translate it "Yahweh." Some translate it "Jehovah."

We're not sure because there are certain consonants that were left out. So many times in the Bible, when that sacred name appears, for readability of the Bible, the scholars put in the word "LORD" in many places where the word Yahweh or Jehovah would be put in.

And it wasn't a conspiracy. It was because the Jewish scribes were just so zealous about the sacredness of the Lord, they didn't even feel worthy to write the whole thing out phonetically; and so it's still a mystery how to say it.

Jean: So "LORD" is used as a title then, right?

Pastor Doug: Yeah. It's a title, because we're not even sure how to pronounce in the original tongue the sacred name that God spoke to Moses and it's one of the mysteries that has been lost over time. Now you'll meet different religious groups that will say, "I know it's suppose to be 'Jehovah'." And I use the word Jehovah because you do find it in the Bible. It's found three times in the Bible.

Some will say, "You're suppose to use the word 'Yahweh'." And, matter of fact, there are other Bible translations where people have taken it upon themselves to take the word "LORD" and substitute the word "Yahweh." But we're not sure. You talk to the best scholars and they say there's no definite way to know exactly how to spell it.

Let me give you an example. If I were to tell you that I've got a combination lock on a gate to my house, and you've probably seen those combination locks, Jean, that have four numbers you line up?

Jean: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: And I would tell you to guess what my combination is. You'd probably be there for awhile going through at least a thousand combinations to find it, you know what I'm saying?

Jean: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: Well that's what's happening. We're missing several letters. They only put down--oh help me Pastor Dick--was it only the consonants and they left out - -

Pastor Dick: Um-hmm, that's right

Pastor Doug: - - and they left out the, uh - -

Pastor Dick: No vowels.

Pastor Doug: No vowels.

Pastor Dick: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: And we don't know; and so you could try to pronounce the tetragrammaton and stumble through it, but it's really inaccurate. So the scholars that translated the various versions--not just English but around the world--they put in the word LORD so you could read it.

Jean: So the English way would be "Jehovah" right? [Cross talk, unintelligible]

Pastor Doug: We don't know, we don't know. There are some churches that insist that's the way. There are others that say it's "Yahweh" and any combination of those. It's all speculation. I hope that helps a little bit because that's sort of a cul-de-sac that we run into whenever we get that subject. I think the main thing is that you know who He is. He goes by many names in the Bible; and He says He has exalted His Word, even above His name.

Pastor Doug: Above His name.

Pastor Doug: Oh you know what? I forgot something for Jean. I have an article at our website. It's not a book. It's an article that you can read for free. It's called, The Name of God. I went into great lengths to try and explain what the conundrum is. So just go to the Amazing Facts website, look for the article called, The Name of God, and I think that will help, Jean.

Pastor Dick: Alright Jean, thanks for the call. Let's go back to Yucaipa, California. Filiki is listening on KTIE. Are you there? Filiki?

Filiki: Yes

Pastor Dick: And your question please?

Filiki: My question is, like, 144,000?

Pastor Doug: Yes. You want to know - -

Filiki: Who are they? Some Bibles say they are virgins.

Pastor Doug: Right

Filiki: And it's mentioned as all men.

Pastor Doug: I know. That would make you wonder how could all these men be virgins?

Filiki: Yeah. So how about the women then? Who are they? Some churches, they say they knew already 144,000.

Pastor Doug: I know. First of all - -

Filiki: So who are they? Some churches, they say the 144,000, they get thousands of kingdoms with God. Nobody can get there, so if 144,000 thousand get there, how about the others?

Pastor Doug: Well let's talk about that for just a minute. First of all, in case we run out of time, I have a book I've written on this. If you call Amazing Facts--and I hope we're saying your name right Filiki--we'll send you a free copy of the book, The 144,000.

When you read Revelation, it talks about two women that are symbols of the true and the false church. When it says the 144,000 are virgins, it has nothing to do with their sexual gender. They could be men or women. It's saying that they are not defiled. They are religious groups that are not defiled with the false doctrines of the whore that you find in Revelation 17.

That's all that is meant by the phrase that "these are virgins." So they are, basically, your last-day Elijah's. They get the world ready for the second coming of Jesus. They are, in the last days, what the apostles were in the time of Christ; 12 x 12,000 apostles getting the world prepared for the second coming.

We've got time for a couple more?

Pastor Dick: Yeah I think so. Let's go next to Spokane, Washington and talk with Cara who's listening on KEEH. Welcome Cara.

Cara: Hello

Pastor Dick: Hello

Pastor Doug: Hi, welcome

Cara: Thank you

Pastor Dick: And your question?

Cara: My question is in Mark 10:17, it talks about Jesus speaking with the rich, young man. The man asked, you know, what must he do to inherit eternal life. And Jesus mentions all these different Commandments, but He never mentions the Sabbath. I'm kind of curious as to why He didn't.

Pastor Doug: Yeah good question. Not only did He not mention the Sabbath, He does not mention the Commandment, "Do not take the name of the Lord in vain," nor does He mention the Commandment, "Don't have other gods." And He doesn't mention the Commandment about idolatry.

Cara: Right

Pastor Doug: So what we find is a pattern that Christ began by mentioning the Commandments to this young man about loving your fellow man. See, the first four Commandments deal with our relationship with God, right?

Cara: Right

Pastor Doug: The last six Commandments deal with our relationship with man. The Ten Commandments, Paul says, are summed up in love for God and love for your fellow man. This man had problems loving his brother. That's why Jesus said, "If you would be perfect, sell what you have, give it to the poor, and follow Me."

He actually invited this man to be an apostle. He said to him what He said to Peter, James and John. He said, "Follow Me." But he was more in love with his riches. You know, Matthew left his tax booth. Peter, James and John left their nets, and Andrew.

Cara: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: He asked this man, "Leave your riches. Give it to the poor. Do you really love God? Do you really keep His Commandments?" So Jesus only mentioned the Commandments to him that dealt with love for your fellow man. That does not mean Jesus thought it was okay to use God's name in vain. You would agree with that, right?

Cara: Yes sir

Pastor Doug: Because He didn't mention that Commandment doesn't mean it's okay to break it. And because He did not mention the Sabbath Commandment, same thing. It doesn't mean now we don't need that day of worship and rest.

Cara: Right

Pastor Doug: It was simply this man's issue was the other Commandments.

Cara: I see. It makes sense.

Pastor Doug: Alright

Cara: Thank you

Pastor Doug: Thank you very much.

Pastor Dick: Thanks for the call Cara. Let's go to Orlando, Florida. Calvin is listening on WTLN. Calvin, we have about two and a half minutes.

Calvin: Okay. My question comes from the book of Galatians chapter 6, verse 7, where it talks about you reap what you sow.

Pastor Doug: Yes

Calvin: Is that coming from, like, once you're saved, like everything that you do whether good or bad, you reap what you so? Or does that mean in your life in general, like meaning before you were saved? Or like--I guess my question is what time was that Scripture written? Like, at what point in your life....

Pastor Doug: Let me jump in here, Calvin, and try and help, because I think the key to understanding Galatians 6, verse 7 is read down a little bit. He says in verse 8, "He that sows to the flesh will from the flesh reap corruption."

Calvin: Correct

Pastor Doug: Now Paul says there are two ways you can live: you can live for the Spirit or for the flesh. If you live for the flesh, corruption means you'll die and you'll decompose, you'll die. He says if you live for the Spirit, you'll reap everlasting life. Whatever you sow, you're going to reap.

Now, He was speaking in the context of "don't live for the present, the flesh, pleasures." The Bible says that "she who lives for pleasure is dead while she lives." But if you live for the Spirit, then you reap everlasting life; but that principle, whatever you sow you're going to reap, that goes everywhere in life. If you sow high cholesterol, you're going to reap a heart attack.

Calvin: Yeah. It sounds more like, I guess it takes place after you're saved because, I guess before you're saved, you have no choice but to sow to your flesh - -

Pastor Doug: Exactly

Calvin: - - without knowing any better; so you can't really follow the Spirit.

Pastor Doug: And you're right on the money. Even after a person is saved, they still need to obey the laws of what they call cause and effect.

Pastor Dick: Um-hmm

Pastor Doug: What you do comes back. That's what happened, of course, to Judas, - -

Pastor Dick: Um-hmm, that's right.

Pastor Doug: - - and others. Well friends, we want to thank you for listening once again to Bible Answers Live. We want to send a note of gratitude and honor to our Armed Forces on this special day while we remember D-Day. I don't know if I mentioned it, my dad was in D-Day.

Pastor Dick: Praise the Lord

Pastor Doug: He was a pilot. He actually flew over the day after. He was a pilot in the D-Day invasion. Keep us in your prayers friends. We appreciate your support. Go to AmazingFacts.com, and God bless until next week.

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