S26, Ep25 - Hope Is Everything

To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this broadcast, call 800-835-6747. Once again, that's 800-835-6747. Now here's your host from Amazing Facts International, Pastor Jean Ross.

- Hello, friends. Welcome to "Bible Answers Live". Pastor Doug is out this evening, but we are glad you are tuning in.

Hey, how about an amazing fact? Sean Swarner knows what it's like to face impossibilities. At the age of 13, he came down with Hodgkin's disease. The doctors didn't think he would survive, but he did. When he was 16, he contracted Askin's sarcoma, a rare cancer that attaches itself to the walls of his chest. His chance of survival was very small. His treatment required him to be put into an induced coma for a year. At one point, his parents were told that he only had two weeks to live, and yet amazingly he survived, although permanently he lost the use of one of his lungs.

During the months of recovery that followed, he was inspired by the following quotation, "The human body can live roughly 30 days without food, the human condition can sustain itself for roughly three days without water, but no human alive can live for more than 30 seconds without hope." He decided to test the infinite possibilities of hope. His first challenge was to crawl eight feet from his hospital bed to the bathroom. A few years later, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. But he hadn't yet begun to test the infinite limits of hope.

Over the next several years, Sean, with a single lung scaled the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents and became the first cancer survivor to stand on top of Mount Everest. In his 40s, he skied to the North and South poles. And if that wasn't enough, his next challenge was to travel to Hawaii and compete in the Ironman Will Competition. This cancer survivor, who was given just two weeks to live, is the only human being to have climbed the seven great summits of the world, skied to both the North and the South poles and competed in the Ironman Championship in Hawaii and all of this with only one lung. (chuckles)

Sean's amazing story reminds us that God has given three precious gifts that'll remain after everything else is stripped away, faith, hope and love. Friends, are you facing a mountain of challenges in your life? Well then, test the possibilities of hope. Because the Bible tells us, "With God, all things are possible."

Well, Pastor Carlos, when we talk about people that have done incredible feats, it reminds us that God is a God that is able to do the impossible. When you go back and you look in the Bible, you see countless stories of people that faced impossible odds. I think for example of David going up against Goliath, you got Gideon who just with 300 men he's able to conquer the entire Midianite army that counted thousands of soldiers. And of course, throughout the Bible, you have these incredible stories of people who put their trust in God and God was able to do for them that which they couldn't do for themselves.

So what about us today? I'm sure we all face trials and difficulties in our lives. And I think the lesson that we can learn from the Bible is that God, the God of the Bible, is the God who is God today.

- Amen.

- And we can put our trust in Him and He's able to work things out according to what ultimately is for our good. So we can trust God, whatever trials and difficulties we might go through.

- Amen. The only limits are the limits we put to not trusting in His promises.

- That's right. There's power in the Word of God.

- Amen.

- Let it out.

Well, friends, we have a free gift we want to give you. It's the book entitled "The Riches of His Grace". And maybe you're going through a difficult time in your life, maybe there's some trials and you wonder, "Well, Lord, how can I overcome these challenges?" We want to send this book to you for free. All you have to do is just call and ask. The number to call is 800-835-6747 and you can ask for the Offer 152. Again, the book is called "Riches of His Grace". Again, the number is 800-835-6747.

And if you have a Bible question, the number to call here in the studio is 800-463-7297. That'll bring your question here to us. 800-463-7297. My name is Jean Ross. Pastor Doug is out this evening, but working the phones for us is Pastor Carlos Munoz. Carlos is our Director for the Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism. Well, before we go to the phone lines, let's start with a word of prayer.

- Sure. Father, thank you again for this opportunity to come together and open Your Word and be able to try to understand some of the more difficult questions that may arise and any question that may arise, really. It's all about getting to know You better. So we ask that Your Spirit guide us, direct us, and all those that are calling, too. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

- Amen. Thank you, Pastor Carlos. Well friends, we're ready for your Bible question. I think we are ready for our first caller. Who do we have?

- Yes. Let's talk with Norman from Oakhurst, California. Hello, Norman. You're on the air.

- [Norman] My question involves the beast of Revelation 18. In Revelation it says the seventh and eighth king is the Pope. Who are the ninth and 10th?

- Okay. I think I know what you're talking about. It also talks about the 10 horns being 10 kings. Now of course the Bible doesn't say that one of these heads is the Pope, but it does give us descriptions that if you line it up according to the Bible and you allow the Bible to interpret itself, yes, the Bible does speak about the papal power that for 1,260-years rule during the dark ages from 538 until 1798. But the Bible also talks about the United States as the second beast at Revelation Chapter 13.

So let me just back up a little bit for those who might be new to a study of Revelation. In Revelation Chapter 17, you have a woman, and a woman in Bible prophecy represents a church and she is sitting on a scarlet-colored beast. A beast in Bible prophecy represents a political power. So here you have a church that is controlling a political power or political powers. And then the angel explains to John what this image means. And he says, "The seven heads of the beast are seven kings." And a king in Bible prophecy represents a kingdom. He says, "Five are fallen, one is, and one is yet to come. And when he comes, he will continue a short space."

Now, the five Kings that are fallen refer to the five principle nations that persecuted God's people. And the timeframe of the vision, if you look in Chapter 17, it's during the height of the papacy's rule during the 1,260 years from 538 until 1798. So the five kingdoms that persecuted God's people in the Old Testament would be Rome, and then you have Greece, you have Syria or Persia, you have Babylon, and then you have the Assyrians that conquered the 10 tribes of the North. The one that "is" would refer to the papal power during the 1260 years of papal domination rule. And then it says, "One is yet to come, and when he comes he continues a short space." That final beast power or political power represents, believe it or not, the United States.

Now the Bible tells us according to Revelation Chapter 13 that a time comes when the United States begins to speak as a dragon and will actually begin to enforce certain types of worship. When that time comes, then she will also be a persecuting power, and thus, she continues a short space. And then it talks about the beast is a part of the seven. It's one of those principle kingdoms that persecuted God's people. So when we're talking about these kings or these kingdoms, the 10 horns represent 10 divisions of Western Europe and refers to a time period when these political powers will give their support to the papal power, which is yet in the future. And that's a whole study we can look at a little bit later on.

For our friends who'd like to learn more about Revelation Chapter 17 and about the beast power of Revelation 13, we have a study guide that we'll be happy to send to anyone who calls and asks. It's simply called... well, there's actually two, you can ask for either one. You can ask for "The United States in Prophecy", and we'll be happy to send you that study guide. "The U.S. in Bible Prophecy", or just ask for the study guide, "Who is the Anti-Christ?", and we will send it to you.

These are important truths, Pastor Carlos. The Bible, especially Revelation, was written to help us understand what's happening in the world today. And so a thorough study of Revelation is very helpful, very important for people who want to know what's happening. As you look at what's happening in the world today, and you compare them with what the Bible said, we can see where we are in the stream of time. So we encourage folks to call and ask for that. Again, ask for the study guide, "Who is the Antichrist?" or ask for the study guide called "The U.S. in Prophecy" and we'll be happy to send both of them to anyone who calls and asks.

- All right. Next, we have Brittany from Antelope, California. Good evening, Brittany. You're on the air.

- [Brittany] Is it okay for a Christian to eat turkey?

- Okay. (laughs) Well, Biblically speaking, yes, you can eat turkey. Turkey would considered a clean animal. The Bible gives us a distinction between animals clean and unclean. When it comes to birds, the principle that we find given in Scripture is they need to be a foraging bird. They need to be eating primarily seeds and things that fall to the ground, bits of plant and that type of thing. So chickens, turkeys, in those category would be considered clean, you are allowed to eat them, but of course, the ideal diet and you probably know this, if you're looking to the Bible, the healthiest diet is a plant-based diet, a vegetarian diet. That was the original diet that God gave to Adam and Eve in the beginning. And I think that's the goal we want to try and be as healthy as we can.

The Bible says your body's the temple of the Holy Spirit. But to eat turkey is definitely not a sin. The Bible does allow it. It is a clean animal. So yes, if you want to have a little piece of turkey for Thanksgiving, you'll be okay.

- [Brittany] Okay. Thanks.

- All right.

- I was just wondering because the passage that I was thinking of in regards to that was Leviticus 19:26, in which it mentioned the idea of eating meat with the blood in it. I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

- Well, yes, that is true. If somebody is going to eat meat, you want to make sure that you're not eating the blood because there's all kinds of toxins in the blood and that's not healthy. Now that doesn't mean you're going to be able to avoid all blood. But the Bible did say that you shouldn't be eating blood and you shouldn't be eating fat. So if somebody's going to eat meat, they want to cut away as much of the fat as they can. They want to make sure that whatever meat it is that they're eating is not soaked in blood. You want to try and cook it well enough to remove the blood. So those are some of the principles also that we find in the Bible.

- All right. Next we have Danny, Danny from Arizona. Good evening, Danny. You're on the air.

- [Danny] So I know that once we get to heaven, everything's going to be sin-free, and whatnot. Praise the Lord for that. I was wondering will the 10 commandments still apply even after we're up there, like even after the millennium and all, and we come back down to heaven? Because as you know that there's not going to be any more sins. Sin will be irradiated from the earth.

- From the universe. Yes, absolutely. So will the 10 commandments apply after? Absolutely. Sin is the transgression of the law. So if there's no sin, then that would mean that the law is being kept. And if you think about it, the purpose of salvation is to redeem us from sin, to save us from breaking God's law. In heaven there's not going to be any killing, there's not going to be any stealing, there's not going to be lying. It's also interesting Isaiah talks about in the new earth that says from one Sabbath to another, we will come and worship before God. So the fourth commandment that has to do with the Sabbath will be enforced or be important even after the earth is recreated. So, yes, we still going to be worshiping the one and true God in heaven, we won't be taking His name in vain, we won't be worshiping idols. So yeah, the principles and 10 commandments are definitely binding, not only for us, but also for the angels and all created intelligent beings. Remember Satan's sin in heaven was coveting God's throne and that's a violation of the 10th commandment. So you can see the principles there throughout all of the Bible.

- [Danny] Well, actually, I didn't even think about that. That's a good point. Awesome. Thank you very much.

- All right. Thank you.

- All right, thank you Danny. We do have a study guide, friends, that talk about the 10 commandments. It's called "Written in Stone". Is it still relevant for the Christian? Pastor Carlos, people sometimes ask, "Well, didn't Jesus' death on Calvary do away with the 10 commandments?" Well, no, not according to the Bible.

- It's total opposite.

- Yeah. He enables us to keep the commandments as a result of his death. So we'll be happy to send this study guide to anyone wanting to learn more. Just call the number, it's 800-835-6747. You can ask for the study guide that's called "Written in Stone" and we'll be happy to put it in the mail and send it to you. Who do we have next?

- Next we have Mike calling us from Oregon. You're on the air, Mike.

- [Mike] Hi pastors. Thank you for taking my call. I had a question in regards to a study I was doing on the name of Rome in the New Testament. I looked up the name in Strong's Concordance and Fairs Greek Lexicon, and it says the name Rome means strength. And that of course triggered a thought in my mind, in regards to Daniel 2, as the kingdoms that are mentioned in Daniel 2, The Babylon, the second kingdom, the third kingdom of 14th, and divided kingdom. And when it talks about the divided kingdom in Daniel 2:41, it says, "And where I saw as defeat and the toes part of Potter's clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided, but there shall be in it the strength of the iron." And the entomology of the word Rome, the name Rome, in Greek means strength. And I'm wondering if that's an applicable application.

- I think so. Absolutely. I mean, that's a good point. It's very clear from the Scriptures, if you look at it, that this fourth kingdom, the legs of iron, represents a Rome, pagan Rome, and then the feet of iron and clay, there is still the influence of Rome but in this case, it's papal Rome. It's also interesting to note that the primary metal used during the Roman empire during the time of Rome was iron. It had been invented by then and was used primarily as an instrument for war. They had iron spears, iron chariots, so iron is a very fitting symbol and it does parallel the name of Rome. So yes, absolutely. There's a very significant connection there. That's a good observation.

- [Mike] Thank you. Yep, thank you for taking my call. Appreciate it.

- Absolutely.

- Thank you.

- Thanks, Mike.

- Next, we have Robert College Place, Washington. Good evening, Robert. You're on the air.

- [Robert] Hi, Pastor Carlos. And hi, Pastor Ross.

- Hello.

- And your question tonight?

- [Robert] It's regarding Ephesians 4:9. Sometimes I hear people saying that, and I'm sure you've heard that before, that Jesus went to hell to preach to people, but this Ephesians 4:9 doesn't say that he went and preached to people, but he says that he went to the lowest parts of the earth. How do you explain that to people or how I explain that verse?

- Yeah, absolutely. Let me read it so those who are just listening, maybe driving their car can get the verses. Let me start in verse seven. It says, "Talking about spiritual gifts, but to each of you or to each of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift." Verse eight says, "Therefore he sayeth, when he ascendeth on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts and unto men." So here we find Paul in Ephesians referencing the Ascension of Jesus. And he says, "When Jesus ascended on high, he laid captivity captive, but he gave gifts unto men," and he's referring to Pentecost, "with the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And with that outpouring of the Holy Spirit, there were spiritual gifts that were given to the church." And then verse nine he says, "Now this he ascended," what does it mean but that he first also descended into the lower parts of the earth? Verse 10, "He who descended is also the one who ascended far above all heaven that he might fulfill or fill all things." Now when it says, "The one who ascended is also the one that descended," it's just referencing to Christ, who is one with the Father, made Himself of no reputation, took upon Himself the form of a man, became sin for us, meaning He took our sins, He died, He was buried, but then He rose from the dead and now He's ascended to the highest of heaven. So before Christ ascended to heaven and was able to give these special gifts to those who had faith in Him, He first went through the agony of Gethsemane, Calvary, He died for our sins, He bore our sins, He was buried, and He rose again. So it's not talking about Jesus going down to a place of torment, it's just referencing to the fact of His condescension and Him taking upon Himself our sins, dying as a substitute, and then being highly exalted and now being in the position of giving these spiritual gifts to the church.

- [Robert] Okay, that makes sense when you attach the two above verses, for sure.

- Yep, that's the context that he's explaining there.

- [Robert] And don't you have a book that talked about Jesus humbling Himself, and...

- Oh, we sure do.

- [Robert] That it's a little pocket book, I think.

- Yeah, we do. It's called "Riches of His Grace". And well, that's one of them. I'm looking for another one that's just new that you need to ask for. It is called "The Serpent and the Cross." It's a new book that we just wrote. I think you'll be blessed. It talks about Christ condescension, Him bearing our sins. And we'll be happy to send that to you. Just call and ask. The number to call, again, is 800-835-6747 and ask for the book. It's called "The Serpent of the Cross" and we'll be happy to, actually it's called "The High Cost of the Cross". I'm sorry, it's called "The High Cost of the Cross". Finally saw it here on my computer. We'll be able to send that to anyone who calls and asks. Who do we have next, Carlos?

- All right. Next we have Don from Florida. Good evening, Don. Welcome to "Bible Answers Live".

- [Dawn] I have a quick question, but I want to do a quick comment first. Your app, it's absolutely amazing. I listen to it all day and night on my cell phone. I just love it. And please turn the color back to blue. (all laughing)

- Okay.

- [Dawn] The app color blends in with like YouTube and I don't want to hit the wrong button.

- Okay, well, We'll pass that on our people. Yes.

- [Dawn] Thank you. My quick question is, are we supposed to pray to God, our Father or Jesus?

- Okay. Good question. Now when the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him, say, "Lord, teach us to pray," Jesus gave them an example of prayer, or at least the principles of prayer, and our prayers are to be directed to our Father which art in heaven. So when one prays, we direct our prayers to the Father, but we direct our prayers in the name of Jesus. And we can ask for the Holy Spirit. Now we do have one example of somebody praying directly to Jesus, which is appropriate. You have Steven just before he was stoned, he prayed and said, "Lord, Jesus receive my spirit." So there we have an example of Steven praying to Jesus. We don't have an example of somebody praying to the Holy Spirit. We do have examples of people obviously praying to God, the Father. So I think if we're going to follow the Bible, we want to go with that same sequence. And here's the principle. Jesus said, "I've not come to speak of My own words, but I've come to speak the words that My Father has given Me." He spoke about Jesus, said His mission was to glorify His Father. And then Jesus said, "When the Comforter comes," speaking of the Holy Spirit, "He won't speak His own words, but He will speak the things that I have given you." And so the Holy Spirit comes to magnify the Son. So the Son magnifies the Father, the Spirit magnifies the Son, and the Father magnifies His Son. In other words, Christ is highly exalted by the Father. So there is this magnifying of the Holy Spirit's magnifying the teachings of Jesus, Jesus is revealing to us what the Father's like. And I think when we pray, we are to direct our prayers to God, the Father in Jesus' name, asking for the Holy Spirit. That would be the principle that we find in the Bible. Does that make sense, Dawn?

- [Dawn] It does. I normally try to speak to the Father, And then at the end, I'm like, "In Jesus' name, I pray."

- Absolutely. Yep.

- [Dawn] Thank you, et cetera. But I don't know how else to put it, I didn't want to shun Jesus, you know what I'm saying, and do it wrong and I'm thinking-

- No, you're not. Not by any means.

- [Dawn] Like, am I doing this wrong?

- No, you're not shunning Jesus in the least. Matter of fact, Jesus gave us that example and said, "When you pray, say our Father which art in heaven." Now we do have a book talking about prayer. It's called "Teach Us to Pray". And we'll be happy to send this to anyone who asks. The number to call is 800-835-6747. And again, just ask for the book, it's called, "Teach Us to Pray". We'll get it in the mail and send it to you as soon as we can.

- Amen. Next we have Jennifer from Michigan. Good evening, Jennifer. You are on the air.

- [Jennifer] Yes. Good evening. Thank you for taking my call.

- Yes, absolutely.

- [Jennifer] My question is, who is considered the lost tribes of Judah?

- Okay, well, if you look at what the Bible says on that, you have the 12 tribes that entered into the promised land, you have another tribe by the tribe of Levi, which actually made up 13, and the reason for that is Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, they were both given an inheritance in the promised land. So you have 13 tribes if you add the tribe of Levi. But Levi didn't inherit a parcel of land like the other tribes did, they were actually scattered throughout Israel and they had different cities where they ministered. But there was a civil war that occurred at the death of Saul's son, well, actually you have David's son, Rehoboam, and the kingdom eventually splits. You have Rehoboam in the South and Jeroboam in the North and you have the 10 tribes of Israel that formed the Northern kingdom, and you had Judah and Benjamin and most of the tribe of Levi that formed the Southern kingdom. And Judah was a big tribe and so there were plenty of people in the Southern kingdom. The Assyrians, because of the apostasy of Israel, the Assyrians eventually came and conquered the 10 tribes of the North. And they were dispersed amongst the Assyrians, they intermarried with the Assyrians. And today nobody knows the descendants of those 10 tribes. They have been completely combined with the other nations, whereas the Southern tribes, Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, they kept to themselves for the most part. And at the time of Christ, the word Jew comes from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, the tribe of Benjamin, the smaller of the tribes was still there because Saul said that he was of the stock of Benjamin and Saul became Paul, the apostle in the New Testament. So yes, with reference to the last tribes of Israel, yeah, the reason they lost is because they intermarried with the other tribes, the Assyrians, the other nations, the Assyrians and the like, and you can't trace their inheritance.

- Well, that kind of explains that. I've been doing some investigating and what I've researched was that they're kind of spread throughout the earth and that located in Africa, the Western part of Africa, they show a lot of those tribes are 90% circumcised and they're showing DNA, Jewish DNA.

- And yes, it is probably true that Jewish DNA is spread far and wide. And there were some groups of people that received teachings from Israel when Israel was still a united kingdom. And they adopted a number of traditions that came from Israel. There's a group in Ethiopia, the Ethiopians had adopted portions of Judaism and there were Ethiopian Jews that you read about later on in New Testament times. They were Africans, but they adopted the religion of the Jews. So good question. Thank you, Jennifer. Do we have time for one more call before our break?

- Yes, we do. Quickly. Elizabeth from Miami, Florida. "Bible Answers Live". You are on the air.

- [Elizabeth] Okay, my question is, will we meet God the Father when we go to heaven?

- Yes. Good question. The answer is we sure will. The Bible says that we shall see His face. And Revelation tells us that that's really the great reward of the redeemed, we get to stand in the presence of God, the Father, and we will look upon His face. No need to fear because sin has been washed away. We stand complete and holy in Jesus, the joy of the redeemed will be in the Father's presence. After all, Jesus says the Father loves us, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. It is the Father that loves us and He wants to save us. And He wants us in His presence. And the Bible tells us that in the earth made new, the righteous will dwell in the presence of God. God will be with them. And that is the great hope of the Christian. Well, friends you hear the music in the background, we're not ending the program, we're just taking our mid-program break. We'll be right back. (dramatic music)

- [Announcer] Stay tuned. "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly. Ok friends, let's start with the basics. We know we're here but we're not here for very long. So the most important thing would be if we could learn, during this life, how to live forever. This is the central focus of Amazing Facts. Now there's alot of wonderful things that Christian ministries do. I believe in Christian education but if the schools loose the message of salvation you end up with more educated sinners. I think it's very important for us to build churches but if the churches loose the message of salvation they just become buildings and shells. I think it's important to have a medical ministry and build hospitals but if they separate that from the message of salvation we just prolong a sinners life for a little while. That's why for years, Amazing Facts has made it our focus to present the saving truth that sets people free. And friends, we want to thank you for your support and your gifts. We'll do our very best to convert those resources into the currency of heaven. May God bless you, and keep Amazing Facts in your prayers. Are you looking for a simple way to share your faith? If you've ever found yourself tongue tied when trying to explain what the Bible teaches about the Sabbath, the second coming, or the afterlife you'll love the new Amazing Facts tracts. These colorful tracts feature easy to ready type and are large enough to grab everyone's attention but small enough to fit in your pocket to carry with you wherever you go. 11 key Bible teachings are available now. Purchase a sample bundle to see what fits your needs. Then buy them in bulk and save. Equip yourself and your church to reach your community with the eye catching Amazing Facts tracts. Amazing Facts tracts. Easy to read, easy to share. To order your sample bundle, call 800-538-7275 or visit afbookstore.com and get ready to share your faith like never before! Doug Batchelor was the teenage son of a millionaire father and show business mother yet he was living in a cave. He had everything money could buy... Everything but happiness. But all of the fun and excitement he enjoyed left his life out of control. His search eventually led him to a cave above Palm Springs that became his home. While Doug scavenged for food in garbage bins, his father owned a yacht, a Learjet and an airline. But in his cave home, he discovered a dust covered Bible. As he began to read, he soon learned of his true purpose in life. 'The Richest Caveman' is the extraordinary true story of Doug Batchelor that tells how a rebellious teenager who once lived in a cave became a tremendous soul winner for Jesus Christ. It's a thrilling testimony of the transforming power of God's Word. To order your copy of 'The Richest Caveman' call 800-538-7275 or visit afbookstore.com (dramatic music)

- [Announcer] You're listening to "Bible Answers Live" where every question answered provides a clearer picture of God and His plan to save you. So what are you waiting for? Get practical answers about the Good Book for a better life today. 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 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. 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 rejoin our hosts for more "Bible Answers Live".

- Hello, friends. Welcome back. This is "Bible Answers Live". We want to welcome those who are joining us. We're halfway through our Bible Answer program. And if you're new two "Bible Answers Live", this is a live interactive international Bible study. I want to welcome those who are watching on social media, also looking at watching on YouTube, and also our friends who are joining us on Amazing Facts Television. If you have a Bible question, the number to call is 800-463-7297. That's to get your Bible question on the air. My name is Jean Ross. Pastor Doug Batchelor is out this evening, but he will hopefully be back next week. So be sure to tune in if you'd like to ask a Bible question to Pastor Doug. Working the phones with me is Pastor Carlos Munoz. And Pastor Carlos, who is our next caller that we have?

- Next we have April calling us from Florida. Good evening, April. You're on the air.

- [April] Good evening, Pastor Ross. Good evening, Pastor Carlos. My question is about John the Baptist. I know who John the Baptist is and my question is when he was a child, did he know he was going to be a great prophet? What was his life like as a child? I know that Jesus was his cousin. And was he led to learn about all these things? And I know everybody that ever walked this earth, other than Jesus, was a sinner. What was John's sin? And I did a lot of study and I never seen anything that shows that John was either married, and/or had kids in his sin. So I just was wondering. And who baptized him?

- Okay. Great question. Yes, let's begin with the first part of the question. Did John the Baptist know that he was especially called by God to prepare the way for Christ? Yes, I believe he was. The reason for that is his parents, Zacharia, Elizabeth, they were very God-fearing people. Zachariah was actually a priest and you'll remember the story when he was offering incense in the temple at Jerusalem that's when the angel made the announcement to him that Elizabeth would have a son and he was to be the forerunner of the Messiah, the forerunner of Christ. We don't believe that John and Jesus ever met because John was in a different part. He was closer in the Southern part of Israel. Nazareth was in the Northern area, close to Galilee. So we don't believe that their ministry that they connected during the early life of Christ. At the baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit revealed to John that Christ is the Lamb of God, the One that takes away the sins of the world. So John had a special work. He studied the Scriptures, he looked at the prophecies, referring to the coming of the Messiah, the Holy Spirit guided him, but he was not free of sin because he needed the Lamb of God, Jesus, to wash away the sins. He was called as a sign of repentance, calling Israel to repentance. He was called to baptize. Now baptism wasn't totally foreign to the Jews because if a person converted from a different nation and became a Jew or converted to Judaism, they would sometimes be baptized as a symbol of them committing to the Jewish faith. So it wasn't totally foreign. It wasn't practiced very widely, but there were some groups like the ah-see-ns a group of Jews who did practice baptism in the area close to where John was baptizing. And I think your other question was, did he have a family? No, we have no record of him having a family. He died in his early 30s but he dedicated his life to sharing the good news that the Messiah was coming and preparing the way for Christ. And Jesus said of all of the prophets, there's not arisen one greater than John the Baptist. And so Jesus recognized John's special calling in preparing the way for Christ.

- Did he ever sin was the other one.

- Did John ever sin? I'm sure he did. Even though we don't have a record of him sinning, we know all have sinned and come short the glory of God. Now there are some other Bible characters that we don't have any record of sinning, for example, Joseph, the Bible doesn't mention Joseph sinning. We have-

- Daniel.

- Daniel. Yes. Another Bible character that we don't have any reference of sinning, but that doesn't mean they never sinned. They still needed a savior, it's just that the Bible doesn't mention that specifically. So yeah, he needed a Savior just like everyone else does. Thanks for your call, April. Who do we have next?

- Next we have Campo from Texas. Good evening, Campo. You're on the air.

- [Campo] Okay, my question is impure thoughts. What does the Bible say about that?

- Yes, sorry. Good question. Well, the Bible tells us that we want to think on those things that are pure and holy. We want even our thoughts to be brought under the control of the Spirit of God. Now, if we pray and we make a decision and say, "Lord, I want to think those things that are pleasing in Your sight," when an impure thought comes into our mind, or if we have feelings of jealousy and the Holy Spirit convicts us, we need to immediately then turn to God and say, "Lord, please forgive me. Help me to redirect my thoughts." And this doesn't happen overnight. I think it's an ongoing experience. But as we ask the Holy Spirit to convict us and lead us, He will. And the moment we get convicted that this is not the right thing for us to be thinking about, That's when we need to make a choice to redirect our thoughts and move away from the carnal things of this earth and set our thoughts upon the spiritual things of heaven. And if we do that, then we begin to form a habit. And pretty soon it becomes easier and easier for us to think on wholesome, spiritual things and not on earthly things. Also, our thoughts are often influenced by what we're feeding our mind. So if we are feeding our mind the things of secular media and just the craziness that's happening in the world around us, our thoughts are going to be leaning towards that. But we are filling our mind with holy things, things of God, filling our mind with Scripture, or spiritual devotional books, or something wholesome, our thoughts will lean more in that direction. So yes, we can control our thoughts and the Holy Spirit will convict us. But we need to ask for the Holy Spirit. Does that help, Campo?

- [Campo] Yes, sir, it did. It helps just as long as I say, "Lord, please forgive me and redirect my thoughts."

- That's the key. That's what we need to ask for. All right. Well, thanks for your call. Who do we have next?

- Next we have Neal calling us from California. Neal, good evening on "Bible Answers Live".

- [Neal] Yes. Good evening. Thank you for taking my call.

- Yes. A pleasure.

- Yes. Hello. I'm calling regarding Revelation chapter nine. And there's a few different things in there that I'm wondering about because it starts out talking about opening up the bottomless pit. And the bottomless pit is spoken of again, I think, in Revelation 20 where Satan is bound. But I was wondering in particular about the number of the Revelation 9:16, where it says, "The number of the army of the horseman was 200 million." I heard the number of them and it goes on and it mentions colors, a fiery red, hyacinth blue, sulfur yellow would sound like the colors of the country of China. And I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about this possibly being something to do with China. They're becoming so powerful.

- All right. Well, I'm glad you asked. Yes, let me tell you a little bit about the six trumpet here. In Revelation, we have a series of sevens, you've got the seven churches, the seven seals, and the seven trumpets. Each of these series of sevens cover roughly the same time period, it's what we call a Christian era. So it's from about 100 AD all the way up till the second coming of Christ. Now the sixth trumpet you read about here in Revelation Chapter Nine, starting in verse 13, is really a description of the rise and the expansion of Islam during the years leading up to around 1840. It's actually a historically event that's being described here, it's not a future event. Because when you look at the seventh trumpet that you find in Revelation Chapter 11, it's talking about events that are taking place today. It talks about the nations are angry, the wrath has come, the time of the dead that they should be judged. That's Revelation Chapter 11 under the seventh trumpet. So a number of scholars have identified the fifth trumpet as the rise of Islam during the time of Muhammad and the sixth trumpet as the expansion of Islam under the Ottoman empire. Now, the Ottoman empire was very powerful in its day. And if you look at some of the historical accounts of the Ottoman empire, their strength of army was horseman, and they had hundreds of thousands of horsemen, and it describes different colors. It says their breast plates were fiery red, hyacinth blue, sulfur yellow. These are the actual colors of the uniforms of the Ottoman soldiers, the horseman in particular. And it talks about having the heads of lions and out of the mouth comes fire and smoke. It was during this time that gun powder had been invented and the horseman of the Ottoman empire would often lean forward on the horses and discharge their gunfire and it would seem as though smoke and fire is actually coming out of the mouth of the horse. So this is a very descriptive passage of Scripture. It's not referring to China, but rather it's referring to the rise and the expansion of Islam during the time of the Ottoman empire. So that's kind of your overview there of the trumpets. And it's a very deep subject and a lot of symbolism there, but this has been identified historically as Ottoman empire. All right, well, thanks for your call. Who do we have next?

- Next we have Barbara calling us from Canada. Good evening, Barbara.

- [Barbara] Oh, good evening, pastors.

- Hi, Barbara.

- Hello.

- And your question tonight.

- [Barbara] Yeah, good to talk to you. Yes, I have a friend who says that we're worshiping on the wrong day of the week. When Christ rose from the dead on Sunday morning, Sabbath morning to their time, their way of thinking, he changed the day that Sabbath is now Sunday, it is not Saturday. How do you explain to somebody like that that's wrong?

- Yeah, that's a good question. It is a very significant event that Christ rose from the dead. We have hope in the resurrection because Christ rose from the dead, but He wouldn't have risen from the dead if He had not first died for our sins, which took place on Friday. So the fact that Jesus died on Friday, does that make Friday a holy day or that Jesus rose on Sunday, does that make Sunday a holy day? You won't find any commandment in the New Testament or anywhere in the Bible that says because Christ rose on the first day of the week, we are now to keep the first day of the week as the Sabbath. There is only one day clearly defined in Scripture as being the Sabbath, the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, and that of course is the fourth commandment, which says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." What's significant about the Sabbath is that Jesus died on Friday, He rested in the tomb. His work of redemption had ended, He rested in the tomb and He rose the first day of the week. So even in His death, He rested on the Sabbath. So we see the Sabbath still holding a very significant and important part in the Old Testament and New Testament. It's still part of the 10 commandments either way. So I think we just need to stay with the Bible if we want to know for sure what does the Bible teach us with reference to the Sabbath? We do have a study guide that talks about that. We'd be happy to send that to anyone who calls and asks. It's dealing with the fourth commandment and it's called, I'm looking for it right here, it is "The Lost Day in History", that's what it's called, "The Lost Day in History". We'll be happy to send that study guide to anyone who calls and asks. The number is 800-835-6747 and you can just ask for the study guide. It's called "The Lost Day in History". Who do we have next?

- Next we have Paula calling us from Alabama, I think. Good evening, Paula. You are on the air.

- [Paula] Yes, sir. Thank you for taking my call.

- You're welcome.

- [Paula] I was wanting to know if you're anointed to cast out demon and the Lord tells you to, when you go to cast it out and you tell it to come out and it doesn't. I mean, what is the problem? Is it unbelief on my part, or am I supposed to just keep on saying, "Come out, come out, come out?"

- Okay, well, this is a good question. Well, first of all, yes, we do have occurrences in the Bible where demons were cast out of people. But first of all, let me begin by saying that's not something that Christians ought to be going around looking for. We shouldn't start a ministry of casting out devils. The devil is very powerful. It's spiritual beings. And if we find ourself in a situation where someone is demon-possessed and are now manifesting those characteristics of being demon-possessed, the right thing for us to do is to call other Christians who are true believers and unite in prayer for that person. Now, in some cases, depending upon the situation, the demon might be difficult to come out. There was a time where the disciples tried to cast out a demon from a boy and they were not able to do it. And finally, they asked Jesus, "Why couldn't we cast out the demon?" And Jesus said, "Well, this kind only comes out through prayer and fasting." So sometimes yes, it requires time, it requires perseverance, and even fasting depending upon the situation. So when it comes to facing a demon, let's be very careful. Let's recognize that this is a supernatural power and we need Christ to be with us. We want to pray earnestly, we want to unite with other believers to pray earnestly, and trust because obviously God is bigger than the devil and trust that He will be faithful to fulfill His promise. So that's kind of the way we want to approach that. Does that help, Paula?

- [Paula] I've already done all that and I didn't ask to do this, it was just brought upon me.

- Well, then you do just do exactly what you've been doing and keep trusting in the Lord. And in His time He will work it out. Sometimes there are other situations involved. If there is something in the house, for example, that is giving the devil a foothold, maybe there are movies, books, or maybe there are practices that are taking place in the household that is giving the devil a right, so to speak, if we are aware of those things, we want to remove that as well. So if you know there's something going on there, something that's dealing with the occult, clean the house, get all of that stuff out of there. Sometimes that's also needed. All right, well thank you Paula for your call. And keep praying, the Lord will work it out.

- Amen. Next we have Elizabeth calling us from Wisconsin. Good evening, Elizabeth. You're on "Bible Answers Live".

- [Elizabeth] I just have a question. You were talking about the Holy Spirit before. And I know that Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit and He said He would intercede for us. Now, I'm a widow and I have been a Christian for 80 years. And now that I'm alone, I don't have anybody else to talk to. So I talk to the Holy Spirit when I'm driving, we talk about the countryside, how pretty it is, the Lord's handy work, and so on. And then I have dear ones that I don't know how to pray for. I pray for them but can I ask the Holy Spirit to pray for them?

- Yes, well, the holy-

- Is that proper?

- That is. The Holy Spirit intercedes. And sometimes we can't describe a feeling that we have. Well, the Holy Spirit knows our heart and He's able to take that feeling, that desire, especially if it's for the salvation of somebody else, or a special need that we have. The Holy Spirit is able to take that desire and put it in words that intercede, so to speak, on our behalf to God. So yes, we can pray for the Holy Spirit. We should ask the Holy Spirit to guide us. That is very appropriate. But in our prayers, typically the Holy Spirit will lead us into a deeper experience and relationship with Jesus because the Holy Spirit magnifies Christ.

- [Elizabeth] Yes.

- All right.

- [Elizabeth] Thank you very much.

- Absolutely. Good question. Thank you for calling.

- Next we have Paula from North Carolina. Good evening, Paula. You're on the air.

- [Paula] Hi there. I have a question.

- Okay.

- [Paula] I want to follow Jesus but I dunno what to believe.

- Okay. Good question. Paula, the first thing you need to do is ask Jesus to come into your heart. And that's simply a prayer. You say, "Lord Jesus, I confess my sins. I give myself to You. Please come into my heart. I surrender myself to You." Now, that's the first step, you come to Jesus. But then once you make that decision and you come to Jesus by faith, then you want to discover His will for your life. And you find that in the Bible. So you want to start reading the Bible. Now you might not have had much experience reading the Bible, and sometimes there are things in the Bible that are difficult to understand, but as you read the Bible, the Holy Spirit is able to guide and illuminate your mind. So I would just start reading the Bible. If you're not real familiar with the Bible, maybe start with one of the gospels, start with Mark. It's a shorter gospel, you can read it fairly quickly. It talks about Jesus. There are four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all about the life of Christ. That's so inspiring to read. And then you might want to go to the book of Genesis and read about the beginning and how things were created and familiarize yourself with the teachings of the Bible. And as you spend time in the Word of God, you will grow more and more in your understanding of truth and your faith in God will grow as you spend time in His Word. I would also recommend finding a good Bible study series. Amazing Facts has a free online Bible study course. And it'll help you in your study of God's Word because it picks different topics and it'll guide you through what the Bible has to say about different topics. So that would be a great start. We do have a study guide that deals with your very question about how do we become a true Christian. It's called "Rescue From Above" and it's talking about salvation. And we'll be happy to send that to you. Actually, Paula, when you call, just ask to sign up, it's free. Just sign up for the entire Amazing Facts study course. But the study guide specifically talking about that is "Rescue From Above". The number to call is 800-835-6747 and we'll be happy to send it to you in the mail.

- Amen. Next we have Norman calling from California. Good evening, Norman.

- [Norman] Yeah, I have a question. It's kind of trivial, but regards to the people who died during the flood. Is that their final judgment or will they be resurrected too?

- There will be another resurrection that everyone who has died will be resurrected in. It's called the resurrection at the end of the 1,000 years. It's the second resurrection. You can actually read about this in Revelation Chapter 20, where it talks about the dead, both small and great, stood before the great white throne judgment. It's the end of the 1,000 years, at the end of the millennium. So there is a final judgment. And so those who were destroyed by the flood waters, they will be resurrected for this final judgment that takes place at the end of the 1,000 years.

- [Norman] I see, because I've been hearing that the earth was judged through water before, and then there will be seconding judgment through fire. So I thought that that water judgment is their final judgment.

- No, I mean, it serves as a type of the cleaning that'll occur at the end of the 1,000 years when the earth is cleansed with fire, but individuals, they are still resurrected to give an account of their life. They stand to be judged at the end of the 1,000 years. We have a study guide talking about that, it's called "A 1,000 Years of Peace" and it talks about this 1000-year period found in Revelation Chapter 20. And Norman, we'll be happy to send it to you, or anyone who wants to learn more about it. The number is 800-835-6747.

- Amen. Next, we have Joseph from Pennsylvania. Joseph, you're on the air.

- [Joseph] Hi, how's it going, Pastor Ross?

- Hi, Joseph. Doing well.

- [Joseph] I have a question that has plagued me for decades.

- All right.

- [Joseph] And it comes out of I Corinthians 15:20.

- All right.

- [Joseph] And I'll read that out of the NKJV. It says, "But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive, but each one in his own order, Christ is the first fruit." That's the key word. So what I'm understanding here, Christ being resurrected off the earth was the first fruit of resurrection of the dead. So my question is, why is not Moses included in this because he was resurrected 2,000 years before Jesus Christ?

- All right.

- Why is he not included?

- Why is he not included? Okay. Very good. The phrase first fruits is to be understood not only in its numerical sequence, but also in its prominence and importance. In other words, what's been told here is that because Christ rose first, we also can be resurrected, not meaning that numerically, but it's because of His resurrection, that we can also be resurrected. So His resurrection is first in importance and our only hope of resurrection is because of His resurrection. For example, we might speak of the first lady. And when we speak of the first lady, we are talking about the president's wife, we are not saying that she's the first woman, that's Eve, but we're saying first in rank or position. So when it's talking about Christ being the first resurrection or first fruits of the resurrection, His resurrection is the most important. It's because of His resurrection that anyone else has hoped to be resurrected. And like you say, yes, we do have the book of Jude speaks about the resurrection of Moses. And so, Moses was resurrected and taken to heaven. But the only reason why Moses was resurrected was because in faith, there was the promise that Christ would be resurrected. If Christ was not resurrected, then yeah, Moses he'd have to leave heaven.

- [Joseph] Yeah because we had Enoch and Elijah, we know how they got there.

- Right. They didn't die.

- [Joseph] They were taken there. They didn't die. So Moses actually passed away and he was taken to heaven-

- And he was resurrected. I guess on the painting plan of the cross.

- Yes, absolutely. In faith, he was resurrected and taken. Of course God knew what would happen and that Christ would be resurrected. So when it says first fruits, it's talking there of first in prominence and importance. And generally speaking, Christ rose from the dead, the vast majority of believers that'll be resurrected, takes place at the second coming of Christ. But first in prominence and importance, that's the emphasis there of the verse that we find. Well, thank you for your call, Joseph. We appreciate. And friends, we want to thank you for those of you who called in. If we didn't get your call this evening, please be sure to call back next week. Now, for those of you who are watching live on social media or Amazing Facts, our program's not finished, but we do need to take closing off. We need to take a break. To those who are listening on satellite radio, again, join us next Sunday at seven o'clock Pacific time. For those who are watching on Amazing Facts TV, and watching on social media, stay by because we've got our exciting call-in Bible questions, our online questions. We'll be back in just a few moments.

- [Announcer] Thank you for listening to today's broadcast. We hope you understand your Bible even better than before. "Bible Answers Live" is produced by Amazing Facts International, a faith-based ministry located in Granite Bay, California.

- Welcome back, friends. We got two minutes to try and answer as many Bible questions as we can. We want to thank those who sent in their Bible questions. You can do so just on email, email it to Amazing Facts, or you can post a comment if you're watching on social media. Pastor Carlos, what do we have?

- What is Jesus doing in the sanctuary? And why is it important to me as a Christian in these last days?

- Okay. What is Jesus doing for us right now? Yes, the Bible tells us in Hebrews that Jesus is a high priest and is ministering for us in the heavenly sanctuary. There is a special work of cleansing that is happening. And this cleansing work is a cleansing of the heart and the life. Those who come by faith to Christ and ask for the Holy Spirit, Christ has promised to do a work of cleansing. There is a cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, there is a cleansing of the church on earth, there is a cleansing of the individual. So there is a special work taking place. Even now, Jesus, our high priest, is ministering for us in the heavenly sanctuary. And you can read all about that in the book of Hebrews. What's the next question? - Amen. What's the difference between accounted righteousness and imparted righteousness?

- Okay, two phrases that we find, imputed and imparted. Imputed righteousness is when we come to Jesus and we receive Him as our personal Savior. His righteousness takes the place of our unrighteousness and we stand before God just as if we have never sinned. But in addition to the imputed righteousness, we also have the imparted righteousness. And that is when by faith, we surrender our lives to Jesus and Christ's righteousness then actually comes and becomes part of our heart and part of our lives. And we begin to live out the righteousness of Christ through the Spirit in our lives. The two theological terms there, imputed righteousness is sometimes referred to as justification and imparted righteousness is referred to as sanctification. Paul uses the phrase Christ in you, that's imparted righteousness, and you in Christ, that's imputed righteousness. So those are the two phrases that are sometimes seen in the writings of Paul.

- Amen. Question, how can you honor your parents when they have committed horrific sins against you?

- Oh, how do you keep that commandment that says honor your mother and your father when your parents have done some bad things? Well, honoring your parents doesn't mean you agree with everything they've done. You don't want to support your parents if they're doing that which is contrary to the Word of God. But despite them doing horrible things, you respect them because they are the ones who gave your life. Now, there might be times where you need to be respectful and disagree with your parents and say, "I can't do that," or, "that's contrary to what God would have me to do," but as far as possible, we want to show respect and honor to our parents because that's what the commandment says. So yes, sometimes we want to pray for wisdom in those situations. Friends, God bless. Thank you for joining us here. And we look forward to seeing you next week.

- [Announcer] "Bible Answers Live", honest and accurate answers to your Bible questions.