Hello friends, how about an amazing fact? The record for hiding out was made by a young Chinese college student by the name of Cheng Lim. He was studying engineering at the University of Michigan but was doing very badly in Physics and Math. If his studies did not improve, he would have to leave school, quit his job as a janitor at the Ann Arbor First Methodist Church and take the humiliating news of his academic failure back to his father who was a school teacher in Singapore. Finally, one day in October 1955, Cheng disappeared. His friends including the Reverend Eugene Ransom, Pastor of the church, called the police. But they found no clues. Cheng’s Methodist friends had another mystery to ponder, strange bumping noises that came out of the deserted church at night.
Early one morning, four years after Cheng’s disappearance, a pair of private detectives called by the Reverend Ransom heard a trap door to the church attic slam. Together with police, they climbed up, swept their flashlights about the attic and there, crouched above them in the rafters was Cheng.
For 4 years, the attic of the church had been his home. The bumping noises had been Cheng skipping rope to keep in shape. During the day, he slept on padding from a pew, and at night he walked around the church and helped himself to food from the kitchen. Physically, Cheng seemed unaffected by his home and existence but as police hauled him off to the county jail, his 4-year preoccupation with the loss of face suddenly vanished.
“I’ve been a coward,” he said, “I’m glad I was found.”
Did you know, friends, that the bible speaks of a time when Satan will be forced to live the life of a homed? Stay tuned for more. You’ll listen to Amazing Facts, and this is “Bible Answers Live.”
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hello friends, this is Pastor Jëan Ross. Pastor Doug Batchelor is out this evening but this is Bible Answers Live. This is a live international interactive Bible study. And if you have a Bible-related question, we would love to hear from you this evening. Our phone lines are now open. This is a good time to pick up your phone give us a call, the number is 1-800-GOD-SAYS. That’s 1-800-463-7297. That number again is 1-800-463-7297 to get your Bible question on the air tonight. And working in the phones for us is Rich Kollenberg. Rich, thanks for joining.
Rich Kollenberg: Thank you for having me. It’s great to be here, Jëan.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you start the program with a word of prayer.
Rich Kollenberg: Yes.
Dear Father, we thank You so much for the privilege that You give us to serve You. And we just ask now, Lord, that You be with us and with this program that we rightly represent You. And that we answer these questions according to Your will. We thank You for this program and the fact that it can reach so far and do so good. Thank You, Lord, in Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Amen.
Thank you, Rich.
We’re going to be talking about the Bible this evening and the most important subject that one can ever ask about the Bible is, “Who does the Bible talk about?” It talks about Jesus, pulls back the curtain on the great controversy between good and evil. But the Bible also tells us about our adversary, the devil, also referred to as Satan. And in our opening fact, we mentioned that the Bible speaks of a time when Satan experienced the life of a homed. Well, that comes from Revelation 20. Revelation 20 verses 1 says, “Then I saw an angel coming down from Heaven, having a key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent of old, released the devil and the Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20 speaks about a 1,000 year period when the devil is bound in something called the “bottomless pit.” At the end of that thousand year period, he’s released for a little season.
Have you ever wondered about what does binding of Satan is all about? What is the “bottomless pit”? Well, we have a study guide that lands to this question along with other questions relating to what will happen after Jesus comes. The study guide is entitled “A Thousand Years of Peace”, and it’s free. If you’d call our resources line, the number for that is 1-800-835-6747. That number again is 1-800-835-6747. You can ask for the study guide, “A Thousand Years of Peace”, and we’ll be happy to send that out to you.
Rich, just before we went on the air, we had somebody calling with a Bible question, they weren’t able to give us the question live but we did get their question. So, we like to take a moment to address it. The question is in reference to a statement that Jesus makes in Matthew 12:40. Jesus said, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Some have wondered, does this mean that Jesus was in a tomb for 3 days and 3 nights?
You know that Jesus was crucified on Friday, and then He rose again on the first day of the week on Sunday morning. And if you do the calculation, that doesn’t seems though that Christ is in the tomb for 3 days. So, what does this mean?
In order to understand the statement that Jesus makes, we need to understand His phrase “the heart of the earth.” Now, the heart of the earth is not the tomb. That was on Thursday evening after Jesus ate the Passover meal with His disciples, and they made their way out of Jerusalem, and up towards the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus began to take upon himself the sins of the world. Any walls in the essence, in the grasp of Satan, Jesus became sin for us who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God He took upon himself our sins. And that’s why the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus (Inaudible 6:45).
And Jesus was being strongly influenced, temptations from Satan but also baring guilt the sins of the world.
Rich Kollenberg: Yeah, you know, He was, every time he gotten a pickle, he always went off the other way and always was able to escape but this time here, He saw what was going to happen, and He said that, “Father if this cup can pass, let it pass but if not, let Satan be called the prince of this world.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: So He’s under the control of Satan’s forces there because Jesus remain faithful all the way right up to His death on the cross. And because of His death, we have life.
We have a book dealing with the subject called “The Sign of Jonah”, and if you’d like to learn more about that give us a call on our resource line. The number is 1-800-835-6747. That’s 1-800-835-6747. You can ask for the book, “The Sign of Jonah”. We’ll be happy to send that to you. Our number here to the studio if you have a Bible question is 1-800-463-7297. And, Rich, we’re ready to go to the phone lines. Who’s our first caller tonight?
Rich Kollenberg: Our first caller’s Craig from Lamoy, Iowa. Craig, welcome to the program.
Craig: Yes, hello, (Inaudible 8:03) Pastor Ross. Yeah, I talked to you before with Pastor Doug. (Inaudible 8:07) Pastor Doug as a on the website or on the TV or you or any other pastors, or referencing Hebrew scriptures (Inaudible 8:18) so I bought a straw and as everything that I need, right? So he was talking about the Apocrypha. You are familiar with those, I’m sure. And what is your opinion on them? I mean, if I am doing a search, you know trying to learn more about Jesus all the time and my walk with Christ, are they important to read if I could find them or what?
Pastor Jëan Ross: You know, it’s probably helpful as a historical reference point. Part of the reason why the Apocrypha Books are not included in the Canon—that would be the New Testament, now of course some Bibles do include them in between the Old and the New Testament but then not in the, as referred to as the Canon, the inspired passages.
The several reasons, one is the authorship of the Apocrypha Book is questionable. The other is that there are a few doctrinal points that differ in the Apocrypha from other passages scripture that means, now is clearly inspired by the writings of Paul, by the writings of Peter. So that’s also brought the Apocrypha into question. But it does provide as to what some historical information valuable, helpful. At times it will also give us a perspective from the Jewish perspective back in history. As a reference, it can be helpful but there are questions as to its inspiration.
Craig: Yeah, there’s nothing there that would take me away from Christ in other words, you know, something like that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yeah, typically not in the Apocrypha Book. It might cause you to question maybe some aspects that you’ve read or passages that you’ve read in inscriptions that doesn’t seem to match up. And again, that was one of the reasons they are not included in the Canon.
Craig: Okay. I appreciate your help on this thing.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good question. Thanks for calling. You know we do have a study guide. Actually, no, it’s a book entitled, “The Ultimate Resource”, Craig and it talks about the Bible. I believe it also mentions the Apocrypha, and we’ll send that to you for free if you’d call our resource line at 1-800-835-6747, and the book is entitled “The Ultimate Resource” talking about the Bible. 1-800-835-6747, that is the resource line. And to our studio, the number is 1-800-463-7297. Who’s our next caller?
Rich Kollenberg: Penny has called in from Washington. Penny, welcome to the program.
Penny: Thank you! This is a question, actually, from my son. He’s a college student, then a Christian for about 3 years now. And he has a few secular friends that ask him questions now and again, and this is one he has really had a hard time with. He says, when talking to his secular friends, he has a hard time reconciling the facts that the (Inaudible 11:12) in the Old Testament was a proactive God who’s (Inaudible 11:15) the wicked and took an active role in His people’s daily lives. And the God in the New Testament is more distant, and has lived, and let live policy. In other words, He seems to be the polar opposite of the Old Testament God. And some of his secular friends don’t really understand that. So, they want him to give them kind of explanation and he really just don’t know what to say.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. Well, that’s a good question. At first, reading it can appear that way. You’re reading the Old Testament. A lot of historical accounts of battles and God delivering Israel certain laws that (Inaudible 11:54) prescribe Israel as a nation, and those who did not follow those laws, there were consequences. And yet Jesus says in the New Testament, if somebody strikes you on the one side of the face, turn the other.
Penny: Exactly.
Pastor Jëan Ross: It somewhat sounds almost contradictory. However, it’s not. When you remember in the Old Testament, we have the history of Israel in order for God to preserve truth in the earth. He threw Abraham and He seed and threw Israel as a nation. And God gave him His law he gave Him his will, and the sacrificial system, the sanctuary service, which is an object list in salvation. And in order for the world to know about a God who saves, it was important that Israel follow the laws that God had given them, and keep themselves separate from the nations around them. And so, we have the historical account of God delivering Israel from the enemies but at times, allowing Israel to go into captivity. It was important that truth be preserved on the earth. In the New Testament times, we have Jesus. And Jesus came to established not a kingdom related to a particular nation but rather a kingdom of grace. And anybody who receives Jesus as they save you they become a citizen of that kingdom of grace, the kingdom of heaven. So, it’s not one nation any longer that God is working through but it’s people from different nations, different nationalities, different languages, a spiritual Israel that God has established.
Now, the principle of love that we see in the New Testament is also in the Old Testament. We have wonderful passages, scripture in the Old Testament where God says He will create within us a new heart, and put His spirit within us. And in the Old Testament, we get the commandment that we were to love the Lord, our God with all of our heart, and love our neighbors as ourselves. But the application of that is seen more so in the New Testament, as people follow the teachings and direction of Jesus. So it’s the outworking of a principle that be seen in the Old Testament, the principles of God’s love that manifest through a nation, and then also manifest through individuals in the New Testament era, with the Church era.
Penny: Do you have anything that he could read, or something, and study a little bit that might help make this a little bit more clear to him?
Pastor Jëan Ross: I think the book that we mention a little earlier entitled “The Ultimate Resource” that talks about the Bible, talks a little bit about the Old Testament, the historical accounts that we have, as well as the New Testament and how the two relate. I think that might be helpful for him.
Penny: Okay. The Ultimate Resource?
Pastor Jëan Ross: It’s called “The Ultimate Resource”, and the resource number is 1-800-835-6747. That’s 1-800-835-6747. Just ask for the book, “The Ultimate Resource” and we’ll be happy to send that out.
Penny: Thank you, Pastor! Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re welcome. Thank you for calling, Penny.
Rich Kollenberg: Michael in West Orange, New Jersey. Welcome to the program.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi, Michael! You’re on the air.
Michael: Thank you, Pastor Jean. And I appreciate how you spread the good news to all of us. Thank you for that much. God Bless you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Amen.
Michael: Now, I have a dilemma. About 3 months ago, I got saved but 1 month ago I had an encounter with a person that I love very much, and they were very mean to me, physically mean to me. And I promise that day, that I was not interfering with anything unless Christ and God come into their life, unless they came to me. But now that I have, so full of the good news, and still full of Christ, and still full of God, I really want to just go to them and just tell them, you know, this is real but I know I made it out of God. I just want to confirm that the vows supersedes, wanted to relate all of the—
Pastor Jëan Ross: If a person makes a vow to God and it is a vow that in some way goes against the God’s will, and the person comes to a realization of that, what God would want us to do is not pursue our vow that contradicts His will just because we made the vow.
Let’s say an unbeliever says that he’s not going to speak to someone, forever makes a vow for whatever reason, but then he gets converted and the Holy Spirit is convicting him to speak to that individual, he can’t say, “I made a vow so I’m not going to do what the Holy Spirit is prompting me to do.”
Michael: But I am waiting for them to come to me. They are not in Christ yet. I’m waiting for them to come to me. But I remember saying that I wouldn’t interfere with them again unless they came to me.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know, maybe, as you pray about this, and you say, “Lord, what is it that you want me to do?” Don’t allow a vow that you’ve made hinder you from doing what it is God is convicting you to do. Now, that might be awaiting until that person does come to a point of realization of needing to communicate with you. But prayerfully, as you say, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” If you get convicted, then God wants you to step out first and initiate some form of communication. By all means, do so. Don’t allow a vow that you made before you knew Christ to prevent you from doing what God wants you to do, now that you know Him.
Michael: Amen, Pastor Jean. Thank you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: We have a book entitled “Determining God’s Will”. And it might not speak specifically, Michael, to this issue, but it does gives you some important principles that I think any person wanting to follow God’s will in their life will find valuable. To get that book for free, call our resource line, it’s 1-800-835-6747. That’s 1-800-835-6747. You can ask for the book written by Pastor Doug entitled “Determining God’s Will” or “Knowing God’s Will” And we will send that out to you. If you have a Bible question, the number to call to the studio is 1-800-463-7297.
And Rich, who do we have next?
Rich Kollenberg: We have Tim on the road from Michigan. Tim, welcome to the program.
Tim: Well, thank you for taking my call and first of all, God Bless you all. (Inaudible 18:16) and your show.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, thank you, Tim.
Tim: My question’s very simple, and I know of a saying that has said that Christ was crucified and died. Descended into hell and rose again. Many people believe, He went to hell for 3 day, and many people believe, he didn’t. What is the real answer at that, and where is it?
Pastor Jëan Ross: With reference to, we’ll look at the verse again, and tell you where it is, just a minute. But with reference to the word “hell”, especially to the King James version, the word “hell” not only means a place of torment for the wicked at the end of the age. But it also represents the grave-- in the same word as used especially in the King James Version and some of the newer translations-- there’s actually distinction that’s made. And when it says that Jesus died and He went down to hell, the newer translation says the grave and then He arose. So, understanding which word there is being used in the original Greek will help us understand the meaning with that verse.
Tim: Okay. Then (Inaudible 19:27) which word what it was in the original Greek was it grave then?
Pastor Jëan Ross: It was grave. Let me see if I can pull that up here.
Pastor Jëan Ross: I just have to make sure that I can get the right one. Let’s see.
Tim: Because I won’t say that. And I can’t really go too far because I don’t want to talk about any particular denominations of anybody. But I won’t bring myself to agree that Christ descended in to hell. To me, hell is the burning sulfur pit where evil will be. That is what it means to me. And so, to me, I can’t bring myself to say that particular line.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Right. And you’re correct in doing that. The way Jesus (Inaudible 20:20) is death, the Bible tells us. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins which is death and that’s what happened when He died on the cross, and He’s dead. He didn’t go anywhere. He didn’t go to heaven. He didn’t go to hell. He was in the tomb, in the grave. And He rose, and then He ascended up to His Father in heaven. He didn’t go into a place of torment again, the meaning of that word is important. I tell you, what, Tim, when we come up to our break, it’s going to take me a while just to pull up that verse up. I’ll get it and we will announce it in the air so you can take a look at that.
Tim: Wonderful. I listen to you, guys, 12 hours a day, this radio station. [Laughing]
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. [Giggling]
Tim: I woke up and let me hear it.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright.
Tim: Thank you very much. God Bless you. And thanks again for taking my call.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright. You’re welcome. Thanks for calling, Tim. Who do we have next?
Rich Kollenberg: We have Anthony calling from Beacon, New York. Anthony, welcome to the program.
Anthony: Hi, how you doing?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Doing well.
Anthony: Basically, a lot of John, Matthew, Mark, well, talk about Christ breaking bread. But one of them might be is John. (Unrelated statement 21:36) Basically, he really makes you on the stand, “this is my body”. You know, he had people saying, don’t mumble about it. This is my body. And he made to a point to understand that so, what would be the difference between breaking the bread versus breaking the bread in remembrance or really saying “this is my body”?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. I think the verse you’re referring to is in John 6:54 where Jesus says, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” And in verse 56 of the same chapter He says, “He, who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I, in him.”
Now, when Jesus made that statement that was difficult for a lot of people to understand. For a matter of fact that tells us that the many of that followed Jesus that based upon that statement, turned and walked away. Even the disciples, had a hard time understanding what it was that Jesus was talking about. And so, they came back and said to Him, “This is a hard saying.” Jesus then explains what He means and says, “The spirit gives it life the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speaken to thee, they are spirit and they are life.”
So, what Jesus is saying is to eat His flesh, is to receive His word, to receive His teaching and to put it into practice. A symbol of that, of course, is the bread in the communion service.
Anthony: Right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The grape juice is a symbol of Christ’s blood. So, the bread is a symbol of the body of Christ that was broken for our sins. When we eat of that bread, symbolically, what we are saying is I’m going to receive the word of Christ, and I’m going to apply that word to my life. When we drink the wine, the grape juice, we’re saying I’m going to receive Christ, a toning sacrifice.
I’m going to apply that to my life. And just like physical bread give physical health so by feasting upon the word of Christ, we receive spiritual health. So, that’s the application that Jesus is making. It’s feasting on His word.
Anthony: That makes sense to me. It definitely makes sense to me. I just want to hear someone else say it. Thank you very much. Is this always on this time?
Pastor Jëan Ross: It is.
Anthony: Alright. ‘Cause I only heard one of the Bible guy but this is awesome. And I definitely want to stay tuned and listen to this. These are the things I would like to hear.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Good. Join us again next week on the same time, same place. Thanks for you call.
Who do we have next, Rich?
Rich Kollenberg: Next, we have Regina Collin from Orlando, Florida. Regina welcome to the program.
Regina: Thank you so much.
Regina: (Inaudible 24:20), Pastor Ross.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi!
Regina: Hi. My question involves children and the bad things that happen to them. Because every person on planet earth have a guardian angel and if they do, and because God loves us how do we balance that against under the horrible things that happen to little kids, and all of the people, too but especially with children who are so innocent? How do we explain that or try to make friends with that?
Pastor Jëan Ross: That is one of the difficult questions that we have living in the world of sin is, why does God allow bad things to happen to good people. The Bible does give us an explanation why.
Of course, when a person is experiencing something difficult, it’s always hard to say, “Alright, Lord. I believe that You are allowing this for some reason.” especially when we’re going through pain and especially when we see innocent people suffering.
Now, a real quick with reference to angels, Psalm 34:7 says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around about those who fears Him, and delivers them.” So, the Bible speaks of angels as been there minister to those who love God--that would be protecting them, watching over them, impressing them. But even though we have a guardian angel, that doesn’t mean we won’t ever experience difficulties or bad things won’t happen to us. We live in a world of sin. And at times, the innocent people suffer. We know that children often suffer the consequences of their parents’ behavior or parents’ actions and God allows that.
Now, God knows when innocent people suffer, and He takes record of that. And even though it’s difficult to go through these trials, God has promised that one day He’s going to make all things right. When the great controversy is over, and sin and Satan is no more, the Bible says in Revelation 21 that God will wipe away every tear from every eye, and there will be no more pain, no more sorrow, no more suffering. Even though it’s difficult now, we need to recognize we’re on a battlefield. And in a war, good people suffer and die. But good knows, God takes record and one day He’ll make everything right.
Rich Kollenberg: Yeah, you know, in Matthew 18:10, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones for I say to you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: Great verse. So, that’s speaking about children having an angel. And then, Jesus goes on in the same passage, and says if you hurt one of these little ones it will be better that a millstone be tied around your neck, and that you’d be thrown in the depths of the sea. So, God takes it very serious when somebody hurts a child, one of these innocent ones, and God promises that one day, He will make all things right.
Regina: (Inaudible 27:20) I thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you for your program.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re welcome, Regina. Thank you for calling.
You know, we do have a study guide that talks about when God makes all things new. It’s one of my favorite, and it’s entitled “Colossal Study in Space”. It’s talking about heaven, talking about what God is preparing for those that love Him. And we’ll send that to you for free. All you need to do is just call our resource line study guide is “Colossal Study in Space”.
You’re listening to Bible Answers Live. Now the number for our free resources is 1-800-835-6747. That’s 1-800-835-6747. And all you need to do is call that number, and ask for any other resources that had been mentioned in the program, and we’ll send it out to you for free. And also, you can enroll in our free Bible study course. If you’d like to learn more about the Bible, we have some fantastic study guides that we’ll send to you. Again, just call our resource line that’s 1-800-835-6747, and you can enroll in the free Amazing Facts Bible study course.
Dealing with prophecy subjects, talking about practical issues with family and health, and we also deal with some of the events that the Bible describes that happened before Jesus comes, and all of that is for free. Just call our resource line and we’ll be happy to send that out to you.
Well, friends, we’re not done. We’re just taking a break. We’ll be back in just a moment with more Bible questions.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hello, friends, you’re listening to Bible Answers Live. And this is a live interactive Bible study. If you have a Bible-related question, we would love to hear from you. The number here to the studio is 1-800-463-7297. That’s 1-800-GOD-SAYS, 463-7297.
And Rich, just before we go to the phone lines, we had a caller earlier that asked about a verse that speaks of Jesus going down into hell for 3 days and then been resurrected. Of the closest verse to that kind of an idea would be found in 1 Peter 3:18-19, and I’ll read it. This is, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit. By whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison.” , who formerly would disobedient when once the divine long suffering waited in the days of Noah. Psalm has resolved on this first included that when Jesus died, He went down into hell and preached to the spirits in prison.
But if you look at the verse a little clearer, you’ll understand what it’s talking about. The subject, the focal subject of verse 18 is the spirit. So, for Christ also suffering once for sin, the just for the unjust that He might bring many of us to God, had been put to death in the flesh but made alive by the spirit, and then the next verse is talking about the spirit by whom also He, that’s Jesus, through the spirit went and preach to the spirits in prison during the days of Noah. So prior to the flood, the Holy Spirit, Christ was preaching through the Holy Spirit, impressing hearts through the Holy Spirit warning them about a coming judgment, and appealing to them, of course you have the preaching of Noah.
It’s not talking about Jesus going down to a place of torment after His death, and then preaching to people in hell. That’s really a misapplication of that verse.
Alright, Rich, who’s our next caller?
Rich Kollenberg: Our next caller is Johnny. He’s listening on WMCA from the Bronx, New York. Johnny, welcome to the program.
Johnny: Yeah, hello.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi, Johnny. Welcome to the program. Your question tonight?
Johnny: God Bless you, Pastor. God Bless you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Thank you.
Johnny: Listen, the Bible say (Inaudible 33:03) payback time so we’re missing a sin. So it was a brawl in church that he didn’t want to get baptized so what would have happen to a prison that the one who want to get baptized that’s Bible-teaching saying that’s between the law and the person what will happen to that believer. So what will happen to a prison that wants to get baptized in water?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. Well, you know, probably the first question you wanted to consider is why. Jesus says in John 3, speak to Nicodemus, mostly assuredly I sent you, is born of a water and of the spirit, He kind of entered into the kingdom of God. So Jesus says that baptism, that is to be born of water, is really important. And the reason for that is baptism is a public declaration of our commitment to Christ that needs to be a public statement. Jesus says, “He who is ashamed of me on earth, I will be ashamed of him before my Father. But he who confesses me on earth, I will confess him before my Father.”
So, baptism is a public declaration saying we’re on God’s side, and we’re choosing to follow Him. If a person is unwilling to make that public declaration, we need to find out what is the reason. Are they ashamed of Christ? Are they afraid of something? What’s the point behind not wanting to make a public declaration?
You know, the Christian experience is often you liken into a marriage. Jesus described as the groom and church as the bride. You can imagine a couple, and they love one another. But then, it comes a time for them to get married, and the husband says, she wants to have a big wedding and invite her friends and everyone to the wedding, and he says, “You know what, I prefer we don’t invite anyone. As a matter of fact, don’t tell anyone that we’re getting married.” She would probably have a lot of questions in her mind, wondering why is that he wants to keep this new relationship, this commitment, a secret.
I think that’s true in the Christian experience. If we love Jesus, we shouldn’t be afraid to say to everyone, “I am dedicating my life to Him.” And baptism is a public declaration of that.
Johnny: (Inaudible 35:15) What do you think? (Inaudible 35:20)
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. So, what happens to a person that can’t be baptized? Now, that’s a difference. If somebody is refusing not to be baptized, you need to find out why. If somebody wants to be baptized but they can’t for some physical reason, God’s not going to keep them out of the kingdom. You know, if that thief was able to come down off the cross he probably would have been willing to do what everything he could in order to acknowledge Christ as the Messiah.
Rich Kollenberg: He probably made more of a public display.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right. There on the cross.
Rich Kollenberg: Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And you know, when Jesus was baptized, He came to the Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist. From the Baptist, “Well, I’m unworthy to baptize you. You need to baptize me.” Jesus said, “Let it be so. In other words, baptize me for thus, we fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus wasn’t baptized because of any sin that he’d committed but He was baptized for those of whatever reason, were unable to be baptized, to give that public declaration. Maybe because of sickness or maybe they found themselves in prison, and they receive Christ and there is no way for them to be baptized. So just because somebody’s unable to be baptized, that doesn’t exclude them from heaven. But if someone is able to be baptized, and they refuse to be baptized, then you need to find out what’s the problem. Something’s wrong there.
Johnny: Exactly. Right. Yes.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Does that help a little, Johnny?
Johnny: Yes. Thank you, Pastor. God Bless you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re welcome. Thanks for your call.
You know, we have a book. I believe, it is Rich, entitled “Baptism: Is it really Necessary?”, and it deals with this very question. So for anyone wanting to know more about Bible baptism, why is it necessary, give us a call at 1-800-835-6747. That is our resource line. And you can ask for the book “Baptism: Is it really Necessary?”, and we’ll be happy to send that to you.
Rich Kollenberg: I remember we got a call from Pastor Doug one night, and his very words were, “Rich, you’ve been dating the Lord long enough. It’s time for you to get married. Let’s come down, and do some baptismal vows.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: Make that public commitment.
Rich Kollenberg: Make that public commitment. Yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And you know, there is no greater joy that we could have in life than making that public commitment, and been baptized, been washed, coming up clean. It’s a beautiful experience.
Rich Kollenberg: And you invite your family and your friends, and you’re telling them all with that statement, you know, my life has changed.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Absolutely. Who’s our next caller?
Rich Kollenberg: Our next caller is Gloria. She’s also calling from New York. Gloria, welcome to the program.
Gloria: Thank you, Pastor Doug. And thank you for taking my call. My question is, I’ve always heard that the world is millions of years old but recently I heard a pastor say that the world is 6,000 years old, and Jewish people are into a year of 5, 078. And when you think about the Book of Genesis, it goes straight from when God created the Earth in 7 days, in 6 days and rested on the 7th day right through the Old Testament into the New Testament, and into where we are in the year 2012. So, I’m confused because I heard someone say that the world was 6,000 years old. And then, I heard all of these years that people say that the Earth is million years old.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Right. Well, according to the Bible, if you count up the ages--that’s less than in a way that we do the chronology in scriptures--if you start with Adam in Genesis it said, Adam lived for a certain number of years, and then he had his son. And then after he had his son, he lived for another number of years, and then he died. And then he talks about Adam’s son, Seth who lived for so many years. He had a son, and then after he had a son, he lived for so many years and then he died. So if you sit down, and you count up all of the ages given starting in Genesis all the way through, and then the time of Christ. I mean from the time of Christ to about now, it’s been a little less than, well, about 2,000 years. Christ was born around about 3 or 4 B.C. So, you do the math, you count it up. That would put us right now, right around the year 6,000. The Earth has been created 6,000 years ago.
Gloria: Thank you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Now, if somebody sets aside the bible, then you come up with all crazy ideas as to the age of the earth. But according to the scripture, the Earth is about 6,000 years old.
Gloria: Thank you so much. So, the Jewish people, even though they do not recognize our New Year, and when they have a New Year, they have already evolved from the beginning of the Bible when God made the earth.
Pastor Jëan Ross: They follow the same chronology that we do. The Old Testament and the Hebrew scriptures are the same. So, all the way from Genesis, all the way through the time of Christ you add up those time periods, it will be the same.
Well, Gloria, thank you so much for your call. We appreciate it. We do have a study guide talking a little bit about, I don’t know if we have something specifically on the age of the earth, but we do have something dealing with Evolution vs. Christianity. And it’s an interesting book. It’s entitled “When Evolution Flunked the Science Test”. And it talks about dating methods. So, you can receive that book for free if you call our Resource line 1-800-835-6747. You can ask for the book, Gloria, “When Evolution Flunked the Science Test”.
Rich, who do we have next?
Rich Kollenberg: Next, we have Ralph calling from Wisconsin. Ralph, welcome to the program.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi, Ralph. You’re on the air.
Ralph: Hello, thank you for taking my call.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re welcome.
Ralph: My question stands from being raised in a Satanic cult. At age 36, I accepted the Lord. And I’m wondering which power has my soul?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know, if you receive Jesus as your personal Savior, and day-by-day, moment by moment you are surrendering to Him, everyday commit your life to Him, you can be assured that Christ is working within you. Now, that doesn’t mean the devil won’t harass or the devil won’t tempt. But if you keep giving yourself to Christ, Jesus will be the One that will hold you secure.You see, God is greater than the enemy. Jesus say to His disciples, “Fear not for I have overcome the world.” Christ went to battle with Satan, and Christ overcame. Now, we can’t overcome Satan in our own strength, but we can if we trust in Jesus. Now, sometimes a person will give themselves to Christ, and they’ll receive His grace and forgiveness. And yet, they will get discouraged when they get tempted or when trials come their way and think, “Maybe, I didn’t give myself to Christ.” And you know the devil, he will still harass and he will still tempt. Don’t get discouraged, just keep trusting in the Lord, keep giving yourself to Him every day. The Bible promises us that He will begin a good work within us, we’ll finish it. So, don’t allow the devil to steal away your confidence or faith.
Ralph: (Inaudible 42:44) I am being put into trial.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And you know, trials come and sometimes the devil will test our faith to see if it’s genuine. And that’s the time you need to hold on to God’s promises. The scripture says we must walk by faith, not by sight meaning that you need to hold on to what God say in his word, hold on to His promises, even if you don’t feel as though those promises are being fulfilled right here and now. You need to hold on to that by faith.
Ralph: Yeah, everything happens in God’s time, not my time.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right.
Ralph: And I don’t return to the old ways. I keep living in Christ’s life.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right. And you know, it’s a day by day experience, The Apostle Paul says, “I die daily.” There is a day by day surrendering of self to Christ, and saying, “Lord, today I choose you.” Now, that doesn’t mean that we won’t stumble and fall. But even if we do, even if we do stumble and fall, don’t get discouraged, we just need to get right back up, and say, “Lord, forgive me.” Recommit our hearts and lives to Chris, and He will receive us and He will keep working within us.
Rich Kollenberg: You can do it Ralph. I spent about 24 years of my life on Methamphetamine and other drugs. And I got clean and sober about 15 years ago. It’s been a struggle but I hold on to God’s word now, and not what I feel. I went with my feelings for so long, and you know, the dark days come. Sometimes many of them come in a row but I just have to hold on to God’s word. It’s all I got.
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right.
Rich Kollenberg: That’s all I have.
Pastor Jëan Ross: So, don’t let the devil win. Just hold on to God.
Ralph: Will do.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright. Hey, Ralph, I want to have a word of prayer for you if that’s alright.
Ralph: That’s fine.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Dear Father in heaven, we just want to ask you in special way that You’d be with Ralph. You know, he has given himself to You. And we want to ask that You would give him strength and courage. Our adversary, the devil will do everything he can to try and discourage us and steal away our confidence in You. But bless Ralph, and give him courage, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Rich Kollenberg: Amen.
Ralph: Thanks.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for your call Ralph.
Rich Kollenberg: Ruth is calling from Orlando, Florida. Ruth, welcome to the program.
Ruth: Good evening. Thank you for taking my call.
Rich Kollenberg: Good evening,
Ruth: My question is I was listening to a very well-known Bible teacher. He’s deceased now but his program is very popular. And he made a statement that Jesus was not at the Last Supper. And he uses John 13:26 as the scripture. And my question is I thought from reading the Bible, Jesus was at the Last Supper. So, is Jesus at the Last Supper?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. He certainly was.
Ruth: That’s what I thought.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Let me read the verse. It’s John 13:26 that you mentioned. Jesus answered, Jesus speaking to His disciples, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it, and having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.”
Ruth: What translation are you reading from?
Pastor Jëan Ross: That was the New King James.
Ruth: Okay. In mine, I have that, too. But the one I have is He took a supper.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. That’s the King James. But it’s the same idea. So, Jesus is with His disciples, and He says to them, “One of you—the disciples—will betray me.” And the disciples begin to ask the Lord, “Is it I? Is it I?” “Who’s going to betray You?” Then, Jesus responded, and He says, “The one to whom I give a piece of bread after I dip it.” And Judas Iscariot was sitting there by Christ, and Jesus dip the bread and gave it to Judas. And then it says that the devil entered to Judas, and he got up and he left. And he went and sold Christ for 30 pieces of silver. So, Jesus was with His disciples there at the (Inaudible 46:50)
Ruth: That’s my understanding of reading it. Okay, well, thank you so much for clearing that up for me.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright. You’re welcome, Ruth. Thanks for calling.
Who do we have next?
Rich Kollenberg: Chris is calling from Holland, New Jersey. Listening to WMCA, Chris, welcome to the program.
Chris: Hi, thanks very much. I’m just wondering, Pastor Ross, That at the beginning of program that Christ experienced something other than the dread, of what was coming. I’m just wondering where that came from. What do you use to support that?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Okay. Alright. I was referring to Christ’s experience in the Garden of Gethsemane where it says that [TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES]
What I was referring to is when Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane, and He said, “Father, if it’s possible, take this cup away from me.” It was not only the cross that Jesus was talking about but Jesus was actually taking upon Himself the sins of this world. For we read that Christ became sin for us who knew no soon that we become the righteousness of God in him. So, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was taking upon Himself the sins of the world, that guilt, that separation, and that’s why in the cross Jesus said, “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?” And that’s really what brought his death. It wasn’t so much the nails the nails in His hands, in His feet and the whooping. But Jesus died of a broken heart because of our sins.
Chris: Right, but Christ was gone and you said that God separated, turns faith, or whatever figuratively or I just don’t see in the bible that there was anything other than his physical, his emotional. People say, well, God put this, the guilt on Him. I mean, I don’t even, I’m not even sure what that’s supposed to mean, I mean if it’s not there, I just. If it’s okay, could you give me a verse for the listeners out there?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, I can give you the verse that I was quoting, “Became sin for us who knew, you know sin”
Chris: But that means sin offering though. I mean in other places, I don’t know about that specific instance that said he became a sin offering. I mean most Bible said that well, no, no.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You’re right. Well He’s the Lamb of God who took upon himself the sins of the world, and He died for us. We know that he paid the penalty for our transgression. Now, we don’t quite know what Christ’s experience was. Like you said, we’ve never been there. We don’t know what it was like. But Jesus went through sufficient suffering and agony that His sacrifice is sufficient to provide atolment for every person. Everyone (Inaudible 46:33)
Chris: I agree, but I mean, He’s spotless, He’s sinless, you know. It even said that, since the foundation of the earth, He suffered often with God loading him with whatever this stuff, you know guilt even then, or was it just a matter of Him contemplating of what we would go through.
Pastor Jëan Ross: No, you know, He didn’t suffer from the guilt of the sins of the world until I just prior to use crucifixion and the Garden of Gethsemane. Up until that point, Jesus said His Father is always with Him. And He always does the will of His Father. But when He went to the Garden of Gethsemane, there was this new experience that Jesus began to go through that was different than what He had before. And that culminated in Christ saying, “My God, my God, why has Thou forsaken me?” That’s the emotional anguish that Christ is going through, that He felt as though the Father had totally abandoned Him.
Chris: Sure. Sure. I agree with you. I agree with that. Alright, just forget it. I would try to get more insight on that. I mean, I still don’t see it but—
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, you know, that’s a great topic. We’d probably we’ll be studying that for a long time. (Inaudible 50:35) exactly what Jesus experienced. But what He did go through, we can agree on, was efficient to have a hold for our sins, and we have hope.
Rich Kollenberg: Yeah. You know, there’s a wonderful picture of that in the Old Testament sanctuary service where the sins were laid on that little lamb, and therefore, the guilt was transferred to the innocent lamb and the lamb needed to be without blemish.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Right.
Rich Kollenberg: And so, yeah, God gave us a wonderful picture there in that Old Testament sanctuary service.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The verse that I was referring to is 2 Corinthians 5:21, it says for He-- that would be the Father-- made Him—that would be Christ—who knew no sin, to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. That’s 2 Corinthians 5:21. Rich, who’s the next caller?
Rich Kollenberg: Our next caller is Hollister, calling from Orlando, Florida. Hollister, welcome to the program.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi, Hollister. You’re on the air.
Hollister: Hi. It’s nice to talk to you, again. And hope everything is well with you.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Going well.
Hollister: I have a question. I have a lot of Scientist friends, Physicist, and I like Archaeology. And we were just talking with a lady about the Bible, and history (Inaudible 51:53) read all of it like the 6,000 years like what you were talking about, I’ve read it for a while. But also know that there are real bones (Inaudible 52:08) and fossils. And there are even fossils that show the evolution, the evolving. They even have bones of the Neanderthals, and all this stuff. And I was wondering if do you believe that there was an entire world of dinosaurs in Noah’s time or—
Pastor Jëan Ross: How do we match up the two? Well, there’s no doubt—
Hollister: They aged these bones and they have a science that are trying to age these things, and coming up with exact age.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Right. The typical daily method is carbon dating. And there are some—
Hollister: Yeah, just like what you have in pottery. (Inaudible 52:48) with the Bible, they do the same thing with the Bible is that aging the pottery and everything.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Now, of course, these questions as to the influence of carbon dating, there are certainly environmental factors that can influence the carbon decay, as to speed it up or slow it down. But I believe that the dinosaurs were on the earth. We have the bones as the record but according to the Bible account, we had Noah’s flood, worldwide flood. And it was the flood that destroyed the dinosaurs (Inaudible 53:18)
Rich Kollenberg: So, you believe that the world was covered with a lot of this (Inaudible 53:22)
Pastor Jëan Ross: Yes. Yes. Absolutely.
Rich Kollenberg: I now that we were talking about the (Inaudible 53:28) I mean doesn’t reveal everything, the Bible doesn’t really talk about giants, creatures like the Tyrannosaurus and stuff like that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Right. Well, we do have just real quick here before we run out of time. We do have hints in that scripture. It talks about the Book of Job, it talks about an animal that lives in the sea called Leviathan, and then there is another one, Behemoth. And it gives the description of Job, and it’s unlike any animal that we know today but the description does fit of that of the dinosaur. So, (Inaudible 54:57)
We do have a, you know, the Bible does referred to creatures prior to the flood that were different than the animals we have now.
Hollister: How come the Bible doesn’t show where Adam evolved and you ended up like people in Chinese and stuff like that?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Well, the Bible does give a little record of the races. From the time of Noah onwards, his sons moved out to different parts of the globe, and based upon environmental factors and families certain character traits became dominant and that’s where the races come from.
Well, you know, friends, we are running out of time. I am just looking at (Inaudible 54:32), she says we have less than a minute to go. If we weren’t able to get to your call tonight, don’t get discouraged. Give us a call we’d love to hear from you. Also, in the meantime, I am encouraging you to call our resource line. The number is 1-800-835-6747, and you can ask for any of the resources that had been mentioned on tonight’s program. You can also go there, and ask to sign up for free for the Amazing Facts Bible study course. You know, Rich, there are so many people that have been blessed through this Bible study course. I know you are familiar with it.
Rich Kollenberg: Yes, in fact, I’m very familiar. My wife began here working at Amazing Facts Ministry in the Bible school.
Pastor Jëan Ross: In the Bible school. And we have people doing the course from across the country, and then across the world, online at the Amazing Facts website: amazingfacts.org
Again, friends, thank you for joining us tonight. We will be back next week, same time, same place, with more Bible questions and answers. God Bless until then.
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