Announcer: It is the best-selling book in history. No volume ever written has been more loved and quoted; and its words, sometimes simple and sometimes mysterious, should always be studied carefully. It is the Bible, the Word of God. Welcome to "Bible Answers Live," providing accurate and practical answer to all your Bible questions. 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. Now here's your host from Amazing Facts International, Pastor Doug Batchelor.
Doug Batchelor: Hello, friends. Would you like to hear an amazing fact? Leeches are something like a combination of a science fiction monster movie and like little vampires. They survive by feeding on the blood of humans and other animals. They have ten sets of eyes but poor eyesight, and they can go 6 months or more without feeding. When leeches attach to their host, they pierce the skin with long proboscis and inject a blood-thinning anticoagulant. The host rarely feels the bite because the leech also has very small and sharp teeth and an anesthetic in its saliva that numbs the area that it pierces round the skin. Once they lock on, they continue feeding until they've consumed up to five times their body weight in blood. The largest leech species is the giant amazon leech, which can grow over 18 inches long and 4 inches wide. I know it sounds strange, but physicians have been using leeches in a variety of medical procedures for thousands of years, and incredibly hospitals still order them today for doctors to use in healing everything from eczema to promote circulation in microsurgery. Well, Pastor Carlos, who would ever think these slimy little vampire worms could have a positive purpose?
Carlos Munoz: Yeah. Reminds me in the Bible of sometimes some uncomfortable situation that God uses to bring some healing into our lives. Right?
Doug: Yeah, and, you know, sometimes a person might think that there just not good enough, but God uses sinners that are transformed to do a great work, which reminds me of a verse that Paul shares in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 26. "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things that are despised God has chosen, and the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence." The Lord can even use little worms, and He can use us. That's a lesson in humility, which makes me think about the ultimate condescension is when Jesus the King of the Universe, Creator of All Things comes to earth and becomes a creation. That'd be like you and I becoming a worm when you-- or even less than that. Yeah, and, you know, there's a lot of beautiful lessons in the Bible about the humility of Christ and how he laid aside his glory and came into this world. And if you'd like to know more about that and how God can use you--Jesus is an example, that he humbled himself and God did great things, and he can do great things through you. We have a free offer that we like to make available.
Carlos: Yes, that free offer is called "Down From His Glory." "Down From His Glory," there's two ways you can receive it. You can call us at 1-800-835-6747, ask for offer 154, give the title; or you can also--using your mobile phone you can dial #250 on your mobile device and say "Bible Answers Live" and you will be able to obtain this free gift. This is only in the United States, and free shipping is in the United States, US territories, and Canada only. And while we're at it, might as well give a good greetings to those tuning in on Firstlight TV in New Zealand, Hope channel worldwide, as well as MKTV in Michigan, so.
Doug: Amen, we got a lot of stations that air the program live Sunday evening, and some of you may be listening to a rebroadcast on a variety of stations both TV and radio. The TV audience is actually growing, and that's very exciting. If you are watching on TV, you notice that Pastor Ross's voice sounds a little different tonight. That's because we have Pastor Carlos. He's been in here with us many times. Pastor Carlos is the director of our evangelism training program better known as AFCOE, Amazing Facts Centers of Evangelism, and also leading out in the Amazing Facts Latino work. So any questions in Spanish tonight? No, don't do that to us. But why don't you have prayer for us, Pastor Carlos, before we begin?
Carlos: Let's pray. Father, we thank You for just the beautiful opportunity that You give us to open Your Word and spend time with those people that may have questions in their minds. Just help them, Father, so that they can get connected with us and that--You give us the discernment and Your wisdom so that it'll be Your answers in perfect harmony with Your Word for Your glory. And so we thank You for this opportunity, and we ask this in Jesus's name, amen.
Doug: Amen.
Carlos: All right, the first question we have is from Isabella calling us from Texas. Hello, Isabella. You're on "Bible Answers Live."
Isabella: Hello. I was wondering, what are the best evidences for the earth being created in like 6 literal days, and what does the Bible say about Scripture being literal?
Doug: Yeah, well, I think it's clear in the context when God talks there in Genesis chapter 1 and 2 about the days of creation, and I think the Hebrew word is yom. The days of creation being 24-hour periods because they're given sequentially. It says the evening and the morning. It also tells us God does not make the sun, the moon, and the stars until the fourth day yet He's made the vegetation on the third day. If these were not literal days--well, a plant can live for a few days without sunlight, but they can't live for a few ages or millennia. And the light that God has when He first says let there be light is just the light of His glory, His presence. The Bible says that God is light. So there are several Scriptures that said in 6 days the Lord created the heavens and the earth. It's also repeated in the Sabbath command, and just all through the Scriptures God reiterates that He made the world in 6 days and it's never set forth as ages or epochs of some form.
Carlos: Fun fact too is where did the 7-day week cycle come from?
Doug: Yeah, all around the world. Every nation has a 7-day week, and you can find reasons in astronomy for a 365-day year. It's what it takes for the earth to circle the sun. You find reasons for most calendars having a 30-day month. That's a lunar cycle. There's no reason for a 7-day week and yet the world all carries out a literal 7-day week. Thank you. And that's just a start. We've got a book called "The Wonders of Creation," and it may address that question, Isabella. Thank you. Isabella: Thank you.
Carlos: All right. Next we have Ash from Florida. First time caller. Ash, welcome to "Bible Answers Live."
Ash: Thank you. My question is, what should a Christian do to mature their relationship with God? They've been in the church for a long time, but they still keep commandments for self-preservation.
Doug: That's really a great question, and we appreciate you asking that, Ash. There's a lot of people out there and they're kind of going to church out of obligation. Now, there's nothing wrong with, you know, when a person first comes to the Lord to be doing it because you're trying to avoid trouble and you want to go to heaven. You know, when we first start teaching children, sometimes you have to start with some pretty basic motives. You know, if they disobey, there's sometimes pain or there's a reward for doing something right. But as those children mature, you're hoping that they're going to learn to obey their parents because they love and trust their parents and know that what they're asking in principle is a good thing. When we start out following the Lord, you know, the Bible says repent lest you perish. It's normal to not want to perish. And Jesus tells about the reward for the righteous. To desire those things is normal. Even the disciples said, "Lord, what will we get?" And they want to know, "What's our reward? We left everything to follow You." So there's nothing wrong with that, but as you mature--ultimately a Christian needs to be motivated by love. Bible says we love Him because He first loved us. So the key, Ash, is that we might learn to love Him more. And we read about Christ's love for us. The better we know him, the more we love him. So through reading the Word, through communion with God, we fall in love with a person because you talk to them. We get to know Him better. We love Him more. We want to serve Him better. It usually boils down to the three Christian disciplines of reading the Word, prayer, and then being a witness. As you lead others to Christ, you find real joy in that.
So yeah--and, you know, we have some booklets that talk about how you can have a better relationship with the Lord. Actually, there's that book called "The Drummer Boys Prayer." And if you read that, Ash, I think it'll really encourage you. It's called "The Drummer Boys Prayer."
Carlos: Amen. Just a reminder of offer is 1-800-835-6747 for those offers. Thank you very much, Ash. Next we have Jerry calling us from Texas. Welcome, Jerry. You're on the air.
Jerry: Hey, guys. Hi, pastors. I just want to get your take on this. My question is in a way a two-part question, but I'm going to maybe rephrase it in one part. I have in Joshua 5:13 to 15 where you have Joshua meeting the angel of the Lord before He took on Jericho. And then also we have Abraham in the Bible. He walked with God when he gave God a meal and before Sodom and Gomorra was destroyed. And then we have Jacob that wrestled with God, and then after--I think this is the fourth time you have the situation. Manoah in Judges 13:15 to 20 when her and her husband met the angel of the Lord and--but Moses only saw the backside of God, and he was probably more godly than others. Well, Abraham was godly.
Doug: So summarize your question.
Jerry: Oh, why would--why did Moses not get to see the Lord as Abraham or Jacob or Joshua?
Doug: Or Joshua, these others. Yeah, that's a good question. There's a verse, and Pastor Carlos might have it more at his fingertips, where it says no man has seen the Father at any time. And Moses, we believe, he had seen God probably every bit as good--or as well, I should say, as Joshua or Manoah or Jacob. When Jacob wrestled, he said, "I have seen God." They saw what we call a Christophany. They saw a human incarnation of Christ where Christ came and he appeared to Abraham, he appeared to Joshua, he appeared to Jacob. But they were not seeing God in his glory. And what Moses was asking--and it's funny you would mention this. Pastor Carlos and I just before we went on the air were talking about Moses wanting to see the glory of God. So that's very strange that you should ask that right now. And--but when Moses was on the mountain, he was in the presence of the Lord for 40 days twice. So, you know, 80 days up in the mountain in the cloud of glory. But he hadn't really seen the undiminished presence of the Almighty unveiled, I should say, because the Bible says no man can see God is--even God said no man will see His face in our mortal condition. We cannot endure it. In heaven we will. You read in Revelation, "And they will see His face." We will see Him face to face in our glorified, purified condition. You find that verse?
Carlos: Yes, John 6:46, "Not that any man has seen the Father, save he is that of God. How he has seen the Father." Only Jesus has.
Doug: So they probably saw what they call a pre-incarnation appearance of Jesus. That's why Jesus said, "Abraham saw my day, and he embraced it." Thank you. Appreciate that, Jerry.
Carlos: Next we have Junith. Junith from Nevada, welcome. You're on "Bible Answers Live."
Junith: Hello, Pastor Carlos and Pastor Doug. Pastor Carlos, buenos noches. To Pastor Doug, (unintelligible). Anyway, thanks for taking my call. My question is in the lens of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, we know that the Christ is the head of his body, who--now on the side of the enemy, who is the body of the serpent? Is it in the context of the kingdom of Babylonia in the perspective of the Old Testament and the kingdom of Jerusalem is the kingdom of God in that perspective? Thank you for answering.
Doug: Yeah. We'll do our best. I think what's happening here is when Jesus said, you know, Christ is the head of his church, the body is the bride of Christ, the people of Christ. But there's another people. There's only two groups in the world. There's those that are on the straight road to salvation and those on the broad road to destruction. Jesus said, "If you're not with me, you're against me. You're either part of the bride of Christ or you're part of the children of Babylon." As you mentioned, Junith, there's several titles. Jesus said to the religious leaders, "You are of your father the devil." So the whole world is really divided into those either surrendered to Christ or not. They either know the Lord and they've accepted the plan of salvation or not. And, you know, there might be some well-intentioned people that are on the wrong road, and that's why we've got to let them know. But yeah, that would be the body or the bride of the devil. You've got two women in Revelation. Revelation 12 you've got the bride of Christ. Revelation 17 you've got the bride of the beast, so to speak. Thank you, Junith. Appreciate your call.
Carlos: Next we have Gary from Illinois. Gary, you are on the air. Welcome.
Gary: Thank you. Christians as a group, they should be taking climate change seriously. It's the most pressing problem facing humanity. Those that do, this is my question, will they be wearing a crown of those people who drive hybrid cars and plant trees and recycle? I mean, that's what the church should emphasize and that-- the earth is God's, and so that releases us from any, you know, responsibility. Okay, that's my question.
Doug: Okay, well, you know, certainly there are blessings and benefits in every believer being responsible stewards in many capacities and one, of course, being of the world. You know, God gave Adam and Eve the world and He said that they were to dress and to tend the garden. They were to keep and take care of things, and--but there's no salvation in being environmentally careful because I've got some dear friends that are very sensitive about the environment but they don't accept Christ. And so they're not going to be saved because they drive a hybrid car. You know, there's no salvation in saying, "I'm going to plant a tree." And of course there are people who claim to be Christians that are not saved because their lives don't reflect the principles of Christ. But, you know, while there may be wonderful benefits and blessings in being responsible stewards of the planet, nobody's saved by that. Salvation comes only through surrender to Christ and making him the Lord of your life.
Carlos: Amen, it reminds me of Revelation 11:18. It says that God is going to destroy those that destroy the earth, right? But not because the earth is--God came to save it, but because you're making the situation for everybody else that lives here. You're causing harm on other humans, polluting the air, polluting the water.
Doug: But you can't say--I'm just following up on what you're saying. While it is true God is destroying those that destroy the earth, He's not saving those that save the earth. So, you know, it's--it might sound like a double negative, but hopefully that made sense. Thank you very much. Appreciate your call, Gary.
Carlos: Thank you, Gary. Next we have Cindy from California. Welcome to "Bible Answers Live."
Cindy: Thank you. Good evening, Pastor Doug and Pastor Carlos.
Doug: Evening.
Carlos: Hello.
Cindy: My question is, how do you determine what are okay activities to do on the Sabbath? When I was a kid, we were allowed to sit on the couch and read the junior guide. My example is, is it okay to cook for potluck, play in the snow, which we just got a lot of this week in Southern California? Can you swim? I mean, how do you determine what is okay and what's not?
Doug: Good, you know--and I don't often mention it, but Amazing Facts does carry a book. I wrote a little book because we get this question a lot just being pastors. What's a good way to--how do you keep the Sabbath holy? And anyone out there, if you want you can call and request that. How do we keep the Sabbath holy? But let me give you some quick principles. You know, when folks say you shouldn't be cooking on the Sabbath; well, you need to back these things up with Scripture or at least scriptural principles. Moses told the children of Israel, "Gather your manna ahead of time. There'll be no manna on Sabbath. Bake what you're going to bake, boil what you're going to boil." And that would mean as far as possible you'd want to get all of your cooking done. You know, there are some things that just for the practicality of it you might need to still do in food preparation so you can present it in a helpful, fresh way on Sabbath. But you should get all of the cooking you possibly can done out of the way because it's a day of rest. If you're doing all the work of every other day, it sort of loses the blessing of rest and freedom.
When it comes to getting out in nature, that's a wonderful thing. You know, if you're walking up a trail and the kids on a summer day want to cool their feet in the creek, that's great. But--you know, I'm a parent. It can turn into a swimming party pretty quick. And, you know, as soon as they say, "Well, if I can get in my--up to my ankles, can I get in up to my knees?" And next thing they're doing cannonballs off the rocks and having--playing water polo. So, you know, you just--you have to have some boundaries or things can get out of hand. You know, after church, even at our church, the kids all get outside and they got ants in their pants and they want to run around. That's fine. But then I saw them the other day and they brought a soccer ball. I said, "Guys, let's put that away. It's not supposed to turn into a World Cup game." So you just need to pray you can have wisdom and know how to discern.
Carlos: Yeah, and I remember the story in Mark 3 when Jesus heals a guy with a dry hand. He says it's good to do good on Sabbath, right?
Doug: Heal people. Visit people. Get out in nature, give.
Carlos: Bible studies.
Doug: Yeah. There's even, I think, some appropriate games you could play with your kids that would like teach them Bible memory or something. So you keep their minds engaged. That's--the big challenge is often with the kids. The adults have no problem sleeping, taking a nap, but the kids, they want to get out and do something. You got to have some good activities for them.
Carlos: And you have to plan it, right? You can't--you have to plan during the week, "What am I going--how am I going to get my kids to be excited about the Sabbath?"
Doug: Exactly. You don't want to start remembering the Sabbath Friday evening. You want to remember it on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.
Carlos: Or make the Sabbath everything about, "No, you can't do this. No, no, no." But they're delighting in it, right?
Doug: You want them to be excited when it comes and sad when it goes.
Carlos: Amen, amen, all right. Thank you very much, Cindy. Next we have Anthony from New York. Anthony, you are on the air. Welcome.
Anthony: Yes. Good evening, pastors. I was going to say something in Spanish, but one of the previous callers beat me to it, but—
Carlos: Pastor Doug knows Spanish. Don't be surprised.
Anthony: Good stuff. Yeah. Well, I'll try to make my question as brief as possible. I'm going to give a little short background, but--so Hezekiah was considered to be a righteous king, I know, in chapter 18. But then in 2 Kings chapter 20, he--the Lord through the prophet Isaiah that he was going to die. Verse 2 he says he turned his face to the wall and prayed into the Lord. Verse 3 says he wept sore. He asked God to let him live. So God did allow him to live and he lived for another 15 years, but unfortunately he ended up marring his weakness as a result of living longer, so much and is. You know, we sometimes have loved ones or even ourselves we may be sick unto death, right? Terminal illness. So when should we pray fervently or bitterly as Hezekiah did and ask God for healing and to let us live, and when should we accept impending death as His will and that He might just be protecting us from something in our future?
Doug: Yeah. That's a good question. You know, we often as pastors go and you pray by the bedside of somebody that is sick. We have occasional anointing services and pray for their healing. But whenever we do that, we should always say, "Thy will be done." You know, that's in the Lord's Prayer. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven should be a daily prayer in every situation. I think the normal thing for us to do is to pray for healing. That's why the Bible commands us. Is anyone sick? Call together the elders, pray that they might be healed. Jesus went around healing. And so God wants us to pray for healing for a full life. Now, that doesn't mean--I had a sister in our church that when she got to be, you know, like 93 she says, "Pastor Doug, I want you to come pray for my healing." I said, "Well, I can do that." But I said, "First, let me ask, do you think there's a connection between your hearing issues and being 93?" She gave me a big smile. She said, "Are you telling me I'm getting old?" I says, "I didn't say that." But, you know, at some point life sort of runs its course. And I think most of the healing that you see in the Bible is to give a person a normal life, you know, a normal lifespan. And when people are in the final ages and stages of life, you commit them to God's care. You can always ask them to lengthen his trans--lengthen their tranquility and give them a little more time for some reason, but always say, "Thy will be done." Hey, thank you. Appreciate that, Anthony.
Carlos: We have Frank from New York. Frank, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." You're on the air.
Frank: Yes. Good evening, Pastor Doug and Pastor Carlos. My question for both of you-- or both gentlemen is of the following. I don't understand where it says in Scripture that a person who's not baptized and who believes they're saved and they're a Christian who believes in God and the holy Bible cannot really be lived throughout life and enter the kingdom of God without being baptized. Is that scripturally correct, or do you have to live with baptism to actually believe in Scripture? Because when I was a child--an infant, I was baptized and then I never believed in God after that until they forced me to believe in receiving a--you cannot mention religions over the--on your show, but they forced me to receive a form of Christian adoration of God through my second level of sacramental life. So can you live without baptism throughout your entire life without baptism?
Doug: All right, let's talk about that. Good question. First of all, let's answer it this way, Frank. There will be some people in heaven that were not baptized clearly because--well, the thief on the cross next to Christ, he couldn't be baptized. Jesus said, "You'll be with me." I think Christ gave him credit for his baptism, and then you've got all these Old Testament characters that will be in heaven. They didn't practice baptism all through the Old Testament. So for those living in the New Testament times, it's pretty clear that baptism is like a marriage between a believer in Christ, and Jesus says in Mark chapter 16-- and you might jot this down, E. Frank. Mark chapter 16, verse 16, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved. He who does not believe will be condemned." Notice he puts a pretty high priority on believing and being baptized, but then he adds he that does not believe. He doesn't say and is not baptized will be condemned. Believing is the big emphasis. But when Jesus sent out the apostles he said, "Go teach in all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." And then Peter preaching at Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. When they said, "Men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved?" He said, "Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins." Ananias said to Paul, "Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the Lord."
So all through the New Testament there's a great deal of emphasis on baptism, and that's not the baptism that an infant would receive because that's not Bible baptism. It's a decision you make as an adult to follow the example of Jesus, have your sins washed away, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and commit your life to Him. You need to be able to believe, repent, be taught; and babies can't do these things. You're--technically you're dedicated as a baby. Jesus was dedicated as a baby, but he wasn't baptized till he was 30. He did that as an adult. So technically, E. Frank, you probably never were really baptized, though that's the term that's used. A lot of people call that baptism. It's really a dedication. You need to make the decision to be baptized.
All right. That's all the time we've got for this segment of questions. We're coming back in just a moment. Don't go anywhere. More Bible questions on the way, and you can still call in for the second half of the program.
Announcer: Stay tuned, Bible Answers Live" will return shortly.
Doug: Hi, friends. Pastor Doug Batchelor. This morning, my wife Karen sent me on a mission. She said, "When you're taping your announcements this morning, tell people about my favorite Amazing Facts app." It's called the Amazing Facts radio app. You simply type that in, "Amazing Facts radio," you can download the app and you can listen to good Christian music, Bible reading, sermons all day long. Keep your faith focused in heaven through the day. Check it out if you haven't done it yet, the Amazing Facts Radio app. You'll be blessed.
Announcer: Can't get enough Amazing Facts Bible Study? You don’t have to wait until next week to enjoy more truth-filled programming. Visit the Amazing Facts media library at AFTV.org. At AFTV.org you can enjoy video and audio presentations as well as printed material all free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, right from your computer or mobile device. Visit AFTV.org.
Announcer: Would you like to know God's plan for our troubled world and solutions for your life's challenges? Beautifully redesigned and updated, Amazing Facts 27 Bible study guides provide straightforward Bible-based answers that are enlightening, encouraging, and easy to understand, giving you real relevant Bible answers to questions like "How can I have healthier relationships? When will Jesus come?" and much more. Order yours today by visiting AFBOOKSTORE.COM or by calling 800-538-7275.
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 p.m. and 8 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."
Doug: Welcome back, listening friends, to "Bible Answers Live." And as you can tell from the title, this is a live international interactive Bible study. You are invited to participate. You can not only listen. Call your friends now, tell them to listen in. We get all kinds of great Bible questions from around the world. If you have a question, just give us a call. It's a free call, of course. 800-GOD-SAYS, and that acronym plays out to 800-463-7297. We're also streaming and beaming on AFTV. You can watch this on the Amazing Facts Facebook channel, Amazing Facts YouTube, Doug Batchelor Facebook. So we're trying to use every medium we can. My name is Doug Batchelor.
Carlos: I am Carlos Munoz. And so we want to welcome everybody. Just remember free offers, 1-800-835-6747 or dial #250 for any free offers that you hear us give out. Let's go back to the phone lines. We have Ruth calling us from North Carolina. Hello, Ruth. You are on the air.
Ruth: Oh, hi. Good evening, Pastor Doug and Pastor Carlos. May God bless your ministry. We always pray and support your ministry. So we are thankful for both of you--all of you. I have a question regarding Math--Mark 16:19, and that question is I thought Jesus--I studied a 2,300-day prophecy, but I always get confused because I believe Jesus to be in the most holy place. And after he ascended to heaven, according to Mark 16:9, it says he sat at the right hand of God and I thought the right hand of God meant the most holy place, and I was like--I always had the idea, according to Scripture, that he went to the holy place. And then in 1844 according to the 2300-day prophecy, he went to the holy--to the most holy to cleanse the sanctuary. So that's where my confusion is. I don't know you guys understand my question.
Doug: No, I do; I think your question makes sense. First, let me give you a couple of thoughts. When Jesus first ascended to heaven following his sacrifice when it was declared successful and effective--remember he told Mary, "Do not cling to me." This is John 20, I believe. He said, "Don't cling to me for I've not yet ascended to my Father, but go and tell my brethren I ascend to my God your God, my father your father." When Jesus ascended and he sat down, that meant he was enthroned as victorious over the devil and ransoming-- recapturing our planet that had been hijacked, so to speak. And so there was an enthroning that happened immediately upon his ascension. That doesn't mean that his work as our high priest in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, that first phase was obscured in some way. And I think we've got to kind of defuse ourself of the idea that Jesus was somehow handcuffed in one room of this heavenly temple for 2,000 years or that the Father couldn't see him because there's a veil or something between them. The Bible says a veil is removed in Christ, and while Christ is still in his first role of ministry doesn't mean he can't see the Father. He's in the presence of God in the heavenly dwelling place, this heavenly sanctuary; but the heavenly sanctuary is so infinitely more majestic and bigger than the model they had here on earth.
So yeah, the--he's in the presence of the glory of the Father. He went into a final phase of that ministry in 1844 when the age of Laodicea began and is still there now, and he'll soon stand up, say, "It is finished." And that's when things get hairy and scary on earth and the plagues fall. By the way, I was just looking in Acts chapter 7. Notice it says in--in 1 Peter he's gone into heaven. He's at the right hand of God. Mark says he's sitting at the right hand of God. Luke 7 says, "Being full of the Holy Spirit, Stephen gazes into heaven. He saw the glory of God, Jesus standing at the right hand of God." Right hand is a sign of favor, a sign of strength. It doesn't mean that Jesus is consigned to one side of the Lord.
Carlos: Yeah, and intercession too, which is ongoing until he returns.
Doug: Yeah, he ever lives to make intercession for us. Thank you. Good question, Ruth.
Carlos: Good evening, Sophia. You are on "Bible Answers Live." Welcome.
Sophia: Good evening, Pastor Doug. Good evening, Pastor Carlos. I wanted to find out--there's a verse, Proverbs 18 and verse 21, death and life are in the power of the tongue. Now, I've heard many interpretations saying that we can speak things over our lives. Like if I lie about being sick, then I can become sick because I spoke it over my life, or I can speak bad things over my life. But is this what the verse is saying?
Doug: You know, I don't think that's the principal meaning of the verse. I think Solomon is talking about--that our words can give life or death. You know, there's a--and he also talks about the power of a king. You know, like Nebuchadnezzar, he would speak and someone was executed. He'd speak, someone else was promoted; and that was in the power of the tongue. James tells us that the tongue is extremely powerful and, you know, it can set a forest on fire, so to speak, of trouble. But the words that you speak carefully-- this is also in Proverbs. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold and pictures of silver. And so when it says that life and death is in the power of the tongue, you can speak words of encouragement and life to people and hope. Jesus, he gave life in his tongue. Pilate gave death when he declared him to be condemned. Now, there is some truth. Jesus said, "Be it unto you according to your faith." It is often true that, you know, if people are negative and they don't believe, sometimes they get what they don't believe. That doesn't mean that we get to choose what's going to happen by speaking things, but you got to be careful what you say because you can be influenced by your own words. Christ talks about--you know, it's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Be it unto you according to your faith. So I do think Christians should be positive, and I do think that we should try to be encouraging and remember that we are affected by our own words. But this verse, I think, is really talking about just the power of speech for good or evil.
Carlos: Yeah, and Matthew 12:37 says, "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
Doug: Good point. Yeah, of course.
Carlos: Thank you, Sophia. Next we have Tammy from Washington.
Doug: Pardon me. Pastor Carlos, we have a booklet, and it's called "Tiny Tail Bearers" and it's about the tongue--the power of the tongue. And we'll send you a free copy. We don't often get that request, but we do have a good sermon book on that.
Carlos: And just a reminder, for offers: 1-800-835-6747 or your mobile phone dial #250 and say "Bible Answers Live." Next we have Tammy from Washington. You are on "Bible Answers Live." Welcome, Tammy.
Tammy: Hello, Pastor Doug and Pastor Carlos. I have an interesting question. I know in heaven that we're--you know, when we come down to the new earth we're going to be building our own houses, we're going to be growing our own food, we're going to be tending animals. Well, my question relates to the last part of that. I want to know, are our beloved pets that we have here on earth going to be in heaven with us?
Doug: That's a great question, and don't feel like it's an odd question. We actually get that question probably two or three times a year, which is understandable because people love their pets and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, the Bible says a righteous man regards the life of his beast, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. Righteous people care about their animals, and the Bible tells us--even in the Ten Commandments it says that on the Sabbath your ox and your donkey shall rest. God cares about them resting. In the Book of Jonah God says to Jonah, "You don't care about the Ninevites dying. What about all the animals in the city, don't you care about them?" So, you know, God loves animals. He's the one that made them. Originally, Adam and Eve were to not only tend the garden, but they were to befriend all of the creatures. They would be wonderful friends and the delight of Adam and Eve. You give a kid a puppy and you'll see what I'm talking about. So God understands.
And then we build relationships, you know, with our animals, and I, like you--I'm assuming, Tammy, have had, you know, pets and dogs and cats that you grow attached to and you love, and their lives are not as long as ours and then you lose them and it's so sad and you think, "Well, I ever see them again?" I can't tell you about a Scripture that says God is going to resurrect our pets, but I also can't tell you he won't. So we may be very surprised when we get to the kingdom to find out that God has given Spot and our kitty little glorified bodies and raise them. We don't know that. The one thing I will promise, nobody in heaven is going to be disappointed. So just get there. God said there's things you can't even imagine that He has for those that love Him, but I can't point you to a Scripture that says He's going to resurrect our pets. Thank you.
Carlos: Thank you. Next we have Marvin calling us from Montreal, Canada. Welcome, Marvin. You're on the air.
Marvin: Good evening, Pastor Doug and Pastor Carlos.
Doug: Evening.
Marvin: My question is about Isai--sorry-- Isaiah 57, verse 1 and 2. I just want to--more explanation about this verse.
Doug: Yeah, all right. Let's read it for our listeners. It says in Isaiah 57, verse 1 and 2, "The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart; merciful men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous is taken away from evil. He shall enter into peace; and they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness." Well, you know, in the time of Isaiah, there was a lot of war. They were also facing the Babylonians that were going to eventually come and destroy the city. Isaiah foretold that. But they were being attacked also from the Assyrians in the north. Isaiah lived and prophesied during the reign of three kings, and a couple of them were not very good. Hezekiah was good. His son was not good, Manasseh. And Isaiah's saying, "You know, no one considers that the righteous people are being taken away. And why is this happening?" Some of the righteous were being laid in their graves so they would not witness the terrible things that were going to come upon the kingdom, especially during the long reign of Manasseh. And sometimes God lays a person in their grave not as a judgment but as a blessing to spare them from some plague. And just before the Lord comes, there'll be some that I think will be laid to their rest that they're spared from the seven last plagues. So thank you. Marvin, I appreciate that. Appreciate your call.
Carlos: Next we have from Australia Joan. Joan is calling us. Welcome to "Bible Answers Live." You're on the air.
Joan: Hi, how are you?
Doug: Good., thank you, Joan. And your question?
Joan: My question tonight is, did God's hand intervene and put the blessing--to put the blessing on Jacob and not Esau because Isaac was thinking of his stomach?
Doug: Yeah. Well, I think that God actually blessed Jacob because he had predetermined that Jacob was more interested in the spiritual blessing than the monetary one. Usually the firstborn son--you know, Jacob and Esau were twins, but Esau was slightly older. So technically he got a double portion of his father's goods. But Jacob knew that it was foretold the Messiah was going to come through the descendants of Isaac his father. Jacob wanted this spiritual blessing. Now, proof of this is that after the years that Jacob spent away from home, he came home. He gave like 10% of everything he owned to his brother. He wasn't interested in his father's inheritance; he was interested in the spiritual blessing, and that's why he manipulated his brother into selling him the birthright and then he tricked--with the help of his mother he tricked his father into blessing him. The idea of Isaac eating before he blessed him was a custom. I don't think it's because Isaac was, you know, preoccupied with his stomach. They often had a feast before they had a covenant, and that was very common. Even Jesus, they had a last supper at the time of the new covenant. So the Passover was a feast connected with a covenant. You know, Isaac probably was hungry and he loved the special kind of food, but I don't think you could say that that's why Isaac--I'm sorry. Jacob got the blessing. Carlos: Yeah, next we have David from here in California. David, welcome. You're on "Bible Answers Live." David: Hey, thanks for taking the call, Pastor Doug and Carlos, and thanks for the show. Really appreciate it. Question about the dead and the first resurrection. So it says the dead will know not. It says when Jesus come, archangel, all will hear his voice. The dead will rise first. So does--so will the dead basically have die three times or the dead just hear Him coming but they got to stay in the ground, in the pit? What happens to the unrighteous?
Doug: Yeah, well, the unrighteous are that you die the first death, but then the Bible says the unrighteous are raised in judgment at the end of the 1,000 years. They're then judged. Because they're not in the book of life they are cast into the lake of fire, and the Bible says in Revelation 20 this is the second death. Now, the only ones that might experience a third death, so to speak, are--well, a couple of categories. One, if Jesus had risen someone from the dead and then they died lost, then they get resurrected again, judged and die again. So they die three times. And then the people that are judged or that were judging Jesus like the high priest, he's going to be raised to see Christ come, then he'll die again at the second coming. Then he's raised at the end of the millennium, judged and thrown in the lake of fire. That would be those who executed Christ. It says those that pierced him. And Christ said, "You will see the son of man coming on the right hand of power." So--but that's a very small group of people. Most people that are lost, they just experience the second death.
Carlos: Yes, and that verse is Matthew 26, verse 64.
Doug: About Caiaphas. Yeah, thank you. Appreciate that, David. Good question.
Carlos: There we go. Diane from British Columbia, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." You're on the air.
Diane: Thank you for taking the call. I appreciate it.
Doug: Thank you. Now, you may be on a speaker phone. Get real close to your phone because you sound far away.
Diane: Okay. Sorry about that.
Doug: That's good. Diane: I have a question about Daniel 11:40.
Doug: Oh, don't ask that question. Sorry. No, that's a good question. We're just not sure. It's a difficult subject. Go ahead. I'll let you finish. I interrupted you.
Diane: Yeah. I was just wondering about who is the king of the south.
Doug: All right. Pastor Carlos, you want to take your first stab at it? This is one of the most hotly-debated subjects among theologians and--but we'll share with you some of the ideas that are out there. Go ahead. You should get started.
Carlos: So there's two kings in Daniel 11 at the end in verse 40, the king of the north and the king of the south. We know that literally the king of the north would represent Babylon, the king of the south would represent Egypt--Sodom as it's mentioned in the Book of Revelation. So we know the king of the north would represent the Babylonian system power that appears in the Book of Revelation as the end-time religious order. And then the king of the south, there's two main interpretations in regards to the south; the representation of the immorality in the world, the secular world that'll be combating as we see it today in society and still till the end. And then there's another interpretation. I know Jëan Ross falls in line with this, is that the south represents Islam coming and battling against Christianity too, so—
Doug: Yeah, and I'm inclined that's--I guess I lean that way and I don't--you know, this is something that, as Paul said, we don't say by command but by permission. You see that the king of the north, and I would agree with Carlos, is sort of apostate Christianity, Babylon, and-- but there are two children of Abraham that are tracked through the Bible. We see Islam in earlier places in Revelation 9 and it is the second largest religion in the world, and there have been numerous wars and there's conflict today. And the nations that are mentioned in the end of Daniel, if you being literal at all, Edom, Moab, Libya, Egypt, so forth, they're all Islamic principally. And so you just wonder if there'll be some final earthly conflict along with the spiritual conflict. So some of that remains to be seen, but that's-- those are a couple of principled views out there. And thank you, Diane. Hope that made a little bit of sense.
Carlos: Thank you, Diane. Next we have Raymond from Michigan. Raymond, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." You're on the air.
Raymond: Hello, pastors. How are you both doing tonight?
Doug: Wonderful.
Raymond: That's good. That's good. My question is, does it say what type--or what kind of language will we be speaking in heaven?
Doug: All right. Pastor Carlos is probably going to say Spanish is the language of heaven.
Raymond: Yes, yes. I've heard that before.
Doug: And it is a whole lot easier to learn than English from what I understand because I grew up speaking English. It was easier for me, but when--I learned some Spanish because the rules were much more consistent. And you know--you've actually taught in English and Spanish, so you've probably run into all of the conundrums. But I don't think we'll speak either in heaven. There's some language--all the languages of the world somehow sprang from a mother tongue that was spoken in the Garden of Eden, and at the Tower of Babel that language got confounded. Now, you can find similarities between a number of languages around the world. So as the people scattered from the Tower of Babel they took some maybe common words, but we don't know exactly what that language of Canaan is going to be. But it'll be beautiful.
Carlos: I've always thought it might be Hebrew because when it says--in the Tower of Babel it says He confused the tongues of those that were working in the tower. So could it be that Hebrew was the original language and then—
Doug: Seth and some of his followers did not--or Shem, rather, and some of his followers did not get involved in the corruption and their language did not get confounded. That's an interesting theory. That may be. Of course, it's sure hard to speak Hebrew. Got a lot of kind of-- Yeah. Anyway--but yeah, it'll be--you know, they say one reason that English is an international language is over the years English has developed so many words to describe things. There are more words in English to describe things with greater detail, and I think the language of heaven is going to have all kinds of nuances we don't even know now to say things. So it's going to be very beautiful and very expressive, whatever it is. Thank you. Good question. Carlos: Next we have Nathan from California. Nathan, welcome to "Bible Answers Live." You're on the air. Nathan: Hello. How should I respond to people that say biblical--the Bible isn't trustworthy because it was written by men because they're fallible and stuff? Like, you know—
Doug: Yeah, well, I would say, is there anything that men do that they trust? Just because the Bible was written by men--I mean, if you get into a car accident and you've got to go to the hospital and you've got to have your leg set, you're probably not going to try and set your broken leg yourself. You're going to have to entrust that to men and you're going to say, "Well, they've studied it and they've passed on a lot of knowledge, and they can do that pretty well." Because men do something doesn't mean that it's all flawed. All the technology we're using right now has been created by men and most of it is pretty dependable. Now, with the Bible, it wasn't normal men. The Bible says holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. These are unusual people that are filled with the Holy Spirit. And so the Holy Spirit is involved in also preserving the Bible.
Now, some ways we know that the Bible is still accurate is God arranged for Scriptures to be hidden before Christ was born--about 200 years before Christ was born hidden in the desert, and then 2,000 years later those Scriptures are rediscovered. And we compare these Old Testament Scriptures that had been hidden in jars, the Dead Sea Scrolls, for 2,000 years with the versions of the Hebrew Bible that we have today and we see that they're virtually identical and it just increases our--and I've been to see the Dead Sea Scrolls and had my guide who spoke ancient Hebrew read right off of them, and I know my Bible pretty well, and he was reading right off the scroll of Isaiah the story of Hezekiah, and Sennacherib, Rabshakeh and it's just like my Bible. So, of course, he had to translate it as he read it into English; but yeah, the Bible has been miraculously preserved.
Carlos: Yeah. Do we have a resource?
Doug: Yeah, we've got a book called "The Ultimate Resource." It's on the Bible. We'll send you a free copy, "The Ultimate Resource." Just ask for that when you call, Nathan. Thank you. We can get one more question in, pastor?
Carlos: Yes, we can. Peyton from California, welcome. First-time caller. You're on "Bible Answers Live."
Peyton: Hello. Good evening, pastors.
Doug: Evening.
Carlos: Hello.
Peyton: So my question is, what are the signs of the second coming? Would it be soon due to the current morality of the world? And I say it as kind of a two-part question because I am in the military and I'm kind of stuck in a sense and I would like to pick up and move on to country living, but it seems quite difficult considering, you know, everything going on in current society—
Doug: Amen. Well, don't go AWOL, Peyton. But there are a lot of signs and, as you mentioned, one of them is the morality. You know, Jesus said before he comes it'll be like it was in the days of Lot and Noah, and there was violence. You know, people were all entertained with violence and not only--he said there'd be wars and rumors of wars. We got rumors of nuclear war right now. They would have the immorality that they had in Sodom and Gomorrah, which is of course, you know, international and rampant right now. And then Christ said the gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all the world. Well, now through the internet and radio and television, satellite, we have the technology that human walls cannot stop the proclamation of the gospel. Even these broadcasts right now through the internet are going into so many different countries and the gospel is being preached in all the world. And so there's a number of signs that the Lord gives us that his coming is near. One of them is he says there'll be pestilence. That's plagues. We just came through a global pandemic. And so--you know, and it says in Revelation the Euphrates river will dry up. Of course there's a spiritual application to that, but I think it's interesting the Euphrates river is drying right now. So it might be a dual prophecy there.
Anyway, Peyton, so there's a lot of things. You just put your life in God's hands and say, "Lord, I want to put You first, and I'd like to live in the country." Of course, country living is not going to save you. Having a beautiful place in the country and food stored away is not going to save us in the last days. It'll be a lot easier than those who are stuck in the cities when, you know, bedlam breaks out. But ultimately God can save you. The safest place to be is in the middle of His will. And, friends, I hope everyone listening is in the hollow of His hand right now.
As you can hear, our program is up for tonight. Go to the website AmazingFacts.org. Share all those resources with your friends, and we'll study His Word together with you again next week. 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.
Doug: Welcome back, listening friends. For those who stayed by, this is the time we do some quick internet questions that came in. And, Pastor Carlos, if someone wants to send us a question, how do they do that?
Carlos: You can email us at BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. That's BALquestions@amazingfacts.org, and we might read your question on live next week.
Doug: Let's see how many we can get in in 2 minutes here.
Carlos: First one, "During Noah's time, did God limits man's lifespan to 120 years?" Because Noah lived to be 950?
Doug: No, it's saying when God says, "My Spirit will not always strive with man," and this is Genesis chapter 6, "his days will be 120 years." That means before the flood God was going to give them 120 years of probation. People live much longer than that even after the flood. So that's not talking about their lifespan, it was talking about probationary time before the flood.
Carlos: Yes, next question, "Were Joseph and Mary married when Mary conceived Jesus."
Doug: No, they were what we would call engaged. They had signed a betrothal covenant, and Joseph was about to break that off because he thought that Mary had come up pregnant from normal means and God said, "Don't do it. She's conceived by the Holy Spirit." But they were engaged. They were not married yet.
Carlos: Next question, "Is it a sin to be rich?"
Doug: Well, it could be for some people. Jesus said that it's hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom, and the Bible says strive not to be rich. That should not be our goal. But certainly there are a number of rich people in the Bible that we expect to see in heaven, everyone from Abraham to Solomon to David to Job. You just don't want to love riches. The Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil.
Carlos: "Ezekiel 39:11 talks about fire descending from heaven to destroy the wicked." The question is, "Will there be a cemetery in the new earth, or has this prophecy already fulfilled in the past?"
Doug: Well, that is a future prophecy when God rains fire down from heaven to devour the wicked, and then you read-- it says that in Malachi chapter 4 the wicked will be burnt up root and branch. So all over the face of the earth where the wicked are consumed, Malachi says you'll go forth from the new Jerusalem. You will tread down the wicked. They will be ashes under the soles of your feet. So I guess you could say that it's kind of a cremation all over the world, but it's going to be grass. The meek will inherit the earth.
Carlos: Last question, "Was Jesus like any other regular child?" Doug: Yeah, good question. In the sense that he did need to learn to walk and talk as babies do. He needed his parents to love and cleanse him, and he had to learn to do things that children do. Yes, he never sinned. He never disobeyed. He was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb. All right, listening friends, time's up. God bless. Look forward to studying with you next week.
Announcer: "Bible Answers Live," honest and accurate answers to your Bible questions. ...