My Will or Yours, Lord ? (2018)

Scripture:
Date: 09/01/2019 
'If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.' It's a daily battle, but when you remember that Jesus pronounces a blessing upon those who deny self and surrender to God, it becomes easier. Join us in this installment of Bible Answers Live and listen to the pastors as they delve into the Scriptures to talk about this and many other practical topics such as baptism, the once saved, always saved concept and knowing if the Bible is the true, real and untampered word of God.
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Doug Batchelor: Hello friends. Would you like to hear an amazing fact? Did you know a cold night on Mars can actually be warmer than a July evening in the Eastern Antarctica? The new coldest place on earth has now been measured in the Antarctic Plateau near the Russian Vostok research station, where back in 1983, they once logged a record low of 128 degrees below zero, but now according to a paper published in the Geophysical Research Letters, we know that these frigid temperatures can plunge even lower.

People assume the coldest temperature would be from windshield on a mountain top. Actually, for temperatures that dip below 130 degrees Fahrenheit, conditions must be ideal. The skies must remain clear, common dry for at least four days. The chilliest air in the world's pools will be in these valleys on the plateau two miles above the sea and hundreds of miles from the South Pole. Fortunately, the team of meteorologists that discovered this didn't need to venture into Antarctica on its darkest and most frigid days. They analyze the data from two NASA satellites measured against ground observation.

They found that over 100 times during a 12-year period, they observed temperatures plunged to a new record low between 144 and 146 degrees below zero. Did you know that Jesus said on the last days, the world would experience global cooling? Stay with us friends. We're going to learn more on this edition of Bible Answers Live.

Speaker 1: You're listening to Bible Answers Live, honest answers to your Bible questions. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this evening's program, call 800-835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747. Now, let's join our hosts, Pastor Doug Batchelor and our co-host, Pastor Jean Ross.

Doug: Welcome listening friends to Bible Answers Live, and if you're tuning in for the first time, this is a live international interactive Bible study. Those who may be watching via Facebook or one of the other social media sites, you may notice that we are in a new studio background. We're still on all the same stations across the country and around the world, but now we're broadcasting from the Amazing Facts offices. If you have a Bible question, that number to call in is 1-800-GOD-SAYS, that's 800-463-7297. My name is Doug Batchelor.

John Ross: My name is John Ross, and Pastor Doug, before we get to the cores this evening, let's start with prayer. Dear Father in heaven, we thank you once again for the opportunity to be able to open up your word and study together, and we ask your blessing upon this program. Be with the folks who are listening across the country and even around the world. We pray that you'd guide us Lord into a clearer understanding of the teachings of your word in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Doug: Amen.

John: Pastor Doug, you’re up on the program by talking about a very cold place, in that you mentioned something about Mars. Now we know Mars is cold, but to think of a place that could come pretty close to Mars on earth. Well, that's quite something.

Doug: Yes, As a matter of fact, this place they're in the Antarctic Plateau in the Eastern Antarctica, it's colder than Mars because Mars is something like earth. In that I think that near the equator of Mars, the warmest it ever gets is 64 degrees. There are places on Mars that get 150 degrees below 0. This is got temperatures that are like polar cold or like space cold. There's a verse in the Bible where Jesus says in Matthew 24:12, speaking of the last days, because of lawlessness will abound. The love of many will grow cold.

You can see that and it says evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse than just the skyrocketing divorce case. Then I tease everyone by saying that a Bible foretells there’s going to be global cooling. Now, I'm not saying that to be political. It really does tell us that after Jesus comes, Satan is going to be cast into a bottomless pit. This world is going to be plunged into darkness. During that 1,000-year period, I expect that when it's in total darkness during that time before God makes the new heavens and the new earth, it's going to be really cold.

Before the devil goes to the Lake of fire, he gets really cold before he gets really hot. Maybe you've not studied this before, friends, but before that final day in Revelation 21 when Satan’s cast in the Lake of Fire, he is bound for 1,000 years and it's going to be very cold during that time. We have a free offer that talks about when Satan will be bound. Tell us about it, Pastor Ross.

John: It's a book that's called Satan in Chains, and it talks about this 1,000-year time period. You can also read about it in the Book of Revelation 20. We'll be happy to send this book to anybody who calls and asks. Again, just asked for the book called Satan in Chains. The number to call is 800-835-6747, and you can ask for that free gift Satan in Chains. Again, the number is 800-835-6747. Pastor Doug, we are rather excited to be here in our new studio for Bible Answers Live. As you know, we've been traveling for a few weeks and then in the midst of transitioning over to the new location, but it's exciting to be here.

I know we have a number of folks who are watching us on Facebook and we want to greet all of them. I think we're on YouTube as well, so you can tell your friends about that and a few other places, not quite sure what all the outlets are, but if you do have a Bible question, again, we encourage you to give us a call. The phone line here to the studio is 800-463-7297, with your Bible question, and you'll be able to ask a question here on the air.

Doug: All right.

John: Well, we're ready to go to our first caller. We have Norman listening from Toronto, Canada. Norman, welcome to the program.

Norman: Hi, good evening, Pastor Doug and Pastor John. I have a quick question, that with respect to the Great Tribulation mentioned in the Bible, the seven years before Jesus returns, right? Does that mean that the economy of the time will be worse than The Great Depression of the 1930s?

Doug: Well, our first thing I want to establish is, Norman, where do you find in the Bible where it talks about seven years of tribulation?

Norman: I can't quote chapter and verse. I think it's probably in Revelation. I've heard of the Great Tribulation.

Doug: Well, there is a Great Tribulation. I just want to make something clear that the idea that there's seven years of tribulation, that is speculation, different churches have different ideas about how long it will be. There's two phases of the tribulation and most churches agree that there's what they would call a smaller time of trouble, where there's persecution, you can't buy or sell, and then there's a death decree, you read in Revelation 13. During the small time of trouble, there's probably going to be all kinds of economic problems, but we've got to be careful not to think that we're supposed to wait for an economic crash and that's going to mean that Jesus is coming because Jesus said something else that catches our attention.

He said just before he returns, he'll see-- he said it'll be like it was in the days of Noah. There’ll be buying and selling, building, marrying, planting, sounds like things are going on in some places like normal. He said in such a day, as you think not, the son of man comes. We can't all look for an economic disaster as the signs that we've entered the end, because the economy is going to keep-- there'll still be some economic activity right up to the end. Now obviously, when the seven plagues are poured out, it's going to be a disaster.

Norman: The second-half.

Doug: Yes, once probation closes and the seven plagues are poured out, some have wondered will that be a year? Will it be a few months? You think about the conditions of the world when the waters are all blood and the sun is scorching men with great heat, and people have a noise and sore, that's probably a comparatively shorter period of time. The small time of trouble, we don't know exactly how long that will be. It may be few years, that's where you're going to see all kinds of problems. Am I answering your question?

Norman: Kind of but it wasn't the answer I expected, but I'm just wondering if it's related to economic problems like we've had since 2008 kind of thing.

Doug: Well, right now there was terrible economic downturn in 2008, right now in many places, it's booming. That doesn't me feel more secure as far as the times of the end, because Paul said, “When they say, say peace, peace, then sudden destruction comes.” We need to be ready all the time.

Norman: Thank you for your time, Pastor Doug.

Doug: All right, thank you, Norman, for your patience and your question.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to Bible Answers Live. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. If you'd like answers to your Bible related questions on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM Pacific Time. Call us at 1-800-GOD-SAYS. For life-changing Christian resources, visit AFbookstore.com.

Doug: Next caller that we have is Nat listening from North Carolina. Nat, welcome to the program.

Nat: Good evening, pastors.

Doug: Evening, thank you for calling.

Nat: Some clergyman said that if a toddler has not been baptized and tragically passes on, he's on the road to perdition. I've heard you say you don't agree with that. I was wondering what biblical evidence you have to back up your claim.

Doug: Well, it's not just my claim. The Bible tells us the criteria for baptism is that you need to be taught. It says that Jesus said they should teach. It says you need to believe. Most Protestants agree that baptism should be done for people that are old enough to understand the criteria; repenting of your sins, understanding the gospel, believing the gospel, being taught and discipled. It says those are the criteria for baptism. Babies are dedicated. They're not baptized. Jesus was dedicated as a baby. He wasn't baptized till he was 30. Most Protestants don't believe in infant baptism.

If a child dies before the age of accountability, they're not punished for original sin. That doesn't say anywhere in the Bible that they're guilty and they haven't had a chance to be saved because they weren't baptized. God does not save babies based on a ritual. I just don't see anywhere in the Bible.

Nat: These unbaptized babies, are they heathen or are they Christian, or somewhere in between?

Doug: Well, it's neither. Let me come at this differently. How is a person judged biblically? According to their works. Right? That's what Jesus said. That everyone's rewarded according to their works. How is a baby going to be judged? If they're not old enough to know right or wrong or good or bad, or if there's a God or Jesus to turn to. You read at 1 Corinthians 7, that children of believers, there's a sanctifying influence that the parents exert over the children just enough through their decision. Nowhere does it say the child has to be baptized. We should dedicate our children to the Lord. We had a child dedication this week at our church.

Nat: You're saying that godly parents, just parents being godly, sanctifies their children?

Doug: When you have believing parents and they have children, if those children should die before the age of accountability, then they're saved. Any baby that dies or child dies before the age of accountability, they're innocent. God's not going to take them and throw them in the Lake of Fire, and punish them if they didn't know right or wrong.

John: You have a verse in Matthew. Matthew 2:18. It's actually a reference to an Old Testament verse in Jeremiah 31, where Herod killed all of the baby boys in Bethlehem. Then Matthew quotes, Jeremiah 31:15, that talks about weeping and Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children because they were no more, but then the very next verse in Jeremiah, Jeremiah 31:16 says, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Refrain your voice from weeping, your eyes from tears for your work shall be rewarded,’ says the Lord, ‘And they shall come back from the land of the enemy’.” The enemy there is death.

There is a promise to the mothers that their children will be resurrected and they'll come back from the land of the enemy. Of course, those baby boys were under the age of accountability.

Doug: Hopefully, that helps a little bit, Nat. We do have a book that talks about baptism.

John: Baptism, is it really necessary? I think that'd be a good resource for anybody wanting to learn more about this. We'll be happy to send it to those who call and ask. The number to call is 800-835-6747. You can ask for the book called Baptism, is it really necessary? Our next caller that we have is Jerry listening from Oregon. Jerry, welcome to the program.

Jerry: Good evening, Pastors, Ross and Batchelor.

Doug: Good evening.

Jerry: My question pertains to church membership. Let's say if after a long period of a Bible study and prayer, one can't find any particular church that he can honestly say he believes in 100% of the creed tenets, should such a person just attend and never become a member? Or what is your position on that?

Doug: Well, I think it's important to belong to a church and be committed. In other words, you don't want to just be a hitchhiker in everyone else's church. At some point, you want to get on board and help carry the load, and be a member, be an active member. If you're waiting until you find a group that where you can't think of anything wrong, well, that may never happen, but you ought to look at the foundational teachings of a church and you should be able to agree with those foundational, what they call the fundamentals. The Bible says, "Seek, and you'll find."

We actually have a study that talks about; how do you search for church? How do you pick a church? I don't know if you'd be interested, we'd be happy to send you that, Jerry.

Jerry: Well, yes, I'll ask for that, but basically, I studied with many denominations. When I attend their studies, the scriptures that they mention are supportive, but they tend to simply ignore the scriptures, which are not supportive. That becomes an issue with me.

Doug: Well, then you probably should find a church body that you believe is as close to the Bible, as you can come and do your best to get involved. If you don't feel comfortable joining as a member, because there's something you feel like you couldn't ethically support, then don't. Being part of a church is important. The Bible says that they were baptized and added to the church. When you become a Christian, you are baptized into Christ, into his body and the church is called the body of Christ.

John: If you'd like to receive that free book, we'll happy to send it to you, Jerry, or anybody who would like to learn more about finding a church that actually believes what the Bible says. Just call and ask. The book is called The Search For The True Church, gives you a number of biblical principles that can be applied in one search for the church. We'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks. That number is 800-835-6747. Again, you can ask for the study guide, actually, it's a book called The Search For The True Church. Our next caller that we have is Carol listening in New Jersey. Carol, welcome to the program.

Carol: Hi, thank you for taking the call.

Doug: Hi.

Carol: Hi. I've been studying with someone and Hebrews 4 came up in the study. I understand the whole chapter, except for this one verse, verse 8. I don't know how to understand that verse where it talks about if Joshua talked about another day, you know what I'm talking about?

Doug: Yes, I do. Hebrew, let me read it for our friends that are listening. I always remember that two-thirds of the people are in vehicles driving as we do the program. "For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have afterwards spoken of another day." Now, when he says, he, speaking of another day, you have to go back to verse 7 where he says, David, in one of the Psalms, David says, "Today, if you hear his voice," and that's Psalm 95:7. Paul is quoting in the book of Hebrews from David and David says, "Today, if you'll hear his voice, do not harden your heart." "For if Joshua had given them rest."

When Joshua brought the children of Israel into Egypt, I'm sorry into the Promised Land. You need to know your chronology, that David lived hundreds of years after Joshua. If Joshua was the one who gave them the ultimate rest then why is David still talking about going into the rest in future tense? He said he would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains, therefore, a rest for the people of God. In other words, entering the Promised Land was not the final rest for the people of God. There was a future rest that they would find in Jesus. Of course, the Sabbath is a symbol of that and he references the Sabbath up a little higher.

He's basically telling the readers that Christ is the ultimate rest. It wasn't the Promised Land that David and Joshua talked about.

Carol: Wow, okay that's fantastic.

Doug: I know it's deep. Does that make sense?

Carol: Yes, it makes complete sense. I'm trying to write it all down because it's very deep. That's awesome.

Doug: Praise the Lord. I'm trying to think if we have something on that. We don't really have a book on that.

John: No, not specifically on Hebrews.

Doug: We got the magazine called the--

John: The Rest of Your Life. Yes. That's a good resource. Carol, I don't know if you've seen that, but that is a magazine that we have on Amazing Facts called The Rest of Your Life. We'll be happy to send that to you or if anybody would like to read that, all you'll have to do is give us a call. The number is 800-835-6747 and you can ask for that magazine called The Rest of Your Life, and we'll be happy to send that out.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to Bible Answers Live. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this broadcast, call 800- 835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747. For life-changing Christian resources, visit afbookstore.com.

John: Our next caller that we have is George listening in Louisiana. George, welcome to the program.

George: Hey, how are you doing there pastor, you and your guests?

Doug: We're doing good.

George: All right. I've heard in the past pastors and ministers, even the evangelist said, “Once saved, always saved.” About maybe an hour or so ago, I'm not going to call this ministry and not its pastor's name. He was preaching on this thing that saying that's not true. The Bible doesn't teach that. Matter of fact, the Bible teaches that you may become saved but you can lose your, say, the word salvation, but you can be removed out of the book. The reference verses he gave is in Revelation 3:5. I went over here and John is writing to the seven churches. We are the churches, I understand. Then Revelation 2:5.

Then you go over to Deuteronomy 32:32 when Moses asked the Lord that Israel had sent him, and Moses asked the Lord to blot them out of the book. The Lord told Moses, “No, whosoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.” My question then, can you lose your salvation?

Doug: All right, well, let me give you a Bible answer on that. Salvation is a choice and the Bible says, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Joshua said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Choose you this day who you will serve.” We do not lose our freedom of choice when we decide to be a Christian. Now, God will never fail us. God will never let us down. Jesus will never let us go but those verses do not mean that we lose our freedom to turn our backs on the Lord. God doesn't handcuff us to heaven when we come to Jesus.

There's a number of verses in the Bible that explained that, yes, there are people who walk for the Lord and they can still be lost. You've got Balaam was a prophet of God. You've got Judas who walked with Jesus. You've got King Saul who was filled with the Holy Spirit. All of them then they became proud and they grieved away the Holy Spirit. Can a saved person be lost? Yes. Matter of fact, just two weeks ago, I think I preached about that. If anyone wants to look at a YouTube from the Granite Bay Church, my sermon was Can The Saved Be Lost? We want people to have assurance regarding the relationship with the Lord but you can't believe that you can never be, the idea will never be lost.

John: We do have a book that does deal with this. It's a great book. A lot of scripture, it's called Can A Saved Man Choose To Be Lost? We'll be able to send it to anybody who calls and asks. [crosstalk] The number is 800-835-6747. Again, George has asked for the book or anyone, Can A Saved Man Choose To Be Lost? I will be happy to send you a copy. Absolutely. Next caller that we have listening from Wisconsin. Ken, welcome walk to the program.

Ken: All right. Pastor Ross, how are you doing?

John: Doing well. We have just a few moments before the break.

Ken: I have a quick question on my study on Isaiah 65. The other day, I was studying with a person and we were going through it about the new heaven, I believe. We were reading Isaiah 65:20. We weren't sure what it means over there about a child shall die a hundred years old but the sin of being a hundred years old shall be accursed. We weren't sure what was that about?

Doug: First of all, Isaiah is speaking in beautiful poetic terms here and he's talking about heaven. You're right. He is definitely talking about heaven. It says, “The voice of weeping will no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying. No more shall an infant from there live but a few days nor an old man that has not fulfilled his days. For the child will die a hundred years old.” People go, “Well, wait, wait, wait, children dying in heaven?” The word die there also means cease, and it's basically saying a child will not even cease being a child until it's a hundred. It's not talking about children dying in heaven.

If you look in Genesis when God first made Adam and Eve, some of those early characters didn't even get married until they were over a hundred. They age more solely. In the new earth, it's going to be back that way again. It says, the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed, means even after a hundred years, the sinner’s still-- his name is accursed. That talks about Daniel 12, the everlasting condemnation that's on the wicked. No, children are not dying in heaven. That's a rough translation that confuses people sometimes. The child will not die a hundred years old means the child will not cease to be a child at a hundred years old. Does that make sense?

Ken: Yes. 100%.

Doug: I think we both agree, no children dying in the new earth, especially at a hundred. Hey, thank you very much, Ken. We appreciate. Well, we do have a study guide that talks about heaven.

John: That's right. It's called, A Colossal Sitting In Space because the Bible talks about the new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven. That's the title of the study guide, A Colossal Sitting In Space. This is free to anyone. All you’ll have to do is call and ask. The number is 800-835-6747. While you’re on the phone, speaking with the operator, asking for the free study guide, Colossal Sitting In Space, it's not a bad idea to ask them about the free correspondence Bible school program that we have at Amazing Facts, just a tremendous amount of resources available to people who sign up and participate in that correspondence school.

Doug: We've got a minute before the break. We can start a question and maybe pick it up afterward. Who do we have next?

John: All right. We've got, let's see, Phil is listening from Alabama. Phil, we have just a few moments before the break.

Phil: Thank you both for being kind and gracious to take my call. Quick question; did the scriptures make reference after the flood and then Noah when they came off the boat as to how we got the Egyptians and Mexicans, and Africans, and Americans. Does it show how they went from being one race to making multiple races?

Doug: Yes, you actually have reference to how the races and tribes fanned out and populated different parts of the earth, but that's after the Tower of Babel. When the languages were confounded, people couldn't understand each other, and they grouped together and families and groups that could understand each other. God had told them to go forth and fill the earth. They didn't want to go forth. They wanted to congregate. This forced everybody to fan out and populate the different quarters of the earth. They then through marrying and remarrying the people within their various clans, different genetic traits took over. And so it grew into the modern races that we have in the world today.

It doesn't specify. You're not going to find the word American or Mexican in there, and gradually the different gray. We have primary races and all the intermediaries. Phil, you can hear the music creeping up. We're going to take a break. Don't go anywhere. We're just going to give time for station ID. Come back with Bible questions.

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Speaker 1: Every Bible question you have answered moves you one step closer to the fullness of God's will for your life. What are you waiting for? Get the answers you need for a fuller, richer, more confident life. You're listening to Bible Answers Live. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM Pacific time. To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this evening's program, call 800-835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747. Now, let's join Pastors, Doug Batchelor and John Ross for more Bible Answers Live.

Doug: Hello listening friends. We're back with your Bible questions. If you want to give us a call, the number to call in with your question; 800-GOD-SAYS, that's 800-463-7297. If you tuned in along the way, this is Bible Answers Live a live International interactive Bible study. We're back, Pastor Ross decided to go back to the phone.

John: All right. Our next call is calling from New York. We have Elias listening, New York, New York. Elias, welcome to the program. Elias might have his mute on. Elias, you there? We got, let's see, Zetna listening from Texas. Zefan? Nope, can't get through that one. Let's try Clayton in New York. Clayton, are you there?

Clayton: Yes, I'm here.

John: All right. We got one, welcome to the program.

Doug: It was like fishing for a minute there.

Clayton: I've been listening for you for a lot of years.

Doug: Well, thank you for calling and your question.

Clayton: The question is in the new earth and the new heaven, will Jesus Christ still have the scars in his hands and the slit on his side? Because [unintelligible 00:31:47] when I go to heaven and ask Abraham so-and-so, is though like they're going have history. I don't think in the new world, a new heaven, a new heaven, because [unintelligible 00:31:56] one time.

Doug: All right. Well, when Jesus sose from the dead and he had his glorified body, did he still have the scars in his hands?

Clayton: Yes.

Doug: The only thing that will be a reminder through eternity of what had happened here on earth is going to be the memorial of Jesus' love for us in the scars that he will bear, I think, through eternity, in saving humanity. I think, yes. I believe he rose from the grave with a glorified body yet he still had the scars. I think He'll have those scars through eternity.

Clayton: Well, that would be something sad. I know there'll be no sadness in heaven or the new earth.

Doug: Well, God will wipe away all the tears from the eyes. If we ever see the scars in Jesus’ hands, it'll just for us be a reminder of his love and his sacrifice for us. It’ll bring joy when we think of that. There'll be, the Bible says, “The sorrowful or painful memories will not come into mind.” We're not going to be in heaven crying. After the millennium, God wipes away all tears from their eyes and everything's beautiful then. Hey, thank you very much. Appreciate your question.

John: All right. We're going to go to Marty listening in Brooklyn, New York. Marty, welcome to the program.

Marty: Hi pastors. God bless you and thank you for taking my call.

Doug: Thank you for calling.

Marty: Yes, this is my question. I know that the God says, “Remember the Sabbath to keep it Holy,” and I have know you've answered the question that Sabbath is the seventh day, but my question is this, myself and millions of Christians, by not practicing the Sabbath on Saturday, are we committing a sin against God?

Doug: Well, let's talk about what does the Bible say sin is. First, let me make it very clear, there are going to be people in heaven that didn't understand different points of truth they lived up to the lie they had. An example would be it's God's plan for man to have one wife. You probably agree with that as opposed to two or three, and David had at least a dozen, Solomon had hundreds. Will they be in heaven? Jacob had four. Yes, because God winked at their ignorance, the Bible tells us in Acts 17.

There'll be people that may be kept the wrong day is the Sabbath and I believe you're going to see a lot of people, millions in heaven. Sin is knowing to do good and not doing it. When we know God's word and when we know his will, and we say, “I don't care what God's word says, I'm going to do what the crowd is doing.” That's when it becomes a dangerous thing. It's not just with the Sabbath truth, with any Bible truth, God looks on the heart. If a person knows his will, he wants us to do his will.

Marty: Even though we know it's Saturday and we're worshiping on Sunday, we don't lose anything by that with God as far as sinning.

Doug: Well, yes, no, if you know that the Sabbath day is the seventh day, and if you know God says, “Remember the seventh day,” and you say that's really sweet that God said that, that he commanded it, but everyone else wants to keep the first day, and so I'm going to do what everyone else wants to do. If a person knows that and then they say, “Well, but I don't care.” Let me give you a verse. Hebrews 10:26. It says, “If we continue to sin willfully, after we've received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful looking forward to of judgment and fiery indignation.”

Now that's not just the Sabbath, but with anything. If God has shown us the truth and we say, “I don't care what the Bible says, I'm going to do what everyone else is doing.” That’s like--

Marty: Yes. Most Christians know that the seventh day is the Sabbath. We’re talking about millions of Christians,

Doug: Some know, but they don't realize that it's a command or they don't understand that it's one of the 10 Commandments and it's still to be kept or something because pastors have told them, as long as it's a seventh day, it doesn't matter if it's the seventh day. I don't want to judge anyone's heart. God does that. That's what I'm saying. I can't tell you whether a person is saved or lost. I can tell you that when a person knows something is wrong and they keep doing it, that the Bible says is sin, whatever the category. I don't want to just specify just the Sabbath her because it's true across the board. Yes.

Marty: Yes. The Holy Spirit is testing me. I know it is, so I'll have to do something about. I just want to ask you one more thing very--

Doug: Before you ask me, Marty, let me say something. Jesus said, “If you know these things happy, are ye if you do them. Happy are ye if you do them.” Marty, now, you had another question.

Marty: Did the first Christians worship on Saturday?

Doug: Yes, of course. Yes, of course, they did. It tells us that when Jesus died on the cross, the Bible says they went home and kept the Sabbath according to the commandment, and that was Friday afternoon. Yes, there's no question about what the early church observed.

Marty: I was curious about that.

Doug: Yes. Even they would not even finish embalming Jesus' body because they didn't want to disappoint him. They knew the Sabbath was important. Yes, I think it mattered.

Marty: I know quite a few Christian set have changed over to Saturdays. [crosstalk]

Doug: Well, there seems to be a revival. You're right. There seems to be a revival among a lot of Christians about that truth and it's growing. We have that magazine we offered earlier called about the rest and we'll be happy to send you a free copy of that.

John: Yes. The magazine is called ‘The Rest of your Life,’ and we'll be happy to send it to anyone who calls and asks.

Doug: There's a website.

John: There is a website. Thank you, Pastor Doug. It is a great resource. It's simply called sabbathtruth.com. We want to encourage folks to go and take a look at that. There's some video there, there is a lot of Bible study scripture, some stuff you can read, sabbathtruth.com. I think everyone that goes there will learn something when you take a look at that. Our next call is Phillip listening from Northern California. Phillip, welcome into the program.

Doug: Phillip, are you there?

Philip: Yes I am. Can you hear me?

Doug: Yes. Thank you.

Philip: Yes. I’ve called before. My thing is on this, the thing with divorce and remarriage, I had to go through that. I was always afraid as a Christian. I was a Christian. I wouldn't think about divorcing someone. I didn't think Christians did that. I had a person, the same person divorced me twice and then years later I got remarried. Now I had reservation, but I went and did it, and I did all this research even after I got married.

Doug: What's your question?

Philip: Why there’s so many difference of opinions about this? Some people say you have to divorce your wife, go back to your first. Some people say divorce your wives, stay solo. Some people say continue on in your Christianity and don't ever do that again. Or--

Doug: Well, let me give you some Bible examples because that's why the Bible is a storybook, is we can look at actual life stories and see what happened. Jesus was at the well, one day, and he talked to a Samaritan woman. He ended up revealing that he was a source of living water, he was the Messiah. He said, “Go call your husband.” She said, “Oh, I don't have a husband.” He said, “Aha, you're right. You've had five husbands and the one you're living with now, you're not married to.”

He's still, in spite of her scrambled marital status, he revealed to her he was the Messiah. She went and told her town about Jesus, and they came because of her testimony. Obviously, he forgave her and gave her a new beginning. Even the Samaritans knew divorce was not right, and they also knew adultery or just living with somebody without marriage was not right. God meets people where they're at.

Now, if you're a believer and you don't have biblical grounds for divorcing your spouse, that's called sin, and God punishes sin. You look at what happened with David and Bathsheba. They suffered terribly for that. After they suffered, finally God said, “David comforted his wife, Bathsheba.” Well, they couldn't resurrect Uriah. David murdered her husband. He picked them up where they were and they stayed married, and till their dying day, but their relationship begun as an adulterous relationship and they were punished for it.

It's a fearful thing but we got to be careful not to call divorce without biblical grounds, the unpardonable sin because the Bible doesn't say that. Does that make sense?

Philip: Yes, but a lot of people say [unintelligible 00:40:47] adultery and just I really get scared of those studies, it is living in a continual act of adultery. I always thought that myself, but that's because I never as a Christian, especially the life I come out of the transformation you go through, and the people I've seen. I've seen murderers turn into preachers, and they've been preaching 40 years, and that's typical.

Doug: Yes. Well, God meets people where they're at. I tell you what, Philip, I've got a book I wrote on this, I think you're going to really find a blessing. I'll give you a free copy. It's a bigger than regular book. It's called Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage. I wrote the book for people who have questions just like you, and I think it'll give you some peace, and good Bible answers.

John: The number to call for the book is 800-835-6747. You can just ask for that book called Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage. I'll be happy to send that out to anybody who gives us a call and asks.

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Speaker 1: You're listening to Bible Answers Live. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. If you'd like answers to your Bible-related questions on the air, please call us next Sunday between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM Pacific time. Call us at 1-800-God-Says. For Life-Changing Christian resources, visit afbookstore.com.

Doug: Our next caller that we have is Paul listening from, let's see, New Jersey. Paul, welcome to the program.

Paul: Good evening, pastors. It's a pleasure to talk to you. My question is in reference to Isaiah 66:4. It says, "People will be destroyed because they choose that which I do not delight." My question is if I continue to eat pork, shellfish, and things like that, do I lose my chance to inherit the kingdom and eternal life?

Doug: Well, we had a question that was similar a minute ago about the Sabbath, and my answer is the same. If you know God's will-- Well, let me back up. Will there be people in heaven that ate pork and shellfish? Yes. Will there be people in heaven that deliberately disobeyed God? No, because the Lord, they didn't surrender to Him. When they know God's will as revealed in His Word, and they refuse to follow God's will, that's called sin.

Now, some people sin unintentionally, but when a person presumptuously says, "I know I'm not supposed to take my neighbor's wife, but I don't care, Lord. I'm going to do it anyway and I hope you still save me." I wouldn't bet on that person's salvation. It's not the question of shellfish and pork, or Sabbath, or adultery. It's a question of, are we willing? Do we love the Lord if we've accepted him? Are we willing to follow what is revealed is true?

Paul: Okay. One last question. I really love you guys’ show, and I was just wondering, is there any chance that would ever be more than one night a week?

Doug: Well, you know what? I hope so. There are a lot of places right now that air the program. We were just in Michigan and they air the program twice a day. A lot of reruns but they air the program twice a day there, but people can't call in because the reruns. Pastor Ross and I, if we did this five days a week, we couldn't travel like we do and do mission work and evangelistic meetings, and it ties you down five days a week. It's got to be your only job. We dedicate Sunday nights [crosstalk] Excuse me.

Paul: I was going to say, do you have any plans at coming to the northeast like New York, Jersey in the Metropolitan area?

Doug: Oh yes. Well, I was in Pennsylvania a few weeks ago. I think there's a good chance that at some point I'll be back to New York. I grew up there. Where do you live?

Paul: Oh, great. I'm in New Jersey, Paterson.

Doug: Well, we'll forgive you, but you can still come visit us in New York.

[laughter]

Paul: Oh, I wouldn't mind that. You have a big following in this metropolitan area, and I highly recommend it to my friends and family.

Doug: Well, we appreciate it. We're going to come back there. We've done meetings in New York before, we'll come back and we want to see you on the front row. Thank you, Paul.

Paul: Definitely. All right. Thank you, pastors.

Doug: Hey, we've got a lesson. By the way, we're going to send you our study guide on God's Health Plan. You ask the question about pork and it's in the Bible.

John: Yes. It's a free study guide. All you have to do is call our resource phone line. It's 800-835-6747. You can ask the study guide called God's Free Health Plan. We're happy to send that out to anybody who calls and asks. Lawrence is our next callee, he’s listening from Virginia. Lawrence, welcome to the program.

Lawrence: Thank you pastor. I have a question about heavens. I want to know how many heavens do we have? When you read 2nd Corinthians 4, Paul talks about seven heavens. I want to know how many heavens do we have and which one is being occupied by God and Jesus Christ.

Doug: All right, good question. I think Paul is actually talking about the third heaven in 2nd Corinthians. The reason he says that is in Hebrew, there were three words that they use for heaven. The first heaven was the atmosphere around the world where the birds fly and the clouds float, the air that we breathe. That's why it says the heavens will dissolve with fervent heat when the Lord comes. It means the atmosphere will burn up. The second heaven is the area where the stars and the planets are, the celestial heavens. That's called the second heaven in Hebrew minds. The third heaven is the dwelling place of God, where all the Redeemed are going to live.

God doesn't have seven heavens, that's not in the Bible. Even though you got a lot of sevens in Revelation, it never says seven heavens. There's some churches that teach seven heavens and there's some churches that teach, there's different levels of heaven that different saved people go to, and some people even teach a segregated heaven. That's not in the Bible. In the Bible, all God's saved are in the same heaven together. It's called the third heaven. That's the dwelling place of God. One more time, first heaven, atmosphere around the Earth. Second heaven, the stars, space. Third heaven, dwelling place of God, where the redeemed will be going up when Jesus comes.

Hey, thank you. We do have a lesson on this subject. We'll be happy to send you

John: Yes, we have a book called Heaven, is it for Real? It's perfectly about what the Bible says about heaven. To receive the book, give us a call, the number is 800-835-6747. Just ask for the book called Heaven, is it for Real? Jamal is our next caller listening from Michigan. Jamal, welcome to the program.

Jamal: Hello.

Doug: Hey, thank you for calling.

Jamal: Yes. I'm Jamal. A little over a year ago, me and my wife, now she's my wife, gave our lives to the Lord, but before that, we used to wake up every morning and we'll smoke weed. They call it waking mate. Now we wake up every morning and we read the Bible. We have devotion.

Doug: That's got to be better for your wife expectancy.

Jamal: Yes. [chuckles] God has transformed my life in an amazing way. Yesterday, we got baptized together and we dedicated our baby.

Doug: Oh, Praise the Lord. Now, what's your question, Jamal?

Jamal: Our question is, how do you answer a person when they ask questions like, how do you know that the Bible is the true Word of God? Or how do you know that it's 100% real or hasn't been tampered with and changed, and things like that?

Doug: All right. That's a good question. First thing is, the Bible contains evidence that it's of supernatural origin. In fact, right now, Amazing Facts is completing a project called Kingdoms and Time, 40 prophecies that prove the Bible. We go through all these prophecies that prove the Bible supernatural. One of the ways any evangelist begins a meeting, he goes through the prophecies of Daniel 2 and it convinces people the Bible is a supernatural book. Then you read the other things that Jesus said about the Bible, Jesus quotes the Bible as the Word of God, Jesus said, "Thy Word is truth."

When you look at the testimony of the inspired writers that said supernatural things, they'll look to the Bible as the ultimate Word of God. Now, we actually have a free book on that, we can send you, and it's called The Ultimate Resource. Jamal, we'll be happy to send that to you.

John: All you like to do is just give us a call on our resource phone line and ask for it. It's called The Ultimate Resource. The number is 800-835-6747, and again, after the book called The Ultimate Resource. We'll be happy to send that out to anyone who calls and asks.

Speaker 1: You're listening to Bible Answers Live. This broadcast is a previously recorded episode. To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this broadcast, call 800-835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747. For Life-Changing Christian resources, visit afbookstore.com.

Doug: We've got Scott that is listening from Florida. Scott, welcome to the program.

Scott: Pastor Doug, Pastor Ross, how are you tonight?

Doug: Great. Thank you for calling.

Scott: Awesome, awesome. I'm a second-time caller, so I just want to dive right into it. I'm very much feel impressed by the Holy Spirit to go into other denominations and share the truth about all 10 Commandments, but specifically on Bible study nights. I'm wondering how being-- knowing the whole truth, sometimes to hit a stepping block, when you get in front of a lot of people, you may know a lot more than what they're discussing, and it's you want to jump right through your skin sometimes, right? [laughs]

Doug: You got to control yourself and share things in a measured way.

Scott: Correct. Correct. What's the easiest way to, other than the obvious, like what--

Doug: Well, you’re raising a very important question. If a believer from one denomination goes into other denominations and gets involved in Bible study to try and share, expand the truth in what they believe, some pastors call you a sheep stealer. I can understand that, that you feel like you just-- instead of going out and reaching total pagans, you're just bringing Christians from one church to another. I think some doctrines are very important that Christians are missing.

This is why the Protestant Reformation happened, is Martin Luther and many Catholics were not satisfied that they should just leave Catholics in darkness without salvation and grace, and so they began to try to teach the truth in their church. I don't think there's anything wrong with going to a Bible study of another church and sharing maybe the expanded understanding.

Scott: It's been it's been a relatively good positive experience. I have no preordained thing going in to try and steal anybody, so I just feel impressed by the Holy Spirit to do so.

Doug: Yes. There's a lot of men and women that go to men and women Bible studies that have their interdenominational, and that's a great format right there because it's just wide open. They all study the Bible together from all different backgrounds, and you just got to share things little by little, because like you say, you feel like you're going to burst. You want to tell them everything at once. You can feed a person too much of even the best food and they're going to get sick, so do it in little by little.

Scott: As a chef, I can see that.

Doug: You can relate? Very good. It sounds like you're a good character. Thank you, Scott. I appreciate your call.

Scott: All right. You both have a blessed night.

Doug: Well maybe one more call before our break.

John: Yes. Our next caller that we have is Zeek listening from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Zeek, welcome to the program.

Doug: Hi, Zeek.

Zeek: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Doug, for taking my call. My question is about Exodus 4:24-26. Prior to this, God just gave Moses his mission to fulfill to go back to Egypt, and then he sought to kill him. Then on 26, it says, Moses's wife says, her bloody husband died out because of circumcision. What does that mean?

Doug: If a person's reading along in Exodus and they come to that, they go, "What?” Evidently, you got to read between the lines, and the best answers I've heard is that God had called Moses to do great work in bringing the people back to him and out of Egypt. He had not circumcised his own sons, even though he knew he was Jewish. Moses was circumcised because he was--That's how they knew he was a Hebrew baby when they found him crying. There may have been other ways they knew that, but he had neglected this very important command, and God had told him to do it.

I think, Zipporah, his wife was thinking it was barbaric, and there was a little husband-wife disagreement there. Finally, when he said, "Look, we've got to do this, the angel of the Lord is going to slay me." She carried out the circumcision and was a little enraged by it all. After that event, it appears that Zipporah and the boys went back to Jethro and met him later when he came out of Egypt. That was a turning point in that story. Sir, are you there? Does that make sense?

Zeek: But Zipporah wasn't Jewish, she was like Ethiopian and Jethro was too.

Doug: Well, Zipporah was a Midianite. The Bible says she was a Midianite. The Ethiopian, that was a term that was used for just a whole region of Southern Africa.

John: Northern Africa.

Doug: Yes. Sorry, Northern Africa. Thank you, Pastor Ross, from Southern Africa, of Northern Africa, I mean South of Egypt, and often what they call the Araba, which was the desert, that's where we get the word, Arabia. In one place, it does say that his brother and sister were upset because he had married the Ethiopian. We don't know if that means Zipporah had died and he married again. It's unclear exactly what's happening there. Yes, there was some kind of a showdown there on the road going to Egypt to redeem the people. They had had a big dispute about whether or not to circumcise their boys, and she finally carried it out. I hate to think about that, with a sharp knife.

Zeek: Why does God sought to kill them thereafter? I still don’t understand that part.

Doug: Well, of course, can anybody dodge God if they want to? Does God ever miss?

Zeek: No.

Doug: No. When it says he sought to kill him, it's just saying that God was-- he was facing judgment if he didn't surrender in that area. Hey, we're going to run out of time for this call. I hope you understand. Thank you very much, Zeek, for your question. Listening friends, thank you for joining us. Those who are watching on Facebook or social media, we're glad you joined us in the new Amazing Facts Studio for Bible Answers Live. Keep in mind if you've been blessed by this program, we'd love to hear from you. You can go to amazingfacts.org

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