Doug Batchelor: Hello friends. This is Doug Batchelor. How about an amazing fact? In 1964, a grad student, Donald Currey was working with forestry personnel in the white mountains of the Sierras. They were collecting core samples from bristlecone pines to date the ancient gnarley trees. In the process of drilling a core sample from one of the large core trees they called Prometheus, the specialized drill bit broke off in the wood. That’s when the decision was made to just cut the tree down. So they could more easily count the rings and possibly recover the drill bit. When they did this, they discovered the tree to be approximately 4,900 years old. They had inadvertently killed the oldest living tree in the world. Today, the oldest tree is the Methuselah tree in the same region 4,845 years old. And its location is carefully guarded. Today it seems there’s another ancient tree at risk. Stay with us friends, we are going to learn more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.
[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]
Doug Batchelor: Welcome listening friends to Bible Answers Live. And we trust you’ve had a blessed Thanksgiving weekend thus far. If you are listening it’s because you can hear this program that is communicating Bible answers. You can participate by calling in your questions. If you have a Bible question, it’s a free phone call and that number is 800-GOD- SAYS (800-463-7297). And we do still have some lines open. And a lot of people are out on the road right now and you might like to listen in or if you want to call with a Bible question. One more time, here’s the number, 800-GOD-SAYS (800-463-7297).
And again, my name is Doug Batchelor, Pastor Jëan Ross is in route to Bucharest, Romania where I will be joining him in a day or so. And we are going to be doing some evangelistic meetings that will be broadcast around Europe. So we appreciate your prayers for that endeavor. But our program will continue. So one more time, Bible questions 800-GOD-SAYS (800-463-7297). And we are going to start the program with a prayer.
Dear Lord, we are still thankful that we can look to You. We believe that what happens here is a miracle and this is Your plan that we communicate the Word through the power of this medium. We pray Lord that You’ll bless those who are listening, that Your Spirit will be here with everybody in the studio and that ultimately the truth will be proclaimed. We thank You and ask this in Jesus name. Amen
You know friends I opened with an amazing fact about what was the oldest tree in the world that was accidentally cut down. Ironically by those who were hired to protect the trees. And you know it made me think of another tree. The Bible has a lot to say about trees. The plan of salvation begins in the garden with people choosing between eating from the right tree or the wrong tree and then the Bible ends by people being restored to the garden of Eden and being able once again to eat from that tree of life.
And what makes the difference between being expelled from the garden and getting back into that garden is another tree. Sometimes referred to as, the Old Rugged Cross. You know the Bible tells us that Jesus died on a tree. That's what it was, it was a tree chopped down and they tied two sections together and it formed a cross but it was pretty primitive looking. You can read that in Acts 5:30. The God of our fathers has raised up Jesus whom you slew and hanged on a tree. Him, God has exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sin.
And I said during the fact there's another tree at risk. The message of the old rugged cross is really not being proclaimed the way it should be. You know we hear so much these days about the grace of God that forgives us and the grace that will cover our past and we believe and embrace all of that. But you rarely hear these days, about the grace of God that saves us not in sin but from sin, that gives us the power to repent and confess and turn. You know Jesus didn't come to save us in our sins, we can come to Him just like we are but He wants to save us from our sins. Salvation is not just justification where we come and we're covered but it's also sanctification. That's a process of learning to live a new life. And that's why Jesus said when we decide to take up the cross and follow Him that we deny ourselves daily, take up our cross and follow Him. Jesus took His cross through His crucifixion and we must be crucified with Christ but that's where the new life begins. If we lay down our lives, we find them.
And friends I would just like to appeal to you during this season to remember the message of that real tree, that old rugged cross and embrace it. You know that the Bible tells us that when we do this, we'll find a new peace and joy that we've never experienced before. Would you like to have that peace that comes from knowing that all your past sins are forgiven and God will give you the power to be free to live a new life in the future?
We’d like to send you a book that talks about that. It's called The High Cost of the Cross. The High Cost of the Cross, written by the founder of "Amazing Facts" Joe Crews. A tremendous book you'll find inspiring and it's free. If you like a copy of that book, just call our toll free number, pick up the phone right now - 800-835-6747 takes you to the resource center...800-835-6747 they will just get your address, send you the book and nobody is going to hassle or harass you. We just want you to read it. Now with that, don't forget our Amazing Facts website. A lot of resources there and that's very simply amazingfacts.org and we're going to the phones. Starting with Craig who's calling from Wayne, Iowa. Craig welcome to Bible Answers Live you're on the air.
Craig: Hello Pastor Doug I've talked to you several times.
Doug Batchelor: Hi how are you doing?
Craig: Oh real good. I want to catch you before you leave overseas.
Doug Batchelor: Yes well I appreciate that. We will be back.
Craig: I have a question about what's...it's about a back and forth type thing. But it's...how do you answer people on this question on Ezekiel 9:6 where the Lord commands His people to go and slaughter everybody including children. And then in the New Testament of course you have many references saying, little children to come unto Me, and you know the whole thing about the children.
Doug Batchelor: How do you reconcile the two?
Craig: Yes like if somebody asked you a question trying to get you know trying to cut down God or somebody saying He's good and bad and all that. And also along with that question, I want to know what you think about...I've always thought that when children were killed that if they’re under the age of accountability that they would not feel any pain when they're killed.
Doug Batchelor: Alright.
Craig: Because I just think that myself I mean.
Doug Batchelor: Okay I appreciate that. Let me, you got a couple of really big questions here. Let's start with Ezekiel 9. Now in Ezekiel 9, first thing is it's not God's people that are going through with the judgment. They are actually angels that talk about the 6 men with destroying weapons and one of them is putting this mark on people’s foreheads. We assume that these are angels of judgment. You not only find this here, you can find that the judgment of God with the angel of God went through Israel when David numbered Israel. Going back to the beginning of the Bible, you know, we know Noah and his family where saved, God had him preach for 120 years. But what about all the men, women and children that died in the flood and God said, " I will destroy the earth and all the people in it" so you know you got...the children are suffering from these judgments all through history it's not just here in Ezekiel.
And I think the best way people can understand that is there's a war going on in this world and everybody right now is doomed. Men, women and children, everybody is doomed. Where it's like the book "Pilgrims Progress" says, "we're living in a city of destruction. But God is invading to save as many as He can. This planet has been kidnapped by a lunatic, the devil. Even Jesus said the devil is the prince of this world and so God is trying to do all He can to save and everyone is going to be judged. Now sometimes when a terrible judgment comes through because of the wickedness of the land like Sodom and Gomorrah… I mean you'll agree with me that God rained fire, it's what it says. God rained fire down on Sodom and Gomorrah there were men, women and children in the city.
Sometimes children suffer because of the bad decisions of their parents, that happens every day. And that doesn't mean that they are automatically lost. There’ll be many children saved whose parents may not have been saved or who along...you know caught away in some catastrophe.
So Ezekiel, the same book also says, "the son will not bear the penalty for the sins of the father and the father will not bear the penalty for the sins of the son". So use your imagination with me for just a moment. Let’s suppose you go back to the days of Noah. Noah is preaching and saying because of the wickedness, God is going to destroy the world with a flood. Repent and get on the boat and there's some kids out there in the crowd that say, "No I believe Noah and I want to get on the boat but the parents don't let them.
And the flood comes and they drown. The next conscious thought of those children if they listened to the voice of the Holy Spirit and if they are saved, their next conscious thought is eternal life. So what does the flood do for them, it kind of ushers them into eternity. See what I'm saying?
Craig: Oh yeah.
Doug Batchelor: So these judgments come, we're all dying. Everybody out there is terminal. I mean if the Lord doesn't come first. So sometimes the Lord cuts it short with a judgment.And some judgments come from the devil. You know when those things happened to Job and his family. It's the devil that swept them away. So there's a battle going on, we're living in a war zone. These are some difficult questions. Hey, I appreciate that Craig and I don't know if I got to all your questions here but hopefully that helps a little bit and we're going to another caller. I think we'll talk to Pree next...Pierre rather sorry. That's calling from Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Pierre are you there?
Pierre: Yes I'm here.
Doug Batchelor: And your question tonight?
Pierre: My question tonight is the...okay, so if God is against divorce right?
Doug Batchelor: Uhum
Pierre: And the state can make you divorce no matter what but we're supposed to obey what the state says but yet God...and Jesus answered about the taxes as the gift to Caesar, went to Caesar and give to God what is God’s. The money is to Caesar; the marriage should be to God. Now how do you obey the government if they force you into this and how will you go about doing the right thing according to God.
Doug Batchelor: Now how would the government force you into divorce...you mean if your spouse chooses to divorce and the government follows through?
Pierre: Well yes if the spouse chooses. My opinion is there should be a way for me as a Christian to refuse to sign the divorce paper.
Doug Batchelor: Well you know if your conscience convicts you that you should not sign the divorce papers, you may work that out but question is what will the end result of that be? Typically the lawyers find some way to compel it to be a legal decision. You can't do that indefinitely. You know you can refuse to sign a speeding ticket and they can either just you know summon you to court or they can haul you away right then and there.
So you know the main problem is not that the government is forcing you to get divorced. It sounds like you're in a situation and many others often are where one party in a marriage says, "I want a divorce", the other party doesn't want it. You can't force someone to stay with you. Now the verse I would give you Pierre is if you look in 1 Corinthian 7, it says that if there is a believer married to an unbeliever and the unbeliever wants to depart, you can't make them stay, to let them depart. You can't tie a person to the bedpost and say you know, "You're my spouse, you have to stay".
So yes it's not the government really. The government will just ratify what the people are appealing for. Now there are marriages the government doesn't recognize but that's something different. Hey you know I do have a book, Pierre, that you might enjoy and it's called Marriage, Divorce and Re-Marriage. I think I may have mentioned it last time you called. Marriage, Divorce and Re-Marriage and if you just call the resource number 800-835-6747 and tell them you're listening and they will send you copy of that. Appreciate your question. Talking next with Chantal who is calling from Salem, Oregon. Chantal you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.
Chantal: Hello good evening.
Doug Batchelor: Evening.
Chantal: Hello I'm calling about the 144,000 and the multitude in Revelation.
Doug Batchelor: Okay
Chantal: So I want to see if I understand correctly what you wrote in your little book. The 144,000 are specific leaders like pastors and evangelists who follow and preach God's Word from the Bible and the great multitude is them that's saved is the general public who accept the Bible truth that the leaders have taught.
Doug Batchelor: Well what I'm doing there you know they may not be pastors and evangelists. You know in other words, they may have not that title but they are doing the work...for those listening, the 144,000 are a unique group that are identified in Revelation 7 and 14 that have a special relationship with Jesus and they sing the song of the lamb. And I say that in the same way that Jesus called the 12 apostles during His first coming to prepare the world and go to the lost sheep of Israel. In the last days, He's got 12 times 12 thousand that's a 144,000 that are going to the whole world. They are doing a similar work.
Now on the day of Pentecost in the upper room, it’s very interesting just before the Holy Spirit is poured out it says that they need to replace Judas. There were twelve apostles. Judas hung himself after he betrayed Christ. They were now eleven. Peter said “We’ve got to get it back to twelve again.” That’s the number that Jesus chose. Soon as they get the number twelve again, the Holy Spirit was poured out. But there’s more than just the twelve in the upper room. It says it’s a hundred and twenty in all. So it’s ten times more.
Well, in the last days, you know there’s going to be a great multitude converted under the ministry of the hundred and forty-four thousand. Now that’s my understanding of the parallels that I see. They are probably not going around saying I’m an apostle or with a marathon number on their back saying which member of the hundred forty-four thousand they are. It’s kind of more of spiritual group that’s doing that last work before Christ returns. Does that make sense?
Chantal: Yeah. Sure.
Doug Batchelor: So, I was going to send you the book but it sounds like you’ve got it.
Chantal: Yeah, I’ve got it right here. Yeah. Okay.
Doug Batchelor: Well, I appreciate that … you’ve got another question on this?
Chantal: Yeah, yeah. One more quick little thing that I couldn’t quite understand. The last paragraph in the book it says, “Jesus blessed, trained and filled with the Spirit twelve people to lead His disciples in reaching the house of Israel.” So who were the twelve people who led the disciples?
Doug Batchelor: Well, remember the word “disciple” is different from the word “apostle”. You and I are disciples but we are not necessarily apostles. Apostles were a group that Jesus specifically chose. So Mary Magdalene was a disciple. And you know there’s a lot of others, Luke was a disciple but Luke was not an apostle of the first twelve. So what I’m talking about is the twelve apostles. He used them to prepare many disciples. All of us are disciples. People make that mistake frequently. They think, they say the twelve disciples and they really mean apostles. Jesus said in Matthew 28 Go ye therefore and teach all nations or make disciples of all nations. So disciples are supposed to be every believer. I appreciate your question Chantal.
Chantal: Okay, thank you very much.
Doug Batchelor: Thank you very much. I’d send you the book but you got it. And you have a good evening. All right, talking next with Pat. Welcome Pat, you’re on Bible Answers Live. You’re on the air.
Pat: Hello. Good hearing. How are you?
Doug Batchelor: Doing great. How are you? Get real close to your phone, I can barely hear you. So hug that telephone.
Pat: Okay. How was your thanksgiving?
Doug Batchelor: It was blessed. How about you?
Pat: Wonderful. I’ve liked your sweet wife’s cookbook.
Doug Batchelor: Oh, you know she’s got quite a few. You are going to have to get more than one. She’s got a whole rack full of them.
Pat: Great. Here’s my question. Having a double portion of God’s Spirit. Why do you think Elisha wasn’t taken up to heaven like Elijah?
Doug Batchelor: All right. That’s a good question. First of all, it wasn’t the measure of the Spirit that had Elijah go to heaven. Elijah…well first, your double portion question. Those in the Bible that God had double portion were first of all the first-born sons. But keep in mind that Elijah never married as far as we can tell. He just, you know, he traveled and stayed with a widow and in the desert by a creek. And there’s no record he had a family. And he then calls Elisha to be his apprentice. And they travelled together for years. And Elisha says, “Look, if you love me and have adopted me, I want the blessing of the first-born son. All you’ve got is the Holy Spirit. I want a double portion. So he’s basically saying something one thing; if you have adopted me, I want a double portion.
Secondly, it says Elkanah had two wives – he had Hannah and Peninnah. But he loved Hannah so he gave her a double portion. And so hidden in this message of Elisha, he knew the history of the first-born; he knew the history of Hannah. When he said to Elijah I want a double portion of your spirit. He is saying if you have adopted me, and if you love me then give me a double potion of your spirit.
Now the question is, Elisha actually does twice as many miracles as Elijah. They may not have been the same magnitude but there are a lot of miracles of Elisha in the Bible. But Elijah stood up for God when everybody else was hiding, on Mount Carmel. And he was just very bold for God. And God really wanted to show him I think a special blessing. And he was taken up to heaven. Now of course Elijah went to Mount Sinai and he was on that same mountain as Moses. And then Elijah and Moses appeared to Jesus on a mountain in Israel. You’ll find that in Mark 9. That’s a great study.
By the way, I can send you a copy of that book if you like Pat. And it’s called The Glorious Mountain. It talks about when Elijah and Moses appeared to Jesus. And it gives a little history. And John the Baptist was called among the greatest of the prophets. But the Bible says he died in prison. Elijah died of a lingering illness. And so Paul was beheaded. It doesn’t mean God didn’t love them or they didn’t have the Holy Spirit. But Elijah, his work was unique. And thank you. By the way, we need more Elijah’s’ today in the world. We are going to talk to Nathaniel who is calling from Yakima Washington. Nathaniel, you’re on the air with Bible Answers Live.
Nathaniel: Hello, Pastor Doug.
Doug Batchelor: Good evening.
Nathaniel: Yeah. I just have a question. I’ve talked to a couple of people. I have been studying the Bible with lately and… Anyway, they have brought up a good question about a certain TV evangelist that’s been talking about these blood moons. I don’t know if you have heard.
Doug Batchelor: Yeah, I’ve heard a little bit about that and just the timing of it all … you want me to comment on that or…?
Nathaniel: Please. Please, do.
Doug Batchelor: I‘ve got a few references most famous probably is Matthew 24:29 where Jesus is speaking of the last days. It says, “immediately after the tribulation of those days. The sun will be dark and then the moon shall not give her light and the stars will fall from heaven.” I’m actually quoting the wrong reference. When it says, “the moon will be as blood.” Maybe that’s Revelation. It also talks about that in the book of Joel. And I think that’s in Joel chapter 2. So there’s some references to the moon looking like blood. And that’s… have you ever seen a forest fire where the sky get a lot of smoke in it? And the sun takes on a very red hue? The sky takes on a very red hue? You know what I’m talking about?
Nathaniel: Hmm. Yeah.
Doug Batchelor: Often in the Bible when they talked about… let me see here. While I’m talking to you I’m looking for references Pastor Ross is usually doing this here with me. It’s talking about times of great tribulation, and war, and plagues. When it talks about the moon turning into blood, it usually means there’s a lot of fire burning.
So, it’s telling us he notices after the tribulation of those days; the sun is going to go dark, the moon will turn to blood, the stars will appear to fall from heaven. And the powers of heaven will be shaken. And I’m not so sure that’s what I heard about this book. That I think its Brother Hagee wrote a book.
Nathaniel: Correct.
Doug Batchelor: And where he was talking about the blood moons. I can’t be a very good critique of it. But my understanding is this is something that first of all what happened once in the dark day of history in the 1830’s. Sun went dark and the moon came up red as blood. And some took that as an omen that we have entered the last days. It’s going to happen again in quick succession at the second coming of Jesus.
Here we go, I was looking for Revelation 6:12 “then I beheld when he’ll open the sixth seal. And lo there was a great earthquake. And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair. And the moon became as blood.” And so it’s just saying that there’s a… it’s talking about a great plague, earthquakes, fires. These are signs of the judgments of God. Now, I think he’s trying to make something out of it that it’s something to do with the Jewish feast or something. And like I said, I’m going to be careful.
Nathaniel: Yeah. That’s what I’m seeing too. I’ve seen quite a few references that they have from Leviticus and Ezekiel both in there. And each one of the blood moons as supposedly had happened or was supposed to happen on one of the feasts.
Doug Batchelor: Yeah. Well, and so what’s going to happen if the moon looks like blood? What does it mean?
Nathaniel: I haven’t gotten quite that deep into that. I’ve just been… everybody’s talking about it and I haven’t had an opportunity to look into it any deeper either.
Doug Batchelor: Yeah. You know there’s going to be signs. The Bible says there will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars in the last days. And those are just kind of omens to tell us. You know the last time the moon turns to blood is the second coming of the Lord. At that point, everything is over because it’s telling us there’s a day coming where there will be a tribulation such as it never has been.
But you know we do have a book that we’ll be happy to send you. It actually talks about these signs and it’s called Anything But Secret. It talks about the tribulation and some of the signs of the second coming. Anyone out there listening, if you’d like to know more about this; we’ll send you a free copy. Just call the phone number 800-835-6747. And ask for the book on the second coming or the tribulation. It’s called Anything But Secret. It’s not going to be secret. There’ll be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars when the Lord comes. Hope that helps a little bit, Nathaniel. And I appreciate your call. I don’t know if we’ve got time left. Maybe we can take one more quick call. We’ll talk to Marjorie who is calling from Michigan. Marjorie, you are on the air with Bible Answers Live.
Marjorie: Hi Pastor Batchelor.
Doug Batchelor: Good evening.
Marjorie: I was asking… I was wondering was Mary, the mother of Jesus, also from the tribe of Judah as Joseph?
Doug Batchelor: Quick answer is, yes. It tells us that not only was Joseph from the tribe of Judah but you’ll find the genealogy of Jesus in the book of Matthew is tracing Jesus’ genealogy through Joseph. The genealogy of Jesus you’ll find in the book of Luke 3 is tracing the genealogy of Jesus through Mary. And both of them go back to David because Jesus is called the Son of David. Both David… I’m sorry, both Mary and Joseph were related to King David. The genealogy, you know a family tree, sometimes it can diverge and come back together again when you’re one nation. And people sometimes they marry between the tribes. But both Mary and Joseph came from the tribe of Judah and from the house of David. David was from the tribe of Judah.
And you know we probably ought to tell you, Marjorie, I’ve just finished a book about Mary. We’ll send you a free call… a free copy of that book on Who Is Mary - The Mother Of Jesus. It’s 800-835-6747. Just ask for the book. You are listening to Bible Answers Live. Well, friends we are going to take a break in just a moment. But before we do, I want to remind you that if you go to the Amazing Facts website. You will find a blizzard, a kaleidoscope, a whole forest of Bible study resources. If you want to watch sermons, there’s video there. If you want to listen, you can download both the video. You can download for free. There must be a thousand sermons you can pick from.
If you want to read the books, we have a number of books that are on the free library. We have some more premium books that you can buy at a reasonable cost. And if you want to do Bible studies, there are free Bible studies that you can enroll in at the Amazing Facts website. And just to think about anything you can imagine, you go to the Amazing Facts website. Check out the various links that we have there. And I think you’ll be amazed about how deep and wide it goes. Just an aside, all you’ve got to do is go to Google or Yahoo. Type in the first few words Amazing Facts. And before you are done typing, our website will pop-up because people are using it. And don’t go away, we are going to have more Bible questions in just a minute or two.
[COMMERCIAL BREAK]
Doug Batchelor: Welcome back listening friends to Bible Answers Live and we are getting ready for round two. If you have just joined us on the way, this is a live international interactive Bible study. And we are glad you are part of the family. If you have a Bible question, the number to call is 800-GOD-SAYS (463-7297). That’s 800-463-7297. My name is Doug Batchelor. And if you didn’t hear earlier, Pastor Jëan Ross is in route to Bucharest, Romania right now where I’ll be joining him while we are doing some television broadcast and evangelistic programs there that will be broadcasted all over Europe. We are very excited about that. And appreciate your prayers for that series. We are not going to linger going back to the telephones and talking with Robert who is calling from Orlando, Florida. Robert, welcome to the program. You are on the air.
Robert: Pastor Doug.
Doug Batchelor: Yeah.
Robert: How are you doing?
Doug Batchelor: Doing great. How are you?
Robert: I’m good.
Doug Batchelor: And your question tonight?
Robert: Yes, 1 Corinthians 14. We studied them.
Doug Batchelor: Okay. Are you going to read that?
Robert: What commandment is Paul referring to “what I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.”
Doug Batchelor: So you are talking about 1 Corinthians 14:37?
Robert: Yes, sir.
Doug Batchelor: Well, it says here ‘ if any man think himself a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” So, are you wondering which commandments are the commandments of the Lord? Paul is… in the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul is telling them several things that they were kind of misbehaving on. First of all, 1 Corinthians 14, they were misunderstanding the gift of tongues. And people were just babbling and interrupting the church services.
And so he gave them some commandments on how they ought to conduct their services. That God is the author of peace and not confusion. He gave some commandments on modesty in dress. He gives commandments in the book on being united in the truth. There was somebody in their congregation that was sleeping with his stepmother. Paul said; you need to deal with that person’s membership and put them out of the church. So he said, these are not just my opinion but God’s Word says these things. And those would be the commandments I think that Paul is referring to. Does that make sense?
Robert: Yes, but is verse 34 a commandment or not?
Doug Batchelor: Verse 34? Let your women keep silence in the church for it’s not permitted unto them to speak, but they are commanded to be under obedience as also says the law.” Yeah, he didn’t want them interrupting the services. This isn’t the universal command that a woman was not supposed to ever speak in public worship because we have them doing that in other places under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So for instance, you have Anna who was at the birth of Jesus when He was brought to the temple and dedicated. She speaks to Him in the temple and it’s the Holy Spirit that speaks through her.
But in Corinth, the women were interrupting their husbands and often they didn’t sit on the same side of the church. And so they'd be calling across the aisle or across the curtain. By the way, if you go to the Middle East now or even India; the men and women often don’t sit together. So it's a custom that the idea being they want to keep their mind's pure and they don’t think there should be the mixing of the genders. So they may have that same custom in Corinth. The women were calling across the aisle or the curtain, and interrupting the service and asking their husbands questions. And Paul said, tell them to ask their husbands when they get home. That’s not appropriate.
So I don’t think it was a universal command that a woman was never to open her mouth in church because then it talks about a woman praying or prophesying she has to have her head covered. So then gives command about when she does speak, pray, or prophesy that she should do it modestly. So it probably can't be a universal command for woman to just never speak in church. Hope that helps a little bit, Robert. And with that, we are going to go on to James who is calling from Howell, New Jersey. James, you are on the air with Bible Answers Live.
James: Hello Pastor. My question is I would like to hang up after I ask you the question so my mother can hear it?
Doug Batchelor: Okay.
James: What is Christ's experience on the cross? When He says, Why He says Father, why hast thou forsaken Me?
Doug Batchelor: All right.
James: In other words, what did He experience physically, mentally and spiritually?
Doug Batchelor: All right. Very good question. Thank you, James.
James: Can I hang up now?
Doug Batchelor: Sure. That's fine. If you read in Psalm 22, you have here a Messianic Psalm. It’s a Psalm that points forward to Jesus. The first words in that Psalm are the same exact words that Jesus spoke on the cross. "My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?" So when Jesus is on the cross, and He utters those words, "My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?" It isn’t because Christ is despairing or lost courage or had given up. Because a little while later He says, "Father, into Your hands, I commend My Spirit." Jesus is kind of asking that question for our benefit. Why was Jesus suddenly separated from the protection and blessing of the Father?
You might call it a rhetorical question. He’s asking that question because the answer is for our sin. Now, if you look in Psalm 22 when Jesus quotes this Psalm; first of all, Christ is our High Priest. The Bible says in Hebrews, and the high priest during the Passover would always read from the Psalms, often from a Messianic Psalm. So Christ even on the cross there when He says, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Jesus is suffering the most intense agony because for the first time in eternity He is separated from the Father. Why? Because He is bearing our sins.
You read down a little further in Psalm 22 and it talks about... it says that, dogs have surrounded me as Jesus is on the cross, the assembly of the wicked. That's verse 16, Psalm 22:16. Dogs have encompassed Me. The assembly of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet. I may tell or count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They part My garments among them. And they gamble or cast lots upon My vesture, My clothing. All of these things happened a thousand years after David wrote it at the scene of the cross. Anybody who reads Psalm 22, I don’t know how they cannot believe the Bible is inspired because this is a very specific prophecy.
Jesus on the cross says those very words. You read further in the Psalm. They pierced My hands and feet, they gambled for My clothing, they mocked Me. It’s exactly what happened. So He's drawing our attention to the event of the crucifixion. Thank you very much. I appreciate your call. Next, we are going to talk to Mark who is calling from Pleasant Hill, California. Mark, you are on the air with Bible Answers Live.
Mark: Okay, I want to know Pastor Doug, what was the Pharaoh’s name that gave Joseph power in Egypt?
Doug Batchelor: I don’t know. Sometimes I have heard it and I have read it; Egyptologist - those who specialize in the study of Egypt. They have a pretty good map of what the different pharaoh’s were. They know that I think Ramses II was the Pharaoh during the time of Moses. I cannot remember the name of the Pharaoh who gave Joseph this power of prime minister. But there was a dynasty of pharaohs before the time of Moses that were very friendly to other religions. They fell out of power during the latter part of Joseph's life. And then a more stern dynasty of pharaohs came into power. And they were the ones who were threatened that the Israelites might rise up against them.
But you know you could probably, I think just on Google. I’ll bet you can type in you know Egypt kings and ask what king was in power during the time of Joseph and they'll have his name. They’ve got the Egypt history once they cracked the Rosetta stone and the hieroglyphics they've got a lot of history etched all around ancient Egypt. And they pretty well have mapped up the kings and succession going back to oh I think it must be nearly 3,000 BC. So Mark, sorry I can’t give you a name. If I knew the name I probably couldn’t pronounce it.
Mark: All right. Thank you Sir.
Doug Batchelor: All right. God bless. Bye-bye. And we are going to talk to Ed who is calling from Chicago, Illinois. Ed, you are on the air with Bible Answers Live.
Ed: Thank you very much. And I love you both guys. I have a good question. In the church we are studying the sanctuary. We know that...
Doug Batchelor: Get real close to your phone.
Ed: Do you hear me now?
Doug Batchelor: Yeah.
Ed: Okay. So in the Day of Atonement, we know that the high priest was not... you know have some sins still hidden. He could die if it wasn’t the holy place, right?
Doug Batchelor: Right.
Ed: So my question, is there anywhere in the Bible a record of anybody dying because of that? Or I’m thinking of Caiaphas, I think I don’t know if I’m pronouncing the name correctly.
Doug Batchelor: Yeah. Caiaphas and Annas the high priest that condemned Jesus. You know they went through the ritual. Keep in mind, by the time Annas and Caiaphas were in power. The Ark of the Covenant had already been removed for several hundred years. The temple, it's like when the ark was taken during the time of Eli and the daughter declared Ichabod because the Ark was taken. The Ark was hidden probably by Jeremiah and some of the priests in a cave around Jerusalem before Nebuchadnezzar came. It was never found again. Jeremiah was kind of taken off into Egypt and probably died there. But the ark is probably still in a cave somewhere in the vicinity of Jerusalem. …
Ed: God have made … that would kill them right there in the very moment?
Doug Batchelor: Well, there’s actually two priests that did die because they approached the temple irreverently. And that was the sons of Aaron, Hophni and Phinehas. And they were slain because of their being disrespectful when they came into the presence of the Lord. Actually it was Nadab and Abihu, the sons of... I’m sorry. Nadab and Abihu were the son's of Aaron. Hophni and Phinehas were the son's of Eli. They were also slain but not in the temple. So I hope that helps a little bit, Ed.
But there's no record in the Bible of a high priest dying in the holy of holies. It does say in the Bible that Zachariah, when the Holy Spirit appeared to him, the father of John the Baptist, people were really worried because he came out speechless and he took too long inside. Appreciate your question. We are going to talk next with Jim who is calling from WestPoint, Tennessee. Jim, welcome to Bible Answers Live. You are on the air.
Jim: Ok. Thank you, Doug. Pastor, how are you?
Doug Batchelor: Doing great. And your question tonight?
Jim: Well, it's been about ten years since I called in. Anyway how, I have a question about Matthew 28:18 where Jesus said to go get disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, the Holy Ghost.
Doug Batchelor: Right.
Jim: That's how I had mine done but we had talked to, my daughter and I to another gentlemen and he said that unless you are baptized in Jesus name that you are not baptized.
Doug Batchelor: Yeah. Those are typically people... they’re … no disrespect intended, they are usually Apostolic Pentecostals. They’re oneness only members and they are very big on baptizing in the name of Jesus. They say the Father, Son and Holy Spirit words said at Matthew 28, that part of the Scripture is suspect, they think it was changed. Or those were titles and it's not the same.
Jim: Well, the way he was saying it is that in the Bible in Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts 2 as he said. He goes through these chapters and he will tell you why. He said no one else has gotten baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost in the Bible. I don’t believe that.
Doug Batchelor: Well, actually you do have… Keep in mind, in Acts, there's about three or four different ways that they stated it. I think the one place it says they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. One place it's baptized in the name of the Lord, another time it's baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. They are all a little different even in Acts.
So here's the question. Baptism is very much like a marriage in that you are making a covenant, you are making a vow. The important thing in a vow, when you consecrate yourself to God and you say I am choosing to follow Jesus, God, and the Bible, the important thing to make that legal or legitimate is do the two parties understand who they are making the covenant with? Now, if I do a wedding, some weddings are very formal and the groom and the bride will say to me you know when you say our names, I want all three names and it might be Bill James Carpenter and the girl might say my name is Sally Mary Winchester. Who knows, and they want it all. Or I could say do you Bill, take Sally?
And in any state in North America, I’m a licensed minister. If those parties and the witnesses understand that they are making a covenant to each other, they are legally married. It doesn’t matter if you use the full title or an abbreviated title of their names. As long as the parties making the covenant understand who they are making the covenant to. So when you are baptized, if the pastor says, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And if that's what Jesus said and you are doing what Jesus said of course it's legitimate. When I baptize, I typically cover my bases. I say I baptize, I baptized yesterday. I say I baptize you in the name of God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Cover all the bases.
Jim: Amen. Yeah.
Doug Batchelor: So... you know it's....
Jim: I will say something on the marriage thing but they do marry gays there. Their marriage is kind of null. You want to marry Jesus first right?
Doug Batchelor: Exactly. Yeah. Well, you want to make sure... you want to be where the church is, the bride of Christ. We want to be married to Him. So, hey, I appreciate your call. By the way Jim, we do have a book on baptism and it talks about this. And if you or anyone would like to have more information on this; send for or just call the number and ask for the Amazing Facts book on Baptism - Is It Necessary? You can not only call 800-835-6747, you call that number. You can read that book for free online, Jim or anybody. Most of these books we are offering, you can read them free online. We want to get the truth out there.
Jim: Thank you.
Doug Batchelor: All right. I appreciate your question. Absolutely. I appreciate your question. I’m talking next with Phil who is calling from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Phil, you are on the air.
Phil: Hi, Pastor Doug. Thanks for taking my call.
Doug Batchelor: Yeah, absolutely.
Phil: When you opened the show, you mentioned the oldest known living tree being 4,800 old. And then it made me think of this question.
Doug Batchelor: Now, get real close to your phone.
Phil: Okay. According to your understanding on the Biblical time table, do you believe that the flood was about 4,800 years ago. And you believe that the creation of Adam was about 6,000 years ago?
Doug Batchelor: First part of your question, yes. I do believe that Biblically when you add up the ages in the Bible, it's hard to come to a date other than approximately 6,000 years. In other words, I don’t believe it's ten thousand or ten million. The earth is Biblically about six thousand years old. And the Bible tells us a day with the Lord is like a thousand years. And we are going to spend a thousand years living and reigning with the Lord during the millennium, right? It’s like a thousand year Sabbath. You might say, and so it's going to add up to just a perfect millennial week when we are done.
Now, the Amazing Fact I gave. I’m glad you were listening because I thought someone was going to ask that question. The one theory is how... first of all, when they date these trees, whether it's a bristlecone pine or a redwood. It’s something called dendrochronology. It’s the dating of trees based on the rings. It’s hard to get perfectly accurate measurements especially when you hit these trees that are thousands of years old because some years there's drought. And it may look like there are two or three rings because there could have been a dry spell. And then a big rain, and then a growth spurt. And so some trees have got double rings for one year. That’s one explanation.
Another explanation is believe it or not, even though the world was covered with water, some of these trees may have survived if they weren’t uprooted. And if you probably seen plants that are kind of they drown in the flood when the waters recede they start to blossom again. They are very resilient. So these trees could have actually existed before the flood. And part of them survived through the flood and started growing again when the water receded. See what I’m saying?
Phil: Yes. Well, based upon the time and numbers you just gave. One real quick last question. Do you believe that we are very near the end of the end times?
Doug Batchelor: Yes, I do. Jesus said that the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world for witness to all nations and then the end will come. Right now, the gospel is going into all the world. I was in China a few weeks ago. I’m going to Romania tomorrow, the other side of the world. And that's just me. There’s Christians all over the world that are preaching the gospel. And it's going by satellite, by internet, there's scarcely a corner of the globe now where you can’t aim a satellite dish to the sky and hear someone preaching the gospel. So I think we are living in the generation that is going to see the conclusion of all things. And that's why people need to get ready. What do you think, Phil?
Phil: I believe it too. I believe it could be at any time. Real quick. I was watching a program the other night. That they have this little radio that they are sending around the world. They preach the good news and in seven hundred and fifty languages.
Doug Batchelor: Oh, I’ve seen those. There are some really creative things that are being done. You know, some of you have heard of the South Koreans that are launching balloons, helium balloons. Now the currents drift, they carry little new testaments or sections of the New Testament. They drift over the border into North Korea where the people there are picking up the Word of God and finding Jesus. And the North Koreans are actually still killing people for possessing Bibles. So we need to pray for those folks. But the gospel is going everywhere. Thank you Phil. I appreciate your call. I'm going to talk now with Ron calling from Shelby town, Michigan. Ron, you are on the air with Bible Answers Live.
Ron: Pastor Doug thanks for taking my call. This is Ron, its Shelby Town Trip, Michigan, Shelby town trip, Michigan. One quick question here, we know the Bible talks about the new world order, okay. And I realized that the new world order is happening right now, many things are coming together. And I had an argument with a lady a while back. I just had time for this and she says wow, there's nothing we can do about. We know it's going to happen, okay. There’s nothing that we can do about it so I’m not going to try doing anything about it. But I was trying to tell her that even though we know it is going to happen and there is nothing that we can do about it. We are supposed to resist anyways and try to do something to change it. And I was wondering, do you know what verse in the Bible says that we are supposed to resist the new world order?
Doug Batchelor: Alright. Well, first of all, just for clarification. The phrase new world order does not appear in the Bible. But the concept and I understand what you are talking about. In the end of time, it talks about a global economy where those that don’t receive the mark of the beast cannot buy or sell. And so, many people kind of rephrase that as the new world order. They are going to try and have this conglomerate of a one world religion where everybody is going to have to worship the way that they are being told or there will be economic sanctions. They cannot buy or sell.
But are we supposed to resist that? Well, I think that God tells us this so we'll know. Of course, we are not supposed to receive the mark of the beast. The most fearsome judgment in the world was pronounced on those that received the mark. And by the way, you'll find that in Revelation 14. And you'll find the mark of the beast mentioned in Revelation 13. And as far as resisting it, you know, the Lord says it's going to happen. We can’t keep it from happening. We can warn the people. And that’s the best way to resist it is to let people know what is the mark of the beast and how do we stay true to God when there's going to be you know, a compulsory worship in the last days.
An example of that would be when God blessed Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego because they would not bow down. They resisted the worship of Nebuchadnezzar to pray to his golden image and God blessed them for that. So if you or anyone else wants to see our study guide on What Is the Mark of the Beast? We'll send that to you. Call 800-835-6747. 800-835-6747, and you might find more in that study. Ron, I hope that's a blessing. Thank you very much. I think we might have time for one more call. We are going to talk to Mijah who is... or is that Miya calling from Toronto, Canada. You are on the air.
Miya: Hello pastor. Thank you for taking my call.
Doug Batchelor: Yes, and your question?
Miya: My question was in 1 Peter 3:20-21 and what age the children are supposed to be baptized? And are the children supposed to be baptized in the local church?
Doug Batchelor: All right. Well. Go ahead.
Miya: Especially I was troubled by those verses, 1 Peter 3:20-21. Yes.
Doug Batchelor: It says here “who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Now, what Peter is doing here is he's simple making an analogy in that all those that were in the ark went through a tremendous deluge of water from above and below. They were basically immersed. That ark at times looked probably more like a submarine than a boat because it was just raining cats and hippos.
And so Peter is saying, that's like a type of baptism. They went all through the water. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10, that the children of Israel were baptized in the red sea. When they crossed the sea, it was a symbol of the immersion of being washed in baptism. Your other question is what is the appropriate age for a child? Well, they need to be old enough to repent, confess, believe, accept, to be taught, and if they are old enough to do those things, that's usually somewhere between you know, twelve is when Jesus went to the temple. And that's a good age. Anyway friends, you can tell we are running out of time and running out of talking space. Go to amazingfacts.org. Let us know if the program is a blessing. Click on contact us. Have a good time, until next week.
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