Hello, friends! This is Doug Batchelor. How about an amazing fact?
The most famous Egyptian Pharaoh today is, without a doubt, Tutankhamen, better known as King Tut. It’s believed the boy king was murdered in his late teens and remained at rest for over 3,300 years. All that changed in 1922 when Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered by the Egyptologist, Howard Carter, who was excavating in the Valley of the Kings. Many do not know that his tomb almost escaped discovery altogether. Carter had been searching for the tomb for a number of years on behalf of his English patron, Lord Carnarvon.
Lord Carnarvon had decided that enough time and money had been expended with little return, and he decided to abandon the search for the missing king. However, Carter barely managed to persuade his patron to fund one more season. And within days of resuming excavation, the missing tomb was found full of the most magnificent treasures of Ancient Egypt. King Tut’s tomb has yielded some of the greatest treasures of antiquity because the young Pharaoh firmly believed that he could use the treasure and the servants and the food in the next life. Of course, when discovered, his body and all the treasures were still there untouched 3,300 years later.
Stay with us, friends. We’re going to learn more about the subject of death as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Pastor Jëan Ross: Welcome to Bible Answers Live brought to you by Amazing Facts Ministries. Are you looking for a clear, concise answer to your most challenging Bible questions? Maybe you’re struggling to understand difficult passages of Scripture. If so, you’ve come to the right place. Join us now as we open God’s Word to discover His will and find honest, practical answers to your Bible-related questions. This broadcast is pre-recorded. If you have a Bible question, call us Sundays from 7 to 8 P.M. Pacific Standard Time at 800-GOD-SAYS. That’s 800-463-7297. Now, let’s join our host, author, speaker, and evangelist, Pastor Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Doug: Welcome once again, listening friends! And we are very thankful that you are here to join us for a fresh edition of Bible Answers Live. This is, as you can tell, a live, international, interactive Bible study, and we welcome, invite, and encourage you to be part of the program. If you have a Bible question, we still have a few lines open! So, now is a good time to dial that number. The Bible is our book, and the phone number is 800-GOD-SAYS. Let’s find out what the Lord says in His book! 800-463-7297; and my name is Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And my name is Jëan Ross. Good evening, Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Good evening, Pastor Jëan!
Pastor Jëan Ross: Before we go to the phone lines, let’s start with prayer.
Pastor Doug: Please.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Dear Father in heaven, again we thank You for the privilege of being able to meet and be able to study Your word. We thank You for the radio that makes this possible. We ask Your special blessing upon the program tonight. Be with those who are listening, and those who call in. For this we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Doug: Amen.
Pastor Jëan Ross: You started the program talking about King Tutankhamen, or King Tut as he’s known. And he spent all of his time and effort and had all of these tremendous things buried with him for somehow to help preserve his life or do something in the afterlife to help him.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, especially now, you know, we are in the borders of the annual festival when so many people are dressing up as ghosts and monsters and devils, and there’s a lot of confusion about the subject of death. Even as I rode around my neighborhood with our boys this week, we saw people had little imitation tombstones on their front yard, you know, they decorated for Halloween. And there’s just so much confusion and the programming. It seems like this time of year that the programming all sort of begins to just drip with the occult and horror themes.
There’s so much confusion in the world regarding what happens when a person dies. And the pyramids are a testimony to that. You have been to Egypt. You’ve seen King Tut’s treasures as I have. It’s been, oh, 25 years ago, and just it was incredible! But they buried all that wealth in a belief, no matter… they must have been sincere to bury all that gold! They must have really believed it that he was somehow going to be able to spend that in the next life and use… they even had a boat buried! I don’t know if they assembled it down there…
Pastor Jëan Ross: To go somewhere… yeah.
Pastor Doug: Yeah, take a trip. He had servants and food and all kinds of things. And obviously, none of it was touched 3,300 years later. And there’s even some misunderstandings about death among Christians!
You know, the Bible’s very clear, the resurrection does not take place until Jesus comes— 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. The Lord descends, then the dead in Christ rise. The Bible’s also very clear that people do not receive do not receive their rewards until after the Judgment. And yet in spite of that, you know, virtually every Christian funeral you might go to, they’ve got the person going right to heaven at the point of death. And what causes so much confusion is because the Bible’s clear— absent from the body, present with the Lord— but that simply means the next conscious though that a Christian has when they die is the resurrection; there’s no time for them. But some folks say, “I’ve been communicating with Grandma and Grandpa,” and even Christians consult mediums thinking that they can communicate, and the Bible strictly forbids this! The Bible tells us that the dead are sleeping. The living know they’ll die— Ecclesiastes 9— the dead know not anything.
And one of my children, just this week, we were listening to a beautiful Christian song, but it was saying that the people up in heaven were looking at the people here on earth, and I say that’s too bad, the theology’s wrong. And Nathan said… I said, “You understand that, Nathan?” He said yes! I said, “Do you know what death is like?” He said, “Yes. Mommy was driving me and Steven back from a Christian camp. It’s a six-hour drive. When we took off, I fell asleep, but I woke up in my bed and it seemed like no time at all.” I said, “That’s exactly right.”
You see, the next conscious thought for a Christian when they die is the presence of the Lord! But the resurrection hasn’t happened yet. And because so many Christian pastors try to reconcile these discrepancies, some have invented a limbo and purgatory and Abraham’s bosom and all these different places that are holding things for souls. And if we just take the Bible for what it says, it becomes very clear. And we have free offer on that subject. If anyone has an interest in knowing more about what the Bible teaches on the subject of death.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The offer that we have is “Are the Dead Really Dead?” just simply that question that is covered in this. If you’d like the Amazing Facts study guide, just call our resource number. It’s 1-800-835-6747; again, that’s 1-800-835-6747. And just ask for the study guide “Are the Dead Really Dead?”
Pastor Doug, especially at this time of the year, you know, where there’s so much discussion about Halloween, ghosts, goblins, and the like, it’s important to know what the Bible says about this important subject. So, we’d encourage those who are listening to go ahead and call that resource number. We’ll be happy to send that out to you. We have some questions that have come in via the Internet. We’d like to do two of those questions this evening.
Pastor Doug: Alright.
Pastor Jëan Ross: The first one is, “I have some friends that tell me that we are no longer required to keep the commandment based upon Galatians 5:18, which says, ‘But if we are led by the Spirit, we are not under the law.’”
Pastor Doug: Yes, and that is a verse that is often been misapplied. First of all, I ask anybody to just take that logic for a Christian to its ultimate conclusion. God has one of two options for us. He obviously wrote the Ten Commandments. He spoke the Ten Commandments— the moral law. He either wants us to keep them, or He doesn’t care— or doesn’t want us to keep them, right? So, what is the result of Christians taking the position that God doesn’t care if we keep the Ten Commandments. Is it now okay for Christians to lie, to steal, to kill? Of course, this is absurd!
So, what does it mean when Paul says we’re not under the law? As sinners, unforgiven, we are under the penalty of the law. When Christ forgives us, we are no longer under the penalty of the law; we are now living under grace. But as the redeemed under grace, do we then make void the law by faith? Paul’s asked that very question in Romans chapter 6. “God forbid,” he says. So, Christians should be the most careful out of love to keep the law not to be saved but because they are saved. So, not being under law, Paul was talking about not being under the penalty of the law. It doesn’t mean we’re no longer under an obligation to obey, because the other option is to disobey the Ten Commandments. And how could God ever condone idolatry and murder and all the other things that are encompassed in that?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Somebody once said that Jesus came, and I agree with him, Jesus came to save us from sin, not just to make some change so that we could continue in sin…
Pastor Doug: That’s right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: …because sin is a transgression of the law. Well, the next question is an interesting one. “What is the significance of the multi-colored pomegranates and golden bells on the hem of the high priest’s robe?”
Pastor Doug: Well, I’m sure there are a lot of beautiful reasons that God did that. A few that I’ve heard explained that made sense to me. For one thing, they could hear the priest when he was ministering in the sanctuary. If they didn’t hear him, they begin to worry that he had been struck dead because no one was allowed to go in there but the high priest. And so, they had no video cameras to see what’s going on there. So, when they heard the tinkling of these bells, that meant that he was interceding for them, and that was a very encouraging sound.
A horn in the Bible sometimes meant a warning shall war, you know, signal like that. Bells were inviting. A bell would beckon. The bells represent something you hear. The pomegranates are something you eat. One is a fruit representing something you do, and the other is a sound— something you say. And so, it represents the Christian in both word and deed— the bells and the fruit. A pomegranate was also a fruit that flourished even in the desert, and it produces just a beautiful deep red fruit that is a type of blood. And so, it represents the blood of Christ that atones for us and His voice— the bell that went some sound. There’s a lot of beautiful things there.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Very good. Thank you. Again, if you have any questions, you feel free to give us an email on it. Just go to the Amazing Facts website. You can click on Contact Us, and there’s a place where you can type in your question. We’ll go to our first caller tonight. TJ, who is listening on the Internet from Texas. Welcome to the program, TJ.
TJ: Hello!
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hello! Your question?
TJ: Yeah. I’ve got a lot but I want an answer on this. First one is Ezekiel 28…
Pastor Doug: Okay.
TJ: …10 and 18, I guess it’s talking about the death of Satan…
Pastor Doug: Okay.
TJ: …and in verse 10, it makes it sound like men are going to kill him. And in verse 18, it says God’s going to kill him.
Pastor Doug: Alright. Well, if— for our friends who are tuning in, you may not have a Bible in front of you, there are a couple of allegory passages describing the devil in prophecy. One of them is Isaiah chapter 14, the other one is Ezekiel 28. And it starts out talking about the King of Tyre, and then it transitions behind the scenes and shows the power, the devil, who is working behind the King of Tyre. The first few verses you’re reading in that chapter 28 verse 10, most scholars believe that it doesn’t really start to apply to the devil until you get to verse 12. And it says, “’Thou shall die the death of those uncircumcised by the hand of strangers for I have spoken it,’ says the Lord God.” Then when you get to verse 13, it says, “You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering.” Well, obviously, the King of Tyre was not in the Garden of Eden. And it goes on. It says, “You were perfect in the day you were created.” Humans were born, angels were created. And it says, “You are the covering cherub,” in verse 16, “from the midst of the stones of fire.” And God says, “I will destroy thee.” So, in the end, God will destroy the devil, and you can even read about that. It says, “I’ll bring forth the fire. From the midst to the end, it will devour thee,” that’s verse 18 that you referred to.
TJ: Okay.
Pastor Doug: Now, TJ, we have a lesson we’ll be happy to send you, and it’s on the devil. And it’s simply called “Did God Create the Devil?” If you’d like a free copy of that, we’ll be happy to send that to you.
TJ: Okay.
Pastor Doug: “Did God Create the Devil?”
Pastor Jëan Ross: Let me give you the number to call for that. It’s 1-800-835-6747. And again, the study guide is “Did God Create the Devil?” It deals with this subject of “where did the devil come from?”
Pastor Doug: The origin of evil.
Pastor Jëan Ross: How did he become the devil?
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Pastor Jëan Ross: It deals with that as well. Our next caller is Fray, calling from— listening on the Internet, calling from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Welcome to the program!
Fray: Hello, Pastor Doug!
Pastor Doug: Hi! How are you doing?
Fray: Good. I watched some of your sermons from Amazing Facts website. And the question I have today is, in the Bible, God tells to Moses that He will harden the pharaoh’s heart, and my understanding of that Scripture is God wanted to show Israel what a mighty God He was, and that the devil were not delivered on their own power but God did the deliverance.
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Fray: In one of your sermons about predestination and free will, you quote the Scripture along with the example of [inaudible].
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Fray: You explained how the pharaoh chose to be hard even though he had the choice during the plagues.
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Fray: Can you explain the third, please?
Pastor Doug: Well, first of all, when God sends circumstances, we have two ways of responding to those circumstances. We can humble ourselves, and those circumstances He sends will be the means of saving us; or we can harden our hearts and those circumstances can be the mean of destroying us.
Many people quote the plagues where it talks about God says “I’ll harden Pharaoh’s heart,” but they forget there’s a verse where it says, “When Pharaoh,” Exodus 8:15, “but when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart and did not harken unto them as the Lord had said.” And here it says, “As the Lord had said,” but then it says, “Pharaoh hardened his heart,” meaning God sent the plagues. So, in that sense He says, “I’ll take responsibility for the circumstances,” but Pharaoh chose not to humble himself.
You know, there’s no example in the Bible, Fray, where God— we’re supposed to pray that God will humble us. It always says, “Humble yourself.” We must choose to ourselves! God can bring us circumstances, but if want to be stubborn and proud like the pharaoh, He can’t make us love Him; He can’t make us surrender. And real humility is a form of surrender.
Fray: Exodus 7:3 says, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.” So, doesn’t that mean that God also wanted to show His power and explain to the people of Israel that He’s the One that delivered them from Pharaoh?
Pastor Doug: Yes! Well, that’s exactly what I was saying. Is that… in that very verse, it says, “I will multiply My signs and wonders.” What God did that hardened Pharaoh’s heart was that He sent these signs and wonders. But Pharaoh still had a choice whether or not to surrender to those things or to humble themselves or to be rebellious! But God didn’t say, “Look, I’ve got to find somebody out there to be make an example out of him. Well, I guess I’ll have to… Pharaoh can’t be saved because I need somebody.” No, God foretold how he would respond because He knows all things.
Some people think that Jesus said, “Well, in order to fulfill prophecy, I have to have someone betray me. So, I’m going to have Judas be a traitor and he’s going to be lost because I’m making him a traitor.” Well, if God makes the pharaoh sin, then God becomes an accomplice to sin. If God makes Judas betray Him, then He becomes an accomplice to the betrayal! And God is, in no way, an accomplice with sin. I hope that helps a little, Fray, but we probably have to keep moving here.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Our next caller is Levonne, calling from Amazon, Ontario. Welcome to the program, Levonne!
Levonne: Hi.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Hi! Your question?
Levonne: I understand from Mark 1:17 was it talking of 42 generations? And as I understand, it’s talking of 2,160 years…
Pastor Doug: Wait a second. Mark 1:17?
Levonne: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: Mark 1:17 says, “And Jesus said to them, ‘Come after Me and I’ll make you fishers of men.’”
Levonne: I’m talking about what’s in the Bible that says 42 generations, you know?
Pastor Doug: Fully two generations?
Levonne: 42 generations. 4-2.
Pastor Doug: Oh, 42! It says 42 months, not generations.
Levonne: Oh, I’m talking about… somewhere in the Bible, it says about 42 generations from Abraham to Isaac?
Pastor Doug: Are you talking about in Matthew chapter 1? You may be thinking of Matthew chapter 1…
Levonne: Yeah, I think so. Yeah.
Pastor Doug: …where it’s talking about the generations from Jesus to— or from Abraham… Let me see here. Here we go, 14. Matthew 1:17. So, all the generations from Abraham to David are 14 generations, and from David to the carrying away in Babylon are 14 generations, and from the carrying away of Babylon to Christ are 14 generations. Is that the verse you’re talking about?
Levonne: Yeah. And as I understand, that’s a total of 2,160 years. Is that right? Equaling… if you divide that by 42, it equals up to 51.5 years, making a Bible generation 51.5 years?
Pastor Doug: No… You know, I’ve never done the math on that that way. Tell me what your point is, where you’re heading with this.
Levonne: Well, I believe that a Bible generation— is that 40 years or 51.5 years? Because you get 2,160 years from 42 generations from Abraham to Isaac. And I don’t know. Is this really right or what?
Pastor Doug: No, I think it’s pretty safe to assume that a Bible generation is 40 years, and a couple of reasons for that is the Lord said, when they were back in the wilderness in Numbers 14, that the generation that did not believe could not enter the Promised Land, so they wandered 40 years until that generation had died off. Typically, you find that generation— David reigned 40 years, Solomon reigned 40 years; I understand King Saul reigned 40 years as well— so it’s three 40s. Moses’s life is divided in three 40s— 40 years in Egypt, 40 years in the wilderness, and 40 years bringing people from Egypt to the wilderness. A lot of examples, Levonne, in the Bible where God identifies especially in the Book of Judges. They had peace 40 years, peace 40 years— peace 80 years; two times 40. So, yeah, a Biblical generation is 40 years.
One more, Jesus said in the New Testament, this generation will not pass away until these things be fulfilled, and He was talking about there the destruction of the Temple. He made that prediction in about 30 A.D. In 70 A.D., 40 years later, the Temple was destroyed. So, I think you’d better… you’re safer sticking with the 40-year generation. Hope that helps, Levonne.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Thanks for calling, Levonne. Our next caller is Mike listening on the Internet calling from Brownwood, Texas. Welcome to the program, Mike.
Mike: Thank you. The question I have is concerning in the Bible when He says we’ll be taken up in a blinking of an eye…
Pastor Doug: Yeah.
Mike: Okay. The question is, does He take us before we see the antichrist and world war with all the countries? Or do we live through the part of the war and actually see the antichrist?
Pastor Doug: Alright. Good question. Let me begin with a minor correction. The verse you’re talking about is 1 Corinthians 15:52, and it’s speaking mostly about the resurrection, and those who were changed when Jesus comes. It says, “In the moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpets…”— the only time in the King James Version where you find that word “twinkling,”— it means…
Mike: Well, what… pardon me for interrupting. What I meant was maybe I had the wrong one, but when we all go up to meet Him…
Pastor Doug: Yes, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, we’re caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
Mike: Right. Do we… are we going to stay here on earth and see the antichrist and go through a lot of all the mess that’s going to happen? Or do we go up before all that?
Pastor Doug: Alright. Good question. That’s one of the big questions that Christians grapple with today, and I want to add before I answer. There are good Christians on both sides, but I believe the Bible clearly teaches that it is after the tribulation, after the revelation of the antichrist that we are caught up. Christ said, “He that endures to the end will be saved.” Jesus said in Matthew 24, “You will be hated of all nations for My name’s sake.”
And all the context of the Bible describes there is a persecution while Christians are here. That’s one reason He gives us all these prophecies to identify the beast’s power. If we were all raptured up before it happens, it’ll be irrelevant for Christians. See what I’m saying?
Mike: You’re saying… but do we go through the whole thing? Or only when He brings peace?
Pastor Doug: Well, there are some who believe in what they call a mid-trib rapture, and that’s a very small group. But I’m in the group with a lot of dear Christians who believe that we are raptured at the end of this time of trouble.
Mike: So, when God comes down to battle him, we will be taken up?
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Mike: Basically…
Pastor Doug: A matter of fact, I’ve got a book that I’ve written on that, and it’s called “Anything But Secret.” And it speaks about the tribulation and the second coming and all the Scriptures that explain that scenario. Would you like a free copy of that, Mike?
Mike: Yes, please!
Pastor Doug: Alright. Well, you stay on the line. We’ll send that to you. Ask, call the number that Jëan’s going to give you, and ask for “Anything But Secret.”
Pastor Jëan Ross: Let me give you the number again, Mike. It’s 1-800-835-6747; 1-800-835-6747. And ask for Pastor Doug’s book “Anything But Secret.” And we’ll be happy to send that out to you.
Our next caller is Bruce listening on KNDL from Hidden Valley, California. Welcome to the program, Bruce.
Bruce: Thank you, Pastors, for programs like this on Sunday nights. God bless you, guys. Now, my question is about Job…
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Bruce: …and about Jesus of Bethlehem. Now, if you have initial documents [inaudible]…
Pastor Doug: Oh you know, I can barely hear you. Are you on a speaker phone, Bruce?
Bruce: Oh, no. I just turned it off. Is this better yet?
Pastor Doug: That’s a little better. Go ahead.
Bruce: Okay. So, anyway, it’s chapter 1 verse 6 of the Book of Job…
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Bruce: I was talking about J-O-B; it’s sort of a coincidence that it could stand for Jesus Of Bethlehem, because some of the attributes of Job are the same attributes that God gave to Jesus, especially the way He kept pointing out to Satan and the angels that, if you noticed, Job and his righteousness. But again, in chapter 2, the angels are going back and forth— at least, Satan is from the earth— to have meetings with God. Now, did God know where Satan was? Why did He have to ask that redundant question? And why in the world… do these angels go to more planets than this? Because only Satan was coming from the earth. Are there more places they might have been visiting when Satan and the angels are called back as a council to meet with God?
Pastor Doug: Whenever… That’s a good point. You’ve asked several good questions there. Whenever… Here, God asks a question in the Bible; it’s not because God doesn’t know. When Adam first sinned, God said to Adam, “Where are you?” God knew. He wants us to think. Jesus asked the disciples, “What were you talking about on the road?” Well, He knew what they were talking about; He wanted them to confess. When the Lord said, “Satan, where did you come from?” God knows but Satan articulated that for the other heavenly beings, sons of God that were there at that meeting. And so, you know, the Lord obviously knows all things.
You’re right that Job in many ways is a type of Christ in that He suffered, though innocent. And Jesus, Who is our sin-bearer, suffered for our sins. And Job also suffered patiently without sinning. The devil did everything he could to get Jesus to lose His temper or sin while He was suffering, but He would not. And so, there are a number of parallels there, and very [inaudible] for you to recognize that. But I don’t think that, in Hebrew lettering of Job that you’re going to find an acronym for Jesus of Bethlehem. I have to respectfully disagree with you on that one. But good thoughts, Bruce! I appreciate that.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Our next caller is Tom listening on WMCA calling from New York, New York. Tom, welcome to the program!
Tom: Thank you very much for your program. Since we’ve had such a wealth of observational support from the Big Bang Theory, since the theory seems to comport extremely well with our God, the God of Christianity, I’m just wondering why so many Christians have such antipathy for the theory, such an aversion to it.
Pastor Doug: Well, I’ve spent a little bit of time studying that, and from what I understand, the support is not there. Let me give you an example. There’s just so many ways I can come at this. For one thing, the spirals in the universe, if they exploded, from everything we know about physics, should be spinning the opposite way of what we see happening with the various vortexes of galaxies out there in the cosmos, but they’re all spinning different directions, and there should be a uniformity of how they spin. The vortexes there are different.
In addition, a lot of people are assuming… Just to give you a quick example— when God made Adam, if God spoke Him to existence, was Adam made as a baby or a full-grown man? And if God spoke this solar system and the universe into existence, then that may just be the Milky Way Galaxy when He made our corner of the universe, because I do think that the universe has been around for many billions of years, but our galaxy is probably what He started with 6,000 years ago. He can actually create that where light is in route as it’s created.
And so, all the measurements that they’re using for substantiating this Big Bang Theory, they’re on the premise that, you know, this light started its journey a long time ago. Did that make sense, Tom?
Tom: Yes! It made a lot of sense. That’s interesting. I was just wondering as far as the light is concerned, why would God make the light appear or make the stars appear to be so old when they really aren’t?
Pastor Doug: Well, it’s the same reason why would God, when He created things, make trees full-grown? And when God first made the first redwood, were there rings in the tree? Because the trees do use the rings for drawing moisture up? But that’s what we use for measuring age! So, here He could speak a tree into existence. They could have the appearance of being 10,000 years old— the first ones are probably really big, but it’s one day old!
And so, oh, I wish I had more time for this. Hey, Tom. We’ve got a study guide called the “Wonders of Creation.” No, you know what, I think what would be better that you’d appreciate, it’s called “When Evolution Flunked the Science Test.” “When Evolution Flunked the Science Test.” If you call our resource number, we’ll send that to you for free.
Friends, we’re about to take a break that we need to take for our affiliate stations. Don’t forget to go to amazingfacts.org. You’ll find an awful lot of our resources there. And you know, especially during the Halloween season, you might want to check out our new website called helltruth.com. Be right back!
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Pastor Doug: Welcome, listening friends! And those who are returning, this is Bible Answers Live. It is a live, interactive, Bible study going around the country and around the world. And by the way, Pastor Ross is nice enough. He’s taking me to the airport following our program, and I will be flying to India where we’re going to be doing a number of evangelistic meetings, building 70, not 17, 7-0 churches by the grace of God. And you’ve returned from India about a month or two ago?
Pastor Jëan Ross: That’s right. [inaudible]
Pastor Doug: Pastoral training for the meetings? And so, I’d appreciate your prayers, friends, as I get ready to basically fly to the other side of the world, and that God will bless this series of meetings we’re having there. If you have Bible questions, we still have a line or two open, and the number again is 800-GOD-SAYS; that’s 463-7297. Maybe it’s time to go see who’s next!
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright. David is listening on WMCA calling from New Jersey. Welcome to the program, David!
David: Thank you very much. Yes, I have a question. It’s likely a comparison but it seems like they contradict each other. So, I was hoping you guys could clarify and break that, maybe, in proper context. One Scripture verse is John 20:23, where it says, “Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained.” And the other one is in Matthew 5:43-44 about “Thou shalt love thy enemy,” and it says that, “Bless them that curse you and do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you.”
Pastor Doug: Yes.
David: Okay, now, I’m trying to [inaudible] the right way. Now, in reference to John 20:23, I’d like to use an annotation for that verse as far as Acts 13:9— excuse me, verse 8-11, when Paul, when the sorcerer, Elymas the sorcerer came to him seeking, and Saul looked at him and he said, “Thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
Pastor Doug: And he went blind.
David: And he went blind. Now, [inaudible] does that apply to that one in that situation? Because, you know, it talks about the enemy to love them and to pray for them…
Pastor Doug: Well…
David: If it’s the devil behind the sin and not the person, and he made the person blind. You know what I’m trying to say?
Pastor Doug: Yeah. Well, keep in mind, Paul was also made blind when he was fighting against God, wasn’t he? But who made Paul blind? Was it somebody or was it the Lord Himself?
David: It was the Lord. Yes.
Pastor Doug: So, what Paul did to Elymas, this false prophet, was he saw that Elymas was trying turn away Sergius Paulus from hearing and believing the truth. And under the inspiration, the Spirit of the Lord struck this man with blindness because he claimed to be spiritually enlightened and the Lord was showing him, “Now, you’re really blind.” And Paul didn’t say, “You’re permanently blind,” he said, “you will be blind for a season.” Basically, in mercy, God struck him with blindness to try and save him, just like He did to Paul.
But the bigger question is the one you’re asking about John 20:23, and then he have taken this verse to mean that humans have the right to choose whose sins are forgiven and whose sins are retained. Most of the scholars that I’ve studied and the commentaries on this believe that Jesus is basically saying here that when He placed the Gospel in the hands of the apostles, that is a vehicle for people to find forgiveness. By their not sharing Christ with this people, they would not find forgiveness; their sins are retained. In other words, the only way for them to find forgiveness is through the knowledge of Christ and He placed that key in their hands. The other… the worst, I think view of this, is believing that humans, with all our selfishness and sin, that we’re ruling the earth with the ability to consign people to heaven or hell, that we choose who is saved and who is lost. That is the other extreme, and, of course, I don’t believe that.
David: Right. Because the reason why I’m saying that because, you know, I’ve mentioned Matthew 5:43, which I believe in reference is to pray for your enemies because I have a brother and they’re persecuting him, and he said that they’re going to retain their sin [inaudible] the Bible says that. He said, “Lord, persecute them! Persecute them!” Is that proper? Is that in the right context?
Pastor Doug: Only if the person is praying that another person experiences trials to be saved. Now, Elijah prayed that it would not rain because Israel was giving credit for the rain to a pagan god. And so, he didn’t pray so people would be lost; he prayed that God would send the drought to save them. And so, Christians should never pray a prayer that will result in someone being lost just because of vengeance. Ultimately, our prayers, I think, should be redemptive. See what I’m saying? Hope that helps a little bit, David. That’s probably the best we could do with the time we have.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright, thank you for calling, David. Our next caller is Madeline, and she’s calling from Eastern Pennsylvania. Madeline, welcome to the program.
Madeline: Hello. Thank you for taking my call, Pastor Doug. I know real tattoos are bad, but I want to know about kid tattoos are washable.
Pastor Doug: Okay. Well, you’re right. The Bible does say that Christians should not make any cuttings on their flesh or markings on their flesh. A matter of fact, some translations say “tattoos” very plainly. So, you’re wondering about, what about the play tattoos that you rub on and then they wash off later. Isn’t that what you’re wondering?
Well, the problem is, why would you want to play with something that the Lord says is not good? It’s like pretending to do the real thing because you really want to do the real thing but you’re just pretending. And so, you know, I remember when I was a kid, they had those artificial tattoos. They went out of style. Again, I saw they came back again. And I would rub one on my arm and tell my friends, “Yeah, I’ve got a tattoo.” But I was pretending I was having the real thing, and if Jesus says the real thing’ snot good, why will we want to pretend? See what I’m saying?
So, I’m of the belief that you should avoid the appearance of evil, the Bible says. And if tattoos and everybody’s marking up their bodies with these permanent tattoos, I don’t, personally don’t, think Christians ought to put themselves up. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and even if graffiti could be washed off, I think we should avoid making markings on our flesh. That’s my opinion. Hope that helps. Does that help a little, Madeline?
Madeline: Yes.
Pastor Doug: Alright. Thank you for calling.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Alright. Thank you for calling.
Pastor Doug: Madeline was probably six or seven years old.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Six or seven years old. Alright, our next caller is Rowena, if I pronounce the name right, from Saskatchewan, Canada. Welcome to the program. Rowena?
Rowena: Rowena?
Pastor Jëan Ross: Rowena. Yes.
Rowena: Oh no, it’s not Saskatchewan. [Laughing] Saint John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Oh, okay. Well, welcome!
Rowena: Hi. You know, I’m just wondering, like your program is over here now on my station.
Pastor Doug: Wonderful!
Rowena: Yeah. So I was just listening to… there, but like, I listen to you and you were saying about when people die, the soul, you know, doesn’t go to heaven right away; it goes when we rise from the— when the dead in Christ shall rise.
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Rowena: But I’m reading a book now on Dan Piper, “Ninety Minutes in Heaven,” and I’ve read some of these books where people have died and gone to heaven. Now, he was in a car accident and he went to heaven, and in the book “Ninety Minutes in Heaven,” I got it on your station. And it says he spent 90 minutes in heaven, and he tells us about what it was like there— streets of gold, gates of pearls…
Pastor Doug: Right.
Rowena: …and [inaudible]. So, he got killed but he went straight to heaven.
Pastor Doug: Well, let me make a…
Rowena: Why did he go straight while some of us got to wait?
Pastor Doug: Alright. Rowen, let me see if I can explain something. God can give a prophet a vision. For instance, did the Apostle John see heaven 2,000 years ago when he had a vision or revelation? Sure, he did.
Rowena: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: But when he died, he wasn’t there. So, in other words, God can take someone in a dream or a trance or a vision and show them all kinds of things. Some people have visions and dreams that could be because they died on an operating table and they’re hallucinating and they can seem very real; some can have dreams and hallucinations from drugs, it can be induced or from chemicals, or it can be from the Lord. So, the bottom-line is do we base our conclusions on a book other than the Bible or an experience someone had or a dream someone had? Or do we base it on what the Bible says?
Rowena: Yeah, but this man was clinically dead and pronounced dead, you know, no pulse for 90 minutes.
Pastor Doug: I know…
Rowena: He wasn’t hallucinating; he was dead.
Pastor Doug: My question is, there are also people, Rowena, that have died on the operating table that have dreams that say they come back to the world as somebody else. And they are clinically dead on the operating table and they have a dream that totally contradicts Brother Piper’s dream. So, whose dream do we go with?
Rowena: I don’t know, but, I mean, I read his book, and he sounded pretty down-to-earth and everything. And it’s just, you know, I just wondered, you know, why…
Pastor Doug: Well, it’s a good question…
Rowena: And he saw everything as [inaudible] in the Bible, you know, as it describes in Revelations that… and he describes it all the same way. And he met his relatives and everything. So, and to be dead for 90 minutes, you can’t hallucinate when you’re dead.
Pastor Doug: Well, actually, if your brain is robbed of oxygen, you always hallucinate. And that’s part of the reason alcohol as an appeal for people. You know, Rowena, I’d like to recommend… there’s another new website, and if I’m… hopefully you can get on the Internet, and it’s called truthaboutdeath.com; truthaboutdeath.com. I’m looking at it right now as I sit here. And it is filled with all the Scriptural references on the subject of death, and it deals with some of the difficult ones such as absent from the body, present with the Lord. You know, one that strikes me, Pastor Ross, is Lazarus was dead four days, not 90 minutes, four days. After four days of being dead, you would think every news agency would send a report to shove a microphone in his face and say, “What did you see?” But you know what Lazarus says? Nothing. He had no experience. He had no dreams. He had nothing to say about when he died. And so, Jesus said what he experienced. He said, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep.” And so, I’ve just got to stick with what Jesus says, and you can’t really base on your theology on a book that is a bestseller.
Pastor Jëan Ross: And when Jesus called Lazarus, He said, “Lazarus, come forth.” He didn’t say, “Lazarus, come down.”
Pastor Doug: That’s right.
Pastor Jëan Ross: He said, “Come forth from the grave.”
Pastor Doug: He didn’t say, “Come up from hell.” He didn’t say, “Come down from heaven.” He said, “Come forth from the grave.” Good point.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Again, just to remind, folks, we do have a study guide dealing with this subject, and it’s an important subject— “Are the Dead Really Dead?” To get that, just call the resource number 1-800-835-6747. Harry, listening on WOCG from Huntsville, Alabama… Harry, welcome to the program.
Harry: Thank you very much. Listen. I’ve been reading a text here. I know… we can’t eat everything, but it says in Genesis 9:3…
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Harry: …[inaudible] came out of the ark?
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Harry: Will you read that, please?
Pastor Doug: “Every moving thing that live shall be meat for you; even as the green herb I’ve given you all things.”
Harry: Yeah. Just what does that mean?
Pastor Doug: Alright. Good point. A lot of people have read this verse, and they say, “Wow! Is the Lord saying here that every creepy crawly thing in the world is supposed to be part of our refrigerator?” Well, He qualifies it by saying, the second part of that same sentence, “As the green herb, I have given you all things.” So, in other words, He gave the creatures as He gave the green herb. Now, here’s the question, Harry. Did God design for man to eat everything in the world? Or were there certain things that were good for food and other things were good for other purposes? Are we supposed to eat poison ivy and poison oak?
Harry: Absolutely not.
Pastor Doug: There’s a lot of green things that will kill you! So, when God told Adam that there were certain meats you could eat the same way he eats of the green things, He meant there are some that are good for food and some that are not. So, you’ve got to compare this verse with the verse where God told Noah, “Take of the clean animals on the ark by sevens.” Now, one reason He obviously took the animals by sevens on the ark is because they needed to have a greater survival rate. If man began to eat the animals on the ark that only went in by two, which are the unclean animals, they would all be extinct right away. So, it’s the clean animals that he was allowed now to eat as the green herb of all of the clean animals.
Harry: If you read this in the NIV, how would it read?
Pastor Doug: I don’t… Well, I can look it up here if you want to just give me a moment here. I’ve got a great Bible program that’s got everything. Here it is. Genesis 9:3 in the NIV, “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I have given you the green plants, now I give you everything.” So, once again, the qualifier is the second half of that verse, which says, “As I have given you the plants.” Obviously, God does not want us to eat cockroaches and maggots and buzzards and skunks, and porcupines would really hurt. So, you know, He wants us to use common sense. There were some animals that are scavengers. So, there are hundreds of different kinds of clean animals, and God specifies later that their unclean animals are an abomination.
We’ve got a study guide that we’ll send you on that verse, Harry. That’s free! And all you’ve got to do is ask f or the study guide on God’s Health Plan.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Again, that’s “God’s Health Plan,” Amazing Facts study guide. To get that, just call the resource number 1-800-835-6747…
Pastor Doug: Pardon me. You know what else Harry would enjoy is we’ve got another book. I’ll extend this to two studies. There’s one called “Hogs and Other Hazards.” “Hogs and Other Hazards” by Joe Crews is a great study on this resource.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Again, to get that, just call the resource number, 1-800-835-6747. Shawn is listening on 3BN Radio from Illinois. Welcome to the program, Shawn.
Shawn: Thank you.
Pastor Doug: And your question?
Shawn: Yes. I’m currently in the middle of writing a book about the End Times…
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Shawn: …and in Matthew 24:40, it says, “Two men will be in a field. One will be taken and the other left.” Is this referring to the rapture?
Pastor Doug: Ah, well, it’s speaking of the second coming. And you know, I like the way you find that verse in Luke 17:34, it’s a parallel verse, and Luke puts it this way. “I tell you in that night there’ll be two men in one bed. One will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding; one taken, the other left. Two men on the field; one taken, the other left.” And they answered him. They said, “Lord, where? Where, Lord?” And He said, “Wherever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” So, the one taken, they’re asking where, and He says, “Where the body is, the eagles are gathered.”
Keep in mind, in the Bible times, when the children of Israel were misbehaving, some enemy would come and take them away from Israel to Assyria or to Babylon. And it was a sign of punishment. Jesus says, “As the flood came and took them all away,” speaking of the wicked. So, the ones who are taken here are taken away in judgment, and the Lord is saying outwardly, they are doing the same thing.
Now, a woman in the Bible represents the church. I’m giving you a little more because you said you’re writing a book. There are two kinds of churches in the world— the true and the false. There are two women in Revelation that represent churches; one is called a harlot, the other one is clothed with light.
Two men in the field; Jesus said the field is the world, the harvest— they’re harvesting the Word of god. Two kinds of people sharing the message out there— the true and the false. Jesus said there’s only two roads. And then He says there are two men sleeping. There are two kinds of men sleeping right now in death, Shawn. You’ve got the dead in Christ and the lost. There’s a resurrection of life and a resurrection of damnation— two kinds of people sleeping.
So, Christ is saying that there are two kinds of people in the world; one is going to be saved, one is going to be lost. There’s no middle ground, no mutual territory, and he that is not with Him is against Him. So, yeah, He’s not talking about one disappears and the others are left as that’s been interpreted.
Shawn: Okay. Do I have time for quick more question?
Pastor Doug: If it’s quick.
Shawn: Yeah. In Revelations 4:1, when Christ has come up hither…
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Shawn: …was He referring to the rapture of the church right there?
Pastor Doug: No, I’ve heard it used that way, and some people have said everything after Revelation 4:1 is taking place after the rapture. But the problem with that is it talks in revelation 12 about the Dark Ages, persecution of the church, which is in the past. There’s a lot of things that happened after chapter four that are in the past. So, I think it’s a misinterpretation.
I’m in the camp with Wesley and Spurgeon and Calvin and— help me— Whitfield, Melanchthon, Luther that they believe that the tribulation happens before the second coming. It’s a more popular teaching now, because the Left Behind books, to believe that the tribulation happens after the rapture, and I just have to respectfully disagree. I don’t find that I the Bible.
Shawn: Okay.
Pastor Doug: Alright?
Shawn: Thank you very much, and God bless you.
Pastor Doug: Thank you, Shawn. Bye-bye.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Our next caller is John listening on the Internet from Georgia. Welcome to the program, John!
John: Yes. How is everybody today?
Pastor Doug: Real good!
John: Good. I’m glad. I’ve got a quick question. Please excuse me. I’m a little nervous. I’m a first-time caller but I ‘m thinking about some of what a simple question for you. I’ve started reading the Bible from beginning to end. I’ve never done that before and I want to do that, and I’m in the middle of almost finishing Leviticus right now. And my question is, I’m trying not to miss anything in the verses of Leviticus.
Pastor Doug: Okay.
John: What I’m trying to find out is the significance of all the commands by God. I’m not questioning them; I just don’t want to miss anything throughout my reading of the Bible. And more specifically all the different types of offerings, consecration, commanded by God, the blood, the sprinkling of the blood on the base and wiping the blood on the horns and things like that…
Pastor Doug: Alright. You’re asking a real broad array of questions here. So, anything specific you want to focus on?
John: Well, for some reason, the blood seemed to jump out at me, because Leviticus is very repetitive in the things that it does, and that, for some reason, that seems to always jump out at me…
Pastor Doug: Alright, well that’s…
John: …in other things, but that’s just an example.
Pastor Doug: Let’s take a crack at that. In the Bible, it tells us that the life is in the blood. The life of all creatures is in their blood. And even among the clean animals, they were not to eat the blood; it was considered sacred. That’s seen both New and Old Testament.
Of course, Christ poured out His blood to pay for our sins. It’s interesting the first miracle of Jesus, John, is in the Gospel of John, where Jesus turns water into grape juice and gives it to man at a wedding. The last thing that happens before Christ dies on the cross is He tastes sour wine. And wine in the Bible, grape juice, is a symbol of blood. The grape juice that Jesus made at that wedding is a symbol of His blood that He gives for the church. The sour wine that He takes on the cross is the symbol of our blood that He takes our sin. And so, blood and red is a symbol of sin in the Bible. And the sacrifice of these animals, giving their blood, were all a type of Jesus, the Son of God, Who poured out His blood and His life to give us life. He took our penalty.
So, another thing to keep in mind is blood is an interesting agent in that blood feeds every cell in your body and blood also cleanses every cell in your body. It gives the oxygen to every cell in your body. So, the life really is in the blood. It’s constantly cleansing and feeding and nourishing every part of you. And when we accept Christ symbolically, His blood comes into us to give us new life.
John: Okay, so the command given by God, even though it had a pretty much a direct relationship with the actions with Christ’s, a lot of that was symbolic. Am I correct in that?
Pastor Doug: Yes. The whole sacrificial system was all symbolic pointing to the sacrifice of Jesus. You know, John, there’s a book that we could offer that could answer, I think, a lot of your questions, and it’s called “Blood on the Throne.” By Joe Crews. “Blood on the Throne.” If you send for that, we’ll send you a free copy. Just call and ask for it.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Call the number 1-800-835-6747. And, John, ask for “Blood on the Throne.” We’ll be happy to just send that right out to you. Charlene is— oh, I’m sorry. It’s not Charlene. It’s Nora listening on the Internet from Greenville, North Carolina. Leonora, welcome to the program!
Leonor: Thank you very much. How are you this evening?
Pastor Doug: Good!
Leonor: I thoroughly enjoy your program. I have a quick question. I know that you teach that the mark of the beast is symbolic…
Pastor Doug: Right.
Leonor: So, just wondering what it’s meant by that you won’t be able to buy or sell if you don’t take the mark?
Pastor Doug: Alright, good question. Those who will… first of all, the mark of the beast, while the mark is symbolic, what is connected to it is very real and tangible. In Genesis, you’ve got Cain and Abel claiming to worship the same God. One worships his own way— Cain, and he’s not accepted because he’s doing his own thing. Abel worships the way God said— a matter of fact, it’s because of the blood Abel is accepted— and Cain gets and kills his brother because of the way his brother worships. This week, I preached on the subject of Esther, and all of the Jews were going to be killed because one would not worship the Amalekite, Haman.
Leonor: Right.
Pastor Doug: In the last days, or in the Book of Daniel, you could go back there when they wouldn’t worship the graven image, they were to be killed. In the last days, there’s going to be a counterfeit religious system that’s going to compel people to worship. Those who do not worship, there may be international sanctions against any country that does not cooperate. And on an individual basis using the, you know, electronic system we use for buying today, you can’t buy or sell if you don’t participate in the worshiping the beast and his image.
So, you know what, I think Leonor would really enjoy our study guide called “The Mark of the Beast.” And we’ll send that to you, Leonor. We’re going to try and take a couple more calls.
Pastor Jëan Ross: I’m sure there’s other people, too, that would like to study more on the subject. Just call the resource number 1-800-835-6747, and ask for “The Mark of the Beast.” And we’ll get that study guide sent out to you
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Pastor Jëan Ross: Charlene is listening on KARM from California. Welcome to the program, Charlene.
Charlene: Hi! How are you?
Pastor Doug: Good!
Charlene: Hi, Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Hi, Charlene.
Charlene: I have a question here, and it’s in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35…
Pastor Doug: Okay.
Charlene: About the women should be silent in church. And I’ve been hearing different people saying that women should not be in the pulpit.
Pastor Doug: Well, there really are two different things we’re talking about here. One is the ordination of women, which is not what Paul was addressing in 1 Corinthians 14. What Paul was addressing is, keep in mind, in 1 Corinthians 14, the whole first part of that chapter is talking about tongues that were being used inappropriately in the church.
The Corinthian church was a melting pot of people where a lot of them were slaves from all over the Roman Empire. They spoke many different languages. They were all basically babbling in different tongues in the church, and no one understood! Wives were interrupting their husbands and asking questions, and sort of embarrassing their husbands that instead of asking their husbands and letting them be the priests of the family, they were asking others. And Paul was saying, “Look, let the women be silent in the church.” And I think that the commands that Paul was making was not an arbitrary law across the border for Christians. I think there were some serious problems in the worship service of the Corinthian church.
Charlene: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: Keep in mind, men and women did not sit together. The women sat in a balcony, or they sat on a separate side. You maybe heard me say I leave for India tonight, and last time I was in India, the men sit in one place, and the women sit in another. They don’t sit together. And women were calling across the aisle or down from the balcony and asking their husbands questions, and it created just an ego phony of noise!
Charlene: Yeah, I can see…
Pastor Doug: So, Paul would say, “Look, let the women be silent. When you get home, ask your husband.”
Charlene: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: But…
Charlene: So, it is okay for a woman to be a teacher?
Pastor Doug: Yes, that’s different than… There are many examples of women teaching the Bible, even women during prophecy.
Charlene: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: But there is no example of a woman’s serving in a capacity of an apostle, elder, or pastor in the Bible, or priest, for that matter.
Charlene: Yeah.
Pastor Doug: So, that’s a different category. I’m sorry, Charlene, you can hear the music we’ve reached the finish line of this program, friends. But before you change the dial there, we just want to remind you this is all a faith-based ministry. We don’t get any outside support from any denominations or corporations. It’s just because people like you are impressed to keep us going. We’d love to hear from you. You could even just drop us a line at our website! Please go to amazingfacts.org. Take advantage of all the free materials. Until we meet again! Just remember, the main thing is we want you to keep the main thing the main thing! That’s Jesus Christ! He’s the Truth that will set you free.
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