Pastor Doug Batchelor: Hello, friends. This is Doug Batchelor. How about an amazing fact? On February 15th, 2007 while practicing for the world paraglider championships, German paraglider, Ewa Wiśnierska, was sucked up to 32,612 ft above sea level by a storm in New South Wales Australia. Thirty-five-year-old Wisnierska flew underneath a massive thunder cloud and got lifted up to the altitude at which passenger jets fly.
The temperature at that elevation was minus 50 degrees and oxygen is very thin. It's higher than Mount Everest, Ewa soared up for about 15 minutes traveling at 65 feet per second. She radioed her team leader at 13,000 ft and said, “I can't do anything. It's raining and hailing and I'm still climbing. I'm lost.”
She just remembered going up with lightning around her and the cloud began pummeling her with hail storms the size of tennis balls. She passed out for more than 40 minutes while her paraglider flew on uncontrolled, sinking and lifting several times in the violent storm. Ewa's ground team used her GPS and radio equipment to track and record her entire epic flight.
When she awoke, the glider was still flying on its own. Ewa saw her gloves were frozen and she didn't have her controls in her hands. The GPS log showed that at one point she began descending at 100 feet per second. She and her glider were covered in ice and her clothes were frozen to her body.
Incredibly, her glider kept flying perfectly in spite of the terrible battering. Despite the bitter cold, she still managed the perfect landing just near a farmhouse. She then quickly curled up in a fetal position to restore her body heat. Eva suffered from severe frostbite, also had bruises all over her body from the hailstones. Her German teammates were overjoyed to hear that she had survived, because not even 747s fly through those storm cells.
Sadly, the same day, a 42-year-old Chinese paraglider He Zhongpin was killed by the same storm, apparently from a lack of oxygen, extreme cold and perhaps even lightening. His body was found 47 miles from his launch site. An event organizer said the chances of surviving what she has done is the equivalent of winning the lottery 10 times in a row. The previous altitude record for paraglider was 24,000 ft.
A few years back in Italy, seven paragliders were caught up in a similar super cell thunderstorm and all perished. Wiśnierska said being in the bowels of a monster thunder cloud was both frightening and amazing. You can’t imagine the power. You feel like nothing, like a leaf from a tree going up. Staying calm probably is what saved her life.
Did you know, friends, the Bible talks about someone who survived an incredible stormy journey to the bottoms of the mountains. Stay with us friends. We're going to learn more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Pastor Doug: We do still have a few phone lines open for this live broadcast. If you want to participate, that number once again is 800-GOD-SAYS, 800-463-7297. I am your host, Doug Batchelor. And Pastor Jean Ross has been out of town on missionary business and God willing he'll be back with us again next week.
All right. Now, friends, if you would like to give us a call, that number once more is 800-463-7297. This is a live international interactive Bible study called Bible Answers Live. Before we begin the broadcast, we don't want to venture out into the unknown right now without God's blessing. So join me as we pray.
Loving Lord, we are so thankful that we have come before your throne. You promised that if we ask in the faith for wisdom, you will grant it. Right now, we pray for that gift. Help us to have ears to hear what you say to your people through your word, we ask for Christ's sake, amen.
Well, that is some amazing story that just happened about a week ago, of Ewa Wiśnierska being caught up basically in the bowels of this monster storm to heights where no one had ever survived, and yet making it back to earth to tell about it. I couldn't help but think about someone else who was caught up in a storm that went the other direction, and survived what no one else seems to have survived. And that's the story of Jonah.
A matter of fact, you can read very specifically in the book of Jonah chapter 2 where he confesses, “I went down to the bottoms of the mountains.” Jonah went down from the place of Judah where he received the message of the Lord, down to Joppa, down to his ship because he was running from the will of God. He went from the ship down into the ocean and then down into the bottom of the ocean.
When we've got our back turned on what we know the will of God to be, we go down, down, down. But while there at the bottom of the mountain, at the bottom of the ocean, Jonah prayed. And from that dark hopeless situation, God heard his prayer and brought him back again. Jesus said no sign would be given to His generation but the sign of Jonah, and many wonder what that means.
There's a free offer we'd like to make tonight. And if you want to hear about the exciting adventures of Jonah, a matter of fact, you might be amazed to know that there are about three cases in modern history of people who have been swallowed by various sea creatures and survived. You really will enjoy this book. You’ll also better understand the spiritual connection between Jonah’s experience and that of Jesus.
The name of the book is The Sign of Jonah. We will send it to you, yes you, anybody, just for asking. But you will need a pencil to remember this number, this is not the studio number this is our resource number and it is 800-835-6747. Give them a call right now and say I am listening to Bible Answers Live and I would appreciate that free book, The Sign of Jonah.
Before we go to the phones, I always like to try to delve into a couple of the Internet questions. We get many, many questions that come via the Internet. We try to answer every one of them but we take a few of them on the air. One says, “I'd like to know what the Bible says about children with a disabilities going to heaven and when the Lord returns?”
Well, the Lord looks on the heart. The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel, "Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks upon the heart." And different people develop mentally at different degrees, and in the same way that a child, before the age of accountability, is not going to be judged as an adult that has good discernment between right and wrong, some people, because of their handicaps or disabilities, are not going to be judged that way. Jesus says, "To whom much is given, much is required."
Little children who don't really understand some of the differences between right and wrong and the consequence of disobedience, they're not as accountable and you expect the Lord to have mercy on many of these people.
The second question is, "What does Jesus mean in John chapter 8 and it's verses 39 to 56, when he seems to tell the Jews that they're not God's chosen people but they're child of the devil?" Well, I want to make it clear in that passage there in John, Jesus is not saying that the Jews were children of the devil. He was talking specifically to the religious leaders He was addressing that day that were rejecting the Messiah.
And they were wanting to murder him. That's why He said you're children of your father, the devil, because he is a murderer from the beginning. There's no question that Israel was chosen by God and that the Jewish people were the people that God chose to be the delivery mechanism of the Messiah to the world, and they did that. Of course, the scriptures are essentially a Jewish book.
Know this verse in John 8:44 is not saying that the Jews in general were children of the devil, but he was speaking to those evil individuals there that were plotting His death. Because of course, there were many Jewish religious leaders that had accepted Jesus such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea that were obviously a spirit-filled children of God.
Well, I think it's time to go to the phones and I'll do my best to negotiate both the answers in the telephones here. We're going to start by going to Tim who's calling from Ottawa, Canada and has a question. Tim, you're on the air.
Tim: Hey, good evening. Thanks for taking my call, Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Yes, and thanks for calling.
Tim: Okay. I have a question that involves the approximately three verses on. Do you mind if I give them to you?
Pastor Doug: Yes. No, I don't mind. Go ahead.
Tim: One would be Proverbs 23:7. The other one would be Psalms 103 verse 20, and John 1:1.
Pastor Doug: All right. Well, we've got several verses here. Proverbs 23:7. It says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." Is that the part you want?
Tim: Right. That's the one there. Then, Psalm 103 has to do with-- [unintelligible 00:10:31] a few verses, but basically "The lady angels of God do His will," correct?
Pastor Doug: Psalm 103 verse 7, you said?
Tim: No, Psalm 103 verse 20 and 21.
Pastor Doug: Okay. What's the question? Let's summarize it because we're jumping around here.
Tim: Like the trinity and the talk that Jesus existed beforehand in some form. I guess spirit form is what we would generally agree, I guess, before creation. I was just questioning the fact that is that really true, given the fact that God already had angels in existence? Which could have been the ones, whereas, God is referring to in the plurality there in Geneses.
The reason [unintelligible 00:11:26] is just the fact that, in order for that to be true, you have to then explain what the personification of the word is, and I believe that's just in relation to Proverbs 23:7 which means God's thought and plans were in place in the beginning.
Pastor Doug: If you compare scripture with scripture in John 1:1 when it says, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God," throughout the writings of John, he refers to Jesus as "the word became flesh and dwelled among us. Jesus is the word of God lived out in a human life." That was one of his titles, the word.
When it says, "All things that were made, were made by him. Without him, was not anything made that was made," it's saying that Christ created. Now, another scripture you might compare that with is one of those famous Christmas scriptures in Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6, where it says, "His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father."
If it tells us that, in the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth and he said let us, he's not saying to the angels help me create. There's no other scripture anywhere that says they create anything. As a matter of fact, it says angels can't even marry and procreate, when Jesus talks about humans in Heaven.
Tim: Yes, but through the power of God, anyone can do anything. Jesus passed on his power to his disciples.
Pastor Doug: Right. You know what I think the real question is, Tim? Why do you have a problem accepting? What is the reason that you have trouble accepting the pre-existence of Christ? That Jesus says in John chapter 6, "Before Abraham was, I am." The Jews knew he was claiming that he was eternal, because he took up stones to stone him for blasphemy. They knew exactly what he meant.
He was claiming to be the one who spoke to Moses at the burning bush. In revelation, when he says, "I am from everlasting to everlasting." Actually, that's Psalms revelation, he says, "I'm the alpha and the omega." Christ uses so many of these eternal terms to refer to his existence. What would be the problem with accepting that?
Tim: I think using that verse, were talked about before Abraham was I am, I think [inaudible 00:13:41] context.I don't think it's referring to a position of actually being in existence before. It's more so they held Moses in high regard and he's saying I am higher than Moses. They should be giving, in a sense, honor to Jesus right then and there, which they weren't doing. They were considering Moses to be higher than Jesus.
Pastor Doug: There's so many examples in the old testament of Christ appearing in his pre-incarnate form. When this mighty general appears to Joshua, he tells Joshua to take off his feet, Joshua worships him. The Bible says he worshiped God only. When this individual appears to Abraham with two angels that are going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham calls him Lord, and he addresses him in all the divine terms.
I don't want to rush you, it's a very important question, but we've probably budgeted our time for this one. Hopefully, that's a little bit of help, Tim. You might the enjoy the book if you haven't read it yet, we've got a book called The Trinity: Is It Biblical? The Trinity. It goes into the pre-existence of Christ there.
We'll send that to you. Just call the resource number 800-835-6747. Hopefully, that will be helpful. Next, we're going to take to Lana, who's calling from Springville, Illinois and listening on KJSL. Welcome Lana, you're on the air.
Lana: Hi, Pastor Doug. Thanks for answering my call.
Pastor Doug: You're welcome.
Lana: I have a question and I hope it's not too difficult. I'm a caregiver and it's for one of my clients. She's very curious. It pertains to Cain and Abel. First Cain, through Abel, but the question is if there were no other people at the time, how did Cain come back with a wife.
Pastor Doug: We get that question frequently, but I'm happy to answer it. Very simply, Adam and Eve had more people than just Cain, Abel, and Seth. If you go to Genesis chapter five, it tells us that Adam and Eve also had many sons and daughters. In the same way that Adam, essentially, married his sister. It's not like he married a stranger, Adam and Eve had the same father.
She actually came from his rib. You can't get much closer in relations than that. It was not considered incest until the time of Moses for somebody to marry a sister or even a first cousin. Abraham married his half sister. Sarah and Abraham had the same father. It's very clear. Matter of fact, he introduces her as his sister on more than one occasion. Isaac married his first cousin, as did Jacob. Cain, very likely, took one of the daughters of Adam and Eve, his sister, when he left the family.
Lana: Okay. That helps, so I know what to tell her.
Pastor Doug: All right. I'm glad to have a happy customer.
Lana: Thank you.
Pastor Doug: Thank you, Lana. All right. I think we're going to talk next to Bruce, who's calling from Hidden Valley Lake, California, listening in on KFIA, our mother station here. Your question, Bruce?
Bruce: Yes. It's the different conditions of God and how you would refer to it. Genesis chapter 1 verse 2, '"He was a spirit hovering over the waters of the Earth." Matthew 1:18, "Through a holy spirit, he impregnated a woman and became a man." The resurrection in chapter 28 of Matthew, verses 2 and 3, where he had a new appearance after the resurrection as lightning and just [unintelligible 00:17:29] close.
I'm just saying what would you refer to that is, just a resurrection? Is it some kind of metamorphis, like we could explain on Earth? Being from a kingdom that Satan one day says he'll raise his own kingdom above the stars of God in Heaven, can you explain any of this in terms that would be rational to people that don't read the bible?
Pastor Doug: You're talking more specifically about what form did Jesus have when he rose?
Bruce: It says in the bible that God never changes. But before everybody's eyes, He's changing over and over again. Then, there was the amount of transfiguration and all this in Matthew too.
Pastor Doug: Well, when it says God doesn't change, it's not saying that Jesus never went through any kind of altering, because from a baby to a 12-year-old, to a grown man, he was obviously changing. When the bible says, "Jesus Christ's the same yesterday, today, and forever." It's talking about the principles of God, the character of God, the goodness and perfection of God, his important attributes.
It's not saying that physically, he might not appear differently. I think the scriptures that say that he is the same, God changes not, it's talking about his promises do not change, his word does not fail, his goodness does not fail. These are eternal constants. Jesus, when he rose, he had a glorified body. It refers to it that way, but he was still him, because he told the disciples, "Look, it's me. Touch and feel, I even still have the scars." He was emphasizing how real he was. He ate in front of them to punctuate that.
Bruce: It says that God is in all things, he said that, and all things are in him. Does that mean he's in a [unintelligible 00:19:12] in the Jews? He was in the root of a tree?
Pastor Doug: Yes, I know what you're saying. I don't think Jesus was endorsing pantheism, which is that's what that borders on. I think he's simply saying that anything that is, is because of God. There's no part of the Cosmos that he is not aware of. There is no life anywhere in the universe or any far flung our galaxy that he does not sustain. In that respect, he is in and through all things.
Bruce: What do you think Satan's hope was, to be able to take over the kingdom of God, and raise his own kingdom up higher? Is it a lack of education?
Pastor Doug: Now, you've asked the big question. Can you let me send you something for free, Bruce?
Bruce: Sure.
Pastor Doug: It's a lesson called Why Would God Create a Devil? I'm not trying to just pass you off with this lesson. That lesson deals with where did the devil come from? Why is he at war with God? What's the issue where this all begin? Would you like a free copy of that?
Bruce: Well, sure. In fact, he says he is the wisest. That's what it says in Ezekiel, he was the wisest angel.
Pastor Doug: Wisest of God's created beings, exactly right. Call the resource number, it's 800-835-6747, Bruce, and ask for Why Did God Create a Devil. A matter of fact, anyone out there, if you want a copy of that, call that number and ask for that lesson. It really helps you understand the great conflict between good and evil. Thanks for your call Bruce and that then takes us to our next call. We're going to be talking with Mariam who's calling from San Diego, California, listening on KPRZ. Welcome, Miriam, you're on the air.
Miriam: Hi. Thank you for answering my question. I'm a beginner.
Pastor Doug: Happy to have you.
Miriam: Thank you and I appreciate you. The verse that says "Be still and know I am God," where did it come from and what does it all mean?
Pastor Doug: Be still and know that I am God. When it says be still in the Bible, it doesn’t necessarily mean stand still, though there are few places in the Bible where God says stand still and see my salvation. It's simply telling us that sometimes our hearts are troubled and restless, and we need to just tell our hearts to be still and trust Him. Do you know what I'm saying?
Miriam: Yes. Where in the bible is it written?
Pastor Doug: You can find, where it says in Isaiah 23 verse two, "Be still you inhabitants of the aisles." In Jeremiah 47:6, it says, "Rest and be still." That's Jeremiah 47:6 and then of course Jesus said to the stormy sea, "Peace be still."
Miriam: That was three times.
Pastor Doug: Yes. I think the one you're talking about probably is Psalms 46 verse 10, "Be still and know that I am God." That's the one you wanted. That's four or five times, Psalms 46 verse 10, "Be still and know that I am God." Just be at peace, trust me, don't be restless. I'm in charge. I'm on the throne. I'll take care of you.
Miriam: Okay. Thank you.
Pastor Doug: Okay. All right, God bless, Miriam, appreciate your question. Moving right along, talking in to Laurietta, hope I’m saying your name right, calling from Savannah, Tennessee, listening on WDNX. Welcome, Laurietta.
Lauretta: Yes that's Lauretta.
Pastor Doug: Lauretta, I’m sorry.
Lauretta: Well, thank you.
Pastor Doug: I'm going to blame it on the people typing your name on the computer screen. They’ve got to type things phonetically for me.
Lauretta: Okay. My question I think is from Matthew, he says, this is a short one [unintelligible 00:22:43]. It talks about vain repetition. Now, how do you define that essentially?
Pastor Doug: Christ was referring to the pagan practice of repeating a prayer over and over again in one sitting as though God is deaf.
Lauretta: Is that one prayer-- and I'm asking because I was listening to the prayer of a friend. And in that prayer, in about 10 minutes, she said this one phrase. It's a phrase in reference to God about 65 times.
Pastor Doug: No, that's vain repetition. It isn't vain repetition if you ask for, for instance, almost every day, I pray for my children. That’s not vain repetition. But if I was to kneel down in one sitting and say, "Lord save my children, Lord save my children, Lord save my children," that's almost implying that every time I say it, I get extra credit with God.
Lauretta: Well, it was a phrase she referred to Heavenly Father, and about every couple of seconds, she used that term in [crosstalk]
Pastor Doug: I don't want to judge the person because they may just-- some people get stuttered when they pray and they keep saying the same thing out of nervousness. But Christ is really talking about the pagan practice-- well, I don't mean to be unkind, but even in some churches today, the priest might tell you to say a certain prayer over and over again. And that's the kind of thing Christ is talking about, when he says don't pray in vain repetition. God is not deaf. It's not to inform Him. God knows what we need before we ask.
Lauretta: I have one more quick question.
Pastor Doug: One more thought on your question, just for balance. In the Bible, you do find, Paul says he prayed about something three times. Elijah prayed seven times for the rain. Now, he didn't say the same prayer every time. I bet when he knelt down, he may have worded it differently, just continued to intercede until the rain came. That’s praying for something over and over again. It is not necessarily wrong, word of peace praying for people salvation every day.
Lauretta: In Leviticus 24, I believe, it makes reference to I guess the death penalty. My question is, is the death penalty relevant now or was that just under the theocracy?
Pastor Doug: Well, I think the principle, and you might be talking about in Leviticus 24:20 where it talks about an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, life for life, I believe that the principle is still true. Now, I'm not saying, in a theocracy, if someone committed adultery, they might stone them. A person could get stoned for Sabbath breaking. A person could get stoned for using God's name in vain, obviously in our government, that's not the way and we operate.
Lauretta: You don't have that many stones.
Pastor Doug: But a death penalty is something different. A death penalty is the civil punishment for breaking a civil law that's different from a religious law. Let me see if I can explain. The first four commandments are religious in nature of the Ten Commandments, idolatry, worshiping other gods, taking God's name in vain the Sabbath. In our culture, we do not punish people for breaking religious laws. They still have some Sunday laws on the books within their country but they don't really prosecute them very thoroughly.
But the civil laws, such as perjury, lying, stealing, murder, those are civil laws that every government respects and must be enforced, our relationship between our fellowmen. If people are guilty of deliberate first degree murder, premeditated murder, then it's a life for life, in my opinion, it's very clear, it's very just. And it discourages a culture not showing respect for human life.
Lauretta: Now, if you--
Pastor Doug: Go ahead. I'm sorry.
Lauretta: If you go down in that passage, now the question is, were these laws that God gave or were these laws that Moses wrote?
Pastor Doug: The Ten Commandments goes back to before Moses, they're laws of God.
Lauretta: If you go down in that passage a little bit, I think it makes up just a few verses, these below the last verse, it says and God I guess gave this or something of that sort.
Pastor Doug: The Ten Commandments existed before Moses. For instance, when Joseph was tempted to commit adultery, he said to Potiphar’s wife, "How can I sin against God?" He knew adultery was a sin and Joseph lived hundreds of years before Moses. Murder, adultery, stealing, all the Ten Commandments go all the way back to the very beginning. The ceremonial laws, the Levitical laws, they begin to surface around the time of Moses.
Lauretta: Someone said in reference to the Capital punishment that that was instituted by Moses and not by God.
Pastor Doug: No. All the way back, and even not just among the Jews but many cultures, it was understood a life for a life. If you take someone's life in a premeditated way, you're going to pay with your life. I think you would probably enjoy, Lauretta, the study guide we've got called Written in Stone. If you send-- or call for a copy, we’ll send you one. That number is 800-835-6747. Didn't mean to cut you short, but we're taking a break, and it's called the Written in Stone and send for that and we’ll be happy to share one with you.
Friends, that's all we're doing right now. We're just catching our breath and some of the best always comes in the second half. So you want to stay tuned to Bible Answers Live. If you have a pencil handy, that would be good because we give out some phone numbers. We give out some free resources and you might jot down our award-winning website, amazingfacts.org.
It has kaleidoscope of information on Bible studies, on a broad variety of different Bible questions, and you'll find many layers after layers of things you can study radio programs you can listen to, video programs you can watch, and there are more and more. We'll be back in just a moment.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Pastor Doug: Hello, friends. This is Bible Answers Live. If you are just tuning in, this is a live international interactive Bible study brought to you by Amazing Facts, and my name is Doug Batchelor. Pastor Jean Ross is on his way back to Sacramento from Chicago after ministering there. We're going to go right back to the phones. Before we do that, I just want to remind you, get your pencil handy and there's some web sites you might enjoy looking at that have a lot of truth, one of course is the amazingfacts.org website. It's easy to remember. Just type in amazing facts at Google, it'll take you there, amazingfacts.org.
You can also check out-- we get a lot of questions on the subject of hell. It's a very controversial subject in the Christian church and among just across the board among all the monotheistic religions. There's a website we recommend, it is filled with Biblical truth, it's called HellTruth.com. It's a good scholarly information that you're going to find there. A lot of questions about the subject of death, what does the Bible teach about the state of man in death and that one is called TheTruthAboutDeath.com.
Check some of those out and then you might just e-mail us at Amazing Facts and let us know what you think. Going back to the phones now. Let's see who has been the most patient. I think we're going to be talking to-- is it the Lynn in Orlando Florida? Did I get that right, listening on WTLN? Your question Lynn, you're on the air.
Lynn: Yes. Pastor Doug, in Deuteronomy Chapter 14:26, it tells you that-- they were talking about the tithes. There are two different 10%. "And thou we shall bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul ask to for oxen, and for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for what thy soul desireth. And thou shall eat it before the Lord thy God, and thou shall rejoice thou and thine household." Now, what happened [unintelligible 00:32:44] we know that strong drink, alcohol is wrong. Solomon said, "Don’t look upon the wine where it's right went to the Cup."
Pastor Doug: Are you wondering what strong drink means? Why would he say that, is that your question?
Lynn: Yes, definitely, in this Old Testament when [unintelligible 00:33:06] in the Bible tells you, don't look, don't drink--
Pastor Doug: Well, it sounds like you've got the right idea. The Bible is very clear that drinking alcohol brings woe. Solomon says that, and of course you read where Noah drank then he was stumbling around naked a lot, drank and he was sleeping with his daughters. King Ben-Hadad drank and he lost the war. There's just no good record of drinking intoxicating beverages in the Bible.
Why would Moses say in the law, when you're on your way to one of the feast going to the temple, they could take the second tithe, is really what it was, and they would use it to buy provisions for the way. And it says wine, which could of course be grape juice. There's only one word for grape juice in the Bible, in the Hebrew of course is a Greek word. But they didn't have the word grape juice.
The fruit of the vine was sometimes fermented. It was sometimes new wine or unfermented. And it's where for strong drink that people say, "Why would the Lord tell them to drink strong drink?" The word strong drink there is shakar in Hebrew. That word did not only mean strong drink as in strongly intoxicating. It can mean strong drink as in concentrated? Have you ever to drunk any orange juice from concentrate where it didn't have enough water and it was strong?
Lynn: Definitely.
Pastor Doug: They used to dehydrate their water. They would concentrate their grape juice rather, so that it would take less of it when you're travelling, and they'd reconstitute it as they got to their campsite or wherever they were going. Of course, it would cut the weight in half. It was almost a syrup that they would make, and they call it strong drink or concentrated grape juice. It was very sweet and then they would add water to it again and they'd get a lot more out of it.
Lynn: That [unintelligible 00:35:03] [crosstalk]
Pastor Doug: Yes. It's an unfortunate translation that some-- as a matter of fact, some versions I think have corrected that away from the idea of being alcoholic.
Lynn: Beautiful. Because what happened is that we know that the word "yayin" in Hebrew means that unfermented. And the Greek [unintelligible 00:35:30] what it says in the text right? But then you have here the word "shakar." You use-- the strong drinking, right?
Pastor Doug: Yes. You know what I'd recommend? I have a booklet specifically for this subject. A matter of fact, I wrote this because we get a lot of questions, it's called Alcohol and the Christian. It deals with some of these texts that people have often used to try to justify drinking. Alcohol in the Christian and it goes through the teaching. It's a good thorough teaching of what the Bible has to say about the Christian and alcohol, and how we should relate to it.
It deals with Jesus on the feast turning the water into wine, what was that all about. If you'd like a copy of that, or anybody, if you'd like to have a copy of that study guide, that booklet called Alcohol and the Christian, call 800-835-6747. Appreciate your question, Lynn. Next, we're going to be talking with a Lenora who's calling from somewhere out there Greenville, North Carolina, listening on the Internet. Welcome, Lenora.
Lenora: Thank you very much, pastor Doug. How are you this evening?
Bachelor: Very well, and your question.
Lenora: Yes. My question deals with Esau and Jacob, when Jacob lied. It’s exactly what he did, he lied. I’m wondering, how was that okay? How was he excepted? How did he receive the blessing through deceit and lie?
Bachelor: Well, he didn't receive the blessing because he was deceptive and lying. God blessed him in spite of it. A matter of fact, you'll remember when Jacob was wrestling with the Lord. He struggled with years for the circumstances in which he had to flee his home. He basically fled his home because his parents sent him away thinking Esau was going to kill him. For years, he wanted to come back. When he came back, he wrestled with the Lord and the Lord gave him a new name.
Now, the name Jacob means trickster, bamboozler, deceiver. God changed his name from deceiver to Israel which means overcomer or prince with God. Yes, it was a sin for him to lie. He did not trust the Lord. It was a sin when Abraham took an extra wife because he didn't trust that God was going to give him a son through Sarah. Many of God's leaders took things in their own hands and made some mistakes, but it's not justifying their behavior. God often blesses in spite of our bad behavior. I know I'm thankful for God's patience, he's blessed me in spite of my bad behavior at times.
Lenora: Amen, I'm guilty of that also I guess.
Pastor Doug: Yes. People sometimes say, "How come I don't get what I deserve?" And I think to myself, "Praise the Lord, I don't get what I deserve."
Lenora: That's right.
Pastor Doug: And God is merciful. Well, I hope that helps a little bit, Lenora.
Lenora: It helps a lot. Thank you so much.
Pastor Doug: By the way, at the Amazing Facts website, I did a whole series on Jacob and Esau. You may find the sermon, you can listen to for free right there on the Internet on that subject, amazingfacts.org.
Lenora: Is it just on Esau and Jacob or--?
Pastor Doug: Well, it's a sermon series on Jacob. I don't remember which segment it is, I think it's the second one where I talk about his deceiving Esau. So you'll have to hunt around a little bit, you will find it there.
Lenora: Thank you so much.
Pastor Doug: Thank you, God bless. We're talking next with Melinda who's listening on WMUZ in the Michigan. And let me press a button now. Melinda, you're on the air.
Melinda: Hi, pastor.
Pastor Doug: Hi, thanks for your patience.
Melinda: I’m falling asleep but I'm loving every word.
Pastor Doug: [laughs] I have that tendency to put people to sleep everywhere I go.
Melinda: [laughs]No, it's just late here in Michigan.
Pastor Doug: That's right, it is.
Melinda: Right. Now, some people believe that they should add Mary, the mother of Jesus. Partially based on John 19 verses 26 and 27, where Jesus is on the cross, and tells John to behold Mary, and Mary to behold John. I just wanted you to address those verses.
Pastor Doug: That's a good question. I appreciate your asking that. There's a lot of beautiful teaching contained in it. First of all, Jesus, it's wonderful that in spite of all of his suffering, his legacy is to leave his mother in the care of his most trusted and beloved disciple, John. Now, many scholars believe, you don't hear them say this, but if you look in their writings, many scholars believe that Jesus' brothers were actually half brothers from maybe a former wife that Joseph had before he died. Part of the reason for this is, well, there's several reasons, why would Jesus commit the care of his mother to a disciple rather than her other natural sons?
Another reason is it would have been highly unusual if Jesus was the first born of Joseph for Him to leave the carpenter shop after His father dies and become an itinerary preacher. The firstborn always stayed at home. Like the parable of the prodigal son, first one stayed, the young one went off gallivanting. It would be very unusual for the firstborn to leave like that.
Beyond that, a woman Biblically, is a symbol of the church. When He says, "Behold thy mother," I think He's inviting. Mary is a type of the church, a spiritual type but we are not to worship Mary. We are to see that Christ, when He died, the church was born. Let me illustrate. When Adam went to sleep, God opened his side, took out a rib and made a bride. Correct?
Melinda: Correct.
Pastor Doug: When Jesus died on the cross, His side was opened. The blood and water came out and the church was born, his bride. There's a lot of happenings spiritually here. And He says, "Woman behold thy son." Christ said, "If I am lifted up, I will draw." He's inviting the church to behold Him. When you get to Revelations 12, it talks about this woman who is running from the dragon and she brings forth a man child. That woman is the church, 12 stars above her head.
Our Catholic friends say that was Mary, but that goes all the way back to the Old Testament time and into the New Testament time. It says the woman is given two wings of an eagle, she flees into the wilderness. It's not talking about Mary. It's talking about the journey of the church.
Spiritually there's a lot happening here. But obviously, Christ is not inviting us to worship Mary. He would have been a little more direct. There's nothing direct in the entire Bible that says pray to or worship Mary, any more than it says pray to or worship Joseph or the apostles. Matter of fact, the command is, in the 10 commandments, worship only God, "Thou shall not have other gods." There's only one God, we're to worship Him.
Melinda: Very good. Thank you very much.
Pastor Doug: Thank you. Appreciate your question. That will take us to our next caller who is Mike, listening-- He's calling on line two even though he didn't know that. Listening on WMCA from South Plainfield, New Jersey. Welcome Mike, you're on the air.
Mike: Good evening, Doug. It's a pleasure to speak with you again.
Pastor Doug: Likewise.
Mike: I have a question in regards to-- It actually has something to do with the genealogist [unintelligible 00:42:53] the other caller called in about Jacob. In John chapter 4, Jesus is talking with the Samaritan woman at the well. And as He's talking with her, He asked her for a drink of water and she replies, "You Jews don't associate with us Samaritans." It made contemplate about when Jacob was given the land of Shechem, when they bought the land from Shechem, where Shechem defiled Dinah. I was wondering if that's the same land that the Samaritan woman would have lived in after that time.
Pastor Doug: Yes. Little quick history, after the 10 tribes of the Northern empire were carried away to Assyria, there was civil war between the sons of Jacob. The Southern kingdom of Judah, Benjamin and Levi, they split. In the Northern kingdom they split and they had their own kings, and they often fought with each other. That happened after the time of Solomon.
The 10 tribes in the North were carried away by the Assyrian king and they later brought back some of the Jews after they had intermarried with the Assyrians and Arabs, and they became known as Samaritans. Because their capital was Samaria. That was the capital of ancient Israel. They believed in the five books of Moses but they did not believe the other writings that the Southern kingdom believed. That was the area where Sikar was, where Jesus sat down at the well.
Mike: But she says that, "Are you greater than our father Jacob?" But Jacob was actually part of one of the tribes where he was a Jew and he came down from that lineage. So when Jesus was confronting her, He's trying to draw out of her where she is in her life and she says, "You're a Jew, I'm a Samaritan. You're asking me for water but are you greater than our father Jacob?"
Pastor Doug: Why is she calling Jacob her father? Remember what I said a moment ago. The Samaritans were part Jewish. They still claim Jacob as their father. They believed in the five books of Moses.
Mike: Would that be from the defiling of Dinah back in the day and whatever happened with the lineage when Judah and--?
Pastor Doug: No, because if you remember that Jacob and his sons, not Jacob but his sons, they decimated the men of Shechem and they were-- None of them [cross talk]
Mike: Did she bear a child from that?
Pastor Doug: That's an interesting speculation. Of course, according to the Bible, we only know they had one intimate occurrence together and there's no record in the Bible that Dinah had a child by the Prince of Shechem. That's just speculation. I can't say yes or no because the Bible's silent on that.
Mike: But we know that the rest of his children and descendants intermarried with the Canaanites and as they were intermarrying with--
Pastor Doug: Well, keep in mind, hundreds of years go by during this time, Mike, where they are carried away two times. After Jacob has this experience, they go to Egypt for hundreds of years of captivity, the Canaanites move in, then they're carried off to Babylon for 70 years, they come back again. The Northern tribe is carried off to Assyria. So the chance of it being the same ancestors is very remote.
I'm thinking that this Samaritan woman probably was part Assyrian, part Jewish, and she was of that group. You read about them in the book of Nehemiah and Ezra when they're starting to build the temple, they offered to help and the Jews said, "You're not helping us because your worship is corrupted. You're not pure Jews." That takes him back to his origins.
I hope that helps a little bit. We probably need to move on here. We're going to talk next to-- Well, let's see here. We're going to talk to Tom, who's listening on line four calling from Rochester, New York on WMCA. Welcome, Tom. You are on the air Bible Answers Live.
Tom: Hi. How're you doing?
Pastor Doug: Good. Your question?
Tom: Good. I just called and asked about the fact that-- I know your teaching is-- your belief that there is no such place called eternal hell, right?
Pastor Doug: I believe that eternal destruction is when people get the death penalty forever which the word hell there is grave. And I do believe the Bible teaches there is a lake of fire but-- any way, go ahead. I'll let you finish your question.
Tom: I guess the question then would be does that include the angels that [unintelligible 00:47:14] too?
Pastor Doug: Does what? Does the-- The Bible tells us that angels right now are reserved in chains of darkness for their day of punishment. They're going to be cast into the lake of fire. I'm talking about Revelation now, which it refers to as the second death.
Tom: So they would die? I guess my question would be then-- two-part question. One would be, there's a verse Psalm 49:14 that says that, "Man that doesn't understand dies like the beast." My one question from that would be I guess that means that not all men that didn't have the knowledge will be raised and actually will be brought before the judgement. They will remain dead. The second part of the question, if the angels are cast in the lake of fire and that's the second death, and we believe that there's no eternal hell, but a destruction which is eternal, then Luke 20:36, doesn't it say that men will be like angels who cannot die?
Pastor Doug: The redeemed are given a gift of everlasting life. There's two choices according to the Bible, Tom. Did I have your name right?
Tom: Yes. Tom.
Pastor Doug: Okay. There's two choices according to the Bible. It says, "Whosoever believes in Him has everlasting life or perish." If we believe-- we've got two choices, perish, everlasting life. The Lord said to Adam and Eve, "If you disobey, you will die." But God so loved the world, He gave his son that whoever believes in Him might not perish but everlasting life. The wages for sin are not everlasting life, but death, but the gift of God is everlasting life.
You said something, and you may not have meant to, but there is what I call is an error in there. Nobody is going to go to their grave without judgment because the Bible's clear in Romans, "Every knee will bow. All of us will stand before the judgement seat of Christ."
Tom: That's if you're responsible, right?
Pastor Doug: No. Everybody has a judgement day. There's varying degrees of responsibility because we're judged according to our works. But all will give an account to God, that's what the Bible says.
Tom: Well, might be just like new point. But I'm just saying that there are probably many, many people, I think millions of people, that never heard the direct word of God like it says in John 12:48, where it says, "He that rejecteth me and receives not my words, has one that judges him. That word that I have spoken. The same judge him in the last day." So if you had never received the word, then you would die like the beasts and beasts aren't accountable to God, they die.
Pastor Doug: I see what you're saying. What I will agree with you on is that God is going to judge people differently, according to their knowledge. Jesus said, "To whom much is given, much is required." In John chapter 6, I believe, he said-- no sorry, John chapter 9. He said, "If you did not see, you would have no sin but now that you see, your sin remains." People are judged, they're accountable based on the knowledge they have. In Hosea chapter 4:6 it says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee."
A rejecting of truth is what really makes them culpable. I'm hoping that helps a little, Tom. We are going to talk to Mae, who has been waiting for a while listening on line five calling from, how do you say that? Goodlettsville, Tennessee?
Mae: Yes. It's Goodlettsville, Tennessee.
Pastor Doug: Goodlettsville, Tennessee.
Mae: Hi, Pastor Doug. [crosstalk] We were studying the end of second coming, 21 verse 24, and where it says that the Gentiles, until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Pastor Doug: Be fulfilled.
Mae: What does that mean? Do we have a certain time or--?
Pastor Doug: Well, that's a good question. I'm a little biased because I am Jewish. I'm a Jewish Christian. Some of my friends who totally embrace Replacement Theology, they don't think there's anything left for Israel in the prophecies. I think it's remarkable that there's no other people in the world, in the history of the earth that have been dispossessed from their land three times and get it back and still have their language and their culture. There's no other people that have been dispossessed one time for their length of time of the Jews and get their land back.
The fact that Israel was carried off to Egypt, they came back. Carried off to Babylon, they came back. Then dispersed by the Romans in 70 A.D. 1900 years later, 1948 they get their land back again. When Christ made this prophecy, he was talking about the destruction of Jerusalem, the Jews were going to be scattered all over the world but that the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled. I think that also may refer to that the Gentiles might have an opportunity to hear the gospel. It is significant.
It's one of those dual prophecies where it is remarkable that the Jews have gotten an independent nation in their old territory again after 1900 years. They still have their language and their culture, remarkable. That's a miracle. If people don't believe the bible for any other reason, they ought to believe the bible because of the Jew.
Mae: Right. Do we have a certain time for the Gentiles like me?
Pastor Doug: Well, I think that God has given the age of grace that we're in now from the time of Pentecost until the second coming. That is the broader time of the Gentiles. It seems like the time for the Gentiles to occupy Israel also met an end and they did get a place where they could have a nail on the wall once again.
I wrote a book with a friend, a Jewish friend named Steve Wohlberg. It's called Spiritual Israel. It talks about a lot of this and I think you'd really be blessed by that. If you just call the resource number, we'll send you a free copy of Spiritual Israel, a very informative book especially with all the speculation about Israel today. The number again is 800-835-6747 and ask for Spiritual Israel.
Mae: Thank you so much.
Pastor Doug: Thank you very much and next we're going to be talking to Defoe, who is calling from the Virgin Islands listening on WGOD. Defoe, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
Defoe: Hi, good evening Pastor.
Pastor Doug: Evening.
Defoe: Hi. Greetings here from the island.
Pastor Doug: Well, thank you.
Defoe: Yes. I just wanted-- Before I ask my question, I just wanted you to know that the program is very much appreciated down there.
Pastor Doug: Well, bless your heart. We're glad to have it.
Defoe: Okay. My question is Revelation chapter 1 verse 7 says, "Behold, He cometh in the clouds and every eyes shall see him." This is simple like A, B, C.
Pastor Doug: Yes.
Defoe: Still, I have friends and we sit down together and discuss the bible, and they would like to convince me that if everybody have to see Christ when have come, He have to be bigger than the whole world, so all of us could see at the same time.
Pastor Doug: I've heard this question several times, Defoe, and it's making an erroneous assumption, that when it says, "Every eye will see him," it means every eye will see him at the same time. It doesn't say that. The day that He comes, the day of the Lord as Jesus sweeps around the circle of the earth, every eye will see him. It doesn't mean all at the same time.
Defoe: It's Jesus.
Pastor Doug: Yes, but it doesn't mean His body needs to bigger than the planet because no matter how big is--
Defoe: [unintelligible 00:55:01] say, "No, you are talking there about God. He's the one who create the earth." Because just like He has the--
Pastor Doug: No. It's just telling us that as the Lord comes, He's coming from the east, as He sweeps around the circle of the globe and He sends forth His angels to gather together His elect, every eye is going to see him like lightning shining from the east to the west. It doesn't mean anybody is going to have to read about it in the paper, everybody in the world is going to know when He comes. It doesn't mean they'll all see Him at the same time. That's what people assume, but it doesn't say that.
Defoe: What do you think? What is it say?
Pastor Doug: Well, it says that every eye will see Him, but it doesn't say every eye will see Him at the same time. I can promise you when He comes and He comes around the circle of the earth, coming from the east to the west, everybody is going to see Him that day.
Defoe: That's why He used the illustration about the lightning from the north to the south?
Pastor Doug: Well, He actually said from the east to the west.
Defoe: I mean, you know what I mean.
Pastor Doug: Yes. He was just saying that, if you're standing out on a porch and lightning cracks all the way across the heavens, you don't have to elbow the person and say, "Did you see that?" Of course, they saw it. You can see lightning with your eyes closed.
Defoe: Did you see the eclipse last night? The eclipse did you see last night?
Pastor Doug: No. Well, no. On the internet. [laughs]
Defoe: Anyway, thanks and I appreciate the program.
Pastor Doug: All right. Thanks a lot, Defoe. All right. We're going to see if can get in to one or two more calls here. We got time? One minute. I hate doing that to people. Some of you have been waiting so long. Will you please forgive me and give me another chance? We had a full batch of phone calls tonight and I'm delighted to have you. I knew it was happening, the music's coming.
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