Hello, friends, this is Doug Batchelor. On May 14th, 2007, at age 95, Nola Ochs became the world’s oldest college graduate when she received her bachelor’s degree at Fort Hays State University in Kansas. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, Nola went on studying, graduating
May 15th, 2010 to make her the oldest recipient of a master’s degree. She earned it in liberal studies at age 98. Nola gives God credit for her long life and her hungry mind. You know—the Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Stay with us friends, we’re going to talk about how you can get that wisdom on Amazing Facts Bible Answers Live.
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Pastor Doug: This is Bible Answers Live. And you can probably gather from the title, it’s an opportunity for you to call in with Bible questions and we will do our best to give you Living answers. If you have a Bible question, we have phone lines open right now. It’s a toll-free call, free phone call. It’s 800-GOD-SAYS. Now while you grab your pencil, I’ll say it one more time with the numbers 800-463-7297, one more time 800-463-7297. We’ll bring you into the studio if you have a Bible question. We don’t have all the answers, but we’ll certainly do our best. And we’ve got a number of good Bible resources at our fingertips. We’ve got the entire Word of God on our laptops in several languages, including the original. And we’ll do our best to find those answers for you regarding the Christian Faith or the Word of God. So, give us a call right now 800-GOD-SAYS. That’s 800-463-7297. My name is Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Jëan Ross: My name is Jëan Ross. Good evening, friends. And, Pastor Doug, let’s begin the program with a word of prayer. Father, once again, we do thank You that we have this opportunity to study Your Word. We recognize the Bible as Your Book. We ask for wisdom, pray for the Holy Spirit to guide our hearts and minds. Be with those who are listening where ever they might be, and lead us into a deeper and fuller understanding of Your Will for our lives. For we ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Doug: Amen.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Pastor Doug, you opened the program by talking about somebody who graduated with a Master’s—this is incredible—at the age of 98.
Pastor Doug: I know—it is amazing—and then you read on in the article— and I don’t know how she’s doing today—but they were offering her a position at the University in some counselling or educational capacity. And—she just always wanted to continue studying. Oh—one more thing that I thought was amazing. First time she graduated when she was 95 with her Bachelor’s degree, she graduated with her granddaughter. So, I wonder how you feel graduating with your grandma— (chuckles)
Pastor Jëan Ross: (Chuckles).
Pastor Doug: —from college. But—yeah—born in 1911 and wanted to keep studying. And you know, if you want to—I think that’s part of the reason she’s lived so long because she had a hungry mind and she’s kept studying. And I think that one of the keys to living forever is that we need to have a hunger for the Word of God and to be studying all the time and every day to know God better. What really should be our prime objective in this life is to know God. “This is eternal life,” Jesus said. John chapter 17, “…that they might know Thee, the True God, in Jesus Christ, who you have sent.” And so friends, that’s what this program is all about. Are you involved in a regular Bible study? You know, the closer you are to the Lord, the easier it is for you to live a Godly, Christian life. And we need to fill our minds with the Word. Every time Jesus was tempted, He met every temptation with the Word of God, saying, “It is written.” If you’re interested in getting into a fantastic Bible study program, we’ve got a free offer tonight that you’ll want to take advantage of, and it will change your life. I promise.
Pastor Jëan Ross: If you’d call our resource line, which is 800-835-6747. I’ll give you that number in a moment as well. But if you’ll call and ask for the Amazing Bible Facts study guide—you can ask for the very first one in the series. It’s entitled
“IS THERE ANYTHING LEFT YOU CAN TRUST?” Talks about the Bible. How do you study the Bible? Where did the Bible come from? And you can enroll—for free—in this great correspondence Bible school program. You can also go online to bibleuniverse.com and you can study the Bible right there. The number again is 800-835-6747. That is the resource line. When you call, ask for the study guide “ANYTHING LEFT YOU CAN TRUST?” It’s all about the Bible and what a great way to begin your study.
Pastor Doug: Absolutely. We also want to just mention to our friends two things real quick. One, we got a Bible website that we would like to share with you tonight. You may have heard us mention that before. Anyone interested, in particular in Bible prophecy, fantastic website. I think it’s one of the most popular out there, bibleprophecytruth. You name any of the hot subjects in Bible prophecy, from angels to Armageddon, to Millennium, to the second coming, the rapture, mark of the beasts—it has studies, videos, charts and arrows—anything you might want to know to better understand this and its—very—it’s easier than you think to understand Bible prophecy at this website. That’s bibleprophecytruth. Are we still required to say “WWW?”
Pastor Jëan Ross: I think most folks realize that.
Pastor Doug: One more thing. Any of our friends that are in the Collegedale area, I just would like to tell you I’m looking forward to seeing you. I will be there this coming weekend, and that will be on the 17th and 18th of February. I’ll be speaking at the Southern University gymnasium, and just look forward to seeing you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: More information on that is at the Amazing Facts website.
Pastor Doug: Just go to the Amazing Facts website and we’ll be doing a program called “NEARER THAN YOU THINK,” amazingfacts.com. I’ll tell you about that for those who are in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area.
Pastor Jëan Ross: All right. We’re going to go to the phone lines. We have Enoch who is listening from Orlando. Enoch, welcome to the program.
Enoch: Hey! Thank you for taking my call. I wanted to ask, “Has anyone in the Bible ever sold their soul to the devil?”
Pastor Doug: You know, the closest I can think of—that’s a good question—closest I can think of, two. One, when King Saul did not get an answer fast enough, he went and consulted a witch to try to get some answers, and he ended up killing himself the next day. The other one is, of course, Judas, who sold the Lord. And, it’s—you know—at the Last Supper, when Jesus offered to wash Judas’ feet, Judas really felt—I think—constrain by the Holy Spirit to repent and to confess to Jesus, but his proud heart resisted. And then it says, “Judas went out—and it was night—it was Satan entered him.” And he went out. And of course, then later on, the—he hanged himself. I don’t know, Pastor Ross, you think of anyone else who sold his soul?
Pastor Jëan Ross: But—you know what—just—if you look at Saul and you look at Judas, they pretty much gave themselves fully to the control of the devil. And both of them ended their own lives in a sad way.
Pastor Doug: Now, there is—if anyone out there is thinking, “I have sold my soul to the devil,” and you’re looking for hope, you do have the story of Manasseh in the Bible, who was a King that just—he really went very far from God. He even sacrificed some of his own children to pagan gods, set up pagan gods and idols in the temple, and just got involved in witchcraft and the occult. But—you know—he was captured by the Syrians and imprisoned. He repented and God forgave him. And so I don’t know if you’re wondering in it, but there are people out there that think, “You know—I sold my soul to the devil, and is there any way out of that?”
Pastor Jëan Ross: And of course, we also have the story of Mary Magdalene. The Bible says, “Jesus cast seven devils out of her.”
Pastor Doug: That’s right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And there was hope.
Pastor Doug: And if you feel like you’ve made a covenant or a vow to the devil—
Pastor Jëan Ross: You can break it.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. He doesn’t own you. He has no authority over that. And by the way, when you’re born again, you’re a new person anyway. You’re not obligated to those old—
Pastor Jëan Ross: Amen.
Pastor Doug: --old contract. So, don’t be discouraged if you’re out there and you feel like, you know, “I’ve gotten into some kind of compact with the devil.” Don’t need to keep it. You can get a new beginning in the Lord. Thanks. I appreciate your question, Enoch.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We have Aaron, who is listening from Sacramento. Aaron, welcome to the program.
Aaron: Hi. I had a question in regards to Colossians 1:15-17.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Aaron: (Unintelligible) chapter, verse 15 where it says—and this is out of King James—it says, “…who is the image of the Invisible God, and the first born of every creature.” And I had someone who has come—well—came to my door and was talking that Jesus was the arch angel incarnated into the flesh and—there’s stuff I think I’ve heard before. I just want to explain this, how it kind of made me kind of nervous (unintelligible).
Pastor Doug: Are you wondering about where it says He’s the first born?
Aaron: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. The word first born in this verse here is not talking—in many Bible verses—it’s not talking about sequence. It’s talking about priority. An illustration would be—today, we call Michelle Obama the First Lady. That does not mean she was the first woman to set foot in North America. It means that, among the ladies, she holds a position of prominence. Christ is the first in God’s universe. The first time God ever took on the form of a man was when Jesus came to earth in the incarnation. So when it talks about Him as the first born, it doesn’t mean he was born the first time when He came of Mary. Christ said, “…before Abraham was, I AM.” So Jesus was everlasting. Yes. The first time God became a man was in Jesus, when He was born, but He existed before that. So He’s not a creature. Jesus is the “CREATOR.” And I know some of the folks that knock on our doors and want to study with us, they think that Jesus was created or that He was born. But He—it’s His, all things that were made by Him. And if everything made was made by Him, then how could He be created? He would have to be the exemption.
Aaron: Right. I tried—yeah. I tried to explain that to him even in the Book of Genesis where it says, “…made in our image.”
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Aaron: So—they didn’t believe in the Trinity. So—It’s kind of—
Pastor Doug: Well, you look at all the characteristics of God, and Jesus has all those characteristics. All things that were made were made by Him. God is a Creator. It says that, “There’s no other Savior, but Jehovah.” And it says, “Jesus is our Savior.” It says, “Only God knows the thoughts of men’s hearts.” And Jesus is God. And—you know—if you’d like, Aaron, we have a book. I’ll send you a free copy of a book I wrote specifically on this subject and it’s an easy read, and it’s called “THE TRINITY: IS IT BIBLICAL?”
Pastor Jëan Ross: In order to receive that, call our resource line, that’s 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book “THE TRINITY: IS IT BIBLICAL?” We’ll be happy to send that to you. The number again is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book on the “TRINITY.” We have Nicole, who is listening from Alabama. Nicole, welcome to the program.
Nicole: Thank you.
Pastor Doug: I appreciate your call, and your question?
Nicole: My question is—is it a sin to eat meat?
Pastor Doug: There are a lot of good people out there that are eating meat and—you know—I don’t think it’s the ideal—and the reason I say that—and when I say the ideal—I think vegetarian is the most ideal. The reason I say that with a biblical perspective is—obviously, in the beginning when God made man—and He made the creation. Before anything died, there was no death—man was a vegetarian. It says, “…his original diet was—you know —the fruits, the grains, and nuts.” Ultimately, he added vegetables. And it wasn’t until the flood when all the vegetation was destroyed and the sacrificial system, man began to eat meat. And the first meat he ate was only in connection with the sacrifice, but then it started becoming a regular part of his diet and—you know—originally, meat was only eaten in many of the countries of the world as part of religious feasts. It was rare. But now in America it’s—you know—and much of the world, the Western world—it’s just part of the daily diet. And of course, the Bible talks about unclean meat, in particular, are forbidden. And if a person wants to know what that is, you can read about that in Leviticus 11. And it’s talking about any animal that doesn’t have a cloven hoof and chew the cud, is an unclean animal. If it’s a bird, it needs to be a foraging bird, like a chicken or a turkey. You can’t eat the birds of carrion like vultures or eagles. And the—among the fish, it needed fins and scales like trout, and tuna, and things like that. But shark and shellfish, they’re all scavengers. So God does not want people eating scavengers if they were going to eat meat. But the ideal is a vegetarian diet. And, even if you just set the Bible aside, all of modern science is confirming that now. I mean—you’ll hear doctors everywhere that have nothing to do with religion—I can name them—and they’ll tell you that the jury is in. And that—you know—it’s cholesterol, and it’s animal products that are causing so much cancer and heart disease and obesity.
Nicole: But—the thing is—does the Bible say it’s a sin to eat—like—chicken or—
Pastor Doug: No.
Nicole: Okay. Because—
Pastor Doug: No. If you’re eating clean foods, the Bible says that, “…these, among the creatures, you may eat,” and identifies what the clean animals are.
Nicole: Oh, what text says that?
Pastor Doug: Well, you got—I mentioned Leviticus 11. You know, what, we can send you a study guide that has all the texts lined up for free, if you’d like it? It’s got some New and Old Testament, and it’s called “GOD’S HEALTH PLAN” (from last weekend).
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right, “GOD’S FREE HEALTH PLAN.” And, Nicole, if you’ll call our resource line, that’s 800-835-6747. Just ask for the study guide
“GOD’S FREE HEALTH PLAN” and we’ll be happy to send that to you.
Pastor Doug: You know—there’s another study guide, Nocale—I’m sorry, Nicole—we have one other study. We don’t give it to everybody, but I think you’d enjoy it. And it’s called “DEATH IN THE KITCHEN.” (Chuckles)
Pastor Jëan Ross: I like the name. (Chuckles)
Pastor Doug: It’s—but it’s really interesting and it just—and it talks about the practical side of what’s happening. Some people are kind of killing themselves. What`s that new movie that`s kind of been—
Pastor Jëan Ross: Knives over forks.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, it`s been sort of a—
Pastor Jëan Ross: Or forks over knife.
Pastor Doug: --what they call a sleeping blockbuster, forks over knives. It`s a new movie. I think even the First Lady and others are participating in it. They just talk about the health studies that are showing the great benefits of—you know—a vegetarian diet or at least minimal animal products. And I think even President Clinton, after office, he is now a vegan. He gave up—he lost 40 pounds. He said, “…for your heart reasons,” because he had a heart attack before. He`d made these changes.
Nicole: Yeah, I mean—I stopped eating meat because of health reason, but someone told me that it was a sin. And I was like, “I haven’t seen that in the Bible.” And I—
Pastor Doug: No. You can’t find in the Bible where it says that it’s a sin to eat meat. I will just tell you that flat out, speaking of clean meats.
Nicole: Exactly, exactly.
Pastor Doug: So, it’s—you know—it’s—it would be for me because I know better. I’m just convicted on it, but I know the Bible doesn’t teach that and I don’t put that on everybody else.
Nicole: Okay.
Pastor Doug: But I’m willing to race anybody my age out there that eats meat.
Nicole: (Chuckles)
Pastor Doug: And I’m—yeah—for someone 55, I`ll bet you I’d, make him work (chuckles).
Pastor Jëan Ross: (Chuckles)
Nicole: (Chuckles). Okay. Well, thank you so much. And that number is 1-800—
Pastor Jëan Ross: 1-800-835-6747, 800-835-6747. You can ask with study guide
“GOD’S FREE HEALTH PLAN” and also the book “DEATH IN THE KITCHEN.” We’re happy to send that to you. We got Mark listening on W-I-T-A. Mark, welcome to the program.
Mark: Yeah—I ’m calling about Isiah 11:11 and then Ezekiel 30:7 about the return of Israel—
Pastor Doug: Okay. Where do you want to go first?
Mark: —and
Pastor Doug: Isaiah 11?
Mark: Yeah—and it says where—you know—gather the peoplethe second time. And—I’m wondering, is that—now, I’ve wondered if Egypt was the first time and the return from Babylon is the second time. But, if that’s the case, where does 1948 come in?
Pastor Doug: All right. There are two verses here. Hang on one second. I’m doing a
cross-reference. There’s the verse in Isaiah that is really talking about the return from the Babylonian captivity. Now when he says the second time, keep in mind the Israelites are very unique of any country in the world because they have been dispossessed of their land three times. Back in the days of Jacob, they left their land and went to Egypt. They came back. Then in the days of the Babylonian captivity, they left and they came back. That is the second time Isaiah is talking about, but there is a third time Jeremiah talks about—and I don’t have it in here at my fingertips, maybe that’s a Jeremiah 44—anyway—and that’s when he says, “They will come from the ends of the Earth, in the North country.” And—some have wondered if this is speaking of when the literal Jews came back and got their territory again back in 1948. So—and then you got in Luke—I think it’s in Luke 21, Pastor Ross, when it says, “…until the time of the gentiles be fulfilled—Jerusalem will be trodden down of the gentiles until the times of the gentiles be fulfilled.” And some have also wondered if this was a prophecy of Jesus saying, “There would be a time when they would get Jerusalem back.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s Luke 21:24.
Mark: So—what do you—
Pastor Doug: I don’t know if I’m answering your question.
Mark: So—Isaiah 11—the second gathering there is not 1948?
Pastor Doug: No. The second gathering is the Babylonian because the first time they came back was when they came from being captives in Egypt.
Pastor Doug: So how do we know that Jeremiah 44 isn’t the return from Babylon?
Pastor Doug: Well, he says, “…from the ends of the Earth.” When they went to Babylon, they were all in a specific spot. When he says, “…gather them from the ends of the Earth.” It was only after Romans conquered them, they literally got scattered. There’s nowhere in the world you could go. You could go to Chile in South America and find a synagogue, and you could probably go to Alaska. So it didn’t matter where you went all over the world, but yet they came back and got their property back.
Mark: What about Ezekiel 37? The dry bones—is that 48 or is that from Babylon?
Pastor Doug: Well, Ezekiel—I think—is speaking about when they would come back. He lived right about the time they were coming back from the Babylonian captivity, and Persia—I think—was in power when Ezekiel wrote. But—you know—he talks about—that’s not only a prophecy about Israel, though they looked like they were dead like dry bones if they were coming back to life. It’s also a message for the church several times through history. It’s looked like the church was dead, and yet they came back to life. And—so I think Ezekiel at that valley of dry bones also speaks to us and says, “He prophesised and they came to life.” The Word of God gave them life. He does that with the church during revival. He did it during the reformation. He did it during the return from the Babylonian captivity and the Christian church.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, you preached the whole sum on this particular passage in Ezekiel 37 about the valley of dry bones.
Pastor Doug: That’s right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: I may be yet a skeleton right down stage.
Pastor Doug: We have an article—I wrote it up—if they go to the Amazing Facts website. It’s called “REVIVING DRY BONES.” If you type in “REVIVING DRY BONES,” you can download that article Mark. And I think I got some scripture references in there as well.
Pastor Jëan Ross: I think if you also search under the video, you’ll probably be able to find that sermon, talking about the valley of dry bones.
Pastor Doug: That’s true. Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: All right. Next fourth caller is Paul and he is calling from Visalia, California. Paul, welcome to the program.
Raul: Yes.
Pastor Doug: Or is it Raul?
Raul: The name is Raul.
Pastor Doug: Raul.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Raul.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Raul: Yes. Thank you for taking my call. I’m interested in the Sabbath and Sunday. The Ten Commandments says that, “If you break one of my commandments, you’re breaking them all.” And I’m kind of interested in finding out if I’m worshipping on Sunday, am I breaking the Sabbath?
Pastor Doug: Well—we should worship God seven days a week, but we’re talking about keeping that day as the Holy day—is what you’re talking about.
Raul: Correct.
Pastor Doug: The only day that God designates as a Holy day in the Bible is the seventh day. There’s nowhere in the Bible where it says, “… remember the first day,” which is what we all know as Sunday. Christ rose the first day, we don’t contest that. And that was very important. He died on Friday, we don’t contest that. But never does he say that either Friday or Sunday becomes a new substitute Sabbath. There is no command. There is no verse in the Bible. But some have tried to use some circumstantial evidence by pointing to places in the Bible where Jesus did things on different days of the week that says, “He broke bread on Sunday,” and so that’s the new Sabbath. Well, that’s a real stretch. He broke bread—you know—on Thursday, too. Lord’s Supper was a Thursday—
Raul: Yes.
Pastor Doug: —that doesn’t make a new Sabbath. So—there’s really no question about that biblically if you say which day of the week is the day that God blessed. God says, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord.” It’s—He mentions it three times in Genesis chapter 2. It wasn’t just for Jews; it was for the human race. Christ said, “The Sabbath was made for man,” meaning mankind. And—it’s also mentioned—of course—in the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, Ezekiel 23, and Hebrews chapter 4 in the New Testament. So—it’s all through the Bible. It’s really a tradition that came about 300 years after Christ to try to reach the people in Rome and try to reach the pagans that were keeping the first day of the week. Gradually, Christians began to give up the seventh day and transferred over the first day and made up some beautiful traditions about it being the day of the Resurrection, but there’s no command in the Bible.
Mark: Right. Now—if you are worshiping then on the Sunday, you’re not worshipping on the Sabbath, you’re not keeping the Sabbath holy. Are you breaking one of the Commandments?
Pastor Doug: Well, let me just be really clear. I will sometimes visit church on Sunday, but I`m not keeping it as the Sabbath. I`ll go home and mow my lawn. Part of the Sabbath is that it`s a day of rest. I don`t mow my lawn—oh, I don`t mow my lawn much anyway, I have hay fever—but I mean I don`t do that kind of work on Sabbath. I don`t go shopping on Sabbath. I keep it as a Holy day. And—you know—there`s nothing wrong with going and visiting different churches on different days of the week. You see what I`m saying
Mark: Yes.
Pastor Doug: But—
Mark: The day that should beheld—
Pastor Doug: The only day that we kept as a Sabbath is the seventh day of the week because that’s the only one God said He blessed. We can’t choose our own day and say, “Well, God, I know you blessed the seventh day, but I’m going to sort of take over and be God this week and I’m going to bless my own day.” I mean—
Mark: (Unintelligible)
Pastor Doug: —He commands us to remember a certain day. And we have a website.
Mark: Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We do. Our website dedicated to the subject of understanding the Bible truth about the Sabbath. It’s called sabbathtruth.com, sabbathtruth.com. And also, we have a study guide dealing with that same subject called “THE LOST DAY IN HISTORY.” And, Raul, if you’ll call our resource line 800-835-6747, you’re going to ask for the study guide
“THE LOST DAY IN HISTORY,” we’ll be happy to send that to you.
Pastor Doug: All right. I appreciate that call, Raul. We have time for one more before our break?
Pastor Jëan Ross: We got Sylvia who is from—listening in New Jersey. Sylvia, welcome to the program.
Sylvia: Yes, good evening.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Sylvia: Thank you for taking my call. I’ve read in the Bible that Jesus Christ saves to the uttermostand Romans 10:13 states that, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But I have a question that I would like for you to shed some light on.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Sylvia: And this particular scripture is found in 1 Peter 4 and 18.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Sylvia: “And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
Pastor Doug: Oh, that’s truth. That’s very good. You know—Jesus said we need to strive to enter in it the straight gate because He said, “…except your righteousness exceeds, the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will not be saved.” Now—when it tells us all to call upon the name of the Lord—some have understood or they think that verse means that—you know—just—one time, you call on the Lord, and then you’re saved and that’s—then you go on your way. Calling on the Lord means all that has a practice of it. It’s an ongoing calling on the Lord—we’ll be saved. In other words, those who pray to God, those who call on God—and so, it’s more than just kind of giving God a shout out and saying, “All right, now, I have eternal life.” Jesus tells us that, “…straight is the gate that leads to life, broad is the way that leads to destruction.” And that’s why Peter is saying, “…now if the righteous are scarcely saved—” I think it was Job who said, “…saved by the skin of my teeth.” You know—our teeth don’t have very thick skin on them (chuckles). And so—it’s just like the grace of God. Anyone that’s saved is saved by the skin of their teeth. It’s just the grace of God because we’re all on death row, and it’s God’s mercy that saves us. So—hopefully, that helps a little bit, Sylvia. Now, do we have a—we have “THREE STEPS TO HEAVEN” that we could send to Sylvia.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We do.
Pastor Doug: It goes through the steps of salvation and what does the Bible say are the criteria to receiving that gift.
Pastor Jëan Ross: To receive the book, call our resource line. It’s 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book “THREE STEPS TO HEAVEN.” Again, that number is 800-835-6747 and the book “THREE STEPS TO HEAVEN.”
Pastor Doug: Yeah. And for our friends that are listening, I just want to remind you and any of our friends that may be in the Collegedale area, which is Collegedale, Tennessee. That’s just on the outskirts of Chattanooga. Anyone in the Chattanooga area—I don’t mind if you’re in New York, in Washington, in Atlanta; you can all drive. We won’t kick anyone out. But I’ll be speaking at the Southern University gymnasium and be talking about “NEARER TO GOD.” God is nearer than you think. And if you’d like to come, we’d love to shake your hands, see you there. Tell your friends and enemies, and we will be in the area. Don’t always get back on the East Coast, and love to be able to visit you there. Be talking to the students and answering Bible questions on Saturday afternoon. Don’t go anywhere friends. We are going to back with your questions.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re listening to Bible Answers Live. You know, Pastor Doug, just before the break comes, you mentioned you’re going to be in Tennessee and that’s this coming weekend. For more information, anyone listening can go to the Amazing Facts website. That’s just amazingfacts.org and they’ll be able to get the time and the place or they’ll be able to come out and hear the presentation.
Pastor Doug: You know, we’ve mentioned at the top of the hour talking about the website bibleprophecytruth and I just wanted to remind our friends that this is such an incredible resource and everyone who goes there thinks, “Why didn’t I see this before?” But, anyone who asks questions about Israel and prophecy, the seven-year tribulation, who is Babylon? What’s the key to understanding Bible numbers? Have you ever wondered why these numbers continue to appear or the second coming? Why did God make a devil?—and all these things are addressed in this website—666 and much more. It’s very simply bibleprophecytruth. Why don’t you just take a look at that?
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Pastor Doug: We are back, we are live, and we are taking Bible questions. If you want to call in with a Bible question, one more time, that phone number—are you ready?—800-463-7297 for your Bible questions. And again, I want to welcome any that may have joined us along the way. This is Bible Answers Live and I am still Doug Bachelor.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And I am still Jëan Ross. Well, Pastor Doug, let`s go to the phone lines. We`ll see how many calls we can get in the next—what is it—30 minutes, little less? 28 minutes? Okay. Leo is calling from Hawaii. Okay, Leo, welcome to the program.
Leo: Hey! How are you guys doing?
Pastor Doug: Very good. How are you? And your question tonight?
Leo: I have a question. I have an uncle that says, “The name of Jesus Christ comes from the core of Zeus because somebody manipulated the Bible so we could brush up Zeus.
Pastor Doug: Now, they sound the same. That’s not really accurate. The way that you say Joshua in Greek is Jesus. Jesus’ name was actually Yeshua. And—
Leo: Right, right, right.
Pastor Doug: —and some proof of that is if you go to Hebrews chapter 4—when it uses Joshua name—Joshua’s name—it says, “…for has Joshua had given them rest.” In the King James Version, it says, “…for has Jesus had given them rest.” Well, let’s not call in Joshua the Old Testament general, Zeus. The name for God our Savior or the Greek translation for Yeshua is Jesus. It’s like if you speak in Spanish, it’s “Hesus.” And it’s just different. In other words—if you’ve ever read the King James Bible, Leo—we’re going to bring you down a little bit. I think we’re getting some road noise. If you ever read the King James Bible, Elijah is called Elias in Greek.
Leo: Right.
Pastor Doug: And Jonah is called Jonas, and you’ll find all these Old Testament characters that it’s pronounced differently. And so, very simply, Yeshua or Joshua is Jesus. It’s not that they’re calling Jesus, Zeus.
Leo: Oh.
Pastor Doug: It’s just the Greek pronunciation for Joshua.
Leo: Okay, okay.
Pastor Doug: And—yeah—people could say, “Oh, it sounds like Zeus.” But you can say anything—you know.
Leo: (Laughing). Yeah. Yeah. I just wanted to clear that up.
Pastor Doug: Yeah. My name is Douglas and some people will say it sounds like “beer glass,” but they’re really not the same. So—
Pastor Jëan Ross: (Chuckles)
Pastor Doug: (Chuckles). All kinds of things sound the same. Someone once calculated that Ronald Reagan—they said—it was 666 because he had six letters on “Ronald,” six letters on—I forgot his middle name—and six letters in the end name. And so they said, “He’s 666.” So, you can play with the words and make it say things. But, no—if you pray to Jesus, you can pray. If you want to call Him Yeshua, that’s fine. But if you say Jesus or if you’re Spanish you can say “Hesus” and so forth. He wants you to pray in your “tongue.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: All right. We have Chris listening from Arizona. Chris, welcome to the program.
Chris: Hey! Thank you so much for taking that call. Hey! My question here—I’m just recently coming back to the Lord after a long (unintelligible) of getting away.
Pastor Doug: Oh! Praise the Lord!
Chris: And—I have a couple of kids with the girlfriend of mine. I have been recently talking to them—not very comfortable—just being a girlfriend. Yeah—just being girlfriend and boyfriend together and I’d like to—you know—introduce the thought of marriage. And she said, “Why, is it just not fine enough that—you know—we just stick together and I was—my concern was—does the Bible say anything about us just supporting each other, to each other as a sin of marriage? Or do we actually have to have a piece of paper and a judge or whatever? There it is.
Pastor Doug: Well—that’s a good question. Of course, the Bible does say obey the laws of the land and—you know—if the country you live in—if you’re a Christian and you want to be a witness in the country you live—and everyone knows you’re either married or you’re not married—and for a Christian to—you know—for a man and a woman to live together—irrespective of whether there are children. If a man and woman live together and they’re not married, then they’re not married and it’s called adultery or fornication. There are some states that do recognize what they call “common-law marriage.” But if you’re going to be married by common law, then what would prevent you from going ahead and getting the paper work and saying the vows? And so there’s no question. You know—Christians want to avoid the appearance of evil. And if you’re going to come all the way back to the Lord; and if you’re committed and you’ve got children, you will do the right thing. Go all the way
Chris: Well, that’s my intent. But I just still got to work on that with her. So—(chuckles)
Pastor Doug: Well—yeah—we’ll be praying for you. Hey—you know—two things I was going to mention to you. One is—I’ve just written a book on marriage. That may be of some use. Two—you said you just came back to the Lord. And Pastor Ross and I just came back from Washington where we did a new series on how people get a new beginning with the Lord. It’s called “RECLAIM YOUR FAITH.” And I think you can watch those for free online right now.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You can go to the website faithreclaim.com. You can actually watch all of the videos, faithreclaim.com. Also, Chris, we have a study guide, talking about marriage. It’s “KEYS FOR A HAPPY MARRIAGE.” And I think you’d enjoy that. Maybe you can share it with your girlfriend and go through that together. The number to call is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the study guide “KEYS FOR A HAPPY MARRIAGE.”
Pastor Doug: Yeah—one more question, Chris. Is your girlfriend a Christian?
Chris: Well—I got a melting pot of problems with her. She’s actually a traditional Navajo and raised Mormon. So—I’m working through a lot here. I got a big issue.
Pastor Doug: Well—now—I lived on a Navajo reservation for about 2 years and worked with the Navajos—still say a few words, actually—but—yeah—the Mormons, they believe in marriage. I certainly know that, and the Navajos believe in marriage. So—if you guys can agree that it’s the right thing to do in the culture, then you’ll have at least some common starting ground. But we’ll be praying for you and—though the reason I asked that is if you do the study guide with her—you know—I hope that she believes in the Bible and it’s got a lot of Bible and practical support. And so, we’d encourage you to do that. Hey, thank you for your call, Chris. I think there’s probably a lot of people out there in your boat right now in America that want to do the right thing and are wondering.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We have Gil who is listening from Queens, New York. Gil, welcome to the program.
Gil: Yes. Hello?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Gil—you’re on the air
Gil: Oh, it’s my pleasure and treasure to get on the air again, Doug. I love you guys. And I’m a lover of the Jewish people and I’m pro-Israel and I’m pro-Zion, even though I’m a gentile. And even though I’m not able to see with my eyes, I—my bad—I said I’m able to see with my spiritual eyes. I have a question; maybe you can help me remember something.
Pastor Doug: We’ll do our best.
Gil: Thank you and we will progress. I want to know about Isaac and Ishmael. For example, Ishmael is not the child of promise, and then Isaac is. Am I correct in saying that a lot of the problems that we have today is—as the result of one—you know—I don’t know if Esau has—like—one nation and then Isaac of another nation and—I’m just wondering if a lot of the trouble that we have today—the mess—you know—between the Arabs and the Jews—and I’m kind of concerned by what’s happening now with Iran—you know—wanting to do things to my Jewish people.
Pastor Doug: And the (unintelligible) of course things are also exacerbated with Syria right now, Gil. And so you’re right about that. First of all, I want to make it clear to everybody that—you know—God can save you whether you’re a descendant of Ishmael or Isaac. And just because you’re a descendant of Isaac, it doesn’t mean you’re automatically saved. But there are allegories that Paul talks about in the Bible between Sarah and Hagar. You see—God had promised Abraham He would give him a son—a miraculous son—through Sarah, but it didn’t happen fast enough. And so—Sarah and Abraham thought they helped God out, and they tried to make it happen by getting an extra wife. And Ishmael became the son of works. Later, Abraham believed God and God counted it to him for righteousness—and Isaac becomes his son based on faith. And so they became allegories of two-world religions, really. The religion of God’s people is to be a religion of—we are made righteous by faith. It is interesting that in Islam, they really don’t have salvation because the Savior died for him or they get it by faith. A lot of it is works-oriented. And you have to say these prayers, and you have to do these alms, and you have to keep this fast, and so much of it—you have to make this pilgrimage to earn your good works.
Pastor Jëan Ross: A verse to refer to Pastor Doug’s is Galatians, chapter 4 beginning verse 23 through to verse 25. I just read verse 23 and the first part of 24, it says, “…but He, who was born of the bond woman—that would be Hagar—was born according to the flesh. And he of the free woman, through promise.” Then Paul goes on to say, “These things are symbolic.” Then he draws an application, the one being that of works, the other being that of faith.
Pastor Doug: So—yeah—and it is interesting what’s happening in the Middle East right now, Gil. And—you know—I wanted to venture to speculate how things are going to play out right now with Syria and Iran, but—I think that—the future right now is a little bit dicey over there and we’re expecting that something is somehow going to remain a focus in history.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Right.
Pastor Doug: I appreciate your question. If you’ve not already received it—Gil, I know that you can’t read, but you might get someone to read it to you—we have a book called
“SPIRITUAL ISRAEL.” And I think there is also a message on the website where you can listen to it, “SPIRITUAL ISRAEL.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number is 800-835-6747—that is the resource line. And the book again is “SPIRITUAL ISRAEL.”
Pastor Doug: Yeah—the video title is actually “ISRAEL in PROPHECY,” if you wanted to listen to that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s on amazingfacts.com—
Pastor Doug: amazingfacts.org.
Pastor Jëan Ross: —or org. Ronnie is calling from Tennessee. Ron, welcome to the program.
Ronnie: Good evening, Pastor Doug.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Evening.
Ronnie: I’ve got—well, your call screener asked me to pick the most important question. I’ll pick the one I’ve had the longest which is—I was reading what was sort of a baby Christian in a sense—I’ve always been raised as a Christian, but back and forth into the faith. And when I was given a Bible as a present, it was a New American Standard and I read it from cover to cover. And I came across an event; then, I later could not relocate. And I’m wondering if you can help me with this. The situation was a good guy—or one of the prophets—was being chased by a group of soldiers and they wanted to capture him or kill him. And in his plight, he came up to a river that was too deep and too wide for him to cross, and God basically transported him to the other side away from the soldiers as they were approaching.
Pastor Doug: You might be getting two stories mixed up that have to do with Elijah. I know the Bible pretty well and the story exactly—as you shared—is not there. Elijah was chased by Jezebel and her forces and he had to cross the Jordan. But it was on later occasion that he crossed the Jordan with Elisha, and it was miraculously parted. And he went across the river on dry ground. But I don’t know of any story where a prophet was transported. There is one more story where Phillip, in the New Testament, was transported miraculously from—or is it from Joppa to—from the deserts of Gaza to Joppa—and that’s the only one who’s really been from one place to another in the Bible is Philip. But, Elijah is probably who you’re thinking of because he was chased by Jezebel’s army. He did live by the creek in Cherith during the famine, but he did miraculously cross the Jordan with Elisha. And that’s in 2 Kings Chapter 2?
Pastor Jëan Ross: 2 Kings Chapter 2.
Ronnie: Okay. Maybe the New American Standard translation—
Pastor Doug: Yeah—wording could be a little different.
Ronnie: —modified it somewhat. (Chuckles)
Pastor Doug: Yeah. Well, you`ll read those stories and see if they sound familiar. Well go read 2 Kings Chapter 2. And then the story of Elijah running from Jezebel`s army is in 1 Kings 18, if I`m not mistaken. Well, you`ll enjoy the whole chapter if you read it. It’s Mount Carmel experience.
Ronnie: That was 1 Kings 18?
Pastor Doug: 1 Kings 18 and then 2 Kings Chapter 2 is when Elijah crosses the river and then he actually is transported to Heaven, which might be—all those stories sound familiar, but it sounds like you’re may be getting some of the details mixed up.
Ronnie: Okay. Was that one that you did mention in the New Testament—was that the same one where the—
Pastor Doug: Philip goes and he preaches to the Ethiopian eunuch in the desert and then—
Ronnie: Well, that’s the one—yeah—eunuch. That’s what I want to tell you to remember—yeah.
Pastor Doug: —he baptises them, and he comes out of the water and all of a sudden he`s in another town.
Ronnie: He`s (unintelligible).
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Ronnie: Right. Yeah—I remember that one.
Pastor Doug: That`s in Acts 8, if I`m not mistaken. I think that`s Acts Chapter 8.
Ronnie: Okay.
Pastor Doug: Philip in the Ethiopian eunuch. Hey, we appreciate your questions, Ron, and hope that—hope that`s of some use to you. I always like thinking about those great Bible stories.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We have BJ who is listening from New York. BJ, welcome to the program.
BJ: Good evening, sirs.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good evening.
BJ: I have a question that`s been bugging me for a while on the sin of blasphemy. Does one have to receive the Holy Ghost first before they can blaspheme the Holy Ghost?
Pastor Doug: Say that one more time. How—what’s this about blasphemy and the Holy Ghost? I didn’t catch it all.
BJ: Can one blaspheme the Holy Ghost before receiving the Holy Ghost or unless they have received the Holy Ghost?
Pastor Doug: Well—I think if a person receives the Holy Ghost, I would hope they won’t blaspheme. But they can do it either way. A person can grieve away the Holy Spirit before they’d ever received or been filled with it. But there are couple of people that were filled with the Holy Spirit, and then grieved it away. One example is King Saul—we mentioned earlier tonight—he was at one point filled with the Spirit of God. And the other would probably be Balaam the prophet, who was a prophet of God who—I would think certainly—had the Spirit of God. But he resisted the Spirit later and became greedy, and grieved away the Spirit and—I think—died a lost man. You think of any others, Pastor Ross?
Pastor Jëan Ross: No. I’m actually thinking of a different verse that might be helpful on the same subject. You know—Jesus said, “No man cometh to me except the Father draws him.” And then John Chapter 1 it says, “Jesus is the light or the life, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. So, the Holy Spirit is speaking to the heart of every person. What that person does in response to the Holy Spirit can either result in salvation, forgiveness or it can result—and then eventually—grieving away the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit is present, speaking to the heart of every person, calling them to respond. What they do with that Spirit, though, is kind of determine their eternal destiny.
Pastor Doug: Well, hope that helps a little bit, BJ. And we do have a book that talks about—we’ve got that book Joe Crews, talks about grieving away the Holy Spirit. And—well—of course we have the book “LIFE IN THE SPIRIT.” But—I’m trying to remember the book where he talks about grieving away the Holy Spirit. And—well—you—if you—
Pastor Jëan Ross: While you look for that, Pastor Doug, “LIFE IN THE SPIRIT” is a great book. We don’t want to be able to grieve away the Holy Spirit
Pastor Doug: No. No. I—but he explains what that is.
Pastor Jëan Ross: If anything, we have to embrace the Holy Spirit. That’s right. You can call the resource line that’s 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book “LIFE IN THE SPIRIT.” We’ll be happy to send that out to you. And—when we find—by the way, those who are listening, Pastor Doug and I have on our laptops all of the books I believe are or at least most of them that Amazing Facts has—and it’s quite a list—so we kind of search through that to find something that is appropriate to the subject in discussion. So that’s what we’re doing right now.
Pastor Doug: Yup. Well, we do have that book called “THE LAST NIGHT ON EARTH.” And I think it talks about unpardonable sin; “THE LAST NIGHT ON EARTH.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. The number again is 800-835-6747. Ask for the book
“THE LAST NIGHT ON EARTH.” You can also ask for “LIFE IN THE SPIRIT.” We’ll send that to you. We have Roger who is listening from Ohio. Roger, welcome to the program.
Roger: Oh! Good evening. My question is—I would like to know the origin and the true meaning of the steeple that’s put on the churches today.
Pastor Doug: That’s a good question. Now—I can’t give you a Bible verse on that. You know—it’s interesting that—well, I can give you—I guess I can give you a Bible verse. One of the temptations—and I don’t remember which version it’s in, Pastor Ross, when it says, “…the devil took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple.” I think some of the—you’ve got—where talks about temptations of Christ. One of them talks about him taking Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple—and that could just mean the highest point, but it could have meant that they had a—by the time of Herod’s temple—that they had some kind of high precipice that people could see from a distance. One reason they put the steeples on the church is most communities used to be built with a church at the center, and they wanted the highest building in the middle of the city to have a cross on it which is saying—really—the center of their lives. The center of their faith was the church. And so, they had a tall roof on it to find it and point the way.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That verse you’re referring to is Luke 4:9.
Pastor Doug: Now, that’s not an endorsement to have a steeple on your church. It’s not saying there’s anything wrong with having a steeple on your church. It’s just they were giving you the facts. You could be meeting in a gymnasium and the Lord can speak to you. So—there’s no mandate in the Bible that when God’s people get together, they need to have a steeple and a cross.
Roger: It’s not—it wasn’t originated from many medieval practices of Pagans?
Pastor Doug: Well—some I think have tried to draw an analogy that these Egyptian obelisks and that the steeples were somehow connected to the Egyptian obelisks. And I think that’s a stretch because you can go to fifty different churches and the pitch and angle and size of the steeples on the churches, they’re all different. In some churches—the Gothic churches have many pinnacles on them. So—it does depend on who the architect was. The traditional American churches you see in the countryside, they usually had one steeple and some form of a cross or some element on the top that helped people identify it was a house of worship. So, the Bible doesn’t really address that. It talks about the architecture of the temple, but our churches are not quite the same as the temple. We don’t sacrifice lambs, and it’s a little different function. But—hey, hope that helps a little bit, Roger. I don’t have a book on that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: I know. We don’t.
Pastor Doug: Steeples? Not yet. (Chuckles)
Pastor Jëan Ross: (Unintelligible). We have Danny who is listening from Minnesota. Danny, welcome to the program.
Danny: Good evening.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Danny: I got two quick questions, Pastor Batchelor. One’s on Genesis 6:4—of course, people mixed up the verse about angels intermingling with humans, and I know that’s not true. Is there anything else in the Bible Scriptures that say that is not true?
Pastor Doug: That angels—
Danny: And my second—
Pastor Doug: Yeah—well, Jesus says that angels neither marry nor are given in marriage. So, how could angels procreate with humans?
Danny: Is there a verse on that?
Pastor Doug: Yeah. Pastor Ross is looking it up right now.
Danny: Okay.
Pastor Doug: Jesus made it pretty clear.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s Matthew 22:30.
Danny: Okay. Matthew 22—
Pastor Doug: You want to read it?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes. “For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in Heaven.”
Pastor Doug: There’s not an iota or shred of evidence in the Bible that angels get married and procreate. Procreation was a gift that God gave men because we were made in His image. Now, before you go to your next question for you or anyone who asks, we just finished writing and printing a book. We had these questions so many times, but who are these sons of God that seemed to get together with the daughters of men? Are they aliens from other worlds? Are they fallen angels? And we will be happy to send you a free copy of that book, Danny—
“WHO ARE THE SONS OF GOD?” Get all the scriptures we just talked about.
Danny: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The number to call is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book
“WHO ARE THE SONS OF GOD?” Again, 800-835-6747.
Pastor Doug: And, Danny, I hope you let that be the one question tonight because we have people lined up in five minutes, and we want to give others a chance. So—call back please with the second half of your question.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We have Kurt who is listening from Kansas. Kurt, welcome to the program.
Kurt: Thank you.
Pastor Doug: Hi, Kurt. You have a quick question?
Kurt: How are you doing?
Pastor Doug: Doing wonderful.
Kurt: I’ll make it quick because I know you got some other people holding.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Kurt: My question is on Matthew 24:34. It’s a parable of the fig tree.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Kurt: And—when it says, “…verily, I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all things—all these things—be fulfilled.” What gen—I assume that they were talking about the generation that they were talking about there, but that can`t be so. And—
Pastor Doug: Well—it isn`t. It isn`t. Keep in mind the first question they asked in Matthew 24, Jesus is talking about, “…there won’t be one stone left upon another in the temple.” And, then they said, “When will this be and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the world?” Jesus coalesced His answer to all three questions in one discourse. So the first thing that we know is Christ said, “This generation will not pass away till these things be fulfilled.” The destruction of Jerusalem—a Bible generation for the years—because that’s why the Israelites wondered for forty years till that unbelieving generation died off. Forty years from Jesus, making that prediction in 30 A.D. and 70 A.D, Jerusalem was destroyed. It happened exactly on schedule with what Christ said. But the other things in Christ’s prophecy—folks are wondering, “What would be the fig tree and what would be the beginning of the forty years near the end of time?” Well, that we don’t know. I don’t have a starting point for that, but—when you read that in Luke—and I think it’s in Luke Chapter 21, where He talks about the fig tree. And that’s
Luke 21:29, He says, “When you behold the fig tree and all the trees—” Trees represent nations, the fig tree-Israel in particular. When we look at the problems we’re having in the world to nations right now, the Lord might say, “When all these nations were in the kind of turmoil, where men’s hearts are failing for fear, that generation will not pass away till all these things be fulfilled.” I think we’re in that generation now, and that we are living in the generation that will witness the second coming of the Lord. Did that help a little, Kurt?
Kurt: Yeah, that makes sense. You know—I was just thinking there—he was talking to the people at that time, and I just couldn’t put that together. I can’t get my arms around that.
Pastor Doug: Well, you are right. He was talking at that time. Matthew 24 is what you call a “dual prophecy,” and Jesus is not only talking about what would happen to the Jewish nation, but what was going to happen globally to the church in the last days. All listening friends, if you didn’t get your call in tonight, we are sorry. Give us another chance. God willing, we’ll be taking your Bible questions again next week. But don’t change the channel just yet. Let me make my little speech and tell you we do appreciate your listening. We want to connect with you. Some don’t call in, but they listen every week. Go to our website or just contact us and say, “Hi.” Tell us if you enjoy the program. Tell us what you think we might improve. And if you are blessed, we are entirely supported by our listeners. Amazing Facts has no corporation or denomination that under rights us; it’s you who are listening in your home or in your car right now to keep us on the air. Make it a point to just go to Amazing Facts, click word says, “Contact.” And you can even make a donation really easy and secure online, and we’d appreciate it. Keep us on the air. It’s the only way we can stay with you. And most of all, we want you to remember that you need to get into studying the “Word.” Jesus is coming soon. We need to know Him because He is the truth that will set you free.
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